Tonight, London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night (therefore Funzing) had an interesting-sounding talk about Black Tudors: Three Untold Stories. Seeing as how I missed a Funzing talk a while back, because I couldn't find the venue, and they offered to book me on another for free.. albeit it was weeks ago.. I emailed to see whether the offer still stood. And they got back to me - after the weekend - to say that of course it did! Nice one. A hop, skip and jump from the office, too.
During the day, Helen emailed to inform me that it was London History Day! Well, another thing I never heard of. London is crammed full of them. Nonetheless, as I said to her, I felt that what I was doing qualified. Anyway, being in the less-than-salubrious surrounds of the Lighthouse, it was - according to Google - an 11-minute walk from the office, which meant I could leave nice and late. And, you know, get some stuff done - very short on time, these days.
So, an easy walk down there - it might be my dissatisfaction with my current accommodation, but it seems that these days all I notice around here is grime - and this part of town is rife with it. Well, I guess it's historically accurate, all the same..
So, I eventually came to the dingy Lighthouse, where I decided I was in time to order a drink. It was my misfortune that the person in front of me ordered cocktails, and the barman was one of those who absolutely can't do more than one thing at a time. It was five minutes - I counted - before he got around to my very quick order. Well, I was still upstairs in time - and it was a good job that I knew where I was going, because once inside, there were no directions.
Upstairs, with its typically non-open bar, a convivial mc checked my name off the list, and advised me that there were seats at the front - it was nearly full. Our speaker for the evening was equally jolly, obviously passionate about her subject: and flogging copies of her book, tidily arranged on the non-functional bar.
As she explained, in the course of her research, she discovered records of around 200 black people, living in Great Britain in Tudor times - baptism, marriage, and burial records primarily. But there were more famous examples, such as a trumpeter for Henry VIII, and various servants to famous people of the time. She's apparently covered 10 in the book, and tonight's talk focused on three..
The first was a diver, brought to England to dive for the treasures of the Mary Rose. It seems that few English people of the time could swim, but an English trader in Mauretania noticed that the locals were most proficient at diving for pearls, and thought that their skills could be useful, so brought them to England for this very purpose.
The second was a Moroccan woman, brought to London as a child and placed into service. Her story had her being baptised - as the speaker pointed out, being baptised into the Church of England was, in those days, the only way to become a full member of society. She started off working for an Englishman that traded heavily with North Africa, then for his widow, and finally for another English lady.. the speaker explained that a common route for black people to come to England was in the household of someone who had business in Africa.
Finally, there was a most interesting chap called Edward Swarthye, who likely came back with Drake from the raids on Panama, attacking the Spanish silver trains. She showed us a close-up of the Drake jewel, depicting a prominent black figure, with a white man in the background, which she speculated was indicative of the cooperation between the English and the local blackamoors, united against the conquistadores. Anyway, this chap ended up in the service of an English nobleman, and in a most unusual scene, it was recorded that his master ordered him to whip another, white, servant for neglecting his duties!
With all of this, she made an important point - there was no slavery in England at this time, these people were all free. Someone asked, in the Q+A afterwards, what it was that brought forth the overt racism of the 18th century, where, for example, she told the disturbing story of a nine-year-old black girl who ran away from her employer. Others in the community took her in and arranged for her baptism - however, her former employer got wind of the plan, showed up on the day, and dragged her out kicking and screaming, declaring that this was her servant and would do as she was ordered! Of course, as the speaker said, the rot set in with the expanse of empire, when plantations were formed that required slave labour, and the British started to think of their conquered subjects as chattels. Pragmatically. In Tudor times, that hadn't yet happened - foreigners were still considered as equals, to be traded with rather than exploited.
Someone asked whether she'd considered going even further back - goodness, she said, finding evidence from the Tudor period was hard enough! She'd met a PhD student who'd taken on the subject of black people in England in medieval times, and suffered a mental breakdown.. whether it was because of the subject matter, she really couldn't say.. But what a fascinating evening! She begged us to take the rest of the books off her hands so she wouldn't have to carry them home. I didn't have cash - and anyway, it's cheaper on Kindle!
Paid a quick trip to the loo before I left, where I was lucky to grab the one and only cubicle, apparently, that had paper! Not toilet paper, mind - someone had thoughtfully left a pile of napkins in there. And I only took that one because I couldn't get the door closed of another.. oh, why does everything around here have to be so damned scruffy?! Oh, and we got lucky for the first half of the talk - but by the end, the band had started up just downstairs, to the obvious discomfort of the speaker. I've said it before, this is a terrible venue for a talk.
Anyway, tomorrow, back with the London European Club (LEC) for yet more music! The London Jazz Meetup also has an event on that night, but the LEC's sounds better on YouTube - part of the Songlines Encounters Festival at King's Place, and they're doing the double bill for the evening, which scores a 20% discount. (30% off if you book for three events in the festival, but I'm unlikely to do that.)
On Saturday, it's a film - would you believe it, with none of the films at the very top of the list showing over the weekend, A Quiet Place - which has held a high rating for ages now - finally came to the top! Awesome - I've been dying to see it. Stars Emily Blunt and her real-life husband, John Krasinski, who also directs - they're trying to keep their family safe in a dystopian future where something is stalking them that hunts by sound. Supposed to be terrifically suspenseful - the best kind. And it's showing near me, in the Vue Islington! which means it'll be the fourth day in a row that I can walk. Need the exercise. My leg felt tight this evening, but I think I need to get it moving. The only showing that day is very late - but what the hey, it's Saturday! I booked it, as it's cheaper on the website - and it certainly is the least I've paid in years for a cinema ticket.
