London Still Rocks!

On Sunday, I thought about heading back to The Lanesborough for sachertorte , this time with Mark and Martin.. our monthly catch-up. But Lordy, this hot spell continued, and both bailed! Never fear, The Hideout came to the rescue - they were going to see Passenger . Now, the trailer gave me some misgivings - but I liked the concept, and was delighted to be seeing the group again anyway. Booked Bella Italia for beforehand, and as usual I'd then be meeting them in Victory House before going to see the film in the Vue . Third Meetup in a row, therefore! I was apprehensive about the bus ride in - but the aircon was on, and it was deliciously cool. Arrived at the restaurant pretty much exactly on time - and as usual, in time to beat the rush! Sat well inside, out of the heat. I was thinking of doughballs to start - but was sad to see they only have the cheesy ones now! Guess that rules them out for me then - just as well I have another option: and the crispy chicken fries were d...

Tonight, second night in a row with CT,  I was at a comedy show -  Live Next to the Apollo , at  Riverside Studios . Completely slipped my mind that my erstwhile travel companion had said she was coming too! Anyway, she didn't anticipate being there early - and as it happened, neither was I, being distracted by other things and leaving late.. Mind you, I was glad that the lunchtime snow had melted, not to return.. That far out, it had to be Tube - and my, were they crowded. My tardiness was partly down to the fact that we couldn't set off because of a faulty train ahead of us.. and then the doors kept opening, and they had to send someone down to see what the problem was.. By the time I got a seat, my shoulder ached from having to hang onto rails. I made straight for Riverside, where I finally met my companion.. we had a drink before we went in. Apparently, it was a sellout, and they asked us not to leave gaps - we ended up reasonably central, in the third row - pretty s...

Tonight , headed to  Blessings  at  Riverside Studios  - a play about a staunchly religious family in the 60s, with change in the offing. Damnit, I saw it was on CT, checked to see whether full-price tickets were more expensive, which they were - and accidentally booked one of those instead! At least it was on late, so I had time to organise myself! Now, a while ago, I ordered a warm black coat on Amazon , to be delivered to an Amazon locker - for once, they gave me a long collection window, but when I saw the temperature forecast for the day, I decided today might be the day to pick it up! In the event though, the coat I wore to walk to the collection point was absolutely fine - but at least I've picked up the other one. Mind you, speaking of weather forecasts, it didn't say it was likely to rain today, but it did as I headed out.. This distance requires Tube - I had to stand on both, but on the much less crowded Piccadilly Line , there was aircon. Arriving at Hamm...

Last Tuesday, the end - for the moment - of a slew of Meetups - I was back with  Up in the Cheap Seats  (UITCS) for  The Comedy About Spies , from the excellent  Mischief Theatre . Playing at the  Noel Coward Theatre . And as that isn't very far from Bella Italia .. well, I didn't mind eating there twice in a row! Got there quite early for my booking - and it was packed. A lot of exam students and their families, I'd say - results are out around now. Anyway, the waiter who knows me best was there again, and asked with some alarm whether I had a booking - well of course! They usually have availability, but not always.. This time I had the chicken fries, with a spicy coating, for starter - it's been so long since I did, he'd forgotten I'd ever had them before, and started to warn me about the spiciness, but I reassured him that it was fine. I wasn't quite finished them when my main came, which was fine, and indeed worked well, as I was rushing to the theatre ...

Tonight, I booked with the  45+ Not Grumpies  for  Paul's February Pub Crawl . We were to start at the  Lion & Unicorn in Waterloo Station , where we'd also eat, then head - well, towards home for me, finishing at  London Bridge ! Very convenient. And then it wasn't. You see, as I was thinking of leaving, I thought I'd just double-check the details - time, location, that sort of thing. And it's a good thing I did.. because the event was no longer listed on my Meetup home page as "the next event I was attending".. Curious as to what had happened, I logged onto the group page - to find that it was no longer listed for today at all, not even as cancelled! Confused now, I thought to check at the above event link - thank goodness for me having included it in my posts - and, as you'll find if you do, it turned out that the damn event had been rescheduled to April, without a by or leave! (And renamed "Paul's April Pub Crawl".) I guess he wa...

Wow, have I been busy..  Safely back from Romania on Sunday, and after a much-needed lie-in, I had booked with  Cultureseekers  for the  Charlie Chaplin Guided Walk . Finishing at  The Jolly Gardeners Pub . But you know - subsequently,  Over 40 Living the Life  advertised a trip to the  Immigrant Comedy Show  at the  Camden Comedy Club . And I was likely to have a better time with them than with Cultureseekers - which I hadn't yet paid for.. so I booked for that instead. Could technically have gone to both, but I couldn't be a***d. And this gave me a chance to try out the food at the  Blues Kitchen Camden , which is right across the  road .. Ah, the buses, the buses.. I had to change buses, and one not only had to change drivers (I am so often privy to that long-drawn-out ceremony), but stopped "to even out the gaps in the service". TWICE!! No surprise that I was a bit late to the Blues Kitchen. Now, this is one of those busin...