Tonight, I was back with London Speaks Sessions for "True Crime: Survivor Stories and Straties (sic.)". Yes, that should have read "Strategies". This is a talk about survivors of extreme situations - and delivered by the excellent Jennifer Rees, whom I've seen a couple of times before. Not only that, but I got to use my loyalty Funzing discount for it, having cancelled a previous event for which I'd used that!
Nice, late start and a nice, close venue - even if that was Cafe 1001. At least I could walk. I headed off in good time - and on the way, just up from the venue, passed a number of quite confused people who, it transpired, were looking for the same place! Unfortunately, they'd paid too much attention to the address - 91 Brick Lane it officially is, but as you go along Brick Lane, you pass a courtyard with a sign outside that reads "91". This is not it. What you want is the alleyway beside it, past the fast food stall (closed at this hour), and into the cafe beside. Yes, I remember having terrible trouble finding it the first time.
Anyway, didn't look like they were doing much business when I arrived this evening, so they must have been glad of the talk upstairs - indeed, there wasn't even anyone to guide us to it, although I daresay they'd have done so if asked. When I'd had my name checked off the list, I could see it was pretty full - I ended up on the sofa at the back. But I did have a straight-on view! No pillars in my way, which is an issue here.
She admitted at the start that this is a new talk for her - and that she's always nervous when that happens. You might say that she works her way up to the exciting stuff - she starts with rape, then stalking, abduction - it isn't until the second half, after a brief interval, that she gets on to cults, terrorist attacks, and serial killers.
An interesting opening, with some fake news that's apparently been doing the rounds for years - oh, and spread by someone who teaches self-defence. No, FYI, most attacks do NOT happen in car parks - they're too busy and well-lit, with good CCTV coverage. Most violent attacks - apart from sexual ones - are, of course, perpetrated on men. Quite a high percentage of attackers are armed - and no, it's not a good idea to fight back on the assumption that they'll get tired of it after a couple of minutes.
There is also a very interesting piece on cross-racial profiling, where people have to identify a perpetrator of a different race from their own. She uses an extract from The Good Wife, and also tells us how even children raised in a family of different ethnic origin to their own exhibit the same difficulties in distinguishing the faces of people whose race is different from theirs.
A lot of common sense advice about things like how to tell if someone is following you, and what to do about it. Stop frequently, would you believe - it's hard to tail someone who keeps stopping! I was particularly struck by the story of a woman who saw a man trying to get into her building, who spun her a story about needing to get in to see his grandmother. So she let him in. And then he offered to help her with her shopping - and accused her of being a militant feminist when she hesitated. Assured her that he wouldn't come in, he'd leave the bags at the door. Which is how he came to barge into her flat and assault her - indeed, she was lucky to escape with her life. Goes to show, if something feels off.. forget the social niceties.
Advice about what to do if the worst happens, and you're abducted - pay as much attention as possible, it might help. Mind you, when she got on to the advice from the ex-Navy Seal, I got a bit dubious - I mean, how many of us are really going to pick the lock on our handcuffs with a hairpin? and I don't think it's quite that easy to escape a zip tie. Still, common sense is a valuable commodity in any situation.
Afterwards, most people left - but it was worth staying for the Q+A, where she told us that a good pathway into working in psychology like she does, particularly of extremely troubled individuals, is to volunteer for a suicide hotline for 18 months or so - that'll test whether you're up to it. And yes, as someone asked her - she DOES think everyone's out to get her! So, an enjoyable evening, despite the subject matter - and despite the constant sound of trickling water from the adjacent bathroom. It was cold in there too - all in all, a terrible venue for a talk.
Froze my hands off on the walk back - when it also drizzled on me! That's supposed to warm up the weather.. Tomorrow, I had arranged to go with the London Jazz Meetup - but gee, it's all the way out in Ealing! So I said sod it, I'd go to the pictures again. Now, three films are currently tying at the top of my list, all at an IMDB rating of 8.1. Njan Prakashan, however, is showing no closer than the Odeon Lee Valley - forget it. The other two are - much more attractively - on in Curzon Bloomsbury. And the winner is - Roma. Partly because it's on later, and I have an evening meeting - and partly because it's directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Seems it's a year in the life of a Mexican maid in the 70s, and is based on his childhood memories.
