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Editor-in-Chief: Kate Hawthorne Acting Editor: Dr Emma Trehane Art Director & Director: Tim Epps Head of Business Development: Dr Emma Trehane Business Development: Caroline Daggett, Antoinette Kovatchka, Architecture: Emma Flynn Art & Culture Editors: Don Grant, Marian Maitland Astronomy: Scott Beadle FRAS Ballet/Dance: Andrew Ward Bridge: Andrew Robson Business: Douglas Shanks Chess: Barry Martin Contributing Editors: Marius Brill, Peter Burden, Derek Wyatt Music: James Douglas Crossword: Wolfe: Dining Out: David Hughes, Cynthia Pickard Editorial: Polly Allen, Ione Bingley, Max Feldman, Maysea Jankara Marina Lieva, Natanael Mota, Events: Polly Allen Fashion: Polly Allen, Lynne McGowan Feldman Reviews: Max Feldman Beauty: Jayne Beaumont I wish I had written that: Dudley Sutton Motoring: Don Grant, David Hughes, News, Online Editor & Arts Correspondent: Max Feldman Poetry & Literary Editor: Emma Trehane MA Ph.D Political Editor: Derek Wyatt Business & Environment: Ione Bingley Sub-Editor: Leila Kooros Travel: Cynthia Pickard

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February 2017

News Parliament Squared by Derek Wyatt

We are coming to the end of 20th century politics.

onsider. In America (see table) you have to raise from wealthy supporters at least $1billion to fight the Presidential election. If you win, they are richly rewarded. Trump, unlike any other president before him, foreclosed on all Obama’s appointments on the actual day of his coronation. Not the end of the week or the end of the month, to give him time to consider who he should appoint, but on the day. He cleansed the stable. Very rich men, largely men, are now winging their way across the world to become Ambassadors in US Embassies with no experience in foreign affairs. This is how it works in America. Is there no opposition in the land of the eagle to the way in which power is dished out like a deck of cards? Apparently not. In America, the President can be elected by just on 23% of its population eligible to vote. In the land of the internet this is simply undemocratic. America has lost the right to lecture the world on the subject until it reforms its Constitution. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote (48% to 45.9%) but not the Presidency. This looks odd this side of the pond. There are already two elected houses in Congress; the Senate (2 per state irrespective of the size of the population) and the House of Representatives (members are elected to districts like our

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk constituencies). So why is the President elected by a college system where the vote is weighted according to a state’s population? What about a third way, the most votes? The UK is no better. The Conservative Government elected in 2015 won 36.9% of the popular vote whilst Labour won 30.4% but the seat allocation was 331 to 232. In fact most of our governments have never won 50%+1 of the vote. This is simply unfair. If we are to modernise the state we need to start with its election system. I retained my seat in Parliament in 2005 by 79 votes after three recounts. How could I legitimately claim to represent the whole constituency if I did not command 50%+1 of the overall vote? It was unfair. It is time we moved to a better system. A Martian looking down on the UK today would wonder how on earth one part of the two houses which pass Acts of Parliament is unelected. This brings a huge shame on us. Efforts to properly modernise the House of Lords have failed stretching way back to 1906. Now, we also have elected mayors bulldozing their way into our unwritten constitution. We do not need a parish council, a borough council, a county council or a unitary authority. In this age of always on communication we need to bring an end to county councils and borough councils and just have unitary authorities and upgraded parish or village councils. I live in Pimlico and have lived in Dalston and Crouch End. These villages have no say over anything. Power belongs to the boroughs. In Westminster this has resulted in uglification, beginning with a monstrosity called Millbank Towers and ending with whatever the Candy Brothers are being allowed to put on the old Chelsea Hospital site. The Internet of Things would allow

Government may ignore their own climate advisors

every householder registered to vote every week or every month on local matters. Referenda would become more commonplace. Petitions would become

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Ambassador to UK Ambassador to Sweden Charles Rivkin Ambassador to France Assistant Secretary of State Kirk Wagner Ambassador to Singapore Alan Solomont Ambassador to Spain John Roos Ambassador to Japan Nicole Avant Ambassador to Bahamas Eileen Chamberlain Ambassador to the UN Donahoe Don Beyer Ambassador to Switzerland Don Gips Ambassador to South Africa Howard Gutman Ambassador to Belgium Cynthia Stroum Ambassador to Luxembourg Mark Gilbert Ambassador to New Zealand Norm Eisen Ambassador to Czech Republic Bruce Oreck Ambassador to Finland Bob Mandell Ambassador to Luxembourg Bill Kennard Ambassador to EU Denise Bauer Ambassador to Belgium Beatrice Welters Ambassador to Trinidad & Tobago Bill Eacho Ambassador to Austria

this cap is maintained. Writing to the Commons’ environmental audit committee, transport secretary Chris Grayling claimed that ministers “have not taken a view on whether to accept” the committee’s advice and went on to note that a potential way of dealing with the skyrocketing aviation emissions is

part of the democratic fabric. As it stands, it feels to me, as if both the United States of America and the UK are facing inwards to the past.

on Heathrow’s third runway By Max Feldman

Newly published letters show that the UK Government may ignore the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), its official advisor on climate, and allow emissions from aviation to soar at an expanded Heathrow airport, relying on making up the difference through purchasing widely condemned “carbon offsets” The current planning assumption from the CCC would cap emissions at 2005 levels and limit the growth in the aviation sector to 60% to ensure

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a “carbon-traded scenario” involving a “future global carbon market”. This directly contradicts the CCC who have made it their policy that aviation pollution should be controlled without the use of international carbon credits, or paying for emission cuts in other countries.

Money donated $3,503,080 $2,562,400 $2,330,000 $2,328,500 $2,030,150 $2,008,550 $2,000,625 $1,733,169 $1,547,100 $1,541,050 $1,481,487 $1,429,750 $1,264,900 $1,136,613 $1,121,250 $1,052,405 $1,024,687 $1,019,323 $950,718

Concern about how the new runway can be built without breaching the UK’s carbon targets has been building since Theresa May’s government gave the scheme the go-ahead in October. Transport department documents published at that time suggested aviation emissions would be 15 per cent higher than 2005 levels. In response the committee’s chair (Conservative peer Lord Deben) warned that emissions would have to be cut from other sectors in order to make up the distance. However a Department for Transport spokesman claimed the ministry agreed with the Airports Commission’s assessment that a new runway at Heathrow could be delivered without breaching the Climate Change Act, which requires emissions to be cut by at least 80 per cent from 1990 levels by 2050. “The commission considered several ways in which aviation emissions could be tackled. The government remain open-minded on this issue,” he said.

Photograph © Charles Heddon

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Royal Trinity Hospice Trustee Chair to Retire

Green Investment Bank Sale

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News First direct freight train

from China to London By Natanael Mota

Photograph © The Belt and Road

As part of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s, One Belt, One Road plan to revive the ancient Silk Road, the first direct train to London departed the Chinese city of Yiwu on January 3 to arrive to London’s Barking Eurohub freight terminal 15 days later. This conveyance has the advantage of being cheaper than air cargos and faster than sea routes. With China being the biggest exporter in the world, London has become the 15th European city to join. On January 19 Xi Jinping defended globalisation and free trade at the World Economic Forum; China is the largest exporting country in the world at the moment.

Derek Wyatt is set to retire in July 2017 after six years as chair of Trustees at the Royal Trinity Hospice. He helped secure Trinity's Royal name, starting the William Hoare annual lecture series and most recently originating the idea for the London Hospices Choir featuring song ‘The Living Years’. Derek has championed the adoption of digital technology across the hospice. Last year, he helped Trinity’s work with the Royal College of Art and Harvard University, leading to award-winning digital design project, ‘Normalising Death’. Derek said “It has been a privilege and a joy to be the Chair of Royal Trinity Hospice over the last six years... Trinity will always have a special place in my heart."

Genetic analysis New laws on corporate liability finds British DNA is not so discussed By Natanael Mota British after all The UK government is discussing new laws increasing corporate liability for individual fraud, false accounting and money laundering. This draws a parallel to US regulations that enable corporate conviction even if unaware of criminal activity by individual staff. “Corporate economic crime undermines confidence in business, distorts markets, and erodes trust,” said Justice Minister Oliver Heald. The move is backed by Theresa May and consultation will run until March 24. Earlier last year, research from PwC found that more than half of UK businesses reported economic crime in the last two years. The number of reported economic crimes among British businesses rose from 25% in 2014 to 55% in 2016.

By Polly Allen

A major study of British ethnicity and genetics has found the average UK resident is only 37% British, or Anglo Saxon, claims AncestryDNA. Following microarray-based autosomal DNA testing, it emerged that Yorkshire is the most genetically British area of the UK (41.17%). East Midlands has the UK’s largest portion of Scandinavian DNA (10.37%), and Wales has the most from the Iberian Peninsula (3.24%). Furthermore, the average UK resident is 36.94% British (Anglo Saxon), 21.59% Irish (Celtic) and 19.91% Western European. Many of the results point to geographic immigration patterns, such as the 1.31% Finnish or Russian DNA found in Scottish participants.

By Polly Allen

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The proposed sale of the governmentowned Green Investment Bank has been the subject of a House of Commons debate and widespread press speculation, amid fears it may be sold to Macquarie, an Australian investment bank. Privatisation of Green Investment Bank was announced in June 2015, driven by then Business Secretary, Sajid Javid. However, it wasn’t until October 2016 that Macquarie was touted as a potential buyer; a UK consortium fronted by SDCL (Sustainable Development Capital LLP) is another contender. However, the Green Investment Bank could be floated on the stock market in an IPO (Initial Public Offering), something SDCL’s chief executive has agreed is “feasible and attractive once the GIB’s portfolio has been built out”. Politicians opposed to the bank’s sale include Sir Vince Cable (former Secretary of State), Michelle Thomson (MP for Edinburgh West) and Caroline Lucas (Green Party co-leader and MP for Brighton). Thomson’s Commons debate, held on 25th January, emphasised their cross-party concerns. Clive Lewis, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, has referred to Macquarie as “a well-known asset stripper”, whilst Caroline Lucas spoke of Macquarie’s “dismal and terrible environmental record”. MPs want to see future profits from the Green Investment Bank ploughed back into the UK economy. Since its launch in 2012 by the Coalition discovered by local in planning government, the Edinburgh-based bank has used £2.7bn of capital to access permission row roughly £12bn in funding. This has By Ione Bingley supported 98 green energy initiatives, including wind farms, biomass projects and a Green Loan to Barking and Towering and historic with a unique Dagenham Borough Council for low triple aspect and turret, 37 Cranley LED bulbs in streetlights. Gardens marks the southernmost entrance to London’s ‘second Belgravia’, South Kensington’s fiercely conserved 19th Century Smiths’ Charity estate. Residents including Robert Hughes had been fighting plans for the construction of a modernist building including a large basement next door, believing it would be unsuitably sandwiched between this gateway to the estate and potentially pose a threat to the pristine terrace of Georgian, listed residences. Hughes following his own line of research discovered that 37 Cranley Gardens was in fact the last house designed and built by the prolific London architect Charles Freake, the man responsible for shaping much of the South Kensington that we know today, including Britain’s most expensive street

Prolific South Kensington architect’s last house

February 2017

News

Photograph © Roger Hughes

Eaton Square. He hopes his surprise discovery will bolster the case for the protection of the environment from an “alien-looking neighbour”. Kensington Society’s Chairman Amanda Frame agrees there are no apparent grey areas to dispute the claim. “Freake’s career is very well recorded because he shaped so much of 19th Century London, but his building programme had not been previously linked to the time of his death in 1884. Having pieced it all together, 37 Cranley Gardens appears to be his final construction,” said Frame.

Brexit: A disaster or an opportunity for UK agriculture

Photograph © Matt Facione

By Ione Bingley

A Brexit of any outcome will result in a break from the subsidiary and regulatory Common Agricultural Policy. This will give the British government the opportunity to take farming regulation into their own hands, but many are concerned that new trade deals will put British farms at risk. EU subsidies currently account for 50 to 60 percent of UK farm income and while the government has pledged to match the £3.5 billion a year going to farms until 2020, what will happen after that remains unclear. Farmers have also expressed concern following Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit briefing last month about the potential damage to their business from leaving the EU free market, as well as the threat of cheap foreign imports due to May’s push for international trade deals. According to Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, farmers are facing

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online: www.KCWToday.co.uk the “perfect storm, losing tariff-free access to vital European markets while being undercut by imports from the US and elsewhere” where he claims there are “lower animal welfare and food standards”. The imposure of potential tariffs in excess of 30 percent for access to the EU market are particularly worrying for British sheep and dairy farmers who currently export 90 and 80 percent of their produce respectively to the EU, according to the Commons Environmental Audit Committee. The National Sheep Association has publically expressed concerns that the Government was taking away the sheep industry’s biggest export market “with no clear plan for how to replace it”. NFU Cymru and the Farmers’ Union of Wales agreed that with 30 percent of lamb currently being exported to Europe, “unfettered access” to the market would be crucial for the sector to survive. Concerns have also been raised about access to the seasonal European migrant workers that UK farmers currently rely on. The referendum and recently weakened pound have already seen the source of workers begin to dry up and many are worried that the trend is set to continue unless the government implements a scheme to encourage workers from countries outside the EU, like Ukraine. Used to weathering hard times, most British farmers appear to be stoic in the face of a bleak future. However, some see an opportunity for Britain to take back control of its farming regulations, shorten ever-lengthening supply chains and to give vital support to new and small-scale farmers. “For too long, a bureaucratic system which tries to meet the needs of 28 countries has held farmers back,” said Enviroment, Food and Rural Affairs secretary Andrea Leadsom. “But now, leaving the EU means we can focus on what works best for the United Kingdom.” The Brexit negotiations present a crossroads for the British farming industry, a turn outwards in favour of importing cheaper food produce from trade deals struck with large scale farming countries, at the risk of undercutting British farms, or a turn inwards, using the reduction in EU restrictions to promote homegrown produce and millennial farmers, at the risk of higher prices in store.

Photograph © Diego Delso

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Stonehenge tunnel

that could cause ‘irreparable damage’ to the standing stones receives go ahead By Max Feldman A tunnel is to be built under Stonehenge under plans announced by ministers, in a move that will reignite the controversy over improving major roads around the ancient site. Chris Grayling said he was taking a “big decision” to transform the A303, one of the main arteries to the south-west and a notorious bottleneck for lorries

and holidaymakers, as part of a £2bn investment. The transport secretary said the tunnel could enhance the Stonehenge site by removing traffic. The concept has been backed by its custodians, English Heritage and the National Trust. The 1.8-mile (2.9km) tunnel will run as part of a 7-mile stretch of the A303, making the road a more effective link to the M3 and the M5 and speeding up journeys to and from the south-west. However the plan is not without its detractors: Dan Snow, the president of the Council for British Archaeology, likened the plans to vandalism destroying ancient artefacts. “We have recently started to realise that the standing stones are just a beginning. They sit at the heart of the world’s most significant and best-preserved stoneage landscape. The government’s plans endanger this unique site,”

February 2017

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the largely pro-remain audience at Davos of Britain’s desire to “act globally”, encouraging free markets, trade and globalisation. “We are a European country, and proud of our shared European heritage, but we are also a country that has always looked beyond Europe to the wider world,” she said. As banks with stakes in the UK set plans for a hard Brexit signalled by May earlier this 17th of January, London Mayor Sadiq Khan reassured Wall Street names that London was still open for business, echoing chancellor Phillip Hammond’s remarks, “nobody wants to see Britain pulling up the drawbridge”. Critics of the exercise say this means banks are no longer on Britain’s “naughty step” for market manipulation and financial irresponsibility. European Parliament President Martin Schulz said that European heads of state used Brussels as a scapegoat, failing to tell their citizens that they were responsible for the decisions made there. “This double game is destroying the European spirit...What happens ... happens on the basis of a treaty that was ratified by all 28 member states of the EU.” Europe will also see two other major political events in 2017; elections in France and Germany. The WEF also covered ‘fourth industrial revolution’ issues, with Sergey Brin from Google as one of the invited speakers to discuss how job disruptions by technology could be managed. The ‘fourth industrial revolution’ includes not one but a group of technologies built on the previous digital revolution such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and 3D printing. Bill Gates featured in an initiative by Norway, Japan and Germany together with the Wellcome trust and the Gates Foundation to fund $460 million for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) tasked with giving a fast response to outbreaks of contagious diseases.

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News Summary of Davos talks By Natanael Mota

Photograph © Scott Thurmond

n January the World Economic forum gathered in Davos, Switzerland. 50 state leaders were among the 3000 present, the most noteworthy appearance being that of the first Chinese president to attend, Xi Jinping. His inauguration keynote signalled Beijing's desire to take the lead in international trade. Donald Trump who didn’t attend the WEF, has also signed an executive decision to repel the Trans-Pacific Partnership, in line with Trump’s objectives of focusing in America. China is also exerting political leverage by calling for action on the Paris agreement (with the first signatories being Jinping's and Obama's administrations) and its aggressive pursuit of green technology; aiming to invest $360bn on solar and wind energy sources by 2020. The New Silk Road initiative involving a more integrated Eurasia, consisting of 60% of the population, 75% of energy sources and 70% of the world’s GDP, became a hot topic in discussion of the current balance of global power. China has also announced a direct rail freight service to London and according to a report by the WEF, railway freight costs will approach that of maritime options in the future, despite there still being much work to be done. China has recently become the world’s second largest economy, which according to the IMF, has contributed to 39% of world growth in 2016. British PM Theresa May informed

Banks drift to Frankfurt, Dublin, New York By Natanael Mota

Theresa May's “Global Britain" speech in January confirmed government plans to leave the EU single market. The finance industry has been the most direct in estimating the number of jobs they may move from London operations to keep trading with EU ‘passporting’ rights. According to Bloomberg, Standard Chartered Plc and Barclays Plc are thinking of moving base to Ireland. Ireland has lower tax, similar laws to Britain and its English speaking. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Citigroup Inc. and Lloyd’s Banking Group Plc are reported to favour Frankfurt, already the home of Deutche Bank AG, the European Central Bank and BaFin, a derivatives trading regulator. Lobby group TheCityUK estimates 35,000 large bank jobs may be relocated. Major banks UBS, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and HSBC are considering moving around 1000 jobs each, whilst JP Morgan's CEO Jamie Dimon said before the referendum it could be 4000 jobs for his own firm. Executives will likely still wait for the results of this year's national elections in Germany and France before taking a decision. Experts expect The City to survive and adapt, whilst also looking out towards faster emerging economies. “The UK is the leading exporter of financial services globally, generating a record high trade surplus in 2015 of $97bn (£77.5bn) … around 40 per cent of the UK’s trade surplus in financial services is with Europe, ” said TheCityUK’s director of policy and strategy, Gary Campkin. “However, over the next 10 to 15 years, 90 per cent of global economic growth is expected to be generated outside Europe and these markets – developed and emerging – must be a priority focus for the country postBrexit.”

Corruption Mailbox By Marina Leiva

Barcelona’s Mayor Ada Colau will be setting a ‘corruption mailbox’ up for people aware of corruption practices to anonymously tip off the City Council. It will be an online mailbox that

secures the identity of the informer so that they would not keep silence out of fear, although they can choose to reveal their identity if they wish to do so. The administration will commit to resolve the cases in a maximum of six months. It is not intended for corruption cases involving the city council alone, but for the businesses working for the administration as well.

Domestic violence in Russia By Marina Leiva

Russia is considering an amendment to its current domestic violence law. Under the new legislation ‘moderate’ violence will not be criminalised. Meaning that unless there are serious long lasting injuries that require medical attention, a fine will be placed instead of jail sentences. Although, if there are two fines over one year the case could go to court. This new law will be applied to all family members, not only gender-based violence, but also harm caused to children and the elderly. Ultra-conservative MP Yelina Mizulina is behind the proposal, known for drafting the banning of ‘gay propaganda’ law as well.

Germany posts 6.2 billion euro surplus in 2016 By Natanael Mota

Germany’s government has posted a budget surplus of 6.2 billion euros in 2016, explained by a strong economy and low borrowing costs. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the surplus can be used to pay back existing Government loans. The government is debating Schauble's proposal against raising public investment, as defended by the Social Democrat party. “Money that the citizens have generated should not be hoarded by the Finance Ministry,” said SPD head Sigmar Gabriel. Bavarian conservatives have asked for tax cuts instead. German gross domestic product grew 1.9% in 2016, with household and government spending growing by 2% and 4.2% respectively. It is currently Europe’s largest economy and has seen economic growth seven years in a row.

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In our December/January edition, we accidentally accompanied an article by Nouneh Sarkissian on the Armenian-American painter Arshile Gorky with a picture of the Russian author Maxim Gorky. We would like to apologise for this mistake. Our picture department are thorough but are still subject to the occasional whimsies of Google. See the real, more handsome, Arshile above.

International Criminal Court mass exodus backed by African leaders By Ione Bingley

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are EU’s ‘worst power polluters’ By Maysaa Jankara

‘Perfect storm’ for European vegetables raises prices by Maysaa Jankara

According to data from climate Action Network and The World Bank, Poland, Germany and Estonia are the most polluting countries in the EU, with regards to producing power. All three countries have a long history of coal dependent power production, thought to be the deadliest air polluter. According to data released by the World Bank, three of the world’s most polluting coal power stations are in Poland that, in 2013, generated 85 percent of its electricity from coal. Despite their recent commitments to renewable energy, six of the world’s most polluting power stations are located in Germany,

flooding and low light levels has created a “perfect storm” of poor growing conditions. Bad weather in Italy and Spain is expected to greatly increase the price of vegetables across northern Europe after vegetable wholesalers have been forced to import lettuces from the US. The damage to the vegetable market is especially worrying for Britain that imports 50 percent of its vegetables and 90 percent of its fruits. Crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, and peppers are among those affected. Photograph © Tim Epps

Terrible weather conditions across Europe have seen the availability of vegetables plummet and sent prices soaring. The combination of cold weather,

Photograph © Scott Thurmond

outh Africa and Burundi have indicated they will withdraw from the Hague-based International Criminal Court at the African Union’s annual summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The move comes following mounting displeasure towards the International Criminal Court voiced by several African leaders who see an unfair bias in Haguebased court towards pursuing criminal actions against Africans. All of the ongoing trials at the ICC involve African suspects and nine of the ten situations under investigation involve African countries. Burundi and South Africa have both lodged their intentions to leave the ICC with the United Nations, while former Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh has also started the process of pulling the West African country out of the court. However, current Gambian President Adama Barrow has hinted at plans to reverse the decision.

February 2017

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Herero and Nama tribes ignored

US visa-free residency for Cubans ends

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News Edward Snowden’s stay in Russia

extended by three more years By Natanael Mota

dward Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, said the former NSA employee will be allowed to stay in Russia for another three years until 2020. Snowden can also apply for Russian citizenship from next year, despite his desire not to settle in the country. Snowden has been living in Moscow since 2013. President Obama commuted 209 sentences, the more so on his last days as President, such as in the case of Chelsea Manning who was imprisoned and sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking state secrets. Snowden was not included in Obama's pardon list, and his leave to stay in Russia was announced shortly after. Trump has publicly called Snowden a traitor and Snowden’s lawyers are trying to find asylum for him in the EU.

Saudi Arabia to invest in renewable energies Photograph © Scott Riedle

By Marina Leiva

The Gulf state’s plans to lean towards renewable energy sources comes along with, as said by Oil minister Khalid alFalih, ‘significant investment in nuclear energy’. It is linked to the country’s desire to move away from economic dependence upon crude oil by 2030. By investing in alternative energy sources, Saudi Arabia could dedicate most of its crude oil production to exports and less to domestic use. This all comes after the drop in oil prices led to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries which Saudi Arabia belongs to, agree on cutting down production in order to stabilise prices.

at Germany-Namibia reparations talks By Natanael Mota Namibian Herero and Nama tribes are suing Germany for reparations after their conflict in 1904 descended into the first genocide of the twentieth century. The suit was filed on January 5 in New York under the Alien Tort Statute of 1789. It was only by July 2015 that German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued political guidelines referring to the killings as a “war crime and genocide”. Earlier that same year the German equivalent of the House of Commons, Bundestag, had unanimously agreed to recognise the Armenian Genocide, leading to Turkey’s recalling of their ambassador to Germany. Rising tensions over unfair treatment of the pastoral tribesmen by German colonialists led to a war in 1904, ultimately resulting in the killing of eighty per cent of Herero and fifty percent of all Nama in Namibia. Lead by General Lothar von Trotha, over 100,000 people died in the conflict with 3000 skulls being sent back for phrenology studies. Historians now argue that these killings may have been a prologue to the Holocaust. The first imperial commissioner of Deutsche Sud-West Afrika was Dr. Heinrich Goering, the father of Hermann and two of Joseph Mengele’s teachers, Theodor Mollison and Eugen Fischer, carried out research on the Herero. Germany’s representative in the deal, Ruprecht Polenz, said that only reparations in the form of community development are being discussed, not direct compensations. “The expectations of the negotiations were fraught with such perspectives from the start”, he told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

By Max Feldman

US radar to monitor North Korea’s missile tests By Natanael Mota

In the final days of the Obama Presidency, the outgoing Barack Obama ended the 20-year-old ‘wet feet, dry foot’ policy that allowed Cuban migrants who reach US soil to become legal permanent residents after a year. In exchange, Havana has agreed to start accepting Cubans who are turned away or deported from the USA. Many Cubans in the US argued against the change, by saying Washington is rewarding a regime which has failed to address human rights concerns. Thousands of other Cubans are intercepted at sea every year by the US coast guard before they can get a dry foot on land. Obama defended the change in policy by claiming that "With this change we will continue to welcome Cubans as we welcome immigrants from other nations, consistent with our laws." In a statement on state television, the Cuban government praised the move as "an important step in advancing relations'' between the US and Cuba. However it remains unclear where the relations between the two countries will go now, considering that President Donald Trump has taken a far harder stance on immigration and shown a willingness to tear up previous policy agreements that he fail to meet his protectionist ideals. Until now, the socalled "wet foot, dry foot" policy applied solely to Cubans, tens of thousands of whom reached US soil last year, including by land. Thousands of other Cubans are intercepted at sea every year by the US coast guard before they can get a dry foot on land. Immigrants from other countries who come to the US without a visa could be arrested and deported.

A $900 million dollar radar installation arrived at the end of January to monitor missile launch testing of North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year’s message that the country was nearing a test phase for (intercontinental) missiles capable of reaching the U.S. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that "If the missile is threatening, it will be intercepted. If it’s not threatening, we won’t necessarily do so...it may be more to our advantage to, ... save our interceptor inventory, and, ... to gather intelligence from the flight, rather [intercept a missile] when it’s not threatening.”

Yemen conflict continues By Natanael Mota

United Nations Yemen Humanitarian Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick told reporters at a press conference in Sanaa that ‘estimates are that over 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict and almost 40,00 people injured’, as reported by Reuters. The conflict started in 2015 and is controversial due to the UK having exported 500 cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia between 1986 and 1989, some of which were reportedly dropped on Yemen. Arm sales to Saudi Arabia are being questioned in the US, the UK, France, and Spain, with civilian pressure to cease the trading.

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Holland will Secret EU report Trump’s First count all election claims Erdogan Days By Max Feldman ballots by hand plotted purge to prevent hacking before coup Photograph © Geert Wilders

By Max Feldman

Photograph © Gobierno de Chile

utch authorities will count by hand all the votes cast in March’s general elections, ditching “vulnerable” computer software to thwart any cyber hacking bid, said interior minister Ronald Plasterk. Plasterk told parliament that fears over “the vulnerabilities of the software” used by the country’s election committee “had raised questions about whether the upcoming elections could be manipulated”. He insisted in a letter to MPs that “no shadow of a doubt should hang over the results” of the parliamentary polls, which some analysts predict could result in a five-party coalition.On 15 March, the Netherlands are the first of a year of crucial elections in Europe which will be closely watched due to the rise of far-right and populist parties on the continent. The far-right anti-Islam MP, Geert Wilders, and his Freedom Party (PVV) have been leading the opinion polls for months, leaving prime minister Mark Rutte’s Liberal party (VVD) trailing in second place. A polls aggregate on Wednesday predicted Wilders would emerge as the largest party with 27-31 seats, with Rutte’s party gathering just 23-27 seats; both far short of the 76-seat majority needed. Such an outcome would presage a period of intense haggling to form the next government. Dutch officials are already on alert for signs of possible cyber hacking following allegations by US intelligence agencies that Russia may have meddled in November’s US presidential polls to help secure Donald Trump’s victory. The Dutch cast paper votes, which are tallied by hand locally. However, historically the regional and national collation of vote tallies are done electronically.

By Max Feldman

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey planned to purge opposition forces in the military before July’s attempted coup, according to a secret EU intelligence report. The European intelligence contradicts the Turkish government’s claim that Fethullah Gülen, an exiled cleric, was behind the plot to overthrow the Turkish government. The report by Intcen, the EU intelligence centre, concluded that the coup was mounted by a range of opponents to Erdogan and his ruling AK Party. “The decision to launch the coup resulted from the fears of an incoming purge. It is likely that a group of officers comprising Gülenists, Kemalists [secularists], opponents of the AKP and opportunists was behind the coup. It is unlikely that Gülen himself played a role in the attempt,” said the report, dated August, 24, 2016. In a blow to Turkey’s claims that Gülen masterminded the coup, the European intelligence report noted that his Islamist followers were weak in the Turkish army, which until last July remained a bastion of secularism. “It is unlikely Gülen really had the abilities and capacities to take such steps. There is no evidence that the army, [which] considers itself as the guardian of Turkey as a secular state, and the Gülenists were willing to co-operate with each other to oust Erdogan. The Gülen movement is very disconnected and somewhat distant from the secular opposition and Turkish army,” the report said. According to EU intelligence agencies, the military coup began after reports of a “far-reaching purge” began to circulate in the days running up to the attempted seizure of power of July 15. The expected purge drew in secular opponents of Erdogan and galvanised sections of the military opposed to Erdogan’s policies of intervention in Syria and against the Kurds. “Erdogan exploited the failed coup and the state of emergency to launch an extensive repressive campaign against the opponents of the AKP establishment,” said the report, dated five months ago. “The huge wave of arrests was already previously prepared.”

A new president’s first hundred days in office are all important in establishing the tone and political direction of their term. It is traditionally when a president’s power is at its highest with the perceived public mandate to enact the kind of bold sweeping changes that would be deemed too much of a risk once they are more established in the role (and more concerned with the consequences of plunging approval ratings and catastrophic mid-term elections on their long term chances of re-election). However the rules have been torn up by Trump’s still shocking electoral victory. According to a poll by Washington Post-ABC Trump entered the White House as the least popular incoming president for over four decades with an approval rating of only 45%, a figure that Trump himself has blasted on Twitter claiming that the polls are “rigged just like before” (referring to the polls which placed Hillary Clinton as certain to win the presidency). Regardless of potential media bias, it seems safe to assume that Trump does not have to be especially worried about besmirching his reputation and as a result began his presidency with a welter of controversial executive orders ranging from the intensely controversial immigration ban for citizens of seven predominately Muslims nations to the re-activation of the heavily protested Standing Rock Pipeline. Trump has also thrown the presidency strongly behind his flagship election policy of building a wall along the Mexican border, though has radically changed his rhetoric by insinuating that it might end up being the US taxpayer who ends up paying for the wall rather than Mexico who will be made to ‘pay’ via trade tariffs. Ironically illegal immigration across the southern border has fallen dramatically in recent years. According to Customs and Border Protection, 415,816 people were caught trying to enter the US illegally in the fiscal year that ended last September. Of those, 408,870 were caught trying to cross the southern border. That national figure is less than half the 1.1 million people caught on average annually between 1980 and 2008. Border Patrol said the trends in people seeking to illegally cross the border correlates with the trends in apprehensions. Apprehensions of Mexicans trying to enter the country illegally are near a 50-year low, according to a study by the Pew Research Centre.

The Border Patrol also notes that "far fewer Mexican nationals and single adults are attempting to cross the border without authorization, while far more families and unaccompanied children are fleeing poverty and violence in Central America." Beyond even immigration, Trump’s central concern seems to be his war on the mainstream media, going so far as to refer to them as one of the “opposition parties” in a tweet. More than any other aspect of his presidency, this outright hostility towards journalists seems to mark Trump out as almost unique. Time will tell if the sheer weight of controversy created by the new President will be enough to force a more conciliatory approach from Trump, or whether governing via tweet will become the norm in a new and unpredictable America.

Iran ‘nuclear deal’ downsized By Natanael Mota

Iranian president Rouhani dismissed Trump’s desire to stop the ‘Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action’, also known as the ‘nuclear deal’. One of the reasons he gave that it was not solely signed by the US and Iran, but by Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China, France, Russia, the UK, the US, plus Germany. Iran’s nuclear programme has been downsized and monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, in exchange several sanctions against the country have been. This will allow them to sell $70 billion worth of oil instead of $32.

