The Labyrinth of the Law Courts Walking Tour & Prom 9: Mariza Sings Fado

Today - the advantage of unemployment, I can go on weekday walks with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners! This one, he can't do on weekends anyway - it was The Labyrinth of the Law Courts Walking Tour, and - predictably - full up.

Amid dire predictions of possible rain in the afternoon, I bravely set out without a hood. I could walk there - and Google Maps sent me down an interesting backstreet, ironically previewing the walk:

At this stage, it was lovely and sunny:

It's been a while since I was last on one of these walks at all, and a lot longer since I was on a weekday one - saw some folks I haven't seen in an age! Which was lovely. And in due course we set off.. not into the actual courthouse, but using it as a starting point to meander through the hidden alleyways of the Inns of Court. Not, however, before being told that the architect of the Royal Courts of Justice modelled it on the cathedral he always wanted to build! Well, that does make a lot of sense, looking at the design..

And so first to Middle Temple:

Looking around, you might guess that the inn's symbol is the lamb and flag. It was hard to tell when exactly we moved into Inner Temple, which is adjacent:

..but all the buildings are lovely, around here. The symbol, however, is the winged horse, so we knew where we were when we caught sight of it:

And, of course, Inner Temple includes the gorgeous Temple Church. We didn't go in, as they charge for sightseers - I'm lucky enough to have been to a few concerts here, of course, and can testify that it's absolute heaven for anyone interested in medieval history, what with its tombs and such:

But this walk is primarily about the legal profession - and we did stop outside one of the gown & wig-makers: also, apparently, known for producing graduation gowns:

And so, on to Lincoln's Inn:

The various inns have different famous people associated with them, but more seem to be affiliated with this one than the others. We finally meandered our way to Gray's Inn:

Standing outside the gardens, with the sign sternly admonishing people not to cause a nuisance, I noticed someone who appeared to work there wander over to lean on the railings and stare at us. I suppose he was ensuring we didn't cause too much of a nuisance!

As Laurence mentioned, he's not a lawyer, but embellished such legal facts as he had with plenty of tales of legal derring-do, both fact and fiction, making for another very entertaining walk.

Lunch was in The Argyle, where we sat just inside the terrace, benefitting from a lovely, cool breeze blowing through the open door:

What I ordered was far too heavy for me - I should have got a sandwich. Never mind, conversation was good - and the promised rain came and went while we were inside!

Afterwards, heading in the direction of King's Cross (and how convenient for me, walking back home!), we stopped at the Yorkshire Grey, which, as I mentioned, I've passed so often and never gone in. Anyway, we found it to be spacious and modern, and found a really convenient large sofa in the corner, just fitting those of us left. Asking at the bar, we discovered that the pub name relates to the horse in the sign - the rider, nobody has a clue about!

Another lovely day with Laurence and the "Grumpies" - it'll be a while till the next one, as he takes himself off to do private guiding for the summer. Delighted I made this one, though - both to see everyone again, and to tick this off my list, finally!

This evening, off with my Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) companion to Prom 9: Mariza Sings Fado, at the Albert Hall. We were eating beforehand at the Elgar Room, in the Albert Hall - a first for me!

After my exertions earlier in the day - and all that wine - I was wrecked by the time I got back; I went to bed for an hour, and left myself slightly late to get to dinner. I made it as fast as I could - happily, my companion had got there early, and secured the table, thoughtfully messaging me pictures of the menu and wine list. So I asked her to order me the fish - figured it was the lightest they had - and the house white, and off I galloped.

She'd ordered a starter as well, so was still working on that when I arrived. I was glad I'd chosen the fish, it was indeed nice and light - unfortunately, I didn't quite have time to finish it, but we could take the wine into the theatre in plastic. I have to say, though - over £60, when all I had was fish n chips and a glass of the cheapest wine, is ridiculous; I won't be back in a hurry.

We made it to our seats just in time, the performers coming on shortly after:

I don't know a lot about fado, but this performance was beautiful - she's a stunning singer, and I really enjoyed the concert: which appeared to be sold out. Delighted I went - apart from the rush to get there in time, it was a lovely evening.

The weekend is all about walking. Tomorrow, back with London Herstory Guided Walks, Mandy taking us on a walk entitled Bow Belles! A Guided Walk through Bow Quarter. Mercifully, an afternoon walk - I get a lie-in.

On Sunday, I'm with London History and Culture: Experience London/Britain/Europe, for In the Footsteps of the Tudors - Free In-Person Guided Walking Tour with Maggie. Another new group for me.

On Monday, it's likely to be film - but a couple of big releases were not yet rated when I wrote this preview the other night. Failing those, what was coming up was Squaring the Circle, a documentary about Hipgnosis, which handled the artwork for many iconic albums.. Can't say I've ever heard of them, but it sure does have famous contributors! Showing in the Curzon Bloomsbury - so not a hardship.

But now that those major releases are rated.. it's looking like Oppenheimer, which has an abnormally high rating for a mainstream film! Directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan, it has Cillian Murphy in the title role, with Emily Blunt as his wife, Matt Damon as Leslie Groves, the general and engineer who oversaw the Manhattan Project, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, the politician involved, Kenneth Branagh as Niels Bohr, who was part of the British mission to the Manhattan Project, having fled to Britain by that stage, Tom Conti as Einstein, Matthew Modine as Vannevar Bush, who initiated and initially led the Manhattan Project, Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, who was having an affair with Oppenheimer, Rami Malek as David Hill, a physicist on the Manhattan Project, Casey Affleck as Boris Pash, the military intelligence officer who investigated leaks on the Manhattan Project, and also looked into Nazi Germany's atomic capability, and Gary Oldman as Truman! Crikey, were they all there to walk out of the film premiere recently..? Anyway, the trailer looks absolutely awesome. Also showing in the same cinema.

On Tuesday, booked with TAC to see The Pioneers in The Forge. Last I heard, it was closing down - I guess it's under new management.

On Wednesday, with UITCS for an opera at the Arcola, as part of Grimeborn - this is No for an Answer.

On Thursday, it's also looking like film - what was coming up was a documentary, again in the Curzon Bloomsbury, called Iraq's Invisible Beauty. Ah, but.. Squaring the Circle doesn't seem to be on that day. And guess what? Barbie comes higher-rated than what I'd planned to see! Again, the trailer looks excellent - stars Margot Robbie, with Ryan Gosling as Ken. Lots and lots of pink. Showing in - you guessed it - Curzon Bloomsbury - at lots of times, which should work well with my removal to my new flat that day.

And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.