Plays: Northleigh 1940, In Stereo, and All of It

Yesterday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS), for All of It, at the Royal Court. Which actually comprises three plays - the others being Northleigh, 1940 and In Stereo. Well, stuff got busy, so I didn't have much time to eat - I thought about eating in Cote, in Sloane Square - but I checked online, and they were pretty busy. So, it ended up being Pret.

It had to be Tube, again, this far west.. Google Maps said Victoria, followed by the District or Circle Line, would be faster, but I remember the Victoria Line being very stuffy, whereas the others have glorious aircon. And so it proved.. Once more, I ended up being the first to arrive in the theatre bar, where I nabbed a table by the toilets, and the others shortly joined me, and good conversation was had.

Now, I had to go up three levels for my seat in the Balcony - but I must have been getting more exercise lately, because I didn't feel as though I was going to expire! I ended up going in by the door on the other side, because my side was all full up - and it turned out that I was sitting behind some of the others:

Legroom was ok, despite the protests of the lady sitting beside me. And there's a railing to lean on, for each row in the Balcony.

So. This is a really interesting trilogy - the word "surreal" was bandied about a lot by our group afterwards (there is no interval). I wasn't the only one to think of Beckett as I watched - what with the rapid-fire dialogue, the unfinished dialogue snippets of All of It (think, for instance, Not I), the long pieces of In Stereo where we just hear a recorded voice, the actor doesn't speak (Krapp's Last Tape, anyone?). Someone remarked afterwards that what he was thinking of was Happy Days! Ah, I love a bit of Beckett.

But this isn't Beckett - just reminiscent of him. All the pieces are about women with interior lives. The first piece, Northleigh, 1940, is set in the author's childhood home, during the Blitz, and focuses on a young female typist, who loves to read (Lovecraft, I think, from the imagery). Most, I think, preferred the others, however - In Stereo, narrated in a Northern English accent, got uproarious laughter for its description of how a woman wakes in the middle of the night and goes downstairs - to find another version of herself watching television. And that's just the start of it.. All of It, finally, is a rapid-fire set of snippets, none quite finished but all recognisable, detailing a woman's life from - literally - birth to death. Fascinating.

Afterwards, just a few of us stayed for the Q+A, moving down to the Stalls - which were quite chilly! The Q+A was fascinating, featuring the writer - Alistair McDowall - and the two directors. And as one of our group remarked afterwards - no, we didn't get a huge insight into the plays: but we did get an insight into how his mind works, and how the plays might have come to be in this format - how he loves the way the words work together, for instance. I found the Q+A almost as fascinating as the plays, frankly - and those of us who stayed had a lovely chat afterwards. All in all, one of the best nights out I've had recently!

Catching the bus, my apps were agreed that I should go to a particular stop - which had none of them listed on it! The buses did stop there, mind, as I discovered while I was trying to find an alternative. It ran too late for me to blog afterwards, though - I was tired.

Tonight, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. Where, again, there's absolutely nothing for me to watch. On Monday and Tuesday, thinking film - and the top-rated films on my list are all showing at my local cinema. As usual, I had to check that website specifically. Monday, it was looking like Pretty Red Dress, a comic drama about a red dress, and its effects on a family. However.. it's slipped in ratings! and now what's coming up is War Pony, the coming-of-age story of two young Native American boys.

On Tuesday, what's coming up is something not even advertised on my film list, tsk - dunno why I didn't notice it on the cinema website before, either. Seven Winters in Tehran tells the true story of a 19-year old girl in Tehran, who killed her would-be rapist, and was in turn sentenced to death herself, and imprisoned for seven years.

On Wednesday, back with UITCS - for We Will Rock You! at the Coliseum. Excellent - this didn't have tickets for the night I looked for before. Written by Queen with Ben Elton, should be a great night out.

On Thursday - heading out to Elstree, of all places, for Giffords Circus. Well, it was the best of what I saw advertised..

Next Friday, my sometime-companion from UITCS suggested a murder mystery! The Murder Express: Jewel of the Empire.. set on a train, and includes dinner. Oh, lovely.. she got a Groupon deal, apparently..

On the 24th, delighted to be back with Expat Bucket List London! Well, back with the founder of both this and Bucket List London - I haven't actually been with the Expat group yet. Yippee, back to the Globe - for The Comedy of Errors. Unfortunately, while I'm in the Lower Gallery, as usual, the others are upstairs.. the organiser did offer to switch with me, so I'd have some company, but I wouldn't subject him to such a lower-priced seat! Anyway, I do like to be close. And as I've now booked a flat on that side of town, and can hopefully move in on Wednesday.. I might be walking to this!

On the 25th, back with Discover London - History Walks and Events to Discover the Secrets of the 19th Century London Docks. Always love this part of town - again, this will be walking distance from my new place.

On the 26th, got a cheap ticket with CT for From Swing to Soul, a concert series at Wonderville. I do wonder whether they fixed their tech issues from last time..

