Talk: Johnson, Crime and Punishment, in Four Cases & Cleopatra: The Experience

Yesterday, I was in the office - with all the bus trouble lately, I got myself out early. And a good thing too, considering the journey took 15 minutes longer than usual (1hr instead of 45mins). When you have to be somewhere.. In the evening, I was back with London Museums A-Z (LoMAZ), unusually for a midweek event, a talk on Johnson, Crime and Punishment, in Four Cases, at Dr. Johnson's House. Sold out in due course.

No buses required, thankfully - it's walking distance from the office. Mind you, that was a trek, with my laptop.. the new, heavier, laptop at that! Made it ahead of Google Maps' estimate, arrived really early. Got a bit lost at the very last bit - it's a maze around there! The organiser had just messaged to say she was sitting with Hodge the cat - I knew the cat when I saw it, and she was indeed there, so we chatted for a while as we waited for the others to arrive.

Tickets were cheaper if bought in pairs, so I paired with someone from the group - and when she arrived, she agreed that Google Maps overestimates her journey times, too.. Anyway, the house was due to open at 6, so we headed over at about that time.

I'd never been inside before.. we entered via the reception and giftshop, and joy! They kept my laptop for me. And my coat, although not everyone left theirs - some were too cold, and it was truly a cold evening. And then we all had a wander through what is what I guess you'd call a standard townhouse, with decent-sized rooms but a narrow staircase:

Wine (red or white) was available for free (one glass each) on the first floor, and we took our glasses with us as we wandered, looking at pictures, many of which were accompanied by cards that either explained aspects of his life, or quoted some of his pithy sayings. This painting is of a servant of his, Francis Barber:

And the card on this one informs us that "A second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience":

A number of us were interested in the list of upcoming attractions:

Also on the first floor, we came across a most curious architectural arrangement, with moveable panels on both sides, seemingly intended to partition the living space into two separate rooms, but now moved to the side, creating, on one side, a teeny nook, and on the other, blocking the view of the stairs:

I liked the library:

If you look very carefully in the background of this one, you can see Hodge:

There were even costumes to try on, but we had just discovered them when it was time for the talk - and it was a good thing we were heading upwards, because the talk was in the attic!

We see here two of the four speakers, taking their seats. Each spoke about a different legal or moral case with which Johnson was concerned.. the guy on the left went first, with Shakespeare! Well, I never knew he was accused of poaching - as referenced in the handouts passed around:

The speaker also ran through Johnson's analysis of the lead characters in some of Shakespeare's plays, how moral they were, and whether right should have prevailed. He was a bit stumped in the Q+A though, with someone asking him what he remarked was a "very good question!", i.e. one he couldn't answer, about whether Johnson did the same for any Shakespearian characters based on real-life figures, and whether he compared and contrasted their real characters with their fictional portrayals.

Our second speaker's subject was Johnson's defence of the Rev. William Dodd, who was convicted of forgery, and in those harsh penal times, sentenced to death! She pointed out how Johnson himself, ironically, forged documents that were supposed to have been written by Dodd, in an attempt to portray him in a better light.. 

The third speaker was, for me, the most interesting - he certainly had the most entertaining delivery, as he told us about Johnson's commentary on Alexander Pope's poem, The Dunciad, which was a hatchet job on several of his contemporaries.

And our final speaker told us about how Johnson reflected the squalor of London of his day in his writings. She was the only other speaker to provide handouts, with a picture that illustrated the conditions of the time:

We agreed, afterwards, that it was good to learn about the man, of whom we'd heard, but about whom we didn't really know much. And so to the pub, along one or other of the narrow alleyways that lead there - we had a table booked in Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese for afterwards.

It's one of those pubs with different, fairly segregated areas, and it took some time to find our table - we ended up in the wine cellar, a pleasant enough space, where they had a long table for us with benches, which easily sat all who came, and we found ourselves surrounded by racks of wine:

and we found that Dr. Johnson seemed to have followed us!

Sadly, although the environment might have been pleasant enough (if a bit loud), the menus - both food and wine - left a lot to be desired. There were a few sharing plates, four burgers I didn't fancy, although others had them.. I had fries, which were passable. And crisps, which I'd just finished, handily enough, by the time the fries came. As to the wine - hah! Precisely one white wine, and that insipid. Conversation was good.. the wine was not. You have been warned.. Still, it was lovely to see these people again.

Anyway, I was too tired to blog last night, and it ran too late to blog today - I had to run out really early. This evening, I was finally back, after four months, with Over 40: Living the Life, for Cleopatra: The Experience, at the ExCel Centre. We were eating at Tapa Tapa beforehand. Well, it wasn't a candidate for bus (thank goodness!) - I took the Tube, which was busy, for two stops to Canary Wharf, then the Elizabeth Line, which was rammed, for one: and I have to give credit to the excellent signage directing me to it, it's the first time I've been in Canary Wharf and not got lost!

