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 London Speaks Sessions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London Speaks Sessions. Show all posts
Monday, 21 January 2019
Tuesday, 13 November 2018
Talk: Space & Time - What Is a Supermassive Black Hole?
Tonight, we were to have our monthly team outing - just the two of us. But yesterday, my boss suggested that we postpone it until our new starter arrives, next week. TBD when she can manage it, as she's supposed to be keen on going out, too. Instead, for tonight, I booked with London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night for Space & Time: What Is a Supermassive Black Hole? And it being a Funzing event (like all of theirs), I scoured my old Funzing discount codes, and discovered that Funzing_Fb20 seems to be working again - for all of them I've recently booked! So, a 20% discount - better than any recently offered on their Facebook page. They do have a monthly talks offer now, but I simply don't go to enough to make it worthwhile. Funnily enough, the Meetup groups seemed to disagree with Funzing on where it was on - Funzing said it was BBB, while Meetup thought it was in Rich Mix. I decided to trust Funzing. Same street, at least.
Only two stops, and I was on foot again. (That's how close my destination was.) The name isn't too prominent on BBB (Beach Blanket Babylon) - but otherwise it's hard to miss, comprising a dramatic, black entrance with steps up to the door, flanked by what look like statues of Bast. The bar was deserted - I quickly caught the attention of one of the staff and asked him for the Funzing talk. He pointed to a door at the back (see?!). "Up or down?" sez I. "Up," sez he, "first floor."
There was a lady at the top of the stairs with a long list of names - I called mine to her, and she'd found it by the time I reached her. She whispered that they'd started, but I could go in - pity the door was right beside the presentation area! Never mind, I slipped in and took one of the very few remaining seats. The place smelled of fresh paint - it's all wood decor upstairs, likely newly painted in white, with wooden rafters and thick doors. The toilets, which I visited at the break, are the same. Lack of toilet paper, though - and the ladies in the group claimed it as their own, stopping a guy going in, even though there was nothing to indicate he couldn't. Get with the times, girls..
I hadn't missed much of the talk - when I arrived, she was still talking about the origins of the theory of black holes. Her accent confused me at first - given her French-sounding name, yet she sounded like a native English speaker. Of course, she turned out to be Québecoise, duh!
She was just on the point of telling us how the late Stephen Hawking had a bet that black holes didn't exist. As she said, this was a win-win situation - either he proved that his life's work was justified, or he won the bet! As the talk progressed, she stressed that only very recently has evidence begun to gather in favour of the existence of black holes - indeed, the second half of her talk was concerned exclusively with the extraordinary feats of engineering required to measure their effects. Specifically, she explained to us how black holes colliding produces gravitational "ripples" that can be picked up by detectors on Earth.. it's all done by measuring the time taken for lasers to "bounce" down tunnels. If "ripples" are picked up, they cause spacetime to - distort - and the lasers' travel distance/time is altered. Consider, if you will, the difficulty involved in detecting a change in distance of the order of 1/10,000 of the width of a proton..
The graphics she used were stunning, but as she pointed out, mostly marketing: although she did show us some actual footage, adjusted, as she said, to compensate for the distortion of the Earth's atmosphere, motors moving individual mirrors just to ensure a sharp image. How awesome it is to look at what could be an actual black hole, matter spiralling around it.
She encouraged plenty of questions, and the audience turned out to be reasonably knowledgeable. Predictably, I suppose. Topics covered included how close you could get to one to observe it safely, and why they are depicted with matter around the edge. For the whole night, she teetered between keeping it simple enough for a reasonably non-technical audience, and going into the more sophisticated mathematics of it - after all, this is the hardest maths you'll ever come across.
Why do they do it, you might ask? Gee, I remember going to lectures about black holes in my student days - it was a fantastic way to spend an hour or so. Despite all the complicated formulae, you don't have to go very far into it before you start to discuss phenomenal concepts, and on a ridiculous scale. It's just damn cool to spend your time discussing this stuff. Ridiculously small ripples in spacetime - ridiculously large masses, and distances. As for supermassive black holes? She pointed out that there are small ones, and huge ones - nothing in between. Asked about it later, she described one theory, that all the really big ones - such as the ones at the centre of the vast majority of galaxies - were formed when the universe was young, and that there simply isn't enough concentrated matter now, what with the universe expanding, to form anything but small ones.
An absolutely fascinating evening.. The only question that really stumped her was when someone asked what gravity is, since we'd been talking about it all evening. Her only answer was that that lay more in the realm of philosophy. The only thing to spoil the evening, for me, was the constant backdrop of music from the bar downstairs, which someone remarked at on the way out. Typical Funzing - they seem determined to hold talks in venues that are too noisy!
I walked back, sedately. Tomorrow, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) at last for Love Lies Bleeding, at the Print Room at the Coronet. Got my ticket from London Theatre Direct.
On Thursday, I'm going to try the Seven Deadly Sins Pub Naughty History Tour. Walking in London, so Funzing, again. Then I'm back to Ireland again for the weekend.
On Monday, News of the Strange, from the Crick Crack Club, at Soho Theatre. The club does have a Meetup group, but it seems to have gone dormant, and is no longer advertising upcoming events. Not that that stops the organiser from attending - I'm sure I saw her at a recent event! I've actually asked whether they're now defunct - we'll see whether I ever get a response. None yet.
Next Tuesday, back with UITCS for Pinter at the Pinter - Pinter plays at the Pinter Theatre. Two long ones on this occasion - this is Programme Four: Moonlight & Night School.
On the 21st, back at last with The London Jazz Meetup, who are off to the London Jazz Festival for a concert by the Faraj Suleiman Quartet at King's Place. UK premiere, apparently!
On the 22nd, with UITCS at the Garrick for Don Quixote. The only cheap tickets left for this were terrible, so I went a bit upmarket. A bit - I'm still behind a pillar!
On the 23rd, I'm on a Paranormal Activity Tour - ooh! Now, for this one, we get ghost-hunting equipment, which could make it interesting - I don't fancy the dowsing rods, myself, but we'll see. Walking in London, again. Discounted, again. And this was after my loyalty discount - so I got it at better than half price! which is good, considering the price.
On the 24th, I'm off on my own to see A Small Place, at the Gate.
On the 25th, back at last to Winter Wonderland! That evening, I'm off to Cirque Berserk - an annual tradition for me. The latest show is the cheapest, so that's the one I booked.
On the 26th, I'm back with UITCS for Programme Three of Pinter at the Pinter - Landscape / A Kind of Alaska / Monologue.
On the 27th, I'm going to see Company, by Sondheim, at the Gielgud. No tickets available for the upper levels on the official site - they must all have been bought up by resellers! Cheapest I found was with OfficialLondonTheatre, run by See Tickets.
On the 28th, I'm with Walking in London again for the Haunted London Pub Tour.
