Tomfoolery

Tonight, Tommy Tiernan was playing at the Hammersmith Apollo! Now, I failed to get a ticket for this the first time around. Then it was rescheduled because of Covid.. and I got a ticket for the rescheduled event! Then that was rescheduled.. third time lucky.. Love Tommy Tiernan. The show is called Tomfoolery. Doing something of a world tour for the next few months.

It was as well that I checked for my ticket early in the day - I'd selected to receive an e-ticket, which was supposed to be stored in my Eventim account - but it wasn't there! Probably as a result of the reschedule. I did come across a phone number to ring if it was within 24 hours of the event - got a quick response, explained the problem, and the nice chap tried to email me the ticket but couldn't. Instead, he switched it to box office collection, emailed me a collection code, and instructed me to have ID with me.

This far from me, of course it was going to be Tube. Google Maps suggested that the Central Line, followed by the Piccadilly, would be faster - and after my last experience of the Circle Line, I'd be forced to agree - so that's what I did. Again, just as well - there were delays on the Circle. I needed to eat, wanted something a bit fast, although I knew the show wasn't starting till 8 - behold, I was walking out through the shopping centre at Hammersmith Broadway and there was a Wasabi. So I thought - why not? It'd been a while, and I used to like it. As I was queueing though, I made the decision to pass on the katsu curry I used to get, and try the teriyaki instead - I have always liked that. Had noodles with it too, for a change. And it was all nice - if perhaps a bit heavy on the soy sauce. I found I couldn't finish it.

And so to the theatre, just past 7, when the doors had opened. There is great value to not being there when the doors open, there's much less queueing. A separate queue led to the box office - and so much for the collection code, he just checked my name against the filed tickets, using my ID. Wow, it's so long since I had a physical ticket.. And to the bar, where the white wine comes in cans. Well, it's ok. And so to the long climb to my seat, in Row X of the Circle.

The support act, as before, is his cousin Eleanor. And thereafter, a 15-minute wait for the main attraction:

Well, the warm welcome that Eleanor got was nothing to the roar that greeted Tommy. His following is loyal - and was pissed. It's more than two years, you know, since this show was originally scheduled here - imagine. And part of the show tonight had him describe how he is re-energised by the energy of the audience, how on long stretches of motorway - or at home during lockdown - his life force just drains away. He thanked us for remembering we'd bought tickets (as one fellow beside me remarked to his companions, he'd only suddenly remembered today..).

He sure was in fine fettle here! He prowled around the stage like a kind of creaky guru, complete with white beard. The crowd was a bit rowdy - drowned out by one group of ladies, he quieted them by saying "ladies, we arranged to meet BACKSTAGE, afterwards.. I have work to do here now!" And he still manages to reduce me to tears. I particularly love his description of his small dog at home, which he doesn't much care for: describes it as a "small, yappy thing - a cross between a mop and a panic attack!" Or then, there's the explanation for why the Russian forces are retreating - it's not that they're being beaten back. Oh no, it's the Irish. They haven't sent over troops (hah! as if - if the Ukraine is short of equipment, sure the Irish never got any..). No, instead they've sent over council road workers with diversion signs. The Russians have just been diverted back to Russia..

Fabulous stuff. Be warned though - the jokes get filthier as the set progresses. Good luck to you Tommy, delighted to see you on the road again!

Happily, I didn't have to climb down all those stairs without a handrail - we had a quick route out the fire escape at the back. Circle Line home, stopped off in Liverpool Street because I was peckish, Wasabi not having quite done the business. Delice de France was still open, and I grabbed a bite there before walking the last bit.

Tomorrow, it's back to Ireland for the weekend again. For Saturday, I've booked Uncharted - an Indiana Jones-style adventure, probably with less style, but at least starring Mark Wahlberg and Antonio Banderas. Could be fun, and anyway, the choice for daytime isn't spectacular. Showing, as usual, at the Omniplex.

On Monday, I've booked for The 47th, at The Old Vic. Written by Mike Bartlett, this imagines the American presidential elections of 2024. I am really looking forward to this play..

On Tuesday, I'm finally going to Six, the Musical! Based around the story of the six wives of Henry VIII (very loosely, I'd say), it's playing at the Vaudeville and I hear good things. Cheapest tickets from Leicester Square Box Office.

On Wednesday, back with Civilised London, who are off to the opera at the Southbank Centre. The show in question is The Paradis Files. On Thursday, I'm back to Ireland for Easter - but left it so late to book, I could only get an afternoon flight - no problem getting the day off work though!

Well, my friend got back to me - they're away in the middle of Easter week, back on the 21st, so the most sensible thing to do seemed to be to visit on the 22nd, which I've now arranged with her. Happily, my boss was also fine with me taking that week as holiday. Anyway, I'll fly back to London on the 24th. And on the 25th, I'm off to The Corn is Green, at the National.

Film Festival: Unrestricted View, Cloak & Dagger Immersive History Tour, & Storytelling: Day of the Dead

On Sunday.. Halloween itself.. I finally came up with something to do! One of my cheap ticket groups (CT) finally sent me an email with good suggestions - one of which was the Cloak & Dagger Immersive History Tour (yes, with actors). Starting and ending at The George, and yes, running on Sunday. Sadly, all their ticket allocation had gone - I just booked one direct with the company.

