Tonight, I was supposed to be with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! But then TunedIn advertised flamenco at Sands Films.. irresistible really. So I booked that instead. And then RSVPed with the World Music Meetup, when they finally got around to advertising it. (I see that London, Surrey and Beyond event was cancelled in the end, for lack of interest.)
Actually, this concert was one that the organiser, who runs all the concerts here, told us about weeks ago, and had been on my radar ever since. So, I booked as soon as it was finally advertised. Now, I adore Sands Films - but it's a 'mare to get to, even from where I'm currently based! Taking the bus, it was going to take me around an hour. Well, I started out over an hour before the doors were due to open, taking the option of the #176 because that stopped nearest to me of all options, then to change to the #C10 at Elephant and Castle.
Now, I've heard complaints about the #C10 - but Google Maps was wrong on this occasion, it wasn't late at all. Which was just as well, considering the traffic we ran into as we reached Rotherhithe! I've heard complaints about that before, too. It was so bad that the driver let out a whole swathe of people as we waited through change after change of traffic lights. When we finally got to Bermondsey Station, I decided to walk the rest of the way.
Having passed my bus three times on foot by the time I turned off the main road, I'm fairly confident I made it faster than that bus! Even though I got slightly lost at the roundabout, it only cost me a couple of minutes. By the time I arrived at the venue, the doors were open and people were queueing to go in. The organiser was pretty busy, so I didn't have a chance to say hi - just hurried upstairs, because this was, for once, in that dinky little wooden theatre they have on the first floor! Got myself a seat to the side, about halfway down.
Now, tonight's event was apparently in honour of the centenary of the birth (and the 50th anniversary of the death) of Violeta Parra, a celebrated Chilean singer-songwriter, and was one of a number of events being held worldwide. Supported by the Anglo-Chilean Society, and the Chilean embassy - so there were a lot of Chileans in the house. Including our dancer for the night.
Ah now, this was something special. Flamenco at its most fiery, passionate and intense - showing its gypsy roots. Three different outfits she came out in, each more flamboyant than the last - but it's really not the outfit that people come to see. I really don't know why she bothers to wear things in her hair - the ferocity of her dancing just flings them out! (One audience member in the front row was kind enough to pass a comb back to her at the end.) And she was accompanied by three fine Flamenco musicians - one on percussion, matching the beat of her feet: one intense-eyed singer, his voice matching the ferocity of her rhythm: and a guy on guitar, who gave us a solo, and had cds for sale outside. As usual, I had no cash..
Between acts, we had piped music and words, presumably from Violeta herself.. And the very last scene went to the dancer, who, after the others had left, danced for us without music, making a soundboard out of her body. Awesome - I don't hear half enough of this music, see half enough of this dance; it ran through my head, all the way home, and I had to wonder what would have happened if my destiny had taken me to live in Spain, which at one stage I was poised to do..
A blast of Spanish/Chilean sun, as winter sets in. Too crowded afterwards to look for people, so I just left. Tomorrow, it's back to Ireland for the weekend again. Wet and windy, we're promised.
On Monday, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th. I'll need my laptop, so what with going back to Ireland for the weekend, I brought it home tonight and will work from home tomorrow - first time in, gee, nearly a year! Great to have a lie-in..
On Tuesday, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
Wednesday was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, which I'm finding lately has been the norm!
Thursday, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! next Friday, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.
On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.
Thursday, 28 September 2017
Walk: King's cross and John Betjeman
Last night, I was supposed to be with Up in the Cheap Seats again - for Jekyll & Hyde, presented by the National Youth Theatre, at the Ambassadors Theatre. Which would have been interesting. But gee, of course, London Literary Walks was out again - King's Cross and John Betjeman, this one. Last of the year - I couldn't miss it.
Rain was forecast - not unusual for his walks. Well, I had a late meeting again, but it finished before the allotted time, and I set off in good time. King's Cross is a little bit far to walk from the office, so bus it was; I elected to use the bus stop from where I could get any of three buses! The 10, the 73, and the 390.. and lo, as I was waiting to cross the road, I saw each of them pass.. and then another 73.. but you know, they literally come like machine-gun fire here, and I wasn't waiting long before another happened along.
More photos here. It wasn't hard to find The Parcel Yard in King's Cross.. just walk the length of it, and it's at the North end. Right beside the Harry Potter shop, and that Platform 9 3/4.
We had a wander around the shop before we left the station, and what a pity I'm not a Harry Potter fan - it's a fabulous place. Anyway, The Parcel Yard is just up the stairs here, and as we had been warned, a huge place - I didn't see anyone I knew as I wandered through, and queued at the bar for a drink. Had something of a wait, and in the meantime took a look around. It's the old parcel office, spacious and airy - and you can hire function rooms upstairs, chalking your booking on the sign near the door. There's an interesting set of shelves behind the bar, housing bottles above signs that include prices ranging from £30 to.. well, the highest I noticed was £160..
I'd noticed the organiser as I was looking around, sat in a side room not far from the bar, and duly joined him when I finally had my drink. The others joined us eventually, and we chatted a bit about John Betjeman and Paul Nash, both of whom we'd be coming across that evening. Hey, for once I managed to tell him something he didn't know - John Betjeman was stationed in Dublin in 1941 as a press attaché, possibly with a remit to act as a spy. Certainly, the IRA thought so, and had him marked for assassination - until they read some of his poetry, which prompted them to let him off!
Our walk began in the station, moving outside into a light rain. I must say, there's more to King's Cross / St. Pancras than you'd think! Gorgeous architecture is just the start of it. Of course, there's the aforementioned Harry Potter shop - just outside the station is a kind of pagoda, with an adult-sized swing, and a restaurant called the German Gymnasium, which our guide assured us is the site of the very fist actual gymnasium in London: founded by Germans, naturally. The waiters wear traditional German costume.
In St. Pancras, we were presented with a jukebox in the waiting area! Some tracks free, some to pay for:
The place is also packed with interesting statuary - we started with John Betjeman himself:
..before moving on to a giant statue of a couple embracing. Most interesting, though, were the reliefs around the base, depicting the hordes who pass through the station:
Back out in the rain - now heavier - we passed Irish pubs, blue plaques.. we were near where a friend of Mary lives, apparently, but didn't swing by. And Stephen did his best to give us the history. Unfortunately, the weather really wasn't with us - we were facing a deluge.
