Monelise magic

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Visitors to the Thame Town Music Festival this month will be in for a treat as they listen to the haunting compositions of Monelise.

Her classically inspired soundscapes, which are truly twenty-first century tone poems blurring the lines, rather than crossing over between classical and contemporary, lyric and poetry, reality and dream. It was in an ethereal dream-like place, Iceland, she spent time last year as she recorded the video for her latest single The Flood which was released last month. You may be able to hear the single quite often as you shop, as the TopShop Group have signed an agreement for the song to be played in their stores during June and July,

Speaking of fashion, Monelise is pleased to return to Edinburgh earlier this year performing at the Alternative Fashion Week. Monelise was born in St Petersburg, she has lived in Russia, Houston Texas, Luxembourg and five years in Edinburgh. She is now living in London and studying for a Masters’ degree in Popular Music at Goldsmiths University as well as performing at some of London’s best kept secret haunts.

She gives her inspirations from across the musical spectrum including Kate Bush, Bjork, Michael Nyman, Yann Tiersen, Enrico Caruso, Frederic Chopin amongst others. If you are inspired to go and listen to her, then details of her performance and all the acts at the Thame Town Festival which is on at various locations across Thame on the 13th and 14th July can be found at www.thametownmusicfestival.org.

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Music & more marvels

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Family-friendly Marvellous festival at Dinton Pastures Country Park over the weekend of 21st & 22nd July promises tribute acts galore and lots more!

Our respect for the talent of tribute acts has risen to such a point that whole festivals are dedicated to them. This certainly makes economic sense: in this time of austerity how else can you enjoy Tina Turner, Coldplay, Pink and Led Zeppelin in concert?

One of the longest running and best tribute festivals is the suitably named Marvellous which returns to Dinton Pastures Country Park near Hurst over the weekend of 21st and 22nd July.

Marvellous features 15 top tribute performers who perform their pitch-perfect imitations all over the world. On the Saturday you can have a fiesta with Oye Santana, listen to when Sting was great with Police Force and enjoy the sounds of Ed Sheeran (minus 100,000 screaming teenagers) in Jack Shepherd’s tribute.

Marvellous is well known for serving up an eclectic mix of musical genres and eras, and this year you will be right royally entertained by tributes to all your favourite artists and more as well as a second stage marquee featuring a plethora of unsigned local talent. Kids of all ages will find plenty to do with fabulous fairground rides as well as loads of free activities in the Big Kids’ Village – including balloon modelling, arts and crafts, games, and face painting.

New for 2018 is the Silent Disco tent where revellers wear headphones and can switch between two channels of music transmitted wirelessly to them by the DJ – great fun to do and to watch! The festival offers both day tickets and weekend tickets, camping and glamping packages.

Then there’s Sir Tom (Jones), P!nk, and Definitely Might Be (Oasis). That’s another great thing about tribute acts – you can watch unexpected reunions such as the Gallagher brothers or even reunions from beyond the grave in the case of T Rextasy who support Saturday headliners Ultimate Eagles.

On the Sunday the fun continues with Bruno (not Frank; Mars), Sounds of Simon (& Garfunkel), Boot Led Zeppelin, Typically Tina, The Fillers (The Killers tribute), Legend (Bob Marley tribute), and the headliner Coldplace.

Tickets for Saturday or Sunday cost £43 (£70 for the weekend) for adults, and £20 (£35) for children. If you plan to camp – or glamp! – then there’s an additional charge. For more details and to book visit: www.marvellousfestivals.com

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Homegrown heroes

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Henley Symphony Orchestra will take centre stage on Saturday, 14th July, at the Henley Festival which Round & About magazine is proud to sponsor this year

Featuring a programme of popular classics from around the world, Henley Symphony Orchestra will play an inaugural concert from 11.30am to 1.30pm, on the “floating stage” as part of Henley Festival.

This is the first of two special classical concerts over the festival weekend; the second being the English National Opera’s concert on Sunday evening.

The HSO, now in its 48th season, continues to attract a wide audience and soloists of the highest calibre. It has given performances in Henley’s twin towns of Leichlingen, Falaise and Bled. Most recently it performed to a full house at the Hexagon, Reading, with the inspirational young cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason playing Elgar’s Cello Concerto.

