Jethro Sheeran Alonestar Official Cornerstone Album Launch… Party Central!

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Corinne Tuddenham-Finn

Having hosted several events, Nuraya Kokos (Baby Kokos PR) certainly knows how to draw a crowd…

On Tuesday 10 November, Baby Kokos PR hosted the launch of hip-hop/urban pop singer aLonestar – aka Jethro Sheeran’s new album CORNERSTONE at SW10’s swankiest club, Embargo Republica, sponsored by the premier beauty brand LA Skincare, Wolf Media, H and N Solutions, Catering Heaven, Little Eden, Julie’s Scrumptious Cakes, Wolf security, Celeb FC and hosted by international supermodel Harriadnie Beau.

When I arrived, the entire building was buzzing, an electric conglomeration of sights and sounds, flashing lights and thudding speakers, establishing a constant sense of breathless anticipation.

In other words: With over 480 invited and VIP guests, it was accomplishing the exact goal of a launch event.

“Vibrant sound, Alonestar’s vocals run deep” Venue Magazine

Rapper and producer Jethro Sheeran, who performs under the name ‘aLonestar’ grew up in Bristol, gaining a big following with his style of hip hop music fused with urban pop, written very much from the heart.

He has also collaborated with a number of other artists including his cousin Ed Sheeran.

This album, CORNERSTONE, features ten tracks, five of which are available to download now with the entire album release set for 6 December 2015.

Preview, buy and download songs from the album, including ‘Bristol Pill’, ‘In This Lie’, ‘My Child Master’ (ft Josh Rhys Owen) and many more.

CORNERSTONE album – £6.99 with songs starting at 0.79p:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/cornerstone/id1057265050

VIP and guest attendees included:

Rough Copy, Bupsi (aka Nicola Brown). Paddy Doherty (Celebrity Big Brother), Rashelle, Samantha Kay, Karl Negus, Miss Supranational Wales and England 2015, Miss London Town Supranational, Simone Myers (TOWIE),

Naomi Isted (British fashion and beauty presenter), Alex Reid, Simon Gross, Colin Chapman (author), Melody Munday and James Lewis (ITV’s Deals, Wheels and Steals).

Guests enjoyed performances including Lydia Lucy who appeared as the main supporting act for Jethro Sheeran,

Gak Jonze, Sean Magee and Jason Sharpey Pearce and entertained with the sharp magic talent of Carl Charlesworth.

Catering Heaven (and the clue is in the name), provided elegant canapes and sandwiches, with Julie Matthews (Julie’s Scrumptious Cakes) working her magic providing adorable cupcakes and a celebration cake creation tailored to the event.

www.corinne-modelling.co.uk

Corinne@frostmagazine.com

@ladycdtt

Images: Shane Finn at Visual Devotion

Video: Courtesy of Klash Ent TV

About Jethro Sheeran…

Winner of two Exposure Music Awards for Best Male Artist and Best Urban Song, Jethro Sheeran, Alonestar, is an artist fusing both hip hop and urban pop that has seen his live performances described as ”mind blowing – his headline performance at the EMA’s was electrifying!” by Dean Hill of tourdates.co.uk and the Exposure Music Awards.

His 6 track EP, “Warrior”, featuring collaborations with Ed Sheeran, Rosie Ribbons, Ja Ja Soze and Lifford, is available on iTunes with the title track recently performed on TV2 fight night live in Denmark with a live audience of 10,000 and more than three million watching on pay per view. Playing songs from this EP on the summer festival circuit, he has had enthusiastic responses from audiences across the UK.

International club and festival performances have earned him a reputation as a consummate showman, drawing enthusiastic crowd responses from London, Morocco, Spain and Denmark (free-styling with The Game and Black Wall Streets, Clyde Carson) to Port of Spain in Trinidad, as well as radio and TV coverage with his music also being described as having a “dark Bristol sound, a class production” by the Evening Post and as “being reminiscent of our early work” by Massive Attack.
For more information email info@alonestar.co.uk or visit:
http://www.myspace.com/alonestarmusic

http://www.soundcloud.com/alonestar

http://www.facebook.com/alonestar

www.twitter.com/alonestar1

#cornerstone

About Embargo Republica : Chelsea…

Grit and glamour fuse together to create Embargo República’s cool and contemporary Cuban backdrop: enter the club through our cigar shop to an interior shaped by exposed brickwork and timber, graffiti splashed on whitewashed walls, jazz club ceiling fans and eclectic vintage furniture.