On the 29th, I'm back with UITCS at the National for Hadestown. Then back to Ireland again for the weekend.
On the 3rd, I'm back to the National for I'm Not Running.
On the 5th, LDN Talks @ Night and London Speaks Sessions (both Funzing) advertised a "Winterville" talk on The Science of Santa, where we get the scientific explanation of how he does it. Taking place at The Windmill. However, seems they meant the day before, when of course I'm busy. So instead I'm going to True West, with Kit Harington, at the Vaudeville. Cheapest tickets from the venue.
On the 6th, Hazel of Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts, London Guided Walks (and, indeed, Walking in London) has a Christmas Carol Tour. Now, the last two events I booked with her turned out to be no-shows.. the first might not have been her fault, as she was advertising someone else's event, but the second, she just missed the ball on and left three of us standing on a street corner. Whether this event happens is anyone's guess! Now, it's technically more expensive if you book on Funzing - but if you have my discount ;-) it comes down to the same price she charges on her own site, without the booking fee! So I did it that way. But then Henning, with the London European Club, advertised a Happy Xmaths evening at Imperial College, the same night! Festive fun for maths geeks. Plus it's free - you just have to register with Eventbrite. I thought it'd be great to get back with this group. And since I booked the walk with Funzing, I've cancelled and will get a full refund. And I feel no sadness at missing an evening with Hazel, after what's been happening. But gee, this evening is proving to be one of the more popular- now a colleague has booked it for his leaving do. So I'm now going to that instead. Nibbles arranged at The Enterprise.
On the 7th, back with UITCS at the Royal Court, for The Cane. Got the very last ticket, phew!
On the 8th, with them again at the Orange Tree Theatre for The Double Dealer.
On the 9th, the Crick Crack Club is back at the British Museum for I Know Not, an afternoon of Sufi legend.
On the 10th, I'm off to the Bridge Theatre for A Very, Very, Very Dark Matter, by Martin McDonagh. Starring Jim Broadbent, this is a dark take on Hans Christian Anderson!
On the 11th, I'm going with North London Friends to The Convert, at the Young Vic. Discounted top-price seats, it seems!
The 12th is our office Christmas party, but Let's Do This has now advertised a Christmas dinner- which sounds a more attractive prospect. So I'm doing that instead.
On the 13th of next month, I'm thrilled to be going to Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, at Sadler's Wells, with UITCS. He's a fantastic choreographer, but I've never before gotten around to seeing this all-male version. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And on the 17th of next month, the Crick Crack Club is performing Gilgamesh, at Soho Theatre. With Ben Haggerty in the spotlight, this will be a treat!
Thursday, 31 May 2018
Talk: Black Tudors - Three Untold Stories
Tonight, London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night (therefore Funzing) had an interesting-sounding talk about Black Tudors: Three Untold Stories. Seeing as how I missed a Funzing talk a while back, because I couldn't find the venue, and they offered to book me on another for free.. albeit it was weeks ago.. I emailed to see whether the offer still stood. And they got back to me - after the weekend - to say that of course it did! Nice one. A hop, skip and jump from the office, too.
During the day, Helen emailed to inform me that it was London History Day! Well, another thing I never heard of. London is crammed full of them. Nonetheless, as I said to her, I felt that what I was doing qualified. Anyway, being in the less-than-salubrious surrounds of the Lighthouse, it was - according to Google - an 11-minute walk from the office, which meant I could leave nice and late. And, you know, get some stuff done - very short on time, these days.
So, an easy walk down there - it might be my dissatisfaction with my current accommodation, but it seems that these days all I notice around here is grime - and this part of town is rife with it. Well, I guess it's historically accurate, all the same..
So, I eventually came to the dingy Lighthouse, where I decided I was in time to order a drink. It was my misfortune that the person in front of me ordered cocktails, and the barman was one of those who absolutely can't do more than one thing at a time. It was five minutes - I counted - before he got around to my very quick order. Well, I was still upstairs in time - and it was a good job that I knew where I was going, because once inside, there were no directions.
Upstairs, with its typically non-open bar, a convivial mc checked my name off the list, and advised me that there were seats at the front - it was nearly full. Our speaker for the evening was equally jolly, obviously passionate about her subject: and flogging copies of her book, tidily arranged on the non-functional bar.
As she explained, in the course of her research, she discovered records of around 200 black people, living in Great Britain in Tudor times - baptism, marriage, and burial records primarily. But there were more famous examples, such as a trumpeter for Henry VIII, and various servants to famous people of the time. She's apparently covered 10 in the book, and tonight's talk focused on three..
The first was a diver, brought to England to dive for the treasures of the Mary Rose. It seems that few English people of the time could swim, but an English trader in Mauretania noticed that the locals were most proficient at diving for pearls, and thought that their skills could be useful, so brought them to England for this very purpose.
The second was a Moroccan woman, brought to London as a child and placed into service. Her story had her being baptised - as the speaker pointed out, being baptised into the Church of England was, in those days, the only way to become a full member of society. She started off working for an Englishman that traded heavily with North Africa, then for his widow, and finally for another English lady.. the speaker explained that a common route for black people to come to England was in the household of someone who had business in Africa.
Finally, there was a most interesting chap called Edward Swarthye, who likely came back with Drake from the raids on Panama, attacking the Spanish silver trains. She showed us a close-up of the Drake jewel, depicting a prominent black figure, with a white man in the background, which she speculated was indicative of the cooperation between the English and the local blackamoors, united against the conquistadores. Anyway, this chap ended up in the service of an English nobleman, and in a most unusual scene, it was recorded that his master ordered him to whip another, white, servant for neglecting his duties!
With all of this, she made an important point - there was no slavery in England at this time, these people were all free. Someone asked, in the Q+A afterwards, what it was that brought forth the overt racism of the 18th century, where, for example, she told the disturbing story of a nine-year-old black girl who ran away from her employer. Others in the community took her in and arranged for her baptism - however, her former employer got wind of the plan, showed up on the day, and dragged her out kicking and screaming, declaring that this was her servant and would do as she was ordered! Of course, as the speaker said, the rot set in with the expanse of empire, when plantations were formed that required slave labour, and the British started to think of their conquered subjects as chattels. Pragmatically. In Tudor times, that hadn't yet happened - foreigners were still considered as equals, to be traded with rather than exploited.
Someone asked whether she'd considered going even further back - goodness, she said, finding evidence from the Tudor period was hard enough! She'd met a PhD student who'd taken on the subject of black people in England in medieval times, and suffered a mental breakdown.. whether it was because of the subject matter, she really couldn't say.. But what a fascinating evening! She begged us to take the rest of the books off her hands so she wouldn't have to carry them home. I didn't have cash - and anyway, it's cheaper on Kindle!