Showing posts with label Jennifer Rees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jennifer Rees. Show all posts
Monday, 21 January 2019
Tuesday, 1 August 2017
Talk: The Psychology of Criminals
Tonight, another Funzing talk, courtesy of London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @Night - I finally got to see Jennifer Rees again, giving a talk on The Psychology of Criminals. With dim sum, great! (Had to stick with a 10% discount for this one - Fun_Day10 or Fun_Week10 are the ones you want for that.) And it was walking distance from me for once, in Covent Garden. She's a fantastic and engaging speaker. Excellent.. and Helen sensibly decided to come too.
So, she showed up in the office at about the time I finished. She kindly brought all the stuff I couldn't fit in my bag, coming back from Twickenham! I'd actually forgotten it. Now, although we were to get dim sum, we decided to get something more substantial to eat beforehand - there was no guarantee that we'd eat all of what we were given, or that it'd be substantial enough. We had no firm ideas about what we wanted, but Covent Garden is rife with restaurants, se we decided just to pop into one that took our fancy as we passed. And so it was that we came to Steak & Co.
Dark reddish-brown wood panelling was reminiscent of blood.. and as we ordered, the procedure was explained to me (Helen had chicken, but I decided to go for steak, to see how it compared with the last, excellent offering I had). The is one of those places where you get the steak rare, served on a sizzling hot stone, then cook it to your liking, accompanied by a butter (which you smear on the stone to help cooking), a salt or shake, and a sauce for the actual eating. I'd never tried this before - you're meant to slice the steak into strips so you can judge the cooking, and not apply the sauce until it's on your side plate, so as not to cool the stone. Helen had something much simpler - the "hanging" chicken skewer, which literally hangs over the plate. Funnily enough, it still has a cow on top:
We were well fed, the red wine sauce was amazing, and it was interesting to try - but I don't know how feasible it is to cook something and eat it simultaneously. Inevitably, it goes wrong - the bits don't cook fast enough, or cook too fast, and as the meal progresses, the stone cools and cooking is less effective. Not the cheapest either, for steak - you get the aforementioned, but all sides are extra. Anyway, we might have had dessert, but dim sum was calling - plus, it took us quite a while to pay, and although we were only a couple of minutes away from the venue, we still managed to be late.
From one restaurant to another - the talk was being held in Ping Pong Chinese restaurant. Where we gave our names at the door, and were directed to the basement. It hadn't started yet, of course - add half an hour to any of the advertised Funzing times. The screen was already up, and we were told to sit anywhere - the promised dim sum were to arrive at the interval. And when they did, sure enough, we only ate about half, and were glad we already had full stomachs. A very welcome, large container of iced water was available for anyone who wanted to fill a glass, and there was a bar - confusingly, without till: you had to pay at the till at the back.
Jennifer Rees didn't disappoint. Thoroughly researched, expertly presented as usual - and she showed how well she can deal with both a rowdy audience, and tech issues, which one of the Funzing guys sorted for her when necessary. She was upfront about the fact that she'd presented us with the most dramatic and extreme cases, in the interests of entertainment. However, as she emphasised a couple of times, she wouldn't show pictures of dead bodies - although she did show some of the artefacts recovered from the home of Ed Gein, the inspiration for a number of horror films, whose victims were dismembered and whose body parts were made into household objects!
She mentioned a number of theories that have been propounded for criminal behaviour, starting with behavioural learning theory, where people are assumed to pick up their behavioural traits from the behaviours of those they see around them. However, there were others - such as the idea that you could tell a prospective criminal from their physical characteristics. She pointed out statistics that show that many more men than women commit crimes - but in the case of women, in many cases it's been attributed to PMT! A very interesting section of the talk dealt with cognitive theories, where they way a person thinks can be supposed to determine the likelihood of them developing criminal tendencies. Religion is seen to play a factor, and she spent some time on criminals' lack of a sense of responsibility for their crimes.
