Have to say, the Man with the Hat played a blinder tonight. Before he made his announcement, it was looking like film for me - and top of the list (apart from The Mountain II, only showing in the Odeon Lee Valley) is I, Daniel Blake. Which I'm sure is good, but sounds awfully depressing..
Well, he - and his Hat - rode in and saved the day, just a couple of days ago, when he advertised top-price tickets to a Christmas concert for Children & the Arts, at Cadogan Hall, tonight, for Let's Do London - for less!.. and for a spectacular discount. Well, I booked as soon as I heard about it. Funnily enough, he advertised cheaper tickets for it through London for Less Than a Tenner, but got no take-up at all.. well hey, their loss.
Had another interview with California this evening, for goodness' sake - but this was close enough to me that it wouldn't take long to get there, and I didn't have an issue. The 319 bus goes straight to Sloane Square in about half an hour, and I'm familiar enough with Cadogan Hall not to need directions from there.
There was no-one on the door, and I just waltzed straight into the bar of Cadogan Hall, where - after a brief look-round - I located the Hat, the Man, and the group.
Of course, much of the conversation was about my interview - which is awkward when I'm not sure how it went! (Quite well, but you never can tell.) When I was done with that, I made a move for drinkies.. a moment's panic at first, then I realised they'd moved the bar from where it was last time I was here! Perhaps for the Children & the Arts stand. Got drinkie, and it wasn't long till we were ushered upstairs.
We were in the gallery.. a lot of steps (there's even a sign warning you about them). Made it to the top without collapsing, and discovered that I had rather an excellent view:
And on our seats were these enormous free programmes, with the most gorgeous smell of paper.. I was sniffing it all night. This show really had something for everyone.. starting with a rendition of Deck the Halls, we were then treated to an entertaining introduction by Aled Jones, who even gave a brief, high-pitched, rendition of Walking Through the Air!
Miranda Raison read Alternative Santa, and Lisa Frend played the flute for a couple of numbers. And then the Parkgate House School Choir filed on for Silent Night.. and they were so tiny!! Much ahh-ing ensued. After they'd filed off again, Danielle de Niese came on - in quite the floatiest red dress I've ever seen - for a few numbers. And nearly tripped on that dress on the way out. Dame Penelope Wilton read Christmas Thank Yous.. but the highlight of the first half, for many of us, were the kids that came on for "A Caribbean Christmas", all festooned in colourful costumes. I was dying for them to break into song and dance, and they finally did, with The Little Drummer Boy (with a Caribbean slant). And we jigged along..
At the interval, some headed for the toilets, we of stronger bladders headed for the (busy) bar. Where we discussed previous Man with the Hat events - there've been quite a few to choose from, lately. Fortified, we headed upstairs again..
I was delighted with the opening number of the second half - Troika has always been one of my favourite pieces. We had another choral number, and Zoe Wanamaker read the final chapter of A Christmas Carol. Finally, the excellent Joe Stilgoe band performed some numbers, then led us in an extended version of Let It Snow. And after some speechifying, we got to sing Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.. and all trooped out feeling Christmassy!
Downstairs, the Man with the Hat directed us to the Royal Court - specifically to the downstairs bar - where we managed to grab a couple of tables at the sofa, right at the back. Drinks were cheaper than in Cadogan Hall, and we had a good time till leaving time. Some of the group I won't see again before Christmas, some I will.. anyway, always good to see 'em.
I see this Christmas lights thing is contagious - that one lit-up flat I snapped previously has evidently spread!
I'm back to Ireland tomorrow for the weekend.. Back in London on Monday for my last week before Christmas, and it won't
even be a full week.. on Monday, Crick Crack is doing something a bit different. They're at Soho Theatre, with The Remarkable Tale of Robert Desnos. This, apparently, was a surrealist poet incarcerated in Auschwitz - unusual fare for Crick Crack. One of the speakers is Clare Muireann Murphy - my favourite storyteller, and I'll be fascinated to see what she does with it.
On Tuesday, my last event of the year with the Man with the Hat (sniff!.. unless he surprises us) will be on a trip to the West End. He's scored tickets in the front two rows of the stalls for Dead Funny, at the Vaudeville Theatre, for Let's Do London - for less! Ooh now..
