Satanic Spring Fayre

Today, again, was horror - I went with the London Horror Film Group to the Satanic Spring Market. It was good fun last time, although I didn't find anything to buy..

My, I had fun with buses again. A really blustery day saw me wait ages for my first bus (at least I was sheltered).. then change to a route that required two more.. then change to one I should have got in the first place, except it hadn't arrived.. and throughout, the LCD displays on bus stops were an act of fiction. Except to warn us that an "event" in town could cause disruption to our route. This turned out to be the London Landmarks Half Marathon - and yes, it did disrupt my journey slightly, requiring a slight detour - but I doubt that was the explanation for all the delays! Not even the small but curious protest we passed:


This one seemed to combine a choral movement against climate change (singing truth to power) with some movement about the judiciary being allowed to follow their consciences. Whether they were together in spirit, or just physically, I don't know.. Never mind, I arrived at the market half an hour after it opened - to discover a much shorter queue than last time! Excellent.. about 1/4 of an hour and I was in.

A similar layout to last time - I started with chips and a drink, and located just a couple of the others - although we did meet another couple as we mooched around. They did change the stalls layout slightly - they now have a whole room devoted to divination!


Informative posters told us that this is a quarterly thing:


and indeed, gave us a sitemap:


Well, again, I didn't see anything to buy.. but had it been closer to people's birthdays, or Christmas, or indeed Hallowe'en, it might have been a different story! They had these dead cute little ghostie ornaments.. I'd have loved to scatter a few roundabout for Hallowe'en. But for sure, if I bought them this early, the little ghosties would do a disappearing act, and no ghosties should I then have.. other interesting things included books, tea towels with pussycats on them.. and a stall of objects that had had 24-carat gold electroplated on them! Oh, and I saw a stall of horrific objects crafted in chocolate, reminding me of a conversation I had yesterday.. This time, many of the stalls were housed on the top floor, which is actually well lit, having many windows to the outside! Far too bright for this, as someone remarked..

Kudos to those who dressed for the occasion.. there were some frightening figures about. And it's very pet-friendly, with a few in evidence. As to those who brought their kids.. I do wonder what the kids made of it. Anyway, after we'd finished, we repaired back to the bar for a couple of drinks.. where they had truly fascinating wallpaper!


Even a trip to the toilet had its moments:


Umm.. is that why there was caging over the tops of the cubicles..?

We duly got hungry, so I recommended the fish and chips in The Bull, and that's where we went, and what we had. And it seems everyone enjoyed it! They were just starting a pub quiz as we left. So, despite fewer attendees this time, it was a truly convivial afternoon! Glad I came, glad I met those I met. And always delighted to be talking horror.. in particular, the conversation weaved in such a way that I was put in mind of a film I'd forgotten all about - The Night House is one of the few horror films out there with truly original elements. So, a day well spent.

Tomorrow, I'm back with North London Friends - they have tickets for The Comeuppance, at The Almeida, and I got the last of theirs. It's now sold out for that day.

On Tuesday, I'm back with Over 40 Living the Life - a more dependable dinner date this time, at Greenwich Yacht Club!

On Wednesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats - they're off to An Actor Convalescing in Devon, at Hampstead Theatre.

And on Thursday, I booked with them again for The Ballad of Hattie and James, at The Kiln. But gee.. then The Hideout advertised Immaculate (as he said tonight, "the other nun horror film"!).  Which I'd rather go to - so now, I am. At the Vue West End again.

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

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