On Sunday, a film called Raazi has slipped into the top spot - it does actually look good, but the closest it's on is in Vue Westfield Stratford City, at 10pm. A bit far out, for one so late. Instead, I've decided to accompany Anthony's Cultural Events and Walking Activities Group to the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival.
We've got a colleague visiting from abroad on Monday and Tuesday, so I'm leaving those days free. Then I'm back with London Literary Walks at last on Wednesday, for another Sculpture in the City walk.
Next Thursday is the company's monthly social - this month, it's in Junkyard Golf Club. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 11th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for the first time in weeks! Another performance of Showstopper! The Improvised Musical - different every night. At the Lyric again.
On the 12th, another Funzing talk - Inside North Korea. I see the code crazy_fun is still getting a 10% discount. Oh, and by the way, the mc made the same mistake tonight that they always do - the loyalty scheme does NOT give you your sixth event for free, you get a discount equal to the smallest amount of money you paid for one of the previous five..
On the 13th, London Literary Walks is taking us to A Circus School and Shakespeare's Dark Lady.
On the 14th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats - at the Bridge Theatre this time, for My Name is Lucy Barton, starring Laura Linney. I got the very last £15 seat!
And on the 15th, would you credit it, I'm back with London Dramatic Arts! to see Monogamy, at the Park Theatre. Well, it sounds interesting - and they've sold their allocation for this showing, so we're free to buy our own (gee). My good God, it's August since I was last with them..
Well, I flew back to London on Monday. Let's start there, because it's worth it.
Ryanair prides itself on its punctuality - although their website still trumpets this, I guess they figured they didn't have to try so hard to maintain their position at the top. They're probably right, actually - airlines are appalling. Today, I heard from someone at work whose daughter visited him last week from Edinburgh, flying Ryanair - she was delayed by two hours on the outbound flight, and one hour on the return leg. On Monday, I figured I'd have plenty of time to charge my phone while I was waiting for my flight, which would probably be delayed. I was right. The 9.20pm flight's estimated departure time increased by half an hour every half hour - an ever-receding horizon:
It finally took off at 10 past midnight - as a fellow passenger predicted in the airport, "just under the three-hour delay": this being when passenger rights kick in. So, the flight to Stansted takes 1 hour and 10, and we landed at 1:20am.
We didn't get off straight away though - oh no. First, we had to find somewhere appropriate to park. Then there wasn't anyone, at that hour, to wheel out a set of steps, so we all had to disembark at the front - which was a drag, as I was at the back of the plane. (The cabin crew, rather than bidding us farewell as we exited, all hid in the cockpit, which was wise of them. Doubtless they're getting used to this.) The worst of all though was when we finally arrived in the baggage hall, where there's normally a 10-minute delay for our bags. On Monday, that turned into a 45-minute delay. Beware, this seems to be a problem at Stansted at the moment - the pilot was complaining about a lack of baggage handlers on Friday, too.
Now, as we didn't get to the baggage hall until 1:45am, that meant we were stuck there until 2:30am. I had visions of sleeping there, I really did. I've since complained, but have got no response. When my bag finally arrived, I made my way downstairs to queue for the 2:55am bus - different to the timetable, I might add. Now, they're really missing a trick here - they could easily have filled up a second bus. No, the 2:55am service filled up - and there wasn't another until 4:10am.
I'd already bought my ticket, or I wouldn't have bothered waiting - I wouldn't again. The bus didn't arrive much before departure time, and it was so cold.. at least the bus was comfy, when it finally came, and I did manage to snatch some sleep. By the time we were disgorged at Liverpool Street it was after 5, and full daylight, and mercifully a bus happened right along to take me within walking distance of my (current) home. Mind you, I was so zonked that I barely registered that that was my bus - I was just lucky that someone else at the stop wanted the same one, and got it to stop. I didn't get to bed until gone 6.
Point is, I was rather tired at work yesterday. I had been thinking about a film for yesterday evening - the film list was the main reason for the delay in blogging, as usual. But what came up didn't appeal much - not Bollywood for once, but The Trout, a documentary about the preparation for a classical concert. It was free, and being in the Southbank Centre, was of course followed by a performance of Schubert's Trout Quintet. Nothing on Meetup either, typically. However, another check of the website of my £3.60 club revealed a whole new range of offers, since I last checked.. so now, instead, I bought a ticket for the TriOperas at the Peacock. More expensive than normal for them, at £5.40 it still represented a terrific saving on the cheapest official ticket price of £15. Very cloak-and-dagger collection process though - I had to get my ticket, between 6 and 7pm, from the Pret across the road, from someone with a pink clipboard! Oh, and as usual, say the club name in a whisper..
That all went fine, actually - I spied him on the way in, and checked he was the right person when I approached. As he said, it'd be unusual if anyone else there had a pink clipboard! and in a flash I had a ticket in the rear stalls. I made my way straight over to the theatre, and down to the bar, where I beat the crush to get a glass of wine, taking one of the few remaining seats beside a group of middle-aged Americans who were avidly discussing their ancestry, loud enough for me to eavesdrop. Avidly. Sadly, they left after a bit, and those who took their seats were much more softly spoken.
So, when the house opened, in I went - I had a seat in pretty much the last row, but very central:
Legroom was a bit snug when getting up or down, my knees catching on the seat in front, but was otherwise ok. Now, this is one of the Peacock's mish-mash performances of different art forms, and this show features three separate operas - hence the name. They each get their own, separate segment, with intervals between.
