Unique Unicorn

Round & About

Posted on

Photo: Shackleton Trio

The new year has already got off to a great start for Music at the Unicorn with two fantastic pieces of news.

Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention and guitar virtuoso PJ Wright have once again agreed to be patrons for MATU and they have a new programme curator in the form of Duncan Chappell of Big Ginger Tom Music.

Both Dave and PJ are delighted to be continuing their links with the popular music venue and Duncan has already been hard at work putting together an exciting mix of acts for the 2020 programme which will feature acts old and new as well as many local treats.

He said: “This is an exciting time for me and I’m very proud to be part of this wonderful organisation. I know I can do a great job for MATU. We’re all looking forward to a fantastic 2020.

“The new programme will be ready soon and we will be distributing it early in the new year. Come and see us!”

Among the goodies Duncan has lined up for the Unicorn are the stunning vocals of Me for Queen who kicked off the year in January. March brings Jim Moray with Tom Moore on the 26th, one of England’s finest interpreters of traditional song who has changed the sound of folk music.

Among other highlights Duncan has put together are the Shackleton Trio on 21st May. The musicians have played to great acclaim on the folk circuit with their original work blending with imaginative re-workings of traditional folk songs often with a twist.

Multi-award winning folk duo Ninebarrow have impressed audiences across the country with their innovative take on folk favourites and their delivery of old songs rooted in the landscape and history of the British Isles and are named after Nine Barrow Down in Dorset’s Purbeck hills. Ninebarrow are at the Unicorn on 10th September, but definitely worth the wait.

As 2020 draws to a close there’s no let up in the great music on offer with the aptly-named  The Willows playing on 1st October as autumn blows in with their music influenced by both sides of the Atlantic.

Warm up with family trio Cup O’Joe on 12th November, the two brothers and sister have been playing together since they were in their teens and were due to release a new album in January featuring many original tracks.

More info

To find out more about the fabulous bands playing at the Unicorn in 2020 and ticket information

Click here

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Seal of approval

Round & About

Posted on

Main image: Sleeping like a Weddell by Ralf Schneider Highly Commended 2019, Black and White. Left: Canopy hangout by Carlos Pérez Naval, Spain Highly Commended 2019, Young Wildlife Photographers: 11-14 years old . Middle: Lucky break by Jason Bantle, Canada Highly Commended 2019, Urban Wildlife. Right: The climbing dead by Frank Deschandol Highly Commended 2019, Plants and Fungi

The world-renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, on loan from the Natural History Museum in London, will open at The Base on Friday, 7th February.

“It’s a delight and privilege to bring this exhibition to The Base,” says Corn Exchange Newbury director Grant Brisland. “The previous instalment launched the building [last February] and was enjoyed by over 3,500 people. As we individually and collectively take steps to reduce our impact on the environment, these pictures remind us what we’re aiming to protect for future generations.”

This year’s 100 award-winning images have embarked on an international tour that will allow them to be seen by over a million people. Catch the exhibition at The Base from this month until April.

More info

There are also special events such as Relaxed Days (20th Feb & 8th Apr), a Clay Animals workshop on 22nd February and a Cartoon Animal Drawing workshop on 1st March. Visit the website or call 0845 5218 218. www.facebook.com/WildlifePhotographerOfTheYear

Website

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Max & Ivan

Round & About

Posted on

Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominees Max & Ivan, as seen in BBC One’s W1A and heard on BBC Radio 4’s The Casebook of Max & Ivan bring their show Commitment to Reading tomorrow (6th February).

Peter Anderson caught up with the hilarious duo…

Q. How did you both discover your talents for comedy & improv?

Ivan: “ Max grew up listening to, watching and reading comedy from an early age – he always dreamed of becoming a performer and through dedication and devotion he got to where he is now.”

Max: “ As for Ivan, we’re both hoping he’ll discover his talents soon…”

Ivan: “ Fingers crossed! That’s one of my talents, incidentally.”

Q. You met while studying at Royal Holloway. Does that mean acting and comedy is to some extent at Plan B?

Max: “ We both studied theatre, so this is Plan A! The fact that we don’t have a Plan B is what worries our parents the most (and us to be honest….).”

