The London Necropolis Virtual Tour

Ah, I'm lucky to live just down from O' Neill's King's Cross - have eaten there a few times now, and it's simply excellent. Not to mention the app whereby you can order from the table. Now, today I arrived just before 5 - to be recommended. It was full by about 5.35.. They have wine I like, and whereas previously I've had the "smothered" chicken (in bacon and BBQ sauce), today I had a change and went for the katsu curry chicken. This is their buttermilk-fried chicken, which I have to say is beautifully succulent, with a deliciously crispy coating - alternatively, you can have it with BBQ sauce, which I might try next time. Accompanied by onion rings, as usual. Yum! For dinnertime entertainment, we had the news - full of Boris' resignation! And I swear.. I could hear the intro to "Another One Bites the Dust" playing on loop in the bar..

Tonight, back with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex, for The London Necropolis Virtual Tour. I pointed out to him, actually weeks ago, that the registration link had the wrong date, and he said it was outdated, and he'd replace it and send me the new link - well, he removed it, but no new link until this afternoon, although a few of us complained. Guess what though - he forgot to take payment. B-) Just sent us the link to watch - for free. Not so bad..

As per the first photo, he pointed out to us that there are several famous cemeteries in London. This talk, however, concerned Brookwood Cemetary, outside Woking - an overflow cemetery for London, served by the Necropolis Railway from Waterloo. Competition from other funeral companies, combined with a bomb strike on the Waterloo terminus during the Blitz, did for it - but it seems a fascinating place, with different sections for people of different religions, or who died in different ways! As usual, his soporific voice sent me to sleep - I woke as he broke for an interval, and I didn't know what was happening! Managed to stay awake for the end though, and the story of the Russian Orthodox monks (of all people) who live there, guarding the remains of St. Edward the Martyr. Well I never..

Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again! I'll finally get to see Elvis - in the Omniplex this time, as it's no longer showing in the early afternoon in Ennis. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, and apparently as flamboyant as you'd expect from him, according to a glowing recommendation by someone I know who's just seen it! This is the story of Elvis (of course, there could only be one), played - apparently most realistically - by Austin Butler, with Tom Hanks as his manager, Col. Tom Parker, and Olivia DeJonge as his wife, Priscilla.

On Monday, I'm going to Favour, at the Bush Theatre - after much effort, as their website wasn't working for days! In fact, it seems to go down sporadically. I chose an unreserved seat, will be allocated one on the day. Anyway, I see TAC has now started selling tickets for this - gee, might be not only the cheapest, but the easiest way to book! Now only available for Wednesday. Wow, was only there once before, 3.5 years ago..

On Tuesday, 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 leaves me free to go to a film on Tuesday. Well, I just checked the film list - and I see I'm falling foul of the curse of the summer, where I run out of high-rated films. Had I not booked for Elvis on Saturday, it'd have been that. Not only that, but what was left at the top of the list didn't appeal - until I got down to Thor: Love and Thunder.

Stars Chris Hemsworth in the title role, with, jeez - Natalie Portman as his ex-girlfriend: Christian Bale heavily made-up as the villain: Tessa Thompson as a valkyrie, as in Thor: Ragnarok - although I think in this one she's been promoted: the voice of Taika Waititi as an old god (he also directs and co-writes): Russell Crowe as Zeus: Chris Pratt as a star lord (no, me either): Dave Bautista as a kind of sympathetic mercenary (sorry, I just don't follow this stuff in general!): the voices of Vin Diesel (as a talking tree) and Bradley Cooper (as his raccoon sidekick): Ben Falcone as the Asgardian stage manager (!): Simon Russell Beale as Dionysus (way!): Tristan (Thor as a kid) and Sasha Hemsworth (an Asgardian kid) - Chris' twin sons: Matt Damon (uncredited) as an actor recreating Loki's part in Thor - Ragnarok: Luke Hemsworth (yes, Chris' brother) (uncredited) as an actor recreating Thor in Thor - Ragnarok (how appropriate!): Melissa McCarthy (uncredited) as an actor playing Loki's daughter: and Sam Neill (uncredited) as an actor playing Odin. Gee, you think they all really wanted to get involved..?!

