Play: Best of Enemies

Tonight, I 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..

I thought I'd look nearby for food - the nearest place with availability (third I tried) was, to be fair, only a minute's walk away from the theatre! (The joys of a Monday night.) So I booked a table there - it was Spaghetti House. The queue at the bus stop rather phased me - there was such a huge queue, it looked as though there was a shortage of buses! Now, there were a few I could get - when the first of these happened along, I dreaded a scrum to get on. Mercifully, a #205 arrived at the same time, and most of them gravitated towards that! Now, that explains the scrum - that bus is so rare, its arrival should make the papers..

Well, I arrived at the restaurant with a couple of minutes to spare, and was shown straight to my table - the only free table I could see. I perused the menu - it's ages since I've had minestrone, so thought I'd have that: fancied a carbonara as well. And the usual 250ml of sauvignon blanc - unusually, described as a carafe, here! Well, the waiter happened along - I have to say, I've never seen such ridiculously smiley waitresses. This one looked so gleeful, she might burst at any moment. Either it's a great place to work, or they're on something.. her smile didn't falter one bit as she informed me that they had no sauvignon blanc - so I had chardonnay. And they'd just served the last of the minestrone - all right, I'd have calamari. I was ok with the carbonara.

When the wine arrived, it became apparent that the reason they serve 250ml carafes is that the wine glasses are smaller than that. Seems easier to buy bigger wine glasses, but hey. The wine was decent, the calamari passable. The carbonara was lovely, actually - and quite filled me up, which was a good thing. The theatre had emailed to ask me to arrive half an hour early, and I was coming up to that - happily for the restaurant, who'd given me a two-hour max. When I asked for the bill, the server seemed a smidgeon confused.. she brought me the bill, waited a respectable five minutes, and asked whether I was ready to pay now! Ehh..?

Well, they're nice, and worth the slightly higher than usual service charge. Trotting over to the theatre, I walked along the world's longest roped-off area, leading around the side! Nobody waiting in it, just the people to check bags. Right to the end I had to walk, and back. In a side door then, and up (and up and up) what you might call a refurbished fire escape, to get to the Balcony. Would you believe, after all that climbing, the bar is another flight of steps up! (Mind you, I think I spied another on the climb..) Lovely bar, after all that - I got a drink, in plastic so I could take it in with me, and sank into a seat until showtime. When I had a fun climb - down, this time - to my seat, on the aisle in the front row:

Ok seat - decent legroom, actually, and I had the aisle to swing my legs into, and to leave my stuff in. The guy beside me was massively disappointed when I arrived, having all his things on my seat.. Only thing was, we kept having to get up to let people in and out! Anyway, 60s music plays at the start of each half. This is actually a great play for anyone with an interest in the 60s - the events depicted take place then, of course, and we get some 60s fashions: but we also get some real-life stills and film footage, projected onto the side of the stage. Most atmospheric.

The debates take place during a presidential election campaign, and start during a Republican convention in Miami. The fun starts when they move to a Democratic convention in Chicago - the Democrats are at sixes and sevens following the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, and things aren't helped at all by the city's reactionary mayor, who isn't at all a fan of the revolutionary spirit of the age.. and, faced with protests against the Vietnam War, sends in the National Guard.

As to the debates themselves - they're fun, the participants treating them like boxing matches and using them as an excuse to slag each other off. Mrs. Buckley is frequently seen giving her husband advice, as Gore Vidal's companions also do for him. Each is very keen to best the other, and the verbal battles are terrific. Not that they're given great rein to wax on about subjects at length - television doesn't lend itself to that. Gore Vidal is certainly better at soundbites - but it's perhaps Buckley who has the definitive final word, warning that democracy cannot survive when menaced by moral supremacy. For the latter part of the play, such argument as there is finds itself superseded by the riots erupting around them.

So, not one for those hoping for deep political discourse - but it is riveting, and a real window into the past. Runs till the 18th.

Afterwards, I had a choice of buses home - bless continual decent internet access, so I could keep adjusting my journey to find the most comfortable trip (least walking).

For the next week or so, it's all Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS)! Tomorrow, 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 Wednesday, 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 Thursday, 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. With partial film listings finally out for there, it's looking like The Fabelmans, in Ennis - an autobiographical tale from Stephen Spielberg, about how he got into filmmaking.

