September 2013
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Arts CHOICE MUSIC • REVIEWS WHAT’S ON GUIDE Eating OUT • SPORT
Colman Domingo
The Tony award winner tells us about bringing his one man show to London ¡Bravo, Costa Brava! We’re sold on Catalonia Football is back! NFL, NCAA previews and interviews inside PLUS: Our exclusive US/UK Organizations guide
Are you a U.S. Citizen living in the UK or Europe and looking for employment? Unitek Technical Services, a global provider of supplier management, development, and related technical services to aerospace corporations around the world is currently looking for: Supplier Quality Engineer – West of London, UK The candidate must be experienced in managing the quality performance of suppliers supporting a variety of aircraft structures, systems and components manufacture. • Must be highly knowledgeable in Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA). • Background managing AS9100/AS9120/ISO Aerospace Sub-Tier Suppliers, Evaluating AS9102 First Article Inspection Reports, Lean Processes, QMS Auditing, Supplier Assessments and Supplier Improvement Activities. • Travel is required within region. Quality Inspector – Rome, Genoa and Saronno – Italy • Must have experience performing first article inspections per AS9102, in-process and final inspections. • The ability to read and understand complex engineering drawings, specifications, geometric dimensioning and tolerances per ANSI/ASME Y 14.5. • The ability to perform mechanical measurement for verifying the compliance of complex machined, formed, cast, forged, and assembled aircraft structure. • Preferred candidate will be fluent in English and Italian.
Please forward CV’s to carol.grela@nts.com or laura.brown@nts.com To learn more about Unitek Technical Services visit www.nqa-uts.com
QUALITY PEOPLE, QUALITY RESULTS | NQA-UTS.COM
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The American ®
Issue 725 – September 2013 Published by SP Media for
Blue Edge Publishing Ltd.
Old Byre House, East Knoyle, Salisbury SP3 6AW, UK Tel: +44 (0)1747 830520 Publisher and Editor in Chief: Michael Burland michael@theamerican.co.uk Editor: Richard L Gale editor@theamerican.co.uk Advertising & Promotions: Sabrina Sully, Commercial Director advertising@theamerican.co.uk Subscriptions: theamerican@blueedge.co.uk Editorial contacts: Virginia E Schultz, Food & Drink (USA) virginia@theamerican.co.uk Michael M Sandwick, Food mms@theamerican.co.uk Sabrina Sully, Community Contact sabrina@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
Please contact us with your news or article ideas ©2013 Blue Edge Publishing Ltd. Printed by Advent Colour Ltd., Portway Ind. Estate, Andover SP10 3LU www.advent-colour.co.uk ISSN 2045-5968 Main Cover Image: Colman Domingo; Circular Inset: Ramon Foster (photo © Pittsburgh Steelers/Karl Roser); View down a Costa Brava lane (photo © Sabrina Sully)
@TheAmericanMag
D
o you Tweet? It seems the whole world’s gone Twitter-mad. We’re no exception, but you won’t find us letting the world know we’re “enjoying a cup of coffee” or “missing a train”. We do, however, let our followers know about great offers, give-aways and competitions (plus some that aren’t in the magazine), breaking news and views and extra content... why not follow us? @TheAmericanMag In this month’s issue we’ve been talking to some seriously artistic people. Wilko Johnson, the guitarist who reinvented R&B in the ’70s and is now inspiring a new generation with his positive reaction to his terminal cancer; Mud Morganfield, son of Muddy Waters, who’s taken on his daddy’s mantle; Colman Domingo, a multi-talented award winning actor, singer, playwright, director (it’s quicker to list what he doesn’t do); Nathan Outlaw, Michelin-starred fish chef par excellence who’s about to conquer New York; and Joan Roca, the No. 1 chef in the world! And listen up, sports fans, it’s football time again. Read our annual NFL and NCAA Football season previews. Enjoy your magazine,
Michael Burland, Publisher michael@theamerican.co.uk
Among this month’s contributors
Carolyn Norris It can be difficult for expats to make new friends, but Carolyn has great practical advice on how volunteering can help break the ice
Lucy Thomas Family lawyer Lucy makes a welcome return to The American with some equally welcome advice on holiday separations
John L Williams Eartha Kitt was one of the most unusual stars beloved by London audiences, and her biographer John tells us about her experiences over here
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.
September 2013 1
The American • Issue 725 • September 2013
In This Issue... Regular Sections 4 News 7 Diary Dates 22 Wining & Dining 28 Music 34 Arts Choice 37 Coffee Break
38 Books 39 Theater Reviews 46 DriveTime 47 Sports 56 American Organizations 65 The A-List
18 Costa Brava photo © Sabrina p Sully
“ Catalonia has been the discerning Spanish and French tourist’s secret for too long.”
10 Affairs of the Hat
F rom school caps to fascinators and cream top hats to besequinned berets, there’s a hat – and a story – for every occasion
12 Eartha Kitt in London
photo © Michael Burland
The skinny, angular girl who convinced ‘50s America she was the sexiest thing ever – then took London by storm
14 When Summer Vacation Leads to Separation
Discover the unexpected corners of the region around Barcelona
Lucy Thomas, Consultant Family Mediator says September is one of the peak times for separations. Here’s how to cope
47 Hawkeyes fly in London
16 Volunteering in the UK
C arolyn Norris, Enrichment Coordinator at TASIS offers advice on making new friends through volunteering
T he Michelin starred chef has just opened his fourth restaurant. Over a cup of coffee we found out what makes Nathan tick
Virginia Schultz looks at the increasingly acceptable enjoyment of Zinfandel
32 Mud Morganfield
The man who reinvented British R&B shares his love of American music – and his love of life – with The American
T he son of Muddy Waters, Mud loves playing here across the pond, but can’t wait to get back to Chicago cooking
44 Interview: Colman Domingo
T he multi award-winning playwright, director, actor, and dancer tells The American about A Boy and His Soul, the show he is bringing to the London stage this month
I owa dominates in London’s Copper Box debut, but a capacity crowd heralds big time basketball in the capital
48 NFL Preview
24 Interview: Nathan Outlaw
26 Cellar Talk
30 Wilko Johnson
J osh Modaberi chats to Pittsburgh’s Ramon Foster and Minnesota’s Kevin Williams; and Richard L Gale breaks down the divisions in our annual preview
52 NCAA Football Preview If not Alabama, who? And if not Johnny Manziel for the Heisman, who? Could Ohio State and Braxton Miller win it all?
