"All Hail", whereas he meant all harm

Watching Professor Robert Bartlett's final episode of "The Plantagenets", I was reminded of that day in December 2000 when I went to see all three parts of Shakespeare's Henry V1 in one day at the RSC's Swan Theatre (see posting 20th November 2010). At the very end of the final part are these words and the most memorable scene from any production I have ever seen.

They are spoken by Aidan McArdle as Richard of York. He is asked by King Henry to "kiss your princely nephew", Henry's baby son. The text instructs the following words to be spoken as an aside. Richard carries the baby to the front of the stage and pronounces to the audience "To say the truth, so Judas kissed his master and cried "All Hail", whereas he meant all harm". Well, we know what happens in Richard 111 and the princes in the Tower.

Henry is actually played by David Oyelowo, now a major film star. All three parts were brilliantly directed by Michael Boyd, and I guess he is responsible for this dramatic conclusion.

Vitality London 10,000

My parkrun entry to the London Vitality 10,000 only cost me £15.00 for running around the streets of the capital. How amazing is that! The weather was kind, mostly sunny with some cloud and only very warm in the direct sun. Plenty of shade from the taller buildings.

We drove to Amersham where we could park for free on a Bank Holiday and took the Metropolitan Line into London. £10.60 for all our travel compared with nearly twice that on the main line. On the station platform were two couples we knew from parkrun, so the journey seemed a lot shorter with all the chat. The train was full of runners by the time we arrived at Finchley Road to change trains for Green Park. Here we had to queue for the exit barriers with the station packed with those running and their supporters.

We found a quiet spot and sat on a table's bench waiting for the time to make my way to the start. The organisation of the five pens down The Mall was excellent, I was in the middle purple pen (apparently they had never used this colour before). We were off at 10.30 am on the dot and were very soon running under Admiralty Arch, one of the many great sights along the way. At halfway we were at the back of St Pauls.

I thought I was running at 9.30 pace, but reaching 5 K in 30 minutes turned out to be nearer 9.40. However, I had decided to take in the sights on the way, and it was very crowded. There were nearly 20,000 runners. I upped my pace in the second half and with 2 K to go, in some lovely shade,  I tried to accelerate. However with a couple of hundred yards I was out in the sun for most of the way to the end. But I did finish in 58 minutes and 51 seconds, which meant that I was running at an average of about 9.16 for the second 5 K, and under that for the last mile. It was the slowest of all 13 of my 10 K races, however my watch gave me a distance of 6.32 miles, probably because of the crowds. Adjusted to 6.2 miles, this was a pace of 9.18 and a time of 57 minutes 51 seconds, a lot closer to my usual time. I came in 17th out of 92 men over 70, and 10,254 out of the nearly 20,000 finishers.

So considering the crowds and the weather (at times I did have to ease off when my heart rate was too high), I was pleased with the result, and an age grade of 64.80% was OK. I found Alison back in Green Park and we made our way back to the Underground. I could not believe how many people (tourists) were pouring out of the station, well it was a sunny Bank Holiday.

We went for a lovely lunch at Bill's on Baker Street. Their Pink Lemonade is to die for. We had a long wait for a train back to Amersham, and an accident when we had nearly reached Wendover meant a long detour via The Lee. But nothing could have spoilt a great day. Thanks to Alison for being my bag lady, it made the day even better. And the t-shirt was splendid, and all in that price of £15!

Three Sisters at the Almeida Theatre

The first thing that struck me about this play was how modern it sounded. The youngest of the three sisters is Irina, played by Ria Zmitrowicz, sounded just like my fourteen year old granddaughter. What was it? The language or the the tone of voice? One review says that the intonations are decidedly modern, meaning the rise and fall in speech. Another mentions the upward inflection or "uptalk" making statements sound like questions.

The script actually seems more modern than most modern plays, thanks to a superb "adaptation" by Cordelia Lynn. I put the word in inverted commas as Lynn herself, in the best programme notes I have read for years if not ever, is headed "ON NOT TRANSLATING CHEKHOV". She describes her "anxiety over finding the the right word reflects the anxiety I experienced doing the job". Her description of living with the work of another playwright is one of the best pieces of writing I have ever read.