Next Monday, 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. 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 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! Indeed, that evening might be the time to meet Ivan - and our coworker, if he's recovered, by then, from the jetlag he'll suffer from the trip to India he's currently on!

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 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.

Concert: Chicago Blues Explosion

Tonight, I headed to Chicago Blues Explosion in the January Blues Festival at the 100 Club. Tickets from See Tickets (ST) - just a shame their early bird tickets were sold out. My companion from last night thought that sounded good, and booked too - we planned to eat beforehand at Bistro1. Lordy, it's years since I was last there!

I made it there early - and, cold as it was, went straight in. I was seated straight away, and ordered a bottle of wine to be going along with, as well as a starter for myself in due course, she not having arrived yet. I had it half eaten when she came through the door - apparently her internet had stopped working (a common complaint in these parts) and she'd got lost.

I had calamari, which I wouldn't have again - it was very rubbery. I see that on previous occasions I had the deep fried brie - must remember that in future! The beef bourgignon, I'm happy to report, however, was as delicious as ever. She was feeling a bit off after last night's meal - had two starters, rather than a starter and main, and proclaimed them exactly what she needed, nice and light. We both squeezed in an ice cream dessert. Conscious of time, we noticed that asking for the bill was the first time all night we'd had a delay in service..!

Well, we scuttled off to the club, about a 10-minute walk away - on Oxford Street, we weren't quite sure where it was, until I spied a queue. Sure enough, that was it.. and what a frigid night to make us wait outside!

We shuffled in, showed our tickets, and gave our names, to the guy with the checklist, and got a stamp. For some reason, it wouldn't imprint properly on my wrist, so I got it on my palm! Anyway, downstairs has a cloakroom, with a £2 per item charge. I wasn't going to bother, but was glad I did, in the end - when the club got full, it was stifling, and it was good not to have to carry my coat!

Photos of famous previous artists line the walls - this place has been around a while! We got drinks at the bar, and positioned ourselves near the stage. There is limited seating, but you'd have to get there by 7 at least to get a chair! (We kind of managed 7.30). A DJ played for early arrivals - live music started at 8.15. Despite dire warnings from someone in the queue, the ladies' toilets, at least, were quite sanitary - covered in interesting graffiti, yes (such as the life advice for ladies in one cubicle, one nugget being never to vote Conservative..). Not much toilet paper, though.

First of the live acts was Jamiah Rogers - a lively guitarist, who put my companion in mind of Jimi Hendrix. Quite the performer, he was constantly interacting with the audience, to the point where I really thought he'd jump offstage at one point. Terrific music, though.

And so to the bigger hitters - we had John Primer, who's played with many the great performer:

He was then joined by Billy Branch. And I swear, they fairly raised the roof!

Fantastic music. Unfortunately, the press of the crowd was something I'm not used to, and I had to retreat to the rear for the latter part of the concert, where there was a bit more oxygen. But wow, this is a great blues venue! Great to see them all gather for a jam at the end.

Tomorrow, 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!

On 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 Sunday, 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 Monday, 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 ST doing the selling, I found myself with a second, unexplained, booking fee..

For the next week or so, it's all Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS)! Next Tuesday, 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 of that, and am a decent way through the book club's book. Again, it's in the Prince of Wales, Covent Garden. 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 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. Modern magic! 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.

Concert: Damian Lewis

Today, I had a final interview with one of the companies I'm in the running for. No drills by that stage, apart from the interviewer trying to find out what it was about the other company I've applied for that attracts me! and me determined not to tell her. Anyway, after I survived that, I was back with Up in the Cheap Seats for a concert by Damien Lewis at Omeara. Yes, the actor! Tickets were from See Tickets. I'd never actually been here before. Met Didi for dinner beforehand at Tas Borough - she came to the concert too.

I can't fault the service at Tas. Considerate at every turn, when I mentioned I was late, he said he'd saved us a table by the window :-) and brought a glass of iced water while I waited for Didi. As we ordered, he was happy to explain whatever needed explaining - and we were well fed, and sated, me looking up what I'd had before to see what was good, and ordering from the set menu. The house wine, I have to say, was very nice. And we were done in plenty of time to mosey down to the venue.

