Today, booked again with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners.. well, I knew I wouldn't have started the new job by then! Jeez, just as well I have savings.. This walk was Glamorous Chelsea and its Famous Residents. Got cash out on my way home yesterday - I am getting organised!
Google Maps informed me that one bus option would get me to Sloane Square in under an hour. And I was to bed early enough, so said - let's go! And I was lucky with the buses - the #76 arrived early, and deposited me early - which was just as well, because the #211 was also early, the driver screeching to a halt so abruptly that I wondered what the hurry was! A long journey, but an interesting one - it's not that often I get to this side of town, and I did enjoy the change of scenery. Children were a real feature of today - on the #76, a German-sounding lady was in charge of a double buggy, with what looked like twin girls in it, toddler age, who resolutely refused to copy her in speaking German, and instead entertained us with a duet of The Wheels on the Bus. Subsequently, a young Muslim-looking couple got on the #211 with a very small baby in a pram - most entertaining was the doting father, who could not stop playing with the child! who soon started squalling unmercifully, and was immediately pacified by the application of a bottle of milk. And the couple in front of me, in possession of their own bundle of joy, kept saying "Aww"..
Got to the meeting point just before Laurence - and as usual, we were waiting for a few people who never showed. While staring anxiously at the grey sky, rain having been forecast. In due course, our first stop was the fountain in the middle of the square. Well, who'd have thought that it depicted Charles II and Nell Gwyn!
And so, off through some glamorous neighbourhoods:
Lots of name-dropping, some blue plaques. Like, eh..
A very cool plaque, which I presume she erected herself - you can't really read it easily from ground level, and it took me examining the enlarged photo before I realised it refers to Amanda Eliasch.
And so we wended our way through more schoolkids, headed between school and playground, and in due course came to the Royal Hospital, home of the Chelsea Pensioners. In fact, there'd been one of them on the bus, earlier!
Still got that blasted cough, sporadically - I always carry Strepsils with me now, and sure enough, it raised its ugly head while I was still on the Tube. Duly stressing out my fellow passengers. Anyway, this evening, I was back with London Classical Music and Theatre Group - for a play this time! We were seeing Straight Line Crazy, with Ralph Fiennes, at the Bridge. Just as well we booked early - availability is low for most of the rest of the month. This event, I could walk to - and Google Maps suggested I head over London Bridge and then by the river. And it's been so long, I'd forgotten that they actually text you a link to your ticket on the day of the performance! Now, how's that for customer service..
Not the pleasantest walk, in the persistent rain that had started during the guided walk, earlier. And coming down from the other side of the bridge - whose bright idea was it to angle all the steps?! Not good for those of us with step phobias. Anyway, I made it, and the rest of the walk was uneventful. Now, only one other member of the group was coming tonight - one we hadn't met before, so I was careful to explain where I was, and what I was wearing, on the page. And lo, he found me! which is cool. So we chatted away happily before going in.
I hadn't made much of an effort to research this before going in - but as I say, if a play is good enough, you shouldn't have to study it in advance. This, I thought, was excellent. Ralph Fiennes plays Robert Moses, the urban planner who designed most of New York's road network over a long career. Left to his own devices, pretty much, he puts his own stamp on the world around him - until society's changing attitudes mean he is sidelined. Act One takes place in the 1920s, Act Two in the 1950s - and wow, he does a marvellous job, subtly but effectively conveying the ageing of his character. Wonderful acting, and yet another case of a play making some profession seem much more interesting than you might have thought.. Previews until Tuesday, runs until the 18th of June - recommended!
Well, Google Maps changed its mind for my home trip, and also lengthened its estimate of my walking speed! So I got to go home via Tower Bridge. Much more scenic, both for the bridge itself and the Tower that gives it its name.. and with ruins from the Roman wall around the Tube station, this is just a fascinating part of town:
Tomorrow is, of course, St. Patrick's Day. In Ireland, it's a bank holiday - in London, Kíla is playing the London Irish Centre again. A standing gig, this time. Should be mad. But you know, when SFF advertised tickets for Lord of the Dance, at the Hammersmith Apollo the same night.. I booked. Well, such is life. Anyway, I should have paused a moment- because I checked afterwards, and TAC has tickets as well. Bah humbug, would've been even cheaper. Never mind.
