The Original Suffrage Cook Book by Mrs L O Kleber

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The Original Suffrage Cook Book by Mrs L O Kleber

Originally published in 1915 to help raise funds for the campaign for the vote for women, The Original Suffrage Cook Book  is so much more than its title suggests. This new edition includes short biographies of many of the contributors and a new endnote by award-winning writer Cheryl Robson, which places the book both in its historical and contemporary contexts. It is such a fascinating read and the biographies are an inspired addition. One of them is Jack London, author of Call of the Wild. I remember studying the book at school for O level but when I read the short biography I wanted to hunt down a longer version. What a life!

This cookbook was compiled by Mrs Kleber from recipes contributed by leading men and women of the Suffrage movement in the UK and US, including Lady Constance Lytton (aka Jane Warton) who was imprisoned four times for her campaigning, Julia Lathrop the first woman to head a United States federal bureau department, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, author of The Yellow Wallpaper and Herland.

There is a wide range of recipes, many of them very simple, a few tongue in cheek – Pie for a Suffragist’s Doubting Husband for instance –  and all grouped in a simple and organised manner; much as these women would have attempted to change the course of history.

It’s a fabulous historical document of its time but also an interesting cook book to boot, interspersed as it is with line drawings and including letters to the editor – or Editress as she is described  in the contents section of the book.

Recipes aside this is a great gift idea. It’s both practical and fascinating on so many levels and I’ll be trying out more of the recipes over time. A unique way to celebrate the centenary of women getting the vote.

The Original Suffrage Cook Book compiled by Mrs L. O. Kleber
1915 Cook Book to be published for #VOTE100

www.aurorametro.co.uk

PB £12.99
ISBN: 978-1-912430-13-0

A Mother’s Grace by Rosie Goodwin

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A Mother's Grace by Rosie Goodwin

This, the  third novel in the Days of the Week collection by Rosie Goodwin, turns its focus on why Tuesday’s child is full of grace.

A Mother’s Grace  follows the story of Grace Kettle who longs to escape her bullying, controlling father. She becomes devoutly religious and goes off to Wales to take holy orders and become a nun. But there she meets the dashing and devout Father Luke and things don’t go as Grace had hoped. She is forced to make a difficult and life changing decision, one that she will spend the rest of her life seeking forgiveness for.

Some of the characters from the previous two novels in the series make an appearance in this book but you don’t have to have read them to enjoy A Mother’s Grace.

If you love riveting, heart-warming saga then you will not be disappointed. A Mother’s Grace has all the elements of a good page-turning novel and is a ‘curl up in a chair’ read for autumn.

Rosie Goodwin’s books have  sold over a million copies and she has written over thirty novels. She’s been described as the Catherine Cookson for a new generation.

Rosie is also the only author to ever be allowed to follow three of Catherine Cookson’s trilogies with her own sequels.

www.rosiegoodwin.co.uk

Published by Bonnier Zaffre £7.99

Review: Copenhagen, Minerva Theatre, Chichester

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Box Office: 01243 781312 www.cft.org.uk
Until 22 September

Photo credit: Conrad Blakemore

What was the purpose of the visit made by German Werner Heisenberg (Charles Edwards) to his friend Danish physicist Niels Bohr (Paul Jesson) as the Second World War raged? The answer is by no means swift in coming, but it is a compelling journey. Which is just as well; this is not a play that allows for wandering concentration.

The ghosts of Heisenberg, Bohr and his wife Margrethe return to the night of Heisenberg’s visit in 1941 to scrutinise the intent and rationale behind the house call. Eminently bright and highly respected, the younger man’s nation has occupied his elder’s country, thus thorough examination of several theories is necessary.

With a shared passion for scientific certainty the coals are raked over with forensic-like attention to detail, stirring human nature into technical hypotheses. Tempered by Margrethe’s perceptiveness and calm, blistering disagreement between the two men is revealing, but while such convulsions are fascinating it is the historical element that gives the play ominous depth: the creation of the atom bomb and its monstrous impact.

