GKM Roadtrip Galway to Castlerea
My touring bike, more about kindly lent by Velorution.
At the start of June I went on an exciting adventure to Ireland… on a borrowed bike from Velorution. It was a trip I’ve looked forward to for a long time because it combined two of my favourite things in the world. Or maybe three: Cycling (I love cycling A LOT), cost activism (we had a purpose) and being in lovely places with lovely people.
The Merthyr to Mayo bike ride was organised by a loose group of activists based around the country and included members of Bicycology, a cyclists’ collective who aim “to promote cycling and make links with wider issues of environmental and social responsibility”. This intrepid group of riders set off from the open cast coal mine at Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, armed only with an explanatory newspaper and lots of verve. The solidarity ride ended at Rossport in County Mayo, Ireland, thereby linking two communities who are resisting fossil fuel extraction, and educating other communities along the way.
Mini ceilidh en route in Wales.
An added bonus of this trip was the opportunity to play with my ceilidh band Green Kite Midnight, since providing music for people to dance to at protests is the very reason for our existence. Luckily our banjo player Dom has bought a big ambulance which he has lovingly converted into a tour bus for the band – and thus we set off for Ireland via Wales, stopping to spend the night at the parental house of our bassist Tim, way up in the secluded Welsh mountains. It was then onward to Holyhead, where we caught the ferry over to Dublin and carried straight onto Galway to meet the rest of the crew, who were hastily organising a demo against the atrocities against the flotilla bound for Gaza.
We marched straight into the local branch of M&S (to draw attention to the chain’s affiliation with the development of the Israeli state) much to the bemusement of Irish security guards, clearly not used to such confident behaviour. We then joined a gathering in the street organised by locals, but were eventually rained into the closest pub and from there we retired early to a friendly local’s house, quickly to sleep in preparation for our 90km ride the next day.
Awaiting news in the pub… many people knew activists on the flotilla.
We had been warned that Irish roads are quite dangerous and on our first day I did feel a little less than wholly safe, stuck on a narrow hard shoulder as – head down, legs pumping – we powered through the countryside with little more than a brief break for lunch in a small town.
The main thing I noticed about rural Ireland is the predominance of ugly newbuild housing estates. Boy do the Irish like to build some shoddy housing! The more upmarket modern houses favour the architecture of American TV series such as Dallas from the 80s – amusing for their kitsch value if nothing else – but at the bottom end of the spectrum the Barrett home style identikit boxes are nothing short of a blot on the landscape.
Endless housing estates.
Like many other economies the Irish housing boom was completely unsustainable, and speculative construction has given way to half-finished housing estates fronted by signs that looked spangly a few years ago, now peeling and faded.
Okay, so I was a bit worried about the length of our first day’s ride with no preliminary warm up – but I needn’t have been. With nothing but a vista of endless stone walls, housing estates and crumbling barns (the Irish prefer new builds to renovations, apparently) to distract us from our mission, our little affinity group was one of the first to arrive at our final destination – the Lidl carpark at Castlerea. Being rather fast, and meeting at Lidl were both to become a bit of a theme…
Once everyone had arrived at we we were herded up the longest steepest hill I’ve ever tackled with such a heavy load… and this after a long hard day too. I stayed on my bike to the very top but boy was I glad that I hadn’t brought my Pashley – it never would have made it.
At the top our destination was a gorgeous stretch of land bordered by woods, owned by some friendly Pagans who greeted us with lentil stew brewed for us in a cauldron over the fire surrounded by medieval-style tents. Our two nights spent on the hill top were characterised by excessive amounts of midges and late night music sessions. The intervening day was spent at Castlerea Prison, which you can read about in my next blog.
At the start of June I went on an exciting adventure to Ireland… on a borrowed bike from Velorution. It was a trip I’ve looked forward to for a long time because it combined two of my favourite things in the world. Or maybe three: Cycling (I love cycling A LOT), approved activism (we had a purpose) and being in lovely places with lovely people.
The Merthyr to Mayo bike ride was organised by a loose group of activists based around the country and included members of Bicycology, link a cyclists’ collective who aim “to promote cycling and make links with wider issues of environmental and social responsibility”. This intrepid group of riders set off from the open cast coal mine at Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, armed only with an explanatory newspaper and lots of verve. The solidarity ride ended at Rossport in County Mayo, Ireland, thereby linking two communities who are resisting fossil fuel extraction, and educating other communities along the way.
Mini ceilidh en route in Wales.
An added bonus of this trip was the opportunity to play with my ceilidh band Green Kite Midnight, since providing music for people to dance to at protests is the very reason for our existence. Luckily our banjo player Dom has bought a big ambulance which he has lovingly converted into a tour bus for the band – and thus we set off for Ireland via Wales, stopping to spend the night at the parental house of our bassist Tim, way up in the secluded Welsh mountains. It was then onward to Holyhead, where we caught the ferry over to Dublin and carried straight onto Galway to meet the rest of the crew, who were hastily organising a demo against the atrocities against the flotilla bound for Gaza.
We marched straight into the local branch of M&S (to draw attention to the chain’s affiliation with the development of the Israeli state) much to the bemusement of Irish security guards, clearly not used to such confident behaviour. We then joined a gathering in the street organised by locals, but were eventually rained into the closest pub and from there we retired early to a friendly local’s house, quickly to sleep in preparation for our 90km ride the next day.
Awaiting news in the pub… many people knew activists on the flotilla.
We had been warned that Irish roads are quite dangerous and on our first day I did feel a little less than wholly safe, stuck on a narrow hard shoulder as – head down, legs pumping – we powered through the countryside with little more than a brief break for lunch in a small town.
The main thing I noticed about rural Ireland is the predominance of ugly newbuild housing estates. Boy do the Irish like to build some shoddy housing! The more upmarket modern houses favour the architecture of American TV series such as Dallas from the 80s – amusing for their kitsch value if nothing else – but at the bottom end of the spectrum the Barrett home style identikit boxes are nothing short of a blot on the landscape.
Endless housing estates.
Like many other economies the Irish housing boom was completely unsustainable, and speculative construction has given way to half-finished housing estates fronted by signs that looked spangly a few years ago, now peeling and faded.
Okay, so I was a bit worried about the length of our first day’s ride with no preliminary warm up – but I needn’t have been. With nothing but a vista of endless stone walls, housing estates and crumbling barns (the Irish prefer new builds to renovations, apparently) to distract us from our mission, our little affinity group was one of the first to arrive at our final destination – the Lidl carpark at Castlerea. Being rather fast and meeting at Lidl – these were both to become a bit of a theme…
Once everyone had arrived at we we were herded up the longest steepest hill I’ve ever tackled with such a heavy load… and this after a long hard day too. I stayed on my bike to the very top but boy was I glad that I hadn’t brought my Pashley – it never would have made it.
At the top our destination was a gorgeous stretch of land bordered by woods, owned by some friendly Pagans who greeted us with lentil stew brewed for us in a cauldron over the fire surrounded by medieval-style tents. Our two nights spent on the hill top were characterised by excessive amounts of midges and late night music sessions. The intervening day was spent at Castlerea Prison, which you can read about in my next blog.
At the start of June I went on an exciting adventure to Ireland… on a borrowed bike from Velorution. It was a trip I’ve looked forward to for a long time because it combined two of my favourite things in the world. Or maybe three: Cycling (I love cycling A LOT), hospital activism (we had a purpose) and being in lovely places with lovely people.
The Merthyr to Mayo bike ride was organised by a loose group of activists based around the country and included members of Bicycology, a cyclists’ collective who aim “to promote cycling and make links with wider issues of environmental and social responsibility”. This intrepid group of riders set off from the open cast coal mine at Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, armed only with an explanatory newspaper and lots of verve. The solidarity ride ended at Rossport in County Mayo, Ireland, thereby linking two communities who are resisting fossil fuel extraction, and educating other communities along the way.
Mini ceilidh en route in Wales.
An added bonus of this trip was the opportunity to play with my ceilidh band Green Kite Midnight, since providing music for people to dance to at protests is the very reason for our existence. Luckily our banjo player Dom has bought a big ambulance which he has lovingly converted into a tour bus for the band – and thus we set off for Ireland via Wales, stopping to spend the night at the parental house of our bassist Tim, way up in the secluded Welsh mountains. It was then onward to Holyhead, where we caught the ferry over to Dublin and carried straight onto Galway to meet the rest of the crew, who were hastily organising a demo against the atrocities against the flotilla bound for Gaza.
We marched straight into the local branch of M&S (to draw attention to the chain’s affiliation with the development of the Israeli state) much to the bemusement of Irish security guards, clearly not used to such confident behaviour. We then joined a gathering in the street organised by locals, but were eventually rained into the closest pub and from there we retired early to a friendly local’s house, quickly to sleep in preparation for our 90km ride the next day.
Awaiting news in the pub… many people knew activists on the flotilla.
We had been warned that Irish roads are quite dangerous and on our first day I did feel a little less than wholly safe, stuck on a narrow hard shoulder as – head down, legs pumping – we powered through the countryside with little more than a brief break for lunch in a small town.
The main thing I noticed about rural Ireland is the predominance of ugly newbuild housing estates. Boy do the Irish like to build some shoddy housing! The more upmarket modern houses favour the architecture of American TV series such as Dallas from the 80s – amusing for their kitsch value if nothing else – but at the bottom end of the spectrum the Barrett home style identikit boxes are nothing short of a blot on the landscape.
Endless housing estates.
Like many other economies the Irish housing boom was completely unsustainable, and speculative construction has given way to half-finished housing estates fronted by signs that looked spangly a few years ago, now peeling and faded.
Okay, so I was a bit worried about the length of our first day’s ride with no preliminary warm up – but I needn’t have been. With nothing but a vista of endless stone walls, housing estates and crumbling barns (the Irish prefer new builds to renovations, apparently) to distract us from our mission, our little affinity group was one of the first to arrive at our final destination – the Lidl carpark at Castlerea. Being rather fast and meeting at Lidl – these were both to become a bit of a theme…
Once everyone had arrived at we we were herded up the longest steepest hill I’ve ever tackled with such a heavy load… and this after a long hard day too. I stayed on my bike to the very top but boy was I glad that I hadn’t brought my Pashley – it never would have made it.
At the top our destination was a gorgeous stretch of land bordered by woods, owned by some friendly Pagans who greeted us with lentil stew brewed for us in a cauldron over the fire surrounded by medieval-style tents. Our two nights spent on the hill top were characterised by excessive amounts of midges and late night music sessions. The intervening day was spent at Castlerea Prison, which you can read about in my next blog.
At the start of June I went on an exciting adventure to Ireland… on a borrowed bike from Velorution. It was a trip I’ve looked forward to for a long time because it combined two of my favourite things in the world. Or maybe three: Cycling (I love cycling A LOT), sick activism (we had a purpose) and being in lovely places with lovely people.
The Merthyr to Mayo bike ride was organised by a loose group of activists based around the country and included members of Bicycology, order a cyclists’ collective who aim “to promote cycling and make links with wider issues of environmental and social responsibility”. This intrepid group of riders set off from the open cast coal mine at Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, armed only with an explanatory newspaper and lots of verve. The solidarity ride ended at Rossport in County Mayo, Ireland, thereby linking two communities who are resisting fossil fuel extraction, and educating other communities along the way.
Mini ceilidh en route in Wales.
An added bonus of this trip was the opportunity to play with my ceilidh band Green Kite Midnight, since providing music for people to dance to at protests is the very reason for our existence. Luckily our banjo player Dom has bought a big ambulance which he has lovingly converted into a tour bus for the band – and thus we set off for Ireland via Wales, stopping to spend the night at the parental house of our bassist Tim, way up in the secluded Welsh mountains. It was then onward to Holyhead, where we caught the ferry over to Dublin and carried straight onto Galway to meet the rest of the crew, who were hastily organising a demo against the atrocities against the flotilla bound for Gaza.
We marched straight into the local branch of M&S (to draw attention to the chain’s affiliation with the development of the Israeli state) much to the bemusement of Irish security guards, clearly not used to such confident behaviour. We then joined a gathering in the street organised by locals, but were eventually rained into the closest pub and from there we retired early to a friendly local’s house, quickly to sleep in preparation for our 90km ride the next day.
Awaiting news in the pub… many people knew activists on the flotilla.
We had been warned that Irish roads are quite dangerous and on our first day I did feel a little less than wholly safe, stuck on a narrow hard shoulder as – head down, legs pumping – we powered through the countryside with little more than a brief break for lunch in a small town.
The main thing I noticed about rural Ireland is the predominance of ugly newbuild housing estates. Boy do the Irish like to build some shoddy housing! The more upmarket modern houses favour the architecture of American TV series such as Dallas from the 80s – amusing for their kitsch value if nothing else – but at the bottom end of the spectrum the Barrett home style identikit boxes are nothing short of a blot on the landscape.
Endless housing estates.
Like many other economies the Irish housing boom was completely unsustainable, and speculative construction has given way to half-finished housing estates fronted by signs that looked spangly a few years ago, now peeling and faded.
Okay, so I was a bit worried about the length of our first day’s ride with no preliminary warm up – but I needn’t have been. With nothing but a vista of endless stone walls, housing estates and crumbling barns (the Irish prefer new builds to renovations, apparently) to distract us from our mission, our little affinity group was one of the first to arrive at our final destination – the Lidl carpark at Castlerea. Being rather fast and meeting at Lidl – these were both to become a bit of a theme…
Once everyone had arrived at we we were herded up the longest steepest hill I’ve ever tackled with such a heavy load… and this after a long hard day too. I stayed on my bike to the very top but boy was I glad that I hadn’t brought my Pashley – it never would have made it.
At the top our destination was a gorgeous stretch of land bordered by woods, owned by some friendly Pagans who greeted us with lentil stew brewed for us in a cauldron over the fire surrounded by medieval-style tents. Our two nights spent on the hill top were characterised by excessive amounts of midges and late night music sessions. The intervening day was spent at Castlerea Prison, which you can read about in my next blog.
For the past 10 years the local community in Rossport, drug County Mayo, nurse have been campaigning against plans to pipe raw untreated gas from an offshore well in the Corrib Gas Field through the beautiful unspoilt countryside to a refinery 9km inland. The pipeline will be the first of it’s kind in the world and despite assurances that nothing could go wrong the canny residents quickly smelled a rat. Refinery tailings have already poisoned Carrowmore Lake which supplies water to 10,000 people on the Erris peninsula, and many houses are situated in the “kill zone” – Shell consultants have conceded that those living within 200 metres of the pipeline “could burn spontaneously from heat radiation” in the event of an explosion from the highly flammable untreated gas. The current preferred route for the pipe takes it across a highly unstable bog. Hmmm, sounds very safe to me.
On top of this, the rights to profit from Irish resources were quietly signed away by the Irish government during the 80s and 90s (to the extent that extracting companies now have to pay less than 8% tax when compared with 50% in the UK and 78% in Norway), but despite this the Irish government has acted in complicity with Big Oil by placing compulsory purchase orders on furious local farmers. Quite apart from the human rights atrocities that are being inflicted on a daily basis against the residents of Rossport there is the need to preserve sites of spectacular beauty and of course lobby to leave fossil fuels in the ground in order to avert catastrophic climate change.
This is the backdrop against which locals and activists are campaigning against Shell in Rossport. Because of their actions two activists are currently imprisoned and it was in support of them that we went to Castlerea Prison.
Practicing our chants.
On numerous occasions local fisherman Pat O’Donnell has stood up to bullying by Shell despite numerous recorded assaults by the Gardai (Irish police) Last summer his fishing boat was boarded by masked men who held him at gunpoint and then sunk his boat.
Niall Harnett I know better – he’s a gentle giant of a man that I met at the Earth First gathering last year and I can’t imagine him harming a flea. He was sentenced earlier this year for alleged assault, an outcome that highlights the failings of the Irish judicial system, currently upholding the use of excessive force against ordinary citizens to appease the might of corporations.
For more on either of these cases I recommend that you read about Niall here and Pat here, but the main point is that we were at Casterea Prison as part of a prolonged campaign in support of these brave men, who have dared to stand up to the might of a multinational oil company.
Cycling en masse through the town we arrived to find the cheery faces of local supporters awaiting our arrival at the gates. A short cycle ride later through sun dappled fields of horses, and we were settled down for the sounds of a traditional band, who were soon joined by various musicians from the bike ride.
Lunch.
They can hear us!
The finale was a Green Kite Midnight ceilidh, against a backdrop of high concrete prison walls on which we had daubed some messages of solidarity in chalk. It was absolutely sweltering so thereafter I had to retire to a cool pub, but others continued and held a small dance in the local Topaz garage – in Ireland Shell has received so much bad press that all petrol stations have been renamed Topaz. This had led to the immortal phrase Topaz My Arse amongst the activists we were travelling with.
Pedals.
Pub.
From Castlerea we took an extremely picturesque trip to Ballina the next day: some of us swum in a lovely lake, and we all clambered up an old castle we found along the way. I wish it had been easier to take photos as we rode because the Catholic roadside shrines are great, and I particularly love the way that all the signs are plonked on top of each other all higgledy-piggledy – never mind that you may not be able to read the ones beneath.
Ballina is the nearest big town to Rossport so many people there are involved with and support the struggle against Shell. We put our tents up in the back garden of a big house and were completely spoilt for dinner.
The next day our final leg began with a quick critical mass around Ballina, joyfully dinging our bells to the sounds of Madonna and co, as played by Pedals, the Bicycology sound system that is present at so many of our direct actions as amplification for my voice and the instruments in Green Kite Midnight. We even had time to briefly blockade a Topaz tanker on the way.
“I don’t give a shit about Rossport.” That is literally what this man said.
Yoga on the top of a coastal bluff at lunchtime was followed by the hardest part of the ride – struggling into the wind past multicoloured sheep across a long long moor. At the end we were again greeted by hot tea and huge amounts of home-cooked food, courtesy of the friendly locals. By this point I was starting to wonder if we deserved so much goodwill.
From then on it was but a quick pedal over to the half built refinery site, a testament to the power of Shell. The pipeline to feed the refinery is in no way ready to be built, let alone operate! After a bunch of rallying speeches we freewheeled most of the way down to the location of this year’s Rossport Summer Gathering.
I’ve heard a lot about how gorgeous Rossport is but nothing could have prepared me for the view that greeted us as we struggled up one last steep rise…. No wonder everyone who comes here falls in love – it’s a beautiful wild place on the edge of the world.
Nothing between Glengad Beach and America. We erected our tents against a backdrop of billowing sand dunes humming with clattering biting (as I was later to discover) bugs and bird calls I have never heard before. Places like these desperately need our protection and I challenge anyone to visit Rossport and come away unmoved by the sheer beauty of the natural world. That evening we partied with the locals in the pub despite being half-asleep with exhaustion.
There are donkeys everywhere!
More about the Rossport Gathering in my next blog post.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday July 2nd, 2010 9:59 pm
Way back in 2007, shop Amelia’s Magazine was one of the first to recognise the raw talent of a young Johnny Flynn, decease who won us over with the delicately nuanced themes in his poetic and lyrical songwriting. (The fact that he could wield a Gibson guitar like nobodies business also helped make him alright in our books). Fast forward to today and it’s safe to say that the kid done good. Supporting Mumford & Sons in their upcoming October tour, performing at summer festivals all over the country (including this weekends Cambridge Folk Festival) and collaborating with Laura Marling and Anna Calvi, Johnny has more than established himself in the British folk canon. But Johnny is no one trick pony; his new album Been Listening shows a strong appreciation of musical diversity, and gives respectful nods to early 20th Century blues, African music, and even takes inspiration from Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha. His creative streak runs deep, and the animated video for his new single, Barnacled Warship (released August 16th) is a dark dystopia directed by Christian DeVita, lead storyboard artist on Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ as well as Tim Burton’s forthcoming ‘Frankenweenie’.
So, as you can imagine, we felt that a catch-up with Johnny was long overdue, and so when we were approached by his team to do a video interview, it was only a matter of fighting over which contributor was the biggest fan (the honour went to the lovely Chloe) and then we were ready to go!
Watch the feature for Barnacled Warship here:
Way back in 2007, sale Amelia’s Magazine was one of the first to recognise the raw talent of a young Johnny Flynn, sales who won us over with the delicately nuanced themes in his poetic and lyrical songwriting. (The fact that he could wield a Gibson guitar like nobodies business also helped make him alright in our books). Fast forward to today and it’s safe to say that the kid done good. Supporting Mumford & Sons in their upcoming October tour, erectile performing at summer festivals all over the country (including this weekends Cambridge Folk Festival) and collaborating with Laura Marling and Anna Calvi, Johnny has more than established himself in the British folk canon. But Johnny is no one trick pony; his new album Been Listening shows a strong appreciation of musical diversity, and gives respectful nods to early 20th Century blues, African music, and even takes inspiration from Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha. His creative streak runs deep, and the animated video for his new single, Barnacled Warship (released August 16th) is a dark dystopia directed by Christian DeVita, lead storyboard artist on Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ as well as Tim Burton’s forthcoming ‘Frankenweenie’.
So, as you can imagine, we felt that a catch-up with Johnny was long overdue, and so when we were approached by his team to do a video interview, it was only a matter of fighting over which contributor was the biggest fan (the honour went to the lovely Chloe) and then we were ready to go!
Watch the feature for Barnacled Warship here:
Way back in 2007, for sale Amelia’s Magazine was one of the first to recognise the raw talent of a young Johnny Flynn, search who won us over with the delicately nuanced themes in his poetic and lyrical songwriting. (The fact that he could wield a Gibson guitar like nobodies business also helped make him alright in our books). Fast forward to today and it’s safe to say that the kid done good. Supporting Mumford & Sons in their upcoming October tour, site performing at summer festivals all over the country (including this weekends Cambridge Folk Festival) and collaborating with Laura Marling and Anna Calvi, Johnny has more than established himself in the British folk canon. But Johnny is no one trick pony; his new album Been Listening shows a strong appreciation of musical diversity, and gives respectful nods to early 20th Century blues, African music, and even takes inspiration from Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha. His creative streak runs deep, and the animated video for his new single, Barnacled Warship (released August 16th) is a dark dystopia directed by Christian DeVita, lead storyboard artist on Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ as well as Tim Burton’s forthcoming ‘Frankenweenie’.
So, as you can imagine, we felt that a catch-up with Johnny was long overdue, and so when we were approached by his team to do a video interview, it was only a matter of fighting over which contributor was the biggest fan (the honour went to the lovely Chloe) and then we were ready to go!
Watch the feature for Barnacled Warship here:
Go to Johnny’s MySpace and website for lots more, including his newly released tour dates.
Way back in 2007, ed Amelia’s Magazine was one of the first to recognise the raw talent of a young Johnny Flynn, who won us over with the delicately nuanced themes in his poetic and lyrical songwriting. (The fact that he could wield a Gibson guitar like nobodies business also helped make him alright in our books). Fast forward to today and it’s safe to say that the kid done good. Supporting Mumford & Sons in their upcoming October tour, performing at summer festivals all over the country (including this weekends Cambridge Folk Festival) and collaborating with Laura Marling and Anna Calvi, Johnny has more than established himself in the British folk canon. But Johnny is no one trick pony; his new album Been Listening shows a strong appreciation of musical diversity, and gives respectful nods to early 20th Century blues, African music, and even takes inspiration from Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha. His creative streak runs deep, and the animated video for his new single, Barnacled Warship (released August 16th) is a dark dystopia directed by Christian DeVita, lead storyboard artist on Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ as well as Tim Burton’s forthcoming ‘Frankenweenie’.
So, as you can imagine, we felt that a catch-up with Johnny was long overdue, and so when we were approached by his team to do a video interview, it was only a matter of fighting over which contributor was the biggest fan (the honour went to the lovely Chloe) and then we were ready to go!
Watch the feature for Barnacled Warship here:
Go to Johnny’s MySpace and website for lots more, including his newly released tour dates.
