Today was film, and top of the list came Free Solo, a documentary about Alex Honnold, who likes to go mountaineering. On his own (but on this occasion, with a film crew). With no safety equipment. Yeah. The trailer has incredible cinematography. Happily, it's on closer than the last film I saw - this one is in Picturehouse Central. Which, ironically, I was staring at as I waited for a bus last night. They have three showings daily, but with a late meeting I had to go to the last one - and funnily enough, it was the latest of the week, with the last showing getting progressively earlier as the week goes on. Figures. At least being the last of the day meant I got to see it in the big screen!
So, I stayed late in the office - and what with work, and the distractions of the nonsense at Westminster, whose news was breaking as I passed time waiting to leave, I cut it a bit fine for the cinema. Of course, it doesn't matter so much with mainstream films, which have ads beforehand. Still, I was glad to make the bus that Google Maps informed me would get me there in time - which I only did because a young lady ran across the road to catch it and held it up! bless her. I was certainly in no fit state to run for it - ah well, I guess fitness comes slowly as winter passes. Eventually.
I bought my ticket at the cinema - there was certainly no rush on them - and only had to go up to the first floor of screens, as it was in Screen 1. Which is pretty massive. I've been here before, but it's been a while - I'd forgotten they have pullman seats! V nice. I had a reserved seat, but preferred to go in the row behind - and with so few there, no-one was arguing. Shortly after I took my seat, the trailers began, and after 20 minutes of those, we were into the main feature.
I'll cut to the chase. This is the scariest, most exhilarating, best-shot film I've seen in I don't know how long. Yes, the cinematography is phenomenal - shots are taken that point straight up the sheer, vertical, 3000ft wall of El Capitan, which he free solo-ed for the film (and was the first ever to do it). Impressive indeed - but not as arresting as the shots that point straight down. I've seen a few promotional films for it on YouTube, where they explain that they got cameramen who were also climbers - so yes, they positioned themselves on the narrowest of ledges, hung themselves from ropes to get the shots. Used drone shots too. Mind you, he was rather disturbed - not at the thought of falling to his death so much as at the thought of doing it in front of other people: so for the actual, final ascent, they put remote cameras in places they'd chosen in advance, so he was at a bit of a remove.
May I reiterate that he had no safety equipment? So, no ropes. He climbed up like Spiderman, his only aid a pouch of chalk that he carried on his belt, using it on his hands periodically to increase his grip. Typically, when you see someone in this position in a film, they're about to fall to their death! The different parts of the climb are explained to us, along with their attendant difficulties - particularly disturbing is the coverage of one sheer rock wall that is described as being like glass, with no real footholds or handholds. He seemed to wear special, flexible shoes for the climb, which I guess was as close as he could come to going barefoot, while protecting the skin on his feet. As he describes it, you just look for "dimples" in the rock, tiny changes in the surface - that's your foothold or handhold. He'd climbed this several times with ropes, so he did at least know the surface.
I can't do the film any more justice, so I'll just say that the coverage of the climb is phenomenal. It's also fun to see the guys watching from the ground with long-distance lenses - one an experienced free-soloer, who eventually couldn't watch any more, the suspense was so great! We in the audience agreed - every single one of us was swearing by the end, and personally I could barely watch some sequences. Real peep-through-the-fingers stuff. I also gripped my armrests a lot..
We get a lot of footage about people who have died doing this, and who were known to Alex. And lo, he has a girlfriend! who's not mad about his pastime. We get a little about his parents, his father who's passed away, and whom he thinks would have encouraged him, and his mother, who seems to have been the catalyst for his drive to succeed. Prepare for some brutally honest interviews here. (Nothing mentioned about the sister we can see in photographs.) He also runs a non-profit, the Honnold Foundation, which promotes solar energy in the developing world. It does make for a well balanced film - not everything takes place on the side of a mountain. Really, I can't recommend this highly enough - it's a terrible shame it doesn't seem to be attracting more attention.
Was lucky with buses on the way back, with hardly any waiting time. And tomorrow, back with Let's Do This for the first time this year, as we head to a Georgian restaurant for dinner. Georgia, the country..
Tuesday, 15 January 2019
Monday, 14 January 2019
Plays: The Room, Victoria Station, & Family Voices
This evening, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Pinter at the Pinter again! This was Programme 5 - The Room / Victoria Station / Family Voices. And this evening included a free Q+A with the cast. I had fun trying to find my ticket confirmation, forgetting I'd booked it with WhatsOnStage - I've had this seat before, as I realised when I checked the Seatplan review and found out it was my own review! So I knew from experience that the pillar I'd be sat right behind wouldn't impede my view too much. (Talking about that this evening reminded me that Seatplan owe me a couple of theatre tokens that are overdue - I've contacted them to see what the story is.) No late meetings to delay me - but after a chaotic day at work, I was just a bit exhausted. Still, I rallied somewhat as I left - gladly!
I was lucky with my buses outbound, which made very good time - when I had to change buses, I had a choice of going through Cambridge Circus via Shaftesbury Avenue or Charing Cross Road, and very sensibly chose the latter; Shaftesbury Avenue is dreadful for traffic. My ticket was available for collection at a desk at the entrance, just like everyone else's, and I was in at the same time as someone I know quite well from the group. We've worked out by now that it's much more sensible to meet in the Royal Circle Bar - the lobby of the Harold Pinter Theatre is much too cramped and busy. Mind you, with a large group of us this evening, we took up most of the bar! And it was great to see everyone - my first time this year with this group. Unfortunately, with a dicky tummy for the last couple of days, I wasn't drinking..
Dress Circle, D6, if you're interested. Now. I know that pillar looks intrusive, but it's really not - the action is so sparse in Pinter plays anyway, with few props and fewer actors, that you're never in danger of missing much. The American-sounding lady beside me remarked to me that my seat had a terrible view - but as I pointed out to her, it's an aisle seat, so you can happily lean! Which worked very well tonight, with most of the action happening to the right of the pillar.
A short programme of three plays. The first, The Room, occupied the whole first act, and suitably baffled the whole audience. I believe that's the intention. A couple occupy a dingy room - she (Jane Horrocks) fusses around him (Rupert Graves), he's taciturn (at least in the beginning) - to the point of rudeness. They're disturbed by a variety of odd encounters with people who come in from outside. We discussed our confusion at the interval.
We had better luck with the second two. Victoria Station is a hilarious dialogue between a taxi dispatcher, desperate to find a driver to take a fare at Victoria Station, and the clueless cabbie who's the only one on the line, but - doesn't seem to have heard of it! And the last of the night is Family Voices, where a disconnected family try to communicate with each other, apparently by letter. I guess the common theme with these two was the failure to communicate.