And on the 27th, back with UITCS again - this time, for A Strange Loop, at the Barbican. Multi-award-winning, it seems - cheaper tickets available from WhatsOnStage (WOS), fulfilled by London Theatre Direct. Interestingly though, to get the cheaper offer, buy through WOS..

Play: Baghdaddy & Talk: Colin Stanley on Colin Wilson's Introducing the Occult

Yesterday, I was back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Baghdaddy at the Royal Court. About a little girl, realising she's half Iraqi, just as the Gulf War is raging. I see CT now has tickets for this.. unusually for this venue!

I made sure to leave on time - I wanted to eat beforehand, and wasn't risking it, after Monday! So off I went - I was lucky with the bus, the driver was doing something with a ledger, so hadn't pulled away by the time I got to him. Still, it was just as well the only other person going to the play messaged me to say she'd be a bit late, because so was I! Handily, although the bus was terminating early, it was going as far as I was..

I was eating at Cote Sloane Square, of course. And it. Was. Manic. But, true to their nature, one of the people in charge asked me to give her a minute, and dashed off to find me space - then despatched me with another person, who deposited me at a small table in the back, which I could have for an hour. Which was perfect, as I had to be elsewhere by then!

It did take a while for them to take my order, and again to arrive with my soup. I ask you, what is the delay with soup?! Surely they're not making it fresh - unless, perhaps, nobody usually orders this one and they didn't have any in stock? I was also left waiting for the wine, despite being right beside the bar - and as the minutes ticked by, it was a relief when each individual item came. To be fair, they couldn't have been busier - and it was entertaining to watch them dashing to and fro. Funniest moment of the evening came when a waitress, a tray in each hand, stopped dead in the middle of the floor, pulled a face, and sighed.. she had no idea where the order was headed. A beat later, a manager scooted by, and without breaking stride, lifted one of the trays from her hand and continued, at speed, to the back of the room - the hapless waitress in tow..

I started with French onion soup: as my companion later remarked, just the thing for cold weather! I'd have to agree - it was a little salty, mind, and quite stringy. Steak frites for main, as usual - just the thing if you're in a hurry, and a lot lighter than your average steak. The waiter actually took a moment to check that I was ok with it being medium rare - well yes, isn't it always? Perhaps someone had objected. Delish.. and I was nearly finished when my companion messaged to say she'd just arrived. So I finished, put my plate aside, and produced my card, which I casually displayed prominently. A manager passed - might have been the tray woman - scooped up the remains, took them to the bar, returned straightaway with a card machine. Now, that's what I call efficiency..

And so I schlepped over to the theatre bar, where I joined my companion.

When we went in, I was to discover that the Slips operate by a slightly different rule (did I know this before? Possibly..) Although the RHS (as you enter) is numbered up to 11, the Slips on that side only go up to 8 - at #9, I was on the other side!

Now, the place was half empty, so my companion suggested I sit near her, closer to the centre - shortly afterwards, people came in at both sides of her, but the row in front of her was completely empty! So I sat there:

Now, this is captioned - which we agreed, at the interval, is a good thing. For one thing, they do break into Arabic, and it's handy to know that's what's happened. Because it frequently isn't easy to hear what they're saying - one actor, for instance, has a pronounced lisp that makes it very difficult sometimes! Having said that, her diction is generally better than the others'..

Oh dearie me, I hated it. Now, I left at the interval, and sure, it might have improved - my companion did stay, but as I said, it wasn't improving fast enough for me.. The beginning, certainly, is more a therapy session for a nine-year-old than an actual play. She's obviously working through her issues, as the whole thing is presented as a garish children's tv show, characters in luridly coloured suits yelling at everyone. Having said that, it is possible to piece together a story - it's just that I hated seeing everything in this cartoonish perspective, and I couldn't have taken any more of it. Ah well, it was good to get home early, last night was - again - like being in a fridge! This runs till the 17th.

These days, I generally have to be up early for meetings - and this post ran over time, what with having to do the film list! So I didn't have time, last night or during today, to post..

Tonight, I signed up for another Watkin's Bookshop talk! This was Colin Stanley on Colin Wilson's Introducing the Occult. Well, the last talk I was at here was interesting, so.. Now, I also intended to eat before this. But it was on very early, and I was running late, so I didn't - I could have eaten en route, but I'd have been rushing. No, instead, I got there in time to give a couple of Irish ladies directions on which buses to take to where they were going! I tell you, every tourist should be given a crash course in Google Maps..

Also had time to browse Watkins, which is a very interesting, occult bookshop! And when it was time, I schlepped downstairs for the talk. Now, this didn't fill up as fast as the last - I had no trouble getting a seat. The speaker was in situ long before - his wife was sat in front of me, and some of his friends came, and they mused that perhaps the cold was stopping people from coming out. He also, as he remarked, took comfort from the fact that Margaret Atwood apparently recently did a book launch - which nobody attended! Well never mind - people were just late, and it did fill up eventually. Although many of the folks creeping down the stairs, trying unsuccessfully to be quiet, were actually in search of books. One lady, in fact, retreated back upstairs with an armful of them! and, of course, dropped one..