February 2017

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STATUES

Image © Stephen McKay

Statue & Blue Plaque

Thomas Guy

By Peter Scheemakers Guy's Hospital

veryone has heard of Guy’s Hospital, but what of the man, Thomas Guy? He was a bookseller who made a fortune selling Bibles imported from the Netherlands, and also investing in South Sea stock to the tune of £42,000, a company involved in the Atlantic slave trade. He was notoriously frugal, in spite of his enormous wealth and was accused of paying his workers low wages, which was put about by a rival bookseller, who also accused him of not supporting charitable works. He was in the habit of snuffing out candles during conversation, for which he could not see the need for light. As for supporting charities, he was inordinately generous. He gave money to almshouses in Tamworth, his mother’s birthplace, a town who he represented in parliament from 1695 to 1707. During this period, he became a governor of St Thomas’ Hospital and built three additional wards. He then set about building Guy’s Hospital, leaving an endowment of over two hundred thousand pounds in his will. He also gave an annuity of £400 to Christ’s Hospital, as well as making provisions for the poor and the sick, and bequeathing money for the release and discharge of people imprisoned for debt. There is a tale that one day he was gazing at the river over London Bridge, when a stranger, thinking he was contemplating suicide, pulled him back and pressed a guinea into his hand. Guy set the man’s mind at rest,

gave him back the coin and asked his name. Later, seeing this man’s name on a list of bankrupts, he paid off his debts and set him up in business again. He also gave generously to the refugees from the German Rhenish Palatinate, or ‘Poor Palatines’, as they were called. If immigration is a hot topic now, the arrival of 13,000 Protestants on British soil, en route to the New World, stirred up an intense political debate. Peter Scheemakers was a Flemish sculptor, who learnt his skills from his father, Pieter Scheemaeckers, and who worked most of his life in London. He first worked on a monument to the Duke of Buckingham with two other Flemish sculptors, Laurent Delvaux and Pieter-Denis Plumier. His most famous work is probably the William Kent-designed memorial to William Shakespeare in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey, as well as the one of the poet, critic and playwright John Dryden. He was very much a classicist sculptor, a style which was popular with landowners and city merchants. The brass sculpture of Guy was made ten years after his death in 1724, and was most likely taken from his death mask. It depicts him in a livery gown and mounted on a Portland stone pedestal of a later date, with four brass basrelief panels. One has the dedicatory inscription, another a cartouche bearing the hospital’s armorial bearings, with the motto dare quam accipere (give than to receive). The other two have scenes of healing and charity, featuring the Good Samaritan, and Christ at the Pool of Bethesda. In another courtyard at Guy’s is a statue of Lord Nuffield, a massive philanthropist and supporter of the Hospital, who, by 1957, had given away £57 million. Don Grant

Blue Plaque: George Myers 1803-1875

In 1999 George Myers, Master Builder, was honoured by English Heritage with a Blue Plaque at 131 St Georges Road, Southwark, London SE1 6HY. Myers is best known for his work with the architect and designer Augustus Pugin. He executed many major works for him including Southwark Cathedral. Myers was one of Britain’s greatest Master Builders and his output was prolific. Little is known of 19th century builders’ firms, their owners and managers; they were seldom indexed and did not warrant death notices. However, through various references it has been possible to form a picture of Myers’ life. Records relate that later in life, he applied to be a Freeman of the Carpenters’ Company and also of the City of London. He stated he was born in 1803, the son of George Myers Whitesmith. This is the only record of his birth. His father’s name appeared in Hull Directories so it is assumed he grew up there. In the 19th century it was a prosperous port and had a museum, theatre and a library. Schools were good, but there are no specific details on Myers’ education. The Architect G.G. Scott employed Myers and his Autobiography states that Myers was apprenticed to William Comins, Master Mason at Beverley

Minster, and he worked as one of five masons at the Minster. Myers proved himself to be talented and gifted, carving and sculpting in stone and brick and was probably involved in restoration work. At this time Myers met Augustus Pugin, an architect and designer, famous for his work on the Gothic Revival.They met again ten years later which was to be most significant. Meanwhile Myers set up as a builder in Hull, specialising in factories, mills and terraced housing. He prospered and formed a business partnership with Richard Wilson. They had a builders’s yards in Carr Lane and Paragon Street and a wharf where the River Hull flows into the Humber. They built a memorial for William Wilberforce and a workhouse at Loughborough. In 1837 Pugin commissioned them to build St. Mary’s Catholic Church at Derby. This was a turning point in Myers’ career. He followed Pugin to London and settled in St Georges Road, Southwark. They formed a close friendship and Myers executed many major works for Pugin which included Cathedrals in Newcastle, Birmingham, Nottingham and Southwark. Myers was essentially Pugin’s builder. They had a great understanding and waived contracts and formality between themselves. Pugin was renowned for his controversial ideas on architecture and famous for his design for the architect, Charles Barry’s Houses of Parliament. He also had wealthy patrons, including the Earl of Shrewsbury. Myer’s partnership with Wilson dissolved in 1844. Wilson struggled on but eventually was declared bankrupt. Myers and Pugin both exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and Pugin died shortly afterwards. Myers carved the effigy on his tomb which had been designed by Pugin’s son, E.W. Pugin. George Myers, by that time, was a leading contractor. His two elder sons were his partners and the firm was known as Myers and Sons. He moved to a large property in Clapham Road and supported charities by attending Dinners and Balls. He died in 1875 of a stroke and exhaustion and is buried at West Norwood Cemetery. Augustus Pugin said of George Myers, “He was a rough diamond, but a real diamond”. Marian Maitland

February 2017

Feature

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Front Line Courage

By Kate Hawthorne and Ione Bingley

usinesswoman, philanthropist and transparency campaigner Gina Miller made a name for herself, and a few enemies, with her True and Fair Campaign in 2012. The campaign called for a Code of Ethics and 100% transparency on all fees and holdings in an understandable and uniform format across the UK pensions and investment industry. Her tenacity resulted in text being inserted into three EU directives aimed to protect investors from hidden costs and fees. These will come into force in 2018 despite the UK leaving the EU. They will require every single company to aggregate and publish a Total Cost of Investing, one number, so savers and investors can finally see what they are really paying. Her motive and aim is to translate the world and dialogue of wealth management investment into something comprehensive, transparent and accessible for clients to relate to. This resulted in her and her partner being recipients of the Moral Leadership City Champions Award that is given to a company or scheme which promotes high moral aspirations in the City. Once again Miller has thrust her head above the parapet, this time single handedly taking on the British government over Article 50 in a landmark case that has seen our government obliged to include Parliament in Brexit negotiations. The backlash of Miller’s work saw her website for the True and Fair Foundation, which helps and encourages transparent donations to charities, hacked twice and her investment agency, SCM Direct , lose business through fear of association. She has had a £5000 bounty on her head and threats to throw acid in her face. Was it worth it?

Article 50

Prior to the Lisbon Treaty and Article 50, there was no exit formula for a member state to leave the EU. With Article 50 came the clause that a member state can leave in line with its constitutional requirements. It was on this point that Miller brought a case against the Secretary of State, David Davis, for Exiting the European Union. In the instance of Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May’s interpretation saw Britain exiting the EU using a process decided upon by her executive government by power of the Royal Prerogative, which concerns the

unmaking of international treaties, without requiring the approval of parliament. This meant that May and her Government would have the power to decide which laws inherited from the EU over the past 43 years to keep and which to throw out. “For example they could decide: working hours, maternity pay, environmental laws, just by themselves without Parliament and, to me, that is the most dangerous place we could be as a country,” said Miller. Miller’s argument centered on the constitutional rule that the Government cannot change or take away rights granted by Act of Parliament and since an Act of Parliament was passed to join the EU, an Act of Parliament must be effected to leave. “The Royal Prerogative ends where domestic law starts,” said Miller. “When we joined the EU we enacted the 1972 Act of Parliament. That act gave all UK citizens rights and only Parliament can take those rights away.”

R (Miller) v Secretary of State for exiting the European Union

Miller, unhappy with the idea of a purely executive-lead Brexit, brought her case against to the High Court and was appointed lead claimant by Lord Levenson on the grounds that her case was the most “fundamental” and on the strength of her team. Represented by Lord Pannick QC and nearly totally selffunded, Miller was given just ten days to file the case with her lawyers from Mishcom de Reya. “Bearing in mind my team were pro

bono, have got their normal case load, and I’m still doing my day job, we worked night, days, evenings and we filed on the 28th July. I spent most of the summer, as did my team, reading the case law. I even tried to read a case from 1610 on Royal Prerogative in old English, as we prepared ourselves for what the government would come up with,” said Miller. Miller and her fellow claimants won the case unanimously on 3rd November 2016 with the three High Court judges in agreement. The Government appealed the decision and the case moved to the Supreme Court.

The Appeal

The Supreme Court case was unusual due to the high number of court applications of a similar nature in the High Court and the strongest cases were allowed to join Miller’s case with her as the Lead Claimant. Miller was now backed by the devolved powers of Great Britain. “The Government allowed us to have a stronger case and be adjoined by Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Trade Union,” said Miller. The three devolved powers argued around the Sewel Convention that states, if Westminster were to make a decision that would detriment the citizens of that devolved power, then those governments would be granted considerable input into the debate. For the first time in the history of the Supreme Court all 11 judges attended the four-day hearing, which attracted the highest number of journalists and widest television coverage since the founder of

Wikileaks, Julian Assange, case. “Normally a case like this would take two to three years to put together, we did it in eight months,” said Miller. “Lawyers in Canada, Australia, Singapore, the rest of the world were in awe that we actually did it.” On January 24, 2017 Miller won the appeal by a majority of 8 to 3. “Whenever EU institutions make new laws, those new laws become part of UK law. The 1972 Act, therefore, makes EU law an independent source of UK law until Parliament decides otherwise,” ruled Supreme Court President, Lord Neuberger. However, the court also ruled that as the Sewel Convention was not law, the Government would not have to consult the devolved powers before triggering Article 50. Before the ruling, Theresa May had announced that both houses of parliament will vote on the Great Repeal Bill, which will incorporate the existing EU legislation into British law, and the final Brexit deal once it has been put forward. Due to the result of the appeal, MP’s voted on February 1 2017, 498 to 114, to give May the power to trigger Article 50 and get the Brexit negotiations underway. Although the vote has seen divisions appear in the major parties.

Brexit terror

During both cases not one public figure stepped forward to back Miller in her claims. Miller believes that this was down to the fear of appearing against the referendum result. “There was a fear that descended after the vote, that you can’t speak up against or have a civilized conversation about Brexit, everyone was so terrified and fearful of being seen as going against the will of the people” said Miller. “And that fear is going to cripple us as we move forward because what we really need is great minds and great hearts. We need people who are experts and who have got real intellectual rigour to stand up and talk, but if they’re fearful, then the solutions that we’ll end up with will be very poor quality ones. So I will carry on as much as possible because bad things happen when good people do nothing.” While there are some who feel that Gina Miller has caused an unnecessary delay in her forensic approach to the triggering of Article 50, there are many who believe without her front line approach our ability to maintain accountability in our country’s matters would be further diluted. Miller insists that, while she is keen to return to a quieter life after the abuse and stress she received during the case, she will continue to use her voice and experience to support matters she feels lack the integrity, evidence, ethics and honesty that they deserve.

Photograph © Gina Miller

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Opinion & Comment

MEMEING OF DEATH

Meme: An element of a culture or system of behaviour passed from one individual to another...

Gill and Brill

he time-bomb of substance abuse, even when it was no more than youthful folly, finally caught up with many of the brightest last year as a long furrow of celebrities began their gardening careers pushing up the daisies. But of all those beautiful and clever things the one that hurt me the most was A.A. Gill. To many he was just the guy who did the funny restaurant reviews and the acerbic TV commentaries for The Sunday Times. For a plethora of others he was all that was wrong with privileged poshos, a crass, merciless, hateful man who was as willing to mock the weak and vulnerable as anybody else. Personally I never stopped cringing at the endless objectifying of his partner Nicola Formby as “The Blonde”. And with a clear predilection for intelligence and wit, maybe the hardest to comprehend was his friendship with Jeremy Clarkson. But then again perhaps Clarkson is mostly a persona, in which case they had much in common. A.A. Gill had a secret. He and Adrian Gill were not exactly the same man. Adrian was a performer, and, as an entertainer, he was one of the most dedicated I have ever met. An actor beyond the scope of any from the RADA, I watched him gently create A.A. Gill when we were young, a brilliant, compelling, raffish character, and he committed to acting it every day for the rest of his life. Angry, bitchy, superior, a vile hobnobber who never cared whom he insulted or hurt … but everyone who knew Adrian would tell you he was something different, in reality he was one of the most loving, big hearted, thoughtful and warm men you could ever meet. I first met him when I was a puppy-excited 18-year-old, keen to get into journalism. He was cool and sophisticated in his late twenties and editing Artseen, an art magazine which seemed to exclusively employ the ex-inmates of Britain’s poshest drying out clinics. Though I fell short of the employment criteria, he still sent me off to rip-up Rodin, argue with artists and write for nothing. My reward though was a seat at his table for Sunday lunches in Hasker Street, with the great and the, well, trying to be good. Because his guests

were generally creamed from his ‘anonymous’ meetings; by far Chelsea’s most star-studded gatherings. Adrian’s genius was his charm. From rockstars to choirmasters, a glittering cast would come after the Sunday morning meetings, enchanted by his relaxed wit, his ability to put you at your ease and to make you laugh. Some were clearly swapping one addiction for this other entrancement. One afternoon I looked around the table, which included at least two platinum selling pop stars and several residents of Burke’s Peerage, and declared that I wasn’t entirely sure if his commitment to meetings wasn’t more about networking than battling demons. “You’re too young to be so cynical.” Adrian chided me. “And you’re not cynical?” I protested a little petulantly. “No,” Adrian replied archly, “I’m experienced.” He was right. He had a knack for exposing phoniness. My cynicism, my willingness to see the worst in people and wheedle out dark agendas, was a façade, a trick to make people think I was oldersmarterwiser than I was. But I was fresh out of school, he was fresh out of rehab. Some of us were regulars at the table, stars would came to twinkle, and I was never less than a full fathom out of my league. I found myself being an Alan Davies to his Stephen Fry. The idiot that only amplifies the shining light of the host. But then, I got to sit next to Lionel Bart every week, who loved Adrian. Think of it. The genius who wrote “Oliver”! striking up a friendship with, a part-time doorman and occasional

Portrait © Jonnohills

MARIUS BRILL’S

journalist still retaking the A-levels he failed the year before: me. As Adrian’s star rose, as it was almost inevitable that it would, we saw less of each other. First at The Tatler and then The Sunday Times. The last time I saw him work a crowd was at his wedding to our present Home Secretary Amber Rudd. I only say that because I know he would be proud of the name dropping. His greatest kindness, and biggest lie, was when I was being considered for a post at the Sunday Times. I’m sure it wouldn’t have happened if Adrian hadn’t rung the editor and said “He’s the best writer I know.” The next time we met up I thanked him. “It wasn’t exactly high praise,” he said, “you know I’ve got absolutely crippling dyslexia.” Of course when Adrian announced he had both cancer and proposed to Nicola, I was hoping it was one of his spelling mistakes and he had actually got a “racing car” instead. Or perhaps it was one of his poor taste jokes. But it was that trusty, ever ready, cynicism that immediately pointed to the truth: there’s no inheritance tax on property passed to a spouse. Adrian was dying. I wrote to him, begging for him to tell me I was wrong, that it was just my cynicism. The silence was deafening. Barely a week after the announcement, he was gone. Adrian wasn’t a brave journalist who jumped in front of tanks, or a writer of deep profundity, but he touched millions and worked hard to make sure every week he made them laugh, or angry, or disgusted or just think. And for that he deserves to be celebrated. “If there’s just one thing you should make the effort to do in an article,” he once told me “it’s to try and make someone laugh. At least once.” I always have. But now he’s gone I don’t much feel like laughing. Still, for you Adrian. It reminds me of the time I got arrested for stealing helium balloons. The police held me for a while and then they let me go.

The Crisis in the NHS can never be resolved

as long as Governments evade the real cause. By Peter Burden

The parlous state of the mighty NHS has become a recurring and growing news item in Great Britain over the last thirty years. As it is perceived at the moment, it has an insatiable appetite for quantities of money which can never be delivered. Successive governments have been too timid to challenge the real reasons behind this insoluble impasse. They will not confront the fact that people who make choices about their behaviour, whether it’s binge drinking or mountaineering, engaging in equestrian sports or smoking consistently dangerous quantities of tobacco; activities which significantly increase the likelihood of their calling on the intolerably overstretched resources of the NHS, should not be considered eligible for free treatment. The public’s idea of what it deserves is unrestrained by any sense of selfdetermination or personal responsibility. A couple of tabloid papers have run a story about a pensioner and his disabled wife from Bristol who have been barred from their GP’s surgery on the grounds that they complain too much. Not enough detail is given to show whether or not they are justified in their complaints (although most of the readers who commented online in the Mirror and the Express took the view that they weren’t, and were obviously just idle, feckless moaners.) To some extent this perception was encouraged by photographs of the not especially photogenic couple holding up placards about limited disabled access to airline flights, on the face of it, not the responsibility of their GP. In fact Virgin, BA, even Ryanair make much of all that they will do for anyone travelling with them in a wheelchair, which does suggest that complaining is the default mindset of the couple. As a generally tolerant and compassionate nation, Brits habitually defer to claims of alleged hardship by disabled people, which is as it should be, but this doesn’t take account of the significant minority who work their disability (often self-inflicted by their lifestyle choices) like a passe-partout, and demand that they have a right to almost anything they want. Regrettably, the perception of such rights has been a growing menace among the British public in general, particularly where healthcare is concerned. Because since its inception the NHS has sold

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itself as free at the point of delivery, health care has been turned into a de facto ‘human right’ for many British; and it is this, as well as the spectacular development in treatments and subsequent demand for them, that has been gnawing away at the viability of the NHS. And yet, the public who are the single greatest cause of this decline are never blamed. Politicians do not have the courage to tell their electorate that their health is their responsibility, not the State’s. They dare not say candidly, and entirely truthfully that if people choose a sugar, fat and gluten based diet, take no exercise, drink excessively and smoke tobacco they will become ill, because the idea that it is the state’s duty to salvage what they can from the results of this self-abuse, and their right to receive as much as they need without paying for it has become unchallengeable. Over to you Mr Hunt.

Doctor! An NHS Uber GP Service? By John Furse

A new app offers 24/7 medical advice ‘in the palm of your hand…so you can talk to a GP when it suits you and your family, wherever you are in the world.’. The Babylon app allows patients to skip queues to see a GP, by allowing them to pay for medical care seven days a week. Supporters argue that the app, which has been described as working like a ‘taxi booking service’, will take pressure off busy GP surgeries and A&E departments. Doctaly is another new online ‘booking service’ who similarly arrange same-day appointments with NHS GPs charging for this private provision of their services. Babylon and Doctaly are part of a wave of hi-tech, DIY medical care initiatives being

pushed by NHS England. But according to the National Health Action Party (NHA) the devil is in the detail of the exclusion clauses contained in the agreements patients sign up to with these whizzo private GP providers. “Once embarked on a private route everything that follows, tests and treatment, is private too. Lots of people seem to see it as NHS queue jumping to see the GP. Not so. It's the gateway to private healthcare,” says the NHA. Doctaly charges people between £39 and £49 for a 15-minute GP appointment during office hours and the cost rises to £69 for appointments out of hours, such as before 9am and after 6pm. Doctaly does not employ its GPs directly but takes a cut of their fee for their Doctaly “pay to see GP” appointments. Patients then pay for subsequent treatments they receive. Patients choosing and booking an appointment through Doctaly’s website are asked to confirm they aren’t registered at the GP practice they choose. The BMA General Practitioners’ Committee’s deputy chair Richard Vautrey says that “the risk is a more fragmented service and patients having remote consultations with doctors they don’t know and who won’t have full access to their NHS medical records.” It also prises patients away from their underfunded, overstretched GPs and into the hands of private competitors, rather than providing the proper public funding their GPs need for their NHS services. 650 GP surgeries have already been closed, merged or taken over since 2010 and the Royal College of General Practitioners warns that up to a further 600 surgeries face closure by 2020. NHA’s Dr Louise Irvine is concerned that some GPs may be “tempted to fill the holes in their funding, which is at an all-time low right now, by taking on this (Doctaly) additional work. Dr Jackie Applebee, chair of Tower Hamlets Local Medical Committee, says that the Doctaly scheme could “further destabilise general practice…This sort of service is the slippery slope towards privatisation of the NHS. It introduces the principle of topping up NHS services with purchased services if one has the disposable income. If the more affluent begin to do this in significant numbers, it is only a small step to an insurance-based health service.” That’s because, by attracting more and more of the public to privately provided services and to private health insurance schemes to cover their costs, this will undermine the argument for universal taxation to fund the NHS’s provision of universal, quality healthcare for all regardless of income, a founding NHS principle. As in the US we’ll develop a 2-tier healthcare system; a more expensive, accessible private one for the better off and a cheaper, less accessible public one for the worse off, leading many to put their homes at risk to pay for their healthcare. Private healthcare

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DUDLEY SUTTON’S I WISH I HAD WRITTEN THAT Klee/Clover

from Walking A Line (Faber, 1994) by Tom Paulin Nightwatch after nightwatch Paul Klee endured ‘horribly boring guard duty’ at the gasoline cellar and every morning outside the Zeppelin hangar there was drill then a speech tacked with junk formulas he varnished wings and stencilled numbers next to gothic insignia a private first-class with lippy dislike of their royal majesties and (Flying School 5 (Bavaria) he wrote home to Lily it’s nice this spring weather and now we’ve laid out a garden between the second and third runways the airfield’s becoming more and more beautiful each time a plane crashed - and that happened quite often he cut squares of canvas from the wings and fuselage he never said why but every smashed biplane looked daft or ridiculous halfjoky and untrue - maybe the pilots annoyed him? those unlovely aristos who never knew they were flying primed blank canvasses into his beautiful airfield is now the biggest cause of personal bankruptcy in the US. “Don’t Get Sick In America!’ will become ‘Don’t Get Sick In England!’. In 1977 Thatcher pin-up Nicholas Ridley declared to the Conservatives’ Economic Reconstruction Group “Denationalisation should not be attempted by frontal attack, but by a policy of preparation for return to the private sector by stealth. We should fragment the industries as far as possible; and set up the units as separate profit centres.” The deliberate underfunding of the NHS and GP services, by 2020

the cuts will amount to £40 billion, along with their ‘reconfiguring’ using private ‘booking services’ like the Babylon app and Doctaly, is central to the breaking up of what was once the cheapest and most cost-effective public healthcare system in the developed world. NHS England’s current Sustainability & Transformation Plans (STPs) for ‘reconfiguring’ a broken NHS are intended to put it back together again with the private sector pervasively embedded within it. This is the climax of over 30 years of Ridley’s envisaged NHS privatisation by stealth under both Tory and Labour administrations.

February 2017

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Photograph © Biosci Thailand

Business & Environment

Pressure on stock exchange

to recognise climate change risk By Ione Bingley

here has been mounting pressure on the financial sector to recognise and factor climate change risk into investment ratings in a move that would monetise the impact of climate change, encourage corporate environmental responsibility and safeguard the global economy against destabilising climate-related issues. Organisations like CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, have been lobbying for greater transparency from companies about their vulnerability to climate change and their environmental impact in the hope that potential investors will use this information to capitalise on sustainable development and help to decarbonise the global economy. Backed by 830 institutional investors with assets of $100 trillion, CDP puts these insights at the heart of strategic business, investment and policy decisions. More than 5,800 companies disclosed environmental information through

CDP in 2016. The movement does appear to be gaining traction with the commitment of 28 members to the UN Environment Finance Initiative’s Portfolio Decarbonization Coalition (PDC), who control over $3 trillion in assets between them and have pledged to decarbonise a total of $600 billion by designing investment portfolios with a smaller climate change impact. “We are seeing significant international collaboration among leading asset owners to push on climate issues,” said Lance Pierce, President of CDP North America and one of the PDC organizers. “Climate change is requiring transformational changes in the economy in order to safeguard assets and supply chains, and presents a significant economic growth opportunity. The US renewable energy sector employed 769,000 people and the solar industry grew 12 times faster than overall job creation in 2015. Investors are realizing they can reduce carbon, reduce risk and generate steady financial returns as well as jobs.” By withdrawing capital from carbonintensive companies and technologies and re-investing that capital into carbon efficient companies of the same sector, investors provide a strong incentive for other companies to follow low-carbon initiatives. “Investments with more carbon translate to higher risk, not just from potential carbon fees or pricing, but also from shifts in technology that can leave

high carbon assets stranded,” said Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment. “The success of the Portfolio Decarbonization Coalition is a clear signal to both governments and companies that climate change, and the corporate response to it, is critical to shareholder value and investor interests going forward.” In December, coordinated by Labour’s shadow international climate change secretary Barry Gardiner, an international alliance of 100 MPs from 34 countries wrote a letter to the world’s stock exchanges to encourage them to factor in the financial risks of climate change. Gardiner believes that transparency measures must be put in place to provide investors with the information to take into account environmental developments and for the financial markets to respond appropriately to such risks. “The risks climate change poses to our financial systems are clearer than ever. The world’s financial systems are only just beginning to focus on the threat to pension funds and other investors from stranded assets and supply chain risks,” said Gardiner. The letter calls on the stock markets to “promote the adoption of climate-related reporting guidance and disclosure for all listed companies under [their] jurisdiction” and to “commit to implement best international practice in reporting requirements for sustainability and climate-related risks”. Green party co-leader Caroline

Lucas, former Labour leader Ed Miliband, shadow frontbencher Clive Lewis and former climate change secretary Caroline Flint also signed the letter. Already facing the harsh reality of excess human emissions and quickly becoming a world leader in clean energy, the Chinese president Xi Jinping announced at this year’s financial summit in Davos, that China invested $88 billion in renewable energy in 2016. Also exploring other innovative ways to fund their low carbon transition, The People’s Bank of China has proposed the mandatory disclosure of climate-related financial risks as part of reforms to make its banking system sustainable. The G20’s Task Force on Climaterelated Financial Disclosures co-chaired by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has also recommended full and standardised disclosure by companies and investors of financial risks and opportunities from climate change in a recent report of recommendations. “The challenge is that investors currently don’t have the information to respond to these developments,” Carney and Bloomberg co-wrote in The Guardian. “This must change if financial markets are going to do what they do best: allocate capital to manage risks and seize new opportunities. Without the necessary information, market adjustments to climate change will be incomplete, late and potentially destabilising.”

Business & Finance FranklinChristoph Contra Mundum

hen, over forty years ago, my manic creative alter-ego James Douglas, tied to me by bonds so strong, such that no opiate or antipsychotic can break (from bitter experience), began tentatively to write, he would get into mood by meditating on the choice of pen; never realising that one day that would provide the perfect introduction to a sensible discussion on tax, and the iniquitous organs of state emanating from the Treasury, in particular HM Revenue & Customs, and the insipid craven, clearlyabout-a-mile-from independent, judiciary. Inspired by James’ conclusion to his Compendium article (October 2016) “go no further than www.franklin-christoph. com”, I picked up my brand new FranklinChristoph 45 XLV Amber Michael Masuyama Needlepoint, which with the steel nib option is a helluva lot of pen for £100. With mature technology like the fountain pen, Franklin-Christoph, a company dating back to 1901, but which only segued into pen manufacture about fifteen years ago, has had to show that some great names may have been trading on their laurels: co-branding with Michael Masuyama emphasises the highly individual nature of the range. Masuyama hand-grinds all Masuyama nibs himself, and will redo the job (or anyone else’s nib) for about £50 www.mikeitwork.com. Franklin-Christoph competes on price and quality with the Mercedes of pens Pelikan. By offering steel nibs (every bit as good as gold) you can get world-beating quality at entry-level prices. The range of nibs is huge (including 18 karat gold) emphasising that this is a writing instrument, a street-weapon of choice for the discerning tax accountant or music correspondent. Quirky individual original styling does not compromise traditional attention to detail which is exemplary. The 45 has its cap-thread below the nib section, neatly disguised as a banding embellishment, so it never gets in your way. The build quality means that the translucent and transparent models make fabulous eye-droppers, flamboyantly splashing ink around the barrel, cartridgefree. The pen is delivered with a very pretty branded leather zippered case which you’d be wise to use if eye-dropping, although neither of my Franklin-Christophs has ever blotted or leaked a drop. The pocket range (including the 45 XLV under consideration) emphasises the functionality. You’ll find you have to post the cap (stick it on the end of the barrel)

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

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Trump and the markets By Max Feldman

because the pen is too short without it (hence the term “pocket”). Not only does it make the pen feel different (and fun) but it draws on the quality of the machined acrylic (always fitting very neatly). Praise for this innovative family company sits well in an article about tax, because if it were a British company (rather than American), it would attract possible use of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). However it would be wise to read the small-print very carefully, because HMRC takes a most un-British, punctiliously negative attitude to detail. It’s worrying that the courts don’t stand up to HMRC and apply the concept of equity which I had thought was enshrined in our gloriously unwritten constitution; there have been some truly shocking decisions. Anyone who understands anything about the contribution of liberal enlightened thinking to the development of British culture will feel alarmed by the decision in Flix Innovations Ltd v HMRC. The facts of the case and its merits have been explored substantively elsewhere, but in brief Flix restructured its shares for the development of a digital system of cinematic film distribution, in a manner that fulfilled all the intentions of the reliefs under the legislation. A technical immaterial deferred element of the shareholding meant that HMRC was able to withdraw EIS relief on the grounds that Parliament intended the letter of the law to be applied. No it didn’t. Parliament definitely intended innovation like Flix’s system to be allowable for EIS. You may recall the much-discussed concept of immoral tax avoidance being taxpayers taking advantage of loopholes that Parliament didn’t intend. You might be forgiven for wondering where the fundamental concept of equity in law has gone, where the letter of the law is applied over the spirit. It should worry you that the courts are clearly rubber-stamping revenue spin. And you might like the way the courts apply one rule for the taxpayer, and a quite different one for the revenue. EIS is a great relief in theory. In practice you’ll find it’s a great relief when you get it. At least my feelings of righteous indignation have been soothed by the pretty Franklin-Christoph with which I’ve penned these thoughts. www.franklin-christoph.com www.mikeitwork.com Douglas Shanks and John Handley are DSC Metropolitan Chartered Accountants’ very neat handwriting with fountain pen partners.

When Donald Trump managed to overturn all expectations to become the 45th President of the United States, the initial reaction in the business world was markedly different from the histrionics that greeted the news in the wider world. Trump’s acceptance speech at the Hilton Hotel on November was conciliatory in tone and notably progrowth in content. It calmed markets that had been concerned about some of his campaign rhetoric, especially when it came to the imposition of prohibitive import taxes on China and Mexico, the dismantling of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the cancellation of bilateral trade agreements. Having sold off sharply in the run-up to the acceptance speech, Dow futures erased an 800-point drop and the S&P 500 Index climbed off its limit-down level, starting what turned out to be an impressive market surge that set records for the major indices. Investors cheered Trump's pro-growth policies and fuelled by expectations that, after years of frustrating gridlock on Capitol Hill, the President and the Republican majorities in both houses of Congress would work constructively to unleash the significant potential of the U.S. economy, bought risk-on assets such as U.S. stocks. Concurrently, they sold risk-off assets such as: Gold, Bonds, Yen etc. Markets internalized expectations for policy-induced improvements in growth

and inflation, and their translation into higher corporate revenue and stronger pricing power. It was also hoped that stocks would get a boost from higher repurchase activity thanks to the policies that encouraged companies to repatriate cash held abroad. All of this led to a surge for the dollar and yields for the US Treasury at a time when (going by both the mainstream and social media) Trump’s imminent ascension seemed to have the rest of the world ready to jump off a cliff, financially things were looking surprisingly bright. The Dow jumped above 20,000 on Trump’s first week in office but fell back below that psychologically important level on Monday amid the backlash from Trump’s immigration policy. Going forward, investors want to know if the U.S. will remain a safe haven or if this post-election dynamic will change. A lot depends on how thoughtful and sensitive Trump is in implementing policies that might have knock-on market effects and he has not done much to build confidence in his lightness of touch in regard to controversial issues. The markets seems to be prepared to give Trump more of the benefit of the doubt than many of his other critics, but this will only last so long. The markets (US and elsewhere) are eager for the reassurance that would come from a well-designed string of policies based around Trump’s headline initiatives of tax reform, deregulation, and infrastructure development and should Trump commit to this as an economic course than we could see a continuation of the bullish developments that followed Trump’s election. If on the other hand Trump doubles down on an aggressive series of trade wars and hawkish protectionism it’s entirely likely that the current economic merry-go-round might shift into rollercoaster.

Photograph © Franklin-Christoph

February 2017

Photograph © John Miller

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February 2017

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Business & Finance

Financial Paper Weight By Max Feldman

rowing up in the modern world, one of the earliest concepts drilled into us is the inherent value of money. The belief in the fact that these pieces of paper and metal have a value dramatically greater than their constituent elements, is one of the central pillars that keep our civilisation viable, and it requires an unconscious cognitive dissonance to successfully pull this off. Whilst coins were initially made of precious metals such as gold or silver (valued by their rarity) the leap to physically valueless paper money was the moment when human concepts of economy and wealth began to shift towards the modern view point. Paper bills were first used by the Chinese, who started carrying folding money during the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907) a full five hundred years before it was adapted in Europe. Initially only used in the form of privately issued bills of credit or exchange notes, eventually paper currency had spread to such an extent that even the coins traditionally placed over the eyes of the deceased were replaced with bank notes. Centuries later the traveller Marco Polo reported on how “This paper currency is circulated everywhere and no person, at the peril of his life, refuses to accept it in payment”. In Europe such tales were met with disbelief and derision and Polo remarked with amusement that whilst Western alchemists had struggled vainly to turn base metal into gold, the Chinese emperors had simply turned paper into money.

However just as Europe finally began to realise the advantages of moving away from exclusively using coinage, China’s reliance on paper money had ironically led it to the brink of financial collapse. Bank notes were printed continuously with no effort made to withdraw old

notes from circulation, an issue that was even further compounded by the fact that by the 14th Century paper had been officially decreed the only legal tender in China. However, China soon fell victim to extremes of inflation; in 1380, one guan was worth 1000 copper coins but by 1535, one guan was valued at merely 0.28 of a copper coin. Naturally something had to give and China’s panicking leadership eliminated paper money entirely in 1455 and wouldn't adopt it again for several hundred years. However they had still left their mark on the economic system: the word “cash” was originally used to describe a form of currency commonly used in the Tang Dynasty, called kaiyuans.

In Europe banknotes originally served as glorified I.O.U.s rather than being viewed as currency in and of themselves. This began to change around the mid 17th century, however, when bankers began to issue greater numbers of notes than the total values of their reserves under the correct assumption that they wouldn’t have to redeem all of their issued banknotes at the same time. As these receipts were increasingly used in the money circulation system, depositors began to ask for multiple receipts to be made out in smaller, fixed denominations for use as money. The receipts soon became a written order to pay the amount to whoever had possession of the note. These notes are credited as the first modern banknotes. Whilst Chinese emperors were able to turn paper into money, we’ve since used it to create the basis of our entire civilisation; not bad for a stack of paper.

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February 2017

Legal

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk

Leasehold Property: No 1

by Tania Austin,

ften the single largest investment we make is in Property, whether as our home or as in buy to let. Much of London’s residential property is flats, held on ‘long’ lease. With each year that passes, a lease becomes shorter and after a certain point the flat becomes less valuable. When you come to sell, the price or chances of a successful sale can be affected by having a shorter lease. You must have owned the flat for at least 2 years to claim a 90 year extension. If you qualify for a lease extension, your landlord must grant that extra 90 years to you with a new lease, provided you comply with the technicalities and timescales applying. Your landlord is entitled to a premium to compensate for the 90 year extension, which is calculated on the

criteria set out in statute. In principle, the shorter your lease, the higher the premium you will have to pay, therefore, it is best to deal with a lease extension sooner rather than later. To obtain a lease extension requires

a formal claim, paying a deposit of 10% of the price you propose, agreeing the premium and the new lease terms and applying to the Tribunal to decide upon any matters in dispute. You also have to pay certain of your landlord’s costs.

For a 90 year extension it is a requirement that the flat be owned for at least the previous 2 years. If a buyer has to wait 2 years to qualify for a lease extension, the lease will be 2 years shorter and therefore the premium to be paid would be correspondingly higher. The buyer may not get a mortgage, as many mortgagees will not lend where a lease has less than 70 years left to run. It is possible for a seller to start a claim for a lease extension and a buyer to take it over. However, it is far better to have a lease extension in place before you sell; some buyers may simply not wish to take on the risk and choose the easier option of another buying a property with a longer lease instead. If a claim for a lease extension fails, it is costly in terms of both time and money. You have to pay your own and your landlord’s costs. Subsequently, a new claim cannot be made for another year, very possibly longer if a buyer has taken over a claim from a seller, as he will then have to wait until he has 2 years ownership of the flat before he can make a new claim. We have many years’ experience in providing our clients with just the right advice and assistance to take them, be they lessee or landlord, through the statutory process, avoiding the pitfalls to a successful outcome. Tania Austin, is a partner in LSGA Solicitors

LSGA gets straight to the heart of the matter Our lawyers specialise in: high value residential property, commercial property, company and commercial work (and related corporate finance), employment law, commercial litigation, property litigation, personal injury, professional negligence, medical negligence, criminal, divorce and family work. LSGA Solicitors. 35 Piccadilly London, W1J 0LP Tel: 020 7851 0100 Email: info@lsga.co.uk Fax: 020 7851 0136

February 2017

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Education Short Online Courses • Apply Now • www.conted.ox.ac.uk/on51

Adult education listings February 2017 Whether you want to stick to your New Year’s resolutions or find new ones, February offers an exciting selection of courses. Ranging from photography to arts’ valuation and making tasty artisan pasta. Unless specified, courses must be prebooked and are suitable for beginners.

Cass Art

Islamic Geometry Workshop

18 February Monthly Islamic Geometry workshops return to Cass Art in Kingston. All are welcome, no experience is needed and all resources & materials are provided for attendees aged 14+. Using a compass and a straight edge, you will be able to produce beautiful patterns and transfer them to watercolour paper to decorate with watercolour pencils and paints. Step by step guides will be emailed to you to accompany all patterns taught at the workshop, so that you can reconstruct, tile it or give it a woven effect. Time: 10.30am - 12.30pm Phone: 020 7619 2601 Tickets: http://www.samiramian.uk/ cassart 26 February The Art Space, Cass Art, Kingston, 103 Clarence Street KT1 1QY. This workshop takes place on the first floor and there is no step free access. Cost: £15 per workshop or £50 for 4 sessions

The Royal Academy of Arts

the first floor and there is no step free access. Events with step free access are available at our Islington shop. Email Anna: annamilgrom@gmail. com or Nicki: njrolls@hotmail.com Time: 10.30am - 3.30pm Price £35 Concessions: students £30 Booking essential

The art of valuation and the value of art

11-12 February Two day course to understand the art valuation process and learn to apply the methods and techniques to establish the value of art through lectures, applied case studies and discussion sessions. It will explore the process of key quantitative and qualitative measurements. All material is included along with a course pack and a certificate of participation upon completion of the two days. First day will focus on Old masters and day two on Contemporary and Emerging art. Time: 10am - 5pm Phone: 02073005641 Location: General Assembly Room, Burlington House, Piccadilly Price: £290 for one day/£540 for two days. Includes light refreshments and a drinks reception on both days.

