Walk: Shoreditch & Spitalfields
Today - yay, he's back! Laurence Summers was 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.. promised to be a great day out!
Dragged myself out of bed - it's not that far anyway, and with no delays of the sort I had the last time I headed to Shoreditch, I arrived quite early! In time, in fact, to grab a Mars bar from the Nisa I'd passed on the way to where we were meeting, at the art' otel Hoxton. Brilliantly sunny, and quite warm for the afternoon, it was - I perched on the ledge running outside to eat it, until he arrived. And others I hadn't seen in ages - and Helen trotted along after a few minutes. It was a decent-sized group, all told.
And no, reading up about it, it doesn't seem Shoreditch was named for Edward IV's mistress, Jane Shore, being thrown in a ditch - the name predates her. Anyway, she seems to have found her way to respectability in the end!
Our first stop was in Hoxton Square. Typical - I lived close to it on either side, and don't believe I ever visited.. well, if I did, memory fails. Anyway, this cute statue is called Holding Hands:
and this used to house the White Cube art gallery:
Again, Shoreditch Town Hall is something I never really considered - except as a bus destination:
Considering its size, it's not a surprise to hear that it has been used for a variety of events. Beautiful building, I have to say - most impressive. Also of interest are the old industrial buildings, round about:
Across the way, this coffee cart is the latest in a long tradition:
At Arnold Circus, we found ourselves in a former slum - when the buildings were demolished, they made a little hill from the rubble, with a bandstand on top!
Street art was to be a major feature of the day:
We meandered around Brick Lane, finding more street art:
and hints of the international nature of the area:
and, as they say, is it THAT hard to find parking..? No, this is actually a replica of the new Nissan Qashqai, and is made of fibreglass:
More art:
and a reference to where the street got its name:
More anti-slavery campaigning. It's often been people from rundown areas who think about the welfare of other misfortunates:
And we spent some time considering the silk weavers of Spitalfields - the industry was started by the Huguenots:
And so to the second church of the day we couldn't get into - Christ Church Spitalfields was actually in the process of a wedding:
We passed a preserved facade:
where, of course, I forgot to mention - but we were headed for lunch - again - in the Lord Aberconway. We had a long table upstairs - which was a teeny bit of a squeeze, but we managed. And Helen and I had delectable chicken schnitzel, which I don't remember seeing here before! And we had a lovely, sociable lunch - ah, I've missed these..
Helen and I then took ourselves off to the market..
where some purchases were made, before we repaired for dessert to The Astronomer, and more chatting before I bade her farewell. (A second bottle of wine also invited itself along - and I'm happy to say that - unlike yesterday - I wasn't frazzled enough to try to pay for it with an Oyster card..) Great to see her as well! and a great day for catching up with people.
Tomorrow - 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. And we were lucky with the weather today, it seems - it's looking like pouring rain tomorrow: just the day for the cinema!
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 Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) at Hampstead Theatre. Got a good seat from someone in the group who couldn't use it in the end.
On the 1st, the same group were supposed to be at Cake: The Marie Antoinette Playlist. At The Other Palace. I 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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