And on Wednesday, my very last thing before I fly back to Ireland for Christmas was supposed to be a presentation on data collection apps, courtesy of Org London. Anyway, Helen is coming to town, and when I saw Christmas in Clerkenwell - a Guided Walk for Shelter, with London Social Detours, I ran it by her, and we're going on that instead.. And then I fly back to Ireland on Thursday of next week, for Christmas..
Then things shall get very quiet for Christmas.
I fly back to London on Monday 2 January - still no word on what I'll
be doing after that. But hey, I have one more defnite paycheck to come in, which will cover my rent for January, and I have quite a few things booked. On Tuesday 3rd, I have my trusty placeholder of Free Comedy in Hammersmith - gee, it's been a while now since I actually went to one of those! Anyway, assuming I show up, I'm booked with Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, London Art Comedy & Culture Lovers, London Live Comedy, Random London, and London for a Tenner or Less and Funzing UK (both Funzing groups, and both advertising the thing twice). My, that's a lot to cancel, if I do..
On Thursday 4 January, yes, I'm back with the Man with the Hat (no, not Santa Claus) - Let's Do London - for less! is off on their annual festive trip to The Nutcracker (ahh!) at the Opera House. Sold out performance, I see. See now, even if I'm jobless, that's worth flying in for.
And on Friday 5 January, I'm (nominally)
back in Hammersmith - this time, only with London Live Comedy, Free
Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, Funzing UK. and
London for a Tenner or Less. Once only with each!
Ah, last Top Secret of the year.. wouldn't be seen anywhere else tonight! Not with London for Less Than a Tenner going.. First, though, I had an interview to attend. A massive one, which took most of the afternoon. Mary had the day off, had spent it shopping, and agreed to meet me near the venue - when I finally got out, she texted me to say she was in the Pret down the road. Funnily enough, as I walked in the door, she texted me to say where she was.. and after a quick run-down of how the day had gone, I really needed the loo. Not that they hadn't offered at the office, but frankly I just wanted out of there. At Pret it turned out to be downstairs, and needed a code - or you could do as I did, and just wait for someone to come out and hold the door for you.
Well, I needed food, and more than they have in Pret. I suggested Chinese - it's been so long, and we were so close to Chinatown, it seemed a shame not to.. and once there, I suggested New Loon Fung. Love their lemon chicken, and when Mary was assured they had a decent range of vegetarian options, we were in. A bottle of wine between us, which - naturally - was used to refill our glasses as soon as they showed signs of emptiness. Starters, mains - we were stuffed. Happily.
They were a bit slow in bringing the bill.. and it didn't help that we turned the wrong way out of there. What the hey, we made it to Top Secret eventually.. pity the first act (Danny Ward) was already underway. We took a little extra time to swing by the bar, which was gloriously queue-free. And found a couple of decent side seats to watch the show.
He was good.. comments about audience members coming and going, and to finish, a little bag of tricks, extracted from his serious-looking briefcase.. which turned out to be full of curious-looking implements he found in Lidl. And after him, over the course of the night, we had the familiar (the mc with the old jokes, and the excellent Radu Isac and Bobby Mair), and the unfamiliar - Gabriel Ebulue and a couple of musicial comedians, beginning with Faye Treacy, who played the trombone - and the squash.. Robert White finished the night on a keyboard, and had an enthusiastic young lady in a Santa costume pay him just a bit too much attention, until she was politely escorted off. There was only one I didn't get the name of, although I have seen him before.. well, he was excellent. Whoever he was. Good lineup, all in all.
Outside afterwards, we were instructed to assemble across the road - couldn't be having crowds gathering outside the club. So fair enough, and when we'd gathered all we seemed likely to, we made our short way up the road to the White Hart. And the Man with the Hat used his coat - rather than Hat - to secure us a table, up the back. And there we passed a convivial time..
In the final part of a triple bill (!), the Man with the Hat has just announced a new event for Let's Do London - for less! There I was with nothing definite organised for tomorrow, and up he and his Hat pop with a Christmas concert at Cadogan Hall. With famous people in it, such as Aled Jones, who's hosting, and Dame Penelope Wilton, who's doing a reading. Now, that'll be nice, especially as he's going to something there in Christmas week, which I'll miss. I don't suppose the red hat with the pom-pom will make a reappearance for this..