So a translation of Chekhov by Helen Rappaport and this brilliant modern interpretation. OK, there are times in a play written in 1900 that there are things that do sound dated, but mostly we are treated to dramatic scenes one after another. Director Rebecca Frecknall has joined in with a perfect minimalist  modern staging. I was astounded when I found that my seat was in the front row, most of the leads were sometimes sitting on the edge of the raised stage just a few feet away. Then rushing down the steps in front of me, almost brushing past on their way out of the auditorium. Amazing.

The actresses playing the three sisters were all excellent. Patsy Ferran as Olga is now an award winning actress following her performance in "Summer and Smoke" by the same director. When I saw her in the "The Angry Brigade at a deserted  Oxford Playhouse in 2014 and then as Portia at the RSC, I wrote:
 In the acting department, head and shoulders above the rest of the cast (in acting terms if not stature) stands Patsy Ferran as Portia. Only graduating from RADA last summer she has already won high praise for her parts in Blithe Spirit and Treasure Island. I saw her in October at a quarter full Oxford Playhouse in The Angry Brigade. From that seriously sharp performance I could not see her cast as Portia but she is virtually unrecognisable as the same actress. Her voice this time is so soft and highly pitched but with such marvellous projection we catch every word. Her eyes and hands work magic. This is one actress destined for big things.

Pearl Chanda as Masha (on the left above with Patsy Ferran on the right) was brilliant. I saw her in "The Seagull" at Oxford when I wrote: 

the revelation of the evening was the performance of Pearl Chanda in her theatrical debut as Nina, having only graduated from RADA this year. Someone to look out for in the future.

In fact the whole cast were terrific. If I had to pick out somebody, it would be Alan Williams as Ivan. He gets a lot of good lines. I don't always but a programme these days, but this time I'm glad I did, it was so well presented.

It has been a long time since I had been to the Almeida Theatre. The last time was in 2011 to see "My City" and "The Knot of the Heart". It was great to be back.

Visiting Victoria

One of the new developments in London I had wanted to visit was Nova Victoria, a £2.2 Billion project on large site outside Victoria Station. However, the huge office and apartment buildings seemed ugly and overpowering, despite the open air mall of restaurants. Here, the most interesting was ahi poke where a long queue waited for high class takeaway food from this tiny Californian  outlet.

Better was Cardinal Place, with more restaurants, cafes and shops. I found a seat by the window of a Costa Coffee for tea and cake.

Here there was a sign to a roof garden to be reached via an escalator. I found a bench in a quiet spot where I enjoyed a pleasant half hour with my book.

My tour around the Nova area took in the newly restored Victoria Palace Theatre and Westminster Cathedral (the mother church of the Catholic Church in England). I didn't have time to go in, and i left the climb to the top of the tower for another day.

Finally I found Victoria Square, a haven from the the noise and bustle of this now very busy hub.

It was then time to make my way to the Almeida Theatre for the matinee performance of "Three Sisters". Highbury and Islington station is only two stops from Euston so would be the best for my journey home. A 15 minute walk to the theatre, passing Union Chapel and Islington Town Hall and Assembly Rooms where I had seen Brandi Carlile. I still had time for a cup of tea at The Almeida cafe before the performance started.

Salisbury, Portsmouth and Chichester

Our three day break starts at Salisbury Cathedral. We arrived at lunchtime so we found the cafe with a wonderful view of the cathedral from our table.

We had plenty of time to look around before my tower tour started at 1.45 pm.

Alison was going to look at the Magna Carta while I found the tour guide who would take us up the tower. There are 332 steps up five separate spiral staircases, two of which are specially built wooden stairs. It is 224 feet to the top. Fortunately our guide stopped at each level for both a rest and an explanation of what we were seeing. The first stop was a balcony overlooking the nave.

It was from here that we walk right across the nave in the roof space.

At the other end, the next stairs took us up to inside the tower itself, and the 14th Century cast iron supports.

Up a wooden staircase to where the bells are situated.

One more flight and we arrived below the spire with it's ancient timber scaffolding still intact.

It was here we were able to step onto the balcony outside with great views over Salisbury.

Despite being advertised as 105 minutes, our tour took well over two hours. Fortunately for Alison, there was a choir rehearsing for the Choral Evensong.

