Bellowhead - The Word Arena, Latitude Festival 16 July 2011

We spent what felt like the rainiest day Suffolk's experienced in living memory at the Latitude Festival this year.  Wondering around outside in the afternoon to get a breath of fresh air during a rare dry spell, we found ourselves approaching the Word Arena as the heavens re-opened and the deluge recommenced.  It was one of the best moves of our day.  We shuffled in to the tent, sighing in our voluminous plastic ponchos, and were instantly cheered by the gig just starting.  Bellowhead have updated the folk band idea splendidly, adding beef and welly through the inclusion of a sizeable brass section.  Playing with panache and originality, they soon had the audience rocking and dancing as the rain poured down outside.  Spanning a wide range of styles and influences but steeped in a folk tradition, they put on an exciting, uplifting, and cheering show.

I'm not usually one for a folkfest, but Bellowhead really demonstrated how great traditions can be maintained and refreshed. 

Bellowhead's third album Hedonism is out now:  http://www.bellowhead.co.uk/bellowhead/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=7

Bellowhead, the Literary Arena, Latitude Festival 2011

SB

The Literary Arena, Latitude Festival 16 July 2011

One of Latitude's greatest strengths is the quality and range of spoken word performances.  Given the deluge, we spent quite a bit of time hunkered down comfortably in the Literary Arena, and we weren't disappointed.  The wide range of events we attended were of consistently high quality, engaging and absorbing us effortlessly.

WordTheatre (http://wordtheatre.com/about/index.php) in the morning set us up beautifully for the rest of the day.  This initiative presents award-winning short stories read by world-class actors.  Who could have asked for more than the expression of Harriet Walter reading Hilary Mantel, or indeed of Juliet Stevenson (who could hold my attention even if she was reading the cricket scores).  The audience sat quietly and attentively, spellbound by literally being told a story.   Excitement followed with Henry Worsley's surprisingly moving account of retracing Shackleton's steps during the ill-fated 1908-1909 expedition to the south pole.  Not usually one for "leadership" tales, especially those delivered in Worsley's rather military style, I was nevertheless very moved by the attempt made by descendants of the original expedition team to replicate the aborted expedition, during which Shackleton made the heart-wrenching decision to turn back a mere 97 miles from the pole, after hundreds of gruelling miles, because saving his team's lives was more important than the race to the southernmost point on the planet.  The original expedition photos juxtaposed against the modern team's images of the same places were eerie and thought-provoking, in particular the modern team's photo taken at precisely the same coordinates as the point at which Shackleton abandoned his effort, exactly 100 years earlier.  Worsley presented with honesty and commitment, bringing the sheer effort of the expedition to life as he described his thoughts and feelings as well as the practicalities and hardships endured by the team.   For more information on the expedition, see the expedition website at http://www.shackletoncentenary.org/

We returned in the evening for another dose of literary matters.  I wasn't quite sure what would be on, arriving early to be certain of getting seating space for Robin Ince's Double Science.  We were in for a treat, as we arrived just in time for Andrew Smith's reading from his book "Moondust: In Search of the Men who Fell to Earth".  The book describes his search for the nine surviving men who landed on the moon between 1969 and 1972, but the reading was a detailed, incredibly gripping, blow-by-blow account of the first lunar landing.  Complete with video shot from the Eagle as it approached the lunar surface, and atmospheric music by Brian Eno to set the scene, our hearts were aflutter even though of course we knew how it all turned out in the end!  Smith brought to life the ticking seconds as Armstrong tried to find a landing spot, having missed the spot originally planned, and finally got the capsule down with zero seconds to spare before it was set to abort the mission and automatically return to the orbiting command module.  You could have hard a pin drop (if the main music arenas hadn't been thumping away in the background - the eternal problem with Latitude). 

For a great review of Smith's book, which sounds fascinating, see:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/apr/24/biography.features.

