So, today is Pancake Day. I was just wondering what to do for lunch when - in a very timely manner - Bill's, whose app I signed up to, and who send me regular advertising emails, sent me an email about the day that's in it! All day, they have an all-you-can-eat offer on pancakes, for £7.45. Great! sez I. I thought I'd better book though. My nearest Bill's is on Clink Street, which is about a half hour walk away - it was now about 1.20pm, I thought 2pm might be a little tight, so I booked for 2.15.
And off I trudged in the rain. You know, the weather forecast said initially that there'd be rain all day, then decided it wouldn't come till evening - always go with your first instinct, they say, because it rained all afternoon. Arriving in Southwark, I got a bit lost with the sundry small streets - arrived at Bill's with under five minutes to spare. Good thinking on that booking time! The waiter hadn't much trouble with seating me - choosing which side of the table to sit at was easy, given that I didn't want to spend the meal staring at myself in a mirror..
Now, the guy seating me plied me with menus - a drinks menu, an a la carte, and a little flier advertising the pancakes - no further information. He did say something, but frankly I couldn't understand a word, except that I could mix the pancakes with the a la carte. Which I figured would solve any issues. The waiter who took my order clarified that I needed to choose between bacon and fruit as a topping - I chose bacon. The only have a few wines by the glass, so I chose the South African.
Ooh yum. The wine was gorgeous. The pancakes came in a stack of three, drizzled with syrup - delicious - and with a knob of butter on top. Genius! I never thought to do that, but it works so well. I scoffed the lot - but was slowing by the end. Honestly, although when she collected my plate she asked whether I'd like another, one helping was enough for me - even at that, I considered it good value! Instead of more pancakes, I thought I'd have a dessert - went for plain and simple chocolate ice cream, and considered myself well fed. Kudos to Bill's for excellent pancakes!
I was very glad to get in from the miserable weather. This evening, Interesting Talks London was discussing - via Zoom - IEMT and Psoriasis - How Moving Your Eyes Helps a Skin Condition! Hmm.. well, saved me travelling on a strike day.
O dear, I knew this wouldn't be good. Started slightly late - the organiser had an issue with his Facebook account being hacked. And there was a long introduction. When the speaker started, at 10 past the advertised start time - well, he was dreadful. Giving definitions of terms we already knew, not addressing the topic directly, reading directly from slides with far too much text.. this is not how to give a talk. Now, I wasn't actually familiar with IEMT - I looked it up and was not optimistic about what was to come.
Sure enough, 15 minutes into the talk, he finally got around to the crux of the argument, which is that psoriasis is caused by stress. (LARGE SIGH) Speaking as a sufferer, I can categorically tell you that that is nonsense. I've had it - to a greater or lesser extent - since the onset of puberty. More likely to be hormones, in that case. Yes, stress exacerbates it (not "exasperates" it, as he misquoted) - so does living in London, with its pollution. Mine skyrocketed when I moved here, and that wasn't due to stress!
So, to summarise, his basic theory is that you can magic the psoriasis away by de-stressing. Now, I'm wonderful at de-stressing - I don't need his quackery to tell me how to do it. I de-stressed massively by quitting my job recently - cured my IBS, in fact! The psoriasis is still there, though. Maybe de-stressing cures it for some people, but it's not a wonder cure. Naw, I signed off at this point. There's a reason I don't go to more of this group's events.. something I don't see changing.
Tomorrow, wouldn't you know it, Helen is unexpectedly in town for a conference. But that evening, I'm back with Civilised London (CL) for a Turkish meal, at Liman - meeting beforehand at The Crown, as usual. And this group doesn't take +1s! Nuts. So I've agreed to head over to Fortnum & Mason (she fancies some shopping) to meet her briefly before tearing across town for my other event. Whoever said my life wasn't complicated.. will have to keep a close eye on the Tube situation though.
On Thursday, 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 then rescheduled, 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. Could be interesting getting there, on a strike day.. it'd be over an hour's walk, if it came to that! Probably in the rain.
On Friday, Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners have another walk - A Vibrant Village! Walking Tour of Marylebone. And as it's pretty unlikely that I'll have started my new job by then, I've said I'll go (provisionally). Lunch after as well, of course! and this time, I don't have a flight to catch. And with any luck, I'll be able to get the Tube.
On Saturday, back with them all again for the Heavenly Heights of Hampstead Walking Tour. Heavens, I shall be fit after the Hampstead hills..
On Sunday, it's back with the Crick Crack Club (CCC) for Atalanta, as recounted by Ben Haggarty, at the British Museum. Assuming their pipes are fixed. Well, he is the man for Greek mythology..
On Monday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for a new version of Wuthering Heights, at the National. Well, this was my favourite book for a long time - let's see what they've done to it!
