Author Archives: Catherine Balavage

The Great Political Debate: Part 3: Conservative – Why You Would be Mad to Vote For Labour and Why I’m a Conservative

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By James Yardley

A response to Alain Lewis

Thanks for the article as a Conservative supporter voting for the first time it’s really interesting to know how supporters of other parties think. I guess I feel a bit like you did in 1987 and 1992 at the moment. I wonder how people can still vote for Labour after the last 13 years. However reading your article helped me understand a bit better.

You are right there are some good things Labour has done, giving the bank of England independence, introducing the minimum wage and investing more heavily in health and education but this was all introduced when Labour first came to power. Everything since has been a complete disaster and I can’t believe anyone would vote for them with the record they have.

The Wars – Lies for going to war in Iraq (Al Qaeda justification, WMD), trying to fight two wars on a peace time budget, a lack of proper equipment and vehicles leading to greater casualties than there should have been. No planning for after the war.

NHS computers systems – A waste of £12 billion which makes peoples job harder

Schools – Only teach the test, standards are no better exams have got easier, teachers have no power, schools are run as democracies.

ID cards and a massive national database – A waste of billions with absolutely no purpose other than to centralise power and exert greater control over the individual, quite frankly dangerous and bad for our democracy

Needing a licence to protest and building millions of CCTV cameras, Arresting people for shouting out the names of the dead outside number 10 – Fascist, dangerous and undemocratic

Brown and Mandelson unelected – It’s a disgrace that Gordon Brown thinks he has the right to govern having not been elected by either the British people or his own party. Even worse is that Mandelson, twice embroiled in major corruption scandals, also unelected is somehow the second most powerful man in the country. Are we living in a democracy? Are people really just going to accept this?

Spin The whole 13years have been characterised by image, deception and spin. Every attempt has been made to hide the real truth.

Numerous broken manifesto promises – Completely unforgivable broken promises about tuition fees and a referendum on the Lisbon treaty. There are tens of others as well some though not all of which can be attributed to the financial crisis.

Economy – The Golden rules proved to be more spin and were broken at the first test, borrowing and spending far more than was affordable. In 1997 the deficit was 6 billion, today it is 160 and the national debt has doubled.

Policing – The police waste hours filling out endless paper work. As a result you never see them on the street.

Reforming benefits – Millions of people on incapacity benefits who shouldn’t be

What is worst and most shocking of all is that Labour has completely abandoned the very people it is supposed to represent. The gap between the wealthiest and the poorest has grown considerably. There is less social mobility than ever before. Labour has done nothing to break the cycle. Those who most need help getting into work have not been helped effectively. The 10p tax initiative summed up the whole situation. This is why I respect Richard Wright who wrote the first article because although I disagree with his politics he won’t settle for the Labour party as it is today.

Alain argues that David Cameron is trying to force private schools into the state sector. But that’s not David Cameron that’s a Labour policy. The government academy scheme (which Cameron does support and wants to expand). That says it all. The Labour party is not representative of its supporters but because they won’t vote for anyone else and Labour knows they can get away with it.

How can anyone vote for this party when they so clearly have no morality or integrity whatsoever? It is blatantly obvious that the Labour party cares only about itself. It will always put themselves first before the interests of the country. This is where our politics has gone so wrong. It’s time to start putting the people first again.

I’m a Conservative because I believe in giving power to the individual. Letting people live their own lives but still supporting them when they need help. We need to devolve power to a local level, allowing local communities to make their own decisions instead of some bureaucrat in Whitehall. That’s why I’m supporting David Cameron’s big society.

The Labour party has always sought to expand the power of the state. Every decision is controlled from the centre. They’ve tried to bring in ID cards and national databases. Everyone is treated as a statistic. This is not only inefficient and wasteful but it is also dangerous. An overly powerful state is bad for our democracy. The state has a role but it should be there to support you not to tell you how to live your life.

Budgets have seen huge increases, that’s a good thing, but only a small proportion has made it onto the frontline. In the last 13 years the government has created huge numbers of managers and administrators. It has become overly obsessed with its endless targets. This obsession is profoundly damaging. For example school exam results may be improving but does anyone really believe students are more intelligent or skilled. The real test is in the number of people being employed and youth unemployment is at around an astonishing 20%. That’s the only real statistic which matters in my eyes.

Conservatism is also about enterprise. Encouraging everyone to achieve their goals. Taxing people less. Helping small businesses by making it easier to employ people and cutting the ridiculous amounts of red tape that exist at the moment.

