Southbound 2026 - London

London, England. Thursday/Wednesday 28 August/02-September-2026.

All posts

• London, England. Thursday/Wednesday 28 August/02-September-2026.
• Frankfurt, Germany. Wednesday/Thursday 02/03-September-2026.
• Nuremberg, Germany. Thursday/Sunday 03/06-September-2026.
• Milan, Italy. Sunday/Wednesday 06/08-September-2026.
• Castelnuovo Berardenga, Tuscany. Wednesday/Thursday 08/10-September-2026. 
• San Vincenti, Tuscany. Friday/Wednesday 11/16-September-2026. 
• More to follow…

Introduction.

About a year ago we booked ourselves on a week long yoga and pilates retreat in Tuscany for mid-September 2026. Having got into the swing of this interrailing malarkey we decided to make a proper train trip of it. The outline plan was to spend the bank holiday weekend in London catching up with old friends, a couple of days in Milan to meet up with my nephew Lorenzo and his family then onto the retreat and onwards to Cisternino with various stops along the way, unsurprisingly, taking in parkruns en route.

In London we organised a HomeExchange in Bermondsey for the weekend very close to the Jubilee line station which made it really handy to get into central London and back out again..

Thursday 27-August-2026.

Thursday’s meet up was with ex-colleagues from CSC where I worked from 1983 to 1999 when I took voluntary redundancy and went freelance. Several times a year we meet up for a curry in the Royal Masala in Woking, travel plans permitting

We got the train down from Penrith into Euston, across to Bermondsey to drop our bags for a quick turnaround, back to Waterloo for a fast train to Woking. Great to catch up, eat some curry, drink several Kingfisher and Cobra and then wend our way swiftly back home.

Friday 28-August-2026.

Friday’s meet up was with another ex-colleague from CSC, an American now living in the UK in Cambridge. While Mary was having lunch with her girlfriends from one of her previous employments, I caught the train up to Cambridge. We went for a very tasty Jordanian lunch at Little Petra for a good old natter and my first taste of a Jordanian wine followed coffee, ice cream and a bit of a wander around Cambridge admiring the architecture.

Mary’s gathering was catch up and lunch at Gaucho at Tower Bridge with all five of the UBK "girls" - ex-colleagues from way back. 

Early evening Mary and I rendezvoused in Cork and Bottle followed by a play: Arcadia by Tom Stoppard at The Duke of York’s theatre. With Stoppard you have to pay attention as the plots flip-flops between past and present. We last saw the play in 2015 at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking and neither of use can remember any thing of that production. We first saw the play back in 1994 when it first opened in the West End as a National Theatre production from year before with new cast.

Saturday 29-August-2026.

Peckham Rye 29-08-26 32:22 [207/327]

Nearest parkrun and a P contributing towards our third alphabet.

Back to the apartment for a shower. Mary relaxed at the apartment whilst I went out for my next meet-up. 

Lunch was with friends, Catherine and John, that I met at the age of five on the first day of infant school 68 years ago! I had kept in touch with Catherine during my college years but kind of lost contact with John. Through the miracle of social media we reconnected and managed to meet up this time last year. This time we met in the Civil Service Club, an oasis of calm just off Whitehall and the throngs of tourists for a lovely chat.

The evening’s entertainment was the Buena Vista Social Club Live Revue at Toulouse Lautrec a jazz bar in Kennington. To quote the advertising they are "a dazzling celebration of Cuba’s most iconic musical heritage. This unforgettable tribute brings the timeless sounds of son, bolero, danzón, and cha-cha-cha to life, performed by some of the UK’s finest Cuban musicians." To quote the band leader and drummer "we play Cuban music with heavy metal attitude" With: 

• Adriana Lord – lead vocals 
• Nestor Rojas – lead vocals 
• Luis Alberto Musiquito – trumpet 
• Doranze Lorza – bass 
• Alejandro Tellez – tres, guitar 
• Vanchito Compay – musical director/band leader, drums.