So, it turns out that Colin Wilson - of whom I'd never heard - was a prolific writer, who, despite professing not to be interested in the occult, amassed a library of some 500 works on it. And this book, Introducing the Occult, that the speaker has put together is a collection of some of the highlights of Colin Wilson's writing. Have to say, I wasn't inspired to get a copy. Actually, I found the speaker's voice most soporific - and having been up so early, I was tired.. and my eyes kept closing.. I did make an attempt to keep them open, when I noticed the speaker had started staring in my direction!

And so home.. which took me near the Brunswick Centre. So I stopped in to GBK. Which was, again, packed - but they found me a table, right in the far corner. Asked me to order at the till - and just as I went up to do so, there was a huge group of people, apparently looking for a table, without a booking. Such optimists. They had to leave, I'm afraid. Anyway, as for me, I was anticipating they wouldn't have onion rings, as usual, and sure enough.. although she did ask whether I'd like them to chuck one into the burger, as they didn't have enough to give them to me as a side..! Eh, no thanks. Instead, I had French fries.. and had to have the house white, as they were out of sauvignon blanc. And it was as moreish as ever - the fries were delicious, and were a good idea; I find the burger isn't enough on its own. I ended up eating the second half with a knife and fork, for once - they'd doused it in so much sauce!

Tomorrow, I'm heading to Lightopia, at Crystal Palace Park. As suggested by Over 40 Living the Life, who are not actually hosting a trip themselves, but just wanted to advertise it. 15% discount if you subscribe to Lightopia's mailing list, 20% discount for purchases of 10 or more tickets. And durnit if Groupon hasn't just advertised cheap tickets.. And after tonight's temperatures, I'm going to have to increase the amount of padding I wear, yet again!

On Saturday - well hallelujah, Bucket List London has finally scheduled something I want to go to, at a time I can make! He's off to see the Wallace Collection that morning - and so am I.

In the afternoon - London Social & Cultural Meetups (LSCM) has a bevy of Christmassy stuff! They're off for afternoon tea first - we're headed to the Garden at the Lane (at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane). And she's discovered that she's got a clash for lunch, so, mercifully, I get a bit of a break in between events to have my own lunch!

So, then we're off to King's College Maughan Library, for an exhibition of old manuscripts. Followed by a trip to the Knights Templar pub, time permitting.

And finally, we're hitting the Christmas markets! All part of the Southbank Winter Festival. First is the Southbank Christmas Market, where I hear rumours of white mulled wine.. then I'm not sure whether I'll have time, but we're off to the Christmas by the River Market.

I might have to duck out early because that evening - I've bravely scheduled another meeting of Those who Do Not Come. It's my last weekend in London before Christmas, you see. Well, so far Ivan and my first boss in London are actually coming! while the one person who came the last two times probably not, for once. We shall see - I've booked The Lucas Arms - O' Neill's isn't taking bookings for that day. Deposit payable, refundable with cancellation up to 72 hours beforehand.

On Sunday, I was vaguely thinking of heading to see Carnaby Street's Christmas lights.. but now LSCM is off to the Museum of the Home, followed by carols by candlelight at Westminster Chapel.

And for that evening, CT advertised tickets for Love Factually - a kind of rewriting of one of the relationships in that classic Christmas romcom, Love Actually. Sadly, all their tickets were gone - but I got a full-price ticket from the venue. It sounds good. Showing at 2Northdown.

On Monday, I'm thinking film (hence the film list needed redoing). Top of the list - that I can make, and looks like I might actually enjoy it - is The Sparring Partner, a Hong Kong film based on the true story of a young man who conspired with his friend to murder, and dismember, his parents. Closest showing is in the Odeon Luxe Haymarket - unfortunately, I can neither confirm the times, book a ticket, nor see how it's booking, because the website wouldn't let me in! Even when I got access on my phone, it didn't work right - I always have trouble with Odeon.

On Tuesday - hellfire, if the best thing on Meetup isn't Free Stuff and Free Events, with another online singalong. Uhh.. we shall see.

On Wednesday, again, thinking of film - at least the same list does for both days! So, at the moment (with the caveat that the list isn't completely up to date), it's looking like Ingmar Bergman's film, Fanny and Alexander, which is showing at the BFI. Which has a tendency to sell out - I'll have to keep an eye on it.

Next Thursday, back with the Crick Crack Club, yay! for The Winner Takes It All at Rich Mix. This, the club's last performance of the year, is performed by a congregation of souls known as Pandvani 108, comprising Ben Haggarty, Emily Hennessy, and Sheema Mukherjee, among others.

And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend - just worked out that way - coinciding perfectly with a train strike! So I've booked a ticket on the bus - will just have to take that evening's meeting on my phone!

Plays: Jitney & That Is Not Who I Am, & Concert: The Lark Ascending & Piano Quintet

On Monday, I was back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for Jitney, at The Old Vic. I didn't fancy the cheapest seats - but gee, SFF had seats in all but the most expensive price bands, for very little more! So I now found myself in the central Stalls for this..

