Film: I Came By

Today, planned another film. There I was, checking film times for a couple of films at the top of the list I had, both showing at Hackney Picturehouse. Looked up the films showing there today - and lo, I got a list of films, many of which were not mentioned on the overall film listing site yet at all! Added them to my list - and thus, I had a new film at the top, for this week. Girls Can't Surf is a documentary about how women broke into the male-dominated world of surfing. I'm not into surfing - but am always up for a feminist tale! Showing in a number of Picturehouses.

And then the new film list completed over the weekend. Top for the week - wouldn't you know it - were a glut of Indian films. There was a time when I would have been a lot more adventurous - but after my previous disastrous experience with a high-ranked Indian film, I'm now very dubious! Frankly, there wasn't much to choose among the six trailers - none of which were available in English, I might add! I gave up on the lot of them. Which still left me with a completely new film at the top of the list - I Came By is a UK (phew) thriller (Netflix, in fact), seems to be previewing, and concerns two taggers (including our protagonist, George MacKay), who graffiti the homes of rich people to show their radical disapproval. Kelly Macdonald plays his mother, Hugh Bonneville an ex-judge whose house he breaks into, only to find something in the basement that could prove incendiary, and dangerous for him and his family.. nearest showing to me is the Everyman King's Cross, a new one to me, and curiously, mostly composed of sofa seating! which severely limits the single seating. Still, wasn't selling out.

The single showing of this, there, today, was at midday - so I dragged myself up and out for it. Walking distance - now, online they had mentioned that this screen (like most of them in this cinema) is in the pink building. Sure enough, it's visible from King's Cross Station, which I passed on the way. Up York Way and hang a left - I headed for the pink building on the right, and eventually saw the teeny-weeny Everyman sign at the end. Just before it are automatic, glass doors - peering in, sure enough, I saw the Everyman sign again. And in I went.

It's actually in the lobby of what looks like an office building - the entrance to that is on the right as you enter. There's a bar on the left - I carried on to a desk that said "Tickets", but it was unoccupied. A sign on it instructed me to buy my ticket at the bar - upstairs. Up I trotted, disturbing the sole barman, who had to take out his earplugs or earbuds or whatever - I ordered my ticket. It was only afterwards that I realised he'd sold me a sofa seat! So, another good reason not to book here if you don't have to - not only do you save yourself the booking fee, but they sell individual sofa seats in person, which they don't do online. I also ordered a cheeky glass of wine - he gave me my ticket and instructed me to take my seat - Screen 1 being back downstairs, tucked behind that desk - and he'd follow me with the wine.

Well, and this is a comfy cinema. It'd want to be, for the price.. All the seating is sofas and armchairs - complete with cushions and little drink shelves. I took my allocated seat, at the end of a sofa - and in due course, a waiter arrived with my wine. Another chap had tea, all the necessities brought to him on a tray. Very nice indeed! Legroom is spacious - and on the back of the seat in front is a long, narrow shelf - on which you can put small things, or which is at just the right distance to rest your feet on.

I'd arrived during the ads - some interesting trailers followed, mainly for horror films; we're getting into the season, I guess! And so into the feature. Which, in essence, is a very good, very tense thriller - jump scares, scary background music, and more, used to keep us on edge throughout. And I love how a British film can be guaranteed never to have a completely happy ending - for which you can read, not everyone survives. I'm saying no more. There isn't much I can say. But it's worth a look, if you're into that sort of thing. Afterwards, I visited the loo - downstairs, this time. It's well-signposted, and needs to be - it's a maze down there. And their different toilet sections include "Everygirl" and "Everyone".. someone should tidy up a bit more regularly though, there were a few things wrong with where I went.

O' Neill's for dinner after - an Italian couple were very interested in what I was eating, and asked what it was on the menu, but didn't end up ordering it. Poor lady then spilt her beer all over her partner and the table - they moved table, but I saw no sign of the beer being cleared up - and I was there quite a while after they left. So, I can see how you end up with a table dripping with beer..

Tomorrow morning, my final interview for that contract I'm up for. In the evening, I had already booked for Tom, Dick & Harry at Alexandra Palace. This is the story of the POW camp escape, during WWII, which was fictionalised in The Great Escape. ("Tom", "Dick", and "Harry" were the names of the escape tunnels.) I got my ticket from London Theatre Direct. And then, wouldn't you know it, Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) decided to go the same night! So I'm going with them, which will be nice. Sadly, I missed out on the deal they snagged from TodayTix, which is even cheaper..

On Wednesday - well, with a dearth of alternatives, I'm thinking of Soho Comedy Factory Shows and Socials again.

On Thursday, I'm back with UITCS - crikey, when's the last time that happened, twice with them in one week! This time, it's for Yeast Nation in Southwark Playhouse. Bless, they always put on something interesting.. Anyway, with my old payg subscription used up, I've taken out another - £60 gets you five tickets, over an unlimited period. Excellent value! and I have such good memories of evenings spent in the bar here. Sadly, these days, memories are all I have of it, with this group unwilling to drink after shows.

On Friday, I got a cheap ticket with TAC to the Cabaret All-Stars!

Saturday is going to be busy - I'm back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners for a walk called Glorious Greenwich. So popular, he's reached capacity and there are 12 on the waitlist! He's finally found somewhere that can accommodate 20 of us, and is trying to get people to confirm whether they're going to lunch - since 34 have booked!

That evening, I was supposed to be meeting two ex-coworkers for dinner and drinks. But it turns out one got her wires crossed, and is now doing something else. Unfortunately, the other can only manage central London - Greenwich is too awkward for him. We're going back to Imad's Syrian Kitchen.. perfect location, great restaurant!

And on Sunday, 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 that 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.