Director Michael Blakemore succeeds in maintaining a fluidity that is almost balletic. With a small cast and a stark set the focus on the trio is as intense as the play itself, but they impress throughout.

Patricia Hodge as Margrethe is breathtakingly good; elegant, circumspect and sharp. Charles Edwards as Heisenberg and Paul Jesson as Bohr are equally excellent, both absolutely convincing as boffins who, despite their scientific and mathematical prowess, are nevertheless vulnerable to human frailty.

Michael Frayn’s play is as much about morals as it is the quest for knowledge and you are likely to come away as many questions as answers. Oddly, this is strangely satisfying.

Theatre preview: People Like us: written by Julie Burchill and Jane Robins 

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This will be interesting… Wonder how involved the audience will get? Will they sit in ‘our side’ ‘your side’ groups created by themselves. Go along and see:

People Like us, written by acclaimed writers and journalists Julie Burchill and Jane Robins will be premiered at the Union Theatre this October.

Set in a North London book club, People Like Us follows five friends as they find themselves discussing the unavoidable topic of Brexit.  In the two years since the vote to leave, endless discussion has all but eradicated any middle ground. What remains is opposing views and the arguments which have strained relationships – can we only ever really be friends with people like us?

 Although written in support of the Leave campaign, People Like Us will uniquely provide an argument for both sides of the debate.  With theatre and the arts predominantly representing a single view of Brexit, this nuanced look presents the politics and views of both sides.

People Like Us looks at how politics and Brexit have invaded conversations, Burchill and Robins ask the question – can we only ever really be friends with people like us? And how far would you go to save your closest friendships from being pulled apart by political beliefs?  This is the question these friends must answer as the fight for the future of Europe.

People Like Us: Union Theatre, 204 Union Street, London SE1 0LX

Tuesday 2nd October – Saturday 20th October 2018, 7.30pm Press Night: Thursday 4th October 2018, 7.30pm

Performance Dates Tuesday 2nd – Saturday 20th October 2018, 7.30pm    Saturday matinees, 2.30pm

Running time  2 hours including interval tbc

Age recommendation  Ages 14+

Location  Union Theatre, Old Union Yard Arches, 229 Union Street, London SE1 0LX www.uniontheatre.biz    How to get there The nearest underground stations are Southwark (on the Jubilee line) or London Bridge (on the Jubilee line and Northern line). The nearest rail station is Waterloo or London Bridge.  Parking is available on Union Street after 6.30pm on weekdays and all day on weekends.

Twitter @TheUnionTheatre

Box Office Tickets are available from the Union Theatre Box Office and www.uniontheatre.biz or 020 7261 9876 from £22.50.

 

THEATRE REVIEW: Much Ado About Nothing – Paul Vates Drama critic

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at Gray’s Inn Hall, London

 

“This production has managed to create a hilarious Dogberry!”

 

 

Last year I praised Antic Disposition’s production of Richard III at The Temple Church in London. This year’s tour is the comedy Much Ado About Nothing – on paper an easier affair, perhaps, yet this play has always had three factors that can make or break the show: the chemistry between Beatrice and Benedick; the gulling scene; and Dogberry and his troop.

 

Co-directors Ben Horslen and John Risebero have set the piece in the village square of Messina, in rural France. WW2 has just finished and there is a joyous atmosphere. British troops are passing through and all seems well in the world. This however creates the potential for accents: the locals are French, after all. Much of Dogberry’s speeches are French gibberish and set the tone perfectly.

 

Beatrice (played by Chiraz Aïch) and Benedick (Nicholas Osmond) are a striking pair and as the action proceeds they warm into their roles. Aïch, for me, sadly preferring angry passion to diction near the climax, but they make a fine and believable couple.

 

 

 

 

The gulling scenes are inventive, using the cafe scenario for their staging, but did not fulfill their promise. They could, I am sure, have pushed the comic potential a little further. Still funny, though.

