Doncopolitan issue 12

Issue 12

October 2015

FREE TO A GOOD HOME

Contents

Contributors Writers:

Design:

Warren Draper

Warren Draper

Sheila North Zuzanna Kowalska

Rachel Horne

Carlos Soares Janet Wood Louise O’Brien Rob Allen Lindsey Gee Rachel Horne Reviewers: Ryan Madin Phil Sheppard Rob Johnson Antoine Aragnée Sven Dali Hilary Cartmel

Editorial Warren Draper

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Doncograms -

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Anne Frank {+ you} Sheila North

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Colour Of Time -

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Everyday People Zuzanna Kowalska & Carlos Soares

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The Gift of Joy -

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Pull-Out Li Zijun Poster Li Zijun

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Day Of The Dead Janet Wood

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Life On Kos Louise O’Brien

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What’s The Story Rob Allen & Lindsey Gee

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The Guide -

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In Luther's Words... Rachel Horne

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Sam Cooper Artwork: Li Zijun Editorial Team: Rachel Horne Warren Draper Sam Walby Rachel Ryan Sam Cooper Linda Jones Josie Bowerman Frances Bibby

Adam Berry Ian Parks Sheep Productions Linzi Kay Photography: Martin Pick Warren Draper Dominic Somers John Fuller Zuzanna Kowalska Louise O’Brien Carlos Soares Monoprixx

With Special Thanks to:

Cbloxx

Right Up Our Street

Chris Rose

Andrew Loretto

Tom Tranter

Arts Council England

Adam Berry

NOW THEN Magazine

Marco Lazzaroni

Proud to be Independent

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Cover Art: Li Zijun ©2015 Centre Page Art: Li Zijun ©2015 Inside Cover Photography: “Poppy, Holocaust Day, Israel” Martin Pick ©2014

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EDITORIAL Warren Draper When considering the question of whether or not animals should have rights, American philosopher and professor emeritus Tom Regan argued that it was not a question of whether they could feel, think or suffer, but whether they were the subjects-of-a-life.

Do they have a distinct history, present and future? Can these be influenced by external events? Can their lives get better or worse? In short, does their life tell a story?

One animal we can say is almost certainly a subject-of-a-life is us, good old human beings. Not only is each human life a story in its own right, but our lives are shaped, like no other creature on earth, by the stories we tell ourselves. Humans are story creatures who weave powerful narratives which help us to understand, control and shape the world we inhabit.

But sometimes these stories can spiral out of control. When times are hard, it’s all too easy to cling to stories which provide a scapegoat for our problems.

This is what happened in Nazi Germany.

A tale of ‘them and us’ spiralled out of control with nightmarish results, as the Anne Frank {+ You} exhibition currently showing at Doncaster Museum & Art Gallery tells us. Sheila North’s article (p6) reminds us that such stories are still highly dangerous.

We are none of us free from the power of stories, but whenever we feel ourselves in the grip of a potentially potent, larger-than-life narrative, we should take a step back and remember who we are. Never mind the big stories of nation, ideology and culture. First and foremost we are people, and as such we share the same simple but beautiful everyday human stories.

This #OnlyHuman edition of the Doncopolitan celebrates the stories we all share in the hope that we can share them together one day. Whether you’re in Askern or Azerbaijan, Mexborough or Mumbai, the basic human story is the same. This doesn’t mean that our cultures should all be the same,

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a diversity of cultures is as important as a diversity of species. Cultures shape universal experiences into unique expressions. In Britain these expressions tend to be slick, stylish and entertaining, as with the Brit Pop movement (p26). But when cultures come together and blend aspects of themselves, as with Luther’s drumming on page 38, the results can transcend the lines of culture and bring us back to the universal (there’s a reason ‘One Love’ is such a powerful expression).

From Louise O’Brien’s report on the refugee situation in Kos (p12) to Zuzanna Kowalska’s documenting of the Nepalese earthquake and Carlos Soares’ heart-warming images from India (p16), we are reminded both of how fragile life is and, more importantly, how resilient we humans are. Ultimately we all face the same fate, but, as Janet Wood tells us (p22), that doesn’t mean that our tale is necessarily a tragic one. Love, in both its physical and emotional forms, is the great conqueror of death. Love is at the heart of every good story.

Love is also at the heart of Joy Gilleard’s painting, Our Lady Calais, which we celebrate on page 19. Our featured artist this month is New York-based illustrator, Li Zijun, whose work tells some very human stories. You can find out more about Li here: zijunstudio.com t w i t t e r. c o m / Z i j u n S t u d i o

ABOUT This magazine aims to provide an independent voice for Doncaster.

We will big up anything which has the potential to add to Doncaster’s metropolitan appeal and strengthen the local economy - or as we call it, the Donconomy. We’ll celebrate Doncaster’s culture, arts, style, music, people, fashion, lifestyle, architecture and even, its coal-black underbelly.

To remain as independent as possible this magazine is completely self-funded, relying on advertising and generous donations to stay afloat. If you would like to advertise with us, or if you’d like to support our endeavours through subscriptions or donations please call us on: +44 (0) 7846 439982 If you’re a local artist, musician, writer, photographer, fashionista, socialite or social commentator, and have something to contribute to this magazine, please get in touch.

Online: www.doncopolitan.com doncopolitan@gmail.com Write to us: Doncopolitan Magazine c/o Church View Centre Church View Doncaster DN1 1AF Social Media: Twitter: @doncopolitanMag #DoncopolitanMag Instagram: @Doncopolitan #Doncogram Facebook: facebook.com/doncopolitan YouTube: youtube.com/user/ Doncopolitan

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2.

Doncograms

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1. “Scicluna Deli” by Warren Draper ©Horne & Draper (horneanddraper.com) 2015 2. “Badges” by Dominic Somers ©2015 3. “Bargain Britannia” by John Fuller ©2015

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4. “Blue Door” from the Nepalese Earthquake series by Zuzanna Kowalska ©2015

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Anne Frank {+you} Sheila North

“Never again.” Some 40 years later, I still remember hearing a young girl say that. We were reading the diary in a junior high school near Detroit, Michigan. Our teacher asked two pupils to play a scene between Anne and Peter van Pels, the lad whose family shared the tiny secret annex with the Frank family in 1940s Amsterdam. Betrayed on 4th August 1944, all eight were arrested.