The talk was peppered with famous names - Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Aileen Wournos - and with videos, both disturbing and amusing. One video showed an interview with Susan Atkins (one of the Manson family that killed Sharon Tate), creepy in her soft-spoken way, adamant that everything she'd done was because she'd been told to do it. A lighter mood showed a serial killer on an American tv dating show.. And throughout, the speaker engaged us in quizzes along the lines of "guess whether this person is a criminal". An absorbing and educational evening - looking forward to the next one!
I was just looking up what to do tomorrow - and wouldn't you know it, at that moment the Pop-Up Opera sent me a mail with upcoming events. Une Éducation Manquée is a short, French comic opera, whose run finishes that day. All right then!
On Thursday, my first Meetup with Up in the Cheap Seats, one of several new groups I've joined to fill the great void left by the sad departure of the Man with the Hat. We're off to see The Tempest, with Simon Russell Beale, at the Barbican - who, unusually, posted my ticket to me. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On Monday, back with Let's Do This for a vintage swing jazz evening at Wilton's.
Next Tuesday - well, a member of Up in the Cheap Seats has obviously got a thing for the Camden Fringe Festival, because he's just advertised a whole host of stuff on there! And I've booked most of it.. Tuesday sees two short plays: Beautiful Little Fools, in The Cockpit, and Borders in a Bedroom, in the Tristan Bates Theatre.
On the 9th, I had booked free comedy in Greenwich, with Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich, and Random London. But instead I'm headed to the last thing I'm ever likely to go to with the comedy groups: London Live Comedy and Funzing UK have advertised "Gangster Magic" at The Water Rats. Magic and comedy - we'll see. For a minute there, I thought the magician was the same guy that organises the free comedy - they have the same name: but there is at least one magician out there called Marvin, so hopefully it's not the guy I know.
On the 10th, the London European Club is off to a contemporary dance performance called Morphed, at the Royal Festival Hall. It's part of the Nordic Matters festival, apparently.
On the 11th, handily enough, Spooky London Pubs (another new group for me - I think!) are hosting a talk on Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light. Handiest of all, it's in the King and Queen - my local! Why, I pass it every day..
And on the 12th, I'm finally back with London Dramatic Arts, for the opening night of Against, with Ben Whishaw, at the Almeida. I'm in the rear stalls - they also have tickets in the front stalls, for a higher price, of course. They're actually also going to see Apologia, with Stockard Channing and Laura Carmichael, earlier in the day, but for a ridiculous price, so I passed on that.
So, she showed up in the office at about the time I finished. She kindly brought all the stuff I couldn't fit in my bag, coming back from Twickenham! I'd actually forgotten it. Now, although we were to get dim sum, we decided to get something more substantial to eat beforehand - there was no guarantee that we'd eat all of what we were given, or that it'd be substantial enough. We had no firm ideas about what we wanted, but Covent Garden is rife with restaurants, se we decided just to pop into one that took our fancy as we passed. And so it was that we came to Steak & Co.
Dark reddish-brown wood panelling was reminiscent of blood.. and as we ordered, the procedure was explained to me (Helen had chicken, but I decided to go for steak, to see how it compared with the last, excellent offering I had). The is one of those places where you get the steak rare, served on a sizzling hot stone, then cook it to your liking, accompanied by a butter (which you smear on the stone to help cooking), a salt or shake, and a sauce for the actual eating. I'd never tried this before - you're meant to slice the steak into strips so you can judge the cooking, and not apply the sauce until it's on your side plate, so as not to cool the stone. Helen had something much simpler - the "hanging" chicken skewer, which literally hangs over the plate. Funnily enough, it still has a cow on top:
We were well fed, the red wine sauce was amazing, and it was interesting to try - but I don't know how feasible it is to cook something and eat it simultaneously. Inevitably, it goes wrong - the bits don't cook fast enough, or cook too fast, and as the meal progresses, the stone cools and cooking is less effective. Not the cheapest either, for steak - you get the aforementioned, but all sides are extra. Anyway, we might have had dessert, but dim sum was calling - plus, it took us quite a while to pay, and although we were only a couple of minutes away from the venue, we still managed to be late.
