London Still Rocks!

I'm back in Ireland for the weekend - it was booked already, and I continue to have stuff to do here. It was another palaver to get here, mind - with a nice, late flight, I had plenty of time, and arrived at Liverpool Street early. Which was just as well.. when I looked at the departures board, it was full of delays and cancellations on the Stansted Express ! No further information, so I checked online - it wasn't a Stansted Express problem per se, but a level crossing that was broken; the trains were running slowly as a result, for safety reasons. "How slowly?" I wondered.. I had my answer by looking at the arrivals board, where I saw the 6.08 arrival hadn't come yet. It was now 7. Nah, there was no way I was waiting for the Stansted Express, if that, or more, was the delay. The bus , assuming I could get one straight away, would only just get me there in time - no, Uber it had to be. ..which I ordered in double-quick time. It's really so handy - detailed d...

Last night , storytelling from the  Crick Crack Club  again! This time at  Folklore Hoxton  - and it was  Maui Trickster . Ate at  The Blues Kitchen  beforehand, and my companion from the  Swiss  trip said she'd join me. I couldn't remember how I'd booked my tickets - so the reminder email that Dice sent that afternoon was much appreciated!  I was at the office, unable to check my phone regularly - so it was long before I left that she started out, and I didn't get the message until I left that she expected to get there.. 10 minutes from when I got the message! Well, I wasn't going to make it for that - she'd mistaken the time. I couldn't respond immediately, rushing for the next bus - but when I was on the bus, I let her know I expected to be about half an hour. And downloaded my ticket while I was at it - you can't screenshot from the app, but it seems stable enough once the code is activated. And I cancelled my restaurant booking. B...

Today was the  May Social  from  The Hideout  and  Movie Roadhouse London , in the BFI as usual - upstairs at  The Riverfront . Eating at   The Archduke   beforehand. Made it on time, around the correct side of the roadworks, as it happens.. had to skirt them on the other side to get where I was going later!  At the moment, you can only get in here from the south, towards the station - there's no direct  entrance from the river . Anyway, I was seated upstairs, with a fine view of the roadworks, as you can see - and then I was left. Handy things, mobile phones - it was when she saw me playing games on mine that someone thought I might like to order. And it happened again, when she thought I might actually like to get some food. Funny - once, they never had mushroom soup, now they always seem to have it! And it was very moreish - and the chicken as delicious as ever. I didn't have time for dessert, as I explained to the server who brought...

Today , I was thinking of heading to  The Marching Band  at last, which by now is showing in the  Cine Lumiere . But lo, then  Up in the Cheap Seats  advertised  Diagnosis , at the  Finborough Theatre , which sounded interesting enough that I changed my plans and went with them instead. Cheaper tickets available from seat fillers, mind you. And it turned out there's now an  Indian  restaurant,  Yogi's , downstairs - so I booked to eat there, and the group arranged to meet down there too. Strangely, I got a message from Yogi's today, to the effect that my booking had now been changed to one for two people..? I arrived five minutes late, and corrected the matter. Was seated immediately - and left waiting a very long time for food, perhaps because I didn't have a starter. I had the butter chicken - which I love - steamed rice, and a garlic naan, there being no peshwari. No glasses of wine on the menu either, only prices for bottles - but th...

These two days, I was thinking of film again - today, I was thinking of  Stray Dog , a 1949  Kurosawa  film set in  Tokyo  about a young police officer whose guns is stolen. Showing in the  Garden Cinema . And wouldn't you know it, Movie Roadhouse London (MRL) then picked it up! So I signed up with them. I booked - it was beginning to sell out anyway, and indeed, apparently sold out completely today, as one member discovered upon trying to book. Wanting to eat beforehand, I headed to Nando's Holborn , which is really very close. Mid-afternoon on a bank holiday, it wasn't at all busy, and I could choose where to sit. All lovely, and I even had time for dessert, for once! They do the most spectacular chocolate cake - such a pity more places don't do one so rich, but it seems lots of people simply don't have the taste for it.. And so to the cinema, where I discovered I hadn't screenshotted the barcode, but she was happy enough with the booking reference numbe...

Yesterday, the second of two days of film,  I headed with  Movie Roadhouse London  (MRL) to  The Phoenician Scheme , at  Regent Street Cinema . This isn't terribly highly rated, although the rating is rising - but it's  Wes Anderson , so I figured I'd probably love it. Stars  Benicio del Toro  as a multi-millionaire with a desperate money-making scheme,   Michael Cer a  as the family tutor,   Scott Shepherd  as a reporter,  Willem Dafoe ,  F. Murray Abraham   as a prophet,  R upert Friend   as a US government official "Mr. Excalibur", trying to scupper the plan , and, whom I hadn't noticed in the cast list, Tom Hanks as an investor, Bill Murray as God (insert joke here..), Scarlett Johansson as Benicio del Toro's second wife, Charlotte Gainsbourg as his first wife and the mother of his children, Bryan Cranston as Reagan , and an unrecognisable Benedict Cumberbatch as Benicio del Toro's brother, ...

These two days are film again, which is featuring strongly at the moment - this evening,  London Social and Cultural Meetups  headed to see  Shanghai Express , with  Marlene Dietrich , at the  Cinema Museum . Seemed to be the best thing on! so I went to that too. We met a bit early, to hang out - a lovely way to start the long weekend. And the organiser is also in the  London European Club , where she advertised it as well. I headed out a bit earlier still, to eat - didn't have to be too early, as it isn't far from home for me. I did stay working a little later than intended - there always seems to be something for me to do these days. But got the bus without much delay, alighting at Elephant & Castle . I hadn't seen much to eat any closer, so had decided to eat at the Nando's there - my first time at this branch. As I entered, there seemed to be a long queue - oh dear.. except they were queueing to order! (Why do people do that..?) So, when someone a...

Last night, headed with TAC for the first time in an age, to  Blithe Spirit , by  Noel Coward , in  The Courtyard . Booked to eat beforehand in  Schnitzel Heaven  - where I thought I might try something other than the katsu, for once! Left from the office in good time - and the bus was late. It did eventually show, having to park behind a broken-down one - and damnit, was already full. So I started by having to stand, laptop and all - but got a seat after a few stops. And mercifully, it didn't stop short, like last time ! Made the restaurant a few minutes late - but really, I didn't have to book at all. Indeed, later, a group of seven (!) well-fed-looking people who, when asked, described themselves as Austrians , showed up without a reservation, and were seated with no problem! Obviously keen for a taste of home. The server remembered me, which was nice. They're friendly here.. and were constantly in and out to delivery couriers - they do a fantastic takeaway ...