Ivan: “ Getting a real job is Plan B! And I’ve no idea what the next letter of the alphabet is, so let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Q. How well did you know each other before you came together at the radio station?

Ivan: “ When we met at an audition for a play (in the first week of university) we got talking about comedy and within a couple of weeks we started working together.”

Max: “ Our friendship and working partnership are one and the same and we look forward to it continuing (until the eventual day it falls apart in bitter, furious litigation).”

Q. Who are your inspirations?

Max: “ The League of Gentlemen, Brass Eye, Little Britain, Key & Peele, French & Saunders, Julia Davis.

Ivan: “ Max.”

Q. What can the audience at South Street expect from the show?

Max: “ If you come to see us at South Street you’ll witness the TRUE story of how I attempted to reform Ivan’s teenage band for one final gig on the night of his stag. It’s an incredible story that has to be seen to be believed, filled with an array of embarrassing photos and videos from our childhood.”

Ivan: “ It also made a number of publications’ Top 10 lists for best comedy shows of 2019 – so we can guarantee that it’s FUNNY! We won’t name those publications out of respect to the Round & About magazine, but feel free to Google – sorry, use a prominent search engine of your choice – if you don’t believe us.”

Q. I know Kieran has performed there before have either of you?

Ivan: “ We haven’t! However when we asked Kieran Hodgson (our director) what to expect, he said: ‘Reading South Street is one of my favourite venues, with a discerning clientele and access to a really good canalside Pizza Express for post-show nosh. You’re also under directorial orders to see the weird muscly lion statue during the afternoon. Break a leg! Kieran. X’

Max: “ His directorial brilliance knows no bounds!”

Q. How do you go about writing/creating the framework for the show?

Max: “ With our previous shows, it’s always been a torturous process involving far too many hours spent in a small room drinking lots of coffee and scribbling on hundreds of Post-it notes.”

Ivan: “ We thought that seeing as Commitment is based on a real story it’d be different this time round… but unfortunately not.”

Q. If you had free rein to pick another actor to join you, who would you pick?

Max: “ We have a running joke with James Acaster that he’ll one day appear halfway through our show as a neighbour, saying his catchphrase of ‘hello boys’ – it’d have to be fulfilling that weird dream I guess!”

Ivan: “ You never know – he might turn up in Reading!*”

Q. How do you relax away from acting?

Ivan: “ We write an eight-part geo-political comedy thriller podcast of course!”

Max: “ Why not give it a listen: it’s called Max & Ivan: Fugitives and it’s nothing like our live show…”

Q. I guess there is a lot of driving between gigs, what do you listen to; music, audio-books?

Max: “ John, our tour manager and driver extraordinaire** is actually a trained musical director, so we’ve actually spent most of our travelling time together learning three-part harmonies to songs…”

Ivan: “ We’re quite tempted to spend our final tour date performing some rousing folk songs instead of Commitment (although we’re not sure what the good people of Norwich would think of that).”

 

* he won’t.

**John’s driving is actually quite dangerous and when we’re not learning harmonies we’re reminding him how roundabouts work, or warning him that he’s about to crash into a parked car.

More info

Visit whatsonreading.com and maxandivan.com

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Wear Red Day

Round & About

Posted on

Don’t be surprised if you’re seeing red today – many will be as they show their support for Wear Red Day and congenital heart disease.

Whether it’s red socks for a splash of awareness or an all-out crimson costume, wear red for the day and support the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund (CHSF) on Friday, 7th February and help children and adults. 

Your fundraising will help fund ground-breaking new equipment, resources, training and research as well as support for children and their families whenever they need it.

It’s so easy to take part, all you need to do is wear red!

It’s a great opportunity to bring pupils, teachers and school staff together for a brilliant cause and team bonding is guaranteed with #WearRedDay at work, it doesn’t need to take up much time but can bring amazing returns. 

And it needn’t stop at wearing red clothing, why not host a Bake Off! Open a stand and sell delicious treats, red coloured of course! Go on a sponsored walk and get naturally red in the cheeks, dress your pets in red and share the fun with your furry friends or simply guess how many red sweets are in the jar.