From one restaurant to another - the talk was being held in Ping Pong Chinese restaurant. Where we gave our names at the door, and were directed to the basement. It hadn't started yet, of course - add half an hour to any of the advertised Funzing times. The screen was already up, and we were told to sit anywhere - the promised dim sum were to arrive at the interval. And when they did, sure enough, we only ate about half, and were glad we already had full stomachs. A very welcome, large container of iced water was available for anyone who wanted to fill a glass, and there was a bar - confusingly, without till: you had to pay at the till at the back.
Jennifer Rees didn't disappoint. Thoroughly researched, expertly presented as usual - and she showed how well she can deal with both a rowdy audience, and tech issues, which one of the Funzing guys sorted for her when necessary. She was upfront about the fact that she'd presented us with the most dramatic and extreme cases, in the interests of entertainment. However, as she emphasised a couple of times, she wouldn't show pictures of dead bodies - although she did show some of the artefacts recovered from the home of Ed Gein, the inspiration for a number of horror films, whose victims were dismembered and whose body parts were made into household objects!
She mentioned a number of theories that have been propounded for criminal behaviour, starting with behavioural learning theory, where people are assumed to pick up their behavioural traits from the behaviours of those they see around them. However, there were others - such as the idea that you could tell a prospective criminal from their physical characteristics. She pointed out statistics that show that many more men than women commit crimes - but in the case of women, in many cases it's been attributed to PMT! A very interesting section of the talk dealt with cognitive theories, where they way a person thinks can be supposed to determine the likelihood of them developing criminal tendencies. Religion is seen to play a factor, and she spent some time on criminals' lack of a sense of responsibility for their crimes.
The talk was peppered with famous names - Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Aileen Wournos - and with videos, both disturbing and amusing. One video showed an interview with Susan Atkins (one of the Manson family that killed Sharon Tate), creepy in her soft-spoken way, adamant that everything she'd done was because she'd been told to do it. A lighter mood showed a serial killer on an American tv dating show.. And throughout, the speaker engaged us in quizzes along the lines of "guess whether this person is a criminal". An absorbing and educational evening - looking forward to the next one!
I was just looking up what to do tomorrow - and wouldn't you know it, at that moment the Pop-Up Opera sent me a mail with upcoming events. Une Éducation Manquée is a short, French comic opera, whose run finishes that day. All right then!
On Thursday, my first Meetup with Up in the Cheap Seats, one of several new groups I've joined to fill the great void left by the sad departure of the Man with the Hat. We're off to see The Tempest, with Simon Russell Beale, at the Barbican - who, unusually, posted my ticket to me. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On Monday, back with Let's Do This for a vintage swing jazz evening at Wilton's.
Next Tuesday - well, a member of Up in the Cheap Seats has obviously got a thing for the Camden Fringe Festival, because he's just advertised a whole host of stuff on there! And I've booked most of it.. Tuesday sees two short plays: Beautiful Little Fools, in The Cockpit, and Borders in a Bedroom, in the Tristan Bates Theatre.
On the 9th, I had booked free comedy in Greenwich, with Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich, and Random London. But instead I'm headed to the last thing I'm ever likely to go to with the comedy groups: London Live Comedy and Funzing UK have advertised "Gangster Magic" at The Water Rats. Magic and comedy - we'll see. For a minute there, I thought the magician was the same guy that organises the free comedy - they have the same name: but there is at least one magician out there called Marvin, so hopefully it's not the guy I know.
On the 10th, the London European Club is off to a contemporary dance performance called Morphed, at the Royal Festival Hall. It's part of the Nordic Matters festival, apparently.
On the 11th, handily enough, Spooky London Pubs (another new group for me - I think!) are hosting a talk on Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light. Handiest of all, it's in the King and Queen - my local! Why, I pass it every day..
