The first third was a wonderfully sunny Saturday afternoon enjoying a picnic lunch
on Richmond Green with friends before going on to see the matinee production of
'De Montford' at the Orange Tree Theatre. A dramatic 1800 depiction of the effects of
obsessive hatred on a man of high standing. Amazingly well written by Joanna Baillie
who kept her playwright skill anonymous for a while presumably because of antipathy
towards female writers in C18/19. Interesting too how much of the action took
place in Catholic convent/monastery in those pre Catholic emancipation years in
England. Justin Avoth played the venom filled De Montford, frighteningly well
and Alice Barclay was perfect as his sister Jane. Ben Nealon's Rezenvelt was Mr Nice personified. His eventual assassination by the demented de Montford was a highlight
of this thought provoking play.
Sunday brought the next third part of bank holiday. Free tickets courtesy of SWTrains
gave a cheap comfortable jouney to Portsmouth Harbour; thence using FastCat
catermarane 2 for 1 ticket a quick sea jorney to the Isle of Wight's Ryde Pierhead; from where
courtesy again of SW trains an ancient electric train (1950s London Tube style)
rattled us on to a remote station called "Lake" though there is no lake to be seen.
Glorious hot sunshine made for a great walk along the IoW coastal
foot paths through Sandown, Culver Down and then cutting across Bembridge
aerodrome to Brading marshes via an ancient NT Windmill. Starting back on the tube from
Brading to Ryde pierhead and the sea we eventually returned home sunburnt.
Today - the third third, rain and more rain. My seven mile jog over the
Common is usually punctuated by greetings from other joggers horseriders
and the like with the odd cannine interuption. Such was the pre-breakfast
downpour on this Bank Holiday Monday that for a change in this part
of London, "the loneliness of the long distance runner" is an apt description
of the prevailing(wet) atmosphere.
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