Boozing it up with a two-time Oscar winner...well sort of

Working in the Cultural Office has its perks. Among them is being able to scoop up tickets to things people can't attend or don't want to. Tuesday I was lucky enough to snap up tickets to Cause Celebre at the Old Vic theatre in Waterloo. I had been wanting to see something there but just hadn't made a point of doing so.

As it so happened, it was press night for the play. And I had to collect the tickets at the drinks reception beforehand. I stood there, clutching my tickets, sipping on a glass of white wine when who should walk around the corner, his should brushing just past mine, but Kevin Spacey. The one and only. Looking better than he looks on screen, much lovelier in person. I nearly fainted. My heart felt, like for a moment, it stopped beating. It's the kind of shock you get when you see someone you don't expect to see - ever - and the excitement of the moment gets to you.

The play was fantastic. The theatre intimate without any bad seats. I really enjoyed myself.

But also in my little white envelope were tickets to the after party held at Baltic, a block away from the theatre. Talk about luck. Open bar, great food, lively crowd. And more Kevin. He graciously thanked everyone for coming, encouraged us to drink liberally, and spoke briefly about the Old Vic and that night's play. I could listen to the man read the phone book. Seriously.

It was great night. I expect I won't get too many chances to experience that kind of thing in my life. For one night I got a taste of what it's like to be in the room. And it's fucking fantastic.

It's not all that uncommon to hear protesters outside of my work. But never have I heard a group so angry as the ones who marched on us yesterday. Generally, we get notices when there is going to be a demonstration. This one was unannounced. They were loud and aggressive, waving placards and shouting from a bullhorn. Almost all of the women had their faces covered. All were Muslims, members of a group with a name that left little question as to why they were there.

You can hazard a guess as to what they were protesting.

What is so striking about the scene that played out yesterday outside my office was not the loudness or the aggression or the anger that was on display. It was the fact that had these people been a Muslim country and protesting government action, they would have, in all likelihood, been fired upon. Like the government in Syria is currently doing.

I don't have a problem with protesters. I'm one of the biggest First Amendment proponents you'll find. I would encourage protesters, no matter what they were protesting. But the irony here is the government they were protesting and the country they were protesting in are two of the few places in the world where they are welcomed with open arms. One sign I saw read 'United States, Britain, and France - Trinity of Evil'.

I get that they're angry. I get that they don't like us in Muslim lands, "waging" war against Muslims. But I have to wonder if we had stayed out of it, if we'd continued to allow tyrannical leaders to ruthlessly massacre their own people without a second thought, would they be begging us to do something? I'd like to think they would.