Yesterday, I was back with CT for Ludwig: Unfinished Business, a comedy about Beethoven, showing in the Playground Theatre and performed by an actual pianist. Another Fringe preview. Eating in The Pavilion beforehand - and it's a good thing they reminded me on Monday, because I'd totally forgotten!
Over an hour, no matter how I got there.. unless, perhaps, I flew, which wasn't practical. So, Tube it was.. and WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT, severe delays again. Signal failure again. How long has it been since the Jubilee Line was usable?! Took the Northern Line, therefore, to connect to the Central Line - which wasn't too bad; the aircon wasn't great, but it was there, and I got a seat after a couple of stops.
A long and, frankly, boring walk to the pub followed - lots of terraced houses and gardens, a sports pitch, and a big flyover. The pub itself wasn't crowded - the youngster serving me hadn't a clue where to look for the reservations, so just gave up and told me to sit anywhere. Which I did, taking a sofa by the window. Ordered on the app - as a sign on the bar urges you to do.
And waited. When I saw bored staff members looking for gainful employment, I went up and asked whether my order had been lost.. nope, there was the receipt on the bar. She apologised, said they were still getting used to this ordering thing, and gave me my drink. I returned to my table - and in due course, my food did arrive. The app says the cutlery is on the table. No it isn't. I suppose the app isn't used to this ordering thing either. But she did bring it.
I had the katsu, as usual, now they serve it in Greene King pubs. As usual, you can't specify on the app that you don't want rice, so they serve it with rice and chips, and I eat around the rice. The sauce here was very thick, and there was a lot of it.. but by 'eck, they managed to avoid putting much flavour into it.. ah well, I was fed, and had a second glass before proceeding, since I was early.
A short walk to the theatre, where I had another wine and took a table in the bar. As usual, the instruction to arrive half an hour early to collect your ticket is rubbish - all I had to do was say to the guy, as we were walking in, where I'd booked my ticket from, and he waved me on with a smile. I took a seat in the front row.
Ah me, this was lovely.. as I say, the guy is a professional pianist - and as he regales us with the story of Beethoven (in a Teutonic accent), he entertains us with snippets from Beethoven: but also from Mozart, with whom he tells us he was always compared (he's supposed to be Beethoven's reincarnation). Also from Haydn, who apparently taught him. We hear how, when he went deaf, he laid his head on the piano so he could "feel" the music..
He says people described him as "the pounder".. I've heard a story about how impressionable young ladies were forbidden from listening to his music, lest it provoke.. unsuitable sentiments in them. I adore his music, as some of the most powerful and passionate classical music I've ever heard. We had snippets from the Waldstein, the Clair de Lune.. interestingly, not much about the Ode to Joy - a mention, but no snippet. Probably because it's the one everyone expects.
It's funny - and the music is heavenly. Highly recommended - except it's now finished its London run. See it at the Fringe from the 6th to the 30th! Oh, and on the way home, I noticed that traffic is running along my road again, heading towards town - which will be handy.
I had a lot of booking to do before I could do this post.. Next, I was thinking of two more days of film.. but now it's kind of two days of London Museums A-Z (LoMAZ)! Tonight, I did something rather related to their ongoing Dracula events - they were showing the original Nosferatu in Wilton's Music Hall, with live music, and a couple of others from the group went too. I booked to eat in Cote St. Katharine Docks beforehand, where one of them joined me. And mercifully, given my latest travel woes, I could walk both ways.
Now, my blister from Sunday hasn't properly healed yet - so despite the advent of the latest heatwave, I went with shoes instead of sandals. And it was a hot walk.. we arrived at the same time, and decided on a seat outside. I did mention to the guy that seated us that I had a booking, but it seems he forgot to register that I'd arrived for it - I wasn't checking my messages, so didn't notice all the messages from them asking whether I was on my way (I was already there)! I cleared it up later, and they apologised for the mix-up..
Meantime, we were very well fed - gorgeously cold tap water accompanied some excellent calamari, steak frites for me, and tuna for him - and we had a good chat. And a lovely view of the boats. And left in time to catch the film - and meet our companion, who was there before us. And had left messages asking whether we were en route, oops! Jeez, we sure were in demand..
