Handily, Theatre N16 is above The Bedford pub, which - of course - does food. So I headed off in good time, intending to eat there. I needed to catch a train to Balham - two stops past Clapham Junction - so headed from the office to Kensington Olympia, the nearest Overground/train station. The first train to come was an Overground - which I could take, but would have to change from at Clapham Junction. Well, that was a moot point - there was no way I could cram onto it, and it took forever to leave, with all the passengers determined to squeeze past the line that, if they crossed, the doors would detect and wouldn't close..
Ten minutes later, a Southern Trains train arrived - much less crowded, and going straight to Balham, as it happened! (I had to wait until I was on the train to see that - I was much too far from the indicator board to read it, but all the trains from that platform headed the same way anyway.) Not only did I have room to move onboard, but I even got a seat after three stops, when everyone got off at Clapham Junction! Sheer luxury..
The short walk from station to pub is easy - just make sure you exit on the Station Road side. Turn right, and the pub is visible at the end of the road. After a complicated crossing - the junction is busy, and not all crossings are light-controlled - I got to the pub, which was festively festooned:
I came across a menu on the bar, and chose what I wanted. Service wasn't the quickest though - they don't seem to have come across the concept of multitasking, and have to finish completely with one customer before dealing with another. So I waited 10 minutes for someone to take my order. I asked what the soup of the day was, and he had to ring the kitchen to check.. the answer was there wasn't one, I had an old menu! So he got me a new menu, then left me for another 10 minutes, finally returning to ask me with a grin whether I'd chosen - as if I'd been the one causing the delay! They didn't have the steak I wanted on this one, so I went for the Cajun chicken burger, and a large white wine. And chose a teeny table in the corner of the quickly filling bar.
The wine was towards the lower end of the price range - I hadn't specified - but was delicious. The girl who brought the food was a bit ditsy - she was pointed in the general direction of the corner, but I don't think anyone pointed her to a specific table with whatever she was carrying, so she kept getting mixed up. And completely forgot to bring me cutlery with my condiments! She apologised very sweetly though. The burger was served on the ever-popular wooden platter - a ridiculous idea, they must be a nightmare to clean. The burger itself came in two halves - the chicken and sauce on one half of the bun, the salad on the other - which was handy if you wanted to pick anything out! And although it wasn't really what I'd wanted, it was very nice. The chips were enormous, and well done - crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. Couldn't ask for more..
As I ate, I noticed the sign opposite, pointing to the theatre, which is upstairs. By the time I was ready to head up there, it was about 7.15, and 15 minutes before start time. My word, I'm glad I wasn't rushing - there are a lot of stairs up there. It was well signposted - it'd have needed to be. And when I finally got to the top, I found it was an eclectic space, with quotes on wooden boards on the windowsills, and a Darth Vader Christmas tree..!
(the latter to advertise a Star Wars thing they have coming up.)
We were finally admitted - to an odd little space, two rows of chairs facing each other. Rather like a Tube carriage, appropriately - this show was all about travelling by Tube. The title of the piece is quite clever - referencing both the "contactless" payment method they're so keen on, and the lack of contact that passengers have with each other on the Tube. The solo performer - well, solo apart from her companionable double bass, "Nancy" - treated us to a number of lovely, and amusing, ditties about Tube travel, peppered with anecdotes. And the whole thing was quite delightful - she has a lovely voice, Nancy sounded quite mellow, and the performer, Nina, has a way about her. So we didn't even mind - much - the interactive element, sparked off by the photocopied Tube station names we were each given on the way in, with our tickets:
Recommended. Runs until Thursday.
As for me, for the rest of the week my entertainment seems set to be closer to my old flat, so I'm moving back there tomorrow. For tomorrow, I got another cheap ticket - this time to a classical concert in Wigmore Hall..
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