If it’s a chilled out vibe you’re seeking, relax under the stars on the open air terrace, the largest rooftop bar in SW10 and a tropical haven that emanates Cuban al-fresco living. Boasting arguably the finest choice of cocktails and rum’s in town!

Music is at the beating heart of Cuban culture and we take pride in the range of live bands, DJs and acoustic acts that take to our stage each week – Victor Hugo & the Mambo Boys, The Cuban Brothers and Salsa Fuego Trio, amongst others, keep Embargo República buzzing from early evening until late with infectious Cuban and Latin rhythms.

533 KING’S ROAD
LONDON
SW10 0TZ

020 7351 5038 Sales: 07793 778 164

Enquiries: enquiries@embargorepublica.com

Reservations: promotions@embargorepublica.com

The Subcarpathian Region of Poland

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Paloma Kubiak

I have been known on occasion to say that Poland’s not just about Vodka and beetroot.

Since my very first trip – a surprise organised by my mum and granddad when I was nine year’s old, we’ve grown up together and each visit has left a lasting impression.

From the serene Mazurian lakes in the north-east of Poland (incidentally where I’ll be getting married next year) to the ‘Polish Alps’ of Zakopane in the South and to Szczecin on the borders of Germany in the west, Poland is a vast country worthy of exploration – even if you struggle to pronounce the city names.

Which brings me on to Rzeszow – the capital of the south eastern Subcarpathian region of Poland – Zakopane’s next door neighbour.

At a presentation to highlight the tourist opportunities in Rzeszow and the region – the first time the province has promoted itself in the UK – we were greeted with red wine grown in the vineyards of the ‘Podkarpackie’ (Subcarpathian) area.

It’s green with two national parks, it’s cultural with its museums, art galleries and wooden gothic churches and it appeals to the thrill-seeking tourists with its dog team races in the snow as well as for the laid-back traveller looking for 5* pampering at the modern Hilton hotel.

And like every great tourist centre, it has its very own market square (Krosno).

At the travel event held in Hammersmith, there simply wasn’t enough time to run through all the areas of interest, the opportunities awaiting tourists and the history of the region.

But with Ryanair flights direct to Rzeszow, it should be quick and easy to get exploring.

I just hope that Rzeszow doesn’t try to compete with the likes of Krakow and Warsaw which are now the go-to destinations for stag and hen-dos.

A Triumphant Production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Baron’s Court Theatre

3rd Nov – 22nd Nov, 2015

7:30pm (Two and half hours)

A Doll’s House, written by Henrick Ibsen, was first performed in 1879, and today the same discussions are still whirling about: the right of individuals to discover themselves, presumably at whatever the cost to others, especially the children.

This complex and multi layered play, and its premise, has always vexed me. Would the New Dreams Theatre Company’s production stir my depths again?

Oh yes, indeed. Dick and I not only had the great pleasure of seeing this controversial but popular play passionately performed at Baron’s Court Theatre, but argued all the way home about just these ‘rights’.

Paul Vates (Torvald Helmer) has been writing in Frost Magazine over the last few months, highlighting the processes involved in putting on a stage play. It was good, therefore, to join the audience in the intimate theatre below The Curtains Up pub on 10^th November. Good, but slightly nerve wracking – would it work, would it move me, make me laugh, make me cross, make me re-join the argument?

Kevin Russell’s production of Bryony Lavery’s pared adaptation is confident and modern, but nonetheless steeped in the essence of the period. Ibsen writes of lives lived behind closed doors, and I believe he hints at the accommodations needed in order to hold everything together, though others see only the ‘rights’ within the play.