It’s time to get rid of this tired, inefficient and dishonest government. It’s time for people to take power back in to their own hands. That’s why I will be voting Conservative.

James Yardley

The Inept Girl's Guide to Cooking. Smoked Salmon Pasta.

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I spent quite a while wondering what I should cook for my next column. In the end I decided to go with…what was in my fridge. What was in my fridge was a mismatch of food that didn’t really go together. I decided to be both creative and brave. This is what happened.

What I found in my fridge to make Smoked Salmon pasta with Brie: Two onions, 75g of smoked salmon, 100g of brie, two good handfuls of fresh pasta and a generous amount of olive oil. About two tablespoons.

Main: Cut some onions up and fry them. I actually hate chopping onions. It really does hurt my eyes but I find chopping them underwater helps. Put on the fresh pasta and cook for two minutes ( or according to the guidelines) salt the pasta. After the pasta is done drain it and add a generous amount of olive oil. Cut up some brie and salmon. Add it to the pot with the onions. Stir it all together.

Dessert: Raspberries with cream. Super simple. Put the raspberries in the bowl, add cream. Grate some chocolate and put that on top. Tastes delicious

The verdict: Well, I surpassed myself. Smoked salmon pasta with brie. It tasted amazing. The only complaint I had was that I did not cook enough. So with new-found confidence I am preparing for my next column.

One Alfred Place. Restaurant review.

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I love food. Eating out is something I love to do when my purse let’s me. So you can imagine how amazing One Alfred Place must be to reach the very top of my list. I can honestly say that I had one of the best meals I have ever had in London.

The staff in One Alfred Place are pure class. This is no small compliment. I had quite a bad experience with the most appalling staff at the Angus Steak House in Leicester Square. The food was not even up to standard and the bill came to £57.98. The only downside is no dessert. For someone with a sweet tooth it was missed.

[ Editor’s note: One Alfred Place does do dessert. Although this was not in the set menu, it comes highly recommended.]

Eating out in London is extremely expensive. However One Alfred Place is mid-priced. My meal came to £28.12 including service. So, compliment’s to the chef. Below is what I had.

Starter: Saute baby squid, chorizo and shaved fennel salad.

Main: Grilled tuna Nicoise with pink fur potatoes, green beans, baby San Marzano tomatoes & a soft boiled egg.

After: English Breakfast tea.

One Alfred Place. 1 Alfred Place, London, WC1E 7EB

Nearest tube: Goodge Street.

One Alfred Place is a private members bar. Information here: http://www.onealfredplace.co.uk/

 

Catherine Balavage on the death of her Grandfather.

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In 2008 my Grandfather, Henry Anderson. Known as Harry, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Upon finding this out I felt two things 1) Denial. The Doctors did not know what they were talking about. 2) If true, I should spend as much time with my grandfather as possible, as he would probably die soon. There was a certain numbness to this. In knowing it was true, I could not comprehend it. It did not seem possible.

The author with her grandfather, Harry Anderson.

The author with her grandfather, Harry Anderson.

When I was younger we had a cat. The cat got old and grey. I knew it would die soon. I talked to my mother about this and I told my mother that I had decided to prepare myself for this. My mother, with all the gentleness of someone who was older and wiser, to a child who has no idea about mortality, told me this was not possible. You can never prepare yourself for death. She was right.

grandad

My Grandfather died on the 5th of December 2009. He was 83 years old. He had lived an amazing life and has a loving family. He had been a pilot in the RAF. I tried to make sure my mother was alright after she called me. Then I went to work. I had tried to see my grandfather as much as possible when he was alive. I was shortly going to go up to Scotland for Christmas, and now….

This happened on the Oxford Street Christmas shopping day. The roads were closed off and it was wall to wall people. After work I walked around in a numbness past crying. I kept saying over and over to myself WH Auden style ‘He is dead.’ and yet, it would not sink in. I would never see his face again. I felt like my heart had been ripped out and handed to me. But I could not cry. There was nothing in me.

It was a few days until I managed to make it to Scotland. I felt awful. Ached for my mother, so recently orphaned – her mother, in the last stages of renal failure, had killed herself aged 40. My mother had outlived her own mother – I held her like I had never before. I was so proud at how strong she was.

In my Grandfathers home standing in the last remnants of a life no longer lived, looking for something to remember him by, I had never been so heartbroken. I stared at his shoes, haphazard around the room. His feet would never be in them again.