July’s concert will feature the violinist Min Kym who has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras and eminent conductors. She will be playing two showpieces with the orchestra; Massenet’s beautiful Meditation from Thais and Sarasate’s scintillating Zapateado.

Under the masterful command of conductor Ian Brown, the orchestra will also perform Dvorak, Gershwin, Marquez, Offenbach and Walton. Tchaikovsky’s iconic 1812 Overture, with its resounding bells and cannon fire – a fitting end to the concert!

Tickets for the concert on 14th are £20 (£10 for under-18s and students). For the full Henley Festival line-up visit www.henley-festival.co.uk

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High achievers

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This month Wimbledon, next year the West End and the world…
Dance Overture is London Studio Centre’s annual end-of-year production, showcasing the varied and exciting talents of first and second-year students.

Overflowing with energy, this month offers dance-lovers the chance to see household names of the future…
in spectacular form, between Friday 13th and Sunday 15th July Wimbledon’s New Theatre will host an exuberant display of jazz, ballet, contemporary dance and musical theatre. This exciting production was developed and rehearsed in just five weeks and showcases the diverse range of skills students have studied through a challenging year of technical training, rigorous assessment and rewarding academic exploration honed by leading and emerging choreographers.

London Studio Centre is keen to support former students in their careers, and some of the pieces in the production have been created by alumni who have established themselves in the field of choreography. Now they have a chance to work with those who are following in their footsteps.

However, this is by no means the only route people have taken once graduating. The London Dance Centre is 40 years old. It was founded by Bridget Espinosa and offers a comprehensive programme for students who are dedicated in the pursuit of excellence in all facets of musical theatre. The course offers a broad and versatile training and offers students the chance to specialise in classical ballet, contemporary dance, jazz dance and musical theatre. Aspects of all these genres will be showcased in the performances.

Studio Centre alumni have joined many of the leading companies such as Rambert Dance Company, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, English National Ballet, Royal Ballet, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Stomp, ZooNation, Spirit of the Dance, JazzXchange, Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. They have also appeared in many Broadway and West End Shows such as Hamilton, Wicked, Matilda and Cats.

This will be an inspiring show for future young dancers as they have a chance to see students from a centre which is at the cutting edge of creative development. For further information and tickets, please visit www.atgtickets.com

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Imaginative arts

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Make a date to visit Basildon Park this month to enjoy a spectacular exhibition. The grounds of Basildon Park, Lower Basildon, are the setting for Wayfaring.

This is a free outdoor installation and performance space created in the grounds of this country house, by artists Mandy Dike and Ben Rigby, who work together as And Now.

As the name poetically inspires, Wayfaring is an artistic journey of exploration, inspired by the landscape and ancient routes of the Icknield Way, a pre-Roman pathway running from north Norfolk to the Dorset coast. Basildon Park, where the North Wessex Downs meets the Chilterns, sits on the edge of the route.

Usually visitors pay to enter Basildon Park’s beautiful parklands – but on the 18th, 19th and 20th July entry is free.

The journey begins in the park, where you can contribute to the artwork, with materials found by Mandy, Ben and their team and a group of volunteers and local schoolchildren.

On the evening of Saturday, 21st July, at 7pm, fire, pyrotechnics, live music and performance will light up the installation in a rousing celebration. The audience will play an active part in Wayfaring – walking, looking, listening, maybe even singing. This event is an exciting opportunity to create an amazing journey for audiences in a very special location.

Wayfaring is the culmination of a three-year artistic and heritage collaboration between And Now: and the National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

This project will provide a stepping stone to transform natural locations with imaginative arts events.

www.wayfaring.org.uk

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Special forces

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Attention! Learn about what life is like as a soldier, now and historically at The National Army Museum. There are plenty of exhibitions and workshops to visit, and to follow are just a few highlights of what has been curated…

Special Forces: In the Shadows is a major exhibition presenting ideas of security and secrecy through the lens of British Special Forces. Discover who these elite soldiers are, the training and skills they need and some of the operations they’ve undertaken around the world over the past 70 years. Exhibiting from now until November.

Learn about the forgotten fronts of the First World War with 20-minute object handling of artefacts from the Indian Army collection, on Wednesday, 4th July, between 11am and 2.30pm.

Behind the scenes: Artists Rifles on Wednesday, 4th July, 6.30-8pm, Is a talk about Artists Rifles, a regiment formed in 1860 by a group of painters, architects, poets, sculptors, musicians and actors concerned about a possible French invasion. Notable members included William Morris, Frederick Leighton and Noël Coward.