All photography by Amelia Gregory.
You may remember way back in the mists of time, this web well, viagra buy at the start of June at any rate, cialis 40mg that I went off on a solidarity bike ride to Rossport in County Mayo. I got the biking part written up but as is usual it’s taken me forever to get this last part together – but maybe that’s no bad thing because it means I can give you a much more up to date account of happenings over on Glengad Beach, Rossport in County Mayo, possibly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.
My Saturday at Rossport Summer Gathering was spent in various workshops, hearing from locals who have struggled against the pipeline, talking about ways in which communities can be linked up, watching a gorgeous live animation about Grace O’Malley, the Pirate Queen of Mayo, playing football, ceilidh-ing into the sunset and possibly my highlight: hearing Niall Harnett (currently still incarcerated in prison – see my previous blog) speak live over the Pedals PA system from Castlerea.
On Sunday more workshops were followed by possibly the funniest, most surreal and enjoyable mass action ever. Gathering our spades we set off en masse with the locals to dig a hole on Glengad Beach where Shell’s oily pipeline has been illegally laid in an attempt to get a head start on planning permission. This was necessarily a bit of a fool’s mission since we didn’t really believe our merry gang would actually expose the pipe, even with the help of many burly hands.
Shell has hired private security to live above this remote beach 24/7 in order to intimidate anyone who makes a fuss, and if our intention was to freak out them out then our action could be considered a success. It took awhile, but after several hours of energetic digging and sand slinging a number of curiously stereotypical security staff finally appeared at the top of the rise, whereupon a group of us gleefully scrambled up to dance in front of their less than well hidden film cameras.
Eventually most people got bored and hungry enough to wander off in search of supper so we never did reach Australia, or even the pipe, which was presumably laid far deeper by machines than we could ever hope to reach. But it felt so so empowering and was certainly the most joyous action I’ve ever taken part in.
Since we were there for the June gathering the real work has started in earnest, as Shell sets out to drill 80 boreholes along the coastline to complete the survey for the pipeline. Because the estuary near Glengad Beach is part of the Broadhaven Bay Special Area of Conservation they will have to stop drilling when the Brent Geese arrive in October, but in the meantime the operation is damaging parts of the estuary and disturbing Atlantic salmon, otters and rare birds found on the intertidal areas.
The folks living at Rossport have therefore launched the Beat the Boreholes campaign calling for groups or individuals to come and stop a specific borehole this summer – by doing anything from holding a banner and walking out onto the sands, or getting in the way by kayaking out to and boarding the drilling rigs. The plan is to make progress so impossible that the surveys cannot be completed this year, thereby holding up the implementation of the pipeline and costing Shell even more money in the process.
The idea was inspired by the 365 day blockade at Faslane nuclear base in Scotland – a place I have also visited and helped to blockade way back in 2005 when I was at the G8 protests at Stirling.
Kayak training.
News just in: Only a few weeks ago a group of campaigners set out on kayaks and rafts to try and stop work on one of the drilling platforms. They were met by a group of Gardai (Irish police) and had their kayaks overturned. One of the activists attempted to swim under the platform and was manhandled aboard their boat even though he volunteered to leave the area. His throat was pinched to cut off the air supply as a Garda whispered in his ear “I have your last breath in my hands.” He later received medical treatment.
It looks so peaceful doesn’t it?
There has been continuous human rights abuse at Rossport, just one more reason why you should get along and help out – your presence will help whatever action you chose to take when you are there, so don’t feel that you have to get all the way into the water like some brave souls. It really is so important to keep the pressure on at flashpoints like Rossport, and Erris is a place you will fall in love with. Find out more information about going to Rossport here.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday July 30th, 2010 3:37 pm
Way back in 2007, shop Amelia’s Magazine was one of the first to recognise the raw talent of a young Johnny Flynn, decease who won us over with the delicately nuanced themes in his poetic and lyrical songwriting. (The fact that he could wield a Gibson guitar like nobodies business also helped make him alright in our books). Fast forward to today and it’s safe to say that the kid done good. Supporting Mumford & Sons in their upcoming October tour, performing at summer festivals all over the country (including this weekends Cambridge Folk Festival) and collaborating with Laura Marling and Anna Calvi, Johnny has more than established himself in the British folk canon. But Johnny is no one trick pony; his new album Been Listening shows a strong appreciation of musical diversity, and gives respectful nods to early 20th Century blues, African music, and even takes inspiration from Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha. His creative streak runs deep, and the animated video for his new single, Barnacled Warship (released August 16th) is a dark dystopia directed by Christian DeVita, lead storyboard artist on Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ as well as Tim Burton’s forthcoming ‘Frankenweenie’.
So, as you can imagine, we felt that a catch-up with Johnny was long overdue, and so when we were approached by his team to do a video interview, it was only a matter of fighting over which contributor was the biggest fan (the honour went to the lovely Chloe) and then we were ready to go!
Watch the feature for Barnacled Warship here:
Way back in 2007, sale Amelia’s Magazine was one of the first to recognise the raw talent of a young Johnny Flynn, sales who won us over with the delicately nuanced themes in his poetic and lyrical songwriting. (The fact that he could wield a Gibson guitar like nobodies business also helped make him alright in our books). Fast forward to today and it’s safe to say that the kid done good. Supporting Mumford & Sons in their upcoming October tour, erectile performing at summer festivals all over the country (including this weekends Cambridge Folk Festival) and collaborating with Laura Marling and Anna Calvi, Johnny has more than established himself in the British folk canon. But Johnny is no one trick pony; his new album Been Listening shows a strong appreciation of musical diversity, and gives respectful nods to early 20th Century blues, African music, and even takes inspiration from Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha. His creative streak runs deep, and the animated video for his new single, Barnacled Warship (released August 16th) is a dark dystopia directed by Christian DeVita, lead storyboard artist on Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ as well as Tim Burton’s forthcoming ‘Frankenweenie’.
So, as you can imagine, we felt that a catch-up with Johnny was long overdue, and so when we were approached by his team to do a video interview, it was only a matter of fighting over which contributor was the biggest fan (the honour went to the lovely Chloe) and then we were ready to go!
Watch the feature for Barnacled Warship here:
Way back in 2007, for sale Amelia’s Magazine was one of the first to recognise the raw talent of a young Johnny Flynn, search who won us over with the delicately nuanced themes in his poetic and lyrical songwriting. (The fact that he could wield a Gibson guitar like nobodies business also helped make him alright in our books). Fast forward to today and it’s safe to say that the kid done good. Supporting Mumford & Sons in their upcoming October tour, site performing at summer festivals all over the country (including this weekends Cambridge Folk Festival) and collaborating with Laura Marling and Anna Calvi, Johnny has more than established himself in the British folk canon. But Johnny is no one trick pony; his new album Been Listening shows a strong appreciation of musical diversity, and gives respectful nods to early 20th Century blues, African music, and even takes inspiration from Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha. His creative streak runs deep, and the animated video for his new single, Barnacled Warship (released August 16th) is a dark dystopia directed by Christian DeVita, lead storyboard artist on Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ as well as Tim Burton’s forthcoming ‘Frankenweenie’.
So, as you can imagine, we felt that a catch-up with Johnny was long overdue, and so when we were approached by his team to do a video interview, it was only a matter of fighting over which contributor was the biggest fan (the honour went to the lovely Chloe) and then we were ready to go!
Watch the feature for Barnacled Warship here:
Go to Johnny’s MySpace and website for lots more, including his newly released tour dates.
Way back in 2007, ed Amelia’s Magazine was one of the first to recognise the raw talent of a young Johnny Flynn, who won us over with the delicately nuanced themes in his poetic and lyrical songwriting. (The fact that he could wield a Gibson guitar like nobodies business also helped make him alright in our books). Fast forward to today and it’s safe to say that the kid done good. Supporting Mumford & Sons in their upcoming October tour, performing at summer festivals all over the country (including this weekends Cambridge Folk Festival) and collaborating with Laura Marling and Anna Calvi, Johnny has more than established himself in the British folk canon. But Johnny is no one trick pony; his new album Been Listening shows a strong appreciation of musical diversity, and gives respectful nods to early 20th Century blues, African music, and even takes inspiration from Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha. His creative streak runs deep, and the animated video for his new single, Barnacled Warship (released August 16th) is a dark dystopia directed by Christian DeVita, lead storyboard artist on Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ as well as Tim Burton’s forthcoming ‘Frankenweenie’.
So, as you can imagine, we felt that a catch-up with Johnny was long overdue, and so when we were approached by his team to do a video interview, it was only a matter of fighting over which contributor was the biggest fan (the honour went to the lovely Chloe) and then we were ready to go!
Watch the feature for Barnacled Warship here:
Go to Johnny’s MySpace and website for lots more, including his newly released tour dates.
All photography by Amelia Gregory.
You may remember way back in the mists of time, this web well, viagra buy at the start of June at any rate, cialis 40mg that I went off on a solidarity bike ride to Rossport in County Mayo. I got the biking part written up but as is usual it’s taken me forever to get this last part together – but maybe that’s no bad thing because it means I can give you a much more up to date account of happenings over on Glengad Beach, Rossport in County Mayo, possibly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.
My Saturday at Rossport Summer Gathering was spent in various workshops, hearing from locals who have struggled against the pipeline, talking about ways in which communities can be linked up, watching a gorgeous live animation about Grace O’Malley, the Pirate Queen of Mayo, playing football, ceilidh-ing into the sunset and possibly my highlight: hearing Niall Harnett (currently still incarcerated in prison – see my previous blog) speak live over the Pedals PA system from Castlerea.
On Sunday more workshops were followed by possibly the funniest, most surreal and enjoyable mass action ever. Gathering our spades we set off en masse with the locals to dig a hole on Glengad Beach where Shell’s oily pipeline has been illegally laid in an attempt to get a head start on planning permission. This was necessarily a bit of a fool’s mission since we didn’t really believe our merry gang would actually expose the pipe, even with the help of many burly hands.
Shell has hired private security to live above this remote beach 24/7 in order to intimidate anyone who makes a fuss, and if our intention was to freak out them out then our action could be considered a success. It took awhile, but after several hours of energetic digging and sand slinging a number of curiously stereotypical security staff finally appeared at the top of the rise, whereupon a group of us gleefully scrambled up to dance in front of their less than well hidden film cameras.
Eventually most people got bored and hungry enough to wander off in search of supper so we never did reach Australia, or even the pipe, which was presumably laid far deeper by machines than we could ever hope to reach. But it felt so so empowering and was certainly the most joyous action I’ve ever taken part in.
Since we were there for the June gathering the real work has started in earnest, as Shell sets out to drill 80 boreholes along the coastline to complete the survey for the pipeline. Because the estuary near Glengad Beach is part of the Broadhaven Bay Special Area of Conservation they will have to stop drilling when the Brent Geese arrive in October, but in the meantime the operation is damaging parts of the estuary and disturbing Atlantic salmon, otters and rare birds found on the intertidal areas.
The folks living at Rossport have therefore launched the Beat the Boreholes campaign calling for groups or individuals to come and stop a specific borehole this summer – by doing anything from holding a banner and walking out onto the sands, or getting in the way by kayaking out to and boarding the drilling rigs. The plan is to make progress so impossible that the surveys cannot be completed this year, thereby holding up the implementation of the pipeline and costing Shell even more money in the process.
The idea was inspired by the 365 day blockade at Faslane nuclear base in Scotland – a place I have also visited and helped to blockade way back in 2005 when I was at the G8 protests at Stirling.
Kayak training.
News just in: Only a few weeks ago a group of campaigners set out on kayaks and rafts to try and stop work on one of the drilling platforms. They were met by a group of Gardai (Irish police) and had their kayaks overturned. One of the activists attempted to swim under the platform and was manhandled aboard their boat even though he volunteered to leave the area. His throat was pinched to cut off the air supply as a Garda whispered in his ear “I have your last breath in my hands.” He later received medical treatment.
It looks so peaceful doesn’t it?
There has been continuous human rights abuse at Rossport, just one more reason why you should get along and help out – your presence will help whatever action you chose to take when you are there, so don’t feel that you have to get all the way into the water like some brave souls. It really is so important to keep the pressure on at flashpoints like Rossport, and Erris is a place you will fall in love with. Find out more information about going to Rossport here.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday July 30th, 2010 3:37 pm
Having spearheaded the new London folk scene with their debut album, theremedicalNoah and the Whale are back with their hands full up, releasing a new single, album and film out this summer. We talk school plays, Daisy Lowe, weddings, gardening, Werner Herzog in the studio with the effortlessly charming frontman, Charlie Fink.
Photos by Katie Weatherall
Amelia’s Mag: You’ve got a whole host of new releases coming up – single, album, film – how are you feeling about it all, happy/nervous/excited?
Charlie Fink: All of the above… I dunno, we did the album so long ago… From the last album, I realised the only satisfying feeling you’re going to get is the feeling you get when you’ve finished it and you think it’s good, that’s the best it gets. Reading a review of somebody else saying it’s good is good to show off to your mum, but it doesn’t really mean anything. Likewise, if there’s something you believe in and someone says it’s bad, you’re still going to believe in it.
AM: And the live shows must add another dimension to that?
CF: Yeah. What I’m excited about really is that this record realises us as a band more than the previous one. So that’s going to be really exciting to go out and play that live to people.
AM: And is there anything in particular that has done this or has it been the natural progression of the band?
CF: It’s a million small things, from us playing together more, us growing up, learning our trade a bit better, from what happens in lives and the records you listen to. I very much try to rely as much as I can on instinct and satisfying myself. And this is not a selfish thing because the only way you can supply something worthwhile to somebody else, is if you’re totally satisfied with it yourself. Doing the right things for us and hoping that’ll transfer to the audience.
AM: Was there anything in particular you were listening to whilst making the record?
CF: The things I’m listening to now are different from the things I was listening to when I wrote the record. When I first started the record, I was listening to ‘Spirit of Eden’ by Talk Talk, which is a different sounding record to what we did. Nick Cave, lots by Wilco…
AM: So tell me about the film, ‘The First Days Of Spring’, that accompanies the album (of the same name)… which came first?
CF: The first thing was the idea of a film where the background and the pace was defined by an album. But it totally overtook my whole life. It’s one of those things you start for a certain reason and then you keep going for different reasons. The inspiration was sort of how people don’t really listen to albums anymore, they listen to songs. We wanted to try making an all emersive record where the film puts people into it. We’re not dictating that this should be the only way people listen to music, we just wanted to offer something alternative. On a lot of records these days, you don’t feel like the unity of the album gives it more strength than each individual song. Whereas with this record, the whole thing is worth more than the individual parts. That’s how I see it anyway.
There’s this quote from I think W. G. Collingwood that says, ‘art is dead, amusement is all that’s left.’ I like the idea that this project, in the best possible way, is commercially and in lots of other ways pointless. It’s a length that doesn’t exist. It’s not a short film or a feature, it’s 15 minutes and the nature of it is that it’s entirely led by its soundtrack. It’s created for the sake of becoming something that I thought was beautiful.
AM: And Daisy Lowe stars in it, how was that?
CF: She’s an incredibly nice and intelligent person. I met with her in New York when we were mixing the album and I told her I was doing this film… She was immediately interested. And her gave her the record as one whole track which is how I originally wanted it to be released. Just one track on iTunes that had to be listened to as a whole and not just dipped into. She sent me an email two weeks later, because she’s obviously a very busy person. With her listening to the album, a kind of live feed of what she thought of it. Making a film and having her was really good because she kept me motivated and passionate. She genuinely really took to this project. The whole cast as well, everyone really supported it and it was a pleasure to make. I had to fight to get it made and understood. It’s one of those things that people either passionately disagree with or agree with. From thinking it’s absurdly pretentious or beautiful. Fortunately all the people working on the film were passionate people.
AM: So is film making something you want to continue with?
CF: Yeah, definitely! At some point I’d like to make a more conventional film. The thing that really stuck with me about making a film was surround sound. When you’re mixing a film, you’re mixing the sound in surround because you’re mixing for cinemas. You realise the potential of having five speakers around you as opposed to just two in front of you. The complexity of what you can do is vast. So I’d love to something with that. If you record in surround sound you need to hear it in surround sound, so maybe some kind of installation… Then another film after that…
AM: You’ve been put into a folk bracket with your first album, is that something you’re ok with?
CF: I like folk music, I listen to folk music but then every folk artist I like denies they’re folk. It’s one of those things, it doesn’t really matter. We played last year at the Cambridge Folk Festival and I felt really proud to be a part of that. It’s a real music lovers festival. That was a really proud moment so I can’t be that bothered.
AM: I recently sang your first single, ‘5 Years Time’, at a wedding, do you ever imagine the direction your songs may go after you write them?
CF: Wow. That’s really funny. I’ve had a few stories like that actually. It’s touching but it’s not what I’d imagine.
AM: Do you write songs in that way? Some bands set out to write a love song, dance song etc…
CF: I can’t really remember how I write… I was writing last night but… do you drive?
AM: I just recently failed my test.
CF: Perfect! Well, you know when you start driving you have to think through everything – put my foot on the clutch, take it off the clutch etc. Then when you’ve been doing it a while, you just do all those things without even knowing you’ve done them. That’s how it feels with songwriting, I can’t really remember doing it. It just happens how it happens. Or like gardening… you’ve just gotta chop through and it’ll come.
AM: Is being in a band everything you imagined it to be?
CF: For me it’s more about being creative. I do some production for people, the band, the writing and now the film. I just love what I do and just keep doing it. I follow it wherever it goes. The capacity I have for doing what I do is enough to make it feel precious.
AM: So are there any untapped creative pursuits left for you?
CF: At the moment what I’m doing feels right. I never had any ambitions to paint. I don’t have that skill. I think film and music have always been the two things that have touched me the most.
AM: So how about acting?
CF: I did once at school when I was 13. I played the chancellor in a play the teacher wrote called ‘Suspense and a Dragon Called Norris.’ Which had rapturous reactions from my mum. I don’t think I could do that either. When you direct though you need to understand how acting works. It’s a really fascinating thing but I don’t I’d be any good at it.
AM: Do you prefer the full creative potential a director has?
CF: The best directors are the ones that build a character. Building a character is as important as understanding it. It needs major input from both the director and the actor. You can’t just give an actor the script and expect it to be exactly right. You need to be there to create the little details. The way they eat, the way they smoke… That’s an important skill.
At this point, Charlie asks me about a note I’d made on my reporter’s pad, which was actually a reminder about a friend’s birthday present. Which draws the conservation to a close as we recite our favourite Werner Herzog films. Turns out, he shares the same taste in film directors as my friend.
If Charlie from Noah and the Whale tells us he likes Wilco, then we like Wilco. It’s as simple as that. It’s time to get educated.
Wednesday 26th August
The Hot Rats
The Old Blue Last, London
Otherwise known as half of Supergrass plus hot shot Radiohead producer, The Hot Rats get their kicks taking pop classics by, amongst others, The Beatles and The Kinks and infusing their own alt-rock psychedelica – worth a gander.
Thursday 27th August
KILL IT KID Madam Jo Jos, London
Their blend of durge blues, barndance and freestyle frenzy jazz blues make KILL IT KID a gem to behold in a live setting.
Friday 28th August
Swanton Bombs Old Blue Last, London
If you like your indie adorned in Mod and brimming with angularity, then Swanton Bombs will be pushing the trigger on your buttons.
Saturday 29th August
South East in East Festival – Teenagers In Tokyo, Tronik Youth, Ali Love, Publicist Vibe Bar, London
It’s all about South East London – full stop. In this cunning event, it up sticks to East London, where synth-pop Gossip descendents, Teenagers In Tokyo headline a night of New X Rave.
Sunday 30th August
The Gladstone Open Mic Night The Gladstone, London
As it’s Bank Holiday Weekend and all the bands are at Reading/Leeds Festival, London is starved of big gigs. No fear, The Glad is here – A little known drinking hole in Borough that continually serves up a plethora of folkey talent… and pies!
Sunderland born designer Rosie Upright is truly passionate about design. Aren’t we all I hear you say? Well, health she’s up, recipe all hours, medical day or night… cutting away with her trusty stanley knife… stopping only when her numb fingertips plead for rest. Do your fingertips bleed? I thought not! Rosie developed her unique hand-crafted techniques whilst at university in Epsom, where she learnt all the usual computer design programs… and then decided to steer clear of them. She’s fled the suburbs of Epsom now, to live in London town with all the other hopeful new freelancers. She spends her days photographing, drawing, organising balls of string… and deciding what hat to wear.
We caught up with Rosie for a little chat…
Hi, how are you today?
I’ve got a bit of a sore throat coming on, the irritating children over the road are noisily playing some kind of shooting game, a car is beeping its horn continuously just below my window, itunes is refusing to play anything other than Billy Idol (which I’m not in the mood for), my coloured ink cartridge has just ran out, I’ve got a blister from my favourite pink shoes, an uninvited wasp is stuck in my blinds, my ginger hair has faded to a weird brown, I forgot to buy milk and Ronnie Mitchell is still crying on Eastenders – but apart from that I’m topper thanks.
What have you been up to lately?
Fingers in pies, fingers in pies!
Including…cross-stitch and a week in a cottage in Norfolk (no telephone signal or internet connection, bloody lovely!)
Which artists or illustrators do you most admire?
I don’t think I would have done a degree in graphic design if my ever-encouraging parents hadn’t taken me to a Peter Saville exhibition at the Urbis in Manchester many moons ago. Made me see the ideas process at its very best and the crucial-ness (that’s not even a word!) of initial doodles and sketchbooks.
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” Where would any of us be if it weren’t for Dr Seuss?
I really love a bit of Russian Constructivism, in particular Alexander Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova, bloody genius. Mr Vaughan Oliver, for making us all think differently about where to crop the image, for being an ongoing influence and for that opportunity. Harry Beck, Robert Doisneau and most recently Philippe Petit.
If we visited you in your hometown, where would you take us?
Stroll down to Seaburn beach because when you don’t live next to the sea anymore you really miss it, and it has really nice sand. Then to my very best friend Sarah Bowman’s house, to play with Peggy Sue the kitten, have mental vegetarian sandwiches off a cake stand, and a glass of red wine, ice cubes and coke. We should pop to an art shop in Darlington and then to The Borough, the best pub for tunes, a pint of cider and a Jaeger bomb.
Who would most love to collaborate with creatively?
Mike Perry and YES art studio please. Thank you.
When did you realise you had creative talent?
When some hippy artist came into my junior school to create banners for some event at the local library with us. I was told after five minutes of colouring it in that I had to go away and read because I couldn’t keep within the lines.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing?
A teenage Mam or an actress, haven’t decided which yet.
Where would you like to be in 10 years time?
I’d like to be the designer than graphic design students hate because their tutors always tell them to get their book out of the Uni library. And I’d quite like to have my own shop in London, Brighton or maybe Newcastle (or all three, and maybe Paris then if we’re going crazy) selling things made by me!
What advice would you give up and coming artists such as yourself?
Take other peoples advice but make your own mistakes, don’t be a dick and always colour outside of the lines.
How would you describe your art in five words?
Hand made/ typography/ narrative/ personal/ I’d like to say idiosyncratic too but don’t want to sound like a twat.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Seeing people fall over.
(and cake)
If you could time travel back or forward to any era, where would you go?
It was horrific enough moving away to University and into London and trying to find a job and start my life up. I think if I had to go backward or forward to another era I would probably just straight up die. Having said that though I would like to be a highwayman’s assistant.
Tell us something about Rosie Upright that we didn’t know already.
I can’t wait till I’m an old lady so I can wear those lacy nighties from Marks & Sparks and I love animals in clothes.
What are you up to next?
Going to make a cuppa tea, kill this wasp and then take over the world.
