On Thursday, we had our official monthly team social - heading back to Little Georgia for this. My team members had a late meeting - but when I realised this, and checked the reservation, I saw that no later slot was available. I said it to them, and offered to go on ahead to hold the table - but they said no, and cancelled the meeting instead. Another colleague was to join us, but she had a meeting she couldn't cancel - so she was to join us later. And so, off we schlepped - the general consensus was to take a bus if it wasn't too crowded - when one arrived, it was, in fact, completely empty!
A short walk brought us to the restaurant - now, I hadn't noticed before, but it actually has a different name on the sign above it! So that caused some confusion - but the proper name is written on the window. We were slightly early - in fact, they only open at 6, which was the time I'd reserved. And as they were completely empty too, we got seated immediately - as we'd booked for more people than were coming, we moved to a smaller table, and freed some space for them. They always seem to be busy!
With our colleague not due to arrive for a while, and us hungry, we decided to get on with ordering wine and starters. Despite the lack of customers, they were busy on the phones, and it did take some time to get their attention - what the hey, they were attentive enough, and we were soon served our wine. We were, of course, to order so many bottles in the end that the staff wondered whether we'd realised! Yes, we assured them, we do want all of them..and they got finished, too.
I had the same starter as before, and found it spicier than I remembered - but still lovely. My co-worker had cheesebread, which she declared delicious, and da boss - being hungrier than the rest of us - ordered two! One was chicken liver - but the chips proved the absolute sensation of the night, would you believe, with us ordering plate after plate. Gorgeous: it's ages since I had chips as good - crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and as he remarked, the right size and thickness. And with a lovely dip.
Unfortunately, with all those chips, predictably, I did fill myself up a bit. So the beef stew I ordered for my main course, although tasty, was far too much for me. Tons of meat, and a bit salty to eat lots of. Ditto my boss, who couldn't finish his - but he exclaimed that it was just like his granny used to make! and he hasn't had the like in 20 years. So he got that to take away - along with the last plate of chips. And said he'd be back. My co-worker had poussin, which - interestingly - this time came with the sauce on the side.
The colleague who joined late shared some chips - I can't remember what she had for main, but it got finished. She was also the only one to have dessert - and they turned out to have only one dessert! a pear tart, which came with a choice of sides. She chose double cream, which came in a dinky sherry glass. The chat and craic continued for hours - long past the two-hour, official booking time, I'm glad to say! As for advance booking - they were quite empty when we arrived, but completely full around 8pm, emptying out gradually after 9. Wiser, always, to book here.
The drinking in the office continued for hours after - so blogging was out of the question. Yesterday then turned out to be too busy to blog. Last night, I booked with the London European Club, whom I cancelled last week - this time, I was a bit more determined to go to the Scottish Ceilidh. Dancing this time, rather than watching. Gee.. but guess what happened? Well, a team visited from the learning software company we use - their office is close to ours. And yes, he put on a spread to beat even the last one! He's unbelievable, bless 'im. The event was too good to miss - honestly, it's been an exhausting week anyway, and I didn't fancy lepping around, dancing. So I stayed and did that, instead. Too late to blog afterwards, natch.
Today, film - I finally went to Gully Boy, which has been on my radar for a while. A rap film set in Mumbai - so, the Indian equivalent of 8 Mile! Closest showing was in Vue Westfield Stratford City. Well, I had all day. Booked - I thought it was cheaper, but it seems not - still, this afternoon's performance ended up selling out.
I'd have taken buses, but TFL warned of diversions because of a West Ham match that was on today, and I wasn't sure where the new route would take me. So I took the Tube instead, which at least gave me time to eat first - it was fine on the Northern Line, but the Central Line was horribly stuffy, as ever, and standing was quite uncomfortable - the open window provided a welcome draught, but it was still a relief to get off in Stratford. Where I got caught up in a frightful crush of people trying to get out of the station. Then I did something silly, exiting on the side I normally do to go to the theatre, here. Of course, I should have been heading for Westfield! So I had to head all the way back around - then navigate Saturday afternoon crowds - and there was no signposting whatsoever for the cinema! At least Google Maps had some idea - and once I figured out that it was probably upstairs (it's a long time since I was here before - I eventually stumbled across it.
She didn't even swipe my code - just checked the details and pointed me in the right direction. Now, I arrived 25 minutes after the scheduled time - you'd think I'd have missed some of the film..? Not a bit if it - would you believe, there were still 15 minutes of trailers left! That's 40 minutes of ads! I was glad of it on this occasion, but that's just ridiculous. Not to mention the sound seeping through from somewhere - it's just as well this is a pretty loud film! Oh, and not mentioning at all the berk beside me who must take out his phone not once, but twice, to text! I know where I'd like to shove it..
