Play: Austentatious

These two days, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) - for some reason, I only just saw their advertised trip, tonight, to see Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel, at the Arts Theatre. Awesome! Promised to be good - title decided by the audience on the night.

There are tons of restaurants around there - and as it's a Monday, I might even have got a table. But you know, there are easier things than squeezing into somewhere crammed in the West End, and taking pot luck with service.. Nope, I ate at O' Neills before I set out. Which was much more relaxed - although he spent so long over retrieving my order from the kitchen (they bang on the door when it's ready) that my onion rings were kinda cold by the time they got to me. And he brought them so late (half an hour after I arrived) that I ended up having to take the Tube, rather than the bus(es) I'd intended.

This show isn't the main one here - it's still Choir of Man, which has ads everywhere. But hey, the guy scanning my ticket seemed happy, and so was I. The folks were already in the bar - most of them, anyway. I queued for a drink before I joined them.

Some of us crammed into the Circle Slips - most were in the Stalls. I must say, it was a packed house!

Yes, that's a fiddler over the side, who provides accompaniment to the merriment. He actually couldn't be heard as we took our seats after the interval, what with the hubbub..

So, they dress in Regency garb, and speak in Regency language. Mostly. And someone at the start calls for "unknown Jane Austen titles". They pick one, and we're off. Now, someone complained that it didn't really seem improvised - well, but they never are, completely! Even the best improvisers have some stock phrases and themes - nobody could create a whole two hours or so completely off the cuff!

So, I thought it was funny - not hilarious, but definitely amusing. And I thought it improved in the second half. Not to everyone's taste - but it'd be boring if it were! They do have a sense of humour, and excellent comic timing - one man plays the dashing heartthrob, the other the slightly bumbling chap, and the ladies go around in pairs. Terribly Jane Austen. Recommended - runs Mondays (7.30, with interval), and late on Thursdays and Fridays (9.45, without interval) up to the 19th - limited availability for that night. Oh, and a couple of them hang around the bar afterwards, touting merchandise. So, this is your big chance to meet stars of the stage.. 

Tomorrow, the same group (with a different combination of members) are back at the Park Theatre for the Make Mine a Double series - this week, it's Press, which examines the world of journalism, and Tunnels, about two cousins hoping to escape East Berlin. So, darker than last week's.

On Wednesday.. same problem as last Wednesday. Until just recently, when the London Classical Music and Theatre Group advertised a London Philharmonic Orchestra concert at the Royal Festival Hall for that day! I managed a Black Friday discount too! ;-) So now I'm going to that.

On Thursday - well, my contract has been extended, and I start with the new company next week. I booked an online talk, The Life and Times of Magnus Folk, from the Surrey History Meetup. One of the earliest electrical engineers in England, it seems. Anyway, it's free, and I've now cancelled - I found something more interesting while I was waiting for the play on Thursday night. The Arabic Music, Dance and Party Meetup Group are advertising an evening at the Bethlehem Cultural Festival - tickets from Eventbrite - in which there's a talk about 19th century travellers, as well as discussion of a forthcoming book, and a talk from a female artist in Gaza. Not that the group is advertising it, but there's also an Arab dance after, and another talk - you can go to some, or all. Happening in The Tabernacle. So, I booked a ticket - stopped short of joining the group though - we shall see.

Then back to Ireland for the weekend again - flying Aer Lingus for a change! My passport is due to expire, you see - I don't technically need one to travel between Ireland and the UK, but Ryanair demands it. Aer Lingus doesn't.. I finally submitted a renewal application - and they rejected my blasted photo. So much for the Photo Me booths - don't trust them, they pass photos that don't meet spec, it seems!

Next Monday - yep, the London Chess Community again looked like the best option. Hmm. But just lately - hallelujah! I was saved by London Social & Cultural Meetups, who have scheduled a talk on The 70th Anniversary of the Great London Smog. (Although oddly, we're meeting outside - perhaps the venue is hard to find?) Anyway, I'm delighted - this is that friendly group I joined a while ago for Evensong at St. Bartholomew the Great, and I'm glad to be seeing them again. Mind you, until today, I was the only one who had signed up!

