Tag Archives: London

Frost Interviews Film Director Peter Chipping

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Frost: Did you always want to be a director?

PC: I guess so – although I started as an editor & that seemed a great role, like finishing a jigsaw puzzle from a large pile of disparate elements, many of which don’t seem to join together. Then I realised I’d like to create those disparate elements myself, but not make them quite as disparate.

How did you get your start in the business?

I started in theatre & Yvonne Arnaud in Guildford, before enrolling at Ravensbourne for a new TV course, them got my first job at Central TV in Birmingham.

What was your big break?

Editing Crossroads.

What is your favourite thing about working in film?

Teamwork: No matter what ideas I get, there’s always other people who can add to them & make them better.

And the least?

The gaps between projects.

What are you working on at the moment?

Three short interlocked comedies, two 60 minute broadcast documentaries and a feature paranormal thriller.

What is your favourite film?

The Conversation.

What mistakes do actors make at auditions?

Not show the range of emotions that is available in their arsenal.

What projects are you hoping to get off the ground?

A feature paranormal thriller.

Favourite actress?

Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys.

Thanks Peter.

Frieze Art Fair 2011

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I have a theory on art which is this: If something makes you ask if it’s art, it’s art. Because it made you ask the question and think. There are a few exceptions to this rule, for example, putting a fire extinguisher on a wall and saying it’s art, isn’t. It is just lazy.

My first thought on the Frieze was how awful the queues were – luckily being press I bypassed them. The second was irritation at having my bag searched going in and out.

When you are inside, the main thing that strikes you is the sheer size of it.

There are over 1,000 artists and 177 exhibitors from 33 countries. With the right online school your art work could be showcased in art fairs like this one.

It’s an art lovers dream. I walked around the vastness thinking: “Recession? What recession?”

Artists that really stuck out for me where Rashid Rana, Nathalie Djurberg, Elmgreen and Dragset -them of the morgue art – and Karl Holmqvist.

Neon letter art is popular. One even bears the words ‘Who runs this mother?’ taking inspiration from a song by Beyonce.  I also loved ‘The Neme Sims’, an extraordinary project by Muntean and Rosenblum for Georg Kargl. The  Austrian duo made a grey house with a garden, furniture, and art.

I love art fairs, and the Frieze is one of the biggest there is. Definitely worth going to.

The Frieze was sponsored by Deutsche Bank for the eighth consecutive year. Proves that banks have at least some purpose.

The Frieze runs from 13th to 16th of October every year.

Frieze.com</

Community-Upon-Thames: Bringing People Together

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Community-upon-Thames is a not-for-profit social enterprise, set up and run by Ben Mallet and Maundy Todd. Frost was incredibly impressed by the difference they are making to people’s lives in Kingston and Richmond, so we went to their offices to find out more.

Frost: Tell me about Community-upon-Thames.

Ben: Community-upon-Thames was founded in the New Year as a social enterprise. We were originally looking to do something in local media as there was a big gap in the market. The local Informer newspaper went bust last week, which is an example of the volatility of the market. Current local media is dull and boring – we wanted to do something interesting.

We thought about doing something in print, though actually everything we wanted to do, we can do far better online. So we shifted the entire idea on to a website, where we have The Secret Newspaper – alternative local news, written by local people. We have lots of exciting stories on there and we also have a skill exchange, which is like a local currency, and volunteers too.

Maundy: Ben had this brilliant idea, which is the online community. Originally, he wanted to do the paper and, again, Zac (Goldsmith, the MP for Richmond and Kingston) got involved and said: “Don’t do it on paper,” and I thought, amongst other things we were talking about, of the Skill Exchange. We were looking at the community and how people could be part of the community in many different ways. I just thought [a website] was a fabulous thing to help older people, people who might be trapped at home, people who weren’t working – who could be made to feel useful. It also just gave this wonderful flexibility, for people who might be thinking of starting mumsnet, but don’t know how to go about it. You can do a skill exchange and see if it works. You can offer things and see if people come back.

The newspaper, I really wasn’t sure. We pay for a local paper but I think they are dead flat, really boring and all have the same stuff in. So, when Ben said online, I was really excited because an online newspaper is all about the community. Because we are website-based, we can do anything at all to help the community. If people want to write about something then they can write about it. Some have particular hobbies and if they want to get it to a wider group of people,they can send it to us and we can upload it – unless it is something, legally, we wouldn’t want. If they have pictures, even better.

