Well, I slept very well - might have been that I was tired, might have been the pest repellent I just plugged in last night for the first time, having heard what sounded like scratching in my wardrobe. Emits ultrasonic waves that things that scratch hate. (Unless, given the week that's in it, what was scratching has a more sinister nature - in which case I should ask my mother for holy water, next time I'm back.) Anyway, I woke at 10.15 - which was a problem, as I was on another walk with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners! This one was the Edgy London Walking Tour, and is one of his new ones.
So I emitted my customary squeal, reserved for this and similar occasions, and scrabbled to get up, dressed, to the loo and out. It was going to have to be Tube - and on my way there, I messaged him to say I was running late. So good of him to provide a contact number for us - plenty don't. Sadly, I was to have an unfortunate Tube experience - the Hammersmith & City Line wasn't running, which might have contributed to the crush at the station, which meant I couldn't get on the train I needed, had to wait some minutes. Then I had to change at Baker Street - Google Maps said it'd take me a minute. Google Maps has obviously never been there. It took me over five minutes to navigate the station. At least the Jubilee Line was markedly less crowded.
I emerged at Westminster, five minutes after he'd said he'd move on from the first stop, and with no idea where the group was. What followed was interesting, as he tried ringing me and I was right beside a guy playing the bagpipes. (Had I known it, I think I was right up from the group at that point.) He'd said something about the Churchill statue, so I ended up heading over to that.
Wandered around it, no sign. As he tried to give me directions via lots of things I couldn't locate, I finally spotted him across the road. Phew! The rest of the walk was easier..
So, my first stop ended up being beside Ollie Cromwell. Ick. Whom, as Laurence remarked, the Irish love so much. Heh, v funny. What is interesting is that he's positioned directly across from a bust of Charles I, whom he had executed! What interesting positioning.
Round the side, beside the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst - which I'd seen before - is a little thing I hadn't noticed before:
And so on to the burghers of Calais:
Represents the good leaders of Calais, who offered themselves up at the end of the siege by Edward III's forces in 1347. His queen interceded on their behalf, and they were spared, as were the citizens of the town - if she was pregnant at the time, and worried about ill omens falling on the baby, as suggested, I don't think it did much good - she had a baby boy around this time, who died of the plague the following year. Ah well..
Scaffolding prevented us from getting a better view of the memorial to the abolition of slavery:
We heard about sundry interesting persons, but I was rather taken with Oswald Mosley's old house. As people remarked, no blue plaque, funnily enough:
Lots of firsts in London:
Terrific new walk - thanks, Laurence! We repaired to the Adam & Eve pub - and wouldn't you know it, it's a Greene King pub. So I could have their delectable steak & ale pie, two days in a row. And while it didn't quite reach the dizzying heights of yesterday's, it was delish. Accompanied by a great chat, as always - so sad to hear Laurence isn't doing any more Saturday walks this year. Well, I must make sure to get to something of his, in December if not before.. and this was my last Meetup of any kind until the 10th! Jeez, I'll be starved of human contact..
Meantime, yes, I had something to do this evening! (This month is far too busy.) I was back with the Crick Crack Club (CCC), for the Game of Candles - their Hallowe'en offering, where they extinguish a candle for every spooky story told. Tim Ralphs and Sarah-Liisa Wilkinson - in King's Place, lovely! I can walk there from home, so made a pitstop first, got to the loo and such. And en route to King's Place, heard fireworks - and there was something on at King's Cross, but I didn't see what.
The venue was quite full - glass prohibited, people had to take drinks in plastic, and one guy was brandishing a bottle of wine. Which, when challenged, he said he could pour into the plastic containers he had - well yes, but I just hope he managed to carry everything!
I had a decent seat - except that there was a family behind me with two kids, who, bless 'em, tried their best to be quiet, but just couldn't contain their boredom. The dad had to take one out eventually, and there was just so much whispering and rustling, and cracking of plastic bottles as they had a drink.. I don't want to sound mean, but it was distracting..
Well, this was truly a marvellous production. Looking back on it, I think I heard at least some of the stories before - but I'd forgotten them, and they were beautifully told. A lot of Japanese ones, appropriately, as that's where the tradition originated, and many of which referenced each other.. as someone in one of Sarah-Liisa's stories pointed out, what a lot of female demons there are in Japanese lore! Certainly, I've become used to the iconic image of the girl with long, black hair, wearing a white dress, since I started watching Asian horror films..
Tim threw in a couple of Scottish ones as well. And explained that, for a variety of reasons, they weren't following the Japanese 100-candle tradition tonight, but sticking to eight stories. Which, altogether, ran for a bit more than an hour. He had a bone to pick with Sarah-Liisa at one point, when she told one that wasn't horror (although it had the supernatural) - as she complained, she found scary stories, well, scary! and just wanted to lighten the mood a bit. They collaborated on the last story. And while I don't think the candles were really illuminating the space, clever stage lighting dropped the lights on them for each successive one extinguished, until they were truly in darkness by the end. As Tim said, the darkness created by the extinguishing of the candles made space for spirits to roam amongst us.
And tonight, it really felt as though they did..
On the way home again, ran into several be-costumed people - this is the night that people are mostly celebrating Hallowe'en, and good luck to 'em.
For tomorrow, I dug out something interesting on Meetup, from a new group to me - London Social & Cultural Meetups is headed to evensong at the church of St. Bartholomew the Great. Gorgeous church, sounds great - unfortunately, their event is full, but I can head along on my own.
