Slept like a log, thankfully, what with the rain and the lower temperatures. The evening saw a last-minute release, and a project manager that didn't bother to check the documentation until release day. Despite there having been supposed to be several release days before. So then he had lots and lots of ideas for changes. Well, I did as much as I could, then drew a line under it when he said he was heading to a meeting and would resume editing afterwards. I passed the rest on to my boss (poor man ended up working till 4am!), and although I'd been meaning to take buses, it was now late enough that I said I'd take the Tube.
London Bridge Station hasn't got any less confusing with the rebuilding - although it does look impressive, walking down Tooley Street! It's the first time I've approached the theatre from this side:
Now, I knew they'd be meeting in the lobby, and had a fair idea where, as we've met here several times before. The organiser was of the opinion they'd be easy to spot, there being 30 signed up.. heh, not really! Not in this crowded place. Just as well I knew several of those attending, so it didn't take me long to find a circle to join, among those that had formed.. and over the course of the evening, I caught up with loads of people. Apologies to all those I didn't manage to speak to.
As usual, there's no really bad seat here - even though I had a restricted view, all I had to do was lean forward to see plenty. And with no-one behind me, that was just fine. Also, with the footrest, the high seats are perfectly comfortable - although the fellow in front of me seemed to think it was his armrest, and I ended up standing on him, briefly! :-) Tough.
So, this is an Alan Bennett play, set in the geriatric wing of the Bethlehem Hospital, oop nawth in Yorkshire. Like so many other small healthcare centres, it's facing closure in favour of bigger, newer, shinier "centres of excellence". So, management have organised a local tv crew to come around and make a documentary, and roped in the all-singing, all-dancing oldies in the geriatric unit, to provide the human context. The tv crew is wondering how to make the show interesting, the oldies are complaining about their aches and pains - and live in fear of angering the ward sister, who has a "list" that she puts people on if they soil themselves. Oh, and there's the young Tory hotshot, originally from around these parts, now up briefly from his high-flying life in London to visit his sick father, one of the patients here.
Well, it's Alan Bennett, so you can expect politics. And my God, they all get lambasted here - Tories, Northerners and their prejudices, Southerners and their arrogance, tv crews' cynicism, the laziness of youth, the British government's immigration policy (there's an Indian doctor on staff, whose status is in doubt, given that he overstayed his student visa some years back). A foreigner in our group later expressed amazement that, with the shortage of doctors, the government would be throwing out the ones that are here and want to stay - but as we know, politicians were never known for their common sense, eh? And this does actually happen in real life. Speaking of that Indian doctor, he also gets a soliloquy about how Britain should open its arms - an obvious reference to Brexit: ironically coming from a non-European.
So, lots to chew on there. However, it's politics lite - just mentioned casually in passing, make of it what you will. Mainly, this is a love letter to the aged, with plenty of sweet songs and some dance numbers, and it makes for a gentle and soothing evening. I liked it very much. There's a huge twist, mind, at the end of the first half - and someone was wondering what relevance that had to the rest of the play. Perhaps what we were meant to take from it wasn't that the elderly are treated this badly, but more how this mistreatment is ignored by the people who should be concerned.
Anyway, I really enjoyed it. Runs till the 29th of next month. Speaking of the elderly, there was a kerfuffle on the bus back, which was diverted - an old man wanted to know whether the bus would be turning left, which was obviously where he wanted.. considering that, as we stopped at the lights, he demanded to be let off! I've never heard such abuse as he gave to that poor bus driver, the old man even opening the doors with the emergency lock, only for the driver to shut them again! Called him every name under the sun for not letting him off in the middle of traffic. It was a relief when we finally came to a stop and he was let off - that driver was lucky to be behind a partition; I was afraid the old fellow would lay into him with his cane! No frail elderly on this bus, let me tell you. The journey was peaceful after that, and just as I turned for home, the proverbial black cat crossed my path. And stopped to say hi.
