Yesterday, I got a cheap ticket with TAC to the Cabaret All-Stars! Now, although they advertise a "fine dining" menu, they don't say what's on it - so I decided not to risk it, given that their main business isn't food, and ate in O' Neill's instead. Had to go upstairs, but it was a lot quicker and cheaper than what I'd have got in the area around Embankment, and I was sure I'd be well fed. Service wasn't the quickest - and she forgot my onion rings - but I got out in time to arrive at the venue half an hour early, as requested by the ticket providers. And all praise Google Maps, which knows exactly where it is! and led me pretty much right to it. Mind you, once you're in the vicinity, it's hard to miss:
I felt like neither a VIP nor a Premium guest - the designations for the two queues - so joined the one that had people in it. Bag check, name check - he couldn't find my name at first, but I saw it on his list and pointed it out to him. And FYI, I was a VIP! (I think that's the minimum designation.) Some waiters are - well, waiting - to the side, and show people in. As a VIP, you go up to the balcony - the seats are large sofas curved around a table, and not at all a shabby view!
I did have to share my sofa in due course - they tried to squash in five more people, but the guy in the last group of four had a word with a waiter, and they moved to another table, to be replaced by a couple. So there were four of us at the table for the show. Food-wise, the menu had dishes for about £5 - chips, chicken, that sort of thing - presumably all small portions. I was rather glad I wasn't depending on them for dinner. I had a glass of wine, and then another as the evening wore on - the maximum measure they do is 175ml, for £10. Finding the wine a bit insipid, I switched to margaritas.. they have an extensive cocktail menu. These are £15, and went down much better - so I had two of those as well. Service was a bit hit and miss - the waiters had a lot to do, with two floors to serve, and it could be very hard to catch the eye of one.
Entertainment-wise, we started with half an hour of a singer, who explained that this slot was often occupied by somebody famous - so weren't we lucky to be able to see her before she hit the big time! She had several outfit changes:
She was good, acting as MC as well - but the other acts were excellent. We started with striptease - frankly, the lady was so heavily tattooed that it was hard to tell whether her clothes were on or off! She was followed by, I think, my favourite act of the night - the fire-eaters, who set fire to some very intimate parts of the anatomy! with great style, too:
There were a couple of acrobats, a couple of clowns - and I have to hand it to all of them. I've always admired circus performers, the lengths they go to, to entertain an audience: the crazy things they do. But last night was a new dimension - all of that, plus a sexy twist. It's a new kind of multitasking - hats off to them! Throughout, a good rock soundtrack - and I was glad not to have a ground-floor seat, and be in danger of being called onstage for a dance-off.
Excellent night, in general - highly recommended. The girls at the birthday party tables had great fun! The Cabaret All-Stars are finished now, but they are running other shows until the 30th of December, methinks. On the bus home, found myself sat beside an inveterate talker - really, I have to wonder how anyone can live with her! I don't mean to be mean, but seriously, she never closed her mouth! She was always talking, either to me or to the air. She'd just come from a show - wonder whether she was quiet for that..
Couldn't blog last night, as I had to redo the film list (which I didn't even get half finished) and then be up early this morning. I was back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners for a walk called Glorious Greenwich. So popular, he reached capacity, still with several on the waitlist! Mind you, he had a lot of last-minute cancellations..
I had fewer problems getting to Greenwich than the last time I was there! Both bus and DLR were seamless - apart from half of Bank Station being blocked off, so I had a roundabout route to catch my train. Which Google Maps didn't factor into its estimate of how long it'd take me to get there! Never mind, it was a lovely journey - overground for most of the way, with some great views, and on a beautiful, sunny day. A group of Irish lads stood near me were commenting - in Irish - about the weird stop names. :-) And a lady on my other side had brought a dog, who decided that we were all much more interesting than her human..
What with a wait for that train, and a climb of stairs at the end, I was a little late for the start of the walk, as of course was someone else who arrived on the same train - but not really, because of course, Laurence hangs around for 15 minutes. And today he needed that time - people kept arriving. It was still a huge group!
Greenwich was abuzz - for our first stop, there was music on both sides, with something that looked like a yoga session starting up on one side, and a busker on the other. We stopped for a look at the Cutty Sark, of course:
Sir Walter Raleigh made an appearance:
and the wall behind him carries the effigies of famous sea captains:
Greenwich has some famous vistas:
And what was cool was that we went to the chapel - which I didn't get to, last time I was here! So, worth making both trips then..
So much spectacular architecture. And such a nice place to come, on a sunny day..
Now, I never realised that this once occupied the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, which provides a seat for a succession of modern art works:
Anyway, he finally found somewhere that could accommodate us all for lunch - the Coach & Horses has outside benches, and had plenty of space. We had some rather nice fish n chips - and again, I got to share a bottle of sauvignon blanc. Our choice of the New Zealand label was approved of by our chatty waiter - and guess where he was from? ;-) When he later served me a top-up glass, he was also most approving of my choice to go large. Nice fellow. And it was a lovely, chatty, friendly afternoon. We even managed to avoid the pooing pigeon, positioned overhead.. just..
This evening, I was supposed to be meeting two ex-coworkers for dinner and drinks. But it turns out one got her wires crossed, and was now doing something else. And what a good job that I checked with the other - because he made exactly the same mistake! I did manage to cancel the restaurant reservation before I had to pay a penalty - just. Jeez, if people would only read instructions.. goes to show, you can never repeat things too often.
Tomorrow, I'm off to Rye. London and Sussex Walking Tours - whom I joined during lockdown - are running a daytrip! called Rye - Pirates, Ports and Jazz (they also have a jazz festival this weekend): and I've never been. It's a bit of a palaver to get to, involving two trains - but well, it's about time I travelled a bit, and it's not too early a start. And the tour itself ends early in the day, so I have plenty of time to eat and explore before my train(s) back.
On Monday, thinking of film - and with the film listings finally out, and rejecting the iffy-looking Indian films at the top, what it's looking like is M, a 1931 thriller set in Germany about the hunt for a murderer. Only showing in the BFI, which has a tendency to sell out - this isn't yet, but I'll have to keep an eye on it. Still, it is in the large screen, so I'll probably be ok.
On Tuesday, I'm back with TAC - for a play called Angel, in the Hope Theatre. Based on the true story of the "Angel of Kobane", a young woman who fought against the encroaching forces of Islamic State. This is the final part of an "Arabian Nightmares" trilogy of plays by Henry Naylor.
And on Wednesday - assuming I'm not working by then, I've signed up to another of Laurence's walks: The Lady-Killer is an inventive renaming of London's most notorious serial killer.. (Ooh, and I'll have to get cash out again.) Failing that, if I have to work (sadly, a necessary evil eventually), I can always head back to the Soho Comedy Factory that evening.. (Be aware, Design My Night sells tickets to this for £5, but you can show up for free..!)
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