Life is a bit tough. Cameron keeps going on about the breakdown of society – we do feel that what we’re doing is about bringing the community together, creating a society where people do care. This is an affluent area, but there is still those little pockets where there is no community. People feel very left out and very excluded. I include older people in this. We treat old people dreadfully in this country. Anything we can do to try and connect.

My other big passion is helping people with disabilities. My daughter is so excluded from society because she is disabled. Our whole life is about inclusion, about our daughter having the same opportunity of other children. Helping her raise her expectations, and other people’s expectations about what a disabled person’s role is in life. That includes education and work.

We are coming up to two million unemployed people now. A whole raft of young people who have been excluded from society because they did what they were supposed to. They went to university and then fell off the cliff.

I have two daughters who are graduates. So I was very interested in what Ben was doing, supporting local shops, local charities, and reporting local news. Helping people feel like they are part of society and get paid work. Unless you are in paid work, you don’t feel like you belong, you don’t feel part of it. That is how we got to the employment bit.

It’s what we call our virtuous circle. Helping out small shops means they want to help us. All of the local businesses want to help, because we want to help local people into work.

We got these offices because we had a generous landlord and why did he help us? Because he listened to us about trying to help people back into work. He said he had to fire lots of people when the recession hit, and they lose confidence very quickly. If you are in your 50s or 60s, you have virtually no chance of being employed.

We also try to help people with a learning disability. We decided that if you can help people with learning disabilities, you can help anyone because they are the most excluded group in the country. So when we were doing our qualities policy, we would not tolerate any type of discrimination from anybody about anything. We are completely inclusive.

Businesses don’t get all we are trying to do, but they feel this energy! (Laughs).

Ben, because he’s young and he’s good with technology, he made this media stuff happen, and because he is very committed and very genuine, he put ads on for interns and we got all of these wonderful graduates – some with firsts, completely despondent about trying to get jobs. They start working for us and we promise that we have a flat management structure and it’s flexible. And we say: “We will help you find a job. If you want any input you can come to any meeting or anything.”

Ben: To put this into context, the meeting that is happening next door is what we were talking about when we were talking about the virtuous circle with businesses. Richard runs a business in New Malden. We are trying to support him through that and Michael, who is one of our interns, came along and wanted to get involved. Richard wants to sort out his system and now they are having a conversation about paid work. That is the metaphor for how we work. We are supporting the businesses and supporting local people and the website is the glue that binds them together. It’s a two-way street.

Maundy: We were talking and Richard said: “It sounds so exciting, I really want to help you and I’m in IT. I would be happy to come and mentor.” So we said okay and he came into the office and we ended up talking about a job that he needs done and Michael popped up at the end and said: “I could do that.”

The thing is, Richard doesn’t want employees, and we don’t want employees because the employment legislation in this country is really restricting for medium-sized businesses. So we told Richard we were sure we could find self-employed people and they would just invoice you for the hours they work. That is a reason why the job market is so bad at the moment, people don’t want to take the risk of having an employee and all of the restrictions that come with it. But people want to work and they want to get paid. They want to be useful in society.

So far, it’s been great fun. It’s been a roller-coaster but we are stabilising. We did a coffee Q & A with Zac Goldsmith a couple of weeks ago with local businesses asking him questions. It was great. Over 25 businesses came, Zac said social enterprise is the way forward and even the guy next door said he really wanted to help.

It is rotten to be a young person. We are going to have a pop-up job cafe for young people. Everything is about contacts. Our entire business plan is about contacts. Nick Clegg is trying to stop that, but it’s not about ‘who your daddy knows’ contacts. It’s about making connections. We put people in contact in an informal way. We have not stumbled at all yet.

Ben: We are still trying to find leads for some people.

Maundy: The National Childbirth society is a member of our organisation. We have membership packages for sole traders, companies and not-for-profit. They lost their venue, so they have their home birth class in our office. We can write stuff about them on our website and we link. We sponsor the Twickenham Live Regatta. They had stand-up paddle boarding. So we had Ben and Charlie paddle boarding.

Ben: I fell in. It’s a lot harder than it looks. I finished the race dry, then I fell in.

Maundy: We have the picture on the website. They were on Facebook quite quickly. And we can do advertising and Youtube videos.

Frost: How did you get it off the ground?

Ben: Hard work. It was just getting a website and talking to people. The real life that was injected into it was the employment side. That is when Maundy got involved. Everyone we spoke to said it was something they felt strongly about.

