Silence is golden

Posted on 18 September 2024 by pws

It’s that time again here in London, time for the London Film Festival.

There’s always something interesting to investigate, but one thing we really enjoyed over the years was the Thames/Channel 4 silent films.

Films were never silent. There would be music and sound effects.

We saw some great things, including City Lights, The Wind, Broken Blossoms, The General and The Big Parade. All had music from Carl Davis and it was a real event. Some are still available on dvd, but watching with an attentive audience is best.

It still goes on, after a fashion. This year is a set of Sherlock Holmes shorts, again with live music. This year they are at the Alexandra Palace theatre, worth a visit in its own right:

Silent Sherlock: Three Classic Cases
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New Year’s Day

Posted on 15 September 2024 by pws

There’s a long period from just before Xmas to normality in the middle of January. However, it’s not as bad as it used to be. Time was that shops were closed or open but empty, and there was no food to be had, even basics, until some weeks into January.

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve is always a time for celebration, especially in big cities, for some at least.

London people used to go to Trafalgar Square or down onto the Embankment, to get drunk and loud and abusive and to fight and attack each other. There was a lot of injury and stealing and it was not nice. (In truth, it was more a tourist thing)

Getting home was a pain, often needing a long walk as there were no tubes.

But it’s all changed. We avoided it then and we do now, but we understand that, if you’re a visitor, you will want to see the fun. And if you’re in central London, getting home will be fine.

The big event is the firework display over the Thames.

The best viewpoint is across the river on the north bank. Be aware that there are over 100,000 people attending and you need to buy a ticket. Last year they were £20 and were gone very quickly. Without a ticket, you will not see the show. Stay home or go to a bar or something, and watch on the tv in warmth and comfort and have fun.

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Pantomimes

Posted on 8 September 2024 by pws

If you think of Christmas in the UK you immediately think of the traditional form of entertainment, the pantomime.

This is not to be confused with just an Xmas play, like a stage adaptation of A Christmas Carol. No, there are standard stories, often based on fairy tale ideas, and standard elements that are included.

The ‘home’ of the panto is the London Palladium. They will have a big budget all-singing all-dancing presentation with high ticket prices and great demand, but many local theatres do something.

Mostly they are aimed at children (though there have been adult versions with lots of swearing, crude jokes but nothing too explicit) and run from perhaps the beginning of December to late January the next year. That could well be two shows per day.

If you go, there are likely to be school trips in attendance. We can’t say how well behaved (or otherwise) they will be. Usually noisy and smelly.

Stories include: Peter Pan, Aladdin, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Robin Hood. Oddly, there’s one about Dick Whittington, who became Lord Mayor of London, and his cat. Pop up to Archway and Highgate to see monuments to the cat and pubs and hospitals dedicated to Dick.

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