This morning, Anthony's Cultural Events and Walking Activities Group headed on a virtual tour of Mount Everest, on Google Maps again! So I tagged along.
I was ever so slightly late - blame this antiquated computer, which took forever to boot up. Didn't matter, of course - much like his physical Meetups, he has no interest in actually leading, and had advertised this as being unhosted. Which is a shame, because some people had obviously never been on Google Maps before, and hadn't a clue what to do, or what to expect. Never mind, a couple of us posted links that people could use to see interesting photos, and I posted a link to a YouTube video of a summit climb - someone had been asking whether it'd go to the summit, which it doesn't.
Personally, I found that video much more interesting - the views might be spectacular, but the area around the base camps is very stony and inhospitable, and to be honest, not that interesting after about a minute. Anyway, I mooched around for a while, had a brief chat on the Meetup site, and left early. He's actually closing down this group on Wednesday, so this was my last event with them. I'm not sufficiently invested in it to join his Facebook group.
This afternoon, why, London Social Detours had another event I was interested in. (And for once, she's not charging..!) She was reading a chapter of a book entitled London: The Wicked City, with a chat afterwards.
And yes, Up in the Cheap Seats is busy again.. They're watching a play called Wild, on the Hampstead Theatre website this evening. Another by Mike Bartlett, it's a dramatisation of the story of Edward Snowden. As Hampstead Theatre is only streaming plays free for a week each, this is the last day for this. Free watching ends at 10pm GMT. So, with me due to watch telly with my mother again, I watched this early - before the book reading.
Ah crikey, I damn near gave up. The whole thing takes place in his hotel room in Moscow, and for ages from the start of the play, he's conversing with a really strange woman. She seriously is the most irritating character - I gathered, from her insane proclamations, that this is meant to be a comedy, but ah here. Maybe it'd have been better with a different actor - this is completely overacted. The pair spend the whole time yelling at each other (for no apparent reason), she can't get her story straight, and it turns into a diatribe against the curbs on freedom and breaches of privacy perpetrated by modern governments.
I could have skipped that whole section of the play. It was such a relief when she left - to be replaced by another guy, who in complete contrast is deadpan. Anyway, he professes no knowledge of the woman - but both are trying to get our protagonist to sign up to their (unspecified) organisation. Ho hum. But wait.. I very nearly shut it off, but was so glad I didn't. The ending is fantastic! It's just a shame we had to wait that long for the play to get good. And no, the ending isn't worth the drudgery of what precedes it. But it's nicely cynical. Imagine what the play would have been like if it'd all been like this!
So, finally, to the book reading - again, I was ever so slightly late - had to download Zoom. Conscious of recent security concerns around Zoom, the organiser gave us a password. She'd started to read - but only just - when I arrived.. I'd wondered how she was as a reader, and sorry to say, she isn't great. Very gaspy, and obviously unfamiliar with some words, which she mispronounced. The book itself was something of a revelation - gee, we live in such prudish times in comparison with what it was like before! I don't think I'll tune in for future chapters, though. I didn't participate in the chat after - I don't know many members of that group very well, and wasn't really in the mood.
My next thing is likely to be on Friday - which, of course, is Good Friday, so I don't have to work. Film, perhaps - currently top of my YouTube film list is a documentary entitled Apocalypse: la 1ere Guerre Mondiale. Well, it's a chance to practice my French..
No comments:
Post a Comment