This would have been posted hours ago but the internet hates me. Still, got there in the end!
After a week of the cat following me around and trying to lovingly break my neck at every opportunity, I was off to London for belated but very much anticipated birthday celebrations with Mel. Mum thinks she somehow knew I was going away... she is a smart cookie so I suppose it's possible! I'm usually a light packer but I somehow managed to stuff the bare minimum into my bag and make it weigh more than me. It still looked half empty but picking it up all but wrenched my arms out of the sockets.
I just about managed to struggle onto the train and into my seat, crushing several innocent bystanders in the process; it was pretty busy and I had to turf someone out of my seat. The guy next to me was playing a game on his laptop which I thought might have been Pokèmon at first glance - pixelly little dude walking around entering battles and lots of text along the bottom. Partway through the trip, he asked me if I was reading The Lord of the Rings, to which I said 'yes' though in all honesty I probably should have said 'yes but I keep watching your game over your shoulder like a nosy parker.'
He introduced himself as Zeke and voluntarily showed me what he was playing - a fun little adventure called Undertale - and we spent the rest of the journey snickering away together while I insisted we go on a date with a skeleton called Papyrus who'd just tried to kill us, albeit not very well. There's a lot of nerdy little jokes throughout and I thoroughly enjoyed my brief foray into that strange little world. Very thankful to Zeke for introducing it to me and in another life we may have been friends but since finding out he's Team Instinct we're now sworn enemies... Ah well, you win some, you lose some!
Once we arrived in London, I found Mel and we went shopping for some essential supplies for the weekend; Prosecco and snacks. We got to the hotel and I immediately ripped into my presents - lots of Slytherin goodies, nail polish and the first Attack on Titan manga. I am a very spoiled and lucky enby.
After a quick change, we went out again and made our way to She which is a gorgeous little lesbian bar in Soho. It's quite a small space, below street level and quite reminds me of a bomb shelter or underground bunker. The walls are adorned with various elegant looking women which was rather reminiscent of Gigola and the women the film is based on. There was a great atmosphere, relaxed and yet electric. We danced the night away until kicking out time. I was however, gravely injured, when two highly enthusiastic snogging lesbians careened into me, all elbows and pointy bits and my arm is still blue and tender! I fear I'm not long for this world...
Being that it was a bizarrely hot October, neither of us slept very well so we spent a lazy morning watching A Very Potter Sequel and probably annoying our neighbours who weren't ready for a full blown musical at 8am on a Saturday morning! Once it was a more reasonable hour, we got up and made our way to Bocca di Lupo, a restaurant I've had on my 'to eat' list for about 7 years. I say again, I am a very spoiled and lucky enby. Mel managed to snag the last reservation of that day for us to eat there and I'm so glad she did. Even the bread and olives were so much breadier and olivier than any I've had before. Mel had a delightful porcini mushroom risotto and I had a spider crab tagliolini which was utterly gorgeous (of course I tasted hers too!). We also had a side of roast pumpkin but we were so stuffed we had to leave most of it, though we did force down as many delicious mouthfuls as we could manage!
We had a few hours to kill before the evening show so we went for a wander around the city, heading for Leicester Square and Forbidden Planet. On the way we spotted the queue for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and people were handing out fliers for a free exhibition just around the corner. We pocketed the fliers and headed off to Forbidden Planet, taking an extended detour when we spotted a Gengar on Pokèmon Go. Given that I live out in the sticks and generally see nothing but Weedle and Pidgey, I got a little bit excited. Strangely, since our trip, both Mel and I have had a mysterious addition of Pokèmon to our Pokèdexes which we haven't actually seen. Has anyone else had this happen?
Gengar safely in hand, or in ball, I suppose, we finally went into Forbidden Planet. I'm not entirely sure how long we spent in there (time moves differently when geeks converge), but we went through pretty much every manga, graphic novel, figurine and mug that they had to offer. Somehow, I managed to tear myself away without buying everything I could touch, but Mel didn't escape quite so unscathed as I found myself giving her a full lecture on everything we encountered, excitement spilling out of my mouth like glittery vomit. Poor, poor girl... and her poor, poor ears... I did buy one thing though, a copy of How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You for
Once we escaped the time warp, we went to the Harry Potter exhibition in the House of MinaLima. If you are a Potter fan and in the area, I recommend going to check it out. It's free and the prints you can get (not free) are gorgeous and would make great gifts. There are so many movie props to see! The staff really knew there stuff and I had a really interesting conversation with one of them about the inspiration behind the art styles and the comparison between the anti-muggle literature and Cold War propaganda. I loved seeing these pieces from the later films because you need exceptionally sharp eyes to spot them within the actual movies and some poor soul must have spent hours on them! He also told me a great deal about the hidden gems that you can find in the Daily Prophet such as the infamous Ginger Witch (named after an accident prone ginger crew member) and her many brushes with death. I think Mel's favourite was the collection of newspaper ads such as the Witch Watcher's slimming potions! A whole floor was covered in the Marauder's Map and you were beckoned up to the exhibition by a trail of Hogwarts Acceptance Letters. Unfortunately, it's a small, old building with a spiral staircase so most likely not wheelchair accessible but you may want to check for yourself.
Dressing up for the second night in a row, we made our way to the London Palladium to see Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs. If you read my original post you will know that this show is a huge part of why I'm now writing this blog. Alan Cumming has an incredible voice, he manages to sing in his own accent while perfectly enunciating every word and ensuring you don't miss a single syllable. Even the song he chose in French is so well performed you felt that you understood every word regardless of whether you spoke the language. There was a real honesty to his stories and Alan possesses that rare gift of being able to perform to an innumerable audience and make each individual person feel a unique connection to both him and his tales.
As soon as we got home, we polished off the Prosecco and, once I downloaded Alan's album, I made Mel watch Battle Royale because I'm the type of friend who sets homework and will quiz you afterwards to make sure you were watching closely enough! I've honestly lost count of the amount of things I've made Mel watch/play/listen to, she has such patience!
The following day was a lot more relaxed and we returned to Oxford Circus to collapse in a coffee shop and catch some Pokèmon. It had been another hot night and we were both quite tired. I soon discovered that no amount of coffee would fend off the army of Drowzees that were surrounding us. We stayed there for a couple of hours and, once I'd used up all of Mel's lures, I bid her farewell and headed home.
On my way back, I was seated next to a very nice guy who was watching The Warriors, he even offered to let me borrow an ear bud and watch along, bless him. I made it home with even more stuff than I'd left with and mum all but carried me back to the sofa where we flicked on the TV just in time for Gladiators on Challenge. It was like I'd never left!
I had a really fantastic weekend and cannot thank Mel enough for everything she did for me, what an incredible birthday. As punishment, I've had a migraine since I got back (though not as bad as The Wedding Migraine of April '16) and had one of my 'favourite' recurring nightmares about S.
Got a few plans for next week and I look forward to telling you all about it next time!
Xx
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