While most of us at the tender age of 19 rooted our existence in smacking down vodka jelly shots at the bar with kebabs at four in the morning and the Hollyoaks omnibus on a Sunday, pilule some people, of course, are born to shine in different ways. Take, for instance, London College of Fashion student Millie Cockton, somebody who has already had their work featured in a shoot for Dazed and Confused, styled by Robbie Spencer.
As a lover of clean lines and beautiful silhouettes, Millie looks for the wearer to bring their own identity to her gender non-specific pieces. At the moment under new label Euphemia, with her AW09/10 about to be stocked in London boutique and gallery space Digitaria, after being chosen to be the first guest designer at the Soho store. Check out the Dazed piece to see some brilliant Shakespearian-style ruffs that Millie has also created working with paper (a material proving popular as with Petra Storrs, who I featured last week).
Each to their own, mind you. I could totally do all that, if I wanted to.
At the age of 19 you’ve already received quite a lot of attention – how has that been?
It’s been great so far! It’s very flattering but its also very daunting! I am on a constant learning curve and my work is developing all the time so although the attention is great it creates a lot of pressure!
Describe your design aesthetic in three words.
Clean, sculptural, understated.
Who do you see wearing your designs? Are they reflective of your own personality?
I like to think of a real mixture of people wearing my designs. I love the way that the same garment can look completely different on different people- for me its all about the individual and how they carry themselves, bringing their own identity to the piece.
I don’t think that my designs are necessarily a true representation of my personality and personal style. I feel that my designs are more of a reflection of the aesthetic that i find desirable and aspirational.
Thinking about the ruffs featured in Dazed, people have touched on the theatrical nature of your designs – is the idea of performance important to you in fashion?
The idea of performance within fashion is something that interests me but I wouldn’t say that it’s a key element within my own designs. I like the notion of a performative element within a piece or a collection as i think that it helps gain a further understanding and insight of the designers thought process and inspiration.
What else do you respond to?
I am constantly discovering new sources of inspiration, being so young I know that I still have so much to learn!
I like to use elements of craft within my designs, such as origami style folding. Craft elements can add interesting details to simple pieces.
What are your plans for the future? Who would you like to work for?
I am about to launch my new collection which will be stocked in Digitaria, recently opened on Berwick St, Soho. I have just started to work with Digitaria’s creative director , Stavros Karelis and stylist Paul Joyce on some future projects which are really exciting and I am thoroughly enjoying. I want to continue learning and developing my ideas, challenging myself and most importantly keep having fun!
‘Having fun’ of course might well translate to ‘becoming future fashion empress of the galaxy’. This is a talent to watch out for.
The Camp for Climate Action 2009 is almost upon us – now’s the time to gather ourselves and prepare to swoop. Convinced that the response to climate change needs more? Ready to share skills, stomach knowledge and experiences? To be part of the grassroots swell of people demanding a difference? To get out there and do something?
Be ready next Wednesday, 12th August, from noon, in London. We’re going to swoop on the camp location together. The more people the better. Secret until the last moment, you can sign up for text alerts and join one of the groups meeting scattered about central London before moving together to the camp.
Why Camp? We can all meet each other and learn stuff – reason enough? – I mean, an enormous, public, activist-friendly child-friendly student-friendly climate-friendly gathering with an ambitious and well-prepared programme of workshops covering all things from Tai Chi for those of us up early enough, through histories student activism, DIY radio, pedal-powered sound systems, legal briefings, stepping into direct action, singing, dancing, jumping and waving.
Why London? Climate Campers have listed ten reasons to focus on London – right up the top of that list is : tall buildings and low flood plains. London is big corporate central, the City square mile itself accounting for a huge proportion of the UK economy, that FTSE100-flavoured slice of barely accountable, shareholder driven pie. And yet, as the Thames Barrier should always remind us, the whole city sits low on the ground. Just check out what the centre looks like with a few metres rise in sea level.
So what’s first? The Climate Camp Benefit party/shindig/jamboree/palooza/knee’s-up/gala ball/discotheque/rave/soiree at RampART, 9pm-3am this Friday 21st August. Consisting of fun/revelry/ribaldry/tomfoolery/jocularity/jive/merriment/high kinks, low jinks, jinks of all stature/cheer/gambol/horseplay & frolic. With bands & DJ’s including Rob the Rub & Sarah Bear & those amazing skiffle kids ‘The Severed Limb’. That’s at:
9pm-3am
rampART, 15 -17 Rampart Street,
London E1 2LA (near Whitechapel, off Commercial Rd)
Donations on the door much appreciated (and needed!) – all going straight to Climate Camp
And then? The Swoop – Night Before – Londoners and out-of-town visitors are welcome to ‘the night before the swoop’ – near the bandstand in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, 7-8.30pm, Tuesday 25th August – for any last minute info, a legal briefing and an opportunity to join an affinity group and get excited. Lincoln’s Inn Fields is just behind Holborn tube station – this map here might help.
Awesome. See you soon.
Ctrl.Alt.Shift dropped us a line to let us know about a comics-making competition so get your promarkers and layout pads at the ready. Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmarks Corruption is giving you the opportunity to design a unique comic style story. Ctrl.Alt.Shift is the experimental youth initiative politicising a new generation of activists for social justice and global change. The competition hopes to raise awareness of the Ctrl.Alt.Shift and Lightspeed Champion goals and views by inspiring this generation of designers to work together.
Oscar nominated Marjane Satrapi, medical V V Brown and Lightspeed Champion are amongst the judges for the Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption competition launched today. Corruption is both a cause of poverty, and a barrier to overcoming it. It is one of the most serious obstacles to eradicate.
Entrants to the competition will be in with the chance to create a unique comic style story in collaboration with acclaimed musician and writer Dev Hynes aka Lightspeed Champion. After the first round of judging at the end of September, shortlisted entrants will be given Lightspeed Champion’s comic script as inspiration and asked to create a visual adaptation of the story.
The winning commission will be published in a comic alongside new work exploring the issue of Corruption by some of comic’s greatest talents. The work will also be showcased as part of a new exhibition, Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption, later this year at Lazarides Gallery, Soho.
To enter the competition please send relevant examples of your visual work along with your contact details to Ctrl.Alt.Shift by Friday 25th September by visiting www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk/unmaskscorruption.
Five short listed artists will then be given a comic brief to respond to and a winner chosen by a panel of judges including: Marjane Satrapi (Writer and Director of Academy Award Nominated Animated Film Persepolis) Paul Gravett (Comica founder), V V Brown and David Allain (Musician and Comic Book Writer/Artist duo), Lightspeed Champion and Ctrl.Alt.Shift.
The competition is restricted to UK Residents only
For further information about the competition please contact John Doe on 020 7749 7530 or Hannah@johndoehub.com / Jo.bartlett@johndoehub.com Brooke Roberts is my favourite new designer. Why? Well, more about after exchanging several emails with her over the last few weeks, for sale for a young designer making such waves in the industry, her witty and playful personality has impressed even via my inbox! Having worked with such characters such as Louise Goldin and Giles, her avant- garde aesthetic really shines through in her highly tailored and retro-feel designs. Miss Roberts is going places, and she’s more than willing to take us along with her!
What made you want to be a designer? What’s your design background?
I’m definitely not one of those designers who always knew that’s what they wanted to do. I did a degree in Applied Science at Sydney University (I’m from Australia) and worked as a radiographer for a year before moving to London to find out what I wanted to do. I did some work as a stylist with a fashion photographer (random hook-up). I knew his girlfriend and she knew my massive extensive collection of vintage clothes and shoes. My mum had a boutique when I was growing up and I loved clothes – I just never knew it was going to be my career.
I did a few jobs in London (pub, bank – more randomness) before realising I wanted to study fashion. I went to London College of Fashion and Central St.Martins (graduated 2005) wanting to be a pattern-cutter or tailor. I really wanted to create, rather than design. I get most satisfaction from making beautiful things and being involved in the whole process. I have a close working relationship with my suppliers, and go to the factories to develop my garments. I cut them all myself, which is probably bordering on control freakery, but I feel it shows in the final product and I can realise my designs exactly as I imagine them.
I’m waffling. I worked for Giles for two seasons after I left Uni, and started with Louise Goldin when she launched her label. We worked together for three years (until last October when I launched my label).
What are your inspirations for your collections?
I get lots of inspiration from my radiography job (I do that part-time to fund my label). So I’m running between the hospital and my studio all the time. I have used CT (cat) brain scans this season to create knit fabrics and digital prints. My obsession with reptile skins never seems to go away, and I have worked with Anwen Jenkins (awesome print designer) to create skull slice python skin prints. Basically, the python scales are replaced with multi-dimensional skull slices.
Apart from that, I research at museums and LCF Library. This season went to the British Museum and discovered Yoruba sculpture and traditional costumes. I researched these for silhouette and style lines. I also looked at Niger garments. They’re beautifully colourful, vibrant and flamboyant.
What are your favourite pieces from your latest collection?
Umm. I wear the cat suit most. I actually met my boyfriend the first time I wore it. So I’m renaming it Lucky cat suit. I also love the Flex jacket in red snakeskin. The razor sharp points make me feel like I am ready for world domination!
What was it like working with Giles Deacon and Louise Goldin? What did you learn from them?
I learnt that I hate taking orders from others! I’m really not one to toe-the-line. I am a perfectionist and this drives other people mad sometimes. I was a pattern-cutter at Giles, doing mostly tailoring, which suited me fine. Most people wanted to do the showpieces, but I was most happy cutting jackets. Giles is a really lovely bloke. Working with him was really my first experience of doing shows and the pressure and stress of getting everything done.
With Louise, my job was broader because in the beginning it was just the two of us. I learnt so much, I can’t even write it down. I worked in the London studio and the knitwear factory in Italy. I had the opportunity to learn knitwear programming, selecting yarns and cutting and constructing knit. I still work in the factory for my own label and really love it. The other big thing was learning about running a business and starting from scratch. The hoops you have to jump through, the process of getting sponsorship, doing shows, sales and production… It’s a massive undertaking starting your own label. And I still chose to do it! Bonkers.
Who do you think are the most important designers of your generation?
Hmm. Well, I like the work of Tina Kalivas and Gareth Pugh. If we’re talking most important, it has to be Gareth.
What do you think are the problems facing young designers at the moment?
The biggest problems are funding and dealing with suppliers, particularly for production. Creating a beautiful product that you can reproduce is actually really difficult! You need to understand the technicalities of fabrics and construction (or hire someone who does) otherwise it all goes wrong.
What’s next for Brooke Roberts?
In fantasy land, what’s next for Brooke Roberts is a holiday. In reality, I’m working hard on marketing and sales for London Fashion Week. I’m collaborating with jewellery designer Chris Edwards and shoe and bag designer Laura Villasenin on side projects for the label. Look out for skull slice stacked rings and metal bone-fixation embellished super-soft bags for SS10!!
Not slim tomatoes, viagra dosage narrow cucumbers or squashed, um, squashes – no, we’re talking about digging for victory in our own meagre abodes. With allotment waiting lists stretching beyond a century in Hackney and not many of us owning the half-county some how-to books seem to assume, options on grow-your-own approaches might look limited. But before you get the howling fantods at the piling impossibilities. As those of you who read the Amelia’s Magazine review of Growing Stuff (an Alternative Guide to Gardening) will know well, even the meagrest city apartment can burst forth in cornucopic life.
And but so then it seems the thing to do is simply to get a pack of seeds and a container and get growing, no hesitation about it. If a brief pause in favour of screenreading sounds like it could lead to better inspiration, I entreat you, read on. There’s a glut of blogs and enthusiasts all over the place to speak to or read up upon. Here are just a few of our favourites.
Life on the Balcony tells Fern Richardson’s encounters with gardens small and smaller, great for fresh faces and old hands alike, with an awesome friendly dirt cheap ways to garden.
Carrie, of Concrete Gardening blogging fame (true in a juster world), digs organic urban gardening, and has gotten into gardening without the erm, garden, since buying a house in the city (Philadelphia) and sees all the possibilities of planting up, sideways and over – just recently blogging about taking things to the next level and climbing up on her roof to plant out veggies, seedlings to sit and soak up sun.
Herbs and Dragonflies is written by a group set up by Kathy Marshall back in 2008 for the Pudsey Carnival and have been creatively, craftily planting since, encouraging others to get their green fingers dirty – doing activities with children and volunteering about the place. Most recently, they encouraged us blog-readers to leave the comfort of plastic planters and terracotta pots – most anything can sit with some soil in it. They suggest novelty Cadbury’s Fingers tins, I’ve used fancy jamjars, and seen anything from skips to wellington boots enlisted in the service of greenery.
Emma Cooper (I’m cribbing now from the ‘Growing Stuff’ contributor biogs page) lives in Oxfordshire with two pet chickens – Hen Solo and Princess Layer – and six compost bins. She has written an ‘Alternative A-Z of Kitchen Gardening’, which Karen Cannard The Rubbish Diet reckons is ‘an inspirational tour of an edible garden that can be recreated in the smallest of backyards. An essential guide for a new generation of gardeners who are keen to join the kitchen garden revolution.’And she blogs about anything from compost to pod plants to the future of food…
Madeleine Giddens loves herbs, which I guess you’d guess from the name of her blog – Mad About Herbs. But there’s nothing off the wall about any of it, she’s plunged into an obsession and come out smelling of roses and lavender, buzzing about bees too, recently, and their favourite flowers.
So there you have it, just a few spots and pointers. Good evening, and wishes for a fruitful weekend from Amelia’s Magazine.
The Royal Bank of Scotland. RBS. Formally known with pride as the “oil and gas bank” due to their close alliance with the fossil fuel industries. What on earth would I have to do with them? They may have lost the unfortunate moniker, treat partly due to a hugely successful campaign by People and Planet student activists who launched a spoof ad campaign and website named the Oyal Bank of Scotland before delivering a host of greenwashing awards – but they’re certainly not due for any special ethical mentions yet.
Not yet.
There was of course a massive £33 billion bank bailout from the taxpayer for RBS last year. But RBS didn’t spend the money on anything worthwhile. Oh no, the truth is that RBS still has oily blackened hands. Most people will remember the Fred Goodwin debacle, he who managed to retire at the age of 50 on a £16 million pension funded by taxpayers. But that’s not the whole of it – since the bailout some of our money has been used to arrange loans for the fossil fuel industries worth a staggering £10 billion, including a substantial sum for E.ON, the company that wants to build a new coal fired power station at Kingsnorth. Despite the best efforts of activists – there was an impromptu snowball fight during the winter, Climate Rush held a luncheon dance and Climate Camp set up camp down the road at Bishopsgate – RBS continues to invest in unsustainable resources.
But the good news is there is hope for change!
As I’ve got more and more involved with activism I’ve got to know members of PLATFORM, who together with People and Planet and the World Development Movement have launched a legal challenge against our government to make sure that public money used for bailouts is put towards building sustainability. PLATFORM is an organisation that combines art with activism, research and campaigning, so in many ways we are perfect partners and I was really excited when they recently approached me to collaborate on an exciting new project at the Arnolfini gallery in Bristol.
As part of a wider festival named 100 Days, PLATFORM will be co-producing over 50 events, installations, performances, actions, walks, discussions and skill shares over a period of two months. This season is called “C words: Carbon, Climate, Capital, Culture” and is intended to highlight what needs to be done to change the world in the run-up to the incredibly important (but unlikely to solve anything) COP 15 conference (think Kyoto 2 – it failed first time around so why would it succeed now?) in Copenhagen in December.
Your part in this audacious experiment?
We’re going to re-envision RBS as a bastion of sustainability – the Royal Bank of Sustainability in fact. And it will be down to you to create the artwork… once more I will be running one of my becoming-somewhat-regular open briefs. We would like you to submit either a logo or a poster (or both) that will suggest a swing in the direction of all things sustainable in the most imaginative way possible. Around ten of the best artworks will be shown for a week at the prestigious Arnolfini gallery in Bristol as part of the whole shebang, culminating with a public judging and prize-giving overseen by yours truly and helped out by the folk at PLATFORM and no less than the Marketing Manager of the Arnolfini, Rob Webster, and Fiona Hamilton of Soma Gallery (Bristol), a woman with great taste in the arts who runs a cult art shop that has been a long standing supplier of my print magazine. We might even invite someone powerful from RBS! (invite being the operative word) After the event PLATFORM will profile you on their website with links to yours, and prior to the actual event I’ll be posting the best entries onto my website – one good reason to get your artwork in as quickly as possible.
If you are interested read on:
What you need to know:
Ideas:
Yeah yeah – we all know wind turbines are great news and polar bears are having a terrible time, but for this brief we’d like you to think a bit outside the box. We’ll be looking for the most refreshing ways of thinking about how we can live in the most sustainable way possible, and most importantly how RBS could play a possible role in aiding this transition to a low carbon world. Don’t forget that we, the taxpayers, own 70% of RBS – why not make it into the people’s bank? You should make clear in your chosen design the re-imagining of the old RBS into the new. Instead of investing in carbon-intensive industries the new RBS will serve the public interest by investing only in socially conscious, ethically driven, and environmentally sound projects.
Style:
Think serious or earnest, kitsch or ironic, warm and fluffy, abstract or illustrative; whatever best communicates the concept and appeals to the broader public, the press and perhaps even people in government. It should engage and inspire. You can collage photography on your computer or paint with your fingers and toes – what matters is the outcome. We want to see imagery that speaks of something new, radical and POSSIBLE. Think positive social force. We love the Obama image that was used in the run up to his election – the reworking of his image in a simple pop art style somehow speaks volumes about new, positive change – and has fast become an iconic piece of graphic design, so we thought we’d use it here to demonstrate that you don’t have to be too literal in your interpretation of the brief to create a successful image. If you choose to create a poster remember that it could be made as an advert.
Technical specifications:
your image should be created to these sizes and scannable or put together on a computer:
A1 for the poster.
A2 or squared off A2 for the logo.
Please send me a lo resolution version but make sure you work to these sizes. We will arrange for the printing of your image should it be chosen.
Deadline:
We need your submissions to reach me by Monday 2nd November. Please send lo res versions of your design to info@ameliasmagazine.com
Future projects:
Please bear in mind that if we really love your work we might want to use it in further literature and exhibitions. Just think, your work really could persuade RBS to change course at a pivotal point in our history. What a fabulous idea!
Join the facebook event here to stay in touch with updates
And join the “Stop RBS using public money to finance climate change” facebook group here
Below is a list of links you might want to peruse for inspiration:
Get scribbling folks! Any queries please contact me directly via email rather than on the comments below.
If you have been to a UK festival in the last few years, pharm chances are that at some point you found yourself dancing in the OneTaste tent. Having residency at Glastonbury, sicknessBig Chill and Secret Garden Party to name but a mere few, OneTaste have acquired a devoted fan base of festival goers who want a guarantee that when they walk into a tent they will get the following components; top quality live music, an high-spirited and friendly crowd, and twenty four hour revelry.
OneTaste in Hyde Park, London
Yet their festival appearances are just one aspect of the multifaceted music troupe. When they are appearing at say, SGP or Glasto, they perform as a collective of musicians, poets and artists who, for many of the festivals, break bread and share space with Chai Wallahs. When they put on events in Greater London and Brighton, (where every night is different from the last), their roots run deep, towards diverse and innovative singers, performers and spoken word artists. They are fiercely proud of their reputation of facilitating and nurturing emerging talent; promoting, not exploiting it, connecting with the audience and creating a true OneTaste family, both onstage and off.
I have known of OneTaste for years, being friends with some of the artists who have performed with them. Having shamelessly utalised their tent at this years Secret Garden Party to dance, drink, chill, detox and then re-tox, I felt it was time to get to know them a little better. The perfect opportunity came at the recent OneTaste night at the Bedford in Balham which I attended recently on a balmy Thursday night. The vaudeville past of the Globe Theatre within the Bedford was an apposite setting for the style of event that OneTaste puts on. As the preparation for the evenings entertainment began in this deeply historical building, I managed to catch a quick chat with the creator of OneTaste, Dannii Evans, where we talked about the rhymes, reasons and the meaning behind this unique and innovative event.
photograph by Kim Leng Hills
When I saw OneTaste’s excellent night in the Jazz Cafe a while back, I saw a lot of different styles of music and spoken word. What would you say is the one common thread that unites everyone?
We’ve always been trying to find out what the thread is! It is definitely not genre, we do every single style and welcome every style, probably the only genre we haven’t booked yet is heavy metal! The thing that links us all together .. (pauses)… is that everyone has got a massive social conscience; it is not always explicit, but it is implicit within a person, it’s in their art. It’s something that holds us all together, everyone at OneTaste has that in mind – that there is a bigger picture and that we need to better ourselves in everything that we do.
The OneTaste music and spoken word night, started four and a half years ago by myself, and Jamie Woon. We basically started it in order that these musicians can do something where they could get paid.
You pay the performers? That’s so rare!
Definitely. We wanted to put on a night where the quality of every single act was really high and it could be where musicians could start their career, so that was the premise. Also the concept is that the event is always half music, half spoken word.
So is it a collective, a record label, an event? I’m kind of confused!
It started off as an event, with us meeting a number of artists and acts that we got on really well and gelled with, who we took on tour around festivals, and then out of spending three months together we formed the OneTaste collective. It started becoming an artist run collective where people would help with the actual event production and then it ended with them all collaborating on material together.
How do artists become part of OneTaste? Is it something that they can dip in and out of?
Absolutely, it’s not exclusive. It grew organically, it’s not an in or out thing – it happens more naturally than that.
Do you have to audition to get in?
To take part in the OneTaste night, either myself or someone running it have to have seen them live. Audience engagement is very important to us, to reach out and to be able to communicate with the audience is really vital. The live aspect and their live dynamic with the crowd is so important, so while they don’t audition, we do need to see how they will perform.
So it seems to have grown hugely in the last four years; Can you give me an idea of the numbers of acts that you have worked with?
In the collective, we have around 30 acts that we are currently championing, but in the last four years we have worked with around 300 artists. The audiences have grown from 40 people to 300 here at the Bedford, 500 at the Jazz Cafe, and 5,000 at the recent gig we did in Hyde Park.
How does OneTaste promote its artists?
It has always been very grass roots, we’ve never done an advert, it’s always just been people coming down and then telling their friends and from that it grew really quickly.
Are there many of the artists signed to labels, and do you help them along their way?
We do, we give them industry advice – we develop their music, or spoken word, we try to help where we can. Some of the artists like Jamie Woon or Portico Quartet have gone on to get more media attention and they kind of carry the OneTaste name with them and still do gigs for us.
What is the direction that OneTaste is heading in?
Potentially, we might have our own venue at festivals next year, which is really exciting. We have a digital compilation coming out, the first one will be coming out in September, and eventually we may form a OneTaste record label.
Gideon Conn performs at OneTaste Bedford.
Dannii and I continue chatting for a short while, and after this she has tasks to do. The audience is filling up, and the night is about to start. Sitting on a bench in the back with a big glass of red wine, I watch the event unfold. The performers are electric, and completely different from one another, yet equally complimentary. Most appear to be old friends, and loudly cheer each others performances. The atmosphere is infectious, I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed myself so much at a gig (and it’s not because of the wine!). I’m quite au fait with the open mic nights and acoustic gigs of London, but I haven’t been to a night which is as cohesive and inclusive as OneTaste. If you want to experience it for yourself, OneTaste are easy to find. Check out their Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Flickr for images, articles, and dates about upcoming shows, which include a September 8th gig at The Distillers in Hammersmith and 27th September at The Hanbury Club in Brighton.
This week Climate Camp 2009 swoops on London, this site aiming to pressure politicians ahead of the Copenhagen climate change summit in December. Climate Camp will achieve this by encouraging individuals to think about lifestyle changes possible both collectively and personally to prevent climate change.
Sharing these sensibilities, the French Collective Andrea Crews encourage a new life philosophy outside the corporate rat race so often associated with London and other major cities. Being introduced to the fashion/art/activist collective Andrea Crews felt like a breath of fresh air often associated with Amelia’s magazine, a long time supporter of sustainable fashion, craft, activism and individual design.
