He was working from home, and had a lot to do - he was taking the bus in, and I'd said to let me know when he started out, so I could start to make a move as well. He lives a good bit out of town, so it'd take a while for him to get there. So I ultimately made a move - in time to walk, which I did. And boy, was I frozen by the time I gratefully got there! And.. the restaurant was closed. Really shouldn't have been - I checked the website, you could technically still book up to 9pm that night! (It was 8.30 when we arrived - Ivan just slightly after I did.) Well, blast - with only the two of us, I hadn't bothered to book - and I suppose they'd had no business on a cold Tuesday night, and had closed early. What a shame..
Never mind, I knew The Museum Tavern, at the street corner by the museum itself, does good food - so we went there. You can't miss it - festooned with fairy lights, it advertises itself well. We managed to get a table, I perused the menu - he got a bottle of wine, which we shared, and then he had a lot to say for himself; turns out he had a job interview the day before, and was full of plans for the future, and news. And so it took me forever to get my order in (he wasn't actually that hungry, and passed on food: so it was just as well we ended up in the bar, where that wasn't such an issue). I was wondering whether I'd ever get the chance to order at the bar - but the server, who had little to do, saw me with the menu and decided to come and ask whether she could get me anything. Very obliging - you are supposed to come and order at the bar! So I ordered my regular hunter's chicken - which was reasonable priced, and absolutely delicious. I'm a sucker for bbq sauce.
By the time I finished - Ivan was still talking - the kitchen was closed, so no dessert: and anyway, he wanted to make the Co-Op near the studio, to pick up some more alcohol. It'd take a while to get the bus - so we took the Tube instead. Our train would be the third, with one waiting on the platform - we really shouldn't have had to wait long. A train was sat at the platform, there'd be another along between it and ours. Except.. no movement. No announcements. Meantime, another delayed passenger took an interest in Ivan's guitar, which he'd brought - during this prolonged delay, he had tons of time to have a look, have a go on it himself.. isn't music a great unifier?! They were bosom buddies by the time the other guy's train arrived. Signal failure, we were eventually told. In practical terms, it meant that we were delayed enough that we just missed the Co-Op, which had just closed, tantalising bottles of wine visible from through the glass doors.
Blast. Well, he investigated Google Maps to find the nearest off-license.. and there was one about 10 minutes' walk away! Ironically, very near Ladbroke Grove Station, which was one before ours - so we could have got off early, and saved a walk. Hindsight is 20-20. So off we set - and I was getting a bit miffed at walking by now. Anyway, we arrived, I chose a bottle - he was still deciding, so I went to pay: and the card machine was broken. He did tell us that there was an atm just down the road, so off we headed, as Ivan didn't have any cash either. Turned out to be right beside a Sainsbury's - which was still open! We went to have a look, he decided there was a better selection, and he shopped there instead, also picking us up some food. Me, I went back to the off-licence, where I'd left my shopping on the counter.
And so off to the recording studio for the night. And as they do a special deal for 10 hours.. it was all night! So I took yesterday off work - wisely. A great time was had - the Tube home was much less problematic, and by the time I finally dragged myself home, I just had time to have a few hours' sleep before I headed out again. Grabbed a quick bite to eat in the ever-tasty and convenient Upper Crust.
Yesterday evening, I originally signed up for my first ever event with The Roads Less Travelled: Ekzotic Adventures Travel Club. Not actually travelling, mind - this was a talk about Myanmar. Specifically about the rubies you can get there, but with plenty of other information about the country as well. Took place in a room above The Iron Duke pub. Ah, but then.. (and I should have remembered this event, because I knew about it) London European Club (and the World Music Meetup) advertised a concert by a Kurdish artist (from the Turkish side) at the Finnish Church. So I booked for that instead. Tickets from Tuned In London, as usual.
The No. 47 bus got me straight there - and another very cold, but mercifully short walk took me the last stretch. On the way, I passed the Norwegian Church - gee, a real Scandinavian vibe to Rotherhithe! Obviously a legacy of its days as a port. Another little bit on - and I came across an unassuming building, with a couple of glass doors: went over to check, and sure enough, there was something written on the doors about it being a church. And Google Maps said I'd arrived. So I tried the doors - which wouldn't open! Ah, I thought - maybe this is the back door, and there's another. So I left to have a better look around the building - but before I could get to the corner, someone came running after me and shouting! Turned out to be the janitor, who doubled as the sound engineer at the concert - he showed me where I should have rung the bell! I hadn't seen that, over the side. Anyway, he swiped me in.
Everything in there seems to be in Finnish.. so I was lucky that it was easy enough to find where I was going. I entered the cafe - these things tend to be cash-only, and it's ironic that I had cash, for once! but I didn't see anything I wanted. So I searched for my ticket - the organiser was checking the tickets, but didn't even bother with mine - she knew me, of course, and had seen my name on the list. She told me where both groups were sitting - well, the World Music Meetup were up the front, but it turned out that London European Club had another attendee! who just hadn't formally RSVPed. I knew him, so I sat down the back with him.
I ended up leaving before the encore - and wouldn't you know, when I left, it was raining. Damn, that wasn't supposed to start until after midnight! And me without a hood. Google Maps said I should walk to Southwark Park to catch my bus back - but I knew the stop on the outbound journey was closed for extensive roadworks, and suspected the same of the one I had to use now. So I went down to the stop before.. had a freezing cold wait (at least it's covered).. and when I finally got the bus - yep, I'd been right, Google Maps is unaware of the stop closure at Southwark Park. You have been warned..
It ran too late to blog - I had to catch up on my soap, and I was tired anyway. Tonight, I'm back at Soho Theatre for Jen Brister's show, Under Privilege. Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend - where I have to sneak a look at my mother's Eir contract. She just changed to a new package, I just got her first bill for it (we've gone paperless, so it gets emailed to me as she doesn't use her email account), and I swear they've overcharged her on the monthly package price. They messed up the email address when I was ordering over the phone, so I never got the confirmation email - will have to check the paper version she got to ensure that what she got was what I agreed on in the first place. No point in asking her to check - she won't know what to look for, and she'll only get hysterical.
And assuming I survive all of that (they are AWFUL to deal with, and I thought her previous internet provider, 3, was bad!), on Monday I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for The Haystack at Hampstead Theatre. Another group of them went on Friday night, and I'm hearing excellent reports..
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