London Still Rocks!

Back to London last Sunday - and a palaver to get home. So glad it's not a regular event anymore. I flew into Heathrow , so had to travel all the way across town.. having not taken the Elizabeth Line on Friday , I didn't take it on Sunday either, having checked and seen that, by the time I was taking it, it didn't go further than Paddington . So, Tube it was.. but I had to change at Green Park for the Jubilee Line , and when I saw how late it was getting, I thought to check what time the last Jubilee Line left there. Sure enough, midnight - all Tube lines that aren't all-nighters finish between midnight and 12.30am. And it was past midnight. That wasn't the most sensible place to exit then.. I checked the map of stations on the Piccadilly Line , which of course is the one that runs from Heathrow, and realised that I could get off at Holborn , from which I could get the #188 bus straight home. I exited the station to the sound of many happy, and noisy, Spaniards,...

Last night, for the first time in a couple of months, I was heading back to Ireland for the weekend. And after months of having nothing to do for one of my teams at work, it would be yesterday that they decided to release, and realised they needed documentation. As the team lead said, it was on him - he forgot all about it - and if it didn't get done, it didn't. Well, I figured I could get it done - and I did. I was waiting to hear about my car before I booked my trip - it was in for repairs - so I booked my flights rather late.   Ryanair , for some reason, would take none of my cards.. probably a website issue. However, that turned out lucky, because when I checked, as long as I checked in a bag (which is the default),   Aer Lingus  wa s cheaper! (Decided to bring a bigger bag, as a result - there are a lot of clothes I want to bring back to London .) Didn't fancy the dangerously overcrowded   Elizabeth Line   though.. I figured I should have time to get the ...

Yesterday, yes, back with CT for Hot Mess , a kind of cosmic musical at The Other Palace . Eating at the Bag o' Nails beforehand.  The bus came in good time - and then wasn't going all the way! I decided to go as far as it was going, though - which turned out to be a good plan, because I had a better choice of buses there . Had to wait a few minutes, which meant I was slightly late at the pub.. went straight upstairs, as I should have the first time, only to discover the upstairs dining room was shut! so I struggled back down with my rucksack and asked at the bar. They'd reserved a seat for me in the corner. I was served quickly, and the chicken was lovely and tasty.. it was close enough to when I needed to collect my ticket that I skipped having another drink and went straight to the theatre when I'd finished eating. Got a very reasonably priced drink there - the bar was really crowded, but I managed to get a seat on my own and finished the drink before I went in....

Tonight, back for the first time in three months with London Classical Music and Theatre Group , for a performance of Bellini 's final opera, I Puritani (set during the Puritan era), at the Royal Opera House - with the cheapest tickets gone by the time I booked, I still managed to get a ticket for under £50, and with an ok view. Eating beforehand at Cote Covent Garden . The bus was nicely airconditioned - but wow, the traffic as we approached Aldwych was horrendous. Happily, the driver let us off on the street, so I not only skipped the wait, but was closer to where I was going than I'd otherwise have been. Made the restaurant about on time, and was seated pretty quickly. They do tend to be quick here - it was no time at all until I had my calamari, and yes, Cote do still serve the best calamari around. The steak was good too, if a little tough - and the fries were gorgeous. I didn't have time for dessert, so just plumped for a moreish glass of dessert wine. Th...

For tonight, both my cheap ticket groups came up with Horatio, in thy Heart , at the Jack Studio Theatre , above the Brockley Jack pub , where I'm eating beforehand. It is, in fact, the story of Horatio , a minor character in Hamlet . For both these days, I decided to go with CT - they seem more professional, and the tickets are the same price - equivalent to the concessionary price charged at the box office. Two buses, I had to take.. neither with aircon.. and the first one was accompanied alternately with the screaming of a toddler (that tried to grab me as I stood near him) and the rantings of an elderly bloke at the front, who kept shouting at the kid, seemingly not understanding that children sometimes scream, and there's not a lot you can do about it. I don't suppose that was ever his responsibility. And when I got a seat, it was beside him.. oh joy. The mother got off with me.. mercifully, not onto my second bus . No, on that one I was entertained by the elderl...

Now, it took a very long time for anything to pop up that'd interest me for yesterday - finally, as I waited for the others on Sunday , my cheap ticket groups both came up with Wife to James Whelan , showing in the Jermyn Street Theatre . It's apparently an unearthed Irish play that, like so many, was banned back in the day. Again, beautiful aircon on the bus . I went in time to get something to eat - the Three Crowns is very close, but doesn't take bookings just for one, so I went along on spec. A crowd standing outside was disconcerting - but as so often happens, they just preferred to be outside, and there was plenty of room inside (where, to be fair, there was no aircon). I skipped the table with the reserved sign - even though it was for a much earlier time, so they either never showed, or were already finished - and took a table in the corner. It's a Greene King , but sadly they were out of the katsu - it was too hot for a pie, so I went for fish & chips. O...

Yesterday , I was supposed to go to another social with the London SciFi/Fantasy Group in the Mad Hatter - but wouldn't you know it, just like last time, the pub cancelled the booking because of the World Cup ! Instead, I headed with CT to Dark of the Moon , at Charing Cross Theatre . Chose the matinee. Travelled in on a bus with the most delicious aircon. Arrived early and had a glass of wine. Was given an excellent seat, not far from the stage, although there are no bad ones here. Gorgeous aircon too - I was practically cold: 'Tis a story of star-crossed lovers.. one a human girl, Barbara Allen (yes, you've heard the name, but that's a completely different legend, nothing to do with this), the other a warlock. In this, the witches and humans are at war, and the witches are none too happy that one of their number has fallen in love with a human, and wants to be mortal - not least because that reduces the coven number from the perfect number required to conjure...