CHSF was founded in 1988 and since then, has awarded around £7million in grants to the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit, its patients and their families, as well as funding important research proposals. 

And it’s all thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the public and corporate supporters, and by the amazing efforts of fundraisers. 

More info

To find out more information and how you can get involved and help, visit

Website

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Go with the Flow

Round & About

Posted on

Flow is the first exhibition of 2020 at Lingwood Samuel Art in Godalming and features a selected group of artists from FLUX Exhibition 2019. 

It will be supported by new ceramic work from Cathy Butcher and Claire Ireland as well as the ongoing collection of ceramics, jewellery, sculptures and prints. FLUX has established itself as the platform for contemporary artists to be discovered. 

Among the artists who will be exhibiting are: Amy Oliver, a self taught conceptual artist, using photography and digital manipulation to express her ideas; Lindsay Simons, a figurative painter living and working in London; Nick Huck, a largely self–taught figurative artist working with oil paints on layers of perspex over wood and canvas and Sophie Wake, a contemporary artist using oil or gouache, known for her animal figure paintings.  

Flow runs from Saturday 8th until Saturday, 25th April at the exciting and original contemporary art and craft gallery in Church Street which incorporates studio space for the artist owners: Caroline Lingwood and Margaret Samuel.  

The gallery holds four to six exhibitions a year showcasing carefully curated work from artists from all over the UK: paintings, ceramics, sculpture, mixed media, glass and jewellery. Work is displayed in a setting very different from the traditional white cube gallery, to give an idea of how art can be incorporated into the home. 

More info

The open day this Saturday is from 11am to 5pm. 

For more details visit

 

Website

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Power of plants

Round & About

Posted on

Watch out for the Giant Houseplant Takeover at RHS Wisley 

A lost and abandoned Victorian house has been overrun by its only remaining inhabitants – the houseplants, and no it’s not the start to a Gothic novel, it’s just the latest exhibition at RHS Wisley.

Hundreds of houseplants will be growing, overflowing and taking over the Glasshouse at the flagship garden until 1st March.

Every room is filled with familiar plants in the Giant Houseplant Takeover where a parlour palm is growing out of an armchair, a giant fern is taking a bath and every cup and tea pot features a growth of greenery.

The aim of the exhibition is to inspire visitors to think about quirky and innovative ways to grow houseplants. You’ll wander around a house of six rooms, each featuring different houseplants that have ‘made themselves too much at home’.

Walk through spider plants, devil’s ivy and spiderwort in the hallway through to the living room where a banana plant is growing through the roof and a group if small palms are playing chess.

The mattress and curtains of the four-poster bed have become entwined with bromeliads and in the dining room, tall succulents and cacti are awaiting their Mad Hatter feast with cupcakes which look like Venus fly traps. The bathroom doesn’t escape either with a waterfall pouring through the ceiling  of ferns and moss.

There’s so much to see. General manager Emma Allen said they want to encourage people to be bolder with their houseplants and see that they don’t need to sit in a pot. She added: “We will keep them well fed and watered and can only hope they will leave our visitors in peace.”

The Giant Houseplant Takeover at the Glasshouse is open from 10am to 3.45pm daily until 1st March and is included in the normal admission price – and watch out as you wander round!

More info

To find out more visit

Website

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Take a peep at new app

Round & About

Posted on

What started as a family surprise has developed into an app letting you countdown to celebrations and special events – a digital advent for any occasion, any time. 

 

MyPeep is the brainchild of Cholsey couple Pam and Darren Evans. Pam wanted to surprise her sister with a countdown for her 50th birthday but couldn’t find what she was looking for – husband Darren came to the rescue and created the app. 

They tested it on their son Dylan with a seven-day countdown of things he liked including his favourite songs, photos and news of a treat but while it was created for fun, the couple hope to see the app used to help combat social isolation. 

Darren said: “We’d love to see “peeps” being sent to people who live alone or far away from family – just that little surprise could really make their day. We are also now in discussions with initiatives for mental health (PTSD specifically) and well-being, as well as fitness and nutrition type services.” 