Signage to the ExCel is excellent too.. finding the restaurant, not so much! I identified the building all right - but it was only when I noticed Spanish signs in the first-floor windows, then looked up and saw a walkway from where I'd been, branching off to the restaurant, that I realised I'd passed the entrance! I mean, it's easy when you know how.. Anyway, a couple of the group had arrived early and decided to order straight away - a good idea with a tapas place, with all of us ordering small plates. They had started eating by the time I arrived.

So, as the rest arrived, they ordered as soon as they'd had a look at the menu. For myself, I love croquetas, so had two portions of those - one with ham, one with chicken. They were very nice, but tasted pretty much the same. With them, I had a plate of calamares, which weren't great. The white rioja, however, went down very well, and we chatted merrily until it was time to go in.

So, this exhibit isn't in the ExCel proper - but again, the route to it is well-signposted. First thing we came across was a bank of lockers, but when people found out they cost £3, the enthusiasm for them waned. Then we had our group photos taken, and we were in:

There's an AR feature, apparently - I couldn't get it to work:

Of course, Cleopatra was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, descended from Alexander the Great's general, Ptolemy - and gee, here I was, listening to his story on Tuesday. Small world! 

Pretty much the first exhibit was very appealing, visually, if we learned diddly-squat from it - graphics evoking Alexander, basically:

Now, it turns out she was born, and died, in Alexandria, and they had a model of the Pharos:

There was a piece about her children - didn't mention that her descendants died out in the following generation. Ah well. Anyway, they're big on VR in this exhibit, and we soon found ourselves at it - I suppose you can avoid it - they don't make it clear, but you could just not go in. Well, we did the VR walkthrough - I quite liked the design of the avatars that represent the other people around you. Pity I couldn't adjust my focus though - it was blurry for me throughout. It was fairly unexciting until we had to walk along a stone pathway that was forming from thin air over a dark void.. first time I've interacted with someone in these, when I asked the person in front of me whether they were waiting for the path to form! It was a little slow. Well, that was the scary bit.

And so to the immersive room, which is always good: footage displayed on all walls and the floor makes you feel as though you're hurtling through time/space:

We were moving at speed across the sea for this one, with some realistic rolling of the camera to simulate the motion of the waves:

No signposting, but we guessed our way to the next VR room, where we were seated. Decent enough show, but no warning when it was due to finish! and no indication which way we had to leave the room.

And so, out through the gift shop - which included some very un-Cleopatra stuff about Tutankhamen. I came through the wrong way, of course, but caught up with the others at the photo terminals, where you could view your photos (watermarked, so you can't snap a photo of the terminal) and order whichever you wanted. At £12 each (£10.50 for small ones you can put on a keychain or such), we passed.

So - the exhibition had its moments, some impressive shots - but ultimately, took a long time to tell us the same story over and over. There just isn't that much to tell! There are better exhibitions out there. Anyway, this one runs to the 12th of July.

Coming back, I joined the others on the Elizabeth Line, then bravely took a bus - I had time to shop while I was waiting, and it duly whisked me home with nary a problem at all!

Glad to be back early, because tomorrow, I have to be up early-ish for Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies - this walk is It's Only Rock 'n' Roll but I Like It! Unfortunately, the event page seems to be set up differently, not allowing people to sign up without paying through PayPal, and incurring the fee. He's having to take people's names offline..this wasn't his intention, and I'm not sure what has happened.

And tomorrow evening, I've been invited to attend a performance called An Act(Or?) by a friend of a friend in Notting Hill, optional firepit dinner afterwards (weather permitting), with payment of a supplement. Sounds interesting, and I've said I'll go - tickets from Eventbrite. Anyway, I should be able to make it across town in time.

On Sunday, back with The Hideout again for They Will Kill You, a comedy horror about a girl who takes a job at a Manhattan mansion, only to discover it's a temple to Satan, and she's tonight's sacrifice. However, they didn't know about the martial arts she picked up in prison.. not a spoiler, that's all in the trailer. At last the venue and time have been announced - we're headed to the Vue West End, and hallelujah again, I managed to get a booking at Bella Italia! And I have a voucher.. Lordy, it's over a month since I was last there! A couple of people from the group are joining me for that.

On Monday, heading to something advertised to me by someone I met on the last regular LoMAZ event I was on - he organises a WhatsApp community called London Fun, and had a spare prebooked ticket to Lifeline, a musical based around the medical profession and starring real medical professionals. So I said I'd go - in Southwark Playhouse again.

On Tuesday, back with Movie Roadhouse London, who are dipping their toe in horror as well.. also now advertised with The Hideout.. we're seeing Brain Damage, an 80s body horror about a guy infected with an alien parasite..  hmm. Showing in The Nickel Cinema - which turns out to be around the corner from The Wilmington, so I've booked there again. 

On Wednesday, back with TAC for another Kirckman concert for young classical musicians at King's Place- this time it's Sherri Lun.

On Thursday, back at storytelling with Orpheus Dismembered, featuring Ben Haggarty, of the Crick Crack Club. Happening at Hoxton Hall, and I'm eating in Schnitzel Heaven beforehand.

And next Friday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats at Sadler's Wells, for Solera - flamenco with Paco Peña. ¡Olé! Eating at The Wilmington again- and can go a little earlier, it being a bank holiday.