Back to the cafe for a drink before we left, a wander around Salisbury and it was off to Portsmouth and the Holiday Inn. 

It's a ten minute walk to Gunwharf Quays where we found a Bella Italia for dinner. The harbour looked great in the evening sunshine.

The next morning we arrived quite early at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. We had booked for the Mary Rose, but before that we looked around HMS Victory.

We last saw the Mary Rose many years ago when it was situated in a temporary building and was being sprayed to save the timbers. Now it is in a superb purpose built exhibition space. There are three levels of viewing areas as you move through the museum. 

The lighting is dim, and even dark when ghosts appear in the remains of the old ship. We thought this was wonderful.

The exhibition rooms at the end of each level contain so many artefacts found in the wreck divided into the different occupations of those on board. 

We were ready for some refreshment after leaving the museum and found a cafe on our way out of the dockyard. Then a wander around Gunwharf Quays and a sit on a bench overlooking the harbour before going up Spinnaker Tower. I have to say the the views from the top are worth every penny of the entrance price, especially on a beautiful sunny day. 

We even had tea and cake in the cafe on the middle of the three viewing levels. We made our way back to the hotel along the sea front before heading out to the Brewhouse and Kitchen for dinner.                  https://www.brewhouseandkitchen.com/venue/portsmouth/

We had planned our last day to start with a visit to Fishbourne Roman Palace and Gardens, just into West Sussex. This first century archaeological site (chosen by Alison for a must see) was far more impressive than I had imagined. Again situated in a purpose built enclosure.

There were lots of mosaic floors, as they were laid 2,000 years ago.

I enjoyed being outside in the gardens.

And seeing the remains of a wall to another wing of the palace.

After tea and cake )again) it was off to Chichester and the Cathedral. 

The spire was surrounded in scaffolding as part of a long project to repair the roof. But inside was worth the visit.

As for Chichester itself, despite being a Roman settlement, there is not too much to see. The Chichester Market Cross and that is about it.

A wander around the town and it was time to head home. An action packed three days, notable for the unbroken sunshine. We were lucky once again.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Felicia's Journey and The Other Side of You

Despite all the hype and 27 weeks (and counting) in the top ten paperback chart, I was not impressed by The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Although the book is strangely spellbinding despite the horrors of life (and death) in a concentration camp, I found it too much like a biography rather than a novel. It just could not make up it's mind whether it was fact or fiction. The horrors are dealt with in a subtle and sensitive manner when the cruelty should have been harder to take. So at least it was not as harrowing as I had guessed it might be. 

If the book had been written as a biography, I could have forgiven the writer for the very ordinary writing. Her dialogue is really poor, it pales in comparison with someone like Ann Patchett, the last book I read. The central romance, whilst obviously based on fact, seems wildly out of place There is some back story, but this just seems to be there for the sake of it. The ending is then over in a rush, our "hero" enjoying his adventures on the way home. But this man is not a hero, just a survivor. 

I had only previously read one novel by William Trevor, "The Story of Lucy Gault" which I thought pretty good. "Felicia's Journey" is even better. The book follows two characters whose paths cross early in the story. Felicia is a young Irish girl, pregnant by the youth she tries to find in the English Midlands, the boy's mother refusing to divulge his whereabouts. Mr Hilditch is one of literatures gruesome villains, a gluttonous bachelor living alone in his dead mother's large house. His job as a catering manager brings him into accidental contact with Felicia.

His relationship with her is described in a subtle yet disturbing way. Felicia is so vulnerable and Hilditch so creepy yet plausible and charming, that we know danger isn't very far away. Whilst the author cleverly portrays the innocence of Felicia, it is Hilditch that he provides us with a superb characterisation, getting right inside the head of a monster. His memories about the women with whom he has previously had such a relationship are quite disturbing.

Halfway through the book, there are a couple of pages that describe homelessness that are quite exceptional. It starts:"As maggots make their way into cracks in the masonry, so the people of the streets have crept into one-night homes in graveyards and on building sites, in alleyways and courtyards, making walls of dustbins pulled close together, and roofs of whatever lies nearby. Some have crawled up scaffolding to find a corner beneath the tarpaulin that protects an untiled expanse. Others have settled down in cardboard cartons that once contained dishwashers or refrigerators." The next page is even better, as are the following few pages as Felicia meets some of the inhabitants.

