Play: Ink

Tonight, I finally got to see the show so many people have asked me whether I was seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre. And I got my ticket through LastMinute.com. Even though it was hardly last minute, as such - I booked over two months ago!

Now, the forecast said it wouldn't rain.. so I didn't bring a hood.. and so spent the whole day rather dubiously looking at an enormous black cloud hanging over the city. Still, the rain held off, and I set off in good time. Hard not to really - it's under 10 minutes' walk from the office! Lordy, I'll miss that when we move - we have to quit the building by the end of the year, the landlord is having it demolished. Probably turning it into flats, hey-ho. Shoreditch will be rather less handy for the West End - ah well, it was too good to last.

So, into the pretty heart of the West End I went - an easy enough trip, from Seven Dials I had to take Monmouth Street, then just straight ahead, until it appeared on my right.

Chaotic outside, 15 minutes before start time - I followed the folks in front of me, who also had to pick up their tickets. For the cheapest band of tickets, I was in the Upper Circle - Row C, so quite far forward, but to the side:

Comfy enough seat, legroom just slightly cramped - I do believe the gallery isn't used for seating any more, it seemed to be full of rigging: so this is the highest level. Not bad at all.. and they have coin-operated binoculars. Also that "ordertorium" service I came across in the Savoy, where you can order at the interval and have stuff brought to your seat. Mind you, with all the people I had to stand to let past me, I don't think they were aware of it - still, stretching one's legs is popular anyway. The people behind me were Irish - I swear, we're everywhere! Forgot to mention, but as I was leaving the Vasa Museum in Stockholm on Saturday, walking out into the grey drizzle, I overheard an Irish girl remark what a very Irish day it was..

Well, this play is based on Rupert Murdoch's takeover of The Sun, which he turned into a  tabloid. It's a real tale of once-upon-a-time.. when there were typewriters, and print rooms, and computers were a rarity. When people actually paid - in large numbers - for newspapers. And I have to say - whatever you think of the trash that The Sun and its ilk have become, as this play portrays it, Murdoch and his newspaper, led by Larry Lamb as editor, were real trend-setters.

Apparently it was their idea to put in horoscopes - and the weather on Page 2 - and, of course, those enormous headlines. And you know, I seem to remember The Sun being a fun, reasonably respectable - if downmarket - paper when I was a kid. The infamous Page 3 girls came a few years later, and the play closes with that, and with the management of the paper showing a whiff of distaste for how things were going. Still, readership skyrocketed - and has remained high ever since.

This is actually fascinating. And the play really puts forward the idea that The Sun was breaking new ground, challenging the stuffy establishment - there's a remark about the liberal lefties trying to subvert the democratic will of the people that made me chuckle, thinking of the political fracas of last year! As one review remarked - as sharp as a paper cut; it's quick and it's clever, like Murdoch himself, and a show to see. Runs until the 6th January - shop around for tickets.

Tomorrow, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.

On Wednesday, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks. Or work have a Latino night, some corporate VIP being in town on a visit. I'll see how I feel on the night.

On Thursday, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

And next Monday, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.

Day 6: Stockholm & Film: Blade Runner 2049

Wow, our week in Stockholm came to an end at last! Finally, after a succession of days in the office (exploring eateries at night), we got to do some exploring of our own yesterday, Saturday. And wouldn't you know it, after a couple of fine days - Saturday, it rained all day! Figures.

Undaunted, we set out after breakfast - a slightly later one than usual - to make our way to Gamla Stan, the old town. We could see it in the distance - which didn't make it easy to get to! Dunno what it is about Stockholm, but they seem to have a habit of layering the city - and not all streets are suitable for pedestrians. They also lack connections between streets. So, finding your way between a bridge and a particular road isn't that easy! Google Maps also kept being confused about where we were - so it took us longer than necessary, but we did make it.