On the 6th, well, Free Stuff and Free Events are holding another online singalong. Again, I cancelled my attendance at the last of these I booked for, so was reluctant to rush off and book again.. Or the Garden Talks have one on How Did Language Begin? Unfortunately, my free trial has long since expired, and they won't let me take out another. Well, I might have paid - but I'd be paying for a month's worth, so I figured I might as well wait until closer to the date, and get the value.. And yay, then UITCS jumped to the rescue again, with a comedy called Dinner with Groucho, at the Arcola. The setting is a dinner, somewhere in heaven, with Groucho Marks and T. S. Eliot the guests.. best available seats for £15 with the code FRANK15, until Friday.

On the 7th, I'm back with UITCS for Baghdaddy at the Royal Court. About a little girl, realising she's half Iraqi, just as the Gulf War is raging. I see CT now has tickets for this.. unusually for this venue!

On the 8th, I've signed up for another Watkin's Bookshop talk! This is Colin Stanley on Colin Wilson's Introducing the Occult. Well, the last talk I was at here was interesting, so..

On the 9th, I'm heading to Lightopia, at Crystal Palace Park. As suggested by Over 40 Living the Life, who are not actually hosting a trip themselves, but just wanted to advertise it. 15% discount if you subscribe to Lightopia's mailing list, 20% discount for purchases of 10 or more tickets. And durnit if Groupon hasn't just advertised cheap tickets..

On the 10th - I've bravely scheduled another meeting of Those who Do Not Come. It's my last weekend in London before Christmas, you see. Well, so far Ivan and my first boss in London are probable attendees, the one person who came the last two times probably not, for once. We shall see - I've booked The Lucas Arms - O' Neill's isn't taking bookings for that day. Deposit payable, refundable with cancellation up to 72 hours beforehand.

And on the 11th, I'm vaguely thinking of heading to see Carnaby Street's Christmas lights..

Musical: Bonnie and Clyde

Tonight, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Bonnie and Clyde, at the Arts Theatre. Now, most of the group going booked this ages ago - I just booked recently. And I noticed that all the cheapest seats were bench seating, which didn't sound terribly comfortable. But for under £2 more, so £25, I managed to get a ticket in the next band up - in the rear stalls - from Todaytix! See, they have this great £25 ticket offer until Sunday. This offer is highly recommended!

Took myself off in time to eat, optimistic of getting a table somewhere about. Well, my option last time - P. F. Chang's Asian Table - was full: but hey, right across the street was Sartori, and they had no trouble seating me! Now, this isn't the place to come for quiet conversation - or contemplation - but what it is, is a buzzing joint, packed to the gills, run by an Italian, and on the ball when it comes to dealing with crowds. I have to say, they managed very well - the manager, in particular, is on top of everything.

I didn't fancy a starter, so had to wait a while to get fed - had an excellent sauvignon blanc to keep me company, mind. And I had no phone reception, so that was a bit tiresome. But it actually wasn't so long before my food arrived - a scrumptious chicken with mushroom, and a very long Italian name! Yum. I was served, and ate, fast enough to have dessert.. and then I was asked whether I wouldn't mind having my dessert in the window! Eh.. OK. I was offered a limoncello to ease my discomfort. Eh.. OK.

So, I was now sat in sight of the theatre, with phone reception. Gee, such hardship. Sure enough, it transpired that they needed my table to push together with others for a large group. Meantime, for dessert, I ordered a lemon cake.. a light concoction, with, apparently, the flavour of the zest of lemons from the Amalfi coast. Hmm.

I am seriously impressed with their ability to produce high quality food with such a press of people! Also impressed that I got a second free limoncello.. following which, I took myself all the way across the street again, ordered a drink at the theatre bar, grabbed a table, and awaited the others. And we had a great old chat, trying to remember who was in that film we all saw about Bonnie and Clyde, and wondering how they could make such a dark story into a musical. And when we headed down to the stalls, someone had to make an announcement so we didn't all join the queue for the ladies' toilets, whose door is right beside the stalls entrance!

The set is riddled with bullet holes, previewing the story. But oh man, what a show! We had asked how they'd pull it off - we found out! After all, this was a terrific era for music - jazz, ragtime, gospel: and if that isn't enough, we got some hard rock for the hard-hitting prison scenes. Terrific performances, show-stopping songs. We were all completely carried along - just like the entire house, proven by the sound of the enthusiastic applause throughout!

At the interval, those of us with drinks couldn't go outside, where most of the group had congregated. Ah well. The second half started dramatically, when part of the set seemed to collapse, and some hit one of our members, in the front row! (I tell you, the perils of sitting in the front row..) The show stopped, the fellow playing Clyde popped over to ask whether he was OK. He had to be led out, sadly, and missed the second half - happily, he doesn't seem to have been too badly injured, and they gave him a complimentary ticket to come again: and a ride home, I believe! Well, I sure hope he does get to see the rest - it's a fantastic show! just maybe don't sit in the front row..

