Although the office is on my way, I'd had a late night, and only just got myself up and ready in time to head straight to the Opera House. (Damn these matinees!) No coaches in extremis this time, and I was there in no time, seeing familiar faces even as I approached. I was to be delighted I'd come, actually, to catch up with them.. but as ever, it was nice to have some first-timers too.
Amphitheatre this time - Let's Do London - for less! exclusively - and I had to agree with the Man with the Hat, it was a good production to see face-on. The visuals are just so beautiful! I don't have much to add to my post of Tuesday's performance - again, my favourite scene was that of the boat drifting magically through the mist, floating on stage. Gorgeous costumes, beautiful choreography, dazzling sets. This time, the auditorium was more conspicuously peppered with children, who adored it - clapping and cheering, which is quite a feat after a ballet that's lasted for three hours (including intervals). Definitely a hit with old and young. Runs until the 14th, but now seems to be completely sold out..
And so to The Sun Tavern - and a decent crowd of us, for once! So many, in fact, that we took up all the spare seats, and the poor Man with the Hat, seatless, had to make his way home. After distributing some complimentary wine. Well, much appreciated, Sir! A few of us were hungry, and ordered food - I had the London pie, a simple one of just minced beef, onions, and gravy: tasty, but a small portion, and I followed it with some crisps. A couple of others had cheesy fries - in contrast, huge portions! A while later, some others were heading to a Thai restaurant, and invited us, but we passed - too full, now.
No, a couple of us had other plans. My companion had it in mind to see Manchester by the Sea - and I hadn't seen it, and said sure, I'd accompany her! so I checked where it was on, at a decent time - and we decided on the Curzon Soho. We hung on in the Sun until it was a reasonable time to leave, and moseyed off, stopping off in Caffe Nero to pick up a couple of Chocolate Milanos. Wanting to sip it a bit faster, I took off the top of the takeaway cup and ended up spilling chocolate all over my fingers - well, a tasty mess.
We got two seats, but not together - we were told there weren't any pairs left. Ok, we sat in the same row, at opposite ends - perhaps the people who were supposed to occupy the various empty seats dotted about just hadn't managed to make it. The screen gradually filled up (mostly), and after some trailers, this two-Oscar-winning film started.
Casey Affleck is a disaffected loner, working in Boston - but he comes from a town an hour and a half's drive away, and when his brother, Kyle Chandler, dies an untimely death, he has to return to his hometown to pick up the pieces. Along the way, he has to deal with his ex-wife, Michelle Williams, the nephew he now has to take care of, Lucas Hedges, his awful aunt, Gretchen Mol, his nephew's girlfriend's mother, Heather Burns, who fancies him, and his late brother's ex-wife's fiance, a good Christian who has put her back on the straight and narrow: a very stiff cameo by Matthew Broderick.
I was a bit apprehensive, considering the number of reviews I've read that said this film was just plain depressing. It's not. Casey Affleck, who won the Best Actor Oscar for it, gives an understated performance as the man hiding an inexpressible grief, who can only communicate with his fists. And that's what the whole film is like - understated. There's a pivotal moment, somewhere in the middle of the film, where we discover the terrible secret that this angry man is hiding: and it's a magnificent 5-10 minutes, no dialogue, just classical music soaring over the scenes unfolding in flashback. I had tears streaming down my cheeks.
And that's it, then. As my companion remarked, there's a trend in film at the moment to tell ordinary stories - and she finds them the most powerful. A couple of tragic things happen in this film - but most of the film is just people dealing with the day-to-day practicalities that result. And honestly, much of it is hilarious, as he finds himself the reluctant carer for a teenager, with all the adventures that entails. It rings true - it's not a bit mawkish. Plus, there are scenes of real beauty, as the camera pans across snow-covered fields to the sound of an acapella choir.
A beautiful, beautiful film. The other Oscar it won was for Best Original Writing, and that's just fine by me. Recommended.
Well, the Curzon Soho is on my way home, so there didn't seem much point in returning to the office - plus, it was late. So I just headed home to bed - and was delighted to find the Tesco on Dean Street now has extended opening hours, so I could get some stuff.
Today, London for Less Than a Tenner advertised "Soho: the Roots of the Swinging Sixties - guided walk"! Now, this confused me, before I read deeper.. I do recall the Man With the Hat saying that, while he was interested in guided walks, he wasn't interested in actually guiding them. Turns out someone else is doing the actual guiding.. Anyway, I booked, but it seems not enough of us did, and he's cancelled the event. The walk is still going ahead though - check out Back in the Day Walks for more details. However, I'm going to a film - since John Wick Chapter 2 doesn't appeal (still highly rated!), Rogue One: a Star Wars Story is it, and with it only showing in Odeon Studios, I kept an eye on it, and seeing it was filling up, I just booked.
