It'd be very handy if you were based in East London - not so much from where I was coming from, in the West End. Still, no longer to get to than Heathrow. If I were to do it in under an hour, I'd have to take the Tube - to Waterloo, then catch the Jubilee Line to Canning Town, from where I could take the bus or DLR. Now, I must have been feeling a bit distracted, because, while you can happily change Tube lines without touching out, something persuaded me that I should exit at Waterloo. It was as I was ascending on the escalator that I saw signs ahead, started to prod myself to remember where I was headed next, and went, "Oh, hell!".. so that cost me some unnecessary time and expense. Never mind - my life is just too damn busy these days. "Sleep when I'm dead", indeed.
So, back down again - by stairs, as the down escalator was out of order. A packed Jubilee Line took me - not to Canning Town, but to the stop before, North Greenwich. (I hadn't even thought to check.) And I really wish I'd heeded the driver's advice to get off at the stop before that (Canary Wharf) if we wanted to go further - when we arrived at North Greenwich, it turned out I had to go all the way upstairs and down onto another platform to get a train going my way. And this journey really wasn't going my way - when I finally got to Canning Town, I couldn't flippin' find the exit! You could go up or down to change platforms, but there was nothing about an exit. Heading up, I saw a sign pointing down for the exit, and sure enough, the basement was where I finally found it. The rather aggressive charity collectors gathered around the exit got short shrift from me, I'm afraid..
Guess what? It was easy from then on. I'd decided to take the bus, and easily found the stop: only to find that the next wasn't due for a while. I was just wondering whether to take the DLR instead, when the bus arrived (so much for departure boards, again). And a quick, 10-minute journey took us right to the airport door. A short walk, the automatic terminal doors opened - oh look, there are the self-service kiosks! (Desks with people at them are just behind.) Duly checked in - why, there's the escalator to Departures, just over there. Ascended, through security nice and quickly, and I was hungry. Looked around - oh look, people eating! "The Pilot's Kitchen". Ok then.
I was quickly seated, and quickly served - and with a smile; they're lovely, here. The menu consists mainly of variations on the same dishes, so they can get it out swiftly - and many of these are burgers. I noticed you could have a plain or posh (Aberdeen Angus) burger, with or without plain or posh bacon and cheese (posh = Stilton). I was plain all the way - with bacon and cheese, mind. And very moreish it was! Funnily enough, I forgot to ask for it without the pickle that was advertised on the menu - but there wasn't any; instead, they had tomato, which hadn't been listed. And which I had to remove, as I'm intolerant. I'd have had dessert, maybe, but my gate had been announced by the time I'd finished eating, and I just paid and left.
Duly found my gate, only to discover that BA was doing its thing of keeping people waiting an eternity before boarding. (One U2 t-shirt, ahead of me in the queue.) We finally boarded a plane with only four seats across - rather nice. Also nice was to discover, once we were airborne, that - despite me being on the same airline, in the same class, as my last trip, to Barcelona, where economy were charged for everything - on this flight, we got a free drink and snack! Gee, I'm liking this airport more and more. (They forgot to close the curtain separating us from Business class, so I can testify that the difference is that they got a proper meal, with metal cutlery and proper glasses. And cloth napkins. Ehh, not worth the extra. Except I was a bit jealous of their chocolate cake.)
In Dublin, sure enough, the bus information desk was closed, where I'd hoped to get a Leap card - the card they've brought in, since I was last here, that works the same as an Oyster card. I also noticed no sign for the bus - just as well I remembered where the stop was! Got a regular ticket for my ride into town, and a clear information system told me the stop names, which bore a vague resemblance to those that Google Maps had given me. Again, it pays to have some idea of your bearings.
My hotel was on Talbot Street, so when we came to the Talbot Street stop, off I got - and glee! The Ripley Court was right across the road. And the doors were locked - I had to buzz the intercom to get in, and the guy on reception had to tell me when the door was unlocked, as there is no indication. Checked in - and straight away, a rip-off: I'd thought the hotel in Barcelona was a tad exorbitant, but at €250 per night (over twice the normal rate), not including breakfast, this was really taking the mickey! Apparently, some foreign tourism minister stayed in Dublin recently, and returned home in high dudgeon, saying he'd never recommend Dublin, for its inflated prices. As it happened, that was one of the lead stories in Saturday's paper, how local hotels had boosted their rates by an average of 40% for the concert - indeed, I remember the hassle of booking accommodation in Dublin, back in January on the day I bought my concert tickets, when the availability map on Booking.com had hotels disappearing in front of my eyes, and I had to book fast to get a bed in the city at all..