And last but not least, Robin Ince presented Double Science - maths and chemistry on this occasion.  As Adam Smith said over 200 years ago, "Science is the great antidote to the poisons of enthusiasm and superstition", and fortunately there is now a cadre of scientists and comedians, like Ince, together with Ben Goldacre, Brian Cox and some others, determined to champion rational reason as the basis of decision-making (at least to the largely already converted radio 4 types they attract!).  Robin Ince is one of the foremost among them, and presented a wonderful session that combined humour with passion: passion for the natural world, and for how just how truly amazing and fascinating science is.   Matt Parker, stand-up mathematician, blew the cover off a "mystical" tabloid story about the arrangement of ancient British sites in perfect triangles by finding exactly the same result for the old Woolworth's shops, and Dr Andrea Sella did some cool stuff with carbon dioxide, the serious point of which was that we've known without doubt about CO2's properties for a long time, so it's disingenuous to question and doubt some of the climate warming conclusions that have been proposed in recent times.  In between times we laughed a lot, and that's probably the most notable aspect of this genre - it brings home profound insights about our world and our position in it, without taking itself too seriously for too long. 

If you like the sound of this try "The Infinite Monkey Cage" on Radio 4.  Althought the latest series is finished now it can still be podcast from:   http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/timc

       

The Literary Arena, Latitude Festival

SB

Latitude Festival, deepest Suffolk, July 2011

The Splatitude - sorry Latitude - Festival in rural Suffolk started off a few years ago with the feel of being for a Radio 4 audience (I first heard of it when The Now Show was broadcast from it 3 or 4 years ago), including literature, poetry, ballet, snippets of opera. However it is also a music festival, and sometimes feels a bit like 2 festivals in the same place. Personally I would prefer to have more emphasis on the radio 4 element - there are lots of music festivals with bands which people over 40 have never heard of, but not many where you can sit in a field and hear Juliet Stevenson reading a short story, or watch ballet on a stage built over a lake. And sometimes you can hardly hear what the people in the speaking tents are saying because of that thumping coming from one of those outside spaces for young people...turn it down!!! Still it's all part of the festival experience I suppose, and Latitude does manage to pull it off. 

It was very wet this year, which is partly why we mainly stayed indoors, and there were good things on offer indoors, including good comedy, and the Film and Music tent where there were some PJ Harvey videos of her album LetEnglandShake (I must get that album). Now she is someone I've heard of! It's always hard choosing what to see when there are so many possibilities on at one time, but in some ways the rain made it easier, because we settled down and kept moves to a minimum.   We had a bit of luck too, including going past the cabaret tent and catching the last few songs of a Beatles & Stones tribute band (I've heard of them too!), and coming across a small tent in the woods where there were 2 people just sitting there playing Bob Dylan songs...great! 

After dark there was a very interesting projection on to a fountain which made a 3D TV effect. Maybe other people have seen it before but it impressed me.  And I like seeing the sheep with their wool dyed interesting colours, I wonder whether they mind?  If they made their way over to the knitting tent it would cut out the middle man!

http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk/2011/photos/latitude_2009/latitude_2009/1/4

Pete

Offbeat London: Leytonstone Pop-Up Cinema

The London Perambulator/A13: Road Movie

Shown as part of the Leytonstone Festival at the Luna Lounge, a small basement venue, these two interesting and entertaining documentaries from local film makers John Rogers (London Perambulator ) and Stuart Bamforth and Rayna Nadeem (A13) were followed by a Q&A session involving the film makers and Nick Papadimitriou the subject of The London Perambulator.

The London Perambulator is about Nick Papadimitriou who ranges around the outskirts of London, primarily interested in the bits between the urban and the rural or the forgotten bits of London which are often not easily accessible. You could argue that it would be hard not to make an interesting film of this character; he has a unique insight into the areas that the majority of people don’t notice are there or just ignore. He has developed this idea of ‘Deep Topography’ to describe what he does and I was particularly interested in his idea that what he sees, the gap between houses that reveal the lie of the land before it was built on, are like portals into other worlds. Iain Sinclair, Will Self and Russell Brand provide their insights on Nick, always interesting although Self does his usual thing of using as many words as possible that ordinary people can’t understand. Half way through the film it is revealed that Nick was an arsonist in his youth, he matter of factly tells us that he burnt his school down…’twice’ and spent time in Ashford Remand Centre. Then at 23 he was sent to Wormwood Scrubs in the cell next to serial killer Dennis Neilson, ‘I woke up one day to find Neilson in my cell doorway just after he was sent to the Scrubs, I think he wanted to strangle me, it would’ve been quite a coup for him’ all delivered in his laid back Middlesex accent.