With MyPeep you can include text and emojis, photos, images and links as well as short clips via the in-app video. Once you’ve created all the content for your windows, invite friends and family to download MyPeep so you can share it with them.  

The fun of MyPeep is in the anticipation. Recipients can only open one window at a time – the rest of the windows stay locked until it’s time to open the next one.  

The UK’s first customisable digital advent can be used to countdown to birthdays, reunions, parties, weddings, holidays – or simply for brightening someone’s day. 

Other opportunities have also been identified including one that will help improve end of life care experience and therefore the quality of palliative care for patients, family members and others important to the patient through a product called Treasured. 

Treasured will help in creating daily content, storing memories and allow patients to post for future events. Data is securely held until a specific date and can only be unlocked/made available to relatives and loved ones on that specific date. 

The aim is to work in partnership with a national charity who have indicated that Treasured will also assist loved ones in the grieving process. 

More info

For more information visit

Website

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

National Apprenticeship Week

Round & About

Posted on

National Apprenticeship Week is an annual week-long celebration, starting today, of apprenticeships across England and a time to recognise and applaud apprenticeship success stories. 

It’s a great opportunity for employers to promote the success of their apprentices and highlight the benefits to other employers, of all sizes, who are thinking of taking on an apprentice.

Apprentices across the country will also be celebrated throughout the week, with engagement and events in schools and colleges. Many current and former apprentices will go back to tell their story, attracting the next generation of apprentices, so they too can fire up their future career.

Throughout the 13 years, National Apprenticeship Week has brought together apprenticeship supporters from across the country, with MPs, ambassadors, apprentices, training providers and top employers involved in recognising the value and importance of apprenticeships.

Last year more than 1,250 events took place across England and there was a hugely successful #askanapprentice day with employers, including TUI, Bentley Careers, Siemens UK, AXA Insurance and Cisco all getting involved.

The then Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills, Anne Milton said: “I am thrilled National Apprenticeship Week 2020 will take place during early February 2020. It’s a chance to celebrate apprentices and the brilliant work being done by schools, the FE sector and employers across the country to promote the huge benefits of apprenticeships.

“Apprenticeships offer people of all ages and backgrounds a high-quality route to skilled employment with the option to train at every level in a range of exciting professions like aerospace engineering, data science, teaching, law, nursing, and fashion.”

Keith Smith, apprenticeships director, Education and Skills Funding Agency/Department for Education added: “A week-long celebration of all things apprenticeships gives opportunity to recognise the importance of apprenticeships and their impact. National Apprenticeship Week also enables employers, providers, partners and apprentices themselves to creatively celebrate what apprentices achieve and the impact they have locally, regionally and nationally.”

More info

More information on National Apprenticeship Week 2020 can be found on below and on social media channels. Follow @Apprenticeships on Twitter and National Apprenticeship Service on LinkedIn to keep up to date. 

GOV.UK

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Jane Austen’s House

Round & About

Posted on

Photo: The Watsons rehearsal_Samuel West_Laura Wade © Manuel Harlan

Jane Austen’s House in Chawton has two new ambassadors for 2020 alongside its new  displays and events to celebrate nature and the outdoors.

Actor and theatre director Samuel West and Olivier award-winning playwright and screenwriter Laura Wade will jointly take on the role of ambassadors.

Laura’s play The Watsons, an adaptation of Austen’s unfinished story and directed by West, is set to make its West End debut in May and are delighted to have taken on the role.

The pair spent a morning in rehearsals at the house with the cast and Laura said: “We already feel like we have a connection to the Museum and are very proud to be associated with such an important and resonant place – it means a great deal to us.”

This year will also see the house and garden reflecting Jane and her characters’ love of nature and the outdoors. A first edition of Pride and Prejudice will take pride of place in the Reading Room, celebrating Lizzie’s walk through muddy fields to visit her ill sister at Netherfield, together with a pair of Regency ladies’ walking boots and a pair of pattens, worn by ladies to keep their feet dry.

The bakehouse will feature a new chalkboard for children to record the wildlife they spot in the garden, encouraging them to keep an eye open for  birds, bees, insects and even hedgehogs and bats.

