Nine Lessons & Carols for Godless People

We arrived at the Hammersmith Apollo early so that I could collect the tickets (they hadn't been posted) but were told that we couldn't get them till after 6:30. That was fine as we wanted to grab a bite to eat before hand.

I met up with the others in a near by Mexican restaurant. It was a tiny little place but the food was fine. The bill came to nearly £100 for 4 people which I felt was a little steep but what can you do?

Anyway... By the time we were back at the Apollo a queue had formed, all waiting to collect their tickets (despite being told there wouldn't be one), it was moving relatively quickly so I wasn't too worried about getting in on time. The last calls were made but we were next to get served.

Surprise, surprise, our tickets weren't there and the box office had no records of me calling up mid week to tell them that our tickets hadn't arrived yet. A big hold up was caused by the idiots not being able to find where we were supposed to be sitting but eventually we were finally given 4 random tickets that allowed us to stand at the back of the stalls. 20-30 minutes after the first section had started. I was fuming!

Stewart Lee's 10 minute slot calmed me down. He really is a great comic. The other acts of note in the first section were Ricky Gervais, a bit too rude for our liking but I did laugh so can't complain. Mark Thomas was good too and it was interesting to find out that he has quite a religious family, including a sister who is also a vicar.

In the interval I went back to the counter to see if they'd managed to find our tickets and Steve got the beers in. She said she couldn't but had managed to get us 4 excellent tickets that were reserved for the manager of the Apollo. When we got there a couple of South African's were in them. I explained that they were ours, they tried to proclaim their innocence and tried to claim them as their own but I pointed out that they were in the wrong row must move so they begrudgingly squeezed into one of the front rows where they belonged. Pissing off a South African, ha, ha! It made the previous heart ache and standing almost worth it.

Our new seats were great, loads of leg room and a great unobstructed view of the rest of the show and the extra two beers we bought each other for the second act.

Jarvis Cocker did a couple of songs, one of his own and a cover. He's a very funny man. And surprisingly more skinny in real life. I don't think he was forced to play rugby as a child. Although I would have paid money to see it.

Dara O'Brien was very good and probably could have gone on for another hour or so. Richard Dorking and Simon Singh added some scientific cheer and the whole lot was finished off by a very talented Australian. Tim Minchin. A very good night indeed.