 

 

 

This production has managed to create a hilarious Dogberry! So many versions don’t quite know how to portray the clowns. To make Dogberry (brilliantly played by Louis Bernard) as the cafe owner who is basically there throughout, actually manages to give Dogberry a genuine and truthful setting which he so often lacks. His assistants, who are just as stupid as he, are a joy to behold. Accordion-playing Verges (Scott Brooks) has great fun being the deadpan accomplice. Bernard’s inspiration is Jacques Tati and it works a treat.

 

 

 

The whole company are a tightly-knit ensemble are take us through a cleverly edited version of the play. Antic Disposition are in their comfort zone here: Shakespeare in an unusual historic venue. The audience delight in their antics and the whole performance has a light touch. Praiseworthy indeed.

 

 

Photographer  Scott Rylander

Producer         Antic Disposition

Directors         Ben Hoslen and John Risebero

Designer         John Risebero

Composer       Nick Barstow

 

Venue             Gray’s Inn Hall, London WC1R 5ET

Performances Until September 1st

Times              7.30pm Tuesday to Saturday – Saturday Matinees at 3pm

Tickets            £30-£45 (under 26s £10 off)

Box Office       www.much-ado.co.uk and 0333 666 3366

Running Time 2hrs 10, including an interval

Twitter             @anticdispo

Instagram       @anticdispo

Facebook        /anticdisposition

 

 

Art with Heart returns with a brand new tour of Declaration: October to November

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The winner of the ADHD Foundation Partnership Award in 2017, Art with Heart returns with a brand new tour of Declaration, a comic and candid look at Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.

Developed in consultation with medical professionals and mental health support groups, Declaration challenges the stereotypes of mental health and gender in the 21st century.

Declaration is a vibrant and daring adventure of school day survival tactics, super-hero alter-egos and the stumbling blocks to self-acceptance.  Filled with great tunes, dancing and humour, Declaration is an upbeat autobiographical piece about the challenges Sarah Emmott faced as she sought diagnosis in her 30s.

Instinctive, curious, bold and bouncy, Sarah is a mighty proud square peg – which wouldn’t be such a problem if the hole wasn’t so damn round.  Her childhood doctor thought it was sugar.  Her current doctor thinks its ADHD. Sarah still feels different, so what will a label do? Declaration is a vibrant and daring adventure of school day survival tactics, super-hero alteregos and the stumbling blocks to self-acceptance.

Performance Dates  Tuesday 12th October – Thursday 22nd November 2018

 

Running Time   70 minutes   Box Office Tickets are available from individual theatre box office. See www.artwithheart.org.uk 

 

Twitter  @artwith_heart, #ADHDeclaration

 

THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: TRAVELS WITH MY BOOK

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Jane Cable shares her experience of a blog tour

It sometimes surprises me when other writers ask me what a blog tour is – but then maybe it shouldn’t, because when I started out I didn’t even know book bloggers existed.

So, for the uninitiated – what is a blog tour? Put simply, your book does the travelling. From one book blog to another, over a short space of time, with reviews, guest posts and giveaways. A brief burst of promotion designed to boost its visibility.

It is perfectly possible to arrange a blog tour yourself, especially if you’re hot on social media and have been meeting bloggers online and looking after them. But many publishing houses now include blog tours as a matter of course for launch activity which means bloggers are very busy and if you’re a debut or indie author it can be hard to get your foot in the door.

From my point of view most of the bloggers I know reviewed The Cheesemaker’s House when it first came out so arranging a celebration tour for its fifth birthday was always going to be a big ask. I needed help, so I decided to enlist the services of a paid expert, Rachel Gilbey of Rachel’s Random Resources. A book blogger herself, Rachel has set up a business to help authors promote their books and she’d received good results for authors I know so I decided to give it a whirl.

From the outset Rachel was super-professional and she had the tour filled in less than eighteen hours. I was flabbergasted – this wasn’t even a new book. And all but Anne Williams of Being Anne (who I couldn’t do any tour without) were people who hadn’t reviewed the book before. Rachel had their requirements impeccably organised and communicated to me in good time – whether they wanted paperback or ebook review copies, a guest blog, a Q&A, pictures… all set out in one easy to follow email.