Highly recommended! Booking until the 10th of July.

Tomorrow, back with London Classical Music and Theatre Group - this time, we're at the Royal Festival Hall, where the Philharmonia is playing Mozart and Bruckner. Which makes this my best week for Meetup since lockdown, the only non-Meetup day being yesterday! The last time I saw this organiser is even longer ago than I saw Didi, the organiser on Sunday! (She's a classical guitarist - I just found her page..)

And then back to Ireland for the weekend. The film for the weekend - is looking like Top Gun: Maverick! in which Tom Cruise reprises his fighter-pilot role of so many years ago. Also stars Jennifer Connelly, Val Kilmer back as Iceman, Ed Harris as the rear admiral. Now, that should be fun!

Concert: The Choir of Man

Tonight, I was supposed to be with Civilised London (CL) again. They're going to a lot of plays these days - tonight, we booked for 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 was now in the second row. Well, as she said, the view would be excellent! Anyway, this is now sold out for the entire run.

And then today the theatre contacted me to say that tonight's performance was cancelled, owing to "the indisposition of a cast member". Jeez, this performance seems to have been cursed! Anyway, I could have got a credit note, but as I never really know what my plans are, I asked for a refund. 15 minutes I was on hold, waiting for that. And then had a look to see what else was on tonight! and wouldn't you know it, Up in the Cheap Seats was off to The Choir of Man. So, I did a little hunting around.. and handily, Seatplan was one of the cheapest ticket sellers offering deals on this, with plenty of £15 tickets, no fees. Especially handy because I had a £10 Seatplan voucher. So, for £5, I had me an end seat in the stalls..

I wanted to get something to eat beforehand, but hadn't thought to book anywhere. And the West End was unbelievably crowded - most places were turning people away, and there were queues at every door to every branch of Bella Italia that I passed!

I knew there were a couple of restaurants right beside the theatre - and carrying on to there, I came to P. F. Chang's Asian Table. Where - gee, they could seat me right away! They'd have to put me at a high table - but that was ok. Service came with a smile - I got the impression a lot of the staff were quite inexperienced - and I had a helluva choice, from what sounded like a whole menu of delicious choices. I eventually decided on chicken dumplings with sweet chilli sauce to start, followed by Mongolian beef in dark soy sauce and fried rice. And a large Sauvignon Blanc.

The fun started when the mains arrived before the starter. But never mind, the dumplings arrived in due course - and I have to say, everything was delicious! Beef a little chewy maybe - and caveat, that chilli sauce is quite spicy! but it was lovely. However, good luck getting anyone to take a dessert order - this is where the lack of experience might have showed, and they had got a bit busier, but after 15 minutes of trying to get anyone's attention, and with an hour now to showtime and half an hour to meeting the group, I gave up, put on my coat, and stood by the cash registers, waiting. And someone eventually got the hint and gave me my bill. A downer on what had been a lovely meal.

In the theatre, the bar was open - and already starting to fill up. And ooh, they had ice cream! So I had my dessert there. Followed by more wine. The group duly happened along, and we chatted before going in.

Now, the idea is, the stage is done as a bar, and sundry audience members are invited up and given free beer - and later, one woman scored a pina colada. You could be targeted from anywhere in the stalls - in Row F, I was invited up (no thanks!). They wanted to make sure no-one missed out, which was nice of them:

Well, this has been described as a musical - no it isn't, it has no plot! What it is, is a singalong-cum-choral concert. Set in a pub. It starts with Welcome to the Jungle - the idea being that "the jungle" in question is the pub. But don't let that fool you - most of their repertoire is easy-listening. Think Adele, think The Pina Colada Song. Think Dance with my Father, which I honestly never liked. Also some I'd never heard at all. So, not for everyone. But hey, they're amazing singers - and when they do get everyone singing along, it's great.. they finish with The Parting Glass, a beautiful choice - albeit a very highly produced version. Yep, worth a look. Runs until the 3rd of April.

Tomorrow, London Classical Music and Theatre Group (LCMTG) just yesterday advertised an LSO concert at the Barbican - so I'm going. 

