I remember being astonished by Phillie’s energy, although she was very poorly by then, as she wanted to explore some other bits of the V&A before we left.
For some strange reason we have no pictures from the 2009 Z/Yen seasonal event. I find it hard to believe that none were taken, yet there is no sign of anyone uploading a batch to the Z/Yen server, although that habit had become established by the end of 2009.
The headline picture “Z/Yen In Hats” was actually taken the previous year, but was the December 2009 picture in the Z/Yen calendar, so it will have to do.
Our friend and client (through Charity IT Leaders), Sarah Winmill, was CIO at the V&A at that time. She very kindly gave us a private viewing and “backstage look” at the highly popular Decode Exhibition which was “the thing” at the V&A that season.
The following video gives a good idea of the fascinating stuff on show.
Needless to say, many Z/Yen folk were as happy as Larry at that show. Even an arty technophobe like Janie found lots to enjoy there and all enjoyed the behind the scenes tour.
Then on to the Notting Hill Brasserie.
I do hope that someone who attended did take pictures and keep them – a stack of pictures from that dinner would be good. I remember it was a lively crowd and the private room there was a good venue for our do.
The seasonal song that year was our first (but not last) attempt at “ExtZy” to the tune of Branle D’Official (Ding Dong Merrily On High) – click here for a pdf or read below:
The Silence Of Lorna is quite a harrowing film about Albanians in Belgium trying to get an EU passport.
Perhaps not ideal fare at the end of a hard week’s work, but that’s what we did.
To cheer ourselves up afterwards, we took away food from the Thai Bistro in Chiswick – one of our favourites. It has changed its name a few times since 2009, including some infeasibly unpronouncable and unmemorable names, but at the time of writing, June 2019, it is named Tor Thai Bistro.
I think we went to two movies in one afternoon/evening that season.
Janie wrote down both of these movies in her diary fort hat day and I seem to recall working out a way round seeing them both on the same day – by seeing Lemon Tree (the shorter) in the afternoon in Swiss Cottage and then driving to Panton Street for I’ve Loved You So Long.
You could park around Panton Street, even on days when the parking was free, at Twixtmas time back then. Of course, Twixtmas wasn’t known as Twixtmas back then.
Here’s the YouTube of it so you can watch from here instead (but for the resources as well, you need to click the above link):
More observant followers of this lecture (e.g. John White) noticed that I strung some lines from songs and stuff through the slides. I made up an iTunes playlist for the lecture – back then, iTunes playlists felt like fun things to try. Here it is:
We held a traditional Z/Yen-Gresham reception in the Headmaster’s Study after the lecture. Doubtless someone pointed out my resemblance to the Chandos Portrait of Shakespeare in that room – someone always did. As I explained on Facebook to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death:
After the reception, Michael Mainelli escorted an honoured few of us to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese for one of his traditional post lecture meals. Not sure exactly who attended but I do recall Michael, Elisabeth, Kim, Micky, Charlie, Me, Janie and a few others.
Blimey O’Reilly; three galleries in one day and it looks as though we played tennis in the morning before setting off, if my diary scribble is to be believed.
First up: Miró, Calder, Giacometti, Braque at The Royal Academy. This exhibition might have been curated just for us; we both really like all four of these fellas.
I think the Osbert Lancaster was a sweetener for me, as I love his cartoons. Not sure Janie was so interested. Perhaps she didn’t realise how keen I was on the other stuff we’d scheduled for that day. Anyway, we had time and off we went. Another exhibition that had just opened a few days before. Click here for the Wallace Collection pages on the exhibition.
In short, this day was an embarrassment of riches in the exhibition stakes – we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
That time of year, I suppose. A few evenings worth listing.
11 September 2008: Ivan Shakespeare Memorial Dinner – explained in the third entry of the link piece. Here is John Random’s tombstone e-mail from that night:
Just like to extend a heartfelt thanks to all those who came to the 32nd Ivan Shakespeare Memorial Dinner – actually I don’t know if it is the 32nd but we’ve been doing an average of four a year since the year 2000, so it sounds plausible. Those of you who weren’t there, whether in Africa, America, Ireland or some oil-producing nation such as Harpenden you were all sadly missed, You missed a great quiz from Gerry, and the surprise (and welcome) re-appearance of John Cowen. Special guest Neil Watson brought a touch of class to the proceedings.
26 September 2008: Kim, Micky and Charlie dinner, 7:00ish. Sounds like it must have been at Sandall Close; a trawl through Janie’s diary archive will confirm or deny at some stage.
30 September 2008: Stuart Rose lecture at the Royal Opera House. Can’t find an on-line reference but I do recall being there. Something about probity and stuff.
This exhibition was about contemporary/recent artists and their relationship with books.
Janie and I had both heard/read good reviews about this exhibition and ensured that we took a Monday off at a suitable stage in the exhibition’s life to have a quiet look at it. This plan worked very well on the first Monday in June.
Janie and I only occasionally took days off to do arty things in those days. So when we did, we went a bit mad and did lots.
So this particular day, 14 April 2008, we went to see three exhibitions at three separate galleries (Ogblogged here) and then went on to the theatre (which I shall Ogblog separately).
We don’t go to the cinema all that much. On the rare occasions we do go, it tends to be on an impulse. So most of our visits to the cinema prior to my live blogging (i.e. prior to December 2015) will be lost in the mists of time.
However, my diary for this day reads:
John and Mandy? Savages
I was a little perturbed by this entry at first. Surely I wasn’t cross with John and Mandy for postponing our get together for a few weeks, especially as it had been put in the diary with a question mark. In any case, I would never describe our friends as savages.
Then I remembered seeing a film named The Savages and discovered that the film had indeed come out around that time. Mystery solved.
I remember that we both really liked the idea of it – I was just getting used to the idea of having a dependent parent at the time, some 6 months after my father’s death. I suspect that Newsnight Review put us on to it (we do miss that arts programme) and we both would have liked the thought of Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman heading up the cast.
We weren’t disappointed. It was both very amusing and touching. A bit long for the slightness of the story, but an enjoyable couple of hours nonetheless.
No idea which cinema we went to – probably the Vue Acton or whatever it was called back then – still the nearest/quickest to get to at the weekend, even since the move from Janie’s maisonette to the house. Might have stayed at mine and seen this one at The Gate – that’s the other thing we often did back then.
If you haven’t seen it, well worth looking out for when it comes around on the box or through whatever Prime/Netflix type service you use if you are a movie-fiend.
