London Still Rocks!

Last night, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Allegra , starring Maureen Lipman , at the Harold Pinter - got a cheap ticket with Seatplan , and completely forgot I'd earned a voucher I could've used! I managed a seat at the edge of the Dress Circle, which is at ground level. Booked to eat beforehand at Bella Italia again, yay!  Well glory be - I actually made it just in time for the bus . So I was early to the restaurant, where the manager was surprised to see me so soon again, twice in one week! As I told him, he'd be seeing me a third time.. The new guy was there again, and had been told my name now - and wow, the manager showed me the order that had gone through to the kitchen for my food, which had VIP printed on it. :-) Supposed to take extra care over it in that case, so I was told. Well, it was all gorgeous, as usual.. and, coming for the second time within the deadline, I got 25% off my food bill! Nice one.. sadly, I didn't have time for dessert this ...

Today, the start of three  Meetups  in a row. Tonight, back with  Up in the Cheap Seats  at last - we headed to  The Years , at the  Harold Pinter  - cheapest tickets from the official venue, as often happens. They were in the Balcony - I don't trust the legroom up there, so I was in the front row of the Stalls; I'd rather a neck ache than cramped knees! and it's the same price. Another one with no interval, I see - that's really becoming a feature. Booked at  Bella Italia Cranbourne Street  this time - there's never been a problem with service there, and it's much more relaxed. What's happed to TFL ?! They're actually providing buses now! Today, as yesterday, the buses were not only available, they came straight away - were they always like this, everyone would be on them in preference! It's almost as though they have a tracker on me, and send exactly the bus I want, to where I am, exactly when I want it. And so I arrived early for dinner; ...

Today, I was   back with  Up in the Cheap Seats  (UITCS) for  Your Lie in April , at the  Harold Pinter . This musical is based on an apparently very popular  manga  - all official tickets at £25, and annoyingly, it was after I booked that I found out that the seat fillers have it as well, cheaper! (I believe these are preview prices.) Never mind. Got there a little early, met a couple of them in the lobby - the house wasn't open yet. I hadn't eaten, so grabbed some chocolate from the bar, not having much alternative! Huge markup, but what can you do. We hung out there for a while, then were instructed that we could go down by a back stairs to the Stalls Bar, where we were supposed to meet. It's a small space, which, as more of us arrived, we fairly took over! Someone had dire warnings about the overhang in the Stalls, but it was fine for me, for this production: The title projected on the safety screen interestingly switches between English and Japan...

Tonight, I headed to  The Hills of California , at the  Harold Pinter . Another of those great value  Seatplan  vouchers.. Looking around for somewhere to eat beforehand near the theatre, I saw there was an Italian across the road - the menu I saw on Google Maps (albeit a year old) looked ok, and I booked. Just about had time to get there, and I'd just about have time to eat - the show is a long one, and starts at 7. I arrived a bit early, actually - to find the place practically empty. From the decor, you wouldn't really guess it's Italian - apart from a picture of Venice (and a couple of Venetian masks), it looks more like many Indian restaurants I've visited. Not specifically, I hasten to add - it's just something about the style. Anyway, service was friendly to a fault - and wow, were they quick! Granted, there was hardly anyone there, but still.. I had my old staples - garlic bread (focaccia here) to start, and a chicken in white wine and mushroom sauce fo...

Last night, I finally booked to see  Dr. Semmelweiss , at the  Harold Pinter . Cheapest tickets I found were with  What's on Stage , who sent me off to  Love Theatre .. Looking for restaurants thereabout, I came up with - a lot of Italians . On another hot day, I didn't feel like that - so, seeing Angus Steakhouse not too far away, and having had another horrendous afternoon being slandered by my ex-flatmate (who's now accusing me - incorrectly, I might add - of passing his name and number on to the gas and electricity company ).. I decided I deserved a treat. So there I went - just made the bus . Which was stifling. No need to book - it was practically deserted at around 6pm, when I arrived. Whatever the greeter at the door asked me when she showed up, I dunno - I had to ask her to repeat it, and still was none the wiser! I was saved by someone else, who asked smilingly whether everything was ok - and so I was sat, and safe from conversation. Had those delicious ca...