A13: Road Movie traces the route of the A13 from its beginnings in East London out to Shoeburyness on the Essex coast. The film sets out to find the beauty in the often overlooked, hidden or unusual from the social history of an interview with two original residents from the country’s first Chinatown in Limehouse to the huge electricity pylons on Rainham marshes. A diverse range of people are featured from musician Billy Bragg to MP David Amess to Pakistani restaurant owners and lay-by burger van proprietors. I would estimate that about two-thirds of the film covers the road in East London and one third in Essex, I’m not sure if that is because the film makers found East London more interesting or if it just reflects the fact they are based in East London so they had more footage from that area.

Two very interesting and entertaining documentaries, catch them if you can or at least have a look at the clips at the following links.

http://www.dekkoproductions.co.uk/

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-3404781272889245700
http://venturesintopography.wordpress.com/2011/02/19/nick-on-newsnight-feature-about-deep-topography/

Lucian Freud/Amy Winehouse

We have lost two great artists in the last week – Lucian Freud and Amy Winehouse. I’m not that big on portrait painting generally but Freud’s were always more interesting than any others that I know of. He painted a controversial picture of the Queen in recent years although as most of his portraits were nudes she probably got off lightly. Amy’s death was predictable of course, but no less tragic for that. She joins ‘The 27 Club’ of great musicians who have died at that age – Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones, Janice Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Robert Johnson – good company but best avoided if possible.

Loyalty by Sarah Helm - Hampstead Theatre

The play was excellent and very well presented.  The simple manoeuvring of the props on the stage created clearly different scenes.   Although the content was serious in substance, it was delivered quite aptly with humour.  Tony Blair was portrayed as somewhat naive, stupid and self-centred, only caring about his own position as Prime Minister rather than the situation that had been created by his Government. The leading lady (Maxine Peake) did a very good job and it was easy to agree with everything she said. This is easy to do in hindsight I suppose but its a shame that people in high places didn’t also agree with her at the time of the Iraq war!  The theatre was purpose built but yet charming but some of the seats in the front of the circle were a bit uncomfortable as the ground was sloping under them. You did get an excellent view from every seat though.  I was also very surprised to find out that the playwright is still married to her husband (Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair's chief of staff) as they had such opposing points of view!

RB

Carmen - The London Coliseum

One of the better Sundays of recent weeks and the thought of sitting inside a theatre for 2 hrs 50 mins was more than daunting all this despite the threat of some of the finest that the English National Ballet can offer.

Drinks at the bar, pre show are always a must - But really does the Coliseum really need to be quite so expensive?

The tickets were an offer that needed to be grabbed - Stalls row J all for a score (20 pounds for those not so well educated as I).

Well it was advertised as Carmen but in actual fact three separate sets  L'Alésienne, Le Jeune Homme et la Mort and the finale, Carmen. So at the outset even more value for money. So we can strike the wine comment! The Coliseum for those who have never ventured is a must, just for the regal splendid of the decor, not to mention the velvet safety curtains.

L'Alésienne - A happy tale of the thwarted passion of a young man Fréderi for an unfaithful "Girl from Ares". The set ends with the young man throwing himself out of a window to escape the insanity that had surrounded his mind.
Girl - Erina Takahashi
Boy - Estaban Berlanga

The ballet I felt tinged some contemporary choreography and added to the wonder of the set. the girl you did feel should give up her attempts to forget his obsession but hey that's love and the things we do for it!

Next , Le Jeune Homme et la Mort - Yet more happiness is spread by the tale of a young man compelled by love for a cruel mistress. All this on a holy day! He waits restlessly then she arrives and a tempestuous scene ends with the mistress goading the young man to commit suicide - Which of course he does.

Young Man - Anton Lukovkin
Girl.Mistress - Jia Zhang

Now this pair were striking, the dance came across and you could feel the torment, torture and lust. Jia was striking in her well chosen dress, bumble bee yellow and black gloves - Some great acrobatic moves blended in with classic ballet steps- Truly gripping.

Finale- Carmen to end to the trilogy of joy - Don José first meets Carmen at the cigarette factory - Love or lust at first sight? Later in the tavern she dances with him and entranced by her, he is unaware that the bandits rob him. He takes Carmen home and they make sweet love in the form of a superb love duet. She persuades him to commit a murder for her and leaves him alone in despair. Later he sees her flirtatious moves with the bullfighter Escamillo. Don José wastes no further time and stabs Carmen.

