Play: Leaves of Glass, Eurovision Party, & Walk: Caledonian Road - and its Hidden Secret..

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.

Yesterday - I missed it somehow, but Barrie, with the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners, had a walk along Caledonian Road! Also advertised on TAC, as usual, so I booked there - it being (slightly) cheaper. He requires a top-up in cash, but I had change for him, after Friday! Again, left it too late to eat properly - but he was meeting close enough to my home to walk there, and I bought a Mars Bar en route.

Wow - that weather forecast was a day late. Instead of sunshine and warmth for the Eurovision, we got it yesterday! and me somewhat overdressed. Never mind.. taking off the coat helped. Mostly. Now, as mentioned, he takes payment in cash - and a couple of people headed to the nearest cash machine. There was something of a kerfuffle when the first of them, despite the money registering as having been taken from her account, didn't receive her cash! Poor lady was on the phone to the bank for part of the walk..

He wasn't lying - there is so much around here that's unexpected! Like a Buddhist temple - he always brings a sheaf of photos with him, and showed us the interior, which actually does have a huge statue of the Buddha!

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:

Stopped outside the beautiful Caledonian Road Station:

Saw aptly named businesses:

An old factory for (horse-drawn!) buses - now a workspace to rent:

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.. 

It's a while since I did so much walking, especially with walking to and from home - I was pretty wrecked last night! Plus I was investigating my new film listings site - bless The Hideout, and the fact that they have a WhatsApp group, which I joined - they gave me a link to a much better page! which also includes discount coupons. So I spent hours on that, redoing the list with so many films I'd never heard of - and with a meeting this morning, it ran too late to blog. Tonight - tan-ta-ra, film again! The new list didn't change what came top, mind. Looking like Le Otto Montagne (The Eight Mountains), at my local cinema - as are most things, frankly! Set in the Italian Alps, this is the story of childhood friends who grow apart as they grow up. Continuing the Italian theme.. Certainly, the scenery promises to be lovely!

Tomorrow, back with Over 40 Living the Life - I got the last ticket to this rescheduled dinner at Greenwich Yacht Club!

On Wednesday, back with BOABIL - she's introducing us to the Floating Pocket Park, in Paddington! where they have free things in summer - on Wednesday, it's a free concert.

On Thursday, another film - this, however, is a private screening, organised by The London Palestinian Rights Meetup Group, in association with the Bethlehem Cultural Festival! Showing at the Prince Charles is Farha, the dramatisation of the life of a young Palestinian girl in 1948 - just at the start of the Nakba.. includes a Q+A afterwards with the director. Tickets from Eventbrite again. And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend..

Brick Lane.. Guided Walking Tour with Barrie

Today, I booked with the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners again - but not with Laurence Summers this time! They do have walks guided by other people, and this one, guided by Barrie, was of Brick Lane. Except.. I then noticed it was also on TAC. So I cancelled my original booking, and booked through them instead (cheaper). Oh, how mercenary of me.. but Barrie was the one who decided to advertise it there as well!

Overslept a little - I was late to bed - and when I woke, I had a flurry of getting ready. Yay, I was out the door in time for a bus! Now, the one I caught - the first to come that I could use - was one I had to change from. But reading the warning that came with it.. it was diverted around where I was supposed to change! Lordy. So I got off before the diversion. These diversions are all over London now - and sure enough, as you come down City Road, it's completely closed to traffic. Temporary, but annoying as hell. So I recalculated my route - and found another combination to use, based on the next bus barrelling towards me! I had to change again - but with that wonderful Hopper fare, within an hour you only pay once! One of the cleverest inventions.. Anyway, there were no diversions on these, and I arrived early.

It wasn't too hard to spot Barrie - he kind of made himself known. Anyway, he waited a good while for everyone, and kept his phone on for the one person who hadn't arrived by start time - very considerate. One couple got confused between Whitechapel High Street, where we were, and Whitechapel Road.. and when they found us, they were confused between Aldgate Station and Aldgate East Station! Could happen to a bishop, as they say. Anyway, when they arrived, she was wearing a neck fan like the one I just bought! They are inconspicuous until you turn them on..

