I'm on Glór's mailing list, so they send me a listings email every now and again. And when I see something come up for a weekend when I'll be back in Ireland, and I think my mother would like it, well, I sound her out. She agreed that a Pat Shortt show sounded good, so I booked two tickets - it was mostly sold out already, but I got two tickets near the end of the row with the aisle in front. More legroom!
They have a Print at Home facility now, which is so handy. I had to make sure to print out the tickets before I flew back, though - she doesn't have a printer. And, tickets in handbag, yesterday afternoon, we set off. We needed some things in Tesco, so decided to eat in the restaurant beside it - The Sherwood Inn.
Just as well we weren't in a hurry - although we expect that from this place. After a few minutes, we were seated - right beside the exit. This was ok, except for two things: firstly, the doors were of the sort where there's a wrong way to close them - and this greatly vexes my mother. And, of course, once one person has done it, so does everyone coming after.
Secondly, we were right down the back. I actually don't think this affects the service - I think it's uniformly slow, for whatever reason. But it's not very reassuring. Well anyway, our order was taken quickly enough, and the server couldn't have been more obliging; whatever peculiarities we wanted would be catered for. No sauce on that? No problem. No pineapple with that? No problem. Half portion, perhaps?
I ordered soup to start, which took absolutely ages. I do wonder at that. I mean, surely the soup was pre-prepared and all they had to do was reach into the large pot, ladle some into a bowl, mop up any drips, and out it comes? Well, it did come eventually. With bread, as asked for. No soup spoon though. I had to point this out to the young girl who'd brought it, who apologised and went to get me one. Then I noticed there was no butter with the bread, but figured I'd manage. The bread wasn't great, to be honest, and I was glad when the original server noticed, at some point, that I had no butter and brought me some. With another apology. It greatly improved the taste of the bread.. of course, I had no butter knife, but I used my dinner knife and wiped it afterwards. No big deal.
I had gammon for main course, my mother had salmon. She'd asked for it with no sauce, and that's how she got it. I'd asked them to leave off the pineapple that came with my gammon, though - I don't like it and never eat it. I got pineapple. No big deal. And the food was all very nice, and the onion rings we had as a side order were massive, and very tasty.
And we.. were.. waiting.. forever to order dessert. Really, after a while we didn't feel like it anymore. I wonder whether anyone ever has it here! So when server #1 came, we just paid her. And although she engaged us in chummy banter, we didn't tip. Didn't feel the whole experience merited it, really. And we left.
We arrived in time to get a good parking space in Glór. I didn't have to go to the box office, of course, so we just headed to the café at the side of the lobby, where we had cake - chocolate for me, lemon meringue for her - and wine. When someone eventually came to the till to take orders! The cake was lovely - the wine was too much for her, and I ended up drinking both. But I managed to walk a straight line into the auditorium..
The usher was terribly confused as to where everyone was supposed to be sitting. Extra seats had been added, you see. I'd have been more successful finding the seats myself. Plenty of legroom, as anticipated. A side view of the stage, but you could see everything. The seat on my other side - at the very end of the row - was free for a while, but shortly filled by a man with expansive elbows and a chatty demeanour, who explained that he loves Pat Shortt and had only heard about this from his friend that very day, and booked it, a few hours before. And he'd come straight from work.
When I told someone I was coming to this show, he remarked that he hoped I wasn't in the front row. Well, for this show, you might have been safe in the balcony - otherwise, you were fair game. Pat Shortt really loves to engage with his audience. He didn't come on stage to start - oh no, he appeared in the audience, in costume, assuming the guise of a reporter for the "Out & About" section of the newspaper, pretending he knew people and greeting them like old friends.
The main first section of the show has him pretending to be an undertaker. Which allows him to recreate a funeral. Don't sit in the front row? Indeed.. he swapped several people in the front row with people from further down. As if this were a funeral, and they were sitting in the bereaved family's spot, you see. And then he co-opted six people as coffin bearers, and two more to carry wreaths of flowers, and the first act ended with the procession of the coffin out into the lobby.
You think you're safe at the interval? Think again. He popped up in the auditorium, offering plates of sandwiches. Then he nipped out to the lobby, to make sure they didn't miss out on any. When he popped in again, some misfortunate man was about to take his seat. He ended up taking the plate of sandwiches instead, to be redistributed..
The second act is less interactive, with more musical performances - ending with his hit, Jumbo Breakfast Roll. Ach, he's crazy really. Those not really familiar with rural Ireland might miss some of the references, and the accent is even hard for me to decipher at times - but his shows are great. Daft as a brush. Recommended, for those who like such things.
And then, last night, there were horror films on telly, and then there were soaps to catch up on, and I haven't had time to blog until now. Back in London at last, and Meetups for the next four days:
Monday with the Crick Crack Storytelling Club again, although in the Soho Theatre this time, so possibly more conventional. Tuesday, I'm back with Film Nite, at another discussion in Soho House - this time, about Gone Girl. Love that film! Wednesday, I'm going to a meeting of the European club, where they'll be discussing Ireland. And on Thursday, I'm going to a Spring Extravaganza concert, where the same group has organised cheap tickets. Still have to pay for that..
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