On Saturday, I should have been on a walk with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners - cancelled because of the rail strike, bah humbug. Still, I really needed a lie-in.. later, I was even busier than usual.. First, I booked with Up in the Cheap Seats for the matinée of Leaves of Glass, at the Park Theatre.
Regardless of what time I need to get out for, I always find something to occupy me right up to that time. So I was rushing, as usual. Really appreciated them texting me my ticket! Managed a banana at home, then off to the theatre - I should have been able to get a bus, they don't take too long, but of course, I was rushing enough to have to take the Tube. At the theatre, I started as I meant to go on, with a glass of wine. I headed upstairs, where we normally meet - couldn't see anyone I knew, so I took a seat. And was found by a newcomer to the group, who was quite observant! The others duly gathered, and after all the announcements finished for the other play on there, we filed in for ours, taking seats roughly together.
This is 90 minutes, straight through - I like that, it both saves time and, of course, preserves atmosphere. Which this has in plenty. It's a simple tale, on the surface, of two brothers - the elder, Steve, is a businessman, a success, married to Debbie, who used to be his secretary; the younger, Barry, is a more troubled soul - an artist, he produces very dark, brooding material, and is possibly mentally disturbed; he seems to have trouble distinguishing between fact and fantasy.
Mind you, it's hard for the audience to do that. You know, they say you never know what's going on behind closed doors.. I spent most of the play wondering what the title meant, but happily, it's explained right near the end. The brothers' mother is describing to Debbie how, when Steve was younger, he bought her a glass tree, and then, one by one, glass leaves to hang on it. Oh, she sighed, it was lovely - must have cost him so much, and they looked so beautiful..
Glass leaves are beautiful - they're also fragile. And fake. As so much in this story turns out to be. Open to several interpretations - which the group was agonising over afterwards. So much is left unspoken - and whenever something is said, you have to wonder whether it's even true. By the time you suspect you know what the real story is, it's devastating. One of those stories where the ending makes you re-evaluate everything that went before. Beautifully acted, this is also very watchable - and they do so much with minimal staging, and using changes in lighting. Highly recommended - runs till the 27th.
Afterwards, the group went for a drink - good for them! Ironically, of course, I had to dash off - although I stayed for a (very) quick one. But then I was back on the Tube.. you see, Mandy, who runs London Herstory Guided Walks, has now started a new Meetup group, Buddies on a Budget in London (BOABIL). And lo, if she wasn't taking a group to an outdoor Eurovision party! First, she suggested Battersea - but (free) tickets for that went really fast, with only three of us having managed to book. So we then switched venue, and went to Between the Bridges, complete with drag acts! You didn't have to pay, but if you bought a ticket, it came with a free drink.. and this, apart from, as she said, being likely to be more fun, also had the advantage of starting an hour later. Which was handy for me, rushing across town.. Both advertised by Eventbrite, and Between the Bridges also sold out.. Had street food, so I didn't have to eat en route, phew!
The Tube would let me out on the wrong side of the river - ok, except there are a lot of steps onto the bridges, and it's a bit of a trial if you're in a hurry! I messaged to say I'd be a little late - wasn't too bad in the end. We were wondering where our promised heat and sunshine had disappeared to, though!
Mandy had taken our advice from before, and used What 3 Words for her location - dead handy! We waited a bit for somebody who'd got delayed, then made our way in. Bag check, and we were into a section with bench seating and a large screen - without a ticket check for this bit, I'm guessing it was first come, first served, so whoever wanted could have come to the outer part, at least. We then figured out that we needed to go up a ramp, and through a ticket check - where there was a bit of confusion while they found at least my name: seems there were different ways to book. Anyway, we got wristbands there, and were in. Benches near the front were reserved - we got one further down, to the side. Got our free drinks, and in a bit, I headed out to the loo and for food - someone later helpfully told me that there were also toilets accessible from our section; I didn't need to go outside. I have to say, for portaloos, they were of a very high standard..
Foraging, I fancied the chicken stall. Now, the sum total of my day's food to this point was a banana - so I went the whole hog, with a burger and fries. They gave me a plate for the burger. Sadly, no napkin, no cutlery, and far too much filling.. it was actually delicious, but by the end, I'd made such a mess that I had to give up on it. Hate that. The chips were much more successful - just as tasty, but much tidier. Happily, with people going around collecting the mess, I didn't have to stare at the remains all night!
We had a flamboyant MC for the evening's entertainment:
Various people were open about their affiliations:
The only flags decorating the venue, however, were for the UK - hosting - and Ukraine, last year's winners:
It was a fun night, and generally excellent - apart from two things. Firstly, the freezing cold breeze blowing through the place, which was unheated. And secondly, the feed to the screen cut out a couple of times - for goodness' sake, the last time was right when they were coming to the winners! Of all the mishaps.. everyone was checking it on their phones. Pity Ireland, as usual, failed to qualify for the final - but for once, the song I liked best did actually win. Which is good. Even if her nails were weird. I didn't like it as much as her previous winning song - but hey. Looks as though both her hair and nails have just been left to grow from that time.. ;-) There seems to be some confusion, BTW, about her being the first to win the Eurovision twice - eh, hello? What about Johnny Logan (1980 & 1987)?
Anyway, of course, that ran really late - in fact, I was the last one of the group there. After my hectic day, I literally fell asleep in my chair. So, no blog.
We came to Thornhill Square Gardens, where it was so lovely, sunny and peaceful that we paused for a minute - watching a very happy dog bounding up and down, playing fetch:
We saw the plaque to Edith Garrud (played by Helena Bonham Carter in the film), who learned jujitsu from her keep-fit mad husband, then taught it to the suffragettes, to use against police trying to arrest them! And passing by Pentonville Prison - which I've passed a few times on the bus - we stopped outside the aptly named Breakout Cafe:
Saw aptly named businesses:
which also turns out to be the home of the Pleasance Theatre! Goodness, I didn't recognise it till we were right on top of it - but then, it's been a while. Obviously nothing on there yesterday afternoon:
Highlight of the walk was arguably the old meat market.. which then became a world-famous antiques market.. which then got quite run-down, and was finally renovated. And the old clock tower still stands serene in the middle of what is now a really pleasant park. Goodness, so much history in one place! As commemorated in local signs:
We spent a pleasant few minutes there - and as we left, our guide pointed out the old market railings - the originals, nearly 200 years old! and by the look of it, not looked after:
That was the highlight for me - for others, it was doubtless the Amy Winehouse memorial, opposite the house where she died. They've apparently removed the plaque commemorating that - not only, I guess, was it attracting attention unwanted by the owners, but was constantly being stolen!
Our final stop was in Camden, in front of two houses with a design atypical of the area. Some friendly locals who happened to be outside their door at that point chatted to us about the area a bit!
A really excellent walk - well done Barrie! And so the others headed off towards the centre of Camden, wending their way home - and so did I. I didn't fancy anywhere around the area to eat, so made my way down to King's Cross, by some very pleasant backstreets - how much of this area I haven't explored! and ended up in Nando's. Where, for once, I was seated immediately - and decided to have the chicken thighs for once, instead of the breast. Same price, and plenty of food - and thighs tend to be tastier. All lovely, except the garlic bread was a bit burnt. And as well as the wine, I had a bottomless drink - i.e. you order any soft drink, and what they do is bring you an empty glass, which you then take to the drinks machine - as many times as you like - and fill with whatever you want, ice also available. Man, I needed it, I was very dehydrated - and for once, I had time to have their delicious choc-a-lot cake! with a scoop of ice cream, of course. Man, was it good..
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