I'm back to Ireland on Friday for the weekend, as it happens.. Back in London on Monday for my last week before Christmas, and it won't
even be a full week.. on Monday, Crick Crack is doing something a bit different. They're at Soho Theatre, with The Remarkable Tale of Robert Desnos. This, apparently, was a surrealist poet incarcerated in Auschwitz - unusual fare for Crick Crack. One of the speakers is Clare Muireann Murphy - my favourite storyteller, and I'll be fascinated to see what she does with it.
On Tuesday, my last event of the year with the Man with the Hat (sniff!.. unless he surprises us) will be on a trip to the West End. He's scored tickets in the front two rows of the stalls for Dead Funny, at the Vaudeville Theatre, for Let's Do London - for less! Ooh now..
And on Wednesday, my very last thing before I fly back to Ireland for Christmas? Umm, a presentation on data collection apps, courtesy of Org London. Eh, unless I don't. Well, it just doesn't sound very Christmassy, now does it?! Helen is coming to town, so we'll see.. And then I fly back to Ireland on Thursday of next week..
Then things shall get very quiet for Christmas.
I fly back to London on Monday 2 January - still no word on what I'll
be doing after that. But hey, I have one more defnite paycheck to come in, which will cover my rent for January, and I have quite a few things booked. On Tuesday 3rd, I have my trusty placeholder of Free Comedy in Hammersmith - gee, it's been a while now since I actually went to one of those! Anyway, assuming I show up, I'm booked with Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, London Art Comedy & Culture Lovers, London Live Comedy, Random London, and London for a Tenner or Less and Funzing UK (both Funzing groups, and both advertising the thing twice). My, that's a lot to cancel, if I do..
On Thursday 4 January, yes, I'm back with the Man with the Hat (no, not Santa Claus) - Let's Do London - for less! is off on their annual festive trip to The Nutcracker (ahh!) at the Opera House. Sold out performance, I see. See now, even if I'm jobless, that's worth flying in for.
And on Friday 5 January, I'm (nominally)
back in Hammersmith - this time, only with London Live Comedy, Free
Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, Funzing UK. and
London for a Tenner or Less. Once only with each!
Well here we go, the first of a hat-trick of Man with the Hat events. To paraphrase Mary. Tonight, Let's Do London - for less! were off to a completely new venue - a pop-up theatre called Found111 - to see a production of Fool for Love. An overflow from the Soho Theatre, basically, which needed, and found, a space..
Well, Google Maps succeeded in finding it, and I determined the buses to get, leaving in plenty of time - as usual, the quickest route was a bus to Victoria, then another from there. As usual, again, the journey to Victoria wasn't the problem - and I hardly had to wait for the connecting bus. No, it was the journey from Victoria into town that took the time - but I had plenty of it, and didn't worry.
Alighting at the Denmark Street stop, Google Maps told me to walk ahead, so I kept my eyes open - and there it was:
Yep, "Found", all right! Also closed - but I was quite early. Being just up from Foyles bookshop, I mooched around there for a while until I figured that Found would be open - almost bought something, then didn't, in the end.
By the time I returned, yes it was open, bouncer on the door, and a long passageway ahead, at the end of which was a desk. And I could just see the peak of a Hat, around the corner - sure enough, there he was, with a great big wad of tickets. Got mine, then left to follow someone else upstairs, as the Man with the Hat dealt with yet another of his flock, who'd come in just behind me.
O Lordy, I had no idea how many stairs were ahead of me! Nor have I any idea how long it's been since I climbed so many. Someone later remarked that it was great exercise - eh, yes, I suppose so. I eventually passed the ladies' toilets - then the gents', on the next floor up - then a sign saying "almost there".. and finally met a person, standing on the side, who informed me that the bar was through here. O phew.
The stairs surround a lift shaft, but discussing it afterwards, we weren't sure whether there was an actual lift. Or how you'd get upstairs if you had mobility problems. Well hey, we made it, and settled ourselves comfortably in a corner of the bar. Drinks - including a rather decent house white - were served in an eclectic mix of containers: the regular wine in a tumbler, the mulled wine in enamel mugs, lager in pewter tankards. I think, if you wanted a small wine, you could have got it in a cocktail glass.. someone having lager complained of the metallic taste from the tankard, but otherwise we were enamoured of our unusual vessels.
When showtime rolled around, someone came through the bar to tell everyone - I could've gone for another drink, but passed, on the basis that, in this building, I might require hand-eye coordination to go the final distance. Sure enough - we were headed upstairs again..