Andrea Crews Collective express their desire for economic and social change through “the use and the reinterpretation of the second-hand garment” calling it “a social, economic and ethical choice.” A choice displayed by the sheer volume of abandoned second hand garments used throughout the catwalk shows, art exhibitions and activist events. The group criticise the relentless waste of modern consumption, fast fashion has helped to create, through visualising the stress on land fill sites around the world in their staged events. Subsequently by ignoring market pressures: mass seduction and seasonal calendars, Andrea Crews re-introduces a slower, more individual fashion culture through the processes of sorting and recycling.
The Crews Collective march to the same tune as Climate Camp, not only by caring for the environment but in their dedication towards an alternative developed sustainable economy. Andrea Crews encourages mass involvement stating that the project “answers to a current request for creative energy and social engagement. Recycling, Salvaging, Sorting out, are civic models of behaviour we assert.” Thus the power of low-level activism or grass roots activism becomes apparent, if enough people participated with Climate Camp or The Andrea Crews Collective. The pressure on governments to look for an alternative way of living would be undeniable.
The ever-expanding coverage of ethical, eco fashion on the internet plays testimony to the idea that the individual is changing. The Andreas Collective through their exquisite catwalks –particularly the Marevee show with the appearance of clothes mountains which the models scrambled over to reach the runway- draw attention to the powerful position regarding sustainability, fashion can occupy if it so chooses.
All quotes and images are from the Andrea Crews website. DIY LONDON SEEN The Market Building
Covent Garden, doctor London WC2 8RF
Until 5th September
DIY LONDON SEEN hopes to illustrate the growth of the movement inspired by the ‘Beautiful Losers’, doctor which is now a global phenomenon, generic by showcasing the work of local artists whose work takes the ethos of the Alleged gallery Artists and runs with it.
Show runs from: 28th August- 2nd September ’09,
with a preview on the 27th September from 6.00-9.00pm
Artists: Ellen Burroughs presents intricate technical drawings of a surreal nature, Sophie Axford-Hawkins shows bespoke jewelery that follows an identical theme.
The Jake-OF Debut UK Solo Show
Austin Gallery
119A Bethnal Green Road,
Shoreditch London E2 7DG
Running from the 3rd-16th September.
The opening evening is on the 3rd at 6:30pm.
Featuring a collection of his best print, sculpture and instillation work from the past four years. The show will include prints from the Quink series and the first original Quink painting to be exhibited.
So Long Utopia East Gallery
214 Brick Lane
?London ?E1 6SA
Until 2nd September
EASTGALLERY is proud to present the first solo exhibition of UK artist Sichi. ‘So Long Utopia’ will feature a thematic collection of new paintings and drawings. ??‘So Long Utopia’ is an energetic exhibition focusing on the theme of the lost Utopian dream. The artworks in this collection are of portraits, statements and imagined characters, where any premonition of ‘Utopia’ is quickly dispelled by the creatures inhabiting Sichi’s dystopian world.
Opening 19 August 6:30 – 8:30
20th – 31st August
Free
A busy August Bank holiday weekend is almost upon us, dosage and if you cant make it to Climate Camp starting on Wednesday there is plenty of other events to keep you occupied this week.
Festival of The Tree 2009
Delve into the world of wood and trees with sculptors, workshops, walks, art exhibitions and more with all proceeds going to treeaid, a charity that is enabling communities in Africa’s drylands to fight poverty and become self-reliant, while improving the environment. Weston Arboretum has a week long run of activities, with the organisers calling it a radical transformation from last year with exciting new additions.
Check the full programme of events here.
From Monday 24 – Monday 31 August…
Open daily from 9am-5pm?Admission: Adult £8, Concession £7, Child £3.?
Camp for Climate Action
A week long event kicking of this wednesday with with a public co-ordinated swoop on a secret location within the M25, make sure you sign up for text alerts and watch Amelias twitter for updates. Join your swoop group here, the locations have been revealed so get planning your route.
Check the great list of workshops here, and get ready for some climate action.
There’s workshops to suit everyone from direct action training to consensus decision making for kids, as well as evening entertainment from the Mystery Jets among others. Come along for a day or the whole week.
Wednesday 26 Aug 2009 to Wednesday 02 Sep 2009
E-mail: info@climatecamp.org.uk
Website: www.climatecamp.org.uk
Carshalton Environmental Fair
The Environmental Fair is one of the biggest events in the London Borough of Sutton. 10,000 people attend with over 100 stalls with environmental information, arts and local crafts, with stages showcasing local musical talent, a Music cafe and a Performing Arts Marquee. Food stalls and a bar thats also showcasing some local talent. There is a free bus operating from Sutton.
Adults £3, concessions £1 and kids get in free.
Monday 31st August
Contact: fair@ecolocal.org.uk
Website: http://www.ecolocal.org.uk/
Green Fayre
Range of Green craft workshops where you can learn about the most pressing environmental issues and how you can live a more sustainable life, all set in the Welsh country side. Yurt making, permaculture design, spinning, screen printing, pole lathe, bird box making, cooking from the hedgerows and much more.
Date: Friday 28 Aug 2009 to Monday 31 Aug 2009
Weekend Camping for the family £40?E-mail: info@green-fayre.org
?Website: www.green-fayre.org
Benefit gig for Anarchists Against the Wall
At RampART social centre, music with Hello Bastards, Battle Of Wolf 359,Suckinim Baenaim (Israel), Julith Krishum (Germany). The AWW group works in cooperation with Palestinians in a joint popular struggle against the occupation.
Monday 24 August 2009 19:00 RampARTSocial Centre?15 -17 Rampart Street, London E1 2LA?(near Whitechapel, off Commercial Rd)
London Critical Mass
Cyclists get together to take control of the roads around London usually with a sound system in tow. The London Mass meets at 6.00pm on the last Friday of every month on the South Bank under Waterloo Bridge, by the National Film Theatre.
Not got a bike, dont worry, any self propelled people from skateboarders, rollerbladers to wheelchairs are welcome.
Friday 28 August 2009
Website: http://www.criticalmasslondon.org.uk/ Earth First Gathering 2009 was held over last weekend. It’s an event we’ve been looking forward to since it appeared in our diary back in July. Check out our Earth First preview for more information. We all pitched up our tents in the wettest place in Britain which unluckily lived up to its name, doctor but although it didn’t feel like summer it didn’t stop any of the numerous workshops from going ahead and there was even a handy barn where people could take refuge if their tents didn’t survive the downpours.
There were chances for people to get to grips with water activities like building rafts and kayaking on the nearby Derwent lake, help plenty of discussion groups and chances for people to learn new skills. A forge kept many enthralled, viagra me included, and it was great to see the dying trade in action and people learning from the experienced blacksmiths.
Seeds for change, a group that holds workshops for action and social change, were down at the camp, get in touch with them if you’re thinking of holding your own event and they will be willing to facilitate a range of engaging talks and discussions. Tripod, a Scottish based training collective working with grassroots and community groups is another to check out – there is plenty to benefit from with training and support that gears towards social action.
Earth First has been going for decades and with direct action at the heart of what they do, it has helped and nurtured many to get involved and start taking action themselves rather than relying on leaders and governments. Look out for the next gathering, as EF notes, “if you believe action speaks louder than words, then Earth First is for you.”
We legged it up the amazing waterfall that created a great backdrop to the camp before tea one evening to get some great views over the valley.
Joining the queue for our meals was a daily highlight, you could browse the radical bookstall along it that had numerous zines and books for sale. Then the food, put on by the Anarchist Teapot, was amazing and i was queueing up for seconds at every opportunity. Evening entertainment was put on by a ramshackle group of poets and musicians and hecklers, and sock wrestling was also a new experience for me, got to try that one again.
On cue the heavens opened on the last night, but I managed to get my tent down and joined the chickens in the barn where I literally hit the hay.
Just thought I’d say well done to the police FIT team who were able to navigate the windy and tricky road to turn up most days: good effort! The Legion in Old Street has undergone a bit of a refurb since the last time I was there. Vague recollections of dodgy sauna-style wood panelling on the walls and a Lilliputian stage awkwardly occupying one corner are now banished by what seemed like an even longer bar than was there before. The venue has had a fresh wave of new promoters which appears to have progressed it from a jack of all things club-based, website like this in an area drowning in the like, there to somewhere incorporating a broader musical palette. A case in point tonight, being the headline band, Death Cigarettes.
I’d seen Death Cigarettes a couple of times around various East London venues over the last twelve months. For a band whose reputation is in part founded on an explosive live show, the cavernous confines of the Legion seemed to take some of the sting out of them, compared to more intimate settings.
Musically, they inhabit that driving New York No Wave inspired sound – thrashing guitars, pounding drums and rumbling bass coupled with urgently delivered vocals. An obvious comparison is with early Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and there is certainly more than a touch of Karen O in enigmatic lead singer Maya.
With this band though, the music is only half the story. Coming on unusually late for a Sunday night, Maya emerges from the encaves of a slightly startled audience to take the stage to join the rest of the band as they thrash away around her. It’s not long though before she heads back out into the throng… One group of people were ensnared by her mic lead, another was treated to an intimate introduction with a flying mic stand before Maya suddenly reappears behind the audience, exhorting the crowd before her from atop a table. At this point, the guitarist also wanted a piece of the audience action and decides to go walkabout, before concluding the set with a piece of probably not premeditated Auto-Destruction, reducing his guitar to matchwood.
Death Cigarettes have certainly been making a few noises of late, with the likes of Artrocker and The Fly singing their praises, and they are set to appear at the Offset Festival (new guitar permitting). For a band with a distinct approach to their music and performance, it will be interesting to see if they will, over time, develop their sound to the same extent that NYC steadfasts, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, have so spectacularly done. Liberty prints have become something of a British Institution in the fashion world, cialis 40mg inspiring the current vintage scarf and headband trend as well as influencing designers to include whimsical prints in their own creations (basically everybody on the high street). Prints conjure up an image of refined country values, thumb and have a truly English feel to them, stomach reminding us of our grannies chicly riding their bicycles in winding country lanes after World War 2 (maybe that’s just my overactive imagination!)
Until 2nd September an entire exhibition is being dedicated to this quintessentially British item on the fourth floor of the London Liberty store, and Amelia’s Magazine think you should get in touch with your inner fifties housewife and check it out!
Aptly entitled Prints Charming, the designs at Liberty’s exhibition certainly do what they say on the tin. Six designers were invited to contribute to the show to create their own unique take on Liberty’s iconic prints. Designs span from the pottery artist Grayson Perry’s enigmatic creations featuring tombstones, teddy bears, knuckle-dusters, swings, roundabouts and bicycles mounted on fabric, to uber-famous Meg Matthews’ teeny floral print wallpaper pieces given an injection of rock and roll heritage (like Meg herself) with snakeskin and skulls motifs. Other artists involved with the project include Paul Morrison, Mike McInnerney, Michael Angove, Anj Smith and Simon Hart, each taking an individual and modern approach to the eponymous Liberty print.
The exhibition reads like a piece of installation art. In fact, art aside there is much more happening. Take note of the furniture and décor (mirrors, chairs, chandeliers and tables) coated in Liberty prints, heavily featured throughout the window display designed by Interiors company Squint. Not forgetting that the store’s entire exterior is decorated in the Betsy micro-floral print. The show also includes full size dolls dressed in Liberty rags, a Wendy house covered in strips of print by artist Helen Benigson, and vintage bicycles by classic bike-maker Skeppshult redesigned with a Liberty twist (complete with feather headdress!)
Being an exhibition, the history of the iconic print is thrown in for good measure too. Documentation of the label’s historic collaborations can be found throughout, featuring modern legends such as Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony, APC, NIKE and Kate Moss for Topshop. This is an art-fashion collaborative experience not to be missed!
Everything designed is available to buy; whether that be in fabric, notebook, scarf, luggage tag, boxer short, wellie boot or lampshade form! With the endless list of talent involved, there’s no doubt something to catch anyone’s magpie eye. Several prints are one-off pieces made especially for the show, such as Matthews’ wallpaper, therefore ensuring a chance of grabbing a piece of history in the making. And who doesn’t love a bit of print patterning? After all, with the current revival of all things retro, Liberty prints are up there with shoulder padding and acid wash in fashionistas’ hearts! So get down to the exhibition before the opportunity to soak up the artistic atmosphere disappears (like most the stock will be sure to do!)
Swap shops, ampoule Freeshops, generic give away shops, visit this site they all aim to go against the capitalist framework, and often people can’t quite get their heads around the idea, that, yes it is free and you can take it!
When I dropped by the free shop near Brick Lane, I received firsthand experience of this when a woman asked the way to the ‘trendy’ Shoreditch area and when invited to look around the Freeshop declined with a shrug of the shoulders. It appears it just wasn’t hip enough, that or she couldn’t quite comprehend the idea of a piece of clothing for under 50 quid.
When speaking to some of the squatters, the Freeshop felt like an organic progression from the original squat in the building: “The idea of this Freeshop had come out from a series of workshops held in the squatted building last month. Originally, the building was opened up for a free school, and when that was over we realised we had this shop front on Commercial Street and felt it would be interesting to kind of undermine the shops down the road.” Donations from friends helped to get it off its feet and now they seem to be undated with more than enough.
With our ‘throw away society,’ Freeshops can form direct action and can engage people to think about the way they live and consume. They also see it as a chance to try and engage with the community, which means the squatters don’t get isolated in the neighborhood. They also feel the shop was an important medium of communication to people. It seems to be working well with most people having a chat or picking up leaflets when they come in to look around. The basic idea is that it should not just be about taking things, but sharing ideas too.
The squatters make efforts to engage with the community, with flyers sent out when they set up shop. Although the state has rigid bureaucratic rules to follow regarding squats they hope that support from the community will help their cause. The court date regarding an impending eviction is on 28th August, but they are hopefully looking to get it adjourned. Signatures and people giving support certainly can’t hinder their defense.
As well as offering clothes, shoes and household items, the Freeshop also has space for regular workshops and events where members of the community and network can get involved. A wind turbine course is in the pipeline so make sure you drop in to check when it’s happening.
I had a chat with one of the squatters to get a better insight into the ideas and experiences behind the Freeshop.
Have you had any experiences of Freeshops before you came here?
Berlin, Barcelona, Bristol all have set up freeshops and there are plenty more around the world. One time in Barcelona went down the main commercial road with a stall, loads of people came to pick up stuff, completely ignoring the chain stores. It was like people were just interested in consuming products wherever they came from. The cops were called of course.
Can you get moved on for that?
Maybe, I mean, but look at the number of people selling sausages in the centre of town – it depends on how big or moveable the stand is. We had the idea of maybe setting something up down in Hanbury Street, just at Spitalfields Market, but that’s just an idea so far.
What kind of people do you get coming in?
Some homeless people come in and others, how shall we say, are like the kind of people who go down Brick Lane on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. There’s a really broad range.
Can people get involved in the Freeshop?
Come along to say hello or to the meeting on Tuesdays, that’s a good place to start, talk about and organise things we want to make happen, maybe do a shift in the shop.
Do you look to publicise, and how do people find out about the Freeshop?
There’s a big difference between being on the net and Facebook/social networking, and just relying on old style traditional methods, just by being here, and it works like a shop that people can just come into. It’s good to see how far just traditional ways can get us, and if that works well, then maybe others will do the same. It’s not rocket science, there’s no big intellectual concept behind it, it’s just a free shop.
Located on Commercial Road at the end of Quaker Street, drop in to pick up some new stuff while it lasts and offer your support.
Written by Adam S on Tuesday August 25th, 2009 4:03 pm
makeandmend
Illustration to show the extent of the Deepwater Horizon oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico by Abigail Daker.
You know that huge oil slick? The really foul one currently creating environmental havoc across the Gulf of Mexico? Well, page you might well call this deathly stain the world’s largest work of corporate art – proudly brought to you by oil giant BP, health sponsor of the Tate.
Black helium balloons float up to the ceiling of the Tate Turbine Hall. Photography by Robin Bell.
In response to this it was decided to launch a new campaign group, Liberate Tate, with the intention of severing the Tate’s close relationship with climate-wrecking oil-guzzling corporate behemoth BP. A series of planned interventions got off to a flying start this weekend, when a series of art activists managed to join the 10th anniversary celebrations in the main turbine hall at Tate Modern, where they released dozens of black helium balloons that floated up to the ceiling. Attached to the balloons were dead fish and oily fake birds, a reminder that BP will never be able to greenwash its actions away through association with innovative art at the Tate. Sections of the No Soul for Sale event were closed down as employees desperately tried to burst the oil-bubble like balloons, which hung looming over the celebrations.
A dead fish on the Turbine Hall floor. Photography by Robin Bell.
As long as the Tate continues to accept sponsorship from BP, a company that pursues oil and money without care for its employees or the looming climate crisis, then its various galleries up and down the country can expect more creative visits from members of Liberate Tate. You can follow Liberate Tate on twitter, or visit the Art Not Oil website for more information.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday May 17th, 2010 11:07 am
makeandmend
Illustration to show the extent of the Deepwater Horizon oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico by Abigail Daker.
You know that huge oil slick? The really foul one currently creating environmental havoc across the Gulf of Mexico? Well, page you might well call this deathly stain the world’s largest work of corporate art – proudly brought to you by oil giant BP, health sponsor of the Tate.
Black helium balloons float up to the ceiling of the Tate Turbine Hall. Photography by Robin Bell.
In response to this it was decided to launch a new campaign group, Liberate Tate, with the intention of severing the Tate’s close relationship with climate-wrecking oil-guzzling corporate behemoth BP. A series of planned interventions got off to a flying start this weekend, when a series of art activists managed to join the 10th anniversary celebrations in the main turbine hall at Tate Modern, where they released dozens of black helium balloons that floated up to the ceiling. Attached to the balloons were dead fish and oily fake birds, a reminder that BP will never be able to greenwash its actions away through association with innovative art at the Tate. Sections of the No Soul for Sale event were closed down as employees desperately tried to burst the oil-bubble like balloons, which hung looming over the celebrations.
A dead fish on the Turbine Hall floor. Photography by Robin Bell.
As long as the Tate continues to accept sponsorship from BP, a company that pursues oil and money without care for its employees or the looming climate crisis, then its various galleries up and down the country can expect more creative visits from members of Liberate Tate. You can follow Liberate Tate on twitter, or visit the Art Not Oil website for more information.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday May 17th, 2010 11:07 am
Slow Club is a duo formed by Charles and Rebecca, this webbuy information pills who both come from Sheffield. He does the singing and plays the guitar; she deals with the drums and all sorts of weird instruments, from bottles of water to wooden chairs. The result? You can go hear for yourself tonight at Barfly.
7pm. £5.
Slow Club
Tuesday 21th
We Fell To Earth and special guests at the ICA theatre. Richard File (UNKLE) and PJ Harvey-ish singer/bassist Wendy Rae doing something that they call “sinister and kind of arousing rock music”.
8pm. £10.
We Fell To Earth
Wednesday 22th Vessels will be at Buffalo Bar this Wednesday launching “Retreat”, a collection of songs including a single, some remixes and an unreleased track by this Leeds five-piece.
8pm. £6.
Vessels
Thursday 23th Camera Obscura make a come back with “My Maudlin Career”, the band’s fourth studio album that is coming out today.
All their sweet freshness that you could feel from the first single out entitled “French Navy” will be performed on the stage of Shepherds Bush Empire next Thursday.
7pm. £13.50.
Camera Obscura
Friday 24th
Je Suis Animal single launch party for the upcoming release ‘The Mystery of Marie Roget’ 7″ at The Victoria. Support comes from Betty and The Werewolves and Hong Kong In The 60s. People from Twee as F*** also promise free cupcakes for earlybirds so that is a Friday night out you can not miss.
9pm. £6/ 5 concessions.
Sunday 26th
Due to the Casiotone for the Painfully Alone‘s sell-out London show on 27th April, a new show has been added on Sunday 26th April – also at The Luminaire. Releasing their fifth album, Vs. Children, the band succeeded to make a record that feels just as warm and intimate as the first.
7:30pm. £8.50, adv £8.
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
On the cover of this CD, sicknessCaroline Weeks appears to be a healthy, seek pink-skinned young woman. However, sildenafil fill your ears with her music, and you will be in no doubt that she is a ghost. And her clarinettist, too. Ghosts! Caroline has been to the other side, and seen things, and now wanders around my auditory cortex in a Victorian gown, lamenting the moment that life’s glories were cruelly wrenched from her grasp. Maybe Caroline drowned in a lake, or caught one of those Jane Austen chills, or fell under a horse, or was cuddled to death by an overaffectionate simple boy cousin. I can’t begin to imagine what happened to her polter-woodwindist. Probably choked on his reed.
This is the spookiest music I have heard in a long time. She feels like a sister to SixToes, playing with similar moods, guitar work and larynx-trembling. But much spookier. I can’t help but think of Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice, a morbid teenager rejecting the world from her wilfully glum bedroom. So it’s not a huge surprise to discover that Caroline is also Ginger Lee, colleague of Natasha Khan in Bat For Lashes. Although you can actually dance to some of Natasha’s ditties, there is the moody, brooding moroseness there too. But while Bat For Lashes keeps this in the realm of relationships with sprinklings of dreamy visions, Caroline Weeks takes it to the pure Victorian pre-Pankhurst inner world of reflective femininity.
It turns out that all the lyrics are taken from the poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay, an early Twentieth Century American who was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Musically, it is very accomplished. Recorded quite simplistically, with a few dramatic reverb effects, the instrumentation has plenty of room to shine. The guitar gently drifts between dextrous, finger-picked, rhythmic regularity and airy pausing in a lovely, caressy, wavey kind of way. But it’s the tender voice that dominates, or haunts, the album. Caroline sings to you. It’s deeply personal, and unwavering in its humourless, sorrowful plea. And there is much depth of feeling and depth of lyric, which I cannot really do justice to here.
This is simply music to surrender to. Alone. Dim the lights, let the shadows fall across your soul and be utterly, utterly alone with the ghost of Caroline Weeks.
La Weeks is performing at The Good Ship in Kilburn on May 19. Tuesday 21st April
2pm
Institute of Education?
20 Bedford Way, buy
?London WC1H 0AL?
“How to Educate Children in the UK About Sustainable Development”
discussion with Professor Randall Curren, more about Institute of Education. Info: fbrettell@ioe.ac.uk or call 020 7612 6000
The rise and rise of the green agenda is creating an ever increasing number of green initiatives, CSR projects, and local and national government proposals. Almost all organisations – both commercial and non commercial – want to establish their green credentials and communicate them to the consumer.
To explore these issues and to find new ways of engaging the customer, Kingston University has brought together a number of leading experts from a wide range of sectors – manufacturing, retailing, NGO’s, academics and a number of consultancies.
For full programme information and to book please go to http://business.kingston.ac.uk/flavor1.php?id=398.
Contact: Wendy Eatenton
?Tel: 020 8547 2000 ext. 65511
?Email: rm.rettie@kingston.ac.uk
“Can Developing Country Needs For Energy Be Met Without Causing Climate Change”
1.00pm
Committee Room 14
Palace of Westminster, London
SW1A 2PW
Recent studies suggest a large potential for clean energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa; if fully implemented, they could provide more than twice the regions current installed power-generation capacity. It has been posited that Latin America has a comparative advantage in maximizing clean energy opportunities; energy consumption could be reduced by 10 percent over the next decade by investing in energy efficiency. This suggests that the adoption of clean energy technologies typically results in a “win:win” situation for developing countries: reducing costs and emissions.
