By the late afternoon yesterday I had perked up a bit and enjoyed a nice evening in with Mandi watching some episodes of Jeeves and Wooster as we have fallen behind with the box set watching just lately. Thankfully I recorded the podcast which went online this morning and I had time to do all the admin before going to my dad's for lunch, but the day was pretty much a write off.
I spent a large part of yesterday afternoon trying to find out if the Music Hall actress Lily Langtry had any connection to Nottingham, given that there is a pub named after her in the middle of town. The pub is decorated with photographs of her and as it is right next door to the Theatre Royal and the Royal Concert Hall I imagined that there would be a reason. The Royal Concert Hall is an ugly new building that replaced the Empire Palace of Varieties for no other reason than the architectural and cultural vandalism that was epidemic in the late 1960s. I imagined that she had been a regular fixture at the theatre and possibly drank in the pub between shows, or maybe stayed in a rented room upstairs. It turns out that apparently there is no connection whatsoever, and the pub was simply named after an actress because it was next to an old theatre.
Given my interest in Music Hall entertainment I was a little bit disappointed that I hadn't discovered a place that had some kind of connection to this era that went beyond just being there. Malt Cross is a short walk away and is one of the country's last Music Hall buildings but even they don't really capitalise on it, maybe because there aren't enough people interested and I am aware that it isn't really a popular topic. The pub has pictures of Langtry all over the walls and a big picture outside yet I doubt that a large percentage of the customers even know who she was. If the owners can take any comfort, it is that Pete Townsend didn't go in when The Who were playing recently as we all know what would have happened.
The Sunday Alternative #50 is available from here.
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August housekeeping
We are now in the eighth month of the year and at a standstill as far as work is concerned. In unrelated news, it is my birthday on the 27th of this month so a nice present would be a donation using the PayPal button. This would be spent on creating podcasts, documentaries, short films, comedy sketches and various other entertainments that I will make available to enjoy online for free.
The above t-shirt and bag is also available to buy, all the money goes to the same creative fund. They are on my shop page.
I'll play you a kazoo song request, find out how here.
Letter of complaint written for you for £2, here.
steveEoliver@gmail.com
