Film: Beau Is Afraid

Another horrendous week finished with a late Friday afternoon work meeting that ran on, and on.. I dashed from there to the airport. En route, I had time to eat at Panopolis, as the food outlet that does steak slices in Liverpool Street is now known. Ah, how many steak slices I've had here - and how many have burned my mouth! Not this time.. perhaps they've been criticised for it, and taken it a bit to heart - but that section of the food counter wasn't heated at all, and my steak slice was actually cold! Ick - frankly, I doubt I'l be back.

Meantime, I arrived at the airport in decent time - but was so tired, flustered and distracted.. that I left my bag on the train.. Only realised as I was waiting for the lift, and had a moment to think. Dashed back - I couldn't quite remember where exactly I'd been sitting, but knew it was a bit back. Mercifully, I saw a woman with her head stuck out the train door - and recognised her as someone who'd been getting on as I was getting off. As soon as she saw me, she said, "bag?", I said yes, and phew, I got it back. Bless her, she'd decided just to hang onto it for a minute and see whether I came back, before she handed it in. That would've been so awkward - I could still have travelled, as I was calculating to myself, but I'd have had no way of paying for anything. And heaven forbid someone unscrupulous had found it - I'd have lost my cash, cards, driving license.. no, she did me the most marvellous favour.

Anyway, I was back to Ireland for the weekend again - and into a world of heat. Lordy, since when did Ireland get so much hotter than London?! Easily eight degrees hotter - non-coat weather, in fact! and a culture shock, as I ditched my usual wardrobe in favour of whatever I could find at my mother's that was light. Plenty of films on I'd have liked to see - and all in the evening, when I couldn't! Whoopee. I got to do a big shop for my mother instead.

Last night's flight back to London was delayed - funny how the Ryanair surveys (which they persist in sending me) now always inform me that I've already taken it! - and so was the infamous #205 to take me the last leg home, and me stood in a cold wind for nearly an hour waiting for it! So it was after half past midnight when I got in - to discover that I had an 8am meeting. Followed by a meeting this evening, again - they're really pushing to get everything done this week. So I was slogging away all day - managed to grab an hour's sleep in between meetings - and was really ready for an evening off. The Lucas Arms was like a comforting blanket - even if I did, this evening, get one of the few staff members who, although he recognised me, couldn't quite remember what my usual was. Never mind, I did! And I was well fed, and sat beside a table of what sounded like cosmology / astronomy PhD students! So, that was an interesting conversation to eavesdrop on.. The pub was a little busy, and my food took a little time, and a lot of eating - so, although I could have taken the bus, I was on the Tube.

These two days, I was thinking of film. The film listings weren't helping my decision much, though - so I consulted my local cinema, which was happy to tell me that it was showing Return to Seoul today, which seemed the best of the fare; The Blue Caftan doesn't seem to be showing this week. It's the story of a young French girl, returning to seek her roots in Korea. Looks engaging. But when the new listings finally came out, top of the list was Beau Is Afraid. Funnily enough, it comes under the headings of comedy, drama, and horror! The title role is taken by the ever-watchable Joaquin Phoenix, who plays an anxiety-ridden man who, following his mother's death, decides to travel back home. Now, the Hideout (Horror, SciFi, & Fantasy) group that I'm a member of went to see this recently, and raved about it - when pushed, someone said what he liked was the surreal settings, and very black comedy.. nearest showing to me  was the Picturehouse Central. Definitely worth a look.

Stairs, stairs, stairs.. on the Underground, exiting to street level, and at the cinema. When I finally found it - I get turned around very easily on Piccadilly Circus. Anyway, I really thought I'd expire by the end of all that. I had plenty of time to recover, though - the ushers seemed in no hurry to take our orders, and I thought I'd never get through. I did ultimately arrive in the theatre during the trailers, and settled into my comfy seat. Saw an interesting trailer for Talk to Me, another of these horror films with teenagers playing around with summoning spirits - to ill effect, of course. Interestingly, in association with A24, as is tonight's film..

Oh dear oh dear oh dear. This started - and continued - so promisingly. I love watching Joaquin Phoenix, and this is quirky, surreal - completely over the top. Perhaps I should have paid attention to the 3-hour running time.. you see, it all starts with such promise, as he plays an anxiety-ridden man, heading home. A journey fraught with dangers, as it turns out - the film's genius is in taking common anxieties - and making them come true, in scenarios that we often have trouble distinguishing as fact or fiction. Yes, they are really out to get you. Yes, your worst nightmares will come true. It's so audacious in the directions it leads him that it's hilarious..

And then it just goes on and on, becoming very obviously Freudian, and beating the story to death. Long before the end, I was trying to glimpse the time on my watch - and I was glad to get out, at last. Yes, good - but at least an hour too long. Hey-ho, at least I finally got to see it..

Tomorrow, my local cinema's excellent doc house is showing Tina, a documentary about the phenomenon that was the late Tina Turner! but then, Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) advertised How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, at Southwark Playhouse. Happily, the organiser informed us that tickets are available from CT - so I got one of those!

On Wednesday, back with the same group for Bleak Expectations, a Dickens-based comedy, with a different star every week, showing at the Criterion. I think we're getting Julian Clary.. I ended up going up a price band here, the cheap tickets all seemed so restricted!

And on Thursday, back with North London Friends, for the first time in, oh, ages.. we're off to The Park, to see The Shape of Things. Different people from last time, these are some I knew before.