When I was 5 years old. I was singing and showing off. The picture is above.  As I was singing I fell down some stairs. My grandfather rushed to save me but before he could I just got up and carried on singing. Later on, my grandfather always insisted I made him tea when I was in Scotland just so he could use the line ‘I just got a cup of tea from a movie star.’ His faith in me was blinding. He bought me a jewellery box when I was 17. ‘For my diamonds.’

At the funeral it hit me. On the way there we went past me Grandfather’s coffin. My mother’s face fell as she said quietly ‘ Oh god, that’s my dad in there. There’s my dad.’ Upon seeing all my family who I had not seen in years it got worst. My father, sandwiched in-between my mother and I , did not know who to comfort. We were both crying hysterically. He looked like a cartoon character going between us both. I had never cried so much in my life. After the funeral when I looked in the mirror, I looked like Alice Cooper.

There is a lot of myths about deaths. One of them is ‘it gets better’ It does not. My acting career has gone from strength to strength. I live an amazing life full of the most amazing people and yet I miss him every single day. It hits me when I see the biscuits he used to buy in the supermarket. When I am on set, in the quiet moments. I loved him so much and I will never see him again. At this moment I have no tips on bereavement. Time does not heal. It merely blunts the edges.

 

Florence + Florence by Alexa Brown {Style}

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Mother and daughter team, Florence and Florence, are a particularly endearing set-up. In their front room in north London we have arranged ourselves amongst pots of tea and decorative cake stands to discuss their new business selling ‘re-loved’ vintage goods. The conversation pings about between them; sentences are shared and overlapped as they discuss the perils of living and working together, the unexpected benefits of the recession and their shared love of all things second-hand.

“Mum’s always done what we do with Florence and Florence, collecting beautiful things and mending them, and making things from re-loved material. We’ve had so many people comment on it in our house over the years. I think Mum thought it was something everybody did” says her daughter, Annie, 25. Since October last year when they came up with the idea the two women, Annie and Chris, 54, have been sourcing second-hand kitchen equipment, furniture, tea sets, picnic sets, old Penguin books, luggage trunks and much more, giving the old and battered items a lick of paint, new covers, or replacing their handles or loose stitching.

Annie explains their preference of the term ‘second-hand’ to ‘vintage’: “on eBay they’ll buy something from TK Maxx, sell it the next day and it’s ‘vintage’. It doesn’t mean anything. Some of our things are over 100 years old, some are newer, so we just wanted to say it is all second-hand.”

Although they reject the current vintage trend, their mission statement is to show the glamorous side of second-hand. Chris explains: “I was brought up with war-time parents who made everything. But I’m also a great believer in second-hand, so I’ve always bought second-hand clothes and second-hand furniture”. After sourcing the items from charity shops, markets and auctions they have set about making them beautiful again and ready to sell.

When they came up with the idea for Florence and Florence, Annie was training as a chartered surveyor (after a philosophy degree at UCL and an MSC in Real Estate Appraisal at Reading). Chris was running the administration for numerous companies including her husband’s, a collection of jobs she is continuing at present. Her career has been a varied one: “I gave up full time working in advertising when I had Will [her older son]. Then when Annie was five my husband and I set up our own business. So I was a full time Mum for seven years.”

Both women have always enjoyed sourcing beautiful second-hand things for their family home. There is a nostalgic quality to their products often harking from the 1940s and 50s. “I suppose the tea-time things are me with their Famous Five, back to the future feel, with sandwiches, cake – that’s harking back to my childhood” says Chris.

As a woman in her mid-fifties embarking on a new career, it is possible she draws a connection between herself and Florence and Florence’s products: “It’s the idea that these things have been loved and useful, like that slide box” she says, indicating an attractive wooden box full of small compartments. “Somebody’s had their treasured slide collection in it and it’s been discarded. Now we’ve put dividers in and made it lovely, and it will go on to be a jewellery box or something, somewhere else. I really like that idea, that things that have been loved or treasured are now going on to have another life.”

They both acknowledge the useful timing of the recession. “There’s definitely been a resurgence of interest in mending and making – I don’t really like the expression ‘make do and mend’ because making do implies compromise, being resigned to something less than perfect – but ‘make and mend’.”

Annie believes Florence and Florence can help younger people struggling in the recession who are unable to buy new products to furnish their homes. “A large part of our market will be people of my age, setting up their first home, post-university, finished with being a student who want a proper home with a proper look.”