Paid a quick trip to the loo before I left, where I was lucky to grab the one and only cubicle, apparently, that had paper! Not toilet paper, mind - someone had thoughtfully left a pile of napkins in there. And I only took that one because I couldn't get the door closed of another.. oh, why does everything around here have to be so damned scruffy?! Oh, and we got lucky for the first half of the talk - but by the end, the band had started up just downstairs, to the obvious discomfort of the speaker. I've said it before, this is a terrible venue for a talk.
Anyway, tomorrow, back with the London European Club (LEC) for yet more music! The London Jazz Meetup also has an event on that night, but the LEC's sounds better on YouTube - part of the Songlines Encounters Festival at King's Place, and they're doing the double bill for the evening, which scores a 20% discount. (30% off if you book for three events in the festival, but I'm unlikely to do that.)
On Saturday, it's a film - would you believe it, with none of the films at the very top of the list showing over the weekend, A Quiet Place - which has held a high rating for ages now - finally came to the top! Awesome - I've been dying to see it. Stars Emily Blunt and her real-life husband, John Krasinski, who also directs - they're trying to keep their family safe in a dystopian future where something is stalking them that hunts by sound. Supposed to be terrifically suspenseful - the best kind. And it's showing near me, in the Vue Islington! which means it'll be the fourth day in a row that I can walk. Need the exercise. My leg felt tight this evening, but I think I need to get it moving. The only showing that day is very late - but what the hey, it's Saturday! I booked it, as it's cheaper on the website - and it certainly is the least I've paid in years for a cinema ticket.
On Sunday, a film called Raazi has slipped into the top spot - it does actually look good, but the closest it's on is in Vue Westfield Stratford City, at 10pm. A bit far out, for one so late. Instead, I've decided to accompany Anthony's Cultural Events and Walking Activities Group to the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival.
We've got a colleague visiting from abroad on Monday and Tuesday, so I'm leaving those days free. Then I'm back with London Literary Walks at last on Wednesday, for another Sculpture in the City walk.
Next Thursday is the company's monthly social - this month, it's in Junkyard Golf Club. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 11th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for the first time in weeks! Another performance of Showstopper! The Improvised Musical - different every night. At the Lyric again.
On the 12th, another Funzing talk - Inside North Korea. I see the code crazy_fun is still getting a 10% discount. Oh, and by the way, the mc made the same mistake tonight that they always do - the loyalty scheme does NOT give you your sixth event for free, you get a discount equal to the smallest amount of money you paid for one of the previous five..
On the 13th, London Literary Walks is taking us to A Circus School and Shakespeare's Dark Lady.
On the 14th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats - at the Bridge Theatre this time, for My Name is Lucy Barton, starring Laura Linney. I got the very last £15 seat!
And on the 15th, would you credit it, I'm back with London Dramatic Arts! to see Monogamy, at the Park Theatre. Well, it sounds interesting - and they've sold their allocation for this showing, so we're free to buy our own (gee). My good God, it's August since I was last with them..
During the day, Helen emailed to inform me that it was London History Day! Well, another thing I never heard of. London is crammed full of them. Nonetheless, as I said to her, I felt that what I was doing qualified. Anyway, being in the less-than-salubrious surrounds of the Lighthouse, it was - according to Google - an 11-minute walk from the office, which meant I could leave nice and late. And, you know, get some stuff done - very short on time, these days.
So, an easy walk down there - it might be my dissatisfaction with my current accommodation, but it seems that these days all I notice around here is grime - and this part of town is rife with it. Well, I guess it's historically accurate, all the same..
So, I eventually came to the dingy Lighthouse, where I decided I was in time to order a drink. It was my misfortune that the person in front of me ordered cocktails, and the barman was one of those who absolutely can't do more than one thing at a time. It was five minutes - I counted - before he got around to my very quick order. Well, I was still upstairs in time - and it was a good job that I knew where I was going, because once inside, there were no directions.
Upstairs, with its typically non-open bar, a convivial mc checked my name off the list, and advised me that there were seats at the front - it was nearly full. Our speaker for the evening was equally jolly, obviously passionate about her subject: and flogging copies of her book, tidily arranged on the non-functional bar.
As she explained, in the course of her research, she discovered records of around 200 black people, living in Great Britain in Tudor times - baptism, marriage, and burial records primarily. But there were more famous examples, such as a trumpeter for Henry VIII, and various servants to famous people of the time. She's apparently covered 10 in the book, and tonight's talk focused on three..
The first was a diver, brought to England to dive for the treasures of the Mary Rose. It seems that few English people of the time could swim, but an English trader in Mauretania noticed that the locals were most proficient at diving for pearls, and thought that their skills could be useful, so brought them to England for this very purpose.
The second was a Moroccan woman, brought to London as a child and placed into service. Her story had her being baptised - as the speaker pointed out, being baptised into the Church of England was, in those days, the only way to become a full member of society. She started off working for an Englishman that traded heavily with North Africa, then for his widow, and finally for another English lady.. the speaker explained that a common route for black people to come to England was in the household of someone who had business in Africa.
Finally, there was a most interesting chap called Edward Swarthye, who likely came back with Drake from the raids on Panama, attacking the Spanish silver trains. She showed us a close-up of the Drake jewel, depicting a prominent black figure, with a white man in the background, which she speculated was indicative of the cooperation between the English and the local blackamoors, united against the conquistadores. Anyway, this chap ended up in the service of an English nobleman, and in a most unusual scene, it was recorded that his master ordered him to whip another, white, servant for neglecting his duties!
With all of this, she made an important point - there was no slavery in England at this time, these people were all free. Someone asked, in the Q+A afterwards, what it was that brought forth the overt racism of the 18th century, where, for example, she told the disturbing story of a nine-year-old black girl who ran away from her employer. Others in the community took her in and arranged for her baptism - however, her former employer got wind of the plan, showed up on the day, and dragged her out kicking and screaming, declaring that this was her servant and would do as she was ordered! Of course, as the speaker said, the rot set in with the expanse of empire, when plantations were formed that required slave labour, and the British started to think of their conquered subjects as chattels. Pragmatically. In Tudor times, that hadn't yet happened - foreigners were still considered as equals, to be traded with rather than exploited.
Someone asked whether she'd considered going even further back - goodness, she said, finding evidence from the Tudor period was hard enough! She'd met a PhD student who'd taken on the subject of black people in England in medieval times, and suffered a mental breakdown.. whether it was because of the subject matter, she really couldn't say.. But what a fascinating evening! She begged us to take the rest of the books off her hands so she wouldn't have to carry them home. I didn't have cash - and anyway, it's cheaper on Kindle!
Paid a quick trip to the loo before I left, where I was lucky to grab the one and only cubicle, apparently, that had paper! Not toilet paper, mind - someone had thoughtfully left a pile of napkins in there. And I only took that one because I couldn't get the door closed of another.. oh, why does everything around here have to be so damned scruffy?! Oh, and we got lucky for the first half of the talk - but by the end, the band had started up just downstairs, to the obvious discomfort of the speaker. I've said it before, this is a terrible venue for a talk.