And so, reluctantly, we called it a night. Most of us would have repaired to a pub, but for that there was a football match on, and they were all packed! And so we ended up in Prêt à Manger, where hot chocolate, soup, and coffee were had by us, in various combinations. And a chocolate moose (sic) for me - they're excellent, and more recommended than the hot chocolate here. And we were in from the wet. Until we finally had to brave it.. it would have taken me 18 minutes to walk home from there, 19 minutes by Tube (longer by bus) - but with that weather I wasn't walking, and buses are horrible in the rain. So I Tubed it, for once - I was wet enough already. Anyway, it gave me a chance to say farewell to Stephen for the year - he does have a point about not walking as the weather gets worse.
Early-ish to sleep, because our rooms had to be "available" to have the fire alarms inspected today, from early! Again. After them going off nonstop on Sunday, I might think they weren't presenting any problems being heard. Tonight, I was with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! But then TunedIn advertised flamenco at Sands Films.. irresistible really. So I've booked that instead. And then RSVPed with the World Music Meetup, when they finally got around to advertising it. (I see that London, Surrey and Beyond event has been cancelled now, for lack of interest.) Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On Monday, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th. I'll need my laptop, so what with going back to Ireland for the weekend, I'll have to take it with me tonight. Hey-ho..
On Tuesday, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
Wednesday was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, which I'm finding lately has been the norm!
Next Thursday, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.
On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.
Rain was forecast - not unusual for his walks. Well, I had a late meeting again, but it finished before the allotted time, and I set off in good time. King's Cross is a little bit far to walk from the office, so bus it was; I elected to use the bus stop from where I could get any of three buses! The 10, the 73, and the 390.. and lo, as I was waiting to cross the road, I saw each of them pass.. and then another 73.. but you know, they literally come like machine-gun fire here, and I wasn't waiting long before another happened along.
More photos here. It wasn't hard to find The Parcel Yard in King's Cross.. just walk the length of it, and it's at the North end. Right beside the Harry Potter shop, and that Platform 9 3/4.
We had a wander around the shop before we left the station, and what a pity I'm not a Harry Potter fan - it's a fabulous place. Anyway, The Parcel Yard is just up the stairs here, and as we had been warned, a huge place - I didn't see anyone I knew as I wandered through, and queued at the bar for a drink. Had something of a wait, and in the meantime took a look around. It's the old parcel office, spacious and airy - and you can hire function rooms upstairs, chalking your booking on the sign near the door. There's an interesting set of shelves behind the bar, housing bottles above signs that include prices ranging from £30 to.. well, the highest I noticed was £160..
I'd noticed the organiser as I was looking around, sat in a side room not far from the bar, and duly joined him when I finally had my drink. The others joined us eventually, and we chatted a bit about John Betjeman and Paul Nash, both of whom we'd be coming across that evening. Hey, for once I managed to tell him something he didn't know - John Betjeman was stationed in Dublin in 1941 as a press attaché, possibly with a remit to act as a spy. Certainly, the IRA thought so, and had him marked for assassination - until they read some of his poetry, which prompted them to let him off!
Our walk began in the station, moving outside into a light rain. I must say, there's more to King's Cross / St. Pancras than you'd think! Gorgeous architecture is just the start of it. Of course, there's the aforementioned Harry Potter shop - just outside the station is a kind of pagoda, with an adult-sized swing, and a restaurant called the German Gymnasium, which our guide assured us is the site of the very fist actual gymnasium in London: founded by Germans, naturally. The waiters wear traditional German costume.
In St. Pancras, we were presented with a jukebox in the waiting area! Some tracks free, some to pay for:
The place is also packed with interesting statuary - we started with John Betjeman himself:
..before moving on to a giant statue of a couple embracing. Most interesting, though, were the reliefs around the base, depicting the hordes who pass through the station:
Back out in the rain - now heavier - we passed Irish pubs, blue plaques.. we were near where a friend of Mary lives, apparently, but didn't swing by. And Stephen did his best to give us the history. Unfortunately, the weather really wasn't with us - we were facing a deluge.
And so, reluctantly, we called it a night. Most of us would have repaired to a pub, but for that there was a football match on, and they were all packed! And so we ended up in Prêt à Manger, where hot chocolate, soup, and coffee were had by us, in various combinations. And a chocolate moose (sic) for me - they're excellent, and more recommended than the hot chocolate here. And we were in from the wet. Until we finally had to brave it.. it would have taken me 18 minutes to walk home from there, 19 minutes by Tube (longer by bus) - but with that weather I wasn't walking, and buses are horrible in the rain. So I Tubed it, for once - I was wet enough already. Anyway, it gave me a chance to say farewell to Stephen for the year - he does have a point about not walking as the weather gets worse.
Early-ish to sleep, because our rooms had to be "available" to have the fire alarms inspected today, from early! Again. After them going off nonstop on Sunday, I might think they weren't presenting any problems being heard. Tonight, I was with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! But then TunedIn advertised flamenco at Sands Films.. irresistible really. So I've booked that instead. And then RSVPed with the World Music Meetup, when they finally got around to advertising it. (I see that London, Surrey and Beyond event has been cancelled now, for lack of interest.) Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On Monday, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th. I'll need my laptop, so what with going back to Ireland for the weekend, I'll have to take it with me tonight. Hey-ho..
On Tuesday, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
Wednesday was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, which I'm finding lately has been the norm!
Next Thursday, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.
On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.
Tuesday, 26 September 2017
Play: Wings
Tonight, I was back with Up in the Cheap Seats - to see Wings, at the Young Vic. Booked the cheapest ticket I could get - the gallery - and was then worried I'd be standing; another member of the group had bought a Lucky Dip ticket, which carries the warning that that might be the case for that class of ticket, and I was worried I'd plumped for it automatically. Oh well, I'd just have to see..
Took myself down there in good time. It was just a little bit too far to walk - and I'm wearing non-walking shoes today anyway - so I took the bus, and arrived at about, I dunno, 10 to 7? We weren't to meet until 7. I picked up my ticket - and happened across the Lucky Dip person, who'd apparently arrived really early in the hopes of getting a good seat, from the unallocated ones - only to discover that they wouldn't give her a seat until all the others were seated, and they could choose from what was left. She was a bit worried she'd be standing, and a bit sorry she'd chosen that.. Anyway, I stayed and chatted with her until they opened the doors and I made my way upstairs, as instructed.
Now, I've never been in the gallery here before, and I'm not sure it was even open to the public. I don't remember more than two levels here. However, tonight, I was asked to stand "over there" until someone came to "lead me up". (?!) When a few of us had similarly gathered, a guy did indeed appear, and asked us to follow him. I was beginning to be afraid I would, indeed, be standing. Well, he led us up a twisting staircase - I was sure I could hear the wind, whistling through the rafters - and when we finally got up there, to my relief, there were benches.
