London Still Rocks!

Lovely, sunny day today - a real feel of spring! I headed off to the chiropractors ' before lunchtime, following Google Maps ' directions - got there just in time, and they had no record of me. It finally transpired that I was actually looking for the place on the other side of the road ! Thanks a bunch, Google Maps.. Anyway, I found the right place eventually, signed in, and the doctor came down to meet me. Over the course of the next hour, he was pleasant, friendly, and very careful to assuage any doubts I might have - he took my details, examined me, and gave me an initial treatment that, I have to say, was slightly alarming; I'm sure he was kneeling on my spine at one point. Not to mention clicking various bits into alignment. Anyway, afterwards, I'm much improved, and will be seeing him next week to see how things are going. Fascinating discipline really.. This evening, back with  Shake it Up! The Improvised Shakespeare Show , at the  Hen & Chickens . And my di...

The next two days in London are with CT - to night, I was back at the  Hen & Chickens  for  Shake It Up: The Improvised Shakespeare Show . Work was unexpectedly busy for the first day back.. so I said sod it, left it for tomorrow, and headed off in good time to grab something to eat beforehand. The #47 came in due course - only going to London Bridge , but that was as far as I needed! Now, Google Maps assured me that the #21 was imminent, but I could get the #43 if I wanted. Buses Due , on the other hand, said the #21 wouldn't be there for another 15 minutes.. I took the #43. Which had the advantage of stopping just down from The White Swan ! By 'eck, it's still freezing out there.. I chose a seat very, very far from the door - a corner, in fact. And then there was a draught.. My katsu was lovely, and I had a second glass of wine before heading out again. At the Hen & Chickens, he said he should have known me - of course, it was only last month I was last the...

T onight, off with CT to  Shake It Up - The Improvised Shakespeare Show , at the  Hen & Chickens .. My sometime travel companion was coming too, and we agreed to eat at  La Pasta  beforehand. She'd thought she wouldn't make it till at least 6.30 - in the event, she said she'd get there for 6.20, which left me scrambling to get out - and as I was en route, she announced she'd made it already, at 6.05. Well, my buses made good time, and I got there at about 6.20 - I'd asked her to order the pinot grigio, the only real choice from a limited wine list. Ay me, it was unpleasant outside - cold, windy, and wet.. it was a delight to get into the warm restaurant! Unfortunately, that was the last thing that was a delight. The pasta she'd already ordered - being hungry - was a bit dry for her taste, so she asked for an extra bowl of sauce. I ordered the chicken in creamy mushroom sauce, as usual. The sauce was lovely, the carrots were al dente, the fries were delicious...

Oof, what a week! Read on.. Saturday wa s another walk with  Laurence Summers  and the  45+ Not Grumpies , yay! A new one, this was a  Theatre History Walking Tour  - starts at the  Globe , appropriately, which I could walk to. Question is, was he going to mention any theatres I haven't been to..? Well, I could have walked - but it was bordering the max distance I like to walk, and in the end I didn't. There weren't many of us on this occasion, a lot apparently having pulled out last minute, as they tend to do. I knew the others, which was nice - and with everyone having arrived early, we started early! We started at the Globe - so it was appropriate to go from there to the other Elizabethan Theatre, nearby - The Rose : And of course, from there to the actual site of the original Globe: And as he pointed out to us, look at the number of churches depicted in the London of the time! Of course, so many were destroyed in the Great Fire .. This is an interestin...

Tonight, headed to   Shake It Up - the Improvised Shakespeare Show   (always good) at the   Hen & Chickens . Ticket from CT. Started off in good time to eat beforehand - saw I could get there in just under an hour by bus. Now, what happened next is slightly complicated.. I was waiting for the first bus when I noticed I had no internet on my phone. Blast it.. I spent the whole first part of the journey trying to figure it out - more particularly since I hadn't memorised the route! I knew I had to change, and remembered it had recommended the #21 - but where, and where to get off, I had no idea.  Well, I wasn't sure, but figured I could catch that at London Bridge - so I got off, and while I waited there, I pondered my phone. Fiddled around with the settings.. and discovered the internet was disabled for it, apart from WiFi! FFS.. I didn't do that.. what must have happened was it disabled itself automatically, after our WiFi went down last night and I used the ...

Tonight, I was with CT for  Shake it Up - the Improvised Shakespeare Show  - at the  Hen & Chickens . Now, it's a not inconsiderable journey up there - and I left it a bit late to head off. And this would be the evening that there was one of those proverbial gaps in the service! So I was late enough getting there that it would have been a bit of a rush to eat properly - I headed for Pret . Where they didn't have their nice chocolate bars, damnit - I had a packet of crisps instead, after my sandwich. Not bad. It's a massively inconvenient junction for pedestrians who want to cross to the other side, as they can only walk on half of it.. but I did make it over to the pub eventually. Which was crammed, as ever: First off, I went to have my name checked off, and pay for my membership card - good for a year, my last one had expired already. Mind you, the card does give you a 10% discount on drink - I think there's a £1.50 maximum on that, which is the cost of the card. ...