Walk: Feisty Fitzrovia & Play: Magic Goes Wrong

Yesterday, my first in-person Meetup with 45+ not Grumpy Old Londoners - a guided walk with Laurence Summers! This was the Feisty Fitzrovia pub tour - and since I used to live there, I could hardly refuse! Another pay-on-the-day, but I had cash.

Headed off in decent time - but the darned bus dropped me further away than I'd have liked, and by the time I got to where we were meeting, I'd frozen into a lump of ice! Unfortunately for the guide, something like half the people, scheduled to attend, didn't - and didn't cancel their bookings, so not only was he out of pocket, but we ended up waiting (in the cold) for a lot of folks that were never coming! Not to mention, as someone remarked later, hard on the people on the waitlist, who could have taken their places.. very bad form.

They're artistic around here, no? Mercifully, our walk was punctuated by three pubs, where we could defrost - the first, the Marquis of Granby, had service so slow I seriously believed I'd never be seen to! She was ever so much more interested in the young men on the other side of the bar..

Afterwards, we made a small detour to my former abode - how nostalgic! Well, we were going next to what used to be my local, right next door - the King and Queen pub is a rugby-friendly establishment, which I've been to a few times before, always for spooky things upstairs.. Last night, less spooky, sat in the main bar, with a match blaring around us. But the chat was good.

The walk ended up being slightly truncated, on account of everyone being frozen to the bone, and our final pub was a place that gloried in the name of The Smugglers Tavern. Where they were supposed to have great food, but all that seemed to be available when we were there were sea-salt flavour crisps. Never mind, I got treated to my own personal magic show, courtesy of Leon, one of the participants, who is himself in the magic business! And most entertaining and baffling it was.

Excellent night all round - and courtesy of Laurence, who passed us on info about his upcoming walks. Hope I can make some:

I was way too tired last night to blog.

Tonight - would you believe, my first Meetup of the year with Up in the Cheap Seats! Well, they were going to see Magic Goes Wrong, which I've been dying to see - again, I could hardly refuse! Yet again, I missed out on cheap tickets - ended up in the Gods, but at the end of a row, and the view promised to be OK. The Apollo Theatre, tickets cheapest on the official website. And with all the seats that were still free, you never know, I thought I might get an upgrade.. The ticket was a nightmare to book, mind - when I tried to add my payment details, it gave me an error! Failing to get a response from the box office, I tried the workaround of adding the payment details to my account and checking out again, which worked.

Guess what? When I checked my online ticket this morning, sure enough, I'd been upgraded.. to the stalls! 😎 From the very back row in the house. Well now..

I had to change buses. A number of people wanted to get off the first bus at the same stop as I did - but I guess the driver was new to the route (or perhaps a bit deaf), because despite the button being pressed in good time, he made no attempt to stop there! One lady went up to him to complain - thank goodness we were subsequently stopped at the lights, where he (illegally) let us out, or I could have been a good bit later! As it was, it worked out handier for me - I was that bit closer to where I needed to catch an ongoing bus.

As I was walking the last bit to the theatre, someone from the group messaged that - as I'd suspected - the Grand Circle (which I'd booked) was closed. And the group organiser then suggested we meet in the Stalls bar, rather than the Grand Circle bar, which had been the previous plan. Ooh, handy - I wouldn't have to climb lots of stairs! And so we did meet downstairs - you couldn't miss us, big circle that we made. The bar was nice and big enough, mind - and has some excellent house white. And it was great to see some people for the first time this year! We chatted away happily until it was time to go in.

So, the play is built around the premise of a charity magic show - as they explained at the end, that's fake, but Mischief Theatre, who are responsible for this, are fundraising for the Samaritans.

Take your seat early - the shenanigans start before the official start time. And apart from the gentle entertainment of watching two stagehands try to replace a letter that's fallen off the sign (visible in the photograph), watch out for the escaped doves / pigeons.. they could appear anywhere in the auditorium!

Oh, I missed this company! Right back to form, and a delight to watch - as ever, keep an eye on everything that happens on stage, there's always something subtle and hilarious in progress. The whole show is a mishmash of magical disasters - but watch out for the real magic tricks in there, Penn & Teller were technical consultants, and some of the tricks are truly excellent. And are slipped in amongst the others very sneakily! Blink and you'd miss some of them.