Afterwards, we scuttled down to the stalls for the Q+A, and to feel what it's like to sit in the posh seats. Doesn't happen much.
Three cast members - Jane Horrocks, Luke Thallon, and Colin McFarlane - joined us, as well as the director. And we were party to a fun chat about what it was like to rehearse and act Pinter, and indeed Colin had worked with him personally. The director spoke briefly about the choice of plays, which were chosen to be staged together, and which directors wanted to do which ones. Over the whole Q+A though, they refused to speculate on the interpretation of The Room. Frustratingly, the Wikipedia article doesn't have an interpretation either! but if you're curious, I did find an academic paper that suggests it's a result of Pinter growing up Jewish during the Second World War, and the paranoia that that engrained in him, the suspicion of outsiders - this was his first play.
Regardless, we had fun. Programme 5 runs till the 26th. Looking forward to the next outing! Unfortunately, I wasn't quite so lucky with my buses back, having quite a long wait for both - lucky it's not as cold tonight as it has been recently.
Right then. Tomorrow is looking like film, and top of the list is Free Solo, a documentary about a chap that likes to go mountaineering. On his own (but on this occasion, with a film crew). With no safety equipment. Yeah. By the look of the trailer, the cinematography is incredible. Happily, it's on closer than the last film I saw - this one is in Picturehouse Central. Which, ironically, I was staring at as I waited for a bus this evening. They have three showings daily, but with a late meeting I'll have to go to the last one - and funnily enough, it's the latest of the week, with the last showing getting progressively earlier as the week goes on. Figures. At least being the last of the day means I get to see it in the big screen, so it should be visually amazing!
And on Wednesday, back with Let's Do This for the first time this year, as we head to a Georgian restaurant for dinner. Georgia, the country..
I was lucky with my buses outbound, which made very good time - when I had to change buses, I had a choice of going through Cambridge Circus via Shaftesbury Avenue or Charing Cross Road, and very sensibly chose the latter; Shaftesbury Avenue is dreadful for traffic. My ticket was available for collection at a desk at the entrance, just like everyone else's, and I was in at the same time as someone I know quite well from the group. We've worked out by now that it's much more sensible to meet in the Royal Circle Bar - the lobby of the Harold Pinter Theatre is much too cramped and busy. Mind you, with a large group of us this evening, we took up most of the bar! And it was great to see everyone - my first time this year with this group. Unfortunately, with a dicky tummy for the last couple of days, I wasn't drinking..
Dress Circle, D6, if you're interested. Now. I know that pillar looks intrusive, but it's really not - the action is so sparse in Pinter plays anyway, with few props and fewer actors, that you're never in danger of missing much. The American-sounding lady beside me remarked to me that my seat had a terrible view - but as I pointed out to her, it's an aisle seat, so you can happily lean! Which worked very well tonight, with most of the action happening to the right of the pillar.
A short programme of three plays. The first, The Room, occupied the whole first act, and suitably baffled the whole audience. I believe that's the intention. A couple occupy a dingy room - she (Jane Horrocks) fusses around him (Rupert Graves), he's taciturn (at least in the beginning) - to the point of rudeness. They're disturbed by a variety of odd encounters with people who come in from outside. We discussed our confusion at the interval.
We had better luck with the second two. Victoria Station is a hilarious dialogue between a taxi dispatcher, desperate to find a driver to take a fare at Victoria Station, and the clueless cabbie who's the only one on the line, but - doesn't seem to have heard of it! And the last of the night is Family Voices, where a disconnected family try to communicate with each other, apparently by letter. I guess the common theme with these two was the failure to communicate.
Afterwards, we scuttled down to the stalls for the Q+A, and to feel what it's like to sit in the posh seats. Doesn't happen much.
Three cast members - Jane Horrocks, Luke Thallon, and Colin McFarlane - joined us, as well as the director. And we were party to a fun chat about what it was like to rehearse and act Pinter, and indeed Colin had worked with him personally. The director spoke briefly about the choice of plays, which were chosen to be staged together, and which directors wanted to do which ones. Over the whole Q+A though, they refused to speculate on the interpretation of The Room. Frustratingly, the Wikipedia article doesn't have an interpretation either! but if you're curious, I did find an academic paper that suggests it's a result of Pinter growing up Jewish during the Second World War, and the paranoia that that engrained in him, the suspicion of outsiders - this was his first play.
Regardless, we had fun. Programme 5 runs till the 26th. Looking forward to the next outing! Unfortunately, I wasn't quite so lucky with my buses back, having quite a long wait for both - lucky it's not as cold tonight as it has been recently.
Right then. Tomorrow is looking like film, and top of the list is Free Solo, a documentary about a chap that likes to go mountaineering. On his own (but on this occasion, with a film crew). With no safety equipment. Yeah. By the look of the trailer, the cinematography is incredible. Happily, it's on closer than the last film I saw - this one is in Picturehouse Central. Which, ironically, I was staring at as I waited for a bus this evening. They have three showings daily, but with a late meeting I'll have to go to the last one - and funnily enough, it's the latest of the week, with the last showing getting progressively earlier as the week goes on. Figures. At least being the last of the day means I get to see it in the big screen, so it should be visually amazing!
And on Wednesday, back with Let's Do This for the first time this year, as we head to a Georgian restaurant for dinner. Georgia, the country..
Thursday, 10 January 2019
Talk: Remakespoitation - The Horror Meme
Tonight, I was with a completely new group - London Sci-Fi Horror Hide-Out, for their first ever Meetup! Hem - this was Miskatonic LDN - Remakesploitation: The Horror Meme. (Tickets from WeGotTickets.) Fairly trips off the tongue, the whole thing! So it seems that Miskatonic LDN is actually an institute of horror studies, and based at the Horse Hospital. Well now. This specific event is about the many international horror film remakes through the years. Would you believe it though, it took a co-worker, t' other day, to let me know that "Miskatonic" is a Lovecraft reference! Well, it's years since I last read him.
I headed off in good time - on the bus, I was sat beside a couple having a conversation about relationships, so interesting that I really had to restrain myself from chipping in.. When I reached my destination, I passed the street with the Horse Hospital in it and had to backtrack slightly. There is a sign for it, but only visible as I was turning back! It wasn't hard to find after that - sure enough, the queue down the middle of the road was a good indicator. You see, as a sign on the door indicated, doors didn't open till 7. Uhh.. I couldn't see any messages on the Meetup page, and once I'd checked with the only people around that looked like they might be the ones I was looking for (which they weren't), I just left a message and took my place in the queue. And yes, it was cold.. at least once the car we were standing beside drove off, we could queue by the wall, out of the road finally!