I’ve written in detail about planning the tour before so let’s skip to the big day – August 1st – with a blitz of seven bloggers primed and ready to go. Actually, they weren’t. One blog never appeared and another, where I’d prepared an excerpt and lengthy Q&A, caught up only a few days later by just bunging the blurb on her blog.

It was actually just as well because the others came to the party in spades – on Twitter especially – and I had so many notifications in my feed from the bloggers and their street teams I found it hard to keep pace with thank yous and retweets. A hint here – it’s actually quicker to do this on an ipad or phone because it takes you back to the right place in your feed and not to the top where you have to scroll down to find where you were again.

For the rest of the tour, most of the other bloggers delivered. Some just put up the blurb but perhaps they didn’t like the book and at the end of the day that’s their prerogative. But in the main the reviews were really positive – glowing, in fact – and I really felt its visibility improved over the week of the tour.

My author profile was definitely raised too. A cannily organised giveaway increased my Facebook page likes and the general activity on Twitter tipped my followers over the 2,000 mark. I met new readers and bloggers online too – and I know that when I have a new book out there will be more open doors to push on for reviews.

So what of sales? Yes – there was an increase – definitely. I won’t know until I get my royalty statement whether it was enough to pay for the tour, but that wasn’t the point. In terms of profile it worked – in spades. And I would certainly use Rachel’s Random Resources again.

Find out more about Rachel’s services at https://www.rachelsrandomresources.com/

A COFFEE LOVER’S DREAM…

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Did you know that approximately 95million cups of coffee are consumed a day in the UK? Especially for you eager beaners out there, we’ve pulled together our coffee collectables which are absolutely worth your investment and will help you feed your fix of the good stuff!

THE MULTI-CCINO MUG

If pricey coffee machines or tricky filters isn’t your thing, there’s a super simple, genius measuring mug which will help you perfect seven different types of coffee. Designed as a collaboration between the Museum of Modern Art and the School of Visual Arts in New York, this mug allows you to customise the proportions of espresso, milk and water using the handy indicators printed on the outside of the glass. Serves include espresso, macchiato, cortado, café au lait, Americano, flat white and cappuccino.

RRP: £16.99

 

ZOKU ICED COFFEE MAKER

Let’s face it, in the summer all we want is our coffee to be taken down a Celsius or two. The Zoku Iced coffee maker allows you to have a refreshing iced coffee without pesky ice cubes diluting the flavour. All you need to do is pop your Zoku in the freezer before pouring. It’s spill resistant and has a sipping straw – bonus!

RRP: £23.32

 

KRUPPS MILK FROTHER

Frothy milk is essential to any great latte or ‘cchino so it’s important you have a faithful frother to hand. We’d recommend Krupps – an easy-to-use frother with three functions for barista-quality results at home.

There’s non-stick coating for easy cleaning around those irritating milk stains, plus quantity markings for each function. Pricey, but worth it.

RRP: £109.99

 

MAIYADUO COFFEE SCOOP HYBRID

There’s nothing worse than finding your perfect bag of ground coffee and noticing the flavour’s escaped quicker than your milk has frothed. With built-in bag clip, these nifty scoop hybrids keep coffee fresh and tasting great by sealing the bag straight after use.

They also measure coffee quantities for cafetiere, filters and percolators so you’re covered. There are plenty of these on the market but we love the jazzy colours of the

RRP: £7.99

 

MINIPRESSO PORTABLE ESPRESSO MAKER

If you’re on the go and craving a cuppa, this ‘minispresso’ machine is the perfect sidekick. You can fill it with coffee grounds or capsules and just add hot water ahead of a simple pump.

It’s travel size, lightweight and super easy to use. A few squeezes and the pressure inside the Minipresso reaches a 116psi – the same as a traditional espresso machine – forcing full-bodied espresso coffee out of the spout and into your cup. Ahhh, perfect!

RRP: £49.99