Comedy: Rob Newman - WIP

Started off the day getting food in Liverpool Street again - I see the departure boards have trains on them again! Anyway, for this evening, my other cheap ticket club - and more comedy. CT has limited tickets for the excellent Rob Newman's comedy show at 2Northdown. At least the rain died off.

I decided to have dinner up that direction, for a change - and spotted an Indian restaurant, Indian Lounge, nearby. So I determined to head for that, a little early. Well, the buses had different ideas.. all the stops near Liverpool Street were closed when I headed out, because of an "unsafe structure" on a nearby building. When I eventually figured out where the #205 came from to get there, and made my way down there - no sign of the bus! I finally gave it up as a bad job, and took the Tube.

Wasn't too hard to find the restaurant anyway - and I was the first to arrive, beating the evening rush.

Really friendly staff. One was dead keen on stepping outside to hail passers-by. Sometimes, it worked. To be fair, the place did fill up well, shortly after I arrived.

I was entertained by a never-ending stream of - not sure whether it was movie clips or music videos - projected onto the wall opposite, mutely. It was quite entertaining - looked like a mish-mash of Bollywood dancing and action. Meantime, I stuck to the old reliables - lamb samosas, butter chicken, peshwari naan. A large glass of the house white - and that canny maitre d', seeing that my glass was getting low, suggested another. How prescient. The samosas were nice - the butter chicken was unusual in my experience, less buttery than I'm used to. But nice. I have to say, from the gorgeous smell coming from a nearby table, I don't think I got the best dish! The naan was gorgeous - despite the base being burnt to a crisp. Wow, it was nice to have an Indian again - and I definitely can't fault the service. Or the price. Would happily return. Oh, and they treated me to a shot (and a chocolate) as I paid..

Made the short walk down to the venue - and it was a very good thing I knew where it was. Basically, turn from Euston Road onto Northdown Street, it's a shed-like building on the right. A small door to the right allows access. There was no sign when I arrived. Someone inside the door checked my name off a list, I bought a drink and took a seat at the back.

He's a very cerebral performer, and we got a lot of education about geological time periods, for example. And this is very much a WIP. Well, I did get into it to some extent - but thought it'd be funnier. Ah well, at least I paid under the odds. Runs till the end of the week.

Oh, and on the way back - I got the #205. Go figure.

Tomorrow, I finally get to see Laurence Summers again - 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners are off on a Cruising Covent Garden pub walk. Except I saw it first on their sister group, Carpe Diem, and have booked with them. Let's hope the wind has died down by then!

On Wednesday, I'm with Civilised London (CL) again. They're going to a lot of plays these days - on Wednesday, we're at The Forest in Hampstead Theatre. A few famous people in this - Millie Brady, Silas Carson, Paul McGann, Gina McKee, Toby Stephens.. A while ago, I was contacted by the box office to say that during rehearsals, they'd discovered that my seat had a restricted view. Which is very thorough of them! So they'd reduced the price. I had a choice to make - did I want to stay in that seat - in which case they'd give me a credit note for the price difference, or change to another seat - if available, or upgrade to a more expensive seat and pay the difference, or perhaps book for another night? Well, I didn't want another night - so I rang them, and discovered there were no other seats available at my original price, so I upgraded, and am now in the second row. Well, as she said, the view would be excellent! Anyway, this is now sold out for the entire run.

On Thursday, London Classical Music and Theatre Group just advertised an LSO concert at the Barbican - so I'm going. Then back to Ireland for the weekend - and with more legal stuff pending, doesn't look like I can squeeze in a film. We'll see.

Next Monday, back with them for a concert at Wigmore Hall.

On the first, Interesting Talks London is discussing - via Zoom - IEMT and Psoriasis - How Moving Your Eyes Helps a Skin Condition! Hmm..

On the second, back with CL for a Turkish meal, at Liman - meeting beforehand at The Crown, as usual.

And on the third, back with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex, for what promises to be a very interesting talk: Dark Days Virtual Show - The Dark Days of Edgar Allen Poe. Love Edgar Allen Poe, myself..

Comedy: Emmanuel Sonubi & Yuriko Kotani

Tonight, I wasn't really seeing anything - but CT then advertised two shows at 2Northdown for tonight. So I booked for both! As you do.

Now, I often head to The Upper Crust, in Liverpool Street Station, for something to eat - in fact, I did so today, and it was delicious. However, I'd also noticed that they do hot chocolate, in different flavours. Since I was picking up my bus from outside of there, I said hmm, what about a mint hot chocolate in the station, just before I head off? So I had one, and it was lovely! I'll be back. As for the bus.. I turned in the wrong direction for the stop, and ended up walking for ages to the next! I'd forgotten that the stops around there are in a weird order, F then E then G..