The family business also includes Chris’s husband, Bill, who designed the logo and luggage tag-style labels. All three live together until Annie is able to move back out of the family home. The working dynamic seems very successful; the only awkward moment of the interview comes when they discuss the ups and downs of both living and working together. After copious amounts of praise Annie ventures her one dislike: “When we get home from sourcing and we’ve been out all day Mum will make me get out every single receipt, go through every product and have it all written down and catalogued immediately.” Chris defends herself but agrees: “The worst thing is this having to be the baddy and say “come on Annie, get the receipts out, I need to do this now” – having to nag at you to do the things which I know are important, but you don’t rate as high”.

It sounds pretty familiar to anyone who has tried to work in collaboration with a family member, and in general the division of labour seems to work comfortably between them. Chris runs the finances, the spreadsheets, and most of the sewing. Annie is in charge of developing the website, setting up the business processes, sales, and using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to spread the Florence And Florence word.

Chris proudly explains how the business benefits from their different skills: “I’m not a parent who has to pretend I know everything about everything all the time – it’s being able to learn things from a grown-up daughter, and be able to say you do that, you’re the expert there.”

The benefit seems to work both ways. As well as Chris’s uber organisation, “Annie has the most amazing ability to say “Mum just be happy, enjoy it”. When I was getting really stressed about fitting everything in for the launch, Annie said no, think of it as a challenge, it’s thrilling, it’ll all be fine – and it was fine!”

[www.florenceandflorence.com]


10 random things you pick up on set as an actor.

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Catherine and Genevieve on the weirdness of their careers….

howtobeasuccessful_actor_book_cover

I had the idea for this article when an old friend asked me what I had been up to. The answer was: lots of stuff that seems very weird if you’re not an actor. I called Genevieve and she agreed. We have to let people know how bloody weird our lives get. As an actor you always have those moments when you’re dressed like someone else, on a set that is made to look somewhere else, saying lines that a writer wrote. It is utterly surreal and you realise that this is my life. So, here is our top ten in no particular order…
1. Don’t drink the props…
I once watched an actress drink half a bottle of neat blackcurrant cordial as the production person in charge of getting grape juice couldn’t find any on time. Of course she felt incredibly sick. You never know what’s going to be in your glass or cup, it’s like drink roulette, it could be sparkling apple or it could be ginger beer. It might be cold coffee, or it just might not have sugar in it. It might be one take, or it might be twenty. It’s just not worth the risk.
[Genevieve]
2. How to pickpocket.
Filming can be boring. Incredibly so.  It was while sitting on a Pokerstar commercial ( a shoot that was actually fun. Mostly due to the amazing cast and crew. ) that I learned a rather old school trick that should help if the acting work ever dries up. How to pickpocket. Basically, you ‘bump’ into someone. Then you apologize. When you bump into them you swiftly grab their wallet  out of their pocket. They are so distracted that they don’t notice. Also they do not feel it as you hit them somewhere else. Genius!
Note: I take no responsibility for anyone actions or legal issues that come from trying this.
[Catherine]
3. How to dance like a drunken youth…
…In freezing subzero conditions, in a mini skirt in the dead of night no less. There I was literally contracting hypothermia on the set of The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, I was vaguely aware of the Director; Terry Gilliam; telling us to be more lively and act more drunkenly…in the same way I was vaguely aware of my toes. Before I knew it, I was being used in a drunken dance demonstration; being swung about by a be-hatted Terry who was doing a brilliant impression of a raucous drunkard.
[Genevieve]
4. How to stamp on the original Eighth Dr Who’s head without hurting him.
At the beginning of the year I was cast as a 17 year old thug. I complete stretch if you know me. I got a part in the up coming TV series ‘Luther.’ I had to stamp on Paul McGann’s head. Because Paul is such a big star I had to first meet up with the stunt coordinator so I didn’t actually smack him in the face. Or worse. Kill him.
So at a brewery in East London I met up with the stunt coordinator. Who promptly hits me in the face. It hurts. I get the irony but I laugh it off. So, on set – kep out of the way of the stunt coordinator’s elbows.
[Catherine]
5. No matter how good your work is, nothing is sacred.
I spent a good hour in a Holby City make-up chair while various injuries were applied to me. My unfortunate character; Shazia Khan; was supposed to have been in a car crash and as a result had a horrible head and leg injury. The leg injury was pretty spectacular and grossed everybody out. I get on set and was so disappointed when they decided to give me a blanket and the wound got covered up.
[Genevieve]
6. How not to embarrass yourself in front of Dustin Hoffman.
The title is actually a lie. I did not manage this, I have met Dustin Hoffman a few times now and he is quite lovely. On the set of Last Chance Harvey I saw Dustin waving and smiling. I smiled and waved back. Only to realise that he was waving at the person behind me….Mortified to this day. He was nice about it though.
[Catherine]
7. How to survive a zombie apocalypse…
In an apocalypse, the only thing you need is well trained zombies and a fight coordinator!! Especially when fighting zombie hoards with nothing but your bare fists and a toy banjo. In all seriousness, the last thing you want to do is damage yourself/other actors/a grade II listed building. Some inexperienced actors can get carried away and not realise that what they’re doing could be dangerous. So always listen to the person in charge.
[Genevieve]
8. How to motivate an actor to push you down the stairs.
On the set of ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ I not only decapitated a zombie ( lots of fun, done with special effects and precise spade movements ) I had to throw a zombie down the stairs. This is obviously not a real zombie. it’s a person and I don’t want to kill him. After two takes he is not feeling it. So, he says to me ‘If you hurt me I will buy you a drink.’ The next take the director gets his shot and the zombie comes up to me limping and says: ‘I owe you a drink.’ Oh well. All is fair in love and film-making.
[Catherine]
9. How to work with imaginary characters and scenery…
…in front of a green screen, when the other actors can’t be bothered to sit in as they assume they’re not in the shot, working with fictional monsters, people materialising a meter in front of you. You may or may not be provided with a tennis ball on a stick. You’ll look and feel ridiculous but remember…it’ll look amazing in the end.
[Genevieve]
10. Brian Moloko will show you how to put a drip in your hand.
At Three Mills Studio in East London, with make up that makes me look like a junkie, I met a childhood hero. Brian Moloko and he showed me the correct way to put a drip in my hand. Doubt I will use this skill but if a career in nursing ever beckons….
[Catherine]

