Friday 27 May 2016

Storytelling: Trickster & Walk: Royal Parks & Palaces

Always up for a storytelling evening with the Crick Crack Club, and Trickster sounded good - three storytellers for the price of one evening, two of whom - Tuup and Clare Muireann Murphy - I knew to be excellent. I booked. Tried, unsuccessfully, to get some friends to go - ah well.

An 8 o' clock start meant I didn't have to hurry, and having had a good lunch, I wasn't hungry before I left. A long, long Overground trip brought me to Shoreditch, and as I recalled, Rich Mix is just up the main street to the right. Just as well I recalled that, because it isn't as easy to spot in daylight, when you don't have the lights to guide you.

Inside, my hand was stamped (again) - I had her do it beside the other one. For tidiness. Now, the last time Crick Crack was here, it was in an upstairs room - this time, however, they'd booked the main space. They'd arranged rows of folding chairs in front of the stage - most were occupied by the time I arrived, but I got quite a decent seat, near-ish the stage, just to the side. Left my coat on the seat, got a drink. The show started shortly after.

Oversized playing cards decorated the room, and the stage. The storytellers came on from the side - there were seats for them at the edge of the stage, and they waited while they were introduced. Tuup was the only one to use music at all - he had brought a hand drum, which he used a bit while he was speaking, but also to accompany the others at times. Clare I recognised from before - and when the third storyteller, Nell Phoenix, started her first story: why, I recognised her too. She just hadn't made as much of an impression on me, to date.

All the stories were of tricksters, who came in many forms - the idiot, the wise counsellor, the wolverine. Some I'd heard before, most not - but all were well told. You know what, though? This - for all that I was looking forward to it - was the least successful storytelling event I've ever attended. I got the impression it was something of a publicity stunt - during the first half, a number of people were taking photos, on what seemed very professional cameras. And some people behind me didn't really seem into it at all, chatting amongst themselves while I was trying to listen to the performance. Fortunately, as tends to be the way with people who act like that, they didn't return after the break.

I might not have been that impressed with Nell Phoenix on other occasions, but the others have blown me away in the past. Here, though, their talents were lost - dissipated, as they didn't have a chance to build up an atmosphere. The format was all wrong - they acted as though on a conveyor belt, one after another getting up in turn to do their party piece. Not to mention that this room was all wrong for storytelling - too open: none of the cosiness that helps to build a sense of place. And noise constantly seeped in, from a nearby corridor, and from a room at the back. Very unsatisfying, in all.

And so home, following a long, cold wait on the Overground platform where I'd literally just missed a train, so had to sit there for 15 minutes. Boy, was I tired - groggily made my way home and to bed. No blog, especially as I was half thinking of going to a film today.

The film list finally got finished this afternoon, and when I saw what was on top of it - a documentary that was probably interesting, but I just wasn't in the mood for - I changed my mind back, as I'd suggested I might, and went on the CLOGgie's walk of Royal Parks & Palaces. With a lot on my mind, it just didn't occur to me to do the blog..

I did get it started before I left, but with an arranged start time for the walk, I hadn't time to finish writing. It wasn't a long trip - I needed to get to Westminster Tube Station, and Google suggested that the quickest route was train to Waterloo, then the Jubilee Line for one stop. Which is what I did - and quick it was, although add about 10 minutes to Google's estimate of how long it takes! Good job I'd left a little early. And as the organiser had presciently chosen a Tube station with only one exit, we were unlikely to get lost.. she'd said to wait at the ticket office just outside the barriers, and there the group was when I got out. We waited a bit for latecomers (I wasn't the last, which was nice) and then we were off..

The route started with a bit of traffic, but she got us into greenery as soon as ever she could. Looking at the map afterwards, it makes perfect sense:

map data provided by Google


Basically, we followed the route of these three parks - from St. James' Park to Green Park to Hyde Park, and around by Kensington Palace to Kensington Road. Four miles in total, mostly blissfully secluded from the traffic, and a lovely thing to do on a warm, sunny evening! Photos here..

A lovely, friendly, chatty group, a lovely evening, and a nice, relaxed pace, which allowed for detours. Like when we passed a café by the Serpentine, and someone asked whether we could stop for a drink. So we did - or, in the case of a couple of us, for an ice cream. £2 for a scoop, £3 for 2, £4 for 3 - but these are a decent size, so it seemed reasonable.

At the end of the walk, some of us hung around for a drink at the Goat Tavern. The house wine was lovely, but at over £7 for a large glass, I wasn't having more than one. A couple of folks had food, which looked very tasty - I was jealous, but I'd eaten at home. So, a good end to a good evening - even if the pub was a bit noisy for comfort.

I could take the 49 straight home, and the stop was right there. Unfortunately, there was some kind of road blockage on Palace Gate - our driver said he didn't know how long we'd be there, and indeed, there was another 49 in front of us, which must have been there for ages - it certainly hadn't passed me while I was waiting for the one I was on! Finally, I followed the lead of others, and got off. While I was figuring out my next move - the obstruction was cleared and the buses moved! Bummer. Nothing for it but to wait for the next one.

Wow, I'm looking forward to my bed. Tomorrow, I'm headed with the London European Club to an exhibition on Sicily: Culture and Conquest, at the British Museum. I know Sicily has a fascinating history, so I'll be interested in this.

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