Tuesday 5 October 2021

Restaurant: Zizzi & Pub: The Lord Raglan

Tonight, also with one of my cheap ticket Clubs (TAC), was supposed to be Fritz & Matlock, at the Pleasance - they caught my eye by advertising it as a reworking of Waiting for Godot. But as it happens, someone at work was having his leaving drinks tonight, so I cancelled my booking - certainly, I wasn't pushed about plays with this club after Saturday's fiasco! We were also going for lunch.. at Zizzi's. Lordy, and I swore I'd never eat there again. Oh well, I'd try to steer clear of what I described last time as "chicken and pasta in tomato sauce"..

I have to say, Zizzi's app is cool. And for once, the QR code worked for me! We could all order separately, and all came up on the same bill. And when it came time to pay, we could split the bill and pay a tip if we fancied. And wouldn't you know it, it worked fine! Pity I still don't like the food much, and probably never shall. I had still lemonade, which was very refreshing. The garlic bread that I ordered as a starter came late - but, to be fair, it's also available as a side. Mind you, it's huge for either - far too much, considering that it was a bit tough and a bit too salty. And for main, I had spag bol - well, the spaghetti was delicious, I have to say that. But the sauce was completely tomato, no meat, and I'm intolerant to tomato.. I ate as little sauce as possible, and it still repeated on me all afternoon. Nope, I'll never be a fan of this benighted restaurant.

This evening, we repaired to the Lord Raglan, and blast it, stayed outside in what became quite a cold evening. As they removed first chairs, then the tables from around us. But the conversation was good (as was the networking).. Gosh, it's frankly amazing to see people again! (some for the first time). Very glad I changed my plans. And hey, it was on my way home.

Tomorrow, I've signed up for a Free 3 Mile City of London on Screen - Guided Walk & Post Event Social, with Invigorate. It's a tour of film locations, most of which I might know already, but hey. This is a newly minted group, made from one that I used to be a member of, before. And it'll be my first guided walk, post-lockdown! The organiser of this group also organised one of the last events I went to, pre-lockdown..

Thursday, more leaving drinks, it turns out- this guy is just changing office, though. 

Friday, back with TAC for Lately, at the Lion & Unicorn. Then I'm back to Ireland again - on Saturday again, as I was unable to get a Friday flight! Working from home on Monday, and flying back to London that evening.

Next Tuesday, I found a curious thing on Meetup - it seems that Watkins Bookshop has its own Meetup group, where it advertises events, and that day there's a talk by Stephen Skinner, about Aleister Crowley's Four Books of Magick. Ok, sounds interesting to me - I signed up.

On the 13th, back at last with Civilised London! We're off for what promises to be another excellent meal, this time at the Korean restaurant, The Petite Corée. Meeting beforehand in The Railway pub.

On the 14th, back at last with London European Club (LEC)! Happily, they're going to what I'd be going to anyway.. the Crick Crack Club is performing The Women Who Gave No F*cks, at Rich Mix. Fantastic when the London European Club decide to come..

On the 15th, woo! A couple of weeks ago, Up in the Cheap Seats was off to 2:22 - A Ghost Story, but I was meeting an ex-colleague for drinks that night and couldn't go. Well, I got a ticket for the 15th - second-last night of the run! Unfortunately, cheapest available were £65, and no availability with cheap ticket sellers - ah well, I decided I really wanted to see it (great reviews helped), so I booked. Had great fun trying to decide which of the few remaining seats at that price was the best.. Showing at the Noel Coward Theatre. And with all the cheap shows I'm going to, I can afford it!

On the 16th, my first outing with another new group - Bucket List London is off to Kenwood House, and I said I'd join them. You don't have to book, but it guarantees availability- tickets for free from English Heritage, via See Tickets.

On the 17th, I found something interesting with London Walks, Art & Culture Explorers! Yet another new one for me. This is an "Uncomfortable Statues Walk" - statues commemorating controversial people. I can think of a few, and it'll be interesting to see which come up on this!

On the 18th, I'm with London Classical Music & Theatre Group, for a choral performance (annual, apparently) by The Sixteen in Temple Church. Fantastic, and I've never actually been inside!

On the 19th, I'm with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex (!). They have an online talk entitled Hallowe'en Penny Dreadful Online Show - The Art of Victorian Horror. I have to say, online has become much more of an option since lockdown.

On the 20th, I booked another walk with Invigorate - this one is a tour of (the outside of) Christopher Wren's churches.

On the 21st, an online storytelling double-bill - I'll have to see how that pans out. First, I'd booked Universe, a Crick Crack show happening in Oxford and live-streamed. Clare Murphy - and I've seen it before, and it was the best show ever! And then I saw that Martin Shaw, another member of Crick Crack, was doing an online show, earlier in the evening.. this one, in association with Watkins again, is called The Smoke Hole, and it's free. So I said, hey, why not?

On the 22nd, back with the LEC for a concert - Balkan Music, courtesy of Raka & Balamuc, in The Post Bar, Tottenham. Sounds like fun. Then I'm back to Ireland - another Saturday flight - and with a few days off, I'm not flying back until the 28th.

But on the 29th, back with that group again, for Carmen - contemporary flamenco at The Place. Funnily enough, someone in the group said there were no individual seats left, and asked whether anyone wanted to double up with her. I offered, if there were no other takers - but she never got back to me. So, since I was now up to that date in my schedule, I decided to check for myself - and got an individual seat! So I've booked it.

And on the 30th, I'm doing something nice and Halloweeny - a ghost story event entitled Scared to Death in the Woods! Tickets from Design My Night. So, an organisation called London Dreamtime is leading us off into a undisclosed location, somewhere around Hampstead Heath.. we're to dress warmly, and bring a blanket to sit on, and a "candle in a jar" - I actually went out and bought an LED flickering candle in a lantern-style holder. Well, thought it was the most practical! 

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