Anyway, tomorrow, back with the London European Club (LEC) for yet more music! The London Jazz Meetup also has an event on that night, but the LEC's sounds better on YouTube - part of the Songlines Encounters Festival at King's Place, and they're doing the double bill for the evening, which scores a 20% discount. (30% off if you book for three events in the festival, but I'm unlikely to do that.)
On Saturday, it's a film - would you believe it, with none of the films at the very top of the list showing over the weekend, A Quiet Place - which has held a high rating for ages now - finally came to the top! Awesome - I've been dying to see it. Stars Emily Blunt and her real-life husband, John Krasinski, who also directs - they're trying to keep their family safe in a dystopian future where something is stalking them that hunts by sound. Supposed to be terrifically suspenseful - the best kind. And it's showing near me, in the Vue Islington! which means it'll be the fourth day in a row that I can walk. Need the exercise. My leg felt tight this evening, but I think I need to get it moving. The only showing that day is very late - but what the hey, it's Saturday! I booked it, as it's cheaper on the website - and it certainly is the least I've paid in years for a cinema ticket.
On Sunday, a film called Raazi has slipped into the top spot - it does actually look good, but the closest it's on is in Vue Westfield Stratford City, at 10pm. A bit far out, for one so late. Instead, I've decided to accompany Anthony's Cultural Events and Walking Activities Group to the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival.
We've got a colleague visiting from abroad on Monday and Tuesday, so I'm leaving those days free. Then I'm back with London Literary Walks at last on Wednesday, for another Sculpture in the City walk.
Next Thursday is the company's monthly social - this month, it's in Junkyard Golf Club. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 11th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for the first time in weeks! Another performance of Showstopper! The Improvised Musical - different every night. At the Lyric again.
On the 12th, another Funzing talk - Inside North Korea. I see the code crazy_fun is still getting a 10% discount. Oh, and by the way, the mc made the same mistake tonight that they always do - the loyalty scheme does NOT give you your sixth event for free, you get a discount equal to the smallest amount of money you paid for one of the previous five..
On the 13th, London Literary Walks is taking us to A Circus School and Shakespeare's Dark Lady.
On the 14th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats - at the Bridge Theatre this time, for My Name is Lucy Barton, starring Laura Linney. I got the very last £15 seat!
And on the 15th, would you credit it, I'm back with London Dramatic Arts! to see Monogamy, at the Park Theatre. Well, it sounds interesting - and they've sold their allocation for this showing, so we're free to buy our own (gee). My good God, it's August since I was last with them..
Monday, 23 April 2018
Talk: An Introduction to the Dark Net
Tonight, another Funzing talk - An Introduction to the Dark Net. At Sink.. only about 10 minutes' walk from the office. For which I earned a loyalty discount, on account of all I booked recently!
Well, another hard day's work - and it was as well I could stay late, to get in my yearly performance review, which was due by COB (Pacific Time). I still cut it fine, arriving with the proverbial "minutes to spare". The sign inside the door helpfully pointed to the left, where a young woman stood with a welcoming smile. She, it turned out, had drink tokens, in return for you presenting your ticket - of course, I hadn't printed mine out (as usual for Funzing), the damn website had logged me out, and I couldn't find where to log in again! She finally looked up my name on her list, and I got my token - which entitled me to a small glass of house white. What the hey, it's ages since they gave it away for free anyway.
Upstairs then, and the room was fairly full, most of the remaining seating at the back. Nonetheless, it's a decent venue for a talk, and I got a good view of the screen. Again, the Funzing lady made a mistake in her presentation, saying that the sixth talk is free.. it isn't, you get a discount equal to the price of the talk, or the value of the cheapest thing you paid for while earning your discount: whichever is cheaper.
The chap presenting was a pleasant-seeming fellow, who really entertained us over the next hour or so with a wee chat about the dark net - which, as he said, isn't as scary as you might think. Indeed, the "clearnet" (regular internet) can be a lot scarier, as in his story about an unwise young woman who posted nude photos of herself on a chat forum. Members would ask her to take photos in different poses, and from seemingly innocuous requests for her to pose with various items, they managed to piece together her complete identity. The mission then became to expose her completely, finding her on Facebook and Twitter, posting the photos to everyone on her contact list.. you don't have to go to the dark net to find dangerous people.
Having said that, he then led us down a merry, dark path - of drug dealers who sell in the same way as Amazon, with customer reviews and discount offers. He did also point out that the dark net can be a very handy way to avoid censorship - for journalists in sensitive parts of the world, for instance, or where governments ban the websites you might want to visit. He told us the interesting story of how Tor, the browser used, was actually developed by the US Navy! It then occurred to them that they might be a bit conspicuous if they were the only ones using it! so they made it freely available. It's a bit slower than conventional browsers, since it bounces your signal around the world, to make your IP address untraceable. So it's a choice - greater security means a sacrifice of some convenience.
After a short break, an interesting Q+A had several people asking questions - but the most enthusiastic response of the night came when he said he'd give us ONE URL to play with. :-) Deepdotweb.com lists the most popular dark net sites, as well as broadcasting news of the dark net.. by 'eck, he had to repeat that name several times, to general mirth, as so many people wanted to make sure they'd got it exactly right! I tell you this, it's interesting to browse - but remember to use Tor (or similar) if you want to do any actual business with sites listed on it! Someone brought up the thorny issue of terrorism - well, as he said, that's the kind of traffic that doesn't really get publicly listed - it's just a set of untraceable URLs distributed amongst specific groups. There's a whole load of internet out there that we'll just never know about.
Well, the weather's switched again - it was freezing on the way home. The next two days, back again with Up in the Cheap Seats: tomorrow is for An Ideal Husband - part of the Oscar Wilde Season, at the Vaudeville. Stars father and son, Edward and Freddie Fox. And Susan Hampshire. Wednesday is for Mood Music, at the Old Vic, with Ben Chaplin.
On Thursday, the London European Club is attending a lecture at the LSE, on Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration. Then I'm back to the highly non-Eurosceptic Ireland again, for the weekend.
Next Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for A Gym Thing - got a fright when I saw that, but no, it's a play - in the Pleasaunce.
On the 1st, I'm back with North London Friends - to the Theatre Royal, Stratford East for Our Country's Good.
On the 2nd, Up in the Cheap Seats is off to The Writer, at the Almeida.
On the 3rd, London Literary Walks is doing - ahem - Stalin's Doss House. Meeting at Starbucks, naturally!
Then we're into the Early May Bank Holiday - and I saw an interesting trip, advertised by Carpe Diem, for a long weekend in Bulgaria. So I applied for a place - only to be told that there'd only been six, which were now gone. When I pointed out that the Meetup page advertised 12 places, and that some were shown as still available, they removed the event entirely. Instead, on the 4th I'm headed - with the £3.60 club - to Music Hall Monster: The Insatiable Mr. Fred Barnes, at Wilton's. Could be good.
