Walk: The Magic Toyshop & Play: The Lightest Element
Last Wednesday night, the second of three Meetups in a row - I was back with London Literary Walks for The Magic Toyshop. Meeting in The Alexandra, Clapham, which only does pizza - so I booked at Carmen Tapas, just up the road, beforehand.
Clapham turns out to be quite easy to get to, for me - I could have got a bus, in fact. If I'd started out in time. But I was finishing off the blog.. so I ended up on the Northern Line instead. Which was boiling.. mercifully, someone gave me a seat after a couple of stops.
I was still late for my reservation - happily, it was right across the road from the station. With a warmer turn in the weather, they'd opened up the full-length window, and some people were sitting outside. I was to discover that I hadn't needed to book - I think they were the only people there! Well, she told me to take any seat, so I did - not right beside the already occupied table..
My choice was croquetas de jamon (ham and cheese croquettes with a garlic mayo dip), pollo a la crema (chicken in a white wine and mushroom sauce), and a pan de ojo (garlic bread) side. The croquettes are a go-to of mine for tapas, I adore them. I was curious about the chicken, which is a dish I more regularly have when eating Italian. As to wine, they don't do sauvignon blanc by the glass here, so I had a white rioja.
All arrived individually, when ready. The wine was lovely. The croquettes and garlic bread were to die for - the chicken was nice enough, but not spectacular - I'd dithered over whether to have them, or the chicken strips; if I'm back, I might choose those. But gosh, this place is great - I never felt neglected for service. Prices reasonable too. Yep, I'd be happy to come back! I'd have had more, if I hadn't had to get going..
And it was a minute's walk from The Alexandra. Where I couldn't initially see our leader, but grabbed a drink before checking the other side, and there he was. Plenty of space here, lots of wooden beams on display. The others arrived in due course - and we got most of the people who signed up. And had a lovely chat before we left - there's always a good atmosphere with this group.
It was already getting dark by the time we set out - unfortunately, not great for photos. But we would rather not miss the chat! Anyway, one of our first stops mentioned a local chap, John Venn - yes, of the Venn diagram! Well, his grandfather and namesake was actually the local - but who's counting?!
We then schlepped off to Holy Trinity Church, where the aforementioned local was rector, as well as a central figure in the Clapham Sect:
In fact, they were holding some sort of service as we arrived! Not wanting to join, we carried on. Another prominent member was William Wilberforce, and they ended up causing the abolition of slavery (in British Dominions):
and came across Chase Street, which seems quite royalist:
In due course, we came to the mention of the person who inspired the walk - Angela Carter actually wrote a book called The Magic Toyshop! not to mention the book on which The Company of Wolves, always a favourite film of mine, was based:
We subsequently came across a magic toyshop of our own!
A quirky neighbourhood indeed:
We also came across some old almshouses:
Leading, at the top, to a suitably spooky graveyard:
On to an interesting display of plates:
A fascinating area, and another entertaining evening - thanks, Stephen and all! Sadly, this is the last of his I'll be able to make for the year - he finishes this month, and I'm busy next week; read on!
Of course, I was in the office yesterday, and had to be up early, so had no time to blog - and although I fancied doing it in the office (I did get it started), I was stymied by two things: firstly, I had a day full of meetings, and secondly, when I was finally finished, the CEO popped up at the hot desk beside me! So I could hardly do it under his watchful gaze.. Anyway, last night, I was back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for a play called The Lightest Element, at Hampstead Theatre (HT) - and there's a terrific deal with Time Out!
Boy, was I ready for my dinner after my chock-full day.. again, a day I could have taken buses to the event, but didn't leave in time, and ended up on the Tube. And it was packed, and the Central Line was stifling - at least the Jubilee Line had aircon. Although I didn't get a seat, this time. I was glad to squeeze off - and ah, the peace and tranquility of Ye Olde Swiss Cottage, my go-to for food at Hampstead Theatre! Someone had taken my regular seat, tut - but I found one in the opposite corner:
I asked for chicken schnitzel, and there was a brief moment of suspense as the till informed us they didn't have any left! However, the chatty, witty, friendly guy behind the bar, with what sounded like a NI accent, said he was sure they had some, and phoned the kitchen to check - sure enough, the tech was wrong. So I got my schnitzel. And some onion rings, for a change - I don't know that I'll bother again though, they weren't especially tasty. But the chicken was lovely. And I seem to have gotten the last wine glass - he had to spend an age searching for one, and everyone after me had to settle for some other kind! When I asked for a second glass - being early, and having time - I asked him to reuse mine.