Forty years ago, I wasn’t a foreigner yet.

I’d never heard of Rwanda or Serbia, or Doncaster, for that matter. As for Calais, that was a semi-mythical setting in The Scarlet Pimpernel, another set text in the local school system.

I’m writing this on Sunday 26th September. I’ll be visiting the Anne Frank exhibition at Doncaster Museum when it opens on Thursday 1st October.

Meanwhile, the second UKIP conference to be held in this town is coming to a close. I understand that, this year, their only MP disagreed with their leader, and they had to drop the price to entice punters. Good.

Did I think of Anne Frank when, in the 90s, I saw TV coverage of the bodies of slaughtered Tutsis and Hutus in

Rwanda? Or the carnage which followed when Yugoslavia fell apart? When Serbs turned on Croats, Christians on Muslims? I didn’t. But I did keep thinking of the Holocaust. Of the phrase, “Never again.”

“Can Your Voice Make a Difference?” asks one of the posters for the Anne Frank + You exhibition, which runs until 29th October. The answer – to steal and slightly alter a phrase from Barack Obama – has to be, “Yes, it can.”

Because it must. Because sooner or later, there will be no more massacres like Rwanda, or Serbia, or the Holocaust. No more hate like the ugly words and acts directed at refugees in Calais, and Germany, and Hungary, those thousands of men, women and children who are fleeing the sorts of horrors which any human being would run from.

“Why racism?” this exhibition asks. And, because it’s the 21st century, it also asks, “H8u?” It asks it through text, through photos of Anne and others, and through reconstructions of the secret annex, that small space that sheltered eight people and one diary.

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Photography: Liam Smith Š2015

The photographs on pages 8 and 9 were taken at the launch of the Anne Frank {+ you} exhibition on October 1st. They show Doncaster school children with Holocaust survivor, Eva Schloss MBE, and pupils from Sunnyfields School performing scenes from Anne Frank’s diary. The exhibition includes replica artefacts from the Holocaust and Anne’s life, including an almost life-size replica of Anne’s room in the secret annexe where Anne and her family stayed for two years and one month until they were tragically betrayed.

Of those eight, only Otto Frank, Anne’s father, survived. He returned to find his daughter’s diary and arranged its publication. Since then, it has never been out of print. And every time we read it – whether as a set text in school or out of choice – we help show that sometimes, the pen really is mightier than the sword, or the concentration camp.

This travelling exhibition, about Anne and the millions of others who died because not enough people could speak out, arrives at a town which is here thanks partly to the contributions of migrants and refugees from all across Britain, Europe and beyond. Some of us are recent arrivals. Others are second generation, third and beyond.

In 2015, as in the 1940s, we live in a time of great upheaval. Comfortable with our distance from Anne Frank’s time, we tell ourselves that we would have helped, and hidden, her family and Peter’s. But we kid ourselves. Experience teaches that it’s useless guessing what we would or wouldn’t do in hypothetical situations. We kid ourselves if we think that the only people slaughtered by the Nazis were Jewish. Others including Poles, Roma, Jehovah’s Witnesses, gay men, the disabled, the physically and mentally ill, and those with learning disabilities were also condemned, murdered by people who thought it was reasonable, and right, to do so.

When I was 13, watching my classmates act out the moment when Peter and Anne discussed the yellow stars which Jewish people were forced to wear, it never occurred to me to ask, ‘Why?’ Not – as the exhibition quite rightly asks – “Why racism?” Rather why, if the Jews were so different from their Christian neighbours, did they need a label?

Bigots aren’t that fussed. While some prejudices are about visual clues such as colour, or wheelchairs, or differences of sex or age, there is seemingly no end to our capacity to be frightened by difference. Religious beliefs, mental health problems, differences of ethnic origin, sexuality or class are seldom obvious. I don’t have a label which says ‘American’. I have to speak to stand out.

Nor do I have one that says ‘bipolar’.

Neither of these, incidentally, were a choice.

Visit the exhibit. It’s free, local, and a modern look at the timeless question of ‘us versus them’. Only when we at last realise that ‘they’ are also ‘us’ will the human race truly grow up, and become the race humane.

End Anne Frank {+ you} is on until October 29th at Doncaster Museum & Art Gallery, Chequer Road, Doncaster, DN1 AE. For party visits call them on 01302 734293. For more information about the exhibition visit: a nne f ra nk .o r g .uk /e x hi b i ti on

Faced with the fact that we’re more alike than we are different, the Nazis responded with physical labels which the teenage Anne, Peter and their families had to wear, so that wherever they went – the shops, school, work, or simply passing the time of day – people knew that these were the ones they were supposed to hate, to see as different.

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Colour Of

tIME

A combined Cast & Artonik event which took place in Sir Nigel Gresley Square, Doncaster on Saturday 19th September, 2015.

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Photography: Chris Rose Š

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EVERYDAY PEOPLE Zuzanna Kowalska & Carlos Soares,

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Photography: Carlos Soares Š2015

Photographers Zuzanna Kowalska and Carlos Soares present us with a series of stunning photographs which remind us that the human experience is both beautiful and fragile. Polish born Zuzanna is currently touring South East Asia and was traveling through Nepal in the aftermath of the devastating Gorkha earthquake which killed more than Photography: Zuzanna Kowalska Š2015

9000 people and injured 23,000 more.

Zuzanna also features in our Vision Thing: Revelations exhibition currently at the Leopard on West Street. Carlos, a Portuguese photographer, was part of a Humana People to People India (www.humana-india.org) project in Gurgaon, India. He is currently touring Yorkshire giving talks about the project

and his experiences and will be at Doncaster Museum & Art Gallery, 11am on Saturday 24th October.

End zuzannakowalska.com flickr.com/photos/cflorsoares

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Photography: Zuzanna Kowalska (top) and Carlos Soares (bottom) Š2015

The Gift of Joy

The theme for this issue of the Doncopolitan was partly inspired by the work of Joy Gilleard, a street artist who goes by the name of Cbloxx. Often working in collaboration with Nomad Clan, her works often highlight the human condition and Joy regularly produces work to help raise awareness and funds for causes close to her heart, such as the human rights campaigning group Amnesty International. For details about where and when the Doncaster Amnesty International group meet please email:

and visitors can regularly be seen seen praying in front of the painting.