On the same email, they advertised the Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival, at the Hen & Chickens Theatre! I found tickets even cheaper with my other cheap ticket group, TAC, however.. They had three sessions of short films on Sunday, the last of which finished an hour before my walk, giving me time to get there. So I booked the first - but when I tried to book the others, the system wouldn't let me, saying they were too close together! I had to contact the box office direct to book them for me - which they promptly did. So, three 1.5-hour short horror film sessions, lasting all that afternoon, should set me up nicely for the walk, I figured!

So I got up early enough to eat at The Upper Crust, then took a couple of buses - unproblematically - to Highbury Corner. It had rained heavily in the morning - wasn't I lucky it hadn't the night before! but mercifully, it had stopped by now, and the day was beautifully sunny.

As a pedestrian, I love the changes to Highbury Corner - it used to be a square roundabout, one side of which is now pedestrianised. Which makes it so much easier to cross! particularly when the Hen & Chickens was right on the other side from where I was.

It was a bit after 12 when I arrived - and the pub was empty. She assured me that yes, it was open - and so began my day of drinking wine. I also had a packet of the ever-excellent Tyrrell's sweet chilli crisps. Picked a nice booth by the window, and perused one of the programmes, liberally scattered about:

They'd done well with the Hallowe'en decorations:

As I waited for the house to open, eventually people started to arrive - and apparently knew the owner, who came to greet them. I got to eavesdrop on them chatting about the festival, and how they're carrying it on for one extra day afterwards at the Screen on the Green, which he also apparently owns.. he made them feel so comfortable that when the bell rang to announce that the house was open, it was kind of hard to get them off their seats and upstairs! Mind you, despite the sign to the contrary, on this day at least we were ok to bring glasses, and several did, over the course of the day. Oh, and as I had my name checked off, I was asked to pay for membership - £1.50 for life didn't seem too high a price.

Mostly UK films were shown, with a smattering from Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, North America - and Iran and Iraq! This first session started with a film called Smiles, from Spain - earning a round of applause from the audience, it's a funny piece about a guy meeting his girlfriend's family for the first time. And yes, he's wise to be nervous! This was followed by The Stain - a rather sweet piece from Iran about a cinema cleaner who can't seem to remove a stain from the screen - it keeps coming back. No applause for this one, but I liked it. Hangnail had to be the shortest film of the festival - one single theme, it made people laugh. Set in a bathroom, is about all I can say without giving the game away. I did like Stay Alert, a Covid-inspired piece about a young woman who goes jogging in her local cemetery every day, carefully wearing her mask and thinking disparaging thoughts about the people around her who don't. RKLSS was the only animated film of the day - excellent animation, but it isn't really a horror film. My favourite of the session was the UK's Don't Walk, a cute piece centred around a couple who love to hike, but don't appreciate the jeers of the "cooler" hiking group. So they decide to try a new route.. and ending the session was The Lake Parasite, an American offering about which the less said, the better. Think The Blob. In blue.

Down for another glass of wine, and a trip to the loo, and to play my phone game. We had half an hour between sessions, and it was 3pm by the time Session 2 started. First up was Room 217, a time-slip film from Iraq. Good effort, nothing at all new though. Wich is yet another US comedy - better than the last one, well-acted. On Air is a curious little thing, another kind of reality shift, in a recording studio. Sibilum - the Italian offering - is one of those "crying child, but mother's child isn't crying" films - absolutely unoriginal, don't know why they bothered. Fat Camp - gross, some funny scenes. And a couple more films were so forgettable that I can remember nothing about them. All in all, a session I could have skipped - the standout piece for me was the last - The Killer in Cursed Water, a B-movie after which we see a clapping crowd, and realise we've been watching a film within a film. A member of this onscreen audience - obviously, at a film festival - is as unimpressed with the film as I was (and spoke for me, after the session I'd had), and vents about it to her friend. Unfortunately, the filmmakers turn out to be sitting right behind them! What happens next is really funny.. French, excellent.

And downstairs, and play on my phone, and a glass of wine, and upstairs for the last session of the day - and the first where they got a couple of filmmakers from the audience to say a few words! One remarked how difficult it is to make a decent horror film - well yes, obviously, from most of the films I saw that day! Yeah, I know, kudos to them for making the effort - but as I say, in some cases, you'd wonder why they bothered.

Bee-El - well, we know what that stands for, and therefore have a preview of the film's theme. Again, a few films I simply can't remember - but I couldn't forget The Glamorgan Strangler, where a serial killer turns to social media. Standout for the day for me though, and an idea I haven't seen before - can't imagine why - is the UK's Split, where we have a split screen with the killer's POV on one side, the victim's on the other. Simple, but very effective. First up for the day from Ireland was A Short Horror Film, pretty forgettable, I'm afraid. Viola, whose maker was one of those who spoke beforehand, has a good idea, basing the horror around a voice-activated, Alexa-like virtual assistant device.. but the next, What Next?, whose filmmaker also made a little speech, is another quite unoriginal film. She spoke about transforming it into a feature - I don't see where she could really go with it. Prank is decent.

So, a somewhat frustrating festival - not many really good offerings. And off I scuttled for my walk, the bus arriving in good time. Now, I know where The George is - just as well, with my phone battery nearly gone! As I arrived, a fellow in a long, black cloak was stubbing out a cigarette - sure enough, this was our guide, who asked whether I was looking for the walk. Unfortunately, he didn't have a list of participants, so I had to go search for it on my exhausted phone - happily, it lasted long enough for me to find the ticket; I hadn't thought to get it out on the way. So he then sent me to wait with the others, while he waited for the final arrivals - I'd arrived with a few minutes to spare. Which was unfortunate, as it was bitterly cold to be standing around, and indeed I was hopping around to keep warm at every stop! It's really turned cold, suddenly.

