Walk: Heavenly Heights of Hampstead (#2), Film: Bad Apples, & Exhibition: The Coming of Age
On Saturday, the fifth of six Meetup days in a row, I was back at last with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies for a walk entitled Heavenly Heights of Hampstead. Had forgotten to pay him (as I always do in advance by bank transfer, it's handier), would you believe, I've had so much on! So it's as well he reminded me..
Tired after the night before, I really wasn't with the program that morning, as they say. It had to be Tube, but Northern Line instead of the Jubilee, which I more commonly get. Of course, force of habit made me enter via the Jubilee gates.. so I had a trek through the station to get to the Northern Line. And then I just took the first train to come - which didn't go to Hampstead! so I had to change. All the same, I arrived a wee bit early into brilliant sunshine, and spotted him across the road. Crossed, whereupon he explained we were actually starting where I'd just come from. So, back we went again. Ah, what a morning..
And I ended up carrying the coat I'd brought - despite a cold breeze, the sunshine was really hot, and getting more so as the day wore on. Anyway, we passed lots of expensively attractive houses:
We heard how Hampstead has a history as a spa town, known for the health benefits of its waters:
Kingsley Amis' house:
An interesting plaque referencing two Jewish refugees:
Some interesting architectural features (I think Laurence's wife, who was also on the walk, was getting ideas!):
I remembered from Laurence's last Hampstead walk that this was designed by a Mr. Goldfinger, an architect who was at loggerheads with Ian Fleming, who subsequently called an archvillain in his James Bond series after him!
This church was, unfortunately, closed:
Ooh lookee who used to live here!
This modern house was, it seems, designed on the same principle as a castle - with a drawbridge and moat!
And lo, we went in search of Keats:
I seem to remember this showing up in A Book of Bones, my favourite horror book!
Speaking of horror.. it was Laurence who reminded me that part of Dracula is set in Hampstead. And when he mentioned it - why, I only just then remembered that yes, that was the very bit that the Dracula Daily is up to right now! (the Substack subscription service where you can have the bit of the book that happens on a particular date emailed to you on that date)! Yes, Lucy has been interred in Hampstead - but has actually become a vampire, and stalks the area at night, kidnapping children, who are subsequently returned with puncture marks to the neck.. So, good timing for me for this walk then, and accidentally a London Museums A-Z (LoMAZ) Dracula event!
More gore at The Magdala pub, scene of a murder committed by the last woman to be hanged in England:
Mind you now, the bullet holes in the wall are fake - as Laurence pointed out, the murder actually took place across the road; the bullet holes were made with a drill by a landlady with the intention of making a killing of a different kind:
We repaired to The Garden Gate for lunch, where they weren't quite ready for us, not having realised that yes, we'd rather like all the tables appended to each other. And the wine knowledge of the person behind the bar was sorely lacking.. she spent ages looking for a Sauvignon Blanc for me before realising there was none left, and had patently never heard of the Albarino I chose as an alternative. As to the food.. it was a pity I didn't remember having been here before - the speed of service hasn't improved, and neither has the tough schnitzel!
The conversation, however, was excellent, as always.. and it was terrific to see people I hadn't seen in an age. A most convivial lunch was had.
And - as so often on these walks - that evening I was off to a film (second day in a row). This time, it was with Movie Roadhouse London for Bad Apples in the BFI - a comedy with Saoirse Ronan as a teacher who locks a problematic student in her basement. Hmm, wish fulfilment.. Well, with a few hours to kill, I was more than happy to take the direct bus there, which took just under an hour. It was comfy.. and I even had a nap, waking up just before I had to get off. Nice. And then I took a seat in the BFI bar and had wine and crisps until the others arrived. Very glad to see they now serve more conventional wines, and I no longer have to ask what's "like" Sauvignon Blanc, I can just actually get Sauvignon Blanc..
Now, when the others started to arrive, the organiser posted a picture of where they were. But honestly, this is a complicated bar (the one near the box office). So I wandered through it until my attention was caught by one of the group waving frantically. So that was all right then, and we had a convivial chat before we went in.
Ah, I loved this film - it was exactly what I'd expected, with Saoirse Ronan playing a blinder as an inspired, but put-upon teacher, completely hamstrung by a disruptive student who does everything in his power to block everything she tries to do. With no support whatsoever from management, and a dreaded Ofsted inspection looming.. when a crisis looms, it's not a surprise when she bundles the kid into her basement and denies all subsequent knowledge of where he got to.
It's funny, as she goes so far as to get a harness to limit his range of movement, so he can't attack her. And then there's the persistent - and annoying - teacher's pet, always obedient, always has the answers in class. And far too nosy for her own good.. or her teacher's..
An entertaining fantasy - but it does raise some serious issues. Like - why is the problem kid a problem? Does he have support at home? Does he have learning difficulties? And the swot who wants to be teacher's pet - don't be fooled, she's not half as helpful as she seems, more out for herself, and with an unhealthy obsession about her teacher. As for the lack of management support - and especially Ofsted, which I mercifully never had to deal with, but oh, have I heard complaints from ex-teachers about it.. yeah, I feel your pain, teachers. So, a must-see for anyone who's ever taught - and entertaining for anybody else. Nice one - got very high ratings from the group. As we discovered in the bar afterwards, where we repaired for more drinks. A lovely evening was had, as ever.