On Friday, Laurence Summers persuaded me to come on his Old Jewish Neighbourhood Walking Tour - with the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners, as it happens. Now, it starts in the morning - and ends with lunch - so that should be ok for my flight! Hell, it's all around my area. And my new job hasn't started yet, so..

That evening, back to Ireland for the weekend - and with more legal stuff pending, doesn't look like I can squeeze in a film. If I do, what's coming up is (ahem) Dog, where Channing Tatum - a soldier - bonds with a dog he's taking to another soldier's funeral. We'll see.

On Monday, back with LCMTG for a concert at Wigmore Hall.

On Tuesday, 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, I was supposed to be 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. But it was rescheduled yesterday, and I can't make the new date. Have requested a refund. So, looking for something else to do, I came across Over 40 Living the Life. Who are off to the Vauxhall Comedy Club. Two interesting things about this. Firstly, the group is charging twice what the venue is advertising - so fine, I won't go with the group. Secondly, the venue is adding a 50p booking fee to what they're advertising. So, you know, seems a bit rich to advertise an "early bird" charge, then add a booking fee. But whatever. I'm going. On my own. (Oh, it does include a free drink.) Tickets from Design My Night.

Film: Another Round, The Viaduct Tavern, Play: Oleanna, & NewsRevue

On Tuesday afternoon, one of our new starters, whom I hadn't met yet, booked some time in his busy afternoon to take me for coffee. Well, not in my case - I don't drink it - but it was such miserable weather that I figured hot chocolate would do. And wouldn't you know it, he turns out to be something of an expert on local places to go! How handy is that.. now, we walked along beside Smithfield, where it turns out there are lots of places, and I wasn't really paying attention - so I'm not entirely sure where we ended up. But it COULD have been Redemption Roasters, who apparently provide jobs for ex-prisoners! Anyway, the hot chocolate was nice and hot - not sweet enough for me, but it almost never is. He had coffee, and we had a good old chat - sadly cut short when he discovered he had to rush back for an unexpected meeting. Never mind, I'm sure there'll be other occasions!

Looking for a film for Tuesday night, and having excluded the arty films at the top of the list that were either not showing that day, or just not interesting to me, I was delighted to come up with Another Round, in which Mads Mikkelsen is a disaffected schoolteacher, who, with a group of like-minded teachers, decides to test the theory that humans do much better slightly sozzled (i.e. having consumed a certain minimum amount of alcohol). This is a theory I've heard before, that small amounts of alcohol help with concentration. Anyway, initial results are so good that they take it a step further - but how much is too much? This is one that I seem to remember was showing in Ireland, but only in the evenings, which I couldn't do, because of having to keep my mother company. Anyway, it's gone from my local cinemas there, but still showing in the Curzon Bloomsbury, yay! Nice cinema.. Interestingly, doesn't have social distancing - unlike the cinemas in Ireland.

Well jeez, I thought I'd never get out of the office. There's a blasted major release that's already been delayed over a month, and my boss' boss' boss' boss (yes, really), who has to sign off on all these, never, ever gets to them before evening. And then, with his marketing hat on, he finds ever so much stuff that he wants changed. So he sits me down and goes through it with me - and there was I, trying to sneak surreptitious glances at my watch, as the time ticked by. I literally didn't get out of there until after 8. At least the film wasn't on until 8.20 - but I had planned to walk there. As it was, the Tube was the fastest option, so off I trotted - and did, at least, have great luck with my trains (I had to take two), both of which pulled into the platform just as I arrived. So in the end, I made the cinema just after start time. Nobody checked my ticket, and I took my seat just in time for the trailers. (And it's nice here, with the Pullman seats - almost worth the £17.50 ticket price.)

Appropriately for the theme of the film, a number of audience members had gotten into the spirit (pun intended) by buying drinks - the ladies at the end of my row had to move the ice bucket out of the way so I could pass. And after the opening scenes of drunken student celebration, the film starts with the 40th birthday dinner for one of the four teachers. The night is a celebration, so they go large, taking all the fine vintages that the posh restaurant suggests. But it's clear they're all in a rut, unhappy with their lot. Then the birthday boy - who also happens to be a philosophy teacher (this school offers philosophy!) starts to tell them about this theory about alcohol - and they start an experiment. Mads plays the history teacher, so he's aware of the famous (and successful) drinkers of history, and decides they should follow Hemingway's example, only drinking during work hours. Which makes it interesting, as they find ways to smuggle in alcohol, and hide their slurred speech and unsteady gait.

