Monthly Archives: October 2010

Young People in Politics, Part 3: Young People Bite The Ballot.

Posted on by

If you are a young person who is interested in politics you might want to join http://www.bitetheballot.co.uk/ I interviewed Michael Sani to find out more….

How did Bite the ballot come about?

Bite the Ballot started in a classroom at Wilmington Enterprise College when a group of sixth formers made it apparent they would not be taking up the opportunity to cast their vote in the General Election. Once they realised the power of their vote and the importance of having their say we set out engaging others and our campaign grew and grew.

Tell me about the campaign so far.

We have gone from a small group of young people sharing their opinions to a whole host of everyday young people helping our campaign reach out to inspire others across the UK. It really is inspiring to see as we demolish the stereotypical vision of young people not caring about what goes on around them. Our mission is to inspire more people to become involved and we set our sights on holding an event in parliament where everyday young people can come in and take part.

The aim of the day is for young people, MP’s and Lords to discuss together ways in which we can move forward and ensure more and more First Time Voters are voicing their vote.

The press has been amazing and this group of sixth formers have been on LBC Radio, BBC Radio Kent, had articles in many local newspapers and even a slot on The Politics Show on BBC1, where I was later told that show had a 25% increase in viewers.

We are delighted with the progress and are always working to increase our following by allowing the young people around us to design our plans of engaging others so it really is young people working to attract young people.

What kind of support have you had?

The support has been amazing, obviously the press but also from kep organizations and companies like Hansard and Apple who, are in fact, training the team on how to do podcasts so we can have updates available for people to listen too. You can see the different people involved now on our website.

We have had a variety of support from MP’s and Lord who are keen to ensure our campaign succeeds but without fail the most exciting thing to date was meeting The Deputy Prime Minister and telling him of our palms and hearing his belief and support in our campaign what we are trying to achieve.

Has it died down since the election?

Far from it, I did think things may of died down but with the Coalition and a “Changing politics” we have gone from strength to strength and witnessed the fact that many young people want to be involved, but do not feel as though they know enough about politics to have their say. It is clear that not enough is done within Schools to ensure young people are educated but more importantly engaged so we hope our documentary recording our journey from start to present day can be used within schools to inspire others.

Where next?

We embark on our new opportunities including our new association with the 2012 games to bring people the latest news on whats going on, what legacies young people can help promote and how they can get involved. We now have our debate in Parliament which is on Wednesday 17 November at 7pm, and we will offer a variety of people the chance to come along so remain up to date with our campaign on our website and social networking sites.

What can people do?

Send us your footage, share your thoughts and opinions on the Facebook site, register to vote and become part of our campaign and together we will make history. We have already seen many of tomorrows generation speak directly with today’s leaders and it is great to witness. With more support who know what we could achieve?

http://www.bitetheballot.co.uk

Young people in politics, Part 2; Writer Fran Singh on her love of Labour.

Posted on by

For the next article on young people in politics I interviewed talented and beautiful writer Fran Singh, 23. She has some great stuff to say.

1) Why did you get involved in politics and why Labour?

I got involved in the politics because of my parents. My dad is a nurse and has been in trade unions all his life and has been BME officer and treasurer for South Wales branch of Unison. My mum was a local politician (council and ran for AM in Welsh Assembly for Labour). The reason Labour was because it’s what I’ve always known, though there was a time when I was a teenager I shunned it entirely precisely because of that fact. As I grew up and began to form own opinions I realised Labour was where I naturally belonged even it wasn’t very rebellious. I just think being from South Wales, and growing up the way I did made me choose Labour. I think there is quite a big poor rich divide in Swansea, and a lot of snobbery about people who rely on benefits. We lived on a council estate in my teens and I soon came to realise not all these people were the dole scroungers you read about in the Mail and were victims of inequality. The Labour party in my view are the only party truly connected with the needs of working class people and have tackling inequality at the top of their agenda.

2) How do you think we get more young people involved in politics?

I really don’t know what can be done to engage more young people in politics. At the end of the day Westminster can be quite scandalous, but on the local politics and the day to day administrative running of national politics can be very dry and often boring. I think better representation in parliament would be the best start. Younger MP’s, black and ethnic minority candidates, more women and people from different backgrounds. Until people in parliament start looking a bit more like the general public and talking on the same level of the people they represent, people will switch off. I think young people will start to become more politically engaged now we are in a coalition come the cuts and rising unemployment which will directly start to impact on their lives.. They sort of woke up a bit at the last election.

