The Greenwich Gazette Weekend Guide

Saturday 27 March, 2010

Nearly New Sale, click HERE for details.

Hamlet at the picturehouse, click HERE.

Recital at St Alfege Church: Kiyoko Fukuo (piano). 1:10pm. Free. St Alfege Church, Greenwich Church St, SE 10.

Southbank's Chocolate Festival (Saturday & Sunday): 11am -8pm. (Closes 6pm on Sunday). Indulge in mouth watering chocolate treats with dozens of stalls featuring truffles, cakes, pastries, hot chocolates and chocolate making kits. Learn recipes from chefs, get books signed and make chocolates. Royal Festival Hall. For more info click HERE.

Saturday Club Workshop: Fools and Jesters for April Fool's Day. Children 5-12. Free event. Greenwich Heritage Centre, Royal Arsenal.

Hunt the Rat at HMS Belfast, Tooley Street, SE1: Following the rhyming riddle around the ship, where ten mischievious rats disguised as members of the ship's crew are hidden. Each completed entry form will be entered into a prize draw. Children under 16 free.

Viewfinder Gallery in Greenwich (Saturday & Sunday): Become part of an exciting experiment this weekend at the Viewfinder Photography Gallery in Greenwich. As part of its Masked Ball exhibition, the gallery’s set up a pop-up photo booth where visitors are encouraged to have their self-portrait taken for free. There will be masks for those wishing to don a disguise, and the photos will then be printed out for visitors to take home and also projected in the gallery throughout the weekend. For more info, click HERE.

Sunday 28 March, 2010

Chasing Shadows, The National Gallery, The Education Centre foyer, Trafalgar Square: 11am - 1pm, 2pm-4pm. Make your own shadow puppet in this fun and exciting hands on art workshop exploring the features of some of the National Gallery's paintings with artist Noel Paine. No booking required. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Ages 5-11.

Nearly New Sale This Weekend

What: Nearly new/secondhand clothes, toys and other items.

Where: Craft Stall, tearoom, Greenwich Steiner School, Woodlands, 90 Mycenae Road, Blackheath, SE3

When: Saturday 27 March at 2-4pm

Hamlet at Greenwich Picturehouse This Saturday!

The Metropolitan Opera 2010 season in HD at the Picture House – Hamlet

Simon Keenlyside and Natalie Dessay bring their extraordinary acting and singing skills to two of Shakespeare’s unforgettable characters. When this production opened at Covent Garden, the Independent called Keenlyside’s Hamlet, "a revelation - thrilling throughout."

Conductor: Louis Langrée; Production: Patrice Caurier/Moshe Leiser; Natalie Dessay, Jennifer Larmore, Toby Spence, Simon Keenlyside, James Morris.

When: Saturday March 27, 2010

Time: 5.00pm

Price: £25.00 / £21.50 concessions. £19.50 members and under 15s.

Address: Greenwich Picturehouse, 180 Greenwich High Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 8NN.

Telephone: 0871 704 2059 0871 704 2059

Website info: click HERE

St Alfege Recitals This Week!

Recital for this week is on Thursday 25 March, 2010: Trinity College of Music Early Music vocal ensemble. 1:10pm. Free. St Alfege Church, Greenwich Church St, Greenwich, SE10

Greenwich Beer & Jazz Festival May 2010

The last two years of the Greenwich Beer and Jazz festivals have been great successes and we are delighted to announce this years line up which is bigger and better than ever! The James Taylor Quartet make a welcome return on the opening night and are followed by Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Hayseed Dixie, Brand New Heavies, Tony Hadley and his swing band and Incognito supported by Omar.

But Greenwich Beer and Jazz is not just about great music which is guaranteed….the perfect pint-sized summer festival now in its 3rd year at the Old Royal Naval College once again will satisfy all the senses. With over 200 real ales, ciders and summer brews from the best of British breweries at the Real Ale Garden and The Cider Orchard, bottled beers and summer cocktails at Bar Carnival along with a Festival Soul Foods area, this really has every ingredient required for a long summer’s day of chilling.