54 Eagle-Eyed
D arren Kilfara dons an ESPN cap and a two-way radio for a long weekend of golfspotting at the 2013 Open Championship
65 Peggy Lee London
F rom the parks to the watering houses, through the capital’s many famous, unusual and historic locations, The American’s new canine correspondent Peggy Lee seeks out the dog-friendly delights of London
MARYLEBONE
Sir Christopher Meyer:
Churchill and the Lessons of History Monday September 16th, 6–8pm The American Museum in Britain invites you to the Inaugural Sir Winston Churchill Memorial lecture by Sir Christopher Meyer KCMG, Britain’s former Ambassador to the United States. Sir Christopher is the author of DC Confidential, a chronicle of his time in Washington. His lecture will draw on Churchill’s despatches on the 19th-century war raging on what is now the Pakistan/Afghanistan border. Tickets: £25 per person / £20 Museum Members Please call 01225 823014 Free shuttle bus to the Museum from the centre of Bath www.americanmuseum.org
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): H The US Embassy in London and US Consulates H The United/Continental and Virgin clubhouses at Heathrow H Hotels around the UK H The American Museum in Britain (near Bath) H Automat American Brasserie, Dover Street, Mayfair, London H Sports Bar & Grill Marylebone and Victoria H All the organizations listed in back of the magazine, and USAFE bases H 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.
SBG Marylebone ad 70 x 205mm.indd 1
21/08/2013 11:39
The American
NEWS The royal couple with Prince George
photo: Michael Middleton/PA Wire © TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, 2013
Prince George and his many American relatives As you may have heard, the Royal Family welcomed a new member this past month with the birth of Prince George. The American would like to extend its congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The infant prince may be astonished how many famous, if very distant, American cousins he has. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are distantly related to each other, both being descended from Sir Thomas Fairfax (16121671). In the mid-17th century, part of the Fairfax family moved to Virginia, meaning many Americans are related to the present royals – so maybe you are too! Included in the list of Americans related to Prince George are presidents Bush and, of course, Bush, Obama, Jefferson, and Washington, seven presidents’ wives, CNN journalist Anderson Cooper, explorer Meriwether Lewis, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, TV personality Ellen DeGeneres, actor Humphrey Bogart, and inevitably, Kevin Bacon (six degrees of separation? According to the New England Historic Genealogical Society seventh cousins, twice removed).
4 September 2013
© STATE DEPARTMENT
John Kerry uses UK visit to declare same-gender couples have visa equality
S
ecretary of State John Kerry addressed the issue of visa applications from same-sex couples during his August visit to London, telling a gathering at the US Embassy in the UK that as long as marriages were valid under local laws where the marriage took place, they would be respected as valid for US immigration purposes. After thanking US Embassy workers for their hard work in processing visa applications, Secretary Kerry told Embassy and consular employees that “One of our most important exports by far is America’s belief in the equality of all people ... Today is one of those days. I’m very pleased to be able to announce that effective immediately, when same-sex spouses apply for a visa, the Department of State will consider that application in the same manner that it will consider the application of opposite-sex spouses ... If you are the spouse of a US citizen, your visa application will be treated equally. If you are the spouse of a non-citizen, your visa application will be treated equally. And if you are in a country that doesn’t recognize your same-sex marriage, then your visa application will still be treated equally at every single one of our 222 visa processing centers around the world.” “Today, the State Department,
which has always been at the forefront of equality in the federal government is tearing down an unjust and an unfair barrier that for too long stood in the way of samesex families being able to travel as a family to the United States.” “This year marks the 50th anniversary of the famous march on Washington and of Martin Luther King’s unbelievably eloquent and historic plea for equality. So that is where the dream was declared, the march goes on, this is several more steps in that march.”
US Embassy London Welcomes New Chargé D’affaires While the US Embassy to the Court of St. James awaits the arrival of the new Ambassador, Elizabeth Dibble has taken up her role of Chargé d’affaires. Her previous assignment was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the US State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, and from 2010 to 2011, she was Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, where her portfolio included managing US relations with the European Union and Western Europe. On the arrival of the Ambassador, Ms. Dibble will then take up her permanent position of Deputy Chief of Mission.
Buying & Selling USA Stamps, Covers & Postal History STAMPEX Business Design Centre, Islington, London N1 0QH Sept 18 – 21 Stephen T. Taylor 5 Glenbuck Road Surbiton, Surrey KT6 6BS Phone: 020 8390 9357 Fax: 020 8390 2235 info@stephentaylor.co.uk www.stephentaylor.co.uk Your American Dealer in Britain
JAFFE & CO LLP AMERICAN TAX INTERNATIONAL US Expatriate Tax Services Established in 1981 and managed by Bruce L Jaffe, BA JD, we provide a full range of US and UK tax services for US expatriates residing in the UK and have over 55 years of cumulative experience preparing tax returns for US taxpayers. Please contact us today to see how we can help you. 020 8346 5237 www.jaffeandco.com info@jaffeandco.com 54 Hendon Lane, London N3 1TT
The American
Celebrities invite you to listen to London Landmarks A new initiative, London Beyond Sight has recently been completed, offering blind and partiallysighted people audio descriptions of some of London’s landmarks, architecture and iconic imagery. Launched by the VocalEyes charity, it emulates the New York Beyond Sight project. 40 celebrities have chosen and described their favorite London features. Amongst the celebs are Homeland actor David Harewood who chooses the Buxton Memorial Fountain (inset); VocalEyes patron Sir Derek Jacobi, who chooses the Old Vic Theatre; Baroness Young of Hornsey selects the Palm House at Kew Gardens; American-born gastronome Loyd Grossman admires the Royal Artillery War Memorial in Hyde Park; National Portrait Gallery director Sandy Nairne describes St Paul’s Cathedral; Black Adder star Tony Robinson adores the George V pillar box in Formosa Street; and American-born actress Zoë Wanamaker waxes lyrical over Bush House (below left), once home of the BBC World Service, and originally commissioned by American companies. Download podcasts (and scripts) from www. vocaleyes.co.uk/londonbeyondsight.