Maundy: The website took a while, but when we got the website, and the website functioning, it went quite quickly. We are a last resort. We have a cafe office. We want everyone to feel welcome.

Frost: Will you branch to other areas?

Ben: We are about community, but we don’t mind if you are from another area. We won’t ban you from the website. We want to expand, but in the local area. There are a quarter of a million people in Kingston and Richmond, so it would be great to touch even 10% of that. People in Kingston spend the most amount of time online than in any other borough.

Frost: What about the London Riots?

Ben: The area we cover was not directly affected, but they came pretty close. I was abroad at the time but I remember talking to Maundy about it.

Maundy: We had some alerts. We shut the office. We took all the interns home and locked up. We were contacted by the police and we are going to be working with the police on youth engagement. We were talking about how hard it is for young people, and we don’t just mean graduates. Graduates are easy for us because they can do internships. So we talked to the police and we will be getting some inspirational speakers.

Ben: In terms of the aftermath, when you see the news, what surprised a lot of commentators was the fact that all these people came out with their brooms and started sweeping. There was a strong sense of community and we didn’t find that surprising at all. There is a very strong sense of community, especially in London.

Maundy: You never know where your connections will take you. We work with the Big Issue as well, but we were trying to do something that was too ambitious. We were trying to help people find work. We thought because we do a job cafe, maybe we could do a lunch cafe for the Big Issue vendors. Instead, we are trying to help them identify people who might want to be vendors.

Ben: We are a supporter and a friend.

http://www.communityuponthames.co.uk/

Liam Fox Hounded Out

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Liam Fox resigned as Defence Secretary today over his links with his friend, Adam Werritty.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Dr Fox said that he’d “mistakenly” allowed the distinction between his personal interest and government business to become “blurred”.

“I have also repeatedly said that the national interest must always come before personal interest. I now have to hold myself to my own standard,”

“I have therefore decided, with great sadness, to resign from my post as Secretary of State for Defence – a position which I have been immensely proud and honoured to have held.”

Mr Cameron responded by paying tribute to the “superb job” which Dr Fox had done at the Ministry of Defence.

“I understand your reasons for deciding to resign as Defence Secretary, although I am very sorry to see you go,”

“We have worked closely for these last six years, and you have been a key member of my team throughout that time.”

The announcement comes after days of speculation.

Mr Werritty was questioned again today by a senior official from the Cabinet Office as part of a Whitehall investigation which is headed by Sir Gus O’Donnell.

In full: Liam Fox’s resignation letter to Prime Minister David Cameron

Dear David,
As you know, I have always placed a great deal of importance on accountability and responsibility. As I said in the House of Commons on Monday, I mistakenly allowed the distinction between my personal interest and my Government activities to become blurred. The consequences of this have become clearer in recent days. I am very sorry for this.

I have also repeatedly said that the national interest must always come before personal interest. I now have to hold myself to my own standard. I have therefore decided, with great sadness, to resign from my post as Secretary of State for Defence – a position which I have been immensely proud and honoured to have held.

I am particularly proud to have overseen the long overdue reforms to the Ministry of Defence and to our Armed Forces, which will shape them to meet the challenges of the future and keep this country safe.

I am proud also to have played a part in helping to liberate the people of Libya, and I regret that I will not see through to its conclusion Britain’s role in Afghanistan, where so much progress has been made.

Above all, I am honoured and humbled to have worked with the superb men and women in our Armed Forces. Their bravery, dedication and professionalism are second to none.

I appreciate all the support you have given me – and will continue to support the vital work of this Government, above all in controlling the enormous budget deficit we inherited, which is a threat not just to this country’s economic prosperity but also to its national security.

I look forward to continuing to represent my constituents in North Somerset.

Yours ever,

Liam

Karenina in Camden

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Walking in to the small, cosy auditorium of the Lord Stanley theatre, I had little knowledge of the story of Anna Karenina. After the show, I left with a comprehensive understanding of the tragedy. Victor Sobchak’s adaptation clearly revealed the intricacies of the relationships of the protagonist, as well as those around her, which I am sure was no mean feat against the works of Tolstoy. Throughout most of the piece, the text was given life through a mixture of solid acting, and technical support. However, much of the action took place against the back wall of the stage, leaving a large space between the action and the audience. I found myself craving proximity, and was rewarded with this when monologues encouraged it.