And on the 5th, as of now, I'm signed up to an overnight trip to Newquay in Cornwall with Eddie's Excursions. This time, I got in the first six - ironically, they're not guaranteeing it'll go ahead unless they can fill a minibus! Watch this space..
Well, another hard day's work - and it was as well I could stay late, to get in my yearly performance review, which was due by COB (Pacific Time). I still cut it fine, arriving with the proverbial "minutes to spare". The sign inside the door helpfully pointed to the left, where a young woman stood with a welcoming smile. She, it turned out, had drink tokens, in return for you presenting your ticket - of course, I hadn't printed mine out (as usual for Funzing), the damn website had logged me out, and I couldn't find where to log in again! She finally looked up my name on her list, and I got my token - which entitled me to a small glass of house white. What the hey, it's ages since they gave it away for free anyway.
Upstairs then, and the room was fairly full, most of the remaining seating at the back. Nonetheless, it's a decent venue for a talk, and I got a good view of the screen. Again, the Funzing lady made a mistake in her presentation, saying that the sixth talk is free.. it isn't, you get a discount equal to the price of the talk, or the value of the cheapest thing you paid for while earning your discount: whichever is cheaper.
The chap presenting was a pleasant-seeming fellow, who really entertained us over the next hour or so with a wee chat about the dark net - which, as he said, isn't as scary as you might think. Indeed, the "clearnet" (regular internet) can be a lot scarier, as in his story about an unwise young woman who posted nude photos of herself on a chat forum. Members would ask her to take photos in different poses, and from seemingly innocuous requests for her to pose with various items, they managed to piece together her complete identity. The mission then became to expose her completely, finding her on Facebook and Twitter, posting the photos to everyone on her contact list.. you don't have to go to the dark net to find dangerous people.
Having said that, he then led us down a merry, dark path - of drug dealers who sell in the same way as Amazon, with customer reviews and discount offers. He did also point out that the dark net can be a very handy way to avoid censorship - for journalists in sensitive parts of the world, for instance, or where governments ban the websites you might want to visit. He told us the interesting story of how Tor, the browser used, was actually developed by the US Navy! It then occurred to them that they might be a bit conspicuous if they were the only ones using it! so they made it freely available. It's a bit slower than conventional browsers, since it bounces your signal around the world, to make your IP address untraceable. So it's a choice - greater security means a sacrifice of some convenience.
After a short break, an interesting Q+A had several people asking questions - but the most enthusiastic response of the night came when he said he'd give us ONE URL to play with. :-) Deepdotweb.com lists the most popular dark net sites, as well as broadcasting news of the dark net.. by 'eck, he had to repeat that name several times, to general mirth, as so many people wanted to make sure they'd got it exactly right! I tell you this, it's interesting to browse - but remember to use Tor (or similar) if you want to do any actual business with sites listed on it! Someone brought up the thorny issue of terrorism - well, as he said, that's the kind of traffic that doesn't really get publicly listed - it's just a set of untraceable URLs distributed amongst specific groups. There's a whole load of internet out there that we'll just never know about.
Well, the weather's switched again - it was freezing on the way home. The next two days, back again with Up in the Cheap Seats: tomorrow is for An Ideal Husband - part of the Oscar Wilde Season, at the Vaudeville. Stars father and son, Edward and Freddie Fox. And Susan Hampshire. Wednesday is for Mood Music, at the Old Vic, with Ben Chaplin.
On Thursday, the London European Club is attending a lecture at the LSE, on Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration. Then I'm back to the highly non-Eurosceptic Ireland again, for the weekend.
Next Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for A Gym Thing - got a fright when I saw that, but no, it's a play - in the Pleasaunce.
On the 1st, I'm back with North London Friends - to the Theatre Royal, Stratford East for Our Country's Good.
On the 2nd, Up in the Cheap Seats is off to The Writer, at the Almeida.
On the 3rd, London Literary Walks is doing - ahem - Stalin's Doss House. Meeting at Starbucks, naturally!
Then we're into the Early May Bank Holiday - and I saw an interesting trip, advertised by Carpe Diem, for a long weekend in Bulgaria. So I applied for a place - only to be told that there'd only been six, which were now gone. When I pointed out that the Meetup page advertised 12 places, and that some were shown as still available, they removed the event entirely. Instead, on the 4th I'm headed - with the £3.60 club - to Music Hall Monster: The Insatiable Mr. Fred Barnes, at Wilton's. Could be good.
And on the 5th, as of now, I'm signed up to an overnight trip to Newquay in Cornwall with Eddie's Excursions. This time, I got in the first six - ironically, they're not guaranteeing it'll go ahead unless they can fill a minibus! Watch this space..
Wednesday, 18 April 2018
Talk: The Strangest Feeling: Déjà Vu
Tonight, Funzing again (courtesy of London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night), for The Strangest Feeling: Déjà Vu - the code "crazy_fun" typically gets 10% off Funzing events. Taking place at Gabeto, in Camden Market. Honestly! Jeez, at least I should know how to get to this one, after getting lost on my way there on Monday night - happily, they're crediting me with a free talk for my trouble. And I knew to arrive in time! Presented by Anthony Peake, whom I spent a long time researching to make sure he's not a sceptic, as I have extensive personal experience of precognitive experiences. I actually had several alternative options for tonight - but I wanted to hear this.
Oh, what a day. Jam-packed with all sorts of lunacy at work, and finishing with a meeting that was scheduled till 7 - and the talk began at 7:30! I entered a note that I might have to leave early. Well, as it happened, I was the only writer who made the meeting - which probably greatly shortened the time required, as the others can be very long-winded. And I don't think they really intended it to last an hour anyway - I was done by 6:30, which meant I didn't have to take the Tube, as I'd been considering.
Nope, bus it was - and I was to be glad I was as early as I was, because I'd have missed the talk otherwise, what with the traffic. Brilliant sunshine blinded me for much of the way - what fantastic weather we're having! I had to take off my coat on the walk into work - and I'm sleeping better, now that my room is, ironically, cooler, because they've turned off the heat in the flat. I was lucky - like last time - to get a seat; this is a popular bus, and I believe I got the last one. We made ok time - sadly, I mistook my walk from where I was let off, and had to retrace my steps; never mind, once I was on the right path, I knew exactly where I was going. Mind you, when I got to the venue (with minutes to spare) - the outside steps were still blocked off! I figured I must have the wrong entrance - upon going inside, I noticed a discreet, black spiral staircase that I hadn't noticed before; it might have already been cordoned off, though, as it was when I came out later.