6 September 2013
The Sutton Trust expands program for UK Students to try US Education By Jamie Dunn, Communication Officer and Educational Advisor at the US-UK Fulbright Commission
A
fter a successful pilot year, the Sutton Trust has expanded its US summer school program to give bright, low and middle income UK state school students a taste of life at an American university. The initiative has been developed from the Trust’s flagship UK summer schools and is centered on a one-week residential in the US at MIT or Yale University with introductory events and application support in the UK before and after. Delivered in partnership with the US-UK Fulbright Commission, the program provides participants with activities and sessions to help them make the right decisions about American higher education. The Sutton Trust covers the costs for all residential events, accommodation and travel. Students were selected based on similar criteria to what US universities are looking for, including academic performance, extracurricular involvement, character and commitment to the program. 33 of the 64 students on the pilot program applied to US universities, with 24 winning places and 21
deciding to take them up. These 21 students were granted substantial or full funding and access to $4.5m of financial aid. They will be studying at top US universities, including Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Stanford. Applications for next year’s program open later this autumn. Research shows that there are more than 250 American universities and colleges with significant funds earmarked for overseas students, totalling over $500 million per year. Interested in getting involved with the program? For more information on the Trust’s program visit www.suttontrust.com or email suttontrust@fulbright.org.uk
The Feeling is Mutual: Some Study Abroad Stats The UK and US Remain the Study Abroad Destinations of Choice for American and British Students. In 2011-12, a record 9,186 UK students pursued university study in the US, a 2.7% increase over the year before. (Note: These students would have applied in the autumn of 2010). For the 2011-2012 school year, there was a 12% increase in the number of UK student test takers year on year. The number of students in the UK taking the ACT increased in 2012-2013 by 68.8% over 2011-2012. The traffic is not all one way. A record 16,333 US students were pursuing full degrees at British universities in 2011-12, a 5% increase over the previous year. Over three years, there has been an approximate 14% rise.
See our full events listings online: www.theamerican.co.uk List your event FREE in The American – email editor@theamerican.co.uk or call us on +44 (0)1747 830520 The Great Dorset Steam Fair Tarrant Hinton, Dorset DT11 8HX www.gdsf.co.uk August 28 to September 1
Largs Viking Festival Largs, North Ayrshire, Scotland KA30 www.largsvikingfestival.com August 31 to September 8
Widely recognised as the National Show, Dorset Steam Fair is the leading steam engine and agricultural pursuits show of its type in the world, covering 600 acres. Showman’s and working steam engines, heavy horses, classic cars and motorbikes, a funfair and live music are just a few of the highlights in this massive country show.
This year marks the 750th anniversary of the Battle of Largs of 1263, the scene of the last Viking invasion of the UK. Events include theater, re-enactments, and Viking-related performances.
Chatsworth Country Fair Chatsworth, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1PP www.chatsworthcountryfair.co.uk August 30 to September 1
World Oyster Eating Championships Hillsborough, Lisburn, Northern Ireland BT27 www.hillsboroughoysterfestival.com/ oyster-eating/ September 7
Set in the elegant surroundings of the historic Chatsworth House, the Country Fair offers showground events and displays (including the JCB Dancing Diggers and Red Arrows), food and other activities.
Oysters are seen as a delicacy, but etiquette comes second in this competition to eat as many oysters as possible. In 2012, American Sonya Thomas narrowly missed out on the title. In 2013, two new American contestants fly over to compete with Colin Shirlow, the current champ.
Blackpool Illuminations Blackpool, Lancashire FY1 www.visitblackpool.com August 30 to November 10
The Great River Race Various, Thames River www.greatriverrace.co.uk September 7
Throughout September, the Illuminations light up Blackpool’s promenade. A major annual attraction that has been around since 1879.
21 miles of the Thames from London Docklands to Ham in Surrey make up the course for London’s ‘River’ Marathon. Over 300 crews compete.
7 September 2013
photo: Sheila Rock
Your Guide To The Month Ahead
Last Night of the Proms Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP www.bbc.co.uk/proms September 7 The Last Night of the Proms is like Wimbledon and the Grand National, an event when regular members of the public get excited by, and involved in, classical music (or tennis or horse racing). But only once a year. It has its own rituals and regular items, it’s patriotic (Rule, Britannia!, Land of Hope and Glory, Jerusalem) but this year’s event has a special transatlantic flavor. It begins with a new work by Anna Clyne, British-born and now resident and working in the USA and, as well as a rare performance of Britten’s 1967 overture for chorus and orchestra The Building of the House, it has several Leonard Bernstein pieces for a touch of Broadway magic. In charge of proceedings is Marin Alsop, an American conductor and violinist who is music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra – the first woman to conduct the Last Night. And star soloists for the evening are Nigel Kennedy and Joyce DiDonato (above, interviewed in The American in July 2011).
Proms in the Park Hyde Park, London W2 2UH As an alternative to the Royal Albert Hall event, enjoy the splendid surroundings of Hyde Park for the Last Night. Stars such as Bryan Ferry, Joseph Calleja, Blue and The Red Hot Chilli Pipers take to the stage.
September 2013 7
The American
American Museum in Britain Claverton Manor, Bath BA2 7BD www.americanmuseum.org info@americanmuseum.org Telephone: 01225 460503 Throughout September Housed in Georgian splendor at Claverton Manor in Bath, the American Museum in Britain remains the only museum outside the US to showcase the nation’s decorative arts. There are exhibitions, workshops, Quilting Bees every Tuesday, kids’ activities and special events including: American Civil War Weekend. Sept. 14 & 15 with Skirmishes at 3pm (Sat), 2pm (Sun). 2013 is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, the most infamous battle of the American Civil War. Enjoy an action packed afternoon as the Southern Skirmish Association recreate the sights and (very loud!) sounds of the battle. Inaugural Sir Winston Churchill Lecture. Sept. 14. In the inaugural Sir Winston Churchill Lecture, Sir Christopher Meyer, Britain’s former Ambassador to the US and the author of DC Confidential, a chronicle of his time in Washington, talks on Churchill’s despatches on the 19th century war raging on what is now the Pakistan/ Afghanistan border. Tickets £25 (£20 members). 6-8pm.
8 September 2013
Meatopia Tobacco Dock, 50 Porters Walk, London E1W 2SF www.meatopia.co.uk September 7
The Rediscovery of Wisdom British Library, Eliot Room, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org September 9
The event, originally based in New York City was hosted by San Francisco in 2012. Now it’s London’s turn. British and American stars from the culinary scene include Chris Hastings of The Hot and Hot Fish Club, Alabama; Seamus Mullen of Tertulia, New York; Shake Shack; Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue, Austin TX; Tim Byres of SMOKE, Dallas TX; and Michael White of Chop Shop, London.