And yesterday, back yet again with LoMAZ to see The Coming of Age exhibition at the Wellcome Collection. I arrived early in the cafe, but there were already a couple there from the group - and although it was crowded, well, LoMAZ has a way of making space for itself, and as people arrived, we managed to spread out. I tell you what though, I had a ham & cheese baguette, but it wasn't as nice as those in the British Museum - the roll wasn't as crispy.. and a water, which, interestingly, comes in cans.
And so to the exhibition - plenty of guides available as you go in, and also in large-print format, or as audio guides online.. none of which are really necessary, as there's a defined path through the exhibition, and all exhibits are explained. Why, there's even a "tactile", as they describe it, line along the floor to tell you where to go.
Of course, Japan is known for the longevity of its citizens - and one of the first exhibits shows these ceremonial bowls they give to people on their 100th birthday. Interestingly, it seems that they used to be made of silver, but with more and more people achieving this milestone, the cost became prohibitive, so now they're made of nickel.. as one of the information panels muses, you could draw an analogy between that and the devaluation of something common - so, old age is less valued as it becomes more common.
Kinda looks like they're smaller, too.
The symbol on the interior stands for "longevity".
Ah now.. I saw this exact exhibit in Aix last year! A bowl of fruit, rotting, sped up. Jeez, it's following me around..
My mother had a Zimmer frame for years towards the end. Honestly, they're such a standard symbol of ageing, I don't know why they bothered to include this:
OMG, Charles Darwin's walking stick. Mind you, as a number of people remarked, it's quite flimsy - doesn't look like it'd support a person's weight. Perhaps he hit people with it:
Pictures of old people - some said to have had record-breaking ages. We were taken by the prominent stare of the guy in the top middle:
We were shown some depressing economic statistics:
Now, here we have a section on birthday cards, with a particular focus on those that mention an age, or ageing. I always loved the funny ones, and would choose those in preference. Unless I didn't particularly like the person:
But jeez, for this exhibition, they got together a focus group to find everything they could that was wrong about the cards! saying they were offensive, ageist.. oh dear God, did you ever hear of a sense of humour?!
There is a smaller section on teenagers:
Cool - cat ladies!
An interesting section on how both older women, and young ones, were often seen as witches. The common denominator seems to have been a fear of their independence:
And of course, witches who had cats weren't called cat ladies - the cats were called familiars!
I did like the bits about growing old disgracefully. This woman liked to put things in her enormous hairdo:
Hard to see, but some of them are cats, too..
There's stuff from a cafe whose staff all have dementia! Must be interesting..
Oh, I remember these Japanese care robots. Apparently they had two main problems - the expense of purchasing and maintaining them, and the fact that, with robots to take on the load, the relatives of the elderly just stood back and let the robots do it all!
There's an interactive element, where people are invited to write what they would have liked to know when they were younger.. I liked this answer:
Towards the exit is a lost property room - I leave it to your imagination what that might represent. Anyway, I had a look around:
The tags on them relate to the elderly. I don't doubt this statistic, except I would've expected it to be higher:
Can't fault this statement either!
The most evocative shelf, for me, has a theme of time:
Unf. I was first out. I mean, I know I read fast.. but I also think I felt uncomfortable in there - and indeed, others in the group remarked how depressing it is. But frankly, any honest discussion about old age is going to be.
A few of us blazed a trail to the pub, The Crown & Anchor, where we found tables in our organiser's name. It being Sunday, they had roasts on - they were dubious as to whether they had any left until they discovered we'd booked, in which case they were happy to provide - I had the roast chicken. Which, of course, came with a pile of food.. the chicken wasn't amazing, but the sauce was, and I had a delicious meal. I believe I inspired someone sitting across from me to have the same! And we had a great chat.
So, a most sociable weekend, three different groups, delighted to see them all! Thanks to everyone for a lovely time.
Tonight, I'm back with TAC to see Who Killed Marilyn? at the Emerald Theatre. Spoiler, this assumes it's the Mafia.. I just got emailed my ticket.
Tomorrow, was thinking of cinema - coming up is, again, Coyote Vs. ACME, a partly animated comedy based on the roadrunner cartoons, in which Coyote sues ACME, whose products always blow up in his face. It's getting great reviews - nearest showing to me tomorrow is in the Odeon Luxe Haymarket, and again I'd have to leave quite early for it. But just yesterday, I was in touch with my friend James, first time in about a month - and we're meeting tomorrow evening in The Phoenix.
On Wednesday, heading with CT to see Franz & Marie, a new folk musical version of Woyzeck, in preview at Charing Cross Theatre. Eating in Bella Italia Strand beforehand - I see they don't do the discounts any more than the branch in Cranbourn Street.
On Thursday, thinking of film again - and what's coming up is something I saw the trailer for ages ago; Tony is the story of how Anthony Bourdain became a chef. He's played by Dominic Sessa, his mentor by Antonio Banderas. Closest showing to me that evening is in the Barbican. But since I'm not going to Coyote Vs. ACME tomorrow now, I'll probably go on Thursday instead. Still on quite early in the Odeon Luxe Haymarket. And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend, because otherwise I shan't get back at all next month!
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