This weekend, I was back to Ireland again, because of the dates I have weekend things in London this month, and the date of my mother's birthday, which I want to be back in Ireland for. It all works out - but only if I switch weekends, which I did by going back to Ireland again this weekend. Film for the weekend? The Lost King, a comedy co-written by, and starring, Steve Coogan as the supportive ex-husband of the woman who found the remains of Richard III. Under a car park.. Only showing in the Omniplex, and a little late. Ah well.
It was nice, not having to rush off straight away - mind you, it meant I got caught up in doing things, and was actually slightly late! At the cinema, I decided I wanted some chocolate - now, these days, at the Omniplex, you have to order at the kiosk and take a collection receipt to get your stuff. A couple of young girls were ahead of me at the machine - and when I got to it, they'd left a whole heap of paper in the slot. To be fair, it does produce a lot, what with sales receipts and such - anyway, I took what I needed and threw the rest in the bin. Behold, as I was queueing to collect my order, one of the girls came up to me and asked whether I'd seen paper in the machine.. Lordy, well, I suppose that should be a lesson to them. Hopefully, they rescued it. Oh, and I was queueing in the wrong place, bah humbug. Turns out the queues on the left are for folks who haven't been to the machines first..
Anyway, I made it in eventually - and it had already started, tarnation. I don't think I missed any major plot points - we meet the woman in question, in her kitchen with the (we soon discover) ex-husband and their sons. She's thinking of quitting her job - which we soon discover she hates - and he's advising her not to, as they can't afford only to have his income. Well, it's not too much of a spoiler that she goes ahead and quits anyway - and at around the same time, she starts thinking about Richard III. She's saddened to hear that his remains have just disappeared - well, now she has the time to go looking for him!
It turns out that all the information is there - it's just that no-one has put it together: especially given the lazy adherence to the villanous picture that Shakespeare painted of him. As she gets closer and closer, she gets more and more determined - and is egged on by, em, Richard's apparition, remarkably un-hunchbacked, and clad in crown and cloak. Seems a nice chap - I don't blame her for wanting to help him.
It's a subtle comedy - and honestly, I don't know whether anyone without a particular interest in royalty (or, perhaps, archaeology) would find much to interest them. I, of course, was fascinated. Kudos to that woman! and wow, Leicester University is treated scathingly - according to this, they grudgingly contributed a small amount of money to the project, then had nothing to do with it - until the skeleton was found, whereupon the university jumped in and claimed ownership of the whole project! completely sidelining the person who actually deserved the credit. They are portrayed as heartless corporate types - as the head of the archeology team explains to her, the university isn't a venerable seat of higher learning, it's a business. And from my personal experience of working in universities, I'd have to say it rings true..
The blog was delayed by my updating the film list - and the complete incapacity of my mother's computer, which was so slow that I fell asleep in the middle of the process. Back to London this evening. And with Ryanair actually going out almost on time - for once - I got a fantastic view of London as we passed over, given that it was still daylight:
Not to mention a most welcome meal at O' Neill's, which I'm hardly ever in time for! Had to eat in the dining section, upstairs though - the downstairs bar was crammed with NFL fans!
Tomorrow. Well. 👿 Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love horror. And am really excited that Darkfield is doing onsite shows this month. Mwa-ha-haa.. Five of them, in fact. I've booked the first of them for tomorrow, the first day I was free - the first they're showing, it's Intravene, nearby the BFI (actually, outside the National Theatre, as I confirmed on Thursday). These are all held in shipping containers, and the unifying idea for all Darkfield shows is that they're aural - you have headphones, which are your main sensory input. The shows all take place in complete darkness. This one is about drug abuse, and focuses on the drug problem in Vancouver. And wow, seeing the container in person finally, last week, has just stoked my anticipation..
On Wednesday.. heehee. Back with Darkfield. (Cue scary music.) They're also doing shows in Canary Wharf this year - three, in fact. This is the first night for those.. and yes, I'm doing all three, that night. In fact, they allow for that when you're booking. So, I'm doing them in the following order: first is Eulogy, an unusual Darkfield concept in that it's somewhat interactive, at various points you have to say "yes" or "no"..
Second up, I chose Coma (they all have multiple showings, so you can decide exactly what you want to go to, and when. They just ask that you leave at least 15 minutes between, which I have.) For this one, we get to lie down, I think - which is nice - and get an option to take a pill. :-)
Final for the night is the one I've heard the best reviews of - Flight is a reconstruction of an aircraft cabin, and the show is based around - well, a plane crash! Booked all of these while waiting for my eternally delayed flight last Sunday - as I say, every cloud has a silver lining..
Thursday is the next of my busy days. See, first I booked with Civilised London (CL) for Tango After Dark, at the Peacock. All good, no-brainer. Then I was messaged by an ex-colleague - another ex-colleague is having leaving drinks that same night, in the Pelt Trader! Hellfire.. so, what I'm going to do is skip drinks with CL after the show and leg it over to the Pelt Trader - I've ordered her not to stop drinking till I get there!
On Friday, something advertised with the Crick Crack Club (CCC) - they're celebrating all things Mexican in Kew Gardens, with Mexico After Hours! With something about the Day of the Dead, no doubt..
Saturday is another of those busy days. So.. first I'm headed on a walk with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners - this one is Paddington - Proud, Perky & Picturesque.
But, for nearly a year now, I've had tickets booked, for me and Helen, for Dara O' Briain in the Hammersmith Apollo that night! Crikey, I'd never even have thought of it if it hadn't been noted in my calendar. So anyway, she can't come to the walk, but we'll meet for dinner beforehand in Bill's of Hammersmith. I can only hope for better service than I got in Bill's of Clink Street..
Next Sunday, back with the CCC for Inisfáil, Irish storytelling courtesy of the wonderful Clare Murphy, in the British Museum.
On the 17th, I originally booked a free online talk about Railways of Surrey, from the Surrey History Meetup. But I just recently saw (despite the fact that it was evidently posted months ago) an event from Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) - Samsara is inspired by the Chinese novel, Journey to the West, and contains partial nudity, we're told. Tickets for this are quite cheap, and we're all in the Stalls, for once - they haven't even opened the Second Circle, where we normally are! So, no stairs, for a change!
On the 18th, I've booked for Iphigenia in Splott, in the Lyric Hammersmith.
On the 19th, supposed to have drinks with Ivan! Might go to O' Neill's, we could do worse.
On the 20th, back with CL for dinner at Le Sacré Coeur. Always good.
On the 21st, back to Ireland again - and the following Monday, it's my mother's birthday, so I'm staying in Ireland for that and flying back on Tuesday 25th. I've already cleared it with work.
And on the 26th, I've booked with UITCS again - for Mary, at Hampstead Theatre again. Political machinations in the court of Mary, Queen of Scots. Funny thing - there were two seats in the main seating section at the cheapest price, but the site objected to me just booking one of them. No problem booking an equivalent seat in a higher price bracket, though! So I booked one of the high seats, at the back, instead. At the lower price.
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