the photo exhibition aims to break the world record

The Old Truman Brewery is attempting to break a world record by exhibiting photos from every country on earth, collected in just 80 days. The exhibition, aptly named around the world in 80 days, seeks to collect holiday snaps and professional photos from all 198 countries of the globe before Sunday 5 September in order to break the world record attempt.

A world class panel of judges are getting ready to announce 1 winner from each continent on 10th September, but you can see the current selection of photos at the Brewery from this weekend.

The judging pane includes celebrity photographer Manfred Bauman; Pros and authors David Noton and Annabel Williams plus the UK’s top photography magazine Editor, Damien Demolder,

The Mayor told the head of the £6.2 billion property portfolio — run on behalf of the Queen for the benefit of the taxpayer — of his grave concerns that a new owner could force up rents.

The row between Mr Johnson and Sir Stuart Hampson, chairman of the Crown Estate, came on the eve of a board meeting at which it is expected to choose a preferred bidder for the homes.

The planned sale, expected to raise about £250 million, is opposed by many tenants on four estates: Victoria Park in east London, Lee Green in Lewisham, Millbank in Pimlico, and Cumberland Market in Camden. The land has been in the hands of the Crown since as early as 1544.

Yesterday the residents’ associations wrote to Sir Stuart accusing the estate of putting profit before its commitment to affordable housing.

The letter says: ”Your reputation for good housing management, built up over nearly a century, is now in rapid decline … we face an uncertain future with a prospective new landlord which we have had no role in selecting and which could see irreparable damage to our communities.”

Richard Blakeway, the Mayor’s housing adviser, said Mr Johnson was concerned about the lack of protection for future tenants. For example the new owner will have the right to put rents up at nine per cent a year.

Currently, tenants of Crown Estate affordable homes only pay about half the level of rent that would be charged by commercial landlords.

Mr Blakeway said: “The Mayor believes the Crown has a duty, as manager of the estate on behalf of the Queen, to ensure homes that are meant to be affordable, remain affordable, and residents’ rights are protected.”

The Crown Estate has said the homes, which generate £3 million a year profit, are “non-core” assets.

A spokesman for the Estate said: “The board is meeting today and the proposal to sell will be considered further. Specifically, the board will be asked to consider whether it wants to select a prospective purchaser from the bids we have received.

“We will communicate the outcome within the next week. Should the board decide to select a prospective purchaser today, no final decision to sell will be taken until further consultation with residents and stakeholders.”

the sphere gallery celebrates its one year anniversary

The E17 art trail starts this week and with over 200 exhibitions involving puppetry, sheds, letterpress studios, quilts, fairy tales and legends, geometry, tapestry, performance in parks, miniature theatre and a giant mantel piece, knitted creatures, adorned boundaries, Polaroids, architectural drawings, live graffiti, art hunts, art quizzes, show reels and cotton reels, Cuban revolutionaries, menageries and many, many invitations to tea there’s bound to be something to suit all tastes.

For more information see www.e17arttrail.co.uk

The eclectic  Sphere gallery is celebrating it’s one year anniversary this month and is currently exhibiting the works of over 45 artists, including Albert Moulden, Marty, Deborah Azzopardi, Betty Harrison, Laura Rael Brook and Mark Baldwin.

Sphere Gallery can be found at 73 Brushfield Street, London E1 6AA. Tel: +44(0) 20 7247 7927

Art on show and for sale at Sphere comes in various mediums such as oil, acrylic, multi media, silkscreen and sculpture.

Opening times: 11am – 6pm Tuesday to Sunday / Wednesday & Thursday until 7pm / First Thursdays until 9pm.

http://www.spheregallery.co.uk/

At the Southwark Playhouse: Inspired by the picnic protests held in Parliament Square between 2005 and 2007, the action unfolds against a world of ongoing natural disasters, countless public riots, the introduction of capital punishment for terrorists and temperatures reaching 42°. Boiling Frogs pits a small group of imaginative citizens against the system as, armed only with fancy dress, blank banners and a keen eye for semantics, they attempt to re-claim freedom of speech for all.