Anyway, I arrived at the venue in plenty of time. Got my name ticked off - I think I might have been the only cheap ticket customer! And then I ordered a wine - gratified to see they've increased the range of glassware now, and you can have a large glass. And had an excellent packet of crisps, taking a seat safely in the third row. Weird how many decided to sit in the front row, tonight, when they had a choice not to..

Emmanuel Sonubi was first up, and - being a big chap - made a lot of his past as a bouncer. Also played the race card a lot. Both comedians tonight had WIP shows, practicing for the Edinburgh Fringe.. he spent a lot of time checking material on his tablet, and was initially unsure of himself - but as the show continued, he warmed up, and really was hilarious!

An hour's gap separated the acts - most of his audience left, and I decided this was a good time to hit the bar again, before the next crowd arrived. The second act was Yuriko Kotani, a Japanese lady who's been living here for quite a while, but still has a pronounced Japanese accent. Now, she was nominally the headliner - and the (face) value of her tickets was more than the other guy's - but honestly, I found him better. I know her act was WIP, but she often seemed unsure of herself. Still, she was funny - and it was nice that a Japanese couple in the audience came up afterwards to say hi to her. Not sure whether she knew them, but they were certainly all happy to chat away in Japanese.. Anyway, a good night was had, and Google Maps was happy to suggest several bus options home for me, all leaving from the same stop. Cold as the night is, I couldn't bear to be stood around freezing any longer than was necessary, and took the first that arrived. Which worked out perfectly.

Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend - and finally get to pick up my new phone! Film at the weekend is likely to be Belfast - simply the best thing that's on in the daytime. Written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, and describes his childhood there. Not much about the Troubles, I believe - after all, his family left before it got too heavy - and the film has earned both praise and criticism for that. Personally, I think we have heard quite enough about them - time to see a different side to the place. Anyway, as usual, I'll see it in the Omniplex.

The Stansted Express isn't running again on Sunday, damnit. And I come back to London, and we'll see how we go, job-hunt-wise.

On Monday, I booked for another Zoom talk - this is run by a new group to me, The Garden Talks (TGT), and the talk for the evening is Are We Living in the Age of Persecution? Which promised, hopefully, to be more interesting than the last online talk I attended - on canals! But just today, Up in the Cheap Seats announced an outing to see Taboo, a charity 25th anniversary concert, celebrating the original musical by Boy George. Taking place at the Palladium, and better than half-price tickets from Show Film First! So I thought that sounded rather better, and booked it. Similarly priced tickets available with London Box Office for that day. 

On Tuesday, I've plumped for something I've seen advertised a lot, but never attended - again on Zoom, this time it's a Free Tuesday Sing-a-long for Health and Pleasure, courtesy of Global Music Fusion & Arts.  As advertised by Free Stuff and Free Events - which might just be the first thing I've done with them. Happens weekly, apparently, lasts an hour - the words are on-screen. Could be good.

On Wednesday, my first Meetup of the year with Civilised London! And as usual, it's dinner - yum! We're off again to Little Georgia, meeting beforehand at The Crown.

Next Thursday, heading with London Classical Music and Theatre Group - and I was lucky to see it, what with Meetup not even suggesting the event when I was looking for something that day! If it hadn't been for some mention over the last couple of events with them, of some event happening next week.. Anyway, we're off to see the LSO at the Barbican - wildcard tickets sadly sold out by the time I booked.

On the 4th, headed with the London European Club to the Puppet Theatre Barge, for a performance of The Red Balloon!

On the 5th, back with the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners, and Laurence Summers - got the last spot on his Passage through Pimlico walk! which, as he was telling me on Tuesday, is through a not very well-known part of town! Well, this one should at least be warmer, being in daytime..

On the 6th - Crick Crack is back! Now, this is an interesting one - Japanese ghost stories, the event is called The Game of Candles, with each story represented by a lit candle, which is blown out when the story is completed. Taking place at the British Museum, Tim Ralphs and Sarah-Liisa Wilkinson performing. Sold out now - they're only doing half capacity.

And on the 7th - another interesting talk by TGT! This one is What Conditions Create Witch Hunts?

Comedy: Mic Check

Tonight, back to comedy - one of my cheap clubs (CT) sold me a ticket for Mic Check at 2Northdown. (And sent me a dire warning yesterday that late cancellation, or a no-show, would result in my account being blocked. No exceptions.) Gee, if they didn't have such cheap tickets..

