John Barry...

John Barry has died. A Guardian piece about his music is HERE

Whether you know it or not he was a massive presence in the movies... He seems to have scored my entire film going life.

Here is the opening sequence from one of his early films.  Look out for a very gay Oliver Reed in the checked shirt.

The Tabernacle has a new website.

About time too. The Tabernacle has thrown away the old website and moved into the 21st century.

find them here: http://www.tabernaclew11.com/

Urgent message from Egypt from Miriam Hussain... Please read this!

On Saturday 29th January 2011, @marcinhosavant said:

URGENT MESSAGE FROM ACTIVIST IN EGYPT. PLEASE REPOST IF YOU CAN! "To all the people of world"

Alicia Ali Marsden

To all the people of world

The people in Egypt are under governmental siege. Mubarak regime is banning Facebook, Twitter, and all other popular internet sites Now, the internet are completely blocked in Egypt. Tomorrow the government will block the 3 mobile phone network will be completely blocked.

And there is news that even the phone landlines will be cut tomorrow, to prevent any news agency from following what will happen.

Suez city is already under siege now. The government cut the water supply and electricity, people, including, children and elderly are suffering there now. The patients in hospitals cannot get urgent medical care. The injured protesters are lying in the streets and the riot police are preventing people from helping them. The families of the killed protesters cannot get the bodies of their sons to bury them. This picture is the same in north Saini (El-Sheikh zoyad city) and in western Egypt (Al-salom). The riot police is cracking down on protesters in Ismailia, Alexandria, Fayoum, Shbin Elkoum, and Cairo, the capital, in many neighborhoods across the city.

The government is preparing to crackdown on the protesters in all Egyptian cities. They are using tear gas bombs, rubber and plastic pullets, chemicals like dilutes mustard gas against protesters. Several protesters today have been killed when the armored vehicles of the riot police hit them. Officials in plain clothes carrying blades and knives used to intimidate protesters. Thugs deployed by the Egyptian Ministry of Interior are roaming the streets of Cairo, setting fire on car-wheels as means of black propaganda to demonize protesters and justify police beatings and state torture

All this has been taken place over the past three days during the peaceful demonstrations in Cairo and other cities. Now, with the suspicious silence of the local media and the lack of coverage from the international media, Mubarak and his gang are blocking all the channels that can tell the world about what is happening.

People who call for their freedom need your support and help. Will you give them a hand?

The activists are flooding the net (youtube and other sites) with thousands of pictures and videos showing the riot police firing on armless people. The police started to use ammunition against protesters. 15-year old girl has been injured and another 25 year old man has been shot in the mouth. While nothing of these has appeared in the media, there is more to happen tomorrow. Will you keep silent? Will you keep your mouth shut while seeing all these cruelty and inhumane actions?

We don’t ask for much, just broadcast what is happening

Written by: Mariam Hussien

Being human... Being teenage.

Teenagers are obsessed with two things; growing up and sex.

Parents of teenagers are obsessed with avoiding both.

Teenagers have always been obsessed with sex and the cinema/TV have constantly looked for metaphors to describe this obsession. Over the years the teenage obsession has remained the same, the metaphors used however have become more and more sophisticated to the point where drugs and booze and even sex itself is not sexy enough... So let's throw in vampirism.

Adam's story in this programme is as old as the hills... A kid who doesn't want to grow up as quickly as the society he lives in wants him to; he is the victim of peer pressure, advertising and fear.

He is saved, at the end of the day, by his own 'common sense' and his desire to take things at the right speed. Of course he is helped in this by 'friends' who may have motives of their own, but that is life. That is how it is.

I wish I had had television like this when I was a kid, I had to make do with early Doctor Who, the Clangers and the Evengers to escape. but there again I had Man walking on the moon, England winning the World Cup and snogging Judy Waters in the churchyard.

And much more was possible because of the lack of sophistication back then... I have a feeling that sophistication is finite and that original thought more and more difficult to achieve. Everything is on the telly now and better than we could possibly have imagined.

But still I wish I were a teenager watching Being Human, and better still would be watching it with my mum and dad.

Adele - Set Fire to the Rain (Life from The Tabernacle, Notting Hill)

Ray - Roughler - Jones. Notting Hill personality of the year.