‘Our Lady Calais’ will soon be auctioned off to raise money for Save The Children’s Child Refugee Crisis Fund. For more information please visit: savethechildren.org.uk amnestyinternational.org.uk cbloxx. com End

a mn esty.do n cast e r@ gmai l . com

Earlier this year Joy created a piece for St Paul’s Cathedral. The painting ‘Our Lady Calais’ features a refugee mother and child whose clothes reflect the colours often found in the flags of middle eastern countries, including Palestine and Syria. Many people have been deeply touched by the painting

Photography: Monoprixx (top) and Cbloxx (bottom) ©2015

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© Li Zijun 2015

Janet Wood My dad died six years ago. I was sad, of course, although glad for the release it gave him from the effects of his stroke.

My mum is dying as I write, and most of what made her the feisty individual she was has long gone. I already feel the kaleidoscope of emotions that make each grief as individual as a fingerprint and as common as humanity.

But three years ago, Simon died.

Coming out of nowhere, there were no words. I sought solace in numbers. We were 7,795 miles apart. It had been 105 days since we last saw each other, and six hours since we last spoke. He was 47.

This, of course, tells you nothing.

Adrift, I searched for an outlet for my grief. I got on a plane. I punched pillows.

I stared into space. I visited mediums. I wept. Slowly, I remembered who I was. I am a songwriter. So I wrote songs.

The first anniversary of Simon’s death saw me back in his hometown Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, making Shine Like A Rainbow, an album of new material with the professional musicians he had worked with, but also including children in his family and local community. We celebrated his life, his work, his love of football, his skills as a mentor to young artists, his dancing, his relationship with me, and his devotion to his home.

Through this, we began to come to terms with our loss.

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Illustration: Gareth P Wood ©2015

It set me on a healing journey which led me to explore ways in which different cultures deal with death, and to The Day of the Dead project which I have been working on with my friend and colleague, Keith Angel.

In Mexico, death is not a whisper behind closed doors. It’s out there in the midst of life. The festival of the Day of the Dead occurs around 31st October to 2nd November and honours the lives of those who have passed away. Graves are decorated with bright orange marigolds and other flowers, altars are made with offerings of traditional food, children are given sweet sugar skulls, and the whole atmosphere is one of celebration and thanksgiving. Stories are told, humorous epitaphs are written, songs are sung. Images include skeletons in fine dresses and flowery smiling skulls.

Like Christmas, it is a joyful coming together of ancient spiritual practices and the more recent Christian traditions of All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day. But it also promotes healthy irreverence in the face of one of life’s certainties.

and bereavement than what often happens in our country. So, funded

by Right Up Our Street, we started collecting memories, anecdotes, even the odd sentence, from people who had lost loved ones, and turning them into songs.

Conversation topics have ranged from funny things that happened at funerals, through people’s annoying habits, to compelling evidence of loved ones still being around. We’ve been on the streets, in pubs and clubs and libraries, chatting to a backbeat of market traders or before a backdrop of craft activity. Working mainly in Mexborough and Balby, we have talked to parents, children, siblings, friends and spouses of loved ones who are toasted with a cocktail of smiles and tears. We have been overwhelmed by people’s generosity and willingness to share their experiences with us.

“The Mexican is familiar with death. He jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it. It is one of his favourite toys and his most steadfast love.”

Octavio Paz, Mexican philosopher

A resident at Quarryfields in Balby reminisced about her grandfather, who wore a fringed hairpiece and a brown suit and gave her “big hugs” whenever they met. A Mexborough widow recalled her husband’s practical jokes. A little girl in a family workshop remembered getting into her beloved puppy’s basket with him for cuddles.

It occurred to me and Keith that this was a healthier way to deal with loss

The music ranges from a raunchy tango to a wistful lament, from solo voice to

full four-part harmony, from ethereal tones to pounding drums. In addition, we are creating a soundscape of people’s real voices telling their stories.

This autumn will see two culminating events for the project. On 31st October from 5.30pm at The Dell in Hexthorpe Park, there will be a Day of the Dead lantern parade followed by a live musical performance in the bandstand, with local families, musicians and The Quirky Choir. The Mexborough event will be on 15th November at a house which was originally the Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths.

Sharing something so personal is not for everyone, but in the main people have been intrigued and uplifted by taking part. Like death, it has been an awfully big adventure.

End

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LIFE ON

KOS Louise O’Brien

Fundraising & Development Manager for Doncaster Minster, Louise O’Brien and her travelling companion Zahida Kayum recently travelled to the Greek island of Kos to help with the ongoing refugee crisis. Here is a taste of what they found.

This baby float washed up with hundreds of other lifejackets after a violent storm which lasted over 24 hours. Everything that the refugees and migrants had was washed away or ruined. Back to square one. This float is intended for use in a hotel swimming pool, not open sea in a storm. Inflatable boats intended for three or four people cross from Turkey every night with up to 30 people aboard. When the dinghies are finished with someone will come along and strip the engine to sell on.

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Photography: Louise O’Brien ©2015

Zahida and Louise took hundreds of children’s backpacks out to Kos after hearing that they were desperately needed. This 11-year-old girl thought she was a bit grown up for the backpack, but was secretly delighted with the presents inside. This is her and her brother playing one of the games on a little notepad at the water’s edge. Many of the children won’t go near the water because of their journey from Turkey.

When people arrive they must report to the Port Authority to be registered and to receive a registration ticket. Families with babies and children queue from midnight. Here a Swedish volunteer, who initially went to Kos on holiday, holds ten-month-old Yahya, waiting for the rest of the family. Donations from the UK paid for safe accommodation for this family of eight children and two adults. The young mum in this group had taken responsibility for the five children of her sister who is missing, presumed dead.

Anything from 50 to 700 people arrived each night that Zahida and Louise were in Kos. There is no ‘camp’ to speak of, rather people sleeping in the streets, on beaches, in parks, the quayside or near the bins. Two hosepipes and ten portaloos without any facilities for women or children. Here the men are queuing for food late afternoon. This is provided by volunteers, charities, tourists and local businesses. Women and children are fed first.

