Walk: Nooks and Crannies of London, Film: Backrooms, & Sachertorte #2
Couldn't blog on Friday night - I had to be up early. On Saturday - back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies for his Nooks and Crannies of London walk - and damnit, Meetup was charging for RSVP again! (plus an extra charge, of course). Seems as though that'll continue to be a feature - although not consistently.
I was one of the first there, as it happened, and arrived at the same time as Laurence - and his wife - and the dog, Daisy - and his wife's friend. Quite a retinue! We waited a bit for latecomers, and set off - on a day that, mercifully, wasn't as hot as earlier in the week. Especially good for Daisy, whose woolly coat did cause her some problems all the same. Laurence's wife took charge of her mainly, walking with her in the shade, and frequently carrying her.
Soon, we were stopped in Red Lion Square:
Now, the reason I've taken a photo of the ground is there's a rumour that Cromwell is buried there. Somewhere. During the reign of Charles II, who rather objected to his dad's murderer being interred with royalty in the prestigious surrounds of Westminster Abbey, and so had him dug up, the dead body put on trial, found guilty, decapitated, and yes, reburied - the head being popped on a spike on London Bridge first as a deterrent to anyone thinking of doing the same. Well, quite.
Bertrand Russell is almost as inconspicuous, tucked away in a corner:
We came across a very fetching pump, with two outlets - the upper one for drinking water, the lower one for water suitable for washing clothes, etc:
This building on Fleet Street is always worth a look - called Staple Inn, it was once the site where wool was weighed and taxed:
This started out as an insurance building - Dickens, who always crops up, lived here.. but mainly it's an attractive spot to sit for a while and admire the architecture:
Strolling past Hatton Garden's jewellery shops, we came across an interestingly positioned guard dog - "How much is that doggy in the window?" indeed! There was a right ruckus when this doggy spotted Daisy..
Ye Olde Mitre pub houses a bit of a cherry tree that dates back to the time of Elizabeth I:
We made a pit stop at St. Ethedreda's Church - churches are always wonderful in the heat:
Now, the name can also be represented as "Audrey":
And would you believe, that's where we get the word "tawdry"? St. Ethelreda, you see, died of a throat tumour (apparently), and considered it divine punishment for wearing ostentatious necklaces in her youth. Anyway, subsequent fairs in her name sold a lot of cheap ribbons and such - and "St. Audrey" got abbreviated to "Tawdry"..
They were actually getting set up for a wedding, but Laurence persuaded them to let us in for a few minutes, just to have a peek.. and then he could hardly get us out again! ;-)
The candles are a lovely touch, in what could be quite a dark space:
Tootling on to the Church of St. Andrew, Holborn, sadly not open, we saw the figures of charity schoolchildren at the entrance:
Nobody really knows why Gunpowder Square is so named, but the cannon was put there because of the name, not the other way around:
And so to lunch, in Ye Olde Cock Tavern, where we got our usual table down the end, and my chicken kiev took forever to be served. To be fair, when it arrived it was massive. I also see they now have a different Sauvignon Blanc - but still Marlborough, so all is well. And they were very happy to accommodate Daisy - who, when she saw she wasn't getting any of our food, finally deigned to eat her own. An interesting afternoon's conversation was had, in the course of which we learned the correct pronunciation of the word "Kiev", and I was described as a walking Time Out. :-) I'll take that..
Laurence then fancied a coffee, and as they didn't have any, he picked some up en route, as we walked to The George (Strand) for another drink for those still accompanying him..
And oh look, Dr. Johnson again!
And after one drink, I had to rush.. because I was back with The Hideout for Backrooms - the film version of Backrooms on Creepypasta, a series of liminal horror stories about featureless, unending rooms and corridors, sometimes with hostile beings in them.. stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, as his psychiatrist, as - well, he might be expected to need one, with this kind of tale. As usual, the Meetup started in Victory House, where I arrived a little bit late, but no issue - and in due course, we moved on to the Vue.
Happy to say this is very good indeed - I don't think anyone in the group didn't like it. As seen in the trailer, he phases through the wall at the back of his furniture store, to find himself in a seemingly endless maze of rooms and corridors, painted featureless yellow, and all filled with the buzz of florescent lights. All very anonymous - except that the first room is piled with a load of random furniture - much like what he sells (or tries to) in the store. He enlists a couple of teenagers to help him explore - and in due course, she comes there too. Things do not go exceptionally well for any of them.
There's been a lot of chat about the director - and why not, considering he's all of 20 years old! Kudos to him, this is a remarkable achievement.. and as Sinead Hanna has said, this could also have worked well as a simple found footage production, but he's done so much more with it. It is very interesting to note that, when the psychiatrist goes through, she doesn't have the same jumble of furniture in front of her - I agree with Sinead's assessment that this is indicative that the space is unique for everyone, and a reflection of their own minds. In that sense, it reminds me very much of a book I read some years ago, called House of Leaves, in which the interior of the house changed configuration according to the person experiencing it, and the mental baggage they brought with them.
She also makes a very good point about the destructive nature of repetitive behaviour - as seen in imperfect reproductions in the backrooms. So you could see it as a depiction of the deterioration in our character's mental state as he continually repeats unhealthy behaviour. Alternatively, with all the buzz about AI, people are also saying it's a commentary on that, and its imperfect recreations of the instructions it's given. As it happens, the psychiatrist has her own demons too - and as Sinead points out, when they are together in the backrooms, the associated items they see they are a kind of meld of both personalities.
