The American Issue 718 February 2013 by Blue Edge Publishing Ltd.

February 2013

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EATING OUT • SPORT WHAT’S ON • POLITICS MUSIC • REVIEWS ARTS CHOICE

BETTY BUCKLEY Back in Britain and chatting to The American Win a pair of tickets to ’80s rock musical Rock of Ages John Wheeler, Hayseed Dixie frontman goes solo

Free to Read in Print or On Screen Every issue of the magazine now available online... IN PRINT: Pick a copy up from (among other places):  The US Embassy in London and US Consulates  The United/Continental and Virgin clubhouses at Heathrow  Hotels around the UK  The American Museum in Britain (near Bath)  Automat American Brasserie, Dover Street, Mayfair, London  Sports Bar & Grill Marylebone and Victoria  All the organizations listed in back of the magazine, and USAFE bases  Get a copy delivered to your home or workplace, the only thing we’ll ask you to pay for is the post and packing – call us on +44 (0)1747 830520. ON SCREEN: Read The American on your mobile device or computer at www.theamerican.co.uk – Click on the front cover image for the current issue, or on the MAGAZINE tab where you can read back issues too.

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The American ®

Issue 718 – February 2013 PUBLISHED BY SP MEDIA FOR

Blue Edge Publishing Ltd.

Old Byre House, East Knoyle, Salisbury SP3 6AW, UK Telephone all departments: +44 (0)1747 830520 Publisher and Editor in Chief: Michael Burland michael@theamerican.co.uk Editor: Richard L Gale editor@theamerican.co.uk Please contact us with your news or article ideas Advertising & Promotions: Sabrina Sully, Commercial Director advertising@theamerican.co.uk Subscriptions: theamerican@blueedge.co.uk Section Editors Virginia E Schultz, Food & Drink virginia@theamerican.co.uk Mary Bailey, Social mary@theamerican.co.uk Richard L Gale, Arts richard@theamerican.co.uk Alison Holmes, Politics alison@theamerican.co.uk Jarlath O’Connell, Theater jarlath@theamerican.co.uk

ometimes it seems as if we should celebrate New Year in February, not at the end of December (what’s that you say, the Chinese already do? Gong Hey Fat Choy, and Happy Year of the Snake, everybody!). There is a breath of fresh air about. In the cultural world, the pantomimes are starting to close (Oh no they aren’t... Oh yes they are...), new plays and musicals and exciting new art exhibitions start. Tourist attractions that have been dormant or just very quiet are opening their doors, their walls freshpainted. In music, there are great bands to see and major tours announced – get those tickets quick, they’ll sell out soon. It could be a great time to learn to drive on British roads – even for under 17 year olds. We’ve got all this and more in this issue of The American. And we also have some new (and newish) writers who join our regular crew – welcome to Candace Allen, Darren Kilfara, Tim Baros and Sarah Nikkel. They, and all of the team, hope that you... Enjoy your magazine,

Michael Burland, Publisher michael@theamerican.co.uk

Among this month’s contributors

ISSN 2045-5968 Cover Main Image: actress Betty Buckley; circular inset: musician John Wheeler; Square inset: Win tickets to Rock of Ages

@TheAmericanMag

Sarah Nikkel is The American School in England’s Advancement Associate for Giving. This month she offers some British- to American-English translations for term-time.

Candace Allen is a novelist and author of Soul Music, a memoir about race, music and film, published by Gibson Square. This month she reacts to the Django Unchained controversy.

American golfer Darren Kilfara formerly worked for Golf Digest and is author of A Golfer’s Education, a memoir of his junior year as a student-golfer at the University of St. Andrews.

Don’t forget The American online: www.theamerican.co.uk The entire contents of The American and www.theamerican.co.uk are protected by copyright and no part of it may be reproduced without written permission of the publishers. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information in The American is accurate, the editor and publishers cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions or any loss arising from reliance on it. The views and comments of contributors are not necessarily those of the publishers.

February 2013 1

The American • Issue 718 • February 2013

In This Issue... Regular Sections 4 News 10 Education 16 Wining & Dining 24 Music 26 Arts Choice 39 Coﬀee Break

30 44 48 54 57 65

Theater Reviews DriveTime Sports Diary Dates American Organizations The A-List

6 Betty Buckley Interview The Broadway Hall of Famer is back in the UK with Dear World

42 Inﬁniti Review

“Everyone was wowed by the glamor, but not all were convinced by the hybrid tech”

8 And They Call It Puppy Love... Valentine’s month is a good time for some safe dating advice for teens

10 New School, New Language Essential term-time translations

12 London’s Blue Plaques The residences of famous former Americans in Britain revealed

14 Churchill War Rooms

Your chance to win two tickets to the musical that celebrates ’80s rock

24 John Wheeler Interview Discover a new side to ‘Barley Scotch,’ the Hayseed Dixie front man

38 The Django Unchained Controversy Film-maker and writer Candace Allen on why the N-word can be acceptable in film

PHOTO COURTESY NATIONAL GUARD

Discover Churchill’s secret bunker and command center – in the heart of London

23 Rock of Ages Competition

Michael Burland takes a good look at a rarety – for now – on British roads

40 Revolving Doors Alison Holmes examines Tony Hall’s challenge as new BBC Director General

46 Driving Kids Crazy! Getting the under-17s mobile with intensive and fun driving courses

48 Back from the Brink The NHL lockout is over, Jeremy Lanaway surveys the field of battle

49 Varsity Jacket Competition Tackle the winter weather with a chance to win an ESPN Varsity Jacket

50 NASCAR 2013 February sees NASCAR return with the Daytona 500

51 Eagle Eyed Golf correspondent Darren Kilfara is watching the weather

40 Tragedies: Human or Social?

52 Sideline Richard L Gale looks at the QB talent for the NFL Draft... and is not impressed

16 Wining & Dining 38 Django Unchained

48 The NHL is Back

6 Betty Buckley

Knightsbridge and Chelsea dining at The Rib Room and Racine

– Betty Buckley on Dear World, coming to London in February

36 Boston Ballet PHOTO: GENE SCHIAVONE

“It has a timely resonance today. It’s a kind of fairy tale, but it’s very sweet and moving”

©KABLONK MICRO

8 Teen Relationships Advice

The American

NEWS

Philip Gordon

CARDIFF UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL OFFICE

Above: The first oﬃcial portrait of The Duchess of Cambridge was unveiled in January at the National Portrait Gallery, London. Described as ‘creepy’ by The Spectator and ‘rotten’ by The Daily Mail art critic Robin Simon, Richard Fitzwilliams, consultant to the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, called it ‘a fine addition to the canon of royal portraiture’. The Duchess described it as ‘brilliant’ and Prince William said it was’ beautiful’.

Honor For Fulbright Boss

Penny Egan, Executive Director of the US-UK Fulbright Commission, has been awarded a CBE in the New Year’s Honours List in recognition of her contribution to International Education. She told The American, “I wish it could have been a joint award: without the team here, nothing would have been achieved”.

4 February 2013

PHOTO COURTESY US EMBASSY LONDON

UK’s Position in EU Concerns US

ritain’s relationship with the European Union, which is causing upheavals in the EU, is also of concern to the Obama administration, it has become apparent. Philip Gordon, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs in the State Department, said at a press conference in London that it was in America’s interest to see a “strong British voice within the EU,” although he stressed that the UK would always be a key ally of the US and that “what is in the UK’s interests is up to the UK”. He expressed the view that the UK should not pull out of Europe, and that giving the choice to the British people would not be a good idea, as he added “Referendums have often turned countries inwards”. In response, and quoting Mr Gordon, a spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron, said: “The US wants an outward-looking EU with Britain in it, and so do we.”

Going the extra mile to fight diabetes

n December, 16 year old American Nick Taylor from Claygate, Surrey, took part in the last mile of Phil Packer MBE’s BRIT 2012 Challenge, a 2,012 mile fundraising walk. Nick, a Youth Ambassador for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and a Reed’s School student, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged three. “It was a great day and I was really pleased that I was able to take part in such a momentous journey and join the JDRF team. JDRF has played a big part in my

From left: Nick Taylor, Phil Packer, and JDRF’s CEO Karen Addington

family’s lives since I was diagnosed and we try and do as much as we can to raise awareness and vital funds to support research, so that JDRF can one day find the cure,” Nick said.

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The American

THE AMERICAN INTERVIEW

Betty Buckley B

etty Buckley is arguably the greatest Broadway diva of the last three decades, recently inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in New York, yet she has rarely appeared on the London stage. But watch out Britain – Betty’s back! Despite battling an infection that threatened her breathing and her voice, Betty gave up some valuable rehearsal and recuperating time to tell The American about her new show, the British première of Jerry Herman’s musical Dear World.

6 February 2013

Dear World could be seen as a daring project. Based on Jean Giraudoux’s play The Madwoman of Chaillot, its heroine is the Countess, living in the basement of a Parisian bistro in 1945, driven mad by a lost love. When oil is discovered under the streets of the city, she gathers together her friends to fight drilling plans. But although it was critically admired and won a Tony for its leading actress, it didn’t work commercially first time around in 1969. “I think it was over-produced,” says Betty. “It was produced by Alexander Cohen who was a big, showy producer, and it’s a very small, esoteric, ethereal piece. Plus, I think it was not rightly timed for the culture at that point. It’s about how a group of citizens fight the big, bad politicians who are out to destroy their city.”

So what made Betty choose it for her London reappearance? After all, she hasn’t been here for a while. “It has a certain timely resonance today. It’s a kind of fairy tale, but it’s very sweet and moving. Jerry Herman’s music is lovely and our orchestrator, Sarah Travis, has given it a wonderful new setting. The cast is wonderfully talented. Gillian Lynne is directing and choreographing the new production, and her vision of it is really beautiful – if anyone can make it work, she will! I worked with Gillian in Cats in 1982. I knew of her before that because of her shows on Broadway, like Anthony Newley’s Stop the World – I Want to Get Oﬀ. She’s theater royalty, and also a great role model and friend to me, and a great source of inspiration for me as an artist. We’d been looking for a project to do together since then, and two years ago she called me and said she wanted to do Dear World. It’s been such a process, putting together the ideas and envisioning how it would work that I keep having to pinch myself and telling myself I’m actually here in London working on it. “And you’re right, I seem to come here every 25 years or so!” Betty laughs. “The last time was at the Donmar Warehouse for a few weeks – we recorded that show and got a Grammy nomination for it. Before that I was in Sunset Boulevard here from 1994 to ‘95. And before that I was in Promises, Promises in London when I was 22 years old. Hopefully I’ll be back over here before 2038!”

Betty is famous for her cabaret shows as well as theatrical productions. There’s been an explosion of new cabaret rooms in London recently, so I asked if she would be bringing one of these to London. “I presented one show, Ah Men – the Boys of Broadway, a year ago for a month in the supper club, Feinstein’s in New York, then all around the country. It’s a collection of songs written for men to sing. The album was released in August this past year. I’ve also done a show called The Other Woman, The Vixens of Broadway and we just found out last night that I won Best Female Celebrity Vocalist in the new Broadway World New York Cabaret Awards for that. I’m hoping to bring one of the shows to London.” Few artists have experience of working on both Broadway and the West End over such a long time span. Are the two very different? “There are quite a few differences in cultural sensibilities, like the British sense of humor – which I happen to really enjoy,” says Betty. “I’ve been stuck in my hotel room trying to get better and I saw a brilliant comedian on TV called Sarah Millican. She’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever seen. American and British audiences react differently to a lot of jokes, but the general enthusiasm, the passion for theater, of the audiences in both countries is the same.” Stage work apart, Betty also teaches song interpretation classes at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and around the country. There’s a new album in the works too in an unexpected style, produced by legendary Americana producer T-Bone Burnett. T-Bone is an old friend from Texas who made the first recordings of Betty’s

“American and British audiences react differently to a lot of jokes, but the general Betty Buckley enthusiasm, the passion for theater is the same” voice when they were both 19 years old (released as an album called 1967). The new album, Ghostlight, is scheduled for release in 2014. Betty is a Texas gal through and through. What does she miss most when she’s working away? “My ranch, and my animals,” Betty says without hesitation. “I have four horses and a donkey, four barn cats and two house cats, and three dogs. Last time I was here, in Sunset, I knew I’d be here for a year so I bought a little Shih Tzu puppy called Gemma who was my companion here. She came back home with me – she died just recently. I lived in New York from when I was 21 but after 9/11 I realized I needed to get back to Texas. I wanted to get into riding cutting horses, a sport in the tradition of the Old West. I used

to show horses when I was a kid, in rodeos, and I’d always wanted to ride those great horses!” Is it dangerous? How do Betty’s producers – and more importantly their insurers – feel about it? “It’s an issue. It can be dangerous. It’s very athletic and the horses are very fast. I told my teacher that I’m an actress and a singer and it’s really important I don’t fall off! Being on the ranch is singularly unglamorous, but it’s a nice counterpoint to working in New York or LA. I can be at peace with the grass and the trees, the sun and the sky and the horses.” H Dear World opens at The Charing Cross Theatre, Villiers Street, London WC2N 6NL on February 4th and runs until March 30th.

February 2013 7

The American

And They Call It Puppy Parents, don’t be coy. You can use Valentine’s month to teach safe dating for teens, explains Kristin Landers of Youth Villages

een dating is a subject that causes many parents to shudder and shy away. But romance is a fact of life for young people, and parents can use Valentine’s Day to start important conversations with their teens or pre-teens that can make dating and relationships safer for them – not just now, but throughout their lives. There’s a dark side to puppy love, say the experts at Youth Villages, one of the United States’ leading providers of behavioral and mental health services to children and their families (www.youthvillages.org). According to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta: l Approximately one in three ado-

lescent girls in the USA is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner.

l One in four teen girls in a relation-

ship says she has been threatened with violence or experienced verbal abuse, and 13% of teens say they were physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend.

l 45% of girls know a friend or peer

who has been pressured into having intercourse or oral sex.

l The Internet, social media and

cell phones have opened up new avenues for improper, even illegal behavior, among teenagers. Teens can be harassed or ridiculed through texts or Facebook posts.

8 February 2013

l And one in five teen girls has elec-

tronically sent or posted nude or nearly nude photos or videos.

What’s a parent to do? Kristin Landers, a clinical program manager for Youth Villages, said to help teens date safely, lines of communication have to be open, and parents must pay attention. Here are Kristin’s tips: l Know your teen’s friends. As

children become tweens and teens, it’s more important than ever for parents to know their children’s friends. This is the age when what peers think and say are a teen’s top influence. Teens value their friends the most. You must know them. You may have to step in and help the child reduce his or her relationship with a peer who you think is negative or damaging. That’s very difficult. It’s easier to promote positive relationships early and nourish those relationships through the teen years.

l Set family expectations early and

review often. It’s never too early to start talking about your family’s unique values and expectations. Start talking about dating and relationships as early as age 9 or 10, no later than 12, before the first date is even on the horizon. Your child needs to know what activities you consider appropriate and where the absolute out-of-bounds lines are. Be sure to look for ‘teaching

moments,’ such as a congressman who is forced to resign after sending a provocative photo. These events become lessons in the bad things that can happen when actions aren’t thought through. You can discuss incidents that are in the news, behavior of TV stars, scenes in movies, anything that will inspire conversation and help you reinforce your values message. l Take a deep breath and discuss

sexual situations your teen might encounter. Remind them that oral sex is sex. There seem to be some teenage and adult misunderstandings about that. Be sure your teens understand that they have the right to say no. You might even role play potential situations so your child learns how to say no, or what to do if he or she feels pressured.

l Randomly check your child’s cell

phone periodically to review the content and tone of those continual texts. You should have the password. People lived without cell phones for centuries, and your teen might have to now – if rules are broken. Remind them that sexting is not just offensive – it’s illegal. Make sure your child knows that sending nude or provocative pictures on a phone may bring a visit from police and – maybe more importantly to them – will allow the photo to be forwarded to the entire school. Friends who open messages showing a minor in a sexually provocative way may be accused of viewing child pornography.

Love... l Use the Internet and multi-

media. One website to consider, www.thatsnotcool.org, produced by the Ad Council, offers humorous videos that nudge teens toward the right answers about digital media and relationships.

l Be on the lookout for toxic

relationships. Most teen dating relationships go as well as we all expect. There’s first love, first breakups, lots of emotion, but very little lasting damage. Like adult relationships, though, teen ones can involve physical or emotional abuse, harassment and stalking. Some have even committed suicide after a romantic breakup.

l Parents have to continue to be

The teenage years are an important time for any child. He or she is taking steps toward adulthood and making lifetime memories: first date, first crush, first love. If you follow Kristin’s advice, she says, “Hopefully, they’ll have fond memories of the caring, involved parent who watched over them during this time as well.” H

©KABLONK MICRO

on watch. Look for changes in eating or sleeping patterns, excessive worry or preoccupation with what a boyfriend or girlfriend thinks, a drop in grades and isolation from old friends. Know the boyfriend or girlfriend and his or her parents. If you notice any of these things in your teen, something is wrong, and you need to talk with your child to find out what is going on.

The American

New School, New Language L

ast spring, my six-year-old wrote, “Dear Easter Bunny, I am new to this country. Please can you bring me a dictionary of British words?” Having recently marked one year of living in the UK, I was inspired to look at the homemade dictionary left by the industrious rabbit, who clearly had too much time on her (um, I mean his) hands. Doing so conjured memories of amusing misinterpretations and awkward moments, of which you may have had your fair share, too. I hope this list of British to American-English translations may help your child attending a new British school. Who knows, it may even help you interact with the locals too.

Sarah Nikkel of The American School in England offers some essential translations for term-time

School

noughts and crosses = tic-tac-toe fête = fair stall = booth fancy dress = costume tombola = a popular game played at fêtes; players draw numbers out of a revolving drum to win prizes

head teacher = principal reception = preschool primary school = elementary school college = secondary school public school = private school state school = public school literacy = language arts queue up = line up mufti day = dress-down day drawing pin = pushpin or thumbtack bin = trash can rubber = eraser Biro = ballpoint pen Sellotape = Scotch Tape Tipp-Ex = Whiteout If you have young children, you should also know that Band-Aids are called plasters.

Sports

kit = uniforms and equipment plimsolls = canvas slip-on shoes trainers = sneakers

10 February 2013

boots = cleats (as in football) pitch = playing field try (rugby) = similar to a touchdown hockey = field hockey, not ice hockey

Clothing

pants = underwear knickers = women’s underwear trousers = pants pinafore = jumper jumper = sweater vest = undershirt waistcoat = vest dressing gown = bathrobe wellies = rain boots

Fun and Games

Food

You’ve probably ‘cottoned on’ to the fact that fries are called chips and that chips are called crisps, but are you familiar with these? digestives = a popular type of biscuit (cookie), not an indigestion remedy boiled sweets, lollies = types of hard candy pudding = dessert fairy cake = cupcake aubergine = eggplant courgette = zucchini butty = sandwich, usually with bacon bap = roll jacket potato = baked potato lemonade = fizzy lemon soda squash = juice drink H Below: erasers or rubbers? PHOTO COURTESY BEN CROWDER

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The American

London’s Blue Plaques The residences of famous former Americans in Britain revealed

f you've ever spent time in London looking up at the historic buildings – always the best way to see a city, seeing the real architecture above the generic ‘anytown’ storefronts – you may have spotted the occasional round blue sign adorned with white writing and wondered what it was. They’re part of London's famous blue plaques scheme, which marks the homes of famous former occupants. Founded in 1866, it’s the oldest of its kind in the world. English Heritage took over the project in 1986 and runs it on behalf of the British government. Since then it has erected more than 350 blue plaques in London, giving a current total of 869. You may have read news reports that English Heritage plans to stop erecting the plaques, after its funding was cut by over a third. However a spokesperson told us, “English Heritage remains committed to the scheme and it will continue. However, our focus over the next two years will be to reduce a backlog of plaques that have already been agreed and to lay the foundations for a long-term future

12 February 2013

for the scheme that reduces the cost to the tax payer. For this reason, the scheme is being temporarily closed to new applications while we catch up with the backlog. The Blue Plaques Team will be reduced from four to two people during 2013. They will continue to erect plaques from a list already agreed by our expert Blue Plaques Advisory Panel and we anticipate putting up a minimum of 12 plaques over the next two years.” The idea of erecting ‘memorial tablets’ came from the Member of Parliament William Ewart in 1863. The public loved it and soon it was a reality. The Society of Arts (later Royal Society of Arts) founded the scheme and put up its first plaque, to the infamous poet, Lord Byron, in 1867. Nominees are suggested by the public. They must have been dead for twenty years or have passed the centenary of their birth. A surprising number of Americans are honored with plaques – both the blue ones in the scheme and others – in London. Tracking some of them down would make a fun day out, or a longer term hobby. Here are a few:

Ira Aldridge, the first black actor to play Othello in London. He was born in New York City in 1807 and attended the African Free School in Lower Manhattan where he developed an interest in acting. Protests at African-Americans performing on the stage forced the closure of his theater company and he emigrated to Britain at the age of seventeen. He became one of the greatest actors of the day and also played Shylock, Richard III and King Lear. Aldridge is commemorated with a blue plaque at his final home, 5 Hamlet Road, Upper Norwood, London SE19. Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick: Herman Melville House, 25 Craven Street, Embankment, WC2 Jimi Hendrix, guitarist: 23 Brook St, Mayfair, W1 in 1968/9, next door to the former home of classical composer George Fredrick Handel. Together, the houses now form the Handel House Museum. Benedict Arnold lived at 62 Gloucester Place, London W1. He was, of course, the traitor to the cause of the American Revolution – or alternatively the American Patriot,

The American

Mark Twain, former denizen of Tedworth Square COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

14 February 2013

Churchill War Rooms L

ondon is famous for its landmarks: Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace. But you'd be forgiven for raising an eyebrow when asked about the Churchill War Rooms. The Second World War Bunker, where Winston Churchill and his Cabinet made key military decisions is located underneath the Treasury building in Westminster. Its secrecy means it isn’t a photography hot spot, but this tucked away gem is bursting with history and has all the hallmarks of a must-see London venue. The War Rooms were first opened to the public in the 1980s. Some of the exhibits, such as the meeting room where Churchill headed crucial committees on the war effort, are said to have been left untouched since the Rooms were vacated at the end of 1945. That feeling of authenticity permeates through the tour of the bunker. There’s a sense of stepping back in time as you wander the corridors once walked by Churchill himself, exploring map rooms, offices, even bedrooms and dining rooms which are faithfully reconstructed. Information isn’t lacking on these rooms or their occupants either. The naturally inquisitive visitor will be hugging their audio guide throughout the tour. The guide, which comes in the form of a telephone, talks you through the history and embellishes written information along the way. It means you can go around the bunker at your own pace, and repeat key facts you may have missed; an invaluable asset because every fact and figure on the tour is genuinely fascinating. There are also a few quirky facts

according to the black plaque pinned to the building! Washington Irving, writer: 8 Argyle St, Soho, London W1 Sylvia Plath, poet: 3 Chalcot Sq., Primrose Hill, London NW1 Ezra Pound, poet: 10 Kensington Church Walk, London W8 Ford Madox Ford, novelist and critic: 80 Campden Hill Road, London W8 Benjamin Franklin, statesman and scientist: 36 Craven Street, London WC2 (it's the only existing Franklin house – a must-visit for Americans) Henry James, writer: 34 De Vere Gardens, London W8 Paul Robeson, singer and actor: The Chestnuts, 1 Branch Hill, London NW3 Harry Selfridge, department store magnate: The Lansdowne Club, 9 Fitzmaurice Place, London W1 Martin Van Buren, 8th President: 7 Stratford Place, London W1 James Abbott McNeil Whistler, artist: 96 Cheyne Walk, SW10 Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), writer: 23 Tedworth Square, London SW3 H

you might not know about the War Rooms. Would it surprise you to learn Churchill spoke to the US Presidents, Roosevelt and Truman, from a toilet? Churchill’s secure telephone room was marked as a private restroom to maximise security. It’s these nuggets of information and the way they’re delivered which brings the history alive. For the first and second half of the tour, you traverse the original bunker corridors. Half way through is the Churchill museum, a separate room containing an impressive biographical journey of the war time leader. Expect to lose hours investigating this room. Original artefacts, including Churchill's famous onesie, and touch screen technology, give a great insight into the man beneath the bowler hat. Halfway through there’s a well placed café for coffee, tea and treats to keep the energy levels up. The only downside to the War Rooms is that negotiating the limited space with other visitors can be tricky, but the history is so captivating that you'll barely notice the squeeze. The War Rooms are not only enchanting, they show how a visitor experience can be made memorable, easy and enjoyable. It belongs on any tour itinerary, and is a true London landmark in its own right. H

The American

WINING & DINING Reviews by Virginia E Schultz

have to make a confession: if I’m going out for dinner and drinks on a special occasion, I avoid those revered temples of cuisine with their Michelin stars. Not that the food isn’t fantastic, service impeccable – and I personally like the chefs – but because it’s the moneyed and expense account crowd who too often get the attention. It isn’t true of all restaurants, as Marcus Wareing and Michel Roux have proved, but if I never dine at a restaurant where Gordon Ramsay is in charge again, there will be no tears. Where I love to go, even if only to stop in for drinks at the bar, is The Rib Room in Jumeirah Carlton Tower. Yes, the prices are high, but the waiters do not have that attitude of French sangfroid because I’m not a member of the “club”. Dining there recently couldn’t have been more enjoyable. At a table next to Maxine Howe and myself were four delightful women from Bournemouth with whom we began exchanging conversation. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy The Rib Room; you often talk to other diners, although if you prefer the peace and quiet of your own conversation that’s possible as well.

