Dinner, The Greenwich Walk (London Literary Walks), & Film: The Commandant's Shadow

Last Tuesday, back - first time in a while - with Over 40 Living the Life, for a dinner in the Greenwich Yacht Club. Always good - and although it rained, I missed the worst - it was certainly torrential just after I got home. Five of us had a most convivial evening - this time, I had the roast beef, which I haven't had for ages (and never here), and which was on as a special. Very good. As was the price - much wine was imbibed, and I met a few (very nice) new people. I passed on taking photos, I've taken so many here - but if you click on the Greenwich Yacht Club label at the end of the post, you'll get a list of posts filtered by that label and can check. I was too tired that night to blog.. and typically, too busy to blog during work the following day.

On Wednesday evening, in Greenwich again - I should nearly have stayed the night! This time, I was back with London Literary Walks (LLW) for The Greenwich Walk. We were meeting in The Spanish Galleon, and as usual, I booked to eat there beforehand. I was delighted to be at the near side of Greenwich this time, so I could take the bus. Although I got off before I was supposed to, according to Google Maps, because the name of the stop seemed right, it actually was closer to the pub!

Lovely, friendly staff - unfortunately, not somewhere I'll be eating again. The menu isn't extensive, but I decided to have chicken and chips - you can have a half, or quarter, chicken, and I was hungry enough to have the half. Comes with chips, and aioli. And salad.

I waited a very long time for it.. was worried it'd cut into my time with the group, and sure enough, they'd mostly gathered by the time I got finished. While I waited, I idly eavesdropped on the table beside me - I swear it was one of those Spanish-language Meetups! It just had that feel.. and they were certainly speaking Spanish. Not that the conversation was that scintillating - such as I picked up on - but it was mainly the arrival of someone who, while he could speak Spanish, was rather hesitant about it, that convinced me. Yep, I bet that was what it was - and as one of our group remarked when I mentioned it, how appropriate, in The Spanish Galleon!

The chicken.. and indeed the chips.. reminded me very much of the greasy spoon type of stuff I got as a kid. The chicken was much improved by the application of the aioli, which was lovely - the chips were salted too much for it to have much of an effect. But well, I was fed - by the time I finished, it was a minute past the time our group was to meet. Not seeing anyone on my side of the bar, I nipped over the other side, and there they were - I had time for another glass of wine before we left. And again, a lovely, convivial chat! We left when we din't think we'd have any more joiners - not everyone showed, or messaged to say they wouldn't.

The rain held off - apart from a few spots:

The skies seem bigger in Greenwich.. and we spent a good amount of time beside the Cutty Sark, admiring the rigging. As our guide remarked, the entry fee isn't really worth it, unless you want to climb the rigging - which you can - otherwise, it's empty inside. Anyway, it's quite impressive enough from the outside:

We spent a considerable time discussing the history of the sailing ships - which led us to contemplate an adjacent pub, whose name has famous connotations:

The Gypsy Moth ship was the first purpose-built ocean racing ship, built for circumnavigation..

As we continued on our way, we were assailed by the sound of bells - at least some of which were coming from the Church of St. Alfege:

It's not often you see a plaque to a milkman!

Passing the massive bulk of the Greenwich Dance Academy, we were shocked to learn it was empty!

Evening sun:

George Orwell's brother's house - and our guide!

We came across the world's only fan museum! (sadly closed when we were there):

Curious architecture:

We found where Cecil Day-Lewis, Poet Laureate and father of Daniel, lived!

Yep, I've been in Greenwich a few times now, but am delighted to say that there was plenty on this walk that was new to me. Unfortunately, the film list occupied the entire rest of that evening for me - there are a lot coming up.. and I stayed up far too late completing it, especially what with having to go to the office yesterday! Getting up a few hours later was a real effort.. and the bus was - as usual in the mornings, actually - crowded with schoolkids headed to Waterloo on a day trip! A hard start to a hard day.. I did get the blog started in the office before I left, but obviously not finished..

Yesterday evening, the first film.. and what completely changed my mind about what I was going to was an email from UK Jewish Film - they were previewing The Commandant's Shadow, about the son of Rudolf Höss, the governor of Auschwitz, and his coming to terms with what his father had done. A documentary about the real-life characters depicted in The Zone of Interest, and a very interesting follow-up for me.. It was in the Phoenix, in East Finchley, and included a Q+A where Vanessa Feltz spoke to the filmmakers. Being in the office yesterday, I was at least a bit closer than home to East Finchley..

Not close enough for bus, mind - but at least I was on a direct Tube, and could leave late enough that I managed to get a seat on it. I hadn't found anywhere definite for food nearby, and as I walked to the cinema, couldn't really see anything - until I came across The Bald Faced Stag, across the road, and thought I'd try there. They have a lovely garden, but I really didn't feel like eating outside - checking the menu, I discovered it's a Greene King pub, so I was sorted! Had a very nice chicken kyiv - although not as nice as Bella Italia's, but whose is?! 

I finished about 7.45 - the film was at 8, so I went straight across. The lobby was manic - and approaching, I'd seen people on the upstairs balcony! A plaque proclaims that it was the first purpose-built cinema in the UK.. I got another glass of wine - very nice, and very reasonably priced - and confirmed that I was headed upstairs. And with the crowd there, since I could go straight in, I did.

Lovely old auditorium - seats are a little hard though, I discovered. I do believe they only have one screen.. My rucksack proved a real pain to manage, but the people around me were understanding. A brief speech from the head of UK Jewish Film started the evening, then we were into it.

As pointed out in the Q+A afterwards, this was an amazing thing to have happen - a camp survivor meets the commandant's son and grandson - and the producer, who was one of the panellists, also explained afterwards what a happy coincidence it was, that she'd met someone who said he'd fund anything about the Holocaust, and two weeks later she was contacted by a filmmaker she hadn't spoken to in 25 years (!), who was working on this but had run out of money.. truly, a film that was meant to be made.

