Electric!

The Minx and I are at an exhibition in London, tomorrow, which involves taking a stand, brochures, etc., and, therefore, the car. The obvious and favoured option would be to drive down together but there were a couple of complicating factors. Firstly, I had to be at a meeting in Lichfield at 11:30 and, secondly, the Minx had a meeting in Preston, this morning. 

The only solution, then, was for me to drive down on my own and for her to follow on the train later. Thus, she set off for Preston first thing and I left the house half an hour later, putting her overnight in the back of the car to take with me. Usefully, I also picked some things she'd forgotten, including her book and charger, which she'd left on the table. I was halfway to Lichfield before it dawned on me that she'd put these to one side to take on the train :-/ 

The guy I was meeting in Lichfield is a brand new client who has been rather thrust upon us after an existing client sold him part of his business, which includes some software that we wrote and still host and maintain. Since we weren't included in the sale discussions, this has involved some retrospective talks about charging, which I think the new guy wasn't expecting. Maybe that was part of the reason that he chose to stay in a directors' meeting today, leaving one of his colleagues to talk to me. 

Well, I wasn't bothered; it simply tells me something about him and doesn't make my position any trickier. I just told his bemused colleague how things would need to work going forward and then left. 

The rest of the trip was fine although it's a long time since I've driven in London during the day and it took me a little while to get back into that mindset of expecting other drivers to watch out for what you're doing. Anyway, I was ready for that first pint in the hotel bar once I'd checked in!

Then the Minx arrived and we shared a bottle of fizz before setting off on foot in the direction of Shoreditch and the other Electric Cinema. We ate at a little place on Brick Lane called Hopscotch that did amazing cocktails and sharing plates before going to grab a pre-flick glass of wine at the cinema.

I can't remember why I agreed to see a film called 'Ghost Stories'; I bloody hate horror films*. Possibly it was because both Martin Freeman and Paul Whitehouse were in it. And, indeed, the acting, dialogue, and cinematography were all first class. But it did employ all the classic horror choreography and I spent quite a bit off time watching through my fingers.  

In the end, though, it was a bit disappointing, with the twist at the end being a bit hackneyed and reminiscent of the finish to Iain Banks' 'The Bridge'. However, I felt hugely cheerful afterwards - having been through what for me constituted a traumatic experience - and I enjoyed our walk back to Russell Square.

*I'm not alone in this: the most common question/reservation about Surprise Cinema is whether I'm going to show horror films.

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Reading: 'The Descent Of Man'