Life on Venus? Signs of an alien invasion.

The photo is a little out of focus and wobbly due to the shock of witnessing signs of extra terrestrial life!

Saporitalia Portobello Road. Dancing on Tesco Disco's grave. (The best pizza in Notting Hill).

The muse wanted a pizza and when the muse wants a pizza there is only one solution....

I decided to try Saporitalia at 222 Portobello Road. I wrote about the place when Tesco Disco closed some months ago and decided that enough time had passed for the place to iron out any wrinkles and soothe any teething pains.

The place looks and smells good and the staff were great considering I had gone in during a very busy Saturday night to order one solitary pizza; they could have been extremely snotty but were not!

I ordered, asked how long (seven minutes) ran an errand and was back on the dot to find said pizza waiting...

So far excellent. But what would the muse think?

Best pizza in the area by a mile was the verdict and the muse has tried them all. Good fresh ingredients, plenty of it, absolutely gorgeous and at £12.50 better value than anywhere else too.

Ten out of ten then! I'll be back.

The website is HERE

David Bowie - The Next Day.

What is all the fuss about?

Duncan McTier… Guilty! A curious silence! And what about Phillip Pickett?

I find it strange that there is a deafening silence in the music world after the arrest of Duncan McTier, currently professor of double bass at the Royal Academy of Music in London. I can only find reference to the arrest in the Guardian and regional newspapers. The Huffington post has run the story but the BBC is studiously ignoring it.

Why is the BBC studiously ignoring it and why is no-one rallying round in support?

The full Guardian article is HERE

UPDATE: I'm having to keep silent on this one, I'm not one to gossip, I've even banned Jan Nieupjur from putting his ten pennyworth in. My thoughts however do go out to Duncans wife and, of course, his students!

I do, however, wonder if Duncans German style of bowing might play a part in this Wagneresque penny opera! As my mum would have said: If he'd stuck to the French way this would never have happened! Not that my mum was a double bass player but she did liken my table manners to those of a German bassist and what the fuck would the Queen say if she invited me to dinner!

I did point out to my mother that the Queen was mostly German and would probably prefer to be fiddled with in the German manner!

UPDATE. November 2014.  Mctier pleads guilty! Surprise surprise: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/11/double-bassist-admits-sexual-assaults-students

UPDATE. Jan 6th 2014.

I read in the Standard today that Phillip Pickett, ex teacher of the recorder at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, allegedly raped two students who were under his care…

                                Phillip Pickett. Accused of rape.

I tried to log on to his website to read more but found that it is down for 'Maintenance'.

I have learned however that he took up the recorder after his teeth were kicked out as a student. Prior to that he blew his own trumpet.

If I were the parent of a daughter wanting to study music I would have to think long and hard about her studying in England, it doesn't appear to be very safe from predatory teachers.

Do male music teachers feel that they have an automatic right to abuse their pupils?

UPDATE: From the Times 12th Feb 2014

Ex-Guildhall teacher Philip Pickett faces rape charges

A musician who taught at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama has been charged with 15 historical offences, including rape and false imprisonment.

Philip Pickett, 63, from Oxfordshire, is accused of eight counts of indecent assault and three of rape.

He is charged with two counts of false imprisonment as well as one charge of assault and attempted rape.

The offences, relating to nine separate victims, are alleged to have occurred between 1974 and 1988.

Mr Pickett, who lives in Chipping Norton, was a freelance teacher at the school between 1972 and 1997.

Since then, he has played the recorder and directed early music ensembles, including the New London Consort.

He is considered an authority on early music interpretation and has also collaborated with members of the folk rock band Fairport Convention.

He has been bailed to appear at City Magistrates' Court on 28 February.​​

An Angel Farm.... Harp practice!

Bess Cavendish at Mau Mau, Portobello Road.

Bess was captivating!

You do not capture a butterfly in a net or a glass jar but in gentle hands that understand every nuance of that butterflies movements. 

Damian Lewis flogging the Jaguar F type: Desire.

Damian seems to be sporting an interesting hair dye job and hand drawn eyebrows in this little promo film for Jaguar. Obviously they couldn't get Daniel Craig to do it so Damian is the next best thing for the US market.