A Doll’s House touches on many things, fraud, debt, loneliness, unrequited love, death, the roles people play, the responsibility borne by bread winners, the sense of patronising male ownership of wife and children, and ultimately, the choice made by Nora to pursue her happiness and personal development whatever the cost. This attitude has never sat well with me, and never will.

The pace was crisp, the set utilized, Nora (Alexa Matthews) is compelling, beautiful and frenetic, Torvald (Paul Vates) a cypher of the age, and is as emotionally repressed as Nora, conforming to the norms of society and business as he does.

Just as circumstances strip Nora of her ability to role-play as a doll within a doll’s house, so too, they strip Torvald of his role as perceived by society. Vates’ confusion and desperation reveals a humanity that moved me, brought me to tears, in fact, and more than balanced Nora’s implacable decision to strive to find herself, to grasp her ‘rights’ heedless of the contextual responsibilities.

The whole production is thoughtful, subtle, and all the players more than fulfilled their roles: Julia Florimo as Mrs Linde is a good foil to Nora, as she exposes her controlling personality to bring about all that she wants. Ramzi Dehani’s Krogstad is ready to wreak his revenge, and is taken by surprise at the happy harbour into which he is being led by Ms Linde, by the nose one thinks. Brian Merry’s Dr Rank is painful and lost in love for Nora, but determined to wrest control back and terminate his illness at a time of his choosing.

I thought Nora’s interior monologue worked well, and the brief by-play with the maid Helene, was supposed to reassure us that as she’d brought up Nora, she would bring up the three children and all would be well. Tosh.

I loved it. A bravura production. It is with me still. And let me tell you, Dick was engrossed throughout and he so often isn’t.

Don’t miss it, grab the chance while you can.

A Doll’s House (Bryony Lavery)

Baron’s Court Theatre, (below The Curtains Up pub)

3rd Nov – 22nd Nov, 2015

7:30pm

PRODUCTION TEAM

Set designer: Katie Unsworth Murrey. Lighting design: Harry Amatage, Sound Design: Ben Cowen.

New Dreams Theatre

A day in the life of Fiona Joseph (Author and Speaker)

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Margaret Graham

I wake between 6 and 6.30 AM. My partner Peter brings me an early morning cup of tea and then it’s all systems go: helping our younger daughter get ready for school (Have you had breakfast? Brushed your teeth? Where’s your PE kit? What do you mean you’ve got cookery today?) or waving our elder daughter off to a university lecture. I’m one of those mums who stand waving on the doorstep until my children have disappeared from sight.

8.15 to 12.15 PM

Ideally I’m at my desk for 8 AM. My most productive time for writing is early in the morning.

My office is in a room upstairs at home and I do the majority of my writing on an iMac. I switch between different software depending on what I’m writing: Pages and Storyist for writing prose fiction and non-fiction, and Final Draft for screenwriting. (I’m currently writing a dramatisation of my biography of Beatrice Cadbury and Final Draft is the industry standard.)

Writing a screenplay for the life of Beatrice Cadbury.

At about 10 AM I’m ready for a break, a cuppa and a catch-up chat with Peter, who works downstairs in the dining room. Sometimes we’ll do our unofficial ‘meeting’ in our local Costa. And then it’s back to our work domains for both of us until lunch.

If I fancy a change of writing scene I go to my local church where I have an arrangement to use one of their meeting rooms. I take a portable word-processing device with me – my AlphaSmart NEO – along with a flask of tea and a blanket to avoid chills.

12.15 – 1.15 PM

Lunchtime is my favourite part of the working day. At about 12.15 PM our dog Bonnie butts her nose against the stair-gate to tell me it’s time for her walk. (She has three walks a day – talk about spoiled) Exercise is vital for both of us. The walk takes about 20-25 minutes, sometimes longer if we stop for a chat with doggy friends and their owners. Bonnie was a rescue dog, and sadly ill-treated, so she needs oodles of love and patience. We live in a leafy suburb of Birmingham but holiday a lot in Weymouth, and this picture shows Bonnie happily at the seaside.

On our walk I daydream, or listen to music or a BAFTA GURU screenwriting podcast on my wireless headphones. Lunch will be quick, such as a sandwich or soup, or in summer months, some sautéed courgettes or roasted beetroot from our allotment.