Tate Modern

Art and the experiment

Every Friday 17 February - 10 March This four-week course will encourage you to think about the role of experiment in modern and contemporary art. Led by poet and writer James Wilkes, you will learn to create experimental writing inspired by art in the galleries. Readings ranging from experimental essays to feminist science scholarship. Sessions include visits to the galleries including Robert Rauschenberg, group discussion and sharing of work within a supportive environment. Time: 2.30pm - 5pm Location:Tate Modern, Bankside, London, SE1 9TG Price: £100 Bookings: https://tickets.tate.org.uk/ performancelist.asp?ShowID=6359 Concessions: Job seeker, Senior citizen, Student, Disabled, 70

All day life drawing workshop

The London Film School

A day of structured and experimental painting and drawing with a professional life model and two experienced art workshop leaders. Advice and guidance is provided if wanted. Easels, boards, and dry materials provided free. You will also get a 10% off materials from CASS. Please note, this class takes place on

24 February With a focus on characters script editor Kate Leys will introduce you into the art and craft of storytelling for film on a one day workshop. Aimed at all levels of screenwriting experience this detailed, intensive day

Story is character: the art of storytelling

looks at how to investigate and develop screen characters who are compelling, truthful and truly dramatic. Time: 10am - 6pm Bookings at: http://lfs.org.uk/ workshops/lfs-workshops/260/story-ischaracter#sthash.LN0PacPV.dpuf Location: 24 Shelton Street, WC2H 9UB Price: £125 Concessions: Book three or more directing workshops to get 20% off.

Leith’s School of Food and Wine

Artisan pasta with Ursula Ferrigno

23 February Have you ever wanted to learn how to make your own fresh pasta at home? Ursula Ferrigno, passionate ambassador of pasta will teach you to make your own handmade artisan pasta. Bookings at: https://www.leiths. com/classes/artisan-pasta-with-ursulaferrigno Phone: 020 8749 6400 Time: 10am - 14.30pm Location: 16-20 Wendell Road, London, W12 9RT Price: £155

Cheese making: Artisan soft cheese

11 February Learn how to make your own soft cheese, such as halloumi, mozzarella, mascarpone or cream cheese, and your own butter using raw farm or supermarket milk and vegetarian rennet. Course lead by founder of Cutting the Curd Louise Talbot. With all recipes being easy to recreate at home with minimal equipment, you’ll soon be making your own artisan cheeses with confidence. Bookings at: https://www.leiths.com/ classes/cheese-making-artisan-softcheese Time: 10am - 14.30pm Location: 16-20 Wendell Road, London, W12 9RT Price: £155

City Lit

The plays of Anton Chekhov

11 February Through looking at extracts from The Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, The Seagull, and The Cherry Orchard, you will understand his contribution to Naturalism in the theatre, his work with Stanivlaski, and his dramatic technique. You will also learn to analyse the works both as performance and as literary texts. Bookings at: http://www.citylit.ac.uk/ courses/the-plays-of-anton-chekhov Time: 10.30am-16.30pm Phone: 020 7831 7831 Location: Keeley Street, Covent

Garden, London WC2B 4BA Price: £49 Concessions: £25 Senior fee: £39

Frank O’Hara and the New York School

18 February On this one-day workshop you will discover Frank O’Hara’s poetry by discussing a representative selections of his poems against the background of his art criticism and the poetry of some of his most important contemporaries. In the process, you will be exploring O’Hara’s remarkable evolution both as poet and as cultural impresario, while gaining insight into the vibrant New York scene in which he played a such a distinctive role Bookings at: http://www.citylit.ac.uk/ courses/frank-o-hara-and-the-new-yorkschool Time: 10.30am - 16.30pm Location: Keeley Street, Covent Garden, London WC2B 4BA Price: £49 Concessions: £25 Senior fee: £39

Christie’s Education Chinese export ceramics

16-17 February Two-day course focusing on Chinese export ceramics. Imported into Europe since the sixteenth century, Chinese ceramics made for export have been appreciated, collected and imitated in Britain particularly from the eighteenth century. Under the direction of Christie’s Education lecturers, this course will immerse you in the fascinating history of Chinese export ware and its collecting practices. The course is an exciting opportunity to access an informative series of specialist-led lectures, and experience objects first-hand in handling sessions. Bookings at: http://www.citylit.ac.uk/ courses/the-plays-of-anton-chekhov Time: 10am - 4pm Time: 020 7839 9060 Location: Christie's King Street, London Price: £600

Chelsea College Of Arts Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign 13-17 February

Five-day course for beginners looking for a solid introduction into Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. The courses’ aim is for you to gain an appreciation of bitmap and vector graphics too, and learn when it's best to use the different image file formats. Please note this course is taught on a Mac computer. Bookings at: http://www.arts.ac.uk/

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February 2017

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

Education

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk

Short Online Courses • Apply Now • www.conted.ox.ac.uk/on51 chelsea/courses/short-courses/search-bysubject/communication-graphic-design/ photoshop-illustrator-and-indesign/ Time: 10am - 16pm Location: Atterbury St, SW1P Price: £699

Kensington and Chelsea College

Digital: Creative photography skills

20th February A five-week course taught in their well-equipped photography studio and on location, this course is the perfect progression from their Basic Course, or if you already have basic notions, and focuses on developing the ability to take good pictures while beginning to think like a photographer, you will shoot miniassignments between classes and study the work of the great photographers. Sharing your pictures with classmates will stimulate discussion and help to build your confidence to take your photos to the next level. Students will need to own their own DSLR camera that allows them access to manual controls. Bookings at: http://www.kcc.ac.uk/ course/16tap019/ Time: Mon 6pm - 9pm Location: Chelsea Centre, Hortensia Road, London, SW10 0QS

Price: £145 / non-eu £284 Concessions: £115

Darkroom: Introduction to black and white processing and printing

20th February This is a beginners darkroom course, or a chance to take a refresher course if you have been away from darkrooms for a while. If you have used a basic camera (like a Holga or Lomo) or an advanced camera from the likes of Canon, Nikon or Pentax, this will give you a good grounding. Even if you only have digital pictures, you can still print in a darkroomt). You will start out in the first session processing a film and you will move on to making contact prints and enlargements. They are able to sell you small quantities of paper, so you do not need to buy any ahead of the course. Watching your print appear under a red light is magic you will never forget. Bookings at: http://www.kcc.ac.uk/ course/16tap021/ Time: Tue 6pm - 9pm Location: Chelsea Centre, Hortensia Road, London, SW10 0QS Price: £145 / non-eu £284 Concessions: £115

Children’s Drawing Competition Become a published artist

Illustrate Dudley Sutton’s poem below. We will select three images and publish them in our March edition. Artwork should be submitted to: The Editor, KCW Today, 80100 Gwynne Road, London SW11 3UW. They can be in any medium on A4 sized paper or board. If you would like your artwork returned please include a stamped, addressed envelope with the appropriate postage. Entries must be submitted no later than 20th February, so get drawing! The winners will be chosen by Dudley Sutton and announced in the March issue

In Africa they dug a pool

beneath a tree to keep it cool.

They pinned a sign upon that tree ‘this pool is crocodile free’.

They did not notice in the weed a crocodile who could not read. by Dudley Sutton

Early Years | Pre-Preparatory | Preparatory

Based in the heart of Chelsea, a school with a long and proud history of academia, the arts, sports and music. Excellent 11+ and 13+ entrance exam track record.

“Pupils success is the result of the excellent quality of teaching” Latest ISI Report

www.thehampshireschoolchelsea.co.uk 020 7352 7077 GEMS No.1 - Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster Advert.indd 1

31/01/2017 11:51

February 2017

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

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Education Chelsea Nanny Fashion Week

he Middle One can’t stop talking about Fashion Week. American Mom’s friend is Creative Director of a well-known clothing powerhouse and is launching her first kids’ collection. I am told that the Middle One encompasses the brand’s ethos in one smiling, carefree, fashion-conscious, twelve-year-old package. I am yet to admit I was unaware that a clothes-related consciousness kicked in before hitting one’s teens, at the very earliest. A childhood in the countryside wearing my older brother’s hand-me-down elasticated waistband jeans seems a long way away from the Central London catwalks. I am impressed by American Mom’s ability to act as though her daughter’s foray into the fashion world is a delightful surprise. She has been hinting for the past year to her friend about the Middle One’s potential. A process executed with all the subtlety of a Kardashian on Instagram. Despite the fact that the Middle One’s

new modelling career has come as a ‘shock’, American Mom has had no problem giving the school plenty of notice that her little darling will be attending classes only intermittently for the duration of Fashion Week. The Eldest is livid and can’t stop telling the Middle One that nobody wants to look at her ugly face. Finally, this is more reminiscent of my own childhood; She takes no notice. Probably because she spends much of her time at home practising her catwalk with her wireless Beats by Dre headphones on. Taking noise cancellation to whole new levels. The Small One is more phlegmatic. He does not let envy get the better of him. Instead he asks in a concerned manner what the Middle One will do about all the lessons she’s going to miss. ‘I won’t need to know Latin if I’m going to be a model,’ she reasons. On the day of the event all goes brilliantly. I’m told. I couldn’t attend, having the infinitely more glamorous task of taking the Small One to his swimming lesson. The Middle One receives mountains of compliments and clothes as a result of all her hard work. My next bit of hard work will be attempting to make space in her wardrobe for the new pieces. American Mom could not be more proud. I noticed a list of modelling agency phone numbers written in the back of her Smythson diary. ‘Models are supposed to be tall,’ says the Eldest. ‘She’ll grow,’ says American Mom over the sound of the whirring Nutribullet. The Middle One enters. She takes one look at the height-increasing concoction American Mom is about to force on her. I see her desire to follow in Cara’s footsteps evaporating as quickly as the food liquidises. She gives me a beseeching look. ‘Chocolate milkshake, please!’ For once it seems like the healthy option.

The Spanish Academy

Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists

Spanish classes starting in Fitzrovia •Weekly classes on Mondays starting 20th March, 2017 •Established Spanish school: Qualified teacher BA (Hons) •After 10 weeks you will feel very happy with the standard achieved •Lessons are rewarding & fun: Anyone can learn! •Learn Spanish in a relaxed & friendly atmosphere •Beginners to advanced level: small group classes •Classes run for 10 weeks on Mondays: 1 hour per week between 12pm-5pm •Suitable for business, holidays etc. Please contact us to request a syllabus, availability and course prices W: www.spanacademy.co.uk E: info@spanacademy.co.uk T: 07967 399 335

Harriet Tuckett BA (Hons),Tutor

Access to Higher Education: Roadmap to University

Kensington and Chelsea College students proved there’s more than one way to get into university after completing a fast-track course that earned them a shot at Higher Education. The course is aimed at giving people who left school early in life and without the right qualifications a route into university. The group, a majority of which were returning to education after several years, recently celebrated graduating from a one-year Access to Higher Education course. Our higher education provision has successfully achieved the UK standards set by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). We offer Access to Higher Education courses in a wide range of subjects including Nursing, Radiography, Sports Science, Paramedic Studies, Midwifery, Psychology, Art History, Anthropology,

Humanities and Social Sciences, and Law. The life-changing fast track course gives people who left school early in life, and without the right qualifications, a route into Higher Education. This year we have seen numerous students apply to prestigious institutes such as King’s College, UCL, SOAS, Goldsmith and Queen Mary. Speaking about the Access to Higher Education: Humanities and Social Science course, Samer Ismail said ‘It is the only college that teaches African and Caribbean Studies and the prestigious links with Universities such as SOAS. So with this in mind, I had to go for the Access to Humanities and Social Science as I am hoping to study a degree in Politics and African Studies at SOAS.’ Further successes include Rickesh Advani who has received offers from Loughborough and Cambridge, describing the course he states that ‘the Personal development and seeking self-validation, beyond the excellent curriculum and facilities; supported by the most invested and passionate educational staff. All married with the opportunity to challenge my predisposed Eurocentric vantage. ‘ Access course students are recognised for their achievements and passing their course during a graduation ceremony at the college’s Wornington Centre. ‘Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.’

February 2017

Education

equivalent to 5 C-grade GCSEs to Level 7 which is Masters/Postgrad level) are likely to expand significantly over the next few years as they become more familiar to employers, school leavers and (perhaps most crucially) to parents. Currently the relatively low levels of 18 year olds in high level apprenticeship programs mean that they are far less competitive than equivalent university courses. A long held bone of contention for students is that anyone studying humanities related subjects generally receive under six hours of studentteacher contact time a week in exchange for their £9,000 a year fees, this stands in stark contrast to the full work-day monitoring that apprentices are subject to. Whilst waking up bright and early every day for work might have been viewed as akin to a forced labour march on some campuses ten years ago, 2016 has seen student satisfaction levels drop as a full third of students have claimed that they don’t believe that their course offers anything like value for the money they’re paying and more than quarter have complained that they feel that the feedback they receive from their tutors is poor or scattershot. Regardless of these studies, it must be said that universities still offer a great opportunity for a young person to get a greater sense of what they want out of life; be it from studying Chemistry or Keats, and Britain is home to some

By Max Feldman

drinking snakebite. The twin blows of an uncertain job market in an extremely uncertain world and the fact that increases in university fees have left student debts at a level that almost equals a small nation’s GDP has somewhat put paid to this cultural attitude and apprenticeships have returned from life support to become a more than credible alternative to finishing three years of competitive liver damage with nothing to show but a Liberal Arts degree and £27,000 worth of debt. Companies have begun to demonstrate a real hunger for apprenticeships, BAE Systems offer higher-level apprentices over £34,000 on their completion, which is more than they offer those starting on its graduate schemes. As a result of the deluge of graduate CVs that high level companies receive every year, many find it more worthwhile (not to mention easier) to pick and choose school leavers and train them up on the job, rather than entrusting the same position to an untested graduate. A survey of members of the British Chamber of Commerce reported that 79% of employers rated work experience as the number one activity necessary to equip young people with the work place skills that they valued. In addition higher level apprenticeships (apprenticeships are ranked in levels, from level 2 which is

of the best in the world for all manner of subjects. Or conversely it is perfectly acceptable that the relative isolation from one’s peers at a key time for making long-term friendships and connections that comes with an apprenticeship compared to a university experience is enough of a stumbling block to dissuade a decent percentage of young people. However the university experience is not for everyone and every year hundreds of students who are not psychologically suited to the realities of the selfmotivated and mostly unsupervised nature of higher education drop out of courses that they were never particularly suited or drawn to beyond a feeling that going to university was the expected next step for a young person in their situation, rich or poor. In coming years this number should hopefully decrease as the idea of taking an apprenticeship over a university course becomes less stigmatised and people realise that they have a legitimate crossroad fork in their lives once they finish their A-Levels. Perhaps you might go straight into an apprenticeship at a FTSE 300 company for the job you’ve always aspired to, or maybe you don’t have much of an idea of what you want to apply yourself in and a few years studying Chinese and making new relationships is just what’s appropriate; unlike either the 1990s or The Middle Ages both options are available and as valid and respectable as each other.

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A Study in Apprenticeships n the Middle Ages, apprenticeships were one of the central building blocks of British civilisation. Richer members of the peasant class would dispatch their progeny to live with the families of members of the craft guilds who would teach their children everything they knew. Whilst to modern eyes this might seem closer to forcing your child into living with a cult than giving them an all-important leg up into the working world, apprenticeships were all important for anyone who had aspirations to be more than one of the peasants from Monty Python’s Holy Grail. In 1563, The Statute of Artificers made it illegal for anyone to “exercise any art, mystery or occupation except he shall have been brought up therein seven years as an apprentice”. Anyone who was under the poverty line who was still eager for an education would be forced to attend one of the far less prestigious free institutions in Tudor England; such as the University of Cambridge (oh the shame!). By the early 20th Century there were over 340,000 apprenticeships granted a year which were much fought over by aspirational parents and students. When David Cameron unveiled his 2015 flagship policy to create three million new apprentice positions by 2020 and bring back apprenticeships as a legitimate alternative to university, it was easy to forget that it was only in the past 30 years that numbers of apprenticeship places truly dwindled, reaching their low of 53,000 in 1999. Trades that traditionally thrived off apprentices such as engineers and nurses found their numbers dwindling as the university campus experience developed such cultural ubiquity that hands-on experience in a chosen field became viewed as far less important than fresher’s week and unironically

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February 2017

Astronomy

Death’s Debris, Life’s Renaissance The death of a star, the rebirth of planetary life By Scott Beadle FRAS

In December I wrote a piece about a visual snapshot of the end of our Sun using the Helix Nebula as an example of the likely evolutionary track of our own star’s demise. As their parent stars inevitably age and burn out, every inhabited planet across our galaxy faces the ultimate apocalypse – the destruction of its system and the likelihood of being reduced to a cinder. Yet the emerging view of what happens to planets at the end of a star’s life has more complexity than scientists once thought. What’s more, the ever – shifting fortunes of survivability in the universe suggest one planets apocalypse may be another’s genesis Roughly 5 billion years from now the sun will go through a late life crisis. Fusion reactions will migrate to a hydrogen-rich shell surrounding an inert core of helium. The Suns internal temperature will spike, and our star will expand into a red giant. The Suns outer layers will reach escape velocity and peel off into space. As the Sun loses mass, the planets’ orbits will widen to conserve the solar system’s angular momentum. Earth will migrate out to Mars’ current orbit and the red planet will move proportionately farther out. Unfortunately, Earth and Mars

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will not become some benign tropical paradises at some new but perfectly balanced, habitable distance from our now seriously bloated star, they will already have been reduced to cinders before entering their final death spirals as their orbital velocities slow and the gravitational tug and friction from the tenuous gases in the Sun’s ballooning atmosphere drag them back. So, that’s it then, a sun-like star’s evolution into a red giant would render the inner region of the solar system uninhabitable. Yet all hope may not be lost. The habitable zone will expand along with the star. This will warm once-frozen planets and their moons, bringing a brief spring time after a 10-billion-year winter. Under the warm glare of the awakening giant star, a frozen moon’s icy top layer will melt quickly into liquid water, Ancient craters will dissolve into the warming seas. After being in hibernation for all of its star’s main sequence lifetime, the moon’s new-born oceans, laden with a carbon-rich broth, could spring to life. This zone could remain habitable for 1 billion years. According to some theories, life on our planet may have begun within a few hundred million years after Earth cooled down from its fiery birth. This suggests newly inhabited planets could exist around many red giant stars. Once frozen, carbon rich moons like Saturn’s Titan would thaw out and become incubators for the first stages of life. Observations of dusty discs surrounding young stars as well as detailed theoretical simulations have strengthened the conventional wisdom about how planets form around newborn stars. First tiny grains of interstellar dust

Above: Artist's impression © Lynette Cook extrasolar.spaceart.org Below: Ant Nebula © NASA

settle into a disk whirling around the star’s equator. The grains then coagulate to form rocks, which coalesce under the relentless pull of gravity to form asteroid sized bodies. These planet embryos quickly sweep up the remaining dust along their orbital paths. As long as gas is available, the more massive embryos bulk up and become Jupiter-like worlds. Smaller or slower forming embryos end up as terrestrial bodies like Earth, Mars, and Venus. But the planet formation process in our galaxy appears so robust that a dust disc around a star at the end of its life can also produce planets. In fact the first exoplanets discovered ie;(beyond our solar system) were second generation planets in orbit around the pulsar PSR B1257+12! Astronomers have also predicted that late-in-life planets could be born from the mergers of white dwarfs an inevitable outcome of the evolution in some binary systems. Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre propose that Earthsized planets could form out of the shredded white dwarf debris. They would be tough little planets with tarry surfaces of carbides or even diamond. The atmosphere of a carbon planet might include nitrogen, ammonia, carbon monoxide, methane, and other hydrocarbons. Oceans of ammonia mixed with metals and organic material. However first, second, third generation of stars and planets all face ultimate destruction. In Arthur C Clarkes 1955 short story The Star he describes a voyage to a supernova remnant where they discover a lone surviving planet far from the exploded star. An intelligent race, foreseeing the coming apocalypse, creates a vast archive of its civilization for future visitors to find. Perhaps such is the fate of extra-terrestrial civilizations scattered across the galaxy. The conditions for planetary birth, survival, and rebirth seem common throughout a cosmos that ironically, is indifferent to maintaining planetary paradises for very long. Never the less, the fundamental physics of the universe seems adept at rebuilding entire planets from the ashes of a stars death seems adept at rebuilding entire planets from the ashes of a stars death.

February 2017

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Literature Pride and Prejudice

By Max Feldman

espite the fact that the title sounds like a three word summary of Donald Trump’s domestic policies, Pride and Prejudice has become one of the world’s most beloved books, frequently reaching near the top of lists of “most-loved books” among both literary scholars and the general public. Since its publication on January 28th 1813 Prejudice has sold over 20 million copies, making it one of the most popular novels in the English literary canon. Despite its wildfire success, Austen only made a (not particularly) grand total of £110 in profits (which was negotiated down from the £150 she initially asked for) due to the consequences of her unfortunate decision to sell the book’s copyright to Thomas Egerton of the Military Library. Austen had previously published Sense and Sensibility on a commission basis, whereby she indemnified the publisher against any losses and received any profits, less costs and the publisher's commission. Not suspecting that Sense and Sensibility would go onto to sell out its edition (and make her £140) she

passed the copyright of her new novel to Egerton in exchange for a one-off payment, meaning that all the risk (and all the profits) would be his. It has been calculated that Egerton subsequently made around £450 from just the first two editions of the book alone./ In fact the novel that would truly establish Austen as a household name didn’t even carry her name on it, simply crediting the book to “The Author of Sense and Sensibility” (which had itself only been credited, fairly dismissively, as “by a Lady”, Austen would never be officially credited for any of her novels during her life). Despite its nameless author Pride and Prejudice would be met with near immediate success (spurred on by three extremely favourable reviews in influential periodicals). The novel’s combination of wit, humour, romance and wry social commentary firmly established Austen as one of the genre’s leading lights. Even so, the novel was not without its detractors; Charlotte Bronte described the novel as being “a carefully fenced, highly cultivated garden…but with no open country, no fresh air, no blue hill, no bonny beck” and in 1898 a deeply unimpressed Mark Twain would expound that “Every time I read Pride and Prejudice I want to dig Jane Austen up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.” Disregarding the fact that Pride and Prejudice has to shoulder the guilt of indirectly spawning the execrable film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the regard for the novel has only grown over its two hundred year publishing life. Austen wrote with an eye for realism and the more mundane aspects of everyday life that set her apart from the rather more florid and deliberately dramatic traditions that Romantic writing of the day tended towards (considering that no-one gets poisoned or locked in a tower by a wicked uncle, Pride and Prejudice stands out from its peers as practically a kitchen sink drama by comparison). Anyone whose experience with Pride and Prejudice begins and ends with Colin Firth in a wet shirt should do themselves a favour and dip into Austen’s classic. Mark Twain can’t be right about everything after all

Photographs © Tim Epps

Professor but the manuscript was rejected by many publishing houses including Smith, Elder and Co. However, George Smith, a young gentleman who had just taken over as publisher from his father at Smith and Elder saw something impressive in Bronte’s works. In August 1847, Smith wrote suggesting that if she wrote something in three volumes it “would [be met] with careful attention”. It is clear Bronte was up to the challenge as by October the same year she had sent Smith the 824 page manuscript of Jane Eyre. Shortly after receiving the manuscript George wrote that ‘After

Jane Eyre

(Manuscrit) (3 Volumes Dans un Coffret) Hardcover Published: 2 Dec 2016 Éditions des Saints Pères ISBN-13: 979-1095457305 £249.00

To Charlotte Bronte enthusiasts, Jane Eyre is one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century written by a women. Jane Eyre is the tale of a young orphan who suffers a number of unfortunate events before she takes up a governess position in adulthood, only to fall in love with her employer, the dark and impassioned Mr Rochester. The novel is only rivalled in popularity by writers like Jane Austen. Charlotte Bronte’s first attempt to become a published author was with The

breakfast on Sunday morning I took the manuscript of Jane Eyre to the library and began to read it. The story quickly took me captive.’ Turning the final sheet later that night Bronte’s publisher said ‘My literary judgement was perfectly satisfied’; the rest is literary history! In December 2016 Editions Des Saints Pres, an independent publishing house based in Paris, saw an opportunity to present Jane Eyre to admirers of the novel in a new and unique way. The publishers have reproduced this fair copy manuscript in three beautifully bound hard back volumes and presented in a deluxe slipcase. The limited edition facsimile of the manuscript (only 1000 copies have been printed) is revealing in that it demonstrates just how determined Bronte must have been to become a successful published author. It’s elegantly hand written with very few corrections. Revisions that have been made are noted as being mainly centred on Bronte’s portrayal of Jane’s encounters with Rochester’. The books also contain etchings by Edmund Garrett from an 1897 edition of the Novel. ET

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February 2017

Poetry

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ANTE ALIGHIERI (12651321) is the subject of this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poetry page and Circle 2 Canto V of Inferno, the first part of his greatest work The Divine Comedy. Here Dante explores the fine line that exists between love and the power of attraction and disastrous lustful desire. It is in this circle that the adulterers and carnal sinners are cast by Minos, where famous lovers such as Cleopatra, Dido, Paris, Helen, Tristan and Achilles are alluded too, and whose misguided desires had often led them and their lovers to death.

Circle 2, Canto V

From the first circle I descended thus Down to the second, which, a lesser space Embracing, so much more of grief contains, Provoking bitter moans. There Minos stands, Grinning with ghastly feature: he, of all Who enter, strict examining the crimes, Gives sentence, and dismisses them beneath, According as he foldeth him around: For when before him comes the ill - fated soul, It all confesses; and that judge severe Of sins, considering what place in Hell Suits the transgression, with his tail so oft Himself encircles, as degrees beneath He dooms it to descend. Before him stand Always a numerous throng; and in his turn Each one to judgment passing, speaks, and hears His fate, thence downward to his dwelling hurl'd. "O thou! who to this residence of woe Approachest!" when he saw me coming, cried Minos, relinquishing his dread employ, "Look how thou enter here; beware in whom Thou place thy trust; let not the entrance broad Deceive thee to thy harm." To him my guide: "Wherefore exclaimest? Hinder not his way By destiny appointed; so 'tis will'd, Where will and power are one. Ask thou no more." Now 'gin the rueful wailings to be heard. Now am I come where many a plaining voice Smites on mine ear. Into a place I came Where light was silent all. Bellowing there groan'd A noise, as of a sea in tempest torn By warring winds. The stormy blast of Hell With restless fury drives the spirits on, Whirl'd round and dash'd amain with sore annoy. When they arrive before the ruinous sweep, There shrieks are heard, there lamentations, moans, And blasphemies 'gainst the good Power in Heaven. I understood, that to this torment sad The carnal sinners are condemn'd, in whom Reason by lust is sway'd. As, in large troops And multitudinous, when winter reigns, The starlings on their wings are borne abroad; So bears the tyrannous gust those evil souls. On this side and on that, above, below,

It drives them: hope of rest to solace them Is none, nor e'en of milder pang. As cranes, Chanting their dolorous notes, traverse the sky, Stretch'd out in long array; so I beheld Spirits, who came loud wailing, hurried on By their dire doom. Then I: "Instructor! who Are these, by the black air so scourged?" "The first 'Mong those, of whom thou question'st," he replied, "O'er many tongues was empress. She in vice Of luxury was so shameless, that she made Liking be lawful by promulged decree, To clear the blame she had herself incurr'd. This is Semiramis, of whom 'tis writ, That she succeeded Ninus her espoused; And held the land, which now the Soldan rules. The next in amorous fury slew herself, And to Sichaeus' ashes broke her faith: Then follows Cleopatra, lustful queen." There mark'd I Helen, for whose sake so long The time was fraught with evil; there the great Achilles, who with love fought to the end. Paris I saw, and Tristan; and beside, A thousand more he show'd me, and by name Pointed them out, whom love bereaved of life. When I had heard my sage instructor name Those dames and knights of antique days, o'erpower'd By pity, well - nigh in amaze my mind Was lost; and I began: "Bard! willingly I would address those two together coming, Which seem so light before the wind." He thus: "Note thou, when nearer they to us approach. Then by that love which carries them along, Entreat; and they will come." Soon as the wind Sway'd them towards us, I thus framed my speech: "O wearied spirits! come, and hold discourse With us, if by none else restrain'd. As doves By fond desire invited, on wide wings And firm, to their sweet nest returning home, Cleave the air, wafted by their will along; Thus issued, from that troop where Dido ranks, They, through the ill air speeding: with such force My cry prevail'd, by strong affection urged. "O gracious creature and benign! who go'st Visiting, through this element obscure, Us, who the world with bloody stain imbrued; If, for a friend, the King of all, we own'd, Our prayer to him should for thy peace arise, Since thou hast pity on our evil plight.

Of whatsoe'er to hear or to discourse It pleases thee, that will we hear, of that Freely with thee discourse, while e'er the wind, As now, is mute. The land,[1] that gave me birth, Is situate on the coast, where Po descends To rest in ocean with his sequent streams. "Love, that in gentle heart is quickly learnt, Entangled him by that fair form, from me Ta'en in such cruel sort, as grieves me still: Love, that denial takes from none beloved, Caught me with pleasing him so passing well, That, as thou seest, he yet deserts me not. Love brought us to one death: Caina[2] waits The soul, who spilt our life." Such were their words; At hearing which, downward I bent my looks, And held them there so long, that the bard cried: "What art thou pondering?" I in answer thus: "Alas! by what sweet thoughts, what fond desire Must they at length to that ill pass have reach'd!" Then turning, I to them my speech address'd, And thus began: "Francesca![3] your sad fate Even to tears my grief and pity moves. But tell me; in the time of your sweet sighs, By what, and how Love granted, that ye knew Your yet uncertain wishes?" She replied: "No greater grief than to remember days Of joy, when misery is at hand. That kens Thy learn'd instructor. Yet so eagerly If thou art bent to know the primal root, From whence our love gat being, I will do As one, who weeps and tells his tale. One day, For our delight we read of Lancelot,[4] How him love thrall'd. Alone we were, and no Suspicion near us. Oft - times by that reading Our eyes were drawn together, and the hue Fled from our alter'd cheek. But at one point Alone we fell. When of that smile we read, The wished smile so raptorously kiss'd By one so deep in love, then he, who ne'er From me shall separate, at once my lips All trembling kiss'd. The book and writer both Were love's purveyors. In its leaves that day We read no more." While thus one spirit spake, The other wail'd so sorely, that heart - struck I, through compassion fainting, seem'd not far From death, and like a corpse fell to the ground. Compiled and edited by Emma Trehane MA, PhD.

February 2017

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Squirrel

Eat for Health in South Kensington By Cynthia Pickard

Photograph © Kiru

The healthy food café trend is taking over our high streets. Having tested a few of them, I am now increasingly keen to seek out some more original dishes in this genre. I’m quite capable of slinging together a load of raw veg into a bowl myself and after a while have got over my initial enthusiasm for the discovery of mashed avocado on sourdough. So I was keen to try the all-day fast casual dining offerings at Squirrel in South Kensington and to find out if their thoughtfully researched, nutritionally balanced cuisine can compete within their highly themed Treehouse concept and if it will give me the exciting dining experience I’m looking for. Squirrel has been open since summer 2016. The eatery boasts forest features such as a ‘Fallen Oak’ coffee station, a bespoke re-fillable ‘Drinking Well’ and a 21-foot long oak tree service counter where customers can choose their dishes. The credentials of their seasonal ingredients cannot be questioned, Fair Trade, ethically sourced, free-range, organic, sustainably sourced, these are all the buzz words that we welcome and

Kiru

By Ione Bingley

loaked in black lacquer and nestled behind the Kings Road on quiet and picturesque Chelsea Green, you could be forgiven for overlooking the stylishly understated, neighbourhood Japanese, Kiru. Stepping into its surprisingly light and airy interior ones eyes are unavoidably drawn to a huge, blue mural of a smoky eyed Japanese girl that gives

the menus have been put together by an in-house nutritionist. But what we want to know is, it may be good for you but how does it taste? Also will they be able to compete in the midst of so many other delicious styles and nationalities of eatery in this area? Opening at 7am on weekdays makes this a great breakfast drop-in venue for commuters but we braved the crowds of enthusiastic diners at lunchtime. From the choice of punningly named salads and ‘grain bowls’, we chose a seasonal special of ‘Thai Me Up’ with prawns, red cabbage, red pepper, edamame beans, carrot, mint, toasted cashews and a bespoke Thai dressing which really held this mixture of raw ingredients together well. I wanted to test their avocado on

sourdough, this one came embellished with strips of smoked salmon, a creative touch but our favourite was ‘Guac ‘n’ Roll’ – on a bed of brown rice and chicken with cherry tomatoes, black beans, avocado and pickled red onion all mixed up in a lime jalapeno vinaigrette topped with baby spinach leaves, a very successful combination. The refreshing Glowing Squirrel Smoothie blends avocado, lemon, ginger and apple juice while the Super Squirrel is a sweeter choice, blueberries, bananas, acai, beetroot, chia and oats. Intrigued by the idea and subsequently impressed by it, a Turmeric Latte, made with almond milk and enhanced by ginger and pepper, makes a really fresh new alternative to coffee. We also tried out the bottled

the restaurant an edgy, modern mood well-suited to its contemporary cuisine. Seated next to the window, as is my preference to facilitate people watching both inside and out, we surveyed the beautifully illustrated and expansive cocktail list. However, being the beginning of the week and keen to stay off the sauce at least until Wednesday, we opted for an abstemious pot of jasmine tea. As we took our time over the menu, which was refreshingly different from your classic London Japanese, the tea arrived, beautifully presented and loose leaf, which, like bread quality, I always take as a good sign in any restaurant. With a rare offering of three different edamame bean variations on the menu, we decided to kick off proceedings with an unusual chili and garlic version. This was a good idea in theory, but the chili and garlic sauce made the pods a bit slimy and it went all over your fingers so I would say in this case, stick with what you know and go for the plain salt. While our first amuse bouche was somewhat disappointing, morale was raised again by the spicy miso soup that was, hands down, the most delicious miso I’ve tried. We then moved on to melt-inthe-mouth bite-sized spoonfuls of salmon with crispy seaweed, which were delicious, but definitely needed the umami sauce that came with them. For our final starter, we went for

crispy rice cubes with tuna tartare. This was proper Japanese comfort food, big crispy cubes of deep fried rice topped with soft, buttery tuna, utterly delicious. My date, a self-confessed meat lover, had never tried one of life’s truly great things, wagyu beef, so I ordered us a steak to share and the black cod for the mains. Cooked to perfection, sliced into meltingly delicious slivers of delectable, juicy steak and accompanied by three delightfully different dipping sauces, the wagyu went down an absolute treat. The black cod was also very good and came with an incredibly ingenious radish ‘brush’ used to coat the fillet in its tasty miso yaki dressing, then to be crunched down for a palate cleanser. The real star of the show for me was a mushroom and watercress side salad topped with generous shavings of black

Kambucha, too sweet for my taste. The bowls are huge, the smoothies are large and filling, there’s no danger of leaving Squirrel feeling the need for a chunk of gateau afterwards. The formula created here at Squirrel really seems to work. The venue is decorated with recycled wood and fun ephemera. There’s a wide variety of drinks and salads, soups and snacks all freshly made from scratch to eat in or take away, it may be doing you good, but don’t worry, it tastes good too. Squirrel: 11 Harrington Road, South Kensington, SW7 3ES www.wearesquirrel.com E: hello@WeAreSquirrel.com Opening Hours: Monday-Friday: 7am-9:30pm Saturday: 8am-9:30pm Sunday: 9am-9:30pm

truffle. Simple yet effective with classic flavours done in a clean, Japanese style. Top marks. Being in a Japanese restaurant we felt it would be downright irresponsible to not try at least one sushi dish so we opted for a traditional dragon roll that turned out to be good, but not mindblowing. And finally, though stuffed to the brim, we found space for a decidedly unjapanese, but sumptuously oozy, chocolate fondant and a boule of, definitely worth writing home about, handmade coconut sorbet. With a spacious interior, dependable food and a great bar, I’d recommend this one for a big, boozy dinner with friends. 2 Elystan St, Chelsea SW3 3NS T: 020 7584 9999 Tasting menu from £60

Photographs © Squirrel

Dining Out

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February 2017

Dining Out

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Photographs © Lancaster

Seedlip

It’s usually a lot of fun going out for Cocktails as it’s as much a concept as a range of drinks. In most people’s minds the word spells hotel lounge bars, or plush banquettes in well-appointed clubs, with only the likes of Del Boy thinking that a drink bearing a slice of fruit and a paper umbrella looks good in a pub. In

botanicals that would not be out of place in a more flavoursome gin, and this makes a very acceptable G&T substitute for a couple of rounds. The Lancaster serves it with a whole segment of pink grapefruit which also imparts a citrus edge. ‘Garden 108 & Elderflower Tonic’ very clean and refreshing, and showcasing the accompanying cucumber exceptionally well. The elderflower gives a sweet edge, but not cloyingly so. It would also go well at a garden party by the river, I thought. Now I just need a big country house with a river at the bottom of the garden. ‘Spice Sour’ served in a martini coupe, containing fresh lemon, white wine shrub and star

the 20s and 30s the moneyed folk who drank cocktails still dressed for dinner, and the idea of cocktails being something a bit special still exists. Cocktails have a varied history, from making a drink that society ladies would find less brutish, to escaping detection in Speakeasies during the Prohibition. Often brewed out in the woods, Prohibition-era alcohol was generally very rough drunk neat, so many fruity combinations were dreamt up that made things a bit more palatable. But what if you don’t want to get sozzled, but still want to join in the fun? The choice used to be just mineral water or Mocktails, essentially just a blend of fruit juices. That made things a bit boring if you didn’t drink alcohol, were the “designated driver” for the night, or just taking a break from drinking. Why not, thought Ben (proprietor of Seedlip) distill some of nature’s finest botanicals in a copper pot still and make a proper non-alcoholic spirit as a base for some new cocktails? Right now he has two principle offerings, ‘the Spice 94’ and the ‘Garden 108’. It was a nice treat for my system to start the evening off with 5 different drinks that even most doctors could recommend. Don’t write in, if I’m wrong I’ll buy you a quintuple brandy and we can see who feels best in the morning. The cast, in order of appearance were: ‘Spice 94 and Tonic’ containing

anise. The lemon hits first, followed by a warm and spicy finish. One of the best Seedlip combinations ‘Seedlip Garden & Apple Soda’ quite sharp, with a semi-sour, almost cranberry edge to the raspberry. Too little of the intriguing lemon curd component seems like a missed opportunity. ‘Seedlip Garden & Apple Soda’ a bit light to qualify as a cocktail for me, but an undoubted thirst quencher. Very much a summer day drink on the terrace. I`d better make it a big country house with a terrace, as well as a river.

at the Lancaster London By David Hughes Non Alcoholic cocktails? Make mine a double!

