Category Archives: Culture

Rupert Murdoch Flying to UK to Stop Sun Going Down.

Posted on by

Rupert Murdoch is flying to London to meet staff at The Sun this week, after the arrests of five senior staff members over bribery allegations. The source told the AFP that Murdoch would fly to London “later in the week” and News International has said that Murdoch has given “personal assurance” that The Sun will not be closed like the News of the World.

The News of the World was closed on July in the midst of the phone hacking scandal.

 

News International chief executive Tom Mockridge said in an email to staff that Murdoch would stand by The Sun in the “greatest challenge” it faced.

 

“You should know that I have had a personal assurance today from Rupert Murdoch about his total commitment to continue to own and publish The Sun newspaper,” Mockridge said.

 

The Sun journalists that were arrested were deputy editor Geoff Webster, picture editor John Edwards, chief reporter John Kay, chief foreign correspondent Nick Parker and reporter John Sturgis.
News International has not made a statement on Murdoch coming to London, and neither has Murdoch himself.

 

Allegedly The Sun were furious at the fact that News Corp had handed over the information to police that led to the arrests.

 

London Fashion Week : The Countdown Begins!

Posted on by

London Fashion Week (LFW) is less than one week away and it is fair to say that I am already bubbling over in excitement. The show schedule is bursting with Legends of fashion as well as up-and-comers set to showcase their latest Autumn/Winter collections. As well as that, over 100 designer brands will take part in the exhibition, all showing off their latest and greatest pieces. It is an event I’ve always dreamt of going to and thanks to Frost Magazine, I hold an “access all areas pass”!

So, what can I expect?  Catwalk Shows, Presentations and Parties are all part of the schedule, creating the perfect stage for us British to show off our talents to the rest of the world. It is also certain to deliver some controversy, drama and headline making mayhem…although I do hope we don’t see any poor models fall on the Catwalk again. Other expectations I have are, of lots of noise, colour and eccentric people surrounding me and I cannot wait for it all to start!

Fashion-Lover, Keshini Misha, who is also writing about LFW for Frost, brought up the very good question of, What to Wear? Those three words have been running through my mind too and I’m sure most of this week will be spent selecting the perfect outfits. In fact, I have to admit that this element of fashion week is actually something I am extremely excited about. Not me stressing about what to wear but, getting to see the variety of fashion choices others will make. It is what I love most about fashion really; how people dress as an extension of themselves and their personalities. I think it is a shame to see someone dress in something for its name or for the social status it brings. It is far more interesting and impressive to see those who dress for themselves and throw outfits together in ways others wouldn’t imagine! Each day I will snap pictures of the best dressed people I see to share with you as well as fill you in on all the latest trends, hottest designers and naughtiest gossip!

Until it all begins…

Kate x

Follow me on Twitter too @k8hollowood

Chris Moon 'Love Hearts' {Art}

Posted on by

Chris Moon, the self-taught British painter dubbed ‘a new art superstar’ by Harper’s Bazaar.

Chris’s first solo exhibition was a sell-out late last year and was bought by many high profile collectors as well as celebrities such as Gemma Arterton.

Chris will exhibit his most recent work – his Love Heart series – at the forthcoming Full Rabbit exhibition in Shoreditch Town hall this February.

The Love Heart series features confectionery at various stages of disintegration to tell the story of past relationships, from First Love to One Night Stand. The works range from small, limited edition pieces from £300 to larger works up to £1,500.

Audio Architecture Arts presents FULL RABBIT which will run 24th February – 11th March 2012 at Shoreditch Town Hall, London EC1V 9LT Private View 23rd February 2012, 6-9pm Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday 12pm – 6pm

Full Rabbit is a group exhibition featuring the works of UK and Chinese artists, examining the notion of fortune. The exhibition will open in London from 24th February 2012 in the vast basement vaults of Shoreditch Town Hall.

Full Rabbit will showcase a multi-disciplinary collection of solo and collaborative work previously unseen in Britain, from twelve UK based and eight Chinese artists.