Won't be for everyone - the horror is a slow burn, and one thing that's great about the film is the ambiguous ending - but again, that's going to be divisive. I absolutely loved it - the setting, the change of what's in it, and particularly the "imperfect reproductions" at the end, I found deeply unsettling. It's not that many films can disturb me - and I would love to see it again, given that it was slightly sensory overload for me on this occasion. Highly recommended for anyone who's into this kind of horror.
Afterwards, to the W Hotel again - where, baulked by the price of the Sauvignon Blanc, I tried the Rioja Blanco, which was a bit sharp, and finally settled on the Chenin Blanc, still much cheaper than the Sauvignon Blanc. And ooh, when a bluebottle decided to commit harakiri in my glass, they replaced it without quibble! The company was excellent as ever - but wow, going to the bathroom was a trial - the entire place is mirrored..!
Too tired to blog that night.
Yesterday, I got a cheap ticket with CT for the Sunday concert at Conway Hall, with Francesca Dego and Alessandro Taverna. But with Mark and Martin cancelling the week before for sachertorte because of the heat, Martin and I decided to do it yesterday instead - the last day for it in The Lanesborough. And the weather was supposed to cool down a bit yesterday! So I cancelled the concert.. with no word from Mark, I settled on a time with Martin. Mind you, they only had four timeslots left - so I picked the one closest to what we wanted, which was slightly earlier.
I got there first, gave the lady my coat and got a brass token in return. She gave me a table by the window, right beside where we'd been the previous time - it was much busier this time! Also glad to see they're dog- and cat-friendly.
It was curious - when I booked, I could choose a "general" booking, or one of several Sacher pop-up options - but I now see why they were confused when we came before, because of course the organiser of that event must have also booked the general option: sensibly, because each of the Sacher options was for a specific drink with a specific dessert. So that's what I also did for yesterday, especially considering that none of the drink options actually included the wine I wanted. Anyway, I was glad to see that, unlike the previous occasion, where we had to ask for them, the specific sachertorte menus were already laid out on the table. I ordered a glass of wine while I waited.
I had the slice of cake, Martin had just a cube - and one of the special Sacher coffees. And was very pleased with both - although, as he said, all Germans are cake snobs.. with good reason, they make such good ones! And we spent a long time catching up.. it's been ages since I saw him. As the evening went on, they turned off the ceiling lights, leaving us pretty much in the dark! Now, I don't know whether they were trying to get us to leave, but if so, it's strange that it took so long to get the bill - we had to ask twice. They did separate it when we asked though. And I swear, it took another 20 minutes for them to retrieve my coat - recommendation, don't use the cloakroom if you don't really have to, or are in a hurry..
Martin went home afterwards - but I needed to eat, and not at those prices. No.. I did a quick search on Google Maps, and came up with the Rose & Crown, a Greene King pub about five minutes' walk away. Lots of American clientele, sounded like - well, there are a lot of posh hotels in the area. I had the steak and ale pie - and it was as delectable a pie as I've ever had in a Greene King pub. Very moreish - and I stayed for one more glass of wine. Delighted to find another decent eatery in the area! Oh, and Mark said yes, he was feeling under the weather, but is now much improved.
Tonight, I was supposed to be back with CT and Shake It Up: The Improvised Shakespeare Company, first Monday of every month in the Hen & Chickens. But Lordy, on Saturday night, the organiser of The Hideout persuaded me to join them again this evening - the original Poltergeist is showing in Cineworld Leicester Square. We're meeting in Victory House again beforehand. And so that's two outings with CT cancelled in a row!
Tomorrow, back with London Fun for Churchill's Urinal, about a female Chancellor of the Exchequer wanting the urinal in No. 10 removed.. showing in the King's Head. The organiser bought the tickets - and later informed us we'd been upgraded. As he says, another reason to buy the cheap tickets! (Much discussion in the group recently on the relative merits of Churchill himself.. always a heated topic.)
On Wednesday, the last scheduled from the Crick Crack Club's Story Pick + Mix in Next Door at Theatre Deli - this time, it's We Are Fox, with Alys Torrance and Lucy Lill. And it's a good job that they recently invited me to buy a ticket - I'd completely forgotten to do so! Now sorted.
Then it's five days in a row of Meetup.. on Thursday, I'm with Up in the Cheap Seats for a reggae musical called The Harder They Come at the Theatre Royal Stratford East - the story of a young musician trying to make it in the business.
On Friday, back with The Hideout for the latest Scary Movie, yay! The trailer looks hilarious, with its references to horror films and popular culture.. and as usual, it'll be interesting to try and spot them all. Only thing is, it's run by the Southeast London branch.. and while I'm in the Southeast, this is far, far southeast.. we're headed to Vue Bromley. I'll have to get a train..
Then it's a London Museums from A-Z weekend - Saturday is their bimonthly birthday bash, in the Union Jack as usual.
And on Sunday, I'm headed with them to see an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, of Marilyn Monroe's life in pictures. Off to the Brewmaster afterwards.
Finally, next Monday, I'm back with London Social & Cultural Meetups (also advertised, again, with the London European Club) for a talk at the London School of Economics - this one is Ten Years On: Brexit and Britain's Political Future. Rumours of drinks afterwards.
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