The first is Turandot - and to be honest, I nearly left after it, I was so disappointed. I stayed out of curiosity about how they'd handle the other two. They have surtitles - but from the entire rear stalls, these are illegible, as they're not in the centre, but on screens to the sides, almost completely obscured, from the rear stalls, by lighting fixtures suspended from the balcony. They sing in English anyway.. and the singing is technically good, although not up to proper operatic standard. But oh, the awful arrangement, which sees Nessun Dorma butchered by the addition of a lazy, jazz-style backing track, never mind the words being replaced by English lyrics that bear no resemblance to the original. Terrible. Why, oh why.. predictably, tired as I was, I kept nodding off during this one.
I'm happy to say that the others are much more successful. Next up is Madame Butterfly - although most of the staging of this is more reminiscent of a production of Miss Saigon. It works, I think, and the arial performers are most impressive.
The evening ends with a rousing rendition of Carmen, featuring a bullfight with a most acrobatic bull, bearing a strong resemblance to a Chinese dragon! The songs work best in this segment, and I defy anyone to leave without whistling, singing, or humming the tunes. But that's Carmen for you. The little girl in the row in front of me certainly thought so - she was going mental, bouncing up and down on her seat at the end. I hope she stays a fan of Carmen for life.
So, overall a very successful evening. Runs until the 1st of July, and is a great night out!
En route to the bus stop, passed a Co-Op - very handy for buying supper. And I had a much earlier night - a meeting this morning prevented me from staying up late enough to do the blog. Thankfully!
Tonight, more opera - the London European Club (LEC) advertised the Pop-Up Opera's performance of a Mozart Double Bill, in St. Mary's Islington. Just like last year, it was part of the Soul in the City festival - and it was free! Tickets necessary, and available from Eventbrite - which sold out, predictably, although they did email to note that non-ticketed admissions would be possible. Sadly, London Literary Walks moved this week's walk to today.. well, too bad, I just couldn't bring myself to miss Pop-Up Opera. It's another of the signs of summer! And it's hilarious, and it'd give my leg some more time to heal.
I spent much of the day doing the film list again - and finished it just before I was due to leave (shorter one, this time!). So I was somewhat distracted, and did leave a bit later than intended - my co-worker needing to ask me about something didn't help. So I fairly galloped out of there, and up the road - my chest, I must say, behaved impeccably, although my leg had a tendency to want to cramp. I didn't have much choice - I'd blithely left my Oyster card at home!
Well, I made it, damnit - although I spent most of the journey puffing like a steam train, with the unaccustomed exercise, to the concern of passers-by; don't forget I've been sick for months, and couldn't push it! I was rounding the back of the building just as the church bell struck 7:30 - coming up St. Mary's Path, it occurred to me that I was in the full throes of breathlessness the last time I came up there. Much better now. Sure enough, they hadn't started yet, and sure enough, there were plenty of empty seats. They just waved me in without needing to see my ticket.
I had no idea where the group were sitting, and couldn't see anyone I recognised, so I just grabbed the best seat I could. Before the performance - while I was getting my breath back - someone from the opera company came on to make a short speech. She explained how their van was broken into last night, and most of their props and equipment stolen! What a dreadful shame.. the only visible signs tonight, though, were that there was only one screen for surtitles, and she warned us that some props had been replaced by cardboard (that'd be the giant syringe, then).
Otherwise, the performances were impeccable as ever, accompanied by hilarious surtitles - which I could see tonight! Two one-act comedies by Mozart, the first, Der Schauspieldirektor, concerning a battle between two prima donnas, the second, Bastien und Bastienne - written when he was just 12! - a lovers' tiff. The simple plot of the second perhaps betrays it as being the work of a child, but the music is incredible. This show tours the South of England until the 29th of July - highly recommended, as ever.
This was the first of this year's Soul in the City festival, which runs through the weekend - and generously, they provided (small) glasses of wine for free at the interval. Just as well mine was small, mind, given that I was drinking it on an empty stomach. I never did find the group - I schlepped up front at the interval, but they were all off slugging wine, and it looked fairly packed, with all the bags that had been left, so I couldn't have moved there. Afterwards, I wended my way home - downhill this time! My poor leg appreciated that - and the slower pace. And this time, the supermarket on the way home was a Sainsbury's - gee, it's been ages.
Tomorrow, London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night (therefore Funzing) have an interesting-sounding talk about Black Tudors: Three Untold Stories. Seeing as how I missed a Funzing talk a while back, because I couldn't find the venue, and they offered to book me on another for free.. albeit it was weeks ago.. I emailed to see whether the offer still stands. And they got back to me - after the weekend - to say that of course it does! Nice one. A hop, skip and jump from the office, too.
On Friday, back with the LEC for yet more music! The London Jazz Meetup also has an event on that night, but the LEC's sounds better on YouTube - part of the Songlines Encounters Festival at King's Place, and they're doing the double bill for the evening, which scores a 20% discount. (30% off if you book for three events in the festival, but I'm unlikely to do that.)
And on Saturday, that film list kicks in - would you believe it, with none of the films at the very top of the list showing over the weekend, A Quiet Place - which has held a high rating for ages now - finally came to the top! Awesome - I've been dying to see it. Stars Emily Blunt and her real-life husband, John Krasinski, who also directs - they're trying to keep their family safe in a dystopian future where something is stalking them that hunts by sound. Supposed to be terrifically suspenseful - the best kind. And it's showing near me, in the Vue Islington! which means it'll be the fourth day in a row that I can walk. Need the exercise. The only showing that day is very late - but what the hey, it's Saturday! I booked it, as it's cheaper on the website - and it certainly is the least I've paid in years for a cinema ticket.
Hello, didya miss me? Details to follow..
On Wednesday, Eleanor was back with a Flamenco evening at Sand's Films, olé! Advertised via the London European Club (LEC), booked through TunedIn London. Ah, it was so good to get back there again! I had another late meeting, but had to skip it, once I realised that, despite being blocked for an hour on my calendar, it was to run for another half hour after! Never mind, just another all-company quarterly report - nothing of importance. And at least getting public transport again would save my leg.
