Film: Longlegs & Walk: Kensington Mansions and Mews - grand houses and servant streets

Yesterday's film, third in a row, was Longlegs, the new horror film. Stars Nicholas Cage as the eponymous serial killer who leaves occult clues for a young, female FBI agent, Maika Monroe, 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 looked fantastic - quite a visceral performance from the young agent. So, I would have gone to see it last Friday - except that The Hideout was seeing it yesterday, so I said I'd wait and see it with them. We were seeing it in the Prince Charles, with drinks beforehand in Clubhouse 5.

My journey would have been a little easier if my second bus hadn't decided to "change destination", dropping me short of where I needed to be - I could nearly have walked the rest, if another bus headed the same way hadn't pulled up right behind! The organiser had messaged that he was already there, and where he was sitting - as it turned out, three people had beaten me to it. I went for a drink - unfortunately, ordering took forever - some people were asking for the tennis, which was showing on a couple of screens, to be turned down - they were more interested in the rugby. Ireland v South Africa. And wouldn't you know it, anyone in the pub who was interested in it was shouting for South Africa.. Ireland was leading for most, but trailing as we finally left, damnit. (Ireland won by a point in the end, I see. HAH!)

Two Meetup groups were combining - this organiser runs three, and on the same day, at roughly the same time, and in the same cinema, he'd set up an event for one of them, The London Movie Club, to see Taxi Driver. We all met at the pub - so it was quite crowded! I needed to eat, so had ordered a portion of chips - which, as I told the barman afterwards, were the best I've had in some time! And we ended up leaving a little early, to accommodate those seeing Taxi Driver, which was a bit earlier.

Hmm. The hype for this was considerable - and as usual with such things, it didn't live up to it. I LOVE the premise, which I won't give away - but it is that most unusual of things in horror, an idea I haven't heard of. So, that's good. The acting is also good, with Maika Monroe proving a compelling watch, and Nicholas Cage, unrecognisable in a mad wig and white makeup, doing a great job of being demented! However, I would have liked the plot to delve a bit deeper into the technicalities of this - we have one scene where she finds references in Revelation, but it goes nowhere! except, I suppose, to plant the idea of the Devil in our heads. I would also have liked more of Cage's creepy voice.

An online review criticises the pacing, but does point out that this is precisely the kind of twisted film you might watch on a rainy afternoon - especially coming up to Hallowe'en. True, it is presented in an unsettling way.. and it isn't a bad film. I just wish it'd gone in a slightly different direction.

Afterwards, I'd booked for dinner, in the local Bella Italia. But some of the group headed to the pub, so I said I'd join them. We ended up in the maze that is Waxy O' Connor's - where a few of us stayed on to hear the live music, for a bit. It's every night, there. 

And I then headed for food to the only reasonable option left - The Hippodrome. However, I should have done my research - I've always liked the Penny Bar for its uncomplicated menu, but it seems there are several options - and the Penny Bar is not a good one, flooded with too-loud music, and the chicken tacos I ordered, I took one bite of and sent back; they were disgusting. I had chicken yakatori instead, which was much more successful. If I'm eating here again, I'll try one of the other options. Too tired to blog when I got home, and time ran away with me today, so I didn't have time before I left.

Today, back with Discover London - History Talks and Events for Kensington Mansions and Mews: grand houses and servant streets. Always a good walk with Jeanny! This far away, it had to be Tube - on the way, I passed one of the venues later to show tonight's football: 

My journey didn't get off to a good start, as I got myself (not my bag, my person!) caught in the entrance gates. And it's a good job she waits for a bit, because I just missed one train, the next was a few minutes after, and when I was finally disembarking, I was caught up in a whole heap of slow-moving people! As she remarked, when I finally emerged, South Kensington Station was not designed for the volume of people it now has to handle..

This was a tour of grand houses on main boulevards, and terraced houses in mews, where the servants that worked in those houses lived, and also where the horses were stabled, and carriages stored. They share features such as the stone surfacing, and gutters, originally to carry away the horses' waste. The mews houses often feature large doors, which led to the stables. Of course, later, these provided cheap housing, and were popular with artists:

such as Francis Bacon:

Many of the news are quite picturesque - and as she explained, there tend to be strict rules about what you can do, particularly to the exterior:

It was interesting to hear how big houses were in fashion in the 1860s, but by the 1880s, more house-buyers were looking for something a wee bit more economical. So, these would have been considered "middle-class":

Behold, we also came across Agatha Christie's house!

The attic room was apparently her writing room, and was probably added on so she could get a view of the gardens, over the way. Not anymore though - the people across the road followed suit, and built their own extra storey, blocking her vista!

The last house we saw was, as we were told, the last of its kind - these large houses were going out of fashion, and this one, in particular, is of an ornate style that, even at the time, was considered odd! Nicknamed "the house of seven gables", it now houses a couple of high commissions:

As we mused, going around, imagine having all that space to play with.. Anyway, another interesting walk, thanks Jean! We headed, afterwards, to The Stanhope Arms, which I was delighted to see was a Greene King pub, so I could be assured of a good meal. I had the steak and ale pie - a bit much for me, but tasty. And we got to see the end of the men's tennis final! and the awarding of the trophies. A very nice afternoon, indeed. 

On the way home, of course, I ran into the crowds, preparing to watch the football.. I didn't have to watch myself, the reactions I could hear from around my estate told me pretty much the whole story. Sorry, England, you did come close. A very sporty weekend..

Tomorrow, 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 London Literary Walks (LLW) for a walk entitled Fleet Street Newspapers. We're meeting at The Blackfriar pub, where I can eat, conveniently.

The plan for 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 (twice that evening), 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. I've just realised that London Baroque Music Lovers has an event that day - they're going to Prom 7, at the Royal Albert Hall. Durnit, forgot about that when I was booking for that day! but I was booking a lot, and it was late at night, so I was tired. Never mind, that's quite a late event anyway. Shame though, I hardly ever meet this group these days - their events aren't very frequent.

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 Over 40 Living the Life. 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. Stars Kit Harington - who apparently gets his kit off! (pun intended). Eating in the nearby Bella Italia.

The 27th is the next date possible for my ex-coworkers' reunion, what with everybody travelling hither and yon, and suffering from jetlag.. I was thinking of going back to Brown's. But now Ivan's requested the following day, because he's rehearsing that day - and the others seem fine with it. So I'll probably just head to the cinema on the 27th.

For the 28th, I've decided to go closer to Victoria - handy for James, whose train comes in there, and handier for the others, who are coming from far-flung opposite ends of town.. so I've booked The Albert.