It's handy, living near Liverpool Street - for so much more than trains. I decided to head to The Upper Crust for another baguette, for brunch - you can have them heated, and this time I had a ham and cheese. Once I got past the queue. Found a seat to the side to eat it - and yes, absolutely delicious. Set me up nicely - I'd decided on the small one, but I think I could have managed a large. Maybe some other time.
Got to the club just after the arranged meeting time - but as we were to be there for hours, it didn't really matter. And as we ordered drinks, we stood - or sat - and chatted, and people dribbled in and out, and it was lovely to see everyone! Conversation naturally turned to things thespian - films, travel, and politics also got a look-in.
From 4.30 or so, they started to shuffle us towards the back, so they could get the place ready for food - and after 5, we started to go to the bar to order meals. Soup of the day was "vegetable" - turned out to be tomato, and beautifully spiced! The smoked cheese starter got a mixed reaction - some liked it, some thought it was too smokey. I seemed to have made the best choice, of a delicious chicken kiev (although I don't know about the club's claim of it being the "world's best"!) - the pork belly was, apparently, minuscule. Dessert - for me - was a very nice chocolate orange torte, with a scoop of ice cream. So yes, recommended - just be careful what you order!
We broke up just after 7 - and we'll see each other again, one way or another. It's just a shame that we don't get more chance to hang out, in a relaxed manner, after regular events! Anyway, it was a lovely afternoon.
Tomorrow, well, initially I was thinking of film again. But wouldn't you know it, that damn film, Outside the City, is still showing - that day only, next week! It's a documentary about trappist monks, whose numbers are dwindling, and whose members are ageing, so they can no longer run the farm, and have taken to brewing beer instead. Yeah.. I'm sure it's very good, very interesting - but I'm not that enthused. I'm not even a beer drinker. Never mind, UITCS again came to the rescue - and I'm now going with them to an operatic treatment of Alice's Adventures in the Underground, at the Opera House! With a lot wanting lunch beforehand, we're meeting at Wagamama - they have large, communal tables. And I'll be more careful what I order, this time!
And wow, I was just checking with The Embers Collective - and they have advertised some more shows. They'd said they were holding another performance of stories of Love, Lust and Betrayal tomorrow (for the week that's in it) but have only just advertised it. The earlier show I'm headed to is a matinee - I'll make this! It's that evening, in Dona: and I'm doubly delighted this is on - I just heard about it at my last storytelling event - because it's showing again later on a date I'm already booked up for, and in Cafe Cairo - which, as mentioned before, is a terrible venue for storytelling. Happy to skip that.
Yet again, I was to be glad I hadn't anything booked for Monday - Civilised London left it late enough, but I'm now going with them to another of those Monday jazz nights at Wilton's! This time, it's the Jim Hammond Duo.
On Tuesday, I tried to get the first meeting of the year going with that group from my last company. Had the idea while I was eating at the Amarcord Museum - I love to advertise good places to people, and this is one! But apart from a couple of people who made their excuses because they're on holiday abroad - and despite the invite having gone out before Christmas - the only taker is Ivan, with no-one else even bothering to respond. Dead in the water, that group, it seems. Well, their loss. We'll have a lovely meal, and then he's booked that recording studio again for later that night. And as they do a special deal for 10 hours.. it'll be an all-nighter! So I'm taking the next day off work.
On Wednesday evening, I signed up for my first ever event with The Roads Less Travelled: Ekzotic Adventures Travel Club. Not actually travelling, mind - this is a talk about Myanmar. Specifically about the rubies you can get there, but with plenty of other information about the country as well. Takes place in a room above The Iron Duke pub. Ah, but then.. (and I should have remembered this event, because I knew about it) London European Club (and the World Music Meetup) advertised a concert by a Kurdish artist (from the Turkish side) at the Finnish Church. So I'm going to that instead. Tickets from Tuned In London, as usual.
On Thursday, I'm back at Soho Theatre for Jen Brister's show, Under Privilege. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend - where I have to sneak a look at my mother's Eir contract. She just changed to a new package, I just got her first bill for it (we've gone paperless, so it gets emailed to me as she doesn't use her email account), and I swear they've overcharged her on the monthly package price. They messed up the email address when I was ordering over the phone, so I never got the confirmation email - will have to check the paper version she got to ensure that what she got was what I agreed on in the first place. No point in asking her to check - she won't know what to look for, and she'll only get hysterical.
And assuming I survive all of that (they are AWFUL to deal with, and I thought her previous internet provider, 3, was bad!), on the 17th I'm back with UITCS for The Haystack at Hampstead Theatre. Another group of them went last night, and I'm hearing excellent reports..
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