So, I actually ended up leaving nice and early - of course, buses to Rotherhithe are always a nightmare, so I was to need every minute I had. I was in good time for the bus to London Bridge, which was where the trouble started - first thing was to find my next bus stop, in this maze of passageways. Well, Google Maps was good enough to direct me there. Down a great big flight of stairs - poor leg. Unfortunately, the Bus Countdown app completely failed to recognise the stop, so I couldn't check bus arrival times - and it was to be one of those long waits, for the #47. To my immense relief, it eventually came. Now, it's a long time since I was down in this direction - or I might have remembered that the #381 would also have done me. Which would have been handy, considering that it would have dropped me much closer, and also that two of those came while I was waiting for the #47..
I did eventually get there - got a seat after one stop, too. And when I got off, I limped my way to the venue. Now, I was hungry - our office kitchen still hasn't been built, so I can't feed myself before I leave - so when I was passing The Ship, I headed in there. True to its name, it's full of nautical knicknacks - model ships line a shelf that runs the length of the room! I got a packet of crisps, which I sat to eat - whereupon I noticed a food menu. Never mind, I really wouldn't have had time for much more.
The whole trip had taken me about an hour and a quarter up to now, so despite my leaving quite early, the venue was open when I got there, and I gratefully took a seat in the cafe - you can get free tea and coffee here, but they don't do much by way of food. I wasn't there long before we were summoned - Eleanor's small daughter is really growing into her role at Front of House, as she unceremoniously cried to us that we should all be inside, as the house was open! Oh, and she was observant enough to catch me as I slipped by, and insist that I had a flier. Had a quick word with Eleanor before I went in, selecting the most comfortable-looking chair I could see. In due course, I was joined by another group member - relatively new to the group, and whom I hadn't met before. We had a nice chat.
..Before Lola arrived. Eleanor had described her music as "provocative".. we were soon to see what she was hinting at, as Lola entered wearing a high comb and mantilla, which she soon dispensed with. Along with much of her outfit. The next song saw her lose even more! but then, she had a costume change with practically every number. Personally, I liked the flat cap she donned towards the end, teamed with a mini-skater dress. But of course, mainly it was about the music.. as we'd been told, this wasn't traditional flamenco, it was her personal take. More jazzy than the traditional format, it was warm and hypnotic. I was completely transported. She also performed two dance numbers - and though I couldn't properly see her feet from where I was, it looked and sounded wonderful.
Her band were from assorted countries, they had cds for sale, but as usual I had no cash. Never mind. Hey, we also got to learn the difference between flamenco shoes and tap shoes - she informed us that tap shoes have a plate on sole and heel, whereas flamenco shoes have nails hammered into them. And the toes have to be reinforced, as tapping is done with the toes. Ah, another great night at Sands Films, and educational too.
Afterwards, I limped out, just in time to catch a bus. And nearly froze my tush off waiting for the second one - what with that and my sore leg, I was pretty miserable by the time I got back home.
On Thursday, I was booked with London Literary Walks, which are getting more frequent again - last week, it was Krays, Chaucer and Matches.. Predictably though, I had to cancel; my leg was still just too sore. I decided it'd be nice just to stay in and rest.
Now I'm back in Ireland for the long weekend. Funny thing happened on Friday.. Now that I'm flying Ryanair, I have mobile boarding passes all the time. Well - after changing gates without any announcement (we happened to notice it on a departures board), we all rushed over to the new gate. Well, some of us went quite slowly. Anyway, sometimes they scan your pass themselves, sometimes they make you do it. This time, he did it - and as he handed me back my phone, he accidentally swiped it, and my boarding pass closed. I didn't think anything of it - until I discovered that my internet reception was so poor that I couldn't get it back! I was still trying when I entered the door of the plane, and explained the situation to the attendant. Happily, I remembered my seat number - she reassured me that we'd sort it, but warned me that she needed to see it!
Never did come back to look for it, mind. Despite the fact that I got a burst of internet during the long time we waited to take off, and managed to display it in the end. Anyway, point is, at that point I realised that my leg didn't hurt any more! The stress of all that scared the pain away, I guess. Well, it's still very sore, but the limp is pretty much gone, thank goodness. And now I'm loving just having a few days to recuperate and reset. Stop the world, I want to get off, as they say!
I've also finally had a chance to think about the week ahead. I fly back tomorrow (delays permitting - boy, was I lucky with it being a long weekend!), and was thinking about a film for Tuesday - the film list was the main reason for the delay in blogging, as usual. But what came up didn't appeal much - not Bollywood for once, but The Trout, a documentary about the preparation for a classical concert. It's free, and being in the Southbank Centre, is of course followed by a performance of Schubert's Trout Quintet. Nothing on Meetup either, typically. However, another check of the website of my £3.60 club revealed a whole new range of offers, since I last checked.. so now, instead, I have a ticket for the TriOperas at the Peacock. More expensive than normal for them, at £5.40 it still represents a terrific saving on the cheapest official ticket price of £15. Very cloak-and-dagger collection process though - I have to get my ticket, between 6 and 7pm, from the Pret across the road, from someone with a pink clipboard! Oh, and as usual, say the club name in a whisper..
On Wednesday, more opera - the LEC has advertised the Pop-Up Opera's performance of a Mozart Double Bill, in St. Mary's Islington. Just like last year, it's part of the Soul in the City festival - and it's free! Tickets necessary, and available from Eventbrite - and now sold out, predictably. Sadly, it seems that London Literary Walks have moved next week's walk to the same day.. well, too bad, I just can't bring myself to miss Pop-Up Opera. It's another of the signs of summer! And it's hilarious, and it'll give my leg some more time to heal.
