Storytelling: Island of Love

Tonight, more storytelling with the Crick Crack Club - this was Island of Love, another Story Pick + Mix, at Next Door at Theatre Deli again. Again, it was related to Greek myth - this was the story of Cyprus, birthplace of Aphrodite, from a Cypriot storyteller. I tell you this though, I determined not to eat in La Spezia again after the last time, it just isn't worth it!

Headed off from the office in time to eat, all right.. in the nearest Nando's. Got the bus without issue, and then Google Maps threw a fit, and actually showed me as walking in the wrong direction.. I've often had them put me in slightly the wrong location, but never before actually show me heading in the wrong direction! Took a few minutes for it to right itself.

And then I got to Nando's, and couldn't open the door.. not seeing any activity inside, I moved away to check my phone - and when I looked again, the door was open. (Ghosts?) Anyway, I went in, had a quick look around, and determined the active part must be downstairs. There's a lift, but I braved the stairs, rucksack n all (I was in the office again today) - sure enough, downstairs was buzzing, brightly decorated, and a waiter standing at the foot of the stairs to greet us: and I was seated immediately. Service was really quick, despite the busyness, and I'd left enough time to have their delectable choc-a-lot cake! Why, my waiter even poured my second glass of wine for me! (They serve it in cans in Nando's.)

I was only five minutes' walk from the venue - made it just in time. Tonight, Laura Sampson was hosting.. she recognised my name from last time, but evidently not from all the times I've been to the main Crick Crack Club! Mind you, this is her baby. The sweet selection was fresher than last time - I chose just a couple:

She always compares the performers to a sweet - this one was a chocolate lime, with an unexpected flavour and texture, as she said. Our storyteller has been in Britain most of his life, it sounds like, but retains a bit of the Cypriot accent - and he started off with the mythology, pronouncing the gods' names in most unexpected ways (he made sure to translate, though). Now, in this version, Cronos castrated Uranus - whereas, when I heard Ben Haggarty tell it, it was Zeus that did the deed.. oh well. Most people seem to agree it was Cronos. (It's all hearsay anyway, eh?) Point is, the castrated member fell into the sea off Cyprus, and Aphrodite was born from the contact.

His storytelling had three strands, which he mixed and wove together. First came the mythology, then his and his family's personal story - how his mother was English and fell in love with his father when he arrived in England, following him to Cyprus - she left, with their children, when the hostilities began in Cyprus, and never saw him again. He continued with more family stories, and moving accounts of how the division of the island affected people.. and the story of his own love life too.

And of course, that brought him to talk about the politics, the devastation. Quite an affecting set of interlinked stories, interspersed with fascinating snippets of Cypriot life. And he'd brought special, Cypriot sweets for people to share! Me, I wanted to get home - and wow, it was cold when I got out - after yesterday's warmth, too! The breeze would cut you..

And yes, Google Maps lost me again, sent me down a cul de sac. And when I did eventually find my way, the bus driver very nearly drove past! I swear, if there hadn't been so many of us waiting.. I do see they've finally put a shelter at that stop though - it's about time, all the cold and windy days I waited there! I shopped on the way home - needed quite a few things.

Tomorrow, the second of the year's concerts from Rune medieval music group, in St. Bartholomew the Great! This one is A Merveillous Swevene: Dreams & Visions, and again I'm eating in the Old Red Cow beforehand. And wouldn't you know it, I mistook the time of the concert, and booked dinner too early - ah well, shouldn't be a problem to get off early!

On Saturday, I'm with a new Meetup group called, ahem, Get a Social Life! Well, see, they're doing a daytrip to Glastonbury and Cheddar Gorge - I've already booked my tickets for Glastonbury Abbey and the Cheddar Gorge caves. Sadly early start - but it is a long way.. and the gorge looks amazing.

And on Sunday, thinking of heading to the cinema - and what's coming up is Two Prosecutors, a Russian drama set during the Stalinist era. Described as a Kafkaesque satire on bureaucracy, it does look good.. To get an evening showing, I'll have to head to the Curzon Bloomsbury. I have used all my free tickets that membership entitles me to, though.. probably worth taking up their "bundle" offer to "buy" more free films. Not for documentaries, which are cheaper, but then, this isn't a documentary..