Today, I was back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners. This time, it was a tour of The Backstreets of Islington! Lovely, my neck of the woods - in fact, this was a walk I could walk to. And Helen came too! Which would be nice, and the first time in ages I'd have seen her. The timing was a bit unfortunate, as it clashed with the accession council, which was being televised.. oh well!
I dragged myself out of bed in time to turn on the computer for the accession council - saw the now-Prince of Wales and Queen Consort sign the proclamation. :-) D'you know, apparently it was the first occasion in history on which women were present! With a line of ex-Prime Ministers taking the front row of observers, I had to wonder what Boris was staring at so pointedly, once the signatures were done, and people were making their way to the antechamber to meet the King..
Well, that done, I trotted off and up the hill to my walk. And was the first there, beating even Laurence! We met in The Angel - where, of course, they were showing the proclamation, due at the same time the walk was due to start. With the sound down, grr. As I remarked, what is the point in watching someone silently blow a trumpet..? Never mind, found it online later.
Our first stop was the memorial to Thomas Paine - attracts a lot of rubbish, it seems (note the cans). And I caught the first memorial of the day to the late Queen:
It was fascinating to hear the hidden history of many of Islington's buildings, as well as the reason that Upper Street has a raised pedestrian section - why, to avoid the mud, of course! - but the memorial to the area's most famous cat, subject of the film and book A Street Cat Named Bob, had a special resonance:
We also passed down some lovely, quiet backstreets - Islington has some very attractive bits.
And we were allowed to sneak into the lobby of the local Catholic church, where a baptism was in progress; in fact, the priest bade us farewell as we made our way out!
More unexpected bits of Islington included the waterways:
But wow, was I ready for lunch by the time we made our way back to The Angel! The rain held off until we were headed there, and when Laurence asked, they had no problem seating us at the back. And we were well-fed, on some moreish BBQ chicken (for me and Helen). I found myself in the interesting position of being at the same table as two people with whom I normally share a bottle of wine.. well, the situation was easily resolved - by ordering two bottles! (One at a time, obviously - we only had one cooler, after all.) Each at less than the price of a single large glass, at Sadler's Wells (among other places). The chat was as good as ever - love this group, TBH, one of the friendliest. Hope it isn't too long before I can join them again.
Afterwards, Helen and I headed to see what could be seen at Buckingham Palace - I hadn't headed down there yet, since the Queen's death. Well, there is no shortage of businesses giving tributes:
Well, I don't think we were anticipating the crowds we got:
Unable to get any nearer, people were leaving tributes at the closest trees to the Palace that they could reach:
After we'd shopped, we headed to the cafe in Marks and Spencer - which is advertised as being on the 2nd floor, but turned out to be on the 3rd.. good cake, though. Terrific day, great to see the group again, great to see Helen again.
Tomorrow, Cultureseekers were heading to Open House London - which used to run over a weekend, and has turned into a fortnight-long extravaganza! This festival, which started on Thursday, allows access to buildings you normally can't see. They were off to the Banqueting House, which I've never seen, and the Royal Opera House, which I have - including on a backstage tour. Just before the world went into lockdown. So, I fancied the Banqueting House - but I didn't fancy accompanying this event, which numbered 202 attendees! I decided to go on my own, thanks. But wouldn't you know it, I just checked - and it's been removed from the Open House list!
Precious little else on Meetup for tomorrow - a few events looked kind of good, if only they weren't so far out! So I turned to the cheap ticket sites - trying carefully to avoid things that are terrible (although they all could be), I've booked with CT for the evening performance (the matinée is sold out, with them anyway) of Hero and Leander, at the Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre. It's a retelling of the myth of two lovers, separated by the sea, by means of different forms of music. I've never actually been in the Purcell Room before, but it seems the entrance is beside the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
For Monday, TAC had tickets to The Two Popes, at the Rose Theatre in Kingston. Sadly sold out of them - as have CT. But I thought it really sounded interesting, and tried to book direct with the theatre - only to discover that my account seems to be suspended! Now, it's nearly seven years since I was last there - so that could be the reason. However, I haven't yet had a chance to call the box office - and they're closed tomorrow. So it'll be Monday before I can clear this up..
For Tuesday, I'm thinking film - and after much consideration (and removal of films from the list), what's coming up is My Old School, a documentary about a student called Brandon Lee, who attended a Scottish school. So far, so ordinary - except he wasn't what he seemed at all! He refused to be filmed for this, and his voice is lip-synched by Alan Cumming. By this stage, only showing in the Curzon Camden. Handy thing is, my Curzon membership is also valid there, and I'm still entitled to free films!
On Wednesday, I'm finally back with London Classical Music and Theatre Group - we're headed to the Barbican, where the London Symphony Orchestra is playing Ravel and Debussy, in the "Half Six Fix". I bought a cheap wildcard, so shall find out my seat on the night - CT subsequently advertised it too, even cheaper, rats.
On Thursday, Over 40 Living the Life is - again - headed to the Vauxhall Comedy Club, on a "special deal for regulars". And I am - again - headed there on my own. Because, if you book direct, tickets are cheaper than the price quoted for this group - regardless of whether you're a regular. Now I just need to figure out how to access the online loyalty card I got from them, last time.. and I should probably donate something, this time! They're very good at guilting people.
And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment