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When Jon spotted that the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy was coming to London as an “Interactive Experience”, he made sure he could book tickets as soon as they opened. It was the one radio show Jon vividly remembers from his school days – he and his mates used to rush home from school to listen to the next episode.
What we couldn’t foresee at the time was that this was the weekend that Pat & Mark were coming down to visit us! None of the other weekends in November really worked so that weekend it was.
They came across to Thatcham on Friday and we took them to Ask Turkish Restaurant in High Street. It’s a fairly new place but the food is good – just as good as the restaurant in Newbury we’ve eaten at previously.
On Saturday, we headed into London. We drove to Reading and left the car at Reading Station as we knew we would be back late and trains from Reading to Thatcham may be limited and we’d have a long wait – and the weather was wet and cold!
We started off in Leicester Square and saw the new “Bridget Jones” statue that joined the other film related statues to recognise the 25th Anniversary of the release Bridget Jones Diary. The Winter Fair had been set up in the middle of the square.
It was starting to rain so we tried to find somewhere for a coffee / drink. London did seem busier than at other times of the year. All the usual places in Leicester Square were rammed so we headed just slightly off and found a pub. They served coffee and Guinness (not in the same cup/glass!) so everyone was catered for.
Jon and I left the lads there whilst we headed over to Hammersmith for our show. We were a little hungry so we grabbed a bake from Greggs at the station and then found our way to the Riverside Studios – about a 20 mins walk away.
Part 1 was in the bar – we got our free drink (I was hoping for a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster and was disappointed!). You could purchase additional drinks (around £12-15 for a cocktail) but the bar wasn’t open long and could wait until we met up with the others.
Various members of the cast were mingling with the audience – Trillian came and had a chat with us (she liked my star necklace!!). And Ford Prefect was also getting to know some of the audience. A couple of towels and just the one dressing gown that we spotted!
It was very well put together and very different to your usual West End Show. Everyone fell in love with Marvyn (the paranoid android!)!
We got a couple of packs of cards included with our tickets but passed on picking up any more souvenirs. At £32 for a T-shirt and £35 for a towel!
We’d arranged to meet Pat & Mark by the Punch & Judy in Covent Garden and we arrived within 5 mins of each other. It was very pretty. Whoever arrived first would try and grab a table. Covent Garden was incredibly busy so we knew we’d be really lucky to find a table anywhere in the surrounding area. No luck at Punch & Judy … and we tried The Big Easy and Porterhouse too but to no avail.
We then decided to head towards Trafalgar Square as it may be a little quieter. We tried a couple of places on the way there with no luck. By this stage we were soaked as the rain was coming down much heavier now. We were in luck when Mark asked in Prezzos – they had a table for us!
The food was pretty good (always tastes better when you are hungry)!! We also had dried out a little!
Afterwards, we just wanted somewhere we could sit and chat. We looked in a couple of pubs which were rammed, but we thought to head towards Westminster, and struck gold in finding “Walkers of Whitehall” a pub just in an alley off Whitehall. There was a large table downstairs by the restaurant. The pub was a bank in a former life and the room just down from us was the vault. It was closed for a private party but it did look pretty cool. We spent the rest of the evening here, catching up.
We left just after 9pm to make our way back home. It was now bitterly cold and raining. From Charing Cross, it was straight forward to get back to Paddington. A couple of trains were delayed so it was a case of working out which one would arrive, be turned around and leave first! In the end, we plumped for one that was on the board and found a seat. We tend to walk down the platform to the front of the train as a lot will jump on one of the first carriages they get to.
As the train was leaving, the driver was telling passengers to move down the train as there were plenty of seats in carriages A-C … and the carriage quickly filled up after this.
Really glad we made the decision to leave the car at Reading. Whilst the car parking is expensive (£15 for all day parking), it did mean no further hanging around on the platform … and no walk home in the cold and rain!
