5 X 15

We went racing out the door Monday night, late for an event that I bought tickets for ages ago.  It's a series called 5 X15 - - five speakers get up and talk extemporaneously

for 15 minutes.  It started at 7:00pm in a venue in Notting Hill called The Tabernacle.

 Bill and I were both running late from work so we missed the first speaker and had to stand with obstructed views for the second.  The line up for the evening was:

• Ben Watt (we missed him.  He is the male half of the duo Everything But the Girl and he has written a book.)
• Bompas and Parr (These guys have made an industry out of jello moulds in the shape of things like St. Paul's Cathedral. They also did some sort of flavored fireworks here on NYE. We saw Bompas.  Check it out here: http://bompasandparr.com)
• Emma Bridgewater (Entrepreneur.  She has an empire of pottery here in the UK that is instantly recognizable with shops on every fashionable corner)
• Kirsty Wark (BBC host and debut novelist)
• Fiona Shaw (legendary actress, director)

We wound up sitting on steps rather than in a seat but the view for the last three speakers was perfect  - better than many of the real seats - so I was content.  They were all very interesting and most projects images as they were speaking.  Fiona Shaw didn't need slides.  She was mesmerizing speaking about her love of Yeats as a child - a topic I would have rejected before I knew that it would all sound brilliant coming from her.

Dinner at a random pub on the way home.  We originally sat next to a table with a puppy until it exploded right near our table and we had to move.  I guess that is the down side of dogs in pubs.  You should really only bring the ones who are toilet trained.