The car appears to be bolted together bits of Maserati, TVR, Fiat and anything else you care to mention.

Young entrepreneurs set for summer launch on Portobello Market

I nicked this from 'Kensington & Chelsea Today'

Tuesday, 23rd April 2013

A fiercely fought competition to land an opportunity to trade on the world famous Portobello Market has seen three young entrepreneurs grab the chance to launch their products after they were named winners of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s Market Enterprise Launch Pad (MELP) 2013.

Shani Grant, 22, who is starting a ‘tomboy’ fashion label called ‘Studz UK’, Remaro Hibbert, 25, owner of a positive message fashion label called ‘Point of View’ and Medina Mukhayer, 19, owner of ‘Mandola’ a company selling East African food and cultural goods, have each won: a £1,000 in start-up funds, six month rent-free market stall space on Portobello Market, a comprehensive support package from the Enterprise Lab and free business insurance. The Project was run by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Out of a total of 85 applications, nine young entrepreneurs were selected to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, last Thursday 4 April, including representatives from the Council, Enterprise Lab, Rockstar Youth and Pret a Portobello. The judges had great difficulty selecting their top two candidates, the judges commented on the difficulty selecting two winners and although all finalists had brilliant business ideas and were feasible, some were better suited to a market environment than others.

Medina Mukhayer, 19, “I’m still in shock about winning, feels like the start of the rest of my life. I know I'll feel it after all the hard work, but because it's my own business I actually can't wait. I don't think I could have started my business if it wasn't for MELP, they really gave me all the tools and confidence I needed, especially as I had no qualifications.”

Remaro Hibbert, 25, “I'm happy to be one of the winners of MELP because it has given me an opportunity to really showcase my brand and actually make an impact.”

Shani Grant, 22, “Winning MELP feels fantastic, all the other entrepreneurs had solid ideas , so for my business to win MELP, I feel there is faith in my product which I never thought existed. I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone from the MELP team, Enterprise Lab and the judges, it was a great experience.”

All three will begin trading on Portobello Market in July.

Councillor Elizabeth Campbell, Cabinet Member for Family and Children’s Services, said: “The fact that the judges selected three young entrepreneurs instead of the usual two shows just how high the standard of competition was.  I wish all three young entrepreneurs the best of luck with their ventures.  Portobello Market is known across the world and has been the launch pad for many successful entrepreneurs.”

Follow MELP 2013’s journey on Facebook: Market Enterprise Launch Pad or Twitter: @RBKCMELP

Cherries in London.

Photograph: Manon Morris.

A little bit of Polish shit in Portobello.

This guy sells 'oil paintings' of London on a stall in Portobello.... I'd heard about this kind of shit being painted in China so I asked him: 'Is this shit painted in China'? He looked horrified and said: 'NO WAY. This shit is painted in Poland'.

Which ever way you look at it it is still tourist tat of the worst possible kind.

And however much you polish shit it is still shit!

Review: Sophie Barker at the Tabernacle.

Photograph: Manon Morris.

Okay! Let's get the negative dealt with first:

I have never heard such a fucking rude audience in my life. I've seen better mannered crowds at punk gigs in the 70's. Part of the audience tonight had no interest in the music and insisted on shouting at each other over the band. This was a well heeled bunch who should know better. I and my companions all were horrified.

Someone, rather than Sophie, who had to do it herself, should have told the idiots to shut up or go down to the bar below to honk and bray at each other. Ben the Bee (promoter) should have done something.... Oh well!

I know Sophie, I know how excited she was to be doing this (sell out) gig at the Tabernacle, I know how hard the band had worked to become so tight and right. Shame on you idiots for ruining it.

The band is good, Sophie is seriously good, she did some new stuff, some old stuff from the 'Seagull' album and a couple of covers  (the Cure and Fleetwood Mac) that made you wonder if they were not her own.

Sophie is about to go on another American tour, this time with The Egg, I hope American audiences are a little more appreciative.

Murray Lachlan Young's 'the Incomers'.

The writer, director and cast tell us about it.

The ecstasy of pregnancy.