London Fields III
Life moves pretty fast. As my diary slowly begins to fill up with interviews I am trying to cram in some further excursions before I’m locked back into the dull spiral of working and commuting. I’ve been meaning to explore one portion of the Thames Path as it runs from my place all the way up to central London, as a friend was over from Australia to attend his brothers wedding this week it seemed an ideal opportunity to combine a little exploration and a meet-up in Leicester Square.
Starting in Limehouse the path meanders through Shadwell before skirting through Wapping, taking you all the way up to Tower Bridge, not always straddling the Thames waterside by occasionally diverting pedestrians inland through small business parks and converted warehouse yuppie condominium estates. Although I set off early (and the photos should indicate what wonderful weather I was blessed with) it took me about an hour door to door to reach the St. Katherine’s Docks development where I paused to take a well deserved coffee break in the shadow of Tower Bridge.
What I had misjudged is the distance from that landmark to the West End, reaching the Millenium Bridge half an hour later I jumped on a bus for the remainder of the journey to ensure I reached Leicester Square with ten minutes to spare for the rendezvous. After a quick lunch we popped over to the British Museum for a wander round and brief look at the American Prints exhibition I had mentioned earlier.
During my journey I stumbled upon the Alfred Plaque which was established in 1986 to mark the 1,100 anniversary of King Alfred rescuing London from the clutches of the evil Danes. Cool. One of the things I love about London is that combination of old and new, modernist glass hued testaments to the capitals global financial status nestling next to Victorian tenements and world famous structures. One thing you should do when exploring London is to look skyward, to see beyond the street level identikit Starbucks and fast food joints in order to absorb the real sense of scale and history of London – particularly good for this is Regent Street and many of the furtive side streets in Soho and other parts of the West End.
In the evening I saw Juliette Binoche interviewed at the NFT to celebrate the opening of a film season of her work. First of all, I have to say that she is far more attractive in real life than she is in the movies and this is from someone who never really found her that alluring on screen. Hmm, reading that sentence back I’m sure I’ve just won some points with the feminist lobby. Anyway, the interview was a bit dull to be honest although it has put me on the trail of some of her early films that I’ve always meant to track down such as ‘Les Amants du Pont-Neuf‘, ‘Mauvais Sang‘ and ‘Damage‘ looks worth a revisit, I remember quite liking that film. It was revealed that she turned down the Laura Dern part in ‘Jurassic Park’ for the lead in <MAJOR SPOILERS> ‘Three Colours: Blue‘ which I think is superb – I like ‘Jurassic Park‘ don’t get me wrong but ‘Three Colours: Blue‘ is just an outstanding film with one of the best central performances I can recall seeing, I think it’s head and shoulders above the other entries in the trilogy which I actually find a little overrated.
So, here’s some random London film links with no particular unifying theme, (proper old school credits there but anyway….) just a celebration of some of the great films that have been made in my beloved city. As part of their 75th anniversary the BFI are conducting a ‘Visions For The Future‘ programme to get the public to nominate a film which they feel should be preserved for future generations. Not a bad list with some unusual nominations I have to say (‘Back To The Future’? ‘The Fog Of War?’ are both good but c’mon…) so to be contrary UK wise and avoid the obvious Kubrick nominations I have opted for Lindsay Andersons ‘If…‘ which is one of my favourite British films and serves as an ideal companion piece to my international choice, <SPOILERS again> ‘Fight Club‘ – if you can’t leave future generations the lessons of rebellion, to constantly distrust and question authority then what can you do eh? Anyway, this is always worth another look and finally, some sad news – Don La Fonatine has passed on. Who’s he? I hear you ask, well maybe this link will give you an idea.
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