No work locker yet, so I went hopefully to security. They told me that they hadn't got anything from my boss - I checked with him, he apologised, he hadn't had time to send them my photo yet. Duhh.. so he did. And in the evening, it was ready! Then wouldn't open doors. Back down to get it reset. Now it opened doors - ooh goodie, next comes a locker. You have to swipe the card at the locker door to unlock it.. but it wouldn't work. Messaged my boss - he wasn't in the office. He didn't think it was anything he could help with, advised me to contact security again. Back down to security - who said that, since I was "external", i.e. a contractor, as this company initially hires everyone, I needed special permission to have a locker. Back to messaging my boss, who said he'd get onto it. Meantime, I had to leave - laptop on my back, to walk to the Old Vic.

Well, I made it in time for the play - by the time I got there, the group, which was pretty large, had gathered outside. Unfortunately, with this group, when a lot of people attend, it becomes pretty difficult to talk to many people, as everyone breaks into little groups. Particularly when you're trying to avoid hitting people with a backpack. Ah well, it wasn't long until it was time to go in anyway - and was I glad to be in the Stalls, and not climbing stairs! Awkwardly, I did have to squash in past a couple of people, but mercifully, the seat on one side of me was free, and remained so all evening - so that's where my laptop sat. Its opinion of the show has not been noted.

So - throughout, old black and white footage of Pittsburgh is displayed on the stage surrounds. The stage itself depicts a run-down jitney office (a jitney is an unlicensed taxi). The action all takes place there, as we meet the different drivers and learn about their lives through their interactions with each other, with customers, and with the family members who happen by.

It's set in the 70s - and boy, does it show! The fashions look pretty authentic to me - as do the afros! (Everyone in the play is black.) With the dialect they use here, it can be difficult, certainly at the start, to figure out everything they're saying - especially when they are laughing and joking together. It gets easier over time, both because your ear becomes attuned to it, and because with the more serious themes that develop later, the dialogue becomes more sparse.

I enjoyed the banter among them, and later on it provides relief from the other things that happen - but I was glad when some dramatic tension crept in, as personalities clash, as family issues creep in, and as the cab office itself is under threat from developers. By that stage, we've gotten to know them somewhat, and it is really engrossing to watch the tension mount. All in all, a well-written play, and a real snapshot of the era! Runs till the 9th.

Sadly, there was no way I was dragging my bag upstairs to the bar to meet the others at the interval - instead, I stayed where I was and had an ice cream. Don't care much for the Old Vic bars anyway, crowded and overpriced as they are. We met briefly afterwards, and then I lugged myself and my baggage home - by bus, this time, as I was going further. Ran too late to blog, though, being in the office again next day, as usual.

Praise be, when I got in on Tuesday, I had an email confirming that my approval for a locker had been granted! I just had to go down and get my pass scanned. However, only the security guy could do that - and he was with contractors all day, it seemed. Tracked him down in the end - and hallelujah, now I have a locker, which fits my laptop bag, and has a convenient shelf for smaller things. And wow, have I felt unencumbered ever since, not having to drag the laptop bag around with me.

As to the blog - I meant to do it in the office on Tuesday, following my 1-1 with my boss. But the upshot from the 1-1 was that I'm not being kept on after my contract expires, on the 5th - they're letting the other writer go too. Not enough work for us, it seems! Well, I never got the feeling that they were a writing-focussed company.. Anyway, after that, my day got a bit busy (so, no blog) with updating my cv, letting the right people know I was looking, and applying for a job! Worked - I already have an interview scheduled: for the 5th, would you believe! with a company that sounds keen to talk to me, and offers 30 days holiday to my current company's 20. And, crucially, is offering a permanent position. Watch this space, and keep everything crossed..

On Tuesday night, I was at the Royal Court for That Is Not Who I Am, a play about identity theft, from a mysterious writer about whom we have few details, except that he has worked most of his life in the security industry. Ooh.. Now, Tuesday was also the day of the largest transport strike in the UK in 30 years! Led to many show cancellations too - happily, not mine. I wouldn't have been on the Tube anyway, which was closed - the problem was all of the people who would normally have been on the Tube, and were now on the buses, or in cars. I managed to cram onto a bus all right - whose driver then decided he wasn't going all the way, and we'd have to wait for the next! When that one came, it did take me (almost) to where I wanted to go - but took a solid 10 minutes just to get around Hyde Park Corner. Happily though, I'd left early, so still made it in time.

Sloane Square was a bit packed - turns out they've made a "Summer in the Square" arrangement, where some local restaurants have plonked tables in the square for people to drink and dine al fresco. Very pretty, I have to say.. runs till September.

And so to the theatre - the house wasn't open quite yet, but there wasn't anything much I could do in the meantime (like schlep all the way to the basement bar for a drink), so I mooched around until they let us in.

Security footage, from multiple cameras, is displayed on the safety screen as we wait. When the background noise gets louder, you know it's about to start.

You know, I love the tagline they have, that "you'll never anticipate the beginning".. Put it this way. There are some shows that you really shouldn't give away the details of - "The Mousetrap" springs to mind! And if you've seen it, you'll know why. This is kind of like that - in that, although spoilers are available online, it'd ruin it for you and you really shouldn't read them until you've seen it! I didn't, and was glad of it.