16 February 2013

The Rib Room We started with Champagne, Devaux, Brut Grande Reserve (£13) before being ushered to our table. For a starter, I had a half dozen Loch Fyne Angel oysters with a delicious sauce called Virgin Mary shot (£15), but it was Maxine’s beef tartar prepared at the table that I will order on my return, not just because I like beef tartar, but because of the Academy Award performance by the waiter as he prepares the dish. If you like beef tartar this is definitely the restaurant to enjoy it. Maxine decided on the chargrilled Cornish lamb with slow roasted tomato and Portobello mushroom (£20), the kind of dish that brings back memories of dining in Paris. Ordinarily, I have the roast rib of Aberdeen beef with Yorkshire pudding (£44) but as I had it at a pub recently, I decided to have the dry aged rib eye (£26), cooked medium rare as ordered. It seemed less tasty than I expected – disappointing because the beef in The Rib Room can usually compete with the best in London and this didn’t. With this we had roast potatoes with rosemary and garlic and as much as I was tempted by the cauliflower cheese, decided the parsnips with thyme and honey were better for my diet. Sides are £5.

Macerated oranges, vanilla bean ice cream with hazelnut sauce with popcorn honeycomb (£8.50) showed the imagination of the chef and my Banana soufflé, with the loveliest coconut ice cream (£8.50), was worth the 15 minute wait. However, if I were to go again, I’d have Andrew Quady’s Deviation (£14) and forget the dessert. Quady, an American, makes some of the best dessert wines in the world and this one was especially lovely. Louise Gordon is the kind of head sommelier every restaurant should have, and if you have any question about wines, don’t hesitate to ask. We enjoyed all the wines she selected for our various dishes, although the McHenry Hohnen, 3 Amigos White, (£11), a Marsanne blend from Australia was very much our favorite. Nor could we complain about Faiveley’s Gevrey Chambertin 2002 (£20), but then who can? However, if your budget is tight, Secret de Viu Manent, Carmenere (£8.50) is not only affordable, but one I plan to buy for home.

The Rib Room Bar & Restaurant Jumeirah Carlton Tower, 2 Cadogan Place, London SW1X 9PY. Tel. 020 7858 7250 www.theribroom.co.uk

The Best Fine Dining Italian Restaurant in Surrey A warm welcome to La Capanna, The fine dining Italian Restaurant in Cobham, Surrey. La Capanna is the perfect lunch and dinner venue for romantic occasions, socialising with friends, Sunday lunches, family celebrations, parties, weddings and for business lunches and corporate events (Private Rooms and seating up to 120). Our chefs serve Italian regional cuisine with a contemporary twist. The food is freshly cooked to order, our wine list extensive and our staff take pride in taking great care of you and your guests.

Special Offer in January and February* Tuesday to Friday • Table d’Hôte Three-course Lunch or Dinner • £18.50

* Excluding Valentine’s Day

St Valentine’s at La Capanna Celebrate St Valentine’s Day in Style at La Capanna

Dinner 14th February 2013 Three Courses with Chocolates and a Rose for your Valentine

£55.00 La Capanna Restaurant – Address: 48 High Street, Cobham, Surrey KT11 3EF. Tel: 01932 862121.

www.lacapanna.co.uk Private Parking Available

The American

RACINE 239 Brompton Road, Chelsea, London SW3 2EP Tel: 020 7584 4477 www.racine-restaurant.com

18 February 2013

“O

h, you mustn’t write about Racine,” a friend who lives nearby pleaded. “It’s the best-kept secret in Chelsea and I don’t want it spoiled.” If it’s a well-kept secret, then it wasn’t the two times I’ve been there in the past few months. Walking distance from Harrods, the tables were dotted with several French families and a number of very well-behaved children as well as regular English customers, many who greeted each other by name as they entered the restaurant. Chef Patron Henry Harris, however, isn’t French but an English man who grew up with a father who had enormous passion for French food and eventually opened his own restaurant in Brighton. Henry, however, had his first taste of Michelin stars when he worked at Manley’s in Sussex. It was from there he went to Leith’s cooking school and met Simon Hopkinson of Hilaire, where he became sous chef within two years. After that, there was a brief trip around California and a short stint under Alice Waters at Chez Panisse. I could go on and on from Bibendum to Harvey Nichols, but to make a long story short, by the time he opened Racine he

had a lot of experience tucked under his white jacket. I started with a half dozen rock oysters. What can I say? A glass of wine, oysters and thou, as the poets might say. To be honest, I could have had another half dozen and finished then and there. My friend, however, was more interested in calf’s brains with black butter and capers. Although American, he lived in Paris for a number of years and declared they took him back twenty years and the enjoyment of eating at his local neighbourhood bistro on a Sunday afternoon. The main course took some thought because it meant we either settled on glasses of wine or a lovely bottle; the wine list of French regional varietals was not overly expensive. My friend decided on O’Shea of Knightsbridge Black Angus and it came as beautifully marbled and medium rare as one could want. I had the grouse which was perfect and once again we began reminiscing about a shooting weekend where we were guests with our spouses at a friend’s castle in Scotland. And that’s the thing about food, it does carry with it memories. Dessert was almost an afterthought for me, although my friend couldn’t stop raving about his restaurantmade ice cream with, admittedly, a chocolate sauce you could eat on its own. However, I am not a great lover of desserts and my tart had a crust that tasted like my mother would make and that’s no compliment, I’m afraid. Racine was described by a friend as more French than most French restaurants in London. Service was excellent, prices, well, reasonable for this Knightsbridge area. There is, as well, a private dining room that seats eighteen.

December 2012 18

RECIPE

Roast Grouse, Pommes Gaufrettes and Bread Sauce By Chef Patron Henry Harris at Racine

Roast Grouse

4 young grouse, drawn but giblets reserved 4 tbs butter 1 pinch of plain flour 75ml Madeira 1 tsp redcurrant jelly 300ml game stock 4 small slices Pain Poilâne 100gm foie gras, raw or from a terrine 4 little bundles of watercress Method 1. Preheat the oven to 180C. 2. Take the giblets (gizzard, cleaned, heart and liver if good) and chop them into a small dice. 3. Melt 1tbs of the butter in a saucepan, when foaming add the giblets and flour, season and fry briskly until nicely caramelised. 4. Add the Madeira and bring to the boil then reduce by half. 5. Then add the stock, bring to a gentle simmer and then cook for 40 minutes. Strain and press through a sieve into a clean pan. 6. Bring back to the gentlest boil and as the sauce throws up a crust, skim it off. 7. Reduce to a good flavour and adjust the seasoning if required. 8. To cook the grouse, season the cavities with salt and pepper and then slather the birds with butter and place them in a good sized roasting pan. Season the tops with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for fifteen to twenty minutes, basting every five minutes. 9. If the birds are quite small then

fifteen minutes will give you a nice rare finish. 10. Taking them from the oven, lift the birds onto a warm dish and leave to rest somewhere nice and warm for fifteen minutes. 11. Place the roasting pan back onto the hob and fry the 4 slices of bread to a light golden crispness. 12. Remove them from the pan and rest on absorbent paper. Then spread the foie gras equally onto each toast. 13. Place one of these on each plate and rest a grouse on each one. 14. Meanwhile bring the gravy back to the boil and should you wish for a silkier sauce then add a tablespoon of butter. 15. Check the seasoning and pour the gravy over each grouse and garnish each bird with a bundle of watercress.

Pommes Gaufrettes

4 medium Maris Piper potatoes (peeled) Vegetable oil 1. Using a mandolin with the “crinkly” blade attached and set to a thin setting, set to making your crisps. This requires a little attention and frequent adjustment to start with. 2. You are to slice your potato turning it 45 degrees between each slice to give ridges that cross each other. The mandolin needs to be adjusted so that it slices thinly enough that you see little holes throughout the crisp. Once they

are all sliced, give them a brief wash in plenty of cold water and then drain them and pat them dry on a clean tea towel. 3. Heat a good quantity of the oil, ideally in a deep fryer and then fry them in small batches until golden and crisp. 4. Once removed from the oil place them to rest in a bowl lined with absorbent kitchen paper and season with fine sea salt. 5. Keep warm and then serve alongside the grouse.

Bread Sauce

450ml milk 1 bay leaf ½ sprig thyme 4 cloves (bulb crushed) ½ small onion sliced pinch black peppercorns 1. Bring all to boil and leave to rest for 1 hour 2. 4 slices of thick white bread (crusts removed and roughly chopped) 3. Bring the milk back to the boil, strain over the bread, cover and leave for ½ hour. 4. Carefully use a whisk to mash up the bread. Don’t over-whisk as this will make the sauce gluey. Stir in a few knobs of butter and season with salt and pepper as required. Henry Harris©2012

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The American

Cellar Talk By Virginia E Schultz

he first official American representative posted to a foreign mission was John Bondfield, who arrived in France in 1778, and acted as a wine advisor to Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Jefferson never owned any vineyards, but he did draft an early classification of the châteaux that forecast the 1855 classification. In 1790, President George Washington commissioned Joseph Fenwick as the first American consul in Bordeaux and Fenwick House still stands on the quayside. Wine has been grown in Bordeaux for over two thousand years, the vines probably arriving with the Romans. The poet Ausonius wrote about the wine and Château Ausone still bares his name. In most of France, wine was under the power of the monks, while in Bordeaux, wine was developed by the merchants. The English dominated the region from the end of the first millennium and by the 14th century hundreds of boats carrying “Claret”, the word often used when referring to red Bordeaux, were on ships mainly heading for England. Ironically, phylloxera, the aphid which devastated the vineyards of Europe and threatened the wine industry in Bordeaux, may have been brought from America. The aphids had been ignored by the European colonists, even after the growing of the European vine vitis vinifera failed and it was common

20 February 2013

knowledge among the settlers the vinifera variety would not grow in American soil. California was one of the exceptions and the wine industry was well established before the aphids made their way there. There are those who believe it only became a pest after the invention of steamships which allowed a faster journey across the ocean and made it easier for the pest to survive. It was because of this disease, that two French growers, Leo Laliman and Gaston Bazille, proposed that European vines be grafted to the resistant American rootstock. Not every wine grower was happy about the idea, but they had no option if they wanted to save the industry. One of the few countries to escape phylloxera is Chile who imported their vines in the 1860s before the pest attacked the French vineyards. Château Monbrison, a Cru Bourgeois, was bought in 1921 by Robert Davis, a professor and journalist and his wife Kathleen Johnston of the négociant family and is now run by their grandson, Laurent Von der Heyden. But, the most famous winery is Château Haut-Brion, classified first growth, purchased by financier Clarence Dillon in 1935. His great grandson, Robert de Luxembourg, became president of Domaine Clarence Dillon in 2008. Americans who put down roots in Bordeaux are transformed by its traditions, but at the same time bring an openness and energy that

PHOTO: DAVE GOUGH

Bordeaux: the American Connection

is necessary with the competition today. A problem in Bordeaux is that too much emphasis has been put on the more expensive wine, allowing wines from Rhone, Tuscany, Napa Valley, Argentina, Australia, Italy and Chile to take over the middle income wine drinker. I’ve been at a number of tastings when the wine buyers, in their early thirties, bypassed Bordeaux wines. One young journalist said to me, “it’s my parent’s kind of wine.” No, I didn’t hit her over the head with the bottle of Château Calon-Ségur I was tasting, although I was tempted to. And speaking of this wine, the Marquis de Segur was quoted as saying, “I make my wines at Lafite and Latour, but my heart is at Calon. Hence the label.” H

The American

Cheltenham Folk Festival

MUSIC

Mary Chapin Carpenter

LIVE AND KICKING Transatlantic Sessions

Rounding off the wonderful Celtic Connections festival (www.celticconnections.com) which showcases roots and acoustic musicians with, well, Celtic connections, are these live concerts, a spin-off from the Transatlantic Sessions TV series in which players and singers from the US, Scotland and Ireland share and enjoy their music. American stars include Mary Chapin Carpenter (pictured above) making her Transatlantic Sessions debut, bluesman Eric Bibb, slide guitarist Jerry Douglas (who’s also Transatlantic Sessions’ joint musical director), Southern

Richard Thompson

roots multi-instrumentalist authority Dirk Powell, Crooked Still vocalist Aoife O’Donovan and multi-talented old-time virtuoso Bruce Molsky. February 1st & 3rd, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

Richard Thompson

Sandwiched between gigs in the USA, the veteran guitarist, singer and songwriter brings his Electric trio out on the road. Is veteran the right word? He’s always interesting and exciting (editor’s tip: shout out for 1952 Vincent Black Lightning!) The UK dates are: February 20th Cardiff, St David’s Hall; 21st Birmingham, Symphony Hall; 22nd Brighton, Dome; 23rd Bristol, Colston Hall; 24th Cambridge, Corn Exchange; 25th London, Shepherd’s Bush Empire; 26th London, Barbican; 28th Edinburgh, Usher Hall; March 1st Liverpool, Philharmonic Hall; 2nd Sheffield, City Hall; 3rd Gateshead, The Sage; 4th Leeds, The Irish Centre; 6th Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall; 7th Bexhill On Sea, De La Warr Pavilion; 8th Basingstoke, Anvil Arts; 9th St. Albans Arena; 10th Salford, The Lowry.

The 17th annual festival features local and national artists including KAN, Spiers & Boden, Faustus, Belshazzar’s Feast, Andy Cutting, Fay Hield & The Hurricane Party and The Morris On Band. Besides the concerts, there will be workshops, a ceilidh, children’s activities and an indoor market selling everything from jewelry and clothing to musical instruments. And it wouldn’t be a folk festival without a real ale bar. February 8th to 10th, Cheltenham Town Hall & Pittville Pump Room.

Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival With over 35 concerts and 100 songwriters, this will be a treat for lovers of (mainly folk & country acoustic) songwriting. The festival also celebrates the Sister City link between Belfast and Nashville. Americans appearing include Nanci Griffith, Sugarland’s Kristian Bush, Brett James, Chris Young, Bob DiPiero, Otis Gibbs, Kim Richey, Jason Bloom and Tommy Womack. February 20th to 24th Various venues around Belfast, Northern Ireland (see www.belfastnashville.com for full details). Nanci Griﬃth

February 2013 21

The American

Tim Arnold (aka The Soho Hobo) has built a body of work around his ‘manor’ as the locals call it, London’s Soho (in the States we’d say the ‘hood). He’s a proper local - as he says, “His granddaddy filled the revue de ville, his mother was a teenage nude…” In 2012 he premiered a new collection of songs at The Soho Theatre based on his life, family, friends and acquaintances. Now he’s bringing the show into Soho’s media drinking hole, The Groucho Club. It’s a mixture of the music that made Soho – pop, rock & roll, soul, ska and music hall – and simply reeks of Soho’s bohemian culture that evolved over the years. The show also features an original Windmill Theatre ’nude’ fan dance from 1964, re-enacted by burlesque performer Miss Giddy Heights. February 17th, London, The Groucho Club.

The Soho Hobo

brothers, Rich and Chris (pictured below), along with Steve Gorman, Sven Pipien, Adam MacDougall and new boy recruit Jackie Greene on guitars and vocals. The UK dates in late March pre-date a 21-date US outing from April 2 to May 4. To coincide with the tour they are releasing a live album on vinyl and download only on March 19, entitled Wiser For The Time and featuring 26 tracks recorded at The Black Crowe’s successful five-night residency in New York in 2010. The UK dates are March 24 Manchester Academy; 25th Birmingham Academy; 27th Glasgow Academy.

ONES TO PLAN FOR The Black Crowes

The Black Crowes are springing back to life this Spring with their Lay Down With Number 13 world tour. The band, featuring both Robinson

22 February 2013

Blondie – Back to the Woods

Blondie are returning to tour Britain’s forests this summer. No, they’re not going native, or mad. It’s part of the Forestry Commission’s Forest Live, a series of concerts aimed at bringing music to new audiences without commercial branding or sponsorship – profits go toward improving local forests for both people and wildlife. Debbie ‘Deborah’ Harry and the boys will perform hits like Denis, (I’m Always Touched by Your) Presence Dear, Picture This, Dreaming, Union City Blue, Rapture, Heart Of Glass,

The legendary ZZ Top

Sunday Girl and Atomic. Special guests are The Lightning Seeds performing an acoustic set: June 14th Sherwood Pines, nr. Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire; 15th Thetford Forest, nr. Brandon, Suffolk; 21st Westonbirt Arboretum nr. Tetbury, Gloucestershire; 22nd Bedgebury Pinetum, nr. Tunbridge Wells, Kent; 28th Dalby Forest, nr. Pickering, North Yorkshire; 29th Cannock Chase Forest, nr. Rugeley, Staffordshire; July 6th Delamere Forest, Delamere, Cheshire.

ZZ Top

Few bands merit the accolade ‘legend’, fewer still have been going for four decades with the same line-up and yet fewer manage to combine genuinely great rock music with self deprecating humor and videos involving legs and spinning furry guitars. Just one, in fact: following the release of La Futura, their 15th studio album, ZZ Top are back, but only for two small concerts. June 24th Hammersmith Apollo and 25th Manchester Apollo. Tickets are pretty much bound to be sold out by the time you read this, so start wishin’ for a larger tour by the bearded ones (and Beard).

COMPETITION

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ALBUM THEOF MONTH

Gary Allan Set You Free Hump Head

Set You Free is the most upbeat record to come from Gary Allan for a long time. Allan’s wife, Angela, committed suicide in 2004 after suffering from depression. He shelved his career afterwards, but found that getting back into music helped him get over the tragedy by working through his emotions, starting with 2005’s Tough All Over through to Get Oﬀ On The Pain (2010). This new record sees him find some light at the end of the tunnel. Set You Free also sees him try a new angle on the composition and recording process, taking more control over everything, co-writing seven of the songs, playing lead guitar on several, and adding new musical colors – even a reggae lilt on the ukulele-driven No Worries. The album has a storyline running through it, a man going through a failed relationship and recovering after it, going through anger, sadness, bemusement, regret, acceptance, and joy and excitement at new roads. The lyrics to lead US single, Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain), encapsulate things: “...hold your head up and tell yourself that there’s something more, walk out that door, / Go find a new rose, don’t be afraid of the thorns, cuz we all have thorns...”

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS

The legendary show described as a ‘Great Experience’ by Alice Cooper, ROCK OF AGES is the worldwide smash-hit that features a potent mix of ’80s-themed hilarity and eyebrow scorching tunes, including: Don’t Stop Believin’, We Built This City, The Final Countdown, Wanted Dead or Alive, Here I Go Again, Can’t Fight this Feeling and I Want To Know What Love Is. The five-time Tony nominated musical is now booking until November 2013 and has moved to the Garrick Theatre in London’s West End following a year of ovation-inducing performances at the Shaftesbury Theatre.

WIN TICKETS

We have a pair of top price tickets for the winners of this month’s competition. Valid MondayTuesday evening performances or Friday Matinee until March 27, subject to availability. Just answer the following question: The Final Countdown, featured in ROCK OF AGES, was originally a hit for which of these bands: A) Europe B) Asia C) America

HOW TO ENTER: Email your answer and your contact details (name, address and daytime telephone number) to theamerican@blueedge.co.uk with ROCK OF AGES COMPETITION in the subject line; or send a postcard to: ROCK OF AGES COMPETITION, The American, Old Byre House, Millbrook Lane, East Knoyle, Salisbury SP3 6AW, UK; to arrive by mid-day February 28. TERMS & CONDITIONS: You must be 18 years old or over to enter this competition. Only one entry per person per draw. The editor’s decision is final. No cash alternative. Tickets are for your chosen performance (see above) and are not transferable. You are responsible for any travel, accommodation and other expenses.

