London Still Rocks!

I was back in Ireland for the weekend. Film-wise, I thought about  The Nun II  - I wouldn't mind, actually! I've watched the trailer - lots of jump scares, but it is rated higher than the  original . But when the ratings were out for it, I decided to go to  A Haunting in Venice , a spooky  Hercule Poirot  mystery, starring  Kenneth Branagh .  Michelle Yeoh  plays the psychic conducting the séance that Poirot is asked to investigate,  Jamie Dornan  is the doctor to the family holding the séance, Jude Hill , who played his son in Belfast , plays his son again here, Kyle Allen is the ex-fiancé of the dead daughter of the woman who's called the séance, and whom she hopes to conjure, and  Tina Fey  is an old friend of Poirot's who persuades him to take the case.  I was shopping in  Limerick , next to the  Omniplex , so saw it there. Turned out to be in the Maxx - as they're now calling Screen 1. Lovely - first t...

Tonight, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for  Anthropology , at  Hampstead Theatre . Cheap tickets from  TodayTix . Now, I tend to go to Ye Olde Swiss Cottage for food when I'm going to this theatre - so that's where I headed. By Tube , as usual these days - and just like yesterday , I didn't get a seat. Well, today I managed one after a couple of stops. So I could read the paper in peace - including the article about all the pollution on the Tube. Hey-ho.. Hey-ho as well at the pub, which had no food menus! So I waited - and waited - for the guy behind the bar to finish with the guy he was serving, whereupon I asked about food, and was told that the kitchen was closed for a week for refurbishment. Bah humbug - I saw there was a KFC nearby, and said I'd try there. It wasn't busy - I didn't even have to queue, either to order or for my food. And there were plenty of places to sit. Unfortunately, that's where it went downhill.. I remember when they ...

From yesterday - for the first time in a long time - there was to be a run of  Meetup  events - and specifically,  Up in the Cheap Seats  (UITCS)! Yesterday, I was back with them to see  Russell Howard  for the last night of his run at the  Palladium  - terrible trouble finding a decent seat in the Grand Circle, which was all that was left! And since I had three (!) online interviews scheduled for that day, some comedy would be just what I needed.  Looking roundabouts for somewhere decent to eat, I noted that the nearby Shakespeare's Head is a Greene King pub! so I headed off there. Booked a table - which the lady at the bar knew nothing about, but she said bookings were generally for upstairs, and my name would be on the table. Yes, there is a spacious dining area upstairs - no, no names on the tables! I picked one, went down to order. She asked me for my table number, but it honestly didn't have one - it had been removed at some point! N...

Tonight, I was off to  The Effect  at the  National . Now, places around there to eat aren't cheap - so imagine my delight when I managed to get a table at the nearby Cote ! You can never normally get a table there the same day you book. Must be the ongoing heat, I reasoned. Ran for the bus again - and was glad I wasn't going further, given the dire warnings about Holborn I could hear on the radio. My destination wasn't that far, so I made it 15 minutes early - decided I'd like to sit inside. As I was there, mind, all the outside tables filled up - as the manager remarked to one of the staff, it's the heat, and the lack of aircon! I was near the door, and the weather was noticeably cooler anyway. After a minute, he thought to bring me the fixed-price menu - I'd already decided against calamari, as my stomach's a bit off, so just ordered a basket of bread with butter, and my usual steak frites and a chocolate mousse. Since it was for two courses, and I had ...

Today, I booked with  Cultureseekers  - it's  Open House , and they were off to the  London Scottish House and the Banqueting House.   However, I then got (yet another) message from the organiser, encouraging me to become a "full member" - pay a yearly fee, and you can waive the fee for paid events throughout the year. Fair enough - except, frankly, there are groups I would pay to be with, and this is not one of them. I never go to paid events with them. So, I think I might become a shadow member of this group, as I sometimes do with others - I know he's not asked me to pay for this event specifically, but I'm tired of the hard sell, and there is nothing stopping me going to these venues on my own - at my own pace. Not a terribly sociable group, anyway. Advantages to my decision: 1. I could set off when I pleased. Now, I already had this in my calendar, and wasn't yet ready to leave the house when I got a notification that it was starting in two minutes! 2....

Today, back with  Laurence Summers  and the  45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners  - this walk was  Barnet- Royalty, Boozers & a Civil War  . Up around his area! Despite some drop-outs, doubtless due to the intense heat. Mind you, it was only last night I got around to paying for it - I've been busy! Except I didn't - blasted Barclay's online banking wasn't working. So I messaged him - in case he was wondering - to let him know I'd try again in the morning, otherwise I'd bring cash. Fortunately, I had cash, because it wasn't working in the morning either. Not to mention he was messaging everyone, warning of delays on the Northern Line ! Signal failure, as it happened - which had cleared up by the time I used it. I brought my smaller bottle of water from home - very much appreciated during the day - and spotted the best "road closed" effort yet: I wondered whether the Edgware branch was still faulty from yesterday, as the minute I stepped on the platf...