Carmen- Anais Chalendard
Don José - Daniel Kraus

The ballet was exciting and unlike the Opera which is a feisty longer experience, the ballet is a precised version. An abundance of well thought out choreographic style with many set changes which were conducted sublimely. The final scene with the constant drum beat was just exhilarating and had you perched albeit daintily on the edge of the plush seats.

The English National Ballet performs yet again to its high standards, overwhelming physiques of both the men and women of the company. You really appreciate the skill associated to the ballet and clearly all that hard blood, sweat and tears paid off.

RLJ

Leytonstone Pop-up Cinema – Another Year, Mike Leigh

As part of the Leytonstone Festival the Leytonstone Pop-up Cinema showed Mike Leigh’s film Another Year in the hall of Leytonstone library. The film traces a long-married couple and their easy-going contentment and contrasts this with the loneliness of a number of single friends. I’m not sure what Leigh is saying here; possibly he is saying that people have to be part of a couple, maybe even have to be married, to have a happy fulfilling life,  although maybe  I am over analysing and he just wanted to make a good film. A small criticism of some Leigh films is sometimes I find some of his characters can be a little clichéd, especially the liberal ones. However that wasn’t the case with this film and there were great performances from Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen and a fine cameo from Imelda Staunton. Another Year is a beautiful film; seek it out if you haven’t seen it.

http://www.leytonstonefilmclub.com/

What's Cookin' Leytonstone Festival Picnic - Sunday 24th July

Henry Reynolds Gardens, Bush Road E11 1.00 to 8.00pm

The Fabulous Pentrators / The Hightown Crows / The Curst Sons / Benjamin Folke Thomas Band / Simon James Onions / Graham Larbey & The Escape Committee / Texas Tea / The Lucky Strikes / The Dog Roses

Real ales, beer & BBQ provided by the North Star pub. DJ's.

http://www.whatscookin.co.uk/wchome.html

Joshua Raffell

Below are some link’s to site’s featuring Leytonstone based artist Joshua Raffell.  He is currently artist-in-residence at Studio 1:1 in Shoreditch and his website includes a write up about him by the gallery (Statement:Studio 1.1) as well as explaining Josh's motivation for making art. There is then a very interesting piece about him written by artist Ruth Lukom on her blog and lastly there is a link to the Hackney Wicked festival that Josh will be showing at next weekend, Friday 29 July – Sunday 31 July 2011.

http://www.joshuaraffell.com

http://www.ruthlukom.com/ruthiewrites/?p=110

http://hackneywickedfestival.co.uk

Richter – Cage Paintings at Tate Modern

Richter’s large Cage paintings are named after avant-garde musician John Cage. Produced by overlaying and scraping back paint they seem to shimmer as you look at them. To be honest they always put Husker Du’s searing New Day Rising album in my head rather than Cage’s music but thats probably just me.

I enjoy Richter’s paintings but I also love his views/outlook as well. Suspicious of ideologies and any claim to absolute truth he states ‘I don’t know what I want, I am inconsistent, non-committal, passive, I like the indefinite, the boundless, I like continual uncertainty’. These views help keep his work interesting. As most of the world’s problems are caused by political & religious fundamentalists who see the world in black and white and claim to have knowledge of absolute truth he is a refreshing change.

Takeaway – Theatre Royal Stratford East

Musical set in a Chinese takeaway, the central character is the 21year old Tom Jones fixated son of the proprietor. All seats are selling for £10 and the empty seats probably reflected the poor reviews it has been getting. The empty seats were added to during a first half that was pretty awful as some punters, perhaps understandably, left after twenty minutes. The second half ran out of steam and would have benefitted from some judicious editing and yet...it also contained some of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen on the stage, the funeral scene for instance was hilariously bizarre and the Yellow Empowerment Group were fantastic as well.

It is well worth £10 of your hard earned cash for what is probably one of the weirdest, funny in places, plays you’ll ever see; just don’t leave at half time.