Upstairs at last, and the checker of names was deep in conversation with the speaker. She almost forgot to check me off, and I almost forgot to be checked! Deed done, I took a seat on one of the comfy armchairs arranged in the upstairs room - sadly, although there was a bar, predictably, no-one was serving, and I didn't feel like traipsing all the way downstairs again. Particularly with the talk about to start- although it did start late, beginning with her making an erroneous statement about how, if you pay for five talks, the sixth is free (no it's not, you get a discount equal in value to the smallest amount you paid for any of those five - or free, if it's less).
Anthony Peake started the evening - as I'd expected, although nothing supernatural should be read into that - asking for a show of hands as to who'd ever experienced déjà vu. Most people raised a hand. Then he asked how many of us had had precognitive déjà vu, meaning seeing something that hadn't yet happened, but subsequently did. Mine was almost the only hand raised. Apparently, as he informed us, that was quite standard - something like 70-80% of the population experience déjà vu, something like a tenth of that have precognition.
As the talk progressed, I remembered just what it was like, when I was a kid - it's been a while since I thought about it, but frankly, I was plagued with precognition. It was practically constant - I'd be able to predict who'd come into a room, what they'd say and do, whether the phone would ring, what would be on the news.. I ran experiments on myself, for goodness' sake, to see what would happen - for example, if I changed my actions to disrupt the image I'd seen. (The image then winked out of existence.) Could I predict my thoughts as well as actions? Turned out I could..! but that got way too confusing, distinguishing between what I was thinking and would be thinking in the future, and I didn't try again.
It decreased with age - by the age of 18. I was only getting one reliable precognitive experience about every six months; your brain gets cluttered with other things. But it was quite lovely to have those memories restored now. He started by briefing us on the (72!) rational explanations of the phenomenon. He had some fascinating examples - like the man who knew what was going to happen that afternoon, including what his wife would say when he next entered the room: so he wrote it on a piece of paper, and after she'd said it, showed her the paper. Several folks predicted the attack on the Twin Towers, and the Concorde crash.
Yeah, in the above list, I'm an example of #2. Others include those who experience epilepsy or migraines, psychosis, or dementia - he gets migraines himself, apparently.
As he quite rightly pointed out, none of the conventional explanations account for the prediction of future events. So (spoiler), here's the upshot, or my interpretation (granted, I don't remember all the terminology, but he has written some books if you want to explore further):
We are living one of a number of possible life outcomes, in a reality with infinite different examples. Actually, this isn't as kooky as it sounds - it might have sounded weirder if I weren't familiar with cosmology's proposition of infinite universes. Hell, Stephen Hawking was a believer in it. Within this framework, our psyche has divided into two - rather like someone playing a computer game; one is the controller, one the avatar, and the controller is telling the avatar what to do, rather like someone who's played the game before and knows how things are going to pan out. That's why we "know what's coming".
Draw all the parallels you like, and think what you like, but theoretical physics is actually going in this direction. And it's one of the most plausible explanations I've heard for an inexplicable phenomenon. I was beginning to think the talk was all a bit weird.. until I remembered just what it was like, when I was seeing these things, and how this was along the lines of what I thought at the time. Honestly, I walked out of there with a sense of peace that I haven't had in a while - and it's great to know I'm not alone. One day we'll know more..
Tomorrow, back with London Literary Walks - he's only doing them fortnightly now, it seems. Well, he's covered half of London at this rate! This one is called Guitar Bands Are on the Way Out, Mr. Epstein.
On Friday, I got the very last ticket to The Phlebotomist, downstairs at Hampstead Theatre. I'm going with Up in the Cheap Seats - North London Friends saw it in preview, but it was already sold out for that night when I looked.
On Saturday, Helen is in town and we're headed for food. Somewhere. In the evening, I'm back with London Discovery Walks for yet another ghost tour - this one is called Ghosts of the Old City - just like my last Funzing walk!
On Sunday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats.. all day, as it happens. See, one of the organisers went crazy booking things yesterday - it seems there's a day of free events at the V&A, with the theme of censorship. The day starts with Decorum X: Brunch with Bite.. tickets required. This is followed by a talk on Censorship on the Elizabethan Stage, then finally comes a performance by Belarus Free Theatre (the only theatre company in Europe banned by its government on political grounds, it seems), with Artists Fighting Oppression. Sold out now, but he had tickets for us, if we were in quick. In the evening, we're off to a film music gala at the Albert Hall. What the hey, the V&A is on the way there!
On Monday, another Funzing talk - An Introduction to the Dark Net. At Sink.. For which I earned a loyalty discount, on account of all I booked recently!
On Tuesday and next Wednesday, back again with Up in the Cheap Seats: Tuesday is for An Ideal Husband - part of the Oscar Wilde Season, at the Vaudeville. Stars father and son, Edward and Freddie Fox. And Susan Hampshire. Next Wednesday is for Mood Music, at the Old Vic, with Ben Chaplin.
On the 26th, the London European Club is attending a lecture at the LSE, on Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration. Then I'm back to the highly non-Eurosceptic Ireland again, for the weekend.
On the 30th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for A Gym Thing - got a fright when I saw that, but no, it's a play - in the Pleasaunce.
On the 1st, I am back with North London Friends - to the Theatre Royal, Stratford East for Our Country's Good.
On the 2nd, Up in the Cheap Seats is off to The Writer, at the Almeida.
And on the 3rd, London Literary Walks is doing - ahem - Stalin's Doss House. Meeting at Starbucks, naturally!
Oh, what a day. Jam-packed with all sorts of lunacy at work, and finishing with a meeting that was scheduled till 7 - and the talk began at 7:30! I entered a note that I might have to leave early. Well, as it happened, I was the only writer who made the meeting - which probably greatly shortened the time required, as the others can be very long-winded. And I don't think they really intended it to last an hour anyway - I was done by 6:30, which meant I didn't have to take the Tube, as I'd been considering.
Nope, bus it was - and I was to be glad I was as early as I was, because I'd have missed the talk otherwise, what with the traffic. Brilliant sunshine blinded me for much of the way - what fantastic weather we're having! I had to take off my coat on the walk into work - and I'm sleeping better, now that my room is, ironically, cooler, because they've turned off the heat in the flat. I was lucky - like last time - to get a seat; this is a popular bus, and I believe I got the last one. We made ok time - sadly, I mistook my walk from where I was let off, and had to retrace my steps; never mind, once I was on the right path, I knew exactly where I was going. Mind you, when I got to the venue (with minutes to spare) - the outside steps were still blocked off! I figured I must have the wrong entrance - upon going inside, I noticed a discreet, black spiral staircase that I hadn't noticed before; it might have already been cordoned off, though, as it was when I came out later.
Upstairs at last, and the checker of names was deep in conversation with the speaker. She almost forgot to check me off, and I almost forgot to be checked! Deed done, I took a seat on one of the comfy armchairs arranged in the upstairs room - sadly, although there was a bar, predictably, no-one was serving, and I didn't feel like traipsing all the way downstairs again. Particularly with the talk about to start- although it did start late, beginning with her making an erroneous statement about how, if you pay for five talks, the sixth is free (no it's not, you get a discount equal in value to the smallest amount you paid for any of those five - or free, if it's less).