Actually, we were intent on going to Riddarholmen, a small island off of Gamla Stan, because that's where my guidebook suggested starting a walk that we thought would be a good way to see what was to be seen. And there's a direct bridge there from the west side of Norrmalm, where we were. Sadly, that turned out to be exclusively for vehicular traffic, so we had to do quite a round to approach Riddarholmen through Gamla Stan. Which was when it started to rain appreciably, as we dodged our way around roadworks to see the Riddarholmkyrken church, and then around the other side of the island, where we got a lovely view of the bay:

More photos here. Anyway, we then proceeded back into Gamla Stan proper, where we wended our way - trying to compare the unclear map in the guidebook with Google Maps - up to Stortorget, the old square.

By the time we got to the palace, we were very ready to go indoors - the only part that seemed to be open on our side was the treasury, so we queued for tickets there. A highly deferential chap was asking everyone whether they already had tickets? "No? Then I'm afraid I can't help you, you'll have to wait a while." People who already had tickets could go straight in - a good tip, as we were in the queue for about 10 minutes. Hey, at least we were dry! The treasury itself contains the crown jewels, and as with the British crown jewels, photography is strictly prohibited, I'm afraid. They also have guided tours - I do believe the guide was the same chap who'd been directing the queue. At 160Kr for an adult ticket, it's a bit steep - but the ticket is valid for a week, and covers two other museums. No good for us, of course..

Back outside, we were determined to find the armoury, which had been recommended to us as a must-see. And free! We found it further down from where we'd just come out, towards the water and on a lower level. And we spent an age in there - what a phenomenal amount of stuff, for a price of 0Kr. Armour (for kings and horses)..

Costumes..

..more photos here. Down the back, there was a display of Japanese weaponry - and down another level, the most fabulous display of carriages!

Cinderella, eat your heart out.

Outside, it was still raining, and it was lunchtime - so we decided to look for food. Around the palace, there was a distinct lack of eateries: so we headed back to Stortorget, which turns out to be lined with them, and decided pretty quickly, especially with the rain that was falling on us. Ebenist had a decent-looking meatball special, so in we went, and got a snug table. To my mind, the interior had a distinctly nautical feel, with wood everywhere and quite cramped conditions. The menu presented us with several eye-wateringly expensive options - the special we'd seen was the cheapest, and was all we were prepared to eat, and that's what we got, along with a soft drink for my companion and a white wine for me.

Well, I have to say, we chose well - the meatballs were simply served, in gravy with a mound of mash (called puréed potato here) and some sides in separate bowls: but the dish was scrumptious! as was the wine. I was sorely tempted to have another, but figured I'd spent enough - we're not expensing that, as it was a day we took to ourselves. A city to eat well in - but be careful not to bankrupt yourself; we were lucky to have people to suggest eating options for the rest of the week.

And so back out into the rain. We took a detour from the guidebook route to visit the Finnish church, home of the city's smallest statue, dressed against the cold of the Stockholm winter:

..and carried on along some charming streets, ducking into a couple of souvenir shops on the way. When we'd had enough of schlepping through puddles, and figured we'd seen most of the place, we decided to take up another recommendation, and head out to the Vasa Museum. Which would also have the advantage of being indoors.

This was definitely Metro weather, and that's what we took out there. Now, when we took it on Friday, we got our tickets in a shop, and were able to scan them like any other card - however, getting them from the machine, we were to discover that we got paper tickets, which we had to show to the attendant, who would then let us through. Go figure.. anyway, the nearest Metro station to the Vasa Museum isn't very near at all, and it was a bit of a miserable schlep through the rain. It was worth it though, when we finally came to the Vasa Msueum complex - joining the fast-moving queue outside the museum itself.

This museum is dedicated to the warship of that name, which sank 20 minutes into its maiden voyage - the masts in the above picture depict the actual height of the ship, and what with those and all the ornate woodwork on top, when the wind started to blow, the thing capsized because it was top-heavy! We were just in time for a guided tour, which attracted so many people it was impractical to try and hear much - but what we heard was interesting. And the ship is undoubtedly impressive:

Three hundred years it lay underwater, until salvaged. What a feat.. and the museum makes a fine job of the history, with exhibits about the people involved, and nautical life at the time. There's also a well-appointed café, where we had a most welcome drink! Truly, a fine day out - and were I to go back again, I'd love to investigate the Nordic Museum, next door.

