And for yesterday, I signed up to an overnight trip to Newquay in Cornwall with Eddie's Excursions. This time, I got in the first six - ironically, they didn't guarantee it'd go ahead unless they could fill a minibus! Sure enough, it was cancelled on Tuesday. So, no travelling for me this weekend.
Today? Well, my regular Meetup groups have gone AWOL.. Ken's Events was doing something that sounded interesting: a walk from Queen's Park to Little Venice, for the Canal Cavalcade. Now, I fancied neither joining a select group of 88 (!) others, nor paying £3 for the privilege - but I could mosey along myself, couldn't I? Be lovely in this weather..
I was in no rush starting out - for one thing, I had to dig out some summer clothes to go with the brilliant sunshine I could see, pouring in the window! I wasn't too pushed about the walk, deciding to concentrate on Little Venice. I discovered that I could get the #205 pretty much all the way there - and it was thronged.. it took several stops before I gratefully slid into a seat. Around and around we went, skirting roadworks to get to the last stop.. when we were finally disgorged, I had no idea where I was going, and wasted about half an hour traipsing up and down an uncomfortably hot, concrete bridge, looking for the way down to the canal. Here's a tip - take the steps down to the station at this point; I have no idea where the station entrance is, but that's where the canalside walk is!
More photos here. It's also about where the start of the barges is, but my priority to start with was food, and Smith's Bar and Grill looked ok. To take some of the beautiful, warm air, I sat outside, and ordered a light meal - chicken in a garlic sauce, served with roast potatoes, and a large glass of wine. When the chicken arrived, I had to remind her of the wine.. not a good sign.
But it was nice and light, and I enjoyed watching the barges - one showed up, while I was eating, which advertised an onboard, cruising restaurant! Leaves at 1pm - two and a half hours later, I guess they were back. And when they returned, the next priority was to decorate the boat with fairy lights - obviously in preparation for tonight's parade of lights!
Meantime, I was ready for dessert.. I got as far as getting the menu, but then that was that. I eventually went in and ordered dessert at the bar, which took forever, as the hapless barman tried to figure out where I was sitting, tried to find out what sorbets were on offer, and was then nonplussed when he went to charge me, and I suggested I pay for it all at once! "You had more?" "Yes," I explained, "I just came in to order dessert because no-one was coming to me!" Happily, he waived the service charge, making the meal decently cheap. And the lemon sorbet that I ordered was very refreshing.
The attractions of the cavalcade are twofold - the festooned barges, and the numerous stalls (along both sides of the canal). Be advised - the food stalls are on the far side (where I'd probably have been better off eating), and as you go further down, the canal path there becomes pretty impassable. Better, unless you're eating - or have kids, because all their stuff is also over there - to stay on the station side, where all the other stalls are - and quite a range there is! I was nearly tempted, but not quite.
Finally, I decided I'd had enough, and headed for home - and en route, as had happened on the way out, people coming from the top deck got left on the bus past the stop they wanted! See, this is one reason why I don't like sitting up there - the drivers mainly don't wait, even if you keep punching the bell frantically, and some people just can't move that quickly, particularly when the bus is moving. Anyway, I'm really glad to be in, to be honest - this is the coolest I've been all day. I'd never have lasted until the light parade, at 9pm.. The cavalcade is still on tomorrow, if you're interested. And I do recommend it - except that Little Venice is quite small, and the crowds are large, which can make it a bit trying. Lord knows how Ken's Events got on - I suspect they all just scattered when they got there!
As for tomorrow, I'm thinking of a film.. and what's being thrown up sounds good! Nothing Like a Dame is a portrait of four acting dames and lifelong friends: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins and Joan Plowright are interviewed about their separate lives, and their friendship. And it looks like fun. Nearest showing to me is in Picturehouse Central.
On Tuesday, we're all back to work, and Meetup is back to something approaching normal activity! I'm headed, with Henning and the London European Club, to a talk on the Catalan crisis, at the LSE - tickets were allocated by ballot, but even those of us who got them aren't guaranteed entry, as they oversell and it's first come first served.
On Wednesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for Red, at Wyndham's. Terrible time I had, booking this - I accidentally let my old billing address (I've moved since my last booking with them) go through on the form, the payment was rejected, and I couldn't get back into the page to edit my address! Neither could I start a new booking - everything I tried gave me an error message. Dreadful site. I finally e-mailed them, and they said to ring back during working hours and they'd amend my booking, or if they hadn't heard from me after one working day, they'd cancel it. Not fancying paying for a premium-rate call, I let them cancel, and rebooked myself. Carefully replacing my address with the correct one!
On Thursday, I'm headed with London Social Detours to a talk on Shakespeare and the Wandering Mind, at the Wanamaker Playhouse - my first trip there in over a year, goodee! They were sold out when I tried, which is why I'm willing to go with her and pay her booking fee.. Payable on the day, so I'd better get some more cash out. And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
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