After yesterday's exertions, I slept soundly - and long, waking about an hour later than intended. It really took more out of me than I anticipated. Oops! So I scrabbled to get out - didn't have time to eat beforehand, but I did make the Tube with a minute to spare. Arrived at London Bridge at 11.20, with the train due at 11.33 - and wouldn't you know, I literally just made it! It takes so long to wend your way from Tube to train station - and of course, my platform was nowhere near me. Thank goodness that Google Maps had told me which one to go for! The train was waiting patiently for me at the platform as I trotted up the stairs - I barely had time to get on.
After all that, I alighted at Greenwich five minutes earlier than expected - and she wasn't there.
More photos here. Mooched around for a while. Saw on the maps that the DLR station was nearby, so I went looking for that, and by the time I'd returned, there she was. I was still the first.. a much smaller group today, and mostly foreigners, with a German couple and a Dutch guy. Anyway, the station itself was the first point of interest - as she pointed out, it doesn't really look like a train station! but then, being one of the first built, in 1836, the builders had no idea what a train station should look like.
So we meandered off down the backstreets of Greenwich, under very grey skies, but the rain thankfully holding off. Plenty of interesting snippets - like the monument to a milkman!
Finally, we hit the tourist spots, with a few art stops around the Naval College, and a peek at the Cutty Sark. And of course, that iconic Greenwich view:
Much of the talk for the day was about Nelson:
(Rather short, on the basis of this statue, as she pointed out.) Well now, I'm afraid that my opinion of Nelson will forever after be tainted by the play I went to a while ago, based on a book by an Antiguan writer, who had cause to mention him several times. And every time she did, she suffixed "war criminal" to his name. As Katie pointed out today, he was vehemently anti-abolitionist, and a keen slave owner - which I guess makes him today's villain - but he did boost the power of the British navy, which had positive effects. As well as negative ones. Anyway, as she said, not all black and white.
She recommended the Cutty Sark pub as somewhere to eat - it's certainly well advertised, with signs along the roadside far in advance of getting there. However, the Midpoint is a Turkish restaurant right next door, and after some pondering, I chose that. Had the lamb special, which was ok - I think I could have chosen better. For one thing, there was far too much cheese dip with it, which swamped the plate! (Good idea to present on two plates, one under the other, so you don't get burnt carrying it!) But the house white was excellent, and the brownie really good, so I'd be willing to try it again. Service was quick, and prices reasonable. They also have free WiFi - password @midpoint1 - but gee, it took forever for me to connect to it!
Once I finally did, I could confirm that I'd now walked far enough to travel back from Maze Hill station, which I did, on one of the half-hourly trains. Wow, it was good to get in to the warm! And now that's it for guided walks for the foreseeable future.
Tomorrow, I booked with London Speaks Sessions, for a talk on Interviews With a Serial Killer. Funzing now have an Unlimited Talks option, where you can get unlimited talks for a month for £11.99 - however, not seeing anything else I fancy coming up this month, I left it. As it was, I got a spectacular loyalty discount for this one! ..and then I got a better offer. St. Martin-in-the-Fields (which I haven't been to in over a year!) sent an advertising email - and I rather fancied tomorrow's offering, an Arab Christmas. Of course, you can cancel Funzing up to 48 hours beforehand - so I did, and am now going to that instead.
On Tuesday, it's cinema - first in a while. Top of the List came King of Boys, a gangster Nollywood film, of all things. Closest showing is in the Odeon Greenwich - so I booked, which works out cheaper. It'll be my very first Nollywood film - and it's on really late. I'll have to ring my mother beforehand and pretend I've already been..
On Wednesday - back for the New Year with the Crick Crack Club! They're doing a new series on archetypes - Wednesday's is on Wise Ones Wild Ones, in Rich Mix. We're spoiled with the lineup - the night's storytellers are Ben Haggerty, Jan Blake, Daniel Morden - and Laura Sampson, who used (nominally) to run their now-defunct Meetup group. Never mind, for once the London European Club is going, under the stewardship of Henning! It'll be good to see some friendly faces there - and it's been ages since I saw these people! About time. And it'll be my first proper Meetup of the year.
On Thursday, in contrast, I'm with a completely new group - London Sci-Fi Horror Hide-Out, for their first ever Meetup! Hem - this is Miskatonic LDN - Remakesploitation: The Horror Meme. Fairly trips off the tongue, the whole thing! So it seems that Miskatonic LDN is actually an institute of horror studies, and based at the Horse Hospital. Well now. This specific event is about the many international horror film remakes through the years. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
And on the 14th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Pinter at the Pinter again! This is Programme 5 - The Room / Victoria Station / Family Voices. And this evening includes a free Q+A with the cast.
No comments:
Post a Comment