Phedre and tennis

Yesterday Jase and I wanted to find somewhere to watch the Andy Murray match before going to the theatre. I had read in the paper about Bankside Mix and there "Big Screen" where you could relax and eat and drink and watch the tennis on their "big screen," The logo (left) should have alerted me to the very British nature of this "Big Screen" set up! It was in fact a caravan with a TV screen on one side. Yes, a caravan sized TV screen is pretty big but not much use when every office worker in the vicinity had got there before us and the packed the place out! If you we under 6 feet tall you had no hope! There was much drinking and smoking which although outside still made the air really smoky and in the heat quite uncomfortable! I am sure the caravan screen is great for less popular sporting events but it was a bit of a disappointment for us. Get there early is my advice!

We left the caravan TV and had a meal in a very touristy spot along the south bank. The restaurant served steak and chips, fish and chips, and chicken and chips, as I am having to eat a very low fat diet at the moment I opted for stuffed peppers but the waitress brought me Thai fish cakes which to be honest I would have preferred. I got my peppers in the end but when we asked for the bill they had added a mystery £10 to it. It was sorted out as soon as we mentioned it but we shan't be going back to the place!

The theatre was much more successful. Helen Mirren and the rest of the cast of Phedre were superb! It was a great performance the very simple staging evoked the Mediterranean perfectly, the costumes were spot on. The direction was crisp and unambiguous and the acting was just marvellous. It is a nice short play which helps because Racine isn't everyone's cup of tea!