Anyway. I loved Thor: Ragnarok, which is hilarious.. this isn't, apparently, as good, but as I say, top of the list of what's left! and stands on its own merit, I hear. Closest to me is in the Everyman King's Cross. Wow, never heard of it! A bit pricey, I see.. ah well.

On Wednesday, 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. Which marks the beginning of a whole spate of Meetups in a row! When's the last time that happened..?

Next 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 the 15th, back with the London Classical Music and Theatre Group for the opera Otello, at the Royal Opera House.

On the 16th, which is a Saturday, I had booked with Discover London (DL) for a trip to see a cart making ceremony. Just yesterday, 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 the 17th, back with Bucket List London - this time, it's a trip to Sandown Antiques Market. Well, I've never been to Sandown, so this could be interesting.

On the 18th, 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.

On the 19th.. 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 can't this 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!

And 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.

Reading: Across the Bridge

This evening, headed for The Astronomer again for dinner. Google Maps said it was busier than usual, and bookings weren't available, but hey, I was lucky before! Sure enough, what with all the rain today, the courtyard was empty - inside wasn't really crowded, but all the tables were occupied. Except for one ledge, complete with high chair, which I noticed had a table number. Which meant I could order from it! So I sat, and ordered the chicken again, and that delectable New Zealand white. The chicken was good, although perhaps not of the spectacular quality of before - they hadn't really made an effort with the puree, and the chicken itself was a little tough. No, carrots - which tasted honey-roasted - were, would you believe, the highlight of the piece! Checking my blog, I discovered I hadn't been terribly impressed with the ice cream, so I had another glass of wine instead. All delivered with impressive promptness. And meantime, booked my movers for Sunday..

Was back in plenty of time for an online talk by Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex. They're starting a Short Story Tuesdays series, where the host reads a short story by a selected author (fee £3) - and this week's author is Graham Greene. We weren't sent the link until yesterday evening. Curiously, he greeted each of us as we signed in, but refused to unmute us, so we couldn't respond.. Anyway, most who had booked showed up (at the last minute), and the story turned out to be Across the Bridge. Predictably, a combination of the wine and the narrator's soothing voice served to send me rapidly to sleep.. I was woken by silence, half an hour later, when he ended the session! Ah well, at least it was recorded, so doubtless the link is to be distributed later..

Tomorrow, back with Civilised London for an Italian meal - this is in Terra Rossa, meeting beforehand in The Crown, as usual. Picking up the keys to my new place beforehand. :-) And I can walk from there to the pub!

On Thursday, I finally get my postponed meeting with two of my ex-coworkers (one suddenly can't make it, he's dog-sitting) - and after my glowing reports of Bill's on Clink Street, we're heading there! Optional drinks beforehand, I've suggested The Old Thameside Inn.

On Friday - taking advantage of the bank holiday, I booked something that's been heavily advertised. At £60, it's not cheap, but I really fancied it, so I'm headed to The Gunpowder Plot, an immersive, combined VR and real-life experience at the Tower. You can get a themed lunch with that, but I passed. Earliest date now available is the 8th, at a minimum price of £50 (last few available) - the price increases as you get closer to the date. And ironic how these two events are closer to my old place.. So I'll stay there until after this.

And on Saturday, booked with Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts again for A Nosey Around Soho. In association with London Guided Walks as usual, a £3 discount for using the code MEETUP3, which at least covers the booking fee. Looks like Hazel herself is running this one - if so, it'll be the first time I'll have seen her in years. Assuming I'm not a couple of minutes late, and miss her. Well, if I do get to go, I hope she doesn't spam me, like she still is after the last one, with constant ads for her podcast and requests for reviews! Of course, if you go on her site, there seems to be no way to leave a review.. AND I see she advertises these on TAC now, with a £3 cash charge on the day to the guide - still, this would be the cheaper option. (and ACLUB also gets you a £3 discount on the full price..)

