usedtobeljs | Entries tagged with london

Back after a few days of travel to my favourite city, looking at my to-do list, heaving a sigh....

It was lovely to be away, despite Tube strikes making at least one planned activity impossible. The place my travel friend and I stayed was an amazing terrace house in Chelsea, owned by a person who is heavily into country-house style and conveniently placed for hanging out with friends and the King's Road. I visited the Thames multiple times, did some shopping, did some eating...

And saw a WONDERFUL production of A Number at the Old Vic. Lennie James and Paapa Essiedu were outstanding.

But of course it's been a sad, sad week + of world news, and I'm thinking of the people in Ukraine and those in Russia who don't support the war but are trapped in a country where the economy is about to collapse.

Sending hugs and light to all those who need it.

Welp, I had not planned to go silent for the last month, but it's been hell at work and then my big trip, so....

I'm back!

My birthday, which was a big one, was v.v. quiet. Had a lovely lunch with Freixenet and went to my killer exercise class, with work bits inbetween. Had a dinner with best bud A and her husband the week before (because they were on their way to a Central America holiday), and am promised dinner with best bud S at some point in early January. So there we are.

Did make it to London and back. (I just missed the horrors of train delays and washed-out motorways, so it was all good.) You might know that I'd planned an overnight trip to Paris as well, but, er, the Paris transportation strikes and the cancellation of our Eurostar meant it was just London. That was all I needed.

Theatre: A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic, with Paterson Joseph a great Scrooge and inventive, interactive staging by Matthew Warchus and great singing and energy from the company, pity about the muddled script by Jack Thorne; The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the National, SO FREAKING GOOD, magic and sadness and scares and healing, with Samuel Blenkin excellent as the Boy and Justin Salinger handsome and effective as Boy Grown Up/Dad, and Pippa Nixon as a first-rate creepy Ursula Monkton (one major plot point changed from the book, but it really worked); Cyrano with James McAvoy, directed in stripped-down moderne stylee by Jamie Lloyd as is his wont, GREAT first half, slow second half where the directorial conceit and script did not work nearly as well. McAvoy is as excellent as one would expect, and also hot as hell.

Exhibitions: first time to the Charles Dickens Museum in Bloomsbury (tiny, evocative); a powerful, magical, transformative Tim Walker exhibition at the V&A, which I will be thinking about for a long, long time; the small but choice exhibition at the Museum of London for the 40th (!!!) anniversary of the Clash's London Calling.

Visits with Paratti and L, as well as my brother and brother-in-law.

Eating out: Ivy, Tower Bridge, for my birthday dinner; Champagne and cheese at Champagne et Fromage near Covent Garden; dinner at Joe Allen which I enjoyed tremendously. Oh, and tea at the Ritz, where the Good Omens references came thick and fast.

Shopping: exhibition T-shirts, loads of books (including Zawe Ashton's latest play), stationery, Fortnum's (OF COURSE), and a gorgeous Stina Goya silk shirt from the Shop at Bluebird.

Master Danger was moderately pleased to see me return.

So -- will try to post one more time before the decade ends, but until then, happy holidays.

1. I am back from London, with the traditional post-travel cold.
2. London was work this trip, but I had some wonderful days and evenings, including one with a pre-theatre dinner at Joe Allen in Covent Garden and then a great seat for Betrayal.
3. How good was Betrayal? UNBELIEVABLY HAUNTING AND WELL-DONE, SO SO GOOD.
4. This review by Time Out gives you a sense of it. So does this review in What's On Stage.
5. Hiddleston was a Robert like I've never seen -- cold posh boy on the outside, vulnerable fucked-up romantic on the inside, probably bi, disappointed and hurt by both Emma and Jerry -- and he broke my heart. Zawe Ashton's Emma has haunted me; her interpretation of the character got to a fundamental dissatisfaction with self (despite a seemingly golden life) which spoke directly to me. Charlie Cox was very good, but the other two are the ones I keep thinking of. Really intriguing directing by Jamie Lloyd, too.
6. Also, Hiddleston is in fact JUST THAT GOOD-LOOKING. Jeez.
7. Also saw Gillian Anderson, Lily James, Monica Dolan, Rhashan Stone, and Julian Ovenden in All About Eve. Amazing acting -- Anderson is a revelation -- but I somewhat reluctantly don't think the play adds anything to the film. Worth seeing, though.
8. Shopping: Paul Smith shirt and Fortnum's goodies as usual.
9. Master Danger has been clingy since I got back, with a side order of Fuck You Lady.
10. [cough] [sneeze] Anyway, here we are.

Hullo, hullo, I have returned from a 12-day holiday. (Which makes the icon choice a bit odd, but anyway.)

Quick thoughts:

*The Cornish coast is a magical place.