And on the 12th, I'm finally back with London Dramatic Arts, for the opening night of Against, with Ben Whishaw, at the Almeida. I'm in the rear stalls - they also have tickets in the front stalls, for a higher price, of course. They're actually also going to see Apologia, with Stockard Channing and Laura Carmichael, earlier in the day, but for a ridiculous price, so I passed on that.
Wednesday, 12 April 2017
Talk: Exploring the Mind of a Psychopath
Last night, I got a cheap ticket to the Caine and Kane comedy show, in Brixton. However, when Funzing (courtesy of London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night) advertised a talk on Exploring the Mind of a Psychopath, I was intrigued, cancelled the first and booked this instead. I tried a couple of Funzing codes, and EnjoyFunzing10 worked, to get me 10% off. Also, thank goodness it wasn't in blasted Cafe 1001 this time! No, this one I could probably walk to. Assuming the evening's work meetings didn't run on too long! The title caused some intrigue in the office..
Well, the meetings didn't run on too long, and I had time to walk to Brunswick Square - just! A beautiful sunny evening, but I was just a bit pushed for time, and couldn't really enjoy the journey. I was looking for the Foundling Museum, on the northern side, and that proved easy enough to find. The actual entrance wasn't - the large doors at the front were locked, with a sign on them that said "If your event is in the Clore Studio, please use the side entrance". Problem - I had never heard of the Clore Studio, and didn't know where the side entrance was! (An arrow would've helped.) Well, process of elimination led me down the right-hand-side, where there were open doors - when I looked in, I saw a slide I recognised from the advertisement for the talk. Yippee! Found it.
She hadn't started yet, and there were still quite a few free seats - I took one at the side, with nobody directly in front of me. And in due course, the whole place filled up - as she explained, it had sold out, so could we please stow our bags where they wouldn't block the way, in case others were trying to get in.
Finally, she began. Goodness me, she hardly looks old enough to be out of college - but she's a psychotherapist, working with the police, and as she told an enthusiastic crowd afterwards, yes, she has lots more talks along this line coming up! including a repeat of this one.
It's an age since I've been to something this good, it really is. I'm so glad I changed my mind and booked it! She's personable, she makes the talk entertaining - it helps, of course, that it's a subject that so many are interested in. It also helps that she includes lots of footage from YouTube, from tv documentaries, showing interviews with psychopaths. Ian Huntley features, for instance - and as well as him, some in the audience were familiar with other case studies that she mentioned.
We learned the common characteristics of psychopaths, in which areas of society they are commonly to be found (a high proportion among drug users and prisoners). We did a (non-clinical) test to see whether we qualified as psychopaths! (Never fear, I was way off.) We learned how to spot one, and which professions they're drawn to - as she pointed out, the psychopathic tendency not to experience emotion can be handy for the military, the ability not to experience nervousness is useful for CEOs, surgeons, bankers.. perhaps the most surprising of the professions in which psychopaths are to be found is that of the clergy. Non-psychopathic professions include anything where empathy is required: nursing, teaching, etc.
And when she described the tendencies we can spot in psychopaths around us, they really rang a bell. Do you know someone who's out for themselves, takes all the credit but none of the blame, loses their temper easily? Someone who's superficially charming, but just might make your skin crawl? Yes you do. Look out, there's a psychopath about - they represent 1% of the general population.
A lovely, spring evening outside - we could hear the shouts from the neighbouring football field, until she closed the door when they got too raucous. It was also getting a bit cold by then. And when she finally finished, she was inundated with questions - check out Funzing for her upcoming talks. This one is really worth the trip! And I was finished early in the evening, and walking distance from home - lovely.
Tonight, I'm with London Dramatic Arts (LDAM) to see Don Juan in Soho, with David Tennant, in Wyndham's. Just down Charing Cross Road - nice! There's another London Literary Walk today, and with a couple of my friends going - but I'll have to pass, I do want to see this! Also, the LDAM organiser has just arranged for us to meet beforehand in Fumo, just down the road. And afterwards, it's back to Brown's, as usual.
