Performance: Two Man Show (Take 2)

Our last outing to Two Man Show was a great hit - not a surprise that the Man with the Hat decided to take us again. London for Less Than a Tenner was there against night - and I figured it had been good enough to see again.

A pleasantly short, 7-minute walk from the office got me to Soho Theatre in time to get a seat in the bar, at the reserved tables, before we trekked all the way upstairs. The seating arrangement is the same as last time, but this time I happened to sit over the other side.. and yes, I can confirm that they do favour one side over the other, just a couple of times - sit on the right as you go in to take advantage of this.

Well! I remember being a bit dazed the first time, and was keen to read my report from last September. Several people asked me whether it was the same show as before - well, I think so, although to be honest, so much happens in this show that - especially the first time you see it - it can be hard to figure out what's going on.

I'll say this - I'd forgotten how good Rashdash are! Terrific singers, accomplished musicians, good dancers. Not to mention the creative engine behind a very thought-provoking and audacious performance. And I'll also say that this show definitely merits a second viewing. See, last time I was so much on tenterhooks for whatever unexpected thing was going to happen next that the overall story was kind of lost on me. This time, I was expecting more of it, and had more mental energy to have a think..

Right, so it's all about men, women, and the relationship between them. They start as women, with a quick history of society and the development of patriarchy, which undermined the old, goddess culture. (Phew!) Then they take off their clothes. (Baring their emotions?) Then they take the part of men, specifically two brothers dealing with major life changes, in a most male and emotionally stunted way - to describe the crisis in masculinity. Finally, one reverts to femininity, while the other decides she'd rather stay as the powerful male, and they have a really well-done male-female dialogue.

In between, there's a dazzling and very enjoyable show. Not surprising it's won awards - and we were all impressed. And a bit bemused. Runs until Saturday - definitely one to see.

Across to The Nellie Dean again after, where we had tables reserved. There was bar service upstairs, for once - but the Man with the Hat (obviously conserving his energies for the rest of the week) vanished, once he'd seen us settled. We hung around for a good while, - well, there was a lot to discuss in what we'd just seen - and as usual I was one of the last to leave, following a really interesting chat about music. Grabbed a couple of doughnuts in Tesco on the way home.

Tonight - Round 2 of the week with the Man with the Hat. More traditional this time, presumably - we're off with Let's Do London - for less! to Sleeping Beauty, at the Opera House.

Tomorrow - well lookee that, the same group is off to Roundelay, at Southwark Playhouse. Three in a row for the Man with the Hat. About time we got back to Southwark - we've missed it!

Thursday, I was thinking of free comedy in Hammersmith - this time with London Live Comedy, Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, and Random London. But then Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts (and Walking Victorian London) announced a walk called True Spy Stories! So I thought that sounded more interesting, and booked.

Friday, Crick Crack is telling stories - Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton are performing Metamorphoses at Rich Mix. However, the Rich Mix website doesn't seem to have heard of this.. unless you search for that specific day. The independent Crick Crack Club website has a link to buy tickets from Rich Mix though, and at the moment they're being sold at a discounted preview price. And now that the link is available, their Meetup group is advertising it too.

Saturday, Let's Do London - for less! is back to see Sleeping Beauty - and so am I. Honestly, this was a mistake on my part - I was booking a lot at the time and forgot I was already going - but hell, I'd rather be doing this anyway than not. Amphitheatre, this time - it's been a while since I was there.

Sunday, London for Less Than a Tenner advertised "Soho: the Roots of the Swinging Sixties - guided walk"! Now, this confused me, before I read deeper.. I do recall the Man With the Hat saying that, while he was interested in guided walks, he wasn't interested in actually guiding them. Turns out someone else is doing the actual guiding.. Anyway, I booked, but it seems not enough of us did, and he's cancelled the event. The walk is still going ahead though - check out Back in the Day Walks for more details. Me? I might just go to a film - we'll see what's on, closer to time.

Monday, I'm off to see Russell Howard at the Albert Hall.

Next Tuesday, jeez, the Man with the Hat is back again! Hard to keep up these days - so I'm going with Let's Do London - for less! to The Diary of a Teenage Girl at Southwark Playhouse.

Wednesday 8th, I finally get to go to something with the Post-Apocalyptic Book Club - not a book discussion this time, instead they're off to a play called The Machine Stops, at Jacksons Lane Theatre. Suitably post-apocalyptic. Then I'm back to Ireland for a long weekend.

Monday 13th, I'm with London Dramatic Arts at the Royal Court, for The Kid Stays in the Picture.

That rescheduled talk on Brexit Vs. Trump from a couple of weeks ago is on Tuesday 14th. Unless I decide to go to a film instead - being Funzing, I can get my money back if I cancel at least 48 hours in advance.

On Wednesday 15th, the Man with the Hat is taking London for Less Than a Tenner to Top Secret.