Back to the hotel then, somewhat exhausted, and I had a wee nap before we headed out to eat. With rain still pouring down, proximity was of the essence, and when we saw the Hong Kong Restaurang across the way, we made a beeline for it! We were seated with ease - there was a large birthday party at one end, but otherwise it wasn't crowded. Not the cheapest either, but my goodness, we were well fed.. I had the largest spring roll I've ever seen, packed with chicken, and one of the tastiest beef Szechuans I'ever had, with rice that had been doused in soy sauce, by the look of it, and was delicious. I accompanied it with a half bottle of white. My companion had duck in plum sauce, with which he was very impressed. And when I decided to have dessert, he did too - ice cream for me, banana fritter for him. Again, a fabulous place to eat - if not the cheapest.

And so, today it was time to leave Stockholm at last. An incredibly clean city, which I also found to be very elegant - I'd miss London, but Stockholm is a very liveable place. If a lot colder than here! Expensive in parts, with cheap alternatives. The train to the airport this morning seemed to have narration by Bjorn from Abba again, although he didn't do any advertising this time; never mind, we had our Abba fix on the escalator in the airport!

Ironically, despite the early start, I still wouldn't have been in time for the Crick Crack Club's event today - not if I wanted to leave my bags home first, certainly! Unsure I'd make it - what with depending on flights and airport transport, which can be erratic - I didn't book, and it was sold out anyway. (Bummer, and Clare Murphy is my favourite, too.) Which left cinema as a Plan B. Now, I didn't get the film list completely done - but mostly: and what it was showing was that the IMDB highest-rated film showing today was Blade Runner 2049. I adore the original - this wasn't a hard sell for me, and although it's since slipped in ratings, my film list is stored on my work computer, whose battery died, and so I had to work with what I had! Excellent.. it's showing close to me, in the Odeon Tottenham Court Road, and with 5pm proving a bit early, since I had to shop and eat, I booked for 6pm. (With Odeon, it's cheaper to book.)

Seating was unreserved, and the place was pretty packed - but I was happy to sit near the front for this. Now, I can't give away very much of the plot - the filmmakers were adamant about that, and I can see their point - what happens is so unexpected that it would spoil the experience to say much at all. What I can say is the following.. Ryan Gosling reprises Harrison Ford's old role as a young "blade runner" - in a dystopian near future (but with flying cars as the only truly unlikely element), society has taken to producing "replicants": humanoid robots that are indistinguishable from the "real thing". Some of them have "gone rogue" though - they're acting human, mimicking emotions for example, and the blade runners' job is to hunt them down and "retire" (kill) them. Robin Wright is his boss. Jared Leto is the megalomaniac boss of the company that took over from the original robotics company, which has gone bust. Harrison Ford shows up in this as well, the old rogue blade runner who went on the run himself, 35 years ago.

Eh, that's it! :-) Except to say the following: this is a real homage to the original, and if you liked that, you'll love this. Hell, IMDB even has a side-by-side comparison of the trailers, showing, frame by frame, how similar they are - check it out at the site of either film. The music - just like the original - is haunting. The visuals - just like the original - are spectacular: jaw-dropping, in fact. The images are even more unforgettable than the original, and the ending is so head-wrecking that I left the cinema in a state of shock. If you are a fan of the original, you must see this. If you haven't seen the original, mind, you can still make sense of this - but you get so much more from it if you get the references.

They say it's bombed on its opening weekend.. but the original wasn't a box office success, either. This deserves to go on to be every bit as much of a classic as that was, dealing so poetically with themes like slavery, the nature of reality, what it means to be human.. I adored it. Go see.


Tomorrow, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre. 

On Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.

On Wednesday, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.

On Thursday, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.


And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.

Day 5: Stockholm

Tonight, I was supposed to be headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for Up in the Cheap Seats - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel this week, without refund, for my stay in Stockholm.. what the hey, I'm saving money here! Expenses paid, after all.

