London Still Rocks!

I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again. And yes, the film of choice was still  Napoleon  - same time as the last time I was back,  same place . I just hoped I'd manage to get to it this time - I didn't book it, just in case.. So, I left 20 minutes earlier. It's hard to get away, you know - what with running errands for my mother, then trying to grab a bite to eat. Sure enough, a few bottlenecks in town added the same half hour to my journey - at least I got to stare at Limerick 's new Christmas market for a while! Never known them to have one before. Mercifully, when I did finally get to the cinema, traffic wasn't as heavy as before - and yay, as I was trawling the car park, looking for a space, someone was just pulling out. So, when I got in, I was only 10 minutes after the scheduled time. I hadn't booked, of course, so spent some time running around all the ticket machines - not one of which seemed to be working! I ran up to the cash till, bought a tick...

For tonight, got another CT ticket - this time, for the  Backyard Comedy Club . Always good. Headed off in time to get something to eat beforehand - and ended up being the first in the bar! As I said to the girl behind the counter - "Guess I beat the rush!" They do food in the bar - but I didn't fancy their mains, going for a couple of small plates - onion rings, 'coz they're tasty, and chips, for volume. She gave me a beeper, and I got a table and went to get my name checked off - from experience, I knew the guys checking would be involved in the show, and sure enough - one was the MC, the other one of the acts from the middle section. My food was tasty indeed, although the chips were too much for me - and I had to get out of the way of people playing at the adjacent pool table. I was just about finished when the house was due to open - queued for a bit, and got one of the first seats. They have tables in there now! Now, the general way of things is for the less ...

Last Tuesday, second night in a row, I was with  Up in the Cheap Seats   (UITCS) - this time,  for  Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)  at the  Kiln . Saw there's a Nando's nearby, and I hadn't been for ages - so I went there first. Tube was required, this far out - and indeed, bus to get to the Tube. And wouldn't you know it, I recognised that posh couple who'd got off the bus with me one night, there waiting for the bus again! Fancy that. Happily, I actually got a seat on the Tube - and despite some iffy reviews of this Nando's, both service and food were excellent. Great start to the evening.. apart from the fact that I couldn't link my Nando's card to the app, because there was a problem with logging in with Facebook . And although I could log in another way, it didn't log my card details.. and when I tried to add them, it told me that card was linked to another account! (Yeah, mine, when I log in with FB.) At least they have glasses...

These two days, I'm back with   Up in the Cheap Seats   (UITCS) again - tonight, it was for  Infinite Life , at the  Dorfman Theatre . I arranged to eat beforehand at   Black & Blue , which I know to be good, and one of the group joined me. Just as well I booked, really - although it was empty enough when I arrived, it soon filled up - quite busy for a Monday night! For a change, I had a pate starter - it was chicken and mushroom pate, served with toasted sourdough. Have to say, it was very tasty - although two thick strips of pate seemed excessive to me, for two slices of bread. I finished most of one - the surprised look on the waiter's face, that I'd left so much, was quite comical.. For main course, I had chicken "& friends" - it came with a teeny strip of bacon, and a large slice of cheese. Tasty, but not exceptional. The fries were lovely - but it was the mushrooms, which I'd ordered as an extra, that stole the show. Sauteed in a red wine jus, th...

On Saturday, I met James at  The Anchor  - Martin was to join us later.. and Ivan was going to try to come, after his rehearsal. He didn't make it in the end, of course - well, I did manage to get them all in the same room once; I live in hope! Overnight rain had cleared - but the effects were still there, and it was windy as hell! I had some fun struggling against the wind on my walk to the pub - made it just after the booked time, and a member of the bar staff showed me to my table - which was just as well, considering it was occupied! They were nice enough about moving. It was a snug little table, hardly enough room to move - there was a handy bag hook though, and we were nicely positioned beside a scale model of the Globe ! James' train was delayed. When he arrived, we ordered - my wine, and our food, arrived in good order. He had steak - I mulled it over, but decided I'd prefer chicken kiyev. And then, staring at our food, we realised we had no cutlery..! As he remarke...

Tonight , I was with CT - went to see  The Dirty Thirty, Best of 2023 , at the  Rosemary Branch Theatre . Honestly, I didn't even know what it was when I booked it - turned out to be a potted version of the best 30 plays of the year! Crikey.. and then my erstwhile companion from  Up in the Cheap Seats  (UITCS) said she'd come too.. I misplaced my glasses as I was getting ready to leave, which delayed me slightly - and there are few more irritating sights than the bus you want, departing from the stop as you're trying to get there. So, another cold wait then, for the next - but the wait to change buses was far worse - it's one of those stops with loads of buses, and bus after bus streamed by as I waited and waited. Ah well, I got to see some cool Christmas lights: They're apparently running a light show on loop on top of the Shard  - this seems to be the snowman: As I waited impatiently, my companion kept calling me - we'd arranged to meet for dinner in the De...

Last Wednesday (at the end of my first day at the office), there was a joint Christmas party, in the  BFI bar , for the  London Movie Club , the  Hideout Horror SciFi Club , and  London Hot 100  - all of which are run by the same people. I'm in all of them, so just RSVPed to the first to advertise it! Wow, it was a hectic, tiring day.. as I told people about it afterwards, someone remarked that that was a very full-on first day! Yes, hmm.. now, they don't have lockers, but as I was in yesterday as well (handier for onboarding), someone made the helpful suggestion that I could leave my laptop bag in one of the stationery cupboards. Heavy as the laptop is, that was a very useful suggestion!  I wanted to finish some of the interminable HR stuff before I left - which delayed me a bit. So I didn't have time for a proper meal, and didn't trust the bar to provide me with sustenance. So, Pret it was - there's one right across from the office, and down from the bus...