Lecture on Homelessness

Tonight, I booked a Crick Crack Club event.. this was online from the Oxford Story Museum, and was Dark Tales from the Wood. As told by the excellent Daniel Morden. But as that should be available for a week afterwards (haven't got the link yet, but should tomorrow), I was free to do something else this evening - and with this being my usual weekly day in the office, it was handy that London Social and Cultural Meetups were doing something around the corner. It was a public lecture about homelessness..

The rain that had lasted all day was still at it - and I had to drag that almightily heavy laptop up to Goodge Street Station. Not to mention my shoes, whose soles are so slippy on wet surfaces - I was seriously pissed off by the time I got there. I was shortly to be more pissed off - wouldn't you know it, the woman I've been avoiding for years was one of the four gathered for this event! Grr.. well, we studiously avoided speaking to each other, and I didn't walk beside her to the talk. I was the last of the group to arrive, and we set out pretty much immediately - I made sure to be the one talking to the organiser as we walked, and stayed away from "the woman".

The talk turned out to be in UCL - but we didn't know where. Nor did most of the people we asked - it was a good job we were so early. We finally found a staff member who could tell us, and found the room - a nice little lecture theatre. Smallest lecture theatre I've seen, actually - tiered seating, perhaps 10 rows.. but I'm terrible at guessing numbers. We were among the first to arrive, and indeed several arrived late. Four speakers, an MC, and a lady directing the technology, which consisted of individual mics for the speakers and MC, and a roving microphone, which initially didn't work..

It was a very interesting talk, and raised many interesting issues. The general tenet was - more social housing, an end to no-fault evictions, rent caps.. it was interesting, during the Q+A afterwards, to hear a Norwegian lady sitting behind us ask a question as to why there weren't rent caps. Yes, well, Scandinavia is famously good at looking after its poor..

It was also interesting to have a (non-typical) homeless person on the panel.. he's a filmmaker, apparently, wore a fetching bowler hat, and apparently fell into homelessness through a mistake in a credit report, or something. So, from living happily on the South Bank, he's been homeless for the past 15 years or so. It really can happen to anyone. The panel in general was disparaging about the prospect of any progress under a Conservative government - well, they don't have long left, thank goodness. Unfortunately for me, I seemed to be in a group of die-hard right-wingers..

Well, afterwards, "the woman" headed home, as I'd expected, and we took ourselves off to find a pub with table space, so I could get food. Which no-one else wanted to do, but they gamely carried on - we found a table free (!) in the Tottenham Court Road bar, in their (lower-level) beer garden! Happily, they had space heaters, and we got a drink, and in due course my food arrived - I'd ordered chicken thigh cutlets. Which were, um, meh. Reminded me of Nando's without the spice. And they had gristle! Not very nice, really. The gravy was also nondescript, but the mash, at least, was lovely and buttery, and I didn't starve. Still, not a place I'd recommend to eat. Popular with (doubtless UCL) students, though..! The way the conversation was going, I was happy to call it a night after one. I have had better meetings with this group..

Tomorrow, given that the film list is (finally) done, I'm off to see.. the NT Live production of Uncle Vanya, restaged as a one-act play starring Andrew Scott! Oh goodee.. was upset not to get around to seeing this live, when it was on. It's showing in a number of Vue cinemas at 7pm- closest to me is Vue Westfield Stratford, so I've booked.

On Saturday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for The Rake's Progress, an opera in the Hackney Empire.

On Sunday, back with Back in the Day Walks, for a walk about Kensington in the 60s. Cheaper tickets available from TAC..

On Monday, back with TAC again, for Scarlet Sunday, at the Omnibus Theatre - so long since I was last there!

On Tuesday, back again with UITCS, for Standing at the Sky's Edge, at the Gillian Lynne Theatre. I'm hearing great things about this musical.

On Wednesday, we have a work social! Cool.. loving the frequency of them. They're going bowling - well, I can watch.. last time I went bowling, I injured myself! In fact, this is proving so popular, they've had to move to a bigger venue.. we're now in Bloomsbury Lanes.

Next Thursday, back - at last - with London Baroque Music Lovers. We're attending a concert called Lucky Charm, by Ensemble Les Ombres with Fiona McGown, at the Cine Lumiere, of all places! Hmm, I wonder where that'll be - hardly in the cinema!

Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. That Sunday is Mother's Day, so I'm flying back a day later, taking the Monday as holiday.

On the 12th, back with CT at the Americana! This time, it's a jazz night.. which I should get more of an experience of than that magic show.. and this time, I'll know to starve myself beforehand!

On the 13th, another of those multi-Meetup socials.. I've signed up with The London Movie Club, and we're off to the BFI Riverfront Balcony Bar again! Excellent venue.

And on the 14th, back again with UITCS - this time, for Casserole, at the Arcola.