Photo: Joe Howlett

Live performance giants Cream, Loudsound and Goldenvoice have come together to create one of London’s biggest outdoor electronic festivals, headlined by music legends Leftfield, David Guetta, Goldfrapp and Aphex Twin. Lack of communication and poor transparency led to a rocky start; the cancellation of an entire arena caused fans to lash out at organisers for refunds, but assurances were made that no further acts would be canceled. French electro star David Guetta brought Friday night to an explosive close backed by dancing robots, leaving much to look forward to for day two.

David Guetta (Photo: Joe Howlett)

Saturday went forward as planned with the line-up covering all electronic bases; by late afternoon the weather was fair, beer cans were already piling and screams could be heard from carnival rides as the Annie Mac Presents tent began to fill up with drum and bass artist Shy FX on mixing duties, followed closely by local grime favourites Boy Better Know. Most of the crowd began filing out just before six to weave their way across trash-littered fields towards the main stage, where Friendly Fires opened to a raving crowd with a track off their new album. Lead singer Ed Macfarlane danced and warbled his way through the set as soda bottles and other random garbage was excitedly thrown in the air; their hit single ‘Paris’ was particularly well-received as the guitarist rang out soaring guitar leads held down by rubbery bass lines and catchy 4/4 drum beats.

Near half-past six, Annie Mac was bobbing behind the DJ console as her eponymous tent spilled over with euphoric drunks dancing to Swedish House Mafia’s summer anthem ‘One’, later on swinging heads to some wobbly drum and bass slabs. Despite fervid complaints of a weak sound system, the bass was thunderous and over-powering; her DJ sets could be heard from half-way across the park.

As the clock struck 7:45, Annie played on as ethereal synth act Goldfrapp came on over at the main stage; the field was filled to almost full capacity as lead singer Alison Goldfrapp appeared in a frilly black suit, flanked by a four-piece band decked out in cool silver space suits. The Goldfrapp sound has always had filmatic, dreamy qualities, and their live performance was equally theatric with billowing clouds of smoke, blinding lights and winds that made Alison’s hair flow in beautiful waves.

Photo: Joe Howlett

Her angelic croons – beautiful and at times, haunting – whispered beautiful lyrics of love and emotion as she extended her arms towards the crowd, embracing their roars and screams. The keytar-wielding synth player occasionally switched over to violin, adding to that delicately epic sound during certain songs. Goldfrapp exceeded expectations yet again.

The same can be said for legend Aphex Twin, hailed by many as one of the more influential acts to modern electronic music. Creative, genre-defining and often disturbing, Richard D. James has pioneered his peculiar brand of music he calls ‘Braindance’, influenced by the best elements of ‘all the genres’ – the result is an amalgam of electronic sounds wonderfully distorted and sliced into complex arrangements. His live performance was joined by rap group Die Antwoord, dressed in strange Tellatubby-like outfits spitting out pitch-altered rhymes.

Glinting lasers painted beautiful auroras and clouds into the air as Aphex Twin dished out his trademark tracks, starting off with some euphoric drum and bass-influenced material before sinking into the darker landscapes of experimental ‘braindance’. Large electronic screens displayed distorted, abstract video clips of cities and digital graphics; later on, the screens displayed live footage of the audience in night-vision mode. Filmed in a creepy green hue, Richard James’ face was transplanted onto the faces of the audience in perfect synch with the glitchy, strange tracks amidst seizure-inducing strobe lights – fascinating and exciting.

Most thrilling was Leftfield’s only performance of 2010 – though the other half was missing due to personal commitments, the reformed group put on a crowd-pleasing show with a trademark set of ambient, bass-heavy electronica featuring a full band joined by rappers and a sexy blonde bombshell  who appeared for seminal song ‘Original’. Fans were flying in from across the country to see them live, and the energetic performance makes it easy to see why.

Looking back at the festival as a whole – the fantastic line-up, some PR blunders and a load of canceled acts – much can be improved to make L.E.D. worthy of the title ‘London’s most exciting outdoor electronic music event’. A good start for a first year-run that sets the bar high for next year, and most with the exception of a tiny vocal minority had a great Labour-day weekend.

Photo: Chidorian @ flickr

Concerns have been raised over the decision by Croydon council to stop its school meals services, forcing individual schools to find new caterers .

It will affect 78 primary schools, 11 special schools or referral units and six secondary schools.  From next April, schools will take responsibility for their own commissioning decisions to meet the needs of their own pupils.