They make endearing drunks, it has to be said. And wouldn't you know it, initial trials go great! Improvements happen in their work performance, their home lives, their sex lives. And although things do kind of go south as they go deeper into the experiment, still, things mostly pan out ok for them, in the end. If there's a message to the film, it's this - alcohol is to be enjoyed, it's part of social occasions, and it can enhance life. Just don't let it control you. And I just love how the film isn't preachy about alcohol, as they usually are. Recommended.

Now, when I got home on Tuesday, I did up the new film list, for next week - so that ran on too late, and I couldn't blog. And they've now blocked this blogging website at work, along with several others, so I can't do it there anymore, either! It's making it much harder to get everything done..

On Wednesday, my social life creaked back into action in earnest. The aforementioned boss' boss' boss' boss took me out for lunch! Gosh, I'm in so much demand it feels like Christmas. Anyway, I had a think, and suggested Wasabi, in One New Change - I've dreamed of their chicken katsu curry, during lockdown. En route, we passed a brass band, of all things. But, shock horror - Wasabi has closed!  Noo, the best place around to have lunch is no more! :-( Well, I said, let's go to Nando's - it's just across the hall, and I didn't want to wander all day. So we did, taking a table by the window.

I hadn't brought my phone, so he did the honours - he was paying anyway. (Two free Nando's for me then, this week!) And it was handy that I had a regular order to give him - I returned to my regular lemon and herb sauce though, I'm not crazy about the new one. But my, he had fun with the website! For one thing, the confirmation button on every screen was hidden by an ad - and it didn't help matters that he had to set up an account in order to order. Nor did the menu offer Sprite - so I ordered Fanta.

Now, the soft drinks they sell here are bottomless, so they give you a glass and you help yourself from the machine around the corner. And wouldn't you know it, when I went, I saw they had Sprite after all! so that's what I had. Same price anyway. As for the food, the chicken was burnt at the edges, as usual here, and I left the end of it - but the sides were lovely. (He had great fun dissing the place in the review he left, BTW.)

On Wednesday evening, the social group of ex-employees of my last company had two members say they could meet me for drinks. Great! Mind you, try getting a response from anyone else.. or a decision on the day, or the venue.. so we decided on "somewhere in Farringdon, on Wednesday." Herding cats, indeed.. I had to decide on the venue, too, and said - why not The Viaduct Tavern? It's so close to my office, lovely and ornate.. so, one agreed, and the one other who'd said she could come went AWOL. Now, that Release Note that I'd thought put to bed the night before rose from the grave, in the form of a raft of things that nobody had seen fit to tell me about, which had to go in ASAP - I did my part, and sent it for signoff, but when the evening rolled around, nice and sunny, had the man signed off? Nope, and no sign of it happening. So, shortly after my friend texted me to say he'd arrived, I legged it (and just as well, because that review didn't happen till nearly 10:30!

He'd grabbed a table near the door - and we stayed there till closing, catching up, putting the world to rights, as they say. Great to see him! and the first time for either of us in a pub, after lockdown.. looking forward to catching up with the rest of them, soon - hopefully. I'm quite out of practice with drinking, mind, and couldn't finish my glass when closing time came. Home at last, I conked out on my bed, in my clothes, with the light on. Slept nice and deeply. Too tired to blog.

Last night - delighted to be back with Up in the Cheap Seats! We saw Oleanna, a play about a professor who has a sexual harassment claim brought against him by a female student, at the Arts Theatre. Always a topical theme. Well, guess what? Those Release Notes still haven't got done - I was so busy all day, I only got to them in the evening, and then there were more last-minute additions, and another lecture from Himself, who was of the opinion that the first lecture hadn't gone in! So I was rushing again - actually forgot one entry, in my haste - and instead of the bus, I ended up taking the Tube yet again.

Took me a minute to orient myself, when I came out - the Dominion Theatre finally told me which way was up, and off I trotted in the other direction. I had to queue to pick up my ticket - and although they said I should present my email confirmation or payment card, well, my name did just fine. As for meeting the group - well, they were already in situ when I arrived, and well, I hardly recognised most of them, with their changed hairstyles! Really, I had to pause for a moment to sort out who was who. And one of the few who had pretty much the same hair was wearing a mask! Crikey, it was like they were in disguise..

And so to the auditorium, shortly - I was late meeting them, and didn't really have time for a drink (and had had enough after the night before, anyway!). The usher explained that the Circle, where I was, was mostly empty, and I could sit where I liked.. the others who'd beaten me to it had opted for seats with a central view, but mine was right at the stage end of the slips, and I'd have the place to myself, which decided me.

