Julie and I had a really good evening out yesterday. Food and film.

I dashed from work to get to Guildford and we eat at the Old Orleans bar/restaurant next door to the cinema. Really good food and service, although there was a girl’s birthday party on a large table close-by which was getting quite noisy, with the children wandering around and fiddling with things they probably oughtn’t to. Two of the parents decided to stand right alongside our table whilst they chatted and drank wine, which I thought was a bit rude. They moved on though.

The waitress service was excellent. The food was really good. The starters were large enough! We really stuffed ourselves. Olivia, or Livvy, was very friendly – not over-attentive but efficient and helpful. Just what you need in a restaurant.

Went to see Shrek 2. We arrived about half-an-hour early and there were plenty of seats to book. It was the 8.30pm showing, so not so many kids to contend with – quite a few teenagers though. By the time the ads started the cinema was pretty full.

Shrek 2 is a very good movie. I’ll be honest, I never wanted to see the original Shrek – I didn’t see it when it came out and I refused to watch it on DVD for some time. Part of what put me off was Mike Myers, who I personally think is very overrated, overexposed and for whom I don’t have much time. It actually helped that they had used his ‘Scottish’ version as it meant I couldn’t discern that it was him playing the part.

I think Shrek 2 is better than the original, though it does help if you’ve seen the other one. There are lots of references to other films in there – well I picked up a few and I’ve been told there are more – but not being a real film-buff I probably missed a lot. (Amy’s website told me that). I also get the bit about being in the right place to get both the adult and the kids humour. I think there’s more adult humour in this one than the first. It’s very well done. It was also really cool to hear John Cleese and Jennifer Saunders playing major parts.

I won’t say anything about what happens, in case the few people who read this haven’t seen it and want to. Do stay for the credits though, you’ll like it. I promise!

Quite a late night but worth it.