Music beer flows from lunchtime each day until 10pm making it the perfect way to spend a lazy afternoon. Tickets are now on sale so click here to see the full lineup!

Greenwich Beer & Jazz Festival 27 May - 31 May, 2010

Evenings With The Stars

A unique experience including a planetarium show, a chance to look at the  Moon through a magnificent 28"diameter refracting telescope and an opportunity to take in the incredible view from Prime Meridian after dark.

When: Friday 19 March - Sunday 21 March
Time: 5:30pm, 6:10pm, 6:50pm & 7:30pm
Price: £15/£11 conc.
Place: Royal Observartory Greenwich, Greenwich Park, SE10
Tel: 020 8858 4422

Los Dawsons at Pelton Arms This Sunday, March 14

The Los Dawson have sent in this note to invite you all to the Pelton Arms this Sunday, March 14 from 6pm onwards. They say it better than we can ever do and here's from them:

This should be fun, we are playing the usual flurry of varied music from our repetoire.. this should be a nice vibe (the beer is excellent) tell your friends and friends friends etc.. If you have not been to the Pelton Arms, its a wonderful Pub in Pelton Road off Christchurch Way wich runs north off Trafalgar Rd (Maze Hill end) towards the river Thames. The idea is to have a chilled post prandial music experience as the Sunday lunches are rather super...

Hope to see you there!
Cheers: The Los Dawsons

Mike Dearing

Ben Hillyard

Dave Burrluck

Dana Myzer

http://thelosdawsons.blogspot.com/

If you think you know Greenwich, think again!

From Saturday 20 March to Sunday 28 March 2010, a host of popular Greenwich attractions, cultural venues and restaurants are throwing open their doors and offering special discounts and promotions to local people. Greenwich council has teamed up with participating venues in Eltham, Greenwich and Woolwich to run events across the borough for nine days.

Highlights

Watch out for offers and events including:

50% off entry to the Art Deco Eltham Palace.

Sample all 11 brews from local brewery Meantime at a free talk and tasting session at Well Hall Pleasaunce on Wednesday 24 March.

Live music and international stalls at the Festival of Food at Passey Place on Sunday 28 March.

2-for-1 tickets at London's Peter Harrison Planetarium.

2-for-1 tickets for Volpone and The Duchess of Malfi at Greenwich Theatre.

2-for-1 entry to The Fan Museum’s latest exhibition.

2-for-1 River Roamer tickets on Thames Clippers.

Lunch and dinner at special rates at many of Greenwich’s restaurants including Café Rouge, Novotel's Elements Restaurant, Devonport House's restaurant.

Comedy at Comedy on the Common with a special offer of two tickets for £10.

2-for-1 entry to the Thames Barrier Information Centre.

There will also be the chance to join discounted guided walks around the borough, exploring local themes and discovering new areas with Greenwich Tour Guides.

How to enjoy the offers?

All you need to take advantage of the special offers at participating venues is a copy of the Be a Local Tourist 2010 leaflet which you can download from the Council's website by clicking here.

For full terms and conditions plus location details, visit: www.greenwich.gov.uk/bealocaltourist

 

THE MUSIC OF THE FANS

04 March 2010 - 04 July 2010

If Music be the food of love, play on....From 4th March to 4th July 2010, The Fan Museum’s latest exhibition delves into the many facets of fans which feature musical instruments, musical themes, opera, ‘musicals’ and other music-related subjects.

Did you know that, in 17th and 18th century Dutch paintings, the bagpipes (on account of their shape) had an erotic connotation? Have you ever stopped to wonder why the lyre is used so extensively in almost every form of decorative art? This, and much more, is revealed in this ‘homage to Apollo’, which celebrates all things musical through the intricate and fine artwork from The Fan Museum’s extensive collections.