A massive queue greeted us - so handy to have people we knew in the line! so we joined about halfway. They  opened late, of course, and gave us a rather fetching stamp on our way in.

The bar in the venue proper doesn't serve wine - but she helpfully explained that there was a full bar, out the way I came in, and to the right. Which there is - quite a nice one, actually. This direction is also where the toilets are. Useful information.

Back in the hall, we snaffled some seats - until it turned out that that was where the Lewis fanily were sitting, and we were turfed out. Some seating on the other side, but basically this was a standing gig. Naturally, the time on the tickets (7pm) bore no relation to reality - doors opened at about 7.15, posters on the way in advertised the support act, Cherise, to come on from 8 to 8.30, Damian Lewis from 9 to 10. And to be fair, they stuck pretty well to those times.

Cherise, we agreed, has a lovely voice. But of course, everyone was there for the main attraction:

Although sometimes, it was easier to get a secondhand view:

There was no single style, the concert a mishmash of rock, blues, jazz.. but the atmosphere was excellent. His first ever gig, he said. And OMG, it's the closest I've come to a rock concert in nearly three years. Crikey, it felt good..!

A relief, afterwards, to get out into the air though:

Tomorrow, 9am (ouch), I have another interview with the other company - I've put a hurry on them, on account of being at the final stages with their rivals. Had to be early, because in the middle of the day, I've booked for another tour with Laurence and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners - Wonders of the National Gallery. Which I should be able to go on. Heading for lunch after to the Lamb and Flag.

Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend - tried, once more, to get my car serviced, but for two days in a row, nobody was answering the phone. So, sod that - I'll get my taxi driver to take it for a service somewhere else. Which leaves me free to go to a film on Saturday - and what's coming up is Bullet Train, an adventure caper with a Japanese bullet train full of assassins, one of whom is Brad Pitt. Looks like fun - I've seen so many trailers for this!

On Monday - yes, I am succumbing. Finally managed to get a decently priced (seated) ticket to Abba Voyage. Hell, I love Abba, and even if they have been replaced by avatars - it's supposed to be a spectacular show. Kind of has to be done..

On Tuesday, I've booked with London Classical Music and Theatre Group - Didi, from the group, who is herself a classical guitarist, is playing a free Summer Music Festival concert in the Holy Sepulchre Church, which should be lovely.

That evening, I'm at Chasing Hares, at the Young Vic. And wouldn't you know it, CT now has ticket offers for this..

On Wednesday, I'm with a new Meetup group - Soho Comedy Factory Shows and Socials, which organises free events on Wednesdays at the aforementioned Soho Comedy Factory. Unless something better comes along - I've had bad experiences with free comedy!

Next Thursday, I've booked a free ticket with an improv group called Kid Smokers Improv! at Barons Court Theatre. (It's Pay What You Can, actually.) They're actually stepping in while Avocado Presents takes a summer holiday - they seem to have a residency here, now. Anyway, I've seen Avocado Presents before, and they're excellent - so I figure I'll give these people a shot! Avocado Presents, interestingly, have a Meetup group now - Watch Improv & Chat Comedy! which I've also just joined.

On the 12th, I've booked for the Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street Tour with Poppy's Events for 40s 50s and 60s, another new group to me. But Laurence has a walk that day as well - the Strange Tales of Old (and New) London Tour, which, you know, I'll go on if I'm free.. haven't booked it yet though.

On the 13th, I'm off to see The Ehrlich Brothers, a magic show at the Wembley Arena. This is with Friendly Frolickers 50+ Meetup Group - so I've joined them as well, making that four new groups in a row! I was - as often happens - rather frazzled when I booked though, and completely forgot that they have their own, discounted tickets! Blast - they do this specifically so that they can sit together. Well, I've booked my own - more expensively - and explained. Can't be helped.

And on the 14th, I've booked with the 45+s again - but not with Laurence this time! They do have walks guided by other people, and this one is of Brick Lane.

Kenwood House, Hampstead, Visit

Today, my first outing with another new group - Bucket List London is off to Kenwood House, and I said I'd join them. You don't have to book, but it guarantees availability- tickets for free from English Heritage, via See Tickets. We were to meet at 11, and it'd take me the better part of an hour to get there - so naturally, I didn't get to bed early enough. And waking this morning wasn't the easiest, let me tell you..