3) What is the best thing about being political?

Everything is political. Everything you do, even most mundane things such as paying your gas bill has been shaped somehow from all that really boring stuff that goes on in parliament so I think it is really important people are political and take an interest. The best thing about it is the debate. It feels nice to have an informed opinion and be able to argue your point well. Everyone loves a good row in the pub with their Tory friend. If you know about politics you know a little bit about everything which makes you a good all rounder.

4) How do you feel about Ed Milliband as Labour leader?

I like Ed but I can’t say I was thrilled. In fact I think and I sat in shock shaking my head for about an hour until my colleague asked if I was alright. To me it felt like we were signing ourselves for longer out of power, but I really hope to be proved wrong. I am quite cynical and can’t get swept up in this new generation stuff. I don’t believe the media narrative that he is Red Ed, but you could see the label coming a mile off. Doesn’t matter if it is true or not if it can be used by the media and opposition it will be and shouldn’t be underestimated.

Last time the Tories were in power we had what was represented as a very left wing party and were out of power for ages. I think the people who voted him first choice (I voted DM) were wrapped up in idealism (which is by no means a bad thing, you need to have some optimism, core values and vision) but they neglected the reality. People in the Labour party are generally quite socialist and left wing, but they forget the country isn’t and you can’t make proper changes in opposition. Like the Red Ed tag David was branded a Blairite, everyone forgets Blair saw Labour be in power for three elections. A leader of the Labour party was always going to be left wing, they just need to not be an easy target and have cross party appeal and appeal to non Labour voters. The loyal labour voters are only a small part of the electorate.

5) Can you give me a good canvassing story?

Hmmm, haven’t been out canvassing in ages, slack at election as was during my finals. I went out during election with Emily Thornberry’s team in Islington and David Miliband came along. I knew then I wanted him to lead the Labour party, he was so charming and captivated the room when arrived, everyone just couldn’t stop looking at him. There was a big young crowd out for that too. Did have a rather embarrassing moment. My friend was filming me for a documentary she was making on young people and politics for the election. I was microphoned up and didn’t realise was recording and had my own Gordon Brown Gillian Duffy moment when I realised I’d been recorded for about 10 minutes talking about the then foreign secretary’s arse.

That’s so funny. Thank you Fran.

Have I Got News For You Announce Guest Host Line Up {TV}

Posted on by

Have I Got News For You returns to BBC One on Thursday 14 October for ten weeks. And the first guest host will be the hugely popular, Bafta-nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch, critically acclaimed star of the recent hit series Sherlock. His first time as guest host Benedict comments:

“I’m very excited and honoured and, like a moth to the flame, I am terrified but cannot resist! I have watched the show since its inception, and my family and I used to make it a routine TV date to relish. How could I resist the chance for the audience to witness my being shot down in flames by the wit of Merton and Hislop?” – Benedict Cumberbatch

Nominated for a Bafta for his role in Small Island, Cumberbatch will be seen on the big screen as the star of two major films, Steven Spielberg’s version of War Horse and Working Title’s movie version of John Le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

This will be the 138th show hosted by a guest presenter in the eight years since Angus Deayton left in October 2002.

Other guest hosts appearing in the new series include John Bishop, Chris Addison, Jo Brand, Jeremy Clarkson, Martin Clunes, Lee Mack, Miranda Hart and Alexander Armstrong. Guests include James Blunt, Reginald D Hunter, Janet Street Porter, Nick Robinson, Grayson Perry and Ross Noble.

Have I Got News For You returns to BBC 1 on the 14th October at 9pm

We're not at Home to Champagne Charlie {Politics}

Posted on by
As has been widely reported, this year’s Conservative Party Conference, like its predecessor, will feature a ban on what many might see as the Tories’ beverage of choice – champagne, naturally. We are told that at last year’s conference, the drink would have been seen as a premature celebration of victory – and it’s true that nothing is punished by the British public more swiftly than perceived arrogance; just ask the Labour Party after their narrow loss against John Major’s Conservatives.

At this year’s Conference, the mood (or at least the mood the Party wants to project) is sober and business-like. The past few months since the election could be seen, perhaps, as a ‘phoney war’, a kind of hiatus – up until now, cuts have been discussed, options tabled, and Ministers have argued for the necessity of continued spending in their Departments. Now, within two weeks, the axe will begin to fall in earnest and the public will begin to see what 25% cuts in Government spending actually look like.  Accountancy firm BDO and other experts have warned that the cuts are likely to push the country into a second recession, as businesses make their own cuts in anticipation of shrinking markets. Against this background, it would be foolish, indeed, to celebrate too overtly in front of the cameras.

