Finally, Thursday was a day without drama at work, and stayed fine as well - the one day in the week that did! So I headed off to the Scoop, going straight from the office because it's all the way over the other side of town, and the Meetup group, Free London Events and Talks, who advertised it said it was advisable to get there early for a good seat.
Good job I was early - the District Line was dawdling as much as ever. And the Jubilee Line, when I changed to it, was boiling! I was glad it was only three stops. Made my way to the Scoop, stopping en-route at M&S, where I picked up a sandwich, and one of those individual servings of wine, in a plastic container. (You're not supposed to take glass to events in the Scoop.) And while queueing for the till, I saw a box with two chocolate eclairs in it. So those came too!
It's ages since I've been - and never to a film - and I got a bit confused at the entrance - it transpired that you have to enter via a crash barrier, where they stamp your wrist, in case you want to leave and come back. I rented a cushion - you could also rent blankets, and he mistakenly charged me £3 (blanket price) instead of £2 for a cushion. What the hey, half goes to charity and it wasn't a big deal. There's also a £5 deposit, returned when you bring back what you've hired.
They weren't joking about the crowd - I arrived just after 7, for a 7.30 start, and it was packed! I managed to get a spot on the far side - an oblique view, but fine. A fellow behind me remarked to some people beside him that it had started to fill up around 6.. and as I enjoyed my picnic (the sandwich and wine were so-so, but the wine was pleasantly warming, and the eclairs were superb), I noticed that they'd set up some kind of food stall at the Scoop as well. But from what I gathered, the only food there was popcorn anyway. As for the group, well, no-one expected to meet anyone there - with over 100 people attending from that group alone, the guy who posted the Meetup informed us there'd be no organiser, and we should just go with our friends. So in effect, not a Meetup really - but it's good that they advertise events like this to people.
They showed a short film beforehand - something about people that work on the river, and this one was about a chap that manages Tower Bridge, and the raising and lowering of it. The sound quality was pretty terrible, mind - not to mention the helicopters flying overhead, drowning everything out! But it did improve for the main feature, and the helicopters became less frequent - despite one helicopter that hovered overhead for a minute or so.. wonder whether they were watching the film.
Selma deals with the march from Selma to Montgomery, capital of Alabama, that was led by Dr. Martin Luther King in 1965, to protest against the local black population being denied the vote. David Oyelowo plays the man himself - nominated for several awards for his performance, he won some of them, and indeed it's a magnificent portrayal. Tim Roth plays the slimy Governor of Alabama, Tom Wilkinson an only slightly less slippery LBJ. Oprah Winfrey pops up as a civil rights marcher. And despite reviews I read that said that Oyelowo's performance was the only good thing about it, I found it stirring stuff. Earned a round of applause from the audience on Thursday. Widely available online and on dvd, if you're interested.
Well, what with it being so far away, I got home too late to blog. And yesterday was a hectic day at work.. I fell asleep over the computer last night, and have got distracted so much today.. but better late than never with the blog, eh?!
I'm back in Ireland for the weekend. On Monday, I'm, delighted to be going to The Fate We Bring Ourselves, a retelling of Greek legends, by the Crick Crack Storytelling Club, in Soho Theatre. It's ages since I've been with them, and they're always good! And on Tuesday, I'm supposed to be (nominally) with Free London Events and Talks at the Scoop again. This time, it's Still Alice.. but I dunno, the weather forecast doesn't look good. Watch this space.
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