A spring flowers workshop will be held on 3rd May and a series of guided walks over the Easter and May bank holidays.

Collections manager Sophie Reynolds said: “Nature is not always the first thing that comes to mind when people think of Jane Austen, but we know from her letters that Jane was a keen walker and enjoyed the countryside. It is this love for the outdoors that she instilled in her heroines that we are celebrating through our events programme, items in our collection and by encouraging visitors to fully enjoy the House’s beautiful cottage garden.”

Jane Austen’s House re-opens to the public tomorrow (1st February).

More info

For more information about the events

Click here

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Talking Point: Russell Watson

Round & About

Posted on

Liz Nicholls chats to singer and dad Russell Watson, 53, ahead of his 20th anniversary UK tour.

Q. Hello! Congratulations on 20 years since your album The Voice. How does that feel?
“Thank you! You’d expect to be more thrilled and grateful at the start of your career and then becoming used to it but for me it’s the other way around. I didn’t realise the significance of the record sales at the time. The Voice spent a year at number one in the charts and people kept congratulating me but at the time I was a bit ‘meh’ – I’d say, nah, Robbie Williams has done more, Elton’s done more. Now I look back and can’t believe the arena tours, the sales. It was just happening so quickly but I’m more grateful now.”

Q. How do you take care of your voice?
“I’ve always had to take care of my voice. If you don’t you pay the price later down the line. Dairy is an absolute no-go, as are fizzy drinks and anything spicy. I lived on chicken and boiled rice throughout the entirety of the last 25-date tour I did with Aled Jones, but he didn’t! I’d meet him in the canteen where Aled would be tucking into his meat & potato pie, chips, peas, gravy and a Diet Coke. I‘d ask him how he could have that before going on stage and he’d say ‘Well, that’s the downside of being a tenor!’ But I love Aled; we’ve become really close. It’s nice to have someone you can talk to and trust in the music industry.”

Q. You’ve worked with some stars – who would be your favourite?
“I’ve been very lucky. The list is endless and I’d never want to forget anybody. From Luciano Pavarotti at Hyde Park to Paul McCartney at the Nobel Peace prize awards in Oslo when we sang Let It Be. When I was a kid I remember sitting in my bedroom playing the Beatles bumper songbook and 15 years on I’m singing with the man himself, wow. Shaun Ryder, Meatloaf, Lulu, Mel C ¬– so many amazing people! Lionel Richie definitely stands out, and Cliff Richard; my mum was a massive fan of Cliff when we were kids.”

I haven’t ever stopped loving it!

Q. What’s your first memory of music?
“My grandad was a fantastic classical pianist trained to the highest level but sadly he had serious confidence issues so he never went on stage. But my earliest memories are of leaning against the back leg of his grand piano, falling asleep to the vibrations of the Chopin waltz.”

Q. You left school early didn’t you?
“Yes; I loved school but not from an academic perspective – I always felt I wasn’t ready for learning as a child. I learned more about life and started to read more after I’d left school – I’m not an advocate of leaving school early, though! I come from a working class background and I love my mum and dad to bits but they didn’t in anyway to encourage me to be academic. Maybe if I’d had parents who’d been more pushy I might have been. But I wouldn’t change anything.”

Q. Do you get stage fright?
“No not really! I’d been doing the clubs for years then in 99 I was invited to sing at Old Trafford for Manchester United’s last game of the season in what had been a truly iconic time for the team. I sang Nessun Dorma and walked off to see my dad at the side of the pitch with a tear in his eye (it was windy, he said!). He said: ‘were you not nervous?’ And I said no – I love it! And I’ve never stopped loving it. The more the merrier in terms of the crowd.”

Q. Do you love being a dad more than ever?
“Yes; my bond with my girls got even closer after getting ill with the tumours, particularly the second one when I nearly died. My eldest is 25 now and works with me and they’re both nearby. We pull funny faces and sing the wrong words to pop songs, crying with laughter. They bring the best and most stupid side out of me.”

Tickets

For all tour dates and to buy tickets

Click here

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter: