More Mice From God?
I don’t know what our friend from yesterday would say about this story in tonight’s Standard! Perhaps the mice were feeling cold and needed somewhere to bed down and the actress’s cleavage beckoned.
But they would have had to cross the river!
Exploring Hackney Central
Many will think that Hackney Central is some run-down area, that was partially destroyed by the riots last August. But look at these pictures.
The church tower wasn’t even all that was left after it was knocked about by the Luftwaffe, but the remains left after an 18th Century moving of the parish church. More details are here on Wikipedia. I do wonder what would happen, if a parish wanted to rebuild their 16th Century church on a different site now!
The reason for the coffee, was that I had a very good one, in the excellent cafe in the Hackney Empire. The lady in the pleasant museum said that the coffee was also good in the cinema on the other side of the road. Note that the cinema is part of the nationwide and independent Picture Houses group.
After my quick visit to Hackney Central, I took the Overground to Stratford, from where I took the Docklands Light Railway to Canary Wharf for lunch. I could have taken one of any number of buses back home, to the City or the West End.
Is This New Gardens For Dalston?
Between the two Dalston stations is a brownfield site, with just the vent from the rail tunnel underneath.
Between the Two Dalston Stations
The white plastic appears to be protection for trees. But they might not be.
This area could be converted into a lovely walk between the two stations and to the Arcola Theatre
Any ideas.
Instant Sunshine
Instant Sunshine is not an easyJet flight to Spain or a new breakfast cereal, but a four-piece music and comedy group in the British tradition of Flanders and Swan. Read their own views on what they are on their web site.
C and I used to listen to them on the radio forty or so years ago.
I went to see them last night at the Rosemary Branch theatre just down the road. The show was worth at least three times the £10 it cost to get in.
If you can catch their stage show then do.
One thought they left me with, was that there is no rhyme for Islington.
Jams In The West End
There has been a lot of controversy lately about the City of Westminster, bringing in parking charges in the evenings and on Sundays. Here ‘s a report from the Telegraph.
It seems to me that most of the opposition is led by celebrities such as Peter Stringfellow, who claim they are worried about jobs and of course where to park their own limos and excessive people carriers.
As I said the 38 bus was delayed getting to Shaftesbury Avenue and it took half an hour to travel the last bit from Bloomsbury. My progress after alighting from the bus, wasn’t helped by the fact that a coach was parked on the pavement, making both walking and driving difficult.
After the play it was worse and getting back up Shaftesbury Avenue was not easy, as drivers were blocking pavement and trying to go at speed into and out of the side roads. It wasn’t helped by the fact, that a large number of police cars and ambulances were trying to get through.
I finally got to the stop for the 38 bus and after checking by text, I found I had seven minutes to wait.
Whilst waiting you realised that what was holding up the traffic was the vast number of cycle rickshaws, which were illegally touting at the bus stops. A guy in the queue near me, who had the aura of a taxi-driver, said that mos of the rickshaws aren’t insured and he wouldn’t go near them. He was actually a van driver, who’d had a nght out with his family and was also waiting for a 38. There’s more on illegal rickshaws here.
It was also a night, when I wished I’d had my camera with me, as I would ave got a picture of a 19 bus, seemingly pushing a rickshaw slowly along the road.
Finally, I got my 38 back to the local stop.
So what would I do to improve matters?
It would appear that the 38 bus, might be one of the first routes to get the new Routemaster in 2012. Certainly, as they are quicker to board and exit, they should help a bit. Banning the rickshaws from bus lanes would also help.
I’ve always been in favour of pedestrianising Oxford Street or perhaps building a raised walkway above the middle of the street to speed people from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch and perhaps relieve the Central line. Although a bit to the north of theatreland, it would make it easier to get to Soho and then come south to Shaftesbury Avenue. My thoughts on the walkway are in this post.
I think I would make a large area of Soho a pedestrian only zone, as this would increase the capacity of the area dramatically. And the more visitors it gets, the more money gets spent. Perhaps, small electric buses could be used on the north-south routes to move people about.
But perhaps what will help most is already being built; CrossRail. Although it only goes to Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street stations, the high-capacity trains will probably run later than the Underground and they will at least get a lot of West End traffic away after the theatres and shows finish. I would run a shuttle service through from say Stratford to Heathrow to aid those, like essential workers, who had to travel in the middle of the night.
It has always puzzled me why there is no Underground station at Cambridge Circus. Perhaps the walking routes to Leicester Square and Tottenham Court Road stations need to be improved.
The Ladykillers
I went to see The Ladykillers last night.
Shaftesbury Avenue is very easy for me, as I just got on a 38 bus all the way. Although, I did think of walking the last kilometre or so, as the traffic was so bad, as all the world and his wife, seemed to be driving into the West End.
The play was really worth seeing, with one of the most spectacular and innovative sets, I’ve ever seen in the theatre. The story and script stuck very much to that of the film, although with a few modern changes. I hadn’t realised before but the original very English screenplay had been written by an American, William Rose, who dreamt the whole thing and then wrote it down with the help of his wife, when he awoke. He later went on to write Guess Who’s coming to Dinner?
How Times Change
This was posted in the local newsletter.
The Rosemary Branch is looking to borrow a gentleman’s pipe from the 1950s for use a prop for an opera opening tomorrow. If you can help, you will get a couple of free tickets from a grateful Cec at the Rosie.
My father had loads of pipes in the 1950s. The last time I saw anybody smoking a pipe, it was clamped between a Belgian’s teeth as he drove towards me going the wrong way down a Belgian motorway.
US Troops Turn to a Tricycle
The third leader of The Times today is unusual in that it tells the story of how the Pentagon has commissioned two command performances of The Great Game, by North London’s Tricycle Theatre. Here’s an extract.
The idea of staging The Tricycle Theatre’s production in Washington is so that generals, and soldiers heading to Afghanistan, might come away thinking what General Sir David Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff, thought after seeing the show in London; that “if I’d seen the plays before being deployed to Afghanistan for the first time in 2005 it would have made me a much better commander”.
Let’s hope we see more education of those who go to war, as we always tend to forget the lessons of history. I would also hope that they also read the thoughts of Aircraftsman Shaw.
I’d love to hear Sarah Palin’s thoughts on US forces being educated by Britain’s leading political playhouse.
The Hackney Empire
The Hackney Empire is one of London’s great theatres and was rescued a few years ago with help from Grif Rhys-Jones, Alan Sugar and Harold Pinter.
The Hackney Empire
I must try to get to a show, especially as it’s about five bus stops away.
The Anonymous Widower 