On Thursday, London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night (therefore Funzing) have an interesting-sounding talk about Black Tudors: Three Untold Stories. Seeing as how I missed a Funzing talk a while back, because I couldn't find it, and they offered to book me on another for free.. albeit it was weeks ago.. I've emailed to see whether the offer still stands. Watch this space.
And on Friday, back with the LEC for yet more music! The London Jazz Meetup also has an event on that night, but the LEC's sounds better on YouTube - part of the Songlines Encounters Festival at King's Place, and they're doing the double bill for the evening, which scores a 20% discount. (30% off if you book for three events in the festival, but I'm unlikely to do that.)
Tonight, my £3.60 club had tickets for a Beethoven cycle in the Barbican! Sadly, they'd sold out - but that didn't stop me buying my own ticket from the venue, although it cost more. Still, Beethoven is my favourite, so..
Well, I had a bad night with The Leg, and after limping in on it this morning, invested in a Deep Heat patch, which I wore for the day. Now, I still have pain, but I must say, I no longer seem to have resting pain, and the pain upon standing or sitting isn't as severe. So, I braved the walk (limp) to the Barbican, leaving a little extra time. I was breathless by the time I got there, but that's down to the pain in my leg, now.
Limped down three fights of stairs to the basement, then another flight in the Hall - my seat was in the front row, to the side.
Nice and snug, actually, in a dark corner beside the dressing rooms. Now, by means of peeking over a nearby shoulder, I got a glimpse of the programme I keep forgetting to print from the website, which informed me that there'd be another modern piece (world premiere), and Beethoven's 4th and 5th symphonies.
Well, I'm used to modern pieces being thrown in, sort of as a penance, among the good stuff - they're almost always awful, and nobody would come to hear them, otherwise. I'm also used to them being on first - which is why I got quite a surprise when I actually liked the first piece! Thought it was very Beethovian. Well, of course, it was actually Beethoven's 4th - obviously enough, since the modern piece was advertised as a piano piece, and the piano was still tucked away in a corner. Duh..!
We then suffered through the modern piece, which was as discordant and unpleasant as any I've heard. Naturally - seems to be the purpose of them. Extended clapping at the end, which I didn't join in.
And so to the interval, when I was glad I'm now using Kindle on my phone - instant access to books, and I'm currently in the middle of John Connolly's first Charlie Parker novel, "Every Dead Thing". Supernatural thrillers, beautifully written, recommended.
The second half was worth the price of admission - Beethoven's fifth is glorious, full of dramatic climaxes, and the rest straining with the suspense of leading up to them. I was absolutely transported.
Coming out afterwards, I was met by a stiff, freezing wind - I was so glad that, unlike the past two days, I'd brought something to put on! Still, I was freezing by the time I got to Tesco's, and when I came out, considering that the bus stop outside would serve me with a couple of buses that'd get me home, that's what I decided to do - the continuing soreness in my leg helped the decision; I didn't want to make it any worse.
Tomorrow, Eleanor is back with a Flamenco evening at Sand's Films, olé! Advertised via the London European Club, booked through TunedIn London. Ah, it'll be so good to get back there again! I have another late meeting, but should be able to manage it, as long as it doesn't overrun dramatically. And at least getting public transport again will save my leg.
On Thursday, back with London Literary Walks, which are getting more frequent again - this week, it's Krays, Chaucer and Matches.. And then I'm back to Ireland for the long weekend.
Tonight, I booked with London Science Events for a talk at the Royal Society on Why Philosophy of Science Matters to Science. Then, of course, I remembered I had a meeting at 5.30! Doors open at 6, and you have to be there well in advance to secure entry. Blast. Well, the other Meetup events that appealed were either also on too early, or didn't have any decent tickets left. So I thought film. The one that came top looks decent - but its closest showing is in Cineworld Wandsworth, which used to be my local but is now a bit of a trek for a film I'm not that pushed about. Which has slipped in ratings anyway, since I last looked (that was quick)! Anyway, in the meantime, I got an email from Londonist.. and something coming up for tonight looked attractive, so I booked it. So I was now going to Tales from the Phantasmagoria, in the Old Red Lion. Improvised horror comedy, we have three souls on stage who find themselves in hell and have to figure out how they got there. Sounded different.. and I might even manage to walk there. Despite it being uphill!
Sure enough, my meeting didn't finish till after 6. I did a wee bit of work - honestly, I never seem to do more than scratch the surface these days. Decided to try walking, and left in enough time that I could take it a bit easy - I also had my Oyster card with me, just in case. And lo, uphill (gently) all the way, and I only had to stop once for slight breathlessness! Even then, I took it easier than I needed to. No, the real problem was my left leg - woke this morning to awful stiffness and soreness in my calf, and it's remained painful to stand or walk on all day. Improves when I'm walking, although God, the pain when I stop! Maybe it's after yesterday's exertions. So it was with relief - and no small sense of accomplishment - that I finally saw the Old Red Lion ahead of me - easily spottable as the red building.
The box office is at the back of the bar, and I checked with her whether my downloaded ticket on my phone was ok. Nope, I had to pick up one of their envelopes, with a number in the queue for hell on one side, name and funding address of the theatre company on the other:
Cutesy! Well, despite it being close to time, there was no sign of the barrier being drawn back from the stairs to the theatre, so I got myself a house white, and had time to sip enough to make it safe to take upstairs before it was time to do so. I'm terrible at not spilling at the best of times! They do allow glasses in the theatre, they just ask that you bring them down again. I was fairly exhausted by the time I got up there, with one thing and another, so ended up in the front row, for the sake of not climbing any more stairs! It's a small space, but was pretty full.