Film: Pamfir

Back in London again. On a Ryanair plane this time, damnit - the Lauda ones are so much more comfortable. It's not even so much the plastic seats over leather, it's the lack of air-conditioning.. Awkward flight time, I was too early to eat at my mother's, and too late to eat out in London. I compromised by eating from a food stall in Liverpool Street - the one with the steak slices. They've changed the name, but I can't remember to what, and can't seem to see it on the station directory - the guy behind the counter recognised me though, I think. And I was begged from as I ate - ah, the nostagia.. I also heard that famous TFL announcement voiced by the King and Queen - and on the way home, I caught a little bit of leftover celebratory decoration!

Anyway, today, I was - heh - thinking of film again. Now, that film listings site is, as established, a nightmare - but I had a choice of two; there was Pamfir, which is Ukrainian, and The Blue Caftan, which is Moroccan. Both showing in my local cinema (how else would I even know they existed..?). Anyway, both are rated the same, but straightaway, Pamfir looked more interesting to me, set in dense forests swirling with mist, and lying somewhere on the border between fact and fantasy.. 

So, off I trotted - a bit later than I'd have liked, but I had the chance to get ahead by doing a couple of easy work tasks before I left. And mercifully, GBK wasn't busy, and they served me quickly. And it was delish - although it continually bemuses me that the crumbed chicken burger consists of a massive chicken escalope, plonked between two halves of a bun, one third its length! Would it kill them to make the bun a little bigger? or to give slightly less chicken? It'd be so much easier to eat.. Anyway, I gobbled it down, and finished five minutes before the scheduled start time - the cinema, after all, is very close. My, I was stuffed though - didn't even manage to finish the chocolate honeycomb bites I always get, there!

Fairytales are mentioned in the trailer - if this is a fairytale, then the title character is a gentle giant. A legend back home for his strength, he used to be involved in smuggling, which is quite a way of life in this isolated community - actually reminded me somewhat of the black market around our part of rural Ireland, when I was growing up. However, we never had this level of corruption, with police and government officials on the take.. Dangerous, when grudges are involved.

And yes, there's a surreal air to this - Pamfir (a nickname that apparently refers to a kind of stone) seems to be the only saviour of the neighbourhood - not only the strongman, but the only one possessed of the wisdom to know which of these people are wolves: and they're not the ones in the masks, which seem to be a tradition around Christmas. Very like the wrenboys, in Ireland, the day after.. except, in this Ukrainian village, wrestling seems to be the thing.

So anyway, Pamfir's son is delighted to see him - but he's talking about going away again, so the daft teenager sets fire to the local church, where Pamfir's work permits are being kept, for some reason I forget - for the pastor to sign, or something. Anyway, the fire spreads rapidly, causing extensive damage - and so the lad's ambition is achieved, of keeping Pamfir there; he agrees to one final smuggling job, to pay for the repairs. And that's the start of all his woes..

It's visceral. It's violent in a couple of parts, there's also a lot of muck - these people live in a region without many paved roads, it seems, but with a lot of rain - so, there's a lot of mud. An easier watch than The Beasts, mind - our hero is always dependable, even if those around him aren't. I enjoyed this window into a part of Europe I haven't visited - yet.. apparently, when fighting broke out, the film editing wasn't quite finished, but they managed to send the materials abroad to finish. Kudos..

Tomorrow, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS), for Retrograde, in the Kiln. Based on Sidney Poitier, and what he had to do to become a star, it seems.. Now, this is from the same writer as For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy. Which I hated. So I'm taking a risk.

On Thursday, I'm back with The Hideout: Horror Sci-Fi Club London, for wine tasting followed by comedy (hmm..) in La Pizzica restaurant. Could be interesting..

On Friday, I was thinking of film (which meant I had no idea) - but London Social & Cultural Meetups, whom I haven't been with in so long, are having a trip to the National Gallery, to see an exhibition of art related to St. Francis of Assisi! I wasn't going to go with them, given that the group was to include that mad lady that I've been avoiding - but when I looked today, she'd cancelled! for whatever reason. So I'm now free to go. They do advise booking a (free) ticket, and although we're supposed to meet in the Sainsbury Wing, it seems that's closed for renovations.. well, we'll figure it out.

And on Saturday, I'm busy.. First, I booked with UITCS for the matinée of Leaves of Glass, at the Park Theatre.

And then I have to dash across London.. you see, Mandy, who runs London Herstory Guided Walks, has now started a new Meetup group, Buddies on a Budget in London. And lo, if she isn't taking a group to an outdoor Eurovision party! First, she suggested Battersea - but (free) tickets for that went really fast, with only three of us having managed to book. So we've now switched venue, and are going to Between the Bridges, complete with drag acts! You don't have to pay, but if you buy a ticket, it comes with a free drink.. and this, apart from, as she says, being likely to be more fun, also has the advantage of starting an hour later. Which is handy for me, rushing across town as I'll be.. Both advertised by Eventbrite, and as of now, Between the Bridges still has tickets..

Walk: A City Built by a Genius - Wren's London

Now, I have an old friend, Vicki, in Cork, whom I usually go down to see once a year, staying the night - usually at Christmas, but she was too busy for me last Christmas. So we arranged for me to go and stay last Tuesday, coming back next day. (Just when the first storm of the season was supposed to hit! Typical.) Now, that realistically meant I couldn't fly to London before Thursday - but with nothing unmissable yesterday, I booked to fly back last night instead. I checked on my holiday request, and it looked approved.. Long story short, the "severe weather" we were promised didn't appear as scary when I tested it - and I was lucky with petrol, which I got on Monday night, and which jumped by 2c/l overnight! And gee, it was great to see her.. tricky to organise things with people you don't see often, but in this case, worth the effort. Roll on the next time..