1.15 to 4 PM

I like to be back at my desk for 1.15 PM. My afternoon can be made up of any of the following activities:

more writing or editing
working on my website
archive research
replying to emails, e.g. invitations to speak
going out to give a talk to a group
speaking on the phone with my biographee, Godric Bader, the subject of my current work-in-progress
visiting my local primary school where I’m privileged to be a community governor

Sometimes my research will take me into town to the Library of Birmingham or to the Bournville Archives. For my latest novel, Comforts For The Troops, I wove true facts and details of the Cadbury workplace into the story.

Visiting the Bournville Archives to research Cadbury women workers.

4 to 7 PM

This period is break-time and family time. Peter or I prepare dinner. I’m very strict on home-cooked food and eating round the dinner table. It’s the time of the day when we can share news, air grievances(!) and generally have a laugh. Mobiles are banned. If one of us has had a particularly noteworthy day I’ll serve dinner on the Plate of Accomplishment. We occasionally play cards afterwards – 10 card rummy, Old Maid and Sevens are old favourites.

7 to 10 PM

Sometimes I’ll be out giving a talk at a local society like the WI, the U3A , a local history group or a book group. It’s very satisfying to talk about the research and themes underlying my Cadbury books and I really enjoy chatting with people over a cup of tea afterwards.

If I’m at home I’ll flake out with some telly. I’m an ardent fan of Corrie and Holby City and I enjoy a good UK drama, preferably nothing with violence in it though. By 10 o’clock I’m fit to drop, but if necessary I’ll do an hour’s more writing before bed!

Fiona Joseph is the author of the acclaimed biography, ‘BEATRICE The Cadbury Heiress Who Gave Away Her Fortune’, and a novel inspired by women working at Cadbury in World War One, ‘Comforts For The Troops’. For more details visit www.fionajoseph.com

Nightingales Under the Mistletoe by Donna Douglas Reviewed: Tracy Baines

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Christmas 1941 and the nurses at the Nightingale are facing their toughest winter yet.

With shortages everywhere, and every news bulletin announcing more defeats and losses, the British people are weary and demoralised and The Nightgale Hospital is suffering too.Millie is recently widowed and dealing with the demands of her family’s estate. It’s not long before her old world of The Nightingale begins to beckon, along with a long lost love…

Jess is struggling with her move from East London to the quiet of the countryside.Effie finds herself exiled to a quiet village, but the quiet doesn’t last for long as she soon finds excitement in the shape of a smooth talking GI. As Christmas approaches, even the shelter of the countryside can’t protect the girls from heartache.

This is the first book I’ve read about the nurses at the Nightingale Hospital and it won’t be the last. Even though I came new to the series (this is book seven) it was easy to read as a stand alone and was at no point confusing.

It was a perfect winter read as I sat in front of a roaring fire, mug of tea and a box of choccies to hand. I was soon deep in the world of nurses and country living. The characters are likeable and realistic and the author strikes a perfect balance between the hard, grudging work that nurses do and the camaraderie that comes from pulling together. It doesn’t shy away from the awfulness of war but deals with it in a way that’s informative without being too upsetting and certainly made me wonder at the bravery of people during those trying times. That said there is humour and warmth on every page.

An absolutely perfect read for those who love Call the Midwife.

To be published 11^th November by Cornerstone Publishing

Love You Better by Natalie K Martin Reviewed By Frances Colville

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Natalie K Martin’s second book Love You Better is about domestic violence. Set in London, Thailand and Ibiza with links to other parts of the world, the story is fast paced with well-drawn characters and a good if somewhat predicable story line. We all know that domestic violence can occur in all sorts of households and relationships, and any book which reinforces this and flags up some of the telltale warning signs is welcome. The author has done her research well. And her love of travel shines through too.

However, the ending of the book was clearly signposted from the early pages and for me this detracted from the impact of the story as it evolved. It’s hard to care enough about the development of a character – even one you empathise with as much as Effie – if you’ve already worked out what is going to happen to her. There were a few other things which pulled me up short. Is the character Oliver intended to be the same age as the other main characters (that is, mid twenties) and if so, how can he possibly be one of the most sought-after lawyers in London? A three storey whitewashed Georgian house in a quiet street in Clapham for £500,000? I don’t think so. Nitpicking? Yes. But why not get it right?

