Well, I'm back in Ireland again - flew on Friday, for once! Just for the weekend, this time - I'm heading back to London tonight. And I hope not to have the delay I did on Friday - it's been a while since I experienced the like, perhaps as I haven't had a Friday flight in so long. Their third flight of the day, which led to a knock-on effect, due to a delayed departure from Lisbon, we were told. Unfortunately, all of this was told to us once we were safely on the plane.. which was a very long time after Ryanair checked our credentials, prior to boarding. After that, passengers are directed into a tunnel, and made to wait there until it's actually time to board the plane. It doesn't usually take 20 minutes for passengers to be able to leave the tunnel.. which got very hot. One elderly woman felt faint, and had to be taken out and given a seat. As one man near me said, "Great customer service.."
Yesterday, I headed to the pictures - delighted to be seeing Last Night in Soho. Earliest showing at the Omniplex, so I booked - although curiously, when I first looked, the Arc in Ennis had a matinée, which was then removed. Well, never mind, the Omniplex is cheaper. And this sounded really interesting, and has great reviews. (Ironic, I left London to watch a film set in London..) A young girl (Thomasin McKenzie) comes to study in London, and fantasises about swinging Soho in the 60s. Unsurprisingly, she dreams that she is there. Surprisingly, it seems she's dreaming about real events - and when this spills into her waking life, she has problems. A pleasantly unusual-sounding horror.. Stars the late Diana Rigg, in her last performance, as her landlady, Michael Ajao as a friendly classmate of hers, Pauline McLynn as the landlady of the pub where she gets a part-time job, and Terence Stamp as an elderly gent hanging around, who takes a suspicious interest in her..
I left in good time - which was as well, considering the horrendous traffic in Limerick City centre - are people doing their Christmas shopping early? A large delay there meant that I only just got to the cinema in time - where I discovered that the cinema car park was completely full (presumably of people treating themselves, after the Christmas shopping!). So after trawling that, I ended up parking around the side, and was a few minutes late, by the schedule. Now, they no longer show many ads, so I ended up arriving as the credits were rolling - had to excuse myself past two people on the outside of my row, but at least I didn't miss anything.
Ah, this is great! She's a real ingenue - her mother killed herself when she was little, her father wasn't around - so she was raised by her gran, in the depths of the countryside. And from her, picked up a love of all things 60s - the music, the fashion. In fact, she makes all her own clothes, and that's what she wants to do for a living - at the start of the film, she gets the letter confirming her place at the London College of Fashion. Her gran is delighted for her - but also a little worried. Not only is she naive, and embedded in an old vision of what London is like - but she sees ghosts, which could be a problem.
Well, off she heads - splashing out on a black cab, once she arrives in London, to take her to the halls of residence. She says at one point that she has a loan and a bursary - must be substantial! This is the most expensive way to travel, in London. Well, apart from rickshaw, maybe. Anyway, I really felt for her in the halls of residence - she's an old soul, doesn't fit in with the hard-partying crowd she's sharing with. And her roommate is - awful. So, she's soon looking for a place on her own - and how she gets to afford a bedsit in Goodge Place is beyond me. (Nostalgic for me though, I once lived a stone's throw from there! I couldn't afford a bedsit, but had an ensuite in a converted hospital. Most expensive place I ever rented - but I loved it.) Well then, it's unsurprising that she gets a part-time job. Which I still can't imagine would pay for it. But anyway.
Well, she starts dreaming about 60s Soho, and sort of transposing herself with one of the characters, an aspiring singer. As her landlady tells her that the house had a lot of different girls staying there over the years, she figures that this girl had her room. But as the girl's story gets more unpleasant, her ability to see ghosts starts to manifest in her waking hours, and she becomes more and more uneasy, as she tries to find out how the story ends..
And so do we. Amazing cinematography transforms this from what could be a pretty conventional ghost story into something far more disturbing. Appropriately for a film with a fashion theme, it looks amazing - rather 60s psychedelic in style. Not that I was there, but the look and feel of the 60s is excellent, and the soundtrack is perfect.. and the film as a whole had me on edge the entire time. Beautifully made - check it out, if you have an interest in ghosts. Or in the 60s!
Right, well, planning on a film tomorrow as well - and wouldn't you know it, the film list didn't update until Friday! which is far too late. And I didn't have time to go through it until late last night. Anyway, now done, and I'm going to Dear Future Children, a documentary about three young, female activists from different parts of the world. Only showing tomorrow, and only in the Picturehouse Finsbury Park. Now, with few tickets left, I thought I'd better book - but as I was about to pay, I noticed they take Tesco vouchers! And I recalled getting a Tesco email recently about vouchers - I never get around to using them. Well and good, I converted some Tesco vouchers - including one expiring soon - into three times' their worth in Picturehouse vouchers, and ended up only having to pay 10p for my ticket! Nice..
On Tuesday, going to Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical. Showing at the Lyric. Looking forward to it.
On Wednesday, back with London Classical Music & Theatre Group, for a concert by the London Philharmonic in the Royal Festival Hall. Really must make an effort to meet the group this time - but it can be tricky, if they don't bring a sign or indicate how they can be recognised!
And on Thursday, the Crick Crack Club is back - online - with Trickster, live-streamed from Oxford again. Well, assuming it works, this time..
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