Well, it's close enough that it's an easy bus trip, there and back. Easy to find the venue too - they wisely put a sign out front. Now, when I've been here before, it was in summer, and they opened up the whole front wall, which comprises a couple of massive doors - I was glad to see they'd closed it tonight! Took me a minute to figure out where the door was, though. Anyway, they had a list that they checked me off on - there seemed to be a special section for people with CT tickets, with perhaps about seven or so people on it. And the bar - unlike Sunday's - had plenty of white wine! I didn't at all mind being served it in a tumbler. Took a seat near the front. I have to say, it wasn't the warmest - by the time we were halfway through the show, I had to put my coat on again.

I seriously needed some cheering up, after the day I've had. But unfortunately, this wasn't the best place to do it - really, the only acts I liked to any great extent were the MC and the headliner, both of whom were excellent. I had to sit through a lot of dross to get there, though - some very definitely worse than others. Rather glad I don't have any more comedy acts booked that I'm not familiar with - getting sick of being underwhelmed.

Because of the headliner, I'm glad I stayed to the end - I was equally glad to leave. One lady had come with a mobility aid - handy how they could open the front wall to let her out! But I nearly turned into a block of ice while trying to get my phone on a network - it always takes forever, when it's first turned on - and then waiting for the bus. And then walking the short distance from where I got off the bus, against a gale-force, freezing wind. Lordy, was I feeling sorry for myself by the time I got in.

Tomorrow, I booked A Medieval Ghost Story with the Surrey History Meetup, on Teams this time. Tickets from Eventbrite, free when I booked, at least! But you know, they'll probably record it. I hope so, because in the meantime, Invigorate came back with another pub crawl! (AKA Tour of Historic Pubs.) Much closer together this time, thankfully, and all in Southwark, so convenient for me! So I'm going on that, now.

On Thursday, I'm making what used to be my annual pilgrimage to Winter Wonderland! Whee! Particularly as, to get an evening ticket, I had to book three weeks in advance - to combat Covid, they're restricting numbers, and of course, evenings are the hardest to get. Not to mention that they're now charging an entry fee - but that is waived if you book at least £20 of attractions, food or drink in the same transaction. Which I always do - the Cirque Berserk and Magical Ice Kingdom. Looking forward to that hot chocolate with the shot in it already..

And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. Assuming the PCR test I do tomorrow - and get the results from on Thursday night - is clear; the Irish government announced this evening that, from Friday, a test is a requirement for everyone entering Ireland, including from Great Britain..

Comedy: Kerry Godliman - Work in Progress

Last night, Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) were off to see a WIP show by comedian Kerry Godliman in 2Northdown. With it starting quite late, we met for a drink beforehand at the King Charles I pub. Which worked out quite well, what with last-minute fire alarm tests scheduled for my building.

Just made my bus perfectly - and was first of our group at the pub. Which I'd heard was tiny - and so it proved! Anyway, I secured the last stool in the place.. when our organiser came, she managed to get another, but we were sorted when a table in the corner - right by the fire - was vacated. Which we snatched from under the nose of another couple at the bar - but then, we were expecting more to join us.

The others duly arrived, and we had a pleasant chat by the fire. Funnily enough, a pub quiz started up just as it was time for us to leave - complete with a guy MCing in sky-high heels and a massive blonde wig! who moped to see us leave, right after he'd asked the first question..

The venue is just down the road - happily, as it was a damn cold night. I got another drink there - a nice, flavoursome house white here. And we got "safe" seats together in the third row - and were much happier when the place filled up, so we had the insurance of people in front of us. In fact, I think it filled completely by the time the show started. We were well entertained before the start, by a diet of classic rock.

So, this - as advertised - was a work in progress. And sure enough, she had a page of notes on the stool to the side - and the anecdotes she told over the course of the next hour had a habit of petering out, being as yet unfinished. But you do know when you're in the presence of a pro, and a little thing like having nothing to say didn't phase her! She has a neat line in 40s angst, which resonated with most of the audience. The tales rang true, and we were laughing our heads off by the end. Well worth the price of admission - impossible not to enjoy this. V glad I chose to do this - it was a pretty last-minute thing.

On the way home, my phone battery just lasted long enough to tell me what combination of buses I needed to get - and boy, was I glad to get in from the cold, finally. Couldn't blog last night, as I had to be in early again. For the meeting that didn't happen, again. Anyway, tonight, we're going to see A Number, at the Bridge.