At about 10 to, the door opened and we all looked expectantly at the guy who poked his head out. He turned to look at the queue, now stretching around the corner, remarked, "Oh f***!", and disappeared back inside, closing the door behind him. He didn't re-open it for another 20 minutes or so, when he was sporting a clipboard with a checklist of our names. Inside at last, we found not stairs down, but a ramp - for the horses, I guess! A queue at the bottom turned out to be for people who had signed up for a season ticket, and could collect them there. In the room proper, the seats were comfy enough - although the one I ended up taking had an unfortunately leaning back, so I ended up slouched forward for most of the evening, to compensate. By this stage, the room was too crowded to have any chance of finding the rest of the group - it was almost full.
On the left, a Turkish version of The Exorcist. As the speaker remarked, this was played quite straight, with Islam substituted for Christianity - the possessed little girl is holding a Satanic idol of some kind, which in the original film was substituted for the crucifix with which she stabbed herself. The exorcist in the film is an imam.
On the right, we see a still from a Pakistani version of Dracula. The Dracula part of the talk was actually my favourite - it was hilarious to see the different versions, some most comical - and there was a very interesting Powerpoint presentation illustrating the spread of the meme across the world.
At the interval, I checked my phone - and there were messages that had been posted before the talk, but hadn't come through by the time I turned off my phone! So it seems that one of the group spent his time waiting in the pub across the road, and the organiser was sporting a grey NASA rucksack. I had another look around, but couldn't see such a thing - and had little chance anyway, with the crowds queuing for the "bar" - a counter behind the screen, complete with a fridge and supplies of drink. It was proving very popular.
The second half concerned itself with Indian and Pakistani film - and the speaker expressed his astonishment that India, so well known for other remakes, was hardly known for horror! We saw a bit of Aatank, a version of Jaws, and also of the Indian version of A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Clips were shown throughout, of course - it's a shame that they kept freezing. The trailer that proclaimed the film so shocking that - they couldn't show any scenes from it - was hilarious! But I'm afraid the films themselves left me pretty cold - very much B-movies. Still, interesting to see what other cultures made of the Hollywood blockbusters. He has a book, by the way, which you can get from the speaker direct for £10..
As the talk progressed, I began to feel the desperate cold seep in from outside. I was frozen by the time I got up - and frozen walking all the way back to the bus stop. I was so lucky that my bus came almost straight away! Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. And on Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Pinter at the Pinter again! This is Programme 5 - The Room / Victoria Station / Family Voices. And this evening includes a free Q+A with the cast.
I headed off in good time - on the bus, I was sat beside a couple having a conversation about relationships, so interesting that I really had to restrain myself from chipping in.. When I reached my destination, I passed the street with the Horse Hospital in it and had to backtrack slightly. There is a sign for it, but only visible as I was turning back! It wasn't hard to find after that - sure enough, the queue down the middle of the road was a good indicator. You see, as a sign on the door indicated, doors didn't open till 7. Uhh.. I couldn't see any messages on the Meetup page, and once I'd checked with the only people around that looked like they might be the ones I was looking for (which they weren't), I just left a message and took my place in the queue. And yes, it was cold.. at least once the car we were standing beside drove off, we could queue by the wall, out of the road finally!
At about 10 to, the door opened and we all looked expectantly at the guy who poked his head out. He turned to look at the queue, now stretching around the corner, remarked, "Oh f***!", and disappeared back inside, closing the door behind him. He didn't re-open it for another 20 minutes or so, when he was sporting a clipboard with a checklist of our names. Inside at last, we found not stairs down, but a ramp - for the horses, I guess! A queue at the bottom turned out to be for people who had signed up for a season ticket, and could collect them there. In the room proper, the seats were comfy enough - although the one I ended up taking had an unfortunately leaning back, so I ended up slouched forward for most of the evening, to compensate. By this stage, the room was too crowded to have any chance of finding the rest of the group - it was almost full.
On the left, a Turkish version of The Exorcist. As the speaker remarked, this was played quite straight, with Islam substituted for Christianity - the possessed little girl is holding a Satanic idol of some kind, which in the original film was substituted for the crucifix with which she stabbed herself. The exorcist in the film is an imam.
On the right, we see a still from a Pakistani version of Dracula. The Dracula part of the talk was actually my favourite - it was hilarious to see the different versions, some most comical - and there was a very interesting Powerpoint presentation illustrating the spread of the meme across the world.
At the interval, I checked my phone - and there were messages that had been posted before the talk, but hadn't come through by the time I turned off my phone! So it seems that one of the group spent his time waiting in the pub across the road, and the organiser was sporting a grey NASA rucksack. I had another look around, but couldn't see such a thing - and had little chance anyway, with the crowds queuing for the "bar" - a counter behind the screen, complete with a fridge and supplies of drink. It was proving very popular.
The second half concerned itself with Indian and Pakistani film - and the speaker expressed his astonishment that India, so well known for other remakes, was hardly known for horror! We saw a bit of Aatank, a version of Jaws, and also of the Indian version of A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Clips were shown throughout, of course - it's a shame that they kept freezing. The trailer that proclaimed the film so shocking that - they couldn't show any scenes from it - was hilarious! But I'm afraid the films themselves left me pretty cold - very much B-movies. Still, interesting to see what other cultures made of the Hollywood blockbusters. He has a book, by the way, which you can get from the speaker direct for £10..
As the talk progressed, I began to feel the desperate cold seep in from outside. I was frozen by the time I got up - and frozen walking all the way back to the bus stop. I was so lucky that my bus came almost straight away! Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. And on Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Pinter at the Pinter again! This is Programme 5 - The Room / Victoria Station / Family Voices. And this evening includes a free Q+A with the cast.
Wednesday, 9 January 2019
Storytelling: Wise Ones Wild Ones
Tonight - back for the New Year with the Crick Crack Club! They're doing a new series on archetypes - tonight's was on Wise Ones Wild Ones, in Rich Mix. (Hallelujah, walking distance!) We were spoiled with the lineup - the night's storytellers were Ben Haggarty, Jan Blake, Daniel Morden - and Laura Sampson, who used (nominally) to run their now-defunct Meetup group. Never mind, for once the London European Club was going, under the stewardship of Henning! It'd be good to see some friendly faces there - and it's been ages since I saw these people! About time. And it'd be my first proper Meetup of the year.
I headed off a little late - there is always something to do - so when I arrived at the pre-arranged venue of Casa Blue, and couldn't see anyone I recognised, I wondered whether they'd already gone? Posted a message on the event page - and not long after that, in walked Henning! Turned out there were delays on the Central Line, which had held him up. Great to see him, anyway. We took a table near the back - as he said, one of the advantages of this venue is that it's never full, unlike the cafe at Rich Mix. Turned out one of our group was already at the bar, and another joined us there before we headed off - another few met us at Rich Mix, where some of us headed straight upstairs, it being in the studio tonight. A couple of us got a drink, and before long we were let in.