This book is still a good read though. It flows well, it’s interesting and I did actually want to know if I guessed the right ending. And I liked the play on words in the title. A book worth reading in fact. I’m going to search out the author’s first book Together Apart and look forward to future offerings as well.

Love You Better is published by Lake Union Publishing and will be available in the UK in paperback and ebook versions from 8^th October 2015.

Excellent Christmas Ideas: Adult Colouring Books

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Frostie

Adult colouring books are not just a trend, they are a phenomenon. They were everywhere in 2015 and the trend to de-stress by colouring in shows no sign of abating. Here are our suggestions for a colouring Christmas.

Winter Wonderland Patterns. Creative Colouring For Grown-Ups

From snowflakes and robins to Scandinavian prints and reindeer, this is a beautiful wintry colouring book. From Michael O’Mara Books. Winter Wonderland Patterns: Creative Colouring for Grown-ups is available here.

Crap Colouring In: Mindless Art Therapy For Modern Life Joe Sumner.

A hilarious parody on the trend. This age-appropriate book has all of life’s little annoyances to brighten yourself up. From speed bumps to shopping trolleys. Brighten them up and vent with your pencil. Smart with classic British humour. Crap Colouring In: Mindless Art Therapy for Modern Life is available here.

The Gold Collection. The Gift of Colouring For Grown-ups.

Luxurious and lavish, This sophisticated colouring book helps you find your inner-calm. It has a beautiful gold-foiled cover. The Gold Collection: The Gift of Colouring for Grown-Ups is available here.

Creative Colouring For Grown-Ups Christmas Patterns.

Over 100 pages of festive cheer. Wonderful patterns. Out 1st December. The above and below adult colouring books are from the publishers of ‘Creative Colouring For Grown-ups’. Christmas Patterns: Creative Colouring for Grown-ups is available here.

Creative Christmas. The Gift of Colouring for Grown-ups.

Has a gorgeous foil cover and the flaps give inspiration for Christmas wrapping. Hours of de-stressing fun. Creative Christmas: The Gift of Colouring for Grown-ups is available here.

Lost Ocean. An Inky Adventure & Colouring Book Johanna Basford.

This is a stunning book from the creator of Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest, Johanna Basford. Johanna has sold millions of copies of her colouring books and lives in Dundee. Lost Ocean has over 60 hand-inked, black-lined illustrations. This gorgeous marine-themed colouring book is the perfect gift for the colouring fan. Lost Ocean: An Inky Adventure & Colouring Book is available here.

Which one will you buy?

A Killing Winter By Tom Callaghan Book Review

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Hail my new hero, Tom Callaghan.

As a fan of Tom Rob Smith and especially his novel, The Secret Speech, I thought there would not be another writer to touch him. I was wrong.

With A Killing Winter, Tom Callaghan has created a fascinating, cold and harsh setting, but one in which the central character is a living breathing empathetic detective, one with compassion, one dealing with personal loss, but one who ploughs on through the political difficulties determined to reach the truth, whatever the threat to himself.

With a superb sense of place. Callaghan gets the balance of tension, empathetic characters, and the setting just right.

When Inspector Akyl Borubaev of Bishkek Murder Squad arrives at the brutal murder scene of a young woman, all evidence hints at a sadistic serial killer on the hunt for more prey.

But when the young woman’s father turns out to be a leading government minister, the pressure is on Borubaev to solve the case not only quickly, but also quietly, by any means possible. Until more bodies are found …

Still in mourning after his wife’s recent death, Borubaev descends into Bishkek’s brutal underworld, a place where no-one and nothing is as it seems, where everyone is playing for the highest stakes, and where violence is the only solution.

I couldn’t put The Killing Winter down. Thank heavens there is another on the horizon: A Spring Betrayal.

I can’t wait.

A Killing Winter – Tom Callaghan 5^th November 2015, Paperpack £7.99.

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