The Food of Love

Island Grill’s Romantic Valentine Feast By Cynthia Pickard

r the love of food? Either way if you want to treat your Valentine to a night to remember on the most romantic day of the year, Lancaster London’s nine-course Valentine’s tasting menu would be a great way to set the evening on the right track. With their philosophy of using sustainable, seasonal and, where possible, locally sourced ingredients, the hotel’s award-winning Island Grill restaurant will be offering all you lovers a sequence of nine exquisite sharing dishes. The seductive menu consisting of three starters, three mains and three coquettish desserts offers the perfect opportunity to share a selection of intriguing dishes with your Valentine. These include Lancaster London’s excellent signature smoked salmon dotted with avocado mousse, beetroot and toasted sourdough. A zingy Gressingham duck salad will be followed by pan-fried sea bream, potato gnocchi in a beautiful sauce of confit tomato, watercress and keta salmon salad. There’s roast fillet of pork and a surprise savoury tart. To finish, some suitably pink decadent desserts will include dark chocolate fondant with Baileys’ Chantilly cream and raspberry sorbet; and strawberry panna cotta with fresh berry compote, black pepper tuile and candied rose petals. Look out too for the lesser-known names on the English cheese board; Waterloo, Olde Sussex and Kentish Blue. The food menu will be accompanied by speciality cocktails such as the Love Potion Martini, Pomegranate Juice, Strawberry Vodka & Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur or how about a Passion-fruit Martini? Or with your mains, try the Australian Little Yering Pinot Noir with blackcurrant hints or carry on the pink theme with a Provençal

Rosé. The nine-course menu will be available from 10-14 February 2017 priced at £38 per person including a complimentary drink on arrival. What’s more, the hotel will be offering a surprise gift for diners to take home! Elsewhere in the hotel, hearts will be fluttering in the Lounge Bar as loved-up guests settle down to enjoy the HeART Afternoon Tea. This culinary artwork will be delivered to your table sealed in a charming case with an array of sweet and savoury treats including aphrodisiac oysters with salmon caviar, exquisite heart-shaped white chocolate and strawberry macaroons, and Love You honey éclairs. The HeART Afternoon Tea will be available from 10-14 February 2017, starting from £40 per person. In Lancaster’s luxury Nipa Thai restaurant, guests who choose to enjoy the Set Menu of truly authentic Thai cuisine on Valentine’s Day will be treated to a complimentary glass of pink bubbly. They will experience an exotic dinner from the team who have once again been awarded the Thai Select Premium Award. Up to you to decide if any of these represent the love of food or the food of love! Lancaster London, Lancaster Terrace, London W2 2TY Reservations on 020 7551 6000 or visit www.lancasterlondon.com

February 2017

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February 2017

Fashion & Beauty

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UTLER AND GROSS have always been renowned for celebrating vision and bringing new and exciting designs to their clients from the discreet store in Knightsbridge Green that first opened back in 1971. To celebrate the start of a new year, and in association with market-leading lens manufacturer Essilor, they continue to bring innovation to the fore with the launch of Tailor-Made Lenses. Over the last 50 years, the technology behind ophthalmic lens designs has greatly improved, yet the way in which patients' lenses are fitted and measured has remained virtually the same

Photographs © Cutler & Gross

Peekaboo From Knightsbridge

With cutting-edge digital dispensing technology, Cutler and Gross now deliver an interactive service unique to each client, whereby personalised lenses are made to measure your exact eye size, shape and movement. Few brands attract such fierce loyalty and a visit to the Knightsbridge flagship is always an experience. The newly fitted store showcases over 2,000 frames in an array of vibrant colours, all individually handcrafted in the finest Italian acetates and high-grade metals featuring handrivetted hinges. For a more exclusive purchase, selected classic Cutler and Gross designs also shine in beautiful buffalo horn, a limited collection of 40 unique

pieces so you can be assured of a truly personal frame. If you can't find the perfect colour match from their extensive offer, you can select from over 200 acetates and 1,200 designs to create your very own frame. And with the Cutler and Gross personalisation service, you can add yet another level of luxury to your accessory with an engraving on the inner temple so your glasses ooze elegance and individuality. To make an appointment for an eye examination you can contact the store directly or via the Cutler and Gross website, where you can also browse the collection from the comfort of your home.

With a day or two’s notice the team will prepare a selection ready for you to try upon arrival at the store.

excite the senses of the most discerning perfume buyers. It includes brands such as Thomas Kosmala, Liquides Imaginaires and Dead of Night as well as the more well known houses such as Dolce Gabbana and Elie Saab and not to forget the exquisitely bottled Bond No 9 range that has named its perfumes after New York streets and districts such as Park Avenue South, Madison Avenue and Soho. Of course, the cost reflects the venue

and prices are upwards of £50 and can be much more. But it’s wise to remember that the thought behind the gift will be appreciated for far longer than the gift itself especially when the exquisite bottle will be left on display long into the future.

16 Knightsbridge Green London SW1X 7QL T: 020 7581 2250 shop@cutlerandgross.com/cutlerandgross.com

Photographs © Bond No 9

For Valentine’s Day by Jayne Beaumont

re you racking your brain to think of something different and meaningful for this special day? A mere suggestion of showing you ‘like’ someone or a full expression of ‘love’? Perfume is such an obvious choice but nowadays it can be blended with so many unusual and beautiful hues as well as being packaged in such glorious vessels that will be kept long after the perfume is used. Tucked away on the 6th floor of Harrods is the Salon de Parfums. If you don’t know it, you should visit simply to be intoxicated with heavenly scents from the moment you step out of the lift. It is a luxurious and intimate sanctuary of scent providing the finest and rarest of fragrances or a bespoke scent of your choice. Here you can find truly exceptional perfumes, creams and candles for everyone of every age and sex. There is a fragrance gallery that has scents chosen for their ability to

Salon de Parfums, 6th Floor, Harrods, Brompton Road, SW1X 7XL and online.

February 2017

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Fashion & Beauty 80s Wham!

Photograph © Patrick Mc Cormick

hat I most admire about fashion trend revivals is their perfect timing. Only emerging confidently in the knowledge the vast majority of those original clothes from the first wave have been safely disposed of. This smooth tactic ensures no-one has anything worthwhile left to salvage from the back of the wardrobe and has to begin again. Those wide slouchy trousers and Joan Collins’ jackets that hung sadly for decades have long since departed for the local charity store. If it’s back to the 80s, it’s back to the shops. No fashion era has been so openly derided and mocked like the 80s. Was it for the diamante Dynasty excess, the circus of glam metal bands with their eye liner and bouffant mullet hair cuts or was it for the tasteless audacity of it all? Back here in 2017, again we have a republican celebrity President of America and yet another woman Prime Minister both burdened with the mandate of making their countries great again. Yes, it’s time to shake off the tiresome taupes and repressed neutrals and again embrace the 80s look with kitschy nostalgia and baggy trousers. The much maligned but colourful, explosive 80s happened as a reaction to

the bleakness of the late 70s, hailing a new beginning and fresh expectations. Dayglow lycra and spandex ruled as aerobic workshops pioneered by Jane Fonda flourished. Movies like Fame, Flashdance and Dirty Dancing heralded this energised era together with groundbreaking science fiction movies like Bladerunner and Back to the Future. Talking Heads cried Stop Making Sense, Culture Club put androgyny firmly on stage whilst Michael Jackson thrilled in red leather and the Eurythmics sang sweetly of their dreams. Precarious times tip folk back to the church and designers are no different, this season they are embracing faith and its powerful iconography. Back then it was Madonna rattling her rosary beads and the Wag Club celebrating acid house with Virgin Mary sweatshirts. This season’s offerings can be sized up as Back to the Future with a heady time-travelling mix of mystical and unearthly; celestial sophistication if you will. Fashion designers are serially criticized for re-inventing ideas from the past, but they borrow and then create their own silhouettes and lines. This time it’s 80s inspiration but with 2017 deconstructed layering, cuts on the bias, paneling and uneven hems resulting in slanting asymmetry. Sleeves and skirts are slit and slashed, waists are corseted, folded over or cinched with wide belts. Major signature looks for clothes are big, boxy David Byrne size jackets, the boudoir is given an airing in floppy

pyjamas, back to the office for men’s shirting and banker pinstripes. Think Prince with billowing purple rain parkas, populist blue collar workwear boiler suits and jazzed-up denim in contrast to ruffles and chiffon layers. Space age metallic is here, kitschy acid yellow, flat out fuchsia and finally ‘Be prepared’ khaki for the unexpected and calmer palette. For the feet it’s 80s again with cone heels, backless mules and (horror of horrors) white ankle boots; kitten heels are back too but 2017 kicks in with platform loafers and Trump golden

sports shoes. Accessory-wise we have hugely practical handbags the size of a man’s wallet, clinking crucifixes and voluminous, asymmetric earrings; the bigger and crazier the better. So, time to unwind the bunting, uncork the Prosecco and celebrate this brand old/new era with its timeless images and themes, jump back to the 80s then leap forwards into 2017 and gear up with broad shoulders and a grin to match: it may be a rocky ride but never dull. Lynne McGowan

BEAUTY TIPS from the Beauty Editor For an extra special Valentine’s look! • Add 2 drops of Rosemary essential oil to a bowl of warm water. Soak a flannel in it and lay it over your face for a few minutes. So refreshing! • Pinch your eyebrows between a finger and your thumb working from the nose outwards and then pinch your jawline working from the centre upwards. Repeat several times. Great for bringing a glow to your face. • Rub, in a circular motion, the rims and lobes of your ears with your thumb and forefinger. Brings even more of glow! • Greatly enhance your moisturiser by adding a squeeze or few drops of the Bach Rescue Remedy. • Lastly, blend concealer under your eyes, apply a dash of blusher to your cheeks, sweep mascara over your lashes, shine your lips with gloss and you’re ready to go!!!

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Fashion & Beauty FA S H I O N DIARY Fashion Week Calendar FebruarySeptember 2017 The ‘Big Four’ fashion weeks – New York, London, Milan and Paris – may take the lion’s share of press coverage, but did you know there are a whole host of fashion weeks held around the world? Places like Berlin, Prague and Tokyo are making their mark, and deservedly so; meanwhile, the public can actually buy tickets to selected events in Vancouver and Copenhagen, granting privileged access to these cities’ trendsetters. Here’s where your fashion radar should be tuned for the next six months…

February

17th-21st February London Fashion Week londonfashionweek.co.uk @LondonFashionWk 23rd-26th February London Fashion Week Festival londonfashionweekfestival.com @LFW_Festival 22nd-28th February Milan Fashion Week fashionweekonline.com/milan @cameramoda 28th February – 8th March Paris Fashion Week modeaparis.com/en - @FFCouture

March 1st-19th March Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival vamff.com.au - @VAMFF 3rd-8th March Toronto Men’s Fashion Week tomfw.com - @TOM_FW 9th-12th March ModaLisboa, Lisbon modalisboa.pt - @modalisboa 9th-14th March Toronto Women’s Fashion Week tw-fw.com - @TW__FW

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk @BELFASHIONWEEK 23rd-26th March Lviv Fashion Week, Ukraine lvivfashionweek.com - @LvivFW 23rd March-1st April Western Canada Fashion Week, Edmonton westerncanadafashionweek.com @WCFashionWeek 25th-26th March Vancouver Kids Fashion Week vancouverkidsfashionweek.com @VFWKIDSHOW 27th March-1st April Hera Seoul Fashion Week seoulfashionweek.org #SeoulFashionWeek 28th March-4th April (plus 6th-8th April for Luxury Designer Pop-up) South Africa Fashion Week, Cape Town safashionweek.co.za - @safashionweek

20th-27th May Malta Fashion Week, Valletta fashionweek.com.mt - @MaltaFashion

18th-26th March Cracow Fashion Week, Krakow cracowfashionweek.com @CracowFashionW

June

16th-21st February Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Madrid ifema.es/mercedesbenzfwm_06 @MBFWMadrid

23rd-25th March Reykjavik Fashion Festival, Iceland rff.is - @RFF_IS 23rd-26th March West Coast Cooler Fashion Week, Belfast belfastfashionweek.com

10th-13th July New York Men’s Fashion Week cfda.com #NYFWMENS

August 9th-11th August Copenhagen Fashion Week copenhagenfashionweek.com - @CPHFW

7th-15th September New York Fashion Week nyfw.com @nyfw

17th-24th March Mercedes Benz Prague Fashion Week mbpfw.com/en - @MBPFW_OFFICIAL

20th-26th March Vancouver Fashion Week vanfashionweek.com - @VanFashionWeek

4th-7th July Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Berlin mbfashionweek.com/berlin @MBFWB

7th-13th April Shanghai Fashion Week shanghaifashionweek.com @Shanghai_FW

2nd-11th February (and pop-up store until 25th February) Mode Suisse Edition 11, Zurich modesuisse.com - @Mode_Suisse

9th-16th February New York Fashion Week nyfw.com - @nyfw

2nd-6th July Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week modeaparis.com - @FFCouture

September

17th-23rd March Shenzhen Fashion Week, China mbfashionweek.com/designers/fashionshenzhen - #szfw

7th-8th February Oslo Runway oslorunway.no - #oslorunway

Date TBC Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Amsterdam fashionweek.nl/en - @fashionweeknl

April

1st-5th February Lakmé Fashion Week, Mumbai lakmefashionweek.co.in @LakmeFashionWk

18th-26th March iD Dunedin Fashion Week, New Zealand idfashion.co.nz - @iDfashionwk 20th-25th March Amazon Fashion Week, Tokyo amazonfashionweektokyo.com/en @AmazonFWT

July

16th-20th August Lakmé Fashion Week, Mumbai lakmefashionweek.co.in @LakmeFashionWk

Ends 3rd February Copenhagen Fashion Week copenhagenfashionweek.com - @CPHFW

6th-11th February Stockholm Fashion Week fashionweek.se - @fwstockholm

Fashionclash Festival, Maastricht fashionclash.nl - @FASHIONCLASH1

31st March-2nd April Warsaw Fashion Week warsawfashionweek.eu #WarsawFashionWeek

12th-17th March Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia, Moscow mercedesbenzfashionweek.ru/en @MBFWR

4th-8th February Ukrainian Fashion Week, Kiev fashionweek.ua/en #UkrainianFashionWeek

May 14th-19th May Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Sydney mbfashionweek.com/australia 16th-20th May Arab Fashion Week, Dubai arabfashionweek.org - @arabfashionweek

4th-7th June Graduate Fashion Week, London graduatefashionweek.com @OfficialGFW 9th-12th June London Fashion Week Men’s londonfashionweekmens.com #LFWMENS 13th-16th June Pitti Immagine Uomo, Florence pittimmagine.com @Pitti_Immagine 21st-25th June Paris Men’s Fashion Week modeaparis.com - @FFCouture 17th-20th June Milan Fashion Week Men’s milanomodauomo.it/en @cameramoda 29th June-2nd July

11th-17th September Vienna Fashion Week mqvfw.com @FashionWeekVie 15th-19th September London Fashion Week londonfashionweek.co.uk @LondonFashionWk 17th-24th September Mercedes Benz Prague Fashion Week mbpfw.com/en @MBPFW_OFFICIAL 18th-24th September Vancouver Fashion Week vanfashionweek.com @VanFashionWeek 20th-27th September Milan Fashion Week milanomodadonna.it/en @cameramoda 22nd-29th September Western Canada Fashion Week, Edmonton westerncanadafashionweek.com @WCFashionWeek 23rd-24th September Vancouver Kids Fashion Week vancouverkidsfashionweek.com @VFWKIDSHOW 26th-29th September Lviv Fashion Week, Ukraine lvivfashionweek.com @LvivFW 28 September-5 October Paris Fashion Week modeaparis.com @FFCouture Compiled By Polly Allen

February 2017

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EV EN TS Selling, letting, management, refurbishment, surveying and valuation

B RO M P TO N , C H E L S E A , E A R L S C O U RT, H O L L A N D PA R K , N O RT H & S O U T H K E N S I N G TO N , K N I G H T S B R I D G E , N OT T I N G H I L L

February-March 2017

DANCE

9th February-12th February Works On Paper Art Fair. Royal Geographical Society. A large selection of pictures on sale presented by leading dealers in Early, Modern and Contemporary Art. Fair includes a loan exhibition of 18th and 19th century watercolours from Eton College Collections. Lectures by Art world Celebrities will take place during the Fair. Royal Geographical Society. Exhibition Road. London. SW7 2QJ. Book tickets online: worksonpaperfair.com T: 01798 215 007 18th-19th February

The London CRUISE Show Olympia Meet the cruise companies, quiz a whole host of cruise experts, and immerse yourself in every type of cruise travel, from adventures and expeditions to the luxury surroundings of vast liners. Olympia, W14 8UX cruisingshow.com @cruiseshow 11th February- 12th March Book Illustration Competition Longlist 2017: Mansfield Park The House of Illustration Head to the South Gallery at the House of Illustration to see the best new book cover designs for Jane Austen's classic novel, Mansfield Park. Part of an annual competition organised in conjunction with The Folio Society. 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross, N1C 4BH 020 3696 2020 houseofillustration.org.uk @illustrationHQ 16th February-14th May Eduardo Paolozzi Whitechapel Gallery A huge retrospective devoted to the Godfather of Pop Art. The 250 works on show will demonstrate his talent in different media, including sculptures, textiles, paintings, collages and screenprints.

RHS

LONDON

Ends 18th February Tango Fire The Peacock Theatre If you're still mourning the series finale of Strictly Come Dancing, treat yourself to an Argentine tango performance from some of the world’s best tango dancers. Portugal Street, Holborn, WC2A 2HT 020 7863 8222 sadlerswells.com @sadlers_wells 15th-26th February Flamenco Festival London Sadler’s Wells The annual Flamenco Festival returns to Sadler's Wells, with seven jaw-dropping shows. Rosebery Avenue, EC1R 4TN 020 7863 8000 sadlerswells.com @sadlers_wells 15th February-14th March The Sleeping Beauty The Royal Opera House After a Christmas break, the Royal Ballet's stunning performance of The Sleeping Beauty returns to the Royal Opera House. Bow Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 9DD 020 7304 4000 roh.org.uk @royaloperahouse

18th-19th February Second Hand Dance: Getting Dressed Lilian Baylis Studio Collaborating with her fellow dancers, artists and members of the public, Rosie Haefford choreographs a performance inspired by the clothes we wear. Suitable for families, and children aged 4+. Rosebery Avenue, EC1R 4TN 020 7863 8000 sadlerswells.com @sadlers_wells 21st-22nd February DeNada Dance: Ham & Passion Wilton's Music Hall A provocative dance show, set in 1930s-1950s Spain. Choreographed by Carlos Pons Guerra, previously nominated for the 2015 Critics' Circle National Dance Awards. Grace’s Alley, off Ensign Street and Cable Street, E1 8JB 020 7702 2789 wiltons.org.uk @wiltonmusichall 21st February-11th March Mother Africa: KhayelitshaMy Home The Peacock Theatre Celebrated dance group Mother Africa brings its latest dynamic show to the Peacock, combining acrobatics and live music. Portugal Street, Holborn, WC2A 2HT

020 7863 8222 sadlerswells.com @sadlers_wells Ends 25th February Resolution 2017 The Place Start your year by taking in a range of new and exciting dance shows from upand-coming troupes. You saw them here first. 17 Duke’s Road, WC1H 9PY 020 7121 1100 theplace.org.uk @ThePlaceLondon EXHIBITIONS

SHOWS

Late Mon 13 Feb 6–9pm

RHS Early Spring Plant Fair Late Mon 13 Feb, 6–9pm Tue 14–Wed 15 Feb, 10am–5pm

Royal Horticultural Halls St James’s Park London Victoria Public £6 (advance) / £9 (on door), RHS Member £5, Late £5 to all

rhs.org.uk/londonshows

RHS Registered Charity No: 222879/SC038262

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HEAR, HEAR Book your tour today

Emma Hamilton at the Maritime Museum Greenwich

royalacademy.org.uk @RoyalAcademy Ends 26th February Shaping Ceramics Jewish Museum From Lucy Rie to Edward de Waal, explore 13 pioneering Jewish ceramicists whose heritage has shaped their work. Spanning 80 years of ceramic art. Raymond Burton House, 129 -131 Albert Street, NW1 7NB 020 7284 7384 jewishmuseum.org.uk/ceramics @JewishMuseumLDN Ends 26th February South African Art British Museum Encompassing 100,000 years of art, from some of the world's oldest art objects, through the pre-colonial and the colonial period and apartheid, to present day artworks. Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG 020 7323 8355 britishmuseum.org - @britishmuseum Ends 26th February You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970 V&A 25th February - 4th June This major exhibition focuses on the America After the Fall: Painting in the significance and impact of the late 1960s, 1930s through key pieces of music like A Royal Academy An eclectic mix of famous paintings from Change is gonna Come, the Paris protest in May 1968, the Woodstock Festival of a transformative decade in American 1969 and objects relating to fashion, film, history. One highlight is Grant Wood's design and politics. iconic American Gothic, which has never Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL been displayed beyond the USA. 020 784 2000 Burlington House, Piccadilly, vam.ac.uk @V_and_A W1J 0BD 020 7300 8000 77-82 Whitechapel High St, E1 7QX 020 7522 7888 whitechapelgallery.org @_TheWhitechapel 22nd February-7th May Temporarily Accessioned: Freudâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Coat Revisited Freud Museum Artist and researcher Paul Coldwell exhibits at the Freud Museum for the second time, showing mixed media pieces inspired by Freud's exile from Vienna in 1938 and his experience of moving to London. 20 Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead, NW3 5SX 020 7435 2002 freud.org.uk - @FreudMusLondon 23rd February-25th June Electricity: The Spark of Life Wellcome Collection The story of electricity in all its guises, from Frankensteinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s monster to the use of electrotherapy. 183 Euston Road, NW1 2BE 020 7611 2222 wellcomecollection.org @ExploreWellcome

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Events Ends 28th February Painters' Painters Saatchi Gallery An all-male line-up of contemporary painting stars, including Dexter Dalwood and Raffi Kalenderian. Duke of York's HQ, King’s Road, SW3 4RY 020 7811 3070 saatchigallery.com @saatchi_gallery Ends 1st March Maps and the 20th Century: Drawing the Line British Library Learn about cartography’s far-reaching use in everyday life; see a selection of Nazi war propaganda and previously unseen Ministry of Defence educational charts. 96 Euston Road, NW1 2DB 020 7412 7332 bl.uk - @britishlibrary 1st March- 3rd September The Art of the Brick South Bank, Upper Ground Following a successful show in 2014 at the Old Truman Brewery, LEGO® artist Nathan Sawaya returns to London, this time with DC Comics as his theme. Sawaya has used almost 2,000,000 LEGO bricks to create sculptures of classic DC figures, such as Batman, Wonder Woman and The Joker. Corner of Upper Ground and Cornwall

Paul Nash Tate Britain

Road, SE1 9PP 033 3247 0620 aotbdc.co.uk @artofthebrickdc

WESTMINSTER ABBEY INSTITUTE

SPRING 2017 EVENTS: INTEGRITY To Book (free): www.westminster-abbey.org/institute

www.westminster-abbey.org

4th March Sigmar Polke: Pour Paintings on Paper Michael Werner Gallery Sigmar Polke spent roughly 15 years working on his Pour Paintings, largescale works using iridescent paint and powdered mica. See them up close and enjoy the work of this important postwar artist. 22 Upper Brook St, Mayfair, W1K 7PZ 020 7495 6855 michaelwerner.com @_MichaelWerner_ Ends 5th March Paul Nash Tate Britain The most comprehensive exhibition of the work of the Official War Artist of 1917, including landscapes of the English countryside, early drawings, surrealistic paintings and his works on the horrors of war. Millbank, SW1P 4RG 020 7887 8888 tate.org.uk/visit/tate-britain @Tate 9th March-18th June The American Dream: Pop to the Present British Museum An all-encompassing tour of American art over the last 60 years. Featuring artists such as Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, Wayne Thiebaud and Kara Walker. Great Russell St, WC1B 3DG 020 7323 8181 britishmuseum.org @britishmuseum Ends 12th March

Undressed: A Brief History V&A The evolution of underwear design from the 18th century to the present day, with over 200 examples highlighting innovation, fashion and luxury. Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL 020 784 2000 vam.ac.uk @V_and_A Ends 12th March Hair by Sam McKnight Embankment Galleries Trace hairstylist Sam McKnight’s 40-year career through photographs, magazines, and original catwalk outfits from Westwood and Chanel, as well as commissioned wigs and hairpieces. Somerset House, Strand, WC2R 1LA 020 7845 4600 somersethouse.org.uk @SomersetHouse 16th-26th March LCF School of Media and Communication Degree Show London College of Fashion at House of Vans Students from LCF’s Media and Communication department present their graduate degree show. Arches, 228-232 Station Approach Road, SE1 8SW 020 7514 6000 events.arts.ac.uk @LCFLondon Ends 19th March Gavin Turk: Who What When Where How and Why

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Looking for some inspiration in the year ahead? J oin the British Library and a host of contemporary writers and make 2017 memorable with our Winter season of literature events:

Thu 9 Feb Mon 13 Feb Mon 20 Feb Thu 23 Feb Sat 25 Feb Mon 6 Mar Tue 21 Mar Thu 23 Mar Fri 24 Mar Tue 28 Mar Thu 30 Mar

Carol Ann Duffy and Guests The Writer Abroad The W G Sebald Lecture: Michael Longley Julian Mitchell in Conversation with Polly Toynbee Japan Now The Art of Non Fiction Poetic Places on World Poetry Day The Eccles British Library Writer’s Award Festival On Being Archived: Will Self, Hanif Kureishi and Guests Encore: The Phenomenon of the Second Novel The Writer in the Library

Newport Street Gallery This is Gavin Turk's first major solo exhibition in fifteen years, featuring 70 artworks cherry-picked from his 26-year career. A must-see for fans of conceptual art. Newport Street, SE11 6AJ 020 3141 9320 newportstreetgallery.com @NPSGallery Ends 19th March Retracing Ribeiro Burgh House A look at the work of Indian-born painter Lancelot Ribeiro, who studied at St. Martin’s College and lived in Hampstead. New End Square, NW3 1LT 020 7431 0144 burghhouse.org.uk @BurghHouse1704 Ends 26th March Australia's Impressionists National Gallery Charles Conder, Tom Roberts, John Russell and Arthur Streeton are four of Australia's best-known Impressionist artists, yet this is the first time their work has dominated a UK exhibition, and many of the paintings on show have never been seen in the UK before. Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN 020 7747 2885 nationalgallery.org.uk @nationalgallery

Ends 26th March Handel’s Performers Foundling Museum Celebrating the best-known performers of Handel’s music in the 18th century, including a soprano Anna Maria Strada and musician John Hebden. 40 Brunswick Square, WC1N 1AZ 020 7841 3600 foundlingmuseum.org.uk @foundlingmuseum Ends 2nd April Helen Johnson: Warm Ties ICA Solo exhibition from the Australian artist, exploring connections between Britain and Australia via large-scale paintings. The Mall, SW1Y 5AH 020 7930 3647 ica.org.uk @ICALondon Ends 2nd April Robert Rauschenberg Tate Modern Preceding Warhol and Emin, Rauschenberg was the original Pop artist. Using performance, found objects, newspapers, mass, popular and trash imagery, he produced witty, thoughtprovoking paintings and large-scale pop art prints exploring fame and culture.

For details and to book visit

www.bl.uk/literature-events

Bankside, SE1 9TG 020 7887 8888 tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern @Tate Ends 2nd April Luc Tuymans: Glasses National Portrait Gallery Selected Tuymans portraits, featuring sitters wearing glasses. Each piece has been chosen from a larger exhibition at Museum aan de Stroom in Antwerp. St. Martin’s Place, WC2H 0HE 020 7306 0055 npg.org.uk @NPGLondon Ends 17th April The Remarkable Life Story of Emma Hamilton National Maritime Museum Hamilton was an international beauty, best known for being Lord Nelson’s mistress, who went from rags to riches and back again. View over 200 objects connected to her, such as paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Sir Thomas Lawrence, and letters between Hamilton and her lovers. Greenwich, SE10 9NF 020 8312 6565 rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum @nmmgreenwich Ends 19th May Jo Brocklehurst:

Nobodies and Somebodies The House of Illustration Jo Brocklehurst's raw illustrations of youth and club culture are brought to life. The show is co-curated by Brocklehurst's muse, Isabelle Bricknall. 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross, N1C 4BH 020 3696 2020 houseofillustration.org.uk @illustrationHQ FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHY 9th February-24th March Enrique Metinides Michael Hoppen Gallery Metinides was a child prodigy of photography in his native Mexico City, becoming an assistant to a crime photographer when he was just 13 years old. See his remarkable reportage here. 3 Jubilee Place, SW3 3TD 020 7352 3649 michaelhoppengallery.com @michaelhoppen1 10th February-24th March Roger Ballen: The Theatre of Apparitions Hamiltons Gallery Inspired by pictures he found in an abandoned women’s prison, Ballen has created a multi-layered group of images.

February 2017

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Award winning RHS Chelsea Flower Show designers will be making an appearance at this year’s RHS Early Spring Plant Fair to talk about their exciting plans for this year’s show. One of the designers will be RHS Gold Medal Winning Designer Kate Gould. Kate was last at the show in 2014 when she created a Show Garden alongside gardening royalty Alan Titchmarsh. With three RHS Gold Medals under her belt, Kate returns this year with her Fresh Garden; City living inspired by the increased need for green space in contemporary urban living environments. Her design will demonstrate how urban apartment blocks synonymous with city living can easily be transformed with the addition of attractive useable green spaces. Kate will be taking part in a Q&A session at the show on Tuesday 14 February at 2pm. Other awardwinning designers attending the show over the two days will include Andrew Wilson, Gavin McWilliam, Lee Bestall, Charlotte Harris and Ruth Wilmott.

RHS London Botanical Art Show, 24-25 February The RHS London Botanical Art Show

celebrates RHS Lindley Library’s unrivalled collection of botanical art and champions the skills of some of the world’s finest botanical artists. Scientific accuracy is key to botanical illustration and artists painstakingly work to achieve the highest level of detail and colour to accurately depict the characteristics of their chosen plant species in an aesthetic composition. Each piece of artwork takes an average of 60-70 hours to complete and that’s not including the lengths some of the botanical artists go to ensure they find and accurately depict their chosen specimen. Botanical Artist, Hideko Kamoshita who is showing his work at RHS London Botanical Art Show for the first time this year climbed Japan’s Mount Fuji on numerous occasions with a set of sketch books, cameras and measuring devices, in order to accurately capture Cirsium Purpuratum in its natural setting. His finished piece will be on display alongside some of the world’s finest botanical artists and the Royal Horticultural Society’s unrivalled collection of botanical art. A Preview evening will be held on 23rd February giving art enthusiasts the chance to enjoy the previously unseen work on display with a free glass of wine. The evening will also be hosting an exclusive private screening of a new film The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism, ahead of its release on 21st March.