Not as far this time. Seating was assigned, and I was directed straight across to my seat at the front of the stage. Which meant crossing the stage, which for some reason was covered in dirt - maybe the floor surface was bad. Maybe it just provided a soft landing for the various bits of the play where people end up on the floor. Anyway, the seating was as eclectic as the drinking vessels, a motley assortment of chairs, some with cushions, some upholstered. Me, I sat on my coat - the show was only just over an hour long anyway.
Right - I throw my hands up and admit it - before this, I had never, ever heard of the McGann brothers. The oldest, Joe, is in this, you see - and indeed, was drinking with the cast, very near us in the bar, afterwards. I caused consternation with my lack of knowledge - but really, looking up his career, it seems to have been on stage, and on tv programmes I've never watched (or hardly), most of which I've never heard of. So there! Definitely never heard of him, or his brothers.
Luke Neal also stars - sorry, never seen him in anything either, although he has been in some films, it transpires. No, the only one I should remember is Lydia Wilson, whom I've seen in a few things.
Not that it matters a damn - the acting was excellent all round. In short (and it is a short play, so in order not to give too much away, I can't really give many specifics).. it hits with a hammer-blow. It's so intense that it couldn't be much longer - an hour is plenty, with all the emotion that they fit in. Indeed, many people remarked at all the door-banging that they did.. me, I worried they'd bring the set down. The play opens with a couple in a motel room - well, they used to be a couple, and frankly, both come across as pretty demented. Arguments ensue - and who is the older man that keeps hanging around the edge of the stage?
This is the second Sam Shepard play I've seen recently, the other being Buried Child, currently showing in Trafalgar Studios - sometimes both are considered part of the same series. Certainly, you could make that argument for these two plays, which both deal wth the breakdown of the traditional family, and the consequences of hiding dark secrets. Oh, and people that I was with came out of both a bit confused.. but I think this play demonstrates more clearly than Buried Child, perhaps, that it ain't about the plot, it's about the emotions, and motivations. Anyway, Fool for Love is highly recommended, especially if you like a bit of high drama. Plays until Saturday. And a notice on the way in warns you that there are flashing lights - and a lasso..
Back down to the bar, a floor or so below, afterwards, and we occupied a corner for some time after everyone else had left. Mind you, we only did order one drink (each) - I was lucky to get in first, it took the others several minutes to get served, what with only one barman. And people ordering cocktails, which take longer. After the initial rush though, it was quiet as the grave at the bar, which closed early. And so home, via Waterloo, with Mary.
Nice to see some people taking their Christmas decorations seriously..
Tomorrow sees London for Less Than a Tenner on what will probably be their final trip of the year to Top Secret. Back to two shows, which is nice - especially for £1. And Nick Dixon is slated to appear - yay! I guess I count as a "night owl" (see event description). Well hey, can't disappoint my fans.. ;-) Anyway, the interview I've been waiting for - in Piccadilly - has finally been scheduled for tomorrow afternoon! Probably won't want to go home after, considering that Google Maps thinks the walk from there to Top Secret should take about seven minutes. It turns out that Mary has the day off, and is planning to be in town, shopping - we have a rough plan to meet after the interview, and I've talked her into going to Top Secret, too. Shopping bags n all..! Let's hope I have something to celebrate.. I doubt I'll hear the final decision tomorrow, but I'll be celebrating if it goes well..
In the final part of a triple bill (!), the Man with the Hat has just announced a new event for Let's Do London - for less! There I was with nothing definite organised for Thursday, and up he and his Hat pop with a Christmas concert at Cadogan Hall. With famous people in it, such as Aled Jones, who's hosting, and Dame Penelope Wilton, who's doing a reading. Now, that'll be nice, especially as he's going to something there in Christmas week, which I'll miss. I don't suppose the red hat with the pom-pom will make a reappearance for this..
I'm back to Ireland on Friday for the weekend, as it happens.. Back in London on Monday for my last week before Christmas, and it won't
even be a full week.. on Monday, Crick Crack is doing something a bit different. They're at Soho Theatre, with The Remarkable Tale of Robert Desnos. This, apparently, was a surrealist poet incarcerated in Auschwitz - unusual fare for Crick Crack. One of the speakers is Clare Muireann Murphy - my favourite storyteller, and I'll be fascinated to see what she does with it.