Thursday 16th, he's back to the Opera House for the opening night of a mixed bill of ballet. As usual, he's in the slips with London for Less Than a Tenner, and in the amphitheatre with Let's Do London - for Less!

Friday 17th, I got a cheap ticket to a very topical version of Twelfth Night, in the Drayton Arms. Ah, I remember when I was walking distance from there..

Saturday 18th, I'm back with Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts for an Oliver Twist walk. Back with Hazel, excellent!

Sunday 19th.. not a Man with the Hat event, but one he's advertised. One member of his group plays Spanish guitar, and is giving a concert that night - so I've booked a ticket. Well hey, I do love Spanish music..

Monday 20th, I'm off to a Funzing talk on The Science of Psychedelics. Courtesy of London Speaks Sessions, LDN Talks @ Night, and London for a Tenner or Less (nothing to do with the Man with the Hat). Unless I think of something better up to 48 hours beforehand..

Tuesday 21st, I'm with London European Club (LEC) for Carradine's Cockney Singalong, at Hoxton Hall. Had some fun with this last week, when I noticed another group member had confused it with something at a different venue, and thought it wasn't now happening..

Wednesday 22nd, I'm headed with LEC again - with a different organiser - to see 2 Cellos in concert in the London Palladium. Cool - never seen them before, never been there before, and I can probably walk there!

Thursday 23rd, another Funzing Talk, with the same three groups, on The Science of Hypnosis. Again, unless I get a better offer in the meantime. And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again..

Storytelling: The Fate We Bring Ourselves

Another evening with the Crick Crack Club, booked months in advance. Well hey, they're right up there in my priority list.. and there IS a priority list, as should be obvious to regular readers.

Crouch End again - this is the last they've advertised up there, although Ben Haggerty did mention last night that there'll be more there in April. I could do without them - even coming from the city centre, it's a trek in comparison with other locations. And we had another late work meeting - and then I got caught up doing something, so even though it didn't start till 8:30, I still found myself rushing, and ended up taking the faster, Tube & bus option.

So, a quick trot to Leicester Square, and I was just in time for a train to whisk me to Caledonian Road. No kidding, they warn on the website that it has access issues - of what looks like what used to be four lifts, only one is working! Well, I'm assuming there were four - for one thing, the working lift is number 3, and there does appear to be space for three others. Two of them have been removed entirely though - I suspect it'll be some time before they get back to full capacity there.

Outside the station, Google Maps sent me to the left to catch a bus. Curiously, it then had me going down a non-existent side road.. I was beginning to get worried, when I discovered that I'd literally just passed the bus stop I needed! And the bus I needed was just due. Mostly, we had a quick trip, but there were a couple of traffic jams, and it was very nearly showtime by the time I got there. I seemed to be the last person on the bus, and although I don't think that was its destination, by the look of it, the bus terminated right across the road from the Arthouse. Which was handy for me.

They were starting to let people in, so I went straight in and took my seat - they didn't seem to encourage people to take drinks in with them, so I didn't. As usual, it was a while before they started, though - for all that the event page showed this as sold out, it was still only about half full by the time they finally started! Which, mind you, is typical for this venue.

This was originally supposed to be a show by my favourite storyteller, Clare Muireann Murphy. But apparently she had to have a knee operation, so Ben Haggerty stepped in instead. And in due course - clad in black, as usual - he took the stage. And in a performance without interval - and lasting nearly 90 minutes - he performed for us The Fate We Bring Ourselves, a series of Greek legends about what happens to those who anger the gods.

Now, I'd heard all of these before, as it happened. We had the story of Actaeon, who caught sight of Artemis bathing naked, and was punished by her by being turned into a stag, and torn to pieces by his own hunting dogs: the story of the king who, in order to build a feasting hall, cut down a grove of trees sacred to Demeter, and was cursed by her with an insatiable hunger: and the whole story behind the birth of Dionysus.

Ben Haggerty has a very theatrical style, and was on fire last night. I think this may well be his favourite set of stories - they certainly allow him to give full rein to his skills. I may have heard them all before - but never told better than last night, and I sat rapt through the entire thing. There is a marked difference between a show of this high quality, and some of the dross I go to on occasion - and for anyone who thinks that stuff is good, I encourage them to come to something like this. This is some of the best that London can offer. I was amazed when the show ended - it hardly felt like the time had passed at all.

The adjacent bus stop was closed, so I walked to the next one - and when a different bus came, Google Maps was invaluable at telling me how I could use it to change to another bus to get me home. But, of course, my laptop was in the office - so no blogging last night.

Just had lunch - went with a gang from the office, and with the wealth of eateries locally, it was nigh impossible to decide on somewhere. Finally, we plumped for La Porchetta Pollo, a bar/restaurant not far from us. They'd only just opened, and with a group of five of us, we had a choice of right beside the kitchen.. or in the basement. Basement it was, and we were served uncomplicated and inexpensive food, by efficient and friendly staff. I had pasta, nicely al dente.. other dishes at our table included polenta and vegetarian lasagne. All polished off - except the very last of my pasta; I was just too full.

Back to Ireland tonight for the weekend. Monday, the Man with the Hat and London for Less Than a Tenner are off to Two Man Show at Soho Theatre. I've seen it before, but it's worth seeing again. Looking forward to seeing the group again!

Tuesday, Let's Do London - for less! is off to Sleeping Beauty, at the Opera House.

Wednesday - well lookee that, the same group is off to Roundelay, at Southwark Playhouse. Three in a row for the Man with the Hat - we'll have to carry him off on a stretcher. About time we got back to Southwark though - we've missed it!

Thursday, I was thinking of free comedy in Hammersmith - this time with London Live Comedy, Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, and Random London. But then Walk, Talks and Treasure Hunts (and Walking Victorian London) announced a walk called True Spy Stories! So I thought that sounded more interesting, and booked.

Next Friday, again, Crick Crack is telling stories - Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton are performing Metamorphoses at Rich Mix. However, the Rich Mix website doesn't seem to have heard of this.. unless you search for that specific day. The independent Crick Crack Club website has a link to buy tickets from Rich Mix though, and at the moment they're being sold at a discounted preview price. And now that the link is available, their Meetup group is advertising it too.

Saturday 4th, Let's Do London - for less! is back to see Sleeping Beauty - and so am I. Honestly, this was a mistake on my part - I was booking a lot at the time and forgot I was already going - but hell, I'd rather be doing this anyway than not. Amphitheatre, this time - it's been a while since I was there.

Sunday 5th, London for Less Than a Tenner advertised "Soho: the Roots of the Swinging Sixties - guided walk"! Now, this confused me, before I read deeper.. I do recall the Man With the Hat saying that, while he was interested in guided walks, he wasn't interested in actually guiding them. Turns out someone else is doing the actual guiding.. Anyway, I booked, but it seems not enough of us did, and he's cancelled the event. The walk is still going ahead though - check out Back in the Day Walks for more details. Me? I might just go to a film - we'll see what's on, closer to time.

Monday 6th, I'm off to see Russell Howard at the Albert Hall.

Tuesday 7th, jeez, the Man with the Hat is back again! Hard to keep up these days - so I'm going with Let's Do London - for less! to The Diary of a Teenage Girl at Southwark Playhouse.

Wednesday 8th, I finally get to go to something with the Post-Apocalyptic Book Club - not a book discussion this time, instead they're off to a play called The Machine Stops, at Jacksons Lane Theatre. Suitably post-apocalyptic. Then I'm back to Ireland for a long weekend.

Monday 13th, I'm with London Dramatic Arts at the Royal Court, for The Kid Stays in the Picture. Not in any great hurry to see them again.

That rescheduled talk on Brexit Vs. Trump from last week is on Tuesday 14th. Unless I decide to go to a film instead - being Funzing, I can get my money back if I cancel at least 48 hours in advance.

On Wednesday 15th, the Man with the Hat is now taking London for Less Than a Tenner to Top Secret.

Thursday 16th, he's back to the Opera House for the opening night of a mixed bill of ballet. As usual, he's in the slips with London for Less Than a Tenner, and in the amphitheatre with Let's Do London - for Less!

Friday 17th, I got a cheap ticket to a very topical version of Twelfth Night, in the Drayton Arms. Ah, I remember when I was walking distance from there..

Saturday 18th, I'm back with Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts for an Oliver Twist walk. Back with Hazel, excellent!

Sunday 19th.. not a Man with the Hat event, but one he's advertised. One member of his group plays Spanish guitar, and is giving a concert that night - so I've booked a ticket. Well hey, I do love Spanish music..

Monday 20th, I'm off to a Funzing talk on The Science of Psychedelics. Courtesy of London Speaks Sessions, LDN Talks @ Night, and London for a Tenner or Less (nothing to do with the Man with the Hat). Unless I think of something better up to 48 hours beforehand..

Tuesday 21st, I'm with London European Club (LEC) for Carradine's Cockney Singalong, at Hoxton Hall. Had some fun with this a couple of days ago, when I noticed another group member had confused it with something at a different venue, and thought it wasn't now happening..

Wednesday 22nd, I'm headed with LEC again - with a different organiser - to see 2 Cellos in concert in the London Palladium. Cool - never seen them before, never been there before, and I can probably walk there!

Thursday 23rd, another Funzing Talk, with the same three groups, on The Science of Hypnosis. Again, unless I get a better offer in the meantime. And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again..

Play: The Cherry Orchard

And so to the Arcola last night with London Dramatic Arts (LDAM), for The Cherry Orchard. Discovered I could get a bus - the 38 took me pretty much straight there, and one arrived just after I got to the stop. Damn, it's a long way though.. we passed Sadler's Wells long before getting to Dalston.