This is surely a joke. Ray Jones has been voted Notting Hill personality of the year. I reviewed his autobiography last year; a picaresque tale of thieving, dealing, drinking and skiving. Nothing wrong with that if you are going to own up to it but surely NOT the makings of 'Personality of the Year'.

What about the school dinner ladies, the lollipop folk, the selfless carers, the blemish free charity workers, the whores that sell £5 tricks on Westbourne Park Road to frustrated ministers, the steel pan players on Portobello, the Yummy Mummies who like to be seen doing their bit, The crackhead panhandlers who live on my doorstep?

Nah. This is Notting Hill. Personality of the Year has got to... Well you know. Sniff!

Well done Ray.

Nelson Mandela dying?

Things do not look good as a string of old friends visit Mandela's bedside. However we are told that he is suffering from a collapsed lung and will be out of hospital soon.

UPDATE. Mandela is now out of hospital and feeling better.

Murray Lachlan Young West country tour.

Details HERE or murraylachlanyoung.co.uk

Depressed by the press.

A Guest Blog by Jan Nieupjur. As ever his views ain't necessarily mine.

What a depressing start to the year.

I had always (naively) believed that the role of the press was to report on events in such a way as to inform it's readers. Four events in the past couple of weeks have demonstrated beyond doubt that the press now believes that IT is the story and that events occur purely as catalyst to the main event; namely the press writing/talking about themselves. No longer satisfied with reporting the facts it must now pontificate, pass judgement, assassinate, harass, defame and then blame everyone else but itself when it gets it wrong.

In fact the press now succeeds in misinforming it's readers most of the time.

I see nothing more than cliquey groups of self important 'would be' somebodies suddenly realising that they are about as relevant as Spam recipes when it comes to providing up to date news.

Newspapers are now nothing more than flimsy 'lifestyle' comics; they are always at least 12 hours behind the rest of us so I guess they feel that, by hypothesising, accusing and judging, they are providing a service.

My advice.  Stick to fashion, cooking, interior design and obscure health matters. Leave the reporting of the news to those who can actually focus on the news.

Blog exhaustion.

I'm suffering from exhaustion. The blog has somewhat ground to a halt. They never last forever in the same format; everyone gets bored and wanders off somewhere else.

what to do though!

There are enough political blogs around and more than enough 'wise-arses' to go around.

Hopefully something will crop up.

Palin's Breath

larry griswold

Harassment, twitter and stupidity.

The nonsense continues. The harassment thing is now Sub Judice and I am obliged to keep my mouth shut for the time being. However, The ongoing investigation is not into my activities but into those of another, who, due to mental health problems, does not know when enough is enough.

I find it extraordinary that someone will continue to post libellous and defamatory statements on the twitter thing without a care in the world and without thought to the fact that those statements are recorded for posterity and will be used as evidence. I feel sorry for the sad, lonely individuals who have been conned into colluding. They will learn.

I am writing about this at length and will publish as soon as the law allows.

Solar eclipse, penury and Jason King.

I missed the solar eclipse this morning... The whole thing was eclipsed by cloud.  Oh well.

Being January not a great deal is happening in Notting Hill and that is probably wise as most people will be too broke to spend money on happenings; they'll be saving their pennies for VAT hikes and transport fare increases. With the civil unrest and the tube strikes it is beginning to take me back to the 70's... will we be getting a three day week soon?

Perhaps we are also in for a resurgence of prog rock, silly flared trousers and Department S remakes.

Happy days.

Freia X Fisher.

Freia died a year ago today. A sad day.

Star Size Comparison HD

The scale of the Universe.

Check this out: http://www.newgrounds.com/port
al/view/525347

Abuse on the Internet,stalking, psychotics and sociopaths.

As a result of my recent experience involving an extremely disturbed and nasty abuser (now being investigated by the Police) I am digging deeper into this sort of behaviour.

Please let me know if you have had problems with internet abuse/stalking.  Email me or leave a comment. Absolute discretion is assured.

London Eye Firework from Parliament Hill

Bettye Lavette - All Of My Love - Led Zeppelin

Patti Smith... Birthday.

Happy birthday Patti.

And we are back...

After a week snowbound in an unheated cottage with Jan and Rusty it is good to be back in London dusting off the tuxedo in preparation for New Year's eve. I shall be attending the Rotting Hill Gang bash at the Tabernacle as well as popping into the Cow for a beer or two.

Between now and then is time for a rethink on where this blog is going in 2011...