Tomorrow, I'm off to see Russell Howard at the Albert Hall.
Tuesday, jeez, the Man with the Hat is back again! Hard to keep up these days - so I'm going with Let's Do London - for less! to The Diary of a Teenage Girl at Southwark Playhouse.
Wednesday, I finally get to go to something with the Post-Apocalyptic Book Club - not a book discussion this time, instead they're off to a play called The Machine Stops, at Jacksons Lane Theatre. Suitably post-apocalyptic. Then I'm back to Ireland for a long weekend.
Monday 13th, I'm with London Dramatic Arts at the Royal Court, for The Kid Stays in the Picture.
That rescheduled talk on Brexit Vs. Trump from a couple of weeks ago is on Tuesday 14th. Unless I decide to go to a film instead - being Funzing, I can get my money back if I cancel at least 48 hours in advance.
On Wednesday 15th, the Man with the Hat is taking London for Less Than a Tenner to Top Secret.
Thursday 16th, he's back to the Opera House for the opening night of a mixed bill of ballet. As usual, he's in the slips with London for Less Than a Tenner, and in the amphitheatre with Let's Do London - for Less!
Friday 17th, I got a cheap ticket to a very topical version of Twelfth Night, in the Drayton Arms. Ah, I remember when I was walking distance from there..
Saturday 18th, I'm back with Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts for an Oliver Twist walk. Back with Hazel, excellent!
Sunday 19th.. not a Man with the Hat event, but one he's advertised. One member of his group plays Spanish guitar, and is giving a concert that night - so I've booked a ticket. Well hey, I do love Spanish music..
Monday 20th, I'm off to a Funzing talk on The Science of Psychedelics. Courtesy of London Speaks Sessions, LDN Talks @ Night, and London for a Tenner or Less (nothing to do with the Man with the Hat). Unless I think of something better up to 48 hours beforehand..
Tuesday 21st, I'm with London European Club (LEC) for Carradine's Cockney Singalong, at Hoxton Hall. Had some fun with this last week, when I noticed another group member had confused it with something at a different venue, and thought it wasn't now happening..
Wednesday 22nd, I'm headed with LEC again - with a different organiser - to see 2 Cellos in concert in the London Palladium. Cool - never seen them before, never been there before, and I can probably walk there!
Thursday 23rd was another Funzing talk, with the same three groups, on The Science of Hypnosis. And then, wouldn't you know it, Henning from the LEC advertised.. Hypnosis - Altering Consciousness! With Pint of Science. (What is it about that day and hypnosis?!) Anyway, I do enjoy events with Henning, and as I say, I can cancel Funzing up to 48 hours in advance without penalty. So I did, and booked the other instead. And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again..
And so to The Sun Tavern - and a decent crowd of us, for once! So many, in fact, that we took up all the spare seats, and the poor Man with the Hat, seatless, had to make his way home. After distributing some complimentary wine. Well, much appreciated, Sir! A few of us were hungry, and ordered food - I had the London pie, a simple one of just minced beef, onions, and gravy: tasty, but a small portion, and I followed it with some crisps. A couple of others had cheesy fries - in contrast, huge portions! A while later, some others were heading to a Thai restaurant, and invited us, but we passed - too full, now.
No, a couple of us had other plans. My companion had it in mind to see Manchester by the Sea - and I hadn't seen it, and said sure, I'd accompany her! so I checked where it was on, at a decent time - and we decided on the Curzon Soho. We hung on in the Sun until it was a reasonable time to leave, and moseyed off, stopping off in Caffe Nero to pick up a couple of Chocolate Milanos. Wanting to sip it a bit faster, I took off the top of the takeaway cup and ended up spilling chocolate all over my fingers - well, a tasty mess.
We got two seats, but not together - we were told there weren't any pairs left. Ok, we sat in the same row, at opposite ends - perhaps the people who were supposed to occupy the various empty seats dotted about just hadn't managed to make it. The screen gradually filled up (mostly), and after some trailers, this two-Oscar-winning film started.
Casey Affleck is a disaffected loner, working in Boston - but he comes from a town an hour and a half's drive away, and when his brother, Kyle Chandler, dies an untimely death, he has to return to his hometown to pick up the pieces. Along the way, he has to deal with his ex-wife, Michelle Williams, the nephew he now has to take care of, Lucas Hedges, his awful aunt, Gretchen Mol, his nephew's girlfriend's mother, Heather Burns, who fancies him, and his late brother's ex-wife's fiance, a good Christian who has put her back on the straight and narrow: a very stiff cameo by Matthew Broderick.