So. This - like 8 Mile - is the story of a poor boy who sees rap as his way out. Unlike 8 Mile, this is set in the Muslim community of Mumbai - "gully" means "street" in Hindi, according to our hero. The luminous Alia Bhatt, always watchable, lights up the screen as his feisty girlfriend.
It's got the gritty backstreets, the lack of opportunities, the unsupportive relatives, the abusive father. An interesting scene has a group of tourists from London being shown through the guy's house as an example of real slum living! one of whom never puts down her selfie stick. Well, I guess, what use would it be if she did? Our would-be rapper compliments one of the tourists on his Nas t-shirt - turns out he's an executive producer on the film! As is Beyoncé.
It's terrific. He's very watchable, and Alia Bhatt is compelling whenever she's onscreen, their secret romance - she's better off than he is, so her family would disapprove - providing plenty of humour. An attractive group of main characters, and really good raps - although I don't speak Hindi - make this a cool film and a great thing to watch. Go see, if rap's your thing. Only quibble was the blasted intermission, an hour in.. short, at least!
Took the bus back - roadworks outside the shopping centre made for terrible delays, so it took forever; I spent so long on the bus that I passed the hour limit for free transfers, so ended up walking the last bit. It wasn't so far, at least, and I did pass a film shoot on Clifton Street. Which was interesting.
Tomorrow, back with Chronicles for his Border London walk! Great - for me, this'll be the third of the four he currently offers. I'm sure I'll make the last one at some stage - he's excellent, both knowledgeable and entertaining. Even though it's supposed to be wet and windy, with Storm Freya! The wind was already rising as I made my way back, this evening.
On Monday, back at last with Crick Crack Club storytelling! This one is Dog Almighty, by Emily Hennessy, at Soho Theatre. Unusually, not sold out yet - but nearly. I accidentally booked a ticket for Waitress for the same night - any takers? :-)
On Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for A Hundred Words for Snow at Trafalgar Studios. I cancelled the last two I'd booked with this organiser, for drinks at the office, though - d'you think I'll manage to get to this one?! We shall see.
On Wednesday, more Crick Crack! Back to their Archetypes series - taking place at Rich Mix, Lovers & Addicts is a stellar lineup of performers, including my favourite, Clare Murphy, Daniel Morden, and TUUP! Highly recommended - again, tickets are still available.
On Thursday, I had booked with UITCS - that poor organiser I keep cancelling - to see Shipwreck, at the Almeida. But it seems my coworker saw it on Monday - and from her description, it sounds a lot less attractive to me than before. Sod it, the company social is the same night - I can do my drinking with da boss in a bar for a change! So I cancelled the play. Anyone want a ticket..? Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
And on the 11th, back with UITCS for Blood Knot at the Orange Tree. Assuming I make it, given that I cancelled the last one I'd booked here, as well..!
Yesterday, I booked for another Funzing talk, courtesy of London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night - Inside North Korea. The code crazy_fun was still getting a 10% discount.. sadly, I hadn't seen the code TALKS20 when I booked it, which gets you 20% off. Too late to cancel and rebook.
And then I got an email, during the day, to say it'd been cancelled, due to unforeseen circumstances! Cue me looking for an alternative for yesterday evening. Film it was - I needed to redo the film list, but happily they'd told me early enough.. and there were few enough new offerings, as we come into summer.. and I had nothing urgent at work.. so the list got redone in good time. I rejected a couple of offerings at the top - McQueen is about the fashion designer, and I have no interest in either fashion or him, so that was out. The next choice was an Indian film - Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, which is the story of the Indian nuclear tests in 1998, which attracted international condemnation and sanctions. Unfortunately, the trailer seemed to indicate a patriotic, in-your-face, we-fooled-you attitude to the thing, which is not how I would look at it. So that was out.
Of the films showing last night, the next was another Indian film, Raazi - which I considered seeing last week, except that the nearest it was on was in Stratford, and too late. Well, last night it was scheduled earlier, so I said ok, and off I went. More expensive to book, with the booking fee, and it wasn't selling out, so I didn't.
Our weather is up and down like a roller coaster - it was freezing yesterday, which was handy on the two packed buses I had to take. I was lucky to get a seat. I was also lucky I started off early - it took nearly an hour and a half. Interesting getting to Stratford by bus, though - I usually take Overground or Tube, for speed. This way, I could see what the area is like - and it's a bit weird, all open spaces, dotted with really modern buildings. As you get closer to Stratford, the bus stop names get weirder, too - "Here East"..? Anyway, I got off at the shopping centre, and didn't have much trouble finding the cinema - figuring, correctly, that I had to go upstairs for it.