I can say very little about this without giving the entire game away. Suffice to say that it's nothing you expect - except in that, I guess, it's about government surveillance. And it has great fun breaking down the fourth wall. But it does make for an interesting evening! if a long one - at nearly two hours without an interval.. Never mind, it gave me more time to get home. Or rather, to get lost - the whole bus journey back was full of people who had no idea what they were doing, or where they were going, being used to the Tube. And it seems to have been infectious, because I took a bus in the wrong direction myself, to start with! Well, it had been a trying day. And so it ran to a very long night, and no blog was written. This runs till the 16th, if you're curious..

And most of my free time yesterday was spent booking ahead - of which more anon. Last night, I was back with TAC for The Lark Ascending and Piano Quintet, a classical concert with the London Philharmonic at St. Giles' Cripplegate, a church I'd often passed but never been in! Part of the City Churches Music Festival. Bus for this one, and I was a little tight for time, as it started at 7, rather than the more normal 7.30. So I picked the one that would get me there fastest. And then I noticed the warnings about diversions that Google Maps had gleaned from TFL, related to the route - one concerned gas works, but was over. The other concerned waterworks, which is ongoing.. no wonder all the buses are wacky! The upshot was - not only the stop I wanted to get off at, but also the stop before, are "not being served". So I decided to get off two stops early, and see what my best move was from there!

Turned out to be a 15-minute walk.. I had 20. So off I went. As I say, I'd never been here before - but Google Maps directed me right, apart from losing track, for a while, of what direction I was walking in! Just as well I knew I was right.. So, to access this church, head north(-ish) along Wood Street to the end, then hang a left. And behold, there it is, snuggled in and hidden by the towers of the Barbican Estate:

The lady at the door crossed my name off a list - quite definitively, I thought - and in I went. They were selling wine by the glass at the back, and I thought about beating the interval rush by buying a glass now - but every time I looked that way, the table had been left again. So I waited for the interval.

Ah, this is a gorgeous old church - built in the 11th century, destroyed by fire three times. (The history of all three churches involved in the festival is given in the programme I was given for free on the way in, which also had detailed information about the composers, pieces, and performers of what we were to hear at the concert. Now, that's what I call a programme!) Anyway, the first time was in the reign of Henry VIII, then again in the 19th Century, and most recently, and devastatingly, during the Blitz. The only parts to survive were the exterior walls - which, as remarked in the programme, is certainly testament to the mediaeval builders! Happily, they found restoration plans from the time of the fire during the reign of Henry VIII, and have restored it as much as possible to its original appearance.

It's funny how the dappled glass of the windows softens the harsh view of the Barbican towers - and I wasn't the only one inspired to gaze at the light, shining through the leaves of the trees outside to dance on the floor, during the sublime first piece, The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams. It's the 150th anniversary of his birth, so what with the Jubilee this year as well, they decided to have a quintessentially English theme to this year's festival. And honestly, they couldn't have chosen better than this, one of the loveliest pieces of music I've ever heard.

This was followed by a fantasy-sonata for clarinet and piano by John Ireland, and five bagatelles by Gerald Finzi, taking us to the interval. Where I took my place to queue for wine. Fair play to the lady pouring it, as she was handing it to me, she thought she hadn't put in quite enough, so gave me a top-up! Attagirl. When I'd finished it, the interval was not yet over, and I thought to have another - but lo, the bottle was empty and they were packing up! Gee, you couldn't overdose here.. Anyway, the second half had more Vaughan Williams, with his piano quintet in C minor. Altogether, just the loveliest programme I've heard in a long time.

Walking back to the bus, I was sure I felt a few drops of unforecast rain. Now, this bus is diverted as well - but this diversion suits me, bringing the route even closer to home for me! I started the blog when I got there - but this is a mammoth edition, and I had to leave it for the night.

Walked in to the office today in persistent rain - it took hold with a vengeance. Tonight, back at the same festival - with CT, this time, for a concert of English Song at the lovely church of St. Bartholomew the Great. It's been too long.. This festival ends tomorrow, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Then back to Ireland for the weekend again. There are a few films on that I'd like to see.. now, when I first looked, Elvis was as yet unrated on IMDB. Directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann and with Tom Hanks as Col. Tom Parker and Austin Butler in the title role, it subsequently debuted with a high rating of 8.1. But in the meantime, I'd become enthused at the next highest rated film - The Black Phone, currently at 7.4, a very high rating for a horror film, is the story of a 13-year-old boy who is kidnapped by a serial kidnapper and killer of small children (Ethan Hawke). Trapped in a soundproof basement, when the disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, he answers it - and finds himself talking to the killer's previous victims. So, you know, I think I might go see that - Elvis has fallen quite a bit in ratings in the meantime anyway. Both showing in Ennis, and at roughly the same time - watch this space!

On Monday, I've booked with TAC to hear an interview with Chris Patten, the last UK governor of Hong Kong before it was handed back to China. Happening at Conway Hall.

