Concert: Yantra

Tonight, back with one of my cheap ticket groups - TAC - for another concert at the Wimbledon Music Festival. This time, it was Yantra, an a cappella group, in the Trinity URC Church. Now, this is a seat-filling service, and on this occasion - as on another recently - they told me that I would be emailed a ticket by the venue on the day. Didn't happen that time - but today, I was emailed a ticket by TicketSource. Which is how I found out that I had a seat near the front, and that the ticket I had paid £3.60 for had a face vale of £30.. Not bad at all!

It's interesting, you know - I only attended this festival on one previous year, as it happens, and on that occasion, booked for a concert in each of the same two venues as this year. And so, reading the accounts back, I realised that this would be the easier to get to - and so it proved. Still Tube, of course. Now, Google Maps was telling me to go to Mansion House and catch a direct District Line train. However - tight for time as usual - I thought I might just hop on the Central Line at St. Paul's, which I'd pass on the way - I could change to the District Line later. Completely forgot about the Tube strike, which closed that line completely today, and which I suddenly remembered hearing about when I saw the closed gates at the station entrance! Not something I typically have to worry about, these days..

Well, on to Mansion House - and was I delighted that the next train along was direct to Wimbledon! Got a seat, of course - this is a good line for this. Unfortunately, it's also good at changing its destination, and after a few stops, we were informed that it wouldn't be going to Wimbledon after all. So a change at Earl's Court was in order - but I was still in good time, and the Wimbledon train didn't take long to come. This is also a good line for people to bring animals onto - we had two lovely doggy companions for a little bit of the journey! And finally, we crept into Wimbledon - the train always creeps in here, taking about five minutes from when you can see the station. But I knew that.

The walk wasn't too long, either - although I don't think that Google Maps' estimate took road crossings into account. (But it was much flatter than my last Wimbledon excursion!) I managed to get there with a couple of minutes to spare - I showed the nice man my ticket and he checked on the screen, to see which side I should go in - there's a partition down the middle, you see. And someone else showed me to my seat, and tried to sell me a festival program as we walked. Well now, I don't go by printed programs in general - and with the festival ending on Sunday, I think she was pushing her luck. I passed. Handily, there was no-one in my row when I took my seat - although the place was so sparsely occupied that the mc urged us to move closer, if we wanted..

Interesting pew configuration - don't really know what's up with it. Anyway, it wasn't long before they came on, the English chap - who seemed the oldest of them - seemingly taking the lead, reading from a script. They performed for about an hour, including an encore that was a reprise of the first piece - and showcased a mixture of traditional folk songs and medieval religious music. Polyphony was achieved by layering tracks of their own voices, and playing them alongside their live singing. Now, this is the sort of music that I'm not completely sure translates well to recordings - certainly, I wasn't initially impressed when I heard them, online. But wow, hearing them live is a whole different story! The mood switched from merry, with catchy folk songs, to intense - and in all, it was a moving experience. Soul food, for the end of the week! Adored the performance - still didn't buy the cd, despite the promise of a discount for cash..!

For my journey home, Google Maps helpfully suggested that I take the (ahem) Central Line. Now, they sent me the warning about the strike - it might help if they read their own messages! Never mind, I simply changed to the Circle Line instead, which got me as close to home as I could possibly go, by Tube.

Tomorrow, back with the Surrey History Meetup group - nominally - for yet another Zoom call. This time, it focuses on SHERF 2021 - a day-long conference based on the work of the Surrey Historic Environment Research Framework, and specifically on church archaeology. As promoted by the Surrey Archaeological Society. Don't think I'll quite be awake for the start, at this rate!

But gee, the London International Meetup finally advertised something good for tomorrow evening. They're off to a cabaret, at the Canal Cafe Theatre - this is Marie Lloyd Stole My Life! Now, TAC got me to a couple of shows here recently, at a cheap rate - pity they don't seem to have tickets for this! Never mind, I bought full-price, for once..

And on Sunday, back with London European Club - we're off to Immigrant Comedy (standup comedy in English) at the Camden Comedy Club. Tickets from Eventbrite.. two shows, we're going to the later one.

Play: Whattalife!