Seating, interestingly, included colour-coordinated beanbags at the front - as we agreed, perhaps not the comfiest! Instead, we headed for the regular, tiered seating - four chairs to the side were obviously for the performers. Martin Shaw was hanging around again - I do wonder whether he'll ever perform at one of these evenings again, or whether he's done for good. And you'll never guess - indeed, I hadn't even noticed until the lady beside me said as much, but TUUP was sitting just in front of us! He might not have been performing, but he was certainly engaged with the show, grunting his appreciation..
After that, they took turns, starting with Ben Haggarty - not completely in black, for once! but as theatrical and expressive as ever. All the stories included tales of old folk.. his set finished with a rousing version of Baba Yaga: as Henning remarked afterwards, the most humorous version he'd heard! (I never knew he was so into storytelling!) Jan Blake gave us two tales, the first of which she said had come from TUUP, and both of which were delivered in her matter-of-fact way with a flavour of hilarity. Daniel Morden gave his usual, deadpan performance.. the best soundbite story of the night for me was the young man asking the old how he came to make good decisions. "Life experience," was the answer. How did he get life experience? "Bad decisions," was the answer.. ;-) And Laura Sampson made a good debut, perhaps over-egging it on occasion, but settling into it more even by the time of her second story.
For the first time in my experience, they had a Q+A! About half the audience stayed for it, and most of the questions centred on archetypes in one way or another. Me, I just found it fascinating to hear people I've seen perform so often talking from the heart about how they do what they do! Delighted with the evening.. roll on the next! (Especially as it includes both Daniel Morden and TUUP - ooh, and Clare Murphy! my absolute favourite, and it's so long since I've seen her.)
What a deliciously short trip back. Tomorrow, I'm with a completely new group - London Sci-Fi Horror Hide-Out, for their first ever Meetup! Hem - this is Miskatonic LDN - Remakesploitation: The Horror Meme. Fairly trips off the tongue, the whole thing! So it seems that Miskatonic LDN is actually an institute of horror studies, and based at the Horse Hospital. Well now. This specific event is about the many international horror film remakes through the years. Would you believe it though, it took a co-worker, t' other day, to let me know that "Miskatonic" is a Lovecraft reference! Well, it's years since I last read him.
Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. And on Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Pinter at the Pinter again! This is Programme 5 - The Room / Victoria Station / Family Voices. And this evening includes a free Q+A with the cast.
I headed off a little late - there is always something to do - so when I arrived at the pre-arranged venue of Casa Blue, and couldn't see anyone I recognised, I wondered whether they'd already gone? Posted a message on the event page - and not long after that, in walked Henning! Turned out there were delays on the Central Line, which had held him up. Great to see him, anyway. We took a table near the back - as he said, one of the advantages of this venue is that it's never full, unlike the cafe at Rich Mix. Turned out one of our group was already at the bar, and another joined us there before we headed off - another few met us at Rich Mix, where some of us headed straight upstairs, it being in the studio tonight. A couple of us got a drink, and before long we were let in.
Seating, interestingly, included colour-coordinated beanbags at the front - as we agreed, perhaps not the comfiest! Instead, we headed for the regular, tiered seating - four chairs to the side were obviously for the performers. Martin Shaw was hanging around again - I do wonder whether he'll ever perform at one of these evenings again, or whether he's done for good. And you'll never guess - indeed, I hadn't even noticed until the lady beside me said as much, but TUUP was sitting just in front of us! He might not have been performing, but he was certainly engaged with the show, grunting his appreciation..
After that, they took turns, starting with Ben Haggarty - not completely in black, for once! but as theatrical and expressive as ever. All the stories included tales of old folk.. his set finished with a rousing version of Baba Yaga: as Henning remarked afterwards, the most humorous version he'd heard! (I never knew he was so into storytelling!) Jan Blake gave us two tales, the first of which she said had come from TUUP, and both of which were delivered in her matter-of-fact way with a flavour of hilarity. Daniel Morden gave his usual, deadpan performance.. the best soundbite story of the night for me was the young man asking the old how he came to make good decisions. "Life experience," was the answer. How did he get life experience? "Bad decisions," was the answer.. ;-) And Laura Sampson made a good debut, perhaps over-egging it on occasion, but settling into it more even by the time of her second story.
For the first time in my experience, they had a Q+A! About half the audience stayed for it, and most of the questions centred on archetypes in one way or another. Me, I just found it fascinating to hear people I've seen perform so often talking from the heart about how they do what they do! Delighted with the evening.. roll on the next! (Especially as it includes both Daniel Morden and TUUP - ooh, and Clare Murphy! my absolute favourite, and it's so long since I've seen her.)
What a deliciously short trip back. Tomorrow, I'm with a completely new group - London Sci-Fi Horror Hide-Out, for their first ever Meetup! Hem - this is Miskatonic LDN - Remakesploitation: The Horror Meme. Fairly trips off the tongue, the whole thing! So it seems that Miskatonic LDN is actually an institute of horror studies, and based at the Horse Hospital. Well now. This specific event is about the many international horror film remakes through the years. Would you believe it though, it took a co-worker, t' other day, to let me know that "Miskatonic" is a Lovecraft reference! Well, it's years since I last read him.
Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. And on Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Pinter at the Pinter again! This is Programme 5 - The Room / Victoria Station / Family Voices. And this evening includes a free Q+A with the cast.
Tuesday, 8 January 2019
Film: King of Boys
Tonight, it was cinema - first in a while. Top of the List came King of Boys, a gangster Nollywood film, of all things. Closest showing was in the Odeon Greenwich - so I booked, which works out cheaper. It'd be my very first Nollywood film - and it was on really late.
Stayed on late in the office - doing my film list for next week! So, late as the film started, I was tight for time - but of all venues, of course, it doesn't matter for the cinema. By and large. Anyway, any bus option was going to take over an hour, so I'd already decided on Tube to North Greenwich - and at least, at this hour, it wasn't crowded. Certainly much less so than the last time I was here, for U2 concerts! Once there, I was within walking distance - but it wasn't long till the scheduled start time, so I took the bus; with several options, I picked the stop with most, and discovered that it was right beside another that I might use.. so I hovered, and took the first bus that came along and was headed in that direction.
