With Goodnight Sweetheart just finishing its worthwhile run on Freeview television, it could almost be D’eja’ vu when you walk into The Royal Oak public house at Columbia road in the East End of London. It was as if I had time travelled through the time portal with Gary Sparrow into Ducketts Passage and wartime London. I half expected to find Pheobe serving behind the bar, Gary at his piano, and Reg supping a pint at a table. Could this wonderful setting have been a seed in the minds of writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran? Had they visited The Royal Oak all those years ago? I would like to think that perhaps they did. This lovely old London pub can be found @ http://www.royaloaklondon.com
Goodnight Sweetheart…
Posted in Patrick's Words
Tagged Goodnight Sweetheart, Laurence Marks, Maurice Gran, The Royal Oak
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Martine Franck, photographer…
August 26 – September 14, 2010, Tokyo , Japan
In Celebration of Women
“All through my life as a photographer I have made a point of photographing women whom I admire, who have done something special with their lives, who have protested against their fate, also those close to me like my daughter and grand daughter and intimate friends all of whom appear in this collection.” Martine Franck
Martine Franck born in Belgium, grew up in the States and in England before studying Art History at the University of Madrid and the Ecole du Louvre in Paris. Growing up amongst a family dedicated to the Arts, Martine had a passion for painting, sculpture and architecture from which she acquired a distinctive eye for composition. It was almost by chance photography came into her life. Having received a visa to visit China in the early 1960s, she borrowed a camera to record her experiences. With her insatiable curiosity, Martine then traveled the globe photographing the social landscape. Her deep interest in the diversified cultures and social classes of everyday life is complimented by her compassion and empathy for her subject matter. Portraiture became the focus of her work.
This exhibition brings together photographs of women, from factory workers in Bucharest to geishas in Kyoto, film stars, artists, writers and performers Martine has photographed since the 1960s. It is both a celebration of women and a testament to the unique vision and empathy of a great photographer.
Martine Franck’s exhibition takes place between August 26th and September 14th 2010, 12-8pm, at the Chane Nexus Hall, Chanel, Ginza Building 4f 5-3 Ginza 3-Chrome, Tokyo 1040061, Japan.
The Wallace Collection…
The Wallace Collection and the Art Treasures of Spain in European Armoury II
Until 9 December 2010
In 1937 the Spanish Civil War was rapidly destroying Spain’s greatest cities, and along with them, the country’s cultural heritage. The Republican government asked for international support. One of the first to come to their aid was James Mann, Keeper of the Wallace Collection. In recognition of the support given during the Civil War, in January 2010 the Wallace Collection was awarded the Order of Arts and Letters by José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain. The Order, along with a display about Mann’s work in Spain, will be exhibited at The Wallace Collection in London until December 2010. The Wallace Collection can be found @ www.wallacecollection.org/ or by telephone: 020 7563 9500
Interesting People from The Past…
Admiral of the Fleet the Earl of Cork and Orrery; William Henry Boyle, was Rear Admiral Commanding the 1st Cruiser Squadron from 1926-28, and afterwards commanded the Reserve Fleet and then the Royal Naval War College 1928-32. He was First and Principal A.D.C. to the King from 1936-38.
Count Maurice Maeterlinck was a Belgian poet and dramatist. He was born in Ghent in 1862 and began practising law until success followed his first poetical works Serres Chaudes in 1889. His play The Blue Bird aroused wide interest, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911. By 1914 his works had been recorded on the papal index.
Eden Phillpotts was a novelist and dramatist, who worked firstly in an insurance office then studied for the stage, but in fact became an author. He specialized in scenes of English life in Devonshire, particularly that of Dartmoor, and wrote many poems, plays, and novels. His works included The Human Boy, Children of the Mist, and Widecombe Fair. He was born in 1862.
The Museum of London in the Docklands
Join the Museum of London on the first and last Sunday of every month for FREE afternoon screenings showcasing the best of London. This month David Hemmings stars in Michelangelo Antonioni’s mod classic Blow Up (5 Sep) at Museum of London while Stanley Holloway fights for independence in Passport to Pimlico (26 Sep) at the Museum of London in the Docklands. The MOL can be found online at www.museumoflondon.org.uk
St. Brelade, Jersey…
It’s a Welcome Home for Adrian and Jenny as they fly back from a short break on the Channel Islands. Adrian is my IT expert and Jenny his lovely partner. St. Brélade has some of the most popular bays in Jersey, with St. Brélade’s Bay, Ouaisné, Portelet and parts of both St. Ouen’s Bay and St. Aubin’s Bay falling within the parish boundaries. The village (or town) of Saint Aubin was originally a fishing port facing St. Helier on the opposite side of St. Aubin’s Bay. St Aubin was historically the main centre of population in the parish, but residential development at Les Quennevais has shifted that centre of population. Above; Jenny and Adrian’s photo of Mont Gras D’eau, St. Brelade, Jersey. You can see more of their photos at: http://twitpic.com/photos/patricallaghan3
Good News from the British Library
British Library initiative to offer free access to bibliographic records – 24 Aug 2010
The British Library has announced that it will make its collections of bibliographic records available for free to researchers and other libraries, at www.bl.uk/bibliographic/datafree.html.
The UK national library has around 14 million catalogue records said to comprise a wealth of bibliographic data. The new initiative is expected to help expose this vast dataset to users worldwide, allowing researchers and other libraries to access and retrieve bibliographic records for publications dating back centuries and relating to every conceivable subject area.
The new free service will operate in parallel to the British Library’s priced bulk MARC data supply activity which is used extensively by large commercial customers.
In some instances researchers may use the library’s records for purposes very different from those for which they were originally created. The library recently provided the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) with some eight million bibliographic records – allowing the IPO to conduct research into publishing trends dating as far back as 1650, and to plot these patterns against the course of changes in IP legislation.
As the national library of the UK, the British Library seeks to provide world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offer access to a large and comprehensive research collection. The library’s collections include 150 million items from every era of written human history beginning with Chinese oracle bones dating from 300 BC, right up to the latest e-journals.
Myths and Monsters…
Myths and Monsters is an exhibition now current at the Horniman Museum and Gardens until the 5th of September 2010. Cyclops, unicorn, yeti, dragon, and the chimera… Are these creatures real or imagined? Take a journey into the strange world of myths and monsters and unravel the truth behind universal legends and myths. Discover the origin of the Cyclops, the links between dragons and dinosaurs, and why the Yeti is the monster most likely to be real. The Horniman Museum at Forest Hill, South East London is also London’s only free aquarium.
Interesting Quotes from The Past…
Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage. Richard Lovelace 1618-58 English poet.
Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it. George Bernard Shaw 1856-1959 Irish dramatist.
We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. John F. Kennedy 1917-63 American statesman.
There is nothing in the world which does not have its decisive moment, and the masterpiece of good management is to recognize and grasp this moment. Cardinal de Retz 1613-79 French cardinal.
A problem left to itself dries up or goes rotton. But fertilize a problem with a solution – you’ll hatch out dozens. N. F. Simpson 1919- English dramatist.
There is always a well-known solution to every problem – neat, plausible, and wrong. H. L. Mencken 1880-1956 American journalist.
If it ain’t broke , don’t fix it. Bert Lance 1931- American government official.
It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him. George Bernard Shaw.
England and America are two countries divided by a common language. George Bernard Shaw.
A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it is written on. Sam Goldwyn 1882-1974 American film producer.