So, for €250 per night, I got a decent-sized twin room (for single occupancy), with double glazing, standard, heavy, oak furnishings and trim, and the pokiest bathroom you've ever seen. Plenty of towels, nowhere to put them. Still, I was exhausted, and slept well - but only with the help of the earplugs I'm never without; I was on the first floor, and that double glazing does nothing to mitigate the noise from this city-centre street, or the trains that rattle right by the window, on their way to and from nearby Connolly Station. Convenient location, adequate accommodation - but very overpriced.
Saturday dawned fine and sunny. Got the aforementioned paper - packed with enthusiastic articles about the concert: event of the year in Ireland, y'know! I was supposed to meet my friend, who was going to the concert with me, at Café Kylemore for brunch; she texted to say she was running late, so I stayed reading a bit longer before I headed out. She hadn't got there when I arrived, so I staked a claim to a table - it can get very busy at lunchtime, which we were now approaching. She was coming by bus, and traffic was horrendous - in the end, I was waiting over half an hour before she arrived! So, she had breakfast and I had lunch - roast chicken, with veg and gravy. As I didn't want the cabbage, they let me have something from the breakfast menu to substitute - I chose mushrooms. The chicken was lovely - unfortunately, the carrots and mushrooms were stone cold. Hey-ho, I got fed at last, and was glad of it.
Popped out to her place for a while, where she kindly fed me with chocolate cake - then back into town, for something to eat before the concert. I fancied Chinese, all of a sudden - so we decided on the Good World, which we used to go to, back in the day when we both lived here. An early-bird menu, with a cheaper and a slightly more expensive option, was great value, and we were well and tastily fed. Ice cream for dessert - I asked for chocolate sauce, but she mistook it for a request for chocolate ice cream. Delicious, anyhow!
Back to the hotel then, briefly, to drop off the large bag of prezzies my friend had kindly given me. (Can't take large bags into rock concerts.) And also to drop off any food products - that's what they're really looking for, with those security checks, you know! A minor panic followed when it seemed she'd lost her phone and went back to look for it; in the meantime, I heard a ringing.. it turned out to have scooted under the dressing table, of course, and we hadn't heard it, as it fell on carpet.
Finally, we were off. I had Google Maps to hand, but you really don't need it on the way to the concert - just follow the hordes.
More photos here. No queueing allowed, this time - must've been manic when the gates opened! Routes were split, as ever, according to what section of the stadium you were headed to, as stated on your ticket; Google Maps was kind enough to direct us by the correct route, anyway. It's an impressive structure, rising above the rooftops.. Bag check complete, we were soon in our seats - the best for me yet on this tour!
Practically down on the pitch, as the concert progressed, it felt as though we were in the world's largest rave! Predictably, the most international crowd yet - we had Spanish and Germans beside us, a row of French people in front of us - I overheard American accents, and there were Spanish, Greek, and Brazilian flags in the crowd. A lot of Northern Irish accents, too. And the place was, apparently, packed with the Great and the Good - a huge round of applause went up when the President and his wife took their seats, high above us (not as good a view as we had). The Taoiseach was on the pitch, rather overdressed:
The Archbishop of Dublin, Chelsea Clinton and her husband, Colin Farrell and his family, Larry Gogan, Amy Huberman, the various members of U2's families.. yes, all were in attendance when a scream arose, as someone saw a procession of folks heading for the rear of the stage. Finally, Larry Mullen strolled out, took his seat, and laid into the military beat of Sunday Bloody Sunday. And we were off..
Setlist:
SET LIST
Sunday Bloody Sunday
New Year's Day
Bad
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
With Or Without You
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Red Hill Mining Town
In God's Country
Trip Through Your Wires
One Tree Hill
Exit
Mothers of the Disappeared
New Year's Day
Bad
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
With Or Without You
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Red Hill Mining Town
In God's Country
Trip Through Your Wires
One Tree Hill
Exit
Mothers of the Disappeared
ENCORE
Miss Sarajevo
Beautiful Day
Elevation
Vertigo
Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
One
The Little Things That Give You Away
Beautiful Day
Elevation
Vertigo
Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
One
The Little Things That Give You Away
Bono started by saying that he wanted this night to be epic: and as the hymn-like strains of Where the Streets Have No Name heralded the turning-on of the screen, someone had obviously done their best to make it so, as everybody raised their eyes to a military flyover, jets trailing the Irish colours! Nobody seems to know who actually made that call, but as people have remarked, there was enough political clout in the house to make it an easy task.
Awesome concert, a real sense of one-ness, when all you could see frequently were hands raised aloft below the stage. A real toss-up as to whether this or Barcelona was THE concert of the tour - I suppose I have to give it to Dublin.