RHS

SHOWS

Preview Thu 23 Feb 6–9pm

RHS Botanical Art Show Preview Thu 23 Feb, 6–9pm Fri 24–Sat 25 Feb, 10am–5pm

Royal Horticultural Halls St James’s Park London Victoria Free Entry, Preview £5 to all

rhs.org.uk/londonshows

RHS Registered Charity No: 222879/SC038262

RHS Chelsea Flower Show Designers to make appearance at RHS London Early Spring Plant Fair, 14-15 February

LONDON

50 Princes Gate, Exhibition Road, SW7 2PH 020 7596 4000 goethe.de @GI_London1 24th February- 8th April Jimmy Nelson: Before They Part II Atlas Gallery More than 30 of Nelson’s new works will be displayed. His photojournalism speciality is documenting tribes around the world, including those in French Polynesia and China. 49 Dorset Street, W1U 7NF 020 7224 4192 atlasgallery.com @ATLASGallery Ends 26th February Malick Sidibé: The Eye of Modern Mali Somerset House 16th February 45 of the late photographer's images of The Little Mermaid, youth culture in Mali during the 1960s Presented by Electric Pedals and 70s. The gallery experience includes Southbank Centre a curated playlist reflecting nightclub A free screening of Disney’s classic film, music at the time. with a healthy twist: the audience must Strand, WC2R 1LA pedal static bicycles to keep the film 020 7845 4600 projection running throughout. Dress somersethouse.org.uk code: sea-themed costumes. @SomersetHouse Upper Ground, London SE1 9PX Ends 28th February 0207 960 4200 The Making of the Design Museum southbankcentre.co.uk @southbankcentre Design Museum Koto Bolofo captures 15 days in the Design Museum’s new home, during 16th-19th February its transformation from former 10th BFI Future Film Festival Commonwealth Institute to cultural BFI Southbank hub. Showcasing the work of young 224-238 Kensington High St, filmmakers aged 16-25, alongside Kensington, W8 6AG a schedule of networking events, 020 3862 5900 masterclasses and hands-on clinic sessions. Free entry on the first day of the designmuseum.org @DesignMuseum festival. 3rd March-11th June Belvedere Road, South Bank, Deutsche Börse Photography SE1 8XT Foundation Prize 020 7928 3232 The Photographers’ Gallery bfi.org.uk @bfi Photographers from across the world compete for a £30,000 prize, awarded 21st February-18th March to the best contemporary work or Ruud van Empel exhibition of the past year. Beetles + Huxley 16-18 Ramillies St, W1F 7LW The Dutch contemporary photographer 020 7087 9300 is profiled for the second time at Beetles thephotographersgallery.org.uk + Huxley. His work, using digital @tpgallery manipulation and referencing Dutch Old Masters, is even more engaging up 3rd March-11th June close. Roger Mayne 3-5 Swallow Street, W1B 4DE The Photographers’ Gallery 020 7434 4319 The first retrospective of British beetlesandhuxley.com @Beetleshuxley photographer Roger Mayne (19292014) since 1999, featuring images of 22nd February London, Sheffield and Nottingham, Screening: Bagdad Cafe plus his installation piece, The British at (Out of Rosenheim) Leisure. Goethe-Institut This German film was an unexpected hit 16-18 Ramillies St, W1F 7LW 020 7087 9300 on its release 30 years ago. Find out why thephotographersgallery.org.uk the story of a Bavarian housewife stuck @tpgallery in an American roadside cafe has such broad appeal. He blends drawing and photography for an end result resembling cave paintings. 13 Carlos Place, W1K 2EU 020 7499 9493 hamiltonsgallery.com @HamiltonsGall 14th February-30th April Secret Cinema: Moulin Rouge Location TBC Secret Cinema returns with screenings of Baz Luhrman’s Moulin Rouge, to be shown at an undisclosed London location. Guests will receive dress code instructions and venue details after booking. Venue TBC, within Zone 2. 020 7739 6055 secretcinema.org @secretcinema

020 7738 2348

February 2017

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

Events HHHH “TANGO AT ITS SEXIEST”

Daily Telegraph

GERMAN CORNEJO’S

Image © Ione Bingley

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk

Flamenco Festival London

“A sizzling, sensual taste of the real thing” Evening Standard

15 - 26 Feb

’s ntine Vale how at s Day 0pm 7.3

31 Jan - 18 Feb

Ends 31st March Martin Parr: Swans, Gloves, Roses and Pancakes Tower Bridge This exhibition shows photographer Martin Parr is still at the top of his game, with snapshots behind the scenes at some of London's strangest events, such as the Gloves Ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice. Tower Bridge Road, SE1 2UP 020 7403 3761 towerbridge.org.uk @TowerBridge Ends 7th May The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection Tate Modern Elton John has been a passionate collector of photography for many years. Now the public has the chance to see a selection of his 1920s-1950s prints, from the likes of Man Ray and Margaret Bourke-White. Bankside, SE1 9TG 020 7887 8888 tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern @Tate Ends 28th August Edmund Clark: War of Terror Imperial War Museum Blending photographs, videos and documents, Clark demystifies the War on Terror and exposes the realities of

Sadler’s Wells Theatre sadlerswells.com 020 7863 8000 Angel

020 7863 8222 peacocktheatre.com Guantanamo Bay, control orders (a form of house arrest) and prisons such as Abu Salim in Libya. Lambeth Road, SE1 6HZ 020 7416 5000 iwm.org.uk @I_W_M 16th February Robert Henke: Lumiére III Barbican Sound and laser artist Henke presents another spellbinding piece, consisting of music synchronised with laser displays. New work by Tristan Perich will also be performed for the first time. Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS 020 7638 8891 barbican.org.uk @BarbicanCentre MUSIC 17th February Chamber Music in Chelsea Festival: Hüseyin Gündoğdu The Founders’ Hall Pieces by Beethoven, Bliss and Barber, performed by Hüseyin Gündoğdu (cello) and Giulia Sereni (piano). 2 Radnor Walk, Chelsea, SW3 4BN 020 7730 4500 cadoganhall.com @cadoganhall 17th February Andreas Tophøj and Rune Barslund

Southbank Centre A free concert from two Danish folk musicians, at the Central Bar Foyer, on Level 2 of the Southbank Centre. The perfect way to end the working week. Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX 020 7960 4200 southbankcentre.co.uk @southbankcentre 18th February The Jay Rayner Quartet: Songs of Food and Agony Brasserie Zedel You may know him as a food critic and presenter, but Jay Rayner is also a jazz pianist. His quartet will cover a range of Great American Songbook tunes with food and drink connections. 20 Sherwood Street, W1F 7ED 020 7734 4888 brasseriezedel.com @ BrasserieZedel 22nd February Opera Integra New Horizons Cafe A fundraising concert in aid of New Horizons, which promotes active and independent living for the over50s. Guinness Trust Estate, Cadogan Street, SW3 2PF 020 7590 8970

new-horizons-chelsea.org.uk @OperaIntegra 23rd February Happy Birthday Handel Foundling Museum A concert by the Amadè Players in honour of Handel’s 331st birthday, featuring pieces by Handel and his contemporary, Georg Philipp Telemann. 40 Brunswick Street, WC1N 1AZ 020 7841 3600 foundlingmuseum.org.uk @foundlingmuseum 24th-25th February Alison Jiear: An Ella Fitzgerald Centenary Celebration Brasserie Zedel The First Lady of Song would have turned 100 in 2017. Laurence Olivier Award nominee Alison Jiear sings some of Ella Fitzgerald's greatest numbers, backed by a jazz quartet. 20 Sherwood Street, W1F 7ED 020 7734 4888 brasseriezedel.com @BrasserieZedel 27th February Trinity Laban Night Ronnie Scott’s The jazz department of Trinity Laban perform pieces from the 1930s to the

February 2017

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

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In the Steps of the Ballets Russes

Russian Ballet Icons Gala Series Sunday 12 March 2017, 7pm London Coliseum Organised by Ensemble Productions

ergei Diaghilev set early 20th-century Paris ablaze with his Ballets Russes, and his impact on the world of dance can still be felt today… The Guardian Ballets Russes…the most sensual, daring and fashionable dance company in the world… The Daily Telegraph ‘In the Steps of the Ballets Russes’ Gala celebrates the glittering legacy of this legendary company. Much-loved favorites from the heady days of Diaghilev such as The Firebird, The Scheherazade, Le Spectre de la Rose, Petrushka, L’après-midi d’un Faune, La Chatte and others will be

complemented by contemporary works from choreographers David Dawson, Alastair Marriott, Gerald Arpino, JeanChristophe Maillot, paying homage to the spirit of innovation and creativity that were such a hallmark of the great Russian impresario. The programme also features the world premiere of the exciting new work Theatrum Vitae by

dazzling German choreographer Xenia Wiest. In addition to international ballet stars and principals of the major ballet companies, there will be a unique appearance in The Fairy Doll by final year students of the legendary Vaganova Academy. The programme accompanied by the

orchestra of the English National Ballet Philharmonic will be performed by Maria Alexandrova (Bolshoi Theatre), Tyler Angle (NYCB), Davide Dato (Vienna State Ballet), Marlon Dino (Bavarian State Ballet), Matthew Golding (The Royal Ballet), Dmitry Gudanov (Bolshoi Theatre), Isaac Hernandez (English National Ballet), Maria Kochetkova (San Francisco Ballet), Liudmila Konovalova (Vienna State Ballet), Ekaterina Krysanova (Bolshoi Theatre), Lucia Lacarra (Bavarian State Ballet), Sarah Lamb (The Royal Ballet), Vladislav Lantratov (Bolshoi Theatre), Svetlana Lunkina (National Ballet of Canada), Steven McRae (The Royal Ballet), Sasha Mukhamedov (Dutch National Ballet), Vadim Muntagirov (The Royal Ballet), Evgenia Obraztsova (Bolshoi Theatre), Natalia Osipova (The Royal Ballet), Ekaterina Osmolkina (Mariinsky Theatre), Xander Parish (Mariinsky Theatre), Tamara Rojo (English National Ballet), Iana Salenko (Berlin State Ballet), Vladimir Shklyarov (Mariinsky Theatre), Jacopo Tissi (La Scala), Ivan Vasiliev (Mikhailovsky Theatre), Edward Watson (The Royal Ballet), Zenaida Yanowsky (The Royal Ballet) and students of the Vaganova Academy. Tickets £25 - £145 (plus booking fee) Box Office +44 (0) 20 7845 9300

Photograph © Marc Haegeman

Events

February 2017

Events 1960s and beyond, including a focus on the classic 1960 album Art Pepper + Eleven. 47 Frith Street, W1D 4HT 020 7439 0747 ronniescotts.co.uk @officialronnies 1st March Apocalyptica Plays Metallica By Four Cellos Southbank Centre Take four cellists trained by Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy, add a love of Metallica, and you have Apocalyptica. The classical group revisits its 1996 album of Metallica covers, plus extra tracks, to celebrate the album's reissue. Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX 0207 960 4200 southbankcentre.co.uk @southbankcentre 2nd March Meng Yang Pan LSE A lunchtime recital from the acclaimed pianist. Pan will play Beethoven’s Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109, Debussy's Suite Bergamasque, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE 020 7405 7686 lse.ac.uk/Events @LSEpublicevents 10th March Gary Ryan Royal Albert Hall (Venue: Elgar Room) Classical guitarist Gary Ryan was awarded the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal College of Music in 2013. At this lunchtime concert, you’ll see why. Kensington Gore, SW7 2AP 020 7589 8212 royalalberthall.com @RoyalAlbertHall 11th March London Supersax Project: Celebrating the Genius of Charlie Parker Ronnie Scott’s The London equivalent of the Grammy award-winning Supersax group presents a tribute to Charlie Parker. Line-up TBC. 47 Frith Street, W1D 4HT 020 7439 0747 ronniescotts.co.uk - @officialronnies Ongoing Classical Season 2016-2017 Southbank Centre Upcoming highlights include pianist Maurizio Pollani (21st February), the BBC Concert Orchestra’s Music to Die For (25th February) and Stravinsky, Ravel and Falla, conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado and performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra (2nd March). Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX 0207 960 4200 southbankcentre.co.uk

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk @southbankcentre Ongoing - every weekday Lunchtime Concert St. Martin-in-the-Fields Catch a free lunchtime concert every weekday at 13:00, including the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (21st February), pianist Jason Bae playing Ravel and Carl Vine (24th February), and chamber music from the pupils of Christ’s Hospital School (27th February). Trafalgar Square, WC2N 4JH 020 7766 1100 stmartin-in-the-fields.org @smitf_london

Royal College of Music presents America Calls! a free festival of keyboard music inspired by the New World

he Royal College of Music’s ever-popular keyboard festival is back from 12–14 March 2017, this year celebrating composers who have moved from their home countries to live and work in the USA. The highlight of the 2017 festival TALKS will be an all-day keyboard marathon on Sunday 12 March entitled To the 7th February New World, featuring Rachmaninov’s Christie’s Lates: Colour and passionate and turbulent Etudes-tableaux Form op 39. Completed a centenary ago in Christie’s South Kensington 1917, the year of the Russian Revolution An evening dedicated to exploring and the time of the composer’s enforced colour and form. Hear talks by interior exile to the USA, Rachmaninov’s music designer Rachel Bates, design journalist will be interspersed with works by other and author Kassia St. Clair, and Felicity composers who emigrated to the New Aylieff, a ceramic artist and senior World. tutor of Ceramics & Glass at the RCA. The College’s doors will be open Christie’s specialist Imogen Kerr will be all day from 11am on 12 March, so talking about works of art from the audience members can drop in for ten upcoming auction of Impressionist & minutes or stay for hours! If you can’t Modern Art. A personal stylist from make it in person you can watch all the House of Colour will offer workshops. performances live online at www.rcm. Tuesday 7th February ac.uk/live 6.00-8.30pm Free entry, cash bar 85 Old Brompton Road, SW7 3LD +44 (0)20 7839 9060 christies.com/lates @christiesinc 14th February Poetry @ The Print Room The Print Room at the Coronet Award-winning poets Emily Berry, Richard Scott and Martha Sprackland each read a selection of their work. A chance to hear from the next generation of poetic talent. 103 Notting Hill Gate, W11 3LB 020 3642 6606 the-print-room.org @the_printroom 19th February Sunday Night Live: Nicole Farhi JW3 Jewish Community Centre An acclaimed fashion designer who abandoned the style world to become a sculptor, Nicole Farhi talks to Patrick Bade about her life and her career change. 341-351 Finchley Road, NW3 6ET 020 7433 8988 jw3.org.uk @jw3london 20th February Revamping the Vamp: Mata Hari Myths and Realities Royal Marsden Education and Conference Centre (on behalf of the

Photograph © RCM

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The events continue on Monday 13 March with a lunchtime concert of colourful songs by Kurt Weill, Erich Korngold and others, and a rush-hour organ recital of works by British-born composers who worked in the USA and Canada. A morning lecture recital with top American pianist Logan Skelton concludes the festival on Tuesday 14 March. The Royal College of Music has the biggest keyboard department in the UK, and its talented students and alumni regularly go on to win the world’s most prestigious competitions and perform in famous venues across the globe. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear them in South Kensington! All events take place at the Royal College of Music, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BS. Tickets are free but required, except for the all-day To the New World keyboard marathon, for which no tickets are required. Book online at www.rcm.ac.uk/ americacalls or call the RCM Box Office on 020 7591 4314.

February 2017

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

of experts, including Professor Margaret Boden FBA, Research Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of Sussex, will discuss. 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, SW1Y 5AH 020 7969 5200 britac.ac.uk @britac_news 22nd February Cricket as Revolution LSE Exploring the continuing appeal of cricket in South Asia, particularly India's dominance in the sport. Panel includes Dr. Parvathi Raman, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at SOAS. Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE 020 7405 7686 lse.ac.uk/Events @LSEpublicevents 23rd February A Personal Journey Through Good and Evil JW3 Jewish Community Centre Human rights lawyer Philippe Sands talks to Lisa Appignanesi about his genre-defining book, East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, which won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. 341-351 Finchley Road, NW3 6ET 020 7433 8988 jw3.org.uk @jw3london 23 February London Natural History Society: Birding Trinidad & Tobago from the Asa Wright Nature Centre Burgh House Martyn Kenefick, an expert on Caribbean birds at the Asa Wright Nature Centre, will discuss Trinidad & Tobago’s 482 bird species, and the centre’s conservation efforts. New End Square, NW3 1LT 020 7431 0144 www.burghhouse.org.uk/ @BurghHouse1704 24th February Michael Wood: Fritz Lang and the Life of Crime British Museum Michael Wood, author and Professor of Comparative Literature at Princeton, speaks about the theme of crime in three of Fritz Lang's films. Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG 020 7323 8181 britishmuseum.org @britishmuseum 1st March Discovering People: Shappi Khorsandi Royal Geographical Society Comedian and author Shappi Khorsandi discusses how geography has shaped her life. Part of the popular ongoing talks

Desire Jewellery and Silversmithing Fair

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Events National Army Museum) A National Army Museum talk exploring Mata Hari’s wartime role as a spy. Hari, real name Margarethe Zelle, was executed by the French in 1917, but Dr. Julie Wheelwright will fight her corner in this daytime lecture. Stewart’s Grove, SW3 6JJ 020 7730 0717 nam.ac.uk - @NAM_London 20th February The Chinese Labour Corps 1917-1920 and Their Role in the First World War Royal Geographical Society During WWI, 10,000 Chinese men were hired by the British government to fill the labour gap left by those fighting the war. John de Lucy, whose grandfather transported some of the men, takes up the story of these forgotten employees. 7 Kensington Gore, SW7 2AR 020 7591 3044 rgs.org @rgs_ibg 21st February Are We Ready for Robot Relationships? British Academy What will happen to robot-human relationships as our technology becomes more sophisticated? And can a robot really stop you feeling lonely? A panel John Parnham’s Children’s Fun Fair in partnership with

NORMAND PARK LILLIE ROAD FULHAM SW6 7ST Fri 10th to Sun 19th FEB 28 74 190

391 430 N28 N74 N97

OPEN EVERY DAY 12 Noon to early evening

This Fair is a Token operated event NO CASH ON RIDES OR STALLS ACCEPTED

1 TOKEN £1.00 12 TOKENS £10.00

TOKENS ON SALE AT BOOTH

www.parnhamfunfairs.co.uk • Tel: 07956 245531

returns to Chelsea Old Town Hall

nybody walking along the Kings Road should just take a moment to count their blessings. For the most part the Kings Road has escaped the look of the UK’s High Streets and is not being taken over by yet another chain store or lookalike outlet stacked with more of the same old boring products. It is refreshing therefore that the Desire Fair should be staged here annually, providing an opportunity for those seeking more individual items than can be found on ‘just another high street’. Away from the world of bar coded items and discounted sales lies a wealth of individual creativity. Welcome to the world of the ‘true’ designer maker. Chelsea Old Town Hall will be the venue for this event from 3-5 March. Desire Fair is a mixed media jewellery and silversmithing event where visitors

series, Discovering People. 1 Kensington Gore, SW7 2AR 020 7591 3100 rgs.org @rgs_ibg 2nd March Computing for the Future of the Planet Royal Society Professor Andy Hopper CBE FREng FRS presents his findings on computerdriven sustainability initiatives, and related research goals. 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, SW1Y 5AG 020 7451 2500 royalsociety.org @royalsociety 3rd March Biased Science Royal Institution A sociologist, a psychologist, an astrophysicist and a gender balance manager reflect on moments of unconscious gender bias and racial bias that affect us all. 21 Albemarle Street, W1S 4BS 020 7409 2992 rigb.org @ri_science 4th March Jessie Cave: In Conversation Soho Theatre Writer, performer and creative Jessie Cave talks to Soho Theatre’s Associate

can purchase direct from contemporary designer makers selected from the best in the UK. Desire offers visitors a choice of around 90 individual jewellers and silversmiths who have been selected for their superb and innovative craftsmanship and have a genuine passion for the work they create. Visitors can see and purchase from an exciting range of both emerging British talent as well as more established designer makers. Exhibitors include jewellers working in gold, silver, platinum, palladium, aluminium, bronze, copper, titanium, cellulose acetate and glass and incorporating gemstones, seaglass, buttons, pearls, glass, enamel work, silk threads and beads into their work. Silversmiths include Jen Ricketts who creates intricate hand-pierced functional silverware of city skylines and Brett Payne with his range of hand-forged candlesticks and tableware. Anyone celebrating a special occasion, maybe a birthday or anniversary, may also like to speak to many of the makers about commissioning bespoke pieces of jewellery or silverware. Opening times for the event are 10 am-6 pm Friday, 10 am-5 pm Saturday and Sunday. Admission is £6. For further information contact the organisers on 01622 747 325 or visit the web site at www.desirefair.com. Venue: Old Town Hall, King’s Road, London, SW3 5EE

Dramaturg Adam Brace about her varied career, including acting for TV and film, performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and releasing her own book. 21 Dean Street, W1D 3NE 020 7478 0100 sohotheatre.com @sohotheatre 8th March The Value of Heritage and the Heritage of Value Museum of London on behalf of Gresham College Simon Thurley CBE muses on the financial value placed on heritage sites and objects. Beyond counting the monetary cost, how else should we measure the assets in our historic environment? 150 London Wall, Barbican, EC2Y 5HN 020 7001 9844 gresham.ac.uk @GreshamCollege THEATRE 3rd February-29th April Travesties Apollo Theatre Tom Stoppard’s play transfers from the Menier Chocolate Factory for a 12-week West End run. Patrick Marber directs, and Tom Hollander and Freddie Fox are

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Events among the cast. 31 Shaftesbury Avenue, Soho, W1D 7EZ 0330 333 4809 nimaxtheatres.com @NimaxTheatres 8th February-4th March Caravan Shorts The Vaults (Venue: Caravan) A selection of quirky 15-minute plays, commissioned for Vault Festival, performed to a maximum audience of nine people. Leake Street, SE1 7NN 07598 676 202 vaultfestival.com @VAULTFestival 14th February-4th March Flew the Coop New Diorama Theatre Lost Watch presents a play based on the true story of Silesian translator Rosa Rauchbach and Horace ‘Jim’ Greasley, a British Prisoner of War. Their unlikely romance caused Jim to escape and return to the prison camp 200 times. 15-16 Triton Street, Regent's Place, NW1 3BF 0207 383 9034 newdiorama.com @newdiorama 15th-19th February Scenes From an Urban Gothic The Vaults (Venue: The Cavern) Vault Festival continues with this oneman piece of physical theatre, performed in total silence, showing our character's struggles to adjust to nightmarish city life. Leake Street, SE1 7NN 07598 676 202 vaultfestival.com @VAULTFestival 15th February-17th April Twelfth Night National Theatre (Venue: Olivier Theatre) Shakespeare's romantic comedy of mistaken identity hits the National just after Valentine’s Day, starring Tamsin Greig as Malvolio (in an additional twist, Malvolio has become a woman). Upper Ground, London SE1 9PX 020 7452 3000 nationaltheatre.org.uk - @ NationalTheatre 16th February-1st April A Midsummer Night’s Dream Young Vic A new production of Shakespeare’s classic comedy sees director Tim HillGibbins team up with renowned designer Johannes Schütz. 66 The Cut, Waterloo, SE1 8LZ 020 7922 2922 youngvic.org @youngvictheatre 17th February-8th April Hamlet Almeida

Andrew Scott takes the title role in the unforgettable Shakespearian tragedy, playing opposite Juliet Stevenson as Gertrude. Almeida Street, Islington, N1 1TA 020 7359 4404 almeida.co.uk @AlmeidaTheatre Ends 21st February Dubailand Finborough Theatre The glittering Dubai skyline hides a dirty secret: its migrant labourers are exploited on a daily basis. Find out what happens when privileged ex-pat Jamie meets one of the labourers on the 88th floor of an unfinished tower block. 118 Finborough Road (above the Finborough Arms), Earl’s Court, SW10 9ED 0844 847 1652 finboroughtheatre.co.uk @finborough 25th February-29th April Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead Old Vic 50 years after Tom Stoppard made his name with this witty play, the Old Vic revives it with a stellar cast, including David Haig, Joshua McGuire and Daniel Radcliffe. The Cut, SE1 8NB 0844 871 7628 oldvictheatre.com - @oldvictheatre 28th February-25th March I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard Finborough Theatre Halley Feiffer’s black comedy, which won a Outer Critics’ Circle Award in 2015, explores the theatrical world through ambitious actress Ella and her playwright father. Dare she read the critics’ reviews of her off-Broadway debut? 118 Finborough Road (above the Finborough Arms), Earl’s Court, SW10 9ED 0844 847 1652 www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk @finborough 28th February-1st April a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (-noun) Royal Court (Venue: Jerwood Theatre Upstairs) Playwright Debbie Tucker Green (whose name and play title is always presented in lower case brings yet another arresting drama to the Royal Court, this time focusing on three couples. Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS 020 7565 5000 royalcourttheatre.com @royalcourt 1st-2nd March Wanna Dance with Somebody Camden People’s Theatre Running Dog Theatre presents a

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February 2017

Events show about social anxiety, dance and theoretical physics. Expect a mixture of music, live comedy and storytelling. 58-60 Hampstead Road, London, NW1 2PY 020 7419 4841 cptheatre.co.uk - @camdenPT 1st March-17th June Stepping Out Vaudeville Theatre A revival of the musical comedy, directed by Maria Friedman and starring Amanda Holden, Tracy-Ann Oberman and Tamzin Outhwaite. 404 Strand, WC2R 0NH 0330 333 4814 nimaxtheatres.com @nimaxtheatres 8th-25th March Made in India Soho Theatre This new play, written by Satinder Chohan and directed by Katie Posner, is set in a Gujarati surrogacy clinic. It explores issues of motherhood and birth through the eyes of three very different women. 21 Dean Street, W1D 3NE 020 7478 0100 sohotheatre.com @sohotheatre

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk Ends 16th April The White Devil Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (Venue: Sam Wanamaker Playhouse) A Jacobean revenge tragedy is transformed into a dystopian nightmare. Directed by Annie Ryan, the play will be performed by candlelight. 21 New Globe Walk, SE1 9DT 020 7401 9919 shakespearesglobe.com @The_Globe Ends 21st October Dreamgirls Savoy Theatre It’s taken 35 years, but the Tony® awardwinning musical about a Motownesque girl group has finally crossed the pond. Starring Amber Riley as Effie White. Strand, WC2R 0ET 0844 871 7687 dreamgirlswestend.com @DreamgirlsLDN

THE LECTURE CLUB

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FEBRUARY 2ND

SPRING PROGRAMME

DAMIAN CULHANE:

“HOW TO THRIVE UNDER STRESS - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SUPERFOODS”

FEBRUARY 21ST

ANDREW WAUCHOPE EX UBS:

“THE GREAT INVESTMENT DISTORTION”

FEBRUARY 28TH

GERALD RATNER:

“THE RISE AND FALL AND RISE AGAIN OF GERALD RATNER”

MARCH 7TH

MICHELLE MCGRADE:

“THE EMOTIONAL ROLLER-COASTER OF INVESTING”

MARCH 14TH

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“FACE AND SKIN REJUVENATION WITHOUT SURGERY”

APRIL 18TH

CARRIE BROOKS –

LIFE COACH - AGEING WELL “TIME OF OUR LIFE!“

APRIL 25TH

MICHAEL MORRIS FRANKS,

PARTNER WILLIAM STURGES LLP: “MR TURING I PRESUME”

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February 2017

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www.chiswickauctions.co.uk 020 8992 4442

7th March 2017

20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Sale WITH A COLLECTION OF RARE HELMUT NEWTON PRINTS

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February 2017

Arts & Culture

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk Painting: Sydney Carline British Scouts leaving their aerodrome on patrol over the Asiago plateau. 1918

War in the Sunshine: The British in Italy 1917-1918

Estorick Collection 39a Canonbury Square Until 19 March 2017 Admission £6.50

fter more than just a lick of paint, the delightful Estorick Collection has opened its door after five months with an absorbing and fascinating exhibition of a forgotten part of British military history at the end of the First World War. Unlikely though it may sound, Italy asked Great Britain for military help, when the Austro-Hungarians went sweeping down towards the Adriatic coast, which included the great port of Trieste. Having first declared neutrality, Italy started secret talks with Vienna and London, seeking complicated offers of territory in exchange for support.They then declared war on Austria, which, with Germany’s firepower, came raining down on an ill-prepared army. Caporetto in Slovenia is a rugged, mountainous area, of no agricultural value, yet, despite their inability to follow through and exploit their success, Caporetto was a significant victory for the German and Austrian troops, and the greatest defeat in Italian military history. Some 20,000 German and Austrian soldiers were killed or wounded, but no fewer than 13,000 Italians were killed, 30,000 wounded and 265,000 captured by midNovember. Worse was to follow, with a further 350,000 Italian soldiers deserting by November 1917. They also captured 2,000 Italian mortars and at least 3,000 guns alongside an additional 3,000 machine-guns during the battle. It was a wake-up call for Britain and the allies. If Italy were neutralised, as Russia had been, Austria could free up their armies and send men to France and Flanders. Transporting 200,000 British soldiers and their weaponry across France to Italy, was a logistical nightmare, but it was achieved, along with five squadrons from the Royal Flying Corps. Amongst the pilots was a young artist called Sydney Carline. After a period at the Slade, where he met the art historian, Roger Fry, he studied under Percyval Tudor-Hart in Paris. He volunteered for the Army in

1916, and then, a chance meeting with the Hon. Evan Charteris, the biographer of John Singer Sargent, who was a staff captain at the RFC, secured him a commission as a second Lieutenant and he took up flight training. At the time, 35 trainee pilots were losing their lives every month, but after just 21 hours flying solo, mostly in obsolete deathtrap fighter-bombers like the BE12, he was posted to Northern France over the Somme. On his third mission, he was shot down by German planes, taking a machine-gun bullet wound in his leg. He managed to stagger away from the wrecked plane which crashed behind British lines, before it exploded in flames. After two and a half months in hospital, he was reassigned to a Reserve Squadron, which flew a number of different aircraft, camouflaged by his old art teacher, Tudor-Hart, including the fearsome and unstable single-seater Sopwith Camel. However, Carline immediately mastered this temperamental machine and was posted to Italy in February 1918, where the Central Powers were less than 20 miles from Venice. Astonishingly, he managed to combine flying at up to 20,000 feet on patrol with doing charcoal sketches whilst steering with his knees, or manning a Vickers sub-machine

gun in a bomber. He tried painting watercolours at those heights, struck by the beauty of the mountains and sunsets, but the water froze, in spite of him trying to warm it up with his breath. This sounds like the equivalent of driving a D-type Jaguar down the Mulsanne Straight at 180 mph whilst doing a quick pencil sketch of the passing countryside. Flying at high altitudes for anything up to 2 hours led him to suffer from oxygen starvation or hypoxia, which brought on severe headaches, eye-strain and respiratory problems. Carline had many admirers, including Mark Gertler, Duncan Grant, C R W Nevinson, Henry Lamb and Paul Nash, who observed that after the hostilities ended, painters such as themselves, were war artists without a war, and found it difficult to make a living. There are many fine drawings in this exhibition, and a number of oil paintings, made from sketches and studies done ‘on the wing’. One powerful ‘grounded’ painting depicts Austrian Prisoners being driven towards the Italian line; dark, angular figures leaning forwards, while being supervised by a singular, mounted guard with a whip. Alongside this show, the Estorick are displaying a collection of photographs by two war photographs,

Ernest Brooks and William Joseph Brunell, who covered the events on the Italian frontline. Brooks had been a soldier, and a brave one at that, in the Second Boer War, and wanted to get in on the action ‘at the sharp end’. Brunell had no military training, and was more interested in the civilians caught up in this complicated conflict, as well as the interaction between the British troops and their Italian counterparts, around whom there had been animosity, disrespect, as well as curiosity, humility and humour. His pictures of the Austrian prisoners are, if anything, sympathetic, as Brunell said, ‘like a crowd whose football team have lost the match’. After the War, Brooks was appointed a royal photographer, but he was less than discreet about allowing a photo he took of the Prince of Wales in his bath to be widely circulated, and another of him dressed in a kimono and a wig after appearing in a play. He was reprimanded and stripped of both his OBE and BEM, as well as losing his royal warrant and his reputation, which is a great shame, as he was an astounding and long-serving war photographer, having taken over 4,400 pictures, many of which are held by the Imperial War Museum. Don Grant

February 2017

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Arts & Culture Images © The Royal Collection

Diana: Her Fashion Story

Kensington Palace. Opens 24th February. 2017. The White Garden Kensington Palace. Opens in Spring and Summer 2017

carpet of forget me nots, enhanced with tulips and scented narcissi, will adorn the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace in springtime, to celebrate the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. In summertime the reflective pool in this historic garden, so loved by the Princess, will be surrounded with white roses. The planting will develop into a more exuberant style, with ornamental grasses gracefully flowing through colourful cosmic daisies and clouds of gaura, making the scene symbolic of her life and its changing styles. The Sunken Garden was originally planted in 1908 and is 18th century in style. It was modelled on a similar garden in Hampton Court Palace. The garden has always had rotational planting which was much admired by the late Princess Diana and discussed by her with the gardeners. The new Fashion Exhibition in the Stuart Pigott Galleries of Kensington Place will replace the existing Exhibition, Fashion Rules. It will trace the evolution of Princess Diana’s early style from demure, romantic outfits for her first public appearances to the elegant glamorous style, which she developed herself as she grew more confident in her roles as a member of the Royal Family, future Queen, Ambassador, Icon and mother of two sons, the eldest being destined for kingship. The Exhibition will trace how Princess Diana learned quickly how to use her image and beauty to connect with the people. She became an enduring fashion icon and many women wanted to emulate her looks. Copies were made of her clothes and the people claimed her as their Princess and loved her. Eleri Lynn, Curator of the Exhibition, said, “Diana was one of the most photographed women in the world, and every fashion choice she made was closely scrutinised. Our Exhibition explores the story of a young woman who had to quickly learn the rules of Royal and Diplomatic dressing, who, in the process, put the spotlight on the British Fashion industry and designers.” The Exhibition will range from exquisite and glamorous ball gowns to the chic suits designed by Catherine Walker for the Princess. Highlights include the pale pink blouse designed by

Emanuel and worn for the Engagement portrait by Lord Snowdon and Victor Edelstein’s iconic, ink blue velvet gown famously worn at the White House when she danced with John Travolta. Also on show a blue tartan suit, designed by Emanuel for a trip to Venice, will be displayed for the first time. This is a rare article of day wear which was purchased by Historic Royal Palaces at auction. Princess Diana’s relationships with designers are revealed in the Exhibition and some of the sketches they made for her during the design process will be on show. At first she was guided towards established British Designers like Murray Arbeid, Bellville Sassoon and Gina Fratini, all of whose designs were traditional. Later Princess Diana sought a more youthful and personal style. Catherine Walker advised her how to develop an elegant tailored look and helped her with a streamlined modern version of clothes for her public life. After Princess Diana was divorced her clothes reflected independence and freedom. In the 1990s Princess Diana remained loyal to British designers notably Jacques Azagury who favoured low cut neck lines and short skirts. She also approached the European designers including the Italians Valentino and Versace and the French Couture Houses of Dior, Lacroix and Chanel. This resulted in an international flavour to her style, with a simple silhouette and an effect in the details and was about superbly cut materials worn with colour co-ordinated accessories. This was the look that defined fashion in the late 20th

century. Princess Diana was not only a fashion icon, but a tireless supporter of many Charities. She did not shun difficult causes and was Patron of the Leprosy Mission, and the National Aid Trust. She was also Patron of Centre Point, the English National Ballet and the Royal Marsden Hospital, and frequently hosted charitable events at Kensington Palace. As we remember Princess Diana twenty years after her death, the flowers in the new White Garden celebrate her life and evoke the iconic memory of

myriads of flowers left at the gates of Kensington Palace when she tragically died. Marian Maitland Admission is included in the Palace and Gardens Admission ticket. Booking: UK 0844 482 7799 Outside UK +44 ( 0 ) 20 3166 6000 e-mail: kensingtonpalace@hrp.org.uk Kensington Palace. State Apartments. Kensington Gardens. London. W.8 4PX

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February 2017

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Lockwood Kipling: Arts and Crafts in the Punjab and London

Victoria and Albert Museum. London SW7 2RL 14th January -2nd April 2017

contributed much to the Gothic revival of Bombay's architecture. Kipling then travelled to Lahore, the capital of the Punjab, where he was Principal at the new Mayo School of Art (now Pakistan’s National College of Art). He gave his life to Indian Art and Design and recorded craft traditions which were declining. He collected much architectural material for the Lahore Museum and the V&A’s collection. In 1893, Kipling returned to England and

worked together with his son. The Exhibition is sensibly divided into three sections. The first section gives a good impression of a thriving city and exhibits the dramatic painting of the opulent Indian Court Pavilion designed by the East India Company for the Great Exhibition. The Gothic revival was much in evidence in Bombay and Kipling contributed to its architectural decorations. Several of his drawings

are on display of craftsmen in their workshops. The bracelet on display of enamelled gold set with diamonds is finely crafted, as is the purple silk prayer mat. The sword and helmet are also impressive for their craftsmanship. A notable exhibit is the fine painting of the opulent, rich pageantry of the Delhi Durbar held to celebrate Queen Victoria becoming Empress of India. The next section deals with Lahore where Kipling made a collection of architectural sculpture; an example on display is an 18th century bay window made of deodar wood. He encouraged his students to document local buildings and their studies of monuments and mosques are exhibited. There is excellent soundscape filming of Lahore by the students of the National College of Arts. Do not miss the important bust of Buddha on show for the first time in sixty years. The final section shows Kipling’s design work of furniture for the Duke of Connaught’s residence at Bagshot Park and the Durbar Hall at Osborne in the Isle of Wight, Queen Victoria’s Summer Palace. These are displayed through films. This impressive Exhibition, with its paintings of memorable buildings and events, countless beautifully crafted treasures and soundscape presentations shows us a world of vibrant colours, the great Heritage of Indian Art and the sun, which has now set on a great, past Empire. Marian Maitland. Admission is free. Information: vam.ac.uk/kipling