On Thursday, I thought about Plan 75, showing at the Belltable as part of the Japanese Film Festival - people aged 75 or older are given the option of assisted suicide, with free burial, and a $1000 grant to do with as they please in the meantime. Mentioned it to my mother, who raised no objection.. until, of course, I had booked it, whereupon she suddenly started begging me to stay in that night. Bah humbug - I was half expecting it, but she could have said it earlier..

Flying back, I couldn't get the early evening Ryanair flight, and was on the late one again. Which was, of course, late.. only by an hour, this time though - I've known it much worse. Main thing is to make the Stansted Express, whose last departure from Stansted is at 12.30am, and which I did. I definitely had to be back in London for today though, when I was booked on another walk with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners! This one was A City built by a Genius - Wren's London. He's now scheduling walks I haven't done for days I can make them! Very cool.. because I do love his walks. And lunches.

Still, it was hard to pull myself out of bed - but it's been worse. And I just made the bus. Changing buses (because I could, and it saved me a lot of walking), I was privy to some excellent high-speed driving by a car with a siren and flashing lights, zipping in and out of the traffic; I couldn't have bettered it myself! Arrived at The Liberty Bounds - where there was no-one outside. Correctly assumed - on what wasn't the warmest of days - that they were sheltering inside, and joined them there. Mind you, as someone remarked to me - stay away from the hot chocolate. Funny, I've never had it here, but that exact thought occurred to me en route.. Rather lacking in chocolate, it seems!

And in due course - after determining that the no-shows weren't just lost - off we went. Now, this was primarily a church walk - but not exclusively. For example, we passed the evocatively named Hung, Drawn and Quartered pub, just down from the Tower of London - which bears the following amusing plaque:

Speaking of churches, I'd heard of Sir Christopher Wren proving the stability of one of his structures by having his daughter sleep under it - behold, that church turned out to be St. Dunstan-in-the-East!

Destroyed by the double-whammy of Great Fire and Blitz, it's now a picturesque garden. Where a party was in swing as we passed:

Again, there was more to see than churches:

Of course, our path took us to the Monument (to the Great Fire) - where we had a chat about the architect:

D' you know, they used to have a telescope inside! Well, why not..

Our most successful church of the day was St. Mary Aldermary ("Older Mary", there having been a previous St. Mary's on the site). Turned out to be open - unusually for a Saturday; they were preparing for Orthodox Easter, tomorrow! And not only were we let in, but got a detailed lecture on the building's history from someone who works there - runs the church on occasional Saturdays. And graciously, he gave us all a flier on the church's history, and told us everything he knew about the place! Really, he couldn't have done more.

He helpfully explained to us that this is not Wren's typical style.. and pointed out to us the stained glass memorial to a benefactor:

Most of the stained glass windows bear the arms of the livery companies that sponsored their restoration, following the Blitz. Lovely place to visit, all in all - and they have a cafe on weekdays, if you want to check it out.

And so to St. Mary-le-Bow, within the sound of whose bells you must be born to be considered a Cockney. I'd heard that before - but not the story of the balcony, reminiscent of an earlier, wooden one, which had collapsed, taking the King and Queen with it, during celebrations for the birth of their son!

Finally, to Wren's masterpiece - St. Paul's: on the corner where we stood, of course, you can see four of his churches at once. And, massive as it is, I'd forgotten that a line of sculptures, rounding the edge of the area where it sits, mark the original expanse of the cathedral that preceded this one! Now, that must have been a sight..

Lovely tour, plenty of winding alleys, unexpected corners, and well - nooks and crannies! It's amazing how there's always more to explore. Fair enough, as he said, you have a better chance of finding churches open on Fridays, when he normally does the tour - but yay for the weekend outing for those of us who can't typically manage that! And needless to say, entertaining as ever.

Ah, I miss working in the building we were standing in front of at this point.. great area for shopping, as I remarked. And for lunch. Speaking of which, we then dispersed, most of us coming for lunch, in the Punch Tavern. Where I wasn't sure I'd been, but thought so - but no, methinks now I only saw it in passing! Hey-ho, I had steak again - and while not the pinnacle of all steaks I've ever had, it was very welcome. Lovely peppercorn sauce with it - and massive chips! And a real character of a manager - you can't miss him, tall as he is, with a booming voice. And a jovial time was had. Ah, great to see folks again.. Roll on the next, although I'm limited when I can come:

Rolled home at last - to find the most passive-agressive parking I've seen, in my road!

Now, my boss suggested - quite a while ago - that we might have a jaunt to the head office in Tel Aviv tomorrow! I hadn't heard anything since, though - so I finally asked him. He confirmed that it won't be until at least next month now - wants to get the latest release out. (Just as well really, with all the unrest over there.) So I'll be in London this week. And in fact, tomorrow, I finally found something good to do - London Herstory Guided Walks is doing Movers & Shakers of Marylebone! Great to be back with Mandy again.

However, there isn't honestly much coming up that interests me on Meetup - so I'm thinking of heading to the cinema on Monday and Tuesday. I've been having terrible trouble with that film listings site, though - even at time of writing, the listings for this week aren't complete! and new listings have been added since yesterday. Anyway, for Monday, what it's currently looking like is The Beasts - set in Galicia, in Spain, this is the story of a French couple who move to a rural area, only to spark an argument with a couple of their neighbours.. I hear good things. Showing in my local cinema, the Curzon Bloomsbury. Not that you'd know it from the listings site, which - last I looked - had no listing for that, in that cinema, for Monday!