Followed by supper in the restaurant downstairs.

Sunday 30-August-2026.

Sunday’s gathering near Tumbridge Wells with a group of friends I call "The Birmingham Crowd". These were a bunch of friends many of whom first met at Birmingham University and I fell in with around 1980 when we were all late-20-somethings living in London. Starting during Covid we hold fortnightly Zoom calls which continue to this day. We try to meet up in person once or twice a year. This was a fantastic gathering and lunch hosted by Marilyn and Jeremy.

As we were returning to London we were treated to a wonderful double rainbow over Tunbridge Wells station.

Back to London for a quiet evening, we were heading for a Thameside pub when we passed Glue wine bar. It was supposed to be closing at 8pm but had decided to stay open later because of the Bank Holiday. We did a swerve into a couple of comfy chairs and two glasses of wine. We had a very pleasant chat with the owners, Belinda and James, and two more glasses of wine including a Welsh rosé.

Monday 31-August-2026.

In the morning we first went to Hamleys toy shop in Regent Street to by a present for my great nephew. The went south of the river to have a nose round the Battersea Power Station development. 

The afternoon’s entertainment was an open air concert in Battersea Park with Annie, an ex-colleague of Mary’s, her partner Simon and a couple of their friends.

The headline act was Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra with preceded by the Amy Winehouse band.

Full writeup of the event at Battersea Park in Concert 2026.

Tuesday 01-September-2026.

We met with David and Mary Fee at The Archduke at Waterloo for lunch. I met David back circa 1968 whilst working on an archaeological dig, the Lunt Roam fort. We subsequently went to the 1970 Isle of Wight festival together. In discussion it turned out that David’s Mary had worked at the dig at the same time so I must have met her then as well! Talk about nostalgia.

That evening we had a booked a Portuguese wine bar in Bermondsey. but a change of location meant a switch to Bar Roija, very close to King’s Cross, offering tastings with tapas. We went for the mid-priced range.

Our host Denise was everything you could want from a host: fun, friendly, knowledgeable and generous.

Full write up of the tasting at: Rioja Tasting at Bar Rioja.

Next stop: Frankfurt.

Nell Gwynn at Theatre by the Lake

Keswick, UK. Saturday 01-August-2026.

Another trip to the excellent Theatre by the Lake for a lighthearted production of Nell Gwynn telling the story of strumpet turned actress and her affair with King Charles the Second.

Our usual pre-theatre dinner venue was fully booked and we ended up in the Pocket Cafe Bar. An excellent new discovery for us they did a decent range of beers and good food. I had the special "pizza of the day" which had an excellent thin base and a topping with 'nduja and honey. A slightly odd combo but it worked for me.

Then a short stroll to the theatre where we had seats in a box which works well for a production in the round, as this was.

From our vantage point, we could see all the action. For us it was part drama, part love story, part history lesson. It presented the affair between Nell and Charles as a story of deeply felt love and affection despite Charles' many other mistresses. 

With a modest sized cast there was a fair amount of actors playing multiple roles. The production also included musical numbers with some members of the cast playing their instruments for real. I am currently reading Pepy's Diaries and hadn't realised he was a contemporary so it was interesting to learn about the connections - I am now much better informed about Restoration England.

A very enjoyable evening and great to support such a local gem of a venue.

My Life In ... Films

The eighteenth in an occasional series of alternative Curriculum Vitae because no-one on their death bed says "I wish I'd spent more time in the office". 

FaceBook. July-2018.

Talking to the daughter of a friend in the pub, after debating favourite music artists, I realised this post has been sitting in draft for ages. So here it is...

Following a previous meme to nominate your 10 favourite albums [My Life In ... Albums], there followed another. "Dopo la musica non potevano mancare i film ! Quelli che vi hanno fatto ridere, piangere, pensare e che potreste rivedere in ogni momento*.  Top 10 movies ! Day n. I nominate no one. 

*[After music, movies couldn't be left out! The ones that made you laugh, cry, think, and that you could watch again anytime.]