I had to squeeze past some people on the way to my seat, H47. Which is half of an upholstered bench, shared with H48. I was rather unnerved to discover that it wasn't actually properly fastened to the floor, and tended to lean forward when I sat on it! ..and clanked against the wall, when I pushed myself back to let others pass. Not unique, that - the bench beside it did the same, I noticed. I also noticed a screwdriver down the back of the seats - maybe they're not quite finished putting these in place..? Have to say, legroom wasn't spectacular - there were things you could kind of lean your feet on, but not really comfortably, and the bench is so high off the ground that my feet were dangling, otherwise, which I also found uncomfortable. The bench itself, I found comfy enough.
The play stars Juliet Stevenson - who dominates proceedings, being onstage throughout - as a former aviator and wing-walker, now suffering from an inability to speak, following a stroke. Well, I say she's onstage - actually, she spends most of her time suspended above it, swooping and twisting in a harness. Kudos to her for delivering a performance under those circumstances - frequently upside-down! and, as we all agreed afterwards, a compelling one, too. Very evocative of her former profession, the staging has film from flights projected onto screens that run on both sides of the stage - this performance is equally well-viewed from either side. And the aerial sequences are wonderfully dream-like. In a nice touch, as she becomes more lucid, she comes ever closer to the earth - even capable of sitting down.
It did drag a little in the middle, and wasn't to everyone's taste - but I thought it was excellent, with a standout performance by the lead, as I say. Recommended, as a very interesting night out - runs until 4 November, booking advised - it was nearly sold out tonight, on a Tuesday!
Rather a relief to get down to terra more firma. This group has several different organisers, and although we met up outside afterwards, there was no move from this one to go anywhere for a drink. I do miss that from the Man with the Hat.. he always had a pub lined up, for those who wanted it. Well, at least it means earlier nights for me..
Tomorrow, I was with Up in the Cheap Seats again - for Jekyll & Hyde, presented by the National Youth Theatre, at the Ambassadors Theatre. Which would have been interesting. But gee, of course, London Literary Walks is out again - King's Cross and John Betjeman, this one. Likely to be the last of the year - I couldn't miss it.
On Thursday, I was with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! But then TunedIn advertised flamenco at Sands Films.. irresistible really. So I've booked that instead. And then RSVPed with the World Music Meetup, when they finally got around to advertising it. (I see that London, Surrey and Beyond event has been cancelled now, for lack of interest.) Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On Monday, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th.
Next Tuesday, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
On the 4th October was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, which I'm finding lately has been the norm!
On the 5th October, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.
On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.
Took myself down there in good time. It was just a little bit too far to walk - and I'm wearing non-walking shoes today anyway - so I took the bus, and arrived at about, I dunno, 10 to 7? We weren't to meet until 7. I picked up my ticket - and happened across the Lucky Dip person, who'd apparently arrived really early in the hopes of getting a good seat, from the unallocated ones - only to discover that they wouldn't give her a seat until all the others were seated, and they could choose from what was left. She was a bit worried she'd be standing, and a bit sorry she'd chosen that.. Anyway, I stayed and chatted with her until they opened the doors and I made my way upstairs, as instructed.
Now, I've never been in the gallery here before, and I'm not sure it was even open to the public. I don't remember more than two levels here. However, tonight, I was asked to stand "over there" until someone came to "lead me up". (?!) When a few of us had similarly gathered, a guy did indeed appear, and asked us to follow him. I was beginning to be afraid I would, indeed, be standing. Well, he led us up a twisting staircase - I was sure I could hear the wind, whistling through the rafters - and when we finally got up there, to my relief, there were benches.
I had to squeeze past some people on the way to my seat, H47. Which is half of an upholstered bench, shared with H48. I was rather unnerved to discover that it wasn't actually properly fastened to the floor, and tended to lean forward when I sat on it! ..and clanked against the wall, when I pushed myself back to let others pass. Not unique, that - the bench beside it did the same, I noticed. I also noticed a screwdriver down the back of the seats - maybe they're not quite finished putting these in place..? Have to say, legroom wasn't spectacular - there were things you could kind of lean your feet on, but not really comfortably, and the bench is so high off the ground that my feet were dangling, otherwise, which I also found uncomfortable. The bench itself, I found comfy enough.
The play stars Juliet Stevenson - who dominates proceedings, being onstage throughout - as a former aviator and wing-walker, now suffering from an inability to speak, following a stroke. Well, I say she's onstage - actually, she spends most of her time suspended above it, swooping and twisting in a harness. Kudos to her for delivering a performance under those circumstances - frequently upside-down! and, as we all agreed afterwards, a compelling one, too. Very evocative of her former profession, the staging has film from flights projected onto screens that run on both sides of the stage - this performance is equally well-viewed from either side. And the aerial sequences are wonderfully dream-like. In a nice touch, as she becomes more lucid, she comes ever closer to the earth - even capable of sitting down.
It did drag a little in the middle, and wasn't to everyone's taste - but I thought it was excellent, with a standout performance by the lead, as I say. Recommended, as a very interesting night out - runs until 4 November, booking advised - it was nearly sold out tonight, on a Tuesday!
Rather a relief to get down to terra more firma. This group has several different organisers, and although we met up outside afterwards, there was no move from this one to go anywhere for a drink. I do miss that from the Man with the Hat.. he always had a pub lined up, for those who wanted it. Well, at least it means earlier nights for me..
Tomorrow, I was with Up in the Cheap Seats again - for Jekyll & Hyde, presented by the National Youth Theatre, at the Ambassadors Theatre. Which would have been interesting. But gee, of course, London Literary Walks is out again - King's Cross and John Betjeman, this one. Likely to be the last of the year - I couldn't miss it.
On Thursday, I was with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! But then TunedIn advertised flamenco at Sands Films.. irresistible really. So I've booked that instead. And then RSVPed with the World Music Meetup, when they finally got around to advertising it. (I see that London, Surrey and Beyond event has been cancelled now, for lack of interest.) Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On Monday, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th.
Next Tuesday, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
On the 4th October was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, which I'm finding lately has been the norm!
On the 5th October, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.
On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.
Monday, 25 September 2017
Play: Prism
Tonight, a group called Theatre and Stuff went to see Prism, at Hampstead Theatre. They charge a membership fee, though - so I happily bought my own ticket. What the hey, odds were I wouldn't know any of them anyway.
Had a late meeting, which overran, but it still left me with plenty of time. Fastest bus was from Charing Cross Road, where I could catch one of a couple of buses to Camden Town, then change to the #31. As I was waiting for that, a #24 caused much confusion by stopping at the stop further down.. I think it was just at the wrong stop, and it did stop at ours as well. As for mine, it wasn't long in coming, and stopped across the road from the theatre - a journey I've made before.