And as I trod the scruffy backstreets to the Arcola, I noted that it's been a very, very long time since I was here last! Over a year, I see.. and how different things were for me then. Anyway, I made my way in. The organiser had said she'd meet us in the bar, and I carried on until I saw her. Took a seat, and she gave me my rather flimsy ticket - as I remarked to one of the others, we'd have to be careful not to throw them out! They were just till receipts - the cheaper type. Anyway, I went to the bar for a drink - and one of the others, coming after me, added a packet of crisps to her bill. Ah! I though - that'd be nice. So I ordered a pack of chili flavour ones. Tyrrell's - chili and red pepper. Proceed with caution.. eye-wateringly spicy.

Not much conversation was had with our organiser beforehand, who was distracted by the group member who was both a mother (like her) and a landlady (like her). Well now, isn't that lovely? Nice that she has another member involved in the property market - when the last one moved away, I thought the rest of us might now get a word in edgeways, but no. I was relieved when we went to take our seats.

Front row:

I have to admit, it's a good set - all white, with a white-painted tree stretching up through a white bookcase. Some chairs under white dust sheets. A silvery finish to the stage. Kind of ghostly, and very simple.

I wish I could be as complimentary about the acting. Someone asked me at the interval what I thought - I said I felt like I was in English class. It was so stilted! The diction was consciously perfect, each word uttered so carefully - you can get that with old-fashioned text, but it behoves actors - and directors - to try to find a way around it, to make it sound a bit realistic. I guess they didn't get that memo.

So, I hated most of the first act. The speech was stilted, the humour un-funny. I kept thinking that each joke would have been funnier if it had been played in a different way.. I wasn't even sure, at points, that they understood the sentences they were speaking! At the interval, I damn near decided to leave, but held out, if only to keep the girl company who was sitting beside me, and all excited because she was right beside the action! I don't think she's been to many plays.

Things started to improve at the end of the first act, with the introduction of the intellectual, Peter Trofimov, played by Abhin Galeya. A welcome blast of seriousness in the midst of so much ridiculousness, if not for him I really would have left at the interval. And so I remembered that I do actually like Chekhov. The second act was an improvement, with the plot speeding up to match the frantic actors, who seemed more at home now.

So, runs until 25 March, but I can't really recommend it. Typically, of course, the rest of the group were perfectly happy with it - one because she just loves Chekhov, one because she doesn't get out enough, one because - as previously mentioned - she was just excited to be so up-close to a real life play! With nobody to agree with my opinion - as so often happens with this group - I was glad we didn't go for drinks after. And, as usual, as I was looking for my bus stop home, they legged it - I think they had an Overground to catch, but they tend not to wait for people anyway.

Oh, and remember the argument with the guy who couldn't make it and wanted to pass on his ticket? He wasn't allowed to pass it on directly, and was told (a) it couldn't change hands until the day of the event, and (b) he wouldn't get a refund, just credit at best. Anyway, seems he'll get neither - fully two people "bailed", as she put it. So, no passing on of ticket. Well, if you won't even countenance it until the day of the event, it's highly unlikely to happen, isn't it?

The rain that wasn't promised persisted all day, and drizzled on me as I took two buses home. Just in time to go to bed. Which, in turn, was just in time to be woken at 2am by the fire alarm, hundreds of us pouring onto the street, in whatever garb we could throw together in the meantime. Charming. That's twice, in about six weeks since I moved in.. occupational hazard of living in a building with so many other people.

Today has dawned windy, the sheeting rattling on all the scaffolding round these parts. Could make the journey to Crouch End interesting - tonight, the Crick Crack Club is back there, with The Fate We Bring Ourselves - finally advertised on their Meetup page! Ben Haggerty standing in for Claire Muireann Murphy, who's having a knee operation, it seems. I take it my ticket, purchased for the performance that's being replaced, will do for this. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

Monday, the Man with the Hat and London for Less Than a Tenner are off to Two Man Show at Soho Theatre. I've seen it before, but it's worth seeing again. And so is the group!

Tuesday, Let's Do London - for less! is off to Sleeping Beauty, at the Opera House.

Wednesday - well lookee that, the same group is off to Roundelay, at Southwark Playhouse. Three in a row for the Man with the Hat - we'll have to carry him off on a stretcher. About time we got back to Southwark though - we've missed it!

Next Thursday, I was thinking of free comedy in Hammersmith - this time with London Live Comedy, Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, and Random London. But then Walk, Talks and Treasure Hunts (and Walking Victorian London) announced a walk called True Spy Stories! So I thought that sounded more interesting, and booked.

Friday 3rd, again, Crick Crack is telling stories - Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton are performing Metamorphoses at Rich Mix. However, the Rich Mix website doesn't seem to have heard of this.. The independent Crick Crack Club website has a link to buy tickets from Rich Mix though, and at the moment they're being sold at a discounted preview price. And now that the link is available, their Meetup group is advertising it too.

