Bookmark and Share

Thursday 16th May 2019

6007/18936

We had a date night in the big smoke and because I am still not drinking we were able to drive in. We went in earlyish so we could have some dinner before a show and because we were in the electric car we didn’t have to pay for the congestion charge and we parked practically in Covent Garden itself and only had to pay 81p parking (because you only have to pay for ten minutes if Westminster if you have an electric vehicle). We actually paid 81p twice because I wasn’t entirely sure that I’d done it right on the phone. It just seemed impossible that this would be allowed in the most money grabbing city in this money grabbing world. But I didn’t get a ticket, so I assume it worked out OK. Treat it as a little tip, London. You deserve it.
And because I am still not paying for my electricity at home (all my Bulb credits from now on are being diverted into the podcast kitty as I think I should be able to heat and light my home for another five years for free, but if you want renewable energy and to get £50 and to pay for £50 of podcast expenses then sign up today) this was still an incredible £1.62 for a trip right into the heart of London. 
The electric car is magic. 
We made up for the savings by going to a posh sushi restaurant, which I would recommend for a special occasion (for us these days, having a date night is a special occasion enough - all the money we have saved from only going out once a month means we can splurge when we get these golden opportunities. I drank jasmine tea, though somehow contrived to spill a cup full over the table, myself and the floor. I was not even drunk. I was as sober as it’s possible for a human being to be. And everyone treated this faux pas as if it was not an embarrassment. Those tiny tea cups hold a whole lot of tea. 
If this had been a first date with my wife it might have been enough to shake my confidence and destroy my chances. But eleven and a half years in my wife is used to being embarrassed by me and it was jasmine tea off a duck’s back (I don’t think they sold those, though I did notice you had the option to buy duck hearts on a stick, which seemed a leap too far even for me).
The food was great and we only over ordered by a little bit. I was stuffed and assumed that this would put a tiny dent in my diet, but I am not really dieting anyway, just trying to change my habits and so did not feel bad about enjoying myself. My wife drank warm sake and I had mild drink envy for almost the first time this year. But tea (if you can avoid spilling it) is a great accompaniment to Asian food and also your trousers.
We then went to see Emilia at the Vaudeville, which is an extraordinary piece of theatre in many, many ways, not least because of its talented and versatile all female cast. It’s raw with anger and emotion, sometimes subtle, sometimes pantomime, sometimes speculative, comedic and tragic at turns, but you just had to hear the reaction of the audience to know how empowering it is. It’s mainly empowering for women, I must confess, as men come out of it pretty badly, but it’s also about fighting for the right to be a writer and express yourself, whatever your background.
I didn’t know about Emilia Lanier before (and that’s kind of the point of the page). History is not only written by the winners, but by the posh people with cocks, and so her contribution to literature was neglected and almost forgotten. But luckily not entirely forgotten. If you can manage to tred water in history then eventually you might be rediscovered.
And there’s some proper comedy performances in there, not least from the brilliant Jackie Clune, once again showing that the world of stand up can provide us with some fantastic actors. Go and see it.


Bookmark and Share



Can I Have My Ball Back? The book Buy here
See RHLSTP on tour Guests and ticket links here
Help us make more podcasts by becoming a badger You get loads of extras if you do.
Or you can support us via Acast Plus Join here
Subscribe to Rich's Newsletter:

  

 Subscribe    Unsubscribe