Subjects touched upon in this unusual and exciting exhibition relate to the great personalities in music, from Rossini and Wagner to Gilbert & Sullivan, with examples of contemporary ‘specials’, such as a small hand-painted autographed fan painted in a (very) limited edition for members of the Fan Circle International on a group matinée booking for ‘Cats’.

Most of the fans on show belong to the museum’s own collections, including a fan painted by Walter Sickert (after one of his own ‘compositions’) for one of his pupils. This features Little Dot Hetherington pointing to the spotlight in a number which she first sang but which Marie Lloyd made popular: ‘The Boy that I love is up in the Gallery’.

Musical instruments featured on the fans are complemented with loans of the actual objects, kindly lent by private individuals.

Another Fan Museum special, not to be missed.

4th March 2010 until 4th July 2010 - Tue to Sat 11am-5pm, Sun 12noon-5pm

Address: Fan Museum, 12 Crooms Hill, SE10 8ER

Greenwich Trial for the Mini London Marathon

Children and young people aged 11 to 17 have the chance to represent Greenwich on Virgin London Marathon Day, Sunday, April 25. Teams from different age groups will be chosen from the Greenwich Mini-Marathon trials over three miles at Sutcliffe Park Athletics Track this Sunday, March 14 at 1:30pm.

The trial is open to children and young people living or going to school in Greenwich. Call Augustus Peters from Greenwich Sports Legacy on 020-8921 8406 for more details or just turn up on the day at 12:45pm to register.

National Frog Day at Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park

If you're still wondering what to do for Mother's Day why not take a different approach and spend the day with the family doing something fun. Think The Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park for a quirky take on the day.

The Ecology Park is holding a  family fun event celebrating the time of year when frogs return to their breeding ponds and the mother frogs lay frogspawn! Activities include pond dipping, bug hunting, quiz and prize trails, froggy arts and crafts, storytelling, barbecue and refreshments, gift stall and raffle to raise funds for a traditional punt (type of flat bottomed boat).

Since this is also Mother's Day, mums and female carers get a free cup of tea and cake!

Free entry and all activities free - no booking required!

Sunday 14 March, 11am to 3pm

The Ecology Park Gatehouse

Thames Path

John Harrison Way

Greenwich Peninsular

London

SE10 0QZ

Tel: +44 (0)20 8293 1904 or  +44 (0)20 8293 1904

Entry to the park is free. Please remember that dogs (apart from guide dogs) and cycling are not permitted. Children under eight must be accompanied by an adult. The Park has full disabled access.

The Park is open every day except Monday and Tuesday.

The Park opens to the public at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. or dusk, whichever comes first.

The gDA Cabaret Is Back!

Fri 12 Mar 2010 7.30PM

Fri 23 Apr 2010 7.30PM

Fri 21 May 2010 7.30PM

This month’s line up will include a dance with a BMX bike by Etta Ermini, a deadpan duet by Gary Clarke, gDA’s first ever trapeze performance from Aircraft Circus, an excerpt of work from Springs Dance Company and a Fado and Dance collaboration by Nuno Silva. With live jazz and comedy poet compère Elvis McGonagall alongside a well stocked bar.

The gDA Cabaret is a sociable dance event that takes place in Greenwich Dance Agency's beautiful 1930's Borough Hall. It features the best bits of a traditional Cabaret event (table service, live band, compère) alongside a distinctly modern, diverse line up of dance, performance, spoken word, circus and film.

-Dress up or dress down

-Sit at a table with friends

-Order drinks whilst you watch

-Bring your own food

-Haggle for your tickets

-Come back next month with more friends

Ticket & Booking Information

£15.00

Concessions: £10.00.

HAGGLE OFFER AVAILABLE

Venue

Borough Hall @ gDA

Special Instructions

Book early to avoid disappointment and to secure the best ringside seats.
Each month there are a limited number of haggle tickets available, which means you tell us how many people you would like to bring and how much you would ideally like to pay and then we embark on a haggling match. All HAGGLE enquiries to ellen@greenwichdance.org.uk

For more info and for the chance to be part of the Cabaret, click here.