Sadly, those are the only photos I got to take - my battery then died, before the walk even started. But it isn't a sightseeing walk anyway - this one is all about the history, and indeed is one of the most historical walks I've ever been on! and with one of the most knowledgeable guides. Keen for questions at every turn, he gave the impression that he could answer anything put to him, and went far beyond every question - indeed, this is the first guided tour in years where I haven't felt that I could have taught the guide something! And I did learn a few things - I found it quite an original tour, which for me is saying something. In fact, it's quite changed my perception of Southwark. We kept a nice, slow pace, for a change. Our charming guide - in costume - is accompanied by a fellow (again, costumed), who pops up at intervals to explain contexts. And when we ended up back in The George - nice and warm, inside - he told us some more curious facts (to the appreciation of a group of drinkers, over the side). The website had advertised a re-enactment, but that didn't happen. But hey, it was a really enjoyable and informative tour! Highly recommended, and a great addition to a scene which, as he said, has lost a lot of small operators during lockdown..

Unfortunately, I couldn't blog that night, having to be up early yesterday - and was then too busy, all day! Mondays usually are. During the day, I made the mistake of eating both a baguette at The Upper Crust, and a chicken katsu curry at Wasabi - way too much, and I couldn't finish the chicken. Last night, back with the Crick Crack Club - at King's Place, this time - for their annual Day of the Dead celebration! Keeping the spooky tradition nicely alive, there. The bus arrived just as I was about to check the schedule. Strangely, Google Maps wanted me to get off a stop early, and meander through backstreets.. rubbish, it was obviously quicker just to get off at King's Cross and go straight up York Way, which is what I did.

And while I did, I had to navigate around yet another cyclist cycling on the pavement! WTF - this has become an epidemic. Thank goodness for the little green "bicycle" light they display, so you know one is coming up behind you - it's at best annoying, and potentially dangerous. The same thing happened to me twice on Friday, and I saw it three times last night - cyclists just treating the pavement like a cycle lane. Someone, please come up with a way to get rid of them..

I arrived just in time, and the place was quite full - but I followed my usual trick of heading around the far side, where sure enough, there were some free seats, at the end, near the front.

In due course, the storytellers came in - Ben Haggarty in front, strewing marigold petals to form a pathway for benevolent spirits, followed by the others, shaking maracas, Tim Ralphs strumming a ukelele - an unseen drummer accompanied them, over the side. TUUP, mind you, was his own orchestra at the side of the stage, with a xylophone, a bongo, and singing bowls.. and kept up the accompaniment all night as the others were performing. And oh, it was magical - truly soul food, the constant rhythm acting like a comfort blanket. Mind you - I can't check now, as the links have been removed - but the lineup was changed, one storyteller unable to attend as her mother died a couple of days ago, from Covid.

Jan Blake made up the trio of storytellers, with Ben as the MC - and all the stories were about death in some way. Lighthearted though, Tim's ukelele coming in handy for his song about earthworms. A couple I'd heard before - but not for a long time, and they were as enjoyable as ever. Tim's other tale sounded Chinese in origin. But as they said, death is one of the few truly universal experiences. At the interval, they encouraged audience members to wrote the names of deceased loved ones on strips of paper that they provided, so that they could be invited to the evening. And we spent most of our time laughing, before being sent out into the cold again. Sadly, I think that'll be my last live storytelling for the year.. their season is short.

Back to the bus stop - and the display said it'd be 23 minutes. You what?! What is it with the buses these days? The same thing happened to me as I was headed to Hampstead Heath on Saturday. Right, I said, I am not waiting around for that long in this cold - I took the Tube, which was only four stops, and nice and warm. Again, it ran too late to blog last night.. but handily, I'm WFH this week, so can do it during the day!

Tonight, I was supposed to be back with Ivan. But my weekly horoscope said that today, a friend might let me down - for example, by cancelling at the last minute. So I messaged him - I hadn't heard from him since we arranged it - and sure enough, he's busy with stuff out of town, and isn't in London at all this week. Says we'll arrange something when he gets back. Well, that leaves me free to join the London European Club for my only Meetup this week. We're off to something called The Night Shift, where the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is playing classical music - and chatting about it - in The George Tavern. So, delighted I can make it now!

Tomorrow, I'm at the National for The Normal Heart, of which I've heard good reviews.

On Thursday, finally getting to see Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, which I'd booked pre-lockdown and got a refund for! Cheapest tickets, I found, were direct from the Aldwych Theatre. Peculiar website though - I couldn't see my basket without going back into the booking section. And then I'm flying back to Ireland again - a Friday flight, for once! Just for the weekend, this time.

Storytelling: Scared to Death in the Woods / Night Owl

So, made a beeline for Wasabi today - earlier than yesterday, so I wasn't in a rush. And yum. I was stuffed by the end, though - they give two escalopes per portion, and it's a lot. I was lucky enough to get a place to sit in the station, again, while I was eating - and was entertained by the sound of cheering, from an indeterminate location in the building. Which I'm guessing was the reason for the police officers stationed outside. Anyway, nothing untoward happened, and I set off in good time for my event.

Tonight, I booked 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. (Although mind you, my reminder email still called it Scared to Death in the Woods.) Tickets from Design My Night. So, an organisation called London Dreamtime was leading us off into a undisclosed location, somewhere around Hampstead Heath.. we were 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! And I brought batteries back with me.

