Social

Yesterday was our ex-colleagues' monthly get-together. There was talk that it might clash with a birthday party.. and then, there was the Ireland-England match.. we played it by ear. Martin, sadly, was busy and couldn't make it.

I was surprisingly sprightly, for me, and made it out early, on what was a grey day:

Was first there of the three of us that were meeting, and discovered the entire ground floor was reserved, for one time or another - and we'd need pretty much the whole day. Tried upstairs, which, happily, was open, and managed to find a free table there, phew! Messaged the others, ordered my drink, waited till James arrived to order food. Mark, I knew, would be fashionably late. I hadn't been going to have steak, twice in a row - but honestly, I wanted it more than anything else on the menu, and it is so good there. James had fish though - it's also very good.

Sure enough, we'd eaten by the time Mark arrived.. and much drinking and chatting was done. I checked on the match every so often (mercifully, the pub doesn't have a tv, or it'd have been manic) - Ireland was winning, so I was reassured. James eventually left to catch his train, Mark and I saw out the evening, heading downstairs when the upstairs closed. Always great to see them.. We didn't end up at the birthday, in the end. As so often happens, I did fall asleep on the bus home - but for once, woke before it reached the terminus! Crashed when I got home as well, so decided it was better to leave the blog to today.

Ooh, and checking, I see the match resulted in a record-breaking win for Ireland! (Smug expression..)

Now, four nights of Meetup. Today, I start two nights of horror, with The Hideout again for the first time in over two weeks.. was supposed to be Psycho Killer (stars Malcolm McDowell), but its UK release seems to have been delayed. Hope to see it at a later date, it looks good, some Satanic elements - from the writers of Se7en. Instead, we're headed to Cineworld to see Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die - an apocalyptic thing, the trailer looks funny. Directed by Gore Verbinski, stars an unrecognisable Sam Rockwell as a visitor from the future, here to save us from the hell of AI. Meeting in Victory House beforehand - and yay, that means I can eat in my fave Bella Italia! Ah, I've missed them..

And tomorrow, when I saw Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) were going to Dracula, well.. showing in the Noel Coward Theatre, by the time I came to book, "cheap" seats were in short supply. There was one left in the Balcony - £50, and predictably, no legroom. There was one left in the Grand Circle - decent seat. £85. I got that one. It's a one-woman show, and has mixed reviews.. well, you can't know unless you go! Eating beforehand in The Salisbury, nearby.

On Tuesday, I'm trying out a new Meetup group; London Music Showcase - Gigs & Drinks specifically exists to promote the Piano Smithfield bar. So I'm trying out the gig there that night - cheap tickets on TAC, as apparently with all theirs. I'm eating in The Old Red Cow beforehand - gee, seems you know there's a place for you if they respond immediately to your booking enquiry; if you don't hear, it's a no.

And on Wednesday, back with UITCS for I'm Sorry, Prime Minister in the Apollo Shaftesbury Avenue. Eating in Bella Italia Strand for that one.

On Thursday, going to see Dara O' Briain, yay! Booked ages ago - he's in the Hammersmith Apollo.

And I'm finishing off the month with two more Meetups - on Friday, back with La Isla Flamenco Club, ole! Back in the gold Bar in the Colab Tower for a show called Identidades.

And on Saturday, back at last with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies for his rescheduled Southwark: Seedy and Sublime walking tour.