April 11, 2013
Present: Doris, Gill, Jen, Nic
The walk to this venue was an absolute treat, from Hyde Park Corner, via Belgrave Square, along Wilton Crescent (which could put Bath's crescents to shame) to a cobbled mews street called Wilton Row and a genuinely, old and old-fashioned London boozer that is allegedly the most haunted pub in London. We saw and felt no unearthly presence but, the spirits cannot be expected to perform on demand and Jen cannot be held accountable for that. It was the perfect venue to discuss ghost stories.
What Jen can be held accountable for is this book choice! (And may it be known, she was her harshest critic. The rest of us tried to make her feel better by referring to her previous excellent and well-received choices. Hmmm... that didn't quite go to plan!)
Most people had read only a handful of the collection, anticipating that they were samey and lacking atmosphere. I had been on holiday and, therefore, read them all. I was able to confirm that conjecture to be correct. Even Mark, who couldn't make it, and sent email report that he'd loved them (particularly the "moving painting" - and we present agreed with this) found them samey by the end. The rest of us were less charitable.
Perhaps on a dark and stormy night, with yew trees clattering against the windows, told around a flickering and failing fire in a creaking cottage, abutting a cemetery, during a power cut, PERHAPS one of these stories could have raised a chill of fear. However, in a collection, read quietly, not told aloud, one after another, written in the same style and tone of voice, they fell rather flat.
Not so the evening though. The bar staff were friendly and welcoming, offered tasters of the excellent draft beers for the indecisive and under-played the food, with insouciant charm. In fact, the food turned out to be rather well executed, simple pub fayre like steak and chips with, frankly, marvellous onion rings - crisp batter and sweet, fresh, chunky-cut onions with just the right amount of bite.
Fantastic venue choice by Jen, again. And, um ... a book.
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