Dulwich OnView

by Ian Dejardin, Dulwich Picture Gallery’s director

Guido Reni’s St Sebastians have been coming down this week. This has been one of the most fascinating displays I’ve seen for ages, and I shall miss this particularly beautiful art-history lesson.

I noticed, however, at the weekend that the cover of The Economist featured a political cartoon in which Gordon Brown was caricatured as St Sebastian, with a sniggering Tony Blair in the background. I wonder if all the publicity for our little show has somehow reinvigorated the St Sebastian image in the public consciousness? Unfortunately, the cartoonist had used Rubens’s great St Sebastian as his model, so it’s hard to tell.

Either way, I think we should be watching out for other signs of heightened ‘Sebastian-awareness’ over the next few months.
St Sebastian going up
Selling St Sebastian

Thursday at 7pm

Writer-producer-director Stephen J Ross is flying in from the US to introduce his film at Dulwich Picture Gallery.

Stephen Ross recording sound on location in Gloucester, Mass.

More details

‘MAKE IT LOCAL’ by second year design students

We have all produced works that respond to our personal explorations and impressions of the Mile Radius around Camberwell College.
They range from visual comments on the perceived cultural environment to pieces inspired by specific sites, references to history and tools to encourage the positive aspects of the area.

Inspiration is everywhere. The important thing is the boundary.’

Using wood from old estate agent signs, Desiree has framed her beautiful fabric pictures and suspended them from the ceiling so both sides can be viewed. The frames are exquisite.
‘The experience has been great. This is the first time I have exhibited my work. Talking to guests about our brief and our interpretation has been the good but their interest after I have spoken to them is even better.’ Desiree McLean

Eva made 13 golden cubes with sausage patterns on them reflecting the 13 decades of the existence of Kennedy’s company. The last was on Peckham Road. She has photos of this derelict building with the cubes attached to a blue pole outside it. This is also a celebration of all local small shops.
‘It is very interesting for me to see our 2 months work placed out of the studios of the college. I like the people interacting with the pieces. My work is historically connected to South London area and it is very nice to hear people’s personal memories about Kennedy’s sausages. This place is very informal and that allows visitors to feel relaxed and enjoy their time here.’ Eva Continue Reading »

by Greville Havenhand

The last week in May is English Wine Week organised by “English Wine Producers.” Here he goes again, you may say. Having praised English sparkling wine in my notes on springtime drinking it may seem that I am over keen on what some people refuse to take seriously, but not all wine critics are Malcolm Gluck! I do mean English (and Welsh) wine. If you see “British Wine” on a label it is an altogether unpleasant concoction made from imported concentrated grape juices.

Time was when much of the wine coming from English vineyards was not very well made from not the best grape varieties. Many vineyards were hobby enterprises or convenient tax losses but in the past twenty years much has changed. The best English sparkling wine beats many high level Champagnes in international competitions, and some table wines are following.

If it is so good why do we not see more. Well, that is partly what English Wine Week hopes to rectify with help from wine merchants, restaurants pubs, farm shops and the like. That apart, it is interesting what the supermarkets are doing. Marks and Spencer are bringing out a range of five own-label English wines made by Chapel Down Wines. Tesco have recently increased their support for the English and Welsh wine industry by adding selected wines near vineyard areas to the five that they already carry. Continue Reading »

Anna Sayburn meets the Dulwich Ukulele Club, who play the Dulwich Festival in May and at the Dulwich Picture Gallery LATE in June.

My musical career started and ended with grade 1 recorder, aged seven (failed). So when I unwrapped a ukulele one recent Christmas morning, I was sceptical.

To my surprise, it is possible to get a tune out of this deeply cute baby guitar without any noticeable musical ability. It’s quite hard to make it sound as horrible as a recorder (although friends who’ve heard me thrashing my way through Anarchy in the UK after a little too much Christmas spirit might disagree).

Even more surprisingly, the ukulele is currently having a moment. And our very own Dulwich Ukulele Club is right at the heart of it. I caught up with seven of the DUC during rehearsals at the East Dulwich house of the band’s founder, Richard. Continue Reading »

Liz Moody’s Dulwich Life is written by Anna Sayburn, inspired by Gainsborough’s portrait “Mrs Elizabeth Moody and Her Two Sons”. It imagines how Mrs Moody might live today.

Saturday 10 May

Phew, what a scorcher! Decided to take my new laptop into the garden to work this morning, as the successful businessperson I clearly am. After much bashing of the calculator, Sam and I worked out that we’d made £102 on the olive oil tasting party, assuming everyone stumps up. Thrilled, I rushed out and invested it in a very light and pretty little laptop I can’t pronounce the name of.
With a little help from my lovely boys, I managed to get it to work, and even to connect to the wifi thingy. Or possibly to next-door’s, but never mind. So now I’m, um, researching olive oil trends on Vogue.com and Net-a-porter, while drinking a nice cappucino (turns out Sonja knew how to use the Gaggia all along!). Mr M will be pleased.