While Zahida and Louise arrived in Kos it was the beginning of Eid Al Adha, so they wanted to do something for the children so they could just be kids for a couple of hours. Most of the families were Muslim, but there were Syrian and Iranian Christians too. Everyone was invited. The international language of balloons, glitter, stickers, colouring books, Nutella sandwiches and music relieved any tensions and the parents chatted, drinking coffee. Every time a balloon burst, the children flinched, with some hitting the deck.

You can follow Zahida and Louise’s continuing project to pay for accommodation in Kos for the most vulnerable arrivals - babies, children, pregnant women, women, elderly and disabled - on Instagram at zahida_and_ louise or Zahida Kayum on Facebook.

For information about how to donate or help, contact us via Instagram or Facebook.

End

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What'sThe

St ry Rob Allen & Lindsey Gee The 90s. A decade that meant different things to us all, but for those of us who are now preparing to stare middle age right in the face, it meant only one thing - Britpop.

Bred from the famous Madchester scene, following in the footsteps of The Smiths and The Happy Mondays, the Britpop movement developed as a reaction against musical and cultural trends in the late 80s and early 90s, particularly the prevailing invasion of grunge from the United States which had taken over the nation’s music scene. The death of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain in 1994 left a hole in the music industry that allowed new British groups like Oasis and Blur to present themselves as opposing musical forces.

1995 saw the famous Battle of Britpop, as Blur and Oasis went head to head, releasing ‘Roll With It’ and ‘Country House’ on the same day. This was spurred on by the media and secured Britpop’s place in new music culture.

Britpop took Doncaster by storm as South Yorkshire’s own Jarvis Cocker took centre stage with Pulp, becoming another significant player in the new wave of music culture. The North was at a low after the collapse of the mining industry and some might say that the political climate at the time contributed to the success of Britpop. The message was clear in the music. The ‘working class heroes’ of Britpop were bringing it back for the people through their music - songs about British life, lyrics that told stories, that people could connect with, along with that all-important guitar.

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Here in Doncaster we were lucky enough to have some of the best of the Britpop bands play for us. The likes of Manic Street Preachers, Kula Shaker, Suede and Pulp all came to Doncaster, with venues like the Dome and the Leopard being the key places to be seen. To this day these venues are recognised as significant places for music culture in Doncaster, having played host to the likes of Kasabian, Paul Weller and Jake Bugg in more recent years. Tuesday nights at Karisma became a stalwart for followers of Britpop. As the DJ there, I saw how quickly the culture was taking hold of the 90s youth. Anoraks, fishing hats and Adidas trainers took over the high street and fashion became just as important as the music.

There are many theories of why the Britpop movement came to an end. including money, politics, egos and drugs. Oasis’s 1997 album, Be Here Now, was not the success it should have been, and Damon Albarn sought to distance Blur from the Britpop scene with the band’s fifth album, Blur. Some even argued that Radiohead were responsible for the demise of Britpop with their ground-breaking 1997 album, OK Computer. Their dark and gloomy undertones took away the cheeky and cheery colloquial sound of the music we’d all come to love.

Many of the classic Britpop bands broke up or fragmented, and some even explored international shores. But the thing about Britpop is that, as far as we’re concerned, it never died at all. It has always been there, lying dormant

in the hearts and minds of the 90s youth. Instead of Oasis, we have High Flying Birds and Beady Eye, from Damon Albarn we have Gorillaz, and Blur themselves released a new album called The Magic Whip at the beginning of this year, their first release since 2003. There has also been a new wave of Britpop with the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian and the Arctic Monkeys picking up where our 90s heroes left off, telling us tales of modern British life in their own special way.

It’s because of my love of this culture that I was inspired to get in touch with Sine FM and bring Britpop back to Doncaster through my show, Son of S.L.A.M. The show airs on a Friday morning at 11am and revisits some of the best Britpop had to offer, reliving the student nights from Karisma, as well as exploring some of the newer post-90s artists who have come up through the ranks. The show has been a surprising success, even drawing attention from many US followers, such as Chris Barron, lead singer of the Spin Doctors, The Eagles of Death Metal and Patrick O’Brien, digital director for Fox TV. There is a lot to look to look forward to in Doncaster with the revival of Britpop, and we hope to capture some of this to share with you all. The wellloved Karisma has now been replaced by venues like The Diamond Live Lounge and The Social Bar where we have seen the likes of Cast, Clint Boon and Northside play to packed crowds.

The Vintage Bar also hosts a monthly Britpop night which is sure to be a huge success. So far on Son of S.L.A.M, we’ve got interviews lined up with Space, the Bluetones and Jesus Jones, with many more to come. Why don’t you tune in to the show or come down to one of the nights, so you can decide for yourself: Did Britpop ever die or was it just taking a nap?

End

Literary Guide

SINCE Book Launch Monday 28th September, 7.30pm The Concertina Band Club, Mexborough Ian Parks latest offering, Since, is perhaps one of his best yet. It’s full of emotion and imagery that really comes alive on the page, but the poems hit heavy when you hear him read.

A dull Monday was cut short as a packed-out Concertina Band Club awaited its man. His friends and fans had come from far and wide, but the locals made up the bulk of the audience. Amidst a backdrop of neon bulbs and the smell of the days brew, it was easy to see why Ian Parks had been dubbed Mexborough’s Poet Laureate in the weeks preceding.

After a brief but heart-warming introduction, Ian stepped up to the microphone and held court. The humanising way he gave context to poems, adding jokes and back stories, took the room on a journey. Twenty minutes lasted hours and three-quarters of the pamphlet went by in a flash. Ian said an emotional ‘thank you’ and stepped away from the mic.

The second half saw 17 local and national poets and musicians hit the stage to showcase their work, from amateurs like Mick Pettinger, Martin Henson and John Beal to professionals like Rory Waterman and Tom Kelly. This beautiful selection of artists was curated by Paul Dyson. Complete with printed running orders and individual introductions, it really helped to break up the night and elevate it from just being a book launch.