For Tuesday, what's coming up is a Ginger Rogers film - the BFI is doing a season of her films. This one is a comedy called Bachelor Mother - daring for 1939, it has her as a single mother! Mind you, in her case, she finds the baby abandoned outside an orphanage.. also stars David Niven, and Charles Coburn as her father.

For Wednesday, I've booked For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide.. at the Apollo. I have a front-row seat in the Dress Circle - now, I seem to remember ridiculously tight legroom, here - so I'm at the end of a row, and Seatplan says it'll be OK if I lean forward.. Just today, they asked me to "check in", and thereupon sent me my ticket..

On Thursday, I'm with TAC for a talk on Arab & Islamic Roots of Europe's Architecture, at St. Mary Magdalene Church.

Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend. On the 24th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for The Secret Life of Bees, at the Almeida - no seats left in the stalls, when I booked! Seatplan made me wary of the cheapest seats, so I'm in the next bracket up..

And on the 25th, back with Over 40 Living the Life, for dinner at the Greenwich Yacht Club again. Well, it was good last time - good food, cheap prices, good company. Four of us going so far - I'm sure there'll be more!

Kirckman Concert: Joseph Havlat

Back to London, phew. Just as well I reminded my perenially forgetful taxi driver about the clock change though! But, what with Ryanair's schedule change, I get to fly a bit earlier now, and not on the last flight of the night - so, fewer knock-on delays! and I get in at a reasonable time - and, crucially, in time for the Stansted Express. When it's running.

Today, I initially booked with the Happy Positive Group! For their weekly Monday trivia night! They seem to be completely online. But wow, looking at it lately, they seemed to have switched today's meeting to tomorrow! Although, having cancelled my attendance, I then noticed that all Meetups were displaying in the wrong time zone, so were shown as starting five hours later than they actually were.. I complained, and they did fix it. Well, I probably wouldn't have gone anyway.

The best Meetup left for today seemed to be with the Shanty Singers Colliers Wood. This is another of those things I once booked and ended up cancelling, so I said I'd hold off on booking that till nearer the time. But you know, when I looked more carefully.. this is a big complicated affair, with "warming up exercises", a vocal coach, a "practice session".. for goodness' sake. The more I read, the less enthusiastic I felt.

I finally gave up on Meetup, and booked with TAC, for a Kirckman piano concert at King's Place. Thought it'd be nice, and it is definitely close.

Wow though, the boss found a lot of work for me to do today - I was still working on it after 6! Finished at 6.10 - which was actually fine for the evening, the concert didn't start that early - but I had wanted to shop first. Never mind, off I went. First stop Nando's, of course - I wouldn't eat in King's Place, in preference, the service is terminally slow. So was getting seated at Nando's! Did you know, they have different tables for one than for two?! Seems, if it has a bench on one side and a chair on the other, it's a table for one - the booths are tables for two! 

Well, I did get seated after 15 minutes, finally - and of course, the app makes it all the faster now. And the food was excellent, albeit the chicken was a little chewy today. I seem to have arrived at a bad time, BTW - the crowd waiting completely vanished while I was eating! Sadly, I had no time for a dessert, or a second glass of their excellent chardonnay - one day, perhaps..

A short walk, then, to King's Place, I had my name checked off the list and went downstairs. Where the show in Hall Two was just on the point of starting - I was in Hall One, though. I nipped to the toilet first, where someone urged me to hurry, it was starting! (Something about a rail workers' film..?) Anyway, my business done, I headed for the bar - only to be told it was closed! FFS.. Not worth their while, I guess, certainly once the crowd for Hall Two had gone in.

I was the first into Hall One - and had a most decent seat. (I checked afterwards - my £4.50 ticket was face value £25, yippee.. £27.50 with booking fee!)

The crowd was rather sparse.. don't take the photo as a guide to that though, it was taken at the interval! Anyway, the pianist was excellent, as you'd expect - apparently deeply entranced throughout, he threw himself into the expression of the music. The pregnant pauses were maybe a bit suspenseful, mind - he had a habit of sitting, hands still poised over the piano like claws, as if having a mental conversation with the instrument. I took to counting the seconds, towards the end - the last pause lasted about 40 seconds before he relaxed back in his seat, and we knew the concert was over, and we had permission to clap.

As to the material - as I anticipated, a mixture of dissonant modern stuff (yuck) and nice, lyrical, traditional classical. The only ones I half-recognised were some decent Gershwin adaptations. Not, honestly, my favourite musical sojourn, but still, it was nice to get back to classical again! First time in an age.

Oh, and I had time to shop - partially, anyway - on the way home.

Tomorrow, I've booked for Phaedra, at the National. Stars Janet McAteer.

On Wednesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats to Sadler's Wells - first time in an age - for Creature, by Akram Khan! I absolutely love his work. Handily enough, I used my latest Theatre Token for this - would have used it for Phaedra, but while neither theatre takes them online (you have to phone if you want to use a token), the National charges extra for phone bookings. So I used it for this instead.

On Thursday, back with the London European Club, at somewhere called the Ugly Duck, for Synchrony, a female 12-piece string ensemble. Tickets from Eventbrite. As hosted by Eleanor Salter Thorn again! So glad to see her hosting events in more central locations..