The blog was delayed by a morning meeting (so I had to get to bed), and by me doing yet another film list that I'm not using. Tonight, we were back to the Camden Fringe, with How to Be a Londoner in an Hour, at the Hen & Chickens Theatre. Arranged to meet one of the group for dinner beforehand.
I was supposed to have a later meeting this evening than I ultimately did - and with my ever-helpful boss offering to take on some of my stuff himself, because he had to work on something related anyway, I was in good time to take the bus. Same number bus as yesterday, as it happened - although the onboard entertainment this time was restricted to a toddler in a buggy singing a recognisable version of Itsy Bitsy Spider: appropriate for the rain that fell for most of the day. At Highbury Corner, I carried on to the station, where my companion was waiting. We had no real idea where we wanted to go, so carried on down St. Paul's Road - passing the theatre on the way.
There are a couple of good eateries along this stretch, methinks - but they are quite small, and were booked up, and we ended up in the Brewhouse & Kitchen, near the roundabout. It was certainly busy! They were just clearing away the oversized board games as we got there. We found a table, ordered at the bar - I had the chicken burger, my companion the risotto.. Mine was plonked down first, the server vanishing into the crowd! No cutlery, no napkins. To be fair, they were, as my companion remarked, run off their feet. When she eventually came back with the risotto, my companion asked for cutlery, which came with one napkin - which didn't end up getting used, as I had left it on the table, and the server collected it with the dirty plate. My companion remarked that perhaps they hadn't thought I'd need cutlery for a burger and chips - but I did find it handy to have a knife to cut the burger in half. Anyway - mine was quite tasty (although it didn't taste southern fried, as it was described), but my companion was scathing about the risotto, which she described as "microwaved". Certainly, gourmet it isn't, and we didn't stay for dessert.
Instead, we headed across the road to the theatre pub, where we got another drink while we waited, and were eventually joined by the rest of the group. Also busy here, and nowhere to sit - beside the bar, they have a menu for pizza, which it looks as though they order in. Turns out to be one of those places where, even though you're supposed to be able to show your ticket on your phone, you do actually have to go and get a physical ticket too.
Open seating for what is a small room above the pub - which ended up mostly full. "How to Be a Londoner in an Hour" turns out to be 55 minutes long - as they explained, it's London, so you get less than you pay for! Three performers (and a hapless chap snatched from the front row), and a madcap set of chapters in the lesson. Plenty of truths in there.. tourists and Tubes, rent prices and mice. Oh, and a new set of lyrics for Pop Goes the Weasel! I thought it was great fun - bring a sense of humour, though. Runs till Sunday. Afterwards, there was no great enthusiasm for a drink in the still-crowded pub, so we wended our ways home - and this time I walked. And again, it was all downhill!
Tomorrow, I'm down to Helen's for the weekend, for a party..
On Monday, I was back with Anthony's Cultural Events and Walking Activities Group, back to Westferry Circus.. this time it's for A Woman of No Importance. However, then I got roped into a late evening meeting, so given that this was free - and I wasn't that pushed - I'm now going to Love Lab, at the Tristan Bates Theatre. Which starts a lot later.
On Tuesday, with nothing on Meetup that I was interested in (and hadn't done), I'm headed with my £3.60 club to a play called Faith & Heresy, at The Bread & Roses in Clapham.
On Wednesday - sorry, London Literary Walks, you didn't advertise early enough! Instead, I'm off with North London Friends for Things of Dry Hours, at the Young Vic.
Next Thursday, I'm headed to Soho Theatre for The One. Then back to Ireland for the weekend, again.
On the 20th, I'm going with UITCS to the Arcola, for Elephant Steps.
On the 21st, the £3.60 club is providing me with a ticket to see Aprile Millo perform at Cadogan Hall. Gotta say, terrific value for something whose official prices start at £35!
And on the 22nd, again, off with UITCS to the Camden Fringe. We're seeing Secondhand Stories and Whimsy, two short plays at The Lion and Unicorn. I would have been missing an evening with London Literary Walks that day, but he's now moved it anyway.
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