Sunday 11 May

Ouch ouch ouch. Fell asleep in the sun yesterday; covered in blotchy pink patches. Still, birthday today! Continue Reading »

How many people served as British Prime Minister in the 20th century?
Which team won the UEFA cup final in 2000?
Who sang Great Balls of Fire?

If you’re even close to answering any of these, you might enjoy a good pub quiz. There’s no shortage of pub-based trivia in and around Dulwich. Steve Slack – and selected chums – spent a week in search of the finest.

MONDAY
It’s Monday evening. There’s nothing on the telly. What better way to pass the time than going down the pub? Throw in a few drinks, some trivia and a smattering of hand-picked friends notable for their brainpower and you’ve got one of the finest ways to spend a weekday evening in south London.

So, we head to The Gowlett, a charming and lively pub on Gowlett Road, on the cusp of East Dulwich and the Bellenden renewal area – affectionately referred to by the locals as ‘Peckham borders’.

The Gowlett is famous among locals for its delicious home-made pizzas, changing displays of local art work, a cosy walled garden to the rear and a warm welcome everywhere. It also boasts a healthy range of guest beers, details of which are updated on their website.

The quiz
We form a team of five with a good covering of topics such as history, science and entertainment. Sport isn’t going to be our strong point this evening though. With fingers crossed and our £1 entrance fees paid, we’re ready for the start.

Continue Reading »

by Anna de Pass

If you enjoyed reading Laverne Hunt’s article about the documentary film she is making with young people in Southwark, come along and meet her at the Dulwich Picture Gallery’s Late Night on 15th May.

She will be showing the film, Butt Out, she made with a group of young people from Goldwiyn School in Kent who have behavourial and learning difficulties. Under her guidance, they have made a wonderful film which they hope will change people’s lives by encouraging them to give up smoking. The film even features comedian Helen Lederer puffing away on her fags, and a short silent film inspired by Charlie Chaplin in the middle. The Local Health Authority plan to use the film to inform the public about the dangers of smoking.

Laverne Hunt makes films with community groups and young people using documentary film to change people’s lives by bringing people together with comedy. Continue Reading »

by Sally-Ann Johnson

As part of Dulwich Festival, Dulwich Folk Dancing Club is hosting an Open Evening on Thursday 15 May. Anyone who would like to give folk dancing a whirl is invited!

Established for twenty years, this group meets on Thursdays (during ‘term’ time) at 8pm in St Barnabas Parish Hall to enjoy and promote the long-standing tradition of English folk dancing. It’s a fun way to spend an evening. Club Chairman, Mike Loach, and the other Club members are most hospitable, as I discovered when I went along for the first time last week.

I somehow missed out on folk dancing at school but despite my lack of experience, I was on the dance floor learning the steps before I could say John Travolta! It’s friendly, it’s social and it’s exercise.

Beginners are most welcome. Dances are announced by the ‘caller,’ who oversees a quick trial run of the steps before the music starts. There’s no need to pre-book and you do not need to take a partner. Just turn up, join in and enjoy! Tickets are £2.50 per session payable on the door. Give it a try and keep this great tradition alive!

Photo: Thanks to alber on Flickr (CCL)

This year for the first time in its history The Dulwich Festival will be presenting the world premiere of a new chamber opera, Blood Rose. Written by Mark Glentworth, with libretto by Carolyn Herail and led by the acclaimed conductor Jeremy Silver and the director Michael Gieleta, it promises to be a major highlight of the festival.

The one-act opera is an imaginative retelling of Oscar Wilde’s “The Nightingale And The Rose’ which is ted youa story of love, beauty, courage and the ultimate sacrifice. David Dean spoke to local composer Mark Glentworth, who lives in Forest Hill.

What motivated you to write the Opera ‘Blood Rose’?
I have been writing music for theatre productions for many years and in particular have been collaborating with Stephen Berkoff for around 25 years, most recently on a production of ‘On The Waterfront’ in Nottingham, (which now appears to be destined for the West End), and wanted to extend this successful experience of combining words and music into a new area. Also my partner Carolyn has written the libretto and performs the lead role in the opera, and this was a unique chance to work together.

Looking at the world of opera, we believe there is the possibility to expand the repertoire and a need for works that are more accessible using smaller forces of musicians. 99% of current opera repertoire comprises of repeat performances of often-performed works, albeit in new productions, and there is very little new work around.

The feedback from the singers and musicians we have had on the project has been very positive so far - although the music has been described as lyrical, it is still modern so we hope it will stand the test of time.

What attracted you to this subject matter? Continue Reading »