A lovely, relaxing meal I had - and not one, but two ladies came in with what looked like the same breed of dog - a French-sounding lady informed someone who asked that her lovely, bouncy, friendly, woolly doggie was actually a poodle - you rarely see a full-blooded poodle these days.. Anyway, glad to see a dog-friendly place - when she asked, he said of course he could find a little bone for the dog! Offered water as well, but she said she was all right for that.
And so to the theatre, where the others already had a table in the bar - it was only when I saw the organiser had a ticket with a seat number on it that I realised I had to go to the box office to get mine! Tsk, should have read the instructions. Anyway, we who booked on the offer all ended up in the front rows:
Yep, not much to look at initially. But as the play progressed, we were to see that the space is very cleverly used - the upper section of the wall turns into a starry view, appropriately for this story of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, a groundbreaking astronomer whose work laid the foundations of modern astrophysics. A section of the floor also revolves, allowing them to bring in different sets effortlessly.
When we meet her, it's 1925 - and as if academia weren't forbidding enough, with the entrenched attitudes of older academics, resistant to change - back in those days she had to contend with an underlying sexism as well. She studied at Cambridge, but they didn't give degrees to women in those days - so she ended up at the somewhat more progressive Harvard. And in the opening scene, we see her arguing her PhD thesis with her external examiner, the famous Henry Russell, whose work it contradicts (oops!). He had concluded, you see, that the sun and earth had similar chemical composition - she found that the sun was actually primarily composed of hydrogen (the "lightest element" of the title, being the lightest of all known elements), and helium (the second-lightest).
The upshot was, you know, that he forced her to back down on her conclusions, or not be awarded a PhD at all.. when he later tested her results, he found that she was actually right. Funnily enough, when he published as much, he ended up being mainly credited with the discovery - he did briefly mention her in his paper on it..
So she subsequently taught at Harvard - unofficially, mind; not even they would accept women formally on the academic staff. When we next meet her, it's 1956 and she's fighting to be made a full professor (unheard of, for a woman!). The college paper decides to do a piece on her - even has a female student interview her (also unheard of!). It's slightly complicated, though - her boyfriend, who works on the paper, seems to be angling for a piece highlighting the would-be professor's Communist leanings - her husband is Russian, you see - and this is the era of McCarthyism..
I loved it. It's a fascinating depiction of a real person who had to contend with both McCarthyism and sexism - although the latter part of the play does deal primarily with McCarthyism, there's always that insidious underlying sexism, in the way the male characters treat, and talk about, the females, in the stories the female characters have to tell.. very different times. And perhaps not so different, in ways - we're still afraid of "reds under the bed", with Russia the aggressor again. Academia is still often as closed-minded (and there's still a predominance of men in the "hard sciences"). And don't imagine that we no longer have to deal with women being treated as inferior.. as Caitlin Moran once said, if you want to decide whether something is sexist, just ask yourself whether the boys have to do it too..
Fascinating, topical, and a fitting tribute to an important astronomer. Runs till the 12th - highly recommended. An hour and a half or so, without interval - unfortunately for me, because the wine caught up with me, and I spent most of the play needing the loo, but afraid - being in the front row - that if I went, I wouldn't be let back in again. And I really didn't want to miss this. Anyway, I did manage to make it to the end - the long queue for the toilet was NOT appreciated! Afterwards, we had a lovely, long chat in the bar - much of it political, of course. A great night, all told..
It ran too late to blog last night. Tonight, I'm back with CT for the Backyard Comedy Club, first time in ages! And my sometime companion from UITCS is coming - which almost makes it a Meetup..
Tomorrow - yay, he's back! Laurence Summers is taking the 45+ Not Grumpies on a walk around Shoreditch & Spitalfields.. and I'd completely forgotten, but Helen said she'd come on this too! Cool.. should be a great day out!