Day 1 of the 10 day challenge: The Blues Brothers.

This was the first that popped into my head as I have watched it many times and it features many quotable lines. At one point we bought the Italian version and even without subtitles I pretty much knew every line.

My favourite quote is “Elwood: It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark. And we’re wearing sunglasses. Jake: Hit it.” 

Day 2 of the 10 day challenge: Die Hard. 

Obviously a classic Christmas movie. A cracking adventure movie with some of the best smart arse wisecracks. And the inevitable Bruce Willis stained and ripped T-shirt.

My favourite quote is “No fucking shit, lady! Does it sound like I’m ordering a pizza?”.

Day 3 of the 10 day challenge: The Shawshank Redemption.

Another movie we have watched over and over. The combination of Tim Robbins quiet and meticulous patience of Job combined with the incomparable voiceover from Morgan Freeman - great combo.

Favourite quote is “I’m known to locate certain things from time to time.” 

Day 4 of the 10 day challenge: The Terminator.

Some say that Terminator 2: Judgement Day is a rare example of the sequel bettering the original. That is probably a fair judgement (see what I did there) but I did see this one first so deserves it’s slot. What I like is Arnie’s ruthless determination as the ultimate bad guy and a heroine who shows some gumption.

Favourite quote is “Listen, and understand! That Terminator is out there! It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear and it absolutely will not stop… Ever, until you are dead!” 

Although an honourable mention should be given to the classic, “I’ll be back!”

Day 5 of the 10 day challenge: Back to the Future.

Another time travel movie and an absolute classic. I read that they filmed Part II and III back-to-back. The plot device of the protagonist seeing the same scene from different angles is a something I first saw way back in the early 80s at the National Film Theatre in an obscure Czechoslovak film called “Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea”. 

I have the BTTF box set, but only occasionally watch Part II and III as the original is sufficiently self-contained to stand on its own.

Favourite quote is "If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 mph, you’re going to see some serious shit."

Day 6 of the 10 day challenge: The Empire Strikes Back.

I saw this when it first came out in a cinema in Leicester Square. It was a group outing organised by Maureen who rushed off to buy enough tickets for a crowd of us to go and see it together.

The scene that really knocked me out was the section set on the planet Hoth. It was so convincingly real it was like they actually filmed on location on this distant ice planet!

Favourite quote is from Yoda “No. Try not. Do… Or do not. There is no try.”

Day 7 of the 10 day challenge: Blade Runner.

A visual treat - dark cyberpunk style and futuristic design proving an inspiration for many later films.

Favourite quote just has to be Batty’s final words, “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire of the shoulder of Orion. I’ve watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time.. Like tears in the rain... Time to die.”

Day 8 of the 10 day challenge: The Draughtsman‘s Contract.

A bit of an outlier this one I have only seen it a couple of times. The first time was at the Everyman in Hampstead in a sparsely occupied cinema and it struck me as both beautifully filmed and mysterious. It took the second viewing for me to really understand what was going on although that was secondary to the sheer visual treat.

I do not remember any quotes from the film, but looking up on IMDb one made me chuckle. "Why is that Dutchman waving his arms about? Is he homesick for windmills?"

Day 9 of the 10 day challenge: 2001: A Space Odyessy.

When this film came out my father, a die hard science-fiction fan, took us on family trip from Coventry to London to see this on first release in Leicester Square in CinemaScope with surround sound. A film that made a huge impact. Two things I remember vividly was the chattering sound of apes as they scampered off behind us in the auditorium and the scene where the hostess walks round in a hamster wheel style contraption to end upside down and it felt like the whole cinema was tilting. A very unnerving sensation on the inner ear.

Favourite quote is "Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL. HAL: I’m sorry, Dave I’m afraid I can’t do that."

Day 10 of the 10 day challenge: The Fifth Element.

A another visual treat and an entertaining plot with a nice mix of drama and humour.

