Tonight, I booked for The Southbury Child, at the Bridge Theatre. But then I noticed that Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) is going, later in the week - so switched my ticket to that night. The theatre is most obliging, that way, and gave me the seat next to the one I'd originally booked. Which left me free to go to a film tonight. Well, I checked the film list - and highest (that I don't think I'd hate) was La Vie Me Va Bien (Life Suits Me Well), a Moroccan film about a fellow diagnosed with a progressive neurological disease, and how his family cope with it. The trailer actually looked really good. Showing in the Ciné Lumiere. Too early to get food beforehand. Hmph.
Well, last time I was here, I had an office to go from, and did - so took the bus, and spent forever in Knightsbridge, with roadworks. This time, I was that bit further away - so took the Piccadilly Line, and got there much faster! It didn't have the aircon of the Circle Line, but I did manage to get a seat straight away when two obliging teenagers ceded theirs.
And lo, when I emerged, there was a Pret on my way! Perfect - I was a five-minute walk from the cinema, and had 25 minutes before the start time. So I ate there, taking advantage of their welcome aircon, and their slightly less dependable WiFi. First Pret I've eaten at where they served me a spoon at the counter, rather than me having to find my own. And then I trotted off to the cinema - was stuck for a while behind two elderly ladies buying a ticket for the same film I wanted, bought mine from the same courteous, bilingual bloke, and then found myself queueing behind them again in the cafe!
Oh my, service is so slow.. I know there's only one person, and to be fair, she didn't seem to be dawdling - but it's just everything seemed to take so long! One of the ladies wanted tea (I thought you couldn't take that into the cinema, seems it isn't a problem), and the water had to heat. And meantime, the server was heating a slice of quiche for someone at a table. And once the tea was finally poured into a takeaway cup, she decided she wanted a slice of cake. Which had to be carefully placed in a bag. Fully 10 minutes it was before I could ask for a glass of wine! (In plastic, to take into the cinema.) She begged me to return the plastic cup after - and fair play, gave me the little extra at the end of the bottle.
So, I missed the speech beforehand, which is a shame - this is part of the Safar Festival of Arab cinema, which runs till Sunday - till Saturday at this cinema. The film itself is in Arabic, but of course the title is French, which is also an official language of Morocco, and I guess they thought would travel better internationally. And it's one of those films you can just relax into, confident that you're in for a treat. I love it when that happens. Gorgeous sea views, lovely soundtrack..
The father of the story, who gets ill, is a real character, responsible for most of the film's comedy. And the comedy is nicely balanced with heartbreak, some really touching scenes. Throw in a couple of twists, and you have a realistic story - sure enough, the story was inspired by the illness of the director's father. But while it never shys away from the difficulty, it never dwells on it either - life must go on, and this is a most watchable film. With a somewhat open ending, not all loose ends tied up - just like life. I loved it - highly recommended.
Got the bus(es) back, there being less traffic - so got to experience the ongoing hell of Knightsbridge. And with the sweltering conditions on board, and the Arabic being spoken all around me - why, it was like being back in Morocco!
Tomorrow, back with Civilised London for dinner - this time at The Crown itself, where we usually meet for drinks before heading somewhere else for dinner. Excellent choice - it's supposed to be slightly cooler, and I can tell them how my screening interview went - I have one tomorrow, with another company. This marks the beginning of a whole spate of Meetups in a row! When's the last time that happened..?
On Thursday, I had booked with The Garden Talks - this online talk is How Do Languages Evolve? But as I say, have now backed out of that, and am headed instead to see The Southbury Child with UITCS.
On Friday, back with the London Classical Music and Theatre Group for the opera Otello, at the Royal Opera House.
On Saturday, I had booked with Discover London (DL) for a trip to see a cart making ceremony. Just last week, I saw a new ad from UITCS - sounded good, 9 Circles - a psychological thriller that examines the ethics of war - at the Park Theatre, with lunch beforehand in Palmyra's Kitchen, next door. And of course Eleanor, organiser of TunedIn London, advertised a concert through the World Music Meetup, for that evening, at City Hope Church. So now I'm going to all three! Should be able to squeeze them in, although I won't be able to join DL for drinks after if I'm heading for lunch..
On Sunday, back with Bucket List London (BLL) - this time, it's a trip to Sandown Antiques Market. Well, I've never been to Sandown, so this could be interesting. Crikey though, with the temperatures forecast for this weekend, I'll have to be careful in the great outdoors..
On Monday, back with North London Friends! for the first time since before lockdown. This is for an Edinburgh Comedy Festival preview, at the King's Head in Crouch End, featuring Lucy Porter and Rachel Fairburn.
Next Tuesday.. I'm taking a punt that I won't actually be employed that day, and have signed up again - at last - for a walk with Laurence and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners. This is The Magic of Midtown - and as I said to him, it finishes very near my new home! I also promised to let him know if I can't actually make it - although, even if I have started work by then (which would be surprising), perhaps I could take a day off.
On the 20th, I finish my Meetup run with a trip with UITCS to Leicester Square Theatre to see Frankie Boyle, who has a work in progress show.
On the 21st, I'm thinking of heading - at last - to Summer by the River at More London. This is for a free evening of music, curated by Soho Radio. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. Unlikely to get to a film that weekend, as I need to get my car serviced for its NCT - sooner the better, and I couldn't last weekend.
On the 25th, I'm 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 has an offer of £10 tickets for the cheapest seats for this - a saving of more than 50%!
On the 26th - 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 the 27th, back to Summer by the River again.. for Bumper Blyton: Improvised Adventures for Grown-Ups! Improvised comedy in the style of Enid Blyton books.. sounds jolly good!
On the 28th - another UITCS 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, 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.
On the 30th, back in Greenwich with BLL - 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 - the organiser's English Heritage card expires, it seems, so he's cramming everything in while he can..
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!
And 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..!
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