These two days are with TAC. Tonight, I headed to Whattalife! - part of the Wimbledon Music Festival, this is the story of English contralto Kathleen Ferrier. Took place in St. John's Church, as usual.

There's always a palaver getting to this festival - and more so, given that I'm now on completely the other side of the city. So. It was going to take an hour or so, however I played it - Northern Line, then a bus. And then I realised I hadn't got the e-ticket that my club had said the venue would send me. Now, I didn't want to embark on this odyssey if there was a chance that I mightn't be let in! so I contacted the club, who nice and quickly got back to me, and reassured me that my name was on the list, it'd be fine. I was somewhat disappointed - I had no excuse now!

Mercifully, the Tube wasn't too full, and I got a seat - I had a long way to go. I'd picked up a paper on the way in, which turned out to be surplus to requirements - there were already two on the seat I sat on! I had a choice of getting the bus from Colliers Wood, or one Tube stop closer to the venue, at South Wimbledon. Figured it made more sense to get the Tube as far as possible, as it was faster. I was worried we got there a bit late - just as well I'd got an earlier Tube than expected! I had to round the corner to catch my bus - there were two going in the same direction - and wouldn't you know it, as I turned the corner, I saw one of them stopped at the lights. Blast, I thought, I've missed it - and then I came upon the stop, between me and the lights! Weehee, perfect timing..

I alighted at the bottom of Spencer Hill - took me five minutes just to get across the road. And wow, Spencer Hill.. you know, I remember this from the one time I was here before, and I see I made it too late and didn't bother going in. Gee, this is where you find out how fit you are! The awful thing is, I was tight for time - anyway, I don't think stopping for a rest would have helped much. I finally wheezed my way to the entrance, two minutes to spare, and was explaining myself to the ladies at the door when an anxious chap appeared and said it was about to start, and brought me to the ticket desk. When I said my club name, he didn't even bother to check, just told me to sit anywhere in the centre. Which I did. Phew!

I'm happy to report that this was worth the trek. It's the heartwarming story of a Lancashire lass, as they say, who was discovered as a singer relatively late, then had an absolute whirlwind career, singing at home and abroad, until her untimely death from breast cancer. It's told from her point of view, and we get lovely descriptions of both her excitement at the work, and the travel she gets to do - visiting post-war Vienna, taking the boat to New York for an American tour! But oh, the singing that punctuates the show, to give us an idea what she's talking about.. absolutely sublime. The audience was moved to applaud after one number, despite her being in the middle of a scene! Terrific stuff.

At the interval, I wasn't moved to buy a programme, but I did treat myself to a rather small glass of quite decent wine - it was worth it, just to watch him figure out how to set up the card payment system! The show was over quite early - mercifully, given the length of my journey home - and at least the beginning was now downhill:

A bus was along directly - they were very obliging, tonight. Google Maps was still insisting I take the bus to Colliers Wood - rubbish, I got off at South Wimbledon and passed through Colliers Wood on the Tube - much faster. And for a lot of the journey, I had the carriage completely to myself!

Tomorrow, it's comedy - Holier Than Thou is a one-man show about a vicar, playing in the Canal Cafe Theatre. So, Tube again - but only half the journey time!

On Wednesday, back with Invigorate for a pub crawl! (Oops, I mean a tour of historic pubs..) Now, that's also my birthday, so I'm sure I'll get a birthday drink! ;-)

I would have travelled somewhere foreign for my birthday, but well, that's not so much of an option these days. Anyway, I'm taking that day off work - so my boss has suggested birthday drinks for me on Thursday, as we should be back in the office by then. And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend - it's easier to get Friday flights at the moment!

Concert: The Telling

Tonight, something popped up that I just couldn't ignore - Wimbledon Music Festival, running for the next week, had an online concert based on the life of a medieval nun, Hidegard of Bingen - half music, half story. Early music - I couldn't resist! The link will remain available for another week, but I watched tonight anyway. I booked with one of my cheap tickets sites (CT) - no cheaper, but it does fulfil my requirement to book something with them. Such requirements could be hard, this year! If you fancy watching it, the password is telLingWIMF202004.