The artists featuring in the show include Catherine Shakespeare Lane, the British artist who showed a triptych featuring Francis Bacon’s dead body at James Birch’s A22 Gallery. CSL will exhibit unseen work including, Piss Artist for D.H, an installation of champagne bottle caps originally made for Damien Hirst, representing the celebration of 300 occasions, like drinks with Francis Bacon and other notorious Colony Room characters.

Much-talked about British painter Chris Moon (“A new art superstar”, Harper’s Bazaar), whose successful debut solo exhibition took place in London in 2011, will unveil his Love Heart series, eight installations using nostalgic Love Heart confectionary at various stages of disintegration to tell the story of past relationships, from First Love, to One Night Stand and Fantasy Girl.
Collaborative works between UK and Chinese artists include Local Whispers, shown at the V&A (January 2011), but further developed in Beijing to become a reference for the current interpretive situation. This involves Sui Jianguo, Experimenter En Couleur, Yan Jun, Jun Yuan, Ruan Qianrui, Christian Krupa and Ding Xin. Sound installation Rabbit Sequence by Experimenter En Couleur and Ruan Qianrui, sees 20 people ranging from 3-80 years old, asked to talk about their fortune and presents them as traditional Chinese clay ornaments.

Full Rabbit completes a collaborative project exploring perceptions of fortune by artists in both the UK and China. The Beijing show was exhibited at Platform China Institute of Contemporary Arts under the title Half Rabbit in June 2011, halfway into the Chinese Year of the Rabbit. Some of the Chinese artists in the forthcoming London show have never exhibited work outside their country.

Full Rabbit artists are: Maria Castro, Experimenter En Couleur, Paul Davis, Leslie Deere, Felicity Ford, Gogo J, Sui Jianguo, Yan Jun, Christian Krupa, Catherine Shakespeare Lane, Alex McLean, Chris Moon, Tim Norris, Ruan Qianrui, EunJoo Shin, Seaming To, Neil Webb, Ron Wright, Ding Xin and Jun Yuan.

Curator Alexis Bamforth of Audio Architecture Arts comments, “The reaction to the Half Rabbit exhibition in Beijing in 2011 was extremely positive, even though many of the Chinese artists were nervous about their works being in such a public show. We look forward to unveiling the London group show. We’re particularly proud of the collaborative work produced by British and Chinese artists and the struggles we overcame to make it happen. Full Rabbit celebrates the concept of fortune and the cultural exchange of work between UK and Chinese artists, and we are extremely excited to showcase some of the most interesting emerging talent in China, on an international stage.”

The exhibition opens to the public 24thFebruary to 11th March 2012. Entrance is free.

See www.audioarchitecture.co.uk for more information on Audio Architecture.

The Fringe Report Awards 2012

Posted on by

John Park has run the Fringe Report for ten years, and I am as unhappy as the other 400 odd people who turned up to the Fringe Report Awards that The Fringe Report is ending this year. John has run the Fringe Report without profit and has connected everything and everyone on the fringe of London, and indeed, the UK.

James Aylett, James Yardley and Lynn Howes.

The Fringe Report Awards took place at Monday 6 February 2012 at The Leicester Square Theatre. The Leicester Square Theatre was packed with the great and good of Britain’s theatre and acting talent. [Disclaimer: I am an editor, writer and photographer for the Fringe Report].

Jack Bowman and Catherine Balavage

The awards were as fun as ever and the list of winners is below. Goodbye to the Fringe Report. The fringe now weeps at your loss.

Elliot Grove – Outstanding Achievement Award – Film
Steve Forster – Best PR – Theatre
Flavia Fraser-Cannon – Best Creative – Producer, Photographer, Publicist
Paul L Martin – Best Producer – Cabaret
Sibyl Madrigal – Best Music Curator (for Boat-Ting)
Performers Without Borders – Best Encouragers of Talent
Steve Henwood & Wendy Matthews – Best Festival Directors
Guy Chapman – Outstanding Achievement Award – PR
Kiki Kendrick – Best Creative – Actor and Writer
Becky Talbot – Best Presenter – Radio
Kevin Sampson – Outstanding Achievement Award – Literature & Film
Vocal Motions Elastic Theatre – Best Theatre Company
Sasha Regan – Best Venue Director
Adam Morley – Best Director – Theatre & Film
Ricky Dukes – Best Artistic Director (Lazarus Theatre Company)
James Hyland – Best Performer – Solo Show (for A Christmas Carol / Jacob Marley)
Paul Sayers & Simon Bolton – Best Shakespeare Producers (Rooftop Theatre)
Paul Levy – Best Publisher
Tactful Cactus – Best Short Film (for Starcrossed)
Alison Wright – Best PR – Arts
Stuart Price – Best Creative – Director & Writer
Laura Pitt-Pulford – Best Performer – Musical (for Parade at Southwark Playhouse)
Alexander Parsonage – Best Artistic Director (Finger In The Pie)
Andy McQuade – Best Director – Theatre
Catherine Brogan – Best Poet