Benjamin Franklin House, in association with the Eccles Centre for American Studies, hosts an annual symposium with guest speaker Rory Sutherland, who begins his talk using Franklin’s maxim – “There are two ways of being happy: We must either diminish our wants or augment our means – either may do ... it is for each man to decide for himself and to do that which happens to be easier.”
Danone Nations Cup World Final Wembley Stadium, London HA9 0WS www.danonenationscup.com September 7
Abbots Bromley Horn Dance Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire WS15 www.abbotsbromley.com/horn_dance September 9
The Chicago Magic PSG Soccer Club represent American interest in this year’s Cup Final, held for the first time in England. It is the largest children’s soccer tournament in the world, with 32 countries represented and Zinedine Zidane as its ambassador.
An annual tradition dating back to1226. Dancers collect their horns from the Church at 8am, and perform their dance accompanied by music at various locations around the village.
Beaulieu International Autojumble Brockenhurst, Hampshire SO42 7ZN www.beaulieu.co.uk September 7 to 8 One of the biggest outdoor sales of motoring items this side of the Atlantic returns to Beaulieu.
World Black Pudding Throwing Championships Ramsbottom, Lancashire BL0 September 8 The annual contest sees competitors throw black puddings at a pile of Yorkshire puddings with the aim of knocking down the most.
Cake and Bake Show 2013 Earls Court, Warwick Road, London SW5 9TA www.thecakeandbakeshow.co.uk/london September 13 to 15 Exhibitors, star speakers, workshops, competitions and a whole range of cakes are at Earls Court for one of the sweetest events of September, which offers everything you need to bake and make cake.
London Fashion Week Various, London www.londonfashionweek.co.uk September 13 to 17
The annual event for fashionistas, with top designers showcasing the latest fashions and trends.
The American
Jane Austen Festival Various, Bath, BA1 www.janeausten.co.uk/festivalhome September 13 to 21 To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, this year’s festival features a recreation of the Netherfield Ball. The festival also includes costumed walks, talks, performances and ‘tea with Mr Darcy’.
Staithes Festival of Art and Staithes, North Yorkshire TS13 www.staithesfestival.com September 14 to 15 The quaint Yorkshire fishing village is the perfect setting for this festival of art, as cottages and local buildings become pop up galleries and cafes. 2013 included a new music program.
Michaelmas Daisy Weekends Waterperry Gardens, Nr Wheatley, Oxfordshire OX33 1JZ www.waterperrygardens.co.uk September 14-15 & 21-22 Waterperry Gardens celebrates the late summer blooms.
When Britain Burnt Down The White House Conference Centre, British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB www.bl.uk/eccles September 17 Author and broadcaster Peter Snow discusses his new book on Britain’s invasion of Washington in 1814.
Scotch Egg Challenge 2013 The Ship, 41 Jews Row, Wandsworth, London SW18 1TB www.theship.co.uk September 17 Started as a twitter-debate on who
creates the best scotch eggs in London, the Challenge, now in its 3rd year, pits chefs against each other to have their eggs crowned as the capital’s best. In aid of Action Against Hunger, to raise money for the charity.
At noon, the vicar of St John’s Church appears on a horse ahead of his congregation. The long tradition sees the blessing of horses and a celebration of horse riding in London.
Talk Like A Pirate Day www.talklikeapirate.com September 19
Harvest Fayre Sulgrave Manor, Manor Road, Sulgrave, Nr Banbury, Oxfordshire OX17 2SD www.sulgravemanor.org.uk September 22
Just say Aarrrrrr!
British Minigolf Open Weekend Strokes Adventure Golf, Westbrook Promenade, Margate, Kent CT9 5BJ www.minigolf.org.uk September 20 to 22
Sulgrave Manor celebrates the harvest with a special day of fresh food stalls and apple pressing.
Across the weekend, professional minigolf players and casual enthusiasts can tee off to crown the Players, International Players, and British Minigolf Open champions.
The Great Gorilla Run Start & Finish: London Underwriting Centre, Mincing Lane, London EC3R 7DD www.greatgorillarun.org September 21 Hundreds of runners dress as gorillas on the 7km London course in aid of The Gorilla Organization, which works to protect every type of gorilla.
Open House London Various, London www.londonopenhouse.org September 21 to 22 A weekend celebrating the capital’s neighborhoods, places and buildings.
Horseman’s Sunday St John’s Church Hyde Park, Hyde Park Crescent, London W2 2QD www.stjohns-hydepark.com September 22
Agatha Christie Festival Various locations, Torquay, Devon www.englishriviera.co.uk September 15 to 22 Torbay and ‘The English Riviera’ holds the ninth annual festival dedicated to the work of its own Queen of Crime. Among several days of events, there will be a visit by crime writer Val McDermid, author Kate Mosse will be one of the panellists for a literary panel, plus there’s murder mysteries, 1930s/40s soirees, films screenings and tours. Fittingly, the touring Bill Kenwright production of Go Back For Murder will be at the Princess Theatre, Torquay, September 16-21.
September 2013 9
The American
Affairs of the Hat
Mary Bailey ponders toppers, fascinators and bowlers
H
USA College Day Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London W8 7NX www.fulbright.org.uk September 27 to 28 The Fulbright Commission’s 2013 College Day offers those considering undergraduate study in the US a fantastic opportunity to speak with over 150 exhibitors representing US universities and educational service providers. Not to be missed by parents, students or advisers, this will be the 36th annual USA College Day.
The Porthcawl Elvis Festival Porthcawl, Wales CF36 www.elvies.co.uk September 27 to 29 The largest festival of its kind, thousands of Elvis fans descend on the Welsh seaside town to celebrate The King.
World Stone Skimming Championships 2013 Easdale Island, Argyll, Scotland PA34 www.stoneskimming.com September 29 The annual event returns to Easdale Island, where competitors skim stones on the water of the island’s disused quarry to see who can get their stone the furthest.
10 September 2013
ats have always been romantic and the doffing of hats has always been a sign of respect. The Tudor gentleman or Cavalier would almost sweep the floor with his plumed velvet hat as he bowed and not so long ago an English boy would so covet his first school cap that he would sleep with it under his pillow for the first few nights of ownership. We can see from old films how in the ’40s a gentleman would lift or tip his hat on greeting a lady or passing a memorial to the dead such as the cenotaph in central London. ‘Hats off’ is still used as a robust military salute to the Queen. How then did it all start? Probably in ancient Egypt, straw as a protection against the sun, and in northern lands furs against the cold; then came fashion alongside practicality; silk, then felt moulded into shape with the assistance of mercury... the fumes of which drove the hatters a little bit crazy, hence ‘mad as hatters’, creating a scandal from Russia through Europe and the US. Surprisingly the last such manufacturing centre to close was in Danbury, Connecticut, USA in 1941. The illness was known there as the Danbury Shakes. The oldest hatters, for 300 years, are Locks in London, who hold the Royal Warrant (they make hats for the Royals). One ear larger than the other? Wear a toupée? Their discretion is absolute and no employee has the shakes! St Paul’s dictum was that ladies should cover their hair in church, in case its beauty might divert the men. (I fear my straight lank locks are more alluring completely covered up.) Some African-American ladies favor what they call the church hat, often beautifully presented.
Which brings us to ladies’ hats worn to perfect the outfit. The present fashion, much disputed, is for the ‘fascinator’ which is so small and light it often has to be fastened with a hidden band. Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge looks lovely in hers, but then she would look lovely in almost anything and I think they are really for the young. Ascot where, it is said you look at hats first and horses second, is fun. There’s a dress code for the Royal enclosure and yes, there are fashion police to check on things! Outside that place it’s more liberal: cream top hats can be worn by gents, whereas inside it’s black or grey only. Some Ascot hats can be quite crazy although prize winning hats are usually dead plain, very expensive and sit on board a very beautiful woman. Ladies attending the Tennessee Derby start to think hats about February and then match their outfits to them. They obviously have the hang of things. I once bumped into a fashion hatter in the street whilst wearing my dogwalking beret. She looked at it and said ‘wash it, wear it tipped forward, sew on five sequins ...and I think an Afghan hound or cocker spaniel would look best with it.’
Bridport Hat Festival Various, Bridport, Dorset www.bridporthatfest.org September 6 to 7 Live music (hat-lover Hank Wangford), stalls (full of hats), competitions (about hats), a mass hat-wearing, and a hat amnesty, as thousands of hat enthusiasts gather.
Music gigs of the month
Jack Johnson www.jackjohnsonmusic.com September 5 to 16
Jack Johnson’s sixth studio album, From Here To Now To You is released September 17 on the Hawaiian singer’s own label. To celebrate, Johnson and his band kick off a major tour in Europe before returning to the States.
Joe Brown www.joebrown.co.uk August 26 to December 15 A major influence on many British guitar heroes of the sixties and seventies – and by extension many
American guitarists too – Joe Brown is also King of the Ukulele. Catch him on his 40 date UK tour.
Bluesfest 2013 www.royalalberthall.com October 29 to November 1
Stephen Kellogg stephenkellogg.com September 24 to 28
Robert Plant, Bobby Womack, Van Morrison, Gregory Porter, and Mavis Staples headline a celebration of music inspired by the blues at the Royal Albert Hall.
Read our interview with Stephen Kellogg online at www.theamerican. co.uk. And see him (without his band The Sixers) play songs from his new album Blunderstone Rookery.
Fabolous www.myfabolouslife.com September 7 to 10 The Brooklyn-born hip hop star’s new album Loso’s Way II boasts collaborations with Chris Brown, Rick Ross, John Legend, Ne-Yo, Trey Songz, FYUTCH and Chrisette Michelle.
Public Service Broadcasting publicservicebroadcasting.net To October 28 J. Willgoose, Esq. and Wrigglesworth are touring the UK with their spell-binding blend of old public information films with live drums, guitar, banjo and electronics. Sure to include Spitfire, and London Can Take It, narrated by US journalist Quentin Reynolds and paying tribute to Londoners’ spirit during the Blitz.
plus special guests
NOVEMBER 2013
DECEMBER 2013
FRI 29 Birmingham Institute SUN 01 Manchester Ritz SAT 30 Glasgow O 2 abc MON 02 London Forum buy online at ticketmaster.co.uk livenation.co.uk a live nation presentation in association with wme
The American
Eartha Kitt in London How Eartha learned how to be a star in England, in an extract from a new biography
E
artha Kitt was an unlikely icon – a skinny, mixed-race woman with an odd, angular face who was able to persuade ’50s white America that she was the sexiest thing they’d ever seen. Born on a South Carolina cotton plantation, she gave the impression of having lived a life of unalloyed luxury, and although she was obviously American, she managed to convey a sense of being unfamiliar, exotic, ‘foreign’ – as happy to sing in French or Turkish as she was in English. Extraordinarily versatile in her talents, as a singer, actress, and dancer she effortlessly transcended all the stereotypes meted out to women of her background. Kitt came to the attention of the American public with a hit single, C’Est Si Bon, a sophisticated take on the pleasures of European life sung in French. She later became a film and TV star, and one of the greatest cabaret performers of her age. Intelligent and politically aware, friends and admirers included Prince Philip, James Dean and Albert Einstein. Over the years she would spend a lot of time in London, living there in the early 1970s while her career was at a low ebb Stateside, following a famous row with Ladybird Johnson over the Vietnam War. In London she was revered as a major star, appearing in West End shows. Her daughter attended the Lycée in South Kensington. However, her first visit to London took place as far back as 1948. Eartha Kitt spent her first years in a place called North, South Carolina – less a town than a crossroads in
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Eartha, left, dancing in the Katherine Dunham Company
among the cotton fields. Her mother, Anna Mae Kitt, was a fourteen-yearold black girl, her father an unknown white man. When she was eight years old, her mother died and she went to live with an aunt in New York. There she attended the Metropolitan High School (a forerunner of the famed New York School of Performing Arts), then joined the Katherine Dunham Company, the USA’s first African American dance company. Soon she was a featured dancer and singer in Dunham’s Broadway shows, Carib Song and Bal Negre. Following the success of Bal Negre, Katherine Dunham took the company on tour to Mexico, then to Hollywood, where they appeared in a film called Casbah, with Peter Lorre. The company’s next booking was in London. After docking at Southampton in late spring, 1948, they were met at the station in London by a representative of the Prince Of Wales Theatre. The Company members were shown to their various digs around London. These were
not segregated, as in the US, but that was about all that was to be said for them. They were cold and grim and Eartha, along with her designated room-mate Julie Robinson, thought she could do better. Julie Robinson was the first white member of the Company. The child of artistic Jewish parents, she had grown up in Greenwich Village and would go on to marry Harry Belafonte, though at the time she met Eartha she was going out with a young actor called Marlon Brando. Eartha and Julie found a flat in Manchester Square, next to the Wallace Collection art museum, and round the back of Selfridges. Julie recalled: “In the apartment it was so damp and so cold I slept on the floor by the heater; you had to put a shilling in, and I had to keep turning round in the night like I was roasting myself!” Eartha remembered this as an exciting time: the two of them setting up housekeeping and negotiating the rationing system, with its limits on the meat, eggs, cheese, milk and sugar, etc, that you could buy. Gradually they learned to supplement rations with black market connections or by getting food parcels sent from home. Clothing, too, was rationed, which came as something of a shock to the fashion-conscious Dunham dancers. Nylons were another commodity that had to be sent from America. Post-war Britain was in a seriously enfeebled state. Eartha soaked up the London culture, visiting great historical sites such as the Tower Of London and
The American
Hampstead Heath. Like the rest of the company she dated her share of Englishmen, and discovered that post-war London did have an exciting night life, if you knew where to look for it. As Julie says, “In the Company, you know, we really lived life! So, very often, after a rehearsal or whatever we’d go out dancing.” One of the best places to go out dancing in London after the War was Soho’s Caribbean Club, just off Piccadilly. One of its old habitués, the veteran jazzer Kenny Gordon, told me about its customers: “Showbiz people, society people, an interesting mix. Sidney Poitier came down when he was filming Cry, the Beloved Country. So did Canada Lee, people like that.” The quality of the house band, a fine jazz trio, ensured the Caribbean Club’s popularity, not only with visiting black stars but also London society folk. This was the world Eartha Kitt had landed in; one in which West Indians and their culture were still seen, in the days before mass immigration, as enlivening rather than threatening. London was a war-weary city ready and begging for a production as vital as the Dunhams’ Caribbean Rhapsody.