All takes place in this lecturer's office, and in three acts, between which the actors go off and change clothes. 80 minutes straight through, without interval. Maintains the mood, do you see. And it's one of those cat-and-mouse games - over the course of the play, the power balance shifts, as you might expect. And we had a good old natter in the bar afterwards, people taking different sides. How much did he deserve it? Did she have an alternate agenda? It starts slowly, but the tension soon ramps up to its violent conclusion.. caveat, those sitting in the front row of the stalls had a nervous time, as the action reached its climax and things started to fly..

Of course, I'm a bit biased. I used to be a lecturer, and I know the power that students have. The tendency can be to believe the student outright in any dispute, and boy, are there students who abuse that. Lecturers end up playing politics not only with the faculty, but with the student body as well - which is actually why I quit. (And I actually cheered when he finally lost his temper, here..) She's certainly an annoying, whiny madam. 

Having said all that, we spent much of the time afterwards discussing how things used to be. Casual sexism was a thing when I was growing up, and whatever the faults with today's society, that much has improved. People can get away with less, and so their behaviour has improved, and others' lives are made easier. Whatever your take on this play, I do recommend it - I always think that the most important kind of play is one that gets its audience talking, and this play certainly does that. Currently booking up to the 23rd of next month, recommended - although perhaps not for those of a nervous disposition.

I did start this blog when I got home, but it went late, I was tired, and there's so much to say..

Tonight, woohoo! I booked for NewsRevue at London Wonderground, courtesy of one of my cheap ticket sellers (CT). For less than 1/3 of the price, thank you.. and I really thought I wouldn't get to London Wonderground at all.. and it's at Earl's Court, which was a blast from the past - I miss the job I had (and the office environment) when I was staying there, in the nicest flat I've had in London!

Well, after two Tube journeys during the week that were necessary because I got held back at work by that release - ironically, by today, the release had been cancelled, and I had time to kill. But still needed to take the Tube, it's so far to travel! Anyway, Google Maps recommended I take the Central Line to Notting Hill Gate, then the District Line to West Brompton.. while at the same time telling me that the District Line was closed for part of the way. So I alighted there and took a bus - which came just as I was trying to cross the road! So I needs must wait for the next one - when the LCD display turned out to be broken on the bus stop, so I couldn't even tell when it was due, I discovered I didn't even remember the name of the bus app on my phone, it's been so long! Anyway, I had to cool my heels for 14 minutes or so. The bus journey, mind, was quick - and so nostalgic, as I started to find placenames familiar.

So, I was a bit later than anticipated, but still in plenty of time - I could see the fairground a while before I found the entrance, but trusted Google Maps, which sure enough led me to the main gate:

Hung around at the box office while he figured out my ticket, then moseyed over to the tent ad took a seat while I waited for it to open - sadly, again, I didn't really have time for a drink. Seating was unassigned, and I got a nice, central seat. And oh, this was great! They're always so good, you know, adapting popular songs to topical news themes being their speciality. It's really clever, really well-performed, and few people get away unscathed. Some pieces scraped close to the bone, which is exactly how it should be.. I only wish I could remember all the numbers! I think this is over now, but London Wonderground is open till the 26th.

Coming out, I was looking to see whether I could spot the street I used to go down on my way home! It's a long time ago, though. Google Maps said I should walk to Earl's Court and catch the Piccadilly Line from there (which is the line I should have taken on the way out) - fine, sez I, but why walk, when I can take the District Line from West Brompton, which I'll be walking past?! And for no extra charge. And that is what I did, accompanied by a group of young American-sounding ladies who were seriously confused by all the branches of the District Line.

Boy, it was a fun journey home, what with the whole town partying..

From Earl's Court, the Tube was pretty full - standing rom only. I got a seat eventually, which is just as well, because I was inhibiting the chap next to me, who wanted to do a pole dance on the pole in the middle. Which he proceeded to do, to the amusement of all. Very athletic fellow. Not that he'd have managed it on the Central Line, where we were squashed in like sardines..

Tomorrow, meeting Helen! for lunch at the Bear & Staff, followed by leisurely secondhand bookshop browsing. Hallelujah, a lie-in!

