On Saturday, I was back in London to see Tate Britain's exhibition Pre-Raphaelites - Victorian avant-garde. I adore Pre-Raphaelite art, which seems to be enjoying a rehabilitation after having been dismissed for years. I have never given up on them, because their work genuinely inspires me. You could write a whole novel using any of their paintings as a starting point. 
Being face to face with such craft and beauty really moved me. Pre-Raphaelite paintings can take your breath away and send you into a daydream you will find difficult to shake up. Such beauty in our very ugly, bling world is incredibly welcome. Art for art's sake: this is a motto I completely adhere to. 

William Holman Hunt is my least favourite of the Pre-Raphaelites; he was obviously tormented by religious guilt and fever and his numerous Bible-themed paintings, if extremely well executed, do not do anything for me and do not fire up my secular imagination. It's a little bit too evangelical for me. But I have found two reasons to like him again: The Light of the World is infused with an incredible light. Then there is The Lady of Shalott.  I almost fell over when I saw it. It is not a painting, this is a whole scene in motion: the hair tossed around, the threads flying across the room... You have to go to the exhibition and see the large framed painting to really appreciate its sheer power, energy and beauty. 

    After a walk along the Thames which provided me with yet some more ideas for my fourth novel, an Urban Noir tale set in London, we reached the ever popular South Bank centre and the BFI. We wanted to make sure we would catch "The Art of Frankenweenie" exhibition - this was the last day - and I am so so glad we did! It was just amazing to be able to see a little bit behind the scenes of Tim Burton's latest offering - I am a big fan. There were sets, videos, trailers, and some of the puppets that had been used for the movie (Sparky the dog is so cuuuuute!)
    The exhibition made you understand how incredibly detailed and thought through everything was, and to be able to see all the tiny little details of the sets was a real bonus; you can never see everything when you watch a movie, as the action distracts you from the rest. 
There is an excellent little article about the exhibition HERE, together with some pictures, so go and have a look. 

    I adore Tim Burton's universe, because it is so very close to my own. He might be considered as the "weird", "eccentric" director, but for me, he is the one I find reassuring. In Frankenweenie, he celebrates old movies, the beauty of black and white, what it feels like to feel alienated from a world you don't fit in. He celebrates brainy, intelligent, curious, creative kids. He tells children (and adults) that it's OK to be who you are, to be different, not to follow the crowd. It's fine to like books and science, not to be desperate to be popular. It's OK to have a dark side and like strange things, it is what makes you special. 

    And I will go and see Frankenweenie, even though it's a Disney movie aimed at children. Well, probably according to the marketing office. Us adult Tim Burton aficionados, we know otherwise. 
We haven't left adulthood destroy our dreams...  

On Sunday, we went to The Palace Theatre open day and had a great time... But this will be the subject of another blog! 

I got the "cinema bug" very early indeed, at the same time as I got the "books bug". I grew up on a diet of American and British classic movies. The only TV I watched - apart from a few cartoons - was a programme called "La Dernière Séance" (Read about the programme HERE Sorry, the Wiki page linked here is in French!) which was on Tuesday evenings - I was allowed to stay up because children didn't go to school on Wednesdays in those days. 
Somewhere in Paris, in a recreated classic old cinema and surrounded by a dressed up audience, a presenter would introduce the evening with a few anecdotes about the making of the evening's features and the actors starring in them. There was always one feature film dubbed in French, then some news and cartoons in original English version, and then the second feature film in its original English version with French subtitles - the latter one I was not allowed to watch because it was shown after my bedtime, but those films fascinated me and I sometimes managed to catch the first 5 minutes... People speaking in English! It was so very intriguing and exciting... 
By the age of 10, the walls around my bunk bed were plastered with pictures of Marilyn Monroe and I was reading obsessively about the Golden Age of Hollywood, Alfred Hitchcock's movies, Gone With the Wind and all that. My teenage years were spent reading books - including some cinema related ones - and watching old movies. I have never stopped since! 

I was strangely reminded of this last week: we had three wonderful evenings of cinematic experience thanks to the excellent Southend-based The White Bus Ltd and The Palace Theatre in Southend, who had recreated the Palace Cinema as it had been during its 1932-1933 season, as part of the 2012 Palace Theatre's centenary celebrations.
 
So every evening between 13th and 15th September, we made our way to the theatre - conveniently located about 15 minutes walk from our house! - to enjoy three hours of classic entertainment: a full hour of supporting programme, including Laurel and Hardy shorts, some Pathé newsreels, Betty Boop and Popeye cartoons and the last three episodes of the serial The Whispering Shadow with Bela Lugosi - I want to watch the whole thing now, I wonder whether I can find the DVD somewhere?

There was piano playing in the lobby, quite a few people had made an effort to dress up, the theatre itself had been decorated in 30s style and there was even a cocktail bar! Of course, the programme was an absolute delight. 

We have been told that there might be some more themed evenings like these, ie recreating cinemas from the 40s, 50s, etc. We wholeheartedly support these projects and simply cannot wait for more! Who knows, it might even lead to a full-blown Vintage Festival in Southend! 

Before I go, I wish to make one or two comments about the audience. Without wanting to appear snobbish - and if I do, well, what the hell - I have to say that I would have thought that an audience who make the effort to turn up at a theatre to watch 1930s movies would be slightly more clued up on a few things than your average cinema-going crowd - Oh, I know, silly me... 
So I was not expecting so much rubbish littering the theatre carpet after the entertainment had ended - is it really too much of an effort to wait and throw it into the bins provided to this effect at the end of the evening? 

Also, the atmosphere got somewhat slightly spoilt by people giggling and laughing out loud at dramatic moments, especially during the episodes of The Whispering Shadow and during the first feature film The Mysterious Doctor Fu Manchu. 

Yes, those movies have a very different pace to our often overdone 21st Century films. If one knows about the history of Hollywood and cinema and has half a brain, one can perfectly appreciate the masterful artistry of these early film makers: the talkies had just started, and everyone, from the director to the sound technicians to the cameramen to the scriptwriters to the actors had to adapt to this brand new, exhilarating way of making movies. I think these people deserve a little bit more respect from modern audiences. We shouldn't really patronise them. We owe them so much!

But then again, it might just be me... 


Photos: Matt ArtPix. 

    We had a wonderful time yesterday at The Palace Theatre, where The White Bus was showing The Artist. 

    But first, we were entertained in the foyer by the lovely Mayflowers. They were singing songs from the twenties and beyond, and looked like a pair of flappers straight out of a good Roaring Twenties party... They were therefore perfect pre-movie entertainment! I was not expecting so many people to turn up so much in advance, but everyone made the effort and the place was absolutely packed! 

Below: Serena Elizabeth and Hannah, the two Mayflowers... The pictures could have been better, but my camera is extremely temperamental... It's been to too many gigs. 

    The Artist is one of those movies you shouldn't see in a bland, aggressively corporate multiplex. The first time we saw it was at the awfully nice Curzon Soho. 
    The Palace Theatre was more than appropriate for seeing it a second time.    I enjoyed the movie even more, taking in the great acting and wonderful music, and revelling in the evocation of the Silent Era, a period I've been fascinated with for quite a long time, having read the biographies of Louise Brooks, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish - I also recommend the fantastic Movies of the Silent Years published by Orbis (part of an amazing series covering the Silent era up to the 70s). 

    We are now looking forward to The Palace Theatre's centenary celebrations and especially to the three evenings of 1930s cinema - we already have our tickets! - and the backstage visits in October! 

    Before moving to Westcliff-on-Sea almost three years ago, I had been a regular visitor for seven years, because this was where my boyfriend had - and still has - his flat. It was our "rest" place when we wanted to take a break from the relentless motion of the capital. The decision to move out of London was not an easy one, and was mainly driven by finances: it is indeed impossible to live in London if you wish to go freelance and pursue a more flexible, creative lifestyle and career (and you haven't got rich parents or a bulging contact list of influential people). 
    As a Londoner, you have access to the best and the most diverse culture and entertainment the world can offer: music, theatre, exhibitions and events. I wasn't too worried, far from it: just board an (overpriced) train and you're back in London within the hour. Easy.
   Since I have been here, though, I have been able to enjoy some of my culture locally. Indeed, we are lucky enough to have The White Bus, The Palace Theatre, the Southend Shakespeare Company, The Lindisfarne Players and of course Metal to name but a few. It is extremely important that we support culture in Southend because it is what keeps a town alive and it is what will allow Southend to grow. Hopefully the new cultural centre on the Pier will add to its cultural allure. We are lucky to be so close to London, but we need people to see beyond the cliches and take notice.                              Most certainly, the success of this year's Village Green will contribute to it. 

    Unfortunately, we couldn't be there the whole day, but we arrived around 2.30pm on time to skim through the programme and check out the three acts we definitely wanted to see: The Correspondents, Wilko Johnson and Lili la Scala's Cabaret. My music journalism days are behind me and I will not write the kind of detailed review I used to come up with on a regular basis. This is a general kind of report.  

  This was an event for everyone; and I mean, EVERYONE. All tribes, all ages - from what looked like tiny babies only a few days old to fearless and fun-loving 80 year-old, side by side. Big dogs and - mostly - small cuuute dogs. Everyone having a great time, enjoying the sun, the music, the food, the art, the dancing, the vintage clothes, the beer, the cakes... Well planned, well organised and impeccably delivered - at least, that's what it looked like, but obviously, I wasn't in the production office! 