Masked Ball at Viewfinder Photography Gallery This March: 18 March to 5 April

The group exhibition 'Masked Ball' presents portraits of people in a variety of marks – from animal heads to cheese slices.

Laura Hensser takes self-portraits, wearing mundane objects that suggest her memories. Hiding behind a false façade, the artist challenges the conventions of performance based self-portraiture. Rather than presenting external details, the artist's face is concealed and we see only hints of her internal self. In one, cup cakes are stuck to her face like inverted limpets. In another, cheese slices are pushed into every crevice of Hensser's face, merging to form a mask that resembles latex. Whether her face is covered with glistening, red jelly or swaddled by a map, the viewer is offered little clue as to the sitter's identity or persona.

James Reid presents a departure from the norm of masked balls, with humans wearing formal clothing and animal heads – from oversize, colourful chicken heads to comic horse heads. The urge to read emotion in animal faces is invoked here - do the animal masks tell us anything of the sitters? Or do they simply conceal the emotions on their faces? The series was shot on location in big brand boutique stores in Paris - Reid questions whether buying branded clothing offers the chance to escape identification, to take on different personas.

Stuart Southwell presents portraits of three generations, dressed for a variety of roles (from a general to a doctor) and in distorted, disturbing masks. Southwell explores the way in which we are shaped by others around us, adopting or rejecting hobbies, careers, and ideals. Southwell believes that in contemporary Western society we are unable to accept our 'true selves' but instead choose to constantly recraft our physical appearance to suit any given situation. These macabre portraits suggest the extent to which we may have become puppets of the media.

Curator Louise Forrester comments: "Although each photographer is using masks in portraiture, the results in each series is markedly different. Some unsettling, some funny, there is something here for everyone."

Accompanying this exhibition, Nigel Rumsey presents a pop-up photo booth in the gallery on Saturday 27 & Sunday 28 March (12-4pm). Members of the public will be able to take their own self-portrait, either masked or unmasked, in the booth. Photographs taken will be printed out on the spot for the sitters to take home, and included in a slideshow of images projected in the gallery all weekend. This is a unique experiment to interact, and become part of, an exhibition - pop down to the pop-up photo booth and get involved!

'Masked Ball' is part of ‘Be a Local Tourist in Greenwich’ (BLTG) event, which runs from 20 March to 28 March 2010, and also British Tourism Week (15 to 21 March 2010).

Viewfinder Photography Gallery

Linear House
Peyton Place (off Royal Hill)
Greenwich
LondonSE10 8RS

Exhibition at Viewfinder Gallery: Make Your Mark

Exhibition dates: 14 to 31 January 2010Photographers: Naomi Stannard, Anna Hindocha & Ioana Marinescu,Curator: Louise Forrester.

'Make Your Mark' brings together the striking work of three photographers – each series explores how the placing of a mark in an environment recreates the space. Marks are documented at three very different scales: in cupboards, in rooms and across cities.

Naomi Stannard's series 'The House I Once Called Home' documents her childhood home, and the ways in which personal belongings transform a built space into a home. By photographing each meticulously labeled cupboard, the artist creates her own archive, and in effect, a portrait of her family through their own marking.

Anna Hindocha's work investigates the personal and political use of urban space in London. The artist photographs modifications made to rooms by their inhabitants, from eccentric workshops to murals in squatted social centres. Her series 'The People's City' examines manipulated spaces that appear static, but through their physical modifications speak of history and activity.

Architectural photographer Ioana Marinescu's documentation of gas pipes in Romania reveals how the insertion of a line changes the perception of a space completely. The pipes can be seen as inadvertent municipal branding, as the yellow line of pipes traverses the city.

Curator Louise Forrester comments: "I'm delighted to exhibit these three intriguing projects, which are each so visually distinct but all speak of the marks we make on our environments. I hope that these images will encourage visitors to become aware of their own mark making, and to think about reading the marks that surround us all."

