Another grand pleasure was a visit to the great Cutty Sark at Greenwich.
The intention had been to go to an exhibition about Emma Hamilton in the Maritime Museum checking out the Cutty Sark en route but time spent on board meant it wasn't really worth going to the museum so we pottered about Greenwich before heading to our next port of call, the Merchant Navy Memorial on Tower Hill. But the part of that we wanted to see was behind locked gates.
We had lingered too long at 0° 0′ 0″ East and West.
So time for a bus to Dalston for Turkish nosh and a bottle of Kavaklidere Yakut before an hour or two of music from Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids. Described as west coast jazz mavericks they were very entertaining and on the whole I enjoyed their music though I'd have enjoyed it a lot more had there been any place to sit down in Cafe Oto.
The trip to London was originally decided upon so that I could attend the Zambia Society Trust AGM and meet my chum David Powell who I hadn't seen for a few years. In addition to the standard review of activities and finance at the meeting there was a very interesting talk by a professor of African history who tried to pin down the reasons why Zambia has been, relatively speaking, a haven of peace and tranquility amidst a sea of warring countries both pre and post independence.
Unsurprisingly he didn't find one single reason but an amalgam of several that he felt had predisposed Zambians at all levels of society to value peaceful development over conflict. Long may it continue and hopefully spread well beyond their borders.
As well as David another old friend was there and his arrival put me in a tricky position. He was accompanied and greeted me with the question "Do you recognise this young lady?" I ask you. It took a moment or two but then the name popped into my head which I thought wasn't bad considering I had last seen her 31 years ago and hadn't heard much about her since. Mind you it would have been a poor show to have forgotten the leading lady of my final directorial outing in Kitwe.
After the meeting David, Graham, Lynn and myself repaired to a handy tavern and had a good chat about times both old and new until I had to drag myself away for my next engagement.
This was a serendipitously arrived at opportunity to meet another friend I hadn't seen for a few years, a much younger one this time. Ben did a show with the Grads about ten years ago although he's a professional these days. Our paths have crossed from time to time and I was delighted to find that he was playing not a hundred miles from my brother's flat while I was visiting.
So on Saturday night we went to see The Worst Was This. It was a great little show played with gusto and skill. The company hope to tour it next year so we may see it in Edinburgh. It would be perfect Fringe fare.
A previous winter trip to London was bedevilled by severe train problems that resulted in a bonanzo of ticket vouchers. This time I was only 75 minutes late going down and 45 coming back so my compensation package is likely to be more modest but handy for the next foray south.
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