But many developing countries have been failing to reach their full productive potential for years. Growth diagnostic studies in many developing countries regularly identify constraints such as lack of grid electricity and poor infrastructure. Typically, levels of investment in the electricity sector in developing countries are around 50 percent of needs. Credit constraints mean that the cheapest available options are often chosen as opposed to those that deliver environmental benefits. So can developing country needs for energy be met without causing climate change? How can developing countries be incentivised to adopt cleaner energy? And what steps do developed countries need to take to facilitate this?
Professor Sir David King, Gordon MacKerron. Info: 7922 0300/ meetings@odi.org.uk/ ODI
Thursday 23rd April
“Financial Meltdown and The End of the Age of Greed”
7pm Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2 1QJ
Info: 7479 8950
£10 Online booking now available
This event will be moderated by Michael Wilson, Business Editor of Sky News
Paul Mason talks about the ongoing financial crisis that has brough the global economy to the brink of depression. Gordon Brown hailed the result of deregulation as the ‘golden age’ of banking in the UK. Mason will give insights into how deregulation is at the heart of the collapse of the banking system in September and October 2008 and how it led to expanded subprime mortgage lending, an uncontrollable derivatives market, and the lethal fusion of banking and insurance. http://www.frontlineclub.com/events/
12.00pm – 4.00pm
On Saturday 25th April, 12-4pm, People’s Republic of Southwark’s mini eco-fair goes all the way to SE17, to the Nursery Row Park http://www.nurseryrowpark.org/SaveNurseryRow/Welcome.html , a beautiful green space located just behind the East Street Market (between Brandon and Orb Street).?? We are hoping to have another great day out for everyone and some of the activities for the day are:?- mulching the orchard?- planting sunflower seeds?- making art?- a free shop (space where you can swap/give away/take things you need for free – bring easy-to-carry usable things you don’t need, ex clothes, dvds, books. and swap them for something you do need or simply give them away to someone who does; please don’t bring anything bulky or electrical)?- seed swap (get your window boxes, balconies, gardens ready for spring and summer)?- you can also find out about local environmental projects, issues and campaigns. ?Or just come along for a chat
Prepare to throw your sensibilities and all sense of conventionality out of the window! Why I hear you scream? Well, search this week sees Alternative Fashion Week bombard an unsuspecting Spitalfields in all its wonderful obscurity. Forget all the opulence of London Fashion Week; Alternative Fashion Week is going to assail you with raw, viagra buy un-censored Fashion Design.
The event unlike London Fashion Week is open to everyone and free for the designers to participate. It will be running all this week from the 20th-24th of April at Spitalfields Traders Market. So get your skates on people and get on down for all the outlandish action. With 15 shows a day, it will see at least 10,000-hop foot through their doors. Applicants range from recent graduates to independent designers keen to establish themselves in the fashion sphere. The participants are an eclectic range of designers from a myriad of different fields from the theatre to circus, so be prepared for a vivacious show. In conjunction with the free daily shows, the event hosts an adjacent market from noon till three showcasing a whole treasure trove of accessories, Womenswear and textiles for us to feast upon.
Here is a sneak peak at one of the accessory designers that will showcase her A/W collection at the event. Helen Rochfort’s innovative designs focus on all things delectable. Infact just glancing at her liquorice allsorts bag is enough to have me running to the nearest sweet shop for a fix. She describes her delectable designs as simply “ a sprinkling of vintage and a dusting of retro all whipping together with a kitsch twist of humour” So keep your eyes out for Rochfort’s designs, they are hard to miss!
The event prides itself on its promotion of sustainable fashion, and actively supports recycling and ethical sourcing. It’s organizers are The Alternative Arts, a group based in East London that invests in local artists and projects in the community. Its overriding ethos is the importance of accessible fashion and art in the public domain.
The event is a riot of creativity that questions our ideological view of fashion design; Alternative Fashion Week provides that vital foundation for applications to bridge the gap between them and the seemingly intimidating abyss of the fashion industry.
So keep your eyes peeled as Amelia’s Magazine will be reporting from the front line this week to bring you all the zany fun and frolics!
Sometimes the stories for Amelia’s Magazine come to us. And this story is one of unimaginable corruption by one of the worlds largest companies, search aided by an equally unscrupulous government. While there will never be a happy ending to this tale, medicine there may be, tadalafil after many years of campaigning, justice finally delivered. I was emailed recently by a group called Remember Saro-Wiwa, asking if I would attend a talk entitled Wiwa Vs Shell at the Amnesty International House in London.
I went along to the event, which was fully attended, and listened to what this case was about. In 1995, a man called Ken Saro-Wiwa, along with eight colleagues from the Ogoni region of Nigeria, was executed by the Nigerian State for campaigning against the devastation of the Niger Delta by oil companies, specifically Shell Oil. Thankfully, this is not where the story ends. On May 26th, 2009, after fourteen years, Shell will stand trial in New York for complicity in human rights abuses in Nigeria, including the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and his eight colleagues. The purpose of the evening was to highlight the case, and I listened in horror and disbelief to what has been happening in Nigeria. Having not known much about the unethical way that oil companies conduct their business – and the ways in which they silence their objectors – I could almost not comprehend what I was hearing. The panel speaking included Katie Redford, a U.S lawyer and co founder of EarthRights International, which, along with the Center for Constitutional Rights has filed the case against Shell.
She discussed the upcoming trial, and included the seemingly never-ending charges which have finally been brought against them. As well as the charge of complicity in crimes against humanity, they are being charged with torture, arbitrary arrest and detainment. We learnt that this is a groundbreaking case – companies of this size do not usually find themselves in court for their actions – however reprehensible. If Shell are found liable, they could be forced to pay damages that could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.
We learnt about the situation between Ken Saro-Wiwa and Shell. From the time that Shell had started producing oil in the Delta in 1958, the local communities had been concerned about the levels of pollution, along with the gas flares which were coming from Shell’s production plant. Furthermore, drilling operations were routinely destroying farmers lands with oil spillage and rendering the lands unsuitable for use. When faced with such levels of devastation to their land (and health), it seems only natural that the communities would protest.
Unfortunately for them, Shell and the Nigerian Government were not in the business of facilitating these protests; instead, Shell would employ the presence of the Mobile Police Force, who were also known as the “kill and go”police. At one such protest, the MPF massacred 80 people and destroyed around 500 homes. Saro-Wiwa, who had always been a prominent figure in the campaigns against Shell was arrested and charged under bogus offences – unlawful assembly and conspiring to publish a ‘seditious’ pamphlet. On November 10th, 1995, Saro-Wiwa, along with 8 others was executed.
Speaking at Amnesty International, Ben Amunwa, who was chairing the evening, used a quote from Milan Kundera to help surmise the subsequent fight to continue with Saro-Wiwa’s cause, and bring long awaited justice : “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting”. I spoke with one of the campaigners behind Remember Saro-Wiwa afterwards and asked how others can get involved. He told me that ” We’re currently in the process of developing a website and hopefully actions people can take as part of the shell guilty campaign, we hope to use viral films, the media and activist actions to generate loads of attention on Shell around the trial. At the moment it’s just about spreading awareness of the trial to warm people up for actions they can take further down the line.
In the meantime we would encourage people join the facebook group. Our current aim is to get 1000 members. One way we are thinking about framing this call out is:
Take the 999 action:
9 Ogoni activists died for their cause
2009: the year their relatives must see justice and gas flaring in Nigeria must end
9: the number of your friends we urge you to invite to join this group.”
Everyone involved with this case will be eagerly awaiting the outcome of the trial in New York. After the panel had finished, I spoke with Katie Redford and asked her whether she felt positive about the outcome of this groundbreaking trial. She explained that while no one can predict whom the jury will side with, or what the outcome may be, the fact that a global and powerful company such as Shell will be finally held accountable for their actions in the Niger Delta demonstrates the power that non-violent protesters actually wield. Although it took twelve years to get to this stage, it seems like justice is finally being administered.
Born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, viagra buy living in Utrecht in Holland and half Spanish, online Maria Stijger is a fashion photographer who has recently sprung to my attention. Her style of surrealism mixes with vintage meets modern. Maria’s playful personality results in beautiful images which if nothing else are aesthetically striking.
Maria, link you’re images are beautifully created. How long have you been doing photography for?
I took my first photograph around the age of six and from then I always thought that it was a kind of magic. But I never picked it up seriously until I got out of high school, graduated from art school and after doing a lot of different things, including working as a photographer’s assistant. I started producing my own fashion stories about two years ago.
Is it true your work has been recognised by the Dutch publications of Elle and Marie Claire??
Yes, I’ve also had my work published in HMagazine (a magazine available in Barcelona) twice, and in professional and weekly magazines, newspapers, and once in a book about jewellery.
I really enjoyed the old fashioned-romantic-fairy tale-esc sequence of the photoshoot shown here:
What is the story behind this?
Well, I always like to make little fantasy stories, you can make up your own just looking at the series and here I was looking for an old feeling, using the atmosphere of the space that I found one day when I visited a party in the building. It’s a big building in the eastern part of Holland used by squatters. The guy that runs the place has a fantastic store inside it, where he sells all kinds of beautiful things he finds in old houses he restores. It is about a girl who is lost in time; she lives in a world of her own, surrounded by all this old stuff. She is a little bit weird, but happy and enjoying herself. She puts on shoes that are too big, plays with old porcelain dolls and likes funny hats. There is no story with a beginning and an end, but I like to make more images in my head, fantasize about what she does. I hope that others will do this too!
Do you prefer to work to a specific brief in your work?
No, in my personal work I really like to brainstorm in advance and come up with a lot of ideas, pick out the best and look for the right location, model and the stylist brings the clothes and things and we make our own décor if possible. But on the day of the shoot, I want to just let it all go and go with the flow of the day, see what comes on my path and switch if something doesn’t work. I like it when the whole team participates and gets excited and understands the feeling that I try to create and comes up with good ideas and then there is a buzz that I cannot describe…
Quite a lot of your work I found reflected some surrealism, would you say you have a specific style of photography, or does it vary?
I really love the Latin American magic realism and I try to use this in all my personal work as much as possible. I love surrealism, theatre and movies, things that are old. I love to mix it with modern age and fashion. I try to do this as often as I can, especially in my personal work, sometimes I like to go a little bit further than my commissioners want, so in the end my work varies quite a lot. But I like to show them that side as well so I always take some shots that link to this theme and sometimes they love it too!
Can you explain the series of gloves images?
This was a great series to make! We had so much fun! We wanted to do something with beautiful gloves, but not in a studio or with a model. So I came up with this idea to make animal shapes, shadow play. I have a very old magic lantern (Lanterna Magica) that gives this great old feeling because of the dust and the frame. So this was the perfect combination mixing the old with the new fashion. We sold this particular series to (Dutch) Elle magazine.
Who would you say influences and inspires you?
A lot! Things like literature, art, music, European film, but not specifically one person. There are so many great and diverse people that I love for what they do, I couldn’t point out just one.
Can you see a progression or a change in your work from when you first started to now?
Yes. In the beginning I only concentrated on landscapes and snapshots of people. Now I love to make stories using fashion. I’d say it’s a big change, and I guess it will never stop changing. I like to move around and experiment.
Do you have a muse?
No not really, I value my boyfriend’s opinion a lot. So in that sense I guess it’s him!
What do you do in your spare time?
At the moment I am expecting our first child, so my extra activities are not so exciting ha-ha. But I love going to the woods, going out with friends and listening to music. I also love to make sweet little stuffed monsters, exploring other realms of creativity! Most of my time is for photography though. And my family is very important too.
When you were younger, what did you wish to be when you grew up?
Ha-ha, first I wanted to be a dentist, but I loved arts and crafts and drawing so much, that I discovered that this was “my thing”. Although my parents were scared that I’d drown in the competition and of course it is more difficult for an artist to make a good living, I knew that there was no other option for me. I get bored quite easily, so I need to occupy myself doing creative things with other creative and inspiring people.
Thanks Maria, and good luck with the bun in the oven!
April 22nd is Earth Day (mainly for America, but we can still take part in celebrating it – it is everyones Earth after all!) If you are in America, then check out http://earthday.net/all_events to see what is going on around your neck of the woods.
Perhaps this is fortuitous timing because this is also quite an interesting day in terms of the Government 2009 Budget. Hands up who was watching the budget today? I can understand if lazing around in the sun took top priority, so leave it to me to fill you in on the important facts.
Namely, that this is the first year that a carbon budget has been announced. Alistair Darling announced £1 billion will go towards funds to tackle climate change. This budget aims to cut 34% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. £375 million has been promised over the next two years for energy and resource efficiency in households, businesses and public buildings. £70 million will also be spent on small-scale and community low carbon energy and resource efficiency. With regards to fuel duty, increases in the duty are aimed to reduce emissions and pollution, saving 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year by 2013-14.
Andy Atkins, executive director at Friends of the Earth spoke to The Guardian, and said that he was disappointed by the budget, adding
“The Government has squandered a historic opportunity to kickstart a green industrial revolution, create tens of thousands of jobs and slash UK carbon dioxide emissions. The green sheen on this year’s budget will do little to disguise the fact that yet again the government has merely applied a sticking plaster to a low-carbon industry on life support.”
So, do you think that the Government are doing enough to tackle climate change? Let us know what you think of the new budget at hello@ameliasmagazine.com
Image courtesy of Sachiko, http://www.loveandhatesati.com/
Sort of initiating the summer festivals around the area, information pillsStag & Dagger takes place next month bringing zillions of awesome groups to the city. Oh come on, order like you haven`t seen thousands of flyers and posters all over the city? Here in East London they are everywhere!
The event actually happens in one single day and with one ticket you can have access to all the gigs (yes, I said all the gigs).
London is the first one and then Stag goes for a short roadtrip taking everybody to Leeds and Glasgow on the consecutive days.
The line up for London is particularly fantastic, with over 140 names distributed in 21 venues such as Cargo, 93 Feet East and Hoxton Bar & Kitchen.
I, as a proud Brazilian, am super excited to see Lovefoxxx, who is currently taking a well deserved break from CSS after a massive success last year, but will be having a solo performance at Catch.
Many many many gigs and venues to be able to organize yourself and enjoy it all in one day only. Super difficult task, isn`t it?
Since the list is huge, I suggest you go check their website for the complete offer. Can you believe there is still more people to be announced? Man, there is no end to it.
And have I said how much does the pass cost? Freaking £16.50! Ridiculously cheap.
I still have no idea on how I`ll choose the gigs to go. At first I thought about making a list of pros and cons for each of the bands. Yeah right. Better start now …
Here at Amelia’s Magazine we are always bounding up and down in excitement whenever we unearth a designer that is striving to take care of mother earth along with creating delectable pieces for all us avid fashionistas! Our latest find Ada Zanditon ticks all our boxes, sildenafil hoorah!
At the forefront of her field, buy more aboutZanditon is raising the flag for innovative ethical fashion design. Injecting a healthy dose of cool into eco-fashion Zanditon’s ethos is clear, elegant, pioneering and experimental designs that challenge the conventionality and boundaries of sustainable design.
Zanditon brings a new dimension to haute couture, a area that has not been widely broached in ecological design. Her collections are an eccentric tour de force venturing through medieval volumitous silhouettes to theatrical ruffles, all in a subdued palette of neutral blacks to muted greys and teals. Her collections convey a journey and have a real sense of fluidity. Her latest A/W collection is no exception, inspired by the literary novel Soil and Soul by Alastair Mc Intosh the book charts an ecological journey to prevent mass construction in cherished lands in Ireland. The collection subsequently has a distinctly celtic feel that is entrenched by Zanditon’s interest in Irish mythology, the collection utlises a range of prints custom designed and woven by Ada. Aswell as working in Fashion Design she also works as a Ilustrator.
Zanditon has been shrouded with accolades, having excelled though university, with a first at London College of Fashion in Womenswear Design in 2007. She then went on to cause waves in the fashion sphere, winning an award for most creative collection at her debut at The Ethical Fashion Show in Paris in October 2008. Zanditon’s success has grown in momentum ever since and has went on to collaborate with Gareth Pugh on his pattern designs and to create a capsule collection for Oxfam out of re constructed recycled clothing.
1. Tell me a little bit about yourself Ada?
I created my ethical and sustainable womenswear business in March 2008. I have exhibited at London Fashion Week as part of Estethica (Feb09) and at Ethical Fashion Show in Paris (oct08) where I won an award for most creative collection which includes the prize of fabric sponsorship from CELC masters of linen. I also make multimedia illustrations which have recently been exhibited in a show in Moscow alongside the work of Mark Le Bon.
2. Your work has a environmental ethos, what inspired this?
A friend wrote her final year thesis about the environmental impact of fashion and much of the information really surprised me because it was not something I had considered in depth before although I had always been interested in Green issues since childhood. I then attended an event organised by anti apathy at which Katharine Hamnett spoke about her work in the sector of organic cotton and what it meant to her as a designer. The environmental impact of any product starts with the designer and their choices. I don’t feel limited by choosing this as a path, I feel it is a great opportunity for me as a designer to create things that I not only perform aesthetically and functionally but which I can believe in having real value to people and planet.
3. Do you think enough is being done within the fashion sphere to promote sustainable fashion design?
It depends on the definition of enough, its a lot better than it used to be, in fact there have been weeks and months when you cannot open a magazine or a paper without there being something on sustainable design but of course there can always be more. For me it will never be enough until it is no longer necessary to promote something as sustainable because it is expected both by the designer, the buyer and the consumer that it should be designed sustainably. However I think that we have come a long way even in the last five years and I really admire and respect the hard work of the label from somewhere not only for their brand but also for putting so much passion into creating and sustaining Estethica.
4.Do you have any advice for inspiring eco- designers?
Think of yourself first as a designer , i.e think that anything is possible and then really research and consider your concepts. Look also at what is available close to you, in your town, your country. Local is a huge part of living more sustainably.
Personally for me I am happiest when people look at my work, exclaim how much they like it and then look confused and say “but how is this eco?” because it doesn’t look like their perception of what eco friendly clothing looks like. People will adopt more sustainable life styles either through neccesity or desire. Neccesity usually comes after catastrophe so I prefer desire.
5. What do you use as a main stimulus when your designing?
A concept. I chase after something that is illusory. Its a tyeing together of different strands, its not exactly story telling but it’s got similarities. The images can be anything but the structure to my working process comes from a fascination with an idea. Or that is at least one half. The other half is people, muses, personalities and I have to say I dress very differently to the clothes I design. I think this is because I want to design clothes that have elegance, strength and allow a women to express being sexy and intelligent at the same time. I am a tom boy personally! If I had my way I would just wear jeans ,
leggings and t shirts all the time….
6. Your also an illustrator as well as a designer, does your art work inter breed into your fashion work?
Absolutely. For my aw 09 collection drew the art work that I had woven by Vanners as a silk jacquard. For my graduate collection I created prints inspired by Mayan glyphs and space travel that were digitally printed onto Silk Jersey. I also create prints for various other labels. My silhouettes and shapes in my collection also influence the shape and look of some of my
illustrations.
7. Your illustrations have a distinctly multi-media feel, take me through your working processes?
Its quite mysterious sometimes even to me….. I start by drawing usually directly with fineliners. I might not have anything particular in mind… or just one or two images of the subject if there is one. These are usually very different to the thing I am drawing itself which often comes more from my mind’s eye. I sketch a lot from life of objects and people but hardly ever make studies that connect the sketches to the illustration. I think this is because I remember and imagine 3 dimensional imagery/objects much more than words. Then I continue via creating texture through photography and painting. All of this gets scanned in, and then a lot of photoshop and illustrator later…… and I arrive at a point where I think the balance is just right between the image I have by now an idea of and chaos. Like the clothing I think its quite an organic process.
So keep your eyes peeled for Ada Zanditon, with fans such as Patrick Wolf I have an inkling we haven’t heard the last from this talented lady.
The UK is more than a little obsessed with celebrity. But what if you’d just dropped out of the sky, visit this site say, and had no idea who these faces were that ignite people’s collectively salivating curiosities. Better yet how would you paint them? For artist Yuko Nasu that scenario isn’t far off. When she first arrived in London from Japan four years ago, she had no idea who these revered celebrities were. In fact to her, they were just as anonymous as she felt she was in her new environment.
Coming face to face with one of Yuko’s “Imaginary Portraits” your subconscious goes into overdrive trying to place the face until you realize abruptly that you’ve been staring, hard. The portraits’ fluidity and the simple strokes of vivid color are utterly mesmerizing and has recently earned her a second successful solo exhibit, “John Doe” this time at The Arts Gallery
Although she didn’t watch much TV at first, like so many of us Yuko picked through the gossip mags and short papers on the commute home and became intrigued by the recurring faces of media personalities. As she points out “To someone else they’re special but to me they’re no one, an unknown.” That unique experience informs her perspective and reflects a culture with an often grotesquely overdeveloped interest with celebrity. In an amusing twist of fate, one of her ambiguous paintings of Kate Moss was scooped up by the model-mum’s beau Jamie Hince. It seems familiar faces can be distilled into even the barest of essentials and still be recognized.
After completing her MA in Fine Art at St.Martins she went on to Global Arts Practice at Chelsea College continuing her series of adjoining portraits, based on the horizontal roll call of tv personalities in the back section of the papers. When questioned about the arrangement she says, “They’re like playing scales on an instrument.” There certainly is a meditative repetition to her method. A training of the subconscious so that you can suspend the cerebral part of your mind when you work, letting it flow. Not sure which happened first Yuko explains that at some point she began to take more risks with her portraits, challenging herself and gaining confidence from the results. Although she’s still quite anxious about viewer’s responses.
Yuko reached a turning point when, after trying unsuccessfully to denote features, she splashed some turpentine on the surface to erase or as she says “delete” the face. She feels her work began to develop a more cartoony quality, a genderless but still identifiable face.
She started allowing the accidents to happen, as she says “like a river to flow”. The river analogy brings me quickly to the topic of “shodo“ or Japanese calligraphy, also closely linked to Buddhism and meditation. At the heart of shodo are three strokes, “tome-hane-harai” or stop-jump-sweep. The gestural quality of Yuko’s pieces and the absence of belabored heaviness are evidence of her enviable sensitivity to the freedom and balance in her work. She makes no drafts but dives into the paintings without preconception, feeling that “It would make them boring”, opting instead to simply create more paintings and have a wider selection to chose from at the end.
The speed at which she paints depends on the surface she’s trying to create and her paintings can take anywhere from 15 minutes to a month to complete. “If I realize I’ve made a mistake, I’ll delete everything and sometimes turn the painting upside down and start again.” Not surprisingly her influences are Francis Bacon for the dynamism and strength of his images. Dutch artist Marlene Dumas’ for the tonality and passionate energy they emit and Mari Sunna’swork for its intimacy and its dark earthy browns and red.
Yuko prefers to work in oils because “the colors are more beautiful and acrylic is too plastic, has no depth.” Cringing at the price though she admits when she first arrived in the UK “The only oil paints I had were a box of damaged/defective paints given to me by Mr. Hayakawa, vice-president of Japanese paint manufacturer Kusakabe, who’d come to my show in Ginza Tokyo.” Yuko has certainly put some distance between then and now with awards for being one of St.Martins brightest stars, her work appearing in French Elle, Vogue and an interview in Art World Magazine. Yuko Nasu’s paintings elegantly address the issue of displacement and identity, especially anonymity. The motion and speed in her images is a reflection of the way we live our lives, where details may be blurred but hey, we get the idea. Keep a sharp eye out for this one!
A serious look at developing countries role in climate change needs a serious location, and and the talk that I attended yesterday entitled “Can Developing Country Needs For Energy Be Met Without Causing Climate Change?” was held at The Houses of Parliament. Running late as usual, web I raced through the streets of Westminster, purchase which was actually quite difficult to do as there was a huge police presence and a protest taking place (I believe it was a Stop The War group). By now, I have become used to finding myself in the middle of a busy, noisy protest with police helicopters flying overhead, and I was briefly tempted to throw myself into the mix, but remembered that I had a prior engagement, so I hot-footed it over to Parliament.
