Lounge Pants; Martin Amis; Star Trek; and Breakfast at Ha Ha's

Last night I finally got round to starting the Lounge Pants I want to make my friends for their (retrospective) Christmas. I found it a faff extending the original pattern piece (the pattern only has the shaped part at the top of the Pyjamas marked out - you then have to get your own paper and add 29 inches for the leg).
Anyway, here it is hanging up, next to an interested ginger party. I had to stop at the pattern-making stage last night as, when I laid the material on the living room floor to pin the pattern to it, Meg appeared and very determinedly began surfing the material (she starts off by rushing at it with her front paws so the material puckers, then she flops onto her side, wraps her whole body round it and tries to gut it with her back legs while holding it in her grasp with her teeth and claws - everything is an animal needing to be gutted in Megland).
And onto other news: this is the stage waiting for Martin Amis to appear. I haven't seen him for ten years and was surprised by how old he looked. Not just his face, but his body seemed old, the way he held himself and shuffled onto the stage. He was very entertaining and thought provoking though and I could have listened to him for much longer.

The discussion/reading had a very odd format actually. The event was due to start at 7.30pm and estimated to last for an hour and a half (which suited me perfectly as I had to pick Hagos up from Norwich Airport at 9.30pm). When Robert McCrum introduced Amis, he set out the timetable for the night: a half hour conversation, then a half hour break (what? is talking for half an hour too strenuous for the talkers or the listeners?) then MA would read from his forthcoming novel, then questions from the audience. The only reason I can think for the half hour break was to sell more drinks to the audience, and to sell MA's books for him to sign later. I had to run out the door as soon as the event finished (luckily the airport wasn't too far away) but I will definitely read more of Amis.
I was on the end of a row, unfortunately next to the exit and an assistant who, when I lined up this photo on my camera, leaned over and said, "You're not really allowed to take photos." Irritated I asked, "Not really, or not?" And he said, "Not. I was just trying to be polite." Anyway, at this point Martin Amis was talking again so I didn't pursue the argument any further. But, it's not like I had a gun and was trying to shoot Martin Amis ("You're not really allowed to kill Martin Amis.") And it's hardly a paparazzi shot that I plan to sell for tens of thousands of pounds and is an invasion of MA's privacy. Rules for no reason annoy me intensely.
Other news in brief: Hagos and I actually managed to get to Ha Ha's in time for breakfast yesterday! This hasn't happened for years. Usually we run in dead on midday, or just after, and have to wrestle the breakfast out of the waiter and chef.
Our favourite waitress served us, and the coffee (DECAF) was hot.

Oh, and we went to see the new Star Trek movie on Friday night and it was AWESOME.