Well hey, off I went. In light rain, which hadn't been forecast the night before. The only option to get me there in under an hour was Northern Line, followed by a bus - which is what I did. And happily, the Tube was early, so I got there early, and had time to get slightly lost, as usual. But it isn't desperately hard to find:

Well, our organiser had given good directions, so I managed to find our meeting place without too much trouble. No organiser, though - until I finally spotted him, dressed as he'd said he'd be. Full of apologies for being slightly late. See now, this is why I wouldn't fancy being an organiser - I do my best to be on time, but it's not always easy, and stuff happens. Anyway, no harm done - some of the group had already gone in, it transpired, but we caught up with them.

Kenwood House, it turns out, is famous for being the beneficiary of the Iveagh bequest - the first Earl of Iveagh saved the house from development by buying it. Then gifted it to the nation. Decent bloke.

The contents had already been sold, but he used the house to showcase some of the finest pieces from his art collection. I'm not an art aficionada, but even I had to be impressed when viewing the mixture of Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Constable.. and interestingly, he preferred pictures of women and children, in general..

The architecture is lovely, the presentation of the paintings carefully considered - and the volunteers hanging around in most rooms are generally only delighted to chat about their subject! "Yes, this is the family associated with Guinness, the stout." "Yes, this clock is as old as your country!" (said to an American). Mind you, I thought I'd never get away from the woman who wanted to talk about Ireland, which she'd visited, and loved.. well, she eventually got snagged by somebody who wanted to ask about a painting, and I made a graceful exit. But they're among the most engaged volunteers I've met, anywhere.

The gift shop didn't tempt me - but the coffee shop did, where I had a most excellent, vegan, chocolate orange cake and a hot chocolate. Large. And very hot. And we sat in what was now very pleasant sunshine, where we found plentiful seating, and chatted merrily - and I was back on the Tube with our gregarious organiser. Yes, had a lovely time meeting people! and this is a group I'll keep an eye out for, from now on.

Now, I hadn't had a huge amount to eat yet today - and food was high on my list. So I said, well, for the hell of it, I'll try Cote Barbican again - you might remember that they were booked up when I tried to get a table there, in lashing rain, a couple of weeks ago.. So, in I went, started by saying I didn't have a reservation, but - could I get a table for one? (I could see plenty of empty tables this time.) "Of course! Where would you like to sit?" Hmph. Maybe it was the weather, last time..?

Steak-frites, as usual, and wine, and I decided to try the garlic bread. Yeah - not sure I will again: nothing wrong with it, except the quantity. I didn't have it half finished by the time my main course arrived, and never did get more than half of the garlic bread eaten.. it's just too much. Besides, I needed to leave room for dessert - which was their delectably rich chocolate mousse (topped with cocoa powder). Yup, I was well fed, and practically rolled home. Wow, a much more successful day all round than two weeks ago..

Tomorrow, I found something interesting with London Walks, Art & Culture Explorers! Yet another new one for me. This is an "Uncomfortable Statues Walk" - statues commemorating controversial people. I can think of a few, and it'll be interesting to see which come up on this! Another early start though, damnit. Still, it'll be an early night tonight.

On Monday, I'm with London Classical Music & Theatre Group, for a choral performance (annual, apparently) by The Sixteen in Temple Church. Fantastic, and I've never actually been inside!

On Tuesday, I'm with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex (!). They have 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 that'll be a night I can move stuff from my desk - we have to clear them out by the end of the week, as we're moving office next month!

On Wednesday, I booked another walk with Invigorate - this one is 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 hope it doesn't get too bad.

On Thursday, 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 (where I was today, actually).. 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..

Plays: The Man in the White Suit & The Antipodes

On Tuesday, I went to the comedy The Man in the White Suit, at Wyndham's. Stars Stephen Mangan as the chemist who develops a material that never gets dirty! and finds himself suddenly in huge demand. Went on my own, so could rest my voice a bit again - it's a lot better now. Ticket slightly cheaper from See Tickets.