I was a bit apprehensive, considering the number of reviews I've read that said this film was just plain depressing. It's not. Casey Affleck, who won the Best Actor Oscar for it, gives an understated performance as the man hiding an inexpressible grief, who can only communicate with his fists. And that's what the whole film is like - understated. There's a pivotal moment, somewhere in the middle of the film, where we discover the terrible secret that this angry man is hiding: and it's a magnificent 5-10 minutes, no dialogue, just classical music soaring over the scenes unfolding in flashback. I had tears streaming down my cheeks.
And that's it, then. As my companion remarked, there's a trend in film at the moment to tell ordinary stories - and she finds them the most powerful. A couple of tragic things happen in this film - but most of the film is just people dealing with the day-to-day practicalities that result. And honestly, much of it is hilarious, as he finds himself the reluctant carer for a teenager, with all the adventures that entails. It rings true - it's not a bit mawkish. Plus, there are scenes of real beauty, as the camera pans across snow-covered fields to the sound of an acapella choir.
A beautiful, beautiful film. The other Oscar it won was for Best Original Writing, and that's just fine by me. Recommended.
Well, the Curzon Soho is on my way home, so there didn't seem much point in returning to the office - plus, it was late. So I just headed home to bed - and was delighted to find the Tesco on Dean Street now has extended opening hours, so I could get some stuff.
Today, London for Less Than a Tenner advertised "Soho: the Roots of the Swinging Sixties - guided walk"! Now, this confused me, before I read deeper.. I do recall the Man With the Hat saying that, while he was interested in guided walks, he wasn't interested in actually guiding them. Turns out someone else is doing the actual guiding.. Anyway, I booked, but it seems not enough of us did, and he's cancelled the event. The walk is still going ahead though - check out Back in the Day Walks for more details. However, I'm going to a film - since John Wick Chapter 2 doesn't appeal (still highly rated!), Rogue One: a Star Wars Story is it, and with it only showing in Odeon Studios, I kept an eye on it, and seeing it was filling up, I just booked.
Tomorrow, I'm off to see Russell Howard at the Albert Hall.
Tuesday, jeez, the Man with the Hat is back again! Hard to keep up these days - so I'm going with Let's Do London - for less! to The Diary of a Teenage Girl at Southwark Playhouse.
Wednesday, I finally get to go to something with the Post-Apocalyptic Book Club - not a book discussion this time, instead they're off to a play called The Machine Stops, at Jacksons Lane Theatre. Suitably post-apocalyptic. Then I'm back to Ireland for a long weekend.
Monday 13th, I'm with London Dramatic Arts at the Royal Court, for The Kid Stays in the Picture.
That rescheduled talk on Brexit Vs. Trump from a couple of weeks ago is on Tuesday 14th. Unless I decide to go to a film instead - being Funzing, I can get my money back if I cancel at least 48 hours in advance.
On Wednesday 15th, the Man with the Hat is taking London for Less Than a Tenner to Top Secret.
Thursday 16th, he's back to the Opera House for the opening night of a mixed bill of ballet. As usual, he's in the slips with London for Less Than a Tenner, and in the amphitheatre with Let's Do London - for Less!
Friday 17th, I got a cheap ticket to a very topical version of Twelfth Night, in the Drayton Arms. Ah, I remember when I was walking distance from there..
Saturday 18th, I'm back with Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts for an Oliver Twist walk. Back with Hazel, excellent!
Sunday 19th.. not a Man with the Hat event, but one he's advertised. One member of his group plays Spanish guitar, and is giving a concert that night - so I've booked a ticket. Well hey, I do love Spanish music..
Monday 20th, I'm off to a Funzing talk on The Science of Psychedelics. Courtesy of London Speaks Sessions, LDN Talks @ Night, and London for a Tenner or Less (nothing to do with the Man with the Hat). Unless I think of something better up to 48 hours beforehand..
Tuesday 21st, I'm with London European Club (LEC) for Carradine's Cockney Singalong, at Hoxton Hall. Had some fun with this last week, when I noticed another group member had confused it with something at a different venue, and thought it wasn't now happening..
Wednesday 22nd, I'm headed with LEC again - with a different organiser - to see 2 Cellos in concert in the London Palladium. Cool - never seen them before, never been there before, and I can probably walk there!
Thursday 23rd was another Funzing talk, with the same three groups, on The Science of Hypnosis. And then, wouldn't you know it, Henning from the LEC advertised.. Hypnosis - Altering Consciousness! With Pint of Science. (What is it about that day and hypnosis?!) Anyway, I do enjoy events with Henning, and as I say, I can cancel Funzing up to 48 hours in advance without penalty. So I did, and booked the other instead. And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again..
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