Portobello Panto 2010. It's behind you.

The Portobello Panto is an institution... In the hands of producer Piers Thompson it is a lunatic asylum.

The panto of old was a self indulgent plaything for a little clique of hillybillys; self referential and full of itself. The buzz earlier this year was that the panto was dead and about time too.... then along came Piers and Director Roger Pomphrey.

OK. The Panto of old made it's presence felt like Marley's ghost in the shape of an old turkey of a script by Kevin Allen from the 90's which was jazzed up with a dollop of cranberry sauce and of course the children. Notting Hill stalwart Ray 'Roughler' Jones made an appearance. The 'house band' featuring  Roger was worth the entry fee alone, the Tabernacle really came alive for what is it's raison d'etre, the fairies were brilliant as were their yummy mummies (the Fox school got a mention, why not!) and there were no new jokes to confuse the audience.

The high point for me was the cameo role from my scrabble nemesis and BBC star (you gotta have a star at Christmas) Simon Jack; I knew he was versatile but nothing prepared me for his jacket... IT shone.

The rendering of a living fire by a child was one of the most moving theatrical events I have ever witnessed... Bravo.

There is no point going into the plot or the characters; everything was as it should be in Pantoland, the evil character was of course a woman, the men were fools, the Princess was a valley girl, and yes! Oh no it's not, it's behind you!

Full marks to Piers and crew for assembling what was to me the dreamcatcher in the window of Notting Hill and a truly entertaining night.

If Pantomime is the closest thing to an honest snapshot of modern society... God help us all.

Ringo in Notting Hill

Starch, Psychopaths and Panto.

And we're back...

After two weeks of bedrest and the well starched attention of  nurse Hope I am finally up and about again.

Just in time too.  It is the last night of the Portobello Panto at the Tabernacle... Certainly not to be missed; more later. There are still tickets available for this afternoons show at: http://www.tabernaclelive.co.uk/whats-on/

The psychopath is off my back; focusing elsewhere no doubt.

Winter solstice.

Captain Beefheart is dead...

His stuff was hard work and sometimes impossible but he was an original...

Ryan O'Reilly, the Cow, Claudia Schiffer and whelks.

After a day dealing with the psychotic bitch in my life the Cow called...

Guinness, molluscs, bivalves, winkles, oysters, prawns and whelks with Ryan O'Riley of the Ryan O'Riley band and the man in a pink hoodie who looked as if he had lived enough this week without the burden of the upcoming days.

Ryan told the story of how a copper had tried to move him on in Portobello Road for waking Claudia Schiffer up.... It's ok Claudia, Ryan and the band are going on a European tour soon.

The winkles tasted of Eastbourne according to the man in the pink hoodie.

One of us cannot be wrong.

I had not heard this before... I have now.

Blake Edwards has died... RIP.

Harrods Christmas sentiment... In lights.

From DASHPERIOD

‘Fuck off Harrods’ done by a disgruntled employee, fired by Harrods from his job as the toy department’s Father Christmas, took revenge last night in spectacular style.

Gaining access to a maintenance control room, Lloyd Hudson, 35, from Ilford, Essex, was able to locate the chart and corresponding switches for Harrods’ 10,000 external lights.

Barracading himself in, Hudson disabled the correct lights until he could spell out his feelings to Harrods bosses and Christmas shoppers alike. He was removed by security guards after an hour-long stand-off, then handed over to police.

“He had drunk the best part of two bottles of whisky,” said a spokesperson for the iconic London store, “and it’s that kind of behaviour that got him the sack in the first place.” Hudson has since been released on police bail.

Knightsbridge visitors were stunned.

“Honestly, I am disgusted, ” said Irene Rider, 59, from Gary, Indiana. “I was with my grandchildren. We had just gotten off the bus. I said ‘look everybody’ and pointed up to the lights – but you know what the lights said? They said f**k off. And that is not an appropriate message for a child.  At least not at Christmas time.”

I love that 'at least not at Christmas' bit...   And of course Santa got the sack; Santa got the toys in the sack... even doctor Zeuss knows that. That Santa got the sack…..

None of the above is true of course. It is photoshoppery from The Poke.

Rachman at his height...

Click HERE for more from Ladbroke Grove 50's - 70's

Cutting Coke with Gold dust in Notting Hill.

A night out with the new Muse; Honesty. where do they get their names from these mid-western girls?