*The current heatwave in England is Not a Good Thing (says a person who was stuck on a train with broken air-conditioning for several hours during one of the record-setting days). The lack of rain has left fields and grass brown, which I have NEVER seen before. That being said, a cool breeze on a hot day is a Good Thing.

*Ian McKellen in King Lear was great -- the modern-dress production was intriguing too, and I super-hard loved Sinead Cusack as the Count(ess) of Kent, which gender-swap was inspired. In addition, Anthony Howell (Milner in Foyle's War) played Albany, and he is v.v. handsome. V.v.v. handsome.

*I went to the Paul Smith shop by Covent Garden and walked out with the Most Perfect Trousers in the history of the world (which were 50% off, too): straight-leg ankle-length, colour-blocked in blue and black. I cannot tell you how happy they make me.

*Also, new fragrance: The Revenge of Lady Blanche, by Penhaligon's, which makes me feel like a femme fatale. (I believe in wearing fragrance every day. Apparently, when my travel buddy told me that she doesn't wear any, I literally went white -- "like I had just told you I went naked all the time," she said, chortling. I don't judge anyone for not liking fragrance, but yes, the concept is somewhat alien to me.)

*Also, fun visits with Paratti, including a truly insane cocktails-and-dessert experience at the Oxo Tower Brasserie terrace, on a hot day but with providentially provided clouds. (Why insane? Because I don't drink cocktails, and I tasted but didn't finish everything except a pear cider/pear schnapps combo.)

Hope your July has been going well! Onward!

1) London was lovely, despite the shortness of the visit.
2) I am currently in love with Rory Kinnear, Bertie Carvel's curtain-call bow, walking across Tower Bridge at night, James Tissot's 19th-century society paintings (like this one), Fortnum's (as always), visiting with friends, shopping at the Covent Garden Paul Smith shop, and splashing out on a posh hotel.
3) I also saw Belleville at the Donmar, which featured James Norton in a fine performance (with moments of undress) and Imogen Poots but also was just the kind of play I am inclined to dislike. Well done, though.
4) Now, home, I am sick. A chest cold has fallen upon me in manner of ravening bad thing.
5) Christmas, quiet but nice.
6) Master Danger has gotten over his joy at having me home, at which point he was sweet as cake, and is now snappish again.
7) The Christmas Doctor Who wrecked me, because I am not ready to let Twelve go, but I liked the episode (and loved Mark Gatiss's performance, my darling. Also -- how nice is Steven Moffat as a best friend, to write that gift of a part for his work husband!).
8) Time for tea.
9) Hugs to all!

I'm back home. Master Danger is snoozing on the linoleum, it's bloody hot in the subtropics and there's worrying news about my dad -- so let me remember my trip, which after an initial hiccup was awesome.

Rather than listing everything I did, a few moments to remember:
*unexpectedly seeing friends at the gate next to mine, and having a nice visit before I boarded (and before they went to Europe)
*checking my phone one last time on the plane out, with a glass of fizz on the armrest
*hot strong PG Tips and toast in the B&B where I stayed one night
*sitting in a cafe in a small town in Derbyshire, windows on a rainy green, with a be-hatted older woman drinking tea at a nearby table whilst her lurcher sat at her feet and sighed
*at the House Style at Chatsworth exhibit, the motto jumpers worn by the previous Duke of Devonshire Andrew Cavendish -- such as "Never Marry A Mitford". LOVE.
*green green EVERYWHERE
*a single pale rose on the bush outside my bedroom window in the flat in London; drinking wine on the garden patio of the flat
*HOT for three days, OMG. London theatres are largely not air-conditioned, either (although thank heavens for the National, which was)
*tea at the Ritz, with ambiance and sweet stuff
*some awesome theatre, including a revelatory performance of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches wherein Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane, and Russell Tovey were mesmerizing and heartbreaking (okay, Roy Cohn wasn't heartbreaking); DAVID FUCKING TENNANT in Don Juan in Soho, a star to his bones, louche in slim-cut suits and charmingly repellent as the modern rake-figure; the sweet and delicious love story in Rattigan's Love in Idleness, wherein Tony Head was dashing and GORGEOUS and passionate, and Eve Best was Life Goal. [Also in LiI: CLOTHES PORN, omg: 1940s silk pyjamas for Eve Best, and a silk shirt/wide-legged trousers outfit that looked classic and still current; pinstriped Savile Row for ASH, also black tie (OMG), and a camelhair coat that was unreal in its swagger and perfection)
*visiting with friends, including Paratti
*the colors of the David Hockney exhibit at the Tate Britain
*new shoes
*my footbridge over the Thames, in afternoon and at night

Hugs to all, and may your weekend be full of good things.