Yet the Conservatives, in fact, have much to celebrate. Of course, winning the election, for one thing, even if the result was the Coalition. Perhaps even more important is how smoothly the Coalition formed and how harmonious it is for the most part – It’s been said of David Cameron that he prefers consensus to confrontation, and he seems to be thriving on it.

But it’s not just about consensus – this is a radical Government – if anyone had missed that point, it was made clear by David Cameron’s invitation to Margaret Thatcher to visit 10 Downing Street in June. Margaret Thatcher herself was the leader of the most revolutionary administration since the Welfare State was born in 1945 under Clemet Attlee.  Thatcher’s revolution, of course, was about shrinking, not enlarging, the State, and David Cameron intends to complete it.

Under Thatcher, the State got out of the business of running industries. Under Cameron, the State will continue to provide the essentials to those who have no alternative, but it will no longer be a viable option for those who prefer not to work to rely on the State as a lifestyle choice. The planned cuts in Housing Benefit for the long-term unemployed are part of this strategy; while they may sound harsh, Ian Duncan Smith’s intended radical reforms to the welfare system will ensure that taking work always pays and that the culture of warehousing people on benefits for life is brought to an end.

The process will undoubtedly be painful, particularly for those State employees who lose their jobs in this process. But we should remember one thing – while the 1980s were also painful for many as the economy changed from State Socialism to free enterprise, by the mid-1990s Britain’s economy was rock-solid, house prices were reasonable, and levels of employment were increasing.

David Cameron’s rejigging of the economy is unavoidable, not least because the country is broke – but people may be pleasantly surprised to see what emerges from the process.

It would be hard to blame Conference delegates for taking a discreet swig of champagne from a paper cup, given the circumstances.

Stephen Canning is the editor of The Tory Boy ( http://www.thetoryboy.com ) one of the fatest growing online political news blogs. He is also the Chairman of the Braintree Conservative Future and is actively involved in local, regional and national politics. Join him on Twitter (@StephenCanning) for regular political news and information.

Jasmine Guinness, Designer, model, toy shop owner and Mum, {Interview}

Posted on by

Model, designer and Mum-to-be, Jasmine Guinness, posts her petition into the B&Q Green Piggy Bank to support the campaign to cut the VAT on green goods. The aim of the B&Q campaign is to make it easier and more affordable for everyone to live a more sustainable way of life. Just log onto www.diy.com/eco to find out how to sign up.

1) What is your number one eco tip?

I think lots of little things all add up. However I think the most important thing we really need to teach people of all ages is to switch electrical things off. Why do huge office blocks need their lights on all night? They don’t! Why leave your computer plugged in all night or all day? Stand by does not mean off. It is so easy to make sure everything is off before you go to bed or to work. We could save a massive amount of Co2 and money! Surely people want to save money these days. I love the idea of a monitor in every house so we can all see how much money we could save every day.

2) Which eco champion do you most admire?

I have two eco-heroes at the moment. The first is Prince Charles who I admire for his long standing support of green issues, organic farming and caring for our countryside as the finite resource that it is. Not only his support but he has put his time and money where his mouth is and really made a difference to how we think about our environment. He has always stuck to his guns no matter what criticism has been put his way and I really admire that.

My second eco-hero is Lucy Siegle who writes for the Observer on their eco page. She always has new and exciting ways to help us all make life greener and cheaper and is very informative about things we would never otherwise have heard about. She makes you think about things in a different way which is always good and she is also a great writer too!

3) How do you try to live a more sustainable life?

I just try to incorporate small things into everyday life and teach my kids respect for our planet and what she gives us. We recycle, bicycle, buy organic meat, buy vegetables and fruit from the market but none of these things make us truly sustainable. However we do plan to move to Wales where we have bought a small farm. Once there we plan to be as sustainable as possible. I want us to have our own power supply, chickens, fruit and vegetables. It will be hard work but I can’t wait!

Thank you Jasmine.