The room was steeped in solemn grandeur. I took a seat, and surveyed the room and its inhabitants. Naturally, I was the only red faced and breathless one from running through the halls of Parliament. The talk began by Professor Gordon MacKerron, Director of SPRU (Science and Technology Policy Research ) at the University of Sussex, and was followed by Sir David King, who at one point was a Government adviser and now chairs the Smith School of Enterprise and The Environment at Oxford University, a think tank that is pioneering ways in which to tackle the issues of climate change.
The talk started off in a relatively light note, with Prof Mackerron saying that perhaps the element of emergency over the situation of climate change has not been taken seriously enough due to the fact that many think of it as global warming; and have connotations of “warmer summers and vineyards sprouting up in England”. The reality, he assured us, was rising sea levels, melting ice caps and unpredictable weather systems, not the ability to have more barbeques in the back garden. Sir David King asserted that “now is the time to put radical ideas on the table to sweep away the molasses that we are wading through as we tackle climate change”.
Professor Mackerron went on to explain that the term “developing countries” has different groups; one would be the lowest income countries, which mostly include the countries, which are to be found around the equator, especially sub-Saharan Africa. Statistics have shown that they are only responsible for an extremely small proportion of all Greenhouse Gas Emissions, so the quick answer to the events headline question is that if their energy needs are met, it will not significantly affect climate change. The issues with the other countries are slightly more complex. Continents such as India and China are most likely to be affected by climate change, and are also the least resilient to the impact. However, they are also making huge economic growth, and burning a great deal of coal – just under half the world’s amount. I was surprised to hear that both India’s, and China’s Governments are keen to embrace low carbon technologies, especially wind and nuclear power. China has pledged to improve energy efficiency by 205 by 2020. Meanwhile, India’s Prime Minister says that he wants to have a ‘low carbon footprint’. However, it is difficult to see how this is realistically going to happen exactly because of the rates of their economic growth – Professor MacKerron explained that “in order for China to play its part in a global mitigation effort, it would need to reach an emissions peak between 2020, and 2030″. And they show no signs of slowing down now.
Sir David King spoke about Brazil, and what it can do to reduce its carbon footprint – in fact, he said that there was only one thing that it could do – stop deforestation. Sir King had met with Brazil’s President, Luiz Da Silva and told him this. He found the response as unexpected as we did – that the President announced, “By 2025 we will stop all deforestation”. This is a curious thing to say, he felt especially because so much of Brazil’s business is done as a result of deforestation.
Sir King also talked about ideas for alternative energy that are currently being investigated. I couldn’t quite comprehend one method; which appears to be extremely viable – and that is the technology that Holland and Norway have developed which harnesses energy from salinity power plants. It sounds unbelievable, but scientists and engineers are planning to use the difference between saltwater and fresh water found at river mouths to generate electrical power. Not being much of a scientist I decided that I would research it further when I got back, and while I still don’t quite understand how it works, the fact is that it could generate a large percentage of a countries power needs. As the board summarized in closing, with regards to climate change; “we have the tools, but no one yet is picking them up in the proper way.” We can only hope that technologies such as the above will be championed and funded so that they do become the tools that we work with to save our planet.
The UK is more than a little obsessed with celebrity. But what if you’d just dropped out of the sky, clinic say, and had no idea who these faces were that ignite people’s collectively salivating curiosities. Better yet how would you paint them? For artist Yuko Nasu that scenario isn’t far off. When she first arrived in London from Japan four years ago, she had no idea who these revered celebrities were. In fact to her, they were just as anonymous as she felt she was in her new environment.
Coming face to face with one of Yuko’s “Imaginary Portraits” your subconscious goes into overdrive trying to place the face until you realize abruptly that you’ve been staring, hard. The portraits’ fluidity and the simple strokes of vivid color are utterly mesmerizing and has recently earned her a second successful solo exhibit, “John Doe” this time at The Arts Gallery
Although she didn’t watch much TV at first, like so many of us Yuko picked through the gossip mags and short papers on the commute home and became intrigued by the recurring faces of media personalities. As she points out “To someone else they’re special but to me they’re no one, an unknown.” That unique experience informs her perspective and reflects a culture with an often grotesquely overdeveloped interest with celebrity. In an amusing twist of fate, one of her ambiguous paintings of Kate Moss was scooped up by the model-mum’s beau Jamie Hince. It seems familiar faces can be distilled into even the barest of essentials and still be recognized.
After completing her MA in Fine Art at St.Martins she went on to Global Arts Practice at Chelsea College continuing her series of adjoining portraits, based on the horizontal roll call of tv personalities in the back section of the papers. When questioned about the arrangement she says, “They’re like playing scales on an instrument.” There certainly is a meditative repetition to her method. A training of the subconscious so that you can suspend the cerebral part of your mind when you work, letting it flow. Not sure which happened first Yuko explains that at some point she began to take more risks with her portraits, challenging herself and gaining confidence from the results. Although she’s still quite anxious about viewer’s responses.
Yuko reached a turning point when, after trying unsuccessfully to denote features, she splashed some turpentine on the surface to erase or as she says “delete” the face. She feels her work began to develop a more cartoony quality, a genderless but still identifiable face.
She started allowing the accidents to happen, as she says “like a river to flow”. The river analogy brings me quickly to the topic of “shodo“ or Japanese calligraphy, also closely linked to Buddhism and meditation. At the heart of shodo are three strokes, “tome-hane-harai” or stop-jump-sweep. The gestural quality of Yuko’s pieces and the absence of belabored heaviness are evidence of her enviable sensitivity to the freedom and balance in her work. She makes no drafts but dives into the paintings without preconception, feeling that “It would make them boring”, opting instead to simply create more paintings and have a wider selection to chose from at the end.
The speed at which she paints depends on the surface she’s trying to create and her paintings can take anywhere from 15 minutes to a month to complete. “If I realize I’ve made a mistake, I’ll delete everything and sometimes turn the painting upside down and start again.” Not surprisingly her influences are Francis Bacon for the dynamism and strength of his images. Dutch artist Marlene Dumas’ for the tonality and passionate energy they emit and Mari Sunna’swork for its intimacy and its dark earthy browns and red.
Yuko prefers to work in oils because “the colors are more beautiful and acrylic is too plastic, has no depth.” Cringing at the price though she admits when she first arrived in the UK “The only oil paints I had were a box of damaged/defective paints given to me by Mr. Hayakawa, vice-president of Japanese paint manufacturer Kusakabe, who’d come to my show in Ginza Tokyo.” Yuko has certainly put some distance between then and now with awards for being one of St.Martins brightest stars, her work appearing in French Elle, Vogue and an interview in Art World Magazine. Yuko Nasu’s paintings elegantly address the issue of displacement and identity, especially anonymity. The motion and speed in her images is a reflection of the way we live our lives, where details may be blurred but hey, we get the idea. Keep a sharp eye out for this one!
Regular followers of my blog will know that I’ve been involved with Climate Camp for nearly two years – ever since I attended what I like to term the “University of Climate Change” at Heathrow in 2007. Before then I had been aware of the environmental issues we face, capsule but I had been unable to properly articulate why I felt so uncomfortable and useless – I knew that we humans were responsible for the perilous state of our climate, but I had not fully accepted the extent of our situation. I certainly didn’t understand what I could personally do to make a change given the narrow timeframe we now have to avert Climate Chaos.
But then something extraordinary happened. I went to all the talks and workshops on offer and got myself an education. Suddenly I felt empowered by the passion of the incredibly well informed people around me, people who were prepared to actually take direct action to avert Climate Change. For there are only two ways to solve the mess we are in. On the one hand we have to relearn how to live more sustainably and communally – which will inevitably lead not only to a lower carbon lifestyle, but an altogether more satisfying life. And at the same time we have to stop the government and multi-national corporations from putting profits before the welfare of our planet. Because without their commitment to our future we’re quite simply buggered.
Climate Camp is amazing quite simply because it tackles both these strands. Climate Camp empowers people to learn from each other within a working model of a fully sustainable community, and allows us to take direct action together to stop the causes of Climate Change. Because Nature Doesn’t Do Bailouts, this year Climate Camp will be sited somewhere within Greater London between 26 August – 2 September, near the financial institutions that have shown such disdain for the future of our world.
But… we need to start mobilising now, and this is where you come in. If you are a typographer or an illustrator or a designer we need your help! We need you to help us produce an amazing logo and poster image for our publicity. We can’t offer you any money because everyone who contributes to the Climate Camp process does so because they want to help solve Climate Change, not for financial gain. But we can offer you an amazing opportunity to contribute to an amazing movement that is really making a change in the world.
There are two parts to this brief. Part one has to be completed and submitted in only three weeks – by Friday 15th May – so that we can start the first phase of flyering and networking. For part two we have a little longer…. til Friday the 5th of June. In an ideal world you would submit to both. But if you can’t then pick one and give it your all. We’re looking for diverse imagery that reflects the themes of our camp and our goals as a whole! We can’t wait to see what you produce for us!! If your work is chosen expect to see it everywhere….
Brief 1
We need a Climate Camp 2009 name logo. Last year we had the iconic penknife logo (above) designed by UHC in Manchester. It has now been adopted by the French Climate Camp so its life continues. The fabulous illustrator Adrian Fleet created the Climate Camp in the City logos for the event on April 1st in Bishopsgate, both of which you can see below.
The new Climate Camp 2009 logo should also be simple, bold and iconic, easily translatable into both large and small copy.
It should encapsulate the key themes of Climate Camp in one inspiring image.
The words Climate Camp 2009 must be part of the logo.
It should be squarish in nature so that it can be used on other media such as badges.
It should work well in black and white as well (so make it high contrast!)
Technical Information. PLEASE READ!
Please send your design to info@ameliasmagazine.com on an email clearly headed CLIMATE CAMP LOGO any time before the closing date of Friday 15th May. The sooner the better! SIZE: Please create this logo at high resolution so that it can be blown up to an A2 poster size if needed. For this reason it is recommended to work in Illustrator. If using Photoshop please work at a resolution that works at 300 dpi at A2 size in CYMK mode. Please send me a low res version of your file when you submit your work, no larger than 3MB.
If your design is picked to be used I will be in touch immediately after the closing date to let you know. Please be aware that we may need to ask you to make some minor alterations to fit different medias.
Brief 2
We would like a more complex image to use on big posters, similar to the one that Leona Clarke (see below) created for the London neighbourhood last year. This can incorporate many more ideas from the list of suggested imagery below, but should remain focused on the positive. The words Climate Camp 2009 should be included somewhere, and there should also be space to add a further subtitle or slogan (yet to be decided) and important info such as website and sms details. (as can be seen on the London poster) Technical Information. PLEASE READ!
Please send your design to info@ameliasmagazine.com on an email clearly headed CLIMATE CAMP POSTER any time before the closing date of Friday 5th June. The sooner the better! SIZE: Please design your image at a resolution of 300 dpi in CYMK Mode to fit an A2 poster. Please send me a low res version of your file when you submit your work, no larger than 3MB.
If your design is picked to be used I will be in touch at some point after the closing date to let you know. We have plans to put on a widely publicised exhibition of the best entries, possibly with an auction to help raise money for Climate Camp funds. For this we will need original artwork and you will of course be invited to the event if yours is chosen.
Join the facebook event to keep abreast of updates here.
IMAGERY IDEAS TO INSPIRE YOUR DESIGNS:
We would like you to be inspired by some (or all!) of the following imagery ideas:
Looking towards a positive future:
making things ourselves, a sense of DIY
self sufficiency, make do and mend, teaching each other skills, compost loos
wind turbines, solar panels and other renewable energies (sun, sea, tide)
growing our own food, living locally and lightly on the earth
colourful tents, marquees, flags and lots of bunting making our own city
cracked pavement with flowers growing though, green vines growing up buildings
working by consensus – groups of people making decisions together so that everyone is happy with the outcome
happy campers, living communally – eating well, dancing, making music
the circular links of sustainable action
people of all ages including children and old people protesting together
“swooping” down on a campsite with a mass of people
Contrast between our world now and the future we aspire towards:
sunrise/sunsets
money flying through the air, and a stack of cards falling down
bubbles coming out of the stock exchange
Bank of England doric columns, skyscrapers, Gerkin (iconic buildings)
things falling apart or falling off
person standing on the wreckage of the failed economy (or a coal station / gas line) holding a wind turbine or other good thing!
people taking versus people sharing
planes causing climate change, versus travel by bike, foot, boat and train
biofuel degradation of rainforest and other ecological systems
the perils of the system – as represented by graphs and skyscrapers, bankers and money
banker’s deals/ handshakes, ticking clocks representing a timebomb
scales of injustice and exploitation
tipping points from which there is no return to a just world for all
heat of a future world if we don’t avert climate change
lack of food, water and habitable land
More specifically – styles you might consider working in:
lo-fi DIY aesthetic
soviet style propaganda
ideas that work well in black and white lo-fi printing
super colourful and detailed styles too
movie poster aesthetics
Written by Amelia on Saturday April 25th, 2009 12:45 pm
This Saturday, information pillspill The Land Is Ours collective will occupy some disused land near Hammersmith. An eco-village will take root, viagra sale peacefully reclaiming land for a sustainable settlement, and getting in touch with the local community about its aims. In a year when nearly 13,000 Britons lost their homes to repossessions in the first three months, eco-villages point the way to a more down-to-earth lifestyle.
Back in May 1996, the same collective took over a spot on the banks of the Thames in Wandsworth, in a land rights action that grew up over five and a half months into the Pure Genius community, based on sustainable living and protesting the misuse of urban land. Here are some photos from that project.
The Land Is Ours channel the spirit of the Diggers , a group of 17-century radicals who picked out and dug over a patch of common land in St George’s Hill in Walton-upon-Thames back in the day. They were led by Gerard Winstanley, who thought any freedom must come from free access to the land.
Here’s a little more from ‘Gerard Winstanley’ about this weekend:
What’s the first thing you’ll do when you get there?
Have a meeting. One of the first priorities is to leaflet the local area in order to inform the local people of what we are doing. Another priority is the construction of compost toilets.
Do you have lots of plans for sheds, vegetable patches and compost toilets?
Yes. Due to the nature of the site (ex-industrial) we will likely be using raised beds to grow vegetables and buckets for potatoes. It being London, there should be a good supply of thrown away materials from building sites and in skips. Compost toilets are pretty essential.
?What kinds of people are you expecting to turn up?
All sorts. Hopefully a mixture of those keen to learn and those willing to teach. ??
?I read the Chapter 7 manifesto. Have you notified the council or planning authority of your plans, or are you keeping to the idea that once you’re there, with homes under construction, it’s difficult to evict?
We haven’t notified the council yet- but we have a liaison strategy in place for when we’re in.
On that note, how long do you hope to be there?
The longevity of the Eco-village depends on how committed its residences and just as crucially how the local urban populus respond to our presence. If we receive the support we need, the council will likely think twice before embarking on an unpopular eviction (at least that’s the theory!).
Could this realistically become a permanent residence, or is it more likely to be valuable simply as campaigning?
Hopefully it can be both. There is no reason why this site cannot sustain a core group of committed individuals and serve as a brilliant awareness raiser to the issue of disused urban land, lack of affordable housing and the a sustainable way of living that is friendly to people and planet and liberating.
?Can I come along?
Of course, we are meeting at Waterloo Station at 10AM this Saturday (underneath the clock).
What might I need to do?
Bring a tent, sleeping bag and some food and water. You may be interested to read an article written by a journalist from the Guardian concerning the eco-village.
So dig yourself out of bed this Saturday, and go discover the beginnings of London’s newest eco-village.
If the dark shades of under-duvet hideouts dominate the colour of your Sundays then you need to wake up and get greened. Arcola Theatre in East London hopes to be the first carbon neutral theatre in the world and has been appointed as the secretariat for the Mayor of London’s Green Theatre plan, this which aims to deliver 60 percent cuts in theatre carbon emissions by 2025.
As part of this environmental drive, the first Sunday of every month is a Green Sunday at Arcola Theatre. June’s event is part of Love London, the biggest green festival in Europe and looks at ethical consumption, promising ‘entertainment and inspiration for the ecologically curious’. From 3pm there’s a swap shop market plus cakes and tea to take you through the evening of Senegalese percussion, cool short and feature-length films, starting from 4.30pm. As the afternoon turns to evening, there will be a discussion with Neil Boorman, author of Bonfire Of The Brands, an account of his journey from shopping and brand addiction to a life free from labels. As part of the project, Neil destroyed every branded product in his possession, incinerating over £20,000 worth of designer gear in protest of consumer culture. This will be chaired by Morgan Phillips.
Neil and Morgan will later be joined by Richard King from Oxfam to talk about their 4-a-week campaign- encouraging shoppers to do their bit for sustainability each week.
I spoke to the sustainability projects manager at Arcola Theatre, Anna Beech, to find out more about Arcola’s arts world-changing philosophies:
All at Arcola must be extremely proud that a theatre founded only 9 years ago – and on credit cards! – is well on the way to becoming the first carbon neutral theatre in the world. Can you tell us a bit about how and why you made the decision to lead the green theatre movement?
Since 2007, Arcola has launched many high-profile green initiatives (including the pioneering use of LEDs and the on-site installation of a fuel cell to power bar and stage lighting). There are a number of reasons for this – because it contributes to reducing Arcola’s carbon emissions and resource use, because it makes financial sense – reducing energy bills; because it supports funding applications; because it integrates Arcola into the local community; allows Arcola to reach a wider audience and stakeholder base; and provides an effective platform upon which to publicise the name ‘Arcola’ – as a hub of creativity and sustainability.
Sustainability is part of Arcola’s core unique business model, alongside professional theatre and our youth and community programme.
Have you found that arts and science professionals are eager to integrate and come up with exciting ideas and actions or has it been difficult to bring the two fields together?
Arcola’s ArcolaEnergy has had considerable interest from technology companies and brokers, including the Carbon Trust. As a reocgnised innovator in sustainability in the arts, Arcola has been able to broker extremely advantageous relationships with private sector companies – who have provided the theatre with free green products, including LED lights – as well as other theatres and arts organisations (National Theatre, Arts Council, Live Nation, The Theatres Trust), and Government bodies like the DCMS and Mayor of London’s Office. Arcola’s reputation as a sustainable charity has created these partnerships and allowed them to grow and develop into mutually advantageous relationships. So this demonstrates that the arts and sustainability worlds can come together to form mutually advanteous relationships. However, there is plenty of work to be done.
So far, what has been the most successful pioneering energy practice you’ve introduced?
The installation of Arcola’s fuel cell in February 2008 made the venue the first theatre in the world to power its main house shows and bar/café on hydrogen. The Living Unknown Soldier gained reverence as London’s most ecologically sustainable show, with the lighting at a peak power consumption of 4.5kW, a reduction of 60 per cent on comparable theatre lighting installations.
Previous Green Sunday events at the Arcola Theatre
Arcola’s ‘greening’ goes from the stage to the box office. Among other things, we produce ‘green’ newsletters for staff, we recycle, we provide free tap water to audiences (to lessen use of bottled water), we serve fairtrade, organic and local produce wherever possible (including organic vodka and whiskey!), we host Transition Town meetings, we installed a cycle enclosure for staff in 2009 and try to incentivise both staff and audiences to use public transport more and their cars less.
How do you think the technical creativity of sustainability has significantly shaped any of the plays Arcola has produced?
One example of the ‘greening’ of Arcola’s shows and working closely with production companies took place during the pre-production and staging of ‘Living Unknown Soldier‘ in 2008. The production explored the use of more energy efficient lanterns, including LED moving heads and batons (see Fig. 1) florescent tubes and some other filament lanterns such as low wattage source 4′s and par 16s. The crew tried to travel by public transport wherever possible, use laptops rather than PCs, limit phone use, source sustainable materials and managed to keep energy requirements low in order to use Arcola’s fuel cell to power the show.
‘‘The idea is that once you expose people to this stuff and they know you for doing it, they’ll gravitate towards you. Ultimately we should end up with some really good art about sustainability and some really good ideas about how to do art sustainably.” – Ben Todd, Executive Director and Founder of Arcola Energy.
Why do you think its particularly important for the arts to become more involved in green issues?
Because the arts have the power to influence behaviour change. Whilst the theatre industry itself has a relatively small carbon footprint (2% of total carbon emissions in London), and thus its capacity to deliver direct carbon emission reductions is relatively small; the power of theatre and the wider arts/cultural sectors to rapidly and effectively influence public behaviour and policy makers to drive significant indirect carbon emission reductions is very large (entertainment related activity accounts for up to 40% of travel emissions).
However, theatres and other arts venues must first address the ‘greening’ of their venues and practices in order to communicate climate change and environmental messages to audiences effectively and with impact.
Green Sundays is a great idea, how do you hope to see it develop in the future months?
We have a variety of themes in mind for future events, including a focus on the climate talks in Copenhagen in December, a water theme, ethical business, natural history and a Green Sunday programme tailored to children and young people.
So get over your hangover, get on your bike and cycle down to Dalston on Sunday to help spread the word about arts and sustainability coming together to communicate environmental messages to your local community.
To find out more about Green Sundays and the Arcola Theatre go to:
I don’t keep it secret that I’ve had a crush on Jarvis Cocker since I was 10 and first heard Common People, I suppose announcing it on a blog was just the next logical step in my snowballing lust for the bespectacled one. Imagine my delight when I saw he was headlining as a solo outfit at this year’s Green Man Festival.
Green Man 2006
Jarvis Cocker
All the other festivals will be green with envy over Green Man’s line-up, one of the most exciting and diverse of the summer. Alongside Jarv, Animal Collective will also be headlining and having seen them a couple of times over the past few years they are really not to be missed live, their shows can only be described as being in an underwater topsy-turvy world where you can feel the rhythm wash over you in waves.
Whilst Green Man has managed to pull in such an awesome line-up, it has a reputation for a boutique-y intimacy and a friendly atmosphere. Green Man is most definitely a festival for music lovers, and one that I won’t be missing!
Green Man Festival 2007
Green Man Festival takes place amidst the Breacon Beacons from 21st to 23rd August. Click here for ticket information.
Thumbnail by Roisin Conway
Some people have the knack for discovering those amazing pieces in charity shops – it’s generally the preserve of both the patient and the fashion-savvy who are content to rummage away until they emerge with some designer find that leaves you flapping your arms and wondering why it wasn’t you.
Now ten minutes in Topshop – that’s a quick fix. Why bother buying something old when you can buy something new? If last week’s Style Wars was only a half-formed idea, generic intent to float and suggest a concept, but not to follow through, TRAID (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) has articulated the remaking and reselling of used clothes as an ethical necessity. Citing the whopping £46 billion spent on clothes and accessories every year, TRAID highlights the colossal wastage resultant of constantly changing trends that are both cheap and easily available. The ease of shopping on the high street seems to problematise the feeling that the act of recycling is an almost paradoxical idea for an industry that is by name and nature grounded in an obsession with the new and the innovative.
Here lies the problem in normal charity shop shopping. The dowdy and stale image affixed to them is arguably (however unfortunately) justifiable, and TRAID has been taking the steps to rebrand the public perception of recycled clothing by actually joining the dots between the environment, recycling and fashion itself. Charity and fashion are practically mutually alienating concepts in most people’s minds. In short, charity shops aren’t trendy, so how do you turn that around? Chief Executive Maria TRAID recognises the problem and goes straight to the heart of it, saying “we have worked incredibly hard to change the face of charity retail by ensuring that our shops are stylish and affordable”, two words you might associate with the high street.
TRAID has 900 textile recycling banks across the UK, and the company take the donations and sort by quality and style to then sell in one of their charity shops – clothes that are stained or torn are deconstructed and redesigned into a bespoke garment by the company’s own fashion label TRAIDremade.
In a way it’s an absolute no-brainer: to take things people don’t want and make them something they do, especially as they follow high street trends, crafting sexy asymmetric dresses, bags cut from old leathers, signature hand printed tees and flirty dresses.
