Erebus Ensemble

Another concert at St. Matthew's, this time featuring Tom Williams' Erebus Ensemble singing a very varied programme, which inlcuded Byrd's Ave verum, Paert's Tribute to Caesar, Gorecki's Totus tuus, Gibbons' Hosanna to the Son of David, and the star piece of the evening, Thomas Tallis' 40-part motet Spem in alium.

A very pleasant way to spend a Saturday evening, sitting listening to beautiful music.

Anne Boleyn

This afternoon I went to see a production of a new play about Anne Boleyn which has had excellent reviews in other parts of the country.  

it was being performed at Putney Arts Centre, and before the show, we had lunch at a very nice Persian restaurant just across the road from the theatre.   Although the food was excellent, and not expensive, we were the only diners there, although the waiter said they got busy later.

The play was well cast, except for a black James I, who didn't really look the part - his actions and facial expressions just weren't right, and also the play emphasised his alleged homosexuality rather too much.

But apart from that, it was very good, giving a picture of Anne Boleyn as a woman who was quite capable of scheming her way into power and position.  

Was it historically accurate?  I don't know.  Apparently all her letters and other writings have been destroyed, so there is very little first hand evidence to go on in attributing reasons and motives for her actions.   Certainly she lived in an interesting time, and moved in circles where intrigue and double dealing were commonplace.

Putney Arts Centre puts on a lot of plays, and I've been to several there before.   They have a proper stage and stacked seating - important if you are little.

Ramble - Aldgate East to Bethnal Green

A Saturday afternoon, rather than a Sunday afternoon walk, on a lovely sunny day.  

Much of the walk followed the Canal, walking along the towpath, and also went through Victoria Park, which is lovely.

We ended up at Bethnal Green tube, which was the scene of a terrible tragedy during the Second World War, where so many people died trying to get down into the tube.   Today there is a memorial to them at the station.

Once again, a very friendly crowd of people - so a very chatty walk.

Ramble - West Dulwich to Sydenham Hill

Another great Sunday afternoon out in the fresh air, this time in south London, starting at West Dulwich station and walking past the Dulwich Picture Gallery to Dulwich Park, which is beautiful at this time of year, and full of people enjoying the sun.   There's a boating lake and a cafe, gardens, grass and trees if you like the shade.   There are also various items of exercise equipment, which seemed very popular, though I didn't get a chance to try anything.

After that we spent most of the time in the woods, partly following an old railway line.   Surprisingly, there didn't seem to be any squirrels about - in fact, I've noticed there seems to be a shortage of them this year.   I wonder what has happened to them.

As its name suggests, Sydenham Hill is a hill, but it wasn't a really steep climb and we weren't rushing.

Enfield

I took the rain out to Enfield, with the idea of going to a festival there and also having a look round Forty Hall.

There didn't seem to be very much happening at Forty Hall, so I went on to the festival.

The festival turned out to rather a damp squib.   Although advertised as a fantastic family event, it was in a field off the main road  behind the church, and although they were charging £1 get to in, there was really very little there.   A few rather under-stocked stalls and a mini fun fair for the children and not much else.   After having a quick look around I decided to move on, and found a very nice little cafe to have some lunch, before getting a bus back to Enfield Town.  

The good thing about the day was that I walked for miles and so got a lot of exercise out in the fresh air.

Ramble - Ruislip to Northwood Hills

A Sunday afternoon ramble starting at Ruislip station and walking through areas of green to Ruislip Lido, which was packed with people, some swimming in the Lido, others just enjoying the beautiful sunny weather. It's the sort of place it would be nice to come for Sunday lunch in the summer.

We stopped there for a cup of tea, which I think most of us managed to get, despite the long queues at the cafe.

After that we went on, and that was where I got separated from the rest of the group.   The leader asked if anyone wanted to use the toilets, and two of us said yes.   So we went, and when we emerged a minute of two later, the group had completely disappeared.   We hurried on the route we thought they were taking, but it was soon obvious that they must have branched off, and without knowing where they had gone, it was useless to try and find them.   So we asked someone the way to Northwood Hills, and with vague directions, set off.   Fortunately the other girl had a map on her mobile phone, which wasn't perfect by any means, but did enable us to find our way through the woods and eventually arrive at Northwood Hills station just as the rest of the group appeared.

Actually, I think we took a more scenic route, walking along muddy paths through the woods, making detours to avoid large puddles, and moving out of the way of the horses also out enjoying the woods with their riders.  

Diary of a Nobody

This evening I went to see "Diary of a Nobody" at the White Bear Theatre in Kennington Park Road.

The White Bear Theatre is quite small and located behind a pub.   There's no proper stage, and seating is on two sides.

"Diary of a Nobody" had a young all male cast, with the use of hats and gowns to indicate the female parts, of which there were several.    But on this evening, one of the principal characters had been suddenly called away, and so the others had to take his parts in addition to their own.  Which they did it amazingly well, with lightning fast changes of costume, voice and position on stage. Only talented and experienced actors could have pulled it off.   The result was a fascinating look at a world which no longer exists

Although this was my first visit to the White Bear Theatre, it definitely won't be my last.

Josiah Wedgwood

This evening I attended a lecture at the Chemistry Society on Josiah Wedgwood, the founder of the famous pottery firm - the talk was entitled "Josiah Wedgwood - the Arts and Sciences United".

It was an extremely interesting talk.   Everyone knows about Wedgwood pottery, but I expect few people know much about the man himself, including the fact that he was lame, due to a leg being amputated as a result of an abscess behind the knee.   But that didn't stop his enormous artistic and scientific output, nor his constant travelling to and from London.

Starting work as a young child as an apprentice to his older brother Thomas, Josiah quickly showed his abilities as a potter, despite not being able to work the foot pedal of the wheel due to the after effects of smallpox.  As a result he concentrated on designing pottery, where his artistic skills soon showed.

Josiah later set himself up in business, and transformed the pottery industry, industrialising the processes used, and incorporating his inventions to make his pottery better and more attractive.   Soon he was receiving orders from royalty, not just in this country, but from places like Russia.

Although working conditions in factories at that time were awful, Josiah tried to improve them and make life easier for his employees.   One of his most important inventions was the pyrometer for measuring the very high temperatures in the kilns during firing.   Previously this had been a dangerous and inaccurate operation.

In his time, Josiah Wedgwood was the most famous potter in the world, and his blue and white designs are still recognizable today.