Tony! The Tony Blair Musical

And so, back to the sunnier, warmer climes of London.

Tonight, I booked for Tony! The Tony Blair Musical, at the Park Theatre. So I decided to try around King's Cross for food again, given that I know now that the Park Theatre cafe is closed. I was heading for a Chinese.. and then, passing an Indian restaurant called Yatri, I thought, why not?! and ate there instead.

Service comes with a smile, and the menu is slightly unusual, being different from the normal fare I see. I decided on garlic mushrooms for a starter (as the waiter confirmed with me; they're listed as "small plates" on the menu), and a chicken tikka makhani for main course, with - as usual - peshawari naan. I wasn't in the mood for bucketfuls of rice. Wine, they say, is available by the glass - but only the house wine, which is first on the list. Decent though.

Ooh wow, those mushrooms looked tasty! and ooh wow, they were. Quite spicy though, which is only hinted at in the menu - beware. But delicious nonetheless. It boded well for the main course - which, sadly, was a slight disappointment. As so often before, they were guilty of the crime of burying a few pieces of meat in an absolute sea of sauce, half of which was left at the end. I wasn't mad about that sauce either - and the chicken was slightly tough. The naan was good though, and as I remarked when I was paying, I'd love to come back and try something else! FYI they require you to keep your knife and fork for the main course, so if you do use them for the starter, prepare to reuse them. They expect the same of the plate, but will change it if required.

And so to the theatre, where I arrived in nice time.

Well now, as you can see, I was to the right of stage - which was mostly ok, apart from missing a few visual cues. At least I had a free seat to either side! The production seems a merry one - from where I was sitting, I could hear the cast laughing and joking beforehand. And I'd have to say, this is a load of fun. The first half is quite silly, covering his youth, college days, and joining Labour. Not that lots of the audience didn't have lots of fun, me included..

But it's the second half where this comes into its own, with Bush, Saddam, and Bin Laden all making an appearance. Aw man, the songs are clever - I loved the one where Bin Laden sings that "the only thing he hates - is Western civilisation".. and left singing along to "the whole d**n world is ruled by a**holes - and the a**hole right now is me!" Priceless. Highly recommended, runs until 9th. And whatever strange force field occupies the atmosphere around Finsbury Park, of course on the way home afterwards, I got the right bus - in the wrong direction! This place never fails to confuse me..

Tomorrow, booked for Girl on an Altar, at the Kiln Theatre. This is the story of Clytemnestra and her husband, Agamemnon, following his sacrifice of their daughter to the gods.

On Wednesday, I was going to a concert in the City Churches Music series. This is Brilliant Brass, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Brass Quintet in the church of St. Stephen Walbrook. This day, however, tied with the following day as the preferred day for our work dinner, and the boss decided to pick Wednesday, venue TBC. I got my ticket for the concert from CT, and have now cancelled it - no ill effects, as of yet!

On Thursday, headed to Mad House at the Ambassadors Theatre. 

On Friday, back with the Crick Crack Club! for The Nine Muses of Queen's Crescent, at Rich Mix. Courtesy of my favourite storyteller, Clare Murphy, whom I haven't seen in an age! Last storytelling event until autumn..

On Saturday, I had booked with TAC for Haydn's Creation at St. Pancras Church, Euston. And then I saw that Bucket List London (BLL) had booked something for that afternoon! specifically, a trip to Greenwich Royal Observatory and/or the Ranger's House. Ah well now, I haven't been out with this group since January! Ironically, that's where I first met Laurence, on so many of whose walks I've subsequently been - and who knows when I'll see him again?! since he seems only to run walks on weekdays, now. I seem to be swapping one for the other.. So anyway, I'm now going to all of the above. One of those busy days.

On Sunday, back with London Guided Walks (LGW) - but, armed with the information that they now advertise through TAC, I've booked through them instead! This is the Secrets of St. James Walk, and given how I booked, I must remember to bring £3 cash on the day. I have to admit, the standard of these walks is excellent.

Next Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Jitney, at The Old Vic. I didn't fancy the cheapest seats - but gee, SFF had seats in all but the most expensive price bands, for very little more! So I now find myself in the central Stalls for this..

On the 21st, I'm at the Royal Court for That Is Not Who I Am, a play about identity theft, from a mysterious writer about whom we have few details, except that he has worked most of his life in the security industry. Ooh..

On the 22nd, back with TAC for The Lark Ascending and Piano Quintet, a classical concert at St. Giles' Cripplegate, a church I've often passed but never been in! Part of the City Churches Music Festival.

On the 23rd, back at the same festival - with CT, this time, for a concert of English Song at the lovely church of St. Bartholomew the Great. It's been too long.. Then back to Ireland for the weekend again.

On the 27th, booked with TAC to hear an interview with Chris Patten, the last UK governer of Hong Kong before it was handed back to China. Happening at Conway Hall.

On the 28th, back again with Free Stuff and Free Events, for their Free Tuesday Sing-a-Long for Health and Pleasure. Online, and one where you're muted, so you don't even have anyone hear you sing! Great for the shy.

On the 29th, I'm finally succumbing to Anything Goes, at the Barbican. Now, I got my ticket for this from Time Out, which is the first place I saw the offer - but it turns out that any number of outlets have £25 tickets! If they're all for the same seats as Time Out, then I'd have to feel sorry for people that bought tickets for £38, which is cheaper than the original price of £45 for the seats on offer! Assuming anyone did. Anyway, with no bad seats here, you'd have to be crazy to pay more.

On the 30th, back with BLL - who obligingly is doing something midweek! I'll have to skip off work early - this is for vespers in Westminster Cathedral, and starts at 4.30. He is actually in Westminster all day, attending Ministerial Question Time earlier - but not only do I have a job to go to, but jeez, I do believe this would just infuriate me! So that, I'm not attending..

On the 1st, back with Civilised London for dinner at Caravel. Terrific reviews..

And that weekend, I'm back with the man with the famous name - Dr. Stephen King (not the writer) is guiding a couple of walks for LGW (courtesy of Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts). Sadly, not as yet advertised on TAC, so I've booked them through the official site (discount of £3 with the code MEETUP3, as usual). Both topics / areas I've covered many times before, but gee, he's such a great guide! On the 2nd, it's his Southwark Walk.

And on the 3rd, it's his Royal Coronation Walk. I just bet he comes up with something I didn't already know..