"We are the canaries in the mine"
We had sunny and hot weather this week-end. One of those rare occasions when London is warmer than some part of the Mediterranean.
Yesterday morning I went to the allotments to put in some courgettes and French beans that I had grown at home is an unused section of Sue's plot. I was only there for a couple of hours and mainly in dappled shade but my neck got burnt.
In the afternoon, we met up with the lovely Alex, Mike and David first for a drink and then for a pizza (it was supposed to be a Thai meal but the restaurant didn't open until 6 pm).
So we went to Pizza Express
Mike and Alex had invited us to Hamsptead Theatre (which, confusingly, is in Swiss Cottage) to see 'Canary', a new play by Jonathan Harvey, the author of 'Beautiful Thing'.
The play takes its title from a remark that Peter Tatchell - the gay and human rights activist - made, that women and gay men are the litmus test of whether human rights are respected in a society.
The play is set at 4 different times: the early 1960s when homosexuality was illegal and repressed/'cured'; the 1970s with the Gay Liberation front vs. Mary Whitehouse, the 1980s with the Aids epidemic and 2010 when a chief of police is outed.
The scenes from these separate periods alternate and at times it felt slightly confusing and difficult to follow as characters from 2010 would talk to their younger versions from the 60s or 80s, but it all came together just before the interval.
The actors were extremely good and played a number of different characters.
It would have been a rather dark piece of theatre had it not been for the use of humour throughout.
Today we cooked and entertained.
Mike and Mark from two streets up came round for lunch. It was a very pleasant afternoon.
Yesterday morning I went to the allotments to put in some courgettes and French beans that I had grown at home is an unused section of Sue's plot. I was only there for a couple of hours and mainly in dappled shade but my neck got burnt.
In the afternoon, we met up with the lovely Alex, Mike and David first for a drink and then for a pizza (it was supposed to be a Thai meal but the restaurant didn't open until 6 pm).
So we went to Pizza Express
Mike and Alex had invited us to Hamsptead Theatre (which, confusingly, is in Swiss Cottage) to see 'Canary', a new play by Jonathan Harvey, the author of 'Beautiful Thing'.
The play takes its title from a remark that Peter Tatchell - the gay and human rights activist - made, that women and gay men are the litmus test of whether human rights are respected in a society.
The play is set at 4 different times: the early 1960s when homosexuality was illegal and repressed/'cured'; the 1970s with the Gay Liberation front vs. Mary Whitehouse, the 1980s with the Aids epidemic and 2010 when a chief of police is outed.
The scenes from these separate periods alternate and at times it felt slightly confusing and difficult to follow as characters from 2010 would talk to their younger versions from the 60s or 80s, but it all came together just before the interval.
The actors were extremely good and played a number of different characters.
It would have been a rather dark piece of theatre had it not been for the use of humour throughout.
Today we cooked and entertained.
Mike and Mark from two streets up came round for lunch. It was a very pleasant afternoon.