The American

John Wheeler

Thought-provoking and hilarious, John Wheeler’s solo album Un-American Gothic shows a new side of ‘Barley Scotch,’ the Hayseed Dixie front man

n-American Gothic is John Wheeler’s first solo record, written entirely on the road. And when Wheeler says on the road, he means it – he’s covered over 200,000 miles on his motorcycle while on tour. Taking time out from his successful (500,000 albums sold and counting) ‘rockgrass’ band, famous for playing well-known hard rock songs in a bluegrass style, he wanted to find out what a John Wheeler album would sound like. Most musicians gravitate toward Nashville. John traveled the other way – born there, he now lives in Cambridge, England. I asked him how different he found the music business in the US and UK. “Hayseed Dixie have sold a lot of records in America but we never toured much, outside of some clubs. We’ve played a lot in Europe. You’d think there’d be more festivals in America, the weather’s much nicer. In North Europe people sit around in the mud all weekend, but they seem to relish it. We’ve sold about half

24 February 2013

our records in the US, but we only get on the morning radio shows, you know, the ones that have two guys who make locker room jokes and a woman says ‘Oh you boys...’ and then reads the news. There’s an element of Hayseed Dixie that’s right up their alley and they gave us a lot of exposure, so the perception of Hayseed over there is pretty slapsticky, but people didn’t realize we were pretty good musicians too. In the UK we got a 5-star review in The Guardian, and Radio 2 presenters played us, giving us a whole different vibe here. Maybe it’s a different sense of humor – the British seem to like humor that’s more self-referential. There’s obviously a lot of Americans who appreciate irony, but here they have an affectionate expression for it, ‘taking the piss out of yourself’. You don’t find many Americans making fun of themselves – for the most part comedians there tend to laugh at somebody else.” I observed that John doesn’t suffer from this trait. “Well no, I’ve always quite liked laughing at myself. In the South we have more of a tradition of that. The US is such a big country, saying something is ‘an American cultural phenomenon’ almost doesn’t make sense.” The solo album is called UnAmerican Gothic – a nice play on words. Is it taken from the painting by Grant Wood? “Yeah, that painting came from the Great Depression, a different era of economic difficulty which a lot of people compare to

today. I did a photo shoot for the cover and one of them just had that look to it. I don’t think the record is political; it’s populist. I’m not trying to support any party, it’s about telling stories of working people from their point of view. I tend to be in favor of the working man, it’s where I come from, but not to an extreme. Most people in Europe would consider me to be fairly centrist, if not edging right wing on certain issues, but those exact same views, when I go back to America, make me almost a Marxist-Leninist.” Has John been planning the new album for a long time? “Nothing I’ve ever done in my life that worked out to be any good is the result of a plan. It came about because the last couple of years I’ve been traveling around on my motorbike, playing shows around Europe and I’ve written a lot of songs, mostly from having a conversation with somone, or a particular experience. There’s one called Wondering Why I Ever Go Home, which I wrote riding my bike from Pisa to Rome. I’d heard Simon & Garfunkel’s Homeward Bound at breakfast time. Everybody always glorifies home as this mystic place, and for a lot of people home is overrated – if you think about it too much you can miss the life you’re living right now. I wrote Little Houses in a Row in Pontypridd, Wales after I met a teacher who was having trouble convincing his students that they needed to learn how to mulitply and divide – at the age of 12 they’d say,

The American

I don’t need to learn this, I’m never going to have a job. I thought about the similarities between Central Wales and West Virginia and East Tennessee, places that were coalmining communities and aren’t any more – you see the largest Army recruiting centers in the world in those places. Deeper In Debt was inspired by a conversation with [Fairport Convention’s] Dave Pegg about the banking crisis. I wrote Doomsday Dance in a hotel in Liverpool during those riots in Britain a couple of years ago – it’s odd how people always seem to burn their own neighborhoods down during riots, not the rich sections of town. “But it’s not politics, it’s social observation. I decided to cover The Jam’s Eton Rifles when I heard David Cameron [Old Etonian Prime Minister] say it was his favourite song ever. Obviously the man’s never listened to the lyrics! I thought I’d try to do it in a way that you couldn’t miss the words. I don’t think the song’s even angry – it’s more resigned. Paul Weller is clearly not in favor of the slavemasters on the right, but the ‘catalyst’ who runs off home for their tea is obviously the left – they’re both worthless! When I first heard it, when I was 16, I had no idea what ‘Sup up your beer and collect your fags, There’s a row going on down near Slough’ meant! Was Slough even a place? I couldn’t have told you what it all meant. But at least I divined that it was something to do with class struggle and the hopelessness on both sides of the issue, even if I didn’t understand what all the slang meant. “Even as a kid, maybe that made me a little bit more intelligent than the Prime Minster!” H

“ Nothing I’ve ever done in my life that worked out to be any good is the result of a plan”

Un-American Gothic is released on February 4 on Cooking Vinyl

February 2013 25

The American

CHOICE Barocci: Brilliance and Grace

Sainsbury Wing, The National Gallery Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN www.nationalgallery.org.uk February 27 – May 19 A bridge between high Renaissance and baroque, Federico Barocci (1535-1612) applied dynamic composition and vivid use of color to religious subjects (Pope Pius IV was a key patron), notably altarpieces. An unrelenting draughtsman, prolific preparation translated to canvases of epic spatial construction, which at the same time brought empathic

LAST CHANCE TO SEE... Above: Mark McEvoy, Dahlia, 7 weeks (Courtesy of Mark McEvoy). If you haven’t yet caught the 2012 Taylor Wessing Photographic Prize exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery (St Martin’s Place, London, WC2H 0HE) February is the last chance. As well as shortlisted works and the ultimate winner, Jordi Ruiz Cirera’s image of a reluctant young Mennonite Bolivian woman, there’s a chance for an up close view of Mark McEvoy’s entry, one of 60 selected for the exhibition: a captivating shot of his 7-week old daughter Dahlia, staring perplexed and worried into her father’s camera lens. As you can see even above, Mark captured so much more. Mark’s family are American, while his wife Shaymaa’s family are Iraqi, hence Dahlia’s striking appearance. Dahlia now has this image as her passport photo. www.npg.org.uk www.markmcevoy.com

26 February 2013

Federico Barocci, Head study for Saint John the Evangelist © IMAGE COURTESY NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON

qualities to the depictions of gospel characters. Born in Urbino, a great cultural town of the Renaissance and birthplace of Raphael, he moved to Rome to study, where he worked with the leading painters of the day. He returned to Urbino after a decade, allegedly poisoned by jealous rivals. It is perhaps as a result of much of his working life being spent in the Marches region rather than Rome, that Barocci is not a household name like Michaelangelo or Rubens. As well as portraits and devotional paintings, this major exhibition gathers together not just some of his greatest paintings, but some of those alterpieces, including The Entombment of Christ from Senigallia and Last Supper painted for Urbino Cathedral, neither of which have left Italy before. William S Burroughs, Untitled, 1987, Paint and Gunshots on Board (double sided work), 128 cm high. ESTATE OF WILLIAM S BURROUGHS PHOTO FRANZ WAMHOF

The American

In Seven Days...

Walker Art Gallery, William Brown Street Liverpool L3 8EL www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk Until 14 April

William S Burroughs: All Out of Time and into Space

October Gallery, 24 Old Gloucester Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AL www.octobergallery.co.uk Until February 16 William S Burroughs is probably more famous for his works of fiction (eg. Naked Lunch) than his art, but the October Gallery has a relationship with Burroughs going back to 1974. Burroughs, ‘the father of the beat movement’ seeks out ‘intelligence’ everywhere, even in the detail of his own developing art… with a magnifying glass. Make of that what you will, any art executed as ‘paint and gunshots on board’ is worth a closer look, don’t you think?

Becoming Picasso: Paris 1901

The Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN www.courtauld.ac.uk February 14 to May 26 Two exhibitions this month (see Eva Hesse, p.28) deal with pivotal years in the life of artists. In 1901, Pablo Picasso, yet to turn twenty years of

Pablo Picasso, The Blue Room (The Tub), 1901, Oil on canvas, 50.8 x 62 cm THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION, WASHINGTON

age, set up Arte Joven, an avant garde publication, then moved to Paris, mixing with the artists and intellectuals of Montmartre. The year marked the beginning of his ‘blue’ period. It was the advent of Picasso the great artist. Vollard, one of Paris’ foremost art dealers had offered him an exhibition, and in a flurry of energy, Picasso produced enough work for the exhibition within a month, moving into a studio previously inhabited by his friend Carles Casagemas, who had committed suicide. This exhibition includes not only works from that exhibition, including Dwarf-Dancer and At the Moulin Rouge, depicting the activity of Parisian night life with evocative brushwork and color, but Picasso’s subsequent and more reflective work, such as The Blue Room, displaying a narrower palette, Absinthe Drinker and Harlequin and Companion. The Courtauld has pulled off an impressive, if not definitive line-up of works, gathered from the Phillips Collection, Washington, The State

President Obama’s 2008 victory is depicted in seven silkscreens now on show at the Walker Gallery. The strictly chronological series of images depict Light, Struggle, Hope, Change, Fear, Sacrifice/ Embrace and Peace, capturing the mood and events of the 2008 campaign, to which British artist Nicola Green, mother to mixedrace boys, attached herself. “It seemed natural and important to me that I should make a portrait of Obama, not least because when I looked at my sons I saw his face in theirs, saw their hope and their future”, Nicola said. Each image is presented alongside the primary material (drawings and photographs) from which they were born. In 2011, the series was purchased by the Library of Congress USA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which called it “an artistic and historic masterpiece”.

Nicola Green, Day 2, STRUGGLE, 2010, IMAGE COURTESY STUDIO OF NICOLA GREEN

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Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, private collections and elsewhere.

Through American Eyes: Frederic Church and the Landscape Oil Sketch National Gallery, London WC2N 5DN www.nationalgallery.org.uk February 6 to April 28

Man Ray, Barbette, 1926 © MAN RAY TRUST ARS-ADAGP

Man Ray Portraits

National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London WC2H 0HE www.npg.org.uk/manray February 7 to May 27 A new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery will bring together over 150 vintage prints by Philadelphia-born artist, photographer and film-maker Man Ray (aka Emmanuel Radnitzky, 1890 – 1976). The majority of the works have never been shown in the UK before, and include loans from the Pompidou Centre in Paris (where Man Ray spent much of his creative life), New York’s MOMA, J. Paul Getty Museum, Man Ray Trust Archive and more. As well as portraits of his lovers, the subjects of Man Ray’s photographic portraits are a who’s who of European creativity: fellow New York Dadaist Marcel Duchamp, Andre Breton, Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, James Joyce, Erik Satie, Henri Matisse, Igor Stravinsky, Salvador Dali, Le Corbusier, Virginia Woolf, Aldous Huxley, Coco Chanel and Wallis Simpson.

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Celebrated 19th century American landscape painter, Frederic Edwin Church (1826–1900) was a prominent member of the Hudson River School of landscape painters. A showing of 30 of his oil paintings, predominantly his spontaneous oil sketches, but also including the finished Niagara Falls, from the American Side (1867), opens at the National Gallery in February. The exhibition brings together paintings of both American and worldwide locations including Ecuador, Jamaica, Jordan, Germany and elsewhere, and will also travel to the Scottish National Gallery in the summer. Frederic Edwin Church, Obersee, July 1868 © NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF PARKS, RECREATION AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION / OLANA STATE HISTORIC SITE, HUDSON, NY (OL.1980.1885)

Eva Hesse, Oomamaboomba, May 1965 PHOTO: ABBY ROBINSON, NEW YORK © THE ESTATE OF EVA HESSE COURTESY HAUSER & WIRTH

Bruce Nauman / Eva Hesse

Hauser and Wirth, Savile Row, London W1S 2ET www.hauserwirth.com January 30 – March 9 Hauser and Wirth have two exhibitions of note this month, with Bruce Nauman / Mindfuck and Eva Hesse: 1965. Fort Wayne-born Nauman’s investigation of the mind-body split is illustrated with neon offerings (Sex and Death / Double ‘69’ (1985) and Good Boy / Bad Boy (1986-1987)), while Eva Hesse: 1965 reflects the sculptural painter’s pivotal visit to Kettwig an der Ruhr, Germany, prior to the iconic sculptures she would create after returning to New York.

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LICHTENSTEIN: A RETROSPECTIVE Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG Roy Lichtenstein: Retrospective www.tate.org,uk venue 21 – May 27 February venue Roy Lichtenstein was one of the most website identifiable American pop artists. dates

Using comic books and commerDistinctive. cial printingOriginal? to inform his work, he Bors to King’s parodied cheesy Cross images will see of relationsomething –beautiful ships and less flying commonly over the warregen– erating with massively north London enlarged area comic-book thanks to an artwork frames, reproducing that will thebeimages hovering with there for thehand-painted meticulous next two years. Ben-Day dots, IFO crashing (Identified pointillism Flying Object) into popwill light art, rendering up the sky the byindustrial night andprocess come to of print rest on into thetraditional ground bypaint. day as Thepart of firstRELAY, majoran retrospective art programme of histhat work is being since his created deathfor in 1997 the King’s arrives Cross at Tate redevelopment. Modern this month, co-organised withThe theAnglo-French Art Institute of curating Chicago. partnership However,Michael Lichtenstein’s Pinskywork and is Stéphanie not withoutDelcroix it’s detractors. are coordinating It may theargued be first three thatyears his work of a nine-year became arts programme repetitive, that Lichtenstein that is set towas turn the King’s slow to move Cross on.area Though into ahe destinalargely tion for. abandoned the comic panel imagery after 1965, Ben-Day and regular dot patterns would reoccur in later work such as in his Mirrors series in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Bedroom at Arles (1992) and in his numerous

mid-1990s nudes, even appearing in his sculptures. However, as with the recording career of AC/DC or the film career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, a lack of reinvention doesn’t negate the fact that the oeuvre, or at least some works, while perhaps lacking greatness, are irrevocably iconic. The second J’accuse is that Lichtenstein’s work is derivative, his reputation established through reproduction. Was he informed by earlier works, or did he plain copy them? Those unfamiliar with mid20th century comic book art may find a visit to http://davidbarsalou. homestead.com/lichtensteinproject.html a damning indictment of Lichtenstein’s originality (or may at least wonder how fair it is that Lichtenstein is world-famous while comic book artist Tony Abruzzo’s name dwells in relative obscurity). Of course, Lichtenstein’s paintings are not verbatim reproductions. In Whaam! (1963), as with many of his panel works, Lichtenstein’s massive diptych is compositionally clarified, with a pleasing directness of purpose, while the context for Masterpiece (1962), has been adapted by

a speech bubble that now reflects the joyful moment of an artist’s breakthrough. And Lichtenstein’s paintings are translated with bold lines and his unique color palette. Whatever your opinion of his work, it is here to experience, so seize the opportunity. Incidentally, to gauge the reach of Lichtenstein’s influence, it is also worth dropping in on Bangkok-born Pakpoom Silaphan’s ‘neo-pop’ solo exhibition Empire State at Scream London (www.screamlondon.com). H

Top: Roy Lichtenstein, Whaam! 1963

TATE. © ESTATE OF ROY LICHTENSTEIN/DACS 2012

Above: Roy Lichtenstein, Masterpiece 1962 PRIVATE COLLECTION © ESTATE OF ROY LICHTENSTEIN/DACS 2012

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THEATER REVIEWS

A Z O O K

il e l o S u d Cirque T

Royal Albert Hall is the first destination on KOOZA’s European tour, a theater you must visit while you’re in Britain. Its high-Victorian design and cylindrical build are unique and somehow, despite its 5,000-plus capacity it feels intimate, as if (wherever your seat) the acts are performing just for you. Intermingled with the crowd finding their seats come a balloon manipulator, an ‘audience member’ who has her handbag stolen, an ‘American tourist’ complete with Hawaiian shirt and camera, all causing little bits of chaos before the A IM

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AGES

Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP until February 14 www.royalalberthall.com • Reviewed by Michael Burland

here was a sense of anticipation among the gathering audience, greater than for any theatrical performance I’ve seen in years. The Cirque du Soleil brings before it a reputation that adds an almost mystical element to its performances. In fact, something more than a performance – an event. Could the French-Canadian company maintain this? Would tonight be special? The pre-show buzz certainly had an effect – a loud female American voice called out ”I got popcorn! I got chocolate! I got water!” Was she part of the show? No, just a jolly young American selling snacks, but she was somehow part of the event. The venue helps. KOOZA has entertained four million people across North America and Japan over the past five years, but seldom in such a spectacular setting. The

house lights go down. A ballerina brings a little girl onto the stage, wrapping a tutu round her and dances with her – sweet – then does the same with an abashed guy in a suit. Finally come the clowns; the king of fools – who makes even the ‘housekeeping’ notes amusing, lampooning the corporate sponsors – and his even more foolish compadres. So to the main event. Cirque du Soleil specializes in incorporating the best circus ‘turns’ with a storyline. KOOZA’s plot involves The Innocent, a little Everyman who is simply

trying – and failing – to fly his kite. Into his life comes The Trickster, part Svengali, part Joker, a manipulator who takes him on a journey beyond his imagination, giving him powers he’s never dreamt of. Interwoven with this are some of the finest circus acts in the world. It would be unfair to prospective audiences to detail their extraordinary feats, but also unfair to the artists not to pick out a few for special mention. The Teeterboard and High & Low Wires are spectacular, but no-one who was at the Albert Hall will forget the Wheel of Death, two devilish superheroes who fly around the highest levels of the theater. Truly astonishing. Leavening the athletic performances are some wild slapstick humor and the whole is underpinned by a magnificent live band and singers. KOOZA has been directed by David Shiner, one of Cirque du Soleil’s original creators, who aimed to take the group back to its roots – craziness, humor and clowning mixed with surprise and a little fear. This he has achieved. The publicity promises thrills and chills, audacity and total involvement. You won’t be short-changed. Tickets are currently on sale until February 14, 2013. H PHOTO

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BRINKHOFF/MOEGENBURG

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Piccadilly Theatre, Denman Street, London W1D 7DY www.vivaforeverthemusical.com • Reviewed by Tim Baros

f you go to the new musical Viva Forever expecting it to be the story of the Spice Girls, you will be very disappointed. But you may be disappointed anyway. Viva Forever is based on the hit songs of the Spice Girls, but nonetheless, the whole thing is a big mess. Viva (Hannah John-Kamen) lives on a houseboat in London with her adopted mother Lauren (Sally Ann Triplett) and spends most of her time with her three female friends hanging out and singing and hoping to form a girl group (see what they have done here?). The girls try out for a singing talent show, with the glitzy flashing lights and all, but the judges (Bill Ward, Sally Dexter and Tamara Wall – all very horrible and trying very hard) see something special in Viva. They believe that she has the ‘wow factor’ and that she alone will become a star. So they groom her to become the star they want her to be. In the meantime, they want to reunite her with her real mother to bring more drama to her story and of course in the long run to generate more record sales. And that is pretty much it! That’s the whole show. To call it a disappoinment is putting it midly. I was shaking my head

throughout the whole thing. It is not bad – it is a train wreck. The talent segments during the show are obviously copied straight from X Factor. And the presenters, Ward, Dexter and Wall, overact to the point of disbelief. Dexter’s character Simone, devoid of facial expression, is Viva’s mentor (again, X Factor), but she acts like it is all about her and how she can become more rich off Viva. Viva finds romance, but only in the second half of the show, a little too late, and it feels forced, like something included at the last minute. With Dexter on stage more than John-Kamen, you begin to think the show is actually about her. The blame for this mess goes to Jennifer Saunders, who wrote the book, and producer Judy Cramer (who enjoyed massive success with Mamma Mia). What were they thinking? The songs of the Spice Girls are expected, but they make no sense with the story. One song in the show begins with references to pubic hair, a hint that it was all downhill from there. Will this show be a hit? Perhaps. Die hard Spice Girls fans will buy tickets and keep this show alive for at least the next year. But if you are not a huge Spice Girls fan, don’t bother. H

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Play by Peter Nichols, music by Denis King Michael Grandage Company at the Noël Coward Theatre, London Reviewed by Jarlath O’Connell

ne of the most anticipated theatrical events for 2013 is the star-laden 5-show season which ex-Donmar Warehouse supremo, Michael Grandage, will be staging at the Noël Coward Theatre. First out of the gate for the new company, however, is a rather underpowered revival of Peter Nichols’ great “play with music” from 1977. Following in the high heels of Denis Quilley and Roger Allam in the lead role, Simon Russell Beale is a delight as Terri, the drag artist and confidante to the troops. It’s a beautifully nuanced performance, which manages to draw on the well of disappointment beneath Terri’s flamboyant façade. The double-entendres come thick and fast and punctuate his pub-drag impersonations of Marlene Dietrich, Carmen Miranda, Vera Lynn and Noël Coward. Nichols’ play (it’s not a musical) is both a moving personal memoir of his own wartime experiences as well as a rather jaundiced portrait of the British Army at the eclipse of Empire. Set in Malaya in 1948, it follows the exploits of a song and dance troupe brought in to entertain the men as they fight off the communist insurgents. Angus Wright is gloriously smug as the Gilbertian Major Flack, and

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HAN PERSSO

HAN PERSSON

baby by marrying her and taking her back to England. Unusually for a Grandage production the weaknesses are in the direction. The pace is sluggish and he fails to strike the right balance between Nichols’ acutely observed drama and Denis King’s lively musical numbers. The latter are often listless and while that might be realistic for a clapped out troupe of semi-professionals, it drains the piece of energy. The fun quotient is lost and the audience quietly admires it when it should be being entertained in the process. It’s a fair attempt though, and a piece worth reviving, but our hopes lie with the rest of the programme, which will feature such luminaries as Judi Dench, Daniel Radcliffe, Sheridan Smith, David Walliams and Jude Law. H

PHOTO © JO

PHO TO © J O

Mark Lewis Jones scarily brutish as the Sergeant Major, who has a lucrative side line in black market goods right under the noses of his dim-witted superiors. The tight class distinctions of the time are wonderfully demarcated and military pomposity is wittily skewered. A row breaks out when one soldier demands that only ‘a substantive Sergeant’ should arrest him. Flack’s bone-headed determination to take this motley bunch into the jungle, where they face certain injury and death on the front line, is reminiscent of the Generals in Oh! What a Lovely War. The end game here was, of course, control of the rubber trade and so this war was dubbed merely an ‘Emergency’, so as not to trigger insurance claims. It is interesting too that it is religious missionary zeal rather than just patriotism that drives this bonkers Major. The plight of gays in the army of the time is also deftly explored. On the one hand, a blind eye was turned to obvious relationships, but at the same time gays were open to the worst kinds of bullying and exploitation. The newly arrived young Private Flowers (the suitably fresh faced Joseph Timms) is carefully warned about the ‘queers’ as if they’re a different caste and indeed the play charts his own ‘sentimental education’. His heady romance with a Eurasian girl in the troupe, Sylvia (Sophiya Haque), is quickly dispensed with when he’s confronted with career options, and it falls on Terri to literally pick up the

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THEATER PREVIEWS A Chorus Line The London Palladium 8 Argyll Street, Soho, London, W1F 7TF www.achoruslinelondon.com Booking to January 2014 With X-Factor and Glee (not to mention Viva Forever!) still ringing in our ears, its worth considering that the drama of wannabes competing for their chance of Fame (there’s another one) is nothing new. A revival of A Chorus Line, which dominated the Tony Awards in 1975 and won an Olivier for Best Musical for its 1976 London opening, was overdue. Here then, just months after the passing of composer Marvin Hamlisch, comes Olivier-nominated Scarlett Strallen (Singin’ in the Rain), Leigh Zimmerman (Chicago, The Producers), plus John Partridge (Miss Saigon and BBC TV’s EastEnders) and Victoria HamiltonBarritt (Flashdance), and those musical numbers: One (Singular Sensation), What I Did For Love, I Can Do That, Hope I Get It, and more. Produced and directed by Bob Avian, director of the 2006 Broadway revival and original director Michael Bennett’s collaborator and co-choreographer, it’s safe to assume that the London Palladium is about to make the 35 year wait for Chorus’ return worthwhile.

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The Tailor-Made Man The Arts Theatre 6-7 Great Newport St, London WC2H 7JB www.thetailormademanlondon.com February 21 – April 6 A new musical, based on the true story of silent screen star and 1920s idol, William Haines, fired for being gay by MGM’s Louis B Mayer (here played by American actor Mike McShane of Whose Line is it Anyway, Seinfeld, and La Cage aux Folles on Broadway, 2011) when he refused to split up with his life partner Jimmy Shields. World première.

This House Olivier Theatre, National Theatre South Bank, London, SE1 9PX www.nationaltheatre.org.uk February 23 – April 8 Transfering to the Olivier Theatre after a successful run at the Cottesloe, James Graham’s play is set during the financial doldrums of 1974 Britain – economic crisis and a hung parliament being a timely echo for modern theater-goers – when the death of a single parliament member could send shockwaves through Westminster votes. This House is a must for anyone interested in the machinations and drama of parliament, such as fans of Yes, Minister, The Thick of It and especially House of Cards.

Mike McShane

Our Country’s Good St James Theatre, London, SW1E 5JA www.stjamestheatre.co.uk January 30 – March 9 Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good celebrates the 25th Anniversary of its original West End run with a new production, directed by Max Stafford-Clark, Artistic Director in 1988. It tells the tale of Australia’s first theater production, directed by a lieutenant and performed by convicts, with the leading lady under threat of being hanged. The play was winner of the New York Drama Circle Award for Best Foreign Play for its original Broadway run. Below: The cast of A Chorus Line PHOTO: PEROU

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February 2013 33

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Macbeth

A Life of Galileo

Trafalgar Studios 14 Whitehall, Westminster, SW1A 2DY www.macbethwestend.com February 9 – April 27

Swan Theatre, Waterside, Stratford-uponAvon, Warwickshire CV37 6BB www.rsc.org.uk January 31 – March 30

How much persuasion do you need? BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated James McAvoy (The Last King of Scotland, Atonement, X-Men: First Class and TV’s Macbeth) as Macbeth, Jamie Lloyd (Broadway’s Cyrano de Bergerac, the Old Vic’s The Duchess of Malfi) directing, and a play by Shakespeare (well, probably) in the West End with day tickets from as low as £10 most days. Co-starring as the scheming Lady Macbeth will be Claire Foy, whose TV credits include White Heat, Upstairs Downstairs, and Little Dorrit. Part of Trafalgar Transformed, a season of plays about political power - note the Whitehall location!

Hard to say which is the greater draw: an RSC production of Brecht’s greatest play, or the return of Ian McDiarmid to the RSC after almost three decades. McDiarmid is an accomplished actor and stage director (Don Juan for the Royal Exchange, Scenes from an Execution for the Almeida, as well as playing Prospero in The Tempest and Barabas in Michael Grandage’s production of The Jew of Malta) who – yes, let’s get it out of the way – also played Emperor Palpatine/ Darth Sidious in the Star Wars saga. This production of astronomer/philosopher Galileo Galilei’s clash with the Roman Catholic Church features a new translation by Mark Ravenhill. James McAvoy stars in Macbeth at Trafalgar Studios

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SHOW ROUND-UP

February is packed with shows opening, concluding or transfering. Here are some further highlights: Jo Clifford’s new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations (Vaudeville Theatre, from Feb 6, www.greatexpectationstheplay.com) comes to the West End following a national tour, and stars Jack Ellis, Chris Ellison and Paula Wilcox. Novelist William Boyd’s Chekhov adaptation Longing (Hampstead Theatre, Feb 28 to April 13, www. hampsteadtheatre.com) stars TV and stage regulars Tamsin Greig (TV’s Episodes as well as the West End’s Jumpy) and John Sessions (Waiting For Godot, Young Vic and in film as Ted Heath in The Iron Lady) in a tale of unspoken passions in provincial Russia. London Wall (Finborough Theatre, Jan 29 to Feb 23, www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk) – just one of several notable Finborough productions in early 2013 – is a story of women office workers in the 1930s, enjoying its first London run in over 80 years, a surprising fact given playwright John Van Druten’s later successes I Am a Camera (the inspiration for Cabaret) and The Voice of the Turtle after emigrating to the US. Outside the capital, Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer-winning Driving Miss Daisy, starring Gwen Taylor and Don Warrington, has extended its national tour to include Cardiff, Coventry, Cambridge, Plymouth, Edinburgh, Eastbourne and more (visit www.daisyontour.co.uk), while Bill Kenwright’s touring Go Back for Murder, Agatha Christie’s stage version of Five Little Pigs, boasts a cast including Sophie Ward, Robert Duncan, Liza Goddard, and Lysette Anthony, with stops at Windsor, Cheltenham, Wolverhampton, Edinburgh and elsewhere. Visit www.kenwright.com for more details.

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BOOKS By James Bowen Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, paperback, 288 pages, £7.99 ISBN 978-1444737110

This book is not just a sentimental animal book. Far from it. It is the story of a street busker (a street musician, in this case the author himself), and his relationship with an injured cat he found on his doorstep, beginning a relationship that changed both their lives for the better. It is a book full of hope and cheer and is above all a practical description of life on the streets in London, exposing the good and the bad. Such intelligence and affection is perhaps unusual from a cat, more common with dogs or horses, and probably no cat has entranced Londoners as Bob has as he accompanies James on his musical tours. Lord Mayor Dick Whittington’s famous feline companion is now folklore while Bob is very real. Factual and unpretentious, it has no sad ending as life still goes on for them. It’s a quick, simple read that has the same effect as a good log fire on a cold night, making you feel that life cannot be that bad. – Mary Bailey

In Darkness – On the Other Side of Darkness is Light By Nick Lake Bloomsbury, 352 pages, £7.99 ISBN 978-1-4088-3034-5

Following the Haitian earthquake, a boy called Shorty is trapped in the rubble of the hospital. He’s in darkness, alone, thirsty and terrified. A teenage boy from the slums, who

A Street Cat Named Bob

Bob and James

has been surrounded by violence all his life, he wants to find his twin sister, his other half, taken by gangsters seven years ago when they killed their father, and take revenge. This has drawn him into the gang culture that rules Site Solèy (Cité Soleil), the slum between Port au Prince and the sea. The gangsters dish out food, money for schooling, violence and death. Linked somehow with Toussaint l’Ouverture, the Haitian rebel who led the slave revolt and forced the French out of Haiti 200 years ago, Shorty tells his story, as he grows weaker. At first the Haitian patois Shorty uses makes it difficult to sink into this novel, but it is well worth persevering. You don’t notice it after a while and it lends Shorty an authentic voice. The story is very moving. Two stories actually, because there is the contrasting voice of Toussaint, not in patois, as he leads the freedom struggle for Haiti. The two stories both have suspense, and are wonderfully woven together. The book, haunting and well-written, simultaneously acquaints you with the history of the birth of Haiti (the only slave revolt which led to the formation of a separate state), and its sad present state. This just could be a modern classic, and is a great debut novel. Lake and Stephen Kelman (Pigeon English), both debut novel-

ists, will be doing a joint event at the Bloomsbury Institute on January 31, 6.30pm (www.bloomsburyinstitute. com). – Sabrina Sully

Night School Legacy

By CJ Daugherty. Atom, paperback, 320 pages, £6.99 ISBN 978-1-907411-22-9 Love, break-ups, murder, fighting, friendships, secrets, hot boys, beautiful girls, run-away siblings, long-lost grandmothers... everything you could want from a book as a teenager. Night School Legacy is the second book in a series written by CJ Daugherty. The main character, Allie (17 years old), has had a rough year, being arrested three times, two break-ups and one family breakdown, as well as her school nearly being burned to the ground. This book is for teenagers, so doesn’t have much extravagant vocabulary, and also has an enticing front cover. The book contains very good descriptions of people, making you understand the picture drawn out for you. This all being said, you must look out for the time switches because they aren’t very distinct. Night School Legacy can make you laugh, cry, and is a page turner making it a very good book and definitely worth reading some time soon. – Fleur Burland Sully (14)

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The Boston Ballet

The Boston Ballet opens its 50th anniversary season in London this year, and Mikko Nissinen, head of the Boston Ballet School – the largest ballet school in North America – tells The American about his plans

ikko, happy anniversary! Why has it taken 30 years since Boston Ballet’s last visit to London? That’s a good question and I wish I had a total answer! Last time the Boston was in London it was part of the Rudolf Nureyev Festival. They went to Spain with him and did some touring in New York, and then he was injured. With his injury the tours fell apart and they cancelled some of Home Seasons. This created some problems locally and the Board made a decision, with hindsight an interesting decision, not to tour. When I came, ten years ago, the Company had only done a couple of minor tours since then, but I felt that touring would be a very important part of our future. We’ve toured in Spain, Korea, Canada, and been part of some important festivals. Now around our 50th we’ve a concerted effort to go to the major centres in the world, starting with London. As a young dancer I came to London. It has always seen everything in the world, including the Ballet Russes, and there is a very rich dance tradition here. Also Boston has strong historical links with the English. These are our only Europe performances this year. The programme you are bringing is very exciting, combining classi-

36 February 2013

cal, neoclassical and contemporary work. Do you think London audiences will be surprised by it? I think the London audiences will be surprised by the Company. By the standard, but also, for a ballet company, I feel that we really do dance. I want to make sure people feel this is an American company, that’s why there’s a couple of works of George Balanchine (Serenade, Symphony in Three Movements); at the same time there’s a big bow to Nijinsky for his masterwork L’Apres Midi d’un Faune which was perhaps the single most important piece of contemporary dance ever created. And then showcasing some contemporary pieces (Plan to B, Bella Figura, Polyphonia ©, The Second Detail). We have a serious commitment to contemporary dance, to being relevant, and pushing the art-form. You also run the world’s largest Ballet Academy at Boston Ballet, a mammoth undertaking. How many students progress into your main company? Our school has a wider mission, to share the love of dance and educate anybody – and I really mean anybody – with an interest in dance. We do have a professional track. We also have way over 3,000 kids studying ballet as a recreation, and

over 2,000 adults. The total is 5,600! Mindboggling! The main driver is to share the love of dance, and also they are our future audiences. We also have a junior company for 16-21 year olds, some of the most talented kids from the schools. How have Boston audiences taken to your contemporary work like Kylian, Wheeldon or your resident choreographer Jorma Elo? Incredible, beyond my expectations. There were certain works that I wanted to programme, regardless of anyone’s likes or dislikes or perception, and from the get-go they have surprised me with their openness. The fastest growing segment of our audience is people who come through the door of contemporary dance. And it’s started to cross-pollinate; audiences that thought they only liked classical ballet are very excited about contemporary dance. How do you balance your programme between the Nutcrackers and Swan Lakes versus the more challenging material? Roughly 40% classical, 30% neoclassical, 30% contemporary. When I do programming, the year has to be good from the perspective of music, visual, contrast, but I also look at what other works I want to

The American

do in the next 10 years in each of those genres. Your new Nutcracker for Christmas 2012 has been well received in the Boston press. I wanted to recreate the classic, not go any weird direction. It is one of the staple classical ballets. We had 100,000 people see the production, and sold $7.3 million worth of tickets, an all-time record. I am SO lucky I stumbled into exactly the right person to do it with, the designer Robert Burnshill. We did this year 42 Nutcrackers. I think it’s a big holiday tradition in Boston and it will continue to be that. Who are your ballet influences and inspirations? Well I’m originally Finnish, and Finnish dance was very influenced by the Russian School. Then there’s the vicinity of Cullberg Ballet (Sweden) and Mats Ek, early exposure to Carolyn Carson (an American of Finnish descent) and contemporary dance. I worked with Dutch National Ballet and I saw lots of dance in England and Paris, then three years in Switzerland and ten years with the San Francisco Ballet. I graduated from the Kirov Ballet School so I’ve been an insider in Russia, in Central European dance, and North American dance. My motto has been ‘take the best and leave the rest!’

How have you steered the Boston Ballet through the recession? The North American system of funding is very different to Europe, government funding is literally nonexistent. Currently our Government, State, and City of Boston funding comes to 0.01% of our budget. We had to re-question many things and we looked at our business model very seriously around 2006-7. When the 2007-8 global financial crisis hit, we had already done things that the rest of the world had yet to do, we eliminated our debt. Interestingly enough, we have had a growth spurt since then and we are adding five more dancers next year. Do you think it’s a sustainable model now? That’s an excellent question, because for me the 50th Anniversary means many things. It’s taking a good look at the past achievements as well as thinking, what is the future after the 50th?

You’ve been based in the US or Canada for many years, would you contemplate living and working again in Europe? I cherish both. Being a European, and having been in America 25 years, I enjoy both sides. I think I can bring into American dance the knowledge of European dance and the understanding of the North American community. I get a personal satisfaction from both. I’m very happy where I am and planning to stay there. I don’t think I can live without either now. H The Boston Ballet is at the London Coliseum for six performances, July 1 – 7, 2013, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

February 2013 37

The American

THE

Django Unchained

Film-maker and writer Candace Allen on why the N-word can be acceptable in film

rreverent, B-movie and grotesquerie devotee, n-word bandying, sometimes brilliant, usually outrageous, Quentin Tarantino has now directed his talents towards slavery with Django Unchained. Cue the claque and all the usual suspects. Controversy was banked upon, and to the immense satisfaction of its distributing Weinstein Company, box office-generating controversy is just what we have.

The controversy

First offence. Trash-talking, knownothing, wannabe-hipster white boy dares focus his sleazy sensibilities on the American holocaust of slavery. Predictably, first to the post is fellow filmmaker Spike Lee, who declares Django disrespectful of slavery. “Slavery was not a spaghetti western,” he says, steadfastly refusing to view the film. Second offence. The N-word. There are those who count these things and Django’s N-word count has been given as 110 (while in the once-notorious Jackie Brown it was a mere 38). Actor Leo DiCaprio has spoken of his discomfort at having to use the word. The fact that the word’s usage was era-appropriate holds little sway with those who’d rather it be disappeared for all time. Adding-insult-to-injury offence. This week’s release of six Django action-figure dolls, for sale on Amazon.com. The full set yours for $299.99. A midwestern academic accuses the dolls of

38 February 2013

Controversy

“killing what is left of our dignity”. “Leaders” organise a boycott. Fans pull out their credit cards. The Weinstein Company smiles.

The movie

As a voting member of the Directors Guild of America (and as a minor black-film pioneer), I didn’t think I could post an informed list of nominees without having seen Django Unchained. I went in expecting to be cringing and angry, deploring QT’s arrogant ignorance. Hoping to tolerate it at best. Wrong. I found Django wonderful, often thought-provoking and fun. I did not find offence in QT’s use of the word “nigger”. In earlier films one could sense the man’s romance with the word was akin to that of a small child taking rapturous joy in being potty-mouthed. That tendency is not present in Django. I submit that, given Django’s circumstances, the word was used with restraint. A film about slavery with any verisimilitude would be absurd anachronism if the word was avoided to soothe modern sensibilities.

But, most of all, I thought Jamie Foxx’s Django (pictured) a film hero for all times, a “one nigger out of 10,000” who transitions from flogged and chained ignorance to avenging angel of withering intelligence. I’d certainly like to see more of him – and Broomhilda, his princess – something I didn’t, for the most part, feel about 1970s blaxploitation heroes. (The first film I dropped out of film school to work on was the legendary Super Fly). I was a de-segregator in Connecticut growing up. What wouldn’t I have given in that day for a Django and his prancing horse (the actor’s own by the way) to hold to my heart and shore up my soul? His poster would have been on my wall and – though I took leave of dolls at age six – his action figure on my desk. H

Candace Allen is a novelist and author of Soul Music, a memoir about race, music and film, published by Gibson Square.

The American

Coﬀee Break QUIZ

6 Who led the South

Side Italian Gang in the St Valentine’s Day Massacre?

1 What percentage of

Valentine’s Day cards are romantic compared to humorous (worldwide)?

7 On average, one inch

of rain is equivalent to how many inches of snow? a) 5” b) 10” c) 1 foot

2 What is celebrated on

February 2nd in the US and is also the name of a film?

8 The annual Winterlude

3 Who was the male lead

festival is held in which country?

actor in that film?

4 And what was the male

The 48th State of America is...? PHOTO: CHRISTIAN MEHLFÜHRER

9 February is named for a

lead character’s job?

Roman Feast. Of what? a) purification b) new growth c) romance

5 Where was the St Valen-

tine’s Day Massacre?

10 The oldest of all media awards

ceremonies is held in February. Which one?

11 The USA has formally declared war

5 3 1 4

on 5 different occasions against 10 different countries. Name the first three.

3 4

2 1 9 5

2 8

6 2 7

9 1 8

12 What was the name of the 1783

Treaty that officially ended the American Revolution?

13 The fictional detective Auguste

Dupin was created by which American author?

14 Where is the city of Valentine in

the USA? a) Nebraska b) Nevada c) New Hampshire

15 Which ski area first hosted the

Winter Olympics in the USA?

16 Which US State was admitted to

5 3

the Union on February 14, 1912 to become the 48th State?

Answers to Coﬀee Break Quiz & Sudoku on page 65

February 2013 39

The American

Revolving Doors PHOTO: JOHAN PERSSON

Ex-BBC insider Alison Holmes examines the current dramas within the Corporation and Lord Tony Hall’s challenge as newly-appointed Director General

People of Note Director Generals of the BBC: Tony Hall (above) Director of News, 1993-2001, and newly appointed Director General of the BBC after a successful time as Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House. George Entwistle, 2012 John Birt, 1992-2000 John Reith, 1927-1938 Others: Nick Pollard, Led the enquiry into allegations of sexual abuse by former BBC presenter Jimmy Savile. His report criticised George Entwistle. Helen Boaden, Director of BBC News Colin Browne, former Director of Corporate Affairs

40 February 2013

all me the proverbial ‘fly on the wall’ in terms of my tenure at the BBC. Working in Corporate Affairs, you might even call me a fly (caught?) at the center of the web. I certainly had a front row seat of the big ‘spiders’. My titles, relatively unimportant, but indicative of how I spent my time, included: ‘Project Manager, Digital’, ‘Deputy Head of Corporate Communication Strategy’ and ‘Head of Public Relations, BBC News’. The scene: 1997–2000. John Birt was Director General (DG) and, by then, arguably the most hated man in the Corporation. Colin Browne (see ‘People of Note’ side column) was Director of Corporate Affairs and overseer of successes such as a renewal of the Charter and License Fee with unexpectedly few bumps, and the corporate launch of BBC Online (Birt’s pet project – a breath-taking example of determined vision) and other things digital. However, and perhaps more relevant to the story, it was the time of Tony Hall. It is worth noting that Browne also oversaw the corporate press office – a gargantuan task rarely credited with its real jobs of: a) keeping the internal lines between ‘silos’ – as Nick Pollard correctly, but not originally, describes the different parts of the BBC – open at ALL times; so that, b) stories could be controlled before they became stories, strangled as they got on their wobbly legs or, at least, before they managed to run. This was not easy in the

BBC because a surprising number of people in the media think they know about the media and therefore feel it their God-given (or at the very least their Lord Reith-given) right to pronounce to the world and promote their own version of events, success stories, programs etc etc etc. Most of the time this is an excellent approach because, most of the time, no one knows better than those who worked on it how a program came to be, who created it and the research and time required to create program masterpieces for both television and radio – not to mention the symphonies, choirs, training and global service the BBC provides. The BBC is a stunning bargain both in terms of the country’s popular culture and the general level of its public discourse. Sadly, this fact is often better appreciated from another country’s viewpoint – ask any regular consumer of BBC World Service or BBC America! Yet, the center of the recent story is BBC News. For some, News has always been, and will remain, the core of a public broadcaster and the essence of the mission that hangs over the door: ‘Nation shall speak peace unto nation’. The DG is the Editor-in-Chief because the buck has to stop somewhere – quite handy for Helen Boaden, you might argue, but we will come back to that. The BBC has a most unenviable task of covering the news – while also being the news at every moment.

FF OVERS © BBC

2) This ‘cultural’ issue circles back until it arrives at an age-old BBC bugbear: the relations between the silos. There is an odd relationship

OTO :B

BC/JE

1) Many of the names I knew are still there: they know the course because they built and maintain it. They have moved from say, Radio to TV or News to Online, but silo-hopping is a great career advancing sport in the BBC. BBC silos often prevent effective sharing of information – not because folks didn’t think to tell other folks, or because they didn’t know who to tell. The information doesn’t get shared because they KNOW that a project ‘directed’ by more than one silo can slow to a standstill under the weight of conferring up and down 2+ vertical structures. Why does Pollard think the initial investigations never got anywhere?; Why are friends (who previously worked for the BBC) better informed than superiors?; Why didn’t anyone just talk to BBC1 about the potential conflict? In the BBC, just because you don’t ‘know’ doesn’t for one second mean you don’t KNOW.

3) Technology is a wonderful thing, and the BBC has a history of being at the forefront, which also presents real and serious challenges. Take a time-sensitive, ego-driven business like the media, add the technology and exposure of blogs and twitter and it seems obvious there is no earthly way to check every line and no earthly way to stop Corporate from using such things as their ‘fact check’ (who wants to ring News and have a fight if you can just look online?). Pollard was concerned – rightly – that the process for the news blog broke down because the BBC is unclear what such new connections are ‘for’. Pollard quotes the outgoing DG George Entwistle

IGER ASPE EC T © T

ASP ER

TIG

between Corporate and many of the others – especially News. The other Directorates like to feel they are sovereign in their decision-making and so protect with their lives their key asset: information. The same can be said of programs, with some of the worst cat-fights in News. Pollard asks why Panorama didn’t break the story and Newsnight take it up later. Perhaps because that’s not the way reputations are built? This is true in News and the media generally. Sadly, such competition can poison relations between individuals, programs – and Directorates. Tensions inherent in all this are utterly familiar to Hall. Some will love to have him back – some won’t forgive him for leaving – most will wait and see, something the Beeb also does well.

The BBC is famous for exports such as Doctor Who and new series Ripper Street – new to BBC America this month. However, the BBC News department has been involved in its own drama recently

What does any of this have to do with the BBC’s current woes? From the point of said fly who had the privilege of sitting in BBC News itself, I would argue, quite a bit. The crux of the story is now well-known and need not be re-hashed here, but if you want an interesting read go to Nick Pollard’s 186 page report www. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20782889. The most important question is: what ‘lessons’ will new DG Tony Hall take away? What far horizon will he head towards? What will he do with the mess he has inherited? He will think hard on Pollard, yes, but he will also come back to those years of 1997-2000 and for three reasons.

: TO PHO

as suggesting he didn’t want to step on Boaden’s toes. Hall should have no such hesitation because the leadership of News is not enhanced by what Pollard calls a ‘casual’ or delegating type. Noble to offer to fall on her sword, but perhaps Boaden should try again and see what the new DG has to say? What Pollard discusses at length, Hall could just as easily deduce from his own tenure back in the day… Yet, Hall was considered by some to be a ‘Birt boy wannabe’. Certainly, others of Director-level ilk felt that Hall was both ‘chippy’, which they put down to his Liverpool roots, and ‘nouveau culturel’, his job at Covent Garden confirming for them their sotto voce accusations of social climber. For what it’s worth, as his Head of Public Relations, albeit for only six months, I found Hall hard-working, committed to both strategy and detail, and willing to speak truth to power – on things that mattered. Being a newsman is in his nature, the arts are his passion and if there was ever a time for such a strong combination to take on the leadership of the BBC, this is it. Hall knows as much or more than anyone what it takes to live up to the mission he will see as he walks into his office every day. I, for one, would be his head of PR all over again. H

February 2013 41

The American

TRAGEDIES

Human or Social? T

dangerous. Humanity is deemed arrogant, a beast ravaging the planet, gluttonously munching on junk food and junk lifestyles, or as a virus, out of control. The new liberal elite disdains religion, but in fact has adopted a ‘secularly correct’ version of earlier religious outlooks. We can hear Isabella’s contemptuous put down of angry ape-like behavior in Measure for Measure raging out when we consider ourselves today: “…man proud man, dress’d in a little brief authority, Most ignorant of what he is most assured.” The impetuous hominid, always striving, never just ‘be-ing’, always accumulating, always seeking to improve…’til what? Of course, many of the books within the canon have dystopian themes, from Shelley’s Frankenstein and Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe

J TO: PHO

he start of a new year is a time to reflect on the past and contemplate the future. However, today’s society seems incapable of reflecting on the past, and petrified of the future. We are caught in the existential headlights of the ever-present. Those of a so-called spiritual bent say it’s the only place to be, with true meaning found in just ‘be-ing’. Not that you’d notice any of that in last year’s preoccupation with the Mayan ‘end of the world’. This lean towards the fantastical and superstitious, as somehow ‘open minded”, illustrates how far we have gone down the road of despair with human inspiration. As I have mentioned before in The American, I have spent some time over the past two years (re-) reading key philosophy texts and some of the Great Books from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. This was part of attending The Academy, an initiative set up by The Institute of Ideas (who also organise The Battle of Ideas conference and two month Battle Satellite Festival in which I participate), which aspires to inculcate the ideals of a liberal arts collegial environment where reading, thinking and discussing (sadly in serious decline in contemporary universities) actually happens. Society regards much of what is at the heart of human progress – science, the arts, technology and politics – as being IM

42 February 2013

Alan Miller argues that personal responsibility, freedom and creativity mustn’t become victims when acts of nature or violent tragedy strike to Sartre’s Nausea. Today however, what seems so stark is the generally accepted idea that humans are a nasty little species that should expect the wrath of Mayan prophecy – or ‘Mother Nature’ – to level us and put us back in our place. Many pundits succumbed to the idea that Hurricane Sandy was ‘Nature’s Revenge’. Contrary to this convoluted mumbo jumbo eco-religious fairytale, I subscribe to the view, well presented by the NY1 weather forecaster a few hours before it hit us, that this was simply a rare combination of several elements. It hit part of New York and New Jersey exceptionally hard with tragic loss of life. The authorities handled it very professionally and Mayor Bloomberg’s ‘keeping calm and carrying on’ was just how leaders should behave. It should be a lesson to the same leaders too that the continual ‘better safe than sorry’ for every minor issue since 9/11 ends up contributing to a lackluster response when it really counts, for the crying of ‘wolf’ reaps no more reward. Many are still dealing with the devastation on a daily basis in Rockaway, Staten Island, Long Island and beyond. I was very proud of the behavior of so many New Yorkers who volunteered to help fellow citizens. This was not the land of greedy, selfish, dog-eat-dog we are continually hectored about.

Rather, it was the uplifting attitude of getting stuck in, contributing, and making a difference; freedom and autonomy by reasoning adults. I labor this point because in so many areas of our lives today humans are discussed as being weak, untrustworthy, mentally deficient and in need of professional intervention. The horrific massacre at Sandy Hook, in the town of Newtown, Connecticut, has once again raised the issue of the role guns should play in American society and beyond. Sadly, many of the themes I have touched upon above run directly through this debate too. In London during Christmas, many were eager to discuss the “crazy” and “out of control” situation of US gun culture. Here they shared the sentiments of the new elite who cannot for the life of them seem to understand why these days guns and freedom seem to exist in the same language, let alone sentence. The Federalist Papers? Aw, come on! That’s way too long ago to apply to now. An armed citizenry? To keep in check potential tyrants? Really? We are treated to a good dose of seemingly caring lecturing by those ‘open minded’ and ‘considerate’ folk who just can’t seem to persuade those gun-slinging SUV-driving, bible-bashin’ crazeee folk. The Culture Wars continue of course, though these days those in the ascendancy are the soda-banning citizen-distrusting bureaucrats. The central premise in the banning of any types of guns is that we cannot trust citizens to be responsible with guns. This I believe to be inherently flawed both logically and empirically. Despite 200 million firearms in the US today, these tragic and horrible events are still incredibly rare. Indeed, as the author and lecturer Kevin Yuill points out, primary schools in the UK

are statistically more dangerous than the US. A child is more likely to be struck by lightning than shot at primary school. Travelling to the school by car is far riskier. In South Africa and Brazil there are far less guns per person yet the homicide rate with firearms is far higher. Killing sprees have been conducted with knives, flame throwers, explosive bombs and vehicles all around the world. We’re not going to ban knives and cars. Or aeroplanes, even though some evil nihilists flew some into buildings. The firearms debate sees the convergence of the stupid, greedy, violent American parody converge with the general humans-are-notto-be-trusted outlook. One of the most profound contributions to human progress and civilization was the creation of the United States of America and the Constitution. The challenge to tyranny and the creation of a society where citizens were engaged in a battle to do so is the legacy that we thankfully live with. Not so in the same way in Britain. It is worth Brits taking note of this when attempting to feel wholly superior. It is also worth noting by those in the US who reckon that the solution to so much today lies in banning or preventing ordinary people’s freedom. “But why do they want to have guns? What possible use is there for rapid fire multi bullet cartridges? Not for hunting. Only for killing…” I am told by red-faced friends in England and New York. Not so. Otherwise there would be very few people left in America. Maybe they like to do some target practice. Maybe they like to have a sense of safety. Maybe they’re just exercizing their responsible and democratic rights. Chipping away at the foundations of freedom – often attempted when utterly tragic and devastat-

PHOTO: THOMAS GOOD

The American

ingly emotive issues occur – does a disservice to anyone who seriously values freedom, faith in humans, and democracy. A truly crazy individual, in our isolated celebrity-obsessed times where people think only of lone acts, will sadly not be susceptible to bans (there is existing legislation prohibiting ‘assault weapons’ in Connecticut). Legislation does not prevent those determined to cause destruction in what ever form available. It is not Nature’s Revenge or mad Americans that we must fear, but the increasingly fashionable idea that people are the problem and the challenge we face today. It’s the opposite. People are the solution to all the issues we face. Let us take this opportunity to take a leaf out of our Enlightened forefather’s books and ideas, and put universal humanity at the heart of the story we want to tell ourselves – not of Mayan doom or Gaia’s Revenge, but of a world we can sculpt and design and innovate together, as smart and decent and responsible and creative citizens. Here’s to 2013. Here’s to… the future! H Alan Miller is Director of The New York Salon (www.nysalon.org), partner of The Battle of Ideas Satellite Festival (www.battleofideas.org.uk), and MD of The Vibe Bar (www.vibe-bar.co.uk)

February 2013 43

The American

FIRST DRIVE

Infiniti M35h GT Michael Burland takes a good look at a rarety – for now – on British roads

‘F

irst impressions are lasting impressions’ (as the song says). And in this case they’re decidedly favorable. From outside the M is better looking in every respect than in photos. To these eyes, jaded by decades of Teutonic efficiency, it’s markedly more interesting than the default-setting German choices. Curvier (in a good way) than the otherwise glorious Jaguar XF too. And – dare I say it for a Japanese sedan? – sexy. Is it too far to go to say there are hints of Maserati’s Quattroporte, especially in the profile? If you’re in the market for a premium mid-size sedan then try to go to an Infiniti showroom and take a look. That raises a couple of points:

44 February 2013

there are only seven Infiniti Centres open in the UK with another five planned, but you’ll probably have to go to the store because chances are you wont see an M35 on the street. Infiniti is relatively new to the British, and while Americans have known it for some time – it launched in the US in 1989 – most Brits haven’t yet heard of it. Most won’t even know how to say it. When prompted, most of my English friends have tried ‘In-Fin-Eee-Tee’ with the stress on the third syllable, when rightfully it’s said just as in Toy Story... ‘To Infinity and beyond.’ Whether Nissan aim that high with their sales figures is doubtful, but they deserve to do well with this M series.

Inside it’s comfortable, and features every conceivable piece of kit. The central high resolution touch screen handles satellite navigation and sounds, and below the classy, pretty analogue clock, the buttons on the console beneath are attractively and logically laid out. You wont want for toys to play with. Our car was fitted with Connectiviti+ system and Forest Air (read on). Oh yes! This adds to the already well appointed ‘base’ models which include the Infiniti Controller, a 30 GB HDD navigation system complete with Michelin Guides, CD/DVD reader with MP3 WMA DivX compatibility and a 10 GB Infiniti Music Box with

The American

Gracenote® music database. There’s voice recognition for the nav system (that actually works!) and ‘Forest Air’ with Auto Recirculation, Breeze Mode, Plasmacluster air purifier, and Grape Polyphenol Filter [pause for – very pure – breath]. It has a style of its own, the M. Inside, the black leather and chrome are as expected, but swooping curves that would be over the top in most makes are in keeping here. The front door handles are reminiscent of a master Japanese painter’s rendition of an eagle’s eye... ridiculous hyperbole? Strangely, no. (I refer you to my earlier comment on seeing one in the real world.) Lurve the wood – GTs get White Ash Wood trim with Silver-Powder finish ‘handbuffed by Japanese craftsmen’. There are four trim levels, GT, GT Premium, S and S Premium and prices range from £38,930 to £46,810. Our GT Premium hybrid comes in toward the upper end, at £45,990 (BMW’s excellent Active Hybrid 5 series is in the ball park at £46,860). Metallic paint is a £679 option while the Connectiviti+ system and Forest Air set up in our car is a further £1,800. The American ran an M35h for a week in filthy British winter weather, as a regular family runabout and a smart executive transport, in Soho (London) streets and on free (motor) ways, showing it off to British and American friends and colleagues. Everyone was wowed by the glamor, but not all were convinced by the hybrid tech. Why, with all the expense, weight and compromise of a hybrid system did we only achieve mid-30s mpg, according to the rather vague graph on the central screen, while Infiniti claim 40.9 mpg on the combined test? Could it be because the system

includes a 3.5 liter V6 petrol engine – requiring even-more-expensive super-premium gasoline – that is really designed to be fast rather than eco-friendly? The power and torque figures (364 PS and 350 Nm) lend credibility to that theory. The 3.0 liter, 238 PS, 550 Nm V6 diesel version manages just 3.2 mpg worse and is £1480 cheaper. More numbers? The 3.7 liter petrol version does the 0-62 mph sprint in 6.2 seconds. The diesel, a still respectable 6.9 s. The hybrid? 5.5 s. Ah, I see where they’re coming from. The list of features of the M reads like a novel, but here are the highlights. Every variant gets key-less entry, rear view camera, follow-me home lighting system, heated multifunction steering wheel, tire pressure monitoring system, hill start assist, 6 airbags, active front headrests, rain and light sensors and speed limiter. ‘Base’ models make do with boring old cruise control while Premiums have the rather stunning Dynamic Safety Shield (DSS) Package: with its Low Speed Following function the car autonomously slows down when the vehicle in front does, maintaining a pre-set distance, then speeds up to your set cruising speed when the traffic clears. Clever. It

Outside and in, Infiniti have imbued the M series with an unusual and intoxicating blend of the classic and the modern. In other words, it works!

even stops behind other cars at traffic lights and starts again by itself. Spooky – until you get used to it. Blind Spot Warning alerts you to the presence of another vehicle in the blind-spot area during lane-changing, while Blind Spot Intervention™ – a world first – assists you in returning back toward the centre of the lane

February 2013 45

The American

Driving Kids Crazy! You can put the three words in our headline in any order, this month’s driving feature is all about getting the under-17s mobile The M35h may be a hybrid, but it packs a lot of conventional ponies too

through selective braking. There’s Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning and Lane Departure Prevention systems: and Intelligent Brake Assist too. Hybrids also boast Approaching Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians, an audible warning that alerts the pedestrians when the otherwise silent hybrid is creeping up on them. The noise sweeps from high to low depending on your speed. Woooooh! All autoshifts have 7-speeds with manual mode. S versions add magnesium paddle shifts, sports suspension, opposed caliper brakes and 4WAS (4 Wheel Active Steering). Premiums come with Dynamic Cornering Enhancement, which applies brake force to each wheel, and controls engine torque to keep everything flat and calm while cornering fast. Hybrids get regenerative brakes which convert kinetic into electrical energy, improving the economy. Keeping the display in the most eco-friendly zone was fun. In fact, the whole family loved having the Infiniti around (even if an 80 mpg Fiesta would trounce it on green credentials). If you’re after an executive car, perhaps this is the time to look past those German, British and even American badges. H

46 February 2013

merican kids arriving in Britain, you are in for a big shock. Unlike most places back home, you won’t be able to drive until you’ve passed your 17th birthday (the only exception is for people who receive the higher rate of disability allowance, who can start at 16), and then only on a provisional licence with an adult over 21 years old who has held a full licence for 3 or more years or, of course, a qualified instructor in charge. You can apply for your licence up to two months before you want it to start, but you are not allowed to drive on the road until the licence has arrived. Driving with parents is allowed, but proper lessons are advised – especially if Mom and Dad are not very experienced at

driving over here, so many things are different on British roads. But why wait that long? If you’re itching to get behind the wheel, many instructors offer under 17 driving courses, with access to airfield runways or racing circuits so you can have some fun – and get ahead of your friends (just Google ‘under 17 driving’ for some examples). The American sent Fleur, aged 14, and Bella, 16, to try a couple of very special courses.

Startline Young Driver Experiences at Castle Combe Castle Combe Circuit is in North Wiltshire. If that sounds as if it’s in the middle of nowhere (where the Nervous? Don’t you believe it. Once they got started, the students on the Startline course had a ball

The American

heck’s Wiltshire??) don’t worry – it’s actual driving time. It’s a driving just off the M4 motorway and in the ‘taster’ experience covering basic middle of quite a lot of places! 100 skills such as going forward, turning miles from central London left, right and negotiating and a shorter drive roundabouts (not so from Birmingham, basic for some Bournemouth adult Americans, and Cardiff, it’s that last one). accessible to They then most of the get to drive population on the race of England circuit. and South Friends – Wales. More and even excitingly, some it’s a fast parents – will Kids as young as twelve were international be envious. soon driving with panache circuit that They are not racopened, like many ing, of course, and British circuits, at an speeds are regulated. old air base after World War Top speed for the intrepid II. Race winners have included Ayrstudents is 30 mph. The Starter Drive ton Senna, Stirling Moss, David CoulCourse costs £49. thard and Nigel Mansell. You can For the more adventurous, there follow in their wheel tracks in Castle is a 4-hour Advanced Drive Course Combe’s Startline Young Driver (£85) which includes the ingredients Scheme for kids aged 12 to 16. of the Starter Drive Course (although There are two Startline courses, in more depth) and adds extra both of which provide a step-byexperiences such as the Beer Goggle step approach to basic driving techWalk which simulates the effects of niques tailored for youngsters. drinking and how it impacts on conFleur and Bella’s instructor was a centration and spatial awareness! personable young man who got on Before they get their hot little hands well with the kids. Even so, after a on a car key, kids are introduced short test to see if they’d been listen- to basic car maintenance and road ing, he could see they were getting safety, as well as a list of important twitchy and soon they were taken things to check before getting into outside in groups of three and then the car. it was straight into a car. They were The kids are allowed to drive driving, in a safe, closed paddock at up to 40 mph on the Advanced environment, laid out to simulate course – which feels quite enough real roads. All the cars are dual for a first timer. Fleur and Bella were controlled, so the instructors – all of both pretty nervous before taking whom are CRB registered – can take to the driving seat, but after their over if things get out of hand. course, and a total of an hour’s Castle Combe has two courses driving each, they were tired but to choose from. The Starter Drive happy and astoundingly competent Course takes about 2-hours and young drivers. H www.castlecombecircuit.co.uk includes around 35 minutes of

Wanna Get Muddy?

Mercedes-Benz World, at Brooklands in Surrey, offers a dirtier alternative to a track experience. In fact they do track driving too, some of which is on part of the (now sadly dilapidated) Brooklands racing track, the world’s first purpose-built motorsport venue. But having tasted track and road driving, Fleur and Bella wanted to have a go in the dirt. Again with professional instruction, and armed with a MercedesBenz M-Class fitted with dual controls, they were heading out to ten acres of serious off-road terrain, along a concrete culvert, through boggy water pools, up and over hills and across wooden railroad sleepers. At one point Bella looked round to see a ludicrously steep set of concrete steps set in the side of a hill. “Oh no, surely no-one could drive down that!” she squealed. Not only do people do it, in a few short minutes both she and Fleur had driven the 2 ton SUV down those self-same steps. What a thrill. The Mercedes-Benz World 4x4 Driving Experience costs £50 for 30 minutes and £95 for 60 minutes. www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk

February 2013 47

The American © NHLI/GETTY IMAGES.

SPORTS

COURTESY OF THE PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

BACK from the BRINK – THE NHL AVOIDS ANOTHER LOST SEASON

fter sitting in limbo for 113 days, thanks to the fourth work stoppage in twenty years, the NHL’s 2012-13 season narrowly avoided the same fate of the league’s lockout in 2004-05 which led to the first-ever lost season for a major North American sports league. On Saturday, 5th January, mere days before the season was slated to be jettisoned, federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh did what fans had been calling for since the arenas fell silent last fall – he locked members of the NHLPA bargaining team into a room with league representatives until they agreed on the framework for a new CBA. The sixteen-hour bargaining session, confined to a Manhattan hotel room, bore fruit on Sunday morning, when NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Executive Director

48 February 2013

Donald Fehr jointly announced their accord on a ten-year deal (with a buyout option after eight) that would bring an end to the stalemate that had existed between players and owners since mid-September. The season, which had already cost the league $2 billion in lost revenues – not to mention the ripple effect that it had had on pubs, sports shops and other hockey-centric enterprises – would be played after all. “We have to dot a lot of “i”s and cross a lot of “t”s. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but the basic framework has been agreed upon,” Bettman said at the 6am press conference. So which side won? It depends on who you talk to. The players are the obvious winners when it comes to the deal’s upgraded pension scheme, and they

by Jeremy Lanaway

managed to effect a boost in the salary cap from $60 million per team to $64.3 million, but the owners came out on top in other areas. For instance, they netted a 50-50 split in hockey-generated revenues – a significant spike from the 43-57 split (in favour of the players) that had been negotiated under the previous agreement. The owners also managed to curb the recent trend of (ridiculously long) long-term contract signings, limiting deals to seven years for free agents and eight years for players seeking contract extension. The league has appointed January 19 as a start date for the abridged season, which will likely consist of 48 games – the same number played after the 103-day lockout back in 1994-95. Players will suit up every two nights on average,

The American

a gruelling pace for a contact sport, especially one played at high speed on ice, but the players seem eager to get back to the grind for their fans. The question is – how will the fans receive their return? “I think for the fans it’s going to be pretty exciting,” said New Jersey Devils netminder Martin Brodeur, who has weathered three lockouts throughout his storied career. “Coaches know you can’t afford to lose many games because a streak of three or four games winning or losing is going to decide whether you’re going to end up in the playoffs or not make the playoffs.” Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Steven Stamkos is cautiously optimistic, but recognises that the relationship between the league and its fans will have to undergo some healing in the coming months. “It’s going to be tough, especially for some of the smaller market teams,” he said, “but at the same time hockey is one of the most exciting – if not the most exciting – game in the world, and we have great, passionate fans, and they’re very knowledgeable about the game. You can just hope that they understand that this was a tough process for both sides, and we tried to make it as painless as possible.” For a league that saw its largestever growth over the past two seasons – owing in large part to the Boston Bruins’ Stanley Cup win in 2010-11, the LA Kings’ follow-up in 2011-12, the huge success of the annual outdoor Winter Classic matchup on New Year’s Day, and the rising popularity of HBO’s behindthe-scenes TV series, 24/7 – the biggest fear has to be that many fans won’t be able to muster the understanding on which Stamkos has pinned his hopes.

“They lost me,” said David H., a lifelong hockey enthusiast and blueblooded Vancouver Canucks fan. “I’ll watch next year – but I’m taking this one off.” Another NHL fan tweeted his disdain for the league and its propensity for non-play: “NHL fans have been too quick to embrace the NHL after a lockout. Let players and owners know your anger by voting with your wallet.” The months ahead will reveal how many fans the NHL lost during its 113-day no-show, and shed light on the possibility of wooing them back to the game. There are also more negotiations to conduct, namely, coming to terms with regulations for drug-testing and deciding if the NHL will extend its role at future Winter Olympic Games. For the time being, however, the NHL and its players are focused on getting back to the ice where they belong. H

UK Baseball: Spring Training Baseball is back! Well, nearly. Herts Baseball, who organise the annual Herts Spring League (midMarch) have been the first to hand us details of spring training sessions, meaning the new British baseball season isn't far away. Herts Baseball spring training begins indoors at Berkhamsted Sportspace, on January 27, continuing on February 3, 10, 16, 24, before transfering outside when the weather gets warmer. For more information, visit www.hertsbaseball.com Details of baseball and softball clubs in other areas, as well as news and info about both sports in the UK can be found at www.baseballsoftballuk.com

Win an ESPN Varsity Jacket

As it’s a little cold out there, how about winning yourself a Varsity Jacket courtesy of ESPN? To enter our competition to win one, simply answer the question on the right and then email your answer, contact details (name, address & daytime phone number) to theamerican@blueedge.co.uk with JACKET COMPETITION in the subject line; or send a postcard to: JACKET COMPETITION, The American, Old Byre House, Millbrook Lane, East Knoyle, Salisbury SP3 6AW, UK; to arrive by mid-day March 1. You must be 18 years old or over to enter this competition. Only one entry per person per draw. The editor’s decision is final. No cash alternative.