I asked her that. She replied: 'My dad got it from a seed catalogue'.

Anyway, once we's got off the subject of horticulture and how big her dad was and what kind of shot he used in his 12 bore and the fact that her leopard skin leggings were itching up a storm I excused myself for a pee.

Can't tell you where we were but I can tell you that the loo's were liberally sprinkled with gold dust... Shit! I thought. They are cutting the Coke with gold these days...  I took a sniff from a non urinal area; I wasn't that drunk.

Jeez.... Tinsel.

They are cutting the Coke with tinsel for Christmas.

They are not however cutting the bullshit.

New Years Eve, Rotten Hill Gang, Tabernacle... Sorted.

This post has been removed for legal reasons.  sorry.

Inadequates and drug problems.

Why do inadequates always cite drug problems as an excuse for being inadequate?

They were inadequate before they took drugs; the drugs just compound the inadequacy.

'Poor me'. They say. 'I am a victim of society'.

Bollocks.... They prey on society, demanding attention and compassion. They give nothing back.

If you cannot handle your drugs don't do them. Simple as that.

Jan Nieupjur writes on Student Demonstration.

Due to the ill health of this blogger Jan Nieupjur is guesting today. As I have previously stated,  his views and mine are not necessarily the same:

A number of youths sit in a central London pub.

Youth #1: "Let's pretend to be outraged by government policy and go to the demo. See if we can wind the police up enough to get them on the attack".

Youth#2: "Yeah".

Youth #3: "Power to the people, right on".

Cut to:  Some time later on the street: youth #1 is sitting in the road with a look of outrage on his face holding a Che Guevara bandana to a scratch on his forehead.

Youth#1: "Fucking monstrous. That copper hit me. It's not fair".

Youth #2: "Yeah".

youth #3: "I'm telling my mum".


Listen... If you go to the barricades you must expect the worst. You must have no consideration for your own safety (bloody hell! Liberty got her kit off for the cause). You are there to abuse authority and authority has as much right to freedom of action as you do.

Stop fucking whining!

Within a collective action the acts of each individual represents the whole; if one idiot is balaclava'd up and gratuitously smashing a window then you are, by being there, all part of it. Expect to get hurt.

Of course you have the right to voice your convictions but the bloke in the uniform you are lobbing bricks at has an equal right and might to over-react and smack you on the head with a truncheon.

If your mum had any sense (and wasn't down the pub) she would clip you round the ear and send you to bed without your beans on toast and with a copy of 'A Tale of Two Cities'.

I was interested to see that the Press snappers were doing most of the 'egging on' as usual.

Jane Bussman, The Young Satellites and Rose Royce.

Last night saw me off To the opening of the 'Young Satellites' exhibition at the Atom Rooms at the top end of Portobello. A great little gallery presenting a collection of very, very good, young (and I mean young) photographers.  Go and see this if only to reaffirm the fact that YES photography is ART... And in this case, good Art.

Then to the Tabernacle for Jane Bussman's one woman show... I was expecting a shaggy dog story. We got a dodgy shag story... Despite the technical glitches she did it well if perhaps a tad overlong.

In the bar during the interval I learnt that Gwen Dickey (the voice of Rose Royce) is performing at the Cobden Club on Thursday night.  Got to go and see that.

Portobello Road: Spectrum. Cool baby.

This is from A facebook group well worth visiting if you are interested in the area...



Spectrum: Portobello road from Brian Jones on Vimeo.

The Young Satellites

Ladbroke Grove between the 50's & 70's.

Brian Nevill has started a goup thing on facebook looking back at the area, the people and the music of those times... It is early days for the site but will be well worth a look for the remeniscences as well as the images....

Click HERE for the link.

Gallery 'pop up' in Cafe Ravenous, Portobello Road.

Some sort of Phoenix is rising, albeit temporarily, from the ashes of the notorious Cafe Ravenous. Sabrina Rowan Hamilton and others are running a pop up gallery from Thursday until the 24th... 


Art, chai and cupcakes, among other things, replacing iniquity (I am informed) plus more than likely a ghost of the  mayhem of old will put in an appearance. 

David miles
Sabrina Rowan Hamilton
Luke Dickinson
will be popping up an exhibition stroke cafe
where you can drink chai and fairy cakes or buy art
at (bargain basement clear out the studio time prices)
its christmas time



Times and info HERE

Murray Lachlan Young's TMS Ashes Poem

Morganne. My favourite star from the West.

