Wednesday, 2 January, 2019
New Year in London is a big deal – just not for me! I usually stay home and don’t do much but I was busy nonetheless. I popped out to the pub around 7pm and chose a pizza – my first one from there – to take away. They took a long time to make it so I was suspicious. I kept remembering how fast the pizzas were made in Torino so what were they doing back there?
I decided to go the whole way and make it a junk food night so also went to buy some wings and fries. Another long wait and second thoughts later, I arrived home with pizza, five chicken wings and fries. None of it was worth eating but at least I wasn’t hungry after picking at it. I’ll never learn that these things are rarely worth trying! I watched the fireworks on TV and some out of the window and fell into bed. Happy New Year!
On January 2nd I had tickets for a ballet. It was meant to be a surprise for Krish but he wasn’t in the mood so I asked my friend Juliet if she was up to coming and she said yes. But first I was going to take myself out for lunch and then wander around a bit at Angel, which might be pretty at Christmas.
I wanted to try the BunBunBun newly opened location in Dalston so allowed plenty of time to get there and eat and set off again.
I ordered the Bún chả Hà Nội –‘Served as it is served in Hanoi [grilled lemongrass pork, mini grilled pork patties in a meat broth with a crispy spring roll]. sounded intriguing. and it was.’ My whole review is here! I’ll go back and try something else soon to see if the rest of the menu measures up. I’d love to do a foodie trip to Vietnam.I’d planned to walk along Upper Street and look in the shops and see how the new shopping centre was coming along but I took a different bus than planned and so instead got out to wander through Camden Passage. The weather was depressingly dull so I was looking for some cheer.
The shops were lovely, although empty. I toyed with the idea of going in for a coffee somewhere but the coffee places were the only bustling spaces so I kept walking hoping to at last find a Starbucks for some hot chocolate.
Then Juliet called me to say she was already at the theatre having a coffee so I jumped on the bus and got there as quickly as I could. I was going to the Lillian Balis Theatre, which is a small theatre at Sadlers Wells. The theatre calls itself The world’s No.1 venue dedicated to international dance. It’s certainly the number one venue for ballet in the UK and one of the top ballet venues in the world. The current theatre opened on 11 October 1998. It’s the sixth Sadlers Wells.
I like going to the theatre in London. It never feels like it’s posh or a reverent occasion. It feels like fun, something for everyone, a chance to enjoy some entertainment and relax. The Lillian Baylis Theatre has family shows and today’s ballet would be a fifty-minute version of Sleeping Beauty. The place was full. Suddenly all the children who had been running around the cafe yelling and rolling around were sitting quietly waiting for the show to begin. I love how the little girls come in dress-up!
The stage was simple. A curtain, a couch, a chandelier overhead, and that’s it. Someone came on to the stage to show us some sign language the dancers would use that would help us understand the story. She lost me half way through!
Fifty minutes is long enough for me when it comes to pretty much anything on stage but the dancing was beautiful, the colours gorgeous and the story compelling. I always feel astonishing at the leaps and movements the dancers make without a whispered sound from their feet as they land. I need that secret! The dancer playing the witch was really good, a great actor, and very believably wicked. Tchaikovsky’s music is gorgeous, I’d forgotten how gorgeous. At the end of the show children were offered an opportunity to have their photo taken with the cast so Juliet and I took our own opportunity to take a few photos.