Next Tuesday, I'm at Anarchy at the Opera, at Hoxton Hall. Courtesy of TAC. Where we're going to hear some lesser known works..
On the ninth and 10th, back with London Classical Music and Theatre Group (LCMTG). The ninth, it's a concert at the Southbank Centre, where Sheku Kanneh-Mason plays Shostakovich. Apart from numerous other accolades, he achieved worldwide renown after playing at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
On the 10th, we're back to the Barbican for a concert of Haydn music by the Academy of Ancient Music. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 14th, more classical music at the Barbican - this time it's with London Baroque Music Lovers, and this is Handel with Les Arts Florissants.
On the 15th, headed with UITCS to The Woods, at Southwark Playhouse. Aw man, it's over a year since I last saw a performance from there, and over two years since I was last there in person! And would you believe it, I bought a PAYG subscription from them years ago, and it still entitles me to free tickets. So I used it for this! With the group having snapped up most of the front row, I'm in the row behind..
On the 16th, I'm back with LCMTG - for a play this time! We're seeing Straight Line Crazy, with Ralph Fiennes, at the Bridge. Just as well we booked early - availability is low for that night.
The 17th is, of course, St. Patrick's Day. In Ireland, it's a bank holiday - here, Kíla is playing the London Irish Centre again. A standing gig, this time. Should be mad.
On the 18th, I'm back with London European Club, for 24 Italian Songs & Arias, at Battersea Arts Centre. They're operating a "Pay What You Can" scheme, where you pay what you want, between £5 and £35 - recommended price, £16. They even sent me a survey afterwards to see what I thought!
On the 19th, back with Laurence and the 45+s - this time, it's Highgate: A Very English Village.
On the 20th.. someone I swore I'd never do a walk with again. Well, we'll see whether she's back on form - Walks, Talks & Treasure Hunts (WTTH) is off on a walk called Secrets of Belgravia. (Courtesy of her company, London Guided Walks.) The code MEETUP3 gets you a £3 discount on all her walks - which does cover the booking fee of £1, not advertised before you come to the point of purchasing the ticket. Well, it'll be a start if she shows up!
On the 21st, I'm at another Zoom talk - Quakers at War is the story of the Quakers and their pacifism. Courtesy of Surrey History Meetup.
On the 22nd.. I'm booked for Dear Evan Hansen, at the Noel Coward Theatre! Finally - I'd booked for this before lockdown, and of course it got cancelled. Cheapest tickets from the official site.
On the 23rd, back with CL - back at Le Sacré Coeur, meeting beforehand at The Crown, as usual.
On the 24th, back with TAC for Avocado Presents - Improv, at Etcetera Theatre. Eh, I think it's a jazz concert? Anyway, then back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 28th, going to see Daddy at the Almeida. Having never seen a bad production here, I have high hopes.
On the 29th, finally going to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella! I hear good things.. it's playing at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, which is new to me - Seatplan was invaluable in choosing the best seating option. What's On Stage provided the cheapest price for that seat, though!
On the 30th, back with CL - for a play this time. This is The Fever Syndrome, at Hampstead Theatre.
On the 31st, back with TAC for One Night With Robbie Williams. This is at The Courtyard.
On the 1st of next month, back with the CCC for - The Grand Annual Lying Contest! at Rich Mix.
On the 2nd of next month, back with WTTH for a Regent's Canal Walk. Different guide.
On the 3rd of next month, the CCC again! Emily Hennessey and Sheema Mukherjee are at the British Museum, with Holy Cow! Tales from the River of Life.
On the 4th of next month, I'm back at the Park Theatre for the first time in nearly three years! This is for Clybourne Park, a comedy about a white family moving into a predominantly black neighbourhood.
On the 5th of next month, I'm headed to But I'm a Cheerleader, a musical comedy at the Turbine Theatre.
On the 6th of next month, back with UITCS at Southwark Playhouse, and another free ticket for me! This time, it's for Anyone Can Whistle, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
On the 7th of next month, Tommy Tiernan is playing at the Eventim Apollo! Now, I failed to get a ticket for this the first time around. Then it was rescheduled because of Covid.. and I got a ticket for the rescheduled event! Then that was rescheduled.. third time lucky?! Love Tommy Tiernan. The show is called Tomfoolery. And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 11th of next month, I've booked for The 47th, at The Old Vic. Written by Mike Bartlett, this imagines the American presidential elections of 2024. I am really looking forward to this play..
On the 12th of next month, I'm finally going to Six, the Musical! Based around the story of the six wives of Henry VIII (very loosely, I'd say), it's playing at the Vaudeville and I hear good things. Cheapest tickets from Leicester Square Box Office.
And on the 13th of next month, back with CL, who are off to the opera at the Southbank Centre. The show in question is The Paradis Files.
