Spring Equinox Social

This evening, second Meetup of three in a row, back with Movie Roadhouse London (MRL) and their sister group, The Hideout, for their Spring Equinox Social! At the BFI Riverfront Bar upstairs, as usual. So I booked to eat in The Archduke beforehand. And despite the expense, it'd seem so cheap after Switzerland..

Again, I got caught up doing other things, and was a little late to be catching a bus - but this was a lot closer than yesterday's destination, so I wasn't as worried. There were a couple of buses I could get - and when the first came along, it was with a screech of brakes. Handily, I had a really fast driver - so I actually arrived early for my booking! and to another sea of smiley faces. I elected to sit downstairs, rather than take the upstairs option they offered. And as I waited, I noted they have yet another wine offer.. this is only for red, but it's worth keeping an eye on these. Anyway, I had chicken, as usual - which was lovely. Thought about changing my dessert - but a glance at the dessert menu confirmed there wasn't anything I'd rather, so I went for an ice cream sundae again. As to the price - it's hard to estimate properly, as I had a carafe of wine, which is something they don't seem to have heard of in Switzerland.. but assuming I'd had a bottle, I'd have paid as much for it as I did for tonight's entire meal..

And so to the BFI, where some had beaten me to it, but lots more arrived after. And a dependably convivial night's chat. The conversation tonight ranged from the merits of various cinemas, to the scariness of Nosferatu, to the feminist credentials of The Substance (and hasn't it been a good year for film so far!).. but hey, never mind the topic, it's always good to see these folks! Roll on the next thing.

Tomorrow, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for Son of a Bitch at Southwark Playhouse. As usual, I'm availing of their excellent-value Pay As You Go offer, £75 for five productions, no time limit..

Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. St. Patrick's Day is on Monday, as it happens, and is a bank holiday over there - so I'm taking that day off as well while I'm at it, and will fly back a day later. For the weekend, it's provisionally looking like Mickey 17 for Saturday, a SciFi comedy about a guy who's sent to do dangerous jobs, and keeps getting killed and replicated - problems arise when two of the replicants meet each other, which isn't supposed to happen: and I was thinking of Last Breath for Sunday, starring Woody Harrelson in the true story of the rescue of a deep-sea diver. Both showing in the Omniplex. However, now I'm planning to go to Black Bag instead, a thriller about a happily married couple of spies, Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, whose cosy relationship is threatened when their boss, Pierce Brosnan, suspects her of treason, and asks her husband to investigate.. also stars Naomie Harris. Omniplex again - it's handy for Tesco..

On Tuesday, back with UITCS for The Score, starring Brian Cox as Johann Sebastian Bach, in a play about his explosive relationship with Frederick II of Prussia. Showing at the Theatre Royal Haymarket (e-tickets only, I notice) - but I got my ticket from Seatplan, thereby not only saving 75p on the ticket price, but another £4.25 on the restoration levy and booking fee that the theatre charges! (Plus, I get Seatplan points..)

Next Wednesday, I'm back with MRL for Last Breath - at the Odeon Luxe West End. So I've booked Bella Italia on Cranbourn Street again for beforehand.

And on the 20th, I've got a streaming ticket for the Crick Crack Club - they're doing Dionysus in the Story Museum Oxford. But you know, they always provide these as a recording too, available for a week afterwards - so I've also booked one of the last tickets to a free performance of Beethoven's Septet, by the Philharmonia Chamber Players, at the Royal Festival Hall. Heading to The Archduke again afterwards.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Leaving Drinks

Yesterday, I booked with CT for a play called  10 Nights , at  Riverside Studios . But it was a colleague's last day, and he booked the  All Bar One  by the office for leaving drinks - so I did that instead. I loved working with him, he'll be missed - and I was just as happy not to have to traipse all the way to  Hammersmith .. A large card went around, appropriate for all the people that wanted to sign it - and before the pub, there was a speech in the office, streamed on Teams for anyone who wanted to watch and wasn't in yesterday. It was pointed out to those online that we had drinks in the office, too - there was plenty of beer, something fizzy, and a bottle of regular white wine. Unfortunately, I never did get to that - there wasn't a general move, although the CEO's wife, who'd come in for the occasion, partook of the wine. But you see, I didn't want to start a glass and then discover we were en route to the pub! I needn't have worried - I thought...
Read more

Film: I'm Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui)

Image
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...
Read more

Play: Lynn Faces

Image
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...
Read more