Walk: 101 Dalmatians
Tonight, back with London Literary Walks (LLW) for the 101 Dalmatians walk! We were meeting in The Globe - I booked to eat there beforehand. Tube again.. which would take about half an hour, so no major rush. Just as well, considering I was on the same train as a small army of French-sounding schoolkids, all in florescent green baseball caps! Mercifully, they got on the other end of the train..
I'd booked for 6pm, arrived shortly after - the pub was bedlam. Staff were friendly, but I honestly couldn't hear much of what they were saying - the upshot was, I'd be eating in the upstairs dining room (currently roped off), which I'd have to myself, having the earliest booking! So, one of the four staff members took me up, complete with drink, which I figured I might as well get straight away. I had to go back down to order food, which I did pretty quickly - it's Greene King, and I love their steak n ale pie.
Unfortunately, I was kept waiting quite a while - to be fair, they were very busy. I was literally on the point of going and asking about it when it arrived, in the dumb waiter. The server - who did speak really quickly - mentioned something about peas - I think she was checking I'd got them the way I'd ordered them.. it seemed she had just had some altercation with a guy downstairs, presumably about the same thing. Anyway, all was good. All was better than good - that sauce truly is delicious, and I wolfed it down. The whole lot, unusually for me! I was hungry. 10/10 - I've rarely had such a delicious dish.
I was ever so slightly late heading downstairs to meet the group - and then took myself to the loo, and for another drink, finally joining our guide. In the event, only one other person joined us.. well, at least most of the people who weren't coming flagged that they weren't. We did wait a little for the one person who was still supposed to be joining us - but with no sign of them, off we went. As I mentioned, I haven't been around Marylebone much - primarily for the Movers and Shakers of Marylebone walk by London Herstory Guided Walks, over two years ago!
The initial stages of the walk were very Sherlock Holmes..
Well, he wasn't the only subject, of course:
But well, you can't hang out around Baker Street without talking about Sherlock Holmes. So.. here's the actual building at 221b Baker Street:
Her ghost is said to haunt it..
Ah yes, then we came to the Sherlock Holmes Museum - closed, but we could peek in the windows. Not sit on the window ledges though, there were signs against that..
We came across a bench, erected in honour of key workers:
And we came across what I looked up, and discovered was a chow chow - he was much more interested in his nap than in us!
Now, I don't know about you, but I get kind of suspicious when I hear about "behavioural labs".. this one is run by a business school! Cash offered to willing lab rats..
We came to the Steiner House! which, interestingly, houses Marylebone Theatre - as well as a cafe and bookshop and library (very Gaudí architecture, if you ask me..):
And we passed a church that had music playing! Some off chords hinted that this might be a practice rehearsal for a school band.. in fact, it turns out to be part of a school:
And gee.. if you look closely, this is actually also part of the campus! Wasn't always, of course:
For all that we found the birthplace of the Bentley, it was mostly BMWs parked round abouts.. and few Lexuses..
A poignant plaque commemorates Anglo-French collaboration in the Résistance:
Ooh, the origins of.. cricket:
And finally! the author of 101 Dalmatians, Dodie Smith - whose apartment, apparently, was all decorated in black and white.. just like that of her villain, Cruella de Vil! Not any more - we could see in, and the wallpaper was blue!
Our night finished at Marylebone Station - last visited by me, ooh, 16 years ago, when I took a train from here to see U2 at Wembley, on the first leg of the 360 tour! Far and away the best way to go, too - the Tube was way too crowded. Ah, brings back memories..
Another fascinating walk, thanks Stephen! and a completely different part of Marylebone to the one previously mentioned.
Tomorrow.. flamenco!! Which I love. Found a group, Flamenco Events in London, and have requested to join - no word yet, and there probably isn't going to be! Anyway, have booked for this concert in St. John's Church Hoxton. Tickets from Eventbrite - free after-show party, but I'm passing- have work next day, of course. Have booked with Schnitzel Heaven for beforehand.
On Friday, back at Sadler's Wells with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) again, for Oona Doherty-Specky Clark. Which sounds.. curious, being an interpretation in dance of a family history involving a family of butchers and, on the other side, working in an abattoir.. Anyway, eating at The Wilmington again.
On Saturday, I was to be back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies.. this time, for The Wallace Collection. But sadly, he's now postponed it till next month. Never mind, it isn't a complete loss - Helen is coming to town! We have a rough plan to have lunch at The Archduke, then follow our noses for the afternoon..
I was leaving Sunday free in case my ex-colleagues could come to a consensus to meet that day! But as it happens, Ivan can't make it that day, and with the sudden news of a cousin visiting, James isn't sure what he's doing for the whole month. So, for that day, I spotted an event from London Museums A-Z: for Gen Xers and Millennials (LoMAZ). I never heard of them before, but they seem to be zipping randomly around the alphabet.. this is T - for Tutenkhamun: The Immersive Exhibition, which apparently uses VR to put you right back in Ancient Egypt. Booked through an outlet called Fever, which I'd never heard of - also available on Eventim. Sounds interesting - and I do love VR. No problem in joining straight away, either..
On Monday, heading with my companion from the Swiss trip to a classical concert in St. John's Waterloo - booked with Eventbrite. We're eating at The Archduke beforehand.
On Tuesday, was planning film - and gee, London Net seems to be down! Checking individual film sites - and finding there's a bit of a lack of choice - I came across Riefenstahl, a documentary about the photographer and film-maker that propagandized the Nazi regime, among other things, and afterwards claimed to have no knowledge of what went on. Looks interesting. Showing in the Curzon Bloomsbury - and was mostly sold out already, so I booked!
Next Wednesday, back with LLW - for the Alan Turing walk, about the man said to be the father of theoretical computer science. Meeting at The Prince Alfred, where I've booked to eat beforehand.
On the 15th, back with The Hideout - for The Lighthouse, lovely! A psychological horror directed by Robert Eggers, who so recently blew all of our minds with his new version of Nosferatu, and co-written by him and his brother, Max, this stars Robert Pattinson, and the always-excellent Willem Dafoe, as the sole occupants of an isolated, 19th-century lighthouse - where the occurrences might be down to the supernatural - or to their fevered imaginations?! Always wanted to see this, and never quite managed it - but now it's showing at The Prince Charles, excellent. As usual, I'm eating at Bella Italia beforehand, and we're meeting for drinks at Victory House before the film. This showing is sold out already, so the cinema has arranged another showing in its other screen, starting a bit after this one on the same evening! Also now sold out.. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend, which I'm not really looking forward to - with my mother in the hospital. Assuming there are no developments.
And on the 19th, back with UITCS for How to Fight Loneliness, showing in the Park Theatre.
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