Image © National Trust. John Hammond

decorative mosaic panel on the original facade of the V&A Museum, which is now a grand threshold for its cafe, shows a portrait of bearded John Lockwood Kipling. The terracotta panels visible on the exterior front of this Museum are also the work of Kipling. He was born in 1837 and died in 1911. The V&A Museum, in collaboration with the Bard Graduate Center in New York, have presented, for the first time, a splendid Exhibition which rescues this talented, ‘ex-employee’ Kipling, from obscurity. It is curated by Julius Bryant, Keeper of Word and Image at the Museum and Dr. Susan Weber, Director of the Bard Graduate Center, and it is supported by the Friends of the V&A. Indian designs were much admired by the British and Kipling was an active and keen campaigner for the preservation of Indian Arts and Crafts which were under threat from industrialisation. He was also an artist, teacher, designer, journalist, conservationist and a colonial servant in the days of the British Raj. The V&A owes much to him as he was instrumental in its foundation collection and selected many objects in India for it. He also designed furniture for Royal residences. He should not have been overshadowed by his famous, literary son, Rudyard, or by William Morris, another famous 19th century designer. Kipling was apprenticed in the potteries and then became an architectural sculptor and designer. He visited the Great Exhibition in 1851 which he found inspirational. The V&A purchased many pieces which he had admired. In the early 1860s Kipling was employed at the V&A, which was then called the South Kensington Museum, and he produced architectural decoration for the building under Godfrey Sykes’ direction. Kipling went to India in 1865, at a time when the British were seeking to assert the values of Empire. He was active in exporting Indian crafts, which were copied and made in England and then marketed back in India. He spent ten years in Bombay (now known as Mumbai) where he taught in the Sir J.J. School of Art. He and his students

February 2017

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BRICKS AND BRICKBATS BY EMMA FLYNN

Tunnel Tours: Image © London Transport Museum

Subterranean London opens to the public

he London Underground was the world’s first subterranean railway network. Remaining one of the largest in existence, today it transports around four million passengers a day on over one hundred miles of underground track. While this impressive network is regularly experienced by residents and visitors alike, there is another landscape of tunnels buried beneath the surface that remains inaccessible to the public. Crisscrossing the tube network is a web of abandoned stations, military tunnels, historic catacombs, sewers and hidden rivers. For years many of these subterranean spaces have been closed to the public but as the trend for more unusual urban adventures grows, we are finding more and more of these spaces reopening. This year the London Transport Museum is putting on another round of its hugely popular Hidden London tours, which sell out in a matter of days. Their disused underground sites include Churchill’s secret station, Down Street, the Piccadilly line station used by the Cabinet during the Second World War. Located in Mayfair between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner, Down Street had a short life as a working station from 1907 to 1932, but became critical to winning the Second World War when it was covertly transformed into the Railway Executive Committee's bomb-proof bunker. On the tour the visitor is taken on a journey through a warren of narrow tunnels where the nation’s railways were coordinated and Prime Minister Winston Churchill took refuge secretly at the height of the Blitz. Another of the subterranean sites available to tour involves a descent of 180 steps to one of the eight deeplevel shelters that exist across London. Opened to the public in July 1944,

Clapham South deep-level shelter has over a mile of subterranean passageways that reveal the extraordinary stories of those who sheltered here, from Londoners seeking refuge during the Blitz, to hopeful Caribbean migrants arriving on the Empire Windrush, and even thrifty visitors to the Festival of Britain. This year another rare site will be opening to the public. Located deep beneath the streets of the capital, London’s secret 100-year-old Post Office railway is officially opening its (lift) doors. Known as Mail Rail, the Royal Mail operated a narrow gauge railway, a subterranean network of automated trains, to ferry post between sorting offices. The service began in 1927 and ran until 2003, when the project was no longer considered viable due to escalating running costs. Opening once again as part of the new British Postal Museum and Archive, a section of the network has been resurrected. An operating train will transport visitors through the hidden history of Mail Rail deep underground. Mail Rail’s pioneering tunnels kept

the capital’s communication network flowing for over 75 years. Extending for 6.5 miles, the network linked six sorting offices with the mainline stations at Liverpool Street and Paddington. At its peak, the service operated for 22 hours a day, employing over 220 staff and transporting more than four million letters invisibly below ground every day. All of this happening deep beneath the streets of London, hidden from public view. In fact, these tunnels were so clandestine in their early days, that they were even used to hide the Rosetta Stone during the First World War. Now, through a series of new interactive exhibits, this history, the stories of the people behind the railway, will all be revealed. These tunnel tours are thrilling not just because of their hidden nature, the unusual spatial experience of heading deep beneath London’s surface, but through the exposure of a world locked in the past. These constructions, sealed at the point of closure, are frozen in time. Layers of historical artefact buried with them, they create an immersive

experience that transports the visitor to another time; that last day in service. However it is not just our historic infrastructure projects that are providing a gateway to time travel. Our more recent tunnel constructions are also helping to reveal the layer cake of history that is hidden below the city’s streets. The construction of London’s newest railway project, Crossrail, has given archaeologists a unique chance to reveal some of the city’s most historically important sites. The new railway runs east to west through some of the capital’s most significant historical areas. As a result, Crossrail has undertaken one of the most extensive archaeological programmes ever seen in the UK, unearthing archaeological finds from almost every important period of London’s history. Over 100 archaeologists have found more than 10,000 items from 40 sites, spanning 8,000 years of human history. The finds uncovered so far include prehistoric animal bones, Roman remains, human remains from the infamous Bedlam psychiatric hospital and remnants of Britain’s industrial past. In a major new exhibition Tunnel: The Archaeology of Crossrail, at the Museum of London Docklands, opening on 10th February, the complete range of archaeological objects unearthed by Crossrail will be exposed to the public for the first time. The wide variety of items on display will reveal the stories of Londoners ranging from Mesolithic toolmakers and inhabitants of Roman Londinium to those affected by the Great Plague of 1665. These finds were discovered in locations as diverse as suburban Abbey Wood in the south east, through Canary Wharf, across to Liverpool Street, Tottenham Court Road and ending in Westbourne Park and Acton. The artefacts will be displayed alongside the story of this great feat of engineering; the largest infrastructure project currently underway in Europe. A rare opportunity for the public, this year we are invited to explore the spaces beneath our feet. We are encouraged to discover a secret subterranean past and unearth the amazing stories of the people who are connected with it. From tours of London’s most intriguing underground spaces, to an exhibition of one of the UK’s largest excavations projects, a hidden world will be uncovered. Subterranean London is open for visitors. Tunnel: The Archaeology of Crossrail opens on the 10th February and runs until the 3rd September at the Museum of London, Docklands. The Postal Museum and Rail Mail opens later this year. Sign up on their website postalmuseum.org for updates. Hidden London Tour tickets are on sale now through the London Transport Museum. More tickets will be released later in the year. Sign up on their website www.ltmuseum.co.uk for further details.

Images © ENV

Arts & Culture

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February 2017

Arts & Culture Stanley Spencer: Looking to Heaven Edited by John Spencer Unicorn Press ISBN 978-1-910065-59-4 368pp. £30

Future Shock: 40 years of 2000AD The Cartoon Museum 35 Little Russell Street London WC1A 2HH Until 23 April 2017 Admission £7

George Orwell wrote Nineteen EightyFour in 1949, and the dystopian vision of a totalitarian state, cancerous with censorship and the manipulation of language, seemed far-off enough in the future as to be unimaginable. By the same token, few could have foreseen that the weekly British science fiction comic 2000 AD, launched in February 1977, would outlive its own sell-by date. Who would have thought that a bunch of futuristic fantasy characters like lawman Judge Dredd, mutant bounty hunter Strontium Dog, infantryman Rogue Trooper and 50thcentury everywoman Halo Jones would endure into the twenty-first century? 2000 AD was the brainchild of writers Pat Mills and John Wagner, and over the past forty years, they have been joined by a galaxy of other writers, like writers Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Mark Millar and Grant Morrison. They, in turn, have inspired an asteroid belt of artists, whose work this show celebrates. The world can be polarised into those that revel in the

s one of the twentieth-century’s most distinguished and intriguing painters, Spencer’s ‘autobiography’ is a welcome insight into a complicated and sometimes troubled mind. Misunderstood, rejected, eccentric, ordinary, other-worldly, tangled in love, self-obsessed, acclaimed, naive and honoured, his life was spent sheltered in Cookham, ‘holy suburb of Heaven’, apart from a period of war service in Salonika in the First World War. Later, on a cultural trip to China, he said, ‘I feel at home in China because I feel that Cookham is near,” Spencer told Premier Chou En Lai in 1954, whose peasant communes enthralled him. There is no record of the Premier’s response, which may have got lost in translation. He kept journals throughout his life, containing both his notes and sketches. This is the first of three volumes, edited by his grandson John Spencer, publishing his abridged journals for the first time, and giving us an insight into how he thought and worked. It has been a mammoth task, distilling over 2 million words into one volume of, say, 150,000 denselyset words, with two other books on the blocks. In a letter to Richard Carline, brother of Sydney, subject of an exhibition at the Estorick Collection at the moment, he

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online: www.KCWToday.co.uk said of Jacob Epstein, ‘I do not like his work and he is a Jew and you could not say a worse thing about a man than that.’ His desperately frank views are shocking to us today, but were not at odds with the prevailing sentiments of the time. He quotes what his friend Jacques Raverat said about of the Protestant, that they are ‘mean, unforgiving, hate the poor to get drunk and think soap is a virtue’. A great deal of his journals are rambling and repetitious, but his love of nature, home and the surrounding countryside comes across in spades. This first volume deals with his childhood, his time at the Slade, his period as a medical orderly at the Beaufort War Hospital in Bristol and his time on active service in Salonika. At the Slade, his contemporaries included Mark Gertler, C R W Nevinson, Paul Nash, Edward Wadsworth, David Bomberg, his future brother-in-law Sydney Carline, and Dora Carrington. He travelled from his home every day to Gower Street, and earned the nickname ‘Cookham’, which is how he signed many of his letters. He was taught by the legendary Henry Tonks, who said of him, ‘ In some ways he has shown signs of having the most original mind of anyone we have had at the Slade and he combines this with great powers of draughtsmanship.’ He wrote hundreds

of letters to Henry Lamb, to Jacques and Gwen Raverat, his brothers Gilbert and Sydney, and his sister Florence, known as Flongy. His eldest brother Will was a boy prodigy at the piano, and used to take a great interest in the diminutive Stanley, who was only 5 foot 2 inches tall. Because he walked slowly when he was by himself, people in the village used to laugh at him. One lady from the village called out to him, ‘Hurry up , Stanley, you’ll be the last up when the trumpet sounds at the Resurrection.’ He went on a painting trip in 1911 from where he wrote, ‘I am in Somerset doing watercolours, for one month which (thank the Lord) will end next week, when I shall return to Cookham, my paradise.’ This was his true love, his birthplace and its inhabitants the subjects of many of his religious paintings, using Cookham High Street as the backdrop for The Betrayal and The Resurrection, whose portrayal of everyday life with ordinary people in a spirit of redemption was greeted with shock in some circles. This an absorbing account of his life, sometimes suffocating in its detail, sometimes mundane, particularly his routine chores at the War Hospital, but always revealing about his slant on life and his art. Don Grant other-worldly view of sci-fi comics and those that find mega-cities, irradiated mutants, interstellar space fleets reducing whole planets to rubble and psychopathic robots just a little bit nerdy. They have an enormous following, which extends into big budget feature-length movies, such as Judge Dredd, with Sylvester Stallone, fan-made films viewable on-line, and, naturally, computer games. There are 80 works on loan from collectors and artists on display, some by the originator of Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog, Carlos Ezquerra, as well as artists such as Dave Gibbons, Brian Bolland, Mike McMahon, Ian Gibson, Henry Flint, David Roach and awardwinning ‘proper’ artist Simon Davis, Whether one likes this genre, or not, the standard of artwork is extremely high, with meticulous attention to detail in both pen-and-ink and gouache. Comics stretch back over many decades and have their roots in Hogarth, Rowlandson and Gilray, with the advent of the British Graphic Novel emerging in the seventies. There is an homage to Dan Dare from The Eagle in a 1970s reinvention, a futuristic yarn spun for the post-war children, brought up on Dandy, the Beano and Hotspur. He was our only contact with aliens, rockets and outer space, other than Journey into Space on the wireless in the fifties. It is over thirty years since Orwell’s grim forebodings should have come true, or maybe they have. On a bright cold day in April, the clocks may still strike thirteen. Who knows. Don Grant

February 2017

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Arts & Culture BY ANDREW WARD

The Royal Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty… dancing on the world’s stage!

very major international ballet company has it’s own production of this iconic classic The Sleeping Beauty. The Royal Ballet’s production celebrates 70 years since it was first danced by Margot Fonteyn in 1946 to reopen the Royal Opera House after the war. It is part of the staple diet of classical ballets, alongside Swan Lake, Nutcracker and Giselle, that defines a ballet company. So how does The Royal Ballet fare with one of its signature productions, The Sleeping Beauty? Marius Petipa, the father of classical ballet, created this four act (actually a prologue and 3 acts) masterpiece in 1890 to Tchaikovsky’s sumptuously delicious score. The Royal Ballet version takes on a feast of choreographers to help it (with what at times feels like a 12 course menu) keep the pas d’action alive. Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and more recently Christopher Wheeldon join in the mix with their own recipe of choreography. Sleeping Beauty is one of the few productions that can handle the phrase “too many cooks spoil the broth”. Wheeldon’s rendition of the Act 1 Garland dance flows and molds

well bringing new life to this classic dance that sets the scene before Princess Aurora performs the Rose Adage with her four suitors. Wheeldon cleverly updates the dance with the challenging steps expected of today’s male dancers including grand jetés and tour en l’air. He embellishes the waltz steps, including balancés in all directions with beautiful port de bras, that give the movement a fluidity and sense of joy and radiance that clearly engages the dancers and the audience alike. Ashton’s contribution, as a master of classical ballet, is sublime; particularly Prince Florimund’s Adage Solo in Act 2 and The Florestan in the last act. Both dances remain as challenging as the day he added his brilliance to the production. Oliver Messel’s original designs adorn this timeless classic with splendor and a staircase on stage right that sets the evening with a sense of grandeur for most, but not all, of the audience. The Royal Opera House’s horseshoe shaped auditorium does not lend itself to major elements of the set being either side of the stage. One audience member said “I would have liked to have seen the

deux and solo in the final act showing she has arrived as a ballerina. Vadim Muntagirov danced Prince Florimund with consummate ease. He is now every bit a noble prince and superb partner too. He danced the melancholy solo in the Act 2 forest scene with a seamless adagio quality and stunning lines that Ashton created on Anthony Dowell. To have a tall long-limbed dancer command the stage on his own with adagio classical ballet is mesmerising and a thing of sheer beauty! Muntagirov has it all… well nearly! Dowell tilted the upper body and head more at the start of the renversé en dedans pirouette from arabesque. In Act 3, Muntagirov soared to even greater heights with a stunning masterclass of male virtuosity: double cabrioles both en avant and en arriere; double tour en l’air with height and precision soft landings. The audience gave Lamb and Muntagirov the most deserving rapturous applause. Other performances to note: Francesca Hayward and Alexander Campbell stood out in the Act 3 Bluebird. She turned and tweeted with fluttering delicate charm and composure whilst he dazzled the audience with his darting series of brisé voilés en diagonale; Beatriz Stix-Brunell, Yasmine Naghdi and James Hay gave a fresh and dynamic account of Ashton’s Florestan. The company is on top form with the corps de ballet being in fine fettle. At every level the dancers are performing with a sense of pride and belief that they have earnt a place on the world stage and want to keep it that way. Sleeping Beauty is a long ballet but would be even longer if the whole company were not stepping up to the mark. They certainly did on the opening night! In repertory until 14 March: roh.org.uk. Live cinema relay 28 February. Photographs © ROH. By Bill Cooper

BALLET

entrance from the top of the stairs… I’ll have to treat myself to centre seats next time”. Messel was a master of his trade with costumes that fit the fairytale scenes as well as the forest scenes before the final wedding scene with the opulence fit for any Royal wedding. Cattalabutte’s costume in the prologue was perhaps the exception to the rule as it stood out as being distinctly odd… perhaps Messel had something up his sleeve as this was the character in the ballet who got it so wrong by forgetting to invite Carabosse to the christening party. Unusually for The Royal Ballet, this production will see 25 performances by 10 different casts for the principal roles Princess Aurora and Prince Florimund being performed over a four month period. A stroke of genius from the director? With 2016/17 season’s roster of 20 principal dancers, 13 first soloists and 18 soloists all wanting to have their share of the big stage you can see why The Sleeping Beauty is a win win result for the management, dancers, box office and audience alike! Everyone has a part to play in this epic masterpiece with so many roles on offer. The opening night lead roles were danced by Sarah Lamb and Vadim Muntagirov. Lamb danced Princess Aurora with the assurance and precision we have grown to enjoy and expect from a ballerina on the world stage. Her balances, extensions and exquisite timing in the Rose Adage kept the audience at the edge of their seats with excitement. In Act 2, Lamb showed a softer more vulnerable side to her portrayal of the role dancing with her prince in the dreamy vision scene whilst still showing fleeting virtuosity in the solo moments. Lamb has the stamina for this role as she builds her command of the stage saving the best to last with the pas de

Arts & Culture

(CLASSICAL) MUSIC BY JAMES DOUGLAS

Edgar Broughton

Image © Richard St. Clair Browne Imrie

O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire 17 December 2016

By Myself still relatively fresh, Edgar Broughton’s solo work was naturally to the fore, but the majestic opener from By Myself, Arabesque/All Fall Down /Speak Down the Wires which also opened the set, was the only solo piece from that album. Three seminal band tracks from By Myself (Poppy, Evening Over Rooftops, and Hotel Room) reduced me to tears, and to pleading for the fourth, which was of course Green Lights. Over half the set was devoted to unpublished work including On The News, The Sound Don’t Come, Six White Horses, and There’s A Hole In It indicate the forthcoming album will be every bit the tour de force that is By Myself. How fabulous that this genius of

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online: www.KCWToday.co.uk blaring, wondering how many of the previous evening’s useful tips for selfimprovement our always good-humoured senior partner Simon Noakes would take.) Day one includes two concerts, a dance session and Q&As with Louis de Bernières. Day two includes a vocal workshop, children’s participatory concert, talks and a finale concert. An all-female group, The Brook Street Band is named after the London street where composer George Frideric Handel lived. Formed in 1996 by baroque cellist Tatty Theo (granddaughter of the renowned cellist William Pleeth), the band rapidly established itself as one of the UK’s leading Handel specialists. If you’re planning on going, do let me know if you want to meet up … I wonder if Zaks Burgers still taste that good? I imagine they’ve moved from the stall in car park …. www.zaks.uk.com www.brookstreetband.co.uk

Southbank Centre

ou should never meet childhood heroes in mid-life? I first saw the Edgar Broughton Band, aged fourteen, watching spellbound as in particular they played Green Lights then recently released on their fifth seminal album Oora. When I interviewed Edgar Broughton for Rokpool.com forty years later, Edgar sang Green Lights accompanying himself on proprietor/ editor Robin Smith’s acoustic guitar. Personally invited by one of my life’s greatest heroes (a love of whose music was shared by John Lennon and David Bowie, and who is even name-checked by Stephen Fry) I was delighted to attend Edgar Broughton’s solo concert supporting Family, whose farewell concert was a surprisingly robust if emotional event in front of a packed Shepherd’s Bush auditorium. Edgar Broughton really is a remarkable rock phenomenon. In the band’s heyday, the first half of the seventies, they were considered senior members of the hard rock underground, occasionally charting, and cited by the cognoscenti as amongst the greatest acts. Interestingly they frequently supported Pink Floyd, and I found myself praising the solo work of Gilmour just a couple of months ago. Edgar Broughton’s performance the other night was even better, that huge voice dominating an intimate and appreciative venue. With 2011’s highly acclaimed solo outing

mid-era proto-punk hard rock should manage to reinvent himself as a bard. Quite simply one of the best live acts there is, and ever was: Edgar Broughton. www.edgarbroughton.com

The Brook Street Band love: Handel Festival The Chapel, Park Lane, Norwich NR2 3EF 22 and 23 April 2017

Handel seems to be cropping up a lot recently … The Brook Street Band is launching its inaugural Handel Festival, a 2-day event in Norwich. I try to erase memories of UEA. The only thing I learned was reading and writing are like trying to eat while throwing up. I hated every minute of it, but did meet megacharming and thoroughly gorgeous ex-wife Anita, wonderful mother of our children, so manage to focus on the positive. The thought of Handel in a suburban Swedenborgian Chapel in Norwich has had me researching B&Bs. (Having a horror of provincial hotels, the legacy of away-jobs as a trainee, waking up at three in the morning curiously thirsty, fully clothed, shopping channel

Just across the water, the major festival in March is the Women of the World Festival (WOW). This year sees many influential women gather to seek solutions to the problems that threaten women’s rights, boasting a star-studded line up including writer and activist Angela Davis. By a somewhat arcane coincidence I’m pretty sure Angela Davis was the inspiration for the divine Sister Angela from Inside Out by the Edgar Broughton Band, the best protest album of them all; my favourite (and John Lennon’s). If like me you’re wondering what the Southbank actually is, here’s some background from the WOW release: Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre, comprising three iconic buildings (Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and

Hayward Gallery) and occupying a 21acre site that sits in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. The site has an extraordinary creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Building on this rich heritage, Southbank Centre offers an extensive artistic and cultural programme including annual and oneoff themed festivals and classical and contemporary music, performance, dance, visual art and literature and spoken word events throughout the year. So there you are: www.southbankcentre.co.uk

Boris Berezovsky

Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre Ludwig Van Beethoven: Piano Sonata in B flat, Op.106 (Hammerklavier) Fryderyk Chopin: Three Impromptus Op.29, Op.36, Op.51 Sergey Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No.8 in B flat, Op.84 28 February 2017 7:30 pm Image © Royal Festival Hall

February 2017

I imagine Berezovsky will sell out so I might be wasting your time and mine plugging this event, but I assure you I’ve sent off my plea for a press plus one. (All offers to join me will be rigorously considered). I doubt you need to be told what an important part of the Southbank’s International Piano Series this is. If you do, I’d just go: you won’t get many opportunities to see the Hammerklavier performed by an international superstar. If I don’t see you there, we can always catch up at Zaks in N’arch.

Image © Southbank Centre

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February 2017

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Jackie

Feldman MAX

Director: Mel Gibson Running Time: 139 Minutes

el Gibson’s career as a filmmaker has not been overly marred by subtlety; The Passion of The Christ re-imagined torture porn as catnip for the Bible belt, the savage Aztec manhunt of Apocalypto probably works better without the English subtitles and now Hacksaw Ridge, a film which takes the phrase “war is hell” terrifyingly literally. Gibson’s filmography presents humanity as drowning in a churning sea of violence and brutality, only finding meaning in the trials of those rare souls whose saintly endurance redeems them and the world around them. As a result the real question is why it’s taken Gibson until now to make a war film as the genre seems gift wrapped for his singular world view. Hacksaw Ridge is based on the real life story of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), a World War II-era medic who was the first conscientious objector to win the Medal Of Honour. We are introduced to Doss in his povertystricken rural childhood nearly killing his brother with a rock during a fight, establishing both a connection to violence that Doss clearly has to battle to suppress and also to the biblical figure of Cain, metaphysically raising the stakes of his rejection of violence. That the film then takes over an hour to actually get to the conflict might sound strange on paper, but that hour crackles with violence from every corner: From Doss’s World War One veteran father to Doss’s brutal hazing at the hands of boot camp co-conscripts who respond to his refusal to train with a rifle with Neanderthal menace. However the film only truly comes into its own when the soldiers are first deployed in the battle of Okinawa,

aftermath, veiling Camelot’s horrific climax through the extremely subjective eyes of Jackie herself. There is a slight problem of cognitive dissonance in that Portman looks just different enough from Onassis that there is feeling of the uncanny valley, compounded by Portman’s notably arch performance. However as the film unspools it becomes clear that her potentially alienating performance is actually powerfully representative of Onassis’s disconnection and alienation following the assassination of her husband (it’s more than worthy of its Oscar nod). The film’s first hour is a blisteringly disorienting whirl following the passage of events minutes after the gunshot as a crystalline series of vignettes: Jackie cradling JFK’s haemorrhaging head, trying to keep it intact, as the motorcade races down the highway to safety; Jackie, adamant about remaining in her drenched clothing, watching as Lyndon Johnson ( John Carroll Lynch) is sworn in on Air Force

Hurt, exceptional), an anguished Bobby Kennedy (Peter Sarsgaard), and a loyal confidante (Greta Gerwig). But if the screenplay by Noah Oppenheim (weirdly primarily known as the screenwriter of Young Adult tosh like The Maze Runner and Allegiant) can get a little on the nose (as opposed to straight through the forehead), it also takes the Kennedys’ existential crisis in the wake of JFK’s murder seriously; like anyone else, they just wanted to know that they mattered, that they made some mark on the world. As a result much of the film is as much about media control as anything else, with the devastated Jackie attempting to plot a way to enshrine her husband’s legacy whilst hiding her own deep pain. As a result we get an unusual view of the cold politicking behind the rise of the JFK legend that society is still ensnared in today (personally I’d take RFK any day of the week) along with an insight into the broken woman under the surface, it’s that second insight that makes Jackie soar.

Director: Pablo Larrain Running Time: 100 minutes

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Hacksaw Ridge

Whilst sitting down to watch Jackie it’s hard not to question whether the world really needs another film about the Kennedy assassination. Considering that the only period of history that has received more extensive theatrical coverage than America circa 196373 is the Second World War, it’s easy to cynically pre-judge the film as yet another raking over of Baby Boomer arcana as yet more self-congratulatory hagiography. However in the hands of Director Pablo Larrain, Jackie manages to avoid most of the pitfalls of contemporary Hollywood biography filmmaking. Rather than attempting to lazily summarise the life of Kennedy first lady Jackie Onassis (Natalie Portman) the film revolves kaleidoscopically around one shattering incident (no prizes for guessing what) and its immediate

One, just two hours after the shooting; Jackie, still plainly in shock, breaking the news to her children. Larraín provides no reliable sense of passing time, letting the sleepless hours bleed into sleepless days. Mirroring Onassis’s own life pre and post assassination, the cameras press uncomfortably close to Portman’s sleepless face, whilst Mica Levi’s cacophonous score relentlessly snarls and sooths. This score is Jackie’s secret weapon, full of lonely horns and paranoid strings it’s about as far from Hollywood schmaltz as it gets and key in helping Jackie to stand on its own as a great movie instead of just more Oscar bait. This being said Jackie doesn’t completely sidestep its genre’s sentimental traditions. The horror of the early scenes eventually bleeds into agonizing over funeral plans along with rather familiar references to the King Arthur stories (the Broadway hit Camelot is played twice, which feels a tad lazy considering the aforementioned quality of the There Will Be Blood-tinged original soundtrack and perhaps one too many speeches about legacy, as Jackie works out her fears and anxieties in conversation with a priest ( John

where Gibson presents the theatre of war as a cross between The Last Judgement and the most fevered imaginings of Hieronymus Bosch. Intestines coat the ground like gossamer and the sights of decapitations, eviscerations and disembowellings are only hidden by an ever-present curtain of reeking smoke that twitches prissily over the action, both adding to the hellish atmosphere and mercifully hiding the excesses from view. Hacksaw Ridge never tops (or really makes any attempt to top) that first encounter, instead it focuses on Doss’s hallucinatory attempts to help the wounded, encountering elaborate suicides, tortured men and accidental deaths that could be passed off as unused woodcuts of a particularly visceral edition of Dante’s Inferno. Gibson’s maximalist symbolic style is almost certainly not for everyone. For him subtext is something exclusively for the film theorists; If you can shoot something as a direct allegory for Christianity (like soldiers washing the blood off themselves in symbolic baptism) then you take that imagery and you ram it down the audience’s throat. There is something to be said for this, something this bold and unashamed tends to be closer to The Fast and The Furious rather than bleak meditations on warfare, but it’s likely to turn off as many as it turns on. The film is unarguably moving and Andrew Garfield notches up another great performance on his belt (the parallels and opposites between his roles in Hacksaw Ridge and Silence are rather fascinating), not everything works; the assertion that Doss’s capacity for sin needs redemption is hard to engage with if you’re not burning with the same theological fervour as Mel Gibson (not something to be aspired to generally) and the scenes Doss spends with his fiancée are syrupy to say the least. Despite these problems Mel Gibson’s interpretation of the horrors of war is a powerful and primal piece of art.

Photograph © Fox Searchlight

Photograph © Summit Entertainment

Arts & Culture

February 2017

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Photograph © Summit Entertainment

Silence

Director: Martin Scorsese Running Time: 161 minute

La La Land

Director: Damien Chazelle Running Time: 128 minutes

he musical, once one of the central mainstays of classic Hollywood, hasn’t so much been killed off by modernity as much as guillotined by it. Barring the occasional Broadway adaptation (The Phantom Of The Opera take your bow! Or rather, don’t) the Hollywood musical is a museum piece that seems as prehistoric as anything in the Natural History Museum to modern eyes. This is why La La Land, which certainly seems to be a relatively frothy bit of cinema on the surface, is in some ways quite a bold film. Bringing Westerns back as more violent, brutal genre pieces is one thing, but asking audiences to forget decades worth of cynicism is quite another. As a result La La Land approaches its romantic central story with a certain degree of ironic remove, but make no bones about it: La La Land is a big-hearted traditional love story disguised in Millennial Sarcasm and is likely to make audience adverse to that kind of nonsense roll their eyes hard enough to whirl them out of their heads. Luckily the two leads Mia and Sebastian are played by the eminently likeable Emma Stone and, the admittedly rather more erratically charismatic Ryan Gosling, both of whom manage to be charming enough to keep La La Land on an even keel. No small feat considering that in less capable hands the film has the potential to put the Hindenburg to shame. After a chance encounter Mia and Sebastian’s romance begins in a timehonoured Hollywood tradition: naked dislike. In an act of cosmic matchmaking, Mia keeps running into the struggling jazz pianist Sebastian; (Gosling manages to tightrope his cranky charm just on the

right side of funny instead of infuriating). Frustrated by the decline of jazz in the face of commercial reality (“I guess the joke’s on…..history” he complains about a famed jazz haunt that has rebranded as a ‘tapas and tango’ bar) and hung on the legends whose careers he covets, Sebastian is so stubbornly committed to “real” jazz that he can’t hold down a job playing standards at a swanky restaurant; he’s a cousin to both the maniacally driven drummer of Whiplash and Oscar Isaac’s hopelessly principled Llewyn Davis. But there’s a glimmer of something more beneath his cynicism, and Mia and Sebastian are drawn to each others’ respective passion. La La Land traces their salty-then-sweet courtship by season, watching as it evolves from mutual dislike to flirtatious antagonism to head-over-heels romance. Hanging on the horizon though is the fear that the pairs parallel dreams and frustrations will shatter the fledgling couple Director Damien Chazelle’s first film was the crackling, tension-fuelled Whiplash and the dynamic visual style (and jazz obsession) helps testify that his first feature was not a fluke. With La La Land Chazelle took the Whiplash theme of unfairly measuring yourself against the greats of the past and expanded it to fill the picture’s entire universe. The setting might be 2017 but the characters and even the city itself are striving to recreate some idealised version of history, that might not even have existed the way they imagine it. La La Land is something of a Marmite proposition, its froth will be offputting to some and its refusal to go all in on its musical heritage (the middle third of the film is effectively song free) and only one genuine showstopper of a song is in danger of alienating musical obsessives. La La Land is a fun, bittersweet ride that ultimately is probably badly served by the hype swirling around it. If you can manage to forget every word in this review and go in with no expectations then so much the better.

Meditations on the nature of faith, particularly of the Christian faith, have somewhat fallen out of favour in mainstream Hollywood productions with the turn of the 21st century. As a result the slack has to a large extent been taken up by the home-grown propaganda machines responsible for tripe such as God’s Not Dead, less films than a series of straw men and ideological bullet points cynically put together to put divinely inspired bums on seats in the lucrative bible belt. Whether Hollywood’s move away from the mysteries of faith can be put down to a general turn towards atheism in mainstream art, or simply the kind of natural wax and ebb that other non-God related genres are subject to. Given Silence’s uncompromising examination of the limits and limitations of faith in extreme adversity however, it seems that Martin Scorsese didn’t get that memo or considering that he has been attempting to make it for over 25 years, perhaps he received it all too clearly. Silence, Martin Scorsese’s longin-the-works adaptation of Shūsaku Endō’s same-titled novel about a Jesuit priest searching for his former mentor in Shogun-era Japan, is a truly religious piece of filmmaking, in that it looks for meaning in the contradictions and absurdities of faith, instead of its assurances. One might call it a movie of dark ironies or a black comedy without jokes or even the anti-Goodfellas, as the two films complement each other in unexpected ways. Submitting his camera to primeval landscapes, and foregoing his usual ‘Marty’s Favorites’ playlist in favour of an almost instrument-free ambient soundtrack that qualifies as film music only in a conceptual sense, Scorsese presents a world that is daunting in its mystery, cruelty, and symbolism. As the purest exploration of the director’s great Catholic themes completely free of New York influences, it’s inevitably something of a challenge. First conceived while the director was in Japan for the filming of Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (i.e. right between Last Temptation and Goodfellas), Silence is an anti-spectacle, a complete aboutface from the lavish period decors and costumes of earlier Scorsese movies like Hugo, Gangs Of New York, and The Age Of Innocence. Filmed in Taiwan, it limits its view of 17th-century Japanese life to far-flung villages, tiny huts, and walled compounds, effectively alternating agoraphobic and claustrophobic perspectives. Its protagonist is the emaciated and unkempt Father

Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield). He has come from the Portuguese colony of Macau with his fellow padre Father Garrpe (Adam Driver) to minister to Japan’s persecuted Catholics and to find out what really happened to the head of the last Jesuit mission, Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson), who is rumored to have renounced Christianity. The year is 1639, just shortly after the failed uprising of Catholic peasants called the Shimabara Rebellion, and well after Christianity had been officially outlawed as a foreign influence following a brief and unlikely period of popularity and acceptance. The Japan that Rodrigues enters is so alien that many characters affirm that faith of any kind will by necessity wither and die in the "swamp" of the Japanese homeland. Surrounded by the physical and mental tortures of the oppressed and hidden Christians, Rodrigues finds himself torn between the ideological firmness of his religious convictions and the growing knowledge (and temptations) that all it would take to stop the violence and misery would be for him to renounce his own faith. Whilst things are certainly less bombastic than much of Scorsese’s back catalogue (sadly there’s no mass crucifixion scenes set to Layla) that doesn’t mean the most rollicking of the great American directors has completely surrendered the aggressive qualities of his style. Silence resists the pictorialism and sweep of a conventional historical drama, even as it can’t resist some of the genre’s oldest tropes. (The padres, for instance, all speak with Portuguese accents of varying consistency, with the amusing exception of Liam Neeson who doesn't even make the attempt.) In fact, a lot of the casting in Silence could be seen as suggestive, at least in how it relates viewer expectations to Rodrigues’ futile search for guidance. Its treatment of Rodrigues’ spiritual turmoil alternates between mystical affirmation and droll subversion. In its superb coda, Photograph © Paramount Pictures

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the film somehow finds a way to the former through the latter. Having walked and sat alongside Rodrigues as he has wrung his hands in doubt and watched others die horribly while trying to figure out whether it would be worse to betray his faith or their own, Silence delivers a couple of cosmic punchlines, making it one of the few Scorsese films to redeem its protagonist.