Left in decent time - which was a good thing, as I was to discover that there was a reason that Google Maps was sending me to the bus stop one before my usual. Sure enough, blasted roadworks again meant my regular stop was closed! As it turned out, I was just in time for the bus - and arrived a few minutes early to the theatre. Where I collected my ticket at the box office - and lo, it said "upgrade"! I had a pleasantly low number of steps to climb - wow, I'd been upgraded two levels, down to the Royal Circle, just above the Stalls! I actually don't think that either of the two highest levels were open, and there were plenty of empty seats in the Royal Circle, even with the upgrades. Turns out that ticket sales have been poor for this - originally supposed to run to the 11th of January, it's now finishing on the 7th of next month..

I was very happy with my £50 seat for £15.82! As someone behind me remarked - wow, you can see their faces! Helps that it was a Tuesday, I guess - and yet another reason to buy cheap tickets: you never can tell.

The show is an Ealing comedy, so made in the post-war period - and it feels it. It is very dated. But I don't think it would really play in any other era - after all, how many people nowadays make their living taking in washing? (one of the lines of work threatened by this cloth that never gets dirty). And the idea of the factory owner's daughter marrying a man who wants her for her money - very old-fashioned. Speaking of whom, she deserves special mention - easily recognisable as the only woman in the play who dresses up, Kara Tointon plays her as so terribly plummy that it's an obvious effort to speak, never mind walk. Oh, that awful accent..

I wasn't sure about this, as the slapstick progressed and the plummy accent grated. Mainly, what kept me there for the second half was the music - catchily played by the onstage band, who happily don't bother with setting the tunes in the period. And indeed, I found the second half much funnier, when he's figured out how to make this suit, and a variety of people are chasing him through town, trying to make sure that the suit sinks without trace. Yes, I enjoyed it - but beware, it is dated, and I can see why it mightn't appeal. Of course, I was also persuaded to stay by that lovely seat I'd scored.. never been so close in this theatre before!

No, I haven't developed a habit of clumping posts together - I was busy doing a film list! plus I was distracted by the sad news of the death of Ireland's greatest broadcaster, Gay Byrne. Tributes pouring in meant there was no time for blogging that night. Yesterday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for The Antipodes, at the National - a play about stories and storytelling, sounded irresistible. Mixed reviews, but I could hardly miss it.

I walked to the theatre, which was a good de-stresser after my day, and arrived early - although not the first of the group, quite. Queued for my ticket, then got a glass of wine, and we all stood and chatted as people gradually arrived - there wasn't really room for all of us to sit. One newcomer, but I knew everyone else - and one had snazzy, captioned eyewear that the usher had provided him with! We were all intrigued.

The setting is a boardroom - probably in California somewhere - where a group of people are brainstorming, the object of the exercise being to come up with a story idea. Directed by a slightly smarmy boss, and with an absolutely hilarious receptionist coming in and out (mainly to take food orders), they're closeted in this room for ages - including most of one weekend, when they'd much rather go home, because of the predicted storm. The show itself is two hours straight through - to be fair, I don't think it felt like it.

There were bits I didn't like - mainly the, as one member of our group described it, Kafka-esque atmosphere that develops in the office. Honestly, that was too realistic for my taste - and with the awful day I'd had at work, it struck a bit close to home. It's also a whole series of different scenes, merged seamlessly together so that you hardly notice the time has changed - slightly confusing, at least at first.

But the point of the exercise is to come up with stories - and in hindsight, it's quite a brilliant exploration of that. They are made to tell stories personal to them, to begin with - this is actually a type of storytelling, and there are shows like that in London, where you can go and hear people bare their souls - indeed, participate yourself if so moved. Not my thing - but never fear, they don't spend the whole play doing it. And they do ultimately come up with something rather clever - if, as people remarked afterwards, not exactly original. Ah what the hey, as the guy says, are there actually any original stories left?

Runs till the 23rd. Completely unstructured, but a very interesting piece, which led to much conversation after, until we were all thrown into the night - and the others probably continued with it for a while, but I was headed the other way. One of the more interesting pieces I've seen in a while. Oh, and I was still catching up with myself last night, and indeed until now - hence the delayed blog.

Tonight, back with Spooky London for their monthly drinks - Ivan, who has business in the City today, expressed an interest in coming, but now he can't, sadly. This month, it's in the Prospect of Whitby. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

And on Monday, I'm back with UITCS (as always!) for a night of comedy with Sara Pascoe, at the Backyard Comedy Club.