It's a fascinating premise - in one sequence, the daughter of the camp survivor (who is now too old to travel herself) tours Auschwitz with the others. There are some atmospheric shots of it in the mist. We also get to see them visit the survivor in her London home - the commandant's grandson brings pie! She's hilarious, actually - as her daughter confirmed in the Q+A, she's a great one for one-liners. And there's a telling interview with a daughter of the commandant (since deceased), who completely refused to acknowledge that so many people died in the camp at all.. what about all the survivors, she says..?

D'you know though, there were some missed opportunities here. One glaring omission was the failure to say anything about what all these people's lives were like - what had the survivor done since the war? What had the commandant's son and grandson done with their lives? We did find that last much out in the Q+A, at least, but even a line to explain would have been interesting, during the film - although we got to see their interaction, and they discussed some philosophical concepts about how people should be nicer to each other, and communicate more. And she trotted out the old joke about the Jews being God's chosen people.. pity he couldn't choose someone else for a change..! But we got no backstory for anyone, which would have helped us to empathise, and would have made it all the more interesting.

In the Q+A afterwards, we did find out that the commandant's son, who features in the film, has spent his life as an unassuming car dealer, pretty much ignoring his history. He started in denial, but was pretty much converted by the end. The commandant's grandson, it transpired, is an evangelical preacher! He mentions, a couple of times in the film, how his grandfather was the greatest mass murderer in history - arguably true. We found out that the commandant's elder son, who'd been very close to his father, took it very hard after the war. Someone in the audience asked about this film's connection with The Zone of Interest - one of the filmmakers pointed out that, aside from this being a documentary and that fictional, in this film they did go into the real Höss house (not that we saw much of that, although the garden did look similar to that in The Zone of Interest). Apparently, the commandant's son also remarked that the family in The Zone of Interest seemed much more boring than the real one..

Well, the film's release has already done some good, it seems - they described how it's been shown in Tel Aviv, and apparently it prompted a rabbi and his wife to reach out to their Palestinian neighbours, to try to foster better understanding! They also expressed hope it could help with Holocaust education, which has apparently been dealt a terrible blow since October 7, with all school appearances since then cancelled. So, yes, this film carries a lot of weight on its shoulders - ultimately, for my two cents' worth, it's worth a look, but could have been better.

Naturally, it ran too late to finish this last night - and I was glad of a decent night's sleep! So, what's next..? Well, tonight and tomorrow, film again. Tonight's is one that's been hanging around a while - La Chimera is an Italian romance/comedy/fantasy, as described, and looks from the trailer to be a delightfully quirky thing. I'm delighted to be catching it at last! Closest showing is the Curzon Bloomsbury - one of my favourite venues, looking forward to that. I was going to go to the earlier showing, but what with writing this, it's run too late, so it'll be the later one. I tried to book, but of course the app is playing up again! Just as well, or I'd have booked for the early one.. I'll eat beforehand - GBK, nearby, is excellent.

Tomorrow's is Longlegs, the new horror film. Stars Nicholas Cage as the eponymous serial killer who leaves occult clues for a young, female FBI agent to follow.. Obvious shades of The Silence of the Lambs there. And it's really highly rated - in fact, no executive decision required to go see it, it literally topped this week's list! (after I eliminated the ones whose trailers I groaned at). Trailer certainly looks fantastic - quite a visceral performance from the young agent. So, I would have gone to see it today - except that The Hideout is seeing it tomorrow, so I said I'd wait and see it with them. We're seeing it in the Prince Charles, with drinks beforehand in Clubhouse 5 - and I've booked for dinner afterwards, in the local Bella Italia, of course! Yum.. It'll be great to catch up with them again, too.

On Sunday, back with Discover London - History Talks and Events for Kensington Mansions and Mews: grand houses and servant streets. Always a good walk with Jeanny!

On Monday, third Meetup in a row! I'm back, unusually, with London Social and Cultural Meetups for a social drinks evening in Daly's Wine Bar. And I can eat there too..

On Tuesday, film again - best rated is Bye Bye Tiberias, a documentary about a Palestinian woman who went to live in France, where she became an actor. Curzon Bloomsbury again.

On Wednesday, back with LLW for a walk entitled Fleet Street Newspapers. We're meeting at The Blackfriar pub, where I can eat, conveniently.

The plan for next Thursday is film again! Utterly delighted that this is still showing, and I can make it - I'll go to see Kinds of Kindness, the latest offering from the esoteric mind of Yorgos Lanthimos, who again has reunited Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe, with Jesse Plemons and Hong Chau, in what promises to be a wonderfully odd offering. Showing in the BFI this time, but not selling out, so I haven't booked. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

The next two days, back with CT for the Bitesize Festival at Riverside Studios - they have a few offerings, but on the 22nd, I'm going to see Dangled.

And on the 23rd, Namastae Bae - a satirical guru.

On the 24th, back with LLW for a walk about Newton and Legal London. We're meeting in The Devereux, but they don't do proper meals - I'm eating in The George, up the road, beforehand.

The next two days, back with the Over 40s. On the 25th, it's Afrique en Cirque at the Queen Elizabeth Hall - always love a circus!

On the 26th, it's Slave Play - at the Noel Coward, it got a terrific review yesterday. Stars Kit Harington - who apparently gets his kit off! (pun intended). Eating in the nearby Bella Italia.

And the 27th is the next date possible for my ex-coworkers' reunion, what with everybody travelling hither and yon, and suffering from jetlag.. I'm thinking of going back to Brown's, and nobody's disagreed yet!