Very highly recommended, absolutely hilarious. Caveat 1: strobe lighting. Caveat 2: audience participation - I was getting nervous for a minute, at the end of a row as I was, but I was just far enough back not to be bothered; they went back as far as Row D. But having said that - go see! Running until 27 February. We all adored it..

Tomorrow, I wasn't really seeing anything - but CT then advertised two shows at 2Northdown that night. So I'm going to both! As you do.

And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend - and finally get to pick up my new phone! Film at the weekend is likely to be Belfast - simply the best thing that's on in the daytime. Written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, and describes his childhood there. Not much about the Troubles, I believe - after all, his family left before it got too heavy - and the film has earned both praise and criticism for that. Personally, I think we have heard quite enough about them - time to see a different side to the place.

The Stansted Express isn't running again on Sunday, damnit. And I come back to London, and an uncertain future. Ah well, here we go again.

On Monday, another Zoom talk - this is run by a new group to me, The Garden Talks (TGT), and the talk for the evening is Are We Living in the Age of Persecution? Which should, hopefully, be more interesting than the last online talk I attended - on canals!

On Tuesday, I've plumped for something I've seen advertised a lot, but never attended - again on Zoom, this time it's a Free Tuesday Sing-a-long for Health and Pleasure, courtesy of Global Music Fusion & Arts.  As advertised by Free Stuff and Free Events - which might just be the first thing I've done with them. Happens weekly, apparently, lasts an hour - the words are on-screen. Could be good.

Next Wednesday, my first Meetup of the year with Civilised London! And as usual, it's dinner - yum! We're off again to Little Georgia, meeting beforehand at The Crown.

On the 3rd, heading with London Classical Music and Theatre Group - and I was lucky to see it, what with Meetup not even suggesting the event when I was looking for something that day! If it hadn't been for some mention over the last couple of events with them, of some event happening next week.. Anyway, we're off to see the LSO at the Barbican - wildcard tickets sadly sold out by the time I booked.

On the 4th, headed with the London European Club to the Puppet Theatre Barge, for a performance of The Red Balloon!

On the 5th, back with the 45+s and Laurence - got the last spot on Passage through Pimlico! which, as he was telling me last night, is not a very well-known part of town!

On the 6th - Crick Crack is back! Now, this is an interesting one - Japanese ghost stories, the event is called The Game of Candles, with each story represented by a lit candle, which is blown out when the story is completed. Taking place at the British Museum, Tim Ralphs and Sarah-Liisa Wilkinson performing.

And on the 7th - another interesting talk by TGT! This one is What Conditions Create Witch Hunts?

"Pre-Hallowe'en" Psychic Fair & Play: Oslo

Today, Spooky London Pubs had a "Pre-Hallowe'en" Psychic Fair at the King and Queen pub, just down the road from me. Free entry - well, I couldn't say no to that! Could always leave if it wasn't interesting. That was in the afternoon - in the evening, I was off to Oslo. The play, not the city! (Despite all my Scandic jaunts of late!) Taking place in the Harold Pinter Theatre, it tells the story of the Oslo peace accords. Has rave reviews. Cheapest tickets were with Amazon Tickets.

Had a late night, and a lovely, long sleep.. why not, indeed? That emergency door release, down the hall, that someone activated, and which has been beeping for the last three days, is still at it, but a bit softer:

Anyway, I moseyed out of the house and down the road at about 3pm. The King and Queen looked worryingly empty - I said I might as well have a peek all the same, and carried on to the upstairs room. Where six people were gathered, chatting, around tables - a couple of which had posters on them. One had little glittery things on it. All the people in the room looked expectantly at me as I came in - oh hell, I was the only non-medium there! Ah now.. Well, one asked whether I'd come for a reading, and I said I was just having a look around, and he gave me a couple of brochures, which I said I'd go off and read. And I duly legged it. Jeez, I've never seen such a badly attended event - you know, they have these in Ireland too, but they sell jewellery at them, and incense, and stuff.. and they get good attendance.. Honestly, what do you expect if you just put a bunch of psychics in a room? (The cynic in me can't help but remark that, being psychic, they should have known.. oh well..)

Right, that was the first event of the day over. Shortest ever. And I made my way to the office, in a stiff breeze - I was passing a newsagent on Charlotte Street when the carousel of greeting cards, just outside the door, got blown over, and the cards were strewn all over the pavement! Luckily, the owner was at the door at the time, to start the clear-up..