QUESTION: ESPN’s sports debate show Around The Horn is presented by...? a) Tony Reali b) Tony O’Reilly c) Tony O. Really

The American

NASCAR 2013 As Daytona approaches, The American looks ahead to the start of the Sprint Cup Season

ASCAR 2012 had it all; Brad Keselowski’s first Championship, the rise of Michael Waltrip Racing, the return to victory lane for Dale Earnhardt Jr., and the arrival of Danica Patrick being just a few highlights. What will 2013 bring to the table? Hopefully more of the same. The ‘11 and ‘12 NASCAR seasons were among the most competitive in the Chase era. Tony Stewart took the crown in 2011 on count back when level on points with Carl Edwards. Keselowski managed the title last year without earning a single pole. NASCAR’s new 6th generation car could level the field further when they arrive for the Daytona 500 on 24 February. Brad Keselowski is the man to beat in 2013, but Penske’s switch from Dodge to Ford could take time to bear fruit. If Keselowski can hit the form which saw him finish inside the top 20 on all but four occasions last season, back to back titles aren’t out of the question. Penske team mate,

50 February 2013

Joey Logano, joins from Joe Gibbs Racing and is worth keeping tabs on. Clint Bowyer’s Homestead heroics nudged Jimmie Johnson down to third in 2012, and if he can capitalise on his best season, another Chase qualification is on the cards. Martin Truex Jr. showed Michael Waltrip Racing’s form was genuine by also reaching the Chase. Having improved from an average finish of 18.8 in 2010 to 12.1 in 2012, 2013 could push him further towards contention. After Keselowski’s first title, all eyes are on other potential first timers in 2013. Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick qualified for the 2012 Chase and will aim for their own debut title. Harvick moves to a fourth Stewart-Haas car in 2014, so 2013 could see him leave Richard Childress Racing on a high or spend it clock watching. Kahne, Biffle and Hamlin have the potential but just need that last piece of the puzzle to be contenders.

Above: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge celebrates after winning the series championship and finishing in fifteenth place for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. © TOM PENNINGTON/GETTY IMAGES FOR NASCAR

Jimmie Johnson was leading the Chase with two rounds to go, and if not for a gear box failure at Homestead, 2012 could have turned out differently. Homestead’s winner, Jeff Gordon, will want to start 2013 as he ended 2012 and go for his first Chase era title. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the public vote to be on the cover of the new NASCAR video game, and building on 2012’s return to form will be the name of the game. Danica Patrick enters her first full NASCAR season, and Tony Stewart can’t be written off. NASCAR 2013 look seriously unpredictable. Your guess is as good as ours, but it promises to be a fascinating Championship. H

The American

Eagle Eyed New to The American magazine and www.theamerican.co.uk, golf columnist Darren Kilfara offers his fairway thoughts – from the PGA tour to the local links. This month, “Weather Porn” and the Road to Augusta

n New Year’s Eve, my family and I visited St. Andrews. My mother and brother had been there for my wedding, but their indoctrination was far from complete. So I drove them across Granny Clark’s Wynd (twice), scaled the vacant Himalayas Putting Course with them, and pointed out Old Tom Morris’s grave. Then, at dusk I snuck my brother and five-year-old son across the Swilcan Bridge for a photo op and a circular tour of the Road Hole green. The air was cool but clear, the breeze soft, and the sky streaked with pink and orange. Hogmanay in Edinburgh had nothing on this. Four days later, the 2013 PGA Tour season began in Maui with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Or rather, it began seven days later, because the Tour’s attempts to get started on January 4th, 5th and 6th were scuppered by gale-force winds. Two rounds were started, then abandoned and discarded. Flagsticks tilted 45 degrees. A television tower toppled into a lake. St. Andrews was calm and peaceful, and Hawaii was bent sideways? The Mayan apocalypse may yet happen. This is not why God put golf on television in January. I love a good gale and watching four-foot putts roll 30 feet sideways, but surely the PGA Tour starts in January – about half an hour after the previous

season finishes – mainly to provide weather porn for weary viewers battling snowstorms in Minnesota or nor’easters in Massachusetts. Instead of digging out your driveway again, you want to watch tanned, perspiring men in short sleeves fight for their million-dollar checks while shielding their eyes from a blazing sun. Why else would most Britons flee to the clearly inferior courses of Spain and Portugal for their golfing holidays? Sun sells. Anyway, for me the PGA Tour season really starts in February, on Super Bowl Sunday. The tournaments in Hawaii conclude too late at night to watch in Britain, and the first two events in California still feel too far away from Augusta in April to matter. Because that is both the point and our destination, right? The form of January is temporary, whereas the class of April is permanent. The final round in Scottsdale, on a fun course amidst a rowdy gallery, pushes you past the

Super Bowl pregame and reminds you that the post-NFL sporting wasteland includes trips to Pebble Beach, Riviera, Doral and Bay Hill. The Masters, of course, is the official start of spring and the ultimate combination of weather porn and gardening porn, but more importantly, it ends a long opening chapter whose plot twists and turns from Hawaii to California to Florida truly matter only if they end in the Butler Cabin. Coincidentally, one New Year’s Eve ago I was staring down Magnolia Lane. I’d gone home to Atlanta for Christmas, and I had a spare day to myself, so I rented a car. Why not? As the best golfers in the world would surely tell you, Augusta is always a worthy destination. H

American golfer Darren Kilfara formerly worked for Golf Digest magazine and is the author of A Golfer’s Education, a memoir of his junior year abroad as a student-golfer at the University of St. Andrews. PHOTO: DOHDUHDAH

February 2013 51

The American

Bowl season is over, and so are most quarterbacks’ chances of being the top pick in the 2013 NFL draft. Richard L Gale rakes over an imperfect selection of passing prospects

ith the NFL playoffs in midswing at press time, and the college Bowl season (mercifully) over there’s little else for a football columnist to ponder than the needs of the teams who have already hung up their cleats for the year. We’ll talk about the draft in earnest in April, but as we won’t be talking much about them then (oh really?), lets get the quarterbacks out of the way now. Because the class of ‘13 is shaping up to be a stinker. It isn’t that there’s nobody to get excited about – I’m sure the draft gurus will have us overexcited about somebody soon enough – its just that most of the big names are guys we were a lot more excited about before the 2012 season, and before the holiday period blew up their draft stock bowl after bowl after bowl – talent spotting QBs for this draft? You’d have more chance spotting a Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. The hot Heisman candidates of each month dutifully blew up until the only QB left was a fresh-

52 February 2013

man. By the wayside fell Matt Barkley (USC), Geno Smith (West Virginia), and Collin Klein (Kansas State). Given a chance to redeem themselves on the final national stage of their college careers, Smith recovered a little (though scouts will have noted his progressions looked no better), Klein wilted against Oregon with just 150 yards passing, and Barkley dodged the debacle of USC-Georgia Tech completely with injury (though it could be argued that his absence underlined his worth). Nonetheless, Barkley’s name was bandied around as a potential top-3 pick before the season. The same was true of Oklahoma’s Landry Jones but after a season of decent stats (29 TDs) but untimely turnovers,

he dropped off the first round radar. Now I hear draft evaluators talking about Mike Glennon (NC State) as one of the top three passers in the class, and I wonder what it is that they see in his ‘can make all the throws’ resume that they don’t see in Landry Jones. Not every drafteligible QB had a terrible bowl season. By direct comparison to Geno Smith, Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib made a strong impression in the Pinstripe Bowl (his college coach is now headed to Buffalo Bills), while EJ Manuel’s variable career at FSU finished with a rout of Northern Illinois, proving nothing about his ability against top-level competition. And then there’s the two Tylers, Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson and Tennessee’s Tyler Bray, spared the ignominy of a bowl let-down courtesy of not qualifying for a bowl. Still, I’d feel more confident of developing their throwing motion and decision-making respectively than going for Manuel’s boom or bust resume. Unlike last year’s crop or even 2011, theres not a QB here that wouldn’t be a liability against an NFL pass rush, not one player that in a stronger class would be worthy of a top 20 selection. But they’ll build somebody up come draft day. Yeah, I know teams are shaking in their boots about a bad draft grade from me. But look at the coaches that got sacked this season in the NFL, and you’ll likely find a coach who had the wrong guy under centre. H

The American

UK Sports News Guildford, Nottingham lead Ice Hockey Leagues

he English Ice Hockey League standings continued to be a three-way dog-fight in January, with defending champions the Guildford Flames, Manchester Phoenix and Basingstoke Bison jostling for a turn to top the table. The Flames, with a league-leading 149 points in 35 games, were Right: Canadian leading by a lone point at scoring ace Curtis Huppe press time. of the Guildford Flames In the PHOTO BY ALAN BONE Elite Ice Hockey League, the Nottingham Panthers, winners of the 2011/12 playoffs, had regular seasons opened a 3-game lead at press time conclude in March, with playoffs over defending League Champions in April. for more information, the Belfast Giants and the chasing visit www.eiha.co.uk and Sheffield Steelers. Both leagues’ www.eliteleague.co.uk

Leicester top Newcastle to claim first BBL Cup

he Leicester Riders claimed their first major trophy with a nail-biting victory over the Newcastle Eagles in the British Basketball League’s Cup Final. After a close-fought first period (20-17 to Leicester), Newcastle regained the lead on a three-pointer from Joe Chapman – the game’s leading scorer with 29 points – but the Riders took control of the second period with an 18-5 run. The Riders maintained a margin of around ten points from the second period, through half-time (45-36). The final quarter began 65-51 in Leicester’s favor, their biggest lead, before the Eagles produced a furious rally with Chapman, Charles Smith and Fab Flournoy leading the way. A basket from Flournoy with just over a minute remaining gave the Eagles the lead, but the Riders responded with a monster three-pointer from Zaire Taylor, making it 82-80 with 45 seconds to go. The Riders held strong at the foul line, and with the Eagles missing on three-point attempts, Leicester held on. The Riders’ Jay Couisnard, who sank 11 points in the third quarter and 17 over all, was declared the game’s MVP. “I have no words for it. It’s fantastic!” smiled Couisnard. “The only thing we can do is try and recover. Four becomes three now.” said tearful Newcastle player-coach Fab Flournoy, as Newcastle’s trophy cabinet of four 2011-12 titles began 2013 a little lighter. The Riders and Eagles continue to battle at the top of league play, with the Surrey Heat a close third.

Luck for Arsenal!

Pictured below, Indianapolis Colts passer Andrew Luck takes time to pose proudly with his own Arsenal shirt. The rookie quarterback, who became a fan of the round-ball game while living in London and attending the American School in St John’s Wood, said “I remember watching a lot of games when I was growing up in London and my love of football came from that time. I am a huge fan of the Premier League and still watch as many games as I can to this day. “I would love to get back over and watch some more live games,” added Luck, who set a rookie record with 4,374 passing yards. He lived in London when his father, ex-NFL quarterback Oliver, was president of NFL Europe. Luck senior recalled: “We attended a bunch of Premier League games while we were living in the UK – Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Crystal Palace. I also took him to Rugby League and Rugby Union games and he loved them. If he was pushed to pick a favorite UK team then he would probably say it was always the Gunners.”

The American

Your Guide To The Month Ahead

See our full events listing online at www.theamerican.co.uk Get your event listed in The American – call us on +44 (0)1747 830520 or email details to editor@theamerican.co.uk Waters + Works on Paper Fair Science Museum, London SW7 www.worksonpaperfair.com January 31 to February 3

of Early, Modern and Contemporary art. All the art for sale is a work on paper, whether it is a print, drawing, watercolour, poster or photograph.

Visitors to this fair can view a range

Poster Art 150: London Underground’s Greatest Designs London Transport Museum, Covent Garden Piazza, Covent Garden, London WC2E www.ltmuseum.co.uk February 15 to October 31

28th Jorvik Viking Festival Jorvik Viking Centre, Coppergate Shopping Centre, York jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk February 16 to 24 Combat, academic, archeological and historical events to celebrate Europe’s biggest Viking festival. PHOTO: YORK ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST

The first graphic poster for London Underground was commissioned in 1908. For the Underground’s 150th Anniversary, 150 of the most striking designs seen on the Tube feature alongside lesser-known but equally brilliant posters.

Rye Bay Scallop Week 2013 Rye, East Sussex scallop.org.uk February 2 to 10 With everything from cookery classes to quiz nights, Rye is the perfect place for seafood lovers this February.

St Ives Feast and Hurling of the Silver Ball St Ives, Cornwall www.stivestic.co.uk February 6 Hurling is one of the oldest forms of

54 February 2013

ball game and still takes place at St Ives. The game is rather like footall or rugby and the ball is made from apple-wood encased in sterling silver and weighs about 15 ounces (425g). The ball is thrown from St Ives Parish Church wall and there follows a mad scramble for the ball.

Other Voices Festival Glassworks, Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland www.othervoices.ie February 8 to 10 The Other Voices festival takes up residency at Glassworks, with the line-up including Neil Hannon, Jesca Hoop and Marina and the Diamonds.

Leicester Comedy Festival www.comedy-festival.co.uk February 8 to 24 A host of stars including Milton Jones, Mitch Benn, and Norman Lovett... in the first 24 hours alone. See website for full listings.

Extinction: Not the End of the World? Natural History Museum, London www.nhm.ac.uk February 8 to September 8 Of all the species that have ever lived on the Earth, 99% are now extinct. This exhibition considers the scientific effect of extinction.

RSNO: An American Festival, I Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3NY www.rsno.org.uk February 8 to 9 Two concerts dedicated to the Stars and Stripes. Music from Bernstein, Gershwin and John Adams.

Chinese New Year Festival Various, London February 10 Celebrate the Chinese New Year, with parades, fireworks and performances across London.

Pirates and Patriots Edinburgh Castle, Castlehill, Edinburgh, Midlothian EH1 2NG www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk February 11 to 12 Prisoners of War from the American War of Independence were held in the vaults of Edinburgh Castle. Meet an American prisoner and find out more about the castle.

The Crisis of American Democracy The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG www.britishmuseum.org February 11 A lecture by David Runciman on American democracy.

Darwin Festival 2013 Shrewsbury, Shropshire www.discoverdarwin.co.uk February 10 to 24 Charles Darwin was born and raised in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. Walks, lectures and workshops celebrate the town’s famous son starting on Darwin Day, February 12.

Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day Various across the UK February 12 Shrove Tuesday, aka Pancake Day, is the day when historically people use up their luxury produce before the fasting of Lent. It’s mainly celebrated at home, but extra-luxury versions

Snowdrop Trail at Hever Castle Hever Castle, Hever. Nr Edenbridge, Kent TN8 7NG www.hevercastle.co.uk February 16 to 24

Lantern Lit Snowdrop Trail Finlaystone Country Estate, Langbank, Renfrewshire PA14 6TJ www.finlaystone.co.uk February 23

Enjoy the early blossoms of camellia and quince. The Lady of the Wildwoods returns with stories of spring and a workshop to delight young visitors.

Bring your lantern and see snowdrops by moonlight at Finlaystone Country Estate.

can be found: check your local restaurants.

Olney Anglo–American Pancake Race Olney, North Buckinghamshire www.pancakeday.net February 12 The unique Olney Pancake Race stops traffic as local ladies in traditional housewife attire (including apron and scarf), run through the streets. Pancakes are tossed at the start of the race and the winner has to toss her pancake again at the finish. Runners and townsfolk then go into the Parish Church for the great Shriving Service. The race has been run since around 1445 (yes, over 500 years ago) and since 1950 the contest has been an international event between Olney and the town of Liberal, Kansas in America. The winner is declared

after times are compared via a transatlantic telephone call from Liberal to Olney. www.pancakeday. net is the Liberal site.

Valentine’s Day February 14 Valentine’s Day is an important celebration in the UK. A romantic meal in a restaurant is the norm, but cooking a special meal at home for your loved one works too.

London Fashion Week

Various, London www.londonfashionweek.co.uk

February 15 to 19 The trade show, where each season designers unveil their collections to a professional audience of press and buyers who visit the capital from the UK and across the globe.

February 2013 55

The American

Showzam! 2013 Various, Blackpool www.showzam.co.uk February 15 to 24 The annual festival of circus, magic and new performances returns to Blackpool.

The Tank Museum: Home Front Experience The Tank Museum, Bovington, Dorset BH20 6JG www.tankmuseum.org February 16 to 24 A taste of wartime Britain, visitors will learn about life on the Home Front during World War Two. Children in 1940s costume enter for free.

Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire www.slaithwaitemoonraking.org February 16 to 23 The Moonraking Festival is based on a tale about two C19th smugglers who were collecting barrels of illegal ‘moonshine’ drink hidden in a canal when approached by the police. They told the officials they were trying to rake the moon’s reflection out of the canal. Thinking they were fools, the police let the smugglers go, and the ‘moonraking’ legend was born. The highlight of the festival is a long procession of villagers bearing colourful lanterns.

Scarecrow Festival Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6QN www.tattonpark.org.uk February 16 to 24 Over 30 scarecrows make Tatton Park their home for the Spring Half-Term. Find them, and have a go at making your own.

56 February 2013

The America Series at Southbank Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX www.southbankcentre.co.uk February 20 to April 27 The Southbank Centre celebrates America with an exploration of the USA’s cultural contribution to music. February sees the London Philharmonic Orchestra perform with conductor Marin Alsop, Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In March, tributes to American Inter-War music and Charlie Chaplin are among the treats, along with a weekend full of American themed talks and conversations, and in April, stay tuned for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Michael Tilson Thomas, the BBC Concert Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

Luton Beer Festival Hightown Sports & Arts Centre, Concorde Street, Luton LU2 0JD www.lutonbeerfestival.com February 21 to 23

Celebrate the 30th Luton Beer and Cider Festival, with over 100 real ales and live music.

Sculptor’s Prints The Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture, The Mound, Edinburgh EH2 2ER www.royalscottishacademy.org February 23 to March 31 Sculptor members of the Royal Scottish Academy explore the relationship between printmaking and sculpting. Two prominent American sculptors, Ed Smith and William, will also participate.

Kinetica Art Fair 2013 Ambika P3, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS www.kinetica-artfair.com February 28 to March 3 Robotic, sound and solar sculptures, mechanical writing machines, laser and subliminal installations are just some of the incredible exhibits at Kinetica Art Fair, the world’s first art fair dedicated to kinetic, robotic, sound, light and time-based art.

Race Retro Stoneleigh Park, Coventry www.raceretro.com February 22 to 24 Europe’s Premier Show focusing on Historic Motorsport, Historic Racing and Historic Rallying. A three day event with cars and motorcycles.

The American

American ORGANIZATIONS

American Friends of the British Museum Mollie Norwich. The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. 020 7323 8590 www.britishmuseum.org

An index of useful resources in the UK

ESSENTIAL CONTACTS EMERGENCIES Fire, Police, Ambulance

TRANSPORTATION London Underground 020 7222 1234 www.tfl.gov.uk National Rail Enquiries 08457 4849 50 www.nationalrail.co.uk National Bus Service 0990 808080 www.nationalexpress.com

American Friends of the National Portrait Gallery Stacey Ogg and Charlotte Savery, Individual Giving Managers 020 7312 2444 individualgiving@npg.org.uk www.npg.org.uk/support/individual/ americanfriends.php

American Friends of the Almeida Theatre, Inc. Kenneth David Burrows, 950 Third Avenue, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10022, USA or Lizzie Stallybrass, Almeida Theatre, Almeida Street, London N1 1TA, UK www.almeida.co.uk/supportus/americansupport.aspx

001 100 155 153 151

American Friends of Chickenshed Theatre U.S. Office: c/o Chapel & York PMB293, 601 Penn Ave NW, Suite 900 S Bldg, Washington, DC 20004 UK Office: Chickenshed, Chase Side, Southgate, London N14 4PE 0208 351 6161 ext 240 AdamG@Chickenshed.org.uk http://www.chickenshed.org.uk/659/individual/ american-friends.html

For more details go to

www.theamerican.co.uk and click on Life In The UK

American Church in London Senior Pastor: Rev. John D’Elia. Music Director: Anthony Baldwin. Sunday School 9.45am Sunday Worship 11am, child care provided. 79a Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4TD (Goodge St. tube station) Tel: 020 7580 2791/07771 642875 churchsecretary@amchurch.co.uk www.amchurch.co.uk

American Friends of the Lyric Theatre Ireland Crannóg House, 44 Stranmillis Embankment, Belfast, BT9 5FL, Northern Ireland Angela McCloskey info@americanfriendsofthelyric.com www.americanfriendsofthelyric.com/ americanfriends.html

American Red Cross RAF Mildenhall Tel: 01638 542107, After Hours 07031 15 2334 red.crossv3@mildenhall.af.mil

MEDICAL ADVICE LINE NHS Direct delivers 24-hour telephone and e-health information services, direct to the public. www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk 0845 4647

CIVIC & SERVICES

American Friends of the Jewish Museum London Stephen Goldman Tel. 020 7284 7363 stephen.goldman@jewishmuseum.org.uk www.jewishmuseum.org.uk/american-friends

American Citizens Abroad (ACA) The Voice of Americans Overseas, 5 Rue Liotard, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland +41.22.340.02.33 info.aca@gmail.com www.americansabroad.org

999 or 112 (NOT 911)

TELEPHONES Direct Dial Code, US & Canada Operator Assistance, UK Operator Assistance, Int. International Directory Assistance Telephone Repair

American Friends of the Donmar Inc. Stephanie Dittmer, Deputy Director of Development 020 7845 5810 sdittmer@donmarwarehouse.com www.donmarwarehouse.com/p46.html

American Institute of Architects Benjamin Franklin House, 36 Craven Street, London WC2N 5NF. Tel: 020 7930 9124 chapterexecutive@aiauk.org www.aiauk.org

Here are some crucial telephone numbers to know while you are in the UK.

American Friends of Contemporary Dance & Sadler’s Wells U.S. Office: Celia Rodrigues, Chair 222 Park Avenue South, 10A, New York, NY 10003 +1.917.539.9021 americanfriends@sadlerswells.com UK Office: 020 7863 8134 development@sadlerswells.com. American Friends of Dulwich Picture Gallery Kathleen Bice, Development Officer, Members and Patrons 020 8299 8726 www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/support_us/ american_friends.aspx

American Friends of ENO – English National Opera Denise Kaplan, American Friends Coordinator London Coliseum, St. Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4ES 0207 845 9331 Americanfriends@eno.org www.eno.org/support-us/individual-giving/ american-friends/american-friends.php

American Friends of the Philharmonia Orchestra, Inc. Jennifer Davies, Development Director jennifer.davies@philharmonia.co.uk www.philharmonia.co.uk/support/friends/afpo/ American Friends of the Royal Court Theatre U.S.: Laurie Beckelman, Beckelman and Capalino +1.212.616.5822 laurie@beckcap.com UK: Gaby Styles, Head of Development, Royal Court Theatre 020 7565 5060 gabystyles@royalcourttheatre.com or info@afrct.org

American Friends of the Royal Institution of Great Britain U.S.: c/o Chapel & York Limited, PMB #293, South Building Washington, DC 20004 UK: The Development Office, Royal Institution of Great Britain, 21 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BS 020 7670 2991 kdodd@ri.ac.uk www.rigb.org American Friends of the Royal Society http://royalsociety.org/Overseas-Donations

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American Friends of St. Bartholomew the Great U.S.: John Eagleson 2925 Briarpark, Suite 600, Houston, TX 77042 UK: 20 7606 5171 admin@greatstbarts.com

American Friends of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust U.S.: John Chwat, President 625 Slaters Lane, Suite 103, Alexandria, VA 22314 +1. 703.684.7703 info@americanfriendsofsbt.org www.americanfriendsofsbt.org American Friends of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Inc. U.S.: Diana Seaton, Executive Director 61 Londonderry Drive, Greenwich, CT 06830 +1.203.536.4328 diana.seaton@afvam.org www.afvam.org UK: 020 7942 2149 American Friends of Wigmore Hall U.S.: c/o Chapel and York, 1000 N West Street Suite 1200, Wilmington DE 19801 UK: 020 7258 8220 mhosterweil@wigmore-hall.org.uk American Museum in Britain Director: Dr Richard Wendorf Claverton Manor, Bath BA2 7BD. 01225 460503. Fax 01225 469160 info@americanmuseum.org www.americanmuseum.org American Women Lawyers in London www.awll.org.uk info@awll.org.uk American Women’s Health Centre 214 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5QN. Obstetric, gynecological & infertility service. 020 7390 8433 www.awhc.co.uk Anglo American Medical Society Hon. Sec.: Dr. Edward Henderson, The Mill House, Whatlington, E. Sussex, TN33 0ND. 01424 775130. ed@themillhouse.eclipse.co.uk Association for Rescue at Sea The UK’s Royal National Lifeboat Association does not have an American Branch but if you wish to make a tax-efficient gift to the RNLI, contact AFRAS. Secretary: Mrs. Anne C. Kifer P.O. Box 565 Fish Creek, WI 54212, U.S.A. 00-1-920-743-5434 fax 00-1-920-743-5434 email: ackafras@aol.com Atlantic Council Director: Alan Lee Williams. 185 Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 2UF 0207 403 0640 or 0207 403 0740. Fax: 0207 403 0901 acuk@atlantic-council.org.uk

58 February 2013

Bethesda Baptist Church Kensington Place, London W8. 020 7221 7039 office@bethesdabaptist.org.uk Boy Scouts of America Mayflower District Field Executive: Wayne Wilcox 26 Shortlands Road, Kingston, Surrey KT2 6HD 020 8274 1429, 07788 702328 wpwilcox@gmail.com BritishAmerican Business Inc. 75 Brook Street, London, W1K 4AD. 020 7290 9888 www.babinc.org ukinfo@babinc.org British American-Canadian Associates Contact via The English Speaking Union esu@esu.org CARE International UK 10-13 Rushworth Street, London, SE1 0RB 020 7934 9334 www.careinternational.org info@careinternational.org Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 66-68 Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2PA 020 7584 7553 adcockmp@ldschurch.org https://lds.org.uk http://mormon.org Church of St. John the Evangelist Vicar: Reverend Stephen Mason. Assistant Priest: Reverend Mark Pudge. Assistant Curate: Reverend Deiniol Heywood. Hyde Park Crescent, London W2 2QD Tel: 020 7262 1732 www.stjohns-hydepark.com parishadmin@stjohns-hydepark.com Commonwealth Church Rev. Rod Anderson, PO Box 15027, London SE5 0YS www.savestmarks.com Democrats Abroad (UK) Box 65, 22 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JE Regular updates on events, chapters throughout the UK (and specific email addresses), and DAUK newsletters: www.democratsabroad.org.uk Register to vote and request an Absentee Ballot: www.votefromabroad.org Tel: 020 7724 9796 www.democratsabroad.org/group/united-kingdom

US Toll Free Tel:1-800-438- VOTE (8683). www.fvap.gov vote@fvap.ncr.gov

Friends of St Jude London Debbie Berger 07738 628126 debbie.berger@stjude.org www.friendsofstjude.org/london Grampian Houston Association Secretary: Bill Neish 5 Cairncry Avenue, Aberdeen, AB16 5DS 01224-484720 wineish@sky.com International Community Church (Interdenominational) Our Vision: “Everyone Mature in Christ” (Col. 1:28) Pastor: Rev. Dr. Barry K. Gaeddert Worship on Sundays: 10.30 am at Chertsey Hall, Heriot Road, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 9DR Active Youth programme. Church Office: 1st floor, Devonshire House, 60 Station Road, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2AF. 01932 830295. churchoffice@icc-uk.org www.icc-uk.org Junior League of London President: Jennifer Crowl 9 Fitzmaurice Place, London W1J 5JD. Tel: 020 7499 8159 Fax: 020 7629 1996 jrleague@jll.org.uk www.jll.org.uk Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 19 Angel Gate, City Road, London EC1V 2PT. Tel: 020 7713 2030. Fax: 020 7713 2031 info@jdrf.org.uk www.jdrf.org.uk Liberal Jewish Synagogue 28 St John’s Wood Road, London NW8 7HA Services 6.45pm Fridays and 11am on Saturdays except for first Friday each month when service is held at 7pm with a Chavurah Supper. Please bring non-meat food dish to share. 020 7286 5181 ljs@ljs.org Lions Club International Lakenheath & District 105EA, 15 Highfields Drive, Lakenheath, Suffolk IP27 9EH. Tel 01842 860752 www.lionsclubs.org

Farm Street Church 114 Mount Street, Mayfair, London W1K 3AH Tel: 020 7493 7811 www.farmstreet.org.uk

Lutheran Services, St Anne’s Rev. Timothy Dearhamer. Lutheran Church, Gresham St, London EC2. Sun 11am-7pm. Tel. 020 7606 4986 Fax. 020 7600 8984 info@StAnnesLutheranChurch.org www.StAnnesLutheranChurch.org

Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) Department of Defense, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington DC 20301-1155. Director: Ms. Polli K. Brunelli UK Toll Free Tel: 0800 028 8056

Methodist Central Hall Westminster, London SW1H 9NH Services every Sunday at 11am and 6.30pm. Bible study groups & Monday guilds also held. Tel: 020 7222 8010

The American

www.methodist-central-hall.org.uk church@mchw.org.uk

North American Friends of Chawton House Library U.S. Office: 824 Roosevelt Trail, #130, Windham, ME 04062 +1.207 892 4358 UK Office: Chawton House Library, Chawton, Alton, Hampshire GU34 1SJ 01420 541010 www.chawton.org/support/nafchl5.html Republicans Abroad (UK) Chairman Dr. Thomas Grant chairman@republicansabroad-uk.org www.republicansabroad-uk.org Rotary Club of London 6 York Gate, London NW1 4QG. Tel. 020 7487 5429 Royal National Lifeboat Institution Head Office, West Quay Road, Poole BH15 1HZ 0845 045 6999 www.rnli.org.uk The Royal Oak Foundation Sean Sawyer, 35 West 35th Street #1200, New York NY 10001-2205, USA Tel 212- 480-2889 or (800) 913-6565 Fax (212)785-7234 ssawyer@royal-oak.org www.royal-oak.org St Andrew’s Lutheran Church Serving Americans since 1960. Whitby Road & Queens Walk, Ruislip, West London. (South Ruislip Tube Station). Services: 11 am 020 8845 4242 pastorvan43@hotmail.com www.standrewslutheran.co.uk Other Lutheran Churches in the UK www.lutheran.co.uk T.R.A.C.E. P.W. (The ‘original’ Transatlantic Children’s’ Enterprise reuniting children with G.I. father’s and their families) Membership Secretary: Norma Jean Clarke-McCloud 29 Connaught Avenue, Enfield EN1 3BE www.tracepw.org normajean78@hotmail.com

United Nations Association, Westminster branch Chairman: David Wardrop 61 Sedlescombe Road, London SW6 1RE 0207 385 6738 info@unawestminster.org.uk www.unawestminster.org.uk www.wethepeoples.org.uk USA Girl Scouts Overseas – North Atlantic Stem Kaserne Bldg 1002, Postfach 610212 D-68232, Mannheim, Germany. +49 621 487 7025. girlscouts@cmtymail.26asg.army.mil www.norags.com

SOCIAL American Club of Hertfordshire President: Lauryn Awbrey 63-65 New Road, Welwyn, Herts AL6 0AL 01582 624823 amclubherts@aol.com American Expats of the Northwest of England The Ruskin Rooms, Drury Lane, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6HA. expatsnw@gmail.com American Friends of English Heritage 1307 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Washington DC 20036. 202-452-0928. c/o English Heritage, Attn: Simon Bergin, Keysign House, 429 Oxford Street, London W1R 2HD. 020 7973 3423 www.english-heritage.org.uk American Professional Women in London Rebecca Lammers 58 Shacklewell Road, London, N16 7TU 075 3393 5064 abwinlondon@gmail.com www.meetup.com/American-Business-Womenin-London www.facebook.com/groups/293890040710041 Twitter: @USAProWomenLDN American Society in London c/o The English Speaking Union 37 Charles Street, London W1J 5ED info@americansocietyuk.com 020 7539 3400 American Stamp Club of Great Britain Chapter 67 of the American Philatelic Society. Hon. Publicity Secretary: Stephen T. Taylor 5 Glenbuck Road, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 6BS. 020 8390 9357 American Womens Association of Bristol awabristol_membership@fawco.org American Women of Berkshire & Surrey P. O. Box 10, Virginia Water, Surrey GU25 4YP. www.awbs.org.uk awbscommonground@yahoo.co.uk American Women of Surrey PO Box 185, Cobham, Surrey KT11 3YJ. www.awsurrey.org American Women’s Association of Yorkshire The Chalet, Scarcroft Grange, Wetherby Road, Scarcroft, Leeds LS14 3HJ. 01224 744 224 Contact: Carol Di Peri The American Women’s Club of Dublin P.O. Box 2545, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 IRELAND www.awcd.net info@awcd.net American Women’s Club of London 68 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3LQ. 020 7589 8292 awc@awclondon.org www.awclondon.org

American Women’s Club of Central Scotland P.O. Box 231, 44-46 Morningside Road, Edinburgh, EH10 4BF info@awccs.org www.awccs.org American Women of South Wales 07866 190838 awsouthwales@fawco.org The Anglo-American Charity Limited Jeffrey Hedges, Director. 07968 513 631 info@anglo-americancharity.org Association of American Women in Ireland aawireland@fawco.org Association of American Women of Aberdeen PO Box 11952, Westhill, Aberdeen, AB13 0BW email via website www.awaaberdeen.org British Association of American Square Dance Zoe Bremer, 1 Burnwood Drive, Wollaton, Nottingham NG8 2DJ 0115 928 2896 rpmsquaredancing@aol.com www.uksquaredancing.com Canadians & Americans in Southern England 023 9241 3881 contactcase@casecommunity.com Canadian Womens Club 1 Grosvenor Square, London W1K 4AB Tues – Thurs 10.30-3.30 0207 258 6344 info@canadianwomenlondon.org www.canadianwomenlondon.org Chilterns American Women’s Club PO Box 445, Gerrards Cross, Bucks, SL9 8YU membership@cawc.co.uk www.cawc.co.uk Colonial Dames of America Chapter XI London. President Anne K Brewster: AnneBrewster@hotmail.com Daughters of the American Revolution – St James’s Chapter Mrs Natalie Ward, 01379 871422 nattyward@aol.com or UKDARStJames@aol.com http://mysite.verizon.net/jean.sutton/main.htm Daughters of the American Revolution – Walter Hines Page Chapter Diana Frances Diggines, Regent dardiana@hotmail.co.uk www.dar.org Daughters of the American Revolution – Washington Old Hall Chapter, North Yorkshire Mrs. Gloria Hassall, 01845 523-830 Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Great Britain President: Mrs. Sheila Roberts, Morvan House, Shoreham Lane, St. Michaels, Tenterden, Kent TN30 6EG email: saroberts123@aol.com www.deltakappagamma.net

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Delta Zeta International Sorority Alumna Club Mrs Sunny Eades, The Old Hall, Mavesyn Ridware, Nr. Rugeley, Staffordshire, WSI5 3QE. 01543 490 312 SunnyEades@aol.com The East Anglia American Club 49 Horsham Close Haverhill, Suffolk CB9 7HN Tel: 01440 766 967 Email: eaacexpats@karej.co.uk English-Speaking Union Director-General Peter Kyle Dartmouth House, 37 Charles Street, London W1J 5ED. Tel: 020 7529 1550 Fax: 0207 495 6108 esu@esu.org Friends of Benjamin Franklin House Director: Dr. Márcia Balisciano Benjamin Franklin House, 36 Craven St, London WC2N 5NF 0207 839 2006 www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org info@benjaminfranklinhouse.org Hampstead Women’s Club President - Betsy Lynch. Tel: 020 7435 2226 email president@hwcinlondon.co.uk www.hwcinlondon.co.uk High Twelve International, Inc. Local Club Contact – Arnold Page High Twelve Club 298 Secretary, Darrell C. Russell, 1 Wellington Close, West Row, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 8PJ Tel. 01638 715764 email: russelld130@btinternet.com. International American Duplicate Bridge Club Contact: Mary Marshall, 18 Palace Gardens Terrace, London W8 4RP. 020 7221 3708 www.ycbc.co.uk/american.htm Kensington & Chelsea Men’s Club Contact: John Rickus 70 Flood Street, Chelsea, London SW3 5TE. (home): 020 7349 0680 (office): 020 7753 2253 johnrickus@aol.com Kensington & Chelsea Women’s Club President: Susan Lenora. Tel. 0207 581 8261 president@kcwc.org.uk Membership: 0207 863 7562 (ans service). membership@kcwc.org.uk New Neighbors Diana Parker, Rosemary Cottage, Rookshill, Rickmansworth, Herts WD3 4HZ. 01923 772185 North American Connection (West Midlands) PO Box 10543, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands. B93 8ZY T: 0870 720 0663 info@naconnect.com www.naconnect.com

60 February 2013

MILITARY

Northwood Area Women’s Club c/o St John’s UR Church, Hallowell Road, Northwood, Middlesex HA6 1DN 01932-830295 info@northwoodareawomensclub.co.uk www.northwoodareawomensclub.co.uk

AFJROTC 073 Lakenheath High School. Tel: 01638 525603 Air Force Sergeants Association European Division Timothy W. Litherland CMSgt, USAF (ret). Chapters at RAFs Alconbury, Croughton, Lakenheath, Menwith Hill and Mildenhall. tim_lith@msn.com www.afsadiv16.org

Stars of Great Britain Chapter #45 Washington Jurisdiction Lakenheath, England sogb45@yahoo.com http://starsofgreatbritainchapter45.com

American Legion London Post 1 Adjutant: Jim Pickett PO Box 5017, BATH, BA1 OPP Tel: 01225-426245 www.amlegionpost1london.org.uk info@amlegionpost1london.org.uk

Petroleum Women’s Club Contact: Nancy Ayres. Tel: 01923 711720 nanayrs@btopenworld.com Petroleum Women’s Club of Scotland pwcscotland@yahoo.co.uk www.pwcos.com

Pilgrims of Great Britain Allington Castle, Maidstone, Kent M16 0NB. Tel. 01622 606404 Fax. 01622 606402 sec@pilgrimsociety.org

Bentwaters/Woodbridge Retirees’ Association President: Wylie Moore. 2 Coldfair Close, Knodishall, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 1UN. 01728 830281

Propeller Club of the United States – London, England propellerclubhq.com St John’s Wood Women’s Club Box 185, 176 Finchley Road, London NW3 6BT membership@sjwwc.org www.sjwwc.org

British Patton Historical Society Kenn Oultram 01606 891303 Brookwood American Cemetery (WW1) Brookwood, Woking, Surrey GU24 0BL 01483 473237 www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/bk.php

Thames Valley American Women’s Club Contact: Miriam Brewster PO Box 1687, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 8XT. 0208 751 8941 www.tvawc.com membership@tvawc.com

Cambridge American Cemetery (WWII Cemetary) Superintendent: Mr. Bobby Bell. Asst. Superintendent: Mr. Tony Barclay. Coton, Cambridge CB23 7PH. 01954 210350

UK Panhellenic Association Contact Susan Woolf, 10 Coniston Court, High St. Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex HA1 3LP. 020 8864 0294 susanrwoolf@hotmail.com

Commander in Chief, US Naval Forces Europe Naval Reserve Detachment 130, Recruiting Officer: LCDR Thomas D. Hardin, USNR-R. 020 7409 4259 (days) 020 8960 7395 (evenings).

United Kingdom Shrine OASIS Anglian Shrine Club Secretary: Charles A. Aldrich, 11 Burrow Drive, Lakenheath, Suffolk IP27 9EY 01842 860 650 mailto:caaldrich@btinterner.com

Eighth Air Force Historical Society UK Representative: Mr. Gordon Richards and Mrs Connie Richards 14 Pavenham Road, Oakley, Bedford MK43 7SY. 01234 823357.

W.E.B. DuBois Consistory #116 Northern Jurisdiction Valley of London, England, Orient of Europe Cell: 0776-873-8030 mjack36480@aol.com Women’s Writers Network Cathy Smith, 23 Prospect Rd, London, NW2 2JU. 020 7794 5861 www.womenwriters.org.uk info@womenwriters.org.uk

Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association London Chapter Secretary: CW04, A.H. Cox, USN, Navcommunit Box 44, 7 North Audley Street, London W1Y 1WJ. 020 7409 4519/4184 www.afcea.org.uk london.sec@afcea.org.uk

Friends of the Eighth Newsletter (FOTE News) Chairman: Mr. Ron Mackay. 39b Thorley Hill, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 3NE. 01279 658619.

Joint RAF Mildenhall/Lakenheath Retiree Affairs Office Director: Col. John J. Valentine, USAF (Ret) Unit 8965, Box 30

The American

RAF Mildenhall, Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk, IP28 8NF Tel. (01638) 542039 rao@mildenhall.af.mil

Marine Corps League Detachment 1088, London, England Commandant Mike Allen Creek Cottage, 2 Pednormead End, Old Chesham, Buckinghamshire HP5 2JS detachment1088@mcl-london-uk.org www.mcl-london-uk.org Mildenhall Retirees Association President: Jack Kramer 6 Nunsgate, Thetford, Norfolk 1P24 3EL Navy League of the United States, United Kingdom Council Council President: Steven G. Franck steven.franck@googlemail.com www.navyleague.org Non-Commissioned Officers’ Association (NCOA) – The Heart of England Chapter Chairman: Ronald D.Welper. Pine Farm, Sharpe’s Corner, Lakenheath, Brandon, Suffolk 1P27 9LB. Thetford 861643. The Chapter Address: 513 MSSQ/SS, RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk. Society of American Military Engineers (UK) UK address: Box 763, USAFE Construction Directorate. 86 Blenheim Crescent, West Ruislip, Middlesex HA4 7HL London Post. President: W. Allan Clarke. Secretary: Capt. Gary Chesley. Membership Chairman, Mr. Jim Bizier. US Army Reserve 2nd Hospital Center 7 Lynton Close, Ely, Cambs, CB6 1DJ. Tel: 01353 2168 Commander: Major Glenda Day. US Air Force Recruiting Office RAF Mildenhall, 100 MSS/MSPRS, RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, 1P28 8NF. 01638 542290

Retired Affairs Office, RAF Alconbury Serving Central England POC: Rex Keegan Alt. POC: Mike Depasquale UK Postal Address: 423 SVS/RAO, Unit 5585, Box 100, RAF Alconbury, Huntingdon, Cambs PE28 4DA Office Hours: Tuesday and Friday, 10:30am–2:30pm 01480 84 3364/3557 Emergency Contact: 07986 887 905 RAO@Alconbury.af.mil 2nd Air Division Memorial Library The Forum, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 1AW 01603 774747 www.2ndair.org.uk 2admemorial.lib@norfolk.gov.uk USAF Retiree Activities Office Director: Paul G Gumbert, CMSgt (USAF), Ret

American School of Aberdeen Craigton Road, Cults, Aberdeen. 01224 861068 / 868927.