Got my ticket at the box office, and immediately had a burst of déja vu.. it seems that almost every time I've been here has either been with, or avoiding, London Dramatic Arts. (If you get a cheaper ticket, they spitefully disapprove, y'see, which is when I avoid them. When are they going to learn that that's just bad advertising..?) Anyway, en route to the loo, I was distracted by a massive projection of credits for old films.. turned out that was related to the play I'd come to see.
The toilets are interesting - I don't think I've been here, before, and yes, the photos of celebrities are the actual cubicle doors. In the adjoining café, I was interested to see shelves of books. Wonder whether they have a swap system? Anyway, heading back up to the lobby, I saw people making their way into the auditorium, so I followed. I had the very back row in the dress circle - which has ok legroom, a rail to lean on, and mine was in the middle, so had a rail to the side where I could hang my coat. I did think I spied a couple of people in the stalls that I knew - possibly attending with that other group. Hey-ho.
The play stars Robert Lindsay as an elderly, demented former cinematographer.. having worked with all the stars, he now spends more time in his past than the present. Just four characters in all - his wife, son, and carer all trying to tether him to reality - oh, and of course, we have the ghosts of his past acquaintances in the film world! His son has tried to mollify him by converting the garage into a kind of sound stage, but the jury's out on whether that's done more harm than good.
Oh my God, this is good!! The very best play I've seen in a long time. Absolutely beautiful writing throughout. The couple beside me weren't enthused by the first half - thought it lacked a plot, of all things. Now, a plot really isn't necessary as long as you have something to focus on - let me refer back to that incredible writing. Me, as I told them, I loved it.. but then, I love old film - and there were plenty of references to that, the old cinematographer speaking with such passion about the tools of his trade, and about the people he knew.
The second half balances the scales, as we see into his amazing world. The stage transforms quite dramatically into the set of The African Queen, Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart hanging out with him in the heart of the Dark Continent. Flips from there to a sound stage, where we see him with Monroe and Arthur Miller. And I've got to say - all the impersonations were a delight to behold. That, with the evocative backdrops, make it a delight to a film buff. The whole thing is highly cinematic. Combine that with a really, subtly emotional ending, and you have a truly memorable production. If you have the chance to see this at all, it'd be a crime to miss it. Runs till the 14th - and it really isn't often I see something this good. GO SEE!!
Tomorrow, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats - to see Wings, at the Young Vic. Accidentally booked standing, I think.. :-/
On Wednesday, I was with Up in the Cheap Seats again - for Jekyll & Hyde, presented by the National Youth Theatre, at the Ambassadors Theatre. But gee, of course, London Literary Walks is out again - King's Cross and John Betjeman, this one. Likely to be the last of the year - I couldn't miss it.
On Thursday, I was with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! But then TunedIn advertised flamenco at Sands Films.. irresistible really. So I've booked that instead. And then RSVPed with the World Music Meetup, when they finally got around to advertising it. (I see that London, Surrey and Beyond event has been cancelled now, for lack of interest.) Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
Next Monday, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th.
On the 3rd October, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
On the 4th October was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, for once!
On the 5th October, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.
On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.
Had a late meeting, which overran, but it still left me with plenty of time. Fastest bus was from Charing Cross Road, where I could catch one of a couple of buses to Camden Town, then change to the #31. As I was waiting for that, a #24 caused much confusion by stopping at the stop further down.. I think it was just at the wrong stop, and it did stop at ours as well. As for mine, it wasn't long in coming, and stopped across the road from the theatre - a journey I've made before.
Got my ticket at the box office, and immediately had a burst of déja vu.. it seems that almost every time I've been here has either been with, or avoiding, London Dramatic Arts. (If you get a cheaper ticket, they spitefully disapprove, y'see, which is when I avoid them. When are they going to learn that that's just bad advertising..?) Anyway, en route to the loo, I was distracted by a massive projection of credits for old films.. turned out that was related to the play I'd come to see.
The toilets are interesting - I don't think I've been here, before, and yes, the photos of celebrities are the actual cubicle doors. In the adjoining café, I was interested to see shelves of books. Wonder whether they have a swap system? Anyway, heading back up to the lobby, I saw people making their way into the auditorium, so I followed. I had the very back row in the dress circle - which has ok legroom, a rail to lean on, and mine was in the middle, so had a rail to the side where I could hang my coat. I did think I spied a couple of people in the stalls that I knew - possibly attending with that other group. Hey-ho.
The play stars Robert Lindsay as an elderly, demented former cinematographer.. having worked with all the stars, he now spends more time in his past than the present. Just four characters in all - his wife, son, and carer all trying to tether him to reality - oh, and of course, we have the ghosts of his past acquaintances in the film world! His son has tried to mollify him by converting the garage into a kind of sound stage, but the jury's out on whether that's done more harm than good.
Oh my God, this is good!! The very best play I've seen in a long time. Absolutely beautiful writing throughout. The couple beside me weren't enthused by the first half - thought it lacked a plot, of all things. Now, a plot really isn't necessary as long as you have something to focus on - let me refer back to that incredible writing. Me, as I told them, I loved it.. but then, I love old film - and there were plenty of references to that, the old cinematographer speaking with such passion about the tools of his trade, and about the people he knew.
The second half balances the scales, as we see into his amazing world. The stage transforms quite dramatically into the set of The African Queen, Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart hanging out with him in the heart of the Dark Continent. Flips from there to a sound stage, where we see him with Monroe and Arthur Miller. And I've got to say - all the impersonations were a delight to behold. That, with the evocative backdrops, make it a delight to a film buff. The whole thing is highly cinematic. Combine that with a really, subtly emotional ending, and you have a truly memorable production. If you have the chance to see this at all, it'd be a crime to miss it. Runs till the 14th - and it really isn't often I see something this good. GO SEE!!
Tomorrow, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats - to see Wings, at the Young Vic. Accidentally booked standing, I think.. :-/
On Wednesday, I was with Up in the Cheap Seats again - for Jekyll & Hyde, presented by the National Youth Theatre, at the Ambassadors Theatre. But gee, of course, London Literary Walks is out again - King's Cross and John Betjeman, this one. Likely to be the last of the year - I couldn't miss it.
On Thursday, I was with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! But then TunedIn advertised flamenco at Sands Films.. irresistible really. So I've booked that instead. And then RSVPed with the World Music Meetup, when they finally got around to advertising it. (I see that London, Surrey and Beyond event has been cancelled now, for lack of interest.) Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
Next Monday, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th.
On the 3rd October, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
On the 4th October was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, for once!
On the 5th October, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.
On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.
Sunday, 24 September 2017
Concert: Kefaya
I had booked that same old free comedy in Hammersmith, with Discover LDN.UK, tonight, but was again saved from that fate - this time, by the World Music Meetup! They were off to see Kefaya, in Nell's Jazz and Blues bar, back in my old stomping ground of North End Road! Happy days, when I was working there.. And I got another lie-in, which is just what the doctor ordered!
Well, I started a bit late for what is actually quite a long journey from here. So, to try to make the start time of 7, both on the ticket and on the Meetup site, I took the Tube - remarking how many steps have to be climbed! You do forget. Anyway, I got off at Earl's Court, to save myself a few pence by not changing travel zones, and had a very nostalgic walk past my old office - on the evening of a quite hot, and very sunny day:
Google Maps got me to the end of Mornington Avenue, and then got confused - pinpointing the venue to my left, and saying I had to go right. I was standing there trying to decipher this, when an elderly guy passed with his shopping. "You're not looking for the club as well, are you?" So, he directed me around the corner, to the other side of Sainsbury's - used to be my local shop, that, when I was living in Kensington - I used to pop in there for a snack on my way back from the airport. Sure enough, there it was - the scruffy-looking place beside Sainsbury's. And a queue.
This person decided to take a photo of the ever-growing queue. I'd arrived just after 7 - just as well I hadn't hurried more. At about a quarter past, a guy came out to apologise and tell us it'd be 10 minutes more, and at least, for once, he was telling the truth about that - within 10 minutes, we were in. So much for having to print out our tickets - the same guy had a checklist with our names on it. The cloakroom was £2 per item, so I passed that - and there was a guy to peer in our bags. Once I was through with all of that, up some stairs with an interesting, illuminated, recessed banister, and some unusual, black wallpaper. I couldn't see a Meetup group, so went to get a drink at the bar. Waited a very long time - they're slow, here - and took a seat in the flat area in front of the stage. I was surprised they had seats there, actually.
Left a message on the Meetup page about where I was. Never did get a response. First on stage, at 8, was a guy plugging his new book, about how music and political activism are inextricably linked - seems that Kefaya are more politically aware than was obvious. He played us a clip of Billie Holiday singing Strange Fruit, and one from the second Wembley concert in honour of Nelson Mandela. Unfortunately, he lost me when he started to describe Jeremy Corbyn as "progressive"..
Finally, he was off, and I was hoping that Kefaya would lift my mood. Until the mc apologised to us sitting in the seats in front of the stage - but we'd have to be moved, to clear the floor for the main concert. I figured these seats weren't permanent! Well, frankly, that just took the biscuit. The only seats left that I could see were right over in a booth in the far corner - which I didn't fancy, stuck over there on my own because I couldn't find anyone else, unable to see, and I didn't even want another drink (although I must compliment them on their wine selection, it was very nice). Neither was I in a standing mood. So - I left! in a huff.
Glad I did, frankly - the night was just ill-fated. Mind you, here I was, at home writing the blog, and the blasted fire alarm goes off! Four fire engines they sent - paranoid after Grenfell, y'think?
Tomorrow, a group called Theatre and Stuff is off to see Prism, at Hampstead Theatre. They're charging extra to go with them, though - so I happily bought my own ticket. What the hey, odds are I won't know any of them anyway.
On Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats - to see Wings, at the Young Vic. Accidentally booked standing, I think.. :-/
On Wednesday, I was with Up in the Cheap Seats again - for Jekyll & Hyde, presented by the National Youth Theatre, at the Ambassadors Theatre. But gee, of course, London Literary Walks is out again - King's Cross and John Betjeman, this one. Likely to be the last of the year - I couldn't miss it.
On Thursday, I was with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! But then TunedIn advertised flamenco at Sands Films.. irresistible really. So I've booked that instead. And then RSVPed with the World Music Meetup, when they finally got around to advertising it. (I see that London, Surrey and Beyond event has been cancelled now, for lack of interest.) Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 2nd October, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th.
On the 3rd October, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
On the 4th October was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, for once!
On the 5th October, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.
On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.
Well, I started a bit late for what is actually quite a long journey from here. So, to try to make the start time of 7, both on the ticket and on the Meetup site, I took the Tube - remarking how many steps have to be climbed! You do forget. Anyway, I got off at Earl's Court, to save myself a few pence by not changing travel zones, and had a very nostalgic walk past my old office - on the evening of a quite hot, and very sunny day:
Google Maps got me to the end of Mornington Avenue, and then got confused - pinpointing the venue to my left, and saying I had to go right. I was standing there trying to decipher this, when an elderly guy passed with his shopping. "You're not looking for the club as well, are you?" So, he directed me around the corner, to the other side of Sainsbury's - used to be my local shop, that, when I was living in Kensington - I used to pop in there for a snack on my way back from the airport. Sure enough, there it was - the scruffy-looking place beside Sainsbury's. And a queue.
This person decided to take a photo of the ever-growing queue. I'd arrived just after 7 - just as well I hadn't hurried more. At about a quarter past, a guy came out to apologise and tell us it'd be 10 minutes more, and at least, for once, he was telling the truth about that - within 10 minutes, we were in. So much for having to print out our tickets - the same guy had a checklist with our names on it. The cloakroom was £2 per item, so I passed that - and there was a guy to peer in our bags. Once I was through with all of that, up some stairs with an interesting, illuminated, recessed banister, and some unusual, black wallpaper. I couldn't see a Meetup group, so went to get a drink at the bar. Waited a very long time - they're slow, here - and took a seat in the flat area in front of the stage. I was surprised they had seats there, actually.
Left a message on the Meetup page about where I was. Never did get a response. First on stage, at 8, was a guy plugging his new book, about how music and political activism are inextricably linked - seems that Kefaya are more politically aware than was obvious. He played us a clip of Billie Holiday singing Strange Fruit, and one from the second Wembley concert in honour of Nelson Mandela. Unfortunately, he lost me when he started to describe Jeremy Corbyn as "progressive"..
Finally, he was off, and I was hoping that Kefaya would lift my mood. Until the mc apologised to us sitting in the seats in front of the stage - but we'd have to be moved, to clear the floor for the main concert. I figured these seats weren't permanent! Well, frankly, that just took the biscuit. The only seats left that I could see were right over in a booth in the far corner - which I didn't fancy, stuck over there on my own because I couldn't find anyone else, unable to see, and I didn't even want another drink (although I must compliment them on their wine selection, it was very nice). Neither was I in a standing mood. So - I left! in a huff.
Glad I did, frankly - the night was just ill-fated. Mind you, here I was, at home writing the blog, and the blasted fire alarm goes off! Four fire engines they sent - paranoid after Grenfell, y'think?
Tomorrow, a group called Theatre and Stuff is off to see Prism, at Hampstead Theatre. They're charging extra to go with them, though - so I happily bought my own ticket. What the hey, odds are I won't know any of them anyway.
On Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats - to see Wings, at the Young Vic. Accidentally booked standing, I think.. :-/
On Wednesday, I was with Up in the Cheap Seats again - for Jekyll & Hyde, presented by the National Youth Theatre, at the Ambassadors Theatre. But gee, of course, London Literary Walks is out again - King's Cross and John Betjeman, this one. Likely to be the last of the year - I couldn't miss it.
On Thursday, I was with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! But then TunedIn advertised flamenco at Sands Films.. irresistible really. So I've booked that instead. And then RSVPed with the World Music Meetup, when they finally got around to advertising it. (I see that London, Surrey and Beyond event has been cancelled now, for lack of interest.) Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 2nd October, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th.
On the 3rd October, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
On the 4th October was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, for once!
On the 5th October, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.
On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.
Saturday, 23 September 2017
Concert: Rob Luft - "Riser" Album Launch
Tonight, I was to do that free comedy, with Discover LDN.UK, but instead headed to the launch of Rob Luft's new album, Riser, at King's Place. As advertised by The London Jazz Meetup. What a joy to have a lie-in.. it's a month since I had nowhere to be until evening on any given day! Spent most of the day reading A Book of Horrors - a really superior collection of horror short stories I just got.
In the evening, I left home a little early to shop for a card and wrapping paper for the present I got for my mother, whose birthday is next month. Handily, there's a Paperchase not 10 minutes' walk away from me! With a great selection, I had little problem finding what I wanted, and attractively wrapped, too; it was as I was leaving the store that I thought - oops, here I am with a big bag, and the venue sent an email not long ago warning that they wouldn't be allowed. Oh well, I was hardly going to trek back home with it - that would make me very late! So I just headed straight for the bus.
I had a choice of two buses - happily, the one that came was the #390, which stops right across the road from King's Place! A short journey then, and I hopped off at a stop that Google Maps has misnamed, but which is actually named for King's Place - I've reported the issue to them. Anyway, there's a pedestrian crossing right in front of the entrance to King's Place, and I was soon across and got my ticket from the box office - who asked me for the first line of my address, but said nothing about my large bag. I made my way into the bar, where the group were to meet - and, joy, this time there was a Meetup sign (unlike the recent event with the London Science Talks and Museums Meetup).. it really does make things so much easier.
After an age spent waiting at the bar, where they always seem to be making cocktails (which are, apparently, very good), I came back to my seat with a drink. And was delighted to find a friendly bunch of folks - I would have expected that with jazz, actually. So, we chatted convivially until the evening organiser brought the news that the doors were now open. So I downed the rest of what was a very pleasant wine, and downstairs we went (me nearly forgetting my Paperchase bag on the way). Where they asked just to peek in my handbag - she assured me she wouldn't rummage, and sure enough, she didn't - and they ignored my big Paperchase bag completely! Guess no-one sent them the memo - not that it would've mattered, the adjacent cloakroom was free anyway.
Seating was unassigned, and we were lucky to get there early, for good seats - the show had sold out. Now, I know little about jazz, and had never heard of this guy before the event was advertised - but I liked what little of him I'd seen on YouTube, and I was to discover that I liked him in person, too. Someone remarked that when he'd seen him before, he had a rockier sound - but tonight, his stuff was quite slow, a lot of it quite otherworldly, with some African influences. Really interesting, really good, and a couple of covers - and some amusing commentary from the man himself - to round it off. Not to everyone's taste - some left at the interval - and not that I felt like buying that album: but I had an excellent time.
Also liked the group, and the way the group owner made it his business, both beforehand and at the interval, to mingle and chat to people. Meetup organisers aren't always so concerned about their members.. I missed them afterwards, but I'm looking forward to the event I have booked with them in November. Outside, with a cardiac arrest-inducing dash, I managed to catch my bus home.. and, catching a whiff of takeaway chips around King's Cross, when I got off the bus, I stopped at KFC, to pick up a portion of fries.. and a double portion of beans in BBQ sauce, 'coz I love 'em! On the plus side, since they didn't have to cook any chicken for my order, I got it in seconds!
I had booked the same free comedy, with the same group, tomorrow, but was again saved - this time, by the World Music Meetup! They're off to see Kefaya, in Nell's Jazz and Blues bar, back in my old stomping ground of North End Road! Happy days, when I was working there.. Sounds livelier than tonight's, which is fine. And I get another lie-in, which is even finer!
On Monday, a group called Theatre and Stuff is off to see Prism, at Hampstead Theatre. They're charging extra to go with them, though - so I happily bought my own ticket. What the hey, odds are I won't know any of them anyway.
On Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats - to see Wings, at the Young Vic. Accidentally booked standing, I think.. :-/
On Wednesday, I was with Up in the Cheap Seats again - for Jekyll & Hyde, presented by the National Youth Theatre, at the Ambassadors Theatre. But gee, of course, London Literary Walks is out again - King's Cross and John Betjeman, this one. Likely to be the last of the year - I couldn't miss it.
On Thursday, I was with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! But then TunedIn advertised flamenco at Sands Films.. irresistible really. So I've booked that instead. And then RSVPed with the World Music Meetup, when they finally got around to advertising it. (I see that London, Surrey and Beyond event has been cancelled now, for lack of interest.) Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 2nd October, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th.
On the 3rd October, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
On the 4th October was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, for once!
On the 5th October, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.
On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.
In the evening, I left home a little early to shop for a card and wrapping paper for the present I got for my mother, whose birthday is next month. Handily, there's a Paperchase not 10 minutes' walk away from me! With a great selection, I had little problem finding what I wanted, and attractively wrapped, too; it was as I was leaving the store that I thought - oops, here I am with a big bag, and the venue sent an email not long ago warning that they wouldn't be allowed. Oh well, I was hardly going to trek back home with it - that would make me very late! So I just headed straight for the bus.
I had a choice of two buses - happily, the one that came was the #390, which stops right across the road from King's Place! A short journey then, and I hopped off at a stop that Google Maps has misnamed, but which is actually named for King's Place - I've reported the issue to them. Anyway, there's a pedestrian crossing right in front of the entrance to King's Place, and I was soon across and got my ticket from the box office - who asked me for the first line of my address, but said nothing about my large bag. I made my way into the bar, where the group were to meet - and, joy, this time there was a Meetup sign (unlike the recent event with the London Science Talks and Museums Meetup).. it really does make things so much easier.