Play: Ghost Stories

I've had Ghost Stories booked for months - I had time over Christmas to think about such things, you see! Found a terrific deal with lastminute.com - one of their meal + show deals. Cheapest tickets - at the time, anyway, although I think I've seen some deals since - were about £35. This deal, however, for £37.50, guaranteed you a top-price (£39) ticket to the show, plus a two-course meal at Ruby Blue, just down the road! Yes please..

I was a bit worried when the tube strikes were announced, but they weren't as severe as feared, and in the event, tonight's was called off anyway. I left in plenty of time to catch a Tube to Leicester Square, the nearest for both restaurant and theatre. I knew, from Google Maps Streetview, where Ruby Blue was - basically, turn right at the Haagen-Dazs place. Same street as the Prince Charles cinema, actually. I was early (what a luxury!), so mooched around for a while, reading the Standard I picked up upon exiting the Tube station.

I headed over at about 10 to 6 - my booking was for 6. The nice chap at the door, with the headphones, simply asked whether I wanted the bar or restaurant. You go upstairs for both - turn left for the bar, straight ahead for the restaurant. It's not hard to tell them apart - even at that hour, the bar was pulsing with psychedelic multi-coloured light beams.

This place is entirely too cool for what it is. Well, I suppose there are those who like that. Not to my taste, really. Now, it's fine, I just think it goes a bit overboard. Anyway, the waiter was really friendly, chatty, personable. I don't know how many times over the next hour and a half he called me "darling". I even got a "doll-face" at the end! Well now, I don't mind that at all.

The restaurant was nearly empty when I arrived - I took a table at the far end of the long room, so I could get a look at the place. Décor was nice, lighting subdued. I was sat beside a white baby grand piano, which, mercifully, didn't have anyone playing it at the time. As he checked for my name on the way in, I saw a whole load of lastminute.com bookings - he mentioned there were some toptable ones as well. I think they constituted the whole of the early evening's takings. Anyway, the lastminute.com menu is a reduced one, from which I chose garlic bread as a starter. The mains were restricted to four - vegetarian curry, burger, ribs, or chicken fajitas. I had the burger. Good wine list, and he informed me that it was Happy Hour! so 40% off wines. Except champagne.

The wine was nice. Of the garlic bread, I got two pieces, one of which lacked any garlic, by the taste (non-existent). The other was quite nice. The burger was ho-hum - with way too much onion - but the chips were perfect. It still wasn't even 7, and the show didn't even start until 8, so I thought I'd have a dessert, and ordered a brownie. Now, the lastminute.com deal only covers two courses, so I had to pay for this - but fair enough. (Wine isn't covered either.) I got to choose off the full menu this time, which has much more choice. I thought it was taking a long time - sure enough, he had to come back and take my order again, whatever he did with the first.. It arrived shortly after - two pieces of piping hot brownie, quite delicious, with a (small) scoop of what tasted like Haagen-Dazs. I swear, I thought I'd never get through it! Give them that, they don't skimp on portions.

And off I headed, at 7.20, for the Arts Theatre. It's a short walk from Leicester Square - just head back towards the Tube, cross the road (past the rickshaw driver honking for attention), straight ahead and first left. And I entered a crammed lobby, the whole place decorated in horror style, all black and red, with police tape. I pushed my way to the box office and collected my ticket from a couple of ladies wearing black t-shirts with "Ghost Stories" logos in red. This show is big on merchandising - there's a list of goods and prices on the way down to the auditorium / toilets. Now, lastminute.com doesn't give out seat numbers in advance, it's up to the venue - but I have always had excellent seats from them, and this was no exception. I was in E10 in the stalls, five rows from the front, which is about right, and right bang slap in the middle.

With time to kill, I decided to go to the toilet. Now, I really have to recommend, if you're seeing this show, that you go to the toilet beforehand. No, it has nothing to do with any frights you might get - but the toilets are right beside the auditorium, and the backing track that's played before the show is piped in there as well. That's something I haven't come across before - going to the loo to a soundtrack of moans, drips, clanking, and that weird bass they play for horror films. It really enlivens the experience. Pity about the non-functioning hand dryers, though..

When the doors opened, I was one of the first in. And then I sat. O Lordy, they need to improve their seating stock! Those springs gave an awful creak as I settled in, and there's no lower back support. Anyway, it was fine.

Now, despite the name, this is not one of London's posher theatres. Tonight, it was even scruffier than I remembered, although that probably had much to do with the production. The show itself takes the form of a lecture, by a professor of parapsychology, on the phenomenon of ghost stories, why we want to believe in them, and alternative explanations. No, don't get bored.. it's very interesting, and peppered with photos of supernatural phenomena. Or are they? (I found the wedding photo really interesting. The whole audience, including me, gasped at something the "professor" pointed out. Go see the show to see what I mean.)