THE BODY ADORNED: DRESSING LONDON

Posted on by

Temporary Exhibition Gallery Saturday 24 March 2012 – Thursday 3 January 2013

Why do we wear what we wear? Does the way we dress have deeper meaning or is dress superficial? What influences our choice of dress?

The Body Adorned: Dressing London opens at the Horniman Museum on Saturday 24 March and will look across time and cultures at the relationships between dress, the body and the emergence of London as a world city. It will consider how the movement of people, objects and ideas have influenced London dress in the past and explore body adornment in today’s capital.

The first part of the exhibition features masterpieces from the Horniman Museum’s extensive world class anthropological collections which reflect body adornment practices across the world, and asks what this can tell us about how societies work. Some 300 objects will be on display including an Ancestor figure from Papua New Guinea, a shaman figure from North America, early tattooing instruments, a native American headdress, European folk costumes and a spectacular Maori ancestor figure on loan from UCL collections. The objects give an insight into the messages dress conveys in these societies, and visitors will see the role dress plays in magic, religion, warfare, social status, gender, marriage and death.

The focus of the exhibition then turns on to contemporary London, with film and photography used to consider dress choices in London today, with:

· A specially commissioned film by the innovative, internationally renowned filmmakers and designers The Light Surgeons, where people in London will talk about their own and others’ dress choices. A fully immersive experience, the large scale film shows people in various parts of London discussing their own choice of clothes, while on four smaller screens participants comment on the dress choices of others.

· Urban portraits – a superb display of large scale photographs taken by young people working in partnership with the Horniman Museum and Goldsmiths College exploring the many ways in which Londoners dress.

· Wardrobe studies – what are the intimate choices, and even anxieties, of Londoners who express their fluid identities through dress? Explore a multi-faith wedding wardrobe, a sharp suited business woman and the mysteries of a teenage bedroom.

The Body Adorned: Dressing London will be the Horniman Museum’s major exhibition for 2012.

The exhibition is one of a series of four Stories of the World: London exhibitions exploring different aspects of life in this World City. These form part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme, Stories of the World, which presents exciting new exhibitions across the UK created by young people.

The exhibition opens on Saturday 24 March 2012 and entrance is free.

Argentina is to complain about Britain to the UN.

Posted on by

Argentina is to complain about Britain to the UN.

It has now been 30 years since the war between Britain and Argentina over the Falklands, and the arguments are heating up. Argentina’s President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner has said she is going to complain to the United Nations about Britain.

The President is upset that Prince William has gone to the island, and that Britain has sent a warship, The HMS Dauntless, to the area. Prince William will be in the Falklands for six months working as an RAF search and rescue pilot.

However, the British government has said that this is “routine”.

The Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic have been ruled by Britain since 1833. In 1982 Argentina invaded the islands, claiming it had inherited the islands from Spain. Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister at the time and went to war over the island.

The war ended after 74 days when Argentina surrendered. Argentina still wants the islands back.

The Falklands have a population of 2,500.

The British government says it won’t discuss the issue because the people living on the Falklands want to keep it under British rule.

google-site-verification: google372f2377df59b37e.html

The Hunt For Prince Harry

Posted on by

Channel 4 film follows ‘Harry Hunters’.

Since the marriage between Kate Middleton and Prince William, Prince Harry has been thrust into the spotlight as the most eligible bachelor in Britain. Third in line to the throne, the remaining handsome Prince has become an object of desire for girls across the globe. A brand new Channel 4 documentary, First Cut: The Harry Hunters is set to follow five girls who are determined in their quest to snag their very own Prince Charming.

