Bakary Cafe

Elephants are everywhere…

“The treacherous, unexplored areas of the world are not in continents or the seas; they are in the minds and hearts of men“. ALLEN E CLAXTON

The worst continent in the world to fly from is Africa. In 2003, it generated only 3% of all the flights, but accounted for 28% of all the air crashes. (source: BBC QI Fact of the Day)

Help stop developers endangering the residents and historial houses of Little Green Street.

This lovely street, one of the last intact Georgian Streets in London, is at risk. Developers want to turn the street into a construction route for their lorries for their proposed development nearby.

Visit littlegreenstreet for more info. And write to Frances Wheat at London Borough of Camden, Camden Town Hall, Judd Street, London WC1H 9JE or email (frances.wheat@camden.gov.uk).

Stop the madness. Protect London’s history.

I’m sure most of you are familiar with Open House.

Open House London enables ‘all Londoners to experience and learn about the capital’s most interesting and significant architecture‘… and this means that you and me have (free) access to some of London’s most amazing, interesting and historical buildings…. for one weekend only.

The event, held each September, is growing in popularity. Each year, the usual buildings are on the list… but every now and then, new gems pop up on the list and Little Green Street is definitely one of those.

Little Green Street is one of the last intact Georgian streets in London. I came across the listing by chance. I have an interest in Georgian architecture so the listing caught my eye.

This small street is delightful. We had access to six of the houses, if I remember correctly. Each with period features, quirky corners and lovely gardens. A couple of the houses have modern conversions, which show that you can blend old and new tastefully.

I don’t know how I’d feel about opening my house to strangers for the day, but the residents seemed more than happy to chat about their homes. They all seem to know each other well. Quite a friendly bunch of people really.

It’s discoveries like this which make you fall in love with London over and over again…

Jeppe Hein’s Appearing Rooms at the Southbank Centre made a welcome reappearance this summer. On a warm summer day, it’s the perfect place to spend a few hours, either trying not to get caught by  appearing rooms… or just watching people trying their luck. Kids love it too.

And now that autumn is on its way (it’s certainly getting fresher and darker earlier these days), Appearing Rooms gives you the opportunity to cling on to the summer. And whether people think of it as art or not, they’re interacting with it. I know I was pleased to see the work was back in London this summer.

Enjoy!

Appearing Rooms is on at the Southbank Centre until 23 October 2009. FREE.

Elephants are everywhere…

Now, that’s cool!

So cool that I just found myself smiling and staring at it for ages when I came across it by chance a few weekends ago…

Elephants are everywhere…

The Kora is an amazing instrument: it’s lovely to look at; it’s intricate to play (with 21 strings) and it produces a whole range of sounds. It’s iconic.

It did pain me to leave the sunshine for this 3pm gig… but I soon got over that. The Kora trio played to a small audience, in the Purcell Room (Southbank Centre).

We are told that N’Faly Kouyate, Ba Cissoko and Prince Diabate are childhood friends. They each play the Kora in their own way, creating their own distinctive sound. You could close your eyes and you would know which player was playing. (In the same way that you can instantly identify Toumani Diabate when he plays).

The music was poetic. The songs were beautiful.

Looking at them playing, you would think that the Kora is an easy instrument to play. They are astounding musicians and very talented.

Ba Cissoko, looking very solemn, produced a very professional performance. Prince Diabate was more flamboyant and modern. N’Faly Kouyate more traditional.  Their differences were apparent during the whole performance, but particularly evident from the solo piece they each performed. Their outfits also perfectly reflected their personalities.

With the last song, Ba Cissoko decided to have us standing, singing and clapping… ‘to create an atmosphere’.

We were told this was the trio’s first performance in fifteen years, ‘but hopefully not the last’, said N’Faly Kouyate (who then asked cheekily whether we thought it should be the last, giving us another one of his hugely infectious smiles). No… we want more.

Foto8 and HOST Gallery recently announced the winner of the Best in Show at the Foto8 Summer Show 2009, and it’s an interesting choice.