On Tuesday, my last event of the year with the Man with the Hat (sniff!.. unless he surprises us) will be on a trip to the West End. He's scored tickets in the front two rows of the stalls for Dead Funny, at the Vaudeville Theatre, for Let's Do London - for less! Ooh now..
And on Wednesday of next week, my very last thing before I fly back to Ireland for Christmas? Umm, a presentation on data collection apps, courtesy of Org London. Eh, unless I don't. Well, it just doesn't sound very Christmassy, now does it?! And then I fly back to Ireland on Thursday of next week..
Then things shall get very quiet for Christmas.
I fly back to London on Monday 2 January - still no word on what I'll
be doing after that. But hey, I have one more defnite paycheck to come in, which will cover my rent for January, and I have quite a few things booked. On Tuesday 3rd, I have my trusty placeholder of Free Comedy in Hammersmith - gee, it's been a while now since I actually went to one of those! Anyway, assuming I show up, I'm booked with Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, London Art Comedy & Culture Lovers, London Live Comedy, Random London, and London for a Tenner or Less and Funzing UK (both Funzing groups, and both advertising the thing twice). My, that's a lot to cancel, if I do..
On Thursday 4 January, yes, I'm back with the Man with the Hat (no, not Santa Claus) - Let's Do London - for less! is off on their annual festive trip to The Nutcracker (ahh!) at the Opera House. Sold out performance, I see. See now, even if I'm jobless, that's worth flying in for.
And on Friday 5 January, I'm (nominally)
back in Hammersmith - this time, only with London Live Comedy, Free
Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, Funzing UK. and
London for a Tenner or Less. Once only with each!
Ah, at last I got to see Dear Zindagi. Well, it was about time - it's been buzzing around at the top of my film list for a while now. Closest venue was the Vue Shepherd's Bush, but it wasn't booking out, so I didn't book.
And I determined to go to the matinee - because, being on Gardening leave, I can. And I did get up in time - took the Overground up there; you never know, sometimes they don't charge more than the bus, and it's certainly quicker. Plus, I didn't have to research my route - been up there by Overground several times. I didn't actually make the train I wanted to - they're only every 15 minutes - but I knew there'd be ads beforehand anyway, so it didn't matter much.
The place was pretty deserted, on a Monday lunchtime. He didn't ask me what seat I wanted, just gave me a ticket, and then there was no-one to check it. Anyway, I could see my screen, and made my way down there. To an empty cinema. Gee, it's so many years since I had a private screening! My ticket was about halfway up, but there was no way I was climbing all those stairs with no handrail - I ended up in the second row, which was a bit closer than I'd have liked, but any further and I'd have been afraid to come down. What the hey, I was fine.
Dear Zindagi has the same writer/director - Gauri Shinde - as English Vinglish, which was an absolutely charming film. A very good recommendation. Also stars the eminently watchable Alia Bhatt, whom I last saw in Udta Punjab, as a street urchin forced into prostitution. Well, she has an easier time of it in this - she's a successful career woman, with one major problem: men. She works in the film industry, where she finds herself surrounded by a bevy of beautiful young men - but, despite (perhaps partly because of) her family's wish to see her settled, she can't seem to commit to anyone.
I went into this expecting a rom-com.. I blame the trailer. And in anyone else's hands - Hollywood, for instance - that's exactly what I'd have got. However, what I did get was something entirely different, where Gauri Shinde uses a hint of romance to tell us a completely different story altogether. Just like English Vinglish, which isn't really a romantic love story at all. Incidentally, I spent the entire film wondering who "Zindagi" was - turns out it's the Urdu for "life", and pronounced zin-da-GEE. So the film is about our heroine working out her life issues. And the title also references the fact that, because of something traumatic in her childhood, she has repressed her emotions ever since - for example, she hasn't written letters. So, she's now writing a letter to life. A love letter, if you like.
Again, if Hollywood got a hold of that idea (and they yet might!), it'd end up realy schmaltzy. This film, however - just like English Vinglish - is absolutely charming, and disarming.. Apart from a general lack of car chases and sex, I defy anyone to find anything they don't like about it. An appealing lead actress, gorgeous men to ogle, an inspiring story, some worthwhile life lessons - and that ever-present feature of Indian films, the family, which isn't swept to the side, but is appreciated, warts and all. I love that about Indian film. And, to be honest, I didn't give this film enough credit - I loved it too, and am so glad I got to see it. Kudos to the film list that sometimes forces me to things I'd never otherwise see.. it's come up trumps again.