Whether subtle manipulation or willful transformation, Make Your Mark imaginatively considers the many ways in which our personal histories are written in the spaces that surround us. This unique exhibition is a timely reminder of our relationships to our environments,and should not be missed.

This exhibition follows the 2008 exhibition 'Marking/Erasing' at the Viewfinder, in which mark making was employed as part of the image making process.

Make Your Mark is supported by Ambigraph

Upcoming Workshop: Make Your Mark
31 January, free
2-5pm

Join two of the exhibiting photographers (Anna Hindocha and Naomi Stannard) for a creative workshop, accompanying the exhibition 'Make Your Mark'.

Support Greenwich & Bexley Cottage Hospice

Show your support for the Greenwich & Bexley Cottage Hospice on Saturday, May 30, 2009 by showing up at The Vicarage in Thamesmead to buy hand-made greeting cards for all occasions. The event will take place at the Open Gateway Craft Club open day from 1-5:30pm at The Vicarage, Battery Road, West Thamesmead. Cards will be priced at £1-£2.5 and all proceeds will go to the hospice.

MUSEUM APPEALS FOR INFORMATION ON WARTIME PLANE CRASH

The Library and Archives Team at Firepower, The Royal Artillery Museum are looking for witnesses to an historic event that took place almost seven decades ago. On 31 July 1940 an RAF Spitfire piloted by Flying Officer Robin Waterston was shot down in combat over London and crashed near the Royal Artillery Barracks and Repository Road Woolwich Common near, Woolwich. The Museum wants to pinpoint the exact location of the crash site and would like to hear from anyone who remembers the incident.

Anyone with information about the crash or crash site can contact Mark Smith, Curator, Firepower, The Royal Artillery Museum, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, London SE18 6ST, call 0208 312 7120 or email marks@firepower.org.uk

Firepower The Royal Artillery Museum is based at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, the birthplace of the Royal Artillery which was founded there in 1716. The history of artillery is illustrated by Firepower’s world-class display of artillery from catapults to rockets, from the medieval battlefield to modern peacekeeping missions, the collections including uniforms, drawings, diaries and medals bring together 700 years of artillery and human history.

Experiences at Firepower include the ground-shaking Field of Fire audio-visual show where visitors are put in the midst of battle as shells and aircraft fly overhead and guns roar, giving an insight into the experiences of an artillery gunner.

For more information about Firepower visit www.firepower.org.uk , call 020 8855 7755 or email info@firepower.org.uk . Firepower is located in the historic Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, London, between the A206 and the Thames.

Tony & Twizzle at Greenwich Theatre

Thu 23-Sat 25 April 2009

Anthony Chalmers and Isobel (Twizzle) Trilling, stars of Celebrity Wheelie Bins, are red carpet favourites. In a 'warts and all' look back at their showbiz careers, Tony and Twizzle perform clips from their fabulous film and TV triumphs notably Whistle Down Your Blouse, Wednesday Night and Thursday Morning and Sunday teatime TV drama Some Vets do 'Ave Em.

THE GLORY YEARS takes a hilarious look at the cult of celebrity brought to you by the award-winning comedy duo LipService, aka Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding, makers of Withering Looks and Jane Bond.

Greenwich Theatre

Crooms Hill

London SE10 8ES

RE-PHOTOGRAPHING PAINTED SITES, with Greenwich Heritage Centre

Saturday 2nd May, 1 to 5pm: £7 + £5 boat trip to Woolwich

To accompany the upcoming exhibition 'Painterly Photographs', The Viewfinder Gallery are holding a special workshop. Following a curator's tour of the current exhibition, and a boat ride to the Greenwich Heritage Centre, participants will be invited to select a historic painting of Greenwich and re-photograph the site, to establish how the area has changed, or not, over time. Each participant will also have the opportunity to encapsulate the spirit of contemporary Greenwich in a separate image.

Photographs taken (between 2nd and 12th May) will be collated by the Viewfinder, a selection published on the website, and displayed at an evening event on Friday 15th May, 6.30 to 8.30pm (as part of Museums at Night) at the Viewfinder – do come along and see the results! We'll hold a competition for the best photograph, with the winner announced that evening.

