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Old 12 Feb 17, 03:27 PM  
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A fabulous evening in London.

So I discover that Whoopi Goldberg is doing a stand up show at the Palladium in London 24 hours before it is happening. How I missed this I do not know. I always scan the evening paper in London to see who and what is on. Anyhow, she appeared as a guest on “Loose Women” and talked about the show. I’ve loved this woman and her talent for years. (I saw her in Sister Act at the Palladium back in 2009 and was lucky enough to meet her briefly and get her autograph.)

I go online in the vain hope that there might just be a ticket or two for this event. A site appears called Viagogo and they have two seats together – Row F in the Upper Circle. They want £30.99 per ticket plus a handling fee of £10. I consider that fair seeing as it’s 24 hours before the event. Tickets have to be collected from a place hidden in Soho – more of that later. The Viagogo site buys and sells unwanted theatre tickets and I did check them out before committing any money.

Saturday comes along. My husband, Darrin is working – the need of being a Managing Director of a small but successful company. Our arrangement is that I will go into London and collect the tickets (I also have an ulterior motive too) and then we will meet around 5:30p.m. and go for a meal pre show. Thus I take the Underground into Baker Street and then on to Green Park. I’m headed first to Charbonnel et Walker, the chocolate company, located in the Arcade in Old Bond street. My reason is to pick up a box of Gin truffles for Darrin for Valentines Day.



A little bit of history about the company - Madam Charbonnel was invited over to London by Edward VII because he loved good chocolate but at the time the confectionery in the U.K. was appalling. Charbonnel stayed and opened her business producing chocolates, the likes of which had never been seen in London. She needed nice packaging for her goods and thus she partnered with Mrs. Walker who was a hat box maker and the small round chocolate boxes came to be.

Said Gin truffles are purchased and I treat myself to a box of Whisky truffles. I now have to head over into Soho to pick up the tickets for tonight’s show. The place is located on Ingestre Street, a roadway that wouldn’t look out of place in Diagon Alley.



The venue is a Mail Boxes etc. shop – one of those places that are filled with locked mail boxes where people collect mail and heaven knows what from their private containers. Inside is a lady sat at the desk. A mailbox behind her is open. You show your order number and some photo ID and have to sign for the tickets. On receiving them I see the face value is £76 each plus a booking charge. Considering we paid £31 each plus a handling charge I feel we have a great bargain.

I’m frozen.

It’s been trying to snow all day long and there is a bitter wind. Despite being wrapped up well with gloves and thermal hat I need a hot coffee. There is a branch of itsu on the corner and I head in and order a cappuccino which I enjoy with a pack of dark chocolate covered rice cakes.



My phone rings. Darrin has got to Bond Street and has now switched to a tube to Oxford Circus. I have eight minutes to get to the Palladium where we said we would meet.

It’s still trying to snow as I arrive at Argyll Street. Darrin has discovered a Japanese restaurant called Aqua Kyoto which is directly opposite the theatre. Its main entrance is on Regent Street but you can also enter via Argyll Street by taking the lift to the 5th floor.



We don’t have a reservation but as long as we can be finished by 7:30p.m. they have a table for 2. By that time we’ll be over the road in the theatre.

Well, what a find. We love Japanese food having visit the country and the restaurant doesn’t disappoint. There is a huge circular bar area and then you go through to the main restaurant which also has a roof terrace which is open in months of much better weather than today.

The sushi preparation is “on stage” and it’s very entertaining watching the chefs get it all ready.



We start with hot edamame beans in their pods and sprinkled with salt. These are so tasty and go great with our cocktails. Darrin chooses a 20th century (gin, white crème de cacao, Kina Lillet (a French aperitif wine) and lemon juice ) and I have the Emperor (Zwack Unicum (Hungarian herbal liquer), Sweet Vermouth, Curaçao and a dried orange slice).



We share a dish of soft crab tempura. We discovered these in Tokyo and fell in love with them. They come with a lime pepper sauce.



Next up – Sashimi. Beautifully fresh tuna, wild salmon, sea bream, yellow fin and sweet shrimps with wasabi and soy sauce. Since the first time I tasted raw tuna I have never had it cooked since.