After an age spent waiting at the bar, where they always seem to be making cocktails (which are, apparently, very good), I came back to my seat with a drink. And was delighted to find a friendly bunch of folks - I would have expected that with jazz, actually. So, we chatted convivially until the evening organiser brought the news that the doors were now open. So I downed the rest of what was a very pleasant wine, and downstairs we went (me nearly forgetting my Paperchase bag on the way). Where they asked just to peek in my handbag - she assured me she wouldn't rummage, and sure enough, she didn't - and they ignored my big Paperchase bag completely! Guess no-one sent them the memo - not that it would've mattered, the adjacent cloakroom was free anyway.
Seating was unassigned, and we were lucky to get there early, for good seats - the show had sold out. Now, I know little about jazz, and had never heard of this guy before the event was advertised - but I liked what little of him I'd seen on YouTube, and I was to discover that I liked him in person, too. Someone remarked that when he'd seen him before, he had a rockier sound - but tonight, his stuff was quite slow, a lot of it quite otherworldly, with some African influences. Really interesting, really good, and a couple of covers - and some amusing commentary from the man himself - to round it off. Not to everyone's taste - some left at the interval - and not that I felt like buying that album: but I had an excellent time.
Also liked the group, and the way the group owner made it his business, both beforehand and at the interval, to mingle and chat to people. Meetup organisers aren't always so concerned about their members.. I missed them afterwards, but I'm looking forward to the event I have booked with them in November. Outside, with a cardiac arrest-inducing dash, I managed to catch my bus home.. and, catching a whiff of takeaway chips around King's Cross, when I got off the bus, I stopped at KFC, to pick up a portion of fries.. and a double portion of beans in BBQ sauce, 'coz I love 'em! On the plus side, since they didn't have to cook any chicken for my order, I got it in seconds!
I had booked the same free comedy, with the same group, tomorrow, but was again saved - this time, by the World Music Meetup! They're off to see Kefaya, in Nell's Jazz and Blues bar, back in my old stomping ground of North End Road! Happy days, when I was working there.. Sounds livelier than tonight's, which is fine. And I get another lie-in, which is even finer!
On Monday, a group called Theatre and Stuff is off to see Prism, at Hampstead Theatre. They're charging extra to go with them, though - so I happily bought my own ticket. What the hey, odds are I won't know any of them anyway.
On Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats - to see Wings, at the Young Vic. Accidentally booked standing, I think.. :-/
On Wednesday, I was with Up in the Cheap Seats again - for Jekyll & Hyde, presented by the National Youth Theatre, at the Ambassadors Theatre. But gee, of course, London Literary Walks is out again - King's Cross and John Betjeman, this one. Likely to be the last of the year - I couldn't miss it.
On Thursday, I was with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! But then TunedIn advertised flamenco at Sands Films.. irresistible really. So I've booked that instead. And then RSVPed with the World Music Meetup, when they finally got around to advertising it. (I see that London, Surrey and Beyond event has been cancelled now, for lack of interest.) Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 2nd October, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th.
On the 3rd October, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
On the 4th October was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, for once!
On the 5th October, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.
On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.
Friday, 22 September 2017
Play: Proof
Tonight, it was to be that free comedy - with DiscoverLDN.UK, this time. But, d'you know, it was only last week I remembered they'd actually cancelled it! (Thus saving me the bother.) Instead, I went to Proof, at The Courtyard.. with the (another un-nameable) club that charges £3.60. (Funnily enough, I see they also had tickets to last night's event - I got mine cheaper, though..) And I don't book that free comedy any more, considering I'm unlikely ever again to go to it.
So, I was off to Shoreditch again. Jeez, I spend so much time there, you'd think I was a hipster! Time enough to take the bus, and I had a choice of a few - so, whichever came first. First up was the #38, which meant I had to change to the #243.. and wouldn't you know it, we pulled up right behind one at a stop! I hopped off - and happily, there were enough people queueing to get on the other bus that it was in no danger of leaving before I got to it. Happier still, a load of people got off at the next stop, and I got a seat!
Dunno why the woman beside me looked so surprised when I asked her to move to let me out - I had just pressed the button. Maybe she was just off in a Friday dream world. Anyway, it wasn't too long a walk to The Courtyard - left up Pitfield Street, and Google maps assured me it was on the right-hand side. So I was looking out for the sign - but still hadn't seen one by the time Google Maps told me I'd passed it. Now, it sometimes has trouble finding me - but less so when I'm on foot: so I believed it, and stopped before I got to the leafy square ahead. Looking around in absolute confusion, I'd have missed it entirely but for a couple behind me - he said, "It's there!", and I looked closer at the doorway around the corner, with the green canopy, and I saw the theatre posters leading down the stairs, and I figured that was it. Certainly wouldn't have recognised it from the website - although they do mention that access is via Bowling Green Walk, which it is.
Down the stairs, then - bar clearly signposted to the left, box office clearly signposted to the right. I was just after 7 - this group does like you to be there half an hour beforehand, so I was slightly late.. but the box office was closed anyway. So I meandered into the bar. Where they have a practical solution to both the problem of wall coverage and the problem of book storage:
Now, they had two bottles of wine delivered to the office today. So I'd had plenty to drink - and they didn't seem to have anything else to tempt me. I just wandered around until the box office opened - at about 10 past - got my ticket (printed on strips of regular paper - this is a budget operation) and a free programme (thanks guys!). I then bagged an armchair while they were going, and had a comfy sit-down until the box-office guy came and called us, then led us down a long corridor to the "main room". Where we climbed some stairs, and entered, interestingly, halfway up the tiered seating..
Seating is unassigned, and I took a seat front row centre. A simple set - the entire play is supposed to take place on a porch, so they just have a couple of chairs, a bench, a table.. some notebooks in a pile at the corner. Think I've come across this play before, actually.. Anyway. I've read reviews that say it's well-acted. Huh..?! There are four characters - Claire and Catherine are sisters, there's their dad, Robert - a former maths professor - and a former student of his, Hal. Robert and Catherine appear in the first scene, where he scares her by suddenly appearing behind her - and I'm afraid he was just terribly wooden. Which makes more sense, I guess, when you realise he's actually dead.. (That's not much of a spoiler, the rest of the play depends on it anyway.)
The others were better - although both sisters have the most friggin' annoying titter! The fact that both have almost the same laugh makes me think it was an instruction from the director - oh dear, I couldn't wait to get away from it. I just kept thinking - "Please, please, don't let them laugh.." I got highly irritated by the whole thing, and was relieved when the interval came and I could escape. It is a good play - basically, it's about what Catherine chooses to do with her life following the death of her father, whom she's been caring for. Runs until Sunday, if you're interested.