On Tuesday, back again with Free Stuff and Free Events, for their Free Tuesday Sing-a-Long for Health and Pleasure. Online, and one where you're muted, so you don't even have anyone hear you sing! Great for the shy.

On Wednesday, I'm finally succumbing to Anything Goes, at the Barbican. Now, I got my ticket for this from Time Out, which is the first place I saw the offer - but it turns out that any number of outlets have £25 tickets! If they're all for the same seats as Time Out, then I'd have to feel sorry for people that bought tickets for £38, which is cheaper than the original price of £45 for the seats on offer! Assuming anyone did. Anyway, with no bad seats here, you'd have to be crazy to pay more.

Next Thursday, back with Bucket List London (BLL) - who obligingly is doing something midweek! I'll have to skip off work early - this is for vespers in Westminster Cathedral, and starts at 4.30. He is actually in Westminster all day, attending Ministerial Question Time earlier - but not only do I have a job to go to, but jeez, I do believe this would just infuriate me! So that, I'm not attending..

On the 1st, back with Civilised London (CL) for dinner at Caravel. Terrific reviews..

That weekend, I'm back with the man with the famous name - Dr. Stephen King (not the writer) is guiding a couple of walks for London Guided Walks (courtesy of Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts). Sadly, not as yet advertised on TAC, so I booked them through the official site (discount of £3 with the code MEETUP3, as usual). Both topics / areas I've covered many times before, but gee, he's such a great guide! So I hope I make these - early. On the 2nd, it's his Southwark Walk.

On the 3rd, it's his Royal Coronation Walk. I just bet he comes up with something I didn't already know..

On the 4th, I'm headed to A Doll's House Part 2, at Donmar Warehouse - sequel to the famous original, where the wife leaves an unhappy marriage; this sequel examines what happens when she returns.

On the 5th - well, I finally saw UITCS' ad for Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch, at the Underbelly Festival! A parody musical, right up my street - I hate how Meetup so often doesn't show me the events I really would enjoy! Just as well I saw this in time, before I booked anything else. So it'll be a hectic evening, with an interview scheduled for 5.30! I'd better quit work early I think, and head home for that - I can't guarantee quiet in the office.

On the 6th, back with CT for a concert by the Royal College of Music Brass Ensemble, at the college on Shelton Street.

On the 7th, back with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex, for The London Necropolis Virtual Tour. I pointed out to him that the registration link had the wrong date, and he said it was outdated, and he'd replace it and send me the new link - well, he's removed it, but no new link yet. And then - you guessed it, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again!

On the 11th, I'm going to Favour, at the Bush Theatre - after much effort, as their website wasn't working for days! In fact, it seems to be down again at time of writing. I chose an unreserved seat, will be allocated one on the day. Anyway, I see TAC has now started selling tickets for this - gee, might be not only the cheapest, but the easiest way to book! Wow, was only there once before, 3.5 years ago..

On the 12th, I'm going to The Southbury Child, at the Bridge Theatre. And now CT is selling cheap tickets for that too, bah. I also noticed that UITCS is going, later in the week - ah well.

On the 13th, back with CL for dinner - this time at The Crown itself, where we usually meet for drinks before heading somewhere else for dinner. Excellent choice. Which marks the beginning of a whole spate of Meetups in a row! When's the last time that happened..?

On the 14th, back with The Garden Talks - this online talk is How Do Languages Evolve?

On the 15th, back with the Classical Music and Theatre Group for the opera Otello, at the Royal Opera House.

On the 16th, which is a Saturday, I had booked with Discover London for a trip to see a cart making ceremony - and then Eleanor, organiser of TunedIn London, advertised a concert through the World Music Meetup, for that evening, at City Hope Church. So now I'm going to both.

On Sunday the 17th, back with BLL - this time, it's a trip to Sandown Antiques Market. Well, I've never been to Sandown, so this could be interesting.

On the 18th, back with North London Friends! for the first time since before lockdown. This is for an Edinburgh Comedy Festival preview, at the King's Head in Crouch End, featuring Lucy Porter and Rachel Fairburn.

On the 19th.. I'm taking a punt that I won't actually be employed that day, and have signed up again - at last - for a walk with Laurence and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners. This is The Magic of Midtown - and as I said to him, it finishes very near my new home! I also promised to let him know if I can't actually make it - although, even if I have started work by then (which would be surprising), perhaps I could take a day off.

On the 20th, I finish my Meetup run with a trip with UITCS to Leicester Square Theatre to see Frankie Boyle, who has a work in progress show.

On the 21st, I'm thinking of heading - at last - to Summer by the River at More London. This is for a free evening of music, curated by Soho Radio. And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

Play: The Glow

For food at Liverpool Street today, I didn't know what I fancied - ate in Cote yesterday, didn't fancy the other restaurants I'd tried roundabout. The Upper Crust had sold out of the baguette I like! Wandering on, I came across Delice de France, and decided to check out what they had. Ooh, lots of hot food.. ooh, steak slices! Decided to try one of those - and I have to say, it was the crispiest steak slice I've ever had, and quite delicious. Will definitely be back - that was just what I needed.