However, parents, teacher and catering organisations have warned that the policy could hurt those on low incomes – for whom the school meal is the main nutrition source of the day – and create extra problems for schools on budgets.

Sian Thomas, head teacher of Victoria House Pupil Referral Unit, in Southbridge Place, Croydon, said she felt the decision placed an extra burden on pupils.
She told the Croydon Advertiser: “In principle I think it’s a good idea because it will give us more choice and freedom in meeting pupils’ nutritional requirements.The difficulty we face is the short timescale which has been imposed and the lack of resources at our disposal.
“There is now an expectation on heads to arrange an alternative in a relatively short space of time. My concern is schools will rush into finding alternatives which will not necessarily provide value for money.”

Ms Thomas added: “We feed between 12 to 18 children each day, so to employ a cook is not financially viable. It would hugely cut into resources.”

Beverley Baker, chair  of the Local Authority Caterers’ Association (LACA)  said it was concerned “about the level of fragmentation and dilution any school meals service might potentially face if this type of direction is taken.’’

A spokesman for Croydon Council said: “Research in other local authorities that have taken the decision to support schools in commissioning their own catering service has shown positive results in terms of the engagement and take-up of school meals. There are a number of options available to schools regarding the delivery of a school meals service.”

Croydon said a  Food in Schools team,  a training programme for teachers to enhance their understanding about food in the primary curriculum, will be hosting a series of road shows giving schools further information about their options.

In the run up to the council elections in Croydon in May, the local  Labour Party pledged to provide free school meals for all primary school pupils in Croydon through saving £80,000 by scrapping the free local newspaper published by the council.

By Amy Lacey

Horse and Groom, venue for the Shoreditch Carnival Party. Pic: Ewan-M

The August Bank Holiday weekend  traditionally means a long haul trip to the west for the London Notting Hill Carnival, but you needn’t stray far from the comforting shores of the East London Line this weekend to find a plethora of exciting events.

The highlight of the weekend for electronic music fans is the LED Festival which transforms Victoria Park into a two-day party featuring some of the biggest names in dance. See our music section for a full preview. For those who fancy a more relaxing weekend, there are events and activities happening in parks, pubs, and cemeteries throughout East London.

On Sunday, Shoreditch also gets in on the Carnival vibe, with the Discovery and Warm Carnival Party  which keeps going for 16 hours, from 2pm till 6am, with just a £10 entry charge for the entire day-to-night event.

Disco meets house in this two-venue party, which starts on the terrace of The Papermill and finishes at Horse & Groom just down the road. Featuring music from Jamie Jones (Crosstown Rebels), Peter Herbert (Reverso 68), Ali Tillett and Rob Summerhayes (Warm). Prices: £10 on the door or £8 advance. The Papermill, 2-6 Curtain Rd, London, EC2A 3NQ

On Sunday, there is a picnic organised by The Vauxhall Collective, in Brick Lane. It is one of a number of urban picnic sites which transform inner-city areas into grassy spaces featuring a range of objects created by furniture designer Gareth Neal.

Picnickers will enter an ‘interactive and fantastical space’ featuring traditional weekend fare with a contemporary craft twist. From ping pong, hula hoops and egg and spoon races, to logs and benches to sit on, the creators intend to bring jaded city dwellers back to their childhood memories of the quintessential British weekend.

Neal said: “The East London area was once home to hundreds of traditional furniture manufacturers, so it’s the perfect location for the project. The objects within their locations refer to this lost industry and claim back pieces of land for relaxation, fun and play.”

Go to http://twitter.com/vxcollective for the location of Saturday’s picnic; on Sunday the event takes place at Elys Yard, Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, E1 6QL. Bring your own food.