Places are limited to ten participants - please visit http://www.viewfinder.org.uk/events.html to book your place.

The Greenwich Gazette WeekEnd Guide

Saturday 21 March, 2009

Meet Joe Brown: One of the Hospital's Pensioners tells you about his everyday life, along with tales of the Battle of Trafalgar. 12:30pm, 2pm, 3.30pm. Free. Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, SE10.

Silly Wigs and Hats: For 5-12 year-olds. 10.30am - 12 noon. Greenwich Heritage Centre, Royal Arsenal. SE18. Bookings: 020 8854 2452

Anne Frank: Her Legacy Today. A talk by Gillian Walnes, founder and director of the Anne Frank Trust. 2pm. £3.00 (includes light refreshments). Greenwich Heritage Centre, Royal Arsenal, SE18. Booking: 020 8854 2452

Frock Exchange Party: Recycled or Vintage. In partnership with the Greenwich & Bexley Cottage Hospice. 12noon - 4pm. £5. Greenwich Community College, Royal Hill, SE10. Tel: 020 8858 2211

Poetry Recital: Alexander in India by Robert Wynne-Simmons. 1.10pm. Free. St Alfege's Greenwich Church St. SE10.

Mother's Day Lunch- 3 course family carvery luncheon with flowers for Mum. £20.00 adults - £12.50 children u12. Clarendon Hotel, Blackheath. For more info, click here.

Kuniyoshi Opens: The Royal Academy of Arts presents an exhibition on one of the greatest Japanese print artists, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861). For more info, click here.

Sunday 22 March, 2009

Haffner Wind Ensemble: Blackheath Halls at 11am. The Haffner Wind Ensemble is one of Britain’s leading chamber ensembles and one of the most established wind quintets in Britain. Nicholas Daniel (oboe), Joy Farrall (clarinet), Michael Cox (flute), Sarah Burnett (bassoon), Stephen Bell (horn). For more info click here.

Tactile Tales: Storytelling session using tactile rug. Find out about Kings, Queens and monsters. For 3-7 year olds. 12.30pm, 2pm, 3.30pm. Free. Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, SE10.

Portfolio Review: Join Louise Forrester (curator) and Britt Hatzius (London Independent Photography's Editor) for a 25-minute portfolio review. 1pm onwards. £20. Viewfinder Photography Gallery, Linear House, Peyton Place, off Royal Hill, Greenwich, SE10. Bookings: http://www.viewfindergallery.org.uk/

Organ Recital: by James Grainger on the 1789 Samuel Green Organ. 3pm. Free. Chapel of the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, SE10

Thomas Tallis Society Choir & Orchestra: 7pm. £8-£15. St Alfege, Greenwich Church Street, SE10. Tickets on door or in advance Greenwich Theatre 020 8858 7755

Saturday March 21 & Sunday March 22, 2009:

Nubian Weekend: The Equiano Society hosts an official from Nubia Museum in Aswan, Egypt who will lecture on Queen Nefertiti and other Nubian women. Also, poets, drummers, dances and more. 1-4pm. Museum of London Docklands, West India Quay, E14. Tel: 0870 444 3857/ For more info click here.

Florimania: Flowers for the King. Hampton Court Palace. Join us over Mothering Sunday weekend for our annual celebration of flowers.Created by members of the Surrey branch of NAFAS, the displays this year will be inspired by the Tudor period. This year, for the first time, the Tudor State Apartments and Cloisters will be displayed with a riot of colour and scent using flowers and plants of the period. For more info click here. Address: Hampton Court, East Molesey, Surrey, KT8 9AU

St Alfege Recital

Trinity College of Music students will be providing a vocal recital at St Alfege Church in Greenwich tomorrow, March 19, 2009. The event is free and takes place at 1.10pm at St Alfege Street Church, St. Alfege Church Street, SE10.