Anna’s husband, Alexei Karenin (played by Ian Sharrock), took the space when enlightening us upon his disgust at his wife’s unfaithfulness. Sharrock’s portrayal of Karenin’s gradual demise into pathos was touching to watch. His brave character choices were followed consistently, working well in opposition to those of Lucia Edwards’, playing Anna. The result was a bizarre, but real sensory aesthetic that was unashamedly thrust upon the audience. Edwards’ choices were far more subtle, with a gentler, contemplative approach to her interaction with others. Without a doubt, on the whole, this worked. On occasion, however, the character could have explored her primitive, guttural angst, letting her hidden frustration rear its head, and upping the ante for some of the more heart-driven scenes.

The music and choreography worked particularly well during a movement sequence in which Anna was symbolically impregnated by a kind of metaphorical sense of impending doom, represented through physical theatre. The lights turned blood red as sinister laughs from the wings transformed themselves into bodies, fingers and limbs, moving around the space, and smothering Anna’s aching body.

There was a tendency towards speaking quietly and intimately, sticking with the realism of the style, but losing some theatricality that keeps us engaged. However, this sense of theatricality was revitalised when Jamie Hufges-Ward (playing Stiva), Lily Alyss (as Betsy), and Nalan Burgess (Kitty) began to speak. This contrast in vocal energy and range was a welcome boost from the general intimacy of the piece, allowing the story to be shared more directly with the audience, whilst retaining its truthfulness.

The play is a dark, but gentle introduction into the world of Tolstoy. It is sure to be of interest to those familiar with his works, and worth a try for those who want to be. Theatre Collection’s adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s ‘Anna Karenina’ plays at the Lord Stanley theatre until the 16th October.

Magazine Round-Up Part 2: Rihanna Takes Vogue Cover

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British Vogue has Rihanna on the cover. She is interviewed inside and says ‘Whatever my mojo tells me, that’s what I’m going to do’.

Tilda Swindon is interviewed.

Scion of the fashion dynasty Maxmara, Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti is interviewed by Vogue and she tells them that ‘my mother impressed on me that to be elegant you have to avoid overdressing’.

Articles on Coco Chanel, Jean-Paul Goude, Bryce Dallas Howard on her, and her characters, style, director Martina Amati, Sylvia Plath’s daughter Frieda Hughes, Dolores and Carmen Chaplin, Miss V covers Mark Ronsons wedding, David and Serena Linley, Hannah Rothschild on Leonardo da Vinci, the new breed of entrepreneurs, Vogue dons white coats and learned how to give good facials, Norma Kamali – and doesn’t she look amazing! Katie Holmes gives her Style File.

Most magazines this month had at least one article on perfume.

There is a rise in vegetarians, but Vogue has a good article on people rediscovering meat.

Marie Claire has Reese Witherspoon on the cover. ‘I didn’t realise how anxious I was about being a single parent’ she tells Marie Claire.

There is a new column from writer Lindsay Kelk; a Northern lass turned New York singleton who will be charting her journey to find Mr Right.

Marie Claire reports on a beauty pageant for men to become the cover stars of romance novels, yes, really.

There is a really good article on the inspirational Mary Portas. Make your wardrobe fashion editor fabulous. Jamie Oliver, Are you the new Type A? , DNA Dating, Is it time for a career shuffle?, Martin Daubney gives it all up to become a full-time father, Dolly Parton, Gossip Girl Stylist Eric Daman, Tali Lennox, Nicole Roberts.

My life in books by Caroline Aherne.

Lionel Shriver, Rachel Evan Woods, perfume, save your skin facials, Christina Aguilera, curb your cravings. 12 reasons you’re tired all the time, Pixie Lott’s food heaven.

Marie Claire have a special sex section, ahem. No comment from me.

Vanity Fair has Johnny Depp on the cover. ‘Basically if they’re going to pay me the stupid money, I’m going to take it’ he says.

Florence Welch, Mario Batali, Amber Heard, Bobbi Brown, Tinie Tempah, Moby Dick, The Tea Party, Tailor’s Anderson and Sheppard, Marisa Berenson, Haruki Murakami, Michael Lewis asks if California will sink the US, Elisabeth Warren, gossip columnist Liz Smith, Milton Gendal, Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, Courtney Love unravels, Woody Allen, Ethan Coen, Elaine May, Desmond Tutu.

There is a free supplement: Vanity Fair On Couture with Rebecca Hall on the cover. Catherine Middleton is on their best dressed, Giorgio Armani, Nicky Haslam, Giambattista versus Azzedine Alaia, Karl Lagerfield, Chanel, Ann Bonfoey Taylor, Elie Saab, Daphne Guinness, Amanda Harlech, Lucy Birley.