A few hours in the office, which is quite devoid of food today, so I decided to eat out. Fancied a Chinese, which I hadn't had in a while - and Chinatown is conveniently positioned right between the office and the theatre, so I popped off to New Loon Fung, where they were busy enough that I got the last table on the main level - they had to open the upstairs section. Nonetheless, service was brisk, and I was soon served. Had my usual - chicken spring rolls, which were delicious, and chicken in a delicious honey and lemon sauce. The fried rice was a bit bland, but pouring some of the sauce on it helped. The pinot grigio was nice, too - and all the while, I was entertained by watching the Chinese lanterns decorating the street outside sway back and forth in the wind, which has continued all day.

Finished in under an hour, and another quick walk to the theatre - and yes, that queue outside was for the box office. I was in the Royal Circle - I just won't get the Gallery here, it's far too cramped. Seemed to be full tonight, though. I was in the front row, at the end - which was described as an aisle seat, although it's patently not! Anyway, the "restricted view" just consisted of a safety rail cutting across my field of vision, which was perfectly fine - good legroom too. I'd definitely recommend this seat.

This play is based on the true story of the Oslo peace accords in 1993, where basically, a Norwegian academic thought that he had a better theory for how negotiations should take place, and why they were currently failing. He and his wife were in Gaza in 1992 when violence broke out, which inspired them to try to host an informal talk between the two sides, back in Oslo. Don't underestimate the audacity of that aim - at the time, it was illegal under Israeli law for government officials to talk to members of the PLO, and what this Norwegian pair were trying to do - without knowledge of their superiors - was to get two tigers in a room together and stand back.

Oh my, how noble and dry. Oh no it isn't.. this play is absolutely hilarious, clever rather than silly. The two sides like nothing better than scoring verbal points off each other, and the thing is packed with rapid-fire one-liners and impersonations of political leaders. Really, if the talks were like this, they must have been great fun. And it's a masterclass in negotiation - with the Americans sidelined, wondering what's going on and being outright lied to, so they don't take over. It was a fabulous piece of diplomacy at the time, even if the peace didn't last.. a poignant final scene has all the actors, standing still, reciting the litany of atrocities that happened since - and including the deaths of some of the participants. And throughout, projections on the rear of the stage explain to us where we are, and what's happening.

A wonderful, sparky, intelligent piece of writing, this is entertaining, while never making light of the serious issues involved. A fantastic play, which I'm delighted to recommend - go see, go see, go see. Runs until 30 December - nearly three hours including interval, but it flew by, truly. There was a collection as we were leaving, but we hadn't been warned, so I wasn't ready to go digging for change.

Tomorrow, I'm with Walking in London (a Funzing group) for Southwark's Saucy Secrets.. Hope I can make this one in time!

On Monday, back with the Crick Crack Club - at Soho Theatre this time, with Nell Phoenix telling us all about Tricksterland: a favourite theme of hers!

On Tuesday, the London European Club (first time in ages!) - we're off to the Barbican for a dance production by the Michael Clark Company.

On Wednesday, Walking Victorian London is doing a walk called Alexander Pope's The Dunciad.

On Thursday, Up in the Cheap Seats is off to Albion, at the Almeida. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again - hopefully, by that stage they'll have cleared the roads following Storm Ophelia. And Storm Brian, which is due to hit this weekend..

On the 30th, I finally get to see Apologia, at Trafalgar Studios - London Dramatic Arts was going to this a while ago, but it was far too expensive on that occasion. Well, that's what you get for having Stockard Channing and Laura Carmichael in it! Amazon Tickets again.

And finally, I'm hoping for a nicely scary Hallowe'en.. when I heard that they were doing the first-ever stage production of The Exorcist - and what's more, it's on in the Phoenix Theatre, right behind the office.. well, that was fate, wasn't it?! I jumped to get a ticket for that, as soon as they went on sale - after all, Hallowe'en has to be its most popular night! Jenny Seagrove plays the mother of the demonically possessed teen..