Saturday 4th, Let's Do London - for less! is back to see Sleeping Beauty - and so am I. Honestly, this was a mistake on my part - I was booking a lot at the time and forgot I was already going - but hell, I'd rather be doing this anyway than not. Amphitheatre, this time - it's been a while since I was there.

Sunday 5th, London for Less Than a Tenner advertised "Soho: the Roots of the Swinging Sixties - guided walk"! Now, this confused me, before I read deeper.. I do recall the Man With the Hat saying that, while he was interested in guided walks, he wasn't interested in actually guiding them. Turns out someone else is doing the actual guiding.. Anyway, I booked, but it seems not enough of us did, and he's cancelled the event. The walk is still going ahead though - check out Back in the Day Walks for more details. Me? I might just go to a film - we'll see what's on, closer to time.

Monday 6th, I'm off to see Russell Howard at the Albert Hall.

Tuesday 7th, jeez, the Man with the Hat is back again! Hard to keep up these days - so I'm going with Let's Do London - for less! to The Diary of a Teenage Girl at Southwark Playhouse.

Wednesday 8th, I finally get to go to something with the Post-Apocalyptic Book Club - not a book discussion this time, instead they're off to a play called The Machine Stops, at Jacksons Lane Theatre. Suitably post-apocalyptic. Then I'm back to Ireland for a long weekend.

Monday 13th, I'm with LDAM at the Royal Court, for The Kid Stays in the Picture. Not in any great hurry to see them again.

That rescheduled talk on Brexit Vs. Trump from last week is on Tuesday 14th. Unless I decide to go to a film instead - being Funzing, I can get my money back if I cancel at least 48 hours in advance.

On Wednesday 15th, the Man with the Hat is now taking London for Less Than a Tenner to Top Secret.

Thursday 16th, he's back to the Opera House for the opening night of a mixed bill of ballet. As usual, he's in the slips with London for Less Than a Tenner, and in the amphitheatre with Let's Do London - for Less!

Friday 17th, I got a cheap ticket to a very topical version of Twelfth Night, in the Drayton Arms. Ah, I remember when I was walking distance from there..

Saturday 18th, I'm back with Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts for an Oliver Twist walk. Back with Hazel, excellent!

Sunday 19th.. not a Man with the Hat event, but one he's advertised. One member of his group plays Spanish guitar, and is giving a concert that night - so I've booked a ticket. Well hey, I do love Spanish music..

Monday 20th, I'm off to a Funzing talk on The Science of Psychedelics. Courtesy of London Speaks Sessions, LDN Talks @ Night, and London for a Tenner or Less (nothing to do with the Man with the Hat). Unless I think of something better up to 48 hours beforehand..

Tuesday 21st, I'm with London European Club (LEC) for Carradine's Cockney Singalong, at Hoxton Hall. Had some fun with this yesterday, when I noticed another group member had confused it with something at a different venue, and thought it wasn't now happening..

Wednesday 22nd, I'm headed with LEC again - with a different organiser - to see 2 Cellos in concert in the London Palladium. Cool - never seen them before, never been there before, and I can probably walk there!

Thursday 23rd, another Funzing Talk, with the same three groups, on The Science of Hypnosis. Again, unless I get a better offer in the meantime. And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again..

Story Time With Viktor Wynd

The only storytelling I've been to hitherto was run by the Crick Crack Club. So I was intrigued when the London European Club (LEC) advertised something completely independent of them.. Naturally, I booked..

Now, this was up in Bethnal Green, which was going to take a while to get to - so it was unfortunate that yesterday evening was the one chosen for an unusually late meeting at work. Happily, our boss was conscious of the late hour, and kept it fairly short - so I did get out of the office before 6:30. Had to be Tube - the bus would only have taken 10 minutes more, but I needed every minute. I just made the Tube that Google Maps said I needed to. Central Line - lucky I wasn't going today, they're on strike! Great how I hardly have to pay attention to that, these days.

Alighted at Bethnal Green, and it was as quick to walk from there - straight up the road. I could see from the map that I would be passing the Museum of Childhood, which was handy for getting out of the station, as there was a sign for which exit to take for that. Pity there wasn't another sign at street level - I started off in the wrong direction, and it was only my maps app that told me I was headed the wrong way. I was cursing that as I trotted off in the other direction, and had to stop several times and wait to cross the very busy roads in this area.

I was five minutes late by the time I arrived - then had to find the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities. I needn't have worried about that, it stands out just a bit!

Encouraged at the sight of people just inside the door, I went in, and was greeted by the pleasant young lady behind the bar, who checked off my name and asked whether I'd like a drink? Someone else asked about the storytelling - yes, she said, it's happening just there. Ah, well it hadn't started yet then, despite the dire warnings about it starting at 7 sharp! So I ordered a drink, and while that was happening, I heard a voice announce that it'd be another five minutes..

It's a cosy place, but wow, what a place! You really should look up..

I got a seat at the back, beside one of his cabinets of curiosities:

And, in due course, the man himself appeared from downstairs, wearing a red djellaba, and made his way to the other end, where he propped himself against a wall and began. No problem with latecomers, they were welcomed all night - and he was keen to find seats for everyone, and managed it for everyone who wanted one. No mean feat, given that I counted 30 attendees by the end of the night..

This is a wonderfully weird and wacky place, and he fits it to a T. I hadn't heard of the Last Tuesday Society before, part of whose series this event was, but it sounds fascinating. Certainly, he took great delight in weaving for us a night of Sufi legends - a bit salacious for the taste of some, mind. The tales he had in mind centred on the husband of Sheherazade, and how he came to want to behead all his wives.. and he eventually finished with a couple of her stories. My only quibble - he should have projected his voice a bit more.. he could be hard to hear from the back.

Sufi tales are a bit rambling, and we went way over the advertised time - but hey, we got a free g&t in the interval! And I spent most of the night in glorious wonder at the strange and marvellous things there are to do in London, and the exotic venues to do them in. Although he encouraged people to stay for drinks after, I thought I'd head home and have a proper dinner.. and the bus stop just across the road served me perfectly for that (when I managed to cross the road). The 55 was supposed to take me a bit further, but unexpectedly stopped in Holborn - but hey, that's walking distance. And happily, Waterstone's was open for me to grab a book en route - I was in time to cook, but had nothing to read, and now leave my laptop in the office during the week.

Tonight, I'm headed, with London Dramatic Arts (LDAM), to The Cherry Orchard, at the Arcola. And I caught an interesting conversation in relation to that - seems someone who's booked can't go, and posted in case anyone wanted his ticket. Whereupon the organiser was right on to him to explain that that's against the rules. Yes, ok, he doesn't get a refund if the ticket isn't sold on, and he can't sell on the ticket directly - I get that. But me oh my, it seems her anti-blogging page isn't the only page of rules she - or someone she knows - has come up with - take a read of the rules against reselling. I mean seriously - the ticket can't be passed on until the day of the event? And forget about a refund - at best, you can get credit. You have been warned..

Tomorrow, the Crick Crack Club is back at Crouch End, with The Fate We Bring Ourselves - finally advertised on their Meetup page! Ben Haggerty standing in for Claire Muireann Murphy, who's having a knee operation, it seems. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

Monday, the Man with the Hat and London for Less Than a Tenner are off to Two Man Show at Soho Theatre. I've seen it before, but it's worth seeing again. And so is the group!

Tuesday, Let's Do London - for less! is off to Sleeping Beauty, at the Opera House.

Next Wednesday - well lookee that, the same group is off to Roundelay, at Southwark Playhouse. Three in a row for the Man with the Hat - we'll have to carry him off on a stretcher. About time we got back to Southwark though - we've missed it!

Thursday 2nd, I was thinking of free comedy in Hammersmith - this time with London Live Comedy, Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, and Random London. But then Walk, Talks and Treasure Hunts (and Walking Victorian London) announced a walk called True Spy Stories! So I thought that sounded more interesting, and booked.

Friday 3rd, again, Crick Crack is telling stories - Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton are performing Metamorphoses at Rich Mix. However, the Rich Mix website doesn't seem to have heard of this.. The independent Crick Crack Club website has a link to buy tickets from Rich Mix though, and at the moment they're being sold at a discounted preview price. And now that the link is available, their Meetup group is advertising it too.

Saturday 4th, Let's Do London - for less! is back to see Sleeping Beauty - and so am I. Honestly, this was a mistake on my part - I was booking a lot at the time and forgot I was already going - but hell, I'd rather be doing this anyway than not. Amphitheatre, this time - it's been a while since I was there.

Sunday 5th, London for Less Than a Tenner advertised "Soho: the Roots of the Swinging Sixties - guided walk"! Now, this confused me, before I read deeper.. I do recall the Man With the Hat saying that, while he was interested in guided walks, he wasn't interested in actually guiding them. Turns out someone else is doing the actual guiding.. Anyway, I booked, but it seems not enough of us did, and he's cancelled the event. The walk is still going ahead though - check out Back in the Day Walks for more details. Me? I might just go to a film - we'll see what's on, closer to time.

Monday 6th, I'm off to see Russell Howard at the Albert Hall.

Tuesday 7th, jeez, the Man with the Hat is back again! Hard to keep up these days - so I'm going with Let's Do London - for less! to The Diary of a Teenage Girl at Southwark Playhouse.

Wednesday 8th, I finally get to go to something with the Post-Apocalyptic Book Club - not a book discussion this time, instead they're off to a play called The Machine Stops, at Jacksons Lane Theatre. Suitably post-apocalyptic. Then I'm back to Ireland for a long weekend.