Art London 2010 {Art Review} by Catherine Balavage

Posted on by

Where: The Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London SW3
When: Thursday 7 – Monday 11 October 2010
Opening Times: Thursday, Sunday & Monday 11am – 8.30pm
Friday & Saturday 11am – 8pm

Prices: £12 for one, £18 for two – this includes a fully illustrated catalogue
Tickets & enquiries: +44 (0)20 7259 9399 or info@artlondon.net
Transport: Sloane Square Underground

www.artlondon.net

I have attended Art London every year for 3 years. There is a reason I always come back for more, Some 70 art galleries from the UK and around the world are exhibiting at the 12th annual Art London, which opens in the special marquee at the Royal Hospital in London’s fashionable Chelsea from Thursday 7 until Monday 11 October 2010. The eclectic mix of art on sale offers visitors works by internationally renowned names, as well as accomplished emerging artists. The art
comes in many forms and media, including: paintings, drawings, glass works, sculpture and photography. These all sell from a few hundred pounds to six figures sums.

Art London 2010 sees a number of new international contemporary galleries exhibiting including Comodaa (Australia), Dea Orh (Czech Republic) and Villa Del Arte (Spain) as well as other galleries from France, Argentina and Belgium. Returning exhibitors include Whitford Fine Art and the John Martin Gallery. New galleries include Waterhouse & Dodd, Rountree Fine Art and Arthur Ackermann.

HISTORICAL WORKS AT ART LONDON:
This year the fair sees an increased number of exhibitors showing and selling historical works:
Stern Pissarro uniquely specialises in the work of Camille Pissarro and four generations of his artist descendants, of which there are 17. The London gallery is selling an oil painting, full of impressionist texture and colour, by Camille Pissarro (1830-1903), ‘Le Pré avec Cheval Gris, Êragny’ signed and dated C.Pissarro ’93, priced at £1.5 million. Also on the stand will be works by four of his five sons: Lucien, Georges Monzana Pissarro, Ludovic Rodo Pissarro and Paulémile Pissarro. From the third generation, there are paintings by H. Claude Pissarro and his daughter Lélia Pissarro, who is showing part of her new series ‘Beyond the
Spiral’. Lélia Pissarro will be at Art London painting on the stand. Her watercolours sell for between £500 and £1,000 with her oil paintings priced between £5,000, and £10,000.

Whitfield Fine Art returns to Art London for the third time and is bringing a number of historical works, including a signed and dated bronze figure by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005), 1956, (£55,000) and ‘Head of Christ’, a gouache signed and dated ‘51
by Dame Elisabeth Frink (1930-1993). Themes of Christ’s Passion were an enduring inspiration to Frink: her last work, unveiled
at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral just a week before she died, was the bronze of `Risen Christ’. ‘The Abduction of the Sabines’, an
oil painting by Ceri Richards (1903 -1971), is another highlight on Whitfield Fine Art’s stand. Ceri Richards was fascinated by this
subject and made numerous sketches, influenced by his feelings about the devastation of World War II. This masterpiece was
subsequently acquired by Richards’ patron, Sir Colin Anderson.

John Nash (1893-1977), younger brother of Paul Nash, has become known for his early war subjects. However, leaving London for Buckinghamshire and Suffolk resulted in a change in focus. The collection of watercolours, drawings and illustrations on Rountree Fine Art’s stand demonstrates John Nash’s extensive knowledge of nature and botany. A newcomer to Art London, Rountree Fine Art has a sporting scene by Alfred Munnings and are bringing works by Cecil Aldin and Graham Sutherland. as well as an interesting watercolour ‘The Downed German Zeppelin L19 adrift and sinking in the North Sea’ (English School, Early 20th Century, artist not yet identified). L19 was on route to bomb the port of Liverpool but drifted off course to Wednesbury, an industrial town in the West Midlands. It suffered engine trouble, landing in the North Sea, where it was spotted by a British trawler.
A large collection of Sir Terry Frost’s art (1915-2003), which comes direct from the Frost family, is on show by Arthur Ackermann. Three works including ‘Moon Blue for ‘M’, which was the design for a Mozart LP cover, and ‘Khaki, Emerald Green’, an oil on canvas given by Sir Terry to his son Stephen on his 5th birthday. It hung above Stephen’s bed in their family home in Banbury. Arthur Ackerman also has work by Donald Hamilton Fraser RA (1929-2009) and two Ruskin Spear (1911-1990) oil paintings, which were discovered under the bed of a Chiswick pub landlady, having lain there unframed and wrapped in brown paper for over 30 years. The paintings were Spear’s bar tab, however, he was later barred from the pub for using profanity.

