Storytelling: Dauntless - Grace O' Malley, Pirate Queen

Today, back with the Crick Crack Club, for Dauntless - Grace O' Malley, Pirate Queen, at the British Museum. AKA Granuaile, she was a real person.. the pirate queen of the West of Ireland, who did one better than Mary, Queen of Scots, and actually did get to meet Elizabeth I! This one wasn't told by Clare Murphy, though - it was Debs Newbold.

Ah, a lie-in - lovely. Now, if only I hadn't had to wake up in the middle of the night to turn on the fan, it was so hot.. In fact, with temperatures predicted to reach 30 in the afternoon, it was a real scorcher - I tried my neck fan for the first time. Bought it last year, just as the heatwave ended, and never used it.. It actually proved its worth today, being very pleasant on the walk down. I did feel like I'd trekked through the desert by the end, though - passed a couple of ice cream vans on the way, and would so have loved one, but didn't have time. There wasn't much of a queue, so I was quickly through security - and oh, the aircon in the room where they do the storytelling was pure bliss!

In due course, Debs bounced onstage - not even Irish, she's a Scouser! but with an absolute passion for Granuaile. Which was apparent throughout - she even evoked her image, with a great shock of curly hair. 80 minutes, straight through, as she told a rapt audience all about this woman - I do wonder how many of them had heard of her before. There were gasps as she told of the English overlord's persecution of Granuaile, laughs at the jokes, spontaneous bouts of applause. And - I have to say - this is the first storytelling event I've ever attended that achieved a standing ovation! Ben Haggarty, MCing, grabbed her wrist as she tried to run off, and wouldn't let her until she'd taken her applause. Well done, that woman..

Dinner afterwards at The Museum Tavern, where I managed to squeeze into a small table, and had the Sunday roast chicken, as usual here. Funny, they don't really do great roast chicken in The Lucas Arms.. Mercifully though, the temperature had dropped enough to be mostly comfortable. And the ice cream van in Russell Square was still there as I passed through! so I had an ice cream with flake. Except.. it was chocolate, but it wasn't a flake! I hear there's a shortage.. the ice cream was delicious, though, which I finished on a bench in the square.

Tomorrow, taking myself off to see The Accidental Death of an Anarchist, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. I've heard only good things..

On Tuesday, giving up on Meetup, I'm with TAC, for Mixed Omens - an improvised horror show, at the Drayton Arms.

On Wednesday, thinking film - and what's coming up is a documentary called The Pearl Button, set in Chile. Scenery looks spectacular.. this is showing in the ICA only. Wow, it's years since I was last there, too! This is part of an In Focus series they're doing on the director, Patricio Guzmán.

On Thursday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for All of It, at the Royal Court. And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.