So here goes.

    After having covered the alternative scenes in London for 10 years as a music journalist, I can safely say that I've seen everything that one can see on stage: the beautiful, the charismatic, the ethereal, the ridiculous and the grotesque, the good, the bad and the ugly; but never ever the blandness of the mainstream. All this to say that I am still very demanding with my music and I am not easily seduced. I look for something original, new and challenging in some way. 

    I wanted to catch The Correspondents because their website looked interesting. I stopped myself from listening to anything they had done and waited for their set at Village Green, and I wasn't disappointed. Mr Bruce and Chucks don't fall into any category - extra points in my book - and produce a surreal mishmash taking in Jazz, 20's music, jungle, drum'n'bass, electro, and more. Mr Bruce looks like the hyperactive cross between Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and an esoteric Mister Punch - his DIY costume is brilliant. They got the crowds going like crazy with their great beats, funny banter, Mr Bruce's outlandish dance moves and their delicious lyrics - and their energetic take on The Jungle Book's famous song, I Wanna Be Like You, was dedicated to all the under 12s present! A nice touch... 

We also managed to catch Wilko Johnson, local legend - Dr Feelgood's guitarist and super-charismatic personality... Even though this is not exactly my type of music, I enjoyed the gig very much thanks to the talent of the musicians - bass player Norman Watt-Roy is great to watch, and one can only be impressed by his biography. Another triumphant gig at Village Green for the Wilko Johnson Band! 

We also caught a little bit of Jake Shillingford's set... He used to front the band My Life Story in the 90s, and I thought it odd that I had actually never heard of them before... One learns everyday... 

Not exactly taken with Mr Shillingford, we wandered off to The White Bus' Cycle Cinema where we saw some hilarious Tom and Jerry cartoons, before going back to the Tea Dance stage for some cabaret... 

It was time for the Gilded Lili Variety Hour, a fantastic hour of cabaret, songs, juggling and loads of laughs. We really had a fabulous time there! 

Lili la Scala was hosting the event with charm, cheek and wit.  

We were treated to songs from our hostess, tricks and comedy from the talented Sam Wills and Mike Raffone - whose act The Conductor, in which he gets the crowd to perform Beethoven's Fifth symphony, was absolutely hilarious!  

It also got physical with the beautiful and highly skilled Lisa Lottie and the aerial Reuben Dotdotdot.

See you all next year! Two days would be nice... 

For another take on our day, go to Matt ArtPix's VILLAGE GREEN BLOG!

    Because obviously I am not busy enough, what with the freelance work and the books to write, edit and publish, I have offered my services to create and maintain a little Weebly website for a new shop in Southend called The Curious Home. 

    The Curious Home is downstairs at The Vintage Lounge in Southend-on-Sea and is the baby of Chris from Tootbageye; Chris is a very creative and dynamic person who has generously asked Matt ArtPix whether he would be interested in sharing her shop space. Of course, he said yes! We would love to have our own premises one day and being part of such a retail experiment can only be a positive thing for us... We have already learnt a lot from attending fairs and markets, and now a new phase of the learning curve is starting. 

    We are all very creative people who love culture and we hope we will be able to bring our very different skills and areas of expertise to the shop: Chris and Matt are both graphic designers and are very knowledgeable about antiques, art and design. I have the flexi-time that enables me to spend some time working on the promo/social networking/online presence of the shop. Oh, and I am an editor and writer by trade, as well as a culture vulture, so I guess I could be helpful in some ways (?). I am also planning on selling copies of I Am a Muse in the shop when I have published it at last... 

    The Vintage Lounge is a lovely vintage shop full of gorgeous items - the dresses in particular are ravishing! - and we hope to be able to all work together in the forthcoming months in order to establish two of the most exciting little shops in Southend... 

    In The Curious Home, you will find furnishings and furniture, Vintage, Retro, Quirky, Recycled... We will also be selling interesting second-hand books: music, cinema, art and design... 
Plus! handmade jewellery and soon, some more handmade items... And of course, Matt ArtPix's vintage-inspired designs: framed pictures, foamboard posters, greeting cards, retro football designs and more... 
We spent the whole afternoon there last Saturday and it felt really cosy and welcoming down there! 

    I am still working on the little website, but I can already tell you that there will be listings of our stock and a little blog to keep you in the loop about events, fairs and markets we will be attending, new arrivals in the shop, etc. 

    I really like it when creative minds work together to come up with something exciting... and I hope this new little venture of ours will prove to be an exciting one! 

For more details and some pictures of the shop, go to Matt ArtPix's blog about The Curious Home!

The Curious Home, downstairs at The Vintage Lounge, 15 Market Place, Alexandra Street, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 1DA