Felicia is so naïve that you wait for the inevitable disaster. She is the complete opposite of Hilditch, a predatory loner. At times harrowing, but always moving and brilliantly written, this book very much deserved it's Whitbread (now Costa) prize. I have added more of Trevor's novels (and his vast number of short stories) to my to-read list. 

Having only moderately enjoyed my first Sally Vickers novel ("The Cleaner of Chartres" was a Book Club choice), I was surprised how much better was "The Other Side of You". I thought it was written with precision, intelligence, great sympathy for the characters and technical brilliance. As early as page 14 where our narrator (the psychiatrist Dr David McBride) is contemplating how to tell his story : "It is commonplace that it is part of life's tragedy that while it must be lived forwards it can only be understood backwards".

The erratic strides of his great friend across the city is described as: "A walk with Gus was a definition of a mixed blessing - his company was to die for, and there was always the possibility that one might". I love the way a writer can pull you in: "I'm not speaking about my personal experience, you understand". I had been tempted to take off one star as there was so much about Caravaggio paintings that I found distracting, but hey, that might be just me. 

Tring Book Club - The Mandelbaum Gate by Muriel Spark

This is not your typical Muriel Spark novel. For one thing it is much, much longer than her usual short books. There seemed to be far too much meditating on various religions. Barbara Vaughn, one of the two central characters, is half Jewish, half Gentile and adopted Catholic. Freddy is none of these. There are so many other characters, it made me dizzy. My favourite only arrives two thirds through.

The first 50 pages I found a struggle and by half way I really thought I ought to start again. Soon after there is a sermon from a visiting English priest that goes on for 9 pages. I skipped it! However the plot does pick up in the latter stages and the almost farcical events are more like the Muriel Spark imagination I love so much. There is much switching of characters and the story goes backwards and forwards in time. It's as if the author created all these characters and their stories, threw them up into the air and see where they landed.

Having said all that, in revisiting certain sections before the evening at Book Club, I was far more impressed. Don't ask me why. It will take a repeat reading to say why. That is probably what the writer wants.          

The patios revived

It must be over twenty years since we had the rear and side patios installed. Over time the pavings had become tired, pitted, dirty and dull. I had considered seeing if we could have the paving slabs turned  over, they were so bad.

However, I might have found the answer. A combination of using Patio Magic in warm sunny weather in the summer, and jet washing last week has left the patios looking fine. The rear patio above especially has been transformed, the blue and pink paving has come up a treat. There is a little to do on repointing the odd joint, but overall the result is a vast improvement.

And now with the the joints repaired.

Wild Rose, Greta and Red Joan

Wild Rose is not your usual rags to riches movie. I was surprised that Wild Rose doesn't pull any punches being both gritty and uncompromising. It seemed to me that the story of an aspiring Country singer and her Glaswegian family was a throwback to a sixties kitchen sink drama. Notable for fabulous performances from Jessie Buckley and Julie Waters, director Tom Harper and writer Nicole Taylor have made an excellent film. The uplifting song at the end wraps up things quite beautifully.

Greta. What a scary movie! The tension builds slowly, one of those films where we know a lot more than the poor innocent ( Chloe Grace Moretz) as she befriends loner Isabelle Huppert. Or actually the other way around. Neil Jordan's direction is not always coherent, but overall a good twisty thriller.

Despite mainly poor reviews, I enjoyed Red Joan. I think you are tasked with making up your own mind about the motives that eventually persuade Joan to pass secret documents about the making of an atomic bomb to the Russians. I know I have mine. I have to admit that the build up to this decision is pretty wobbly. Her affair with the excruciatingly awful Tom Hughes as a Russian Jew is at best amateurish. Thank goodness Sophie Cookson as Joan is believable and sympathetic.

However, the writing by Lindsay Shapero, from the book by Jennie Rooney, saves the day and Trevor Nunn directs with his usual mastery. The present day scenes are fine, with Judy Dench and Ben Miles a class act. I'm glad I ignored the critics.