Never been here before - it was a pity I didn't have more time to explore. The cinema's ground floor has automatic ticket machines, but after trying several, I hadn't managed to get one of them to work - so upstairs to the tills it was. Turned out to be a good thing, as while I was getting my ticket, I noticed bottles of wine on the shelf! So I got myself a wine, too, which was reasonably priced and not at all bad. And as I settled into my comfy, leather seat, I remarked to myself again how much more comfortable your average cinema is than your average theatre..
Raazi stars the ever-watchable Alia Bhatt, in a story based on real-life events, as portrayed in the book Calling Sehmat (names were changed). She plays a young girl, whose father works for the Indian intelligence service. Finding himself dying of cancer at the moment when relations between India and Pakistan are at a low point and he's needed more than ever, he recruits his daughter, a college student, to spy for India by marrying the youngest son of his good friend, who's high in the Pakistani military.
So, the dutiful daughter, she marries this guy she doesn't know, and goes off to spy on her in-laws (of course, they all live together, as would be the norm to this day). It's a really interesting take on a spy story - we're so used to the slickness of James Bond, but here's a naive girl, who's received basic training before heading off, but is inexperienced, and lacking most of his fancy gadgets; she could really have done with a pocket camera, for instance, for those important files that are left lying around her father-in-law's study. And what is to happen when she starts to feel something for her rather dishy husband? Torn between duty to her country and to her new family, she has to make hard choices.
As I say, she's always watchable - although I agree with a review I've read, which found her performance self-conscious. I got so sick of her collapsing, gasping, in relief every time she narrowly evaded discovery. And the feminist in me was appalled by what, I guess, was standard practice in 1971, when this is set - and might still be, for all I know. For goodness' sake, can Indian husbands do nothing for themselves? There she was at mealtimes, feeding him every morsel on his plate. Buttering his toast for breakfast, I kid you not. Following him around like a lapdog as he got ready for work, handing him his bag, his wallet, his belt. Vexing.
Don't get me wrong though, I did enjoy the film. Despite the requisite 15-minute intermission. And once I got the driver to notice me and let me on, I got the bus home pretty swiftly, ignoring Google Maps' instructions about where to change - it pays to check the map, sometimes the system doesn't use common sense. Still too late to blog, in the end. Tonight, London Literary Walks is taking us to A Circus School and Shakespeare's Dark Lady. And it's warmed up a bit.
Tomorrow, back with Up in the Cheap Seats - at the Bridge Theatre this time, for My Name is Lucy Barton, starring Laura Linney. I got the very last £15 seat!
On Friday, would you credit it, I'm back with London Dramatic Arts! to see Monogamy, at the Park Theatre. Well, it sounds interesting - and they've sold their allocation for this showing, so we're free to buy our own (gee). My good God, it's August since I was last with them..
On Saturday, Funzing is advertising an ice skating display in aid of the victims of Grenfell. Via Funzing UK. The usual 10% discount applies.
On Sunday, Let's Do This is headed to the World Illustration Awards exhibition at Somerset House.
On Monday, I'm headed to storytelling by Crick Crack again, finally.. I haven't been able to make any of their more recent ones. It's in Soho Theatre, and it's Sally Pomme Clayton, with Crow. Blood. Snow. Oh my God, it's been ages. Naturally, you'd never know from their Meetup group that it's happening at all. Our boss was supposed to be in London that week, so I decided to leave the rest of the week free, for now.
Then he pinged us, last week, to say it'll actually be the week after. Cue me booking things frantically for the week that was now free - happily, I did well. On Tuesday, something very interesting - Up in the Cheap Seats is off to Whist, at Sadler's Wells. Now, turns out that this is an immersive, VR experience! Definitely different.
Next Wednesday, London Literary Walks is off on Pop the Weasel, and I'm delighted to be able to accompany them.
On the 21st, back to Sands Films for Fete de la Musique - Belcirque is performing, and they do sound quirky. Then it's Ireland again at the weekend.
On the 25th, I'm indulging myself with a premium seat to see Andrew Scott perform the one-man show, Seawall, written especially for him. It's at the Old Vic, two weeks only.
On the 26th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, at Sadler's Wells. It's the Nederlands Dans Theater again - I remember good things about them from before. As I say, the boss is now in the office that week - well, he'll just have to manage without me, those two nights. I'm keeping the rest of the week, and the weekend, free, just in case. Hey, I do have to move that week as well, so could probably do with the time! Balance of the deposit finally paid, thankfully - oh, and the agents inspected my current flat, and emailed us all to say it's "very dirty". Not that it's had any effect on my filthy flatmates - it was worse again this morning.
And on the 2nd, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, at the Gielgud Theatre for Imperium I - Conspirator. The first part of a double-bill, but viewable independently, it is told from the point of view of Cicero's secretary, as he watches how his master's work is used to bring about an end to the Roman Republic. I should probably have booked the second part at the same time - there's a discount for that - but well, my schedule is generally so packed..!