The show opened on June 3, 1948, and duly received rave reviews. Eartha was now clearly one of the stars; featuring as one of the Sans Souci singers, performing a duet with Jesse Hawkins, and taking a major part in the showstopping Shango routine. The Dunham Company in full flow offered an effortless demonstration of Afrocentric culture, two decades ahead of their time. During the London run a divide started to appear in the Company between its leader and the rest. The glamorous and sophisticated Miss Dunham had her own place in London and became a café society darling. The Dunham troops were enjoying the night life but, in Eartha’s case at least, also wondering whether they were expected simply to bask in Miss Dunham’s reflected glow. Eartha was starting to challenge Miss D’s hitherto undisputed starring role in the Company. In a clear act of defiance to the queenly Miss D, during a performance before royalty, she began by customising her outfit. Instead of having a bandanna covering her hair, as usual, she pinned it to one side. When Miss D didn’t complain, Eartha was emboldened to try out a scenestealing move at the end of the Shango
routine, standing on the shoulders of two of the male dancers, then diving to the floor and slithering from one end of the stage to the other. This seemingly simple act, as delivered by the young Eartha, was absolutely hypnotic. One of her contemporaries, the singer and actress Annie Ross, told me that she still remembers it vividly over sixty years later: “She did a slow walk in just a kind of short sheath, just from stage left to stage right. She moved very slowly, just to drums, and she was mesmerising. It was fantastic and yet she didn’t do anything!” Sure enough this kind of talent wasn’t going to go unnoticed for long. By the end of the run at the Prince of Wales she was openly weighing up her options. In the Company archive, there is a signed note from Eartha confirming that ‘With reference to the forthcoming Continental season, I understand and give my assurance that I can accept no engagement other than with your Company.’ By the time the run at the Prince of Wales came to an end, the Company had already secured its next major booking, in Paris. It would be in Paris that Eartha finally left the Dunham Company and began her fast rise to solo stardom, but it was in post-war London that she had acquired the confidence she needed to make that final leap. This is an adapted extract from John L Williams’ new biography of Eartha Kitt, America’s Mistress, published by Quercus. John L Williams is the author of ten previous books, amongst them a biography of Shirley Bassey and his acclaimed Cardiff Trilogy of novels.
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The American
SUMMER VACATION
When leads to SEPARATION F
amily lawyers will tell you that September and January are their busiest months. The reason? For many families summer and Christmas vacations present unique stresses and strains. They can be loaded with expectation, often planned for months, at great expense, so the pressure to ‘be happy’ and ‘enjoy’ becomes immense. This can often magnify difficulties in a relationship. For others, simply having the kids at home for weeks on end can be stressful and, again, highlight difficulties between parents whose relationship may already be under pressure. So how can those long vacations be managed to minimise difficulty? What steps could be taken to ease tensions? For couples who are contemplating a trial or more permanent separation it might be sensible to consider separate vacation time, perhaps with periods of overlap as a family. Separate as well as joint outings with children could also assist. Some couples say that a trial separation is the only way to find clarity and work towards a possible reconciliation. If that applies, then it can be helpful to discuss and agree specifics in a mediation session. This provides a neutral/safe environment in which finances and arrangements for any children can be agreed. If you are considering a more formal separation the key is to be informed and
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Family law advice from Lucy Thomas, Consultant Family Solicitor/Mediator with Setfords Solicitors
prepared so that you can, hopefully, deal with matters as cost effectively and amicably as possible. A one-off meeting with a lawyer could be sensible. You don’t need to feel that you are ‘opening the floodgates’ or that you will then be pressured down a route you may not be ready for, but make it clear that you want to explore your options and know where you stand. For some people just knowing what the future might look like (financially or otherwise) can be a helpful, effective way of addressing anxieties and fears, and perhaps alleviating conflict. There is so much ‘unsolicited’ advice available (online, via friends etc.) that it can be overwhelming. Taking some initial advice can provide comfort and calm, enabling you to make decisions from an informed
position. You might then feel more able to discuss matters and reach agreements with your partner directly which has to be the best outcome for you and for your family. As summer can often mean long periods of travel, it is important, particularly from an American perspective, to take advice in the appropriate place. This could include England as well as your home state in the US. The rules which apply in one country may be very different from another. That is why, for American families living abroad, early advice is not only preferable but could be crucial. The vacation some couples need is a clean break from each other photo © Kzenon
The American
Volunteering in the UK By Carolyn Norris, Enrichment Coordinator and Journalism Teacher at TASIS The American School in England
L