Ms Dynamite, Charlie Simpson joined young unemployed from across the UK in a ‘Walk for Work’

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Ms Dynamite and Charlie Simpson joined young unemployed from across the UK in a ‘Walk for Work’ to Westminster to raise awareness about the million UK young people out of work

Musicians Ms Dynamite and Charlie Simpson joined a congregation of young unemployed people from across the UK outside a Job Centre in central London, to take part in the ‘Walk for Work’ – a walk to Westminster to raise awareness about the million young people out of work in the UK, the highest number since records began.

At their head was Joseph Hayat, 18, from Lincoln and Hafsah Ali, 17, from Leicester who have been running a campaign as part of T4’s flagship youth campaigns show, Battlefront.

Joseph said: “The ‘Walk for Work’ is all about making a big noise and making sure the government continues to focus on youth unemployment and it’s another way to get employers to notice young people and all our amazing talents. We’re so thankful that Ms Dynamite came to join us today to help raise awareness!”

Dressed ‘ready for work’ in identical outfits of a bowler hat, smart suit and briefcase, the young unemployed, Ms Dynamite and Charlie Simpson walked side-by-side as a rigid cohort, starting from the Job Centre in Denmark Street to Parliament.

The walk culminated at Old Palace Yard, a historic site of protest opposite the Houses of Parliament, where the young people got into formation and held up huge numbers to reveal: 973,000 young people unemployed. The youngsters then took off their top halves of their outfits to reveal a ‘uniform of the unemployed’ – a ‘Ready for Work’ T-shirt that Joseph and Hafsah designed to help show young people are eager for employment.

The campaign message was simple: Young people are ready for work. They are not Neets (Not in Employment, Education or Training,) but Beets, (Brilliant, Enthusiastic, and Eager To Start!)

Joseph and Hafsah’s Ready for Work campaign for Battlefront will be broadcast on Channel 4 on 27th November 2011. For more information, please visit: http://www.battlefront.co.uk/

Rugby World Cup Fans Face Hotel Hike.

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RUGBY WORLD CUP FANS FACE AVERAGE HOTEL PRICE HIKES OF 29%

Impact of major sporting events on room rates revealed in Hotels.com new HPI

British rugby fans travelling to the World Cup in New Zealand are facing steep average price increases of 29% for hotel rooms, according to the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI).

The booking demand for the six-week tournament in the first six months of the year contributed to the sharp rise with the average room rates in the host cities of Wellington up 29% to £73 per night and Auckland up 11% to £68 per night. The overall rate in New Zealand itself also rose 14% to £70.

As well as big rugby showpieces, the Hotels.com report reveals how Formula One Grand Prix racing can affect prices and occupancy rates in venue cities with the sport being one of the factors behind a 22% jump in Melbourne to £96 and a 5% rise in Barcelona to£102.

Sports fans also helped to boost the price of a room in London by 3% to £113 with the city at full occupancy for the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

The latest HPI also charts how prices can fall dramatically after a major sports event such as the football World Cup in South Africa. The country saw its average room rate tumble by 17% in the first six months of the year to £105 with host cities Cape Town down 20% to £100 and Johannesburg down 13% to £111.

The statistics could provide a pointer to what could happen in London before, during and after the 2012 Olympics with some industry insiders already predicting rates could jump as high as 50%.

Alison Couper of Hotels.com, said: “Prestige sporting events are key drivers of hotel prices and can lead to double-digit percentage increases as many rugby fans have found.

“What is happening in New Zealand and what happened in South Africa could provide a foretaste for what might occur in London next year. It is expected that several thousand additional hotel rooms will be available in the city in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics. However, despite the extra capacity, we would urge people thinking of coming to London next summer to book their accommodation as soon as they can as the demand and prices could soar the closer we get to the event.

“London is always popular with both domestic and foreign travellers but the Games are set to take that popularity to a new level.”

The impact of other non-sporting, one-off events on hotel prices could also be seen in the report. Dublin witnessed a 7% increase in the average cost of a room to £73 with the visits of the Queen and Barack Obama in May enhancing the city’s profile and appeal. Dusseldorf also saw an increase by 17% to £100 after the German city hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in May.

The Hotels.com HPI tracks the real prices paid per hotel room (rather than advertised rates) for 125,000 properties around the world. The latest HPI looks at prices in the first half of 2011 compared tothose in the first half of 2010.