On Sunday - I was thinking of heading to see West End Live, the free performance snippets of West End shows, performed in Trafalgar Square.. always a good one! But then, on what was a very busy day for Meetup organisers, London Museums A-Z (LoMAZ) organised a guided walk! And as it was around my area, I could hardly resist - we were to meet in Starbucks before heading off on a Southwark Hysteries Solstice Special walk, as presented by Herstorical Tours, in the person of someone who gloried in the name of Lydia Chlamydia, and was a whore of Ancient Rome.. and Camilla did such a good job of selling it at the Quentin Blake event that she got a good few more takers.
I live not that far away - I could walk there. And miracle #3 of the weekend was that the sign I'd brought specifically for her, from Hever, the day before, as freshly laminated by Jonny, made it to Starbucks safely and was delivered! Not straight away though - I was early. Saw toasties and thought that was a good idea.. got a "signature" ham and cheese one. And a bottle of water, which I figured would also be handy on the walk. The guy asked whether I'd like the toastie warm (?) and then whether I'd like a plate (duh). Napkins were not forthcoming. While I was doing all that, I spied two free, adjacent tables.. happily, they were still free by the time I got to them - in this scorching weather, it's not like I had a coat to leave to keep them.
The toastie, I have to say, was yum - albeit a bit messy. That, of course, is what the plate is for. I plonked the sign on one of the tables and sat at the other, and people arrived gradually. Someone ran to Boots, across the road - have to say, I'm delighted I found that one, which is the closest to me. And everyone but me availed of the toilets in the station, next door - would you believe, there are none in Starbucks, tsk.
And so to the walk - and Camilla looking up directions! O ye of little faith.. I knew exactly where we were going - it's not like I haven't passed it a million times. We clustered at the top of the steps that lead down beside Southwark Cathedral, to Borough Market.
The tour guide arrived in due course and chatted as we waited for anyone who might have lost their way.. and off we went, complaining about the heat. We didn't have far to go for our first stop, right in front of the cathedral.. where, handily, there was space to sit. This was to be significant throughout the walk.Seems there was a temple of Isis on this spot, appropriately near the river.. so our guide, admirably oblivious to passers-by, performed a tribute to the goddess:She was carrying a big bag of tricks, from which she fished something for use here.. as this blog is (generally) PG-rated, I won't specify what.. anyway, it's a, um, fertility ritual sort of thing..We weren't finished yet! Gets value from her stops, she does, dressing up next as Mary Overs, with a tale of how her father faked his own death to save money, because tradition was that the household would have to fast for a period after the death. However, he'd been a miserly old git, and the servants immediately raided the larder and had a feast. The old man, pretending to be dead upstairs, heard the commotion and thundered downstairs in a fury.. the servants, believing him dead, decided this must be a devil, and proceeded to attack and kill him. Mary, in distress, called for her lover, who in his haste to get there, fell from his horse and died. Aghast at her misfortune, Mary proceeded to use her fortune to found a convent, into which she retreated.. and which grew into the fine cathedral we see today.
Or not, but never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
Thence to Winchester Palace, to talk about the Winchester geese (the prostitutes licenced by the Bishops of Winchester):
At this point, she gave us a list of ordnances that the whores and brothels had to follow.. a whore shall not keep her own lover, a brothel shall not keep a "diseased" whore (syphilis, that would be), a whore shall not wear an apron..!Down then to the river, for the story of the Rat Queen, who bites the men working down there - and if they do not prove good lovers, she inflicts a curse on them and all their descendants! who will take on the appearance of a rat..
We carried on, of course, to Crossbones Graveyard, where many of the Winchester Geese - and others - were buried, and where I've been a good few times. We sat on the edge of the railings while she stood at the edge of the road to tell us about it - and I had to think it ironic that, just as she was talking about malnutrition, about rickets.. a Just Eat cyclist sped by. Followed by a Deliveroo cyclist. How times have changed..
