With another chaotic week at work, I felt guilty leaving - but left anyway. Had to travel all the way over to Kensington, so the bus was out, it'd have taken too long. Still, Tube was ok, most of w hich was on the comfy Circle line, where I also got a seat. We were to meet at the Prince of Wales, where the guide had positioned himself conveniently near the entrance - not that I managed to spot him straight away! What the hey, I abandoned him briefly to get a drink at the bar.. never mind the West End, I'm unused - these days - to Kensington prices, and frowned at having to fork over more than £8 for a glass of wine! For the amount they charge, you'd think they'd be able to afford to pay someone to mop up all the spills at the bar..
Otherwise, it's a pleasant enough place, with a slot machine that actually appears to pay out! Unheard of, in my experience. Anyway, I broke the news to him that we were the sum total of attendees, and indeed, we spent so long chatting that we ran way over our scheduled departure time. Never mind, no rush as we meandered out onto the street.
More photos here. Much of the walk was spent wandering past pleasant Georgian townhouses where famous people lived:
Oh, and the Vanity Fair connection? Thackeray, who did keep popping up. (If you look carefully at the following photo, the estate agent's is also named for him:
As usual, a bevy of artists and poets lived in the area.. at one stage or another. Not all of whom I'd heard of. For me, I think the most interesting character was Talleyrand - named in one of the above photos for having lived in that house, he was an incredibly clever diplomat, surviving several regime changes in revolutionary and post-revolutionary France.
However, the main pleasure of the walk was just to stroll the backstreets of this attractive neighbourhood, in good company. We finished the night in The Elephant & Castle, which contains a plaque apparently attributing the name to a corruption of the name of Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragón, Infanta of Castile! Oh dear, poor woman.. Anyway, a fun end to another great year of walks - a shame for all who missed it.
Last night, I was with my £3.60 club for the final night of Between Us, originally scheduled for Theatre N16, but later moved to Ye Olde Rose & Crown. Another Tube journey, all the way to the end of the Victoria Line at Walthamstow.. stifling, but at least I got a seat on the Victoria Line. Interesting murals in this part of town:
And so to the pub - again, stifling! Lookit, I know the weather's turned colder, but is that any reason to smother us? Anyway, after much searching through the ground floor of the pub, I found the door marked "The show starts here", where a nice chap examined my ticket and stamped my wrist. No time to get a drink, I just waited and traipsed up the narrow, winding stairs when it was time.
A two-person show about relationships. The characters were called Rachel and Alex, and the audience - which about half-filled the place - were asked beforehand for interesting anecdotes about Rachels or Alexes that they knew. With a story from one woman about an Alex who used to front a band, but was now a music teacher, they had a hook to hang the plot on.
After that, the whole show was improvised - although I do think they worked to a basic pattern, with a young couple first shown on their third date, then moving in together, then cracks appearing, and finally a break-up. The only props were a couple of chairs for them to sit on when they needed, the rest mimed. And they did quite a convincing job of turning the hook into a coherent story. I guess it's just human nature that my favourite part was the fight! Most enjoyable, although with the whole theatre to pick from, I got myself stuck behind a big head..
Got the bus all the way back, from the massive station. And had an interesting walk on the final stretch through Hoxton, familiar from another London Literary Walk! Tonight, back to Ireland again for the weekend.
On Monday, back with North London Friends for Every Day I Make Greatness Happen, at Hampstead Theatre - which I hear great things about. Nice to get a group discount, too.
And on Tuesday, another thing I've heard great things about - I'm taking myself to Eugenius, at The Other Palace. Finally, after all the praise I've heard of it.. This theatre used to be known as St. James', and is dreadful for legroom - take an aisle seat if you're at all lanky of leg!
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