More photos here. Free to enter - we followed the signs to reception, where we met a lady who directed us to the basement museum. When we asked about a tour, she advised us to "see whether there was anyone there". Well, there was someone behind the desk.. a lady was browsing the exhibits, and he wanted to wait for her to finish, I think. But when we explained that our time was limited - he asked her whether it was ok to start now, and then hopped out from behind the desk to give us the tour himself! Eh, ok..
I can't fault his enthusiasm. He led us first into John Wesley's house, which adjoins the chapel. Starting in the basement, there's another small exhibition that, it turns out, your'e not supposed to photograph! Honestly, I didn't notice that till after I'd taken my first photo. But hey, he didn't say anything - so I kept going. I wasn't using flash, at least.
Narrow steps lead to each successive level - we went through four floors in all, including the basement. Just the thing to work off lunch! An utterly charming building, filled with quirky artefacts such as a writing desk with a hidden drawer (for letters from female fans), a bench with a reversible back, so it could point either way, a bedpan..
The whole way through, we got more of the history of Methodism than, I think, any of our group was interested in - I'm sure nothing would have been too much for the other lady though, who was a Methodist minister. But as I say, the guide's enthusiasm was undeniable, and we got all of this for free! You can only see the house on a tour - so, do as we did and head to the museum to see whether he's available. We were lucky!
We finished in the chapel, a riot of beautiful stained glass, with a gallery of flags to represent the various countries that have adopted Methodism.
And there we left him to answer the more in-depth queries of the minister who had accompanied us on the tour. Very interesting, although I won't be converting any time soon. But isn't it fascinating what hides behind London facades..?
Tonight, I would have loved to go to Betrayal, with Up in the Cheap Seats - but by the time I started looking, cheapest tickets I could find were £84. Not that keen. So, I thought about a film. And as before, soaring ahead at the top of the list was Maiden, a documentary about the British sailor, Tracy Edwards. It's about the time she skippered the first all-female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race - their boat was called Maiden. Anyway, not only does the trailer have dramatic shots of high seas, but also an interesting side story about the British press and the things they called them. Because, you know, any group of girls gathered together does excite such schoolboyish "humour" in the press' minds. Closest showing to me was still in the Curzon Bloomsbury, and being in the DocHouse programme, it's nice and cheap. I kept an eye on it all day, but it only showed signs of heavy booking as I was preparing to leave, at which point I booked it.
Arrived 15 minutes early, took my comfortable seat - as it happened, I was the first one there. As advertised, only five minutes of trailers, and we were into it. My, it didn't disappoint! Dramatic scenes of high seas abound. But more interesting is the human story - Tracy would have been forgiven for not being too fond of men, what with her father dying when she was 10, and her mother remarrying a couple of years later. Her stepfather - as she describes him - was an abusive, violent drunk. She started to play up at school, was suspended 26 times before she was expelled - her mother pleaded for her to be allowed to take her O-levels, which she promptly didn't show up to!
She describes how she fell in love with sailing: but when crews wouldn't take a woman on board - except grudgingly, perhaps, as a cook - she realised that to fulfil her dream of sailing the Whitbread, she'd have to skipper an all-female crew! As she tells it, she wouldn't have had a hope of securing sponsorship, but for the fact that she just happened to know King Hussein of Jordan, who'd always taken an interest in sailing..!
We get to meet the other members of her crew - including the Irish woman. (See, we're everywhere!) Apparently, she met them in a pub in Cork. And we're with them for the whole gruelling journey - it is also funny to see a couple of male journalists of the time reminisce about the reaction to them, and how, as soon as they left Southampton, a book was opened on how long they'd last. Nobody, but nobody, thought they'd even finish the first leg.
Well, they did, of course - third of four boats in their class. It's telling that, while the world's press was just amazed they'd done it, and glad they were safe, they were gutted they'd come third! They did rather better for the rest of it.. With cameras accompanying them all the way, it's a journey as emotional for the audience as it was for them, at the time. And we had to laugh at her mother's reaction, when they become the first British boat in 12 years to win a leg, and she remarks that she cannot believe that the horror that her daughter was has pulled this off! Yep, can't really argue there.
Highly recommended. The single quibble I had with the film was the abrupt ending - they finish the race - to a tumultuous welcome.. and that's that! I had to look at the Wikipedia article about her to find out that the boat was recovered, and is planned to be used again.. the Maiden Factor Foundation has been established in aid of girls' education. You might think that would've been a good PS for the film, eh?
I am keeping tomorrow free, when there's talk about a discussion (with wine) with the design team. And that's the only night I can make.. wasn't going to do anything exciting anyway. Hey, I can always come up with a Plan B though.
On Wednesday, I'm back with Let's Do This (LDT), for another restaurant trial. This time it's French - Le Sacré Coeur - and we're again meeting in The Crown beforehand. These Meetups are proving very handy for my knowledge of London restaurants! Then I'm back to Ireland for a long weekend - had holiday days left over from last year that I had to use by the end of this month. Well, that's what the system said..! and who am I to argue?
I fly back next Monday night, and on the 26th, LDT just advertised discount tickets for The Crown Dual, in the King's Head! Well yes please, sign me up! And so now I'm going to that.
On the 27th, back with the Crick Crack Club! This is a performance by Jan Blake, at King's Place - and da boss having liked a clip of hers that he saw previously, he's taking the spare ticket I accidentally booked. Should be a good night.
And on the 28th, our team has our monthly social. This time, we're off to Tas.
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