I only got more tired on the way, and by the time I got there, I was sufficiently out of it that I walked right past the venue. To be fair, I'd never been there before. Happily though, I met a couple of the group coming in the other direction, who directed me back to where I needed to be. We were early enough to get a table that was - roughly - large enough for the group, and while some ordered pizzas, I just had a glass of wine and some onion rings.
Gotta say, I'd be happy enough to eat a full meal here - the onion rings were very nice, and most restorative. Wine was nice, too - and the pizzas looked lovely. Anyway, the rest of the group gradually joined us, and when we saw someone sit at the "box office" desk, we all shuffled over to get our hands stamped - tickets not necessary, she had a checklist of our names. We had a fun time chatting - but once they knew the box office was occupied, some folk were preoccupied with spotting when the doors opened; few people want to be at the front of a comedy gig, after all! For all their peering over the crowd, they missed the actual moment - it wasn't until there was a general movement of the crowd (which now filled the bar) that we all made a move ourselves. Happily, we got a row near the back - it's not as though we were going to miss anything, the venue isn't that big! Glasses - and indeed food - can be taken in, so that's not an issue.
MC was Ben van der Velde, a charming chap who introduced to us a whole range of comedy talent. The comedy came to us in three sections, each with two acts - starting off the night was Jonny & The Baptists, who entertained us with musical numbers. But for me, the highlight of the first section was Angela Barnes, with some wicked one-liners. For instance, the image of Jacob Rees Mogg being "the end result of a government experiment to produce the world's most punchable face" will stay with me. Imran Yusuf took a seat for his mild-mannered performance. Interesting background - never mind his ethnic origin, or family history; he used to be a software developer! (Well, I would find that interesting..)
We went back out to the bar for each of the two intervals, and got our table back - but with me being so spaced-out, I decided against any more alcohol. Although I didn't have much cash on me - never do - I did find some for one of the several charity buckets going around - the night was in aid of Refugees at Home, which supports people with spare rooms who want to accommodate refugees.
The second section started with Tez Ilyas - but Aisling Bea got a larger reaction! She used the show as a practice run for her speech for her sister's upcoming wedding.. but the talking point afterwards was whether her dentist is really called Mark Wahlberg!
The final section had the biggest hitters of the night - Ed Gamble, with an hilarious description of a massage, and Josh Widdicombe, whose solo show I had booked for a while back and missed. He wasn't the first of the night to base his routine around his baby, but his description of being a new parent was terrific. Afterwards, they milled around the bar - but we didn't hang around long, the evening had overrun and people wanted to get home. I accompanied them down the road until they all literally poured into the Tube station! Me, of course, I was bussing it, as usual.
Yesterday, I arrived back in Ireland for Easter - by the time I got around to booking flights, that was the closest reasonably cheap date! Not only that, but the evening flights were full - I had to fly in the morning, which meant I hardly got any sleep that night. And by the time last night rolled around, I was far too tired to blog. Today was much more relaxed - I took my mother to confession in Ennis. Might I point out that the "Wait/Enter" lights above the confessional were most misleading, given that the wrong one was always illuminated.. Afterwards we headed, for the first time in years, to The Grove for dinner - it has the advantage of easy parking.
What a glorious day it turned out to be, warm and sunny! (Is winter over at last?!) We took a seat near the door, for the breeze, and regretted it when someone closed it. Not enough to reopen it, mind - it wasn't that hot!
Wow, this place has improved since I was last here. Service was terrific, quick and friendly - although they took a while to come to us after we arrived, so I got menus from the bar myself. And they took forever to come to us for our dessert order - by which time we'd decided we didn't want one anyway. There is a decent supermarket next door, which served us well for that.
The choice has improved, and the food was very good. Vegetable soup - with some indifferent bread - was followed, for me, by "Phille" chicken, with mushroom sauce and cheese, which was delicious. My mother had salmon, as usual, which she polished off. We had terrific sides of onion rings and sauté mushrooms, which were served with onion - both utterly delicious. The only problem was the quantity of food, which was a little too much for us. Still, I'd definitely be back here.
Flying back to London on Monday. On Tuesday, with UITCS again for Come From Away, finally, at the Phoenix. I've heard so much about this award-winning show, it's about time I saw it, eh? It's the true story, apparently, of the aftermath of 9-11, when all planes were temporarily grounded. And a small Newfoundland town played host to people stranded there, from all over! And - listed as a separate Meetup - afterwards, the band from the show is playing at the Arts Club, downstairs: entry free if you have a ticket for the musical. If you're going separately, the entry ticket includes a free cocktail, which makes this excellent value!
On Wednesday, back with London Literary Walks for his Elephant and Castle Walk. Another popular one.
And next Thursday - considering I'll still be on garden leave, and my days will be nice and free - I'm meeting 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners for a walk about A History of Chelsea - from quaint to Quant. Starting in the morning, we're meeting in the bar of the Royal Court, and will have lunch after the walk.
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