Dee Nickerson in her studio - The Harleston and Waveney Art Trail

Dee Nickerson is a wonderful artist. Her living and working space was open to visitors as part of the The Harleston and Waveney Art Trail, whereby artists in the Waveney Valley, around the Norfolk/Suffolk border, open their studios for three weekends in the summer (http://www.hwat.org.uk, though it's now over for 2011). Dee Nickerson works in a caravan on a farm in rural Suffolk. Some people might think it a difficult place to live, but actually it seems very comfortable, including a wood-burning stove, and with outside covered areas as well. There is a resident population of cats, ensuring there is always a subject!

I find her work uplifting, and she seems to produce one fantastic painting after another, apparently effortlessly, but we all know it isn't easy to do it well and be original. She has the ability to capture a moment of stillness in a way that Vermeer and Hopper achieved. Other paintings convey movement very well such as people running with dogs on a beach or a woman dashing to post a letter. She finds a way to include pictures within pictures, such as a view seen through a window, and finds ways of adding fascinating details such as unusual fabrics or the curls of steam from a mug of tea.

The open studio period is now finished until next year, but she also exhibits in several local Suffolk galleries, such as in Harleston, Bungay and Southwold. Judging by the number of red dots at her last exhibition in Southwold, her work clearly appeals to many people.

http://www.southwoldgallery.co.uk/artist_details.php?id=72

Pete

What’s Cookin’- Leytonstone Festival

Thurs 14th July, The Dirty Beggars

The Dirty Beggars are from Central Scotland but play bluegrass.  Comprising of guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica and double bass, the band have an album coming out in Summer 2011 and on this evidence it is highly recommended that you buy it because this was right up there with the best shows seen at WC .

Sun 17th July, Suitcase

Suitcase is from New York and with his gruff vocals over fuzztone guitar plays the most incredible blues. This was another amazing WC show.

http://www.whatscookin.co.uk/wchome.html

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

The Harry Potter brand: good or evil? The stories are ultra conservative with a small c - all boarding school, stange old games and steam trains pulling out of the gothic splendour of St Pancras station (masquerading as Kings Cross). Is there no modernist movement in the wizard world? At times it has a Narniaesque religious look as perhaps any good versus evil story would, in this last part Harry is resurrected by the resurrection stone given to him by the God figure, Dumbledore an old man complete with white beard. But the films have all been well made, not always the case with films based on well known books, and increasingly action packed. This one didn’t disappoint; an enjoyable romp in which Harry finally overcomes Voldemort. Unlike the previous films Ron and Hermione have a smaller role and Neville Longbottom gets a bigger part as Harry’s wing man in overcoming the dark lord.

And so that’s it for the Harry Potter franchise, at least until JK decides that earning £1m every 3 days isn’t enough and writes a new book. She could write a prequel perhaps to answer the big question we are all asking, just what did Snape get up to with Mrs Potter.

The Incredible Sax Band - Clapham Common, London

There’s something wonderfully timeless about reclining dreamily in a deckchair in a green, summery, sunlit London park, while a band playing in the bandstand prevents dreaminess from evolving into doziness or, worse, snoriness.

This was the experience I found myself enjoying last Sunday afternoon (10^th July) – and I must say that the band was easily good enough to keep even the slightest trace of doziness at bay.

They were The Incredible Sax Band, and offering us as they did the fairly incredible sight of a band made up of no more and no less than eleven saxes (with the addition only of leader/conductor Howard Turner) they certainly lived up to their name.

And didn’t they sound good.  With a more-or-less equal blend of sopranos, altos, tenors and baritones, the sound was rich, full and impressively layered – also, considering that they played without amplification, extraordinarily well-balanced.

And with the band having played together a good deal recently in preparation for their excursion later this week to the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival, the playing was exceptionally tight and precise.

The first set showed the range and versatility of the band, including a couple of standards (a delicate and emotional version of “Misty” stood out) and a number of original compositions by band members.  Band leader Howard Turner’s “Cannonballing” would have pleased the great man, a powerful and tightly structured piece featuring some impressive soloing.  By contrast, the last number in the set, “Russian Dance,” written by another band member, combined a haunting melody with striking harmonies.

The event was a family reunion for me, so the interval involved much catching-up with cousins, nieces, nephews and so on, and the consumption of a fair few cheese and pickle sandwiches and mini flapjack bites. 