Afterwards, a schlep back to the hotel - my friend's sister had got a last-minute ticket, not too badly priced on Stubhub, and met us at the hotel afterwards, but it took her until nearly midnight to get there. They were hungry, and I started to get peckish myself, so we headed out to forage; the queue at Supermac's extending into the road, we headed around the corner to Saigon City, an Asian takeaway with long tables. Where the queue was.. lively. For the authentic Dublin experience, do come here late night at the weekend. Just be prepared for rough language.. we could have stayed and eaten there, but thought we might have had a quieter experience back in my room, where there was a table, and three chairs - just right. And she of the last-minute ticket managed to cadge a fork and spoon from the bar, downstairs. I have to recommend the chicken balls, which were excellent - I found the curry too spicy for my taste, and wasn't mad about the rice.
And so to bed, eventually - and I was glad I set the alarm, given that late checkout would have cost me €40 extra, and without the alarm I'd probably have missed the deadline. That bus stop I'd got off at was set-down only, and rather than try to figure out where to go for the bus to the station, I decided to walk - it was a nice day. I was taking the train down to my mother's for a couple of days, you see. Unfortunately, I was dragging quite a weight of luggage.. never mind, I made it eventually, and after discovering I'd left my charger in the hotel and would have to buy another (damn!), I headed for food in the station bar, which was by now serving carvery lunch. Service for food was good, for the bar was indifferent, and the food was excellent - apart from the overly sweet marinade on the chicken. Oh, and I finally got a Leap card! (too late) - I don't know whether the feature was available at the other ticket machines I used over the weekend, but I have one now. And since the cash slot didn't seem to be working, I used my Monzo card.. thank goodness for it! The prepaid card that you top up with your debit card - no fee for using abroad, and very safe. And unlike my existing credit card, I don't have to pay this one from my Irish account - the one with no regular funds going into it.
After some standing around - no seats available - my platform was finally announced, and I had a relaxing journey all the way to Sixmilebridge, where I picked up my car. By the time I got to my mother's, both of us were ready to be fed again, and headed to the Abbey Tavern - and again the next day. She does like it there - good atmosphere, and the staff all know us. A pity they hardly change their menu.. so, on the first outing, I had lamb (for a change) - wasn't that keen, and they gave me far too much, as is typical. On the second outing, I had steak - always excellent, it's a good staple choice here.
And so back to London, finally. Tonight, I had booked free comedy in Greenwich - London Live Comedy, Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich, Random London, and London Art, Comedy & Culture Lovers. Then Funzing rode to the rescue, and I booked a Funzing talk entitled "Politics - WTF!" Appropriate, no? Anyway, I booked on a once-only code "iwantfunzingagain". Or you could try "Funzing30" - both give 30% off, but are time-limited. But last week, I checked.. and whoopee, London Literary Walks is back at last, with a Sculpture in the City walk. Thank goodness I can cancel Funzing up to 48 hours beforehand without penalty. So I did.
Tomorrow was free comedy in Hammersmith again. With the first three of the above groups, plus DiscoverLDN.UK. And would you believe it - before I had the chance to cancel, they did! Well, Hammersmith & Fulham Friends did - which I'm taking it applies to all. Maybe not -anyway, it gave me the excuse. So I'll go to a film, as I was already thinking of doing; predictably, top of the list is Dunkirk. Showing at multiple times, nice and close to me.
I fly back on Monday, and saw an interesting Funzing talk advertised for that night - "Are We Living in the Matrix?" Well, I'm well overdue a free talk, with all of them that I've booked (every fourth free), so I contacted them to get a code to get this for free. Still waiting..! Despairing of them, I finally booked it on one of their limited 50% deals. It had been advertised with London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @Night - funnily enough, they've now both cancelled. It still seems to be running, though. No loyalty points for this one, I guess!
On Tuesday, I finally get to see Jennifer Rees again, when she's giving a talk on The Psychology of Criminals. With dim sum, great! (Had to stick with a 10% discount for this one - Fun_Day10 or Fun_Week10 are the ones you want for that.) And it's walking distance from me for once, in Covent Garden. She's a fantastic and engaging speaker. Excellent.. and Helen has sensibly decided to come too. On which occasion she'll deliver all the stuff I couldn't fit in my bag, coming back from Twickenham!
I was just looking up what to do next Wednesday - and wouldn't you know it, at that moment the Pop-Up Opera sent me a mail with upcoming events. Une Éducation Manquée is a short, French comic opera, whose run finishes that day. All right then!
On the 3rd, my first Meetup with Up in the Cheap Seats, one of several new groups I've joined to fill the great void left by the sad departure of the Man with the Hat. We're off to see The Tempest, with Simon Russell Beale, at the Barbican. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 7th, back with Let's Do This for a vintage swing jazz evening at Wilton's.
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