Talk: Arthur Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light

Tonight, handily enough, Spooky London Pubs (another new group for me - but it seems to be a spin-off group of Spooky London) hosted a talk on Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light. Handiest of all, it was in the King and Queen - my local! Why, I pass it every day.. Couldn't miss the opportunity to pop in. Funnily enough, this turns out to have been the same place I attended my one and only event with Spooky London!

I even had the time to shop for dinner on the way home, which I then dropped in before popping down a couple of doors. Awful crowd to push through to get in the door - well, it was a Friday evening, and fine. I figured it'd be in the upstairs room, so it was handy to have the sign on the door that said where that was. I was pushing it a bit for time - of course! so didn't have time for a drink beforehand. Some narrow stairs, and at the top, I followed the sound of voices, and took a seat.

The speaker, who's written a book with the same name as the talk (available tonight, of course), was holding forth - early - with a number of eager audience members, who wanted to discuss the supernatural with him. Now, be it real or be it not, I'd be surprised if it were proven in any of these talks. That's not why I go, nor for affirmation of a belief - which is impossible in the context. Anyway, after a bit, we were off.

I do find the subject of late Victorian spiritualism fascinating. Apparently, Arthur Conan Doyle was into it in a big way, attending sceances and the like, until his first wife died, and he married the second - who hardly wanted his first wife communing with him from beyond the grave! She had a change of heart, it seems, after her brother was killed during the First World War: which, of course, was a major boost to spiritualism, all these bereaved relatives wanting to communicate with the deceased. So, at that point, he suddenly started writing for "Light" spiritualist magazine again.

It was an engaging talk, with a fascinating speaker, obviously enthralled with the subject himself. Glad I went! Not tempted to buy a book though, although the guy in front of me did. The talk lasted for an hour and a half, or so, including a 10-minute interval, during which I bought a rather watery house wine. And a packet of Monster Munch! Have hardly had them since I was a kid - didn't know they came in all of these flavours. I also managed to get a glimpse of their amazing collection of pub mirrors!

And gee, hardly a long walk home afterwards.. my blog would have been much more prompt, could I have gotten the blasted internet to work!!

Tomorrow, I'm finally back with London Dramatic Arts, for the opening night of Against, with Ben Whishaw, at the Almeida. I'm in the rear stalls - they also have tickets in the front stalls, for a higher price, of course. They're actually also going to see Apologia, with Stockard Channing and Laura Carmichael, earlier in the day, but for a ridiculous price, so I passed on that. (Never mind, I'm going myself - cheaper - in October: cheapest tickets I found were with Amazon Tickets.) It'll be weird to spend a weekend in London again, it's been so long - lovely not to have to fly anywhere, and just have a lie-in. They are going for dinner beforehand, at Thyme and Lemon, but the menu didn't really appeal to me.

On Sunday, I'd booked with Carpe Diem, who are doing a Cockney Walk. But then, Eventbrite sent me an email of upcoming attractions, and the same day, they're doing a walk on Shakespeare's Southwark, which I find more interesting. I hadn't had to pay for the other one, so I cancelled and booked this instead. Let's hope it's dry!

On Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats: just a single play this time, Dark Room, at the Etcetera Theatre.

On Tuesday, back with Funzing: LDN Talks @Night and London Speaks Sessions have a talk called Z List - Dead List! So, a comedian is to regale us with tales of nefarious dead people, and we are to decide who deserves to become a celebrity forever! I got a 30% discount with the code WELLBEING30. Shoreditch, as usual - this one is in the Loves Company Cocktail Bar.

On Wednesday, another Camden Fringe double bill with Up in the Cheap Seats: Ego, in The Lion and Unicorn, and The Trial of Le Singe, in The Water Rats.

On Thursday, I'm headed to a rather interesting talk on Bodysnatching in Southwark! Mary, too.. and it's a funny thing, all the tickets were gone when I first saw it, but then I checked again on spec, and more were available! Lucky. As advertised by Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts - but they're not running it, tickets are available on Eventbrite, and are free. I see London Social Detours are going too. Then I'm back to Ireland again for the weekend.

On the 21st, I'm off to see Jesus Christ Superstar, finally! At the open-air theatre in Regent's Park - again, I hope it doesn't rain.

On the 22nd, my first talk with Scarlet Ladies UK (!). Their stated aim is to abolish the stigma of talking about sex.. so they have a load of talks. This one is about the history of slut-shaming.