We were all sat close to each other in the rear stalls, in glorious air-conditioning: and ooh, lovely period warnings, displayed beforehand, about removing our hats! etc:
And so to the film.. as one of my companions remarked, the accompanying piano was perhaps not the scariest. He'd seen it before, with scary music, and it made all the difference.. tonight, the slightly merry tune played put the audience in a somewhat lighthearted mood, and the various antics of the characters on screen evoked a lot of laughter - not to mention the shovelfuls of makeup.
Again, I could see similarities with the other versions - the bald Count Orlok, the rats, the idea of him as a plague-bringer. Interestingly, the interval left the story at about the exact same stage we are in the Dracula Daily emails, which you can sign up to have delivered daily, with the Renfield character in an asylum, awaiting the arrival of his master and catching things to eat, the Mina character (Ellen) sitting by the sea, reading a letter from her husband, who's been gone a long time in Transylvania, and Orlok making his way there by ship, and terrorising the crew.
One thing that no other film has reproduced - well, the latest version definitely gives a nod to it - is Orlok's shadow approaching Ellen's room, which I think is an absolute classic of horror cinema. And the scene with Orlok snacking on Ellen.. well, that's done better in the latest version, I think, more graphically. But this is the original, and as I say, a classic. Great to see the others who went, too..
Oh, and it seems the bridge has measles:
And tomorrow, I was thinking of Life Support, a documentary about the medics operating in Gaza. Evening showing is in the Rio Dalston. But then I saw there's a comedy showing in Riverside Studios, called The Big Dog, about a married stockbroker whose savings are cleared out by a dominatrix. Thought I might have a look at that instead.
But gee, it's turned out to be one of those really changeable days.. because now it's an unofficial LoMAZ day! One of the organisers decided to do something for International Friendship Day, and we're meeting at Between the Bridges! a free event with street food and such. They've created a WhatsApp group for it - and so far, 27 people have joined. Oh, it's gonna be so good to see them again..
I end the month on Friday with CT, heading to a concert called Sirens, with an all-female group singing classic numbers in the Emerald Theatre. Eating in L' Ulivo beforehand.
On Saturday, heading to the Prince Charles, who are showing Blackberry - a fictionalised account of the development.. of the Blackberry, the first phone with internet capability. I never did get to see it, and it looks fun. Eating in Bella Italia beforehand, of course - always great to have an excuse!
On Tuesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Allegra, starring Maureen Lipman, at the Harold Pinter - got a cheap ticket with Seatplan, and completely forgot I'd earned a voucher I could've used! I managed a seat at the edge of the Dress Circle, which is at ground level. Eating beforehand at Bella Italia again, yay!
On the 6th, thinking of film again, and what's coming up is The Sacrifice, a film about a family who've just discovered there's to be a nuclear war. Closest evening showing is in the Curzon Soho.
And woohoo, the 7th sees the kickoff of LoMAZ's Dracula trips! The book goes to Whitby next month - and so do we! Now, we were having dreadful trouble trying to figure out how to get there, with complicated travel routes - until I was at one of Laurence Summers' walks, we were having lunch afterwards, and talking travel, and I mentioned this trip to Whitby. "Whitby!", exclaims the woman sitting opposite me, "I love Whitby!" She's always there, it seems.. to which, of course, my response was - "How?!"
So, she always gets the fast train to York and an Uber from there - says it's the quickest, and cheapest, among any of the alternatives. So.. we're all getting the fast train to York! on the 7th. I booked with Uber, which got me the best deal - and points - and I had credit with them. Most of us are heading in the morning - I'm taking the day off - and then some are heading straight to Whitby by Uber, some by connecting trains, and some of us are staying in York for lunch and a wander around - it's a beautiful city. (And we're a flexible group.) We're then carpooling Ubers to Whitby, and have made a provisional booking at The Fat Badger in Whitby for dinner that night. We're trying to confirm numbers just now. We all booked our own accommodation - I'm in The Captain's Lodge, and it seems a few more of the group are next door.
The 8th looks jam-packed - not least because there's a regatta in town! A number of us have booked to go to the famous abbey that day, where there are two showings of a Dracula play.. and one of the organisers has put together a Bram Stoker walk. She's compiled a shortlist of places to eat that night. Meantime, there are a few Goth fans in the group, who are likely to hit the apparently numerous Goth shops in the town - as told to me by someone on another of those walks!
Now, I was on yet another walk when the guide said to me that the Dracula Experience in Whitby is great fun.. Well, I'll try and squeeze it in on the 9th, although I'm guessing we'll be having lunch, and then we're heading back home in the late afternoon - watch this space.
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