I have always liked the concept of the four elements: fire, water, earth and air. Going back to the ancient Greeks and popping up again in mediaeval times with the paradigm of the four humours. 

Favourite quote is “Mul-ti-pass."

Looking back on the list the heavy science-fiction bias is very apparent. Hardly surprising as my father was a keen reader of sci-fi and growing up the family bookshelves were full of titles from the golden age of science fiction and formed much of my childhood reading.

Edy Hurst at Theatre by the Lake

Keswick, Cumbria. Friday 05-December-2025.

We booked to see Edy Hurst performing “Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Himself“. The central conceit of this performance is that Edy is a direct descendant of one of the witches of Pendle*. This means he has wizardly powers which is the cue for some hyperactive spell casting. Interwoven with this is an obsession with the Vengaboys 1999 album The Party Album and their female vocalist Kim Sasabone.

We ignored the first rule of comedy club which is "Don’t sit in the front row". So when the time came for a "volunteer" from the audience, he picked on me, front row right by the aisle. Fortunately, nothing too embarrassing. Edy proceeded to deliver an hour’s worth of magick entertainment in a slapstick style that can best be described as manic! It was all quite a hoot really.

* Read more about the Pendle witches at Lancashire witch trials. 

Pride and Prejudice at Theatre by the Lake

Keswick, Cumbria, UK. Tuesday, 18-August 2025.

As part of my second cousin Effie's visit to Penrith we organised a trip to our nearby Theatre by the Lake in Keswick for what was billed as an entertaining production of Pride and Prejudice performed in the round. It was part of an action packed day starting off with brunch at Bassenthwaite Lake Station followed by Surprise View for views of Borrowdale and Derwent Water and then a wander round Keswick which is a delightful market town. We then had a pre-theatre lunch at BarES.

The stage was minimalist with four pieces of furniture, however the acting was anything but minimalist. In fact it was at times hilarious. The production stuck pretty faithfully to the plot with all its coming and goings featuring a hysterical Mrs Bennet, a sanguine and sardonic Mr Bennet and well matched Elizabeth and Mr Darcy. We enjoyed it immensely and the professional reviewers agreed.

The Reviews Hub.com writes:

“Played as caricature and farce, this romp is deliciously funny. The more ridiculous characters become even more ridiculous; the more sober-sided characters simply add contrast. Joanna Holden as Mrs. Bennet takes histrionics to a new level, while Dyfrig Morris, as her saturnine husband, quietly ignores the hysterics. Jessica Ellis doubles up as ladette daughter Lydia, emptying the punch ball at parties, and the overbearing snob Lady Catherine, playing both extremes with due relish. Similarly, Ben Fensome makes Wickham a roguish charmer, but turns Mr Collins into the creepiest cleric to ever don a cassock”.

The Northern Arts Review writes:

“Austen is light and fun, but this production gave us some real belly laughs, well beyond the humour of the book. This was entirely due to the superb actors, not one of whom was anything other than faultless. Rosa Hesmondhalgh, as our heroine Elizabeth Bennet, captured the independent, carefree spirit of the character perfectly. Likewise, James Sheldon, as her antagonist, Mr Darcy, was wholly believable as the rugged but honourable gentleman. Together, their portrayals brought laughs and pounding hearts in equal measure. […] For me, this is an easy five stars. In fact, this is six out of five stars, as far as I’m concerned. The play was absolute perfection. If you love Jane Austen, you simply have to see this version. If, like me, you’re lukewarm at best, go see it and have your mind – and heart – changed.”

A hugely entertaining and enjoyable visit to the theatre.

Waverley Villages

Farnham, Surrey. Sometime in the 1980s.

Rummaging through the pictures on my Mac I came across a folder of pen and ink illustrations that my father did for a book of walks around the Borough of Waverley. 

Our childhood pet was a black cat called Max and many of his illustrations feature a small black cat making a cameo appearance.