iving in the United Kingdom presents an expat with challenges – adapting to customs and mores, driving on the left side of the road, and learning the subtle yet distinct differences between English and American English. However, along with these challenges come opportunities to discover what a dynamic place the UK is and to make the most of your time on this side of the pond. And what better way to immerse yourself in British life than by volunteering in the community? Opportunities to volunteer abound everywhere, from working with children and the elderly to preserving the environment or planning a village fête. Expats with children might consider helping at their child’s school. Whether joining a Parent-Teacher Association, coaching after-school sports, or serving as a Troop Leader to Boy or Girl Scouts, parents are sure to find their child’s school only too happy to avail themselves of willing volunteers. Plus, participating in activities that are a big part of childhood in America, such as Scouting and T-Ball, can help a new expat to maintain these ties with home. Your children might also like to get involved in a service project, whether through
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their school or in the community. Engaging in volunteerism is not only a wonderful way to become more involved in British life, but also helps to develop and strengthen a sense of civic responsibility. If literary pursuits are your interest, consider supporting the local library. Government funding cuts have resulted in many smaller libraries relying solely on volunteers to keep their doors open. Also, some libraries utilize volunteers to run their Rhyme Time and Story Time sessions for children. High Street charity shops sell gently-used clothing, toys, and household items. These stores, which fund a number of national charities, rely heavily on the goodwill of not only those who donate items, but of volunteers to keep the stores up-and-running. As many customers
tend to be “regulars,” working in a charity shop also offers the chance to meet some local residents. Homes for the elderly welcome volunteers to help care for and befriend their residents. Due to the required background checks and training, though, individuals must be able to commit to longer-term volunteer positions. Local Councils often sponsor community-wide days of service, such as environmental clean-ups, and provide the chance to work on various village fêtes and celebrations (no one does a street party like the Brits!) Notice boards displayed in libraries and on village High Streets are a useful source of information for local happenings and opportunities to jump in and help out. The organization Do-it (www. do-it.org.uk) provides a free on-line search service for potential volunteers. Enter your postcode or town and the types of work that are of interest, such as Environment and Conservation or Art and Culture, to generate a list of volunteer jobs and their proximity to your home. However you choose to help out, the work of volunteers is truly one of the things that makes Britain great. Volunteering during your time in the UK doesn’t necessarily mean helping the Women’s Institute make jam... why not enhance the local community with a little T-Ball? photo: Clappstar
T he A mericAn S chool
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Welcoming international community • Close to London Co-educational day (3-18 yrs) and boarding (14-18 yrs) American High School Diploma • Advanced Placement • IB Diploma Excellent university placement in the US, the UK, and worldwide TASIS The American School in England, Coldharbour Lane, Thorpe, Surrey TW20 8TE 01932 582316 • ukadmissions@tasisengland.org • www.tasisengland.org
EXPAT NEED? CHECK ASSIGNEE SELECTED? CHECK TAX ADVISER? CHECK One of the less appealing things about sending your people overseas is that you, or they, suddenly have to become experts on the local tax system or risk falling foul of the law, incurring extra costs - or both. With BDO however, you and your people can can benefit from coordinated tax advice. Advance planning will save you time and money and our specialist tax advisers are well equipped to ease the burden. Through BDO, the world’s fifth largest accountancy network, our Expatriate teams can provide you with assistance all over the world. To find out more about the tax service that travels with you, please contact Andrew Bailey on Scott Wickham on+44 +44(0)20 (0)207893 78932946 2766 or andrew.bailey@bdo.co.uk scott.wickham@bdo.co.uk BDO’s Expatriate Tax service is run by our Human Capital team, which also provides a full range of expertise in employment tax, reward planning and pensions.
www.bdo.co.uk www.bdo.co.uk seperately authorised and BDO LLP and BDO Northern Ireland are both separately regulated by the Financial Services Authority to conduct investment business.
ESCAPES
I
was lucky enough to meet up with friends on the Costa Brava recently. I didn’t choose the venue, but what a revelation! Small fishing villages, pretty, hidden, sandy family beaches with rock pools and an azure sea, fantastic cuisine and good wine, with deep levels of history thrown in. Just over the Pyrenees from the South of France, the Costa Brava is the rugged, picturesque coastal region of Catalonia in Spain that’s been the discerning Spanish and French tourist’s secret for too long. We plumped for Hotel Sa Punta, in the Empordà region around Pals, as a base from which to explore. Bordering France and Andorra to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the east, Catalonia has mountains,
A rare sight – a house for sale in old town Girona
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Costa Brava Sardine-packed on too many tourist beaches? For a refreshing alternative explore the hidden places of Catalonia old towns and castles with bags of history, great agriculture, vineyards, beautiful beaches and turquoise seas along its 360 mile coastline. It even has its own language, which sounds more French than Spanish, with a dash of something else, Italian perhaps? It is also a food mecca... but more of that later. The Greeks, Romans and French all settled this area, and there was an ever-present threat of marauders. We explored the beautiful ancient hilltop town of Pals, with Paleolithic origins and thick C12th walls, replete with arrow slits, and four C4th towers. Yes Fourth, not Fourteenth. Pals was originally a port, but silting has pushed it inland. A doctor set about sensitively rebuilding it after devastation during the Spanish Civil War. As we wandered the cobbled streets, expecting a medieval knight at every turn, we spotted the stone angels and lions around the bedroom windows, carved to protect medieval inhabitants from malaria (medicine was deemed witchcraft by the church). To the north-east are rice fields, first mentioned in a 1452 text.
Here they produce wonderful creamy and nutty risotto rice as well as a multi-purpose and a brown rice, sold as ‘arros de Pals’. We bought packs of the risotto rice in local shops, to take home a flavor of our stay. Seventeen miles inland we found the city of Girona, built at the confluence of four rivers, whose origins long predate the Romans. It’s been besieged 25 times and captured seven times. That explains the thick city walls and towers, which we climbed for the views. We went down cobbled alleys and up stairways among the stone buildings. If you visit during the flower festival in May many of the old private houses throw open their doors and you can see behind the stone facades. The bright modern houses overlooking the river Onyar demanded a photograph too. The archaeological museum is in the Benedictine abbey of Sant Pere de Galligants, built in 1130. There’s also a Jewish Museum in the old narrow streets of what is left of the Jewish ghetto or ‘El Call’ which dates to the C12th. It is one of the best preserved ghettos in Europe, despite much
The American
From far left: Roman street scene, Catalan-style; the view from my balcony; Pals back alley; Girona; Palamós, a living fishing town; Girona city wall; home doorway in Pals
being destroyed after the Jews were expelled by a Catholic king in 1492. At one time 10% of the inhabitants were Jewish, it had one of the most important Kabbalistic schools in Europe, and from the City Walls on the north side we saw the site of their Jewish cemetery, Montjuïc (or ‘hill of the Jews’ in medieval Catalan). We never made it to Ullastret, a small ancient village on the Bay of Empordà, closer to the Pyrenees some three miles northeast of La Bisbal d’Empordà. Built by an old lake long gone, there’s ancient Iberian archaeological remains, and a medieval church from the 9th century. We intended to... but were too tempted by those glimpses of cerulean sea. Much of the coastline has rocky hills dotted with twisted pine trees, overlooking small sandy coves, archetypal pretty resorts just like that slew of old movies set in the Mediterranean, but strangely there were no large convertibles with Ava Gardner or Liz Taylor in headscarves and sunglasses! Alternatively you can find long, empty beaches, take your pick. Whilst inland it can get stiflingly hot, there’s fresher air by the sea, and often a welcoming cooling breeze. We headed to idyllic, soft-sanded Llafranc, often dubbed the ‘Laguna
Beach’ of Spain, and the lovely coastal walk from the botanical gardens and El Golfet beach at Calella de Palafrugell which takes you along some of the Costa Brava’s most picturesque bays. These paths were used to get to the coves if a ship was sinking, to watch the horizon for pirate raids and to transport contraband after the Spanish Civil War. Beachfront villas in Llafranc have a hefty pricetag. We’d booked dinner at the Michelin one star restaurant of the family-run Hotel Casamar. Owner and Head Chef Quim certainly deserves every point of his star. In our cocktail dresses, we took our apéritifs onto the terrace overlooking the cove, feeling like the jet set. The taster menu had inventive combinations of exquisite local food to delight the eye and the palate, and, we agreed, very reasonable prices for the food and wine. Next day we investigated where this lovely seafood came from, so headed for Palamós, where Truman Capote lived for two years and wrote In Cold Blood. It’s the largest port on the Costa Brava, renowned for its king prawns, and we found the fish market next to the moored working boats. This is where the locals shop, there’s a huge selection of really fresh fish and shellfish, all clearly priced.
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The American
Left, the promenade at L’Escala, with the Et Roser 2 restaurant in the background. Right, the buildings are ancient but Pals is no museum, as this beautiful home shows
We wished we were self-catering so that we could buy and buy, it was so tempting. Tearing ourselves away, we went a little further up the coast to L’Escala with it’s long esplanade. It’s acclaimed for its salted sardines, and salt has been produced here since Greek times. The fishermen ply between the two ports, landing sardines at one, prawns at the other, for the best prices. Both are lovely beach resorts, with charming Old Towns. We lunched at El Roser 2 in L’Escala, set at the end of the promenade, with views over the sea. The food again was inventive, and that delightful mix of local produce: seafood, meats, soft curd cheese, fruits and vegetables, teamed with wonderful local wines. We went for the taster menu again, to really savor the breadth of the cuisine. As with Casamar, the food looked so beautiful it was a shame to eat it, but we soldiered on and cleaned our plates, it was delicious, and very reasonably priced. We called in at a cheese-making farm to track down a local specialty, a light, soft, creamy, yoghurtlike cheese, and found
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they’re saving their local sheep breed, resurrecting their old cereal varieties, and have embraced organics and biodynamic agriculture. It’s all about the quality, and the region. We collapsed on the lovely beach at Platja d’Aro, Mas Nou, returned to Platja de Pals but the sea was chilly, so repaired up the road to our hotel’s wonderful seawater pool, where we continued to chat as I was flying home next day. I learnt from my friend who lives in Madrid that a lot of Spanish second homes are currently being sold, the best being snapped up by foreign buyers. It seems a good time to invest here. Catalonia is an autonomous region like Wales, but next year they’re having an independence referendum, just like Scotland. And it really punches above it’s weight. Spain’s national basketball team, packed with Catalans, only lost in the 2012 Olympic final to the USA. Only 16% of the Spanish population is Catalan yet it contributes 19% to Spanish GDP. With twelve universities and 400 life science research centers, Artichoke seeds help ferment the local specialty, creamy curd cheese
60% of pharma companies in Spain are based here, it’s also very big on ICT and contributes 20% of Spanish ICT revenues. There are good trading links with North Africa and Latin America, and the UK and US are their partners of preference. The 4 star Hotel Sa Punta where we all stayed had fabulous grounds and the promise of five minutes alone on my balcony in the morning, admiring the view of deep blue sea framed by the deep green pine trees was enough to make me leap from my bed and shower in record time. It’s part of an independent chain we found that has all sorts of hotels, large, small, golf or beach based, from the mountains to the sea. I couldn’t fault it, and I’m pretty picky. The warmth of this region doesn’t just emanate from the sunshine, and there’s a lot of that in the summer, it radiates from the people who make you feel welcome wherever you go. There’s excellent food, meat, salads, and wines, all locally, and increasingly sustainably, produced; horse trekking, great golf and fantastic independent hotels. There’s Miro’s cathedral and the largest collection of Dali in his museum at Figueres. And it’s difficult to take a photograph here that doesn’t look like a postcard. I think I’ve just found heaven.
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Catalan Cuisine T
he other big reason to go to Catalonia is for the food. Food is big here. Fresh, plentiful and high quality ‘mar i muntanya’ or ‘sea and mountain’ ingredients, and the standard of cooking is amazing. The secret is that several years ago some local restaurateurs formed the ‘Cuina de L’Empordanet’, a collective to share their passion for cooking, and to put their regional cuisine on the map. Instead of competing, they learn from each other and together, supporting and helping each other. Toni Izquierdo, of Mas dels Arcs, Palamós, the Chairman of the group, explained “We’re always trying to improve, and are genuinely happy for each other’s success, as it’s a success for all of us. We are like a pyramid of support
The ‘mar’ in ‘mar i muntanya’ - the fresh fish market at Palamós
for the younger ones to climb and reach the top”. They all actively support the Sant Pol del Mar University College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, where many of them trained. Toni kindly invited us along to one of their get-togethers, a golf match followed by a buffet meal with each chef supplying at least one dish. Needless to say, I don’t think I’ll forget that meal as long as I live, and it wasn’t just the food. No stuffy association, this is a club of real friends and equals and their kindness was apparent. As Fina Puigdevall, of Michelin 2* restaurant Les Cols, in Olot, told me
“It’s an active group and there’s no point joining unless you’re happy to really get involved, and give as well as receive. It’s