Tonight, I was at The Glow, in the Royal Court - nice, spooky sounding play about someone with a gift for the supernatural! As usual, not a place you can usually get discounted tickets for - although, in one of those annoying twists, CT came up with cheap tickets after I'd bought mine (now sold out, I think). But slips tickets tend to be great value, as long as you're not too close to the stage and having to crane your neck.

I've said it before, but it's worth mentioning - I am SICK of cyclists in central London. If I'm not dodging them on the pavements, I'm wary of crossing when the pedestrian light is green, because I just know there's a cyclist somewhere who probably won't obey the traffic lights, but will take it as their opportunity to sail on through. This evening, I wasn't the only one swearing when we had to stop dead, while walking across at a major junction, because someone was speeding towards us on a bike and we had to give way. And it isn't that long the lights stay green for pedestrians, you know!

Well, as if in apology for yesterday's fiasco, the buses were all quite prompt today. And wow, for whatever reason, the estimated journey time to the Royal Court was under an hour, even in early evening by bus! I had a choice of three, chose the first to come along - which was along straightaway. With this one, I had to change at Waterloo - lucky I'd done it before, and knew I needed to go into the station itself to access Station Approach! There was my next bus, somnolent at its terminal - a lady and her son were wondering when (or whether) it was going to move. So I checked my Buses Due app - which said it'd be 12 minutes. They had thought only two minutes - so when another arrived that they could take, off they went. And then lo and behold, two minutes later, the lights were switched on in mine, and off I went as well. So there, app..

I arrived at the theatre a little early - and somewhat hungry, so ventured to the bar for something to eat. Lordy, I've never seen such a queue - had to queue for five minutes to pay for my packet of crisps! Two Farmers, they were, and rather salty for cheese and onion. But they did keep the wolf from the door - and I just got them eaten by showtime.

Nice, black spooky stage. And it was a nice, black spooky opening too, with plenty of ominous music, as a lady in early 19th century garb, who markets herself as a spiritualist, brings home a mysterious young woman who seems the real deal, able to conjure the dead. Contrary to what you might think from the marketing though, this isn't a spooky play - more a time-travel thing actually, interesting to those of us who are into history. Quite an ambitious plot, which only makes sense at the end. I wasn't hugely enamoured of it, but it is interesting. Terrific staging as well, with projections on the stage walls setting the scene. Runs until the 5th, limited availability on Mondays, when tickets are cheaper.

Tomorrow, I'm back with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex, for London By Night - an Illuminating Virtual Tour. Online, should be nice.

On Thursday, back with Crick Crack! which should hopefully happen this time. This is a double bill - The Thief's Tale and Future Imperfect, at Rich Mix, Daniel Morden one of the performers. And there are a couple of others from the London European Club coming, which is cool! I could do with some face to face contact with friendly faces, haven't had any since I came back to London this time. Unfortunately, the Crick Crack show that was cancelled a while back is livestreaming the same night from Oxford! which just can't be helped.

On Friday, back with Civilised London for a play called The Ballad of Maria Marten, based on a real-life murder mystery, at Wilton's. Now, I'm rather tired of craning my neck here, so I went for a slightly more expensive seat, with a more direct view - albeit still in the balcony.

And on Saturday, I'm headed off with 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners again, for Laurence Summers' Elementary Sherlock Walking Tour.

Play: Rare Earth Mettle & Film: Naked

Now, I've headed to Liverpool Street Station for lunch every day this week - and I have to say, they've been keeping us entertained! There's a busking spot, with a different performer every day - two days ago, she treated us to Whiskey in the Jar, yesterday it was a fellow with a beautiful, deep, crooner's voice, singing Christmas tunes. (Shame he didn't know more of the words.) Today, it was an opera singer! She should really have had amplification though - we could hardly hear her..

Yesterday, the Crick Crack Club was back - online - with Trickster, live-streamed from Oxford again. Earlier in the day, I got an email, assuring me - again - that it would be recorded, and that it would be available for a week after. Well in that case.. So off I went and booked with Up in the Cheap Seats for Rare Earth Mettle, at the Royal Court.

I stayed on a little to work a little bit extra - so Tube it was, nice and empty, and I was a little late meeting them, outside the theatre. We chatted briefly, and in we went - one of us had booked a balcony seat, but they weren't seating people in the balcony, so she got an upgrade to the stalls! For me, I'd got the outmost seat on my side of the slips, and when I got there, there was no-one inside me - although a few did come later. But it wasn't crowded, certainly.

You can just about see a string, hanging vertically. That's attached to a large, transparent ball, housed in a trapdoor at the start, which, when the play starts, is raised and set swinging. Which set off my pendulaphobia - I'm very, very glad I wasn't sat nearer the stage. As it was, I was trying to find other things to look at..

Anyway, I guess this is supposed to be representative of Foucault's Pendulum. It's also leaking sand - indicative of time running out? And although the actors come on, and move scenery, around the swinging pendulum, it's not too long before the swinging decreases, and it's drawn into the rafters. Couldn't come soon enough for me.