He goes on to describe three ghost stories that were told to him by the people that experienced them. Or rather, the subjects themselves act out the story. These contain a large element of humour, but they're very well done. The special effects are excellent.

And then there's a fourth. And I have to say that this one really sent a shiver down my spine, and developed in me a sense of unease that persisted all the way home. And part of it was trickery, and I can define exactly why they managed to unnerve me (but I won't) - but part of it was just excellently scripted horror, the best I've seen on stage, and better than much I've seen on screen. Terrifically acted, brilliantly directed. And for that fourth story, I say - if you like to be scared, go see this.

As they take their bows, just like in The Mousetrap, an actor comes to the front to ask the audience not to reveal the secret. And I won't. But what was really nice was, this being the first night, the writers were waiting in the lobby as we left, handing out special badges to us all!

Now, you can buy Ghost Stories badges at other performances, but they won't be special Opening Night badges. So there! Oh, I had a terrific night.. one of my best since I moved here. Hey, and on the Tube home, the lady sitting opposite me had exactly the same boots on that I did! Fancy - I've never seen them on anyone else.

So, back to Ireland tomorrow. And power has been restored to my mother's house, so I might have a relaxing weekend after all! Monday, so far, is looking like a film, and more specifically, Her, which is rating very highly on IMDB. Joaquin Phoenix falls in love with his OS, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. Also stars Amy Adams and Rooney Mara. And then I'm in Guildford again on Tuesday..

Musical: Dickens Abridged

Yep, I know I said I probably wouldn't go to anything tonight. I have to be up early in the morning (I'm only still up now because my flatmate is in the shower and I need the loo!), and what I was thinking of going to was a film, and the film I most wanted to see was on too late. But then I checked TimeOut today, on the offchance, and they recommended Dickens Abridged. Only 90 mins, and just around the corner from Leicester Square Tube, in the Arts Theatre. My, it's a long time since I was there!

Now, I loved Shakespeare Abridged when I saw it, years ago, so this was a no-brainer. I had a hunt on the internet for cheap tickets, but almost no-one but the venue itself had any for tonight, and those that were available were more expensive, so I went with the venue box office. Sadly, I've received several ticket offers for this show, but by today they were all either expired or sold out. Or both. (I did notice that Viagogo was offering tickets for tonight.. wonder how that would work with them having to get them posted and all!) Three categories of tickets were available - the cheapest were in the very front row, and advertised as having slightly restricted view, because of the high stage. No thanks, that sounds very cramped. So then it was front or rear stalls - I chose rear, being cheaper. Had a choice of the entire section, so chose the front row of the rear stalls - centre seat.

Having consulted Google Maps to remind myself, I knew I needed to exit the station via Cranbourn Street, hang a left, and it was just around the corner. My, though, finding the exit for Cranbourn Street was a pain. I had to double back on myself - good job I was early - and it turns out you need to take a sharp right from the Piccadilly Line exit. You then want station exit 4. And after that it was a breeze, and I was on time for once! The seat was fine, BTW - good view of the stage. Bit of a breeze from the door though, and they seemed to have no restriction on latecomers, which could be annoying, because frankly, the theatre is quite creaky and you can hear everything.

How to describe this show? Well, it consists of five guys, all of whom play instruments at some point, I believe. Mostly guitars - there's also a piano onstage, and someone brings on a triangle at some point. This is all as an accompaniment to the life story of Charles Dickens, and a potted version of several of his works. Some are acted out, with some of the guys in drag (and some very quick costume changes!) and some are summarised in song.

..and that's a very prosaic way of describing the wittiest play I've seen in a long time. The songs are fantastic, the descriptions irreverent, and the actors have a perfect sense of comic timing. We laughed out loud, we cheered, we were entertained! Highly recommended. Doesn't matter if you don't know much Dickens going in, you'll have a better idea coming out. My personal favourite was the singing severed head from A Tale of Two Cities. That really was well done! Runs until 5 January, see it if you can.

And now, to all a good night! I must away to Guildford at a ridiculous hour of the morning, and we have our department Christmas dinner there tomorrow evening, in Loch Fyne seafood restaurant. And yes, I have already researched my ways of getting home if the Overground has stopped running - I was caught that way before!