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Two weekends with K 26/02/22-11/03/22
Mar. 12th, 2022 03:13 pmTwo Saturdays ago was K's birthday and a bunch of us headed down to her place* in Hampshire, kids and all, to celebrate: there was mostly just hanging out and drinking, tik-tok dances and pizza before everyone crashed out fairly early (although not easily, until I managed to dismantle the hamster wheel)- we even had to save Layla's beloved Ordering Game for the next morning, but it was lovely to get the gang all together for the first time since last Summer. I got back in time to have an afternoon at home on Sunday, then headed out briefly to the Bluecoats with N and ex-housemates R&L, before having to bail home for Family Zoomtime.
We had D&D on the Monday, then on Tuesday I went to the Lexington for a gig: Divorce, up first, combined both a male and female singer, then were two South London scene favourites, Peeping Drexels and Deadletter, who were great, with a good, lively crowd. Wednesday I was at the Kentish Town Forum to see Yonaka, my second gig in row where a band I love to see had also been announced as the support: not July Jones, who seemed like a good thing in the world but was too poppy for my tastes, but King No-One who are always a joy and it was great seeing Yonaka packing out the place. Like Tuesday, Thursday was a tube strike day: my journeys in had been long but both times bearable, and going to the gig on Tuesday meant getting home was easy enough but the journey home on Thursday was pretty horrendous, 3 hours of painfully slow, overcrowded buses, which didn't help my mood at a time when work horror is pretty overwhelming already.
On the Friday I went to see am-dram Chekhov, courtesy of the production of The Seagull that C had been involved in, which I really enjoyed. I was seeing K for the second weekend in a row, this time without kids, back at our old haunt renting rooms above the Wetherspoon's in Newbury: it was just us and her fella and we spent less time bar-hopping or making friends with the locals than on our previous visits but played lots of cards both in the pub, then up in our room and had fun through until the early hours. After N & I went foraging for breakfast, we eventually headed off and back in London I headed first up to my old flat, then over to Epping Forest with M&D, where we did a lovely circular walk from Chingford. My next stop was Shoreditch for a couple of driks with my gig-buddy M, who was down from Bradford, before getting home in time for Family Zoomtime to hear the latest update from my parents, where things seem to be happening quickly as they start the process of downsizing from the house I grew up in.
This week had D&D again on Monday, then I had a quietish week, deciding against some of my possible-gigs to spend evenings with N, who was having a much better time with the second show and was around most evenings as a result: on Tuesday I met him in the Beehive then we wet to San Marco and we hung out Thursday and Friday evenings too. My only exception was Wednesday when I headed up to The Horn in St Albans to catch Sick Joy: they were supported by Perfect Strangers, a heavyish duo supported by vocal locals, and Bex, a predominantly female band with a gothy look which was pleasingly reminiscent of the early 00s. I always really love going up to The Horn, which had a friendly feel that I rarely get in London venues, the crowd seemed evenly split between teenagers and 50-somethings and although it had thinned out a bit for Sick Joy, people threw themselves into it, which the band deserved, as they were fantastic.
*I actually headed to her old place but was too embarrassed to tell the cabbie I'd got it wrong, luckily Laura did the same, saving me from a long walk.
We had D&D on the Monday, then on Tuesday I went to the Lexington for a gig: Divorce, up first, combined both a male and female singer, then were two South London scene favourites, Peeping Drexels and Deadletter, who were great, with a good, lively crowd. Wednesday I was at the Kentish Town Forum to see Yonaka, my second gig in row where a band I love to see had also been announced as the support: not July Jones, who seemed like a good thing in the world but was too poppy for my tastes, but King No-One who are always a joy and it was great seeing Yonaka packing out the place. Like Tuesday, Thursday was a tube strike day: my journeys in had been long but both times bearable, and going to the gig on Tuesday meant getting home was easy enough but the journey home on Thursday was pretty horrendous, 3 hours of painfully slow, overcrowded buses, which didn't help my mood at a time when work horror is pretty overwhelming already.
On the Friday I went to see am-dram Chekhov, courtesy of the production of The Seagull that C had been involved in, which I really enjoyed. I was seeing K for the second weekend in a row, this time without kids, back at our old haunt renting rooms above the Wetherspoon's in Newbury: it was just us and her fella and we spent less time bar-hopping or making friends with the locals than on our previous visits but played lots of cards both in the pub, then up in our room and had fun through until the early hours. After N & I went foraging for breakfast, we eventually headed off and back in London I headed first up to my old flat, then over to Epping Forest with M&D, where we did a lovely circular walk from Chingford. My next stop was Shoreditch for a couple of driks with my gig-buddy M, who was down from Bradford, before getting home in time for Family Zoomtime to hear the latest update from my parents, where things seem to be happening quickly as they start the process of downsizing from the house I grew up in.
This week had D&D again on Monday, then I had a quietish week, deciding against some of my possible-gigs to spend evenings with N, who was having a much better time with the second show and was around most evenings as a result: on Tuesday I met him in the Beehive then we wet to San Marco and we hung out Thursday and Friday evenings too. My only exception was Wednesday when I headed up to The Horn in St Albans to catch Sick Joy: they were supported by Perfect Strangers, a heavyish duo supported by vocal locals, and Bex, a predominantly female band with a gothy look which was pleasingly reminiscent of the early 00s. I always really love going up to The Horn, which had a friendly feel that I rarely get in London venues, the crowd seemed evenly split between teenagers and 50-somethings and although it had thinned out a bit for Sick Joy, people threw themselves into it, which the band deserved, as they were fantastic.
*I actually headed to her old place but was too embarrassed to tell the cabbie I'd got it wrong, luckily Laura did the same, saving me from a long walk.