Then I'm back to Ireland for Easter - on Friday, my mother and I are off to La Bohème, at the University Concert Hall. We'll have to sneak in some alcohol - it's a dry day, although this will be the last year of it.
Tuesday, back in London, and back with Funzing - London Speaks Sessions, LDN Talks @ Night, and London for a Tenner or Less, for a talk on the Science of Paranormal Activity. Unless I get a better offer, in time - it'd have to be a good one, I'm interested in this!
Next Wednesday, London Literary Walks is off down Brick Lane - and so am I.
On the 20th, I had my usual placeholder of free comedy in Hammersmith - courtesy of Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Greenwich, and London Live Comedy. Of course - much like Funzing - I usually end up cancelling these, when something better comes up. And lo and behold, it did - Walking Victorian London is off to see Six Islington Squares. Does sound better - costs £12, but I haven't been charged yet.
Ditto the comedy on the 21st - or I may go to the cinema that day. As usual, watch this space..!
On the 22nd, I'm off to see the Naked House Cleaner! Venue to be revealed just the day before.. ooh!
On the 23rd, I'm on a walk of Hampstead Village Highlights, with Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts. Be good exercise, leading up to my own sponsored walk in September, in aid of Cats Protection.. Helen and I are going as Dick Whittington and his cat. She's the cat.
The 24th, a summery treat! The Man with the Hat is taking both London for Less Than a Tenner and Let's Do London - for less! to the Globe (ah, it's been too long..). For one night only, the Comedy Store Players will regale us with Shakespeare-inspired improv. As usual, London for Less than a Tenner standing in the yard, Let's Do London - for less! in lower gallery seats. Which is where I go - couldn't take standing for that long. Better savour this trip - he only has four more events scheduled thereafter, three of which I'm going to, with no word on whether he'll continue longterm. And if he doesn't (Heaven forbid!), that'll leave a huge, hat-shaped hole in my life..
The 25th, London European Club again - it'll have been a while! They're off to an informal evening of classical music, in Peckham.
The 26th, London Literary Walks is doing the Sloane Ranger.
The 27th, Helen and I are on an Underground treasure hunt, courtesy of Walk, Talks and Treasure Hunts. TFL goodies to be won, it seems.. Then back to Ireland for the bank holiday weekend - which I'd forgotten was a bank holiday, or I'd have stayed over an extra day!
Instead, for 1 May, I've booked The Ferryman, with LDAM, at the Royal Court.
And 2 May, those same three Funzing groups have advertised a talk called Origin of Vampires: Fact or Fiction?
Well, the meetings didn't run on too long, and I had time to walk to Brunswick Square - just! A beautiful sunny evening, but I was just a bit pushed for time, and couldn't really enjoy the journey. I was looking for the Foundling Museum, on the northern side, and that proved easy enough to find. The actual entrance wasn't - the large doors at the front were locked, with a sign on them that said "If your event is in the Clore Studio, please use the side entrance". Problem - I had never heard of the Clore Studio, and didn't know where the side entrance was! (An arrow would've helped.) Well, process of elimination led me down the right-hand-side, where there were open doors - when I looked in, I saw a slide I recognised from the advertisement for the talk. Yippee! Found it.
She hadn't started yet, and there were still quite a few free seats - I took one at the side, with nobody directly in front of me. And in due course, the whole place filled up - as she explained, it had sold out, so could we please stow our bags where they wouldn't block the way, in case others were trying to get in.
Finally, she began. Goodness me, she hardly looks old enough to be out of college - but she's a psychotherapist, working with the police, and as she told an enthusiastic crowd afterwards, yes, she has lots more talks along this line coming up! including a repeat of this one.
It's an age since I've been to something this good, it really is. I'm so glad I changed my mind and booked it! She's personable, she makes the talk entertaining - it helps, of course, that it's a subject that so many are interested in. It also helps that she includes lots of footage from YouTube, from tv documentaries, showing interviews with psychopaths. Ian Huntley features, for instance - and as well as him, some in the audience were familiar with other case studies that she mentioned.