And on to Red Cross Gardens - and I don't recall ever before seeing the mural down the back in memory of Alice Ayres, a housemaid who lost her life in a house fire, but managed to save her nieces first:
An informative and comprehensive walk - but also a very entertaining one! My word, she was so often breaking into snatches of verse, or taking on a persona - and all of this scripted by her good self! I have seen that done before (as she modestly reminded me in the pub afterwards), but not so impressively! Well done, that guide! And great suggestion, Camilla..
And so we repaired to The Lord Clyde (Southwark), where we met two LoMAZers who hadn't been able to make the walk (Camilla had asked beforehand where we were finishing, and messaged them). And much chatting was done - before they very disobligingly closed at 8pm! (early on a Sunday). So we wandered back in the direction of the station, towards The Blue Maid, which one of the group had sourced, and where we stopped for one for the road. And aw, I got a compliment on my U2 t-shirt.. only worn because the top I would alternatively have worn had a big brown (chocolate ice cream) blob on it from the day before..
The last post was so long, I couldn't get it finished before I was out again. On Monday night, I was back with TAC for a play called Reel Life in the Etcetera Theatre - my sometime companion said she'd come too. I decided to try the pub downstairs, the Oxford Arms, for food - they didn't seem available to book. Had to be Tube, that far out - and while it was clammy, I did at least get a seat almost straight away.
When I alighted, my companion was messaging me about food - I told her my plan, and by the time I arrived at the pub, she was already there. It was pretty full of World Cup supporters - Argentina was playing, and by the look of it, were very heavily supported that night, in that place. Mercifully, they had a beer garden, which I think took the brunt of the crowd, and we did get a table. No problem watching the match, there was a screen in every single direction.
I had the steak and ale pie - which was nice. The accompanying veg and potato, however, as well as the wedges I snaffled from my companion, all tasted vaguely of washing-up liquid, I thought.. and Lord save us, you could tell the server was new. If you hadn't guessed by her not providing an ice bucket for the bottle of wine, serving me warm glasses for it, or not providing me with a knife for my pie (my companion had asked for forks and napkins - she was just having chicken tenders and wedges), well, you'd have known when she had to ask someone more senior which a certain table number was. Irish accent too - I guess she was just off the boat (as they say!).
When I was finished, I checked where the theatre was - the guy checked me off the list and said he'd come and make an announcement when it was time. Well, the time came - and I got a bit worried when I saw him run out into the bar, have a quick look around, and go back - he obviously hadn't seen us, and I thought I should make a move. We got seats midway up the tiered seating - and lo, he was just making the phone announcement when I realised I'd left my blasted phone on the table downstairs! He was good enough to hold off on starting, and even came down with me while I got it - as he said, the main thing was that it was safe and sound.
Well! So, this is a two-hander, basically a slapstick in the style of silent movies, with these two playing off each other, to comic effect. Then one gets a big break, his own show, and tensions rise.. and something else gets in the way too - you figure out what near the end.
It's an athletic piece, well-performed, and the ragtime that plays in the background is good. But.. I'm not sure how well the comedy translates, although as I say, they perform it well - this style of comedy died out a while ago. Honestly, it doesn't fill an hour's worth of time either - and the twist in the end is quite incongruous. Perhaps if it'd appeared earlier..
Run finishes today, but dunno that I can really recommend it.
Afterwards, we went for another bottle of wine - my companion found the pub stuffy, and it was now fuller than before, so we went towards the station, and en route stopped in at The Buck's Head.. again, no ice bucket for it, but hey, we were drinking it fast enough anyway. This one had a roof terrace, so we climbed up there to have it - and there was indeed a nice breeze.
It unexpectedly started to rain just as we were finishing.. and rained on me all the way home.
I did actually get this post mostly done yesterday, but there's so much in it, I just couldn't get it done before I had to go out again. Last night was our work summer party, in The Rotunda again, which proved so popular last year. We had a company update beforehand, which was scheduled for an hour, but only lasted half that, so I got away in time.
