Restaurant: Mattarello (Sfoglia Bologna)

Yesterday, I didn't have anything booked, but was thinking of film again. If I did that, top of the list was The Samuel Project, showing in the Jewish Centre, JW3. It's about a Jewish teenager who has to do a school project, decides to interview his grandfather for it, and lo, finds out all about his wartime adventures. Trailer looks decent. Or I might just traipse back and forth, moving stuff..

And in the end, that's exactly what I did. However, I did get hungry - and on the last day of my garden leave, decided to treat myself to a last supper, as you might say! Trying not to repeat the cuisines of the past couple of days, I decided on Italian - and the nearest to me (that was open, being in the City on a weekend) was Mattarello.

A short, if winding, walk got me there - and with only one other table occupied, I soon got a seat. The maître d' - who's also the owner - had her laptop open at another table, but it didn't keep her from being on top of service. The menu is unusual in my experience - not a lot of starters, for instance. I chose the bread basket. In true Italian fashion, a list of pasta dishes follows, followed by mains - I had the sautéed beef with mushrooms. Roast potatoes are an optional extra side (at £6) - I meant to order them, but forgot. A large glass of white wine finished my order.

The wine came quickly, and was gorgeous. The bread basket was a great choice - they bake the bread in-house, and it's great! I finished the lot. The beef and mushrooms were presented as a kind of indistinguishable brown clump - heavy, but very tasty. I did manage to finish them, but was kind of glad I hadn't had the potatoes. For dessert, a chocolate soufflé came dusted with icing sugar, sat in a bed of custard. Absolutely lovely, and highly recommended.

It isn't the cheapest I've been to, but seems one of the more authentic Italian restaurants in London - and the owner was happy to show the people at the other table around the eclectic interior, when they expressed an interest. With private rooms available for large parties - you never know, I might be back!

Tonight, the Crick Crack Club is back at Soho Theatre with The Big Blind: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups.

Tomorrow, I'm back with North London Friends for the first time in months, at the Royal Court for Salt: A Journey to the Bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, an exploration of the old slave routes.

On Wednesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for Man of La Mancha, starring Kelsey Grammer and Nicholas Lyndhurst, at the Coliseum. Being in the balcony as usual, I had to go in the very back row - can't handle those vertiginous stairs! Tickets a bit cheaper with WhatsOnStage. Mixed reviews for this - we shall see.

On Thursday, back at another Spooky London Paranormal Pub Meetup. This time, it's The Morpeth Arms. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

Next Monday and on the 21st, it's UITCS again. Next Monday, we're going to Rosmersholm, by Ibsen, at the Duke of York's Theatre.

On the 21st, it's Our Town at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. Hope the weather holds!

On the 22nd, back at last with London Literary Walks - whom I'm shamefully neglecting - for "The Second Westminster Walk".

On the 23rd and 24th, back with UITCS. The 23rd, it's for The Starry Messenger, at Wyndham's, starring Matthew Broderick. I waited the longest time to book this, because I have theatre tokens, earned from posting photos to Seatplan, and every time I thought of booking it, I was either away from where my tokens were, or it was out of office hours - and they have to be booked by phone, generally. Well, I was to be glad I waited - they finally released really cheap front row seats in the stalls! (Restricted view, it's a tall stage.) And I was within arms' reach of my tokens, mid-afternoon. After being kept forever on hold, I was put through to someone who had to have everything spelled out for her, and emitted a big sigh when I told her I had a theatre token. So she had to log into that site. But it was all worth it, to get a ticket for £2.25..

On the 24th, we're off to Jude, at Hampstead Theatre.

And on the 25th, back - for the first time in a ridiculously long time - with London Dramatic Arts! We're at King Hedley II, with Lenny Henry, at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East. As usual, she closed RSVPs too early, but I asked, and she reopened them. Be good to see them again!