Two weeks ago TRAID opened their tenth shop in their tenth year in Camden, which as well as being an area that’s a promising resource in terms of fashionable finds, is a landmark for a really inspirational company. To date TRAID has donated £1.4 million to help fight global poverty, supporting charities by funding projects in Malawi and Kenya amongst others. TRAID has ten shops located across London and Brighton, and TRAIDremade is available on getethical.co.uk.
Imagine a world without fish. Released in cinemas across the country to coincide for World Ocean Day, medical an inconvenient truth about the devastating effect of overfishing.
Opens today, check your local cinema for screenings.
Lambeth Green Communities Open Evening
Organised in partnership with Transition Town Brixton, Hyde Farm CAN and ASSA CAN, this is a chance to celebrate Lambeth’s Green Communities and be inspired to reduce your community’s environmental impact.
18.30-21.00 drop-in to Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton
Contact – Susan Sheehan, Ssheehan (at) lambeth.gov.uk
Tuesday 9th June
The Great British Refurb
Housing for a low carbon energy future – a talk at the The Royal Society
A talk by Professor Tadj Oreszczyn, chaired by Professor Chris Rapley. Theoretical carbon reductions have often been slow to materialise, new buildings can use up to twice the energy predicted, and energy use can actually go up when efficiency increases. This lecture will look at the possibilities for new building, and whether technology can solve our energy use problems. Tadj Oreszczyn is Professor of Energy and Environment and Director of the Energy Institute at UCL.
This lecture is free – no ticket or booking required. Doors open at 5.45pm and seats are first-come first-served. Lecture starts at 6.30pm, The Royal Society
This lecture will be webcast live and available to view on demand within 48 hours of delivery at royalsociety.tv
Dominic Glover, Erik Millstone, Peter Newell talk about possible solutions to the encroaching global food crisis – how will GM crops fit in to the struggle to raise yields, and could they be part of a truly sustainable answer?
Join a popular walking group on a stroll around this fascinating part of London. There’s no charge and no need to book. Do get there ten minutes before the start time, wear comfortable shoes and bring a small bottle of water.
11am – 12.15pm, meeting at St Luke’s Centre, 90 Central Street, London, EC1V
Clothes Swap at Inc Space
Daisy Green Magazine and ethical stylist Lupe Castro have teamed up to host what is hoped to be the UK’s biggest ever clothes swap. Nicola Alexander, founder of daisygreenmagazine.co.uk, said, “It’s like a fashion treasure hunt!”
The evening will kick off at 6.30 and, as well as the swish (apparently the ‘scene’ word for a clothes swap), it will feature an ethical styling demonstration by Lupe Castro, music from top green band, The Phoenix Rose, burlesque dancing and shopping opportunities from ethical fashion brands including Bochica, Makepiece, Bourgeois Boheme, and natural beauty company, Green People.
Tickets are £10 in advance and £15 on the door.
More information can be found on our facebook page
From 18:30 at INC Space in Grape Street, London WC2
Redbridge Recycling Group are running a friendly information stand all day. Want to bin the bags and green your shopping habits? Fancy making your own compost or confused about packaging labels? Pop along any time of day to have your questions answered and find out how to make the future waste free.
11am – 4pm, Ilford High Road, opposite the Town Hall/Harrison Gibson
Taking place all over the country, all over the world, the World Naked Bike Ride protests against oil dependency and car culture, celebrating the power of our bikes and bodies. Every June, more than a thousand cyclists gather in London to take part. The easy 10 km route passes through London’s busiest and best known streets. Bring your bike and body (decorate both of these ahead of time)
Assemble from 3pm in Hyde Park (South East section, near Hyde Park Tube) – east of the Broad Walk, south of the Fountain of Joy, and north of the Achilles Statue.
Celebrate the Love London, Love Your Planet Festival 2009 at the London Wetland Centre this weekend. Check out TFL’s new hybrid bus, see the Richmond shire horses and get a load of green tips and tricks. There will also be face painting for the kids, the Richmond cycling campaign and other environmentally friendly organisations.
11am-4pm, Saturday and Sunday
WWT London Wetland Centre, SW13 9WT Maaaan, pilule those bloomers are HOT!
My morning started bright and early on Monday 1st June: called upon as I was to document a Climate Rush action at Chatham House just as the E.ON sponsored conference began: Coal: An Answer to Energy Security? (like, drug duh… NO!)
As I was sitting in the very pleasant St James Square to avoid undue police annoyance (there were vehicles parked right outside the entrance) I found my eyes drawn to the undergrowth in the thicket of vegetation at the edge of the park. I should have been looking for activity outside the venue, but instead I found myself engaged in a dance between two Robins. I always thought Robins were solitary birds, but a quick google ascertains my reasoning that this pair must have been mates, although I’m fairly sure Robins don’t scavenge at ground level. There was also a young Blackbird, happily scrabbling around in the undergrowth for some nice tasty worms (I’m guessing… but that sounds like the perfect breakfast for a Blackbird) As I sat there wondering what was to pass in the street beyond I felt my heart sing. Here, even in the centre of our grubby and concreted capital city – nature finds a way. This is what I’m fighting for, I thought! The sheer joy of the natural world.
a Blackbird in the undergrowth
And then, I noticed two coppers striding towards me. Would they find my Climate Rush badges? And pre-emptively arrest me for possible crimes against cotton with a badge pin? Asking why I was acting suspiciously by peering into the bushes I replied, “why, I’m taking photos of the birds” and showed the officers the photos on my camera playback. But they weren’t having it, and asked for my ID, which I refused. It’s not illegal to refuse to show your ID, but they took this as admission of guilt – a typical ploy of the police and one which I must check up on the legality of. They then searched me “because you must have something to hide if you don’t want to give us your name Angela Gregory” Ah!!! Clever officer! He’s been reading his little FIT watch spotter card and cribbing up on Climate Rush central. Only the trouble is, I’m not Angela Gregory – clever but not so clever officer. I’d love to see what they use as my mugshot – I hope it’s flattering.
When I questionned the validity of their reason to search me, one officer told me that “you are believed to be a member of a group called Climate Action, no that’s not it… Climate Rush, and they have committed criminal damage on buildings.” Wrong again Mr. Officer! Our parliament gluers have been bailed away to return to charges of possible criminal damage, for one drop of glue that fell on the statue in parliament. Glue that washes away with one dab of a damp cloth. Like that’s got a rat’s chance in hell of standing up in court.
Still – they got my name right after a cursory search of my camera bag, which revealed an old business card that had been lurking in a side pocket for at least three years. But they didn’t find the badges, even though they were rattling like bastards. I knew they wouldn’t, the MET not being the brightest cookies in the biscuit jar. Oh, I will be in trouble the next time we meet! Woops! If they had discovered the badge stash they would have found not only climate rush badges but also E.ON F.OFF ones from the Climate Camp campaign – that would have got them very excited no doubt, given the sponsor of said Coal Conference.
As usual I’ve gone off on a tangent… not long after the police accosted me there was a loud commotion the other side of the St James nature reserve, and the police and I were off like a flash to find out what was going on. Across the road a bunch of white clad people were trying to hold onto a bike sculpture, as the police tried to tussle it off them. Within moments the police had gained the upper hand, and instead the eleven protesters were trying to pull sashes from Deeds Not Words bags, and unfurl a lovely red banner reading No New Coal, before the police frogmarched them across the road and threw them into the “pen”.
I dashed off home in the hopes of getting some images into the London papers – alas my speed was not rewarded with any success, but our actions did reach the attendees of the conference – one academic at the conference apparently spoke with a protester, and agreed that direct action was pushing matters in the right direction (he was a specialist in CCS, but held out little hope for it’s implementation, given the probable massive costs) Score one massive point to us! I hope that E.ON and their cronies were suitably rattled, even if the press didn’t feel see fit to publicise the action. In the end five activists were arrested but most were released within hours. One brave Climate Rusher was refused bail after glueing herself onto the Chatham House railings (you go girl!) and the judge at her hearing the next morning allegedly told her that our protest had been pointless, since it had not garnered any press – before slapping a massive 40 hours community service on her for aggravated trespass. We think not…
the bike sculpture lies forlorn on the pavement
In recent weeks we’ve attracted a lot of interest from film makers, and by the time I arrived at Tamsin’s house to get ready for the Bike Rush that afternoon (and to hastily knock up one more pair of bloomers) there were cameras everywhere I turned. It’s not a sensation I particularly like, and have thus far managed to stay out of the current crop of films – leaving it to the more exhibitionist members of Climate Rush to hog the limelight. I worry that it is easy to manipulate our actions in the editing suite, and portray us in a way with which we will ultimately be unhappy and out of our control. But I guess it’s a situation that I need to grow used to – many of our sort – as well as being involved with an undoubtedly exciting group – are very attractive, garrulous and media savvy – an irresistable combination to a film maker. Me? I much prefer to stay behind the lens…
finishing off the flags
As soon as the drawstring was threaded into the last pair of bloomers it was time to hit the high roads of Kilburn – seven of us on various bikes, none of which, I noted disappointingly, were even vaguely Edwardian-esque. Instead we had Geeky Rushette on a fold-out Brompton with a helmet. And we had Virgin Rushette with wispy blonde locks and billowing white damel-in-distress dress over her bloomers, and Not-Very-Good-on-a-Bike-in-London Rushette on a crappy mountain bike with a rusty chain that nearly fell off before we even set off.
I was dressed in a simple black dress in the hope that my vintage hat from Hebden Bridge would be enough of a distraction and provide the right elegant touch – which was exciting as it tipped over both my eyes and my camera. We made a right merry site gunning down the bus lane towards Marble Arch, flags flapping behind as people turned to gawp at us. After taking a short cut through Green Park we traversed the Mall and came to a screeching halt at our destination, where we were seriously outnumbered by police. But blimey did we look good!
gathered in Green Park as we approach!
As we pulled sashes and t-shirts and badges and stickers from our panniers people began to arrive in their droves. The sun shone down as the cyclists spilled from the pen into the road and the police did little to resist.
Tim cranked up Pedals, the bike sound system, and I chatted to people – it was great to discover that people had come from afar on the strength of joining our facebook group – ah, I do love to feel vindicated on the subject of social networking. I was also very pleased to see lots of children along for the ride, suitably togged up with sashes and of course helmets.
maybe our youngest Rusher?
And a lot more customisation of sashes, which have suddenly found new lives as headbands on hats, ties around bike baskets, cumberbund style belts and a whole host more. Marina just opted to pile a whole load on, and looked a treat for it.
a basket full of skipped flowers gets the sash treatment
my fabulous vintage visor-meets-pie hat!
Then the Hare Krishnas arrived with a mighty noise that had the whole gathering swivelling their heads; a whole band seated in two trailers behind bicycles. I was astonished to see that a drum kit could indeed be transported this way (plus a rather large drummer).
Once several hundred people had gathered in place there were a few false starts before it was time to take off for a ceremonial circuit of the square, wooping all the way before we stopped off at our first destination, just yards from the starting point – BP’s head offices – they of the infamous byline “Beyond Petroleum“. And fact fans, you’ll no doubt be interested to hear that BP have in fact spent more on the whole Beyond Petroleum (as if!) advertising campaign than they have in fact spent on alternative energy. Brilliant! Why pour money into researching renewables when you can instead rape and pillage the earth for a fraction of the cost? And spend any extra cash on greenwashing instead. Fabulous plan; congratulations BP.
With that it was onwards on a winding route up to Piccadilly Circus, and from there up Charing Cross Road to Oxford Street, that grand bastion of consumerism -one of the biggest drivers of Climate Change. Tim gave a running commentary from the backseat of his tandem as we hollered our way down London’s flagship shopping street, before coming to a grand halt in the late evening sunshine smack bang in the middle of Oxford Circus. What a grand feeling! Many people seemed amused and even happy to see us, a grand diversion from the glittering goods in the windows.
stopped in the centre of Oxford Circus
As we sailed downhill along Regent Street I spotted a Lush store, still with our Trains Not Planes banner proudly displayed in the window. A bike-bound copper looked on worriedly as someone went closer to take a look. Duh! They’re our friends – just take a look at the Evening Standard-alike banner outside the shop. We love Lush. We’re not about to do anything naughty!
hmmm, the Queen’s residence ahead in the late evening sun…
On our second stop at Piccadilly Circus Tim cheekily waited until the lights went red “cos us cyclists always run red lights” before leading us across the main junction and down towards the Mall, where we sallied into the sunshine up to Buckingham Palace. I met the naked cyclists, who I’d been promised were attending. The girls had bikinis on and they all wore lots of paint, the better to cover up with, but they still looked rather fetching, if slightly less than wholely naked. And despite rumours to the contrary they were happy to sport a sash to protect their modesty as well.
It was then but a short hop down to Victoria, where we paused to consider the headquarters of BAA – boooooooo. And then on past BERR, where, funnily enough, Neil “the weasel”FIT photographer was waiting for us. We all waved “hi” to him as he lowered his massive equipment and smiled slightly sheepishly at us. You know who we are Neil, and we all know who you are too. Why don’t you just get a better job? One in which you are helping to protect a better world for all, not just the interests of the few? Still, I have to commend the actions of the police who came along for the ride – for once they really did seem to be protecting the rights of protesters – having cross words with impatient drivers revving their engines and generally preventing overly aggressive behaviour from motorists.
wave to Neil everyone!
Oh god, this has turned into a bit of an opus as usual, and I haven’t even mentioned all of our stopping off points! The fact is that unless you were right down the front near the sound system it was pretty impossible to hear the guided tour. And anyway, everyone was just so happy to be commandeering the streets of London – there’s nothing like reclaiming our public highways to feel empowered – that it didn’t matter if our tour was a little haphazard in the end (and we left our notes at home anyway, so it was a bit of an ad-lib).
solidarity with the Tamils
And then we were at Parliament Square – the police momentarily blocked our entrance onto the roundabout, but then decided better as we filtered around them anyway. Soon we were level with the Tamils, who seemed somewhat bemused by our peace signs in solidarity. But oh what an inspiration they have been! Such tenacity. And then onwards to Westminster Bridge, where we turned in a big loop near the junction on the north side and stopped. Perhaps this would be an opportune place for that picnic we promised? A statement of our intent right next to the very seat of power that is failing us? The suggestion was met with amusement as it dawned on our riders that this was what we had in mind.
that bike sign on the road has gotta mean “stop” right?
Some clearly were not expecting it, but almost everyone was soon dropping their bikes to the road and pulling out their picnic blankets and food. As the sunset on Big Ben above us we raised our bikes aloft in joy, unfurled banners aplenty, and stood our ground. The police didn’t know what to do – FIT finally made it down from BERR, and climbed on top of a barrier right above where I’d left my bike. Weirdly the bamboo pole holding up my lovely Climate Rush flag was latter found snapped in two shortly afterwards. I hate to make accusations but…
what a marvelous family!
bike aloft
As a bendy bus made an awkward 360 degree turn on the bridge passersby continued to stream past, snapping away and generally beaming at our audacity. A string of brightly coloured bunting cordoned off our blockade.
fun with a bendy bus!
The soundsystem was commandeered by a variety of eloquent speakers and Mark played us a tune or two. Sadly the promised celidh didn’t happen – our erstwhile fiddler had failed to materialise yet again and I was too busy running around like a headless chicken (taking photos) to figure out an alternative. I do apologise – multitasking got the better of me again.
astride Boudicca
gawping at their nerve
And then three Rushettes mounted the huge emblematic Boudicca statue in their stripey bloomers! One climbed right up to place a sash around Boudicca’s neck, before returning to sit astride one of the great beasts in a gesture of defiant victory. The first attempt to fly a flag from the horses’ hooves failed, but no matter, we’d been prolific in our banner making and another one was soon unfurled. Deeds Not Words. I think that powerful queen would have approved.
bike blockade
on a tandem
Shortly before 9pm the police approached us politely and charmingly (someone must have had words with them in recent weeks) to say that they would eventually have to move us on. We decided that it would be best to go out on a high and declared our intentions to the crowd, with an accompanying recommendation to come join us in a nice pub on The Cut by Waterloo. As we cycled off across the bridge I was amused to find tourists sitting in the middle of the road – thrilled with the lack of cars and the unexpected reclamation for bipedal human use.
enjoying the reclaimed bridge
At the pub we laid out our picnic blankets again and enjoyed the warm balmy night in the company of many new friends. I was particularly thrilled to speak with new Rushers and especially to those who had not expected our final destination to be quite so spikey, but who had welcomed the unexpected turn of events with open arms. Inspiring mass direct action – it’s what we do best… so join us on our next action against the dirty palm oil biofuel business; responsible for massive environmental degradation, huge contributions of CO2 to the atmosphere, and the loss of 90% of the orangutans since the Suffragettes first walked this land. Don’t let those in power decide the future of our planet!
Written by Amelia on Thursday June 4th, 2009 5:39 pm
This Saturday, information pillspill The Land Is Ours collective will occupy some disused land near Hammersmith. An eco-village will take root, viagra sale peacefully reclaiming land for a sustainable settlement, and getting in touch with the local community about its aims. In a year when nearly 13,000 Britons lost their homes to repossessions in the first three months, eco-villages point the way to a more down-to-earth lifestyle.
Back in May 1996, the same collective took over a spot on the banks of the Thames in Wandsworth, in a land rights action that grew up over five and a half months into the Pure Genius community, based on sustainable living and protesting the misuse of urban land. Here are some photos from that project.
The Land Is Ours channel the spirit of the Diggers , a group of 17-century radicals who picked out and dug over a patch of common land in St George’s Hill in Walton-upon-Thames back in the day. They were led by Gerard Winstanley, who thought any freedom must come from free access to the land.
Here’s a little more from ‘Gerard Winstanley’ about this weekend:
What’s the first thing you’ll do when you get there?
Have a meeting. One of the first priorities is to leaflet the local area in order to inform the local people of what we are doing. Another priority is the construction of compost toilets.
Do you have lots of plans for sheds, vegetable patches and compost toilets?
Yes. Due to the nature of the site (ex-industrial) we will likely be using raised beds to grow vegetables and buckets for potatoes. It being London, there should be a good supply of thrown away materials from building sites and in skips. Compost toilets are pretty essential.
?What kinds of people are you expecting to turn up?
All sorts. Hopefully a mixture of those keen to learn and those willing to teach. ??
?I read the Chapter 7 manifesto. Have you notified the council or planning authority of your plans, or are you keeping to the idea that once you’re there, with homes under construction, it’s difficult to evict?
We haven’t notified the council yet- but we have a liaison strategy in place for when we’re in.
On that note, how long do you hope to be there?
The longevity of the Eco-village depends on how committed its residences and just as crucially how the local urban populus respond to our presence. If we receive the support we need, the council will likely think twice before embarking on an unpopular eviction (at least that’s the theory!).
Could this realistically become a permanent residence, or is it more likely to be valuable simply as campaigning?
Hopefully it can be both. There is no reason why this site cannot sustain a core group of committed individuals and serve as a brilliant awareness raiser to the issue of disused urban land, lack of affordable housing and the a sustainable way of living that is friendly to people and planet and liberating.
?Can I come along?
Of course, we are meeting at Waterloo Station at 10AM this Saturday (underneath the clock).
What might I need to do?
Bring a tent, sleeping bag and some food and water. You may be interested to read an article written by a journalist from the Guardian concerning the eco-village.
So dig yourself out of bed this Saturday, and go discover the beginnings of London’s newest eco-village.
If the dark shades of under-duvet hideouts dominate the colour of your Sundays then you need to wake up and get greened. Arcola Theatre in East London hopes to be the first carbon neutral theatre in the world and has been appointed as the secretariat for the Mayor of London’s Green Theatre plan, this which aims to deliver 60 percent cuts in theatre carbon emissions by 2025.
As part of this environmental drive, the first Sunday of every month is a Green Sunday at Arcola Theatre. June’s event is part of Love London, the biggest green festival in Europe and looks at ethical consumption, promising ‘entertainment and inspiration for the ecologically curious’. From 3pm there’s a swap shop market plus cakes and tea to take you through the evening of Senegalese percussion, cool short and feature-length films, starting from 4.30pm. As the afternoon turns to evening, there will be a discussion with Neil Boorman, author of Bonfire Of The Brands, an account of his journey from shopping and brand addiction to a life free from labels. As part of the project, Neil destroyed every branded product in his possession, incinerating over £20,000 worth of designer gear in protest of consumer culture. This will be chaired by Morgan Phillips.
Neil and Morgan will later be joined by Richard King from Oxfam to talk about their 4-a-week campaign- encouraging shoppers to do their bit for sustainability each week.
I spoke to the sustainability projects manager at Arcola Theatre, Anna Beech, to find out more about Arcola’s arts world-changing philosophies:
All at Arcola must be extremely proud that a theatre founded only 9 years ago – and on credit cards! – is well on the way to becoming the first carbon neutral theatre in the world. Can you tell us a bit about how and why you made the decision to lead the green theatre movement?
Since 2007, Arcola has launched many high-profile green initiatives (including the pioneering use of LEDs and the on-site installation of a fuel cell to power bar and stage lighting). There are a number of reasons for this – because it contributes to reducing Arcola’s carbon emissions and resource use, because it makes financial sense – reducing energy bills; because it supports funding applications; because it integrates Arcola into the local community; allows Arcola to reach a wider audience and stakeholder base; and provides an effective platform upon which to publicise the name ‘Arcola’ – as a hub of creativity and sustainability.
Sustainability is part of Arcola’s core unique business model, alongside professional theatre and our youth and community programme.
Have you found that arts and science professionals are eager to integrate and come up with exciting ideas and actions or has it been difficult to bring the two fields together?
Arcola’s ArcolaEnergy has had considerable interest from technology companies and brokers, including the Carbon Trust. As a reocgnised innovator in sustainability in the arts, Arcola has been able to broker extremely advantageous relationships with private sector companies – who have provided the theatre with free green products, including LED lights – as well as other theatres and arts organisations (National Theatre, Arts Council, Live Nation, The Theatres Trust), and Government bodies like the DCMS and Mayor of London’s Office. Arcola’s reputation as a sustainable charity has created these partnerships and allowed them to grow and develop into mutually advantageous relationships. So this demonstrates that the arts and sustainability worlds can come together to form mutually advanteous relationships. However, there is plenty of work to be done.
So far, what has been the most successful pioneering energy practice you’ve introduced?
The installation of Arcola’s fuel cell in February 2008 made the venue the first theatre in the world to power its main house shows and bar/café on hydrogen. The Living Unknown Soldier gained reverence as London’s most ecologically sustainable show, with the lighting at a peak power consumption of 4.5kW, a reduction of 60 per cent on comparable theatre lighting installations.
Previous Green Sunday events at the Arcola Theatre
Arcola’s ‘greening’ goes from the stage to the box office. Among other things, we produce ‘green’ newsletters for staff, we recycle, we provide free tap water to audiences (to lessen use of bottled water), we serve fairtrade, organic and local produce wherever possible (including organic vodka and whiskey!), we host Transition Town meetings, we installed a cycle enclosure for staff in 2009 and try to incentivise both staff and audiences to use public transport more and their cars less.
How do you think the technical creativity of sustainability has significantly shaped any of the plays Arcola has produced?
One example of the ‘greening’ of Arcola’s shows and working closely with production companies took place during the pre-production and staging of ‘Living Unknown Soldier‘ in 2008. The production explored the use of more energy efficient lanterns, including LED moving heads and batons (see Fig. 1) florescent tubes and some other filament lanterns such as low wattage source 4′s and par 16s. The crew tried to travel by public transport wherever possible, use laptops rather than PCs, limit phone use, source sustainable materials and managed to keep energy requirements low in order to use Arcola’s fuel cell to power the show.