So, we started off with two guys on stage, dressed in black, heads wrapped loosely in wrapping paper. (Breathing holes included.) Our smarmy mc appeared - and looked terribly familiar! I swear, he looked just like the mc of those free comedy groups I stopped going to. He was our guide demon to hell. Well, he had the coolest book light - i.e. a book with an interior light - which he consulted to see what these guys had been accused of. Oops, no entry! So, he gave us some suggestions - snippets of "memories", and we had to provide suggestions. Happily, there were enough people in the audience to get them going! They then re-enacted the most ridiculous scenarios.
I swear, this was some good improv - it does take talent to make it look anything other than silly. And these guys - who were obviously improvising, surprising each other at times - were really innovative, so that it was actually quite funny. I also liked that, in the spirit of celebrating our "deathday", the mc passed around a chocolate caterpillar cake! I scored a huge slice..
We started with a story about a fellow wanting to kill his mum in a brioche bakery, who runs into Liam Neeson - great Irish accent from that guy. Then there was one about a penguin and a guy who wanted to fly, and whose mother became a hippy. The royal wedding kept popping up as a suggestion, but they blithely ignored it. A third story featured a stripper and a mackerel..Three stories with the cast were followed by one where they asked for a volunteer, who was so perky he must have been a plant - he played the priest who married Donald Trump to Skippy the Kangaroo. (Yes, that was the tone of the evening.) Surprisingly good, as I say.
Now, at the end of this section, which lasted over an hour, the mc dispatched us to the bar, with the parting comment that we had commenced our introduction to hell. I don't actually know whether this was an interval - I hadn't caught what the lady at the box office had said. However, I really didn't fancy more of the same, and perhaps being caught up personally in it! I didn't think I'd get any more out of it, so after a wee rest for my leg, and having checked Google Maps, I walked home - downhill now, mercifully. Mind you, I see that Google Maps is very selective about its advertisement of supermarkets! When I was checking to see what was en route, Tesco and Waitrose were mentioned, Nisa and Sainsbury's not. You have been warned..
Delighted to be in early again. Tomorrow, my £3.60 club had tickets for a Beethoven cycle in the Barbican! Sadly, they'd sold out - but that didn't stop me buying my own ticket from the venue, although it cost more. Still, Beethoven is my favourite, so..
On Wednesday, Eleanor is back with a Flamenco evening at Sand's Films, olé! Advertised via the London European Club, booked through TunedIn London. Ah, it'll be so good to get back there again!
On Thursday, back with London Literary Walks, which are getting more frequent again - this week, it's Krays, Chaucer and Matches.. And then I'm back to Ireland for the long weekend.
Today, I decided to go on the Grime and Punishment walk, finally, that I cancelled a while ago. Funzing, of course, via Walking in London - and I used the code crazy_fun, as usual, to get 10% off.
Went to bed early so I could have a lie-in - and that I did! Still made it into town in plenty of time - and here's the thing; as I was walking to the bus stop, I noticed no breathlessness whatsoever, and even when I ran for the bus, well yes, I was breathless when I got on, but didn't feel in imminent danger of death! Oh, I've definitely turned a corner - after almost three months. Credit it to the royal wedding yesterday. Jeez, it's like in the middle ages, when people thought that the royal touch cured illness.. now, they can do it remotely! Seriously, taking to my bed for almost the whole day to watch it, dosing myself with cough syrup and coughing regularly, worked absolute wonders. Not yet cured, but I may yet live..
I arrived too early, and found myself mingling with the crowd going into the Dominion Theatre, which is taken over by the Hillsong Church from 11am through the afternoon on Sundays. Indeed, someone even asked me whether she could take my photo for the website. See, the handiest thing was to stand under the canopy in front of the doors, for the shade - today was so sunny that I wished I'd brought a hat. Should certainly have left my coat at home, and will do so tomorrow. And I was standing there for a long time - which didn't do my back any good. The guide was running late - in fact, I even ran into another couple of ladies who were looking for him, and phoned the Funzing contact, who said he'd contact him for us.
And it was Jess again, for Fun London Tours! Ah, excellent - he always gives an entertaining walk. He apologised as he arrived - although he did actually make it on time, just. At which time a whole slew of people magically materialised from the surrounding crowd. After a few minutes waiting for latecomers, we were off.. all the way around the back of the theatre, to the shade - he did make a concerted effort to have us in the shade as much as possible. Now, it turns out that this theatre used to be a brewery.. and in 1814 they had something of an accident, in which one of the barrels ruptured and the pressure of the escaping beer ruptured another, and so on - until the flood of beer came out with such force, and such a volume, that it broke down the back wall and flowed down the streets! Eight dead, and as he said, nobody knows about it now.. the surrounding area, known as the rookery, was so notoriously poor and the buildings of such poor quality that the flood simply washed them away - and the people in them.
Apologies for the general lack of photos, by the way - there wasn't much unusually photogenic to snap, and I'm just so familiar with this part of town that there wasn't any point.
As we headed down to St. Giles' church, I had a burst of nostalgia - I came here for my lunch sometimes when the office was local to it, they have a food market. We spent a while there, in the shade of a tree in the churchyard, chatting about local villains - including Jack Sheppard, who broke out of prison four times, and was so famous that, when he was finally being hung, his biography was already on sale at the hanging! Durnit, he even had a plan for escape then, but it hung on a doctor who was supposed to make his way to the gallows and declare him dead prematurely. Unfortunately, the crowds who'd come to see the deed were so large, given his notoriety, that the good doctor couldn't make his way through in time, and poor Jack really was hung.