01 Thursley. 

02 Wonersh.

03 Elstead.

04 Dunsfold.

05 Bramley.

06 Chiddingfold.

07 Ewhurst.

08 Tilford.

© James Michael McLellan 2025.

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Spitfire Girls at Theatre By The Lake

Keswick, Cumbria, UK. Wednesday, 26 March 2025.

Once again the Theatre By The Lake comes up trumps with an entertaining production of Spitfire Girls. We booked our tickets as soon as we read about they play and invited Mary's aunt to join us. We treated ourselves to pre-theatre tapas at Bar eS and then off to the theatre.

Sometimes I think they should only allow audiences in by seat number rather like boarding an aircraft. We were at the end of a row and the remaining audience members trickled in ending with the central couple last. We spent quarter of an hour doing repeated Mexican waves along the row!

The plot concerns two sisters during the second world war who sign up for the Air Transport Auxiliary partly for the excitement of doing something for their country and partly to get away from their stultifying life working for their farmer father. The play covers their induction, training, the people they meet, romances they have and what befell them later, told partly in flashback. 

We learnt so much about an aspect of the war that was previously unknown to us. The ATA used women pilots to ferry new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, maintenance units (MUs), scrapyards, and active service squadrons and airfields.

The play is very much carried by the two brilliant female leads with excellent support from three other members of the cast who play a variety of roles. A thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Held on the High Wire at CatStrand

New Galloway, Scotland. Sunday 24-November-2024.

We first came across Myshkin as part of the Mike West Band at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival in 2001. We learned that she also performed solo and with her band The Ruby Warblers. She has such a fantastic voice that we followed her from afar and bought a number of her CD’s over the years. We then saw her again in 2013 when she appeared at the Green Note Cafe in Camden.

Little did we know that not long after her return to the hippie town of Joshua Tree, California later that year her partner, Jenny Q, was struck down with sepsis. Jenny then went through a terrible ordeal, suffering a period in a coma, great pain, multiple operations and the amputation of both her legs. 

Her experiences are documented in her book “Held Together”. This performance is based on that book and the music that Myshkin wrote during that period “Trust and the High Wire”. The title of this performance is a portmanteau of the book and album titles.

The performance consisted of narration interspersed with songs recounting that time. This was a harrowing but ultimately uplifting tale of the triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity: sepsis, terrible pain, sudden disability, PTSD and subsequent addiction and cold turkey withdrawal from all the painkillers. 

It must have taken great courage to lay bare their souls concerning that traumatic period. Jenny explained at the end that she wanted to start a conversation: that amputees should not hide their prosthetics but wear them openly. She has beautifully decorated artificial legs. Also talking about PTSD and addiction should not be taboo but essential topics. 

To quote Myskin’s website “A candid, spellbinding multimedia performance that tells the story of Jenny's near death experience, sepsis survival, and new life on metal legs.” Read more about this extraordinary collaboration at myshkinwarbler.com.

As we were still a bit tired from a Saturday night birthday party we decided it was too far to drive back in the dark through Scottish country roads so treated ourselves to a stay in the Cross Keys Hotel just a few hundred meters from the venue.

The Hound of the Baskervilles at Theatre by the Lake

Keswick, Cumbria. Saturday 17-August-2024.

Mary spotted this piece of entertainment at Theatre by the Lake (TBTL) and thought we would take advantage of our Old Gits(™) bus passes and go for a matinee. That way we could get there and back for free. It also meant I could have a drink or three.

My father had two Sherlock Holmes omnibus editions, one of the short stories and one of the novels which I read multiple times during my teens so the tales are embedded in my brain. Not quite sure what I was letting myself in for based on the description but always game to have a go at another interpretation. 

This production was basically farce with a fair amount of slapstick thrown in and the fourth wall was not only broken but smashed to smithereens. All parts were played by just three performers with an emphasis on cross dressing in true Pantomime Dame fashion. It was all very clever and entertaining. 

Having been here a few times now and been impressed by every performance we feel lucky to have this gem of a theatre in our area.