There was a number of people who'd booked with TAC - oops, I completely forgot that I had to pay £3 to the guide for walks booked that way! Silly me, I have done this before. Happily, I have plenty of change. Anyway - in short, this was a fabulous tour! Packed with information, as he said, he kept it light, not devlving too deeply into any subject, but touching on broad themes that he thought would interest us. And it worked so well. He explained that he was Jewish himself, so there'd be a Jewish bias to the walk - it was great when he had a personal experience to relate, like how things were when he was a lad! And he was always open to contributions from his attentive audience - like the American, describing the American Jewish experience. (Apparently, he's over to London a lot and is always going on Barrie's walks.)

After a bit about the Jewish history of Whitechapel, we moseyed on to Brick Lane itself.

(Did you know that one of the many waves of immigrants to the area were good at brickmaking, and Brick Lane was the nickname given to the street that they used to transport their product to the docks? Well now!)

We heard a lot about the Bangladeshi immigrants:

And on Princelet Street, just off Brick Lane, we saw the lofts that the Huguenots used for their looms, building an extra floor at the top of the house to catch the light for their weaving:

The following building started life as a Huguenot church, then the Huguenots were replaced by the Jews, and it became a synagogue - finally, the Bangladeshis arrived, and it's now a mosque! Opinions differ about the stainless steel minaret, however, which is quite recent:

This street plaque of a viola commemorates the fire that occurred during a viola concert at this location:

We popped into Truman's bewery for a chat about that! Crikey, it's ages since I've been here:

And lookee, the clock was stopped at the time the last shipment left the brewery:

We saw a terrific store of street art!

And we stopped outside the original stockist of Dr. Martens in London! A mecca for skinheads, back in the day, it seems - and the owner came out to chat to us!

We finished off at Beigel Bake, apparently London's best beigel shop. Always to be found with a queue outside, it's open 24/7! And according to him, the beigels are twice the size and half the price of any in North London. And who am I to argue with that..

Well with the heat and all, I was exhausted by the end of that - but so glad I came. What a fantastic tour! Heartily recommended, especially for people who want an introduction to the East End - it gives a terrific overview, and as he said, if you want more detail, you can look into it after. I'll be looking up more of his.. the only shame is that, unlike Laurence, Barrie doesn't do socials at the end of the walk. Ah well..

Unwilling to eat around this area (I wanted more than a beigel), I dragged myself back to O' Neill's, where - shock horror, I got a table! The last one, I think - I squeezed myself in beside a dedicated fan of one of the teams playing on the tvs. He was sweet - every time he cheered something they did, he apologised for disturbing me! Unfortunately, this was the death knell for my well-worn cap, which got a big gobbet of rice with curry sauce all over it, and can't be washed. Ah well, roll on the next one.. it served me well.

For tomorrow, I finally gave up on Meetup - the best things coming up were walks, and it's supposed to rain. Instead, I'm headed with TAC to a show called Mediocre White Male, at the King's Head (another place I haven't been to in years!). Mercifully, the temperature is supposed to drop a bit as well.

On Tuesday morning - unless I get an offer in the meantime for that company I'm waiting on - I have an interview for a well-paying contract. In the evening, I'm back with Civilised London - for a Syrian meal this time, at Imad's Syrian Kitchen. Meeting beforehand at The Clachan. So I can update them with the latest news in this ongoing saga.

On Wednesday - well, I've signed up with Soho Comedy Factory Shows and Socials, which organises free events on Wednesdays at the aforementioned Soho Comedy Factory. Again. And again, this is subject to change. Watch this space..

On Thursday, I've decided on film. Having garnered all the available films this week, I had an interesting choice to make: ended up eliminating lots of films from the top of the list for sheer lack of interest! Basically, the decision process ran like - if this came on TV, would I watch it or turn it off? And so I came down to the one I really wanted to see. Nope is the latest from the excellent Jordan Peele, and stars Daniel Kaluuya (again) as the hapless victim of horrific events - extra-terrestrials this time. With Jordan Peele's typical injection of humour, this promises to be fun! And it's on at my local, so I get to see it for free.

And then, of course, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.