London Still Rocks!

Now , a run of three films - becoming quite the habit! To day, I decided on  Blue Heron - set in the 1990s, it sees a family move to Vancouver Island , only to have serious problems with the increasingly erratic behaviour of their teenage son. Showing in the Garden Cinema , nice and late - I put myself to bed and set the alarm in time to go and eat beforehand. When I checked before going out, it was mostly booked - a last-minute rush - so I booked too. Headed to Nando's Holborn , where the frazzled manager said, to avoid the sun glaring through the windows, I could sit right in the corner, beside the plant - or I could just sit right there, at a table for four. Which I did. The place was shortly afterwards absolutely crammed with well-dressed young people of colour - being Sunday, I speculated that they'd been to church, which was confirmed when I saw one of them carrying a bible (!). There were two separate groups - the larger one co-opted all the tables by the wall, pushin...

These two days - barring last-minute offers I can't refuse - I'm thinking documentaries, both in cinemas of which I'm a member. Today, was looking at  Everybody to Kenmure Street , a documentary ( Emma Thompson  takes part) about a movement of  Glasgow  locals when a couple of their neighbours face deportation in a dawn  raid ! Was looking at it before, but didn't go - happily, it was on much closer now, in the  Garden Cinema . When I looked today, it was mostly booked, so I booked myself. My bus came on time - probably a factor of so many people being on holiday. And then.. you guessed it.. stopped for a CHANGE OF DRIVER! Anyway, our driver was kind enough to tell us that his replacement was delayed for seven minutes.. I checked what other buses I could take from there, got off - and lo - there was one of them! (The #1 , in fact.) So I did get there in time. Had booked a member's ticket - no confirmation required, either while booking or from the guy at t...

Tonight, second film in a row, I headed to  Dragonfly , on my own.. it's the story of an elderly woman ( Brenda Blethyn ) needing care, and the next-door neighbour ( Andrea Riseborough ) who steps in to save the day - but things take a dark turn.. Closest showing to me was in the  Garden Cinema . I missed the bus I should have got - by the skin of my teeth, it seems like. It was a quarter of an hour to the next - and then we had to stop for a change of driver. And then the bus stopped early - typical. Cue me racing up the road - in the non-forecast rain - sure enough, I was 15 minutes late for showtime. Mercifully, the opening credits were just rolling. Well, the content, I'm familiar with from my own mother - community nurses coming in to cook for the old lady, bathe her, tick off what's been done in a notebook. All very anonymous, filling up their allotted time, and you can't blame her when she explodes at one of them. So when the young, unemployed lady next door off...

This evening, decided on   The Story of Souleymane , jury prizewinner at  Cannes , which is an immigrant drama set in  Paris . Showing in the  Garden Cinema . It wasn't booking out until today - when I checked this afternoon, and it was mostly sold out, I decided I'd better book! It was on so late I could stay really late at work.. I was second last out of the office (the other guy was waiting for the best, quietest train). This had the advantage that I finished all the work lined up for me! Phew, hope nobody finds anything for me tomorrow.. Anyway, I was going to be really early for the film, so of course I ate beforehand - and Nando's Holborn was convenient to both office and cinema. I got a nice little corner table, and was well fed. And when I was done, and still had nearly an hour to the film - I thought I'd treat myself to their excellent choc-a-lot cake! I hardly ever have time. Also delighted to see they're serving it cold these days - I hate it when they h...

Last night , back with  Movie Roadhouse London  at  The Garden Cinema  (complete with member's discount) for a mystery called  Islands , set in the  Canaries . We were eating in  Caravan  beforehand - had never heard of it, but as the organiser is how I found out about the Toulouse Lautrec , I was happy to give it a shot! I was in the office yesterday. Have no idea what's happened to the traffic - it was terrible as I got the bus in in the morning! I wasn't that much later, in the end - but I was glad that the evening's destination was a short walk from the office, no bus required. And I made it just about the time we'd agreed - he was there with one other. Unsure whether anyone else would be joining, we ordered - in the event, two more arrived, one having just a main (lamb) and dessert, the other just dessert (both tiramisu - in fact, three portions of it were ordered). They'd also asked whether we wanted everything as it came - which meant we g...

Tonight , thought of film again - and  The Garden Cinema  had a members' suggestion,  Smiles of a Summer Night , a romantic comedy by  Ingmar Bergman , which looked like an option. Even closer to the office than is the   Curzon Bloomsbury ! And I've finally bitten the bullet and taken out membership with them too. Well, they must have improved their listings, I'm there so much more often than I used to be.. I left the office a little after 5, which gave me time to eat in Nando's beforehand - where they didn't burn the garlic bread at all, this time! Then got ever so slightly lost - I'm used to heading to Nando's from the cinema, not the other way around! I'm entitled to one free ticket with membership, but couldn't figure out how to avail of it - seems you have to ask at the box office, they do it for you. Happily, he didn't require my membership code, just my name. Ticket issued, he informed me that it was in Screen 3 - upstairs! First time I...

Tonight, I pencilled in yet another film -  Drommer (Dreams) , part of an  Oslo -based trilogy. In this one, a girl develops, and writes about, her intense crush on her French teacher - her mother and grandmother, reading what she's written, are shocked, but also really impressed with the quality, and decide she should publish it.. again showing in   The Garden Cinema , and I'd have to skive off slightly early again to make it. The day was full of meetings, and I seriously thought the last one would never end. Thank goodness I was working from home, so was ready to leave the second it was over, nearly half an hour late. Then the bus was delayed.. I made the cinema within a minute of start time. And found myself in a ridiculously long queue. Seems everyone had chosen that moment to queue to buy tickets. In retrospect, instead of spending so many minutes in the queue, I should just have bought a ticket on the spot, on my phone - the harassed person behind the counter was g...

Today, my fourth film in a row(!). I finally got to see   Memories of Murder , a   South Korean   thriller based on a   real-life case  - the country's   first serial killer . Directed by Bong Joon Ho , who also directed the excellent Parasite , it stars Song Kang-ho , who also starred in that. Showing, one day only, in   The Garden Cinema   - and again, selling out, so I booked. And when I flagged in The Hideout 's WhatsApp group that my review for Friday (and yesterday) was finally up, one of them, upon reading it, decided to book for that as well, which was nice! Being a Sunday, the bus flew in - no traffic problems. I got there a bit early, got a glass of wine, and being a bit peckish, also got a bar of Tony's Chocolonely , which they stock behind the bar. It comes in a variety of flavours, but I went with the regular milk. Managed to get one of the booths beside the bar: My companion found me there, and we chatted until it was time to go i...

Well, having led a very sociable weekend, I now have a few days on my own! Yesterday, decided on film - and what came up at the top of the list was   Dying   (!). A   German   comedy drama about elderly parents and their stressed, middle-aged children, it looked good - showing at the   Garden Cinema . An early start, so I had to skive off early.. Did make it in time, for once here - not in time to eat beforehand, so I figured I'd eat afterwards: which meant I was a bit nervous when I heard it was three hours long! But then, it did start at 5.. at the bar beforehand, I'd forgotten they only do one white wine by the glass - she suggested their "wine of the month", and gave me a taster, so I agreed. Still not great, to be honest - their wines here are ok, but not amazing. I mistook my row - the row lettering is a bit weird - and therefore ended up sitting near a nice, older gentleman with whom I got chatting, and who informed me that he'd only discovered the existe...