Daniele Pescali established Imago Art Gallery with his wife Elisabetta Tremolada in London in 2007, continuing his grandfather’s tradition of supporting up and coming Italian artists and collecting the finest modern Italian art. Daniele’s grandfather was one of Lucio Fontana’s first patrons and also knew Giorgio Morandi. Works by both these artists are for sale on Imago Art Gallery’s stand, together with emerging sculptor Matteo Pugliese, who had a successful exhibition at Imago earlier this year.

The Court Gallery in Somerset is bringing two extremely rare items: an early Picasso drawing, ‘Personnages et Deux Chiens’ from 1901, and a bronze by the celebrated English sculptor Frank Dobson ‘Wading Female Figure’, a study for Cornucopia, possibly a one-off cast relating to his most important carving, c 1925.
Edinburgh’s Open Eye Gallery has an early oil by Scottish artist John Bellany CBE, RA (b. 1942) ‘The Persecuted’, painted in 1968 during the time when his subject matter was the gritty reality of death and war, priced in the region of £50,000. Bellany numbers Damien Hirst amongst his collectors.

Whitford Fine Art has works by Pop artist Clive Barker, and painters William Gear and Kudditji Kngwarreye. ‘Landscape, Blue Element’ by William Gear, 1959, was painted at the time when this Scottish artist was curator of the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne. Aboriginal artist Kudditji Knwarreye’s landscapes include ‘My Country 06’. In September 2009, Prue Gibson wrote in Australian Art Review, “Although Kngwarreye’s paintings are personal, they are also collective. They document the stories of an entire people. They are closer to narrative than traditional landscape scenes.”

CONTEMPORARY PAINTING & PHOTOGRAPHY AT ART LONDON:
The Little Black Gallery, showing at Art London for the first time, is exhibiting a number of photographic works by Terry O’Neill,

Patrick Lichfield and Bob Carlos Clarke whose piece ‘Fantasy Females Are Impossible To Satisfy’ is priced at £7,000.
The Heartbreak Gallery, which recently opened in Marylebone, London, is exhibiting a solo show of works by Anne Magill in advance of her forthcoming launch in New York where she has been included as one of the few artists to be displayed in the new British Airways Concorde lounge at JFK airport.

Prague gallery Dea Orh is showing works by a number of Czech artists including Jakub Spanhel and Stefan Toth, a dynamic young artist and rising star on the Czech art scene whose paintings are most famous for their use of strategies of reinterpretation and appropriation.

The recently opened Apricot Gallery, the UK’s first dedicated gallery for Vietnamese art, whose collectors include the HRH the Duke of York, is exhibiting at the fair for the first time showing a mixture of up and coming and established artists including Do Quang Em, a founding father of the Vietnamese Young artist association, and Le Quy Tong.

Galerie Ariel Sibony from Paris is showing works by Benoit Trimborn who develops his work in rural landscapes, articulating between tradition and contemporaneity. His paintings are built up in layers to achieve a highly realistic effect that nevertheless flirts with subtle abstraction.

Galerie Olivier Waltman, also from Paris, presents photography by Jean-Pierre Attal with his lambda prints mounted on aluminium, Spanish photographer Aleix Plademunt from Spain and Israeli Tali Amitai-Tabib, as well as paintings by Patrice Palacio and New York based Jérôme Lagarrigue. The Metropolitan Opera, in New York, commissioned a large painting by Jérôme Lagarrigue for their last production of Tosca and photographer Tali Amitai-Tabib was commissioned to do a series of photographs on the Camondo Museum in Paris, which were exhibited at the Museum of Jewish Art and History in Paris. She is having a solo show at the Tel Aviv Museum in February next year.
The Woolf Gallery is showing works by artists including Clay Sinclair, who has built his career by painting ‘backwards’ onto his unique medium of Perspex, Marcus Egli and Brighton based Fiona Morley.

NOMINATED CHARITIES:
This year’s charity partners include the British Heart Foundation who will be auctioning off works designed by top British contemporary artists including pieces by John Hoyland, Bruce McLean and Sir Peter Blake.
Organiser Ralph Ward-Jackson, director of Art London, said “Art London has always been eclectic, cosmopolitan and relaxed.”

Featured image:
Fantasy Females Are Impossible To Satisfy, 2004, by Bob Carlos Clarke
24″ x 34″ giclee print, edition of 100, £1,500 + VAT or 41″ x 70″
giclee print, edition of 9, £7,000 + VAT

‘Finlandwich’. Review of Philharmonia concert. By James Mullighan.