So, I popped in the batteries, and off I popped for the bus, which came promptly. And it was cool to see all the people out in Hallowe'en costumes. Even the Teletubbies. I had to change buses, mind - and as I waited for the next - the #46 - I checked the LCD screen to see how long it'd be. Nearly half an hour?! Ah now, that wouldn't do at all. This completely disagreed with Google Maps' estimate of 1 minute. Google, get your act together - I ended up on the Tube, which I could have taken in the first place, and which would then have worked out quicker and cheaper.

The Central Line was crowded, so I stood - but it was a shorter journey. The Northern Line, I did get a seat on - but it was so hot.. it was a relief to emerge into the cool night air. Speaking of which, I was glad I hadn't taken the advice to bring a blanket - it really wasn't that cold. So, I set off for the Overground Station, where we were to meet. I was just checking whether I should turn to the right, for the entrance - when I saw a lady with a lantern across the road, a crowd around her. Sure enough, 'twas her - and she ticked my name off the list along with the others', then told us to go stand with the crowd huddled on the path into the woods, further up. I noticed a few with lanterns, so didn't feel out of place. Looks like the avenue of trees here would be lovely in daylight, but in the dark, it's hard to make out.

We set off at a fair pace - and when we got past the lit area at the edge of the Heath, she instructed us to use our phone torches. Sure enough, my little lantern wouldn't have been much good on its own! She stopped a couple of times en route, to set the scene - at the first stop, she told us the hilarious tale of how her mother was secretary to Christopher Neil-Smith, an Anglican exorcist - until something happened one day to make her flee out the door and never come back. Her second stop was to set the scene for her main story. (Yes, story, singular..)

So, we eventually got led into the woods proper, where the light came in handy, and there were logs we could sit on - or a groundsheet. One couple had, indeed, brought a blanket to sit on. I got a bit of log - not that comfortable, I might add. But I did find that the lantern added to the atmosphere. We were kind of in a circle, and she took an elevated spot so we could see her - and she related the story of a practiser of occult arts, who lived just down the road, and of the last day of his life. Beautifully told, quite eerie - and with a backdrop of the sound of fireworks, somewhere nearby, it sounded as though we were under attack. I'd have taken a photo, but honestly, I didn't want to spoil the mood..

And, um, that was it. Half an hour to make our way there, a half-hour or so to tell the story, and we were done. You what?! It took me longer than that to get there on the Tube! Granted, my bum was glad to detach itself from the log, but still - dragging us all the way up there for half an hour's worth. Also, not as advertised - I mean, this event was advertised as carrying on until 10! We finished at about 8.15..

I needed to take someone's arm for a short but steep slope that led back to the path - then it was easy enough to make my way out - I just followed the lanterns, still lighting, of those in front of me! (The lanterns were handy for that.) And the #46 - this time - appeared as it was supposed to, and took me back into town. And on board, I noticed how muddy my boots were - and a patch of mud on my clothes, too. Bah humbug. Well, all's well that ends well - and I would like to see her do something else. Just maybe not on the Heath!

Tomorrow.. Halloween itself.. I finally came up with something to do! One of my cheap ticket groups (CT) finally sent me an email with good suggestions - one of which was the Cloak & Dagger Immersive History Tour (yes, with actors). Starting and ending at The George, and yes, running tomorrow. Sadly, all their ticket allocation had gone - I just booked one direct with the company.

On the same email, they advertised the Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival, at the Hen & Chickens Theatre! I found tickets even cheaper with my other cheap ticket group, TAC, however.. They have three sessions of short films tomorrow, the last of which finishes an hour before my walk, giving me time to get there. So I booked the first - but when I tried to book the others, the system wouldn't let me, saying they were too close together! I had to contact the box office direct to book them for me - which they promptly did. So, three 1.5-hour short horror film sessions, lasting all that afternoon, should set me up nicely for the walk!

On Monday, back with the Crick Crack Club - at King's Place, this time - for their annual Day of the Dead celebration! Keeping the spooky tradition nicely alive, there.

On Tuesday - weyhey, back with Ivan! Don't know where yet - watch this space.

Therefore, I'm taking the next day - Wednesday - off work. As I said to my boss, it'd be that or a sick day! That evening, however, I'll be dragging myself to the National for The Normal Heart, of which I've heard good reviews.

On Thursday, finally getting to see Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, which I'd booked pre-lockdown and got a refund for! Cheapest tickets, I found, were direct from the Aldwych Theatre. Peculiar website though - I couldn't see my basket without going back into the booking section. And then I'm flying back to Ireland again - a Friday flight, for once! Just for the weekend, this time.

Dance: Carmen & Immersive Audio: Deadhouse

Well, flew back last night. An early flight meant I might have had to rush my departure, but was in nice and early. But the revelation of the evening was the newly revamped security section at Shannon Airport! So yes, they've done away with the detours and the hoardings, and you now go through the normal Duty Free entrance - but wow, the new scanners mean you don't have to remove anything from your bag. Not liquids, not tech. Stupendous. As I said to her, ah, if only all airports had this! Ah, she said, it's only certain ones.. Oh, and they now also have trays big enough for my trolley bag. Welcome to the Big Time.