Also on Sunday, between noon and 6pm, head south-east for the jumble sale at the Amersham Arms pub, a favourite haunts of students from nearby Goldsmiths college. It is a great place to trend-spot and people-watch while picking up bargains. More information here: http://www.goingforasongjumble.blogspot.com. Amersham Arms, 388 New Cross Rd, London, SE14 6TY

Or for something completely different, visit Nunhead Cemetery this Sunday for a free two-hour guided tour of the romantic and overgrown Victorian cemetery. The tour is conducted by a pair of enthusiastic volunteers who really know the ins and outs of the cemetery and can talk you through the 1,000 ivy-clad angels and hundreds of mighty Victorians buried here. Meet at 2.15 near the Lindon Grove entrance. Visit their website for more information: http://www.fonc.org.uk Nunhead Cemetery, Linden Road, London, SE15 3LP

If the theatre is your thing, take a trip down to the  Brockley Jack Studio Theatre in  Brockley where Euler’s Circles, the new play by Peter Norgate, is showing at 8pm on Friday and Saturday evenings. The play focuses on two disabled people, one suffering from Asperger’s and the other from Bell’s Palsy, who gather the courage to step out into society. Visit their website for bookings and more information: http://www.brockleyjack.co.uk Brockley Jack Studio Theatre, 410 Brockley Rd, London, SE4 2DH. Prices: £12 or concessions £10



Electronic act Goldfrapp

The London Electronic Dance Festival (L.E.D.) will be taking over Victoria Park for the up-coming Bank Holiday weekend, with popular French DJ and artist David Guetta holding down the floors on Friday; Saturday will see IDM pioneers Leftfield headlining. Though the other half, Paul Daley, will not be making an appearance in preparation for his solo music career, Neil Barnes is set to deliver a promising live performance featuring a heap of fan-favourites.

Belgium-based dance-rock collective Soulwax will be joining the French electro-star on Friday night, bringing their trademark punk guitar-fused electro beats to the stage featuring vocal cuts from the likes of James Murphy, Tiga and Erol Alka. Scotland’s very own Calvin Harris will be making an appearance as well; having recently produced Kylie Minogue’s latest album ‘Aphrodite’, look forward to a big dose of fresh 80s-inspired electronica laden with pop-catchy lyrics and snarling synth lines made for the clubs.

Electro maverick David Guetta. Photo: Adrii14 at Deviantart

Look out for a live performance by legendary German techno project Zombie Nation, promising to deliver classics like ‘Kernkraft 400’ and much, much more. Fans of techno should also consider seeing Canadian DJ and artist Tiga; word has it he helped spread the genre through Montreal, owning the city’s first after-hour club and record shop dedicated to techno.

Saturday has an equally impressive line-up: known for their ethereal theatrics and dreamy soundscapes, Goldfrapp is set to give L.E.D. fans the full music treatment with their embrace of glam rock, disco, trip-hop and head-nodding dance. Not to be missed.

The same can be said for punky dance band Friendly Fires, loved (and hated) by many for their shamelessly glossy pop hooks. Most will be itching to see Aphex Twin, and it’s easy to see why: heralded as one of the most inventive and influential acts in modern electronic music, he has attained public spotlight for his unusually creative works (spanning myriad genres) coupled with equally intriguing video productions, becoming the subject of study for media studies students and aspiring electronic musicians alike.

Legendary Swedish House artists Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and AN21 were due to perform their much-adored DJ sets at L.E.D., but a sudden press release announced their cancellations to the anger and disappointment of many. Max Vangeli and Kim Fai will also not be making an appearance. According to Kim Fai, there were not enough ticket sales.

Despite the loss of some of the most popular acts in the contemporary electronic music scene, L.E.D. festival is one not to be missed with such a promising, strong line-up of artists and DJs from around the world.

Tickets are still available, priced at £40 for one day and £70 for the entire weekend.

Visit the official site for more information.

GCSE results slips. Photo: Amy Lacey

Schools in South and East London are celebrating a second wave of exam successes as GCSE results are published.

Following the drama of last week’s A Level grades, today younger students have learnt the results of their GCSEs – two years of work that, for many, will provide a foundation for further study.

Nationally, results have once again shown an improvement on last year, with 69.1% of papers graded C or above. 22.6% received one of the top two grades, A and A*.

Among the high achievers locally was 16-year-old Anish Jalabhay, head boy at The Oasis Academy Coulsdon, who achieved top grades in an impressive 18 subjects. The school’s principal, David Millar, described himself as ‘very proud’ of his students and their achievements.

At Croydon High School, 99.27% of papers were graded A*-C, with two top pupils, Frederiekje Fayd’Herbe De Maudave and Natalie Coulthwaite, achieving 11 A* grades each. Head of 6th Form Heidi Mester described them as ‘bright, charming, well-rounded girls’ who are ‘a joy to teach.’