Talk: London by Night - An Illuminating Virtual Tour

Tonight, I was back with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex, for London By Night - an Illuminating Virtual Tour. Online, promised to be nice. My mother has been regaling me with cautionary tales of multiple storms - well, they seem to have arrived here this evening too! I was out earlier for a bite to eat, and the whole place is filled with an eerie whistling that I can only attribute to wind, finding its way between the skyscrapers. Lucky they provide us with some protection! although even my building shook at one point. So, I was rather glad not to be headed away from home, this once.

I logged on a few minutes early, to a personal welcome from the host - couldn't reply, as such, because he'd muted everyone! although we could comment, if we wanted. I didn't notice any input to the Q+A section, though. Now, this is the dapper gent who does history talks - and wouldn't you know it, that was what this was too! So, not a guided tour of illuminations - rather a tour through the history of London streetlighting. Apologies, I didn't really find anything to take a screenshot of.

Although he had some interesting tales of how people used to leave a lamp burning in a certain position, so they could identify their own house when headed through the dark streets at night. Or the boys that you could pay to show you the way - hoping they weren't associated with a band of cut-throats, and would lead you down a dark alley to your doom!

1411, it was, when streetlights were first ordered in London, it seems - one at each junction, and at regular intervals along the streets between. And this to combat the wave of crime that had ravaged the city. I was also intrigued by the description of the problems associated with the tallow candles used by the poor, who couldn't afford wax ones - these were made from animal fat, which of course smelled awful. But it never occurred to me that they might also attract vermin, with depictions of rats eating the candles! Yikes..

Unfortunately, I was less interested when he started talking about this or that businessman who was the first to develop this or that idea to do with street lighting. And honestly, he has a very soporific voice.. I fell asleep. Well, it's been a long day, with another interview, and preparation for yet another. Was quite surprised when I heard him announce that the talk was over! Hey ho.

Tomorrow, back with Crick Crack! which should hopefully happen this time. This is a double bill - The Thief's Tale and Future Imperfect, at Rich Mix, Daniel Morden one of the performers. And there are a couple of others from the London European Club coming, which is cool! I could do with some face to face contact with friendly faces, haven't had any since I came back to London this time. Unfortunately, the Crick Crack show that was cancelled a while back is livestreaming the same night from Oxford! which just can't be helped.

On Friday, back with Civilised London for a play called The Ballad of Maria Marten, based on a real-life murder mystery, at Wilton's. Now, I'm rather tired of craning my neck here, so I went for a slightly more expensive seat, with a more direct view - albeit still in the balcony.

And on Saturday, I was headed off with 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners again, for Laurence Summers' Elementary Sherlock Walking Tour. But wouldn't you know it, he just cancelled it! Personal reasons. Well, it's been rescheduled, but I think the new date is one of my weekends in Ireland. Never mind, it's giving me the chance to meet up with an ex-colleague again - we're meeting for an early dinner (his suggestion) in Frankie & Benny's (my suggestion - I haven't been there in years). I invited Ivan, but that job of his is wrecking him - he says he needs to sleep for a month. Anyway, I can catch my other ex-colleague up on all the interviews!

Victorian Ghost Stories at Christmas

Tonight, I booked with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton & Sussex again, for Victorian Ghost Stories at Christmas (via Zoom). Rather nice to have a day at home, after all my shenanigans!

Well, it was advertised to have a couple more people doing voices, but in the end, they cried off due to illness, and it was just the main narrator. Whom, to be fair, I've heard before, and he's excellent! So, we heard a number of stories - starting with Marley's ghost from A Christmas Carol, the narrator also took us through some of the history of the stories and writers. We heard tell of zombies, werewolves and vampires - some of the stories were, necessarily, cut short. M. R. James made an appearance, and all stories were accompanied by appropriate illustrations.

But it was the fabulous short story of The Monkey's Paw that made me sit up - it's one of my favourites, and he told it beautifully. Worth attending just for that alone! A recording is being made available on request. Excellent storyteller, and I think I chose well with this.

Tomorrow, looking like film, and what's coming up is - as before, when I changed my mind - C'mon C'mon, where Joaquin Phoenix plays a middle-aged dj who never settled down, but suddenly finds himself in charge of his small nephew. Looks decent, closest showing now in Hackney Picturehouse. I do have a Picturehouse voucher from Tesco, but it doesn't seem to be working..

