Stand up

I had lunch at the Southbank rooftop garden, which is wonderfully full of tall plants that try to stop you getting through the pathways. The bees are a-buzz there.

Fred's still up in Inverness, so I tried and failed to find someone to see Milton Jones with me. Ho hum... I went on my own. I was a little nervous about going to a pub comedy gig alone, but it was absolutely fine. The Bedford in Balham has changed since the last time I went to Banana Cabaret almost 20 years ago. It's now in a room that's set up more like a theatre auditorium than a bar and I got a seat at the end of a row. Milton was absolutely hilarious. He had a tricky time with audience participation (everyone he picked on seemed to be either a maths student or teacher and there are only so many maths gags you can do off the hoof), but dealt with it perfectly. 

As it was a late gig at 9.15, I walked to Balham from central London. This took me by the office that my work is moving to next year. It's in a shiny new glass development by the Thames, near the US Embassy. On our first recce there, we could find only men with machine guns and oyster bars. On this walk through back streets nearer Vauxhall, I discovered a range of Portuguese cafes that will certainly sell custard tarts and quite possibly will have chips and beans. The oyster bar will definitely not sell these. 

I had a precarious FaceTime conversation with my parents en route, where they got to enjoy the sights and sounds of Clapham as I was walking through. I apologise for being one of those people on the phone as I walk! It kept me occupied on a long stretch that isn't that entertaining nearing Balham.

So, a first – comedy gig on my own. I will share one Milton joke that has stuck in my head:

I gave the junior doctors bags of ice as the placards said they wanted justice.