Tomorrow, I was to do the same comedy, but am now headed to the launch of Rob Luft's new album, Riser, at King's Place. As advertised by The London Jazz Meetup. I finally ended up paying their membership fee after booking an event with them the other day, for November, which someone is attending that I know. So I figured it was wiser! Sold out now, I believe.
I had booked the same free comedy, with the same group, on Sunday, but was again saved - this time, by the World Music Meetup! They're off to see Kefaya, in Nell's Jazz and Blues bar, back in my old stomping ground of North End Road! Happy days, when I was working there..
On Monday, a group called Theatre and Stuff is off to see Prism, at Hampstead Theatre. They're charging extra to go with them, though - so I happily bought my own ticket. What the hey, odds are I won't know any of them anyway.
On Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats - to see Wings, at the Young Vic. Accidentally booked standing, I think.. :-/
On Wednesday, I was with Up in the Cheap Seats again - for Jekyll & Hyde, presented by the National Youth Theatre, at the Ambassadors Theatre. But gee, of course, London Literary Walks is out again - King's Cross and John Betjeman, this one. Likely to be the last of the year - I couldn't miss it.
On Thursday, I was with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! But then TunedIn advertised flamenco at Sands Films.. irresistible really. So I've booked that instead. And then RSVPed with the World Music Meetup, when they finally got around to advertising it. (I see that London, Surrey and Beyond event has been cancelled now, for lack of interest.) Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 2nd October, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th.
On the 3rd October, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
On the 4th October was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, for once!
On the 5th October, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.
On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.
So, I was off to Shoreditch again. Jeez, I spend so much time there, you'd think I was a hipster! Time enough to take the bus, and I had a choice of a few - so, whichever came first. First up was the #38, which meant I had to change to the #243.. and wouldn't you know it, we pulled up right behind one at a stop! I hopped off - and happily, there were enough people queueing to get on the other bus that it was in no danger of leaving before I got to it. Happier still, a load of people got off at the next stop, and I got a seat!
Dunno why the woman beside me looked so surprised when I asked her to move to let me out - I had just pressed the button. Maybe she was just off in a Friday dream world. Anyway, it wasn't too long a walk to The Courtyard - left up Pitfield Street, and Google maps assured me it was on the right-hand side. So I was looking out for the sign - but still hadn't seen one by the time Google Maps told me I'd passed it. Now, it sometimes has trouble finding me - but less so when I'm on foot: so I believed it, and stopped before I got to the leafy square ahead. Looking around in absolute confusion, I'd have missed it entirely but for a couple behind me - he said, "It's there!", and I looked closer at the doorway around the corner, with the green canopy, and I saw the theatre posters leading down the stairs, and I figured that was it. Certainly wouldn't have recognised it from the website - although they do mention that access is via Bowling Green Walk, which it is.
Down the stairs, then - bar clearly signposted to the left, box office clearly signposted to the right. I was just after 7 - this group does like you to be there half an hour beforehand, so I was slightly late.. but the box office was closed anyway. So I meandered into the bar. Where they have a practical solution to both the problem of wall coverage and the problem of book storage:
Now, they had two bottles of wine delivered to the office today. So I'd had plenty to drink - and they didn't seem to have anything else to tempt me. I just wandered around until the box office opened - at about 10 past - got my ticket (printed on strips of regular paper - this is a budget operation) and a free programme (thanks guys!). I then bagged an armchair while they were going, and had a comfy sit-down until the box-office guy came and called us, then led us down a long corridor to the "main room". Where we climbed some stairs, and entered, interestingly, halfway up the tiered seating..
Seating is unassigned, and I took a seat front row centre. A simple set - the entire play is supposed to take place on a porch, so they just have a couple of chairs, a bench, a table.. some notebooks in a pile at the corner. Think I've come across this play before, actually.. Anyway. I've read reviews that say it's well-acted. Huh..?! There are four characters - Claire and Catherine are sisters, there's their dad, Robert - a former maths professor - and a former student of his, Hal. Robert and Catherine appear in the first scene, where he scares her by suddenly appearing behind her - and I'm afraid he was just terribly wooden. Which makes more sense, I guess, when you realise he's actually dead.. (That's not much of a spoiler, the rest of the play depends on it anyway.)
The others were better - although both sisters have the most friggin' annoying titter! The fact that both have almost the same laugh makes me think it was an instruction from the director - oh dear, I couldn't wait to get away from it. I just kept thinking - "Please, please, don't let them laugh.." I got highly irritated by the whole thing, and was relieved when the interval came and I could escape. It is a good play - basically, it's about what Catherine chooses to do with her life following the death of her father, whom she's been caring for. Runs until Sunday, if you're interested.
Tomorrow, I was to do the same comedy, but am now headed to the launch of Rob Luft's new album, Riser, at King's Place. As advertised by The London Jazz Meetup. I finally ended up paying their membership fee after booking an event with them the other day, for November, which someone is attending that I know. So I figured it was wiser! Sold out now, I believe.
I had booked the same free comedy, with the same group, on Sunday, but was again saved - this time, by the World Music Meetup! They're off to see Kefaya, in Nell's Jazz and Blues bar, back in my old stomping ground of North End Road! Happy days, when I was working there..
On Monday, a group called Theatre and Stuff is off to see Prism, at Hampstead Theatre. They're charging extra to go with them, though - so I happily bought my own ticket. What the hey, odds are I won't know any of them anyway.
On Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats - to see Wings, at the Young Vic. Accidentally booked standing, I think.. :-/
On Wednesday, I was with Up in the Cheap Seats again - for Jekyll & Hyde, presented by the National Youth Theatre, at the Ambassadors Theatre. But gee, of course, London Literary Walks is out again - King's Cross and John Betjeman, this one. Likely to be the last of the year - I couldn't miss it.
On Thursday, I was with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! But then TunedIn advertised flamenco at Sands Films.. irresistible really. So I've booked that instead. And then RSVPed with the World Music Meetup, when they finally got around to advertising it. (I see that London, Surrey and Beyond event has been cancelled now, for lack of interest.) Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 2nd October, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th.
On the 3rd October, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
On the 4th October was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, for once!
On the 5th October, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
On the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
On the 11th October, back with Funzing (London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) for a talk on Revolution in Iran: Girl with a Gun. This will be an interview with a female Kurdish revolutionary.. on the Battersea Barge, which I believe can get choppy. Never mind. This is one I got for free, for completing a loyalty card with three talks.
On the 12th October, Let's Do This are back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, where London Concertante is performing Bach Violin Concertos. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 16th October, back at Southwark Playhouse with Up in the Cheap Seats - this time, it's for A Day By the Sea.
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