Ahh.. and then, 'tis Hallowe'en.. yes, of course I have something for that. Do you remember me mentioning I was going to five Darkfield events this month? Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed I've reviewed four.. which leaves one. For Hallowe'en - the only one they're running that night. Séance, appropriately, which, it seems, was their first ever show - I do have to go all the way up to Watford for it, but it should be worth it. I've booked the first showing of the evening, which is at 7.
Deliberately booked early, to try and squeeze something else in. Now, that only lasts 20 minutes - and it seems I can get down to Leicester Square within an hour. Which gives me time to get to Prey for the Devil, showing at Cineworld Leicester Square at 9pm. Another exorcism story, this one unusually seems to have the exorcism performed by a nun! (Very egalitarian.) She gets around the Church's rules about women not doing such a thing by claiming that the same demon that possessed her own mother is now inhabiting a patient at the facility where she works. So this nun is probably a target. Well, it's probably not high art, but it should do the trick..
Ah, but.. that blasted film list never now gets updated until the Friday - with the films due to show on the week starting that Friday! Poor you, if you wanted to go to a film that Friday.. So - just checked it last night.. and lo, there's a new kid on the block. Barbarian - very obviously released with the Hallowe'en market in mind - looks like a jumpscare film. But it has some good credentials, coming from "an executive producer" of The Ring and The Grudge, both excellent films. In this one, a young woman comes to Detroit for a job interview, books a house through Airbnb. (Ah, we know where this is going..) Well, from what I can glean from the trailer, the house already has someone renting it. But it's late at night, and he seems fine - whereas the neighbourhood really isn't. So she decides to stay the night and move on in the morning. Biig mistake.. ooh, and it seems to have a really big basement.
The teaser trailer spends the whole time showing us audience reactions! This is currently very highly rated - probably won't stay that high, but frankly, it has a long way to fall to get down to where Prey for the Devil is! Showing in the Odeon Tottenham Court Road, at 9.30 - and I can walk home from there! Ah, happy days when it was actually my local cinema..
On Tuesday, the horror continues - I've booked with TAC again for The Drought, a short horror play at Grimfest at the Old Red Lion again.
On Wednesday, back with the CCC for their annual Day of the Dead event - this one is at Rich Mix. Stars Daniel Morden, Clare Murphy, Lucy Lill, and TUUP - and all but Clare Murphy, I haven't seen in an age! In fact, I've never heard of Lucy Lill before..
On Thursday, I was to be back with Up in the Cheap Seats - for Noor, at Southwark Playhouse. The true story of a WWII spy - and bought, as usual, on my PAYG subscription - which gives you cheap tickets to five shows, and never expires. Suggestion of eating beforehand at Mercato Metropolitano. But wouldn't you know it, that night's performance was cancelled.. Instead, I'm off to a talk at Watkin's Bookshop (which also has a Meetup presence!). Theme is The First Ghosts, by Irving Finkel - ghost stories have been around for a long time..! He's written a book about the first evidence of tales of the supernatural.. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
On the 7th, with nothing on Meetup, I thought about heading to see the Carnaby Street Christmas lights, which will be up by then. But I had another look tonight at what's on, and have now booked for Piano Passions at Cadogan Hall - Beethoven and Chopin, gorgeous!
On the 8th, headed to see John Gabriel Borkman, by Ibsen, at the Bridge Theatre.
On the 9th - originally, nothing better coming up than Soho Comedy Factory, upstairs at The Blue Posts. Now, instead, I've changed my booking for Noor to this night. Sadly, not with the group, who rearranged for a night I can't go.
On the 10th, back - at last! - with London Classical Music and Theatre Group (LCMTG), for Alcina at the Royal Opera House. More Handel..
On the 11th, I was heading to The Horror Show at Somerset House - a horror-based art exhibition - with The Horror Book Club. But then Civilised London popped up with another meal - so I booked that, and we were headed to Champor Champor, a Thai / Malay restaurant. Meeting beforehand at The Rose, nearby. Until he decided, just on Thursday, to cancel it! I supposed he hadn't wanted to do it with only two of us, since I was - unusually - the only one to sign up. But to my further surprise - he kicked me out of the group later that night! No warning, no explanation - not very "civilised". Jeez, I suppose he's had enough of me. Killer is, he was such a good reference for good eateries - and the group is private, so without being a member, I won't be able to see where he's going. Ah well, TBH, I was beginning to feel out of place with the people who were attending the meals.. which was pretty much all I was doing with the group, lately. Meantime, I'm back at The Horror Show - at least the ticket won't go to waste!
On the 12th, planning another meal with the people that are harder to herd than cats! As of now, of the four people I've invited, one is a pretty certain "no" and two more are iffy, as they might have to be abroad. Jeez.. If it's just the same person that was the only one to make it last time, I think we'll head somewhere different. For variety. On the other hand, Imad's Syrian Kitchen is right off Carnaby Street.. and the lights are probably going to be cool.. Of course, there is the small issue of the irregularity of the wine measures!
On the 13th, back with the CCC at the British Museum, where Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton are performing The Iliad.
And on the 14th, not having been with LCMTG for ages, I'm with them for the second time in a week! Heading to Wigmore Hall this time, for the Takács Quartet, who are playing Beethoven. Now sold out - and I'm not surprised, given that when I booked, I got one of the last three (top price) seats! Ah well, it wasn't astronomical - and I do love Beethoven.
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