With Happy Hour from 5 to 8 (hence half-price drinks), the clientele were as manic as the music, and it took something like forever to get served. Eventually though, we ended up at a reserved section at the back..
Mind you, with the seating spread out along the wall, it turned out to be handier just to gather in small, standing groups, and that's what we ended up doing. A good rock soundtrack entertained us until it was time for me to leave, and a 10-minute walk got me to Top Secret..
Holy Hell, a queue to get in! Now, although the show wasn't to start till 8:15, the Man with the Hat had said he'd be there from 7:30, and advised us to come early, which is what I'd done. I suppose it was about 7:40 by this time. And by the look of it, his attendees had taken him at his word - he was standing outside, and as I passed I asked him whether they were all his. To be fair, he wouldn't have known, there were so many newcomers last night.
After the obligatory pit-stop at the bar - just buying one, rather than my customary one extra for the interval, I'd drunk so much already - I ended up in the second row. And the place filled up about as quickly as I've ever seen it.. justifiably, because last night's lineup was one of the best I've seen. Francis Foster was first up, setting the stage for a very, very strong program. Leo Kearse followed, with a much stronger routine than the last time we saw him. After the break, we had Lateef Lovejoy, and a very funny Irish guy, Daniel - Brown? The final set saw Tania Edwards, with a very sharp set about marriage and motherhood - she had to rein in her comments about the Northern Irish though, as there were some at the back. And - glory be, that "ethnic guy", as he describes himself, whose name I can never get, was on last. And funny as he was, again I failed..
Feeling a bit more flush than the last time I was here, I acceded to the mc's plea for donations, and dropped a contribution in the bucket he was brandishing at the exit. Lord knows, the show was worth it. And I even gave enough to get a card, supposedly entitling me to free entry for the year. Not that that's why I did it, mind - I figure this is well worth the £1 price of admission. Caveat though - I just checked, and the card I was given expires in June! :-) So, you know, if that does matter to you, you'd better check..
Wow, afterwards we got people to go to the pub, for the first time in a while! I'm sure the milder weather has something to do with it. Anyway, a short trot got us to the White Hart, where we bagged the sofas at the back and had a good old blather, finally disgorging ourselves into the night. And a good night was had by all, I think.
Passed a guided tour on my way into work this morning. Just around the back of our building..! Goodness. Anyway, tonight the Man with the Hat s taking London for Less Than a Tenner to a concert in St. Martin's, where we have gallery seats. And he's sold out his quota, I see. And I can walk there again, happily.
Tomorrow, I was supposed to go to free comedy in Hammersmith. Courtesy of London Live Comedy, Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, and London Art Comedy and Culture Lovers. But hey, that guide's voice must have recovered - yesterday, she advertised a Sweeney Todd tour for tomorrow evening with Walk About London - and I booked. Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts also going.
Saturday, after lunch with Helen - somewhere around Euston - I'm back with London Dramatic Arts for a production of Hamlet, at the Almeida.
Sunday is shaping up to be a busy day. I'd booked to go to a free organ recital, with the London European Club, at the Methodist Central Hall. Then the Man with the Hat decides that would be the perfect evening to take Let's Do London - for less! to see the Pop-up Opera, with the Barber of Seville, at Charing Cross Theatre! With a 6pm start, I'll have to rush over from Westminster.. have to make my excuses to the London European Club. My, what a busy life!
Monday is the only day I have free to use my Wowcher before it expires - it's for the Magic Lantern festival.
Tuesday, unusually, London European Club is taking us to some storytelling - up in Cambridge Heath!
Wednesday, I'm headed, with LDAM, to The Cherry Orchard, at the Arcola.
Next 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 27th, London for Less Than a Tenner is 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 28th, 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. Amphiteatre, 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 as of yesterday, 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 of a month from now (!), 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.
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