But it wasn't long until I forgot all about it. This is TERRIFIC. Set on the salt flats of Bolivia, we have a local man - his wife has died, and he lives there with his teenage daughter, who's sick. An English doctor (Genevieve O' Reilly) cares for her. And one day, an irritating American - from California, to be precise - arrives and wants to buy the old train that this man lives in: and the ground underneath. These aren't the only visitors, mind - a politician (Jaye Griffiths) shows up, claiming she knew this man's late wife.. he's a popular chap.

Well, not really, It all has more to do with the lithium, available in enormous quantities under the salt. That American wants to make electric car batteries out of it, save the planet. Even the doctor has an ulterior motive for being there - she wants to put small quantities in the drinking water, improve people's mental health. And of course, the politician wants what they all want.. she sees this valuable commodity as a way of improving her hold on power.

Not that anything in this superbly written play is how it seems. The script absolutely sparkles - this is the cleverest play I've seen in a long while. It's a long one - and not everyone in the theatre lasted the course - but our group agreed that we really didn't feel the time passing. It's jam-packed with plot twists, snappy dialogue - the American really reminded me of one of the bosses in my company, and the corporate scenes with him (and his exasperated board members) are the funniest. Indeed, the opening scene is hilarious, where he's supposed to be communicating in pidgin Spanish with the Bolivian man. Having everything in English for us brings home how stupid he sounds to the Spanish-speaker..

The next scene, where his board are discussing corporate-speak, is just as hilarious (and very well-observed). But then, this play covers everything - climate change, mental health (there's an hilarious quick-fire debate between the doctor and the businessman, in the second half, about the NHS), medical ethics, ethics in politics, in academia, in business.. you won't believe the directions the plot goes in, and you can't anticipate how things will pan out. But it makes for completely absorbing entertainment. Very highly recommended - runs until the 18th of next month.

Google Maps was playing up all day, telling me it "couldn't find a way there". No, but it could if I asked it to get me there in the past.. Ooh, and on the way home, as I took the bus (faster at this time of night than it would have been earlier), it occurred to me - that on the 11th of the 11th, I was taking the #11.. at about 11pm! Beat that.

Took a while to sort tonight's schedule - I wanted to go to a film, but that blasted film list didn't come through until halfway through the afternoon! Well, I had to rush off to go to Naked, a Mike Leigh film at the BFI. They're doing a whole series of his work, apparently. It's not a long journey, so I wasn't worried when the bus didn't come straight away - and indeed, I took my seat at the cinema before several others. Dunno what the deal was with the people behind me, but the kicking and shoving was intense - to the extent that the woman beside me had enough, and when she came back from the loo, sat down the front instead - where there were plenty of spare seats.

Well now, this is a film with really clever dialogue - and being Mike Leigh, it's not exactly cheery. In fact, I'm going to steal the theme of the excellent programme notes that you always get at the BFI, and say that it's a comprehensive study of toxic masculinity. (As topical now as ever.) The main male characters are unredeemable pieces of sh*t. We have the excellent David Thewlis as the main protagonist, a man too clever for his own good, but unable to fit into society, unemployed, disaffected, unwilling to be tied down. And with a very unhealthy attitude towards women - he can charm them into sex, but they always tend to regret it. he comes to London to stay with his ex, Lesley Sharp. Gina McKee plays one of the damaged women he meets. On the other hand, there's the clean-cut, psychopathic toff, who openly bullies the women stupid enough to be charmed by him. The women of the piece mostly end up as victims in one way or another, at best made to feel stupid, and at worst.. 

Well anyway, you have been warned. But through it all, David Thewlis' character retains a humanity that makes us warm to him. It's also patently a commentary on Thatcher's Britain, set in 1980 as it is, and opening with her election. Jeez, if you hadn't lived through it, you'd wonder how anyone could..! This film runs twice a day all week, if you're interested.. and I was glad when my bus came, and I could get out of the cold!

Well, I have to get to bed. Tomorrow is a double-bill with Bucket List London, starting with breakfast in Maria's Market Cafe, followed by a trip to Wellington Arch (two separate events).

The next three days, I'm with my cheap ticket groups. Sunday, I'm at Conway Hall with CT, for a concert by the Coull Quartet.

The following two days are with TAC. On Monday, I'm headed to Whattalife! - part of the Wimbledon Music Festival, which I always end up attending at least once in a year, this is the story of English contralto Kathleen Ferrier. Takes place in St. John's Church, as usual.

On Tuesday, it's comedy - Holier Than Thou is a one-man show about a vicar, playing in the Canal Cafe Theatre.

On Wednesday, back with Invigorate for a pub crawl! (Oops, I mean a tour of historic pubs..) Now, that's also my birthday, so I'm sure I'll get a birthday drink! ;-)

I would have travelled somewhere foreign for my birthday, but well, that's not so much of an option these days. Anyway, I'm taking that day off work - so my boss has suggested birthday drinks for me on Thursday, as we should be back in the office by then. And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend - it's easier to get Friday flights at the moment!