It was at this time that our group started to make its collective wisdom known - we had a former forensic scientist in our midst, who could tell us exactly what the cause of death from hanging was. We also had someone from Australia, who knew about deportations, and indeed, we had a second tour guide, who was coming along to learn this tour, and made his own contributions from time to time. Indeed, our guide was to say at the end that it was the most enjoyable walk he'd been on, as he learned so much!
And so, on to Seven Dials - just close enough to our old office building that I could see they haven't demolished it yet. This was the setting for a chat about gin - apparently, William of Orange brought over the tradition of gin-drinking from the Netherlands, and taxed foreign drinks so high that gin became the preferred drink of the lower classes. Apparently, in its heyday, each street leading off Seven Dials terminated in a gin shop! Which, I guess, makes it appropriate that the column in the middle of Seven Dials bears an inscription that says it was unveiled by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands! He also spoke of the misogyny involved in the disapproval of gin, calling it "mother's ruin" because it enticed women out of the home and into gin palaces.
Look, a photo! See, I've already photographed the Freemasons' Hall, but thought I'd put it up again upon learning that it stood in for the Kremlin in The Death of Stalin, due to its opulent interiors.
And so on to Bow Street, where we stood in the shade of the Opera House. Now, I haven't been down here in a while - in the meantime, they've removed that black hoarding where the Man in the Hat used to stand, sometimes in pouring rain, bless 'im, to distribute his tickets, the nights that he brought us here! They still have fencing up, but it seems as though they're finally progressing with whatever they're doing. Honestly, I'm not that keen to return to the Opera House, not without the group that he used to bring here. Wouldn't be the same. Anyway, today we were there to talk about Bow Street Magistrates' Court (of course) and the corrupt thieftaker general, who ran his own criminal gang!
On to Covent Garden, where we were told about the guide to the local ladies - the Tripadvisor of its day, as someone remarked! This was a great class melting pot, the slum dwellers coming to make money from the toffs who were attending the new local theatres. Now, by this stage we had run over time, and my bones were beginning to ache - London Literary Walks aren't so strenuous, so it's a while since I've been so exercised! Happily, the rest was downhill.
And so to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which of course doesn't face Drury Lane at all - he explained that it was turned around, so the main entrance is now where the back door used to be. Anyway, seems it's the most haunted in London, and a "grey man" attending rehearsals is a promise of a successful run! We finished in Somerset House, former home of the Catholic Queen Henrietta Maria, who apparently used her position to flaunt the anti-Catholic laws of the day, had a Catholic church built there and let Catholics be buried there, when the norm was for them to be put in unmarked graves. Afterwards, in one of those acts of blatant vandalism, they demolished the church and built over the cemetery - leaving the bodies where they were, and using the gravestones as building material. Euch, I'll never look at Somerset House in the same way again!
Anyway, another informative and entertaining tour - guaranteed with Jess. Me, my back and hips were killing me - I managed to limp my way to the bus stop, and this time, the bus came quite quickly. On the way, passed Brandy Nan! See, Queen Anne had a thing for gin - returning to that theme - and her statue outside St. Paul's inspired the following ditty:
Brandy Nan, left in the lurch, her face to the gin shop, her back to the church.
Delighted to be in early. Tomorrow, I booked with London Science Events for a talk at the Royal Society on Why Philosophy of Science Matters to Science. Then, of course, I remembered I have a meeting at 5.30! Doors open at 6, and you have to be there well in advance to secure entry. Blast. Well, the other Meetup events that appealed were either also on too early, or didn't have any decent tickets left. So I thought film. The one that came top looks decent - but its closest showing is in Cineworld Wandsworth, which used to be my local but is now a bit of a trek for a film I'm not that pushed about. Which has slipped in ratings anyway, since I last looked (that was quick)! Anyway, in the meantime, I got an email from Londonist.. and something coming up for tomorrow night looked attractive, so I booked it. So I'm now going to Tales from the Phantasmagoria, in the Old Red Lion. Improvised horror comedy, we have three souls on stage who find themselves in hell and have to figure out how they got there. Sounds different.. and I might even manage to walk there. Despite it being uphill!
On Tuesday, my £3.60 club had tickets for a Beethoven cycle in the Barbican! Sadly, they'd sold out - but that didn't stop me buying my own ticket from the venue, although it cost more. Still, Beethoven is my favourite, so..
On Wednesday, Eleanor is back with a Flamenco evening at Sand's Films, olé! Advertised via the London European Club, booked through TunedIn London. Ah, it'll be so good to get back there again!
On Thursday, back with London Literary Walks, which are getting more frequent again - this week, it's Krays, Chaucer and Matches.. And then I'm back to Ireland for the long weekend.
Last night, North London Friends went to Quiz, at the Noel Coward Theatre. This is based on the true story of an audience member who apparently coughed at the right answers from the multiple-choice selections, in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, thus enabling the contestant to take away the top prize. Well, the group had onstage seats, which they sold themselves - they didn't show any availability when I looked, though, so I booked my own in the rear stalls, with the benefit of a Theatre Token I'd earned with Seatplan reviews. I then let them know I was coming.. and they finally added me, yay. So I got to be sociable, too, with what is a very sociable group!
Would you believe it, I nearly forgot the damned ticket yesterday morning! Just as well I wasn't in a hurry.. I idly wondered what was in that envelope over there, and lo, it was the ticket that they insisted on posting to me. I'm just not used to that anymore. In the evening, I left in good time - on a Friday evening, I was one of the last in the office! Again, either bus would do from the stop across the road - and again, I just missed one. I was early though, and while I was waiting, I took note of the number of a "man with a van", advertising on the stop - could be handy for my upcoming move. When I had to change buses in the West End, my second one arrived within seconds, and as it happened, I arrived in front of the theatre just at the appointed time.
