London Still Rocks!

Tonight, I booked - because it was also selling out, and finally did - for  Intercepted , an interesting-sounding documentary, showing at  Curzon Bloomsbury  only, as far as I know, about phone calls home from  Russian  soldiers in the  Ukraine , and intercepted by Ukrainian security forces. I was in the office today, and could walk from there - mind you, with all the work I had to do (that team's work always turns out to be more than anticipated!), I left a little later than I'd have liked. Cue a slog across town with that heavy laptop bag..  Anyway, I arrived while the ads were still on, and mercifully, so were the lights. Manoeuvred my way in, right to the end of the row - as I say, it was sold out, so I couldn't just take the most convenient empty seat - and lo, as I was halfway along the row, the lights went out. Anyway, being by the wall is handy with lots of baggage - I just dumped it there, with the extra floor space proving handy. And then set...

Tonight - whee, more storytelling! This one was  Folk Horror Night , and took place in  Folklore Hoxton , tickets through  Dice  - run by the  Crick Crack Club , performed by  Laura Sampson  and  Daniel Morden . Sold out days in advance . Short of non-vegetarian options, I booked for  The Blues Kitchen Shoreditch  beforehand. Wow, it turned colder today.. I wrapped up well, and made it on the dot for my dinner reservation. And was then kept waiting a considerable time - I seemed to have hit a blackspot of people arriving, or ringing, one of the staff engaged in what sounded like an involved telephone conversation. To be fair, it wasn't long till I was seated - and service thereafter was pretty great. Dinner was terrific - two gorgeous, succulent chicken dinners in a row, what can I say? Chips, as ever, were a little too salty, but the gravy was nicer than usual - darker. I managed a second glass of wine, and was still out of there in ple...

Tonight, I decided on film - and the film at the top of my list looked really good;  I'm Still Here  is about a  Brazilian  woman whose husband disappeared during the  military dictatorship . Based on a true story, this is receiving a lot of attention. Also showing widely - the closest to me is in the  BFI . I booked it, because it had started to sell out - in fact, in the end it completely sold out . Interestingly,  Movie Roadhouse London  saw it on Sunday , and loved it.. if I hadn't had this booked, I'd have gone with them! And by the time I discovered I was free that day, of course I'd already booked for tonight.. I made it just in time, and had booked for the end of a row, conveniently. Now.. the difference between this and the film I saw on Sunday can be very succintly described - this director knows how to tell a story, that director didn't. For all that each is the recounting of a true story, they couldn't be more different. In this fi...

Tonight, back with  Up in the Cheap Seats  for  Lynn Faces , a comedy about women of a certain age starting a punk group, and playing at the  New Diorama .  My plan was to eat at the nearby Wasabi  beforehand. It was another member of the group, who, when we're both headed to something, joins me for food beforehand, that spotted that it closes at 3! Undeterred, we decided on the one by Warren Street . I got there early, as it happened - to discover that that one is essentially a cupboard with shelving. No seating whatsoever. So, Plan C - I took myself off to the other alternative we'd considered, the Greene Man , pretty much across the road from the theatre, and which, when I spotted it, I realised I'd eaten in when I was here before ! On the way, I passed the other Wasabi, the one that closes early.. I see they have lots of space.. Happily, the pub wasn't too busy, and I got a table without trouble, where my companion duly joined me. And we both had their...

Today, we'd scheduled our monthly meeting of ex-colleagues - except it didn't happen; James' cold made him cry off - he waited until today, to be sure - and Ivan's dog is in hospital, requiring him to be there. So, when Martin messaged today to say he was too busy as well - that was it. Mind you, Skype is playing silly buggers, and each "first message of the day" that he sends me fails to show until he resends it! I get a notification, but no message. Technology, huh? Heading in the direction of  Victoria  again, we had booked  The Phoenix . Ivan managed an all-day booking, which he had to cancel online, as nobody was answering the phone. Never mind - Plan B, as so often, was a film, and (joint) top of my list was a documentary called Hiding Saddam Hussein , showing at the Curzon Bloomsbury only. Its late afternoon showing time was perfect, and I booked, for convenience. Later in the day, I took myself off - and wow, it was a cold wait for the bus: very bree...

Today, rounding off a run of three  Meetups , I was back with  Laurence Summers  and the  45+ Not Grumpies , whee! I couldn't manage his weekend walk last month, he had it on a weekend I was in Ireland.. great to be back with him again. This one was  Belgravia: Elegance, Criminality & Shopping . Uhh, I could've done with a lie-in.. never mind, I managed to drag myself up and out. In fact, my buses were prompt (for once) - and what a lovely, scenic route this is, through Westminster - and I arrived early! Feeling like something not substantial - and not seeing a Caffe Nero nearby - I took myself into the Pret I could see, and grabbed a couple of their extremely tasty little chocolate bars. Yum. And then carried the wrappers around in my pocket for a considerable time - they're not big on bins, here. We started across the road, beside the statue of Marechal Foch : Most of our walk, however, was to be in the realm of espionage rather than the military, per s...

Tonight , I just couldn't resist  The Monkey , with  The Hideout . Based on a short story by  Stephen King , with screenplay, and directed, by  Osgood Perkins  (son of  Anthony Perkins ), it just seemed to have such a great sense of humour.. definite shades of  Final Destination , with its inventive ways of killing people. They were going to see it at  Cineworld Leicester Square , so I booked for  Bella Italia Cranborne Street  beforehand. The bus was delayed - and packed, the upstairs, where I had to sit, all steamy, with a couple of girls drawing cartoons on the condensation-covered front window. So I was late arriving at the restaurant - on the very first occasion when they were packed, and didn't have space for me! Never fear - as one guy promised me an imminent Pinot Grigio, an older lady I didn't remember from before gave me the nod that a table were just leaving, and beckoned me upstairs five minutes later. My wine arrived before...

Tonight, the start of another run of   Meetups   - finally back with  Up in the Cheap Seats  (UITCS) for  The Shark is Broken , at  Richmond Theatre . A comedy about the making of  Jaws .. how could I resist?! I was perturbed, mind you, to see that the "cheap" seats in the Stalls involve an automatic VIP experience booking, with champagne and such! Huh - I went for the next price level up, in the rear Stalls, thus paying much less.. Booked for the  Buenos Aires Steakhouse , across the road, for beforehand.. At least being in the office meant I was halfway there - so I managed to get there by Tube in about an hour. Few enough people were actually travelling that far west - by the time we got to Gunnersbury , the train was practically empty! We slowed down coming in to Richmond , as usual - and so I was slightly late for my restaurant booking. Mind you, I was grateful to Google Maps for telling me about this place - down a backstreet, I'd nev...