Then the main dish - suckling pork belly with eel, black carrot and jade oil.



The flavours were just so succulent and the meat so tender.
Darrin had chosen New Zealand Vigonier which had a sharp fruity edge to it which went well with both the seafood and the pork.

To finish, we both chose the smoked chocolate delice (you could taste the mild smoky flavour) which came with a hot dark chocolate sauce, sesame praline, kaki fruit (persimmon) sorbet and ever so gingery wafers!



Darrin's appears to come with a Hidden Mickey:



A fabulous meal.

They also run Aqua Nueva - a Spanish tapas restaurant, right next door. We'll have to try that one sometime.

It was quarter past seven and time to make our way over to the Palladium.



Our tickets were in the Upper Circle and judging by the amount of steps you climb to get there you may well as be sat on the roof! We had an excellent view and judging by the packed audience it was a total sellout.



There was a huge air of anticipation and then the screen on stage flickered with images of Whoopi making her way through backstage and the wings to emerge to a riotous welcome.



Now this was an adult show. She checked there weren’t young kids in the audience. We all assured her there weren’t. She just rambled starting with Presidents, refusing to mention the new incumbent in the White House by name - “We thought never in a million years the guy on the Apprentice was going to be the President”, then if she hung out with the Queen, lying to her mother, her great-grand child who has a "bee-atch" attitude, her daughter getting pregnant at 14, disco days and “discovering” you are a woman, what it's like to be 60 - “I once was the hottest thing in the room. Now I’m the hottest thing in the room because I am in menopause…", her favourite jokes and how she almost ate an annoying child on a train. She explained why she wears comfortable clothes likening her rear to an accordion! The conclusion was the funniest. She had taught her grandson a bad phrase which he repeated in a restaurant when a waiter spoke to him in baby talk. He then repeated it again and again until other kids in the place were using it. Her daughter’s reaction on the phone was the bit that had us all rolling in our seats in convulsions of laughter. I and many others had tears rolling down our cheeks.



It was a 90 minute spot – no interval - that I wouldn’t have missed for the world. She would be doing it all over again at 10:30p.m.
We had had a brilliant evening and as we headed home we both agreed that our last minute decision to see her show was the best thing we had done in ages.


(Library picture)



** All stage photos were taken before the show started / during final applause.

Edited at 03:52 PM.
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Old 12 Feb 17, 03:52 PM  
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Wow what a night! I was waiting to see if you were going to post how it was. Clearly you were meant 'to be' there getting the tickets so late in the day. She is so funny!
The restaurant looks fabulous too - what a great find!
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Old 12 Feb 17, 04:02 PM  
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What an amazing evening, I would love to go and see her show. I too saw her in Sister Act, in fact I think it was the last show before she had to rush back to the US due to a family illness. We were very lucky!
Not wanting to wish the kids lives away but it will be so nice when they're older to do impromptu outings like yours 😁
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Old 12 Feb 17, 04:11 PM  
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Sounds like you had a brilliant evening, well done on getting a good bargain on the tickets too.
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Old 12 Feb 17, 04:13 PM  
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That sounds like a great night, the food look great. I wish I did things like this but I don't!
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Old 12 Feb 17, 04:24 PM  
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WOW what a great price for your tickets, what a great show and a great day all round!

Will have to put the restaurant on our list - love a bit of sushi and we never know where to eat in london!

KAtie x
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Old 12 Feb 17, 04:25 PM  
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Love Whoopie, she tells it like it is. Fabulous report, thank you.
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Old 12 Feb 17, 06:12 PM  
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Originally Posted by FairyNuff View Post
Love Whoopie, she tells it like it is.
She most certainly did! Just about to watch her on the Graham Norton show.
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Old 12 Feb 17, 06:34 PM  
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Geoff. A great evening. The food looks excellent and I would love your choices apart from the eel, not my scene but thats just me over thinking it more than trying it!
Also better than the pizza you told me you would probably have.
Always nice to get bargain tickets and for a show of that calibre you were so lucky.
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Old 12 Feb 17, 06:41 PM  
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Sounds like a brilliant evening.

We saw her at the Candlelight Processional last year.
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