I left as early as I could - doors were to open at 6.30, and although I got a bus earlier than recommended by Google Maps, traffic on Oxford Street was like treacle.. so, in the end, it was slightly after 6.30 when I got there. Where I joined the Very Long Queue. Doors not open yet. And then, because the queue was so very, very long, we were moved to queue in the library - cue a scrum, in which I ended up being shoved further back in the queue than I had been. Never mind, we were soon moving - and people eventually came around handing out 3D glasses! which I returned unopened - they give me a headache.
Inside, the theatre just absorbed us all easily. I got a seat pretty close to where I was last time.. there wasn't really a chance to sync up with the rest of the group, sadly. This turned out to be a panel discussion with two scientists and the aforementioned astronaut, each stating the case for humanity, if it has to leave the Earth, moving to one of the stated destinations. So, the first, armed with a little light-up moon, argued for the Moon; the second was for Mars, the astronaut wanted us to aim further.
The mc could have worked on her diction - she wasn't the easiest to understand. However, as an ex-academic myself, I can say that it was a joy to listen to such entertaining talks! Each of the speakers was not only passionate about his subject, but knew how to engage and hold the audience's attention, and all the talks were peppered with humour. (Of course, they were helped by having such a fascinating subject.) Essentially, the Moon was proposed as the nearest and "easiest" to get to, Mars as simply being more interesting, and also feasible to reach - although they did point out that that would be a one-way mission, as it'd be too difficult to bring people back. The astronaut was gung-ho for exploring farther afield, to find somewhere more Earth-like. He did concede, however, that this was a (very) longterm ambition.
Obviously, the argument for the Moon was the most sensible. The Mars talk was the one that the 3D glasses were planned for - we were shown images that would display in 3D. And the astronaut's talk was absolutely riveting - he explained how the Moon flights were cancelled after his trip, so he only got to do it once.. but it was obvious how much he regretted that. And wow, to hear him talk about how day and night were defined by whether the shades were up or down.. and how many stars you could see from the dark side of the Moon.. jeez, we were up there with him.
At the end, they had a live audience vote as to which of the three options we should go with - after an early lead from Mars, the natural order of Earth, then Mars, then beyond emerged. But it was great to be able to see the votes developing in real time! A terrific night was had. And although I missed the rest of the group, it was nice of the organiser to come over in the lobby afterwards (while they were queueing for autographs upstairs), and we chatted briefly. And so home, on a horrendously packed bus! I was keeping my film list up to date though, so didn't have time to blog last night - ironically, I'm not going to a film now!
Tonight, back with London Literary Walks (but of course!) for The Belgravia Walk.
Tomorrow, I RSVPed with North London Friends, for the first time in ages, for End of Term Moors Bar Blues Jam and Drinks. And then, wouldn't you know it, Ryanair announced another pilots' strike - for Friday, when I was to go back to Ireland for the weekend! Nothing about it on their website, of course - and you know, if it affected me, I'd just find out at the last possible minute. Like all of those delayed flights that they only email you about - with the option to cancel or reschedule - when they're already in the air! (when it's actually legally too late to cancel, even if you don't go). I know from personal experience how hard it is to get last-minute flights - and how expensive. So, for safety's sake, I'm now flying tomorrow.. damnit, I'll never get to that Blues bar! And this group will think I'm avoiding them.. And, of course, now it turns out my Friday flight isn't cancelled at all. But you can't take the risk.
On Monday, with nothing on Meetup, my £3.60 club finally came up with something I fancied doing - so I'm headed to a play called Reading Gaol, at Theatre N16. There's a lot of interest in Oscar Wilde at the moment, for some reason. Speaking of the club that can't be named.. I had my account suspended by them (again!) yesterday - got one of those useless emails asking me to email to discuss, while not bothering to tell me what the problem was. Turned out they were miffed that I didn't have a UK phone number! When I suggested that they could just discuss this stuff with me, rather than resorting to suspending my account all the time, I got the rather snippy response that they found they got a quicker response this way! I see their customer service is still bottom of the barrel.. anyway, account now reactivated, with a note to say they won't be getting in touch in the event of last-minute availability or cancellations!
On Tuesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS), for Exit the King, at the National.
Next Wednesday, London Literary Walks again - this time it's Little Italy. Now, I've done this area before - but I bet he'll come up with something new.
On the 26th, back with London Science Events at the Royal Institution - this time, it's Synthetic Intelligence. Last night's organiser can't make it now - so I guess none of us will be meeting.
On the 27th, back with UITCS again, for Pity, at the Royal Court - which I missed on Saturday, when the same group was doing it with another organiser. Delighted to make this - also delighted to avail of a terrific Time Out offer of £12 tickets for Band B seats - the official price for Band D is £14, so this was great value! Sadly, now sold out.
On the 28th, back with them again, for the very last performance of Spun, at the Arcola. Second in a row with a theme of terrorism - this one is about the London bombings.
On the 29th, back with Walking in London, and Katie of Look Up London! Delighted she has a new walk - Smithfield & Clerkenwell: Guts & Glory. It's actually cheaper on her own site than on Funzing - unless you're getting one of those common 10% discounts!
On the 30th, I'm taking myself to the Proms, at the Albert Hall, for the first time in ages. This one is An Alpine Symphony.
And finishing off the month, I'm finally back with North London Friends, for Give My Regards to Broadway, Upstairs at the Gatehouse.
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