Really looking forward to tomorrow, when we're off to see Endgame, at the Old Vic. (UITCS all this week.) Double bill with Rough for Theatre II. I'm a huge Beckett fan. Incidentally, stars Daniel Radcliffe. I hope he does it justice. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend, again - checking my mother's electricity meter, which they persist in over-estimating the usage of.

On Monday, back with Civilised London for another of those free jazz nights at Wilton's. This time, it's One Voice, One Cello & a Mad Belgian!

On Tuesday, back at Soho Theatre to see Dane Baptiste's comedy show, The Chocolate Chip.

Next Wednesday, back with UITCS at Sadler's Wells for a collaboration between Crystal Pite and her company, Kidd Pivot, and Jonathon Young, on an adaptation of a Russian comic play, Revisor (The Inspector General).

And on the 5th, going to see Shoe Lady at the Royal Court.

Comedy: Garrett Millerick

Tonight, nothing appealed on Meetup, so I was back with my £3.60 club. Who, funnily enough, are only charging £2.40 (I guess they've noticed they have competition in the cheap ticket market!) to go see a standup show by Garrett Millerick at 2 Northdown. Nice n close, goodee!

Not quite close enough for me to fancy walking. There were a couple of buses I could get from just outside the office - and I was rushing, as usual - there's always something else grabbing my attention. The #214 was the first to come, and we nipped up the road fairly rapidly - the journey was comfortable enough until about 25 Italian students got on, filling the entire length of the single-decker bus and, indeed, starting a singsong! The softspoken woman on the phone beside me had terrible trouble with her conversation - it was no wonder, as I made to get past her to get off, that she remarked, "Lucky you!".

I got off with five minutes to go to showtime - happily, Northdown Street is only just up the road from where we stopped, and gee, 2 Northdown is right at the start of it. With a convenient chalkboard outside, advertising what's on. Can't miss it - but in case you're wondering, as you come from Pentonville Road, it's on the right. A table full of people was placed outside. Inside, I had to ask whether this was where the comedy was. I mean, it kind of looked like it, but it was a bit empty..

The lady lugging drinks around suggested that I get a drink, which I did - my wine was served in a tumbler. I mooched around, picked up a brochure for the Camden Fringe - eventually, someone asked someone else whether he should go round up the audience, which he then did. No sign of anyone asking for tickets - I strongly suspect I could have got in without one, although maybe I was the only stranger, and they knew I must be The One with a Ticket, since they didn't recognise my face; the comedian shortly gave the impression that it was pretty much all friends and staff.

As I made my way to the seats, the comedian urged me to fill from the front, as there was no interaction in the show. Hmm. I sat in the second row. Which was as far forward as anyone did. So, the minute he came on stage, he went "Hmm," and got one of the staff to help him to remove the front row of seats. Whereupon he shunned the stage and performed on the floor, in front of it. So I was in the front row, after all. As he said, "After all this time, in this garage, they finally get a stage - and first night out, I don't use it."

As usual at this time of year, with the Edinburgh Fringe coming up, much of the comedy available around London is Fringe preview - performers practicing for the main event. Sure enough, he brought his notes - although no pen to edit them with, as I've seen from some people. And the early part of his show displayed some nerves, I thought, as he sipped a beer and eased himself into it. A few rough edges, but he has a neat line of observation, and when his act is a bit more polished, it'll be very entertaining. He seems to base his stuff on real-life experiences; they have a ring of truth to them. Best routine of the night, for me, was his description of Catholic school. I ended up feeling quite self-conscious though, as - being a strange face in the front row - he kept focusing on me, and asked me the odd question (so much for no interaction); he didn't really seem comfortable with audience interaction in general, though. Hey-ho, as he was finishing he said it'd been most helpful. 

I bet he was glad to be finished - and I was glad to get home in daylight! Tomorrow, back with London Literary Walks (natch) for the Amy Winehouse Walk. A short one, this - and unfortunately, as before, clashing with the footie. A small turnout is expected, but I'm sure we'll have fun.

On Thursday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for Immaculate Correction, at the King's Head. Ages since I've been there - and it sounds like fun.

On Friday, Walking in London is taking me on a walking tour of The Secret History of Magic, Witchcraft & the Occult. Starting outside St. Paul's, of all places. Mmm yes, had my eye on this for a while. And being Funzing, the code crazy_fun will score you a 10% discount.

And on Saturday, why, I was spoiled for choice! UITCS alone has three events - I finally plumped for the first, chronologically: so we're off to see Machinal, at the Almeida. Always dependably good drama there - and again, close to me. And, it being Bastille Day, we're off to La Petite Auberge beforehand for lunch / brunch!