On the 23rd, back with Jennifer Rees (and the same two Meetup Funzing groups again), for a talk about the Psychology of Serial Killers. This is at least the third instance of this talk - I was booked for one last month, but had to cancel - it clashed with the trip to the Icebar. The next was sold out - and then I saw this one and booked, at last! It's on the Battersea Barge, of all places! Just a 10% discount this time - I see the latest code for that is crazy_fun.

On the 24th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, a musical about the life of Billie Holiday. Nice and close to me, at Wyndham's. Passed it yesterday evening, in fact.

On the 25th, back with the same group (!) for yet another Camden Fringe double bill: Boris - the Musical! at the Cockpit again (the London European Club - LEC - are also going to this), and Make Advena Great Again, at Camden People's Theatre. Goodness, that's only a short walk from home..

On the 26th, I'm back to the Proms for the first time in years! Funnily enough, it was inspired by a Meetup group - Gothic Requiem London (!). This is the "Gothic Prom", you see - all the composers are Czech (Bohemian). Now, I'm no Goth - but the Proms sound like a great idea.

On the 27th, I'm off on a day trip to Bath, with Carpe Diem: booked while I was in Barcelona, recently.

On the 28th, the organiser of Walks, Talks & Treasure Hunts promised Helen and me free tickets to a treasure hunt she was organising that day - in recompense for that treasure hunt, not run by her but advertised by her, where the organisers never showed, and instead marked us as no-shows. However, the event on the 28th still hasn't been advertised, and what with severe engineering works at Waterloo for the whole month, Helen's not sure she can make it at all. We shall see.

On the 29th, I'm off to see Five Guys Named Moe, at the Marble Arch Theatre - a pop-up, it seems! From the Box Office provided the best deal on this occasion.

On the 30th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, at the Apollo (although booking is with the Young Vic), with Sienna Miller, Colm Meaney, and nudity. Cheapest tickets this time were with LoveTheatre.

On the 31st, back with those two Funzing groups. This time, the talk is entitled "Can You Trust the Media?", and is given by Annie Machon, who gave an interesting talk last month on Russian Hacking. Another 30% discount. I just wish she'd use some visual aids.. At the Lighthouse again, terrific. :-/ Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

On the 4th September, I'm finally going to see Dreamgirls, at the Savoy. Amazon Tickets, again.

On the 5th September, back with the Scarlet Ladies for a talk on Generation Sex.

On the 6th September, I'm with another new group - North London Friends - for an interview with Michael Palin, at the Knowledge Centre Theatre at the British Library. I was really torn, though - the LEC is off to an early music concert the same night, and I do love that - but had already booked this, and it is Michael Palin. Hey-ho..

On the 7th September, back with North London Friends, and another talk on Fake News - different speaker, mind! This is the Fulbright Commission annual lecture, at the British Library.

On the 8th September, until yesterday I was still technically booked for free comedy in Hammersmith with DiscoverLDN.UK. But, as I say - good atmosphere, but the comedy is usually pretty bad. I was saved - again - by Up in the Cheap Seats, who are off to see Doubt, a Parable, in Southwark Playhouse. Aww.. it's so long since I was there, and I have so many good memories of it from my time with the Man with the Hat!

On the 9th September, Helen and I have our 25km sponsored walk, in aid of Haslemere's Cat Protection Society. We're going as Dick Whittington and his cat, respectively, and the route is the Thames Bridges Trek. You can donate here..

Which will tire me out nicely, just in time for my flight to Prague the next morning! I'm at a conference there, Sunday to Tuesday. (What a nice company I work for!) Gee, but I love Prague - most beautiful city I've ever seen, and I've seen a few. They're putting me up at a nice hotel too, just down the road.

So, I fly back on the 12th September, and on the 13th I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats, at Sadler's Wells, for the Hofesh Schechter Company grand finale.

On the 14th September, I'm at another talk with Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts - this one, at Southwark Cathedral, is about the River Effra, South London's Secret Spine. Another free Eventbrite event, this is to publicise a book about the subject, and the talk is again given by the author. Another thing that had no tickets, then it did! Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.

On the 18th September, I'm off to Showstopper! at the Lyric. Ticket courtesy of From the Box Office again. I have actually seen this before - but, being an improvised musical, it literally is different every time!

On the 19th September, back with the Scarlet Ladies, for a talk entitled 100 Women - Their Breasts, Their Stories.

