Live Entertainment, part 1

I am just in from an evening out with sparktastic, which did not go at all as planned - but not all in a bad way.

We'd planned to meet for lunch but I was feeling very ropey this morning and we had to cancel that bit. The poor lass then waited for me outside Elephant & Castle Tube for well over an hour, while I dragged myself glacially into motion, although she only lives 5min walk away. And she didn't kill me or anything. What a gal.

The revised plan was a drink, dinner and a movie, but as our long-awaited bus up to Leicester Square arrived - well, actually, three of them - yes, really - she got a phonecall from her friend karaadora with a rumour that Babyshambles were playing tonight. This is the new band of Peter Doherty, formerly of the Libertines, for whom Sparky and Kara have a certain, ah, fascination. Let's just say that I have heard a lot about this band of late.

So we cancelled the movie and instead made our way up to Archway and Nambucca, a music bar on Holloway Road. Sunday night is Open Mic night, so it was even a free gig. Shhhplendid.

( I am no rock journo, nor do I want to be, but here's a sort of gig review... )

Live Entertainment, part 2

Round the Horne Revisited

I took a group of friends to see this in late summer. It was absolutely superb - I laughed until it hurt. We went on a special TicketMaster deal where we got an after-show free drinkie or two and to talk with the cast and Brian Cooke, the last surviving writer from the original team, who worked with Barry Took and Marty Feldman and others on the original scripts.

( Read more... )

So. Enough of this. There is a Christmas Special of RTHR, which has just started. As there never was a RTH Xmas Special, this time, there's both new material and stuff harvested from other classic BBC radio comedies of the time, from Muchbinding in the Marsh to The Navy Lark. Don't be put off by this - if it's done even a fraction as well as the summer show, it will be brilliant. It's on 'til some time in January. Who's up for a 2nd visit? No TM special this time, I fear, but we can always just go to the pub afterwards...