empty for the largest part of the day

A similar outside-pub arrangement of chairs and tables in mainland Europe might have thick blankets draped over the chairs to keep the legs of the people who might sit on them warm. If they tried that here they'd end up being thrown into the canal by the end of the evening. As it is it's strange how all the chairs have survived so many Friday evenings.

Dr Parnassus's Imaginarium appears to have survived despite the setbacks and is worth catching if you see it going past. Not entirely sure about Colin Farrel's bit (which also goes on a bit too long, especially when it's not entirely clear what accent he's using) but it all hangs together reasonably well.