All of this set me up nicely for the second set, which was somewhat more upbeat and uptempo, and included extremely cunning and sophisticated arrangements of some well-known standards not exactly conceived with an eleven-saxophone band in mind (for example, the “Hawaii 5-0” theme and Van Morrison’s classic “Moondance”).  With some top-quality soloing from James Taylor (tenor) and Duncan Hope (alto), among others, and some exceptionally tight and controlled ensemble playing, the biggest compliment I can pay the band is that the lack of any kind of rhythm section didn’t really matter at all.  And I say that as an ex-bass player who doesn’t usually think a number has started properly until the bass and drums come in.

All too soon, the band was into its final number – Herbie Hancock’s classic Watermelon Man – and then it was over.  I rose a little stiffly from my deckchair.  “That was excellent,” I thought to myself.  “I wonder if there are any of those cheese and pickle sandwiches left?”

Lucian Camp

A celebration of the Ukulele - 5 July 2011

Under threat of closure due to increased rent, the splendid ukulele and banjo emporium, the Duke of Uke (http://www.dukeofuke.co.uk/), is running a series of fundraising events to support a re-location to new premises.  The event was kindly hosted by Wieden+Kennedy, an advertising agency with offices next door to the Duke and boasting a ukulele orchestra of its own, presumably taught at the classes run by the Duke for beginners and experienced uke aficionados.  Featuring the quirky and rather lovely Fiona Bevan, as well as Lulu and the Lampshades, 'Allo Darlin', and of course the W+K ukulele orchestra itself, the event exuded goodwill, fun, and warmth.  With much of the audience lolling about on deckchairs scoffing free beer and cider, the evening boasted surprisingly good acts in an intimate, live setting.  Lulu and the Lampshades were fresh and original, displaying real versatility as members of the (almost) all-female band swapped instruments with ease, exchanging percussion for guitar, and  of course incorporating the all important ukulele.  An extremely charming electric ukulele featured quite heavily! 

'Allo Darlin' were a little too loud and repetitive, but they got a great atmosphere going, and the solo performed by the lead singer accompanied only by ukulele at the end was really quite magical. 

To round the evening off,  I was astonished to win the top prize in the raffle - a course of ukulele lessons!  In anticipation, my Christmas ukulele got buffed up and tuned as soon as I got home!

More Duke of Uke fundraisers this week:  http://www.dukeofuke.co.uk/news/?page_id=45
SB

Leytonstone Festival, E11. 14 - 24 July 2011

The Leytonstone Festival is run by the Leytonstone Festival Association.with the objective to present a programme which is as balanced as possible, and where possible promotes local talent. It should be well worth a visit as there looks to be some very interesting events lined up this year.

http://www.leytonstonefestival.org.uk/pages/

Burke + Norfolk: Photographs from the war in Afghanistan. Tate Modern

The first ever photographs to be taken in Afghanistan were by an Irish photographer named John Burke. Simon Norfolk recognised in Burke’s photographs a humane and critical eye for the British colonial project. He travelled to Afghanistan to engage in a kind of photographic re-imagining in ‘collaboration’ with Burke.

The photographs that Norfolk has produced of Afghanistan are undeniably beautiful but the beauty is, as he puts it, merely a device to make people look and think. He has made a short film, which plays at the exhibition, to explain the motivation behind the project. His anger at the war and the waste of lives and money shines through. At the end of the film no one moved for a good thirty seconds, the film was so affecting (admittedly as this was at the Tate Modern the crowd was probably quite a middle class liberal bunch).

Miro – Tate Modern

The exhibition traces Miro’s long career from his early days in Catalonia producing lyrical dream paintings, through his surrealist period in Paris, the years of the Spanish Civil War  followed by his internal exile in Mallorca during Franco’s rule when he produced paintings of huge swathes of colour, red, yellow, green and blue and angry burned paintings. The exhibition charts Miro’s growing political commitment during the Civil War and Franco's subsequent rule. It is his belief that it is up to the artist to speak out when others are silent that makes much of his work interesting.

These blockbuster exhibitions can sometimes be disappointing (Gauguin) but Miro is certainly worth a visit.

Music in Wanstead Park

As the name suggests the annual Music in Wanstead Park is essentially a music festival  but it also features plenty of other activities to keep the whole family entertained including Snakey Sue & her snakes , Wellgate Community Farm, Morris Dancers, It’s a Knock-Out and an Eggathon (as well as a beer tent of course!).