On Friday - gee, I don't expect to have started work yet! Although I can't have much free time left really, as I have now (hopefully) submitted everything to them that I think they'll need. (Got around the printing issue by photographing my signature, uploading the photo, and pasting it into the PDF. Feeling quite clever about that.) So guess what? Yep, booked (provisionally) with Laurence and the 45+s for his Magnificent Mayfair walk. With lunch, naturally.
That evening, I'm back with London European Club, for 24 Italian Songs & Arias, at Battersea Arts Centre. They're operating a "Pay What You Can" scheme, where you pay what you want, between £5 and £35 - recommended price, £16. They even sent me a survey afterwards to see what I thought!
On Saturday, back with Laurence and the 45+s - this time, it's Highgate: A Very English Village. More hills..
On Sunday.. someone I swore I'd never do a walk with again. Well, we'll see whether she's back on form - Walks, Talks & Treasure Hunts (WTTH) is off on a walk called Secrets of Belgravia. (Courtesy of her company, London Guided Walks.) The code MEETUP3 gets you a £3 discount on all her walks - which does cover the booking fee of £1, not advertised before you come to the point of purchasing the ticket. Well, it'll be a start if she shows up! Funnily enough, she messaged me the other day - because I signed up on the Meetup group - to remind me to book a ticket through her company. I see she doesn't cross-reference, since I already did!
On Monday, I'm at another Zoom talk - Quakers at War is the story of the Quakers and their pacifism. Courtesy of Surrey History Meetup.
On Tuesday.. I'm booked for Dear Evan Hansen, at the Noel Coward Theatre! Finally - I'd booked for this before lockdown, and of course it got cancelled. Cheapest tickets from the official site.
Next Wednesday, back with Civilised London (CL) - back at Le Sacré Coeur, meeting beforehand at The Crown, as usual.
On the 24th, back with TAC for Avocado Presents - Improv, at Etcetera Theatre. Eh, I think it's a jazz concert? Anyway, then back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 28th, going to see Daddy at the Almeida. Having never seen a bad production here, I have high hopes.
On the 29th, finally going to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella! I hear good things.. it's playing at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, which is new to me - Seatplan was invaluable in choosing the best seating option. What's On Stage provided the cheapest price for that seat, though!
On the 30th, back with CL - for a play this time. This is The Fever Syndrome, at Hampstead Theatre.
On the 31st, back with TAC for One Night With Robbie Williams. This is at The Courtyard.
On the 1st, back with the Crick Crack Club (CCC) for - The Grand Annual Lying Contest! at Rich Mix.
On the 2nd, back with WTTH for a Regent's Canal Walk. Different guide.
On the 3rd, the CCC again! Emily Hennessey and Sheema Mukherjee are at the British Museum, with Holy Cow! Tales from the River of Life. Unfortunately, the London Landmarks Half Marathon is also that day, so I'll probably be on the Tube, at least getting to the museum.
On the 4th, I'm back at the Park Theatre for the first time in nearly three years! This is for Clybourne Park, a comedy about a white family moving into a predominantly black neighbourhood.
On the 5th, I'm headed to But I'm a Cheerleader, a musical comedy at the Turbine Theatre.
On the 6th, back with UITCS at Southwark Playhouse, and another free ticket for me! This time, it's for Anyone Can Whistle, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
On the 7th, Tommy Tiernan is playing at the Hammersmith Apollo! Now, I failed to get a ticket for this the first time around. Then it was rescheduled because of Covid.. and I got a ticket for the rescheduled event! Then that was rescheduled.. third time lucky?! Love Tommy Tiernan. The show is called Tomfoolery. And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 11th, I've booked for The 47th, at The Old Vic. Written by Mike Bartlett, this imagines the American presidential elections of 2024. I am really looking forward to this play..
On the 12th, I'm finally going to Six, the Musical! Based around the story of the six wives of Henry VIII (very loosely, I'd say), it's playing at the Vaudeville and I hear good things. Cheapest tickets from Leicester Square Box Office.
On the 13th, back with CL, who are off to the opera at the Southbank Centre. The show in question is The Paradis Files. Next day, I'm back to Ireland for Easter - but left it so late to book, I could only get an afternoon flight, and will have to start my new job by asking for that day off work!
Well, my friend got back to me - they're away in the middle of Easter week, back on the 21st of next month, so the most sensible thing to do seemed to be to visit on the 22nd of next month, which I've now arranged with her. Whether I take that week as holiday, or take the laptop home and work from Ireland, remains to be seen. Anyway, I'll fly back to London on the 24th of next month. And on the 25th of next month, I'm off to The Corn is Green, at the National.
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