Thamesmead, Movies and Other Random Things

Thamesmead has an almost mythical quality to most Londoners - not in a good way.     It's been a location for various movies about dystopias, such as Clockwork Orange, and to be honest, nobody I personally know has ever been there.  Well, to put that right, in our bid to keep fit, we took a cycle round Thamesmead the other day and actually it has its good side. Lots of water, lots of parkland, amazing numbers of birds on the shores of the Thames, and many swans adding some charm to the vista of  grim blocks.

Most of Thamesmead has now been developed into modern normal houses, and among the plentiful wildlife there are also wild or semi wild horses. I think these are called skewbalds and are popular with gypsies, but there were loads of them, either roaming free like this very friendly one

Or wandering about the hilltops. These two looked like some kind of a futuristic camel in silhouette

Many of these good natured beasts were tethered near peoples homes. Strange looking things aren't they? They remind me of sheep.

And near this graffiti covered underpass someone had created a handy field with some very well cared for horses munching away on large bales of hay.   

Went to a couple of meetings. The one below was nothing to do with me, I kept someone company. A very enthusiastic speaker, but my eyes did glaze over a bit. .



Afterwards, we all went to the Fryer's Delight fish shop, favourite with cabbies and legal executives from the nearby Inn of Court in Holborn.  It's unchanged since at least 1970, probably before, and not for gourmets, but if you want trad fish and chips, this is a reliable place, all red and blue formica, well polished mirrors and newspaper cuttings of long forgotten famous people on the walls.

The next day I went to a cinema preview screening in the Soho Hotel,



The movie starred Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman and was called  THE RAILWAY MAN. It was about a survivor of the notorious Burma Railway.    To be honest, I had some criticism of it, but Jeremy Irvine gave a stellar performance and it's worth seeing for that alone.  The preview cinema was fun, with vast armchairs upholstered in different finished,  each with its own drinks tray

The Soho hotel was most interestingly interior-designed. At first I'd thought it might be Philippe Starck or even Jean-Paul Gaultier, but it turned out to be by Kit Kemp. She's certainly original.  Look at the curious lights in the bookshelves.

Words don't really describe the decor, and I liked it - but I feel it looked better in real life than it somehow does in photos. 

Then had a meal out with an old friend in Lemonia restaurant in Primrose Hill, one of the oldest restaurants in the area, and had some very good fish, served with head on in Greek style..  

We thought we might see Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth there, actually, since they're now filming Paddington Bear in Primrose Hill  We didn't, but I thought they must be getting to know each other well by now, even though it's quite a change from the horrors of the Burma Railway to what I consider to be the sheer suburban boringness of Paddington Bear. (Sorry if you are a fan).

I did some more of the children's writing project (do see the blog for a lovely poem on Happiness) 

and ate some cake wrecks from Greggs Bakery. I love the way their mouths are all where their ears should be, and the carrot noses are on sideways. 

I had another BBC meeting.

 It goes on and on. I've almost stopped wondering if our project will ever negotiate the labyrinth of the commissining procedure - I've never known anything like it.   But it is still alive, and the creative development process is interesting and stimulating and at least we now  have something really good, that SHOULD get made. (However, as my granny used to say, "if wishes were horses, beggars would ride").

Now I have to put the finishing touches to an article based on a brief and arty trip to Vienna, including the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Vienna Secession - the bottom picture is part of a small mural by ... well I suppose it must be by Klimt though I should have checked, shouldn't I?

I have a lot to do next week too though it should I hope be more relaxed.  I hope you have a good week too.