I was keeping Friday free because Ivan is feeling thirsty again. :-) And for once, he seems to be sticking to the date, having booked us a table at The Lucas Arms (which, as he pointed out, has a smoker's area). We're hoping to have Martin - my other friendly ex-boss - join us, but he has more family commitments, which he's trying to juggle - we've told him to join us whenever. And this looks like turning into the first zapoi in a while - Ivan is talking about booking a studio, where we can drink overnight. Oy ve, watch this space.. So, not pushed about doing anything extra on Saturday.

And on Sunday, I'm back with the Crick Crack Club, for Orpheus Dismembered, at the British Museum, courtesy of Ben Haggarty. The event there that I'd already heard of..

Film: Knock at the Cabin

Well, I'm back in Ireland again. It was quite the trip - the curse of Ryanair struck again. For the first time in about two months, I was on the Stansted Express, and thinking to myself how nice that was - and as we were nearly there, the Ryanair Day of Travel Assistant messaged me. Seemed my flight was to be delayed by 1hr 45mins - not two hours, of course, that's when the compensation kicks in. Well, I messaged the guy who was to pick me up, and my mother, and thought, at least I can get something to eat. I was hungry.

So, imagine my surprise to exit security - within an hour of the original flight time - and see on the departure boards that we were to proceed to the gate! which I did. And it wasn't long before we were boarded. Put my case in the overheard compartment, settled in my seat. And then there was an announcement from cabin crew. "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe you got a text to say the flight was delayed." (Well, not a text, but whatever.) "I'm afraid the text was correct - we didn't know about it. You were boarded by mistake." They didn't know what the cause of the delay was.

We had to exit the plane, luggage and all - back up the stairs. And then it seemed we were expected to wait in the tunnel! For an hour or so! until someone complained, and after a few minutes, we were let back out into the departure area. Where, you know, there were seats! and toilets! and vending machines! So, I went to the toilet, and dinner was a few trips to the vending machine. The announcement that they were now reboarding the flight came after I'd joined the queue, and it had started working its way through again - at which point, it finally occurred to someone to get on the tannoy and let people know. Oh, and the cause of the delay? Seems, during routine maintenance, there was one part hadn't been signed off on. So they had to get someone to do that. And then it turned out they needed a new part. So..

Well, as for film, it was like to be The Whale, starring Brendan Fraser in an Oscar-nominated performance as a morbidly obese English teacher, looking to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Funnily enough, I was thinking the Omniplex, as Ennis didn't have a time early enough - but the original listing I saw in the Omniplex was wrong, and they didn't either! So I said I'd head to the Odeon - more expensive, but what can you do?

..Except, yesterday, I checked again - and the Odeon weren't doing the afternoon showing there either! What on earth is going on with these cinemas, that they can't get their stories straight. So.. that was that! I can't take the evening away from my mother. So I had to choose something else, showing in the afternoon. With two horror films equally rated, I thought the better of them sounded like Knock at the Cabin - an M. Night Shayamalan film, in which he has a cameo as a tv presenter, as well as directing and cowriting. Dane Bautista plays one  - the leader, if you will - of four strangers that come a-knockin' at the cabin door of a vacationing family. Jonathan Groff is one of the parents staying in the cabin.

So, these aren't just any four old strangers - these are the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Not retaining their original function, mind - and not on horseback either. They are, as they explain, just ordinary folks, chosen for this task, which is to persuade the hapless family on whose vacation they are intruding to sacrifice one of themselves, in order to prevent said Apocalypse. I don't remember there being such a handy get-out clause, but there is the precedent of Sodom and Gomorrah, two awfully sinful cities that God decided to destroy, but said could be spared if one good person could be found..

Now, my mother has a 17th Century bible at home, and when I was a kid, one day I took it upon myself to ease the enormous, heavy thing down from the shelf and read the Book of Revelations. Scared the **** out of myself in the process. It's scary stuff. Now, naturally, the good people in the cabin think this is just a bunch of oddballs - and it's unnerving that they come with weapons (which they call, rather, tools). But - and this isn't a spoiler, it's in the trailer - just wait until the family start to refuse to kill one of themselves. They are told that, every time they say "no", hundreds of thousands of others will die. And they keep turning on the telly, to show it happening..

From the point of view of a horror film, much of this isn't scary. But Shayamalan's vision of the Apocalypse really is, on a profound level. It's very cleverly done, what he shows as the means of apocalypse - very topical, very believable. Some of those images are never going to leave me. What struck me more about the film, though, was the depth of character development. We not only get to know these characters, we get to love them. Which makes the impending disaster all the more terrible. If it's true. With Shayamalan's tendency for last-minute switches, you never can be sure..

It's a really moving film - but approach with caution, as it's just as difficult to watch as any respectable horror film. Oh, and I managed to get a Saver ticket - so this was actually the cheapest ticket I could have got for any of the cinemas!

On a side note, I had cause to visit the adjacent Castletroy Shopping Centre, which has really come along since I last did! I didn't spend much time there, but it looks lovely - restaurants, cafes, bars, a large supermarket, clothes shops.. all you could want, really.

Heading back to London tomorrow. On Monday, I'm headed to Allegiance, starring George Takei in a musical based on the true story of his time in an American internment camp during the Second World War. Showing at the Charing Cross Theatre.

On Tuesday, back to the cinema - I was thinking Tár, finally, in which Cate Blanchett is Oscar-nominated for her part as a driven, genius classical conductor. Looks nice and tense - no longer showing in Ireland, and is mostly showing in the daytime in London! Finsbury Park Picturehouse is the closest venue to me that's showing it in the evening. But now that I couldn't catch The Whale this weekend, I'm seeing that on Tuesday instead. Closest to me, showing in the evening, is in the Odeon Luxe & Dine Islington! Reclining seats, and service to your seat, with nobody under 13 allowed - sounds lovely.. I've booked, which is supposed always to be cheaper online than buying the ticket in person.

On Wednesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats at the Orange Tree - first time in an age - for Duet for One, starring Tara Fitzgerald.

And on Thursday, my first event with The Hideout: Horror Sci-Fi Club London, who are at The Drayton Arms for a play, The Shroud of Charon - part of the pub's Lovecraft Festival!

Play: Noises Off

Back to London last night, and more fun with planes. Ryanair has a habit of using other airlines' planes to fly from Shannon - last night it was Air Malta. Absolutely fine, nice to have a change of colour scheme - and they often have more comfortable seats. Only thing is.. the seat configuration changes. I've more than once found myself in an exit row seat, unexpectedly - I don't like it, I don't book them, because I find it annoying to have to put all my stuff in an overhead locker. But, with the different configuration, it can happen. Didn't happen to me last night - instead, it happened to an old lady, who'd arrived at the plane in a wheelchair, and used a cane to get to her seat. In the emergency exit row. Yeah.. don't think so. Get your act together, Ryanair..

And so to tonight, when I headed with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) to Noises Off, starring Felicity Kendal, at the Phoenix. Again, cheapest tickets from Official London Theatre (OLT). I discovered it was close enough to walk, and decided to eat at GBK, which I'd be passing on the way. It's a funny thing - last time I was here, they acted like I was an old friend, anticipated my order, were chatty. But the last time.. was 11 days ago. And tonight, they acted like they didn't know me. Ah, what a fickle thing memory is.. Well, the food was as good as ever, so I was happy!

More fun at the theatre, where I was the only one of the group in the Dress Circle, the others all being a level up, in the Grand Circle. See, I booked quite recently, and the cheapest priced tickets at that stage were such that there were also some in the Dress Circle.. so I naturally got one there. The ushers were quite perplexed when I explained to them that I'd need access to the Grand Circle Bar, to meet the group! They assured me I could get from one to the other, yes. However, when I went up, I couldn't see a way - I asked the barman, who pointed me at the fire escape and to the stairs up from there (on the other side, the door is just marked "Private"). And so I met them, and all was well..

They were saying, at the interval, that the Grand Circle was quite empty - well, the Dress Circle was packed! I was quite happy to have an aisle seat, where I had legroom if I needed it - not that I really did. Now, we were drawing comparisons with The Play That Goes Wrong - which I found absolutely hilarious - looking it up, we discovered that this one is 40 years old! And I think, at the interval, we all agreed that we couldn't see what all the fuss was. It's a play within a play, a play about amateurs putting on a play, and things going wrong - but it's rather reserved.

And then we went back after the interval - and all hell broke loose. See, all they are doing in the first half is setting the scene - showing us how the play is roughly supposed to go. When the curtain goes up after the interval, we see backstage - and the chaos begins, while the regular "play within a play" attempts to continue on the other side of the set. There's another pause - and we're back stage-side again. By this time, however, half the cast is demented (or sozzled), and the play we now get is nothing like the one we started with. We were literally rolling in our seats, tears of laughter streaming down our faces. And by "we", I mean the whole audience. Comedy is tricky - but when it's good, it can be wonderful. I thought this was wonderful. Runs till the 11th of March - highly recommended.

Afterwards, strangely, Google Maps thought it'd take me one minute longer to walk home than it'd taken me to get there! I'm glad I braved that one minute extra walk - I passed a building that interested me much more on the return journey than outbound! The Now Building is located across from Tottenham Court Road Station - and seems to display constant films on the walls and ceiling of its atrium. With seating, if you want to stay a while!

Tomorrow, with a group I haven't joined in a Very Long Time - I'm back with London Dramatic Art, from whom I've got a front-row ticket for Sylvia, at The Old Vic; this is the story (in song) of Sylvia Pankhurst, and stars the excellent Beverley Knight. Completely sold out - this was my only way to get a ticket! Must remember not to post the link to my blog, to their page - they banned me from doing that, after discovering I was advertising cheap ticket resellers!

On Wednesday, back with the Horror Book Club. This time, it's The Ballad of Black Tom, based on the Lovecraft story, The Horror at Red Hook, but told from the perspective of a black man. I managed to get through the club's book, and read the entirety of the story it's based on, which is much shorter - and less coherent. Again, the meeting is in the Prince of Wales, Covent Garden. Question is, will the kitchen be open..?

On Thursday, I'm on my own for My Son's a Queer (but what can you do?), a musical at the Ambassadors Theatre.

On Friday, my first meeting of the year with London Classical Music and Theatre Group! We're off to Wigmore Hall, to listen to the Hagen Quartet play Mozart. They're Austrian, so that's appropriate.. I just need to remember not to drink the ultra-expensive sauvignon blanc! Meeting my sometime dinner companion beforehand, down the road at Olivelli.

On Saturday, well, Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners are back to Greenwich again. Now, I have been there with him before.. not sure how "new" this one will be, but hey, it was a great day last time! Meeting Ivan that evening.. somewhere..