It couldn't honestly have worked out better. It was only three stops away, and I got there just at start time - of course, I knew there'd be ads. Got my ticket from the machine, and as I turned away, a little black lady grabbed my arm and asked about using the machines, worried she'd be charged twice. I reassured her, she thanked me with a smile, and I went off to phone my mother and pretend I was at home. Noting that music was playing in the lobby, I went outside - happily, it wasn't too cold. And she didn't suspect a thing.
I went back in and handed in my ticket. I haven't been here before, but it was pretty obvious that all screens are upstairs. Both floors have the screens leading off a central, circular corridor, and a brief glance showed that the screens on the first floor only went up to 8 - I needed 12. With no indication of where the rest were, I assumed they were upstairs again - and so it proved. I entered a screen with a sparse scattering of people. Seating was unassigned - and wouldn't you know it, I was only just settled when the film started! Maybe it was because of its length, or perhaps this is the policy at this cinema, but they must have had hardly any ads.
Right, off we go. Well, the film is set in the underworld of Lagos, and starts with a sumptuous, high society party. It's a birthday party for the host, and boy is she fashionable. Indeed, most of the film is quite a fashion parade, especially with the blokes wearing more colourful clothes than I'm used to. Jewels abound. Most of the film is in English, although they do slip into local languages and dialects, for which there are subtitles.
We soon learn that there's more to her than the genial host that meets the eye - she is called to some unspecified backroom business, and ends up taking to a guy with a hammer, getting blood on her nice frock. Yes, she's the "king" of the title, and the subject of the film. As mean as any mafia boss you're likely to meet. It's a long one, at 2 hrs 49 mins, but they really need it to squeeze in all of this complicated plot. She suffers a coup, has family issues, and runs across an incorruptible cop in the anti-corruption squad. Oh, and there's a quite obscure side story that yes, does turn out to be her backstory, but it's not till the very end I was sure of that, what with so many different characters that were supposed to turn into each other!
You know, beforehand I remarked that I was almost hoping for this to be bad so that I could get away early. Instead, it's very good indeed. The acting is terrific, the clothes, honestly, are gorgeous, and the plot takes the audience in most surprising directions. There's as much bling as you could hope for in any rapper's video, plenty of machismo - but also some really strong female characters. Hollywood could learn a lot from this! There were just a couple of production issues - sound quality for many of the quieter scenes was bad, with very noticeable white noise, and a couple of the subtitles had typos. Otherwise - strongly recommended. If this is what we can expect from Nollywood - give me more!
As I was coming out, it suddenly occurred to me to wonder whether I was the only white person there - and it did seem as though I was! And as I was walking through the lobby, my arm was grabbed again - would you credit it, it was the same little black lady! Accompanied by her family now, she asked with some surprise whether I'd just been to the same film they had! So we chatted about it briefly - her (granddaughter?) thought it had been "a bit loud". But I wanted to get back, so didn't hang around.
I must've taken a back exit - had to leave through a fire door. But it worked out well, because I ended up on the right side for buses! So I just took the first that happened along - they were all headed to North Greenwich - and bless, he waited for me, even though I didn't stick my arm out. When I got there, with the Tube no longer running, I had a bitterly cold wait for a bus to Waterloo, and a long and twisty drive there - at the end of which I felt quite queasy. So it was just as well I had a 10-minute wait for the bus the rest of the way, in a freezing cold breeze - that quite cleared my head!
Tomorrow - back for the New Year with the Crick Crack Club! They're doing a new series on archetypes - tomorrow's is on Wise Ones Wild Ones, in Rich Mix. (Hallelujah, walking distance!) We're spoiled with the lineup - the night's storytellers are Ben Haggerty, Jan Blake, Daniel Morden - and Laura Sampson, who used (nominally) to run their now-defunct Meetup group. Never mind, for once the London European Club is going, under the stewardship of Henning! It'll be good to see some friendly faces there - and it's been ages since I saw these people! About time. And it'll be my first proper Meetup of the year.
On Thursday, in contrast, I'm with a completely new group - London Sci-Fi Horror Hide-Out, for their first ever Meetup! Hem - this is Miskatonic LDN - Remakesploitation: The Horror Meme. Fairly trips off the tongue, the whole thing! So it seems that Miskatonic LDN is actually an institute of horror studies, and based at the Horse Hospital. Well now. This specific event is about the many international horror film remakes through the years. Would you believe it though, it took a co-worker, yesterday, to let me know that "Miskatonic" is a Lovecraft reference! Well, it's years since I last read him.
Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. And on Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Pinter at the Pinter again! This is Programme 5 - The Room / Victoria Station / Family Voices. And this evening includes a free Q+A with the cast.
Stayed on late in the office - doing my film list for next week! So, late as the film started, I was tight for time - but of all venues, of course, it doesn't matter for the cinema. By and large. Anyway, any bus option was going to take over an hour, so I'd already decided on Tube to North Greenwich - and at least, at this hour, it wasn't crowded. Certainly much less so than the last time I was here, for U2 concerts! Once there, I was within walking distance - but it wasn't long till the scheduled start time, so I took the bus; with several options, I picked the stop with most, and discovered that it was right beside another that I might use.. so I hovered, and took the first bus that came along and was headed in that direction.
It couldn't honestly have worked out better. It was only three stops away, and I got there just at start time - of course, I knew there'd be ads. Got my ticket from the machine, and as I turned away, a little black lady grabbed my arm and asked about using the machines, worried she'd be charged twice. I reassured her, she thanked me with a smile, and I went off to phone my mother and pretend I was at home. Noting that music was playing in the lobby, I went outside - happily, it wasn't too cold. And she didn't suspect a thing.
I went back in and handed in my ticket. I haven't been here before, but it was pretty obvious that all screens are upstairs. Both floors have the screens leading off a central, circular corridor, and a brief glance showed that the screens on the first floor only went up to 8 - I needed 12. With no indication of where the rest were, I assumed they were upstairs again - and so it proved. I entered a screen with a sparse scattering of people. Seating was unassigned - and wouldn't you know it, I was only just settled when the film started! Maybe it was because of its length, or perhaps this is the policy at this cinema, but they must have had hardly any ads.
Right, off we go. Well, the film is set in the underworld of Lagos, and starts with a sumptuous, high society party. It's a birthday party for the host, and boy is she fashionable. Indeed, most of the film is quite a fashion parade, especially with the blokes wearing more colourful clothes than I'm used to. Jewels abound. Most of the film is in English, although they do slip into local languages and dialects, for which there are subtitles.
We soon learn that there's more to her than the genial host that meets the eye - she is called to some unspecified backroom business, and ends up taking to a guy with a hammer, getting blood on her nice frock. Yes, she's the "king" of the title, and the subject of the film. As mean as any mafia boss you're likely to meet. It's a long one, at 2 hrs 49 mins, but they really need it to squeeze in all of this complicated plot. She suffers a coup, has family issues, and runs across an incorruptible cop in the anti-corruption squad. Oh, and there's a quite obscure side story that yes, does turn out to be her backstory, but it's not till the very end I was sure of that, what with so many different characters that were supposed to turn into each other!