Talk: Hallowe'en Penny Dreadful Show - The Art of Victorian Horror

Tonight, I booked with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex (!). They advertised an online talk entitled Hallowe'en Penny Dreadful Online Show - The Art of Victorian Horror. I have to say, online has become much more of an option since lockdown. And this'd be a night I could move stuff from my desk - we have to clear them out by the end of the week, as we're moving office next month!

Well would you credit it - the guide messaged us during the day, said he wasn't feeling well. But he kindly provided us with the link to a past recording. I stayed on in the office for a bit, watched the one soap I still follow (I can stream it), then took some stuff from the desk and made my way home - earlier than expected. Where I decided I might as well watch the recording!

Well, I'm glad I did! He's hoarse in the recording - apparently just out of a bout of Covid - but that doesn't detract from his excellent storytelling skills! He also chose a nice, spooky background, and appropriately spooky background music. And what an excellently structured talk, starting with modern horror, which had him hooked from an early age, then turning to the origin of the penny dreadfuls in Victorian times. So we get a good dollop of history to go with our tour through the popular titles. Well worth watching, very entertaining, and a nice run-up to Hallowe'en.. Highly recommended, for horror fans! He gave us another link too - and there are some links at the end of this recording. All in all, great value, with five for the price of one!

Tomorrow, I booked another walk with Invigorate - this one was a tour of (the outside of) Christopher Wren's churches. Starting even closer to the office than the last one, handily. Rain is forecast - I hoped it wouldn't get too bad. Well it seems that the guide had the same thoughts, because checking what turned out to be a dreadful forecast for tomorrow, he postponed it to Thursday! Instead, for tomorrow, he's taking us to a free "Anniversaries" concert by the band of the Royal Yeomanry, at the Guards' Chapel. Tickets also available from Eventbrite. And funnily enough, this is where he took us, for another military concert, on what was my last Meetup before my long lockdown.. and as on that occasion, we're meeting in the Old Star. All I can say is, I hope it's not as crowded as it was that day - not least because, with pretty much nobody following precautions, the UK now has the highest number of Covid cases in the world..

On Thursday, I can't go on the rescheduled walk, because I have an online storytelling double-bill - I'll have to see how that pans out. First, I'd booked Universe, a Crick Crack Club (CCC) show happening in Oxford and live-streamed. Clare Murphy - and I've seen it before, and it was the best show ever! And then I saw that Martin Shaw from the CCC was doing an online show, earlier in the evening.. this one, in association with Watkins Bookshop, is called The Smoke Hole, and it's free. So I said, hey, why not? (And this is realistically the last night I can move stuff from my desk.)

On Friday, back with the London European Club for a concert - Balkan Music, courtesy of Raka & Balamuc, in The Post Bar, Tottenham. Sounds like fun. Even if I have to bring my work laptop, as we won't have access to our desks by that night. Then I'm back to Ireland - another Saturday flight - and with a few days off, I'm not flying back until the 28th. At least I'm not working from home this time, so don't have to bring the laptop on the flight!

But on the 29th, back with that group again, for Carmen - contemporary flamenco at The Place. (Might work from home that day, as we won't be in our new office yet, and I'd have to carry my laptop around with me.) Funnily enough, someone in the group said there were no individual seats left, and asked whether anyone wanted to double up with her. I offered, if there were no other takers - but she never got back to me. So, since I was now up to that date in my schedule, I decided to check for myself - and got an individual seat! So I've booked it.

And on the 30th, I'm doing something nice and Halloweeny - a ghost story event entitled Night Owl - changed from Scared to Death in the Woods, which they're now doing on Hallowe'en itself, and which has sold out. Tickets from Design My Night. So, an organisation called London Dreamtime is leading us off into a undisclosed location, somewhere around Hampstead Heath.. we're to dress warmly, and bring a blanket to sit on, and a "candle in a jar" - I actually went out and bought an LED flickering candle in a lantern-style holder. Well, thought it was the most practical! Now I just need batteries..