Our First London Literary Event

It was really windy in London today, which made for challenging transportation around town come rush hour, since most trains weren't running, most tube lines were experiencing severe delays or were part-suspended, and buses and tubes were packed as a result. Tonight was the most crowded we've ever seen the tube, and the highly entertaining tube employee who tried to maintain order on our platform seemed to be the only person there having a good time (which was very nice--although there might be a tube strike next month, which is another story altogether). Anyway, after some transportation glitches, we finally made it to our destination: Hyde Park Corner tube station and the nearby Italian Cultural Institute for a free talk by Hanif Kureishi. Actually, it turned out to be a moderated talk between Kureishi and another author, Alain Elkann. I'd not heard of Elkann before the talk and, unfortunately, his side of the conversation wasn't that inspiring and hasn't led me to seek out more information on him. Kureishi was very different though, coming across as witty, self-deprecating, and insightful, making the audience laugh several times, and showing flair when dealing with some awkward questions from the audience. I wasn't able to get a photo of the talk itself, just the milling about in the room afterwards:

I made sure to pick up the Institute's very impressively designed calendar of events

(which feels like an artist's book, closer to something Phaidon might publish than a brochure of upcoming events), as tonight's talk left me interested to know what else the Institute offers. I'd also like the opportunity to have a glance around the rest of the impressive building when I'm a little less rushed!