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Arts & Culture Photograph © Guildhall Art Gallery

Victorians Decoded at the Guildhall By Max Feldman

egardless of what the new President of the United States may have to say about it, the march of technological progress and globalisation have made the world a smaller place. Victorians Decoded at the Guildhall Art Gallery set its focus on the first time that mankind utilized technology to hack the terrifying size of the world down to a more manageable size: the successful construction in 1877 of a telegraph cable between Britain and the US. The Atlantic Telegraph Company was a joint American and British project, established in 1856 with a working capital of £350,000 that would prove wholly insufficient. The first successful cable connection came in the summer of 1858, on the fifth attempt, but not before the loss of hundreds of miles of expensive cable. It was used to transmit a message between Queen Victoria and the US President James Buchanan. The occasion was a PR triumph but an engineering disaster; the cable was too weak, and failed within weeks. Increasingly murderously expensive attempts followed until Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s monster iron ship, the Great Eastern, then the biggest ship in the world, finally got the job done in 1866, enabling a message to be transmitted at a rate of approximately one minute for each eight words. Whilst the first of the expedition rooms features samples of the transatlantic cables, the majority of the exhibition is made up of an emotive selection of Victorian-era paintings (including work by Edward John Poynter, Edwin Landseer, James Clarke Hook, William Logsdail, William Lionel Wyllie and James Tissot) that

demonstrates how the Victorians cultural attitudes towards distance and communication were permanently altered by the new global reality sparked by the cable’s completion. The exhibition is divided into four sections: Distance, Resistance, Transmission and Coding, each focused on a different aspect of how Victorian culture was affected by this first move towards a more globalised world. Many of the contemporary artists set out to capture how rapidly the world was changing, as in William Lionel Wyllie’s Scene on the Lower Thames, with its looming sailing ships and squat steamers vying for space on the river. “Art itself was transformed as telegraphic systems were established,” explained Caroline Arscott, professor of 19th-century British art at the Courtauld. Perhaps the highlight of the expedition is Edwin Landseer’s Man Proposes, God Disposes, an astounding (and unnervingly bleak) study of the aftermath of Sir John Franklin’s 1845 ill-fated arctic expedition which features two positively demonic looking polar bears feasting on the remains of the unfortunate explorers. The painting holds pride of place in the Resistance section (which focuses on the immense difficulties that the sheer distance presented the cable engineers) and rather

fittingly is reputed to be haunted. Rather less hair-raisingly (but no less interesting) is the Great Grammatizer, a machine constructed by Alexandra Bridarolli which breaks down messages written by the public into eccentric poems and codes, reflecting how the new possibilities opened by the completed

David Le Lay 1945-2017

orn and educated in Jersey in January 1945, David went to Canterbury School of Architecture and then the University of Westminster, formerly the Regents Street Poly, in 1967, opening his own practise in 1970. He was an inveterate clubman and was a member of 21 institutions. At the centre of his life was Chelsea, where he lived for many years and was Chairman of the Chelsea Society for 22 years until 2009, when he was given an honorary role. During this period,

cable were also counterbalanced by an explosion of codes and secret messages. Whilst the Victorians might have felt that they were standing at the precipice of an unknown future, modern audiences can see the new realities explored in Victorians Decoded as the uncertain beginnings of a newly connected world.

he gave many talks and guided walks around the Royal Borough, and he was an ardent critic of bad planning and inappropriate developments, also working for the Cadogan Estate on areas of survey. He was a life member of Chelsea Arts Club, from where he launched the Whistler Society, and was instrumental in commissioning a statue of the American artist, who founded the Club in 1891 on the north side of Battersea Bridge from the sculptor Nicholas Dimbleby. He was also a member of the London Sketch Club, where he hosted a number of Designers’ and Architects’ Nights for many years, giving one of his famous and erudite Black and White Lectures during the evening. He was a churchwarden of Christ Church, Chelsea, and a member of the Reform Club. He will be remembered as a jolly, smartly-dressed and polite gentleman, in the true sense of the word, although he could have a ready wit and an acerbic tongue if challenged, but that made for a more exciting exchange. He met his lifelong partner John Thacker while studying in Canterbury, having been together for 53 years, and we offer him and David’s family our sympathy for the loss of a one-off Chelsea character. DG

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Cuba: a rum place to visit by Derek Wyatt

lying to Cuba from the UK is becoming easier. Virgin flies direct and BA should be adding it to its services shortly. The Fidel Castro years are over and Raoul, his brother, is trying his best to modernise the country. There will be huge celebrations in 2019 when the country celebrates 60 years of the Marxist republic. Arriving in Cuba can be a trial.

opens at eight and closes at three the next morning. It buzzes. You can learn flamenco, listen to a TED style talk, dance, buy locally designed jewellery, art or photographs or just hang out. Whatever, you have to be patient as you will have to queue for at least 30 minutes to get in, so carry water. The queue starts early and finishes late. We stayed two hours. There are plenty of taxis to take you home and the smart thing is to have pre-booked dinner next door up three floors of winding staircase to eat outdoors. Havana is not your average city break weekend. On the other hand after a week your patience may have been tested to the limit. We tried six days which was two days too long. So, if you decide to visit, combine it with another destination

in Cuba or more likely another Central American country (we spent another week on the Pacific coast in Coast Rica) or a Caribbean island. Plan. Book your restaurants before you arrive (you can always unbook them). Book your entertainment too. Several of the very best modern restaurants like O’Reilly 304 and Dona Eutimia were booked out so you either joined a long queue or missed a treat. As big Jazz fans we failed to find reservations at either Jazz Cafe or Jazz Club la Zorra . We stayed at the Santa Isabel Hotel in the old part of the City. It is an oasis of calm and breakfast on the terrace was a daily joy. It can be difficult to book a room with a balcony there but do keep trying and the odd tip helps. It was fun sipping mojitas whilst watching the city go by. We can recommend: the Museum of

Cuban Modern Art, the Museum of the Republic next door, a tour of Havana in an open top bus, a pleasure ride in one of the many splendid Cadillacs ($50) plus a visit to Fusterlandia to see a Gaudiesque village designed by Jose Fuster, badly in need of renovation, but amusing nonetheless. Unlike the rest of Central America the US dollar is unwelcome. You will need Euros or Sterling in plenty or risk the local exchange scams. The currency of Cuba is different depending on who you are. This is confusing. Locals trade in MN$ (pesos) whilst others and visitors trade in CUC$. A merger of currencies has been proposed, but action has been slow. You can expect to lose 12-15% of the value of your US$ if you try and exchange them in hotels or restaurants. There are a few ATMs but they run out quickly especially over weekends. There are also a small number of banks but the queues to change currency are long. We exchanged currency at the airport. The use of debit or credit cards is slight. Over the Christmas holiday, a visit to a much warmer environment is becoming a habit for more and more of us in the UK. Cuba is definitely worth the struggle because it challenges us in so many ways - no graffiti, no rubbish, no advertising, hardly any crime, high levels of literacy, good health facilities and rum cocktails to help the music go down. Put it on your bucket list.

Photograph © Reinhart Schmidt

ou will need a special addition to your passport which will set you back £30 and can only be purchased in London. You should carry your health insurance policy as there are random checks at customs. You will need a first degree in patience at the carousel for your luggage to appear and a second degree in murder! We waited ninety minutes before it arrived. Should this happen to you, make sure you have spare bottles of water, ask for them on board, and some games for the children. Be wary, too, of taxi scams. Always ask the price before setting off and use the taxis parked at the airport. Raoul has allowed a thousand restaurants to flower. If only it was that easy. In Havana, there is not much evidence of a service culture. There are not enough qualified chefs. The infrastructure creaks every day, sometimes every hour. Water goes on and off. There is not sufficient gas for the ovens and stoves. Toilets cannot flush. Wines cannot be chilled. The air con fails. Waiting for an hour to be served is not unusual. And still you are left with bills of mouth-watering proportions. Something has to give otherwise tourists will think twice about coming. This would be a great shame because Cuba is the most wonderful place to visit especially its capital Havana. It has a rich Spanish architecture which under the brilliance of Eusebio Leal Spengler, a town planner with nerve and verve, has gradually seen its restoration (with help from UNESCO) especially in the old town. Above all else it has music. Live music is everywhere. It goes with the rum. It punches above its weight. At Fabrica de Arte Cubano, which is a new arts centre in an impoverished area, you can hear jazz, salsa, fusion, garage and more across its three floors and umpteen bars. It

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West Wales

Cafés, Castles and Walks Cynthia Pickard

trees, fording streams to reach the slate quarry and returning along the banks of the river via fields of omnipresent sheep. It does rain in Wales, so this was the day to take the Tallylyn narrow gauge railway www.talyllyn.co.uk from the nearby coastal town of Tywyn. A brass band rang out carols from the station platform as we boarded the Santa Special, with a whistle and a cloud of coal-flavoured steam, we were off, chugging along to the Dolgoch Falls for

mulled wine and mince pies while Santa handed out presents to the children. When the sun shone we headed to Harlech to walk along the absurdly wide and long sandy beach with its views across the dunes and golf links to the peaks of Snowdonia. Then up the winding road to Harlech Castle and the Cemlyn Tea Shop to look down on the castle, coast and mountains beyond and to sample a real Welsh Rarebit and choose one of the wide selection of

Photograph © Ione Bingley

y heart soars as I cross the border into another world, a layered landscape of hills rises up ahead. I feel so at home walking in the mountains and along the wide sandy beaches, I wonder if I were a Welsh woman in a former life. We have spent a week in Corris, a thriving village of 600 people within sight of the 893 metre peak of Cadair Idris, ten minutes drive from Machynlleth and the famous Centre for Alternative Technology www.cat.org. uk which has possibly attracted many believers in The Good Life to relocate here. Mountain-biking, www.bikecorris. co.uk, underground exploration and crafts are all available here. www. corrismineexplorers.co.uk and www. kingarthurslabyrinth.co.uk At the village’s heart are the Corris Institute, a community centre, and Adam and Andy’s lively shop and café stocked with a comprehensive selection of vegan and vegetarian products. Wales may not be renowned for its gastronomy but it excels in cafés and pubs. Corris is the starting point for a walk to Aberllefenni, up through the towering

speciality leaf teas including Black Chai and Decaffeinated Assam. Barmouth is a popular seaside resort of grey stone buildings with an amusement arcade and ice creams, souvenir shops, cafés and pub. It’s also a good starting off point for walks to locate nearby archaeological remains and the Welsh Coast Path. From here a stunning journey along the Mawddach Estuary leads to Dolgellau then onwards to the attractive port of Aberdovey where we are told there is a good seafood restaurant; further south one reaches Aberystwyth. Returning home, eastwards through the glorious Welsh hills we take a break at Hay-on-Wye, famous for its bookshops and annual Literary Festival, there’s also another castle, more cafés, antique shops, a Thursday Market, as well as fashion and gift shops, a specialist map shop and an upmarket Shoreditch style hardware shop. The gem in town is The End at 20 Castle Street, a wonderfully curated idiosyncratic curio shop, next door to a great greengrocer. There is superb walking from here in the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons. Hay Bluff is close by and the Offa’s Dyke Path can be joined from the ruins of Llanthony Priory. Driving back towards London, the hills die away making way for the flat landscape of England. I’m sad to leave and vow to visit Wales more often to acquire my ‘fix’ of this landscape.

Bad footwear can cause Knee & Back Pain, Corns, Cold Toes & Nerve Damage

Verbier: The ski resort for the bon vivant By Ione Bingley

Few ski resorts can boast a summer season to rival the winter, but mountain refuge extraordinaire, Verbier, nestled in the Swiss alps, has achieved just that. Its stunning success as the go-to ski destination for Europe’s glamorous elite to see and be seen, may well be down to its staunch architectural commitment to the alpine dream, gourmet menus and legendary off-piste. Unlike the sprawl of 60s brutalist architecture across the alps à la Flaine, Switzerland’s prohibitive rules on foreigners buying land and tight

planning permissions have left Verbier a haven for the aesthete looking to relax in a gemütlich wooden chalet with a glass of red wine and not a patch of concrete in sight. True to the luxe experience, long gone are the days when up the mountain fare need consist of a plate of chips from a self-service that charges like a wounded rhino. Much deserved lunch options after a hard day tumbling down one of Verbier’s world famous off-piste mogul fields, are two-a-penny here. Long lunches are the order of the day with choices ranging from röstis at Le Carrefour that will have you dreaming about next year and foie gras burgers from converted cow barn, Chalet Novelly, to salads par excellence from La Marlénaz. A playground for the luxury lover, Verbier ticks all the boxes, but with all the fun available you may need fireproof pockets to stop your money burning through.

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Photograph © Cynthia Pickard

Travel

February 2017

Travel

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk

A great escape, Orestone Manor,

Maidencombe, Devon By David Hughes

mouthful of 2015 Foundstone Shiraz, and let the mix of salty, caramelised scallop partner the crunch of cauli, and knew I was in good hands. Next up we chose the Monkfish with Sugar Snap and the Venison with Kale, Celeriac Puree & Blackberry. My medium rare venison leaned more towards the rare, but trust in your chef:

Hotel, situated on a slight rise from the car park, a little quirky, a little historic, quite individual, and on the doorstep of Torquay. Even joint owner and chef Neal D’Allen admits that thoughts of Fawlty Towers can spring unbidden to mind, but fear not, this place has not succumbed to the likes of a Basil or Manuel. It does in fact deserve that oft touted, but rarely achieved, Ad man’s favourite “exceeding expectations”. The rooms are all individually designed, many with sea views, some with hot tubs, and range from the Horsley Suite’s Edwardian elegance, to our Room 4’s reimagined 70s Rock chic. Reading up in advance of our trip I also noted a restaurant that scored lots of rosettes and stars, as well as coveted mentions in the Conde Nast Johansens and Michelin guides. Our first chance to sample what the Orestone had to offer was perhaps a little unusual as the kitchen technically had closed. Thick fog on the way down, and some commitments in town had conspired to delay our arrival until after 10pm on a Sunday evening, but I have to say a couple of large drinks and two rounds of hearty sandwiches soon put the dreary motorway trip behind us. After a great night’s sleep, and thankfully without the need to behave like an ancient Rocker, it was time to throw open the curtains of the wonderful bay window and take in the sea view. It was a bit grey on this occasion, but the air was so clean and fresh I just concentrated on how much good all that wonderful ozone was doing me. Time for a Full English breakfast to start our day. Absolutely delicious, and a great insulator for a brisk trot along the coast and a chance to pit a pocketful of 2p pieces against the slot machines in a

Torquay amusement hall. Actually, I have to confess, the initial pile soon went, and it took several trips to the change hut to acquire more strange key rings that I know what to do with. Being at the heart of the English Riviera, Torquay and surrounding area enjoys a bit of a favourable micro climate. It’s not so noticeable at this time of year, so it’s perfect for gadding about without the queues, and you still get the full benefit of that convivial blast of warmth when you get back to the hotel. After a pre-dinner G&T it was time to put some of the restaurant’s claims to the test. M started with the Crab Martini and I went for the Scallops. The crab was a generous portion, and the strategic addition of mango sorbet proved a perfect match. There’s no point in adding something that barely shows its hand, and this was a confident dish. Baby cauliflower florets, with scallops? Oh yes, that worked too. I savoured a

if he knows what he is doing, it should come out optimum for the dish. Meat and game in season at this time of year pair well with fruit, and the blackberries were an inspired choice. The Monkfish was also beautifully cooked and presented, and the crunchy sugar snaps an excellent foil to its lightly adorned flavour. Everything is sourced very local to the Manor, and I don’t think you

have to be too slavish to this concept to appreciate the benefits. Choosing the best local suppliers becomes a two way contract. A good supplier will always pick out something special for you if he knows you have top chefs who will enhance his reputation for quality, and front of house manager Jo, along with the team in the kitchen, clearly know the

best farmers and fishermen on this strip of the coast. Do I need a dessert? Is this a valid question? I’m not moving from this table until I’ve gone through the card, though I might need a couple of minutes breather. We split between sweet and savoury, and agree to share, which goes slightly awry when I realise I’ve gone way over 50% of the Assiette of Desserts. An enticing chocolate fondant, some stunning jelly, yep, it’s all sinful stuff, and I still had some designs on the cheese, but M had the port, and the Vin Santo was happier with the sweet stuff. I suffered a brief, baleful look as she cast her eyes over my nearly empty plate. Breakfast would be less indulgent tomorrow! After another blissful night’s sleep it was time to contemplate the return to London. This place is definitely worthy of an entry in anyone’s little black book, and makes a perfect short break at this time of year, longer when the weather perks up. As well as the beautiful nature and shoreline on your doorstep, Orestone Manor also has quite a bit of history for those who are interested, but it wears it lightly so you don’t feel you are in some kind of living museum. A recent innovation is offering gift vouchers which can be set against anything from an afternoon tea to a short break; an excellent idea, and they can now be booked online. Reservations and enquiries: 01803 897511 www.orestonemanor.com

020 7738 2348

February 2017

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

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with a view is not the order of the day, delicious restaurant options are easy to come by.

Hard hiker:

Walk England’s green and pleasant land By Ione Bingley

eaving the industriscapes of England’s northern cities behind and entering into the Lake District, it is hard to believe that the gloriously green pastures enclosed by stacked stone walls and peppered with picturesque sheep could exist in the modern world.

The narrow roads flanked by pretty cottages and rolling, wild fells (hills) decked with heather and bracken and adorned with shimmering streams that trickle down from dizzying heights into the district’s eponymous lakes are scenes of a pre-industrial England of old. A huge area of topographical delights, tarns (mountain lakes) of myriad sizes and rambling routes of every distance, the Lake District is without doubt best experienced by foot. Its varied landscape lends itself to the enjoyment of every kind of walker, from the hiker to the stroller. The quaint villages and towns scattered through the region offer a range of accommodation options from B&Bs to boutique hotels and, if a sandwich

For stunning views over Derwentwater, don your boots and head up to the top of High Seat and Bleaberry Fell, rocky outcrops that serve as a magnificent viewpoints. The walk is full of contrasts from the shores of Derwentwater with views to Catbells and the north-western Fells. The open fellside between the two summits is often wet under foot so it is best to complete this walk after a dry spell or when the peat is frozen hard. Distance: 9 miles Location: High Seat and Bleaberry Fell, Keswick Start: Keswick, grid ref NY267234

Weekend rambler:

You’ll climb Castle Crag, the site of a hill fort some 2,000 years ago, which, though small in stature, offers some of the finest views you will ever see. Take a moment to pause at Peace How, a small summit bought for the benefit of the nation in 1917 as a place where soldiers returning from the front line could find some tranquillity. Distance: 4 miles Location: Borger Dalr, Borrowdale

Start: Grange in Borrowdale, grid ref NY253174

Afternoon stroller:

Gifted to the National Trust by Beatrix Potter, this idyllic fell-top tarn offers one of the most iconic views in the Lake District, the path around it has been made accessible for buggies and mobility scooters, which makes it a haven for walkers of all ages and abilities. Those with more walking experience should try this short steep approach to the tarn past Tom Gill Beck. Distance: 1.6 miles Location: Tom Gill to Tarn Hows, Coniston Start: Car park at Tom Gill (at Glen Mary Bridge), grid ref: SD321998

Stargazer:

A view described by John Ruskin as one of the three most beautiful scenes in Europe, Friar’s Crag is a promontory jutting into Derwentwater looking out towards Derwent Isle and the surrounding scenery. On a clear summer night, the open space and lack of light pollution makes this a perfect spot for stargazing. Distance: 0.75 miles Location: Friar’s Crag, Keswick Start: Lakeside car park, grid ref: NY265229

The Winter Cumbrian Coast Express

The Cumbrian Mountain Express

Saturday 4th and 25th March 2017

Saturday 22nd April, 13th and 20th May 2017

UK STE

£109

RAIL D from

TRIP AY

UK STE

RAIL D from

TRIP AY

£99

Derek Phillips

With these trains we expect to recreate the early days of steam rail tours in the 1980s when travelling over the Cumbrian Fells was the icing on the cake in the main line steam calendar. We have a high-speed journey down the West Coast Main Line to Carnforth, hauled by a blue Class 86 electric locomotive. We then enjoy a circular steam tour from Carnforth outwards via Shap to Carlisle and back via the scenic Cumbrian Coast line. We return from Carnforth to London behind our blue electric locomotive. Premier Dining includes full English breakfast, light lunch and a four course dinner silver served at your seat. First Class includes morning coffee with a Danish pastry and afternoon tea with scones, jam and cream, along with a selection of sandwiches. Standard Class includes a reserved seat usually at a table for four. Tables for two can be guaranteed in Premier Dining and First Class for a supplement of £22 per person (subject to availability). A buffet car is available and serves tea, coffee, snacks and light refreshments.

Approx.Timings London Euston Watford Junction* Milton Keynes Northampton** Rugby Nuneaton Crewe Preston Carlisle

Depart 07:10 06:41 07:54 07:45 08:28 08:47 09:38 10:26 12:40

Fares Premier First Standard

Junior £175 £112 £76

Adult £249 £159 £109

*Passengers from Watford Junction will travel to Milton Keynes by service train to join our train. **Passengers from Northampton will travel to and from Rugby by service train to join our train.

Visit railwaytouring.net or phone us on 01553 661 500

Return 22:48 22:27 21:39 21:53 21:11 20:53 19:55 18:51 14:06 Family £760 £486 £332

Bob Green

With these trains we expect to recreate the early days of steam rail tours in the 1980s when travelling over the Settle & Carlisle Railway was the icing on the cake in the main line steam calendar. We have a high speed journey down the West Coast Main Line to Carnforth hauled by a blue class 86 electric locomotive. We then enjoy a circular steam tour outwards via Shap to Carlisle and back via the Settle and Carlisle line. We return from Farington Junction to London behind our blue electric locomotive. Premier Dining includes full English breakfast and a four course dinner silver served at your seat. First Class includes morning coffee with a Danish pastry and afternoon tea with a savoury dish followed by a selection of fancies and cakes. Standard Class includes a reserved seat usually at a table for four. Tables for two can be guaranteed in Premier Dining and First Class for a supplement of £22 per person (subject to availability). A buffet car is available and serves tea, coffee, snacks and light refreshments.

Approx.Timings London Euston Watford Junction* Milton Keynes Northampton** Rugby Nuneaton Crewe Preston*** Carlisle

Depart 07:10 06:40 08:00 07:40 08:25 08:45 09:45 10:30 12:40

Fares Premier First Standard

Junior £175 £112 £76

Adult £249 £159 £99

Return 22:05 21:50 21:15 21:30 20:38 20:20 19:15 ------14:40 Family £760 £486 £312

*Passengers from Watford Junction will travel to Milton Keynes by service train to join our train. **Passengers from Northampton will travel to and from Rugby by service train to join our train. ***Passengers boarding at Preston will return to Preston by service train from Blackburn.

14a Tuesday Market Place, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 1JN Your booking is made subject to the terms and conditions of The Railway Touring Company

February 2017

Health

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk

New Year, new start:

learning more about longer term options such as egg freezing, we are here to give you all the information you need so that you can make an informed choice that you feel comfortable with.

supporting those thinking of starting a family in 2017

Expert support

Tracey Sainsbury, BICAAccredited Fertility Counsellor at The Lister Fertility Clinic, part of HCA Healthcare UK

t this time of year many people feel like making a change, whether that’s starting a new job, taking up a new hobby or starting a diet. But it can also be a time to look ahead to the future and think about starting a family. At The Lister Fertility Clinic, based on the site of The Lister Hospital on Chelsea Bridge Road, we know that for some people starting a family is not plain sailing. That’s why we aim to create an environment that is warm and caring, and provides the emotional support you need balanced with the highest quality advice and medical treatments. It’s this holistic approach from our highly skilled team of doctors, nurses, embryologists and counsellors that has seen more than 16,500 Lister babies born over the last 29 years.

Taking the first step

Taking the first step to seek help with fertility can be daunting. Twice a month we hold informal open evenings where one of our fertility specialists presents information on treatment options available at The Lister Fertility Clinic and an overview of how the IVF process works. There is also the chance to ask questions and look around our facilities. We also offer both male and female ‘MOT’s where our experts offer a full check-up to determine what (if any) further investigations are needed. It’s all part of empowering you with the knowledge and information that will enable you to make informed decisions

The Lister Hospital is a private hospital located in the heart of Chelsea. It has been providing care and treatment for over 30 years. Our service is bespoke to your medical needs with access to the capital’s leading specialists and treatments. We want you to feel like family from the moment you walk through our door. Call now to book an appointment:

020 3733 0253

www.thelisterhospital.com

about your treatment, and to choose the treatment path that is right for you.

Cutting edge care

As well as expert advice, we offer the latest medical advances such as genetic testing, Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) and time-lapse imaging techniques to improve embryo selection. We can also perform 3D pelvic scans and have the surgical expertise to diagnose or treat surgical problems. We also recognise that for some people now may not be the right time to try for a baby, and that you may want to consider fertility options for the future. If that’s the case and you’re interested in

We encourage you to explore freely with us any anxieties, concerns or problems as we believe that this creates a supportive, relaxed atmosphere. But we also recognise that for some people, traditional IVF might not be the right option. The **Christmas break often gives people the opportunity to think long and hard about their options, and for some people this means starting the new year by exploring fulfilling alternative nurturing options such as donor conception, adoption, fostering or mentoring. You don’t have to make a decision right away. For those looking to take stock and consider options The Lister Fertility Clinic’s expert counsellors are on hand to talk through everything; we offer an ‘open door’ policy meaning you can come and see us whenever you want; before, after or during your treatment. So whatever your situation, come along and see us and start 2017 with a positive step towards starting your family. For more information call the new patients line on 020 3811 7770 or email info@lfclinic.com https://ivf.org.uk

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February 2017

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

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Health The Cure for Alzheimer’s may be on the horizon By Ione Bingley

harmaceutical researchers have discovered a drug that could halt and even reverse the loss of brain function from diseases like Alzheimer’s and ALS, according to a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The new drug compound stops and even reverses the build up of something called tau protein, which can clog the brain and cause neurological decay, a symptom associated with Alzheimer’s disease, researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis discovered. In healthy brains, tau protein helps the brain by passing signals between neurons, but the tiny protein cells can become entangled, blocking communication between neurons and leading to neurodegenerative conditions like dementia. The researchers found that by

stopping tau protein from growing at the genetic level through a gene therapy drug compound, they could stop the growth of tau tangles, and even decrease the size of the build-ups in both mice and monkeys. “We’ve shown that this molecule lowers levels of the tau protein, preventing and, in some cases, reversing the neurological damage,” Dr. Timothy Miller, of the David Clayson Professor of Neurology told PsyPost. “This compound is the first that has been shown to reverse tau-related damage to the brain that also has the potential to be used as a therapeutic in people.” To test the gene therapy, the researchers used genetically modified mice to produce tau protein. The mice that received the gene therapy lived longer, and built better nests than mice that had the tau protein, but didn’t receive the gene therapy. The tests on monkeys showed similar results, and also showed how trials could work. The scientists injected either the gene therapy, or a placebo, directly into the spinal cord of the monkeys two weeks apart, in a similar way to how human trials will be conducted. “The monkey study showed us that lower tau in the cerebrospinal fluid correlates with lower tau in the brain,” said Miller said. “This is important if we’re going to evaluate this treatment approach in people, because there’s

no non-invasive way of measuring tau levels in the brain. This correlation tells us that we can use levels of tau in the cerebrospinal fluid as a proxy for levels of

tau in the brain.” Miller is leading a test of the gene therapy for people with ALS, and there are other ongoing studies to test the gene therapy for Huntington’s disease. “This is a promising new approach to lowering tau, but we have to test whether it is safe in people, and whether it actually lowers tau, as it is designed to do, before we get to the question of whether it has any effect on the disease. But everything we’ve seen so far says that this is worth investigating as a potential treatment for people,” Miller said.

020 7738 2348

February 2017

Health

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk

Helping you take care of yourself World class clinical care in west London Kensington’s Bupa Cromwell Hospital offers an exceptional healthcare resource for Londoners. Whether using private health insurance or ‘self-funding’, our worldrenowned services are available to everyone, and just a five minute walk from Kensington High Street, Earl’s Court or Gloucester Road. private GPs with walk-in appointments the latest diagnostic technology, with no waiting times and quick results London’s leading consultants, with appointments available at short notice tailored health screening packages to suit every need Women’s Health Centre with female-only specialists Call us on 020 7460 2000 or email info@cromwellhospital.com to discuss your healthcare needs.

bupacromwellhospital.com

Royal Brompton hospital lab searches genes for clues to ‘silent assassin’ diseases By Ione Bingley

The spotless, unassuming genetics and genomics laboratory at the Royal Brompton Hospital is quietly becoming a world-class genetics testing hub for rare and fatal diseases. Diseases so stealthy that they can lurk secretly in the genetic code for years without showing any symptoms. Like a time bomb, there is no way of telling when they will go off, but for many

the result is fatal cardiac arrest with no apparent cause. “These unusual conditions affect young people and have devastating consequences. They are often called the silent assassins because they leave no trace for the pathologist at the autopsy,” says doctor and genetic cardiologist at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Trust, Jan Till. Behind locked doors, ‘robots’ sift through DNA samples from unfortunate victims who have succumbed to their unexplainable fate, searching for known gene sequences that code for these silently fatal diseases and could hold the key diagnosis to these tragic incidences. If the genetic code for one of these terrible diseases is found, then the rest of the family members can have their genes tested and prophylactically treated if necessary, saving many lives. The Royal Brompton and Harefield charity has been instrumental in the success of the laboratory. Raising enough money in donations to buy a first class gene-sequencing machine worth £250,000, the lab has now been accredited by the NHS to be part of the UK’s genetics network. The charity is now halfway to raising enough funds to put the lab at the forefront of genetic research internationally. Having overseen the exponential success of the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals charity with its

income growing from £6000 to nearly £2 million, CEO Gill Raikes, grants all her success to the expertise of the doctors that she works closely alongside. “The people that come to the charity come because of those amazing doctors, so our whole world is very much around the patients,” says Raikes. “The donor base is quite small, but it’s very passionate, people give because they’re reduced to tears, they don’t know how to say thank you, and the way to say thank you is to give to the charity which will then hopefully do something dramatic with their money.” Much of the charity’s success has also been down to the innovative fundraising events that they have held with their largest yet, an all-star comedy showcase called 100 Hearts, taking place this month and a talk at the Royal Geographical Society by renowned heart surgeon Professor Sir Magri Yacoub taking place in March. “The hospital’s mission itself is to be the very best hospital for heart and lung conditions and diseases and my one big ambition is to be here for the hospital to do what I can in places where the NHS simply can’t.” says Raikes. “We are raising £750,000 for the genetics and genomics so instead of being just an ordinary diagnostic lab, it now has the ambition to be world class and it will be. Whatever they want I’m there for them.”

February 2017

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

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Health Sleep, perchance to dream these days do we really need to waste our time?!

hy sleep? While many of the body’s functions can be restored by ‘rest’, sleep is necessary, especially deep sleep which is always addressed as of primary importance after a period of sleep restriction. Certainly poor quality or not enough sleep is associated with health problems. It may be the cause or the effect though and determining this is helpful in finding solutions to the problems. There has been a lot of exciting new research in this relatively young discipline over the last 10 years, but first let’s address a fundamental question: what is sleep for? An interesting approach is via the bio-sphere. We see extraordinary variability. Not surprisingly unicellular and simple multicellular organisms may not exhibit sleep equivalence but flies, for example, die of sleep deprivation. Rats do also. Birds, on the other hand may go weeks without sleep per se during their migrations. Dolphins allow one side of their brain to be in a state of deep sleep while they swim; some seals go the

whole hog and actually have contralateral paddle paralysis during their one-sided brain sleep! Apparently, the scientific jury is out whether frogs sleep! Hibernators, such as some bears, hedgehogs, bats (who only spend a small percentage of their lives awake) and marmots may spend months unarousable, though hibernation is not strictly sleep. All this to illustrate some of the huge differences in the use of what sleep researchers have thus termed only ‘adaptive inactivity’. In other words, there are few generalities and sleep has been adapted to the advantage of each organism. As humans, we have the most sophisticated brains with 20% of our metabolism being spent on its

Over half of Britons suffer from sleep problems on a regular basis

2. Practice a relaxing bedtime ritual. A calm, routine activity right before bedtime, like gentle yoga, reading or listening to music, away from bright lights helps to separate your sleep time from activities that can cause excitement, stress or anxiety.

Despite almost half of Britons claiming to feel positive and productive after a good night’s sleep, 70 percent of Britons admit to sleeping for seven hours or less a night, with almost half losing sleep as a result of worry and stress and over a quarter experiencing poor quality sleep on a regular basis, according to research from The Sleep Council.

4. Exercise daily. Vigorous exercise is best, but even light exercise is better than no activity. Exercise at any time of day, but not at the expense of your sleep.

By Ione Bingley

Sleep can be significantly improved through some key commitments to a bedtime ritual: 1. Stick to a sleep schedule of the same bedtime and wake up time, even on the weekends. This helps to regulate your body's clock and should help you to fall asleep and stay asleep for the night.

3. If you have trouble sleeping, avoid naps, especially in the afternoon. Power napping may help you get through the day, but if you find that you can't fall asleep at bedtime, eliminating even short catnaps may help.

5. Evaluate your room. Design your sleep environment to establish the conditions you need for sleep. Your bedroom should be cool and free from any noise or light. Consider using blackout blinds or eye masks, earplugs, humidifiers and fans. 6. Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows. Make sure your mattress is comfortable and supportive. The one you have been using for years may have exceeded its life expectancy, about 9 or 10 years for most good quality mattresses. Have comfortable pillows and make the room attractive and inviting for sleep, but also free of allergens.

maintenance and upkeep, so not surprisingly we have our own sleep biological mechanisms. Of course, through most of our nasty, brutish and short lives in earlier history we were not able to lie abed; thus, sleep would have been taken in snatches or where safety was perceived for a while. Apart from the obvious advantage in reduced energy expenditure what else is the human and particularly the brain achieving in sleep? We can determine from surface electrodes (placed in precise positions on the head) the different levels of sleep. Normal healthy sleep comprises an initial stage one where the trace is not markedly different from the waking state, going through to stage 2

when noticeably there are the onset of K complexes and sleep spindles (these are characteristic shaped movements in the electrical trace). In deep sleep the rhythm, more rolling and slow is called delta wave sleep. These non- REM sleeps precede and interweave with periods of REM sleep where there is atonia (body paralysis that prevents us acting out dreams-though fortunately not the diaphragm for breathing!) during which the rhythm returns to a more waking state form. Recently, it has been proposed that memory consolidation may be reflected in these patterns; for example, the K complexes allowing memory to replay from the hippocampus (deep in the brain) to the neo-cortex (the frontal lobes); while, in deep sleep, the delta waves reflect downscaling in the hippocampus, effectively cleaning the slate for new memory acquisition. Sleep spindles are still a mystery, but they may well represent local neuronal plasticity (where the brain cells undergo modification to form memory) in the neo-cortex. Sleep is a necessary part of our lives. In theory it is a spontaneous and refreshing experience. Try telling that to someone with a sleep problem that appears intractable! There are approaches that help, however, and those that have difficulties should seek professional help. Dr Tony Hughes GP at www.sleeptreatment.co.uk

cosmetech chelsea private clinic

Non-surgical Facelift (thread lifts) If you would like to reverse the signs of ageing, a revolutionary non-surgical face lift called the ‘thread lift’ may well be the best possible option outside surgery. This treatment uses absorbable threads to lift and rejuvenate your facial skin, resulting in a fresh, youthful appearance. These treatments target specific areas of the face and are recommended to lift and contour brows, crows feet, cheeks, nasolabial folds and marionette lines, jawline and neck area. The procedure lasts between 1 and 2 hours. BEFORE

AFTER

DR. KATE ALEXANDRA BISHOP Dr Kate Alexandra Bishop not only offers anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers at Cosmetech but now also the UK’s leading non-surgical facelift, the Princess Lift® PDO (LFL - Lead Fine Lift). It is a premium lifting thread which is absorbed after proliferating collagen by stimulating fibroblast.

“I couldn’t be happier with the result” Gillian Taylforth

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February 2017

Health Spa Treatments in London and Beyond By Polly Allen

here’s nothing like a restorative spa trip to celebrate the end of a hectic year, and to ring in a new one. In London and the surrounding counties, you’ll find a variety of treatments to fit your schedule and your requirements, from 45-minute lunchtime treats to luxurious spa packages with overnight stays, and tailored therapies for both men and women. These are some of our favourites.

L O N D O N S PA S Akasha at Hotel Café Royal

68 Regent Street, W1B 4DY hotelcaferoyal.com/en/spaandtreatments Book via akasha@hotelcaferoyal.com or call 020 7406 3360. Highlights: Private hammam and a Watsu pool; hydrotherapy rituals; gold facial and back massage; Cleopatra’s Bathing Ritual for two. Offers: Spa dreams package (overnight stay with late checkout, £120 spa credit) from £560; Akasha weekday package (three 25-minute treatments, spa access and a light lunch), £150.