Lunch today was in Burgers & Beer - a longer walk than usual from the office. Glad to see they serve wine, too - but for lunch, I had a Sprite (they don't do 7Up). Served with a wine glass, complete with ice and a straw - and in my case, a slice of lime. We got a table in the corner, luckily - the place was quite packed. My bacon and cheeseburger was served medium rare - since I haven't suffered any ill effects since, I imagine the mincing is done onsite. Actually - once I removed the obligatory tomato slice, to which I'm intolerant - it was delicious. I also ordered onion rings, and got an absolute pile of them - along with an indifferent dip. But we were well fed.

One of our Stockholm colleagues had booked a traditional Swedish restaurant for us for dinner - so we took our first trip on the Stockholm Metro..

..to a restaurant called Tranan, complete with doorman. Inside was busy - she'd been wise to make a reservation - and we were advised to head to the cellar bar to wait. We just had time to get a drink before our table was called, and we headed back upstairs, where we were sat snugly at a window seat, complete with handy window ledge where we could leave our bags. Plenty of hooks were provided, had we wished to use them.

A basket of bread as an appetiser, complete with small, round breads that were recommended to us by one of our Swedish-resident colleagues - slightly spicy, and ever so delicious! Butter, in a small tub, complete with a big wooden spoon. Two tuna steaks, one pork belly, and I had rib-eye steak. Mine was certainly delicious - served with an enormous knob of butter on top, which was nice, but strong; I didn't eat most of that. Dessert was chocolate truffle for me - which was served as a teeny cube on a plate. Very rich, of course. Not the cheapest place in town - but hey, we weren't paying..!

The night was finished off at Theodora's, where we stayed for just the one. Didn't want to stay too late anyway - tomorrow will be our only decent day of sightseeing!

On Monday, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre. 

On Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.

On Wednesday, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.

On Thursday, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.

Day 4: Stockholm

Today would have been Up in the Cheap Seats - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells. Had I not been in Stockholm, of course.

For lunch today, we were offered a choice of places that were different from anywhere we'd been.. so we ended up in Razmoni, which is the "Indiansk Restaurang" beside Formaggio, where we were yesterday. Nice décor, a mostly understandable menu, for a non-Swedish speaker: that's the handy thing about foreign food, it generally translates the same in any language! It was very crowded, so we ordered takeaways - and wouldn't you know it, each of the four of us who went ordered the same thing! (Butter chicken, medium spicy.) Comes with pilau rice, and a couple of us had naans. Took it back to the office to eat - unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit too salty, and I couldn't finish mine.

There had been talk of going to a stand-up comedy gig tonight, but the guy that our co-workers know, who was to be performing, cried off, so that was out. Somewhat wrecked by the late night we had last night, my London colleague and I just fancied dinner and back to bed - and the most sensible choice for dinner was to carry on down Fleminggatan, which is the long, straight road between our hotel and office, and has plenty of eateries. And so it was that we came to Texas Longhorn.

I've been in Texas steakhouses before, and am familiar with the American-style décor - wood panelling, lots of Americana on the walls. Little touches make it unique:

With English-language menus available, and helpful staff, we were sorted. Now, my companion wasn't very hungry - neither of us fancied starters, and he chose ribs for main course; me, I had steak. The smallest they had - a 200g striploin, a cut I'd never had before. I generally find that the smallest of steaks does me just fine. Came with a complimentary salad starter, which I didn't want, and fries. I also ordered garlic butter. I had a Chardonnay, my companion a glass of apple juice.

Well, it was just delicious! The steak might have been minuscule, but was quite filling - they come medium-rare as standard, and with the garlic butter, the taste was just perfect. The chips were crispy, and lent flavour by the sauce on the dish - and the Chardonnay, an unusual flavour, complemented the meal perfectly. My companion, sadly, didn't do his meal justice - there was more than he'd anticipated. Neither of us had the corn on the cob that came as standard. The apple juice, served in a large, glass tankard, did go down fast, and he had another. Excellent restaurant, actually, and I do recommend it if you're in the mood for that type of cuisine - prices standard for a steakhouse. As I remarked, we'll certainly know the bars and restaurants of Stockholm by the time we leave!