Posted on by

‘Finlandwich’. Review of Philharmonia concert, Thursday 30 September 2010, Royal Festival Hall, London. By James Mullighan.

Even the die-hardest classical music fan – and if you were in the Royal Albert hall over the summer, you’ll know they can die quite hard – feels a little over-intoxicated come early September. Once the triumphant BBC PROMS [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11262698] crashes to its jingoistic culmination, it’s time for a detox, and the great British orchestras to slump down for a rest. The last week of September see the lights snap back on in the Royal Festival Hall, Barbican Centre, Cadogan Hall and beyond. It’s back to school.

A favourite of the top of the season is the opening concert from the Philharmonia, under the baton – and sometimes elegantly baton free hands – of its superstar Finnish Principal Conductor and Artistic Director, Esa-Pekka Salonen, still whiffing more than vaguely of glamour, post his tenure at the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Salonen is one of Finnish culture’s proudest exports, and one of the finest exponents of that country’s music. And so a Autumn curtain up on a Sibelius double bill, wrapped around an hall-filling programming of Beethoven’s 5th Piano Concerto, played by peripatetic top-line glamour-puss pianist Helene Grimaud, all like some kind of pickled fish flavoured Oreo.

Grimaud wasn’t content with being mere insurance against tricker fare. Her Emporer was superb: engaging, strident, powerful, moving, a reminder that this most beloved of concerti was, in its day, truly, angrily revolutionary, far less a natural extension of Classical sensibility, more a precursor of the arch Romanticism of Rachmaninov, perhaps even also an ancestor of latter 20th Century minimalism. Fascinatingly nuanced, semi-quaver accurate, excitingly virtuosic, Grimaud’s performance was very muscular: in the ending moments she’d palpably spent most of the energy she’d packed, and in the hush before the rollicking 3rd movement coda, I could hear some middle register strings slightly out of tune – even the piano was tired.

Sibelius’s Finlandia is perennially popular – a nice bouncy showcase, especially for the rather excitable lower brass, who with one quick bark often drowned out all forty or so violins. That’s one of the very few problems with the RFH’s re-engineered acoustic – mid range strings are easily swamped. The Hall is never best than with massed forces playing quietly; but as soon as a couple of trombones, say, step on the gas it all gets somewhat rock in the canoe.

The main order of business was Sibelius’s Lemminkainen, a near hour-long set of tone poems, depicting the decidedly odd travails of the eponymous hero warrior – lands of the dead, dismemberings, wailing sirens, an evil swan: plenty of meat here for musical depiction. The centre two poems are well known, the haunting, hushed, wickedly beautiful Swan of Tuonela especially. Salonen transformed what is too commonly a bath salts listen into something genuinely unsettling.

Unlike some of his more transparent late nineteenth century contemporaries – Dvorak, say – Sibelius takes a little work, often pulling the music he’s unfolding in a different direction from what you’re expecting. That’s a factor, I’m sure, as to why I find him so psychologically interesting – with rhythms and melodies, especially, he’s constantly wrong footing you. Perhaps not being Finnish, or even Nordic, I find myself defining Sibelius by listing comparatives that he resolutely ISN’T – he’s not Mahler, nor Wagner, nor Tchaikovsky, let alone Shostakovich, although it is fans of those who are his core base. No, he is his own icy yet fiery self: repressedly clenched yet frequently astoundingly lush. And having those dichotomies explored by the great Philharmonia in tip top form, led by Salonen who has Sagas coursing in his veins was exhilarating stuff.

New play raises funds for Pakistani Flood victims.

Posted on by

An award winning play about Eva Shloss, Auschwitz survivor and step-sister of Anne Frank, is raising funds for the Pakistani flood victims. The play is supported by leaders from Britain’s Jewish, Muslim and Asian communities as well as other prominent figures, including Zac Goldsmith MP.

At a press conference Eva was joined by the play’s producer/director, Nic Careem, a Muslim. Nic has used the play to combat extremism across the U.K and in many other countries.

Dr. Eva Schloss, announced the special showing that will be on at the Garrick theatre in London. She made this comment:

‘ Many people were saved from the tragedy of the Holocaust through the action of others. A major tragedy is now unfolding in Pakistan with over 14 million people affected by the floods, who are at risk from diseases spread from contaminated drinking water and flooding after further rainfall. There is much we can do to help them.’

For tickets please go to: http://www.remotegoat.co.uk/event_view.php?uid=115080

All proceeds go to charity.

{Disclaimer: Frost’s editor – and writer of this article- is in the play}