On to Westfield afterwards for some shopping:
Got some things done, then home to eat that stuff in the fridge that would've gone off otherwise.
And that's an end to making my own entertainment. Tomorrow, the Man with the Hat is taking Let's Do London - for less! to a new venue: new to the West End as well as to us. We're off to the Found111 Theatre to see Fool for Love. And bless, he'll have seen the performance by then, he says, so while we're enjoying ourselves, he'll be checking out local bars - tricky to find a place at this time of year. Now there's dedication.
Wednesday sees London for Less Than a Tenner on what will probably be their final trip of the year to Top Secret. Back to two shows, which is nice - especially for £1. And Nick Dixon is slated to appear - yay! I guess I count as a "night owl" (see event description). Well hey, can't disappoint my fans.. ;-)
In the final part of a triple bill (!), the Man with the Hat has just announced a new event for Let's Do London - for less! There I was with nothing definite organised for Thursday, and up he and his Hat pop with a Christmas concert at Cadogan Hall. With famous people in it, such as Aled Jones, who's hosting, and Dame Penelope Wilton, who's doing a reading. Now, that'll be nice, especially as he's going to something there in Christmas week, which I'll miss. I don't suppose the red hat with the pom-pom will make a reappearance for this..
I'm back to Ireland on Friday for the weekend, as it happens.. and strictly instructed not to book anything for Saturday so we can go take the poodle for her Christmas trim. See, I could fit in both, but my mother finds multi-tasking like that to be stressful. What the hey, there isn't much on anyway. Back in London on Monday for my last week before Christmas, and it won't even be a full week.. on Monday, Crick Crack is doing something a bit different. They're at Soho Theatre, with The Remarkable Tale of Robert Desnos. This, apparently, was a surrealist poet incarcerated in Auschwitz - unusual fare for Crick Crack. One of the speakers is Clare Muireann Murphy - my favourite storyteller, and I'll be fascinated to see what she does with it.
On Tuesday, my last event of the year with the Man with the Hat (sniff!.. unless he surprises us) will be on a trip to the West End. He's scored tickets in the front two rows of the stalls for Dead Funny, at the Vaudeville Theatre, for Let's Do London - for less! Ooh now..
And on Wednesday of next week, my very last thing before I fly back to Ireland for Christmas? Umm, a presentation on data collection apps, courtesy of Org London. Eh, unless I don't. Well, it just doesn't sound very Christmassy, now does it?! And then I fly back to Ireland on Thursday of next week..
Then things shall get very quiet for Christmas. I fly back to London on Monday 2 January - still no word on what I'll be doing after that. But hey, I have one more defnite paycheck to come in, which will cover my rent for January, and I have quite a few things booked. On Tuesday 3rd, I have my trusty placeholder of Free Comedy in Hammersmith - gee, it's been a while now since I actually went to one of those! Anyway, assuming I show up, I'm booked with Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, London Art Comedy & Culture Lovers, London Live Comedy, Random London, and London for a Tenner or Less and Funzing UK (both Funzing groups, and both advertising the thing twice). My, that's a lot to cancel, if I do..
On Thursday 4 January, yes, I'm back with the Man with the Hat (no, not Santa Claus) - Let's Do London - for less! is off on their annual festive trip to The Nutcracker (ahh!) at the Opera House. Sold out performance, I see. See now, even if I'm jobless, that's worth flying in for.
And on Friday 5 January, I'm (nominally) back in Hammersmith - this time, only with London Live Comedy, Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith Wimbledon and Farringdon, Funzing UK. and London for a Tenner or Less. Once only wiith each!
I've had the Kalevala booked for over a month - the second Crick Crack event I came across at the British Museum, although I ran into trouble with the first, which I thought I'd booked and then couldn't find the confirmation for. And now it was sold out - had been for weeks, as they tend to. Rang the museum to see whether they could find my booking - Lordy, they couldn't find their way out of a paper bag with holes in it. Couldn't even find my booking for the Kalevala, which I knew I had, because I'd found that confirmation while I was looking for the other..