Aman Spa at the Connaught

Carlos Place, Mayfair, W1K 2AL the-connaught.co.uk/aman-spa Book via amanspa@the-connaught.co.uk or call 020 3147 7305/6. Highlights: Holistic massages and facials; acupuncture and Ayurveda; cranio-sacral therapy. Offers: Revitalising Retreat package (overnight stay with one-hour treatment, personal consultation, meditation and workout session) from £950.

Bamford Haybarn Spa at the Berkeley

Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, SW1X 7R the-berkeley.co.uk/health-club-and-spa Book via haybarn@the-berkeley.co.uk or call 020 7201 1699. Highlights: Gold fine body wrap with Champagne and grape; Jade hot and cold stone treatment; Bamford De-Stress massage; The Berkeley Shape and Buff for men. Offers: Weekday Sky High package (signature massage, pool access and glass of champagne) from £150.

Brown’s Hotel Spa

Albemarle Street, W1S 4BP roccofortehotels.com/hotels-and-resorts/ browns-hotel/spa Book via the website or call 020 7518 4009. Highlights: Milk and honey pedicure; Carita Diamond face and body ritual; mindfulness sessions; Gentleman’s MOT. Special treatments available for children aged 4-16, accompanied by an adult.

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk Offers: The Deep Sleep package (£190) and Jet Lag Recovery (£150) caters to exhausted clients.

Bulgari Hotel Spa

171 Knightsbridge, SW7 1DW bulgarihotels.com/en_US/london/spa-andfitness/the-bulgari-spa Book via london-spa@bulgarihotels.co.uk or call 020 7151 1055. Highlights: One of London’s largest spas. Mesotherapy; LED therapy; synchronised four-handed massage; Gentleman’s Cut, Shave and Smoke; Emotional Healing with the Modern Day Wizard. Offers: Hire the private Onyx spa suite with bespoke treatments for two, from £700 for 90 minutes.

Chuan Spa at the Langham, London

1c Portland Place, Regent Street, W1B 1JA chuanspa.com/en/London Book via tllon.info@chuanspa.com or call 020 7973 7550. Highlights: London’s first salt sauna; exclusive couples’ suite; vitality pool; Chuan Tao of Detox treatment; Crystal Harmony massage. Offers: Tea Therapy package (spa access, Body Elements treatment, Chinese tea ritual and Palm Court afternoon tea) from £210.

Claridge’s Health Club and Spa

Brook Street, Mayfair, W1K 4HR claridges.co.uk/health-club-and-spa Book via healthclubandspa@claridges.co.uk or call 0207 409 6565. Highlights: Sisley beauty treatments; personal training; Ecological facial for men; Supreme Anti-Ageing facial. Offers: The Red Carpet Package (facial, pedicure and manicure), £210.

Clarins Skin Spa at Fenwick Bond Street

63 New Bond Street, W1S 1RQ - fenwick. co.uk/stores/bond-street/clarins-skin-spa Book by calling 020 7493 1901. Highlights: The Detox and Shine Stopper facial; Melting Honey hot stone massage; Muscle Ease body massage for men. Offers: The Body Lift Sculptor (exfoliation, sculpting massage and body mask), £67.

Cowshed Spa at Selfridges

400 Oxford Street, W1A 1AB cowshedonline.com/selfridges Book via the website or call 020 3728 0000. Highlights: Reflexology; bespoke Moody Massage; Neville grooming treatment for men; bridal packages. Offers: Express LED Rejuvenation Programme (six 15-minute Rejuvenation facials), £175.

ESPA Life at Corinthia

Whitehall Place, SW1A 2BD espalifeatcorinthia.com Book via espalife.london@corinthia.com or call 0207 321 3050. Highlights: Ice fountain and Tepidarium; personal training; acupuncture; abdominal detox; Be Nurtured packages. Offers: Stay Sunday, Spa Monday (including one-hour facial or massage), from £696.

Mandarin Oriental Spa

66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA -

mandarinoriental.com/london/luxury-spa Book via molon-spa@mohg.com or call 020 7838 9888. Highlights: Personal consultation for every client; colour therapy relaxation area; couture facial; aroma shell release massage. Offers: Time of Tranquillity (foot ritual, Caviar salt scrub, massage, facial and light lunch), £500.

Margaret Dabbs Sole Spa at Liberty

Great Marlborough Street, W1B 5AH libertylondon.com/uk Book via liberty@margaretdabbs.co.uk or call 020 7494 4492. Highlights: Halo therapy; foot detox baths; salt room; reflexology. Offers: Corporate ‘sole searching’ days for women (with private spa hire), POA.

Soholistic Spa at Ham Yard Hotel

1 Ham Yard, W1D 7DT firmdalehotels.com/hotels/london/hamyard-hotel. Book via soholistic@firmdale. com or call 020 3642 1035. Highlights: Hypoxic gym; Perfector high performance facials; Mum-to-Be massage. Offers: City Retreat package (three 30-minute treatments, spa time and two course lunch), £175.

The Dorchester Spa

53 Park Lane, W1K 1QA dorchestercollection.com/en/london/thedorchester/spa Book via spa.tdl@dorchestercollection.com or call 020 7317 6583. Highlights: Signature facials by Carol Joy London; treatments by La Prairie and Aromatherapy Associates; Spatisserie

restaurant; spa day pass from £50. Offers: Somewhere in Time package (body glow treatment, Vitality of the Glacier facial, manicure and pedicure), £475.

The May Fair Hotel Spa

Stratton Street, W1J 8LT themayfairhotel.co.uk/en/spa.html Book via mayfairspa@themayfairhotel. co.uk or call 0207 915 2826. Highlights: Man Maintenance treatment; Moroccan steam cleansing; Espa treatments; reflexology. Offers: Inner City Escape Package (one hour treatment, spa time and afternoon tea, lunch or brunch), £150.

The Montcalm London Marble Arch

2 Wallenberg Place, W1H 7TN montcalm.co.uk/wellness-403.html Book via spa@montcalm.co.uk or call 020 7958 3212. Highlights: Hawaiian massage; Polynesian body ritual; 3 Algae body wrap; ProLifting Pour Homme. Offers: Day spa packages (foot bath, aromatherapy massage, exfoliation, coconut wrap and spa time) from £199.

Urban Retreat at Harrods

87-135 Brompton Road, SW1X 7XL urbanretreat.co.uk/harrods Book via enquiries@urbanretreat.co.uk or call 020 7893 8333. Highlights: Hammam; paraffin wax bath; trichology; Hopi ear candles; cellulite treatments. Offers: Signature Body Treatment (full body exfoliation, paraffin wax wrap, and scalp and back massage), £130.

S PA S OUT OF LONDON Ashdown Park Hotel & Country Club Spa Wych Cross, Near Forest Row, East Sussex, RH18 5JR ashdownpark.com/sussex-spa Book via countryclub@ashdownpark.com or call 01342 824988. Highlights: Pure Organic Moor Mud Experience; VitaMan sports massage; Body Firming detox treatment; Golfer’s Renewal package. Offers: Early Bird Spa for two (Mon-Fri, 9am-2pm, throughout January), £99.

Grayshott Spa

Headley Road, Grayshott, Near Hindhead, Surrey, GU26 6JJ grayshottspa.com. Book via the website or call 01428 602020 (reservations) or 01428 602031 (treatments). Highlights: Six themed spa days, including ‘Chill Out’ and ‘Dynamic’; nutrition consultations; hydrotherapy; Neuro Linguistic Programming; rehabilitation care from £249 per night. Offers: A la Carte stays (choose your own treatment) from £239 per night, minimum two nights.

The Spread Eagle Hotel and Spa

South Street, Midhurst, West Sussex, GU29 9NH hshotels.co.uk/spread-eagle Book via spa@spreadeagle-midhurst.com or call 01730 819829.

Highlights: Cascade pool; Repose aromatherapy; Champagne and Truffles treatment; Go Figure lymphatic treatment. Offers: Indulgent Spa Break (overnight stay, truffles on arrival, three course dinner, massage and spa time), from £154.50. Utopia Spa at Rowhill Grange Wilmington, Kent, DA2 7QH alexanderhotels.co.uk/rowhill-grangeluxury-hotel-kent/spa Book via the website or call 01342 859702. Highlights: The Male Executive facial; Chakra wellbeing; Renewed Recovery massage; Couples Connect package; spa days from £99. Offers: Just for January (until 5th February: overnight stay, two spa treatments, breakfast and spa time – bookable online only), from £161pp.

February 2017

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

to the town of our birth, and the great facility that is Kensington Olympia for the Historic Automobile Fair and Auction.” Chris Routledge Coys, CEO

example of Britain’s most exclusive prewar sports manufacturer. At the other end of the spectrum is the very last Star in a Reasonably Priced Car from the BBC television show Top Gear, this example being the last ever in the fabled Clarkson era. The list of celebrities who used this vehicle is extraordinary, including pop impresario Simon Cowell through to internationally distinguished actor Benedict Cumberbatch, with all proceeds to the Motor Industry Benevolent Fund charity. The sale will offer an enormously

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Coys auction at Olympia

he Coys auction at Olympia Historic Automobile Fair & Auction will see over 70 fine historic automobiles go under the hammer. Access to the auction is included in all general show tickets. Visitors to the Champagne Preview on Friday 17th February (6-9pm) will be able to enjoy an exclusive preview of the cars going to auction To book your tickets please visit www. olympiahistoric.com. Founded in 1919, Coys auctions are synonymous with fine vintage, classic and speciality cars. Coys auctions are headline events in the classic car world, and are led by a team of experts who have established close associations with the foremost collectors and dealers. Consequently, Coys source the most exceptional cars, with carefully researched provenance that gives discerning and demanding buyers the confidence to choose a Coys auction event to source their next investment. “Coys was founded in Queens Gate Mews, South Kensington, in 1919, and it is with great emotion that we return

There are a number of very interesting cars that will feature in the auction, including a very rare 1936 Lagonda, which is the actual example that was launched new at the 1936 Olympia Motor Show, so not only are Coys of Kensington returning to their spiritual home, the Royal Borough, so is an

broad spectrum of the highest investor quality motor cars available in the world today. The Coys auctioneering team, who will be present during the event, are well known round the globe, which includes Chris Routledge, who is a very well-known figure in the world of international auctioneering and television, and his face will be familiar to many of the auction attendees. He will be accompanied by the up and coming star of the international auction world, Guy Newton, who will also be featuring at the event.

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February 2017

Motoring

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk

B C Ecclestone leads Alan Brown in a wheel-to-wheel duel around Clearways at Brands Hatch April 1951. Photograph © Guy Griffiths.

Bernie Ecclestone By Don Grant

ariously called ‘The F1 Supremo’, or ‘The Godfather of Formula One’, Bernie Ecclestone has been in the driving-seat of a multi-billion pound sporting empire that attracts a larger audience globally than any other sport, other than the Olympics and the World Cup. Yet, the fizz has gone out of F1 motor racing and audiences are turning off in their droves, beaten into submission by two-horse races weighed down with rules and regulations. He had a brief career as a driver himself, buying a 500cc Cooper-JAP Mark V and racing it at Brands Hatch in April 1951, with moderate success, dicing against such legends as Les Leston, John Cooper, Stirling Moss and Peter Collins and winning the final. He then bought an ailing F1 team Connaught, and tried to qualify for the British Grand Prix, but failed to make the cut. He then managed a talented young Welsh driver Stuart Lewis-Evans, who was tragically killed at the Moroccan Grand Prix, and,

dispirited, he left motor racing for a number of years, before managing the Lotus Formula Two team,comprising Graham Hill and the outstanding Jochen Rindt. After Rindt died at Monza in 1970, having postumously won the World Championship, in a questionablyengineered Lotus, he abandoned the sport once again, only to return, having bought the Brabham team,with which he won a clutch of races, with such drivers as Niki Lauda, John Watson and Nelson Piquet. Encouraged by this, and the growing interest in the sport, particularly with TV rights, he formed the Formula One Constructors Association with a lawyer chum, Max Moseley . The money poured in, and Bernie thought that by donating a million pounds to Tony Blair’s Labour Party, he could influence the government’s proposed ban on tobacco advertising, one of the major sponsors of F1 teams and races. They managed a stay of execution for eight years to ‘cool off ’ and find other sponsors, which, ultimately, they did most successfully. This is what Bernie was good at, namely, making deals. At 86, one would have thought that immortal vanity would show some flaws, but, when he sold his rights for £3 billion to Liberty Media, he assumed that he would kept on as chief executive.

While he was reading the cheque, the new owners stabbed him in the back, and they then, rather patronisingly, made him chairman emeritus of an organisation that he had formed and shaped over more than 40 years. In was in 2014 that the Germans prosecuted him for paying a German banker, Gerhard Gribkowsky, a £29 million bribe in 2006 to sell Formula One to Donald Mackenzie, the chairman of CVC, the private equity company who bought control of the sport in 2006, for over £1 billion, less than its true value. He stood trial, but it emerged that the German was blackmailing Ecclestone not to disclose alleged tax evasion in Britain. Bernie settled for £64 million, a sum that he should never have paid, as he was out-manoevered by the lawyers, something he now regrets. Maybe now is the time for the deal-maker to step down gracefully, and see whether the new American owners can resurrect a one-time great spectator sport. He pulled off some amazing deals in his career, including one in which he managed to get substantuially more money out of Vladimir Putin to stage a Grand Prix at Sochi, in eye-to-eye bargaining, literally, than he was offering. He has made himself, the teams and individual drivers extremely rich,

including Ron Dennis, the po-faced boss at McLaren at the the time, who begrudged Bernie from trousering £3 billion, while he only got a few hundred million. ‘The problem with Ron,’ the author Tom Bower quotes Ecclestone, ‘is that he has an inferiority complex. And that’s with good reason. He is inferior.’ Two others who gained enormous wealth merely by doing nothing and standing with open hands are his daughters Tamara and Petra, who have turned the conspicuous display of wealth into an art-form, with the latter’s marriage in Italy to the quiet and unassuming art dealer James Stunt, running up a bill for Bernie of $12 million, including bottles of Chateau Pétrus at a few thousand pounds a pop. Anyone who has seen a cavalcade of two blacked-out Mansory Rolls Royces, like anthracite house-bricks, a brace of blacked-out Range Rovers groaning with overweight minders and a £3.1 million black Lamborghini, leave their grade-II listed house in Chelsea to go shopping in Knighstsbridge, must have been impressed by Stunt’s modesty. Each vehicle has a personalised number-plate with the suffix UNT and passers-by will doubtless use their own versions of wordplay. It would seem that money can buy you everything, except good taste.

February 2017

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

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Motoring Part 39 By Don Gtant

he past is not so much a foreign country, as a river one swims up from where it meets the sea, back up through the lazy, meandering curves, then the fast-flowing stream between tilting rocks, and higher, to its very beginnings in a gin-clear, gurgling spring. Childhood memories are pretty unreliable, a bit like ferreting about in a dark room full of filing cabinets with just a torch. The mind is selective, to the point of blotting out unpleasant moments and focussing on the sunnier times. I thought I knew my dad pretty well, given that he had been in and out of my life for nearly twenty-five years. However, after his death, a number of things came to light that upset the flow and equilibrium of memory. It was my sister who first brought one of them to my notice, when she was going through old family photographs and papers. There was my dad at his wedding, in a smart, double-breasted suit, a dark clipped moustache, a slightly bashful, yet triumphant look and a somewhat racy tie. His bride was on his arm, blonde and beautiful in a thin cotton dress. Just a minute; blonde? She was certainly beautiful, but our mum was never blonde! That was definitely not my mother. What on earth was going on? ‘Eba! Who is this woman? Are you not our mother?’ The lady in the wedding photo was indeed not our mum, but a beauty called May. Although details are a bit hazy, it transpired that she was killed in a road accident a few months after the photo was taken. My father was driving a Morgan three-wheeler when it was hit by a truck, driven by a drunken driver. Dad was unhurt physically, but was so traumatised, he was hardly able to speak for months. His sister’s husband Mac finally persuaded him to go to a dance, and there he met Eba, who, even then, had an inveterate shoulder to cry on, and presumably, one thing lead to another, and they got married. It wasn’t an earthshattering slice of family history, but it is just an odd thing not to know, and why had no-one ever thought to mention it. Our parents had some odd friends, mostly to do with motor racing. Every year we went to a haunted Elizabethan house with an enormous inglenook fireplace with bench-seats in Halstead in Essex, either for Christmas Day or for New Year’s Eve, which was owned by a friend of dad’s from before the war in Scotland, where they competed in rallies, races and trials, and he was

a member of the Falkirk and District Motor Club. He was, by trade, a dentist, and was quite wealthy. I didn’t like him and his wife was a nervous, bird-like creature, who, I gleaned from feigning sleep in the back of the car on the drive back to London, didn’t like ‘it’. He, on the other hand, seemed to like ‘it’ a lot, as he was continually flirting with my mother, much to everyone’s embarrassment. Once, in front of us all, he poked a stick of celery down her ample cleavage, and proceeded to eat it, with bosomy relish. I assumed our hosts had performed ‘it’ at least once, because they had an introspective daughter about my sister’s age, who had a sadness that enveloped her like a cloak. Why my parents liked this man, with his spivvy, pencil moustache and watery, lecherous eyes, was a mystery. He owned, at various times, a 1951 Ferrari Superleggera, an Allard J-2, and a Morgan Plus-Four special, which he raced and rallied, with an attractive coupé body based on his Italian GT car, which became known as a Moganari. And I still didn’t like him. He also had a 1902 Panhard-Levassor, which he drove in the Veteran Car Run to Brighton. One year, whilst going round a corner, one of his passengers fell out, hit his head on the kerb and died instantly. All at 6 mph. His widow sued the dentist, and won considerable damages. This may have led him into serious financial difficulties, for the next snippet I heard from under the blanket, was that he had been charging the NHS for the services of an anaesthetist, when

all the time, he has been doing it himself, and without the use of drugs; he was using hypnosis. One winter at our house, he tried to hypnotise all of us, except my sister Simone, who was regarded as being too young. He started with me, but I resisted and wouldn’t be soft-talked into this twilight state. My brother Gregor was successfully ‘knocked out’, and he made him do a very girly little dance, accompanied only by a great deal of sniggering from his disloyal siblings. He succeeded in getting my mother to regress to her childhood, speaking in a very high-pitched voice and then writing her name, which was both hysterically

Dad and Peter Reece in a Triumph TR2 in the Alps. Painting by Raymond Groves

From the Back Seat

funny and creepy at the same time. He mesmerised dad, and got him to sit on the stove in our kitchen, telling him he was feeling no pain. He tapped two half-crowns together three times to ‘wake him up’, at which point dad leapt screaming into the air with his trousers completely singed. Eba doused his scorched arse with calamine lotion upstairs. That was probably why I never liked him. That, and the celery. He was found guilty of fraud, sent to jail for four years and struck off. His wife used to come and stay with us while she visited him in chokey, and if she was a miserable old crow before, having the ignominy of a husband in clink, made her look as though she had been drinking vinegar. In the late forties and fifties, we lived in a little house in Willifield Way in Hampstead Garden Suburb. For years, the only car in the street was parked outside our house, until a taxi driver moved in a hundred yards away. Dad

always had cars on test, or others that had just come back from a rally, covered in mud and dirt, which attracted a lot of attention, particularly from young boys and not so young boys, who would stand around saying ‘Cor!’ and ‘Gosh!’ In those days, the Monte Carlo Rally was a big event, and there would be various updates on the radio in the evenings, charting the progress of the British contingent by the likes of Raymond Baxter and Peter Dymock from a snowy mountain top somewhere in the Alps. We used to crowd round the wireless in the kitchen next to the famous stove, and wait for the crackling broadcasts. The nut-brown bakelite cabinet was a shrine in the corner of the room, the parchment-coloured dial tantalising us with mysterious names; Hilversum, Breslau, Athlone, Beromunster. Sitting in our pyjamas, dressing gowns with red braid around the lapels and pockets, and tartan slippers, washed and scrubbed, ready for bed, my brother and I were allowed to wait up for the reports to come in, having already listened to Top of the Form and Journey into Space. There would be great excitement when we heard dad’s car mentioned, as we pored over maps and a list of competitors, imagining him slipping and sliding up and over the Col de Turini on his way down to the French Riviera and glory.

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February 2017

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Motoring

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk

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February 2017

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Sport

Men’s Six Nations Rugby Matches 2017

WEEK 1

The Six Nations Championship is without doubt the world's greatest rugby tournament. Each year the collective fans of six proud nations – England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales – share in the passion and excitement of this feast of rugby. Some of the rivalries in this tournament date back more than 140 years, which simply adds to the sense of occasion.

WEEK 2

Scotland and Ireland will get the 2017 Six Nations Championship underway with their Saturday afternoon match in Edinburgh on 4th February. Later that same day England and France will meet for 'Le Crunch' at Twickenham. The following day Italy take on Wales in Rome.

WEEK 4

www.six-nations-guide-co.uk

Saturday 4th February 2017

Scotland v Ireland at BT Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 2:25pm England v France at Twickenham Stadium, London 4:50pm

Sunday 5th February 2017

Italy v Wales at Stadio Olimpico, Rome 2:00pm

Saturday 11th February 2017

Italy v Ireland at Stadio Olimpico, Rome 2:25pm Wales v England at Principality Stadium, Cardiff 4:50pm

Sunday 12th February 2017

France v Scotland at Stade de France, Paris 3:00pm

WEEK 3

Saturday 25th February 2017

Scotland v Wales at BT Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 2:25pm Ireland v France at Aviva Stadium, Dublin 4:50pm

Sunday 26th February 2017

England v Italy at Twickenham Stadium, London 3:00pm

Friday 10th March 2017

Wales v Ireland at Principality Stadium, Cardiff 8:05pm

Saturday 11th March 2017

Italy v France at Stadio Olimpico, Rome 1:30pm England v Scotland at Twickenham Stadium, London 4:00pm

WEEK 5

Saturday 18th March 2017

Scotland v Italy at BT Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 12:30pm France v Wales at Stade de France, Paris 2:45pm Ireland v England at Aviva Stadium, Dublin 5:00pm All kick-off times GMT

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December April/May2016 2011/ January 2017

Sport Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bubble to burst? By Derek Wyatt

he six nations tournament is stuck. The same nations (usually Scotland and Italy) fight it out for the bottom of the table whilst any of the other four nations (Wales, Ireland,

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk England and France) fight it out for pole position. It is likely to be Ireland or England's championship as both Wales and France are rebuilding whilst Scotland have lacked consistency. Now they must learn to win away from home if they are to progress. This season somehow the fixture of all fixtures could be the last one as it is between Ireland and England in Dublin. Imagine St Patrick's Day on 17th March, when half a million do just that and march through the city. It will be followed by a day of respite to resolve all our hangovers and then on Sunday 19th

Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Six Nations Rugby Matches 2017

ROUND 1

it's the game of the season. Or not. As I have written before, if the game is a game open to all then it is time to open up the Six Nations to twelve nations. Let's have relegation and promotion from two leagues of six. We are not quite there just yet. But this season sees the start of the a second tier Six Nations involving: Georgia, Russia, Romania, Spain, Germany and Spain. Bravo. Finally, if tentatively, the game is on the move.

Three things currently bedevil the game:

Far too many players are playing for countries they were not born in. We have Samoan brothers playing for different countries. The All Blacks and the Wallabies have done this for thirty years or more but now it has become the flavour of the month in the northern hemisphere too. Pity. A three year playing qualification is absurd. It seems to me that either you should be born in the country you play for or have its passport. World Rugby will pass on this one, but they have to move to at least five years for the good of the game. It is doubly ironic that Bill Beaumont, Chairman of World Rugby, has a son who is being stopped from playing in the back row for England by two Southern Hemisphere players who qualify just because of residency. The game is too brutal. It is more about bish, bash and bosh than speed,

skill and vision. If a team wins a lineout they are likely to retain possession for eight to ten minutes unless they play aerial tennis. Where's the fun in that? Let us have all players standing 10 metres back from set play. Give the three quarters a chance to score from first phase ball. Brain trauma or concussion, as it is wrongly called, will have a devastating impact on the future of the game at school if the laws are not changed. Already, in response to this, World Rugby introduced a hurried amendment to the tackle law on 1st January which was badly needed. So head tackles are out. But it is the recommendations regarding being knocked out which are not fit for purpose. Put simply anyone who is knocked out should go off and stay off until he or she has had a brain scan. Of course, the scan is not much use unless you have a baseline to measure it. So, let us have compulsory scanning in time for Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan. As for this year's Six Nations, it is probably time for England's bubble to burst, but despite a slew of injuries they still look the best, though Ireland are not far behind. In the second tier Georgia or close rival Russia should edge it. In the Women's Six Nations France and England look the strongest. It is so encouraging to see women's sport finally being given the coverage it ought have been given two decades ago.

3rd February 2017

Scotland 9th February - 12th February Ireland Broadwood Stadium 6.35pm

4th February 2017

Italy v Wales Stadio Comunale Pacifico Carotti 2pm

4th February 2017

ROUND 2

England v France Twickenham Stadium 7.35pm

11th February 2017

Wales v England Cardiff Arms Park 11:30am

11th February 2017

France v Scotland Marcel Deflandre 8pm

12th February 2017

ROUND 3

Italy v Ireland Stadio Tommaso Fattori 1pm

24th February 2017

18:30 Scotland v Wales Broadway Stadium 6.30pm

25th February 2017

England v Italy The Stoop, Twickenham 1pm

26th February 2017

ROUND 4

Ireland v France Donnybrook, Dublin 12:45pm

11th March 2017

Wales v Ireland Cardiff Arms Park 11:30am

11th March 2017

England v Scotland The Stoop, Twickenham 1pm

12th March 2017

ROUND 5

Italy v France Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi 2pm

17th March 2017

Scotland v Italy Broadway Stadium 6.30pm Ireland v England Donnybrook, Dublin 8pm

18th March 2017

France v Wales Stade Amedee Domenech, Brive 8pm

February 2017

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

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Crossword & Bridge This is the fifty third Wolfe Cryptic Crossword

Across

Martine Atwood of NW8 by email was last month’s winner, congratulations! Apologies to all that the clue to 14 down should have been pluralised! Please let me have any comments or suggestions you may have and remember if you haven’t totally finished the whole crossword still send it in as the first correct or substantially correct answer picked at random will win a prize of a bottle of Champagne kindly donated by Lea and Sandeman send your grids either by post to Wolfe, at Kensington and Chelsea Today 80-100 Gwynne Road London SW11 3UW or scan it in and send by email to wolfe@ kcwtoday.co.uk. www.leaandsandeman.co.uk/Fine-Wine. 106 Kensington Church St, London, W8 4BH. T: 020 7221 1982. Contact Sandor. 1

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T I

M S

1 Old record I record as written in the end. (6) 5 Mixed lot agree to be like Dr Jekyll’s sidekick. (5,3) 9 Shout “Burs” to surround sudden exclamation. (8) 10 Young man reverts to this after time. (3,3) 11 Second thoughts about where indians moved in the US. (12) 13 Present time means nothing. (4) 14 Watch container becoming a spectacle. (8) 17 Missile sound a bell makes rapidly crossing the sky. (8) 18 Sounds like a book you should read in the grave. (4) 20 Pre 1918 German conservative colour used on the palette. (8,4) 23 Garibaldi waling about light festival. (6) 24 Recreated richer to provide persuasive talk. (8) 25 Jam a halt around tomb. (3,5) 26 View my left in a pleasant fashion. (6)

Down

2 Ship outing holds facial expression. (4) 3 Freed when arranging deliberate loss of direction. (9) 4 Lurid budgerigar I shot holds the answer. (6) 5 Lawyer not limited to the top legal

Monthly Bridge Tip for Intermediates When the opponents have reached a contract which you are certain will fail, it might seem sensible to double, thereby scoring more points. However it is not quite so simple; what if they then run to an alternative contract?

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

743 7 7653 KJ983

A J 10 9 A653 J842 7 W

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

N S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Q K842 A K Q 10 9 A54

K8652 Q J 10 9 — Q 10 6 2

West

North

East

Pass Pass Pass Pass

1♥ 4 NT1 6♥ 7 ♦4

Pass Pass Dbl3 Dbl5

11 12 13

16 17

18 19

21 22

advisor. (8,7) 6 Seeing heads and tails is deceitful. (3-5) 7 Two bones that make the diameter. (5) 8 Pious loch I gave rise to expression of surprise. (8,2) 12 Musical instrument collapse in folds. (10)

15 The homeliest may be supple, and graceful. (9) 16 Small car in plate get smaller. (8) 19 To begin with pay little interest, eliciting response spoken that grips. (6) 21 Processed meat around south gives involuntary tic. (5) 22 Type of power seen on the train. (4)

CLASSIFIED ADS

with Andrew Robson

South deals N-S vul

South 1♦ 4♥ 5 ♥2 Pass All pass

1. Regular four-ace Blackwood. 2. Two aces. 3. The fatal misjudgment. 4. What else can East be doubling on, apart from two trump tricks? So reasoning, North scampers back to partner’s diamonds. 5. With somewhat less confidence.

West led ♥7 to the grand slam. South won ♥K, cashed ♣A, trumped ♣4 with ♦2, led ♦4 to ♦9 (noting East discard - ♠5), trumped ♣5 with ♦8, and overtook ♦J with ♦Q, and drew West’s remaining trumps. North discarded ♥65, to leave ♠AJ109 and ♥A. Declarer next led ♠Q to ♠A, and ran ♠J: a “ruffing finesse”. East covered with ♠K (South would have discarded ♥2 if East had played low), so declarer trumped, crossed to ♥A and enjoyed ♠109. Grand slam made. East was left to rue his greedy double of 6♥. In trying to convert +100 into +200, he turned +100 into -2330. No less than 24 successful such doubles will now be required to redress the balance. ANDREW’S TIP: Do not double a contract, unless you will be happy if they run to a plausible alternative contract.

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February 2017

Chess CHESS

By Barry Martin

In with the new, and right on with the old

he lead up to the recent festive season and the New Year has seen a plethora of top notch tournaments, nationally and internationally and, like Christmas food, have provided a rich intake of chess mixtures to digest: from the London Classic, Hastings, World Blitz and Rapid Play Tournaments to the stunning success of Susan Polgar's Webster College's team win in the USA's Collegiate Competition. However if one digs a little deeper into the past, it is surprising how many chess competitions have taken place, particularly in England and how well endowed they were with cash prizes. I was reminded of this recently when realising that the reporting of these events included many dedicated writers, often players themselves, and who are owed our deep thanks through their commitment. Leonard Barden is a writer who has written continuously for over 60 years about chess in the national newspapers for example; a subject I will return to in this article. A newly published book, Chess, A Guide for the Club Player, by the two Julians: Julian Simpole and Julian Hardinge, with a foreword by GM Raymond Keene, offers many useful aspects, not least the long experience both authors have had playing chess at a high level, and which they bring for the benefit of the reader. This publication makes it easy to dip in and out of the pages and chapters without a browbeating or self-mugging inquisitorial style, where one is required to re-read dense text just to get back up to speed. I spent a rewarding lunch during the New Year’s holidays doing just that, whilst consuming half a dozen oysters and several glasses of champagne in my favourite restaurant, The High Road Brasserie in Chiswick. Unlike the majority of instructional chess books this tome is not shy in expressing the authors’ emotional frustrations and state of pain that some of their former games, annotated in the book, gave them, and of course, conversely the highs that winning games and sequences gave to them.These inclusions put the reader into a sympathetic state which leaves one feeling comfortable and reliably supported in the journey of chess; fully understanding what the two authors unveil and present to us. I was naturally also reliably supported by my oysters and vintage fizzy intake. My one suggestion for bettering

Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today

online: www.KCWToday.co.uk the publication, and other publications within this generic grouping, would be to include, possibly inside the back cover, a travelling pull-out chess wallet-type board with slip-in pieces, since this book genre comfortably fits into a largish jacket pocket to be carried around with you. The inclusion of the travelling chess set would be invaluable on such excursions. The book is lucidly written, logically laid out and easy to understand. Its contents present the game of chess as an empirical understanding developed by the authors over years of practice which many players will recognise, having been in similar situations themselves. They successfully marry this with the study side through exploring chess openings, middle and end game theory. Both authors have championship wins under their belts. Julian Simpole was trainer to Luke McShane and David Howell for example, and Julian Hardinge was successful against such world class players as Paul Keres and Dr. Jonathan Penrose. Chapters in the book have titles that arouse human sensibilities and yes, feelings! For example, The Emotions, or The Simple Life, and, Sting Like a Computer, Float Like a Man, which I particularly liked, and from which I have drawn one of the puzzles for this article. Likewise, I have extracted a puzzle or two to be included in this article from Leonard Barden's Chess Puzzle Book, An Evening Standard Chess Book, published in 1977 by Faber and Faber Ltd. in recognition of the huge contribution he has made to chess and English chess in particular. The publication is a collection of 300 of the best chess puzzles from his chess column in that newspaper which he began in 1956 and which continued until July 2010 when the owners, mistakenly in my and many others’ opinion, decided to kill off chess entirely from its publication. He still writes for The Guardian, having written for many other publications including The Financial Times and has 18 books on chess in print. Last year there was praise for his unstinting 60 years of chess contributions to the The Guardian and which some are saying is the longest running column in world journalism, a world record! He knows about hardship through the tough times he had to endure to achieve his position, coming from a working class background. He acquired a taste for chess whilst sheltering in a school bomb shelter in World War 11 during a German air raid, and went on to read Modern History at Balliol College, Oxford. He represented England in 4 Chess Olympiads. He is a former British Champion and English International. He helped to organise the annual Evening Standard’s senior and junior championship tournaments that had a combined entry of more than 3000 chess players and was the largest competition of its type in the world! His appearances in the media both television

and radio were regular, and for example the only known recorded consultation game Bobby Fischer appeared in, was partnering Barden against the English Masters Jonathan Penrose and Peter Clarke. The game was unfinished after 8 hours and adjudicated a draw by former world champion Max Euwe. This was recorded in 1960 and broadcasted in 1961 on BBC's Network Three weekly radio chess programme. His promotion of the game led to some of our first Grandmasters, Tony Miles and Michael Stean. He actively sought potential chess talents from primary school age, and for example recognised in 1980 the exceptional promise of the then 8 year old Michael Adams, amongst many others he chaperoned to high professional ranking. Brian Walden said,“Leonard Barden has done more for British Chess than anybody since our famous Howard Staunton”! He, Barden was offered an OBE in recognition of his contribution to English Chess but declined to accept it. Puzzles taken from the two mentioned publications follow with the answers upside down at right.

Puzzle: 1. Taken from the Simpole and Hardinge book, Chapter 10, about the contributions or not that computers are having on our thinking and understanding, says ‘...the computer’s contribution to our tactical understanding is huge’, and openings are conducted more sharply now, ...with King exposing pawn thrusts that would have shocked most of the doyens of chess in Schlecter’s time!’ It continues, ‘ ...they are strict task masters, punishing sloppy thinking,.... but encourage us to re-evaluate our approach to the assessment of any position’. The puzzle presents a problem though, where the computer is seen to be ‘not infallible’. The example by Eric Hallsworth and first seen in Chess 2010 showed that the major computer programs of that time, had analysed the following position as white winning, with Black to move. Can you find Black’s move that refutes their summations? Puzzle 2. Taken from Barden’s 1977 classic puzzle book, and composed originally by A. Ellerman, White mates in 2 moves against any defence. Puzzle 3. Also from Barden. White mates in two moves against any defence? White to move. Barden placed this puzzle by Y. Selavkin in Chapter 3, and is, I suggest, a cracker of a puzzle ! Answers upside down at right.

3 1. Answer 1.... Kb8 !! Threatening 2...Bc5 with a fortress. 2.Qg8+, Kc7. 3. Qxab,Bb8,“..the Queen is forever immobilised, cursed to remain like the Lady of Shalot, and a draw by, shuffling the black King between c7 and c8 , is to human perception, self evident.” 2. Answer: 1.Ne5!( threat 2. Rxc4 mate). If 1....Rxe5.2.Qb6 mate, or if 1.... Rxf6+,Nc6 mate,with the pin on Black’s Rook on f6. Or, if 1....Kxe4. 2. Rxc4 mate, or if 1....Qxe4. 2.Rxc4 mate. 3. Answer: 1. Rb3!!, ....if 1......PxR. 2. Bc2 mate. If 1.....b3. 2. Rxc4 mate!

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February 2017

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