Tonight, I headed - at last - to Summer by the River at More London. This was for a free evening of music, curated by Soho Radio. Was meeting someone for this, we got food beforehand at Wawa - she's keen on ramen.
The forecast was to be dry, and still warm - but turning cooler later, so I brought a (light) coat again. Which I was well glad of, because there was a cool breeze all evening! We both arrived at the restaurant at roughly the same time - me having dodged a ***** on a bike, who blithely sailed through the red light against her, happy to run me over - and we probably hadn't needed to book, it was completely empty. Anyway, we got a table near the window - and immediately had to have the menu explained to us. To be fair, the waiter was more than happy to do so! After some kerfuffle, she found the ramen she was looking for - and I had a blast from the past, a chicken katsu curry. Which was really nice.
They do regular wine, and I had a glass - but they also do taster shots of sake, in two different flavours. So we each had a taster set - and agreed that it was so much milder than we'd anticipated. Still, it mixed nicely with my sauvignon blanc. Before we left, I visited the toilet - a curious setup, it has the toilet symbol on the door to the restaurant, which opens onto a trio of doors. One having a security lock, the other two turned out to have engaged/vacant signs on them - so there are two self-contained, unisex cubicles, complete with washbasin and hand dryer. They haven't put much thought into the area outside the toilets, at the back of the restaurant - just a storage area, full of junk. Could do with something. Otherwise, nice venue.
Afterwards, we meandered to The Scoop - where the party was in full swing, obviously having started earlier than advertised. We mooched around the packed venue, eventually sitting at the top, as she thought it was too loud - far from, but directly in front of, the stage:
The screen overhead the stage was used to broadcast a constant stream of old movie clips featuring singing and/or dancing - tied in well with the beat:
In due course, we decided to take a stroll - which is how we discovered another element of Summer by the River - the Chimps are Family sculpture exhibition! Staggered along the river walk are various chimp sculptures, with explanatory plaques:
Some unforecast rain greeted me again on the way home. Guaranteed - it's been doing precisely the opposite of the forecast all week.
Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. Wanted to get my car serviced for its NCT - sooner the better, and I couldn't last time I was back. Now, I told the mechanic as much ages ago, and that I'm only back every second Saturday. So it's funny how it came as a complete surprise to him, when I rang him this morning to confirm for Saturday. Oh no, there won't be anyone there. Hmph. If there were anyone else around who could do it.. anyway, what's coming up in the cinema is Where the Crawdads Sing, a thriller, set in the 50s, about a young woman - Daisy Edgar-Jones, making waves again - who grows up wild in the North Carolina swamps (it was filmed in Louisiana though, apparently). An outcast from society, she does manage to meet, and have a relationship with, a young man - when he shows up dead, everyone suspects her, and she is duly charged with murder. Trailer looks good, I know she's an excellent actor - and it has a cracking theme song, Carolina, by Taylor Swift, who sounded very much like Lana del Rey to me before I knew who it was! So, looking forward to that. Ennis is cheaper, so I'll head there.
On Monday, I was headed to see The Throne, a comedy about to open at Charing Cross Theatre, in which the Queen gets locked in a portaloo with a staunch republican. Time Out had an offer of £10 tickets for the cheapest seats for this - a saving of more than 50%! Sadly, I then got word that remaining performances of this production have been cancelled, due to covid. Still with nothing on Meetup that appeals, I'm back with TAC for a classical concert - Mario Brunello is playing Bach on the violoncello piccolo, at Wigmore Hall. He's playing in the evening as well, but cheap tickets are available for the matinee.
On Tuesday - tan-ta-ra! I finally managed to get a decently priced ticket to Jerusalem, at the Apollo. I have heard so much about this, and it's always at the top of the Time Out listings - nearly as hard as Hamilton to get a reasonably priced ticket for, so I'm delighted to get one, if only not to have to look any more.
On Wednesday, I was to head back to Summer by the River again.. for Bumper Blyton: Improvised Adventures for Grown-Ups! Improvised comedy in the style of Enid Blyton books. But now, I'm headed with London Baroque Music Lovers to a Grimeborn opera at the Arcola - I' Incoronazione de Poppea. I'm in the stalls - could have got a cheaper ticket in the balcony, but you can't take a drink up there!
Next Thursday - another Up in the Cheap Seats event that Meetup finally decided to flag to me. So I've booked to go with them to see Briefs Factory's show, Bite Club! at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Drag, burlesque.. should be fun!
On the 29th, I was thinking about the National Theatre's River Stage 2022. This will be the first night of the Hackney Empire's Young Producers Weekend, and there'll be some dance and some music. But now, Civilised London has organised an Ecuadorian meal at El Inca Plebeyo - so I'm going to that instead. His choices are always good. Meeting beforehand at The Canonbury Tavern.
On the 30th, back in Greenwich with Bucket List London - we're starting with the Old Royal Naval College and National Maritime Museum. Was originally supposed to be the Queen's House to finish, but turns out they're booked out all day for a wedding, despite not having clarified that on the website! Then in the afternoon, we're headed to Eltham Palace and Gardens. Quite the packed day..
On the 31st, back with TAC for the opening night of I'm Not Myself Today: A Villainous Cabaret at the Bread and Roses in Clapham. An hour in which someone discusses with us why we all love the villain!
On the 1st, I'm going to the Kiln Theatre for The Darkest Part of the Night. Another troublesome website - I tried for days to get it to work..!
And on the 2nd, thinking vaguely about the Camden Fringe, which runs all next month - there's, for example, an interesting audio event called A Little Drape of Heaven, where you hold a precious item of clothing to your heart, then press play to access a YouTube link that you've paid for. Hmm.. Meantime, I had booked a walk with Laurence and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners for last Tuesday. This is The Magic of Midtown - and as I said to him, it finishes very near my new home! And wouldn't you know it - he postponed it, as a result of the heatwave, to this day. Not that I'm not glad he didn't run it last Tuesday - but I hope I can still make it..
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