Anthony Peake started the evening - as I'd expected, although nothing supernatural should be read into that - asking for a show of hands as to who'd ever experienced déjà vu. Most people raised a hand. Then he asked how many of us had had precognitive déjà vu, meaning seeing something that hadn't yet happened, but subsequently did. Mine was almost the only hand raised. Apparently, as he informed us, that was quite standard - something like 70-80% of the population experience déjà vu, something like a tenth of that have precognition.
As the talk progressed, I remembered just what it was like, when I was a kid - it's been a while since I thought about it, but frankly, I was plagued with precognition. It was practically constant - I'd be able to predict who'd come into a room, what they'd say and do, whether the phone would ring, what would be on the news.. I ran experiments on myself, for goodness' sake, to see what would happen - for example, if I changed my actions to disrupt the image I'd seen. (The image then winked out of existence.) Could I predict my thoughts as well as actions? Turned out I could..! but that got way too confusing, distinguishing between what I was thinking and would be thinking in the future, and I didn't try again.
It decreased with age - by the age of 18. I was only getting one reliable precognitive experience about every six months; your brain gets cluttered with other things. But it was quite lovely to have those memories restored now. He started by briefing us on the (72!) rational explanations of the phenomenon. He had some fascinating examples - like the man who knew what was going to happen that afternoon, including what his wife would say when he next entered the room: so he wrote it on a piece of paper, and after she'd said it, showed her the paper. Several folks predicted the attack on the Twin Towers, and the Concorde crash.
Yeah, in the above list, I'm an example of #2. Others include those who experience epilepsy or migraines, psychosis, or dementia - he gets migraines himself, apparently.
As he quite rightly pointed out, none of the conventional explanations account for the prediction of future events. So (spoiler), here's the upshot, or my interpretation (granted, I don't remember all the terminology, but he has written some books if you want to explore further):
We are living one of a number of possible life outcomes, in a reality with infinite different examples. Actually, this isn't as kooky as it sounds - it might have sounded weirder if I weren't familiar with cosmology's proposition of infinite universes. Hell, Stephen Hawking was a believer in it. Within this framework, our psyche has divided into two - rather like someone playing a computer game; one is the controller, one the avatar, and the controller is telling the avatar what to do, rather like someone who's played the game before and knows how things are going to pan out. That's why we "know what's coming".
Draw all the parallels you like, and think what you like, but theoretical physics is actually going in this direction. And it's one of the most plausible explanations I've heard for an inexplicable phenomenon. I was beginning to think the talk was all a bit weird.. until I remembered just what it was like, when I was seeing these things, and how this was along the lines of what I thought at the time. Honestly, I walked out of there with a sense of peace that I haven't had in a while - and it's great to know I'm not alone. One day we'll know more..
Tomorrow, back with London Literary Walks - he's only doing them fortnightly now, it seems. Well, he's covered half of London at this rate! This one is called Guitar Bands Are on the Way Out, Mr. Epstein.
On Friday, I got the very last ticket to The Phlebotomist, downstairs at Hampstead Theatre. I'm going with Up in the Cheap Seats - North London Friends saw it in preview, but it was already sold out for that night when I looked.
On Saturday, Helen is in town and we're headed for food. Somewhere. In the evening, I'm back with London Discovery Walks for yet another ghost tour - this one is called Ghosts of the Old City - just like my last Funzing walk!
On Sunday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats.. all day, as it happens. See, one of the organisers went crazy booking things yesterday - it seems there's a day of free events at the V&A, with the theme of censorship. The day starts with Decorum X: Brunch with Bite.. tickets required. This is followed by a talk on Censorship on the Elizabethan Stage, then finally comes a performance by Belarus Free Theatre (the only theatre company in Europe banned by its government on political grounds, it seems), with Artists Fighting Oppression. Sold out now, but he had tickets for us, if we were in quick. In the evening, we're off to a film music gala at the Albert Hall. What the hey, the V&A is on the way there!
On Monday, another Funzing talk - An Introduction to the Dark Net. At Sink.. For which I earned a loyalty discount, on account of all I booked recently!
On Tuesday and next Wednesday, back again with Up in the Cheap Seats: Tuesday is for An Ideal Husband - part of the Oscar Wilde Season, at the Vaudeville. Stars father and son, Edward and Freddie Fox. And Susan Hampshire. Next Wednesday is for Mood Music, at the Old Vic, with Ben Chaplin.
On the 26th, the London European Club is attending a lecture at the LSE, on Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration. Then I'm back to the highly non-Eurosceptic Ireland again, for the weekend.
On the 30th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for A Gym Thing - got a fright when I saw that, but no, it's a play - in the Pleasaunce.
On the 1st, I am back with North London Friends - to the Theatre Royal, Stratford East for Our Country's Good.
On the 2nd, Up in the Cheap Seats is off to The Writer, at the Almeida.
And on the 3rd, London Literary Walks is doing - ahem - Stalin's Doss House. Meeting at Starbucks, naturally!
Monday, 16 April 2018
Talk: The Story of Accent and Identity
Tonight, tragically, a Crick Crack event that I found out about too late.. Red Bead Woman, with Martin Shaw at Soho Theatre, was sold out by the time I came to book it. Never mind, he's not one of my favourites anyway. Instead, back with the Funzing talk groups, London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night (who, this time, didn't cancel!), for The Story of Accent and Identity.
Oh, that team I've been set to work with in California! The product manager just doesn't seem to get this time difference idea. So, he messaged me just as I was just about to leave.. so I told him I was just about to leave. I waited some minutes for a response. Well, it seemed that he needed some extra documentation done - he wanted to know whether I could get it in today, or "worst case scenario" (his phrase), first thing in the morning, and what time would that be? I said first thing would be the equivalent of 2am his time - was that early enough? Yup. He'd accept that. Would he be done quickly, if he wanted me to get it done now? Oh no, COB, said he. WTF? That'd be 1am for me..! I legged it. We'll see what he sends me in the morning.
So, with all of that nonsense, I was a bit later than I wanted, heading out. Never mind, my bus came in good time - uncomfortably crowded, but it did get me there ahead of schedule. And I found Camden Market without difficulty.. I'd never been in there before, but found The Stables Market too, where the talk was supposed to be. I have to commend Camden for its street art:
More pictures here. Ehh.. where was the talk, though? I stupidly wandered all over the place, figuring there'd be some sign directing us to the Funzing talk. To be fair, that's what happened the last time it was in a market. Nope. Several potential bars, none obvious. And that was all that was on the basic Funzing description on my calendar, which I'd used for directions. I sent several messages, both to Funzing and to the speaker - no response, of course. By the time I'd read closer into the description, and found it was on in Gabeto (which, to be fair, was also detailed on the Meetup description, but which I'd forgotten - well, look at everything I've done since I booked!), the talk had already started. And by the time I mooched over there, the entrance was shut, and that was that.