Crazy day today - I hardly got away from my computer in time to eat. (I worked from home, as I shall be next week as well, what with our office move in progress. I could have gone in today, but then would have had to bring my laptop with me tonight, as we no longer have access to our desks.) When I did finally scuttle out the door, I had one thing in mind - last night, coming through Liverpool Street Station, I passed someone eating what looked like a Wasabi katsu chicken curry. Which I was addicted to, when we were based across the road from a branch (now sadly closed). I know there's a branch in the station - takeaway only, but I figured I could eat on one of the many benches installed since lockdown. And, ladies and gentlemen, that is precisely what I did! Yum.. my first Wasabi in at least a year and a half..

This evening, I was back with the London European Club again, for Carmen - contemporary flamenco at The Place. And my bus arrived just as I did - strangely, Google Maps wanted to send me around the corner, which would have been both further to walk, and a longer bus journey. Anyway, amid the hard braking of our driver - which made me glad I hadn't eaten more - I got an email about new Darkfield Radio material! Sadly, had to wait until I got home before I could check it out - I literally didn't have time, for hours today, to charge my phone, and am having trouble getting it to fast charge now: so the battery was pretty low, and I needed to show my ticket on it.

Arrived at the venue - easily spottable as you approach, with the name printed on the approach side in large letters. Now, it is (6.5 - I checked) years since I was last here, and I remembered nothing about it. We were supposed to meet in the cafe - but that was closed, as we'd been told in a mail from the venue - so the bar seemed a better bet. Lo, I wasn't quite the first one of our group there - although it's been years since I saw the person who was, and when I last did, her hair was a different colour! What with the masks as well, it's hard to recognise people. But I did, and anyway, she'd secured a sofa, and although the bar wasn't actually open yet, we sat and chatted, and gradually everyone else found their way to us. And I worried about my phone battery - and thought about planning my route home, in case of emergency. Needn't have worried, all I had to do was reverse the outbound journey - again, you wouldn't think that from Google Maps, who had me taking another bus in the other direction, so I could get to a more convenient stop from which to catch the bus to take me home! Honestly, sometimes you'd wonder..

The battery was merrily down to 7% by the time we went in - but that was fine, and I commenced the climb to my seat. I was rearmost among our group, I think, up in the second-last row - well, that's all they had when I got around to booking it! The view was fine though - better than what I usually get in Sadler's Wells -  not that there was much to see, with the stage in darkness, and besides, my phone was on its last legs - so you'll have to take my word for it.

This only lasts an hour - but what an hour! Raw, passionate and intense, the story of Carmen is stripped to its basics. (In the Q+A afterwards, the choreographer started talking about a representative bullfight - I missed that reference at the time, TBH.) Flamenco - in bare feet! - merges with other dance moves, so seamlessly that you couldn't imagine anything else. The music is perfect - brooding, or passionate.. and as the action builds to a climax, the imagery is striking, dancers with their backs to the audience, silhouetted against the smoke that covers the stage, hands outstretched like supplicants - or as if carrying something. Someone remarked, afterwards, that this is a different language to the spoken word - well yes, and this is an eloquent example. Powerful stuff, highly recommended - and they're playing again tomorrow. Go see.

The Q+A, which most of us attended, was interesting - most of the dancers showed up, and the choreographer, and his flamenco teacher, who was the chair, it seems. The questions they got from the floor threw them somewhat, by the looks of it. But it was great to hear their perspective and motivations. Mind you, the appearance of the bare feet of some was testament to how tough this work is on the body..

The bus home was a while coming - and I couldn't check when it was due, as my phone died while trying to get a decent signal. When it did come, our driver was hard on the brakes again - perhaps the same driver as earlier? We were tied up for ages at roadworks in Shoreditch, but when I did get home, I hastened to check out that Darkfield Radio stuff. Turns out they've partnered with the BBC to produce a three-part story podcast called Deadhouse! Free, this time, and as usual, lie in the dark with headphones on and your eyes closed. Twenty minutes each. So - as soon as my call to my mother got sorted - you know what I was doing..

This is much better than their last offering. Each piece has an evocative placename - Salem, Xanadu, Bethlehem. Each is introduced with a trigger warning for the particular things that will freak you out in that episode. Personally, I liked Xanadu the best - but see what you think. If you dare.

Tomorrow, 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.. 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! And I brought batteries back with me. And thank goodness for a lie-in! Oh, and Wasabi is open at weekends..

On Sunday.. Halloween itself.. I finally have something to do! One of my cheap ticket groups (CT) finally sent me an email with good suggestions - one of which was the Cloak & Dagger Immersive History Tour (yes, with actors). Starting and ending at The George, and yes, running on Halloween. Sadly, all their ticket allocation had gone - I just booked one direct with the company.

On the same email, they advertised the Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival, at the Hen & Chickens Theatre! I found tickets even cheaper with my other cheap ticket group, TAC, however.. They have three sessions that day, the last of which finishes an hour before my walk, giving me time to get there. So I booked the first - but when I tried to book the others, the system wouldn't let me, saying they were too close together! I had to contact the box office direct to book them for me - which they promptly did. So, three 1.5-hour short horror film sessions, lasting all that afternoon, should set me up nicely for the walk!

On Monday, back with the Crick Crack Club - at King's Place, this time - for their annual Day of the Dead celebration! Keeping the spooky tradition nicely alive, there.

On Tuesday - weyhey, back with Ivan! Don't know where yet - watch this space.

Therefore, I'm taking the next day - Wednesday - off work. As I said to my boss, it'd be that or a sick day! That evening, however, I'll be dragging myself to the National for The Normal Heart, of which I've heard good reviews.