I found the group over to the side, and we chatted until it was time to go in - ushers standing in the lobby had clipboards to take interval drinks orders, and again, a generous group member ordered a bottle of wine for us to share - and five glasses. Now, as I say, they were all on stage - which isn't a normal seating arrangement, so there were no directions for it; when they asked, they were told to enter through the stalls bar - which was just behind me, and was where we were going to be meeting at the interval. Very handy.
We had to come down a very long way to the stalls, and I worried for later, with my chest as it is. My seat was fine, if the view of the top of the stage was somewhat obscured by the overhang:
I discovered voting pads hanging from the seats in front of us - ooh, we were going to get to be in Ask the Audience! Awesome. The seats were also peppered with quiz sheets - there was a "pub quiz" we could participate in, whose questions were fed to us at intervals through the show. Unfortunately, although they assured us that pens were also hanging from the seats, nobody around me could find one, so we didn't really bother with this bit. Ultimately, the winners got a signed cast poster, it seems..
The theatre didn't stay as empty as in the above shot, but the two rows in front of me were almost completely unoccupied - I did consider moving forward, but reasoned that my view wouldn't improve much, as I'd still have the overhang. The place was completely decked out like a tv studio, screens to each side and at the rear of the stage, the set lit up as if for a performance. Flashing lights are a feature throughout, I should mention. The anticipation as we waited for the start was immense - we got a guy whose job it was to stir up the audience, and a camera was wheeled around the stage, alternating between shots of it and of us.
It's not a straightforward gameshow, though - instead, a judge comes onstage at the start, and the trial of the accused contestant begins then and there, the prosecution putting their case first. We go back through the history of gameshows, with stagings of different ones. This, of course, is where the people onstage get their chance to shine - including some of our group, who played a blinder when called on..
So, we meet the "coughing major", as he's known, and we get the background to the events. All quite gripping. And we get the fascinating psychology behind the staging of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, as they describe how the tension is ratcheted up. We also see wannabe quiz cheats, who study the game and devise ways around it. And at the end of the first half, as the prosecution rests its case, we have to vote - rather unfairly, without getting to hear the other side of the story.
At the interval, it was easy to locate our bottle, with all its glasses, and we hung out in what is a very small bar and chatted about gameshows before going back. Now, there was a chap sat just behind me who wasn't entirely the full shilling - was shouting out the answers when they had the pub quiz; when the compere on stage jokingly cried, "Don't call them out!", my companion responded with a puzzled "Why?" And he was muttering along to the action on stage. Well, bless us, by the end of the interval, it seems he'd bought some dinner, and I got to listen to him eating crisps and drinking something fizzy. The joys.
Back to the onstage action, and the case for the defence was finally being put. Some points you mightn't have thought of are raised, before we're told what actually happened to the accused in real life, and asked to vote again - a graph is put up after the result is revealed, showing the results of the last 10 votes. In all, the evening was great - you really get the feeling of being on a gameshow, and the audience participation is fun. Highly recommended - runs until the 17th of next month. I had to pause for an extended time to get my breath back after climbing all those stairs out, but I survived.
Afterwards, a brief discussion ended with the very sensible decision to go to Brown's, next door, which, as our organiser said, "always has room". We squeezed ourselves around a table in the bar - some of us wanted to eat, and there was the usual kerfuffle about us having to sit in the restaurant if we did, then they took forever to find a table that'd seat nine of us! So someone eventually said we could stay where we were if we weren't all eating, and those who were only had snacks. The fact that eight of us did end up ordering food, and most of that was main courses (chicken schnitzel for the most part, as it happened) was politely ignored. And the schnitzel was very good - topped with a fried egg, unusually. Now, a couple of people had stumped up for wine, and I ended up having both red and white - in the interest of not letting it go to waste, you know! The conversation was good, and we eventually tottered out of there just before midnight. As I say, a most convivial group.
My chest was bad now - I had to stop a few times on the way to the bus stop. I think it gets worse after I've eaten. Anyway, wouldn't you know it, the bus again took forever to get there, the optimistic display forever telling us that it was only a minute away, then that it was due. And when it eventually dropped me at home, I had to hang back, I was breathing so hard, lest the poor person walking in front of me thought I was up to something strange, at that late hour. It is better than it was - I wish the weather would warm up and allow it to clear properly. (It has improved a lot today.. watch this space.)
I also wish I'd already moved out of here - there was a most unpleasant smell of urine in the downstairs hall as I arrived last night. Anyway, the writing of the blog went a bit late - given that I had a reason to be awake at something like a reasonable hour today. You might have noticed something about a certain wedding today? Must be the reason for all the bunting around town yesterday. Indeed, a live stream showed them camping out in Windsor, last night. Not much sleep was being got, by the sound of it - I had visions of the sing-songs keeping the royals up!
Ah, and didn't she shimmer? And didn't he look all weepy? Aw shucks. Well, I decided just to stay in and watch that - it's not as though there weren't plenty of venues showing it in town, but I couldn't decide, and finally what swung it was that I was home so late, and if I'd wanted to sit and watch it somewhere else, I'd have had to be there really early. No thanks, I'm appreciating the rest! Headed out to Tesco for food, was all.
Tomorrow, I decided to go on the Grime and Punishment walk, finally, that I cancelled a while ago. Funzing, of course, via Walking in London - and I used the code crazy_fun, as usual, to get 10% off.
On Monday, I booked with London Science Events for a talk at the Royal Society on Why Philosophy of Science Matters to Science. Then, of course, I remembered I have a meeting at 5.30! Doors open at 6, and you have to be there well in advance to secure entry. Blast. Well, the other Meetup events that appealed were either also on too early, or didn't have any decent tickets left. So I'm thinking film, at the moment. Watch this space..
