I suppose we must make the most of it while we can. The weather usually starts turning decidedly chilly in October; and - even though we may get the occasional unseasonal resurgence of warm sunshine later in the month and through into November - that is basically the end of the summer. No more sitting out under the stars for 6 months. Not without your longjohns on, anyway.
So, last night - after a more-than-usually gruelling day at work - I was looking for a little distraction. As luck would have it, I had a copy of TimeOut Beijing with me (OK, I made my own luck: I'd brought it with me that morning specially.). Consulting the listings section as I trudged toward the subway, I found my salvation: one of Red T's 'Gloaming' parties at the Stone Boat. It's been pretty much a monthly event since May, but..... well, I'm not sure if it's always at the same time of the month. If it is, I had failed to take note of that. So, I was pleasantly taken by surprise.
A fairly low-key event, this one, compared to some of those in the past - but still rather fun. Mbongui, an exuberant Congolese drumming troupe, was playing (with a couple of nifty Chinese guys on electric bass and guitar occasionally joining them to add a little variety to the sound). Tulsa was able to join us at the end of the evening, with her notorious 'bad influence' friend, "The Professor" (damn, he drinks beer quicker than me - he is a man to watch out for!).
The only fly in the ointment was that the Boat had suspended its snack menu for the evening, and I was starving. Oh, well. As I so often say, BEER IS FOOD.
Luckily, the tummy rumblings were quelled later when Red T Music supremo Ed and I sent out for Chinese food from a nearby restaurant in the park (a new branch of the rather good Xiao Wang chain - standard Chinese fare cooked with decent ingredients [for a change]).
The only other fly in the ointment was the fact that the lake in which the Stone Boat sits has just been drained to make way for some (I imagine) pre-Olympics renovation. The empty basin surrounding us did produce a somewhat more echoey acoustic than we are used to. And the mud on the lake floor is a bit stinky.
Still, a very fine night indeed.
Not many more such to be had until next Spring. What will I do with my Friday evenings from now on?
3 comments:
Oh, I'm sure we'll find some way to keep Friday nights occupied. That's what all those piles of eagerly bought but unwatched DVDs are waiting for.
DVD parties with popcorn, chicken tikka, and nachos (where can we get nachos in Beijing?)
Nachos?
Not that hard to find, but mostly expensive, imported ones. Most Jenny Lou's have Doritos or Tostitos. You also sometimes see clear plastic bags of rather more affordable ones (locally baked, I presume - there are some Mexicans in town, after all; remember that taco stand they used to have outside the John Bull/Texas Tim's on Fridays?).
The last place I bought some (and long my favourite of the foreigner-friendly supermarkets - I think it's just a one-off rather than a getting-a-bit-above-itself chain like Jenny's) was the Heping Supermarket on Sanlitun. Well, just off Sanlitun: the new location is just north of Tongli studios, at the back of that big new mall. They definitely have some good, cheap-ish ones in there.
For home-made salsa, I might possibly re-think my never-watching-films-in-company principle...
Well, H is very keen to try to start DVD parties, but hasn't been able to drum up that much interest.
I think there are two obstacles in the established culture here: 1) DVD-watching is something that you only do as a last resort when there are no better options (or when you're too tired/depressed to face the world), and thus an essentially non-social activity; and 2) nobody invites people around for food because it's just way easier (and cheaper) to eat out all the time.
But, hey, you guys should get together and see if you can break the mould.
I don't think you'll break my mould, unfortunately. Films have always been a solitary pleasure for me.
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