On Thursday, finally getting to see Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, which I'd booked pre-lockdown and got a refund for! Cheapest tickets, I found, were direct from the Aldwych Theatre. Peculiar website though - I couldn't see my basket without going back into the booking section. And then I'm flying back to Ireland again - a Friday flight, for once! Just for the weekend, this time.

Play: Solaris

Today, saw the matinee of Solaris at the Lyric Hammersmith. Turned out that both Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) and Love London Theatre, Arts, Music & Stuff (LLTAMS) were going - so I booked with both! Why not? Each requires you to buy your own ticket. And with only a few going from LLTAMS, I hoped we could merge.. Ivan was talking about possibly meeting up this evening, but then realised he had a train booked for tomorrow morning, so we have to reschedule.

Went to sleep early enough to have a much-needed lie-in. Heading this far out, Tube was the only reasonable option - and this time, the Central Line was quiet, while the Piccadilly Line was packed. Still got a seat, though! And given how it was chucking it down outside - and potential Extinction Rebellion protests - I was glad to be underground:

A short walk to the theatre - they didn't have my ticket printed out, but did manage to find my booking and printed one out on the spot. And then I headed up to the cafe bar, where a slice of very lemony lemon drizzle cake and a large glass of white constituted brunch. Once I'd fought my way through all the families - there'd been a kids' show earlier. No sign of anyone else from my groups - although one from UITCS did come right after me, and we grabbed a table near the entrance and eventually gathered together a couple more, and we had a friendly chat before going in. Both organisers messaged to say they'd been delayed - both other Tube lines through Hammersmith are closed today for engineering works, and others probably delayed. Anyway, when we saw another from the group heading in, we did the same.

I was at the end of Row C - which had been supposed to be the front row for this production, until they decided they could fit another in front of it. They were kind enough to ask us whether we'd like to move forward, but nobody did - indeed, we were slightly too close as it was! and it didn't help that the first scene had a little girl sitting on the floor at the rear of the stage, whom we practically couldn't see at all. I had visions of a repeat of the dreadful front row for The Starry Messenger - but never mind, the view wasn't as bad as that in general. Having the end seat was lovely too, as there was none in front of me, so I could stretch out as much as I pleased!

Nice to see the UITCS organiser made it just in time - I don't think the LLTAMS organiser made it at all! I didn't see her all afternoon, and she never messaged again, after saying she'd be delayed. I didn't know the other person going from that group, or where she was supposed to be sitting, although she might have been the one who came up to our group at the interval, but didn't stay. Ah well, never mind.

This is based on a book, which was also made into a couple of films, both of which I think I've seen - but that was years ago. In short, a scientist is sent to relieve a longterm space mission, from whom no-one's heard in a while - and arrives at the space station to find something like chaos. One scientist has died, and the others are jumpy - they seem to be receiving "visitors" in the form of thoughts and dreams they have, which have come to life. The relief scientist is soon plagued by visitations from a dead ex-lover..

There's a feeling of serenity about the production. The book, apparently, is characterised by long introspective pieces - coming across on film as slow passages. On stage, we get a pure white set - cleverly (something we could do with in flats cramped for space), everything folds into the walls, panels slide back and forth to reveal or obscure doors. All allowing the play to change rooms. Someone at work was wondering how outer space would be represented - well, it seems the planet (Solaris) changes colour - blue and red, on alternating days. When the viewing panels are opened, the rooms are flooded with either red or blue light. That's as much outer space as this story needs!

The whole plot of the thing is trying to determine what the nature of the planet is. By the time the relief scientist arrives, they've pretty much decided that the planet is sending these manifestations to them - they started as inanimate objects, then half-formed "monsters" - finally, fully formed humans. Or humanoids. They can't really get rid of them, and they're convinced that they're not really human. The relief scientist's "visitor" is the first that can actually speak.. but what are the visitors' motives?

The interesting part of the story is the different scientists' differing reactions - from openly hostile to gradually accepting. And it provided a real talking-point afterwards, when we discussed why that might be, and what the nature of the planet might be. So, very much more on the cerebral side than the action-adventure side of science-fiction. But then, that's the joy of sci-fi - it offers limitless opportunities for authors to create whatever realities they want, play out whatever scenarios they want. And so, the story had to send a group of people millions of miles into space, to act out a scenario where they had to confront their deepest feelings. Literally look them in the face - or run from them. Recommended - runs till the 2nd. Pity they weren't clearer about what happens in the final scene, though!

Heading for Tesco afterwards to buy dinner, I passed an open Wasabi.. so that was dinner sorted then, without the washing up! Sauce a little stodgier than my usual, but still good. Oh, and it's still lashing rain outside, as I write.

Tomorrow, joining the London Improvisation Community Group for the first time - they have a show called Happily Never After at the Pleasance - part of the London Horror Festival. I see someone from UITCS does workshops with them! Don't think she's appearing in this, though.

On Monday, I'm seeing Mother of Him, at the Park. I see North London Friends is going to this a bit later, and already raving about it..

On Tuesday, UITCS is off to the Albert Hall for Symphonic Queen - the Royal Philharmonic is performing Queen.

Then begins a long period of non-Meetup stuff. On Wednesday, I'm heading to the ballet Manon, at the Opera House.

On Thursday, the Crick Crack Club (CCC) is back at Rich Mix, with Melusine. TUUP is the headliner on this occasion, which should be terrific!