On the 20th September, Funzing (same two groups) and Jennifer Rees again - this time, a fun talk about the Psychology of Batman Villains! The first of hers for which I managed to get a 30% discount.. and it's on nice and close to me again. Seems to be a feature of her talks!

On the 21st September, technically, free comedy in Hammersmith - with Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich, Random London, and DiscoverLDN.UK. And on the 22nd September, the same - with DiscoverLDN.UK. I rather doubt it though - don't you?

On the 23rd September, I was to do the same, but am now headed to the launch of Rob Luft's new album, Riser, at King's Place. As advertised by The London Jazz Meetup. I finally ended up paying their membership fee after booking an event with them today, for November, which someone is attending that I know. So I figured it was wiser!

I had booked the same free comedy, with the same group, on the 24th September, but was again saved - this time, by the World Music Meetup! They're off to see Kefaya, in Nell's Jazz and Blues bar, back in my old stomping ground of North End Road! Happy days, when I was working there..

On the 25th September, a group called Theatre and Stuff is off to see Prism, at Hampstead Theatre. They're charging extra to go with them, though - so I happily bought my own ticket. What the hey, odds are I won't know any of them anyway.

On the 26th September, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats - to see Wings, at The Young Vic. Accidentally booked standing, I think.. :-/

On the 27th September, with Up in the Cheap Seats again - for Jekyll & Hyde, presented by the National Youth Theatre, at the Ambassadors Theatre.

On the 28th September, with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.

On the 2nd October, back at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I'm going it alone!

On the 3rd October, free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. Or not!

On the 4th October, Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, for once!

On the 5th October, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.

And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person!

Vampire Hearts, Modern Killers: An evening of live horror music and talks

I was intrigued when I saw that Spooky London had organised an evening about vampires. I love my scary stuff, so it didn't take long for me to decide to book. Now, yesterday was a red-letter day for me - I finally made the final deposit payment, and collected my car! Still some paperwork to organise, but it's sitting outside my place as we speak. Which was an achievement in itself, since I got lost on the way back. What the hey, all's well that ends well..

I got all that done in the afternoon, and had just about enough time to eat before the event - if I ate out, not having to cook. Which I'd intended to, anyway, to celebrate. I checked the website for The King and Queen pub, where the event was taking place, but it seems they don't do food at the weekends. Righty-ho, there are plenty of places around Clapham Junction.. so I set off in search.

I was aware that I shouldn't spend too long on the hunt, but I didn't have to - at the end of the road was a pub on the corner that I'd noticed, of course, several times, but never yet visited. Revolution seemed to have a good vibe, so I went in. It was pretty crowded - I found a little table that was free, but with a Reserved sign on it: but the reservation wasn't until 7, which was when I was supposed to be at my event - so that was ok.

I ordered at the bar, paid and collected my drink straight away, and was served the rest within ten minutes - can't complain about the service, although the barman did have to repeat himself a couple of times when I was ordering, to be heard over the pumping music. They have a "hero" special every day - they pick one main course to be discounted; yesterday's was the bacon burger, but I felt like chicken and ordered that instead. With BBQ sauce (the alternative is hot sauce) and fries (instead of salad) and I decided to go for a side of sweet potato wedges.

And it was all delicious! I found the wedges a bit sickly after a while, but the vodka salsa dip that came with them was sublime (there was also a sour cream dip). The fries were great, the chicken lovely - it was a half roast chicken though, and in the end I couldn't finish everything. But I really enjoyed it - the atmosphere was great, the playlist catchy, and the whole meal (including the wine) cost less than £20 - excellent value, by London standards. Definitely one to return to - I was sorry I didn't have time for dessert. Booking essential, though.

Now, these days I have a choice of driving to events, of course. But this one being in town, I figured I'd have trouble parking - so instead I took a train to Vauxhall, where I caught the Victoria Line. Which was confusing in itself, as the barriers I had to pass through looked like entrance barriers to the Tube, rather than exit barriers. Which meant I'd have to touch my Oyster card in without touching out, first. Which is a no-no. But no, they were exit barriers, it transpired - and I was just in time for a train. Which I caught to Oxford Circus.