On Sunday, nothing on Meetup appealed massively - I thought I might go for a walk along the Ken's Events route, if I feel like it! (on my own). Or Over 40 Living the Life has advertised a walk along the New River.. I'd have to see, as I have to pay to sign up (refunds given to those who then come). And I might well change my mind.. which I finally did, when Free Stuff and Free Events advertised a blues concert at the Earl of Chatham, Woolwich. It's a way out, is all - but then, it's free, if I wanted to cancel. And.. now I have, because London Herstory Guided Walks! has finally advertised a walk I can go on. I was recommended this by someone a while ago - they run guided walks with a female theme. Sunday's is Deeds Not Words! Suffragettes, Spies, & Warrior Queens. Delighted to be able to go on one of theirs, at last - they're usually on during working hours. Only thing is, they don't specify how to pay - cash on the day, I'm guessing, as they don't take payment on booking.

Next Monday, my first actual event with the Over 40s. We're off to How Not to Drown at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East - the first event of theirs for which I couldn't get a cheaper ticket! So I decided, if I couldn't beat them, I might as well join them. True story of an unaccompanied, 11-year-old asylum seeker.

On the 7th, excited to be headed to see Derren Brown in Showman, at the Apollo Shaftesbury Avenue. Cheapest tickets with OLT again.

On the 8th, off to The Lehman Trilogy, at the Gillian Lynne Theatre. Based on the true story of the bank that collapsed. Got the last £39.50 ticket!

On the 9th, back with UITCS for Winner's Curse, at the Park Theatre - an interactive show about a peace negotiation. Turns out North London Friends are headed to it the same night - what, are they now copying this group, as another group did some time ago? (since closed down). And then I'm back to Ireland again.

And on the 13th, I'm headed to Allegiance, starring George Takei in a musical based on the true story of his time in an American internment camp during the Second World War. Showing at the Charing Cross Theatre.

Films: A Man Called Otto & Peterloo

Yesterday, flew back to Ireland for the weekend. As usual, that wasn't so easy a process.. for the rest of the month, the Stansted Express is out of operation - no, not for strikes this time (for once) but for engineering works. Now, they offer a rail replacement service - but as that takes half an hour extra, I prefer to take the bus the whole way. Might take as long, but at least you don't have to change.

Well, I got to the stop 15 minutes before it was due - at 4.10pm - to see a bus pulling in! Wow, that was early.. I scurried to meet it, and then I saw the queue. Or scrum, as you might call it, with people queueing from two different directions, and each branch accusing the other of queue-jumping. It finally transpired that this was the 4pm bus, whereas mine was the 4.25. And they were strictly only taking people with confirmed bookings for 4pm - in the end, the bus actually left with empty seats as a result, even people with open tickets refused permission to board! The same thing happened with my bus, when it arrived - 15 minutes late, but I was in plenty of time. I'd gratefully settled myself on board, but before we left, the driver hailed us, wanting to know who'd left a case at the door! Of course, it was mine - I identified myself, and he said he'd put it in the hold. Well now, the National Express employee shepherding us on board had specifically said to do that.. not my fault..

It's a comfortable journey, and I napped - and, of course, our flight was delayed, as usual, so I had time for dinner in Pret - not enough time for anything more substantial. At the other end, I was to find the weather much colder, and wetter, than where I'd left!

This weekend's film was A Man Called Otto, which suited just fine! Based on the Swedish comedy, A Man Called Ove, it stars Tom Hanks as an old grump whose wife has just died, but who meets his match in the fiesty young family that moves in next door. And, interestingly, its IMDB rating just keeps rising.. Showing in Ennis, handily. But oh, what a cold day to head out.. I nearly froze on the way to the cinema! And then got stuck behind someone buying a gift voucher, which took forever.. by the time I got in, the film was on the point of starting. I never pay any attention to the specific seat I'm allocated, here - nor does anyone else. So I sat in front of the long row of people all in one group.. shortly after I got there, a couple arrived, and I guess were supposed to sit inside them, because he excused himself past every single one! His companion, more sensibly, sat on the other end of my row instead, where he duly joined her..

I have to say, the things Otto is grumpy about, I sympathise with him on. He can't buy exactly the quantity of rope he needs at the store, cars continually drive down his restricted road.. and as the film progresses, we all find ourselves turning more to his point of view about things. Partly, this is because, as the film progresses, we learn more about his back story. Early in the film, we see his truly horrendous retirement do at work, but mostly, the film concerns itself with his wife: how they met, and what happened with them.

It's a Tom Hanks film, so as I kept saying to people beforehand, you're in safe hands. It's hilarious, as you'd expect. The family that moves in next door is endearing, and Otto is adopted by a stray cat. But oh, it's heartrending.. his backstory has unexpected depth, and there's a poignant side story with his old friends, also neighbours. This is a real tearjerker. Approach with caution.. those who brave it, however, will be well-rewarded.

Walked right out into the most horrendous hail shower:

Tonight's film on tv was Peterloo, which I hadn't seen, and ended up watching most of - directed by Mike Leigh, it stars Rory Kinnear as Henry Hunt, the MP who spoke at the gathering. This is the story of the Peterloo massacre, as it came to be known (it took place at a place called St. Peter's Field, and reference was made in the name to the recent Battle of Waterloo) - a group of factory workers and their families met at  a political gathering to discuss parliamentary reform. Unfortunately, as someone recently said, the British government is not known for its restraint, and overreacted, in typically brutal form, with the military brought in and attacking and killing innocent people.

Most of the film is a bit dry, honestly - lots of political discussion in backrooms, women relegated to the position of serving drinks and food, or other menial tasks. The film only hots up when the violence starts, and that is suitably horrible. A scene of gaudy decadence is thrown in shortly afterwards, for contrast, where we see a ghastly made-up and out-of-touch Prince Regent cavorting with his mistress and complaining about the pesky poor. Of course, as I was watching British soldiers impaling countryfolk with their swords, it did occur to me to wonder whether today's British government thinks of the general populace any less a herd of cattle than they did then.. Anyway, an event I'd recommend finding out about, but not a film I'd recommend watching.

On Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for The Art of Illusion, at Hampstead Theatre. Award-winning, it seems..

On Tuesday, I'm headed to Chicago Blues Explosion in the January Blues Festival at the 100 Club. Just a shame their early bird tickets were sold out.

On Wednesday, with TAC for a classical concert at King's Place (nice and close). This is the Kirckman Society for young artists, presenting Connaught Brass.

On Thursday, Ken's Green Walks for Health (aka Ken's Events, to those of us who know it from before) is off to see the Winter Lights at Canary Wharf. Now, I wouldn't go with them in a fit - but there's nothing to stop me seeing the lights myself for free, eh? I don't see the point in paying Ken £5 to lead a group around.. Mind you, the lady that sold me my ticket for Mandela was in touch afterwards to say that the theatre is offering a free link to a livestream of the full show! and she was asking me what day would suit. This being one of the options, I figured it'd be a good way to avoid the cold of Canary Wharf..

On Friday (unusually, it's usually Thursday), back with Watkin's Bookshop for a book launch. This is Fifty Forgotten Books by R. B. Russell. Occult theme, as usual. Let's see whether I can avoid falling asleep this time!

Next Saturday, back at King's Place - this time it's the Crick Crack Club, with Stories in the Dark. Told in darkness, by the sound of it - sounds divine!

On the 22nd, back with Cultureseekers for the Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt exhibition at the British Museum. Assuming it's not curtailed due to transport strikes - there is a warning on the museum website that galleries might have to close early!

On the 23rd, I've finally booked for Best of Enemies at the Noel Coward Theatre. This play concerns a series of debates on US television between liberal writer Gore Vidal and conservative William F. Buckley in 1968 - the interesting twist here, given the time and place we're talking about, is to cast William Buckley as black! Had my own seat review on Seatplan to guide me in picking a seat - this is one of those restricted view/legroom theatres. And despite all the theatre offers flooding my inbox, I found the cheapest tickets for this on the official website! Mind you, what with See Tickets doing the selling, I found myself with a second, unexplained, booking fee..

For the next week or so, it's all UITCS! On the 24th, for some reason, I hadn't seen their advertised event to see Orlando, based on the book by Virginia Woolf, and showing at the Garrick. For this, however, I found the cheapest tickets from Official London Theatre (OLT).

On the 25th, we're off to see John Bishop at the Leicester Square Theatre. Love him, so I booked as soon as I saw this advertised - one of the few things for this month that I booked last month! Not that it seems to be selling out..

On the 26th, we're off to The Vaults Festival - specifically, The Welsh Lxdies, a bilingual show about the women of Wales. Then back to Ireland for the weekend again.

On the 30th, we're heading to Noises Off, starring Felicity Kendal, at the Phoenix. Again, cheapest tickets from OLT.

On the 31st, with a group I haven't joined in a Very Long Time - I'm back with London Dramatic Art, from whom I've got a front-row ticket for Sylvia, at The Old Vic; this is the story of Sylvia Pankhurst, and stars the excellent Beverley Knight. Completely sold out - this was my only way to get a ticket!

On the 1st, back with the Horror Book Club - Lordy, that means I need to read a book! :-) I suppose I can use my flights for that. This time, it's The Ballad of Black Tom, based on the Lovecraft story, The Horror at Red Hook, but told from the perspective of a black man. Which means I should really read that, too.. Nice, I'd like to get back to some Lovecraft! I've read the summary, and started the book club's book. Again, it's in the Prince of Wales, Covent Garden again. Question is, will the kitchen be open..?

On the 2nd, I'm on my own for My Son's a Queer (but what can you do?), a musical at the Ambassadors Theatre.

On the 3rd, my first meeting of the year with London Classical Music and Theatre Group! We're off to Wigmore Hall, to listen to the Hagen Quartet play Mozart. They're Austrian, so that's appropriate.. I just need to remember not to drink the ultra-expensive sauvignon blanc!

On the 4th, well, Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners are back to Greenwich again. Now, I have been there with him before.. not sure how "new" this one will be, but hey, it was a great day last time!

On the 5th, nothing on Meetup appeals massively at the moment - I might go for a walk along the Ken's Events route, if I feel like it! (on my own). Or Over 40 Living the Life has just advertised a walk along the New River.. I'll have to see, as I have to pay to sign up (refunds given to those who then come). And I might well change my mind..

On the 6th, my first actual event with that group. We're off to How Not to Drown at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East - the first event of theirs for which I couldn't get a cheaper ticket! So I decided, if I couldn't beat them, I might as well join them. True story of an unaccompanied, 11-year-old asylum seeker.

On the 7th, excited to be headed to see Derren Brown in Showman, at the Apollo Shaftesbury Avenue. Cheapest tickets with OLT again.

On the 8th, off to The Lehman Trilogy, at the Gillian Lynne Theatre. Based on the true story of the bank that collapsed. Got the last £39.50 ticket!

On the 9th, back with UITCS for Winner's Curse, at the Park Theatre - an interactive show about a peace negotiation. Turns out North London Friends are headed to it the same night - what, are they now copying this group, as another group did some time ago? (since closed down). And then I'm back to Ireland again.

And on the 13th, I'm headed to Allegiance, starring George Takei in a musical based on the true story of his time in an American internment camp during the Second World War. Showing at the Charing Cross Theatre.