Meanwhile, Harris City Academy Crystal Palace achieved its best ever GCSE results for the third year in a row, with 25 students achieving 10 or more A and A* grades.

Principal Steve Kenning described himself as ‘delighted’ with the results, adding: “These results are great news as they give all our students a real life opportunity. Their success allows them to move on to the next level confidently.”

At The Petchey Academy in Hackney, students from Year 10 were celebrating as they gained GCSEs a year early. 80% of the school’s first crop of Year 10 students achieved a GCSE grade from A* – C in at least one subject – results that will set them in good stead for their exams next year.

One high-achieving student, 15-year-old Meir Touitou, succeeded in gaining A* grades in Biology, Chemistry and Religious Studies, as well as As in Geography and History – and an A in AS Level Maths.

Boys at Bethnal Green Technology College inspect their results. Photo: Amy Lacey.

To sample the results day atmosphere, EastLondonLines went to two local schools, Bethnal Green Technology College and Mulberry School for Girls – and found a lot of ‘shocked’ students left outside.

Staff at Bethnal Green Technology College, Gosset Street, told pupils they had a ‘surprise’ for everyone – it being a good set of results when they got there.

Kudret Ismail, a 16 year old who lives on Kingsland Road, Hackney, said he ‘wasn’t expecting to do well’ because of pre-exam nerves. However he leaves the school with a mixture of Bs and Cs, with the intention of studying art and design at Southwark College.

For his post exam celebrations Kudret said he plans on fine dining with the family, after his Mum promised to take him for a meal if he got higher than a C in Turkish.

Elsewhere, at Mulberry School for Girls there were similar results with a chorus of happy students getting A*- C grades – and one girl did very well indeed, getting 9 As and A*s as her end result.

Planning on attending Mulberry Sixth Form in September, Rema Rohim said she was most surprised by her English result because she got a C but was expecting higher. Despite this she left with largely high Bs – missing out on As by only a few marks – and said overall she ‘did better than expected.’

But it wasn’t just the Year 11s getting their GCSE results at Mulberry: some bright pupils from year 10 also took exams in Citizenship and Science. Taznin Begum and Aniqa Basith both agreed: “It was a good experience doing it a year early as it prepares you for the real thing and there’s always another year to retake.”

Aniqa added: “Considering I did no revision I was quite happy with my C and D for now.”

Additional reporting by Amy Lacey.

Photo: Mykl Roventine @ flickr

A man who sued a series of London councils – including Hackney, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets – for compensation after injuring himself falling over on pavements is to appear in court on fraud charges.

Nathan Williams, 38, of Soho, is said to have attempted to obtain money by deception from eight different authorities between 2007 and 2008.

He claimed to have suffered a range of injuries as a result of council negligence during the eight month period, including broken bones, fractures and a bruised testicle.

But following an inquiry conducted by police and several authorities, Williams has been charged with eight counts of fraud.

City of Westminster Magistrates’s Court heard that  Williams’ first compensation claim followed a fall on a broken pavement in Boleyn Road, Hackney. Nine months after the incident itself, he complained of an injured hand and foot.

During spring and summer 2008, Williams then proceeded to claim accidents on seven other occasions in different locations around the city.

The rapid succession of claims included attempts to obtain money from Haringey, Westminster, Wandsworth and Southwark councils.

His final fall, supposedly caused by ‘raised ironwork’ in Woolwich Road, Greenwich, took place just one day after another claim in Tower Hamlets.

He has been remanded in custody and will appear in court again on 1 September.

Eiko Azuma

“My time in London has been so fast. I love this kind of world, full of artists and musicians. It’s the best kind of place,” says Islington-based Eiko Azuma, a classical violinist and composer with a penchant for the musical arts. She teaches young children in creative workshops and dabbles in performance, both on the stage and on the trains. Earlier this year she donned a jubilant indigo outfit for the ELL launch party alongside Nino Amoroso and performance collective Akleriah.

After spending time in Gambia studying the secrets of their musicianship in 2009, she returned to demonstrate her creative capacity to engage with stark experimental music and choreographed movement at the People Show in early July this year.

Eiko was born and raised in the culturally rich Nara Prefecture in Japan famed for its park full of roaming deer, where she picked up the violin at the age of three. “I’ve been playing the violin on and off for 12 years now. Sometimes I feel like doing something not related to music, since I started playing without any real thoughts because of my parents’ encouragement.” Her relationship with music was ambiguous, given her strict academic beginnings.