422 ABG/CVR Unit 5855, PSC 50, Box 3 RAF Croughton, Northants NN13 5XP Phone: 01280 708182 e-mail: 422abg.rao@croughton.af.mil

US Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point) UK Chapter President: Allison Bennett bennett.ac@gmail.com Facebook: Kings Point Alumni - London/United Kingdom USNA Alumni Association UK Chapter Pres: LCDR Tim Fox ’97, timfox97@hotmail.com Vice Pres: Miguel Sierra ’90, mrsierra@chevron.com Treas/Membership Coord: Bart O’Brien ’98, bartonobrien2@yahoo.com Secretary: Matt Horan ’87, matthoran@btinternet.com Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Commander: Ernest Paolucci 24, rue Gerbert, 75015 Paris, France 00 33 (0)1.42.50.96.34 Western UK Retiree Association President: R. Jim Barber, MSgt (USAF), Ret Phone: 01280 708182

EDUCATIONAL ACS International Schools ACS Cobham International School, Heywood, Portsmouth Road, Cobham, Surrey KT11 1BL 01932 867251 ACS Egham International School, Woodlee, London Road (A30), Egham, Surrey TW20 0HS. 01784 430800 ACS Hillingdon International School Hillingdon Court, 108 Vine Line, Hillingdon, Middlesex UB10 0BE. 01895 259771 www.acs-england.co.uk

AIU/London (formerly American College in London) 110 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 4RY. Tel 020 7467 5640 Fax 020 7935 8144 www.aiulondon.ac.ukadmissions@aiulondon.ac.uk Alconbury Middle/High School RAF Alconbury, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE17 1PJ, UK. www.alco-hs.eu.dodea.edu AlconburyHS.Principal@eu.dodea.edu American Institute for Foreign Study 37 Queensgate, London SW7 5HR 020 7581 7300 www.aifs.co.uk info@aifs.co.uk American School in London 1 Waverley Place, London NW8 0NP Tel: 020 7449 1200 Fax: 020 7449 1350 www.asl.org admissions@asl.org

Benjamin Franklin House 36 Craven Street, London WC2N 5NF. Tel 020 7839 2006 Fax 020 7930 9124 info@benjaminfranklinhouse.org

Boston University – London Graduate Programs Office 43 Harrington Gardens, London SW7 4JU. 020 7244 6255 www.bu.edu/london British American Educational Foundation Mrs. Carlton Colcord, 1 More’s Garden, 90 Cheyne Walk, London SW3. 020 7352 8288 www.baef.org anncolcord@compuserve.com BUNAC Student Exchange Employment Program Director: Callum Kennedy, 16 Bowling Green Lane, London EC1R 0QH. 020 7251 3472 www.bunac.org enquiries@bunac.org.uk Center Academy School Development Centre 92 St. John’s Hill, Battersea, London SW11 1SH. Tel 020 7738 2344 Fax 020 7738 9862 ukadmin@centeracademy.com Central Bureau for Educational Visits The British Council Director: Peter Upton 10 Spring Gardens, London SW1A 2BN 020 7389 4004 Wales 029 2039 7346, Scotland 0131 447 8024 centralbureau@britishcouncil.org Council on International Educational Exchange Dr. Michael Woolf, 52 Portland Street, London WIV 1JQ Tel 020 7478 2000 Fax 020 7734 7322 www.ciee.org contact@ciee.org Ditchley Foundation Ditchley Park, Enstone, Chipping Norton, Oxon OX7 4ER. Tel 01608 677346 Fax 1608 677399 www.ditchley.co.uk info@ditchley.co.uk European Council of International Schools Executive Director: Jean K Vahey Fourth Floor, 146 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9TR Tel 020 7824 7040 www.ecis.org ecis@ecis.org European-Atlantic Group PO Box 37431, London N3 2XP 020 8632 9253 justinglass@btinternet.com www.eag.org.uk Florida State University London Study Centre Administrative Director: Kathleen Paul

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99 Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3LH. Tel 020 7813 3233 Fax 020 7813 3270 www.international.fsu.edu/london/ intprog1@admin.fsu.edu

Fordham University London Centre Academic Coordinator: Sabina Antal 23 Kensington Square, London W8 5HQ 020 7937 5023 londoncentre@fordham.edu www.fordham.edu Harlaxton College UK Campus, University of Evansville Harlaxton Manor, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG32 1AG. Grantham 4541 4761. Tel 01476 403000 Fax 01476 403030 harlaxton.ac.uk. Huron University USA in London 46-47 Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 4JP Tel +44 (0) 20 7636 5667 Fax+44 (0) 20 7299 3297 folu@huron.ac.uk www.huron.ac.uk Institute for Study Abroad Butler University, 21 Pembridge Gardens, London W2 4EB 020 7792 8751 http://www.ifsa-butler.org/england-overview.html Institute for the Study of the Americas Director: Professor James Dunkerley. Tel 020 7862 8879 Fax 020 7862 8886 americas@sas.ac.uk www.americas.sas.ac.uk International School of Aberdeen 296 North Deeside Road, Milltimber, Aberdeen, AB13 0AB 01224 732267 www.isa.aberdeen.sch.uk admin@isa.aberdeen.sch.uk International School of London 139 Gunnersbury Avenue, London W3 8LG. 020 8992 5823. www.islondon.com mail@ISLondon.com International School of London in Surrey Old Woking Road, Woking GU22 8HY Tel +44 (0)1483 750409 Fax +44 (0)1483 730962 www.islsurrey.com mail@islsurrey.com Ithaca College London Centre 35 Harrington Gardens, London SW7. Tel. 020 7370 1166 www.ithaca.edu/london bsheasgreen@ithacalondon.co.uk Marymount International School, London Headmistress: Ms Sarah Gallagher George Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT2 7PE Tel: 020 8949 0571 info@marymountlondon.com www.marymountlondon.com Missouri London Study Abroad Program 32 Harrington Gardens, London SW7 4JU.

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020 7373 7953. www.umsl.edu/services/abroad/universities/ molondon.html web_office@umsl.edu

Regents American College Inner Circle, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4NS. 020 7486 9605. www.regents.ac.uk exrel@regents.ac.uk

Richmond, The American International University in London Richmond Hill Campus,Queen’s Road Richmond-upon Thames TW10 6JP Tel: +44 20 8332 9000 Fax: +44 20 8332 1596 enroll@richmond.ac.uk www.richmond.ac.uk Schiller International University Royal Waterloo House, 51-55 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8TX. Tel. 020 7928 1372 www.schillerlondon.ac.uk admissions@schillerlondon.ac.uk Sotheby’s Institute of Art Postgraduate Art studies, plus day /evening courses 30 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3EE Tel: 0207 462 3232 www.sothebysinstitute.com info@sothebysinstitute.com Southbank International Schools Kensington and Hampstead campuses for 3-11 year olds; Westminster campuses for 11-18 year olds. Director of Admissions: MargaretAnne Khoury Tel: 020 7243 3803 Fax: 020 7727 3290 admissions@southbank.org www.southbank.org TASIS England, American School Coldharbour Lane, Thorpe, Nr. Egham, Surrey TW20 8TE. Tel: 01932 565252 Fax: 01932 564644 http://england.tasis.com ukadmissions@tasisengland.org University of Notre Dame London Program 1 Suffolk Street, London SW1Y 4HG 020 7484 7811 london@nd.edu http://www.nd.edu/~ndlondon/lup/future/ introduction.htm US-UK Fulbright Commission Dir. of Advisory Service: Lauren Welch 020 7498 4010 Dir. of Awards: Michael Scott-Kline, 020 7498 4014 Battersea Power Station, 188 Kirtling Street, London SW8 5BN www.fulbright.co.uk Warnborough University International Office, Friars House, London SE1 8HB. Tel 020 7922 1200 Fax: 020 7922 1201 www.warnborough.edu admin@warnborough.edu Webster Graduate Studies Center Regent’s College, Regent’s Park, Inner Circle, London NW1 4NS, UK. Tel: 020 7487 7505 Fax: 020 7487 7425 www.webster.ac.uk webster@regents.ac.uk

Wickham Court School, Schiller International Layhams Road, West Wickham, Kent BR4 9HW. Tel 0208 777 2942 Fax 0208 777 4276 Wickham@schillerintschool.com www.wickhamcourt.org.uk Wroxton College Fairleigh Dickinson Univ.,Wroxton, Nr. Banbury, Oxfordshire OX15 6PX. Tel. 01295 730551 http://view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=326 admin@wroxton-college.ac.uk

ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONS Alliant International University (formerly United States International University) England Chapter Alumni Association Chapter President: Eric CK Chan c/o Regents College London, Inner Circle, Regents Park, London, UK University: www.alliant.edu chane@regents.ac.uk Amherst College Bob Reichert RAreichert26b@aol.com Andover/Abbot Association of London Jeffrey Hedges ‘71, President 07968 513 631 hedgeslon@hotmail.com Association of MBAs Leo Stemp, Events Administrator Tel 020 7837 3375 (ext. 223) Fax 020-7278-3634 l.stemp@mba.org.uk Babson College Frank de Jongh Swemer, Correspondence W 020 7932 7514 babson.alumni@btinternet.com Barnard College Club Hiromi Stone, President. Tel. 0207 935 3981 barnardclubgb@yahoo.co.uk Berkeley Club of London Geoff Kertesz Email: berkeleyclublondon@gmail.com http://international.berkeley.edu/LondonClub Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ groups/223876564344656/ Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/BerkeleyClub-London-4186104 Boston College Alumni Club UK Craig Zematis, President +44 7717 878968 BCalumniclub@gmail.com www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/BTN/cpages/ chapters/home.jsp?chapter=41&org=BTN Boston University Alumni Association of the UK Will Straughn, Snr International Development Officer, University Development and Alumni Relations,

The American

43 Harrington Gardens, Kensington, London SW7 4JU 020 7244 2908 020 7373 7411 bstraugh@bu.edu

Brandeis Alumni Club of Great Britain Joan Bovarnick, President http://alumni.brandeis.edu office@alumni.brandeis.edu Brown University Club of the United Kingdom President: Tugba Erem Vice President: Caroline Cook Secretary: Pinar Emirdag Treasurer: Mikus Kins Events: Ramya Moothathu Communication: Patrick Attie Alumni Club & Liaison: Vanessa Van Hoof Former President: Ed Giberti edgibertiwgcuk@aol.com. Brown Club UK, Box 57100, London, EC1P 1RB contact@brownuk.org www.brownuk.org Bryn Mawr Club President: Lady Quinton. c/o Wendy Tiffin, 52 Lansdowne Gardens, London SW8 2EF. Wendy Tiffin, Secretary/Treasurer wendytif@ukgateway.net Claremont Colleges Alumni in London Hadley Beeman hadley_beeman@alumni.cmc.edu Colgate Club of London Stephen W Solomon ‘76, President 0207 349 0738 swsolomon@hotmail.com Columbia University Club of London Stephen Jansen, President london@alumniclubs.columbia.edu www.alumniclubs.columbia.edu/london Cornell Club of London Natalie Teich, President nmt4@cornell.edu www.alumni.cornell.edu/orgs/int/London Dartmouth College Club of London Sanjay Gupta, Officer Andrew Rotenberg, Officer sanjay.gupta.96@ alum.dartmouth.org andrew.l.rotenberg.92@alum.dartmouth.org www.dartmouth.org Delta Kappa Gamma Society International For information about the Society in Great Britain go to our website www.deltakappagamma.org/GB. There are links to all the USA and other international members’ sites. Delta Sigma Pi Business Fraternity London Alumni Chapter. Ashok Arora, P O Box 1110, London W3 7ZB. 020 8423 8231 bertela@yahoo.com www.dspnet.org

Duke University Club of England Ms Robin Buck buckrobin@yahoo.com Tim Warmath timwarmath@yahoo.com Kate Bennett jkbennett@btinternet.com www.dukealumni.com/england

NYU STERN UK Alumni Club Matthieu Gervis, President sternukalumniclub@hotmail.com Ohio University UK & Ireland Frank Madden, 1 Riverway, Barry Avenue, Windsor, Berks. SL4 5JA. Tel 01753 855 360 Fax 01753 868 855 frank@madant.demon.co.uk

Emory University Alumni Chapter of the UK Matthew Williams, Chapter Leader 079 8451 4119 matthew.eric.williams@gmail.com www.alumni.emory.edu/chapters-and-groups/ chapters/international.html

Penn Alumni Club of the UK David Lapter Tel. 07957 146 470 david.lapter@alumni.upenn.edu

Georgetown Alumni Club Alexa Fernandez, President GeorgetownLondon@Yahoo.com

Penn State Alumni Association Penn State Alumni Association Ron Nowicki 0207 226 7681 pennstatelondon@yahoo.co.uk www.alumni.psu.edu

Gettysburg College Britt-Karin Oliver brittkarin@aol.com Harvard Business School Club of London www.hbsa.org.uk

Princeton Association (UK) Carol Rahn, President Jon Reades, Young Alumni carol.rahn@orange-ftgroup.com jon@reades.com www.alumni.princeton.edu

Harvard Club of Great Britain Brandon Bradkin, President president@hcuk.org www.hcuk.org Indiana University Alumni club of England Anastasia Tonello, President 020 7253 4855 iuinlondon@yahoo.com www.alumni.indiana.edu/clubs/england

Rice Alumni of London Kathy Wang Tel. 07912 560 177 kathyw@alumni.rice.edu

KKG London Alumnae Association emilymerrell@gmail.com

Skidmore College Alumni Club, London Peggy Holden Briggs ‘84, co-ordinator 07817 203611 peggyhbriggs@gmail.com

LMU Alumni Club London (Loyola Marymount University) Kent Jancarik 07795 358 681 kent@jancarik.com

Smith College Club of London Kathleen Merrill, President smithclubgb@googlemail.com http://alumnae.smith.edu

Marymount University Alumni UK Chapter President: Mrs Suzanne Tapley, 35 Park Mansions, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7QT. Tel 020 7581 3742 MIT Club of Great Britain Yiting Shen Flat 8a, 36 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6PB Tel: 0789 179 3823 yshen@alum.mit.edu http://alumweb.mit.edu/clubs/uk/ Mount Holyoke Club of Britain Rachel L. Elwes, President rlelwes@yahoo.com Karen K. Bullivant Vice-President kkbullivant@alumnae.mtholyoke.edu www.mtholyoke.co.uk Notre Dame Club of London Hannah Gornik , Secretary ND_Club_London@yahoo.co.uk NYU Alumni Club in London Jodi Ekelchik, President alumni.london@nyu.edu

Stanford Business School Alumni Association (UK Chapter) Robby Arnold, President Lesley Anne Hunt, Events robby@blueyonder.co.uk lesley.hunt@blueyonder.co.uk www.stanfordalumni.org.uk Texas Tech Alumni Association – London Chapter David Mirmelli, Ferhat Guven, Bobby Brents president@texastechalumni.org.uk www.TexasTechAlumni.org.uk Texas Exes UK (UKTE) President: Carra Kane 7 Edith Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 8TW 0778 660 7534 carrakane@alumni.utexas.net www.fornogoodreason.com/UKTEMain.htm Texas A&M Club London Ashley Lilly, Co-President Devin Howard, Co-President london@aggienetwork.com http://clubs.aggienetwork.com/londonamc/

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The American

The John Adams Society Contact: Muddassar Ahmed c/o Unitas Communications, Palmerston House, 80-86 Old Street, London EC1V 9AZ 0203 308 2358 johnadamssociety@unitascommunications.com www.johnadamssociety.co.uk Tufts - London Tufts Alliance Vikki Garth Londontuftsalliance@yahoo.com UK Dawgs of the University of Georgia Rangana Abdulla ukdawgs@hotmail.com UMass Alumni Club UK Julie Encarnacao, President (0)20 7007 3869 julesje32@gmail.com University of California Matthew Daines (Program Director) 17 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3JA 020 7079 0567 matthewdaines@californiahouse.org.uk University of Chicago UK Alumni Association President c/o Alumni Affairs and Development – Europe University of Chicago Booth School of Business Woolgate Exchange, 25 Basinghall Street, London EC2V 5HA Tel +44(0)20 7070 2245 Fax +44(0)20 7070 2250 www.ChicagoBooth.edu University of Illinois Alumni Club of the UK Amy Barklam, President 07796 193 466 amybarklam@msn.com University of North Carolina Alumni Club Brad Matthews, Club Leader 2 The Orchards, Hill View Road, Woking GU22 7LS brad.matthews@alumni.unc.edu http://alumni.unc.edu University of Michigan Alumni Association Regional Contact: Jessica Cobb, BA ’97 +44 (0) 788-784-0941 jesscobb@yahoo.com http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/umich_uk_alumni/

University of Rochester/Simon School UK Alumni Association Ms. Julie Bonne, Co-President 0118-956-5052 julie_bonne@yahoo.com University of Southern California, Alumni Club of London Jennifer Ladwig, President Chuck Cramer, Treasurer usclondon@gmail.com www.usclondonalumni.org University of Virginia Alumni Club of London Kirsten Jellard, 020 7368 8473

64 February 2013

londonuvaclub@yahoo.com http://members.aol.com/UKUVACLUB/UVA-london.htm

US Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point) UK Chapter President: Allison Bennett bennett.ac@gmail.com Facebook: Kings Point Alumni - London/United Kingdom USNA Alumni Association, UK Chapter President: LCDR Greta Densham ‘00 (gretaj@mac.com) Vice President/Treasurer: Tim Fox ‘97 (timfox97@ hotmail.com) Secretary: Mike Smith ‘84 (Mike.Smith@polycom.com) Facebook Group - USNA Alumni Association, UK Chapter Vassar College Club Sara Hebblethwaite, President 18 Redgrave Road, London, SW15 1PX +44 020 8788 6910 sara.hebblethwaite@virgin.net Warnborough Worldwide Alumni Association c/o International Office, Friars House, London SE1 8HB. Tel. 020 7922 1200 Fax. 020 7922 1201 http://www.wwaa.info/ admin@warnborough.edu Wellesley College Club Ana Ericksen, President. ana@ericksenuk.com Wharton Business School Club of the UK Yoav Kurtzbard, President Claire Watkins, Administrator 020-7447-8800 ykurtzbard@youngassoc.com cwatkins@youngassoc.com Williams Club of Great Britain Ethan Kline: ethankline@gmail.com Yale Club of London Joe Vittoria, President president@yale.org.uk Scott Fletcher, Events events@yale.org.uk Nick Baskey, Secretary secretary@yale.org.uk www.yale.org.uk Zeta Tau Alpha Alumnae Kristin Morgan. Tel: 07812 580949 kristinamorgan@gmail.com www.zetataualpha.org

ARTS North American Actors Association Chief Executive: Ms. Laurence Bouvard Americanactors@aol.com 07873 371 891

CIVIL WAR SOCIETIES American Civil War Round Table (UK) Sandra Bishop, 5 Southdale, Chigwell, Essex IG7 5NN sandra-bishop@hotmail.com www.americancivilwar.org.uk

Southern Skirmish Association (SoSkan) Membership Secretary, Bob Isaac, 3 Hilliards Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3TA email membership@soskan.co.uk

SPORTS Eagles Golf Society Sharon Croley c/o Eventful Services, 49 Hastings Road, Croydon, Surrey CRO 6PH sharoncroley@blueyonder.co.uk English Lacrosse The Belle Vue Centre, Pink Bank Lane, Longsight, Manchester M12 5GL 0161.227.3626 www.englishlacrosse.co.uk info@englishlacrosse.co.uk British Baseball Federation/ BaseballSoftballUK 5th Floor, Ariel House, 74a Charlotte Street, London W1T 4QJ. 020 7453 7055 British Morgan Horse Society 01942 886141 www.morganhorse.org.uk admin@morganhorse.org.uk Ice Hockey UK 19 Heather Avenue, Rise Park, Romford RM1 4SL Tel. 07917 194 264 Fax. 1708 725241 www.icehockeyuk.co.uk ihukoffice@yahoo.co.uk Herts Baseball Club Adult & Little League Baseball www.hertsbaseball.com LondonSports Instruction and competitive play in baseball, basketball and football (soccer), for boys and girls aged 4-15, newcomers or experienced players. Learn about and play sports in a safe, fun environment. We welcome children of all nationalities. www.londonsports.com vll@me.com London Warriors American Football Club Contact: Kevin LoPrimo info@londonwarriorsafc.co.uk www.londonwarriorsafc.co.uk Mildenhall EELS Swim Team International and local competitions for ages 6-19. Contact Coach Robin flv4@hotmail.com

Every effort is made to ensure that listings in the information guide are correct and current. If your entry requires amendments please notify us immediately. We rely on you to keep us informed. Telephone 01747 830520, Fax 01747 830691 or email us at theamerican@blueedge.co.uk. We would be pleased to receive news or short articles about your organisation for possible publication in The American.

The American

RESTAURANTS

Suppliers of quality products and services hand-picked for you ACCOUNTANCY & TAX

La Capanna The Finest Italian Food served in the loveliest of Surrey’s settings. 48 High Street, Cobham, Surrey KT11 3EF 01932 862 121 www.lacapanna.co.uk

GROCERY

BDO LLP The UK member firm of the world’s fifth largest accountancy organisation. 55 Baker Street, London W1U 7EU 020 7486 5888 info@bdo.co.uk www.bdo.uk.com

Lidgate Butchers Organic meats from a 150 year old business now run by the the fifth generation of the same family. 110 Holland Park Avenue, London W11 4UA Tel. 0207 727 8243 www.lidgates.com

Jaffe & Co., incorp. American Tax International Comprehensive tax preparation and compliance service for US expatriates in the UK and Europe. America House, 54 Hendon Lane, London N3 1TT 0800 085 1537 or 020 8346 5237 www.americantaxonline.com

LEGAL

Xerxes Associates LLP Fixed Fee US & UK Individual Tax Compliance, Consulting & Planning. Tel: +44(0)207 411 9026 Fax: +44(0)207 411 9051 www.xerxesllp.com

ANTIQUES & COLLECTABLES Stephen T Taylor Your American stamp dealer in Britain since 1995. 5 Glenbuck Road, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 6BS 020 8390 9357 info@stephentaylor.co.uk www.stephentaylor.co.uk

DRIVING INSTRUCTION Alison Driving School A well established, well known International Driving Instructor covering the area south and west of London, ideal for new drivers and for Americans who want to drive in the UK. www.femaledrivinginstructorinstaines.co.uk alisondrivingschool@yahoo.co.uk 01784 456 037, cell 07956 220389

EDUCATION Florida State University in UK Over 50 years of experience in international education. 99 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LA 020 7813 3223 www.international.fsu.edu

Kingsley Napley LLP Family lawyers with particular experience in dealing with cases involving Americans living here and abroad. 020 7814 1200 www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

MEDICAL & DENTAL

VIDEO / TELEVISION Jim Garnett - Cameraman 27 years’ experience in television, magazines and newspapers – Full professional gear in both NTSC [USA/Canada] and PAL formats. Used by ‘Entertainment Tonight’, CBC, CTV National, CTV Toronto, CTV Sports, Global TV and Channel Zero. Tel. 07930-100909 http://jimgarnettphotography.blogspot.co.uk

COUNSELLING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY Transitions Therapy Psychotherapy & Counselling for Expatriate Individuals, Couples, Families & Adolescents in the West End. London, England, United Kingdom 07557 261432 in the UK or 0044 7557 261432 from another country. Skype sessions available around the world. transitions_therapy@hotmail.com www.transitionstherapy.co.uk

The American Women’s Health Centre (AWHC) OB GYN Based in the West End of London, at the heart of medical excellence in Britain. Third Floor, 214 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5QN 020 7390 8433 info@AWHC.co.uk www.awhc.co.uk

To find out whether you’re eligible to advertise your products and services here, and for rates, call Sabrina Sully on +44 (0)1747 830520. You’ll reach Americans living in and visiting the UK as well as Britons who like American culture and products.

Coffee Break Answers

SOLUTION 5

1. 75%; 2. Groundhog Day; 3. Bill Murray; 4. A TV weatherman; 5. Chicago; 6. Al Capone; 7. b) 10”; 8. Canada; 9. a) purification; 10. Academy Awards (The Oscars); 11. Great Britain (1812), Mexico (1846) and Spain (1898); 12. The Treaty of Paris; 13. Edgar Allan Poe (Murders in the Rue Morgue, 1841); 14. a) Nebraska; 15. Lake Placid, 1932; 16. Arizona

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