Again, I wasn't asleep very early, so I woke quite late - and although I had time to get into town, I didn't quite have time to take the bus. I had looked up a Plan B though, which saw me taking the train to Waterloo again. (It isn't a frivolous notion to take the bus, you know - £1.50 each way as opposed to £2.20 for the train and £2.40 for the Tube. Which made a one-way fare of £4.60 for me today: over three times the bus fare.) Anyway, in Waterloo I headed for the Bakerloo Line, to get to Piccadilly Circus - but the people on the Bakerloo Line train looked as though they'd been waiting a while, stepping off the train, looking at the boards, looking around for information.
Sure enough, shortly after I got on, the driver announced severe delays, and said if we could make alternative arrangements, we'd better. So off I went, consulting a Tube map on the way: Northern Line to Leicester Square, then the Piccadilly Line back to Piccadilly Circus. Just as well I'd originally planned to get the bus - I was out early, and still made it to Piccadilly Circus with 10 minutes to spare.
I love how easy it is now to find your way out of Piccadilly Circus Tube station - and once out, having Streetviewed it, I knew where to go, and soon entered the cinema - first time this year for this one, too. Queued for my ticket, and headed upstairs - some nice touches with the décor:
..as also seen in this display for Absolutely Fabulous:
There'd been a warning notice downstairs about the temperature in the cinemas, saying their aircon was broken, and that they had water available outside the screens, and if anyone wished to leave because they felt uncomfortably hot, they could get a refund if they left within 15 minutes. Very obliging of them! but not needed - they obviously got it fixed, because it was quite cool in ours.
Bayou Maharajah is the story of James Booker, as told through archive footage, and interviews with those who knew him; a couple I knew, Harry Connick Jr. (whose father had dealings with him), and Hugh Laurie. I didn't know anything about James Booker previously - I was to learn that he was a musical genius, but plagued with drug problems, drink problems, mental problems, money worries.. not to mention the eye that nobody knows how he lost. But it's not just a gossip piece; Harry Connick Jr., in particular, took us through a particular riff, as Booker would have played it, and explained just how the complications he introduced made it special. And the whole film was interspersed with his music. The trailer is a good indication - if you like the music in that, you're likely to like the film.
I did, and I'm glad to know about the man. And it was lovely to finish so early in the day, and have the evening to myself - long time since that happened. Strolled to the bus stop in the sunshine - and was just puzzling over the "This bus stop is out of use" sign on it when my bus arrived, and took me straight home. The journey home was enlivened when the two elderly ladies that had got on, each dragging a shopping trolley absolutely laden with bags of who-knows-what, and who had placed them in the most convenient place - the buggy / wheelchair area - were challenged by a lady with a buggy. An interesting altercation ensued, but no blows were struck, and since they all got off before I did, I didn't have to climb over them to get off, either.
Tomorrow, I'm glad to be back with the Man with the Hat (and the followers of the Hat) - it'll be nice to see friendly faces. We're off to Southwark Playhouse, to see a play called Stalking the Bogeyman..
No comments:
Post a Comment