A few comedy events on tonight, but when I saw one from We Are Funny, I didn't bother to look any further. Great atmosphere, driven by a genuinely nice - and funny - mc, Alex Martini. Nice, also, to be able to drive, for the second night in a row - it's an easy drive over to the Star and Garter - although traffic on Wandsworth Roundabout was horrendous.
Again, I got parking down by the river - and this time, I knew where the pub was! Wandered in - although this was a Putney Social night, and they'd said to meet from 7 (it was now a bit past that), I didn't see any group, and wouldn't really have recognised them from the last night anyway. So after I got my drink, I wandered down to the cellar bar where the comedy would be happening. Where I ran into Mr. Martini (and no, he didn't remember he'd promised to buy me a drink). He promptly led me right back upstairs, introducing me to the group members - all two of them, who'd been sat right beside me. :-)
Well, we sat and chatted - a couple more arrived later, one bearing two enormous g&ts in balloon glasses (they had a 2-for-1 offer). And, as suggested, we made our way downstairs a few minutes before the show was due to start. One nice thing about this pub is that they're good on comfy seating - plush upholstery upstairs, soft leather sofas downstairs. We settled in for the main event.
Alex came on, as before, to AC/DC - he does like to make an entrance. As he explained to us, he was putting the ladies on first of the opening acts, then the gents. He didn't phrase it quite like that, mind. ;-) I do like the opening acts - they're newbies (or relative newbies), and you can sometimes really see the cracks in their routines, as they try to put an act together. One of them - Vivienne Kay - I remembered from the previous occasion I was here: the customer service representative for a bank, with a childish voice, who makes it part of the act. Another was the organiser of our group, who did a decently funny turn, playing on her Czech nationality.
Each of them gets five minutes - after about half were done, we had a 10-minute interval, the remainder of the five-minute spots, and two 10-minute spots: Richard Lindesay and Freddie Bencard. Definitely more polished, but perhaps not as appealing to the crowd. Highlight of the night, predictably, was the headliner, Eleanor Tiernan. I've seen her before, as support to her hilarious cousin, Tommy Tiernan - and if anything, she's developed since moving to London, with a nice line about adjusting to life among the English. Another enjoyable night, then - I'll happily come back here any time.
Interesting one for tomorrow night - London European Club (not the group I'm used to) is off to some "political cabaret" in Chelsea. Intriguing.. not sure what the seating arrangements will be, as it's cabaret-style seating, i.e. at small tables. What the hey, I don't know many of those that are going, anyway. And none very well. But we'll see - and we can get food, which will be nice. I'm not going to make it three-in-a-row for driving; honestly, it looks as though parking space is rare up there, so I think I'll save myself the stress - there are a couple of buses that go from just down the road and will take me right there.
..And that'll be all from London for a while, as I head back to Ireland for an extended stay! Helen got a yen to do the Wild Atlantic Way, you see, so we're headed over there on Thursday evening and will stay till the following Sunday week. Pretty loose itinerary, so far - the only definites are the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, and a Bunratty banquet that we've booked for the night before we fly back. More anon..
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