You know, beforehand I remarked that I was almost hoping for this to be bad so that I could get away early. Instead, it's very good indeed. The acting is terrific, the clothes, honestly, are gorgeous, and the plot takes the audience in most surprising directions. There's as much bling as you could hope for in any rapper's video, plenty of machismo - but also some really strong female characters. Hollywood could learn a lot from this! There were just a couple of production issues - sound quality for many of the quieter scenes was bad, with very noticeable white noise, and a couple of the subtitles had typos. Otherwise - strongly recommended. If this is what we can expect from Nollywood - give me more!
As I was coming out, it suddenly occurred to me to wonder whether I was the only white person there - and it did seem as though I was! And as I was walking through the lobby, my arm was grabbed again - would you credit it, it was the same little black lady! Accompanied by her family now, she asked with some surprise whether I'd just been to the same film they had! So we chatted about it briefly - her (granddaughter?) thought it had been "a bit loud". But I wanted to get back, so didn't hang around.
I must've taken a back exit - had to leave through a fire door. But it worked out well, because I ended up on the right side for buses! So I just took the first that happened along - they were all headed to North Greenwich - and bless, he waited for me, even though I didn't stick my arm out. When I got there, with the Tube no longer running, I had a bitterly cold wait for a bus to Waterloo, and a long and twisty drive there - at the end of which I felt quite queasy. So it was just as well I had a 10-minute wait for the bus the rest of the way, in a freezing cold breeze - that quite cleared my head!
Tomorrow - back for the New Year with the Crick Crack Club! They're doing a new series on archetypes - tomorrow's is on Wise Ones Wild Ones, in Rich Mix. (Hallelujah, walking distance!) We're spoiled with the lineup - the night's storytellers are Ben Haggerty, Jan Blake, Daniel Morden - and Laura Sampson, who used (nominally) to run their now-defunct Meetup group. Never mind, for once the London European Club is going, under the stewardship of Henning! It'll be good to see some friendly faces there - and it's been ages since I saw these people! About time. And it'll be my first proper Meetup of the year.
On Thursday, in contrast, I'm with a completely new group - London Sci-Fi Horror Hide-Out, for their first ever Meetup! Hem - this is Miskatonic LDN - Remakesploitation: The Horror Meme. Fairly trips off the tongue, the whole thing! So it seems that Miskatonic LDN is actually an institute of horror studies, and based at the Horse Hospital. Well now. This specific event is about the many international horror film remakes through the years. Would you believe it though, it took a co-worker, yesterday, to let me know that "Miskatonic" is a Lovecraft reference! Well, it's years since I last read him.
Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. And on Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Pinter at the Pinter again! This is Programme 5 - The Room / Victoria Station / Family Voices. And this evening includes a free Q+A with the cast.
Monday, 7 January 2019
Concert: Arab Christmas
Tonight, I booked with London Speaks Sessions, for a talk on Interviews With a Serial Killer. Funzing now have an Unlimited Talks option, where you can get unlimited talks for a month for £11.99 - however, not seeing anything else I fancy coming up this month, I left it. As it was, I got a spectacular loyalty discount for this one! ..and then I got a better offer. St. Martin-in-the-Fields (which I hadn't been to in over a year!) sent an advertising email - and I rather fancied tonight's offering, an Arab Christmas. Of course, you can cancel Funzing up to 48 hours beforehand - so I did, and went to that instead.
Two buses, Google Maps recommended - and to change in Bloomsbury. I got off the first - which was cramped - just in time to miss my second bus: which turned out to be a good thing, when I checked. Because I'd only be going one stop on the second bus, which would let me off at Cambridge Circus. Four minutes, they said it'd take to do that journey. Yeah, right - this is not a journey you should attempt if you're in a hurry. It rarely makes it that quickly, that's a real bottleneck! Anyway, I could walk from there, so I did.
It's just as well I already knew the box office, where I had to pick up my ticket, is in the crypt - there was nothing to tell me! Well, I made it with 10 minutes to spare - seating was unreserved, but pretty sparse by that stage, so I ended up taking an empty spot behind the pulpit. Not too bad - I could peep out under it. Someone in front of me remarked that they should sit in the pulpit - best seat in the house.. and in the second half, someone did!
Ah, I missed this place. Anyhoo, the mc for the night was Reem Kelani, who informed us that this would be an evening of early Arabic Christian chants. First up was an excellent singer - Najib Coutya; it was a pity I wasn't familiar with any of the melodies, and of course I had no idea what words he was singing, but it was most evocative of hot, sandy deserts..
I was more engaged with Joseph Tawadros, who followed him on the oud. A "Coptic Aussie" and four-time award winner, sporting a huge, bushy beard and a fez, he finished the first half and started the second - he was miffed to be given the mic in the second half, when he said his Aussie accent completely destroyed the myth! "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", we got from him. V catchy.
However, the highlight for me was the trio of Shafiq Abouzayd (the senior Melkite Greek Catholic priest in Britain), Merit Ariane Stephanos, and Jon Banks on instrumental. Absolutely mesmerising. And familiar - I know I've seen them before - somewhere..! They could entice me time after time.
And by running, I just caught the bus back! Tomorrow, it's cinema - first in a while. Top of the List came King of Boys, a gangster Nollywood film, of all things. Closest showing is in the Odeon Greenwich - so I booked, which works out cheaper. It'll be my very first Nollywood film - and it's on really late. I'll have to ring my mother beforehand and pretend I've already been..
On Wednesday - back for the New Year with the Crick Crack Club! They're doing a new series on archetypes - Wednesday's is on Wise Ones Wild Ones, in Rich Mix. We're spoiled with the lineup - the night's storytellers are Ben Haggerty, Jan Blake, Daniel Morden - and Laura Sampson, who used (nominally) to run their now-defunct Meetup group. Never mind, for once the London European Club is going, under the stewardship of Henning! It'll be good to see some friendly faces there - and it's been ages since I saw these people! About time. And it'll be my first proper Meetup of the year.
On Thursday, in contrast, I'm with a completely new group - London Sci-Fi Horror Hide-Out, for their first ever Meetup! Hem - this is Miskatonic LDN - Remakesploitation: The Horror Meme. Fairly trips off the tongue, the whole thing! So it seems that Miskatonic LDN is actually an institute of horror studies, and based at the Horse Hospital. Well now. This specific event is about the many international horror film remakes through the years. Would you believe it though, it took a co-worker, today, to let me know that "Miskatonic" is a Lovecraft reference! Well, it's years since I last read him.
Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. And next Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Pinter at the Pinter again! This is Programme 5 - The Room / Victoria Station / Family Voices. And this evening includes a free Q+A with the cast.
Two buses, Google Maps recommended - and to change in Bloomsbury. I got off the first - which was cramped - just in time to miss my second bus: which turned out to be a good thing, when I checked. Because I'd only be going one stop on the second bus, which would let me off at Cambridge Circus. Four minutes, they said it'd take to do that journey. Yeah, right - this is not a journey you should attempt if you're in a hurry. It rarely makes it that quickly, that's a real bottleneck! Anyway, I could walk from there, so I did.
It's just as well I already knew the box office, where I had to pick up my ticket, is in the crypt - there was nothing to tell me! Well, I made it with 10 minutes to spare - seating was unreserved, but pretty sparse by that stage, so I ended up taking an empty spot behind the pulpit. Not too bad - I could peep out under it. Someone in front of me remarked that they should sit in the pulpit - best seat in the house.. and in the second half, someone did!
Ah, I missed this place. Anyhoo, the mc for the night was Reem Kelani, who informed us that this would be an evening of early Arabic Christian chants. First up was an excellent singer - Najib Coutya; it was a pity I wasn't familiar with any of the melodies, and of course I had no idea what words he was singing, but it was most evocative of hot, sandy deserts..
I was more engaged with Joseph Tawadros, who followed him on the oud. A "Coptic Aussie" and four-time award winner, sporting a huge, bushy beard and a fez, he finished the first half and started the second - he was miffed to be given the mic in the second half, when he said his Aussie accent completely destroyed the myth! "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", we got from him. V catchy.
However, the highlight for me was the trio of Shafiq Abouzayd (the senior Melkite Greek Catholic priest in Britain), Merit Ariane Stephanos, and Jon Banks on instrumental. Absolutely mesmerising. And familiar - I know I've seen them before - somewhere..! They could entice me time after time.
And by running, I just caught the bus back! Tomorrow, it's cinema - first in a while. Top of the List came King of Boys, a gangster Nollywood film, of all things. Closest showing is in the Odeon Greenwich - so I booked, which works out cheaper. It'll be my very first Nollywood film - and it's on really late. I'll have to ring my mother beforehand and pretend I've already been..
On Wednesday - back for the New Year with the Crick Crack Club! They're doing a new series on archetypes - Wednesday's is on Wise Ones Wild Ones, in Rich Mix. We're spoiled with the lineup - the night's storytellers are Ben Haggerty, Jan Blake, Daniel Morden - and Laura Sampson, who used (nominally) to run their now-defunct Meetup group. Never mind, for once the London European Club is going, under the stewardship of Henning! It'll be good to see some friendly faces there - and it's been ages since I saw these people! About time. And it'll be my first proper Meetup of the year.
On Thursday, in contrast, I'm with a completely new group - London Sci-Fi Horror Hide-Out, for their first ever Meetup! Hem - this is Miskatonic LDN - Remakesploitation: The Horror Meme. Fairly trips off the tongue, the whole thing! So it seems that Miskatonic LDN is actually an institute of horror studies, and based at the Horse Hospital. Well now. This specific event is about the many international horror film remakes through the years. Would you believe it though, it took a co-worker, today, to let me know that "Miskatonic" is a Lovecraft reference! Well, it's years since I last read him.
Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. And next Monday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Pinter at the Pinter again! This is Programme 5 - The Room / Victoria Station / Family Voices. And this evening includes a free Q+A with the cast.
Sunday, 6 January 2019
The Greenwich Walk: Heroes and Villains
These few days, I booked Funzing, and the weekend was entirely with Look up London - excellent! She's so friendly, and always finds the most interesting tidbits for us. Both starting at midday. Today, I did The Greenwich Walk: Heroes and Villains. And yesterday evening, she helpfully messaged to clarify that we'd be meeting at Greenwich rail station, not the DLR station.
After yesterday's exertions, I slept soundly - and long, waking about an hour later than intended. It really took more out of me than I anticipated. Oops! So I scrabbled to get out - didn't have time to eat beforehand, but I did make the Tube with a minute to spare. Arrived at London Bridge at 11.20, with the train due at 11.33 - and wouldn't you know, I literally just made it! It takes so long to wend your way from Tube to train station - and of course, my platform was nowhere near me. Thank goodness that Google Maps had told me which one to go for! The train was waiting patiently for me at the platform as I trotted up the stairs - I barely had time to get on.
After all that, I alighted at Greenwich five minutes earlier than expected - and she wasn't there.
More photos here. Mooched around for a while. Saw on the maps that the DLR station was nearby, so I went looking for that, and by the time I'd returned, there she was. I was still the first.. a much smaller group today, and mostly foreigners, with a German couple and a Dutch guy. Anyway, the station itself was the first point of interest - as she pointed out, it doesn't really look like a train station! but then, being one of the first built, in 1836, the builders had no idea what a train station should look like.
So we meandered off down the backstreets of Greenwich, under very grey skies, but the rain thankfully holding off. Plenty of interesting snippets - like the monument to a milkman!
You can just see the observatory in the background, on the hill, whose ball drops at 1pm. And yes, we were there for it! A bit anticlimactic, as she remarked..
Much of the talk for the day was about Nelson:
(Rather short, on the basis of this statue, as she pointed out.) Well now, I'm afraid that my opinion of Nelson will forever after be tainted by the play I went to a while ago, based on a book by an Antiguan writer, who had cause to mention him several times. And every time she did, she suffixed "war criminal" to his name. As Katie pointed out today, he was vehemently anti-abolitionist, and a keen slave owner - which I guess makes him today's villain - but he did boost the power of the British navy, which had positive effects. As well as negative ones. Anyway, as she said, not all black and white.
She recommended the Cutty Sark pub as somewhere to eat - it's certainly well advertised, with signs along the roadside far in advance of getting there. However, the Midpoint is a Turkish restaurant right next door, and after some pondering, I chose that. Had the lamb special, which was ok - I think I could have chosen better. For one thing, there was far too much cheese dip with it, which swamped the plate! (Good idea to present on two plates, one under the other, so you don't get burnt carrying it!) But the house white was excellent, and the brownie really good, so I'd be willing to try it again. Service was quick, and prices reasonable. They also have free WiFi - password @midpoint1 - but gee, it took forever for me to connect to it!
Once I finally did, I could confirm that I'd now walked far enough to travel back from Maze Hill station, which I did, on one of the half-hourly trains. Wow, it was good to get in to the warm! And now that's it for guided walks for the foreseeable future.