We learned the common characteristics of psychopaths, in which areas of society they are commonly to be found (a high proportion among drug users and prisoners). We did a (non-clinical) test to see whether we qualified as psychopaths! (Never fear, I was way off.) We learned how to spot one, and which professions they're drawn to - as she pointed out, the psychopathic tendency not to experience emotion can be handy for the military, the ability not to experience nervousness is useful for CEOs, surgeons, bankers.. perhaps the most surprising of the professions in which psychopaths are to be found is that of the clergy. Non-psychopathic professions include anything where empathy is required: nursing, teaching, etc.
And when she described the tendencies we can spot in psychopaths around us, they really rang a bell. Do you know someone who's out for themselves, takes all the credit but none of the blame, loses their temper easily? Someone who's superficially charming, but just might make your skin crawl? Yes you do. Look out, there's a psychopath about - they represent 1% of the general population.
A lovely, spring evening outside - we could hear the shouts from the neighbouring football field, until she closed the door when they got too raucous. It was also getting a bit cold by then. And when she finally finished, she was inundated with questions - check out Funzing for her upcoming talks. This one is really worth the trip! And I was finished early in the evening, and walking distance from home - lovely.
Tonight, I'm with London Dramatic Arts (LDAM) to see Don Juan in Soho, with David Tennant, in Wyndham's. Just down Charing Cross Road - nice! There's another London Literary Walk today, and with a couple of my friends going - but I'll have to pass, I do want to see this! Also, the LDAM organiser has just arranged for us to meet beforehand in Fumo, just down the road. And afterwards, it's back to Brown's, as usual.
Then I'm back to Ireland for Easter - on Friday, my mother and I are off to La Bohème, at the University Concert Hall. We'll have to sneak in some alcohol - it's a dry day, although this will be the last year of it.
Tuesday, back in London, and back with Funzing - London Speaks Sessions, LDN Talks @ Night, and London for a Tenner or Less, for a talk on the Science of Paranormal Activity. Unless I get a better offer, in time - it'd have to be a good one, I'm interested in this!
Next Wednesday, London Literary Walks is off down Brick Lane - and so am I.
On the 20th, I had my usual placeholder of free comedy in Hammersmith - courtesy of Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Greenwich, and London Live Comedy. Of course - much like Funzing - I usually end up cancelling these, when something better comes up. And lo and behold, it did - Walking Victorian London is off to see Six Islington Squares. Does sound better - costs £12, but I haven't been charged yet.
Ditto the comedy on the 21st - or I may go to the cinema that day. As usual, watch this space..!
On the 22nd, I'm off to see the Naked House Cleaner! Venue to be revealed just the day before.. ooh!
On the 23rd, I'm on a walk of Hampstead Village Highlights, with Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts. Be good exercise, leading up to my own sponsored walk in September, in aid of Cats Protection.. Helen and I are going as Dick Whittington and his cat. She's the cat.
The 24th, a summery treat! The Man with the Hat is taking both London for Less Than a Tenner and Let's Do London - for less! to the Globe (ah, it's been too long..). For one night only, the Comedy Store Players will regale us with Shakespeare-inspired improv. As usual, London for Less than a Tenner standing in the yard, Let's Do London - for less! in lower gallery seats. Which is where I go - couldn't take standing for that long. Better savour this trip - he only has four more events scheduled thereafter, three of which I'm going to, with no word on whether he'll continue longterm. And if he doesn't (Heaven forbid!), that'll leave a huge, hat-shaped hole in my life..
The 25th, London European Club again - it'll have been a while! They're off to an informal evening of classical music, in Peckham.
The 26th, London Literary Walks is doing the Sloane Ranger.
The 27th, Helen and I are on an Underground treasure hunt, courtesy of Walk, Talks and Treasure Hunts. TFL goodies to be won, it seems.. Then back to Ireland for the bank holiday weekend - which I'd forgotten was a bank holiday, or I'd have stayed over an extra day!
Instead, for 1 May, I've booked The Ferryman, with LDAM, at the Royal Court.
And 2 May, those same three Funzing groups have advertised a talk called Origin of Vampires: Fact or Fiction?
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