Naughty and Nice,Tabernacle, Paradise Point, the Island experiment, Blair and very naughty at Maison Du Chien.

Ok. Friday night. Cold but not too cold to get up the road to Naughty and Nice at the Tabernacle; a party put on in order to collect toys for needy children at this time of year.  The toys go to kids in hostels for Women suffering from domestic violence. Please check out the web site.http://www.naughtyornice.org.uk/ and make a donation.

the Tabernacle in winter begins to look less like a church and more like a place to party. First up were 'Paradise Point'; a young and I understand unsigned band that will not remain so for much longer; A bunch of (all importantly) cool looking guys who are happy to put on a performance with some great up beat songs - a very pleasant change from the usual 'blokes with beards and guitars singing about dead things'- there was joy in the room.  A celebrity dad in the audience seemed pleased even though there was a technical hitch or two. A great new band. check them out.


Wade and his Island Experiment crew brought his blend of bonkers somewhere south of the borders madness followed by Blair.

I'd never heard of Blair... I have now.  check him out too!

I popped into Maison Du Chien on the way home (this is why I love Notting Hill, it really is on my way home) and took in some of Mat's Cabaret du Jour: in this case a brilliant New Yorker called Sxip Shirey with a bizarre musical act that needs to be seen and heard to be believed, followed by a 'fan dance' that decency does not allow me to describe... Fantastic. (Oops a pun). Hopefully these acts will be performing at Medium Rare at Christmas.  Medium Rare is Mat's Big thing, I'm going!  A free entry to the first person to ask. email me.

Trouble with the Muse.

I'm not having much luck with the Muse these days. The last one was definitely less than the sum of her parts.

Jan 'phoned from Antwerp suggesting I stick to painting by numbers in future.

I told him I was feeling pretty numb as it was but that is probably down to my new tipple; a splash of Jack Daniels in a glass of fizzy white...

I've turned to Art again, putting together a piece incorporating the most dangerous toothbrush in London alongside a portrait of the Virgin Mary.

The toothbrush is yellow!  http://virtualfactoryone.blogspot.com/2010/12/most-dangerous-toothbrush-in-london.html

The Lexi Cinema and Sally Wilton.

I didn't know too much about the Lexi until I read this in the FT

Star of the green screen

By Penny Wark

Published: December 3 2010 22:09 | Last updated: December 3 2010 22:09

Grounded: Sally Wilton with Lickers the cat

:We all make assumptions, and one of mine is that if an entrepreneur has sold a business for £21m she will live in

a swanky house. So why am I standing outside a pleasant but ordinary Edwardian end terrace in London’s Kensal Rise?

The clue is in the shy woman who opens the door, and the quirky building a few hundred yards away that announces on 

its front wall, “I AM CINEMA, LOVE ME”. This is The Lexi cinema, a thriving art house centre that serves as a focus for the

 community around it, and sends its profits to Lynedoch, an eco village in South Africa. Sally Wilton is the chief executive, 

although these days she works for nothing. Or at least not for personal gain. READ MORE

Ethically fabulous in Nottingt Hill.

Ethical Just Got Fabulous

Get Christmas wrapped up early with Ethical Just Got Fabulous

Magic 105.4 has joined forces with Ethical Just Got Fabulous to host the first ethical pop-up department store in Britain. Held in Notting Hill’s glamorous 20th Century Theatre over Saturday 4 – Sunday 5 December, Ethical Just Got Fabulous’s unique event will feature A-list stars and boutique brands, including Livia Firth of Eco-Age and award-winning designer Izzy Lane.

Shoppers will be able to browse a unique selection of gifts, as well as clothing, accessories, homewares, jewellery and handpicked stocking fillers. Visitors will be treated to live jazz, mulled wine and a raffle for a chance to win a Fabulous Christmas Hamper worth £1,000. Proceeds from the raffle will go directly to Magic 105.4’s Cash for Kids, find out more here.

Showcasing the very best ethical brands that embody both fair trade principles and essential style, doors open on Saturday 4th December 10am - 6pm and Sunday 5th December 11am – 5pm and it's free entry for all. So why not pop down and get Christmas wrapped up the fabulous way!

For more information click HERE

Click

Naughty or Nice.