‘‘The idea is that once you expose people to this stuff and they know you for doing it, they’ll gravitate towards you. Ultimately we should end up with some really good art about sustainability and some really good ideas about how to do art sustainably.” – Ben Todd, Executive Director and Founder of Arcola Energy.
Why do you think its particularly important for the arts to become more involved in green issues?
Because the arts have the power to influence behaviour change. Whilst the theatre industry itself has a relatively small carbon footprint (2% of total carbon emissions in London), and thus its capacity to deliver direct carbon emission reductions is relatively small; the power of theatre and the wider arts/cultural sectors to rapidly and effectively influence public behaviour and policy makers to drive significant indirect carbon emission reductions is very large (entertainment related activity accounts for up to 40% of travel emissions).
However, theatres and other arts venues must first address the ‘greening’ of their venues and practices in order to communicate climate change and environmental messages to audiences effectively and with impact.
Green Sundays is a great idea, how do you hope to see it develop in the future months?
We have a variety of themes in mind for future events, including a focus on the climate talks in Copenhagen in December, a water theme, ethical business, natural history and a Green Sunday programme tailored to children and young people.
So get over your hangover, get on your bike and cycle down to Dalston on Sunday to help spread the word about arts and sustainability coming together to communicate environmental messages to your local community.
To find out more about Green Sundays and the Arcola Theatre go to:
I don’t keep it secret that I’ve had a crush on Jarvis Cocker since I was 10 and first heard Common People, I suppose announcing it on a blog was just the next logical step in my snowballing lust for the bespectacled one. Imagine my delight when I saw he was headlining as a solo outfit at this year’s Green Man Festival.
Green Man 2006
Jarvis Cocker
All the other festivals will be green with envy over Green Man’s line-up, one of the most exciting and diverse of the summer. Alongside Jarv, Animal Collective will also be headlining and having seen them a couple of times over the past few years they are really not to be missed live, their shows can only be described as being in an underwater topsy-turvy world where you can feel the rhythm wash over you in waves.
Whilst Green Man has managed to pull in such an awesome line-up, it has a reputation for a boutique-y intimacy and a friendly atmosphere. Green Man is most definitely a festival for music lovers, and one that I won’t be missing!
Green Man Festival 2007
Green Man Festival takes place amidst the Breacon Beacons from 21st to 23rd August. Click here for ticket information.
Thumbnail by Roisin Conway
Some people have the knack for discovering those amazing pieces in charity shops – it’s generally the preserve of both the patient and the fashion-savvy who are content to rummage away until they emerge with some designer find that leaves you flapping your arms and wondering why it wasn’t you.
Now ten minutes in Topshop – that’s a quick fix. Why bother buying something old when you can buy something new? If last week’s Style Wars was only a half-formed idea, generic intent to float and suggest a concept, but not to follow through, TRAID (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) has articulated the remaking and reselling of used clothes as an ethical necessity. Citing the whopping £46 billion spent on clothes and accessories every year, TRAID highlights the colossal wastage resultant of constantly changing trends that are both cheap and easily available. The ease of shopping on the high street seems to problematise the feeling that the act of recycling is an almost paradoxical idea for an industry that is by name and nature grounded in an obsession with the new and the innovative.
Here lies the problem in normal charity shop shopping. The dowdy and stale image affixed to them is arguably (however unfortunately) justifiable, and TRAID has been taking the steps to rebrand the public perception of recycled clothing by actually joining the dots between the environment, recycling and fashion itself. Charity and fashion are practically mutually alienating concepts in most people’s minds. In short, charity shops aren’t trendy, so how do you turn that around? Chief Executive Maria TRAID recognises the problem and goes straight to the heart of it, saying “we have worked incredibly hard to change the face of charity retail by ensuring that our shops are stylish and affordable”, two words you might associate with the high street.
TRAID has 900 textile recycling banks across the UK, and the company take the donations and sort by quality and style to then sell in one of their charity shops – clothes that are stained or torn are deconstructed and redesigned into a bespoke garment by the company’s own fashion label TRAIDremade.
In a way it’s an absolute no-brainer: to take things people don’t want and make them something they do, especially as they follow high street trends, crafting sexy asymmetric dresses, bags cut from old leathers, signature hand printed tees and flirty dresses.
Two weeks ago TRAID opened their tenth shop in their tenth year in Camden, which as well as being an area that’s a promising resource in terms of fashionable finds, is a landmark for a really inspirational company. To date TRAID has donated £1.4 million to help fight global poverty, supporting charities by funding projects in Malawi and Kenya amongst others. TRAID has ten shops located across London and Brighton, and TRAIDremade is available on getethical.co.uk.
Imagine a world without fish. Released in cinemas across the country to coincide for World Ocean Day, medical an inconvenient truth about the devastating effect of overfishing.
Opens today, check your local cinema for screenings.
Lambeth Green Communities Open Evening
Organised in partnership with Transition Town Brixton, Hyde Farm CAN and ASSA CAN, this is a chance to celebrate Lambeth’s Green Communities and be inspired to reduce your community’s environmental impact.
18.30-21.00 drop-in to Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton
Contact – Susan Sheehan, Ssheehan (at) lambeth.gov.uk
Tuesday 9th June
The Great British Refurb
Housing for a low carbon energy future – a talk at the The Royal Society
A talk by Professor Tadj Oreszczyn, chaired by Professor Chris Rapley. Theoretical carbon reductions have often been slow to materialise, new buildings can use up to twice the energy predicted, and energy use can actually go up when efficiency increases. This lecture will look at the possibilities for new building, and whether technology can solve our energy use problems. Tadj Oreszczyn is Professor of Energy and Environment and Director of the Energy Institute at UCL.
This lecture is free – no ticket or booking required. Doors open at 5.45pm and seats are first-come first-served. Lecture starts at 6.30pm, The Royal Society
This lecture will be webcast live and available to view on demand within 48 hours of delivery at royalsociety.tv
Dominic Glover, Erik Millstone, Peter Newell talk about possible solutions to the encroaching global food crisis – how will GM crops fit in to the struggle to raise yields, and could they be part of a truly sustainable answer?
Join a popular walking group on a stroll around this fascinating part of London. There’s no charge and no need to book. Do get there ten minutes before the start time, wear comfortable shoes and bring a small bottle of water.
11am – 12.15pm, meeting at St Luke’s Centre, 90 Central Street, London, EC1V
Clothes Swap at Inc Space
Daisy Green Magazine and ethical stylist Lupe Castro have teamed up to host what is hoped to be the UK’s biggest ever clothes swap. Nicola Alexander, founder of daisygreenmagazine.co.uk, said, “It’s like a fashion treasure hunt!”
The evening will kick off at 6.30 and, as well as the swish (apparently the ‘scene’ word for a clothes swap), it will feature an ethical styling demonstration by Lupe Castro, music from top green band, The Phoenix Rose, burlesque dancing and shopping opportunities from ethical fashion brands including Bochica, Makepiece, Bourgeois Boheme, and natural beauty company, Green People.
Tickets are £10 in advance and £15 on the door.
More information can be found on our facebook page
From 18:30 at INC Space in Grape Street, London WC2
Redbridge Recycling Group are running a friendly information stand all day. Want to bin the bags and green your shopping habits? Fancy making your own compost or confused about packaging labels? Pop along any time of day to have your questions answered and find out how to make the future waste free.
11am – 4pm, Ilford High Road, opposite the Town Hall/Harrison Gibson
Taking place all over the country, all over the world, the World Naked Bike Ride protests against oil dependency and car culture, celebrating the power of our bikes and bodies. Every June, more than a thousand cyclists gather in London to take part. The easy 10 km route passes through London’s busiest and best known streets. Bring your bike and body (decorate both of these ahead of time)
Assemble from 3pm in Hyde Park (South East section, near Hyde Park Tube) – east of the Broad Walk, south of the Fountain of Joy, and north of the Achilles Statue.
Celebrate the Love London, Love Your Planet Festival 2009 at the London Wetland Centre this weekend. Check out TFL’s new hybrid bus, see the Richmond shire horses and get a load of green tips and tricks. There will also be face painting for the kids, the Richmond cycling campaign and other environmentally friendly organisations.
11am-4pm, Saturday and Sunday
WWT London Wetland Centre, SW13 9WT Maaaan, pilule those bloomers are HOT!
My morning started bright and early on Monday 1st June: called upon as I was to document a Climate Rush action at Chatham House just as the E.ON sponsored conference began: Coal: An Answer to Energy Security? (like, drug duh… NO!)
As I was sitting in the very pleasant St James Square to avoid undue police annoyance (there were vehicles parked right outside the entrance) I found my eyes drawn to the undergrowth in the thicket of vegetation at the edge of the park. I should have been looking for activity outside the venue, but instead I found myself engaged in a dance between two Robins. I always thought Robins were solitary birds, but a quick google ascertains my reasoning that this pair must have been mates, although I’m fairly sure Robins don’t scavenge at ground level. There was also a young Blackbird, happily scrabbling around in the undergrowth for some nice tasty worms (I’m guessing… but that sounds like the perfect breakfast for a Blackbird) As I sat there wondering what was to pass in the street beyond I felt my heart sing. Here, even in the centre of our grubby and concreted capital city – nature finds a way. This is what I’m fighting for, I thought! The sheer joy of the natural world.
a Blackbird in the undergrowth
And then, I noticed two coppers striding towards me. Would they find my Climate Rush badges? And pre-emptively arrest me for possible crimes against cotton with a badge pin? Asking why I was acting suspiciously by peering into the bushes I replied, “why, I’m taking photos of the birds” and showed the officers the photos on my camera playback. But they weren’t having it, and asked for my ID, which I refused. It’s not illegal to refuse to show your ID, but they took this as admission of guilt – a typical ploy of the police and one which I must check up on the legality of. They then searched me “because you must have something to hide if you don’t want to give us your name Angela Gregory” Ah!!! Clever officer! He’s been reading his little FIT watch spotter card and cribbing up on Climate Rush central. Only the trouble is, I’m not Angela Gregory – clever but not so clever officer. I’d love to see what they use as my mugshot – I hope it’s flattering.
When I questionned the validity of their reason to search me, one officer told me that “you are believed to be a member of a group called Climate Action, no that’s not it… Climate Rush, and they have committed criminal damage on buildings.” Wrong again Mr. Officer! Our parliament gluers have been bailed away to return to charges of possible criminal damage, for one drop of glue that fell on the statue in parliament. Glue that washes away with one dab of a damp cloth. Like that’s got a rat’s chance in hell of standing up in court.
Still – they got my name right after a cursory search of my camera bag, which revealed an old business card that had been lurking in a side pocket for at least three years. But they didn’t find the badges, even though they were rattling like bastards. I knew they wouldn’t, the MET not being the brightest cookies in the biscuit jar. Oh, I will be in trouble the next time we meet! Woops! If they had discovered the badge stash they would have found not only climate rush badges but also E.ON F.OFF ones from the Climate Camp campaign – that would have got them very excited no doubt, given the sponsor of said Coal Conference.
As usual I’ve gone off on a tangent… not long after the police accosted me there was a loud commotion the other side of the St James nature reserve, and the police and I were off like a flash to find out what was going on. Across the road a bunch of white clad people were trying to hold onto a bike sculpture, as the police tried to tussle it off them. Within moments the police had gained the upper hand, and instead the eleven protesters were trying to pull sashes from Deeds Not Words bags, and unfurl a lovely red banner reading No New Coal, before the police frogmarched them across the road and threw them into the “pen”.
I dashed off home in the hopes of getting some images into the London papers – alas my speed was not rewarded with any success, but our actions did reach the attendees of the conference – one academic at the conference apparently spoke with a protester, and agreed that direct action was pushing matters in the right direction (he was a specialist in CCS, but held out little hope for it’s implementation, given the probable massive costs) Score one massive point to us! I hope that E.ON and their cronies were suitably rattled, even if the press didn’t feel see fit to publicise the action. In the end five activists were arrested but most were released within hours. One brave Climate Rusher was refused bail after glueing herself onto the Chatham House railings (you go girl!) and the judge at her hearing the next morning allegedly told her that our protest had been pointless, since it had not garnered any press – before slapping a massive 40 hours community service on her for aggravated trespass. We think not…
the bike sculpture lies forlorn on the pavement
In recent weeks we’ve attracted a lot of interest from film makers, and by the time I arrived at Tamsin’s house to get ready for the Bike Rush that afternoon (and to hastily knock up one more pair of bloomers) there were cameras everywhere I turned. It’s not a sensation I particularly like, and have thus far managed to stay out of the current crop of films – leaving it to the more exhibitionist members of Climate Rush to hog the limelight. I worry that it is easy to manipulate our actions in the editing suite, and portray us in a way with which we will ultimately be unhappy and out of our control. But I guess it’s a situation that I need to grow used to – many of our sort – as well as being involved with an undoubtedly exciting group – are very attractive, garrulous and media savvy – an irresistable combination to a film maker. Me? I much prefer to stay behind the lens…
finishing off the flags
As soon as the drawstring was threaded into the last pair of bloomers it was time to hit the high roads of Kilburn – seven of us on various bikes, none of which, I noted disappointingly, were even vaguely Edwardian-esque. Instead we had Geeky Rushette on a fold-out Brompton with a helmet. And we had Virgin Rushette with wispy blonde locks and billowing white damel-in-distress dress over her bloomers, and Not-Very-Good-on-a-Bike-in-London Rushette on a crappy mountain bike with a rusty chain that nearly fell off before we even set off.
I was dressed in a simple black dress in the hope that my vintage hat from Hebden Bridge would be enough of a distraction and provide the right elegant touch – which was exciting as it tipped over both my eyes and my camera. We made a right merry site gunning down the bus lane towards Marble Arch, flags flapping behind as people turned to gawp at us. After taking a short cut through Green Park we traversed the Mall and came to a screeching halt at our destination, where we were seriously outnumbered by police. But blimey did we look good!
gathered in Green Park as we approach!
As we pulled sashes and t-shirts and badges and stickers from our panniers people began to arrive in their droves. The sun shone down as the cyclists spilled from the pen into the road and the police did little to resist.
Tim cranked up Pedals, the bike sound system, and I chatted to people – it was great to discover that people had come from afar on the strength of joining our facebook group – ah, I do love to feel vindicated on the subject of social networking. I was also very pleased to see lots of children along for the ride, suitably togged up with sashes and of course helmets.
maybe our youngest Rusher?
And a lot more customisation of sashes, which have suddenly found new lives as headbands on hats, ties around bike baskets, cumberbund style belts and a whole host more. Marina just opted to pile a whole load on, and looked a treat for it.
a basket full of skipped flowers gets the sash treatment
my fabulous vintage visor-meets-pie hat!
Then the Hare Krishnas arrived with a mighty noise that had the whole gathering swivelling their heads; a whole band seated in two trailers behind bicycles. I was astonished to see that a drum kit could indeed be transported this way (plus a rather large drummer).
Once several hundred people had gathered in place there were a few false starts before it was time to take off for a ceremonial circuit of the square, wooping all the way before we stopped off at our first destination, just yards from the starting point – BP’s head offices – they of the infamous byline “Beyond Petroleum“. And fact fans, you’ll no doubt be interested to hear that BP have in fact spent more on the whole Beyond Petroleum (as if!) advertising campaign than they have in fact spent on alternative energy. Brilliant! Why pour money into researching renewables when you can instead rape and pillage the earth for a fraction of the cost? And spend any extra cash on greenwashing instead. Fabulous plan; congratulations BP.
With that it was onwards on a winding route up to Piccadilly Circus, and from there up Charing Cross Road to Oxford Street, that grand bastion of consumerism -one of the biggest drivers of Climate Change. Tim gave a running commentary from the backseat of his tandem as we hollered our way down London’s flagship shopping street, before coming to a grand halt in the late evening sunshine smack bang in the middle of Oxford Circus. What a grand feeling! Many people seemed amused and even happy to see us, a grand diversion from the glittering goods in the windows.
stopped in the centre of Oxford Circus
As we sailed downhill along Regent Street I spotted a Lush store, still with our Trains Not Planes banner proudly displayed in the window. A bike-bound copper looked on worriedly as someone went closer to take a look. Duh! They’re our friends – just take a look at the Evening Standard-alike banner outside the shop. We love Lush. We’re not about to do anything naughty!
hmmm, the Queen’s residence ahead in the late evening sun…
On our second stop at Piccadilly Circus Tim cheekily waited until the lights went red “cos us cyclists always run red lights” before leading us across the main junction and down towards the Mall, where we sallied into the sunshine up to Buckingham Palace. I met the naked cyclists, who I’d been promised were attending. The girls had bikinis on and they all wore lots of paint, the better to cover up with, but they still looked rather fetching, if slightly less than wholely naked. And despite rumours to the contrary they were happy to sport a sash to protect their modesty as well.
It was then but a short hop down to Victoria, where we paused to consider the headquarters of BAA – boooooooo. And then on past BERR, where, funnily enough, Neil “the weasel”FIT photographer was waiting for us. We all waved “hi” to him as he lowered his massive equipment and smiled slightly sheepishly at us. You know who we are Neil, and we all know who you are too. Why don’t you just get a better job? One in which you are helping to protect a better world for all, not just the interests of the few? Still, I have to commend the actions of the police who came along for the ride – for once they really did seem to be protecting the rights of protesters – having cross words with impatient drivers revving their engines and generally preventing overly aggressive behaviour from motorists.
wave to Neil everyone!
Oh god, this has turned into a bit of an opus as usual, and I haven’t even mentioned all of our stopping off points! The fact is that unless you were right down the front near the sound system it was pretty impossible to hear the guided tour. And anyway, everyone was just so happy to be commandeering the streets of London – there’s nothing like reclaiming our public highways to feel empowered – that it didn’t matter if our tour was a little haphazard in the end (and we left our notes at home anyway, so it was a bit of an ad-lib).
solidarity with the Tamils
And then we were at Parliament Square – the police momentarily blocked our entrance onto the roundabout, but then decided better as we filtered around them anyway. Soon we were level with the Tamils, who seemed somewhat bemused by our peace signs in solidarity. But oh what an inspiration they have been! Such tenacity. And then onwards to Westminster Bridge, where we turned in a big loop near the junction on the north side and stopped. Perhaps this would be an opportune place for that picnic we promised? A statement of our intent right next to the very seat of power that is failing us? The suggestion was met with amusement as it dawned on our riders that this was what we had in mind.
that bike sign on the road has gotta mean “stop” right?
Some clearly were not expecting it, but almost everyone was soon dropping their bikes to the road and pulling out their picnic blankets and food. As the sunset on Big Ben above us we raised our bikes aloft in joy, unfurled banners aplenty, and stood our ground. The police didn’t know what to do – FIT finally made it down from BERR, and climbed on top of a barrier right above where I’d left my bike. Weirdly the bamboo pole holding up my lovely Climate Rush flag was latter found snapped in two shortly afterwards. I hate to make accusations but…
what a marvelous family!
bike aloft
As a bendy bus made an awkward 360 degree turn on the bridge passersby continued to stream past, snapping away and generally beaming at our audacity. A string of brightly coloured bunting cordoned off our blockade.
fun with a bendy bus!
The soundsystem was commandeered by a variety of eloquent speakers and Mark played us a tune or two. Sadly the promised celidh didn’t happen – our erstwhile fiddler had failed to materialise yet again and I was too busy running around like a headless chicken (taking photos) to figure out an alternative. I do apologise – multitasking got the better of me again.
astride Boudicca
gawping at their nerve
And then three Rushettes mounted the huge emblematic Boudicca statue in their stripey bloomers! One climbed right up to place a sash around Boudicca’s neck, before returning to sit astride one of the great beasts in a gesture of defiant victory. The first attempt to fly a flag from the horses’ hooves failed, but no matter, we’d been prolific in our banner making and another one was soon unfurled. Deeds Not Words. I think that powerful queen would have approved.
bike blockade
on a tandem
Shortly before 9pm the police approached us politely and charmingly (someone must have had words with them in recent weeks) to say that they would eventually have to move us on. We decided that it would be best to go out on a high and declared our intentions to the crowd, with an accompanying recommendation to come join us in a nice pub on The Cut by Waterloo. As we cycled off across the bridge I was amused to find tourists sitting in the middle of the road – thrilled with the lack of cars and the unexpected reclamation for bipedal human use.
enjoying the reclaimed bridge
At the pub we laid out our picnic blankets again and enjoyed the warm balmy night in the company of many new friends. I was particularly thrilled to speak with new Rushers and especially to those who had not expected our final destination to be quite so spikey, but who had welcomed the unexpected turn of events with open arms. Inspiring mass direct action – it’s what we do best… so join us on our next action against the dirty palm oil biofuel business; responsible for massive environmental degradation, huge contributions of CO2 to the atmosphere, and the loss of 90% of the orangutans since the Suffragettes first walked this land. Don’t let those in power decide the future of our planet!
Written by Amelia on Thursday June 4th, 2009 5:39 pm
On Thursday the bath-time lovelies at Lush supported one of my great loves, by staging Climate Rush themed picnics outside all 89 of their UK stores.
As was detailed by Cari in a previous post, my local Lush store just happens to be in Liverpool Street Station. Chosen as the flagship store for this event the picnic was attended by Lush superstar campaigners Sean and Andrew, who have together helped us out in a very big way.
I sent the interns ahead on foot and arrived to find a fetching gingham tablecloth – bearing the timely ‘Climate Change is No Picnic’ slogan – being spread and upon it a yummy selection of vegan cake and cookies laid out for passersby to enjoy.
A trio of violins led by the Rush’s very own Deborah (her of sticky-fingers-in-parliament fame) struck up a tune as the lovely Lush girls, dressed in full Edwardian garb, handed out Trains Not Planes sashes to business men passing by and even managed to engage some climate change denialists in some productive conversation.
The police, as ever, were present. In fact I swear I recognised one of them from the “Riot Gate” at Kingsnorth during Climate Camp last year. Unlike then, they were eager to smell the soaps (all packaged in recyclable paper – Lush tries not to use excess packaging, just one of the reasons we love ‘em) and chat to the pretty shop girls. I wonder if they’ll be so nice to us on Monday…
As Tamsin did her best to butter up the passersby in those famous suffragette must-haves, fishnet tights and a miniskirt, we were pounced on by a person dressed up as a giant mobile phone.
A slightly surreal experience to say the least, as the Lush shop girls tried to dress the ungainly thing in some bright red sashes, whilst Sean did his best to engage the phone in conversation about how many times a year it flies. My interns finally arrived and proceeded to pose marvelously for the camera. We’ve been joking that Jonno and Roisin are evil twins – just check them out!
Over the weekend there has been a flurry of Climate Rush activity, both promotional and creative – we’ve flyered the South Bank twice, and approached friendly looking cyclists left, right and centre.
It seems that if you ride a bike you are generally a friendly soul, and all of them were happy to hear about Climate Rush bar a particularly unpleasant yuppie couple with a pair of fold out Bromptons that no doubt only see the light of day when the sun shines at the weekend. Fairweather cyclists, who’d have ‘em?!
In between accosting cyclists we have managed to print a mammoth amount of sexy sashes and flags to attach to the back of bikes.
I’ve discovered that I can still sew, and managed to knock up 5 pairs of fetching bloomers in record time (just don’t look too closely at the sewing, I was in a hurry okay?!) Made out of red and white striped fabric with lacey ruffles on the legs they look part clown and more than a little bit burlesque, but then whoever said we take the Edwardian theme too seriously?! I can’t wait to see what everyone else dons for out bike ride tomorrow.
Bring it on…. let’s show the government and big corporations that we won’t let them get away with business as usual when it comes to Climate Change. Collectively we can stop this beautiful world of ours from being buggered over, so make sure you come along and enjoy a stylish Bike Rush with a purpose. This is one cycle ride you’re sure to remember…
Read a past blog about this event here. What do you think about direct action over Climate Change? Let us know your views.
Written by Amelia on Sunday May 31st, 2009 11:38 pm