Monday 13th, I'm with LDAM at the Royal Court, for The Kid Stays in the Picture.


That rescheduled talk on Brexit Vs. Trump from last week is on Tuesday 14th. Unless I decide to go to a film instead - being Funzing, I can get my money back if I cancel at least 48 hours in advance.

On Wednesday 15th, the Man with the Hat is now taking London for Less Than a Tenner to Top Secret.

Thursday 16th, he's back to the Opera House for the opening night of a mixed bill of ballet. As usual, he's in the slips with London for Less Than a Tenner, and in the amphitheatre with Let's Do London - for Less!

Friday 17th, I got a cheap ticket to a very topical version of Twelfth Night, in the Drayton Arms. Ah, I remember when I was walking distance from there..

Saturday 18th, I'm back with Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts for an Oliver Twist walk. Back with Hazel, excellent!

Sunday 19th.. not a Man with the Hat event, but one he's advertised. One of his group plays Spanish guitar, and is giving a concert that night - so I've booked a ticket. Well hey, I do love Spanish music..

And on Monday 20th, I'm off to a Funzing talk on The Science of Psychedelics. Courtesy of London Speaks Sessions, LDN Talks @ Night, and London for a Tenner or Less (nothing to do with the Man with the Hat). Unless I think of something better up to 48 hours beforehand..

Film: Hacksaw Ridge

Yeah, I know. Not as advertised.

See, I had this Wowcher for the annual Magic Lantern festival. Bought it ages ago - and as usually happens with these things that aren't date-specific, my days gradually got booked up, until yesterday was the only day I could make it before the festival ended. From last year, I knew I wouldn't be able to enter before 8pm with the wowcher - ok, and yesterday evening I finally thought to check what time of night the festival finished, so I could see how long I'd have there.

And discovered it doesn't run on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays.. apart from last week, which was half term..

O for goodness' sake. I'll have to stop buying event Wowchers, I never end up using them! I don't have another day free for that now. Plus I had to come up with a Plan B for last night. Well, as so often happens, Plan B was a film - cue rapid redoing of film list, rechecking IMDB ratings. Happily, it was unusually quick, what with multiple showings of the same films, and not many new ones. Still, it took me three hours, and I despaired of getting it done  in time to get to anything.

8:40pm I finished, and started to check what was on where and when. The films right at the top of the list were all excluded - they either weren't showing at all yesterday, or one was showing during the day. Which left me with two at the top for yesterday - Hacksaw Ridge and John Wick: Chapter 2. (Huh?) Pardon my French, but WTF? What's John Wick doing that high? Waiting with anticipation to see that rating fall..

So, Hacksaw Ridge. Fair enough - at least I'd be seeing one of the big-hitting Oscar-nominated films. The two closest cinemas to me where it was showing had already started their last showings of the day, but I got lucky - Vue Piccadilly was showing it at 9.20, and is 10 minutes' walk away. I grabbed a couple of slices of toast at the office, and off I went. Met a persuasive beggar on the way, but not persuasive enough - I've been conned enough, and am unlikely to give anything any more.

Popped into the Tesco next door for cheap snacks.. Made it to the cinema at about the time of the start of the programme. Ah yes, this is the cinema with the dazzling, blue-lit stairs down to the screens.. proceed with caution. With no ticket machines evident, I had to head down to the basement to buy a ticket - and felt quite out of place, amongst all the folks buying booze! Special offer on mini bottles of prosecco, it seems - others were on wine. I passed - at just under £15 for the ticket, I figured they were getting enough of my money.

Gotta say this for the place - the seats are gorgeous. Plush upholstery, reclining - all I needed was something to put my feet up on. Of course, that didn't bother the folks in front of me, who just rested their weary legs on the backs of the seats in front of them.

Fully half an hour of ads followed - I was beginning to wonder what time I'd get out of there. And finally the much-lauded feature started, with an Oscar factoid - (a) this has been nominated for Best Director, and (b) the only female winner ever in this category was Kathryn Bigelow, for The Hurt Locker. So, Mel Gibson has directed this, described in the opening credits as a "true story" rather than "based on" one - the story in question being about Desmond Doss, the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor. The man himself is played by Andrew Garfield, with Hugo Weaving as his dad. Vince Vaughn shows up as his sergeant.

Goodness me, this was a strange one to watch. Long, for a start - approaching 2.5 hours, much of which came across as being of the Ladybird school of film direction. It started with the lighting, and the colour scheme - it was just so.. I dunno, pretty. We meet the tall, skinny, doe-eyed Mr. Doss in his picturesque Virginia hometown. And lordy, the boy almost never wipes the smile from his face. See Desmond save the boy from under the car! See Desmond take the boy to hospital! See Desmond smile at the pretty nurse! See Desmond enlist!

