Concert: Namvula

Another World Music Meetup - and at Sands Film Studios, too! Lovely - I adore the venue, and although I hadn't heard of Namvula, her YouTube clip sounded ok - so I booked.

It's yet another of those places that would involve a complicated bit of driving, so I was back on the Overground - there's a direct train from Clapham Junction to Rotherhithe, just down the road from the venue. It was a sunny, but blustery evening.. and I've been running around so much this week, I damn near fell asleep on the journey - not having a paper didn't help. Well, I managed not to miss my stop, climbed the incredibly long way to the exit (incredibly, considering we were on the Overground!), and remembered the short walking route - left from the exit, take a shortcut across the yard, left again on the road on the other side. It's on the corner, just before the church.

Unusually, the door was closed - it was someone else wanting to get in who noticed the sign asking us to ring the bell. It was also tricky even to see the bell - and since it was high up, I actually had to stand on tippy-toes a bit to get to it. Hey-ho, I rang it - and after some time, the door was opened for us, by someone who - by his expression - I'm guessing wasn't used to having to do that. Anyway, I made my way in to the library - the door to the "cinema" wasn't open yet, so I mooched around, perusing the books and pictures, as usual.

This was the first Meetup at this venue where I've met any others from the group! (not counting the organiser). She'd asked people to introduce themselves as group members, and some did - whom she then introduced to each other. So I finally got to chat to some other group members, which was lovely. It was also lovely to see how many people were there for the first time - distinguishable by their awed reactions to what someone sitting near me described as "quite a unique venue". Well, yes it is!

We started late, of course - they always do. Namvula herself was accompanied, on this occasion, by two musicians: one on electric guitar, one on double-bass - as she explained, they're usually a six-piece.. but three fitted better in this intimate space. She had a lovely, relaxed style - and, despite her protestations later, her English was excellent. Later, she also drew attention to the fact that her running shoes had no laces - not a fashion statement, she'd just used them to attach her guitar strap! (Someone pointed out she should've gone barefoot, but she'd just come off a plane from Zambia, and said she'd been unsure about the temperature..)

And then they played a wonderfully mellow set - somewhere between an hour and 90 minutes; they voted against having an interval, wanted to hold the mood. A soft voice, soft guitar, and music that brought sunshine into this dark evening, and this cosy space. She made sure we joined in, singing, clapping, clicking fingers.. at the end, she even unplugged her guitar and moved through the audience (as much as possible), bringing the music to us. I'd never heard her before that YouTube clip, never heard anything about her, but I loved this. Thought about buying one of the cds that they had at the desk, but hey, I'm cautious about adding to the immense pile of stuff in my room; I passed.

Cold, cold night it turned out to be - I got home earlier than usual, but seeing as how I'd just missed a train, and had to wait 15 minutes for the next one, I got home just a wee bit late to blog! Tonight should be a bit more relaxed - my second film of the week is gonna be 10 Cloverfield Lane - in my local Cineworld, so already booked, 'coz that's cheaper. Sounds interesting - SciFi thriller, in which a woman wakes from a car crash to find herself in an underground bunker, with two men (one being John Goodman) who say they can't leave, because there's been some kind of apocalypse. Produced by JJ Abrams, so bound to be entertaining - and, of course, highly rated to come at the top of my film list. I booked the later showing, for the free car parking (after 7) - which is just as well, as it turns out I have to stay late in Guildford.

I can afford to be out a bit later than usual, since I'll be working from home tomorrow - flying back to Ireland for a long weekend, actually: for cheaper flights, again. On Saturday, my mother and I are off to see the Three Tenors, at the University Concert Hall - she's a big fan. I see their website seems to be having issues, though - not good, considering I ordered Print-at-Home tickets! Not flying back until Monday - which is a bummer, because (forgetting my travel dates) I'd booked a ticket for the Crick Crack Club. And now it turns out the London European Club are going as well - so that'd have been a good night. Can't be helped - I'd never be back in time.

I am with the London European Club on Tuesday, though, for a talk on Theatre and Language: Samuel Beckett "Waiting for Godot". Taking place at the Museum of London, it's a talk about the play, rather than a performance of the play itself. But I love Beckett, so that should be interesting.