For more on acting and how to be a successful actor, check out my book: How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur.

The Inept Girl's Guide to Cooking. Catherine Balavage learns how to cook….

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I have been spoilt. This is, obviously, not a complaint. Just an observation. My entire life I have been surrounded by good cooks. Most of my childhood memories are of dinner time. My parents also loved to bake. I was raised on wholesome, delicious, home cooking.

As a child I could bake fairy cakes and sponge cakes. Do a mean lasagne or spag bol. I sat in the kitchen with my family and partook in the wonderful, bonding thing that is cooking.

However, in recent years this has all changed. I live a busy London life and I rarely cook from scratch. If I do I lack imagination. Always falling on the dishes I have been doing for years. I have now decided that this will not do. I will learn to cook. I will have a large variety of dishes at my disposal. I will be a domestic goddess. I will get someone to taste the food each week to give their opinion. This is the first article in my journey.

Sunday April 25th 2010.

I decide to start easy: spaghetti bolognese! I am good at this. I have been doing it for years. I don’t want my confidence knocked straight away. And I fail…. James brings the ingredients around and I have a heart attack because MY MAC WON’T WORK! How can I write a column without a computer? Luckily I know someone who knows someone who has amazing IT skills. I unpack the food and pour some wine. I switch my computer on and put it on the freezer and I watch, happy and amazed, as Ewan ( Currently my favourite person in the world ) remotely fixes my computer from Scotland. I even talk to Ewan through textedit.

While Ewan does his impressive fix up of my Mac I give some onions a chop. I pour some mince in a pot and, erm, James does the rest. I have fallen into my old habits. I do, however, have a good reason this time. I will not lie. I did some stirring and I drank some wine, and nothing else. I am aware this is not a good start….

An hour and a half later we have cooked and ate:

Starter: Insalate caprese. Buffalo Mozzarella, basil, tomato drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Main: Spaghetti bolognese.

Brown mince, chop onions and fry, boil some tomatoes and then peel. Put all ingredients in one pot. Optional, but you can add some buffalo mozzarella. Cook spaghetti and Put that in too. You have a very good and easy to make dish.

This is actually different from how I usually make it. Probably because I didn’t. I add tomatoes puree,tinned chopped tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and garlic. I brown the mince and then add the ingredients. I cook pasta separately.

Verdict: The food is amazing. You can never go wrong with Italian. I give it 10/10. The only Spaghetti bolognese I have tasted that I like more than the ones my parents make. Check back next week for my next column. Where I will actually cook.

The other good result? My Mac now works perfectly.