Unfortunately I missed the first three bands but there were still plenty to see. First off were Stereo Decade, an indie band from Upminster who sounded very promising; their songs are catchy yet with a bit of bite to them. Next were The Wannabeatles , a local Beatles tribute act made up of 14 year olds. They were very good, they played the familiar songs well and looked very confident for their age. Its good to see 14 year olds doing something positive and they’re obviously good musicians... would it be churlish to say that possibly 14 year olds should have a little more ambition than being a tribute act? Probably. Caitlin Downie followed, she is a local graduate of Royal Holloway wiyh an amazing voice and performed various musical styles from Gershwin to Puccini. Another local band, Bleech, then took the stage and upped the tempo a notch with their heavy indie rock. Having seen this trio before, who are comprised of two sisters on lead and bass guitar and vocals and a male drummer, a number of us are already big fans. We had a short chat with one of the girls afterwards who was absolutely charming and easily persuaded us to buy the new album, does that makes us Beechettes or Bleeks? – I’m not sure. After the excitement of Bleech was Dr Blue and the Prescription, a blues band as you might’ve guessed. To be honest Blues is not really my cup of Darjeeling but they put on a good show and the crowd obviously liked them. The headliners were Manteca who play Latin Funk and soon had the crowd dancing along to their infectious rhythms.

All in all another fantastic day’s entertainment at Wanstead Park, the music was of the usual high standard that we have come to expect at this event and as an added bonus the weather was kind to us.

Folly for a Flyover, E9

The Folly for a Flyover has been built underneath the A12 flyover where it crosses the Lea Navigation Canal near Hackney Wick by the collective 'Assemble' from reclaimed and donated materials. The space has been transformed into a canal side venue for cinema, performance and play for the duration of the Create 11 festival. By day the folly hosts a cafe, workshops and events including boat trips exploring the surrounding waterways. At night there are film screenings as well as light shows and performances.

http://www.follyforaflyover.co.uk/

http://createlondon.org/

Slaughtered Lamb/Pull up the Roots/Tom Baxter - July 6th 2011

It has been some time since Tom has done a gig, so when I saw the last 4 tickets on sale I grabbed 2.

Having never been to the Slaughtered lamb I really had no expectations. Well Clerkenwell is very trendy these days and tucked away is a nemesis of trendiness! A hive of activity crossing all age groups.  Plus points start early in this game, the bar staff were prompt and polite and a bottle of wine was soon purchased. The Slaughtered Lamb does reasonable food and the haddock and chips were delicious.

Now to the true entertainment - Not knowing too much about the Pull up the roots program, again the expectations were low.  Vashti Anna was the first warm up act - A woman with a powerful striking voice akin to Natalie Merchant. Great musical capability and then the realisation that she was Toms sister... WOW a little bit of talent here !

Main act was the brother as we know Tom - And he came on bringing with him Jason on double bass -From tonight's performance I have decided that the double bass is an alpha male character! I like alpha males! The ambience of the small gig space was a Toms said like a front room except the music acoustics were more akin to a proper concert hall. Good venue. No more than 75 people listened and enjoyed the act and the Spanish influence shone through with good use of the Spanish guitar- To balance things out I think the Spanish guitar is an alpha female - I like those as well.

During the act we managed to splash wine on Vashti's boyfriend, afterwards we chatted to Jeff Gleave (Tom's father) and we shook hand and pleasantries with Tom afterwards - These facts further endorse the intimacy of the venue.  Tom was good and I look forward to the release of his new album "Golden"

This was a great night, loved Tom , Vashti et al and finally the bar staff were the best - Top Marks.

RJLJ

Music in the Park – Wanstead Park, E11

The annual Music in Wanstead Park event is to take place this Saturday (9^th July). The usual fun mix of activities/food/stalls etc. is promised along with the music.  I don’t know too many of the bands/musicians taking part but it looks to be the usual eclectic mix, the one band I do know, Bleech played last year and were pretty damn good (and loud enough to blow away the cobwebs) as I recall.

http://www.aldersbrook.info/page4.html

Shubbak - contemporary Arab culture festival (4 – 24 July 2011)

"Shubbak is London's first ever celebration of contemporary culture from across the Arab world, showcasing over seventy events in more than 30 venues throughout the city from 4 – 24 July 2011.  "Shubbak" means window in Arabic and offers a range of events across many art forms, including visual arts, film, music, theatre, dance, literature, architecture, lectures and discussion.
The festival features work by contemporary Arab artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians, choreographers and architects based in London and around the world.