Afterwards we had booked ourselves an early supper at Bar eS Tapas and had some time to kill before our reservation so went for a beer at The Crafty Baa. We had been to one in Windermere but this Keswick bar was a new discovery for us, a decent craft ale bar with a an extensive collection of bottle beers and half a dozen on draft. I had the stout and Mary went for a weiss beer. Neither us were particularly impressed by our beers, they were OK but nothing special. 

We have been to Bar eS Tapas before and we enjoyed a selection of dishes, five between the two of us was their recommendation though we did add a sixth and had no trouble finishing them all.

After the meal we had time to wait for the next bus so we went into a nearby wine bar which we had not tried before: Lake District Wine. It describes itself as a tasting room and shop. You can buy by the glass and they also offered the option to buy a bottle off the shelf and pay corkage. I had a Puglian Appassimento and Mary had an Alvarino. Too late we noticed that they offered a tasting flight of three wines so next time we are in Keswick we will give that a try.

Then it was back home on the bus having had a very jolly afternoon and evening out. 

My Life in ... Theatre Programmes: The College Years

The seventeenth in an occasional series of alternative Curriculum Vitae because no-one on their death bed says "I wish I'd spent more time in the office"

Recap: Over the years, I have kept just about every theatre programme for every play, dance, performance. The bankers’ box full of programs had grown over the years into two boxes and travelled with me from home to home. The vinyl collection mostly went in 2015 as part of a downsize, the theatre programs were next on the list. I looked at selling them on eBay, as many other people have done, but the effort involved and the prices they would fetch meant it just was not worth the effort. So what I did was scan them, mostly just cover page and cast list. Then off they went to the recycling bin. Exceptions were programs where I knew one of the performers or they were particularly significant productions.

Scanning old theatre programmes is like watching your life flash before your eyes but v-e-r-y slowly. 

Oxford years.

In the four years at Oxford my attendance at the arts was eclectic as is only right and proper at university with everything from Gregorian Chant to Karlheinz Stockhausen with a fair number of theatrical productions thrown in. As I am missing a number of ticket stubs and programmes I am indebted to the geeks and fans of the internet for supplementing my memory.

Oxford University Film Society (1971/1972) My introduction to many classic films including Throne of Blood, Metropolis, Casablanca and the overlong, pretentiously arty Chelsea Girls by Warhol.

Oxford University Orchestra at Oxford Town Hall (01-December-1971). Mozart, Beethoven and Walton. I do remember that one of the percussionists was a red haired biochemist called Arabella who I also saw in another, undocumented concert, playing a brass instrument - versatile lady.

Clerks of Oxenford at Magdalen College Chapel (04-March-1972). Thomas Tallis and a load of 13th century music.

Karlheinz Stockhausen at the Oxford Union (May 1972). I saw Stockhausen when he gave a talk at the Oxford Union [Part 1, Part 2 Part 3]. We were up in the balcony which is where the cheap seats were because we were on a student budget. Stockhausen looked at the almost empty stalls and invited all of us seated upstairs to come on down. So we got excellent top price seats for next to nothing.

Conduct Unbecoming at the Belgrade Theatre (16-May-1972). Well I had the programme so I must have seen it.

Hawkwind at Oxford Polythechnic (10-June-1972). We went as a group to see them and hear their new single "Silver Machine". Two things I remember from the gig were:

• The roadie doing the sound check didn't bother with "One, Two, Testing". He just went "One, One, One, ...".
• They had a large, naked lady dancing on the stage who Google informs me was Stacia.

Julius Caesar at RSC Stratford (Summer 1972). My first time seeing a young Patrick Stewart (the next was nearly 40 years later in Waiting For Godot with Sir Ian McKellen). Given the venue it would have been a family outing organised by my parents during the summer holidays. Of course back then the cast names meant nothing to me (Corin Redgrave, Margaret Tyzak, etc.) such is the wisdom of hindsight.s

BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall (26-July-1972). This was my first ever Proms with a programme of Mozart, Stravinsky and Bruckner.