On Friday, Helen's in town, heading to a Midge Ure concert at the Palladium - we're meeting for dinner beforehand at the Slug & Lettuce. Now, that's the day I should be flying back to Ireland - so I'm going the next day instead. And with my mother's birthday during the week - and not having any major holidays booked - I said, why not just take the week off and spend it in Ireland? So I am.

On the 28th, the CCC is back again - Ben Haggarty is in Soho Theatre with Grim Grimms - a dark take on fairytales, highlighting four lesser-known tales of the brothers Grimm. With musical accompaniment. Tickets weren't available when I noted this in my calendar - they are now, and will likely sell out - indeed, I see availability is now limited.

On the 29th, I'm trying to persuade the social group from my former company to come with me to a Design My Night event - Fright Night Cinema is showing Hallowe'en in the Rivoli ballroom, with a themed cocktail bar and people dressed in spooky costumes. Now, that sounds like fun.. I've booked, at least, and a couple of others have indicated they'll come.

On the 30th, back with Meetup at last - UITCS is at a mixed programme by Birmingham Royal Ballet, at Sadler's Wells. I've seen part of it before, and it's excellent.

For Hallowe'en, The Embers Collective stepped up to the plate, with a storytelling performance called Witch, at The Jago.

On the 1st, that rescheduled meeting with Ivan.. he's away most of the time till then, and I'm busy the rest of the time!

And on the 2nd, I've booked with Best Authentic Walking Tours in London, for a Royal Maritime Greenwich Ghost Tour. Now, this is - as with all their walks - with Funzing, so I can get a refund up to 48 hours beforehand. Which I'll probably do (have, in fact, done for this twice already), as I might go to a film that day - depending what's on - or, if I don't like the offerings, LLTAMS is off to Blood Wedding, a new adaptation of the Lorca play, at the Young Vic. By 'eck, though, I see there's already limited availability on tickets for the whole run, and several dates sold out! Hope I don't lose out..

Concert: Music for the Monarch

I had movers this afternoon, which stymied any afternoon plans I might have made for today. (All worked out really well, BTW.) But then my cheap ticket source came up with a suggestion that caught my eye - so, this evening, I booked for St. Peter's Church, Eaton Square, for a classical choral concert called Music for the Monarch. It's her official birthday today, you see.

Now, after all that fuss, I was hungry - and regretting my decision to head out, because I had to rush. I'd have loved a slap-up meal - instead, I had to go for something quick, so decided that Wasabi would be the thing. Unfortunately, my local one closes at the weekends - but I checked, and one was open on Bishopsgate. As usual, I wanted chicken katsu curry, but they didn't have anything fresh - he gave me a bento from the hot cupboard, complete with a carton of sauce and the chicken escalopes perched on a little plastic ledge - all very snug.

Interestingly, while he was trying to serve me, a customer had a complaint - she'd tried to avail of an offer they had, of a discount if you buy two - but she hadn't got the discount. He explained to her that the two had to be exactly the same thing. WTF? Never heard of that before - beware the "offers" here. Oh, and my meal was nothing special - I made no attempt to finish it. I won't be going back to this branch.

The #11 bus would take me all the way to the concert, but I had some difficulty finding the stop, since I was under the impression it'd be going the other way! En route, I spied some more pedibuses - really, I knew they'd become popular, but I never saw two in a row before! I did notice that not everyone was pedalling - tsk.

A diversion did delay us a bit, but I still got there in good time. Now, conditions of this club include that, in return for your cheap ticket, you buy a drink or a programme - they didn't have drinks, so a programme it was. And for once, I had cash - had to get some out to pay my movers' congestion charge.

Inside this C of E church, I was, as ever, stunned to see how much it resembles a modern Catholic one. Jeez, there's even a statue of Mary - and when I was sat close to it, I was even more surprised to see a card with the Hail Mary on it, right over the votive candles..

The concert, by the Purcell singers, focused on coronation music:

(Although they missed out Inheritance, in the second half.) Dressed, as they were, in various shades of black, I fitted in with them. A couple of chairs were provided for older members who needed it - and I did notice that the older members seemed a bit cheerier than the generally po-faced youngsters! As for the material - suitably grand, sometimes it was overwhelming.. and sometimes it dragged a bit. Perhaps a bit much to listen to, all at once! My cough did resurrect itself towards the end of the first half - happily, there were plenty of loud bits too hide it.

At the interval, one of the choristers came around asking for subscriptions to the mailing list - so I signed up: can always quit if it gets annoying. Thing is, she asked me whether I knew anyone in the choir - I didn't, but there seemed to be quite a few relatives in the audience. One couple had not one, but two daughters performing! Anyhoo, she also asked how I'd heard about it - and when I told her, she asked how much I'd paid, as she'd heard it was cheaper than full price. Well, it generally is - £3.60, as I told her, as opposed to a full price of £15. Mind you now, if it ever gets back to them that I said that, I'll be thrown out - they're adamant that they don't charge for the tickets, the £3.60 is a booking fee! Eh, whatever. Anyway, I do want to keep attending their events, so I'm hoping - if it gets back to them that someone said that - that I wasn't the only person there from that club..!

And so, back to my new home, on the #344 that's proving as useful now as when I was living in Clapham Junction! Stopped into Tesco on the way - where I tried to help a poor Frenchman who was in search of earplugs. Unfortunately, as I told him, he'd have better luck in a chemist's - and there are no late-night ones around here, would you believe! Poor guy - I'm guessing he won't get much sleep tonight..

