Mercifully, although it was hot, it was more bearable than the day before. Still, there were more delays at Clapham Junction, although the departures boards were less confused than the day before, and sent me straight to Platform 10. There was an announcement about speed restrictions due to the tracks buckling in the heat - which may have had something to do with it. Anyway, I was still the first from our group to arrive at the club..!
Met the owner on the way in, told him I was with the Meetup group. That was news to him - he hadn't realised we were coming last night! Hey-ho, he was happy to stamp my hand, and take my name, and in I went. And so to the bar, where a glass of house white was £5, but I didn't have cash - and I hadn't realised, but there's a fee for card payments under £10. Hey-ho, I'd been considering buying a second straight away anyway, to avoid the crush at the interval. He looked at me oddly, but could hardly say no.. and I do have two hands, after all. And for when I needed a hand to do something else, there was a convenient table tennis table..
We chatted in the bar area for a while, then as showtime approached, decided to take our seats..
Initially quite empty, the place pretty much filled completely by the start of the second show. And I found myself in the second row, with a mostly empty row in front: dangerous situation at a comedy club. However, the first performer - Stephen Carlin - was very good about not needing us close to him. And entertained us heartily for an hour or so.. by which point the front row had mostly filled up anyway. At the interval, seeing I was sat with the gents, the Man invited me to take a seat with the ladies in the group, further back - well now, I'm not one to prefer women's company over men's, but I thought it would provide variety, as well as making me a lot less visible from the stage. So back I went.
My drinks lasted me sufficiently that I didn't have to hit the bar for the rest of my time there. The lady beside me said they'd told her that she could get food outside and eat it there - and being starving, that's what she did. Very obliging of them..
For my (minimal) money, this was, overall, the best lineup I've seen here, and I had a great night! We were well started off with another Scot, Leo Kearse, who was hilarious. I hadn't checked the website in advance, and was delighted when that Romanian comic took the stage.. and I finally managed to get his name! Radu Isac it is, and one of the funnier guys out there. I'd heard a few of the jokes before, but they're still good - and although he sometimes challenged the audience, he was well used to that. Finally, funniest of the night for me was the last on: Tom Ward, of the distinctive haircut. Thank goodness for the Edinburgh Festival, and all these comedians wanting guinea pigs to test their new material on.. we get some fantastic shows out of it.
Some of us stayed on for drinks after, in the White Hart, as usual, down the road. And it fell to me to lead them there - which I do believe I did rather well. Table at the back, as ever, and convivial conversation was had - and we were eventually joined by some more people, who had gotten sidetracked somehow - making a decent turnout. Of course, it was considerably past my bedtime by the time I left, considering I'm in Guildford again today. I knew the stop I needed for a bus to Waterloo, and was to discover that almost any bus that stopped there would do (just not the 91). And so home.
For tonight, I got a cheap ticket to a magic show; Champions of Magic is showing in Logan Hall, in UCL. Mind you, I'd just booked the thing when I got an email from ShowFilmFirst, offering free tickets..! And tomorrow, Helen and I are off - again with cheap tickets - to the Best of Bare Essentials, a set of short plays by new writers, showing in the Seven Dials Comedy Club.
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