Tomorrow, I booked with London Speaks Sessions, for a talk on Interviews With a Serial Killer. Funzing now have an Unlimited Talks option, where you can get unlimited talks for a month for £11.99 - however, not seeing anything else I fancy coming up this month, I left it. As it was, I got a spectacular loyalty discount for this one! ..and then I got a better offer. St. Martin-in-the-Fields (which I haven't been to in over a year!) sent an advertising email - and I rather fancied tomorrow's offering, an Arab Christmas. Of course, you can cancel Funzing up to 48 hours beforehand - so I did, and am now going to that instead.
On Tuesday, it's cinema - first in a while. Top of the List came King of Boys, a gangster Nollywood film, of all things. Closest showing is in the Odeon Greenwich - so I booked, which works out cheaper. It'll be my very first Nollywood film - and it's on really late. I'll have to ring my mother beforehand and pretend I've already been..
On Wednesday - back for the New Year with the Crick Crack Club! They're doing a new series on archetypes - Wednesday's is on Wise Ones Wild Ones, in Rich Mix. We're spoiled with the lineup - the night's storytellers are Ben Haggerty, Jan Blake, Daniel Morden - and Laura Sampson, who used (nominally) to run their now-defunct Meetup group. Never mind, for once the London European Club is going, under the stewardship of Henning! It'll be good to see some friendly faces there - and it's been ages since I saw these people! About time. And it'll be my first proper Meetup of the year.
On Thursday, in contrast, I'm with a completely new group - London Sci-Fi Horror Hide-Out, for their first ever Meetup! Hem - this is Miskatonic LDN - Remakesploitation: The Horror Meme. Fairly trips off the tongue, the whole thing! So it seems that Miskatonic LDN is actually an institute of horror studies, and based at the Horse Hospital. Well now. This specific event is about the many international horror film remakes through the years. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
And on the 14th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Pinter at the Pinter again! This is Programme 5 - The Room / Victoria Station / Family Voices. And this evening includes a free Q+A with the cast.
After yesterday's exertions, I slept soundly - and long, waking about an hour later than intended. It really took more out of me than I anticipated. Oops! So I scrabbled to get out - didn't have time to eat beforehand, but I did make the Tube with a minute to spare. Arrived at London Bridge at 11.20, with the train due at 11.33 - and wouldn't you know, I literally just made it! It takes so long to wend your way from Tube to train station - and of course, my platform was nowhere near me. Thank goodness that Google Maps had told me which one to go for! The train was waiting patiently for me at the platform as I trotted up the stairs - I barely had time to get on.
After all that, I alighted at Greenwich five minutes earlier than expected - and she wasn't there.
More photos here. Mooched around for a while. Saw on the maps that the DLR station was nearby, so I went looking for that, and by the time I'd returned, there she was. I was still the first.. a much smaller group today, and mostly foreigners, with a German couple and a Dutch guy. Anyway, the station itself was the first point of interest - as she pointed out, it doesn't really look like a train station! but then, being one of the first built, in 1836, the builders had no idea what a train station should look like.
So we meandered off down the backstreets of Greenwich, under very grey skies, but the rain thankfully holding off. Plenty of interesting snippets - like the monument to a milkman!
Finally, we hit the tourist spots, with a few art stops around the Naval College, and a peek at the Cutty Sark. And of course, that iconic Greenwich view:
Much of the talk for the day was about Nelson:
(Rather short, on the basis of this statue, as she pointed out.) Well now, I'm afraid that my opinion of Nelson will forever after be tainted by the play I went to a while ago, based on a book by an Antiguan writer, who had cause to mention him several times. And every time she did, she suffixed "war criminal" to his name. As Katie pointed out today, he was vehemently anti-abolitionist, and a keen slave owner - which I guess makes him today's villain - but he did boost the power of the British navy, which had positive effects. As well as negative ones. Anyway, as she said, not all black and white.
She recommended the Cutty Sark pub as somewhere to eat - it's certainly well advertised, with signs along the roadside far in advance of getting there. However, the Midpoint is a Turkish restaurant right next door, and after some pondering, I chose that. Had the lamb special, which was ok - I think I could have chosen better. For one thing, there was far too much cheese dip with it, which swamped the plate! (Good idea to present on two plates, one under the other, so you don't get burnt carrying it!) But the house white was excellent, and the brownie really good, so I'd be willing to try it again. Service was quick, and prices reasonable. They also have free WiFi - password @midpoint1 - but gee, it took forever for me to connect to it!
Once I finally did, I could confirm that I'd now walked far enough to travel back from Maze Hill station, which I did, on one of the half-hourly trains. Wow, it was good to get in to the warm! And now that's it for guided walks for the foreseeable future.
Tomorrow, I booked with London Speaks Sessions, for a talk on Interviews With a Serial Killer. Funzing now have an Unlimited Talks option, where you can get unlimited talks for a month for £11.99 - however, not seeing anything else I fancy coming up this month, I left it. As it was, I got a spectacular loyalty discount for this one! ..and then I got a better offer. St. Martin-in-the-Fields (which I haven't been to in over a year!) sent an advertising email - and I rather fancied tomorrow's offering, an Arab Christmas. Of course, you can cancel Funzing up to 48 hours beforehand - so I did, and am now going to that instead.
On Tuesday, it's cinema - first in a while. Top of the List came King of Boys, a gangster Nollywood film, of all things. Closest showing is in the Odeon Greenwich - so I booked, which works out cheaper. It'll be my very first Nollywood film - and it's on really late. I'll have to ring my mother beforehand and pretend I've already been..
On Wednesday - back for the New Year with the Crick Crack Club! They're doing a new series on archetypes - Wednesday's is on Wise Ones Wild Ones, in Rich Mix. We're spoiled with the lineup - the night's storytellers are Ben Haggerty, Jan Blake, Daniel Morden - and Laura Sampson, who used (nominally) to run their now-defunct Meetup group. Never mind, for once the London European Club is going, under the stewardship of Henning! It'll be good to see some friendly faces there - and it's been ages since I saw these people! About time. And it'll be my first proper Meetup of the year.
On Thursday, in contrast, I'm with a completely new group - London Sci-Fi Horror Hide-Out, for their first ever Meetup! Hem - this is Miskatonic LDN - Remakesploitation: The Horror Meme. Fairly trips off the tongue, the whole thing! So it seems that Miskatonic LDN is actually an institute of horror studies, and based at the Horse Hospital. Well now. This specific event is about the many international horror film remakes through the years. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
And on the 14th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Pinter at the Pinter again! This is Programme 5 - The Room / Victoria Station / Family Voices. And this evening includes a free Q+A with the cast.
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