So, there's a singer, a harpist, and an actor (in the veil) playing Hildegard herself. It takes place in a church - denuded of its seating, it's just like it would have been in medieval times, and very atmospheric. Performances of the works of the woman herself are interspersed with brief performances describing her life, in words that it is imagined she might have used. And wow, it's intense - placing her in a convent at the age of eight turns out to have been rather a good idea, as she went on to have visions, accredited by the Pope, and compose a huge volume of music. As well as founding a couple of monasteries. I adored it, of course - I always love this kind of music. Not sure the cat was as impressed - but hey, aren't cats supposed to be ministers of the Devil?

Tomorrow is my birthday, and I have every intention of taking the time to see something. And that day, Up in the Cheap Seats is watching Emilia - a recording of a past show, it's available for eight more days after. And they're still taking bookings - for the minimal fee of £1! So I've booked that as well. Gee, it feels great to have things booked again!

Concert: Method in Madness

For tonight, I got a cheap ticket to another classical concert, with a different seat-filler group from Tuesday - this was a concert of Vivaldi arias, at the Trinity United Reform Church. Part of the Wimbledon Music Festival. This far out, it'd have to be Tube.

I hope you're sitting comfortably - this was quite a journey. So, I left a little later than intended - I knew I wouldn't make the District Line train that I needed to, to get there in time, so it was now to be Tube and train. I started with the Central Line, very pleased that I was in time for a train earlier than the one specified by Google Maps. Even more pleased that I'd had to come this way, what with the announcement that there were only "minor" delays on the Central Line, due to a lack of drivers. As opposed to the "severe" delays on the District Line, along with many others, due to faulty trains. Gee, my tardiness saved me again! Had some fun watching a really small mouse on the tracks run off at lightning speed when he felt the rumble of the train approaching.

But of course, being the Central Line, the train was too packed to squeeze onto. And now I was waiting for the one that Google Maps said I needed to take, and hoping against hope that it'd be less crowded - also pessimistic, given that you kind of always have to leave earlier than Google Maps' optimistic estimates, if you need to be somewhere for a certain time. Happily, it was a lot less crowded, so I squeezed on - and it was a squashed journey indeed, for four stops. At least I got to Oxford Circus when I was supposed to, which was where I had to change lines.

I had to make for the Victoria Line - and this was where my time deviated seriously from the Google Maps estimate. It was impossible to progress through the thick crowds - I hadn't a hope of making the train that Google Maps said I needed to. At least the Victoria Line was a lot more spacious - I even got a seat, after a bit! At Vauxhall, when I finally wheezed my way up all those steps to the platform, it was just in time to see my train to Wimbledon depart. Blast, I was never going to make it on time now.

Google Maps was of the opinion that I'd have to wait for 15 mins for the next train - nonsense, there was another right along! Different destination, but it still stopped in Wimbledon. So I hopped on. Unfortunately, it was the slowest train known to humanity - and rubbish to Google Maps' 11-minute estimate for the journey time three stations away, to Wimbledon; it took 5 minutes more than that before we finally crept into the station. Ponderously. No wonder the trains are always late.

So it was already showtime - but at least I'd made it to Wimbledon. I had more steps to climb (!) to the exit - with no clear idea whether to go left or right, since there was an exit at each end, I chose the one beside the lower-numbered platforms. Yay, for once this evening, I was in luck. So I set off down the town - it wasn't a long walk, but I was further delayed trying to cross roads, in horrendous traffic. Gee, you really forget how bad the traffic is in West London. I finally reached the church, 10 minutes late.

Mercifully, the doors were open, and two ladies were stood just inside, looking as though they worked there. After a bit of a fluster, they found my ticket, and where I was to sit - although, as one of them told me, I might just take a seat to the rear - there should be some free. Which is exactly what I did - the place isn't huge, my view was fine, and even when I could have moved, at the interval, I decided to stay put; I had the pew to myself, could spread out, and hey ,if my cough flared up, I could make a hasty exit: or at least not bother too many people. Which is when it occurred to me that my cough was really behaving itself - yes, I had a little tickle: but even with the really cold night air, and all the steps I'd had to climb, it really didn't cause any trouble! Wow.

Some beautiful music was just getting underway - sounding recognisably like Vivaldi. But then, I noted the same thing when I saw an opera of his, last month - some of which was doubtless in tonight's concert, but I didn't recognise it. But what was unique about tonight's concert was that it was accompanied by an electric guitar - and by some very modern pieces! They mixed it up quite a bit, mixing arias with instrumental pieces, and baroque music with rock. It didn't always work, and some of the older audience members were unimpressed, and left after what was probably the highlight of the show - a spirited rendition of Summer from the Four Seasons, in the second half. Pity for them - they missed a great version of Feeling Good, to finish the show!

It's funny, most of the time I've lived in London has been in West London, but I've never before been to this festival - if this is a typical example of their output, it's worth checking them out. The festival runs till the 24th, and this ensemble is performing a few more shows at the weekend. Very glad I stuck with the horrendous journey. It was easier coming home, of course, and a lot cheaper - for goodness' sake, that train on its own cost more than my concert ticket! I caught the bus to Colliers Wood Station, very glad to be rescued from waiting in the cold - and wouldn't you know it, the ticket machine wasn't working, so I got that trip for free! The heat of the station was a relief - the station mouse was bigger too - and the Tube was much less crowded, now. Boy, was I tired as I climbed the steps out of Moorgate, though.. lotta steps today.

Tomorrow.. well, 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners are off around the Southbank Christmas market. So I said, well, I can do that on my own - thus avoiding the Meetup fee, and I'm not pushed about the meal. Good chance to start on my Christmas shopping. But then I thought I might go to a film - the listings change that day - and gee, what's coming on top of the list but The Irishman. Never mind the plot, or that it's three and a half hours long - for goodness' sake, it's directed by Scorsese, and just look at the cast list. Robert De Niro plays the eponymous Irish-American, Frank Sheeran, who works for the mob. Anna Paquin is his disapproving daughter, Peggy. Joe Pesci is his mob boss, Russell Bufalino, and Ray Romano plays his cousin, and Jimmy Hoffa's lawyer, Bill. De Niro ends up as a driver for Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). Harvey Keitel is the leader of another crime family, Angelo Bruno. I am so there. Showing in my local cinema too - and the Barbican has comfy seats. Not selling out at this point - watch this space.

On Saturday, I'm with cheap ticket source #1 - you have to book something with them every three months, or be expelled (!). Honestly, I've never heard such draconian regulations. So I'm going to Stop Kiss, above the Stag.

On Sunday, back with the Crick Crack Club (CCC) for 1001 Nights, at the British Museum. Mea culpa, I recently told people that this was The Embers Collective - nope! Turns out it's not. Ah well.

On Monday, back, after a week, with Up in the Cheap Seats for Falsettos, at The Other Palace. An aisle seat, as usual - legroom is poor, here.

On Tuesday, back with them again for Acosta Danza - Evolution, at Sadler's Wells.

On Wednesday, Anthony's Cultural Events and Walking Activities Group is off to a performance entitled Virginia Woolf - Killing the Angel, at the LSE. So I'm going on my own, and saving the Meetup fee - I haven't had that much luck with socialising with them, anyway. And now that Meetup is full.

Next Thursday, back with Spooky London - the John Snow Pub. Then another weekend in Ireland.

On the 25th, the CCC is back with Rebel Children, at the British Library. Ben Haggarty & Jan Blake - ooh yeah!

On the 26th, my annual trip to Winter Wonderland - heading to Cirque Berserk and the Ice Kingdom, as usual. Someone said he might come along.

On the 27th, the first night in ages with North London Friends! We're at A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, at Trafalgar Studios.

And on the 28th, our ex-company's social group's Christmas meeting. We had a tiff about the venue - the organiser decided on Thai Square, which I think is overpriced and underwhelming. So he started to grumble about the difficulty of getting somewhere before Christmas - which will take a group, and doesn't cost the earth. Still though, he came up with an alternative - we've decided on the Warwick Castle pub in Little Venice. Lovely area, the pub sounds nice - with a Christmassy open fire, and a room we can book - and hey, it's a pub, which won't throw us out as quickly! Must get on to booking their wine deal.. 10% off if you order at least £150 worth. Which I'm sure, among the dozen or so that are coming, we'll manage to drink. And gee, he's had us choosing what we want off the menu..