Tomorrow, I was headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for Up in the Cheap Seats - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'm saving money here! Expenses paid, after all.

On Monday, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre. 

On Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.

On Wednesday, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.

Next Thursday, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.

Day 3: Stockholm

Today would have been Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, which I'm finding lately has been the norm! But now, of course, I'm in Stockholm.. Lunch today (from which I remembered to take a receipt, for once!) was in another local place - oh, and I remembered yesterday's, it was Stenugnsbageriet L: according to the Monzo receipt, anyway!

Today, we went to an Italian place we've passed every day so far, to and from work - Formaggio is supposed to be downmarket, with fast-food-type décor, but I must say the carbonara there was the best I've tasted. First place I've ever been served it with an egg in the middle.. Portions are massive, and I was stuffed for a long time after - still finding room for a cinnamon bun in the office kitchen in the afternoon.

This evening, we headed - under beautiful, blue skies - all the way across the road to Theodora's, for traditional Wednesday beers. Someone was later saying that this tradition dates to the days of servants, who would have to work weekends, so got their days off during the week - typically on Wednesdays. Anyhoo, we had some confusion over my white wine - "WiFi?" - and took a table in a corner once that was sorted.

We ended up eating there too - a decent menu has starters, seven different kinds of burgers, a selection of other main courses, and desserts. Hunt, and you may find the English-language one! Not that that really helped us in understanding what the "Plank" section was talking about.. Mine was a very acceptable steak, accompanied by onion rings, mushrooms, and very tasty chips. For under £15! You'd be hard pressed to get such value in London. They also do sharing platters, and beer in pitchers, and our group did use up some of those. With a mixture of folks - current and past employees of the company, and others - we had a long night of it, and some interesting conversation, as the place got more packed. A good venue for a night out, this, with plenty of seating along the walls and in the centre. They weren't lying when they said the island of Kungsholmen is good for eating and drinking..

When I called it a night, it was out into pouring rain again. It should have stopped by the time we head out tomorrow, though.

Tomorrow would have been the same Meetup group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.

And finally! on Friday, I was headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money here! Expenses paid, after all.

On Monday, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre. 

On Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.

Next Wednesday, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.

On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.

Day 2: Stockholm

Today, it was supposed to be free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for my week in Stockholm! No, instead, I'm up north, dealing with cold and intermittent rain.. much more enjoyable, believe me!

Today was a lot drier, thank goodness - and started with a lovely night's sleep, in a lovely soft bed, with curtains heavy enough that I didn't have to use any kind of eye mask. Heading for breakfast, we passed through a terribly secure office building! to the cafe, which is the hotel breakfast venue in the mornings. A very decent buffet included cereals, several kinds of milk, breads, croissants, small sausages that I could stomach (unlike British ones!), bacon, a choice of hard- or soft-boiled eggs, mushrooms.. I was well fed. This is definitely a hotel to consider, if you're in the area - nice and central, and free WiFi too.

To the office then - where we had lunch was called Stenugnsbageriet L, which does soup and sandwiches, and I had the most delicious carrot and ginger soup! (Our colleague translated the menu for us.) On a cold day, their emphasis was certainly on warming their customers. In the evening, we went for a colleague's leaving drinks, to a place called Erland's - where we took a table upstairs, in a very snug venue with some interesting decorative features. Friendly, English-speaking staff provided us with menus - one for cocktails, one for food and wine.. I had a couple of Chardonnays (at over twice what I would have considered reasonable for a glass that size in London - portions were as snug as the venue). Others had (quite small) cocktails, a few had beers. We didn't fancy the food menu though, and some of us left after a while, to eat elsewhere.

