I stayed up really late last night.. for those who might be interested, I've found a fantastic channel on YouTube by a guy that makes short films. Look for Pony Smasher. He and his wife (both Swedish) have filmed some terrific short horror films - really inventive, and just a few minutes long each. They also have fascinating making-of videos. Anyhoo, with one thing and another, the birds were twittering by the time I got to bed, and I slept soundly (horror actually makes me sleep sounder, I think) until about lunchtime. Which still left me time to get across town, but not really to have a proper brunch. Breakfast consisted of my last Yorkie.
I did set off in decent time, mind you. At the station, I was greeted to the sound of (very tuneful) singing by Chelsea fans - there was a match today, and I'm just up the road from their home ground. Two policemen watched benignly from the upper level as a raucous group of fans on one platform united in song, apparently directed at someone on my platform. What the hey, it was all in good spirits, and no-one was bothered. Soon enough, my train came. And you'd think there was a go-slow, we waited so long at Earl's Court! Changing at Westminster, I was asked by a confused foreigner whether the train went to Bond Street.. unfortunately not. Right line, wrong platform - trains from any platform all go in the same direction, you know! I sent him the right way, but he was dubious..
At London Bridge, it's so easy once you know how - I really can't imagine how I always used to come out the wrong way. In this case, look for the exit for Borough Market.. and the East Side exit gets you on the right side of the road. This is literally the first time I haven't had to rush here - I usually feel as though I'm going to have a coronary, dashing down this road.. this time, I had time to look around:
(This is Borough Market.) Anyway, turn left from the station exit, cross at the next junction and take the road you're now on the left of, to the theatre, which is on your left. Careful of the steps - this is an old warehouse, and the steps are uneven. You enter by the café - she asked me what she could do for me, so I told her I had a ticket for the matinee and she directed me to the back. Where I had time, for once, to pause and look at the historical display.
I'm not used to picking tickets up here - I usually print at home (i.e. the office), but since I'd have had to print at home for real this time, I decided it was handier to pick it up instead. So the first thing I had to do was locate the box office! (It's to the left of the bar area.) Having collected my ticket, and with half an hour still to kill, I decided to have a liquid lunch. The obliging (and probably slightly bored) barman informed me that they had four white wines, and produced one for me to taste. "Yes please," quoth I. And so I came to have a glass of wine that was quite lemony (I wish I'd made note of the brand, think it was one of the Torres range but I'm not sure), and far too nice, while sitting on the bench at the entrance - the place was starting to fill up.
They should really have let us in earlier - there was quite a crush by the time they did. A lot of Americans, by the sound of it. And yes, nice wines can be dangerous. Especially on an empty stomach. I was quite giddy by the time I got through the generous portion he gave me, and decided to take my seat. In my efforts to find somewhere to perch my empty glass, somehow I misplaced my ticket. It was an anxious moment before I realised I must have dropped it, and lo! there it was at my feet. Dearie me. Actually, it wouldn't have mattered really - I remembered my seat number, and there wasn't a ticket check.
My seat was on the centre aisle, second row from the back. It's bench seating, and they seem to have reupholstered since I was here last - the benches are now multi-coloured. Mine was the last row to fill, and it was handy to be on the end - I could just swivel to let people past. I daresay it was sold out - I didn't see any free seats.
The set was decorated as a comfortable living room, with a bathroom off of it - it turned out to be a hotel suite. Now, I knew this was a comedy - I hadn't read closely enough to realise it involved time travel! So things were progressing reasonably enough, and then someone figured out that you could travel through time using the communicating door with the storeroom. Hmm - I didn't quite know what to make of that! But I decided to hang in there and see how it progressed - unlike a couple in my row, who left at the interval, and one woman who left as soon as time travel was mentioned.
It did progress decently cleverly, and I quite enjoyed it. I did like the way the script made use of the idea that changing something in the past changes something in the present, in unexpected ways. Recommended. Runs until 27 June - booking advised.
I might've eaten in the café on the way out, but it turns out they close early on Sundays! So I made my way home instead. There was more chanting somewhere on the platform when we stopped at South Kensington, and the local pubs had Chelsea fans spilling out all over when I got home. Still singing - they only just stopped a short while ago. Seems they won. Indeed, there was a great queue in the local shop, with at least some people stocking up on booze..
Tomorrow, it was a toss-up between Gypsy, with Imelda Staunton, or a film. Top of my film list was The Journey, directed by Lance Nielsen, and that sounded really good. Thing is, it's only showing in the Arthouse, Crouch End. I've never been there before, and when I looked it up, it turned out to be about an hour away. So I hummed and I hawed, and finally I said, sod it, I've travelled that far or more several times before. And I've often gone by both Tube and bus! So I decided to book it - I needed to, there aren't many seats left. Great thing is, if it weren't a Bank Holiday tomorrow, I couldn't manage it.. And on Tuesday, the Film Nite people are trying to persuade me to go see The Falling with them. Thing is, it's not supposed to be great. Well, we'll see!
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