What made the evening special was the feel, the little details and the effort everyone had made. Professionals and amateurs placed on the same bill, mingling, laughing and discussing work. The free buffet supplied by Ian’s partner, Tracy, along with other guests, was a lovely touch and (as food does) really helped to break the ice. Limited edition ‘I’m Ian Parks’ badges provided a brilliant souvenir for people to take away, proving even more popular than his books.

It’s the kind of occasion that really highlights the creative renaissance taking place in Mexborough, a place steeped in writing history seeing a resurgence of the arts, with the likes of The Ted Hughes Poetry Festival, Write on Mexborough, Ian’s Read to Write group (meeting every Wednesday at Interiors coffee shop), and so many other events down the line. Overall a brilliant night, instigated by a wonderful selection of 14 poems from Ian Parks. Since is available online from publisher Melos Press.

Ryan Madin www.melospress.blogspot.co.uk (Photo Credit: Paul Dyson ©2015)

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Want to write for The Guide? Email your reviews to doncopolitan@gmail.com

Doncaster Book Award David Baddiel took to the stage to launch this year’s Doncaster Book Awards to a packed house of children at The Dome (1st October). The DBA, a volunteer-led organisation now in its twelfth year, has a simple goal: to get every child in our town reading for pleasure. Given the amount of children queuing up to get their books signed, their mission is well on its way to being accomplished!

Baddiel’s children’s book, ‘The Parent Agency’, is on this year’s DBA longlist.

It’s the story of a boy who becomes tired of his parents and so visits the titular agency to choose new ones. Fears that this could be another ‘celebrity cash-in’ are soon evaporated - it is a funny and original read, with its contemporary themes and outlandish characters particularly likely to appeal to boys, a hard-to-reach group as any teacher will tell you. However, I think it’ll be Baddiel’s computer games themed follow-up ‘The Person Controller’ (premiered at this event a week before its official release date) that’ll give that other comedian-turned-author-called-David a run for his money!

Children will now read and vote for their favourite new books of the year (as well as the ‘Classics’ list, which this year have an international theme) at www.doncasterbookaward.net, before the winner is announced at a Brazilian Olympics themed extravaganza in the Spring. With recent authors speaking at DBA events including Simon Mayo, Charlie Higson and ‘World of Norm’ creator Jonathan Meres, they’re sure to have some top names lined up to inspire more young readers.

The Doncaster Book Awards host free drama, animation and dance workshops on the literary theme, with all events open to both primary and secondary school pupils - so if you know a school that isn’t taking part, be sure to put them in touch.

Phil Sheppard

(Photo Credit: Doncaster Book Award ©2015)

MUSIC GUIDE

Frankie & The HeartStrings

Slow Burn Blue - manga Bros

4th October Diamond Live Lounge

I have been here before. I first heard this album on it’s original release in 2000 when the Mangabros were a part of Doncaster’s burgeoning underground rave scene. The Mangas live had the audience (and their concerts pulled in quite a crowd) hypnotized by their loping beats that rumbled into insistent digital pulses, punctuated with kicking bass thumps, computer bleeps, guitar feedback and didgeridoos. Punters, for their part, were encouraged to beat pieces of found metal.

Sunderland’s Frankie & The Heartstrings arrived to play a hastily rearranged gig due to a cancellation in York in typically high spirits. The eponymous Decency from the new album released in July kicked things off, before Frankie launched into a spirited run through of first album favourites Possibilities and Photograph. The latter has always been a live favourite and the band clearly enjoyed playing the song that kicked everything off for them, being the first track from the debut album Hunger.

After finding success with their debut album, Frankie & The Heartstrings have been content with putting out well received albums with modest sales as well as running their record shop and record label Pop Recs and Pop Sex respectively. On the musical side of things they have also recruited Futureheads’ Ross Millard on guitar who has fleshed out their sound live and is a bit of a local legend in the North East. The Alan Shearer of indie guitar pop perhaps... although being from Sunderland that is probably a wildly inappropriate connection to make. Maybe Niall Quinn?

Despite latest album Decency only being a few months old, the band played a set heavy with songs from the first two albums with That Girl and I Still Follow being interspersed with chatting with the Diamond Live Lounge crowd about local restaurant San Remo’s. Lead singer Frankie Francis asked the crowd if it is normal for the owner to make you wear wigs and take photographs... Welcome to Doncaster Frankie!

Money and Anna from the new album slotted in nicely among some of the older songs but it was old favourites Hunger and set closer Fragile that still drew the best reaction. Fragile in particular is a song that works even better live than on the album with the agonizing refrain ‘If you’re gonna break down... then just break down’ perhaps best summing up Frankie & The Heartstrings philosophy - we may be a shambles, but at least we are a shambles together.

Rob Johnson

They seemed to channel something of the likes of Stone Roses (think Fools Gold) fused with micro house, and a dash of Pink Floyd, all mixed up in a distinctive, electronic wash and topped with Craig’s breathy vocal, reminiscent of Ryder’s anti-vocal on ‘Step on’ as his expansive range was constrained to a hoarse whisper.

Beautifully fine live where the crowd would lose itself, all loved up and mellowed out but, when transferred to CD these great songs, though well produced, just felt over long for sofa culture. But forget yesterday.

This is a re-release for 2015; so what’s new?

Playing through this re-release is something of a schizophrenic experience.

There’s, still the old tracks, some as long as 13 minutes, that remind us, quite rightly, of Mangas’ dancy roots. Songs such as Musical Chairs, Weissmuller and Black Guitar are dark and broody but their groove is infectious and dancefloor friendly.

Then there are the new songs.

Beautiful and disturbing in equal measure they touch on subjects that noone else might dare. From the hardcore samples that pepper the ballad of ill fated porn star John Holmes to the quiet, lyrical ‘Stoma’. The latter boasts a tender vocal, quietly delivered by Jade Manga (Saxelby) across a Sígur Rós-esque soundscape and is just wonderful. She gives herself to the song offering something both beautiful and touching, a tragic sadness in her voice that’s quite at home here.

Elsewhere we find Craig’s tortured vocal railing against the world in a dark confusion of his own paranoid fetishes as in ‘Line of Tattoos’, ‘Mondo Porno’ or ‘Ummm’.

Lyrically there’s something Burroughsian here, touching subjects that only a Cronenberg (perhaps the director in question) might dare to champion.

It’s a feast of an album; you need to commit to hear it out but there’s something rewarding there for the discerning listener and, on the whole, fans of Anthony and the Johnsons, Thom Yorke and Sigur Ros are sure to find something worth the wallow.

Antoine Aragnée

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Music Guide

RockTober Fest

Krypticx EP Launch

2nd October Diamond Live Lounge and The Pit, DN1 3LH

Without pause for breath, I’m into this. Slabs of unhinged distorted guitars make me easy pickings (as always). I crank it up, taking my chance with the psycho next door. Come beautiful tinnitus, do your worst, for this latest EP from South Yorkshire power trio KRYPTICX is most certainly worth the risk.

Whatever would our grandparents think? During WWII my nanny worked at the local arms factory. 70 years on its wonderful to think that within a human lifetime we can put such horrors behind us and celebrate traditional German culture in the heart of our northern town.

It’s friday night and The Pit (Doncaster’s alternative night out) is hosting a Germanic themed Bavarian extravaganza by the name of #Rocktoberfest.

To celebrate #Rocktobterfest, promoters of The Pit – Kyle Tranter and Christian Carlisle – planned an epic prequel to their signature alternative themed nights. You may have heard of their friday night debauchery? Involving anything from pies, cereal and beer pong, to the requisite plethora of alternative anthems.

Our intrepid hosts spent the afternoon bedecking the venue with Bavarian bunting and six sets of long tables (yes, Viking like) making Diamond Live Lounge’s impressive architecture look and feel a little like Hogwarts, despite no sign of Harry Potter or Dumbledore. The ‘oompah’ band, Hosen Brass is however, rocking the stage. They’re a young four-piece brass arrangement, nationally renowned since appearing of Channel Four’s So Graham Norton and BBC radio. It’s a ticketed event – worth every penny – as a bonus we also get to sample a free bottle of German beer on entry.

What I liked best about this night – whilst I dig into my platter of meat free sausage and pickles – is that this carefully curated event represents the best of British eccentricity and nightlife. As the band breaks for food, shots of Jägermeister is served around the tables – complete with Bavarian tablecloths. Of course there’s piles of bratwurst on the menu, with sides of sauerkraut, pickled red cabbage, authentic pickled gherkins and locally baked bread – ably supplied by Papacass’s Kitchen. ‘Papacass’ isn’t actually Italian at all; he’s called Richard, and this master chef has spent hours in the kitchen cooking up a Bavarian feast.

So there we sit at the Viking-esque tables in a Victorian church turned music venue, chomping down on our sausage platters, while head-banging to System of a Down performed by a Bavarian inspired brass quartet. The cultural clash continues, as everything from Rage Against the Machine to Taylor Swift is on the repertoire. And “oh my!” that tuba player has got some puff on him. He’s rocking out to Busted as the entirety of the guests sing along.

This night was pure genius. Be sure to join in the fun next year.

Alternative Anthems Every Friday at Diamond Live Lounge.

Doors: 11PM-3.30AM Entry: £3 before 12am £5 after DJs: Christian Carlisle & Kyle Tranter 18+

The Matter EP is agitprop psych-grunge at its richest and KRYPTICX make no apologies, as short and sharp as a one-inch punch, and as likely to leave us reeling in the wake of its chasmic riffing.

Rob Halford once said that environment shapes bands - for example, Sabbath and Priest sharing proximity to the steel mills of the mid-counties. KRYPTICX mine similar seams, with Sheffield’s stainless steel foundries and Doncaster coalfaces ever present in this music. Hard-edged, pounding, in shades of grey and black.

I want to swear in delight, but I won’t. But forking hell (pardon the Sheffield pun), I haven’t felt so aurally assaulted and bruised - in the nicest way possible, of course - since wallowing in the pitch sludge of Seattle’s finest and having great gulps of my breath stolen by the precision-tooled early outpourings of The Young Gods and Tool. This not only has that sense of mile-deep metal, but the negative space that defines great rock bands. It is angry, angular and twisted, but decidedly uplifting and upbeat. This ain’t the Devil’s music, but it is devilishly musical.

The title track is barely a minute long but is honed to a black diamond, neat as an assassin’s bullet hole. There are bursts of guitar over Jamie Rodgers’ and Adam Spaven’s thunderous rhythm section. Then there’s Danny Barron’s cracked and cavorting vocals, howling despair at the political state of the UK, a throwback to the miners’ strike rhetoric of the red wedge and post-punk political soapboxing. It is aggressive but not mean-spirited. It also wins the award for the best reference to ‘botox’ in a song. Eccentric riffs come fast and furious, always unique, fresh, exhilarating. I remind myself I need to breathe.

And a new favourite song, the staccato, maniacal ‘Ritual’, with its roar of background vocals twisted into its nasty little DNA. Crushing, colliding chords cascade, unstoppable and unrelenting. I never promised this would be an easy ride. I prefer uneasy listening over homogenised pop pap. This is insane and atmospheric, portentous, potent and powerful, working up into a phenomenal flare that seems to last, like the light of stars so far away, for millions of years after it dies.

Come sample this captured lightening in a jar, these short, sharp, perfect little sonic explorations in four not-so-easy pieces. Throw your body around to these wild pitching sounds made by three Yorkshiremen out of mere skin and wire. My only complaint? Not enough of it. [Chanting:] ALBUM! ALBUM! ALBUM! Available now on Dirty Fuzz (iTunes) Sven Dali

Rachel Horne (Photo Credit: Tom Tranter ©2015)

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Art/film GUIDE

Art at the Deli

The Loft

MacBeth

Christmas Exhibition at Sciclunas

‘The Loft’ a studio and gallery at Church View.

The concept: it’s a town centre, artist’s run partitioned studio and gallery space on the first floor of the old Doncaster Art College site overlooking St Georges Minster. With 24 hour access 7 days a week the model envisages the studio facilities as primary – the gallery as secondary, discreet, secure, and open by appointment only.

The model envisages that exhibitions would be professionally hung, or stood upon plinths with tasteful spacing, embracing a ‘less is more’ attitude, making the most of the natural beauty of the space.

Hell is Murky Macbeth- On general release

The small café Gallery in Scicluna Delicatessen, which is just off Doncaster’s prizewinning market, under the Premier Inn, will be having a Christmas exhibition. This small gallery has become a bit of a show-case for artists over the past year, with changing exhibitions, a website, and sales! w w w. a r t a t t h e d e l i . c o m Sciclunas is owned and run by Josie Scicluna. From crack of dawn to late at night you will find her in the shop, always on the go, serving customers and catching up on everyone’s lives. Josie has worked on Donny Market since she was a child and her mother was a stall-holder. There are few people who she doesn’t know, and her Deli is like a community centre, everyone talks to each other, asks about what they are buying, how to cook that strange looking vegetable etc. The stock is vast, and there are few ingredients that she doesn’t seem to stock. Her café serves a range of savouries and cakes to accompany a really good cup of coffee.

Together, we hatched a plan to change the café walls on a regular basis in order to enliven the tiny café, and create something of a talking-point. This year there have been exhibitions with work by 14 Artists and a number of sales. Josie takes a small percentage of the asking price and this she gives to the charity ‘Let the Children Live’ which supports street-children in Columbia. w w w. l e t t h e c h i l d r e n l i v e . o r g So November and December the Scicluna Gallery will be having a Christmas Small Works show. The work will be small in scale and so will the price tag!

Come and buy your Christmas presents from the Deli, support some great artists as well as Josie and the Columbian Charity. Artists will include Graham and Rosemary Firth, Kate van Millingen, Neil McGregor, Shaun Clark and many more.

Hilary Cartmel (Photo Credit: Rod Jackson ©2015)

The only venue of its kind in town, exhibitions (either solo or group) would be ‘pop up’, or shortterm i.e. a long weekend, or a week long duration max, reverting straight back to studio space use afterward. Exhibition previews by invitation – otherwise open and invigilated by appointment only... can’t have people just walking in and wandering about the building at will.

In theory ‘The Loft’, as a loose model has the space to expand, change and grow over different stages, venues, either rooms within Church View or elsewhere and over different timescales for creative freelancers or cottage industries of many descriptions.

It’s mostly about the provision of affordable studio space but we envisage short exhibitions and open studio events from time to time that will be advertised later on. We will be open and trading from this first address from early October. Visitors are more than welcome, by appointment only please.

Please feel free to join the Facebook page ‘The Loft Studio Gallery’ for more detailed information on the concept, the space and costs. And to join our mailing list which will detail exhibition openings and give regular updates about the project.

Alternatively visit the contacts page of w w w. a d a m b e r r y f i n e a r t p a i n t i n g . c o . u k . Please title any emails with ‘The Loft’.

Adam Berry (Photo Credit: Adam Berry ©2015)

Purists would claim that the only way to experience Shakespeare is through the medium of the stage.

Only there, they claim, do the plays reach their full potential. Being an enthusiast rather than a purist I’d be inclined to argue that Shakespeare can be experienced in any form as long as it remains true to the integrity of the text and the spirit of the play.

The new film version of Macbeth does both these things while, at the same time, bringing something different to the mix. The visual images - particularly of the bleak Scottish landscape – evoke the world of the play in a way that a stage production could never attempt to do. And that world, of course, is a grim and dark one where the powers of evil lurk not only in the human sphere but exert a powerful influence from the supernatural realm.

Film adaptations of Shakespeare abound and there is a long tradition, including Olivier’s Hamlet and Brannagh’s Henry V, where the marriage is entirely successful, Shakespeare’s plays being re-imagined and explored in a different context. Justin Kurtzel’s direction is sparse and telling, narrating the story of Macbeth’s descent into tyranny and madness with economy and verve. As Lady Macbeth reminds us in the famous ‘sleepwalking’ scene, done here in beautiful close-up, ‘Hell is murky’. The moral ambiguity at the heart of the play – ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’ finds its fullest expression in the misty and forbidding landscapes that serve as a backdrop to the action.

Cinema allows scenes that have to be played broadly to an audience on stage to be reduced to intimate conversations, something that works very well in this word of shadows and conspiracy.

Michael Fassbender is excellent in the title role, exchanging the poetic grandeur of the protagonist to intense, introspective utterances, truly convincing us that life is ‘a tale told by an idiot’.

The relationship between him and Lady Macbeth is entirely believable as is her urging to make him undertake the murder of King Duncan – the act that sets in motion a nightmare spiral of violence as Macbeth tries to hold on to the power he has usurped. Marion Cotillard is superb in the role, especially as she realises the enormity of their joint crime, concluding that ‘what is done cannot be undone’. The opening battle scenes are arresting and set the tone for the bloodshed that is to follow.

The witches are understated but act as an unseen presence throughout the action, always there at the key moments to remind Macbeth, and the audience, that the supernatural is never far away.

Ian Parks

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78 COPLEY ROAD, DONCASTER, DN1 2QW

Good News GUIDE.

Raccoon

Charity Event

Visit Donny.com

On 28 November something very different is happening in Doncaster, as the Reverend Raccoon makes what could be one of his final sermons.

Raccoon was a conman, a fake faith healer, a US Army reservist, a TV dinner Evangelical preacher and then God found him: ‘the wonderful, bizarre world of Reverend Raccoon.

24th October, Diamond Live Lounge, DN1

DMBC’s Tourist Information Department have been working hard to create a fabulous new website for Doncaster, aptly named visitdoncaster.com. The site shows off all the awesome things that Doncaster’s cultural, leisure and hospitality businesses have to offer.

“A wacky, brilliantly inventive production” Buxton Fringe Review. Come and join the Reverend to learn why he has faith and why, in life, you should always choose the baked potato option.

At 3.30pm and 7.30pm on 28 November 2015 there will be two performances of The Life and Crimes of Reverend Raccoon, the new play, which debuted at the Buxton Fringe in 2015, by award nominated and local playwright Jeremy Fletcher.

Having already taken two plays to the Edinburgh Fringe, Fletcher and Sheepish Productions are bringing their third play to a local audience. Of Sheepish Productions’ other work: ‘I couldn’t help but be reminded of the Coen Brothers, a homespun Fargo’ Edfringereview (Last Motel) ‘taut and powerful, a triumph of small-scale theatre’ FringeGuru (Shadow) ‘intense and chilling’ York Mix Mag (Shadow) The performances will take place at Fishlake Village Hall, Pinfold Lane, Fishlake, Doncaster DN7 5LN. Tickets are priced at £4.50 (£4 concessions) and can be booked via: Websites: www.wegottickets.com/event/334713 (3.30pm) www.wegottickets.com/event/334948 (7.30pm on 28 November 2015) Email: sheepishproductions@rocketmail.com Telephone: 0 1302 845077

Dare To Dream is a project run by The Salvation Army Housing Association. It will see six disadvantaged young people from Doncaster Foyer sent over to KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa for an adventurous and educational ten days.

Covering learning in the areas of conservation, the environment, community history and diversity, including physical, intellectual, social and emotional challenges.

Education and Youth Services (EYS) Doncaster is proudly running an African themed fundraiser event on 24th October at the prestigious Diamond Live Lounge.

The Toy Trains will be performing a set, as well as Al Falcon. There will be more supporting acts and J-Dubz will be the DJ for the night, playing deep dub and grime with an African twist.

The Real Junk Food Project will also be involved with their amazing pay-as-you-feel cafe. There will be fire dancing, reggae and much more. Definitely not a night to miss and all for a great cause.

Tickets can be bought on the door or in advance for £3 from: Diamond Live Lounge - 34 Wood Street Doncaster Foyer - Chequer Rd Education Youth Services - 5 Princes Street Doors open at 6pm. Find the event page on Facebook by searching ‘Dare To Dream’.

The new website provides a home for local events, with a what’s on guide and accommodation listings, as well as places to find food and drink. You can even upload photography and business details to promote anything from a gig to a community festival. All this will be linked to Trip Adviser too, showing the world exactly why #Doncasterisgreat.

We all know Donny gets an unfair amount of bashing in the national news, so we’re extremely happy to celebrate the fact that if you Google “Doncaster”, VisitDoncaster.com comes near enough top of the list, under Doncaster Rovers FC and our Wikipedia page.

Still don’t believe Donny is on the up? Here’s a quote from our recent guest, comedian, celebrity and star of Still Open All Hours, Johnny Vegas, who’s been filming in Balby last month.

With 231,800 Twitter followers, we couldn’t wish for a better recommendation.

www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Doncasterfoyer

“You know what, #Doncasterisgreat. Salt of the Earth folk, cracking banter, great bars and restaurants.

Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it x”

Linzi Kay

Check it out Doncolites: v i s i t d o n c a s t e r. co m

(Photo credit: Marco Lazzaroni)

Rachel Horne

Doors open 30 minutes before the performance and the play has a running time of 1 hour. Drinks and snacks will be available for purchase before the performances.

Sheep Productions

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Doncaster has more tourist attractions than our neighbouring cities. We’re up 14% on 2012 and tourism brings £400 million to our local economy annually, with 12 million visitors per year.

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In Luther's

Words...

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Photography: courtesy of Luther King Š2015

Rachel Horne I’ve known Luther King for four years.

You may have noticed him out and about around Doncaster. He’s hard to miss in la Donx, with his dreads, everchanging hat and BMX bike riding. And yet many of us native Doncasterians know very little about the real Luther.

Who is he? For this Internationallythemed Doncopolitan I’ve been trying to interview Luther about his life.

We’ve met-up several times and we’ve discussed a lot of things, mainly art and music. Luther is very chilled and likes to talk about the “Power of Drumming”.

Perhaps if I attend one of his drumming workshops, I’ll find-out more?

Aiming to be a fly on the wall, my plan was to take a few pictures at one of his drumming classes and learn about the community centre and church on Netherhall Road where the workshops take place. I felt sure that this would allow me to find out more about Luther.

Instead, to my surprise and delight, I find myself carried along by the rhythm of the weekly drumming circle.

Luther and the students are on fire.

I’m a newbie, but I soon feel like I’m an integral part of the circle.

Drumming is a most ancient art form and although it felt a little bizarre drumming with strangers, it also felt like the most natural thing to do. We can’t escape the fact that this tradition would have been practiced by our ancestors, who, like us, would have sat in a similar drumming circle. As Luther informs me in the workshop, “it is still unknown whether the voice or the drum came first… whether the drums made us sing… or singing together made us drum”. I’m in awe as I find myself, on an otherwise drab Wednesday evening, contemplating the origins of humanity.

I’m drumming away, probably not in rhythm or even hitting the right part of the jembi. Luther is encouraging and says I’m good at drumming. I don’t mind that he’s lying to make me feel better. Those basic rhythms, the ones for school kids in Luther’s workshops are enough for me. I’m in a trance. The room melts away.

and others

Sadly, even after the drum workshop, I still need to find out more about Luther for this article. I ask if we can do an interview (again). Luther turns up with a sheet of paper in his own words. He thought this would be more creative than a typical interview. He’s right. It reads like a drumbeat and, leaving me with these words of wisdom, he heads off to a gig in Nottingham:

Drums are a wonderful instrument

I think music is why I keep such a positive attitude about life I’ve been always a cheerful happy person Music is life, lyrics are my story Why do I like drums? and they have a beautiful sound Drums are a very important part of daily life We use drums in many ways We have drums that are used for sending people to town We have drums that are used for sending people to the nearest village

My story? You’re Story?

There are drums for healing people

Straight out of Zion

when they are sick

Strong like a lion

Drums are an instrument that when

Born musical

you hear them you feel something

Reality is my nationality

inside your body, because they have

Love is my religion

this supernatural power, which goes into the body and touches our soul

What is music?

and wakes our spirit

Music is a living art comes out from

A drum beat is the same as a heart

the heart

beat, they have the same pulse, so

Music opens our hearts and focuses

that when we hear the spirit of the

our mind and lifts our spirits

sound of the drum we respond

Music is born out of love

immediately and we respond in different ways

What does music mean to me?

Music means the world to me Self expression Music is a Universal emotion, language that allows us to feel it It brings us closer to ourselves

End Come and experience the power of drumming together every Wednesday from 6:30pm until 8:30pm at 63 Netherhall Road, Doncaster, DN1 2PW

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©2015