The film follows 21-year old American friends Cassie and Whitney who grew up in rural Iowa, watching Disney movies and dreaming they would one day marry Prince Harry. They know that to achieve your dreams you have to be prepared to go the distance. Cassie and Whitney have done their research and have a plan – to hit his favourite haunts – from Polo clubs to exclusive Mayfair nightspots.

However, they have strong competition from the ‘queens’ of the social network in East London. School friends Joy and Jade know Prince Harry’s whereabouts at any time, day or night. Twitter is their medium of choice – whether Harry’s partying in Croatia or flying Apache helicopters, they will know within seconds. 16-year old Joy even has an engagement ring for the Prince when the right moment comes to propose.

And finally 14-year-old Flora who hangs out in Chelsea, London and avidly reads the newspapers to know what Prince Harry is up to each week. However, she is determined to impress her teenage heart-throb by working hard at school in her hopes to become an intelligent Princess.

Channel 4 Commissioning Editor Aysha Rafael says: “The Harry Hunters shares the romantic age-old dreams held by thousands of young girls around the world. They fantasise of fairy tale dresses, extravagant royal weddings and for that special day when they finally meet their Prince Charming.”

First Cut: The Harry Hunters is directed by first time producer and director, Emily Hughes and is executive produced by Emily Renshaw-Smith and Peter Dale.

First Cut is a collection of original and bold documentary films by up and coming first time directors and part of Channel 4’s continuous commitment to nurturing new and diverse talent. It first launched in 2007 and now in its sixth year and is commissioned by Aysha Rafaele.

MASTERS OF DIRT BRING THEIR WORLD CLASS FMX SHOW TO THE UK

Posted on by

**FIRST TIME UK EVENT PREVIEW**

MASTERS OF DIRT BRING THEIR WORLD CLASS FMX SHOW TO THE UK

14th LONDON- WEMBLEY ARENA
16th MANCHESTER – MANCHESTER ARENA

TICKETS ON SALE NOW – £32.50

www.mastersofdirt.com
www.wembleyarena.co.uk // www.mcr-arena.com

Masters of Dirt have been setting the standard for world class FMX and bike stunt entertainment for the past 10 years performing across Europe. Hitting London and Manchester for the first time, The UK now has the chance to see the World’s top Freestyle Motocross, Quad, 50cc mini bike, mountain bike, bmx and even snowmobile riders perform their death defying whips, backflips and other jaw dropping tricks live and up-close at the action packed 2 1/2 hour fully seated indoor arena shows.

UK Champion Chris Birch and Aussie superstar Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams confirmed for Masters of Dirt UK Tour 2012.

We are delighted to confirm British FMX champion Chris Birch for the Masters of Dirt UK Tour hitting London 14th March and Manchester 16th March. Twenty Seven year old Birch competes on a world-class level bringing the most amazing whips and backflips this side of the Globe.

‘I can’t wait to ride MoD in my home country and you can guarantee I will bring some serious new tricks to the ramps in March’

25 year old Aussie Sensation Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams has also been added to the all star cast.

Bilko was the first ever athlete to land a cliffhanger backflip, as well as winning X Games Gold, Silver and Bronze and competing in X-Fighters, makes him one of the most exciting athletes to flip the Masters of Dirt ramps in March.

Sam Reynolds, 20yr old British Mountain Bike champion also adds to one of the most exciting line-ups MoD has seen for years. He said ‘I cannot wait to bring MoD to London and Manchester riding along side some of the best freestyle athletes across the globe’

Confirmed Rider List:
Edgar Torronteras (ESP)
Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams(AUS)
Derek Burlew (USA)
Alastair Sayer (SA)
Rob Adelberg (AUS)
Andreu Lacondeguy (ESP)
Chris Birch (UK)
Jostein Stenberg (NOR) (Snowmobile)
Jon Guetter (USA) (Quad)
Tomas Barta (CZ) (Minibike)
Sam Reynolds (UK) (Mountainbike)
Bienvenido Aguado (ESP) (Mountainbike)