London Still Rocks!

Oh man, I don't think I've ever had such a busy week, so many impediments to the blog.. Ah well, read on. I was too tired to blog after Saturday 's shenanigans, and on Sunday, things ran too late. That evening, I was back with  The Hideout  again for  They Will Kill You , a comedy horror about a girl who takes a job at a  Manhattan  mansion, only to discover it's a temple to  Satan , and she's tonight's sacrifice. However, they didn't know about the martial arts she picked up in prison.. not a spoiler, that's all in the trailer. In due course, the venue and time were announced - we were headed to the  Vue West End , and hallelujah, I managed to get a booking at  Bella Italia ! And I had a voucher.. Lordy, it's over a month since I'd been  last  there! A couple of people from the group joined me for that. I arrived first - it was good to be back. It wasn't busy, so I had my choice of seats, and thought the sofa at the back would be handie...

Last Tuesday , I headed to see  Is This Thing On?  A comedy about a guy who, having marital problems, heads to a bar - only to find it's open mic night, and he can't get a drink unless he does a turn on stage: so, for the first time ever, he attempts a bit of stand-up comedy. Directed and co-written by  Bradley Cooper , it stars  Laura Dern  as the wife - and as told to me by someone at  The Cartoon Museum , it's inspired by the story of  John Bishop ! Nearest showing to me was in the  Curzon Aldgate . My go-to eatery around there is Cote St. Katharine Docks , so I booked - and then moved my booking time back by a quarter of an hour, because of course I wasn't ready! And when I headed out, it was absolutely pouring rain.. Seeing that a bus was due soon, I waited and took that - mind you, just for a couple of stops, to Tower Bridge . So I still had to walk most of the way - I was drenched and dripping by the time I got there. Well, my coat and bag ...

Last night , back with  Up in the Cheap Seats  (UITCS), and again at  Southwark Playhouse  - the Elephant venue this time - for  Ride the Cyclone , the story of six teenagers killed in a freak rollercoaster accident, and suspended in limbo, who are given one final chance to prove why they deserve to return to life. My last time with the group this year. Headed out in time to eat - and in a wonderful coincidence, the bus happened right along. I checked, and The Rockingham Arms is one of the closest places to eat - not quite as close as the Toulouse Lautrec , but doesn't require booking, nor confiscate your deposit if you're more than 15 minutes late. Plus it's cheaper, and less fussy. So I took myself off there - it was busy, but I found a table near the window and had ordered in about a minute, was served in five. And the chicken katsu is crispy here.. the sauce was a little congealed, but that's forgivable. I was a bit early, so had a second drink - I knew th...

Last night, met an old acquaintance for drinks - he had to come to  Waterloo  anyway, so I said that location would be perfect, and suggested the  BFI . I booked to eat beforehand in  Black & Blue . Alighted from the bus into something like a gale - thank goodness I recently had a haircut, and my hair was a lot shorter! It was bad enough as it was.. Again, I had steak frites and an ice cream sundae - which were lovely. Service, I have to say, was flawless - it did help that I was sat right beside, and facing, the serving station! And I had a carafe of wine - as I poured the last of it into my glass, I suddenly noticed brown specks in it. Looked at the carafe, they were there as well. Sipped a little more wine, and it tasted fine - but I didn't want to risk ingesting the specks, and called the waiter over. He promptly removed glass and carafe, eventually returning with a clean glass of wine - and it was slightly fuller than the one I'd poured! Lovely.. Made my way...