London Still Rocks!

This evening was the second Spanish night ,  the first of two  Meetups ,  in a row - although this first one is obviously one of those commercial groups, formed to promote an event -  La Isla Flamenco Club  advertised an evening of  flamenco, folk, & copla  in  Bistrot Walluc  (tickets from  Eventbrite ). Now, this turns out to be a fondue restaurant - it doesn't appeal to me massively as a proper meal, so I discovered it's not far from the   Blues Kitchen Shoreditch , and booked there again for beforehand! The bistrot, however, offered a cheap first drink if pre-booked, so I did. And lo, with a free afternoon - I finally fitted in a haircut! Rush , I always go to, and they're excellent. I had the usual musical buses game, where my bus decided it was finishing at London Bridge , so I meandered up the road to wait for the next option to take me the rest of the way, only to discover it was the same number.. I then had a 7-minute...

This is the start of two days of  Spanish  music, olé! on my own. Tonight, I lucked out getting cheap tickets with TAC to a  concert of Spanish classical guitar music  at  Pixaudio ! Regular tickets with  Eventbrite . Ah, I adore this music.. booked to eat in  The North Pole  beforehand. Appropriately for this frigid weather. There really was no way there except bus - so I took the first to come. It was slightly delayed - but oh! the worst was yet to come. Right after Canada Water - traffic slowed practically to a stop. We took 15 minutes just to go around one corner. As I watched the minutes tick by, I realised there was no way I'd make my pub booking - I amended it from 6pm to 6.30. Apart from the rush hour, and the roadworks en route, we finally came across the source of the jam - a broken-down bus, whose passengers flooded onto ours, one remarking that she just hoped this one WOULD actually go to Greenwich , they having been thrown off the l...

Last night , back with  Mandy  and her new  Meetup  group (ahem)  Rat-Arsed Tours ! This was her  Knightsbridge & Belgravia Crimbo Walk  - and gee, she puts so much effort into  these! Also advertised with  London Herstory Walks . We were originally to meet in  The Plumbers Arms , but the location then changed to  Tattersalls Tavern . And just like last time, I got a workout with my laptop on my back, it being my one day a week in the office.. Well, I was closer than coming from home - it didn't take too long by bus, although the second bus was a bit delayed. Funnily enough, as I waited for it, two people asked me for directions, separately - I must have that sort of face. The first was waiting for a bus that happened along as she was speaking - the second was looking for the Ritz . Which, as I explained, was right behind her - you could see the sign! Ah, I love being asked easy questions.. I arrived at my destination a little...

Tonight, back with storytelling in  Folklore ! This time it was  Nell Phoenix  for the  Crick Crack Club  (CCC), performing  The Girl Who Married a Dog , tickets with  Dice  as usual. Eating at  The Blues Kitchen Shoreditch  beforehand - and wow, it's a couple of months since I was  last  up that way! It's a bitter, bitter cold snap in London right now - good timing for me to order thermal, fleece-lined gloves! I picked them up today - unfortunately, I didn't have gloves to wear en-route - and by the time I got home again, I had pins and needles in my frozen fingers. But hey, I got to wear them as I headed out again - and yes, I can testify they are wonderfully cosy! Not magnificent when using the phone though - I find I can swipe, but I can't pinch, and of course fingerprint recognition is a dead loss.. still, they'll come in very useful. For preventing my hands from seizing up in the cold. I wondered why Google Maps suggeste...

Tonight, headed with  Paul and Tim's Greater London Talks and Walks , for  Tim's Walk: London by Gaslight . Meeting in the  Pret near Green Park Station  - and I had to leave early for it, and take the   Tube , so I had to start early. But hallelujah, I had comfy shoes on today.. Got a bus to the station - was slightly late getting to Pret, and couldn't see anyone, so had myself a sandwich. Was just wondering where the group might be when the organiser spotted me - they'd been sitting around the corner. Ah well - it was about time to go by then, so we did. Now, to be honest, I wasn't as interested in the mechanics of gas lights as their atmospheric appearance: And, of course, we came across some Christmas lights: We had a mosey down to the home of the Texas Legation : Passing this shop, saw an interesting drawing that reminded me of how the monuments of Egypt looked when rediscovered by Westerners: We paused at the Actors' Church , to recover someone who'...