Film: Le Pays d' Arto (In the Land of Arto)

This evening, no fewer than three Meetup groups (none of which I want to join) were headed to the Science Museum late for Star Trek's 60th anniversary! Well, there was nothing to stop me going on my own - I booked a timeslot late enough to allow me to grab something to eat. HOWEVER, on Saturday, Movie Roadhouse London advertised the UK premiere of Le Pays d' Arto (In the Land of Arto) for this evening, in which a woman travels to Armenia to source her husband's birth certificate, only to discover he wasn't whom she thought at all.. showing in the Institute of Contemporary Arts, where I hadn't been in nearly a year! Which made this the first of eight consecutive days of Meetups for me (as well as the second day in a row of films)!

I got up early so I could finish work early, so I could eat beforehand. Decided on The Admiralty, which always has room - I found a table without trouble, ordered garlic roast chicken and a carafe of wine. The carafe, I'd guess, wasn't 500ml - looked more like 375ml. The chicken, sadly, was quite bland - not much evidence of garlic. The spuds, mind you, were very tasty.. Anyway, I was well early to meet the others, and found two of them in the bookshop. Made my way to the loo first - turned out to be one of those with a sensor, which must have flushed six times while I was using it, then refused to flush as I was leaving..

When they started letting in, in we went, and sat in the front because the organiser wanted to - fair enough. With the stage in front of the screen (used afterwards for a Q+A), we were far enough back anyway.

It's beautifully shot - the director is known for documentaries, and shots of the countryside are stunning. And one scene in particular, with a guy rapping on a bus, is notable - at the end of the Q+A, one Armenian person in the audience was moved to interject to point out how much that song had meant to her.. the director explained how the composer himself was persuaded to sing in that scene! The song is Hascen Im Nuynn a (My Address is the Same), and is all about returning home.. something so many can no longer do, since the war that provides the backdrop to the film.

In fact, the director pointed out how there are Armenians who are really hurt by the film - she described it as an open wound. For her part, she is so obviously passionate about it.. and has sought to make something beautiful out of such an ugly event. So she focussed the plot around a love story, this woman seeking to understand why her husband shot himself, a quest that takes her right into a war zone. A very striking film, recommended. And after a fascinating Q+A, a fascinating chat in the lobby afterwards. Great to see everyone!

Tomorrow, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for Darkling, a play about an ecological disaster, set in Bhopal and playing in the Bush Theatre.

On Thursday, back with London Social & Cultural Meetups to see Pressure in the Vue Wood Green. Dying to see this, as it stars Andrew Scott (my favourite actor, although I don't think his 'tache in this suits him) as Capt. James Stagg, the meteorologist tasked with predicting the weather for the proposed D-Day landing. I saw the stage version of this back in 2018, would you believe, at the Park with UITCS.. and have remembered it ever since as one of the best plays I've ever seen. He disagrees with Eisenhower, you see, predicting terrible, stormy conditions on the day originally chosen (fun fact, they got a lot of their data from Ireland) - and really has to fight his corner. (He's played by Brendan Fraser in the film.) Damian Lewis plays Gen. Montgomery. And we're headed for drinks beforehand.

On Friday (so long waiting for this..), flying to Aberdeen for another London Museums A-Z (LoMAZ) Dracula event, yay! An early flight from Heathrow is an unpleasant thing to be doing, but it does mean we'll have most of the day up there..  the idea being that we'll be staying in the Kilmarnock Arms Hotel in Cruden Bay, where Bram Stoker started writing Dracula! (The hotel is now full for Friday night.) Now, as it happens, I'm co-hosting, JW is hosting.. and we're the only two on the trip! at time of writing. So, I guess we'll be hosting each other.. anyway, looking up public transport options to Cruden Bay, I discovered that public transport is a palaver, so I'm hiring a car - feasible with just the two of us. I'd rather not trust to Uber, or even taxis, in what seems to be quite a remote area. It'll be me driving, as he's still learning - which is fine, won't be the first time I've driven in Scotland. It'll also be handy, given that he's ordering a kilt, and needs to swing by there..

I found a great deal with Planet Rental Cars.. but when they sent the details today to remind me, I dug around a bit and realised they don't accept debit cards! Cue panic - I haven't had a credit card in years, haven't seen the need. Well, I consulted AI, which pointed me in the direction of Indigo, one of two rental brokers it mentioned that deal with debit card bookings. Sure enough, it's there as a special category. I filled in my details and waited for them to get back to me. Then I got antsy about the delay, and went on chat with them.. well, I can't fault their customer service. He found my details, asked me a few more questions, proposed me a deal, and gave me a link to pay a deposit. Et voila, booked! I could cancel the other at short notice.. so I did. And the actual company I'm getting it from is Enterprise, which I have at least heard of.. he also took my flight details, which Planet Rental Cars didn't, and gave me clear directions about where to go when I arrived. 

As to activities, well, nothing to do with the area at all, but The Uprising, a film about the Peasants' Revolt and starring Andrew Garfield and Jamie Bell, is out at the weekend and we both want to see it, so we'll probably be doing that in Aberdeen.. also in Cruden Bay is Slains Castle, which is rumoured to have provided inspiration for Dracula - will want photos of that, at least. Supposed to be generally creepy. Also, JW apparently has ancestry in the area, so I suppose that'll come up.. and there's a lovely, long beach. The hotel was in touch with him lately (funny, not with me!) to say if he wanted to have dinner there on Saturday, he'd better book - so we agreed on a time. I think. Anyway, we're flying back on Sunday.

And the next two days are with UITCS - on Monday, we're at The Children, a post-environmental apocalypse comedy playing at the Lyric Hammersmith.

And next Tuesday, we're at Kimberly Akimbo, a musical about a prematurely aged teenager, playing at Hampstead Theatre.

On the 16th, I'm thinking of heading to the cinema - what's coming up is GroBe Freiheit (Great Freedom), a post-WW2 German prison drama, focussing on a man who's repeatedly jailed for homosexual acts. Showing in the Close-up Cinema.

And whee, on the 17th, I'm travelling with LoMAZ again! This one is a trip to Ljubljana - which they've taken to abbreviating to LJ in the associated WhatsApp group. I booked an Expedia package - flying out with British Airways from Heathrow, direct to Ljubljana - many in the group are actually flying elsewhere and taking the train, which works out cheaper. I'm in an AirBnB, which will be a first for me - it's in the pedestrianised part of the old town, in Tromostovje Apartments. And would you believe, it was only tonight that I got around to replying to their message, requesting my arrival time so they could be there to meet me, a request they made when I booked this, months ago! Sadly, the airport shuttle was booked out by the time I got to it, so I'll probably take an Uber - they suggest to take any taxis to the nearby Grand Hotel Union, given that the apartments are in a pedestrianised area.

Well, Lake Bled is an obvious excursion, and last I heard, they were vaguely thinking of hiring a minibus to take us all - there's a sizeable group. Otherwise, no word of any plans yet. I'm flying back on the 20th, with Easyjet - again, booked a large cabin bag, and checked in, today! (They let you check in very early.) Others are carrying on to Venice, but goodness knows, I've done that to death. I'll be back to London early enough, might head to the cinema that evening, if there's something decent..

And on the 21st, heading to Laughter to the Rafters, a comedy show in aid of The Passage homeless charity, and starring Dara O' Briain, Ed Byrne, and Sara Pascoe, among others. That's at the Hackney Empire. I've booked a table at the Pizza Express across the road for beforehand - I've had trouble before, with them being full, and eating options around there aren't great.