On Sunday - well, I'm not mad about the film, but I love hanging out with the group, and it's the best option I seem to have! So I'm joining The Hideout for They Live - at the Prince Charles Cinema. Meeting beforehand at Clubhouse 5, as usual.
On Monday, I'm off with TAC to see The Band Back Together, a play with music, at the Arcola.
On Tuesday, back with London Social Detours - first time in nearly six months - for a talk about The Players' Theatre. I see tickets are now gone - just as well she pre-booked! And we have a social afterwards, of course.
Wednesday is another work social - darts this time (!) at Oche.. now, I've never thrown a dart, or even watched a darts match, in my life. So this should be interesting..
On Thursday - yes, The Hideout again! Now, this time they beat off some stiff competition - but the film promises to be excellent. The Substance stars Demi Moore as an ageing star who finds her roles drying up as her looks are fading. So when she comes across a miracle drug - "the substance" - on the black market, which promises to restore her to a younger, more beautiful version of herself.. she jumps at it. Of course, it doesn't work out quite as planned. Dennis Quaid plays her boss, who fires her for not being young enough for her TV fitness show. And honestly, I can't remember when I saw a new-release horror film so highly rated.. few enough of any genre are so highly rated! It apparently got a standing ovation at Cannes, perhaps for its castigation of the emphasis on beauty in the media. We're seeing it at the BFI - and after my previous experience with Black & Blue, I'm returning to The Archduke for food. First time in a couple of months. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
On the 30th, I'm at Bellringers, back with UITCS at HT. Got a good seat from someone in the group who couldn't use it in the end.
On the 1st, we were supposed to be at Cake: The Marie Antoinette Playlist. At The Other Palace. Booked my ticket from Todaytix. Eating beforehand at the Bag o' Nails, where I'd booked before and had to cancel, when my event was cancelled. Except.. guess what happened? The show's run is finishing (very) early! Before this date.. so the event is cancelled, and I got a mail from Todaytix, with a voucher code for the amount spent, to be used for future bookings. I preferred a refund - who knows when I'd get around to using the voucher? Checking the email carefully, I saw a link to the support page to request a refund - clicked the link, went on chat, probably got a bot - but as I had all my details, the process was pretty quick, and I got my refund. Yay. Ironic that I'd only just booked it - ironic, also, that I've now booked for the Bag o' Nails exactly twice, and had to cancel both times.. gee, must be cursed!
I had some trouble finding an alternative - with nothing decent on Meetup or my cheap ticket sites for the day, I was back to Time Out! I had to scroll a long way down, though.. Giant, with John Lithgow, at the Royal Court, was sold out for the day, Shifters, at the Duke of York's Theatre, had no decent seats available for the day at a decent price (and that theatre has plenty of bad seats).. after pages and pages of scrolling through things I didn't want to do, I've finally booked for Coriolanus, starring David Oyelowo, at the National. Eating at The Archduke again.
The 2nd, I finally leave on my long-anticipated trip to Romania with the 45+s! That afternoon, most of us are flying Ryanair from Stansted, to be met by an English-speaking guide and transferred to the Continental Forum Hotel, in time for an evening tour of Bucharest. (I've already downloaded the Rough Guide to Romania!)
On the 3rd, we're heading straight off by coach to Transylvania.. walking tour of Sighisoara, where Vlad the Impaler was born! Staying in the Hotel Korona that night.
On the 4th, we're off to Brasov - apparently has the narrowest street in the country. Walking tour, staying in Hotel Kolping that night.
And on the 5th, we're headed to Bran - for the famous castle - and Sinaia, for Peles Castle - before heading back to Bucharest for our flights home.
Safely back - hopefully - on the 6th, I'm with Cultureseekers for the Charlie Chaplin Guided Walk. Finishing at The Jolly Gardeners Pub.
And on the 7th, back with UITCS, who are off to Southwark Playhouse for Foreverland - more biotechnology SciFi.. possibly less spooky than The Substance! Booked, as usual, on their excellent PAYG offer, where you pay in advance for discounted tickets to five shows, no time limit..
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