Moving on to boot camp.. See Desmond meet the usual jolly crowd of compadres in the barracks! See the likeable rogues we're obviously supposed to start caring about before they start losing bits on the battlefield! See the sarge bark at them! A more cliched bunch of recruits you'll never find. Similarly, the script is predictable, the characters' reactions by-the-numbers. It wasn't for this that Gibson got an Oscar nomination for Best Director.

Nope, it was obviously for the battle scenes. I expected no less - and I had my prediction confirmed. When our boy finally saw action - it was kind of like that old cinema gimmick, where they used to jiggle the seats to mimic what was happening on screen, you know? The mayhem that accompanied the opening battle scene was such that I literally did feel part of it. The ground shook, the guns roared. The flamethrowers were used to great effect! Stunning stuff, and I have never seen better fight scenes.

But hey, that made for a very unbalanced film, I thought. So, please no Best Director for Mel Gibson this year, no Best Picture either - not sure about Andrew Garfield, I suppose he did as well as anyone else in the Best Actor category! It's also nominated in the technical sound categories, in which - I think - it would be a worthy winner. Anyway, as I say, I'm glad to have seen one of the more famous nominated films this year.. And although it was after midnight when it finished, well, so what? I could walk home..

Tonight, unusually, London European Club is taking us to some storytelling - up in Cambridge Heath! Now, on Friday my boss rescheduled our weekly Tuesday evening meeting for this week to 6-6:45pm (most of the team is based in California, you see). She has some hope - I have to be in Cambridge Heath by 7! I've told her I'll come, but have to duck out before 6:30..

Tomorrow, I'm headed, with London Dramatic Arts (LDAM), to The Cherry Orchard, at the Arcola. And I caught an interesting conversation in relation to that evening - seems someone who's booked can't go, and posted in case anyone wanted his ticket. Whereupon the organiser was right on to him to explain that that's against the rules. Yes, ok, he doesn't get a refund if the ticket isn't sold on, and he can't sell on the ticket directly - I get that. But me oh my, it seems her anti-blogging page isn't the only page of rules she - or someone she knows - has come up with - take a read of the rules against reselling. I mean seriously - the ticket can't be passed on until the day of the event? And forget about a refund - at best, you can get credit. You have been warned..

Thursday, the Crick Crack Club is back at Crouch End, with The Fate We Bring Ourselves - finally advertised on their Meetup page! Ben Haggerty standing in for Claire Muireann Murphy, who's having a knee operation, it seems. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

Monday, the Man with the Hat and London for Less Than a Tenner are off to Two Man Show at Soho Theatre. I've seen it before, but it's worth seeing again. And so is the group!

Next Tuesday, Let's Do London - for less! is off to Sleeping Beauty, at the Opera House.

Wednesday 1st March - well lookee that, the same group is off to Roundelay, at Southwark Playhouse. Three in a row for the Man with the Hat - we'll have to carry him off on a stretcher. About time we got back to Southwark though - we've missed it!

Thursday 2nd, I was thinking of free comedy in Hammersmith - this time with London Live Comedy, Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, and Random London. But then Walk, Talks and Treasure Hunts (and Walking Victorian London) announced a walk called True Spy Stories! So I thought that sounded more interesting, and booked.

Friday 3rd, again, Crick Crack is telling stories - Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton are performing Metamorphoses at Rich Mix. However, the Rich Mix website doesn't seem to have heard of this.. The independent Crick Crack Club website now has a link to buy tickets from Rich Mix though, and at the moment they're being sold at a discounted preview price. And now that the link is available, their Meetup group is advertising it too.

Saturday 4th, Let's Do London - for less! is back to see Sleeping Beauty - and so am I. Honestly, this was a mistake on my part - I was booking a lot at the time and forgot I was already going - but hell, I'd rather be doing this anyway than not. Amphitheatre, this time - it's been a while since I was there.

Sunday 5th, London for Less Than a Tenner is advertising "Soho: the Roots of the Swinging Sixties - guided walk"! Now, this confused me, before I read deeper.. I do recall the Man With the Hat saying that, while he was interested in guided walks, he wasn't interested in actually guiding them. Turns out someone else is doing the actual guiding.. Anyway, count me in.

Monday 6th, I'm off to see Russell Howard at the Albert Hall.

Tuesday 7th, jeez, the Man with the Hat is back again! Hard to keep up these days - so I'm going with Let's Do London - for less! to The Diary of a Teenage Girl at Southwark Playhouse.

Wednesday 8th, I finally get to go to something with the Post-Apocalyptic Book Club - not a book discussion this time, instead they're off to a play called The Machine Stops, at Jacksons Lane Theatre. Suitably post-apocalyptic. Then I'm back to Ireland for a long weekend.

Monday 13th, I'm with LDAM at the Royal Court, for The Kid Stays in the Picture.

And to complete the tally, that rescheduled talk on Brexit Vs. Trump from last Tuesday is on Tuesday 14th. Unless I decide to go to a film instead - being Funzing, I can get my money back if I cancel at least 48 hours in advance.