I'd planned to get buses the whole way, but I had to catch one at London Bridge, and predictably, there was no sign of any bus to take me there. So I walked.. and by the time I got there, if I were to arrive on time, it'd have to be Tube - just as well, I hadn't fancied a long bus trip in the heat anyway. To be fair, the Tube wasn't terrible - I got a seat straight away, and had a vent blowing (fairly) cold air on me the whole way. I then had to walk up York Way - which was fine in the shade, but sadly the last bit was in the sunshine, and that was a killer!
I actually arrived slightly early - right in front of the people who were organising. We were let straight through, and discovered that a number of people had already beaten us to it! The helpful waiters started me off with a glass of prosecco - but by the time I'd finished that, I'd seen the white wine, and switched to that. Have to say, the waiters were on point with the drinks all night - I think people might have been drinking a little less than usual, with the heat. When the food finally arrived, I tried the lamb and the chicken. Had to ask them to give me more of each, they were a bit stingy. I found the lamb a bit tough - chicken was ok. Dessert was a strawberries & cream concoction in a jar, or a little lemon bite - I had the lemon, which I find terrific in the heat. So yeah, it was an ok evening.. I also found a few people to chat to. The evening did end early for a number of us, with a screen set up for whoever wanted to watch the England match. The rest of us left at that point.. and I got home early enough to shop. Too tired to blog, though.
The next two days are with Up in the Cheap Seats - tonight, we're at Under the Shadow, a horror play, based on the film, about a mother and daughter, trying to survive in a Tehran that is being bombed, who find themselves being haunted, on top of it all. Showing in the Almeida. I do hope there's air-conditioning - there's a red heat warning in place for these two days.
The weekend was supposed to be two more Meetup days. On Saturday, I was to be back with The London Sci-Fi / Fantasy Meetup Group for another social - in the Mad Hatter again! But wouldn't you know it, the pub cancelled it in favour of the World Cup. Thinking of film instead, and what's coming up is Effi o Blaenau, a Welsh-language film set in rural Wales, and based on the most excellent Iphigenia in Splott, a play that I saw years ago. Working-class girl, bored of life, gets an exciting glimpse into another world when she starts dating a wounded soldier - falls pregnant, and discovers the future she'd dreamed of with him isn't happening.. if the film is half as good as the play, it'll be worth it - and this is getting good reviews. Showing in the Garden Cinema.
And on Sunday, LoMAZ is supposed to be doing a tour of Brompton Cemetery - possibly including the crypt - as part of the series of Dracula events we're doing for the year. Mind you, it's slightly up in the air.. watch this space. If we do still go, that'll have been every weekend this month with LoMAZ.. but honestly, it isn't looking likely right now.
Looking like film for the next two days. On Monday, it's looking like Nino, about a young Parisian man diagnosed with cancer. Again, in the Garden Cinema.
And on Tuesday, it's likely to be Toy Story 5! Aw, I do enjoy them.. and this one has the traditional toys competing with AI. V topical. Nearest showing to me is in Everyman Borough Yards.
Next Wednesday, back with CT for Our Public House, a play about politics at a local level (in the pub), playing in Marylebone Theatre. Tickets with CT are actually the same price as the cheapest with the theatre, but with CT there's a chance of a better seat.. Eating in Mumtaz, across the road, beforehand - earliest booking I could get was for 6pm!
On the 2nd.. well, appropriately for LoMAZ's Dracula activities, the 1979 Nosferatu, with Klaus Kinski as Dracula (he's certainly scary enough), Isabelle Adjani as Lucy (sic.) Harker, and Bruno Ganz as Jonathan Harker, written and directed by Werner Herzog, is showing in Cine Lumiere..! And I've never seen it, would you believe. Part of a season of her films. Watch this space.. I flagged it to the Dracula group, and there's been some interest! (As one person said, if it's cooler..)
On the 3rd, back at Backyard Comedy Club with CT - double the price of other nights, for whatever reason, but still cheap.
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