Bluebirds of War: Canadian nurses in the First World War, is on Friday, 6th July, 11.30am. Dr Andrea McKenzie discusses the experiences on the Western Front, and how, through shot and shell, bombs and torpedoes, 3,000 miles from their homes, the nurses cared for the casualties of war.

Security and the army tour on Saturday, 7th July, 2pm, will explore the topic of security and the army, in 2018.

Operation Husky, 1943 is on Friday, 13th July, 11.30am, where Will Fowler discusses the amphibious and airborne assault on Sicily, that was a major campaign of the Second World War.

Remembering Australians in the First World War
is on Friday, 20th July, 11.30am, with Dr Jenny Macleod exploring Australia’s pride in its military role in the First World War and how this has been used as the basis of its national identity.

Parachute Summer, from Saturday, 21st July until Sunday, 2nd September. Just pick up a ticket from the Welcome Desk. Make a parachute and see how well it works at this free workshop.

The National Army Museum is in Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, SW3 4HT. Call 020 7730 0717 to find out more about the talks and workshops or book online at www.nam.ac.uk

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Meat and greet

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Ever since he was in his early teens Christian Alba knew that he wanted to be a butcher. Jonathan Lovett finds out more about the butcher boy who has realised his dream.

I loved that funny meaty smell that butchers’ shops had,” he says, laughing. “I started in the trade as a Saturday boy when I was 13, doing the cleaning, and a couple of years later they offered me an apprenticeship. When I was 15 I was on a butcher’s bike in the Cricklade Carnival with sausages hanging around my neck wearing a bowler hat and a moustache drawn on my face!”

Fast forward 30-odd years and Christian is now the proud owner of his own shop, Christian Alba Traditional Butchers, located in Hungerford High Street. Opening at the start of May it’s the realisation of a dream for the cheery meat man who staked his own house to buy the shop.

“If it’s your own money and your own life it makes you more driven to make it work,” he adds. “I’d been searching a while for somewhere suitable but hadn’t got anywhere and then this supplier I knew came into the place I was working and said, ‘I’ve got one for you in Hungerford!’ I’ve never been here before in my life but I came over and just knew this was right the moment I stepped inside.”

Christian was previously manager of the award-winning Michael Hart & Sons Butcher in Cirencester and he aims to bring the same high standard of quality to Hungerford and shoppers in nearby towns. But what makes his shop special?

“I pride myself on buying English or British. I’m a proud believer of supporting the English farmer because if you don’t, they will be gone. I’m also concerned with animal welfare and if I could sell everything free-range I would but I appreciate not everyone has the money to afford that. But we do sell free-range pork and lamb, beef and chickens.”

His sausages are handmade, there is a great deli selection and a range of gluten-free goods. But there is one special ingredient Christian believes only the best of butchers have… “Service. People buy from people and if they like who they’re buying from and the product is good then they’ll come back. We operate a ‘nothing is a problem’ service so, if we can get it, you can have it. And I love talking to people. When people walk into a small business they don’t want to be treated as a number, they want someone to respond to them with a bit of soul. We want to treat everyone as a friend.”

˜ Christian Alba Traditional Butchers, 9 High St, Hungerford, RG17 0DN, is open Tuesdays to Fridays, 8am to 5pm and Saturdays, 8am to 3pm. Call the shop on 01488 680970.

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How toxic is your world?

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We live in a world that is literally awash with a concoction of untested chemicals. They are in soaps, detergents, cleaning products, furniture, cars, trains, planes, till receipts, plastics, paints, carpets, clothes, cosmetics, drinking water and food… and this is not an exhaustive list! Not only have about 80,000 chemicals been released into the environment since 1945, the majority have never been fully tested. Studies suggest you do not have to be exposed to a high dose to experience harmful effects. We are only now just beginning to see the results of this “experiment”…