Two days of storytelling to follow! Tomorrow, I'm back with the London European Club, who are off to see The Embers Collective perform. Now, I haven't been to one of their events before, but a couple of their performers have also performed at the Crick Crack Club events. It's a bit out of town, at Balabam - never mind, should be good. And Ivan said he'd come, so cool! Name of the show? F*cked Up Fairytales.. tickets courtesy of Design My Night.

Speaking of the Crick Crack Club, on Monday I'm headed to what will probably be their last show before autumn. This is a Fairytales for Grown-Ups double bill at Soho Theatre - one of the performers is Ben Haggarty, always worth seeing.

On Tuesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, to the King's Head, for what should be another manic show. Vulvarine - ahem - is a sort of superhero story. With a female superhero, natch.

And on Wednesday, back with London Literary Walks. He had to change his original plan - seems the pub we were to meet in is closed for refitting, and with no good alternatives, he had to come up with another walk at the last minute. So now, we're doing a Walk by a Canal.

Play: Rutherford and Son

Tonight, my only meeting with Up in the Cheap Seats this week - we were off to the National for Rutherford and Son. I got the last £32 seat, when I booked! although there were plenty later. It being a bank holiday, I took the opportunity to shift a couple of loads of stuff from the old flat to the new - pretty much exhausted myself in the process. I did, however, remember to leave myself enough time to eat.

Now, my new office is based in an area with quite a choice of eateries, and I've become a big fan of Wasabi's chicken katsu curry. In fact, there's a branch just down from where I now live - but wouldn't you know it, they were closed today. However, I discovered - from a search on Google Maps - that there's a branch in Waterloo, which they said was open. Which is just down from the National. Cool - I set off to get the bus there: and the journey was made even more enjoyable when I discovered that I didn't have to walk all the way down to where Google Maps was telling me to catch the bus, I actually passed another stop for it on the way! Honestly, what Google Maps is thinking sometimes, I do not know.

Sure enough, Wasabi was open, and I'd soon ordered. No seats left downstairs, but plenty upstairs - their chairs are high, transparent green plastic stools, but plenty comfortable, for all that. And boy, did I scoff that meal.. uniformly delicious throughout their branches, I see. As for the waste, they tell you to leave it on the table for collection - and I must say, I've never had trouble finding a clean table in a Wasabi. Highly recommended Japanese fast food!

I made it early to the theatre - picked up my ticket, once I'd shown them id. No bag check required of me, I noted, with my small bag. And they're trying their best to make it easier to navigate the building!

I had a glass of wine while I was waiting - the group met near the box office before we went in. Actually, most were in the Stalls tonight, having been smarter than I was in getting deals.. I was in the Circle:

That's a curtain of rain you can see, obscuring the stage - and a trio of singers on each side of the Circle entertained us at the beginning and end of each of the two acts. So, an interesting opening. You can also see, behind the rain, a living room - the entire play is set here, in what is obviously the main room of the Rutherford household, acting as sitting room, dining room, and office.

At the interval, I discovered that the play dates from, and is set in, 1912, and was apparently "astonishing" in its day! Probably because of the prominent female characters, in an age when - as mentioned on a flyer - women were rarely seen on the stage. Less astonishing now - in fact, we found the first act really dragged; several people in my section left, even before the interval, including from the middle of rows! I was borderline myself, but decided to give it a chance.

It reminded me of one of those tv miniseries - there have been several, focusing on some wealthy family, whose family business is often in industry, and based in the north of England. And sure enough, we have the gruff patriarch, whose children just won't act as he wants them to - the son and heir wants more respect and responsibility; he's married a woman from a lower class, of whom his father disapproves. The daughter is a bitter, ageing, under-appreciated spinster, not allowed to follow her heart. The younger son gave the whole thing up as a bad lot and joined the church - we see him very little throughout the play, as he prefers to avoid the "noise" of the main room. There's also a maiden aunt, bossing and annoying everyone.

It's a depressing atmosphere - very little affection to be found, no hope, and the pouring rain outside. And that's pretty much all you get for the first act - the interval comes after about an hour. Which leaves an hour and a half or so for the second act.. which does come as an improvement, with more plot development, and felt a lot shorter than the first, to be honest. On balance, I liked it - if that kind of drama is your thing, do stick around after the interval. Happily, both the people in front of me and beside me (predictably, as the woman beside me had her head in her hands for a long time in the first act) left at the interval, leaving me both with more space, and a better view. Runs till the 3rd of August.

Afterwards, I had a choice of buses home, and not long to wait. Tomorrow - film again! (Little enough on Meetup.) Of the films currently at the top of the list, I fancy After Life - a Japanese film (seems to be a Japanese week for me!) in which people who die are given a choice of selecting one memory to take with them into the afterlife. It's an old film, but has been getting showings in London for the last while - currently only showing in the Rio. It's an early showing, so I should get another flat run in.

On Wednesday, back with London Literary Walks for a Hammersmith Walk.

On Thursday, back for our monthly social with ex-colleagues from my last company - this month, gee, you'll never guess.. someone suggested Japanese! :-) So we're off to Shoryu - upon seeing the menu, my boss remarked that it seemed very good value - particularly for Covent Garden! And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. Interestingly, my new company has an extra "bank holiday" - they brought in an extra day off some years ago as a reward for people who'd worked hard on a release - and they kept it! So we have two bank holidays in a row. Which means I coincide with Ireland, which has a bank holiday the first Monday in June instead of the last one in May..!