..Which turned out to be Brewdog! Now, they have branches in London, but thinking they were primarily a beer joint, I never darkened their doors - it's not my thing. Wow, I'll be making a detour towards them in future.. if only to see whether the hot dogs are as delicious as the one I had tonight!! "Truffle that Onion" - seriously recommended. And the side of mac 'n' cheese was very moreish. Oh yeah - and they serve wine too! (one kind of each colour: which is fine by me). Oh - and they're dog-friendly! :-)

Tomorrow was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, which I'm finding lately has been the norm!

Thursday, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.

And finally! on Friday, I was headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money here! Expenses paid, after all.

On Monday, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre. 

Next Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.

On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.

On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.

Day 1: Stockholm

Today, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends were attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But then it turned out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on Sunday.

Quite a whirlwind - Ireland for the weekend, flew back last night, then out again this morning. I could've done without the hassle, last night, of the Northern Line breaking down - the doors on one side weren't closing. (I change to that one, and travel two stops for no extra charge to get me closer to home - it's in the same Zone.) Funny how, when the station supervisor arrived, he gave the driver a sobriety test.. anyway, for whatever reason, they finally decided the train was going nowhere, so not only could we not take that one, but neither could we take another on the same line. So I ended up walking.

So, home a bit later than usual - and a 6am start: lovely. Oh, these 6am starts for work-related travel.. I had to be through Goodge Street Station before 7.30, you see, because for the moment it's exit only from then 'till 10 on weekdays, to avoid congestion, because half the lifts are out of order. Well, I dragged myself groggily about, and got myself out and through the station doors at 7.15 - pretty good.

Which got me back to Heathrow less than 12 hours after I'd left it - and earlier than my travel companion! So, I repaired to Costa for breakfast - pretty much the only option before security, but a good 'un. Had a delectable chicken and bacon toastie, and a hot chocolate - cream was extra, but essential. And had just enough time to eat it all before he showed up..

SAS allows a trolley bag and an extra bag - which, for me, was the laptop bag, containing other work-related items as well. So the handbag had to be be emptied and squished into the trolley bag, and the contents dispersed in the work rucksack. Oh, was I glad to get to the other end and retrieve my handbag.. Happily, they were gate-checking trolley bags for free, so we didn't have to carry ours - we did have to wait 15 minutes for them at the other end, but never mind. Seat slightly too uncomfortable to sleep - just like Norwegian, I find - but I had a decent flight.

And, at the other end, a sleek train with plenty of legroom took us past acres of forest, and got us into the main city train station in about 20 minutes. Complete with commentary by, of all people, Björn Ulvaeus, who assured us he had higher motives than plugging the Abba Museum, and the Abba Experience next door..

Arriving at the station, the task was to find the right way out - the hotel was supposed to be nearby. But, of course, Google Maps can never find exactly where I am - and now it was starting to rain. Between us, we got Google Maps to direct us - it ain't that easy, First Hotel Kungsbron is quite discreet. We dumped our bags and left for the office.. an 18-minute walk in pouring rain, but the closest that our travel booking site, Egencia, would offer us!

Google Maps did better this time, and we gratefully escaped the rain, to spend what remained of the day in a bright and airy office, as it got dark outside. When we did leave, it was back out into the rain to search for food - passing along the street to our hotel, we came across 39 Wäst, which looked decent, and ended up there. Subdued lighting, comfy booths - the menu isn't the most extensive, but I must say they do one of the tastiest beef Bourguignons I've had - massive chunks of meat and mushrooms, served with an indifferent mash, mind. And a delicious - if expensive - brownie for dessert. The wine list is comprehensive, and the house white quite acceptable - and reasonably priced. Just under £37 for that much.. not the cheapest, but compared with London, really not exorbitant, and I would recommend it. Just not every night! No problem splitting the bill, either.

The hotel? Really good, so far.. not a great view from the window, but seems quiet, the bed seems lovely and soft, the facilities are fine - and how good they are at squeezing things into a small space! More to follow - looking forward to that bed, soon.

Tomorrow, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel!

Wednesday was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, which I'm finding lately has been the norm!

Thursday, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.

And finally! on Friday, I was headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money here! Expenses paid, after all.

Next Monday, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre. 

On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.

On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.

On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.