Some have been classified as “hormone disruptors”, meaning they interfere with the intricate balance of hormones in humans and wildlife, potentially leading to developmental and reproductive problems. There is concern over the rising number of hormone-related disorders in both humans and wildlife and the results of recent scientific research include thyroid disease, hormonally driven cancers, early puberty, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The United Nations and the World Health Organisation have jointly published a report calling for more research to understand the link. It is unfortunately now impossible to escape being exposed to some extent to toxins, but you can dramatically reduce the total toxic load you are under, by making sensible lifestyle choices when it comes to what you eat, drink, wear and use. For example avoid consuming plastic bottled water (especially carbonated), filter your drinking and bathing water, eat organic foods, buy environmentally friendly/or make your own household detergents/dishwashing/cleaning and laundry products, stop using a fabric conditioner, think carefully about the use of garden chemicals/lawn treatments, use natural soaps/shampoos and reduce the use of personal care products and cosmetics/seek out natural alternatives. Consuming a nutrient-dense diet as well as directly supporting optimal liver and gut health are also key.

Call Mark BSc (Hons) BA (Hons) mBANT CNHC on 0118 321 9533 or visit www.entirewellbeing.com

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Birth & beyond

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Following the success of The Nature of Forgetting, Theatre Re bring Birth – their latest work in progress – to the Wilde Theatre in Bracknell, writes Peter Anderson

That is it we carry deep down within ourselves from the very beginning? Diving into a world of myths, legends, fairytales, folk songs and taking inspiration from the fields of neuroscience and psycho-genealogy, Theatre Re will use their trademark mix of mime, live music, sound, light, costumes and props to explore what is passed between generations and how this shapes us.

Theatre Re are an associate company of South Hill Park and Guillaume Pigé, their founder and artistic director has many happy memories of Bracknell, he tells me. “We absolutely love bringing our work to SHP! It is always our first port of call and has nurtured numerous projects at early stages. We have fond memories of performing in 2012 and in 2013. Then the stage of The Wilde was the largest we had ever been on. We could not be more excited to share our newest discoveries in July!”

What are the advantages of putting a play in development in front of a live audience? “It gives us a deadline, otherwise we could keep exploring for a very long time without getting anywhere! Things start off with a few ideas, props to play with but it can also be texts, poems, images, movements or set exercises. We realised having an audience helps us to rediscover and reinvent and sometimes also questions the material that we have created in the rehearsal room. It is also incredibly useful for us to hear people’s feedback very early on. It allows us to gain a better understanding of what we are doing and check it is accessible and meaningful.”

What is it about the human condition that so fascinates him? “I don’t think I’ve ever made a conscious decision about it. After having made a few pieces I realised the common ground to all the different shows was the fragility of the human condition. Birth is very much a continuation of the exploration we started with The Nature of Forgetting about memory, when we explored what is left when memory is gone. With Birth the idea is to look at the same question but from the beginning point of view. What is it that we all start with or what is it that we carry deep down within ourselves from the very beginning. We are exploring genetic and family memory and what it is that we subconsciously inherit from our ancestors.

“There will be a lot of Theatre Re trademarks –sweat, live music, not many words – but also new elements we are playing with… you’ll be surprised”

Birth is on Thursday, 12th July, at 7.45pm at the Wilde Theatre, South Hill Park, RG12 7PA, and there will be a post-show discussion. Call 01344 484123 or visit www.southhillpark.org.uk

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Life in the dark

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The Natural History Museum takes visitors from tree-tops to sea beds to celebrate biodiversity and the amazing power of nature, with it latest family-friendly display. From fish to foxes, bats to boas, visitors can get up-close to a huge variety of elusive creatures, in its latest exhibition: Life In The Dark.

Professor Geoff Boxshall, science lead, explains: “At any one time, half the world is in darkness, and no sunlight ever reaches the deep sea or underground caves. Yet the night-time world is teeming with life and both the deep sea and caves are inhabited by a myriad of species. Even in the absence of light, life has found a way.”

This family-friendly exhibition delves into the darkest corners of earth to reveal a vibrant ecosystem as rich and diverse as any in sunlight. Utilising the latest advances, the museum has researched a huge variety of specimens and species in previously inaccessible and challenging places.

As well as coming face-to-face with some of the planet’s most elusive animals, visitors will can enjoy immersive installations, transporting them from the chaos of a bat-filled cave past live specimens and on to the spectacular luminescence of a deep sea light show. You’ll be among the first to see recently identified specimens, entirely new to science.

Be enlightened by the darkness at this summer’s most fascinating exploration, and discover that when the lights go out, the action begins.

Free late event on Friday, 27th July, 6-10pm, visit www.nhm.ac.uk

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