“I always thought Western classical was for violin, which was my only world. Music was a lot like studying for me, and not really for enjoying, which was a very big issue,” she says. “Going to lots of lessons, studying for exams and waiting for the results, it was quite scary. I couldn’t really enjoy music before I came here.”

With the benefit of hindsight Eiko admits she took her music studies “too seriously”, driven by the desire to achieve high grades. “I used to be very strict about it all. The weird thing is…I know it’s stupid, but I thought I shouldn’t listen to other music at all, which sometimes happens in academic study. I followed that route, again without any thought,” she laughs. “There are few opportunities to approach music the way people do in London. I didn’t know how to communicate with people through music. I didn’t know that such a thing was possible.”

Her perception of music changed forever after a Guildhall representative visited her Kobe College two years ago. “Coming to London was a sort of accident. The representative held a workshop with us to create music. He would gather all of our ideas and chords, and then we would all make songs out of it. It was a kind of miracle,” says Eiko. “I didn’t think that was possible to do. I found myself thinking I can create music in this world, in this way. It was a big changing point for me.”

Eiko in ensemble group Sezeneum

Inspired by her creative musical experience, she travelled to London and took a Master’s in Leadership at Guildhall. “I’m able to work with people from many backgrounds. Dancers, drummers, visual artists…They all have different ways of expressing their art. We try to learn each other’s language by exchanging ideas, bringing them together, and then creating something new. It’s always exciting.”

Taking this collaborative energy a step further, Eiko worked on a year-long project with visual art students from the Royal College of Arts. “Our theme this year was a ‘thrill house’. We talked about what makes a thrill house a thrill house. It’s quite unusual, with many hidden stories. We then decided on which room to work on. Some chose the kitchen, the dining room, even the bathroom,” says Eiko, who chose to do the attic. “It’s full of old, dusty things, and locked away memories.”

“In my group there were three artists and a composer. We had to find how we can develop our ideas musically and visually. We needed to think all the time about each other and how we can use our very different voices,” she says. “We had to find moments of connection together or it wouldn’t work. It wasn’t troublesome, but it was challenging to understand their language.”

Eiko has strong interests in how people can understand each other with different tools of expressions and languages, a concept she explored for her final performance show. “I wanted to have a language for myself other than music, so I worked with a dancer. They have a similar working process to musicians, so it was somewhat easier for me. They can respond to music quickly, so we developed music in harmony and melted into each other’s roles quite smoothly,” says Eiko, who put on an impressive show by intertwining with a dancer between three mirrors backed by ambient soundscapes and somber piano.

Sezeneum – Rain

“It makes me think about how important it is for us, in order to be very good musicians, to connect with other people. I always try to find the answer of what the role of a musician is in a community,” she says. Guildhall has been running the ‘Connecting Communities’ project for 25 years, hosting creative workshops and courses for youths in nearby East London boroughs.

“For me, a musician can be a player, an educator, a collaborator. The latter is the best one to be for me, since a musician is not just a teacher. We need to be taught by others as well. We should try and keep our hearts and minds open and listen to other ideas from different people, not just sticking to our own ways and ideas.”

“Being here has taught me that music is one of the languages of myself. Not my entire language, but just one of them. Once we try, we can find other languages to express ourselves. I’ve got to know what else is out there besides music that I can use as one of my languages.”

The young children she works with are a constant reminder that she has much to learn. “They are always surprising and sometimes quite random,” laughs Eiko. “I encourage them to come up with musical ideas. After collecting everyone’s pieces, we would make one large composition and perform it on-stage. I love encouraging them to be creative.”

In Japan, there are few opportunities to engage in such creative workshops; the creative industry is a low priority for the government. “I want to be a window for the people at my college when I return this year. I want to lead their eyes to somewhere different, and share what I’ve learned here with them,” she says. “My dream is to foster a community where everyone can get together and learn from each other. Perhaps some kind of creative practice, even though I know it would take ages. I think it would be worth it.”

Eiko is returning to Kobe College to complete her first Master’s in Classical Composition. Stay tuned for a review of an album by her music ensemble, Sezeneum.