Well, this time I was reassured at having found the confirmation already. Still relieved when I found it again for today, and printed it out. My route to the British Museum by bus would take an hour - and with the show on at 3, I should have had time. Of course, somehow, it didn't quite work out that way, and I ended up taking a train to Waterloo, and a bus from there. As so often happens, I might have had a choice of buses, but was saved from having to make a choice when the #68 arrived, which was on my original itinerary.
Not far from where it dropped me to the museum - I see they have a marquee set up now, for bag checks. The queue wasn't too long, and when they saw how small my bag was, I was waved straight through. And so I eventually made it through to the sunny atrium, where I completely failed to find the BP Lecture Theatre - had to ask. Turns out THAT's where those steps down lead, over at the corner.. Nice, bright area down there too.
Now, for this, I signed up with the Crick Crack Club, as usual - but was delighted when I saw that the London European Club were going too. And they weren't hard to find - although the organiser had said we'd meet at the interval and afterwards, well hey, there he was at the entrance with his Meetup sign anyway! And when the people processing us found out I had printed out my confirmation, they waved me straight through and I could go say hi.
We chatted a bit, then went in - a nice theatre, and in a nice touch, candles lined the steps we took down to the seats. Afterwards, I noticed they were artificial - but quite realistic, a small bulb for light and a fake flame that flickered easily with every breeze. And the stage promised something interesting:
Of course, with Nick Hennessey on stage, there'll always be music. And he duly came on, dressed in black, like the host, Ben Haggerty. And thus a couple of hours flew by, with Nick weaving magic with his words and music. This is, apparently, the national epic of Finland, and he asked at the start whether there were Finns in the audience - yes, a few. I wondered what they thought of it - I guess they approved, given that this man won a competition, in Finland, to recite this song-poem.
This sort of falls into the category - to those who understand, no explanation is necessary; to those who do not, no explanation is possible. It's rather hard to describe the experience to someone who hasn't experienced it in person. Hard to describe the chill down your spine when he plays the harp, the shiver when he uses the singing bowl. The childlike anticipation of the audience, as we waited for the next part of the story. And a silent moon on the screen above, overlooking it all. I was speaking to a couple of people afterwards to whom it was a revelation - and I do keep saying to people, you really don't know what this is like until you give it a go. It's hypnotic.. it's addictive. It's music for the soul. And we could have listened forever..
At the interval, we fairly leapt on the cds for sale - a couple of us bought the Fire in the North Sky cd, which was the closest we could get to what we were actually listening to. And were musing over the others when we were finally summoned for the second half - Ben Haggerty, blowing on an enormous, curved horn. It was worth staying to the last minute, just to be summoned like that..
At the end, they distributed feedback forms, but of course - as usual - I had no pen. Anyway, our group kind of dispersed, but some of us did mosey down the road to The Swan. Where they had gone to town on the Christmas decorations - fake snow on the windows, and quite a few decorations on the bar:
I was hungry enough to have a main meal, as were a couple more - and another got jealous when she saw us, and ordered chips. My hunter chicken I can recommend, and the house wine is tasty too. And so into the night, which was colder than lately. Advantage of heading by bus - pretty much wherever we were, I could catch a bus nearby. Indeed, I only had to walk a few yards to a bus stop where any old bus at all would take me to Aldwych, and the very stop from which I could catch an 87 home. And all for the princely sum of £1.50, with a Hopper fare. All hail the mayor!
Well, film again tomorrow.. and again, The Mountain II is top of the list. But only showing in Odeon Lee Valley, and not inspiring enough to get me all the way out there. Which leaves Dear Zindagi, an Indian rom-com, at the top of the list. Same director as English Vinglish, which is a good recommendation. Closest place it's showing is Vue Shepherds Bush, and it's worth seeing if only to get it off the list!! And you know what? Being on gardening leave, I think I'll go to a matinee. Might even get some more Christmas shopping done, Westfield being just across the road.
The next two days see another Man with the Hat double bill! Tuesday, Let's Do London - for less! are off to a new venue: new to the West End as well as to us. We're off to the Found111 Theatre to see Fool for Love.
And Wednesday sees London for Less Than a Tenner on what will probably be their final trip of the year to Top Secret. Back to two shows, which is nice - especially for £1. And Nick Dixon is slated to appear - yay! I guess I count as a "night owl" (see event description). Well hey, can't disappoint my fans.. ;-)