See http://www.london.gov.uk/shubbak/about. "
SB

Hackney Picturehouse Cinmea follow up

Following from the blogg 25/6/11 - We have provided details how to become a founder member and details of what you get for the membership.


Our Founder Member scheme runs for a limited period only. Anyone who purchases Hackney Picturehouse membership before the cinema opens in the autumn will automatically become a Founder Member.
As a Founder Member, not only can you enjoy all the great benefits offered to standard Members, in addition, you'll be the first to hear about our opening events including an opportunity to look around the cinema before we open to the public.
Your support could go down in history too. A specially commissioned art installation showcasing the names of 1000 Founder Members will be housed in the cinema, so your name could become a permanent part of the building. 1000 names will be chosen at random from the Founder Members list. Even if you don’t make it into the 1000, your name will appear on the big screen before the films.
To thank you for supporting us as a Founder Member, your membership will be valid for an extra three months free, on top of the standard one year from when the cinema opens. What’s more, you can start benefiting from your Membership straight away. Your special edition Founder Member card will be valid at all other Picturehouse Cinemas (including Greenwich Picturehouse and Stratford Picturehouse) and can be used with our local and national partners.
Hackney Picturehouse Membership includes:
*Three free tickets (six for Joint Members)
*£2 discount on tickets for a year (the discount applies to the member only, not anyone else in the party)
*No booking fee (save £1.60)
*10% off the Member’s food and drink
*Priority booking for special events
*Access to free previews
*Picturehouse publications posted to your home (worth £8)
*Discounts at all Picturehouse cinemas nationwide
Membership Pricing
Direct Debit Discount (a completed renewal mandate is required)

Single Membership	£30.00
Joint Membership	£58.00
Concessionary Membership	£25.00
Joint Concessionary Membership	£48.00

Standard Pricing

Single Membership	£35.00
Joint Membership	£63.00
Concessionary Membership	£30.00
Joint Concessionary Membership	£53.00

To become a Founder Member and support your local Picturehouse, call us on 0871 902 5734 or visit our stall every Saturday on Broadway Market.

RLJ

Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden - till 4 September

The newly installed roof garden on the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank Centre was truly lovely.  Complete with cafe bar, benches, tables and chairs tucked in amongst the raised beds of a beautiful potager-cum-allotment, and a marvellous roofscape view, it cheered me no end.  In the breezy sunshine of a summer's evening the vegetable beds did a very good job of demonstrating why the edible is truly ornamental.  The meandering wildflower bed, full of native trees and flowers, completed the setting.

See http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/hayward-gallery-and-visual-arts/tickets/queen-elizabeth-hall-roof-garden-1000126.

SB

Glee at O2, London

My daughter's and their friend went to see Glee at the O2 arena, London. Apparently the show was absolutely mavellous (or words to that affect).

Madame Tussaud's - it's not as bad as you think (but more expensive)

The wishes of a young friend visiting London for the first time recently took me, as a seasoned old Londoner, to Madame Tussaud's for the first time (as an adult).  After my initial double take at the price (c£25 per head - ouch!), I swallowed and booked two tickets.   It was heaving so they must be doing something right.  We had much more fun than I imagined possible taking pictures with celebrity and other famous waxworks, and had to admire the attention to detail accorded, for example, to slightly sagging skin, or widespread freckling faithfully reproduced.   Oddly, there was also "Scream" in the dungeons, where real people try and shock you by pouncing from behind pillars, and the Marvel 4D experience in the old planetarium, complete with 3D glasses, water spray and "smoke". 

All in all a much more enjoyable couple of hours than I could possibly have predicted.  Essential accessory:  at least one teenager.
SB

Bad Teacher – Cineworld, O2

To celebrate the teachers/public sector day of action we skipped along to the O2 to see Bad Teacher. Bad film more like! Don’t get me wrong it had a couple of vaguely amusing moments as Diaz went through the usual, rather predictable, repertoire of bad teacherly things but in a (comedy) film of 92 mins that’s not a great hit rate.

Nice cinema though, comfy with lots of leg room.