Streetview proved itself invaluable, again. I've got lost here before - this time, I knew north was past H&M (shops are a good way to orient yourself in this part of town), and I knew which streets I needed to turn onto, and which landmarks were on the corner. Because The King and Queen is not terribly close to the Tube, and some navigation is required. Still, it didn't take me too long to wend my way, and boy, was it vexing to see plenty of parking available in front of the pub! and on a Saturday night, too. Must remember that, in future - I see there's also a parking app you can download. (Well, I never paid attention before!) At least not having the car meant I could drink as much as I pleased.

Inside, the pub is lined with - appropriately - various portraits of English monarchs. Spot the famous face time. It's quite a small space, and it was easy to see there was no sign for the meeting. I asked at the bar as I was ordering another drink, and sure enough, it was through the door marked "Private Function Room". This leads to a flight of stairs - one floor up, there's a landing with several doors, and I found myself confused. Luckily, someone was coming out at that moment, and I was able to choose correctly. Could've done with a sign at this point.

They ticked my name off the list, and I took a seat to the side. Again, a small room - cosy, with fairy lights on the end wall. The seats were standard function room type, and not the most comfortable, but never mind. They didn't actually start at 7 - but by about 7.15, the band kicked off. I'd been a bit dubious about the description, but they were actually quite good. They played to start, between talks, and again at the end, and moved things along nicely - their material, billed as "gothic" wasn't that scary, but did make for a nice backdrop.

The speakers were the highlight of the night, though. First up was someone who did a BA and Master's on vampires, and was now doing a PhD on werewolves. As you do. She spoke about the gradual romanticisation of vampires in modern popular culture, referencing many famous books and tv shows. She's a Twilight fan, but we won't hang her for that! Sadly, not a True Blood fan, and that series didn't feature - but she was really engaged and entertaining, and we loved her talk.

The second speaker was the author of a number of books about vampiric real-life serial killers, with a penchant for drinking their victims' blood. Lovely. Some fascinating stuff in there, and some of his books were available to buy - though I didn't. And it made for a nice juxtaposition with the first speaker. All in all, a very interesting evening - I was sorry not to stay to mingle afterwards, particularly as this was the first of this group's events I managed to get to - but by the time the second speaker was finished, I was wrecked, and made my way home. Hope they stage something else I can go to - I'm not around for their next two meetings.

Arriving in Clapham Junction station again, I decided to pop into Sainsbury's, to treat myself to a box of chocolates as a final treat - and since I hadn't had dessert. Well, I almost regretted it, it took so long to check out - the self-service machine's coin collector wasn't working properly, and neither of the two idiot staff members that came to help me had the faintest clue what they were doing. Neither would they just take the money and let me go - oh no, I must needs stand there while they vainly tried to get the thing to work. Finally, they gave up and checked me out on the next machine. Duh..

Now, I was supposed to go on a walk today. But you know, frankly, I don't have any enthusiasm for it. I have too much to do - including some work I said I'd finish over the weekend. And it's free, so I can cancel easily. Funnily enough, when I was checking last night what time it was on, someone had commented that she was sorry it'd been cancelled! First I'd heard of it, but frankly I was glad, and duly cancelled my RSVP. Sure enough though, today it turns out it was all a misunderstanding, and the walk is still on. In the meantime, though, I provisionally decided to go to a film - which meant I stayed up very late, doing this week's film list! So yes, I do have a film I could go to today - but as I say, think I'll just stay in.

That film list will prove handy for tomorrow, though - assuming I'm not too mentally exhausted, after figuring out my driving route to and from Guildford! Well, or I could get a cheap ticket to a play happening in the Battersea Arts Centre, just down the road, which I can walk to - Give Me Your Love does sound interesting. If I go to a film, it'll be Room - and I see that Cineworld Wandsworth offers free parking in the adjacent car park after 7! so if I do that, or indeed for future performances, I know how I'll be going..

The rest of the week is booked up - on Tuesday, I'm headed to a play called Jane Wenham: the Witch of Walkern, at the Arcola. Long time since I was there - well, it's awkward to get to. Might be easier from Clapham Junction. Wednesday is my only Meetup of the week - I'm off to a Farsa Moneda concert at Sands Film Studios, with the London European Club. Really looking forward to that - both the music, and the fantastic, quirky venue. Thursday, I got a cheap ticket to Laugh Train Home - I've been to that once before, but this one is in Acton. And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again..