waiting for the sun…
Well, my self imposed IMAX ban didn’t last long. After a recent wander over the road to see Sinners at the lovely Cinema 1 in the Barbican – and also taking in a razz around the Conservatory – a trip to watch it in it’s full 70mm IMAX splendour* is booked for later in the week. Since there are only ten of these prints in the world
…I’d recommend this course of action to all. Stay until the end!
I do this regardless, but the number of people unaware that if something is on the screen it hasn’t finished yet seems disproportionately high lately, judging by the number standing oblivious right in front of me it while taking their good old time scratching their arse and putting their coat on prior to making a not-very-sharp exit. If you’re going to leave during the film, for the love of God just do so; that is, get your stuff and fuck off. Please.
The extra-long Easter weekend is well and truly behind us for another year; I made the most of it with a ballet at the new Sadlers in Stratford plus a bit of a look round; the new V&A is opening soon and I wanted to get my bearings. Also a visit to the Charles Dickens museum and a long walk around the City, breakfast out two days in a row (yay!) and far more chocolate than is good for anyone – the first and last two can cancel each other out. Since we’re now approaching another long weekend more plans are afoot, but there will be a bit of availability on Saturday before the excitement of an eye test (admittedly followed by a daytime disco and some Korean fried chicken) gets underway.
More developments in the rejigging of hours are shortly to be announced, but the long and short of it will mean an earlier finish on Tuesdays, and slightly later on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Despite appearances I don’t actually like turning good money down and to be honest, the lighter evenings mean an 8-8.30pm booking feels like a very different beast to the same in December or January, so the midweek days will be getting that little bit longer. The 6pm cutoff for booking same day is one thing that will not be changing, however; if I don’t have to hang around at my flat until the late evening I’ll be packing up then and otherwise engaged by 6.30-7pm at the latest, which is exactly the situation now, so dead easy!
I’ll get on with the website updates in the week. My other priority job is to dig the fan out again; warm(er) weather is on the way towards the end of the week and whilst being outdoors in whatever we can find to approximate fresh air is going to be blissful, my room is not, and more especially not for fellow natives of cooler climates. Although it’ll still be an improvement on last year, for those who remember it…
Song Of The Week is in reverence – if you know, you know. If you don’t know, then you didn’t stay until the end.
More soon! And for those who, like me, are into that sort of thing, you will definitely enjoy this…
the sun is up, the sky is blue…
And hello to Spring!
The sun is shining, the blossoms are blossoming and I have been making the most of the beautiful weather at all possible times, those being the ones where I’m not either confined to my flat earning a living to pay for it all or sitting inside a dark cinema; Oscar season is done for another year, which is always something of a relief however much fun it is at the time. There have been plenty of opportunities to get out and about, including a singsong in Trafalgar Square, early morning strolls on the highwalk and a lot of Pokémon Go (well on the way to Level 50 now, for those interested).
One cinema week alone included The Monkey, I’m Still Here, The VVitch, The Wild Robot, The Brutalist (again, but I couldn’t pass up a chance to see it at the IMAX), Parasite and In The Mood For Love, plus all the Oscar nominated animated short films right before the awards started later that night. The Nurofen Plus have been on constant standby, and my back did not speak to me for a week.
It’s also a good job I got out of the habit of taking a large bag of Maltesers to every screening (actually, the day I stopped doing that was the warm summer evening I went to see Carmen being streamed live from the Royal Opera House in a white dress; the less said about that the better), since I would be struggling to fit in the seats by now. My thermal lidded cup containing strong tea is non negotiable, though.
Chocolate will be a feature next weekend too as Easter is finally here! This means two Bank Holidays in four days, so a short week – I may be here a little later in the midweek evenings to make up for it however, since the long weekend means everybody else usually in the immediate vicinity is going to be off too. A ballet at the new Sadler’s East, a museum trip and a bit of downtime in the Barbican Conservatory are all amongst the plans – yay! Now all I have to do is get the new Black Mirror out of the way, since I (shamefully) haven’t even had time to start it. Priorities.
As indicated above, some revision of working hours is underway thanks to a few availability changes; all will be made clear as soon as concrete arrangements have been made. The evenings are getting lighter and the urge to eat dinner at 6.30pm and crawl under the duvet at 8pm is waning with them; this does mean that anybody wanting to book early mornings (or at least those who intend confirming and going ahead with them too, which is not quite the same thing) will need to be organised.
Song Of The Week would have been the title, but this sort of weather requires Otis. Lots of Otis.
More soon! New photos may also be on the way now we have a bit of light – watch this space…
do the right thing…
And it’s February already! The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a blur (and apologies for being MIA for at least part of that time); but some things can’t be helped.
Back at the ranch, those not living in a cave (at least here in London; readers outwith Zones 1-6 are excused up to a point) will have seen our beloved Prince Charles Cinema in the news as it steps up to the plate against it’s landlords, aka the greedy bastard property developers (is there any other kind?) as they try to game the cinema’s lease renewal.
For anybody who didn’t know, this is the same company who recently bought and are now closing the oldest YMCA in the world a bit further uptown which has been used by thousands of people for over one hundred years; the owner is a billionaire who already has half the West End in his pocket. The intention is almost certainly redevelopment and another independent venue will disappear.
As somebody who has been a lifetime member for a very long time and who has spent many a happy occasion – most recently to watch The Hateful Eight on my birthday – the idea of turning the corner and seeing some shiny crap hotel (almost certainly with keycarded lifts, so a waste of space in every conceivable way) in it’s place is too much to bear. Details (and petition) are here – you know what to do.
I first found the Prince Charles by the luckiest chance possible when stuck in London one evening with nowhere to stay, spotting there was an allnighter on when I walked past on my way to get some dumplings. Maybe one day you’ll want to go and see Twelve Angry Men and The Raid followed by Muppet Treasure Island without leaving the building (and if you do, I’ll come with you); my next few PCC visits (so far) comprise The Monkey, In The Mood For Love and The VVitch with Robert Eggars on the 28th (now sold out, I think). That’s on top of seeing Pamela Anderson herself introducing The Last Showgirl this Saturday at the Barbican – yay!
It’s that time of year again, and everything is crossed for Demi Moore at the Oscars on March 2nd. Song of the Week – like the title – has to be a film one (despite being better known as the theme from London geography maverick Luther); anybody who hasn’t seen Nobody, get to it.
Business as usual bar Friday this week when I will be out of town for the day but back in a heartbeat! Meanwhile, please help the PCC triumph.
More soon…
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