• Mozart Symphony No. 38, in D major (Prague)
• Stravinsky Capriccio for piano and orchestra
• Bruckner Symphony No.3, in D minor.

Hertford College Music Society (05-November-1972). My first encounter with the lovely and ever popular "Lark Ascending" conducted by a very young Simon Rattle.

King Crimson at New Theatre (25-November-1972). We were into prog rock and bands like Yes, Soft Machine, Kevin Ayers, The Bonzos. One of our group had the classic album In the Court of the Crimson King. I remember little of the actual gig but a bootleg recording is available at DMG.

Fellow student from my primary school. Catherine Bott in As You Like It at the Talisman Theatre (1972) and again in Venus and Adonis at King's College, London (1974).

 

Fellow student from my secondary school. Jane Broughton Perry in
Androcles and the Lion (1972).

 

... and Saksoon at Teddy Hall (1973).

Schola Cantorum Oxoniensis at St Edmund Hall (17-February-1973). Renaissance music, mostly 16th century.

Jesus Midsummer Ball (1973). A Commemoration ball is a formal ball held by one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in the 9th week of Trinity Term. They start late and go on to the wee small hours. I felt I could not miss out on going to one of these so I asked my friend Jane to be my guest. We saw Steeleye Span and I remember watching Magical Mystery Tour through a slightly alcoholic haze.

Plan and timetable.

Plays at Various colleges (Summer 1973). Many of the colleges had amateur dramatic groups who put on plays during the summer term when I could easily see three performances per week. There were no exams at the end of the second year so it felt like I was a liberty to study less and enjoy more.

• Androcles And The Lion - Regents Park College 
• Dom Juan - Brasenose
• Hadrian VII - Keble Collge
• Mandrogola - Magdalen
• Pericles - University College 
• Volpone - Lady Margaret Hall
• Saksoon - St Edwards
• Caravaggio Buddy - ?
• Hay Fever - Keble College
• Peer Gynt - Merton College
• Richard III - Brasenose College
• Six Characters - Jesus LMH
• The Cocktail Party - Oriel St Annes
• The Fall And Redemption Of Man - Teddy Hall
• The Flies - St Catz
• The Mad Islands - Wadham College
• The Seventh Seal - Magdalen
• Toad Of Toad Hall - Oriel College
• Venus And Adonis - Kings College

Gregorian Chant (venue and date unknown). One of the more esoteric concerts. Strange to hear Latin spoken with a pronounced American accent.

Ballet Rambert at Oxford Town Hall (date unknown). All I remember is one dance where the dancer wore a brightly coloured cloak which was repeated whipped away to reveal another colour underneath. Or I may have just imagined that.

Mayfly Festival (01-May-1974). It was a small two or three day concert in Oxpens Meadows in Oxford. I have no memorabilia but I believe I must have attended in 1974 because one of my college mates was a huge fan of Gong, Hatfield & the North and Henry Cow. and one of the acts was the Virgin All Stars comprised of members from all three bands.  

It was a lovely sunny day is about all I can remember. I also remember one of the performers saying that he rehearsed and rehearsed so that what you heard when you saw him live was as close as he could make it to the studio album. I am convinced that it was Kevin Ayers but I can find no evidence on the internet of his performing there so perhaps I imagined it was him. Or it may have been some other artist.

Kevin Ayers et al. at The Rainbow (01-June-1974). I do not have the programme but I do have the vinyl as the concert was released as an LP. It was with Pete from college plus Pete’s friend Graham. Graham lived in Greenwich where he ran GAS ((Greenwich Audio Services). He had an amphibious car and a Messerschmitt bubble car that he gave me a lift in to the concert. You whizz along with your bum just inches from the tarmac - scary! 

"The album is officially attributed to all principal performers Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno and Nico, although other well-known musicians, including Mike Oldfield, Robert Wyatt, and Ollie Halsall, also contributed to the concert." [Wikipedia]

That is a fair old mix.