I headed home in something of a foul mood - I hate a wasted journey. It didn't help that Google Maps didn't "recognise [my] location"! Not even when I put local landmarks into it, and even though the little blue dot was finding me just fine. So I just headed back the way I'd come, and handily enough, it recovered its wits just in time for me to make the turn to get the bus back. Passed some lovely flats, just off the main road - ooh, I'd love to live here. But the commute would be a nuisance..
Tomorrow, (nominally) going with London Science Events for a talk on Gravitational Waves and Beyond, at the Royal Institution. They've given no Meetup details, so I'm not anticipating a social evening.
On Wednesday, Funzing again, for The Strangest Feeling: Déjà Vu: at Gabeto, in Camden Market. Eh, you're joking! Jeez, at least I should know how to get to this one. And I know to arrive in time! Presented by Anthony Peake, whom I spent a long time researching to make sure he's not a sceptic, as I have extensive personal experience of precognitive experiences.
On Thursday, back with a proper Meetup group, in the form of London Literary Walks - he's only doing them fortnightly now, it seems. Well, he's covered half of London at this rate! This one is called Guitar Bands Are on the Way Out, Mr. Epstein.
On Friday, I got the very last ticket to The Phlebotomist, downstairs at Hampstead Theatre. I'm going with Up in the Cheap Seats - North London Friends saw it in preview, but it was already sold out for that night when I looked.
On Saturday, I'm back with London Discovery Walks for yet another ghost tour - this one is called Ghosts of the Old City - just like my last Funzing walk!
On Sunday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for a film music gala at the Albert Hall.
Next Monday, another Funzing talk - An Introduction to the Dark Net. At Sink.. For which I earned a loyalty discount, on account of all I booked recently!
On the 24th and 25th, back again with Up in the Cheap Seats: the 24th is for An Ideal Husband - part of the Oscar Wilde Season, at the Vaudeville. Stars father and son, Edward and Freddie Fox. And Susan Hampshire. The 25th is for Mood Music, at the Old Vic, with Ben Chaplin.
On the 26th, the London European Club is attending a lecture at the LSE, on Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration. Then I'm back to the highly non-Eurosceptic Ireland again, for the weekend.
On the 30th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for A Gym Thing - got a fright when I saw that, but no, it's a play - in the Pleasaunce.
On the 1st, I am back with North London Friends - to the Theatre Royal, Stratford East for Our Country's Good.
On the 2nd, Up in the Cheap Seats is off to The Writer, at the Almeida.
And on the 3rd, London Literary Walks is doing - ahem - Stalin's Doss House. Meeting at Starbucks, naturally!
Oh, that team I've been set to work with in California! The product manager just doesn't seem to get this time difference idea. So, he messaged me just as I was just about to leave.. so I told him I was just about to leave. I waited some minutes for a response. Well, it seemed that he needed some extra documentation done - he wanted to know whether I could get it in today, or "worst case scenario" (his phrase), first thing in the morning, and what time would that be? I said first thing would be the equivalent of 2am his time - was that early enough? Yup. He'd accept that. Would he be done quickly, if he wanted me to get it done now? Oh no, COB, said he. WTF? That'd be 1am for me..! I legged it. We'll see what he sends me in the morning.
So, with all of that nonsense, I was a bit later than I wanted, heading out. Never mind, my bus came in good time - uncomfortably crowded, but it did get me there ahead of schedule. And I found Camden Market without difficulty.. I'd never been in there before, but found The Stables Market too, where the talk was supposed to be. I have to commend Camden for its street art:
More pictures here. Ehh.. where was the talk, though? I stupidly wandered all over the place, figuring there'd be some sign directing us to the Funzing talk. To be fair, that's what happened the last time it was in a market. Nope. Several potential bars, none obvious. And that was all that was on the basic Funzing description on my calendar, which I'd used for directions. I sent several messages, both to Funzing and to the speaker - no response, of course. By the time I'd read closer into the description, and found it was on in Gabeto (which, to be fair, was also detailed on the Meetup description, but which I'd forgotten - well, look at everything I've done since I booked!), the talk had already started. And by the time I mooched over there, the entrance was shut, and that was that.
I headed home in something of a foul mood - I hate a wasted journey. It didn't help that Google Maps didn't "recognise [my] location"! Not even when I put local landmarks into it, and even though the little blue dot was finding me just fine. So I just headed back the way I'd come, and handily enough, it recovered its wits just in time for me to make the turn to get the bus back. Passed some lovely flats, just off the main road - ooh, I'd love to live here. But the commute would be a nuisance..
Tomorrow, (nominally) going with London Science Events for a talk on Gravitational Waves and Beyond, at the Royal Institution. They've given no Meetup details, so I'm not anticipating a social evening.
On Wednesday, Funzing again, for The Strangest Feeling: Déjà Vu: at Gabeto, in Camden Market. Eh, you're joking! Jeez, at least I should know how to get to this one. And I know to arrive in time! Presented by Anthony Peake, whom I spent a long time researching to make sure he's not a sceptic, as I have extensive personal experience of precognitive experiences.
On Thursday, back with a proper Meetup group, in the form of London Literary Walks - he's only doing them fortnightly now, it seems. Well, he's covered half of London at this rate! This one is called Guitar Bands Are on the Way Out, Mr. Epstein.
On Friday, I got the very last ticket to The Phlebotomist, downstairs at Hampstead Theatre. I'm going with Up in the Cheap Seats - North London Friends saw it in preview, but it was already sold out for that night when I looked.
On Saturday, I'm back with London Discovery Walks for yet another ghost tour - this one is called Ghosts of the Old City - just like my last Funzing walk!
On Sunday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for a film music gala at the Albert Hall.
Next Monday, another Funzing talk - An Introduction to the Dark Net. At Sink.. For which I earned a loyalty discount, on account of all I booked recently!
On the 24th and 25th, back again with Up in the Cheap Seats: the 24th is for An Ideal Husband - part of the Oscar Wilde Season, at the Vaudeville. Stars father and son, Edward and Freddie Fox. And Susan Hampshire. The 25th is for Mood Music, at the Old Vic, with Ben Chaplin.
On the 26th, the London European Club is attending a lecture at the LSE, on Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration. Then I'm back to the highly non-Eurosceptic Ireland again, for the weekend.
On the 30th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats, for A Gym Thing - got a fright when I saw that, but no, it's a play - in the Pleasaunce.
On the 1st, I am back with North London Friends - to the Theatre Royal, Stratford East for Our Country's Good.
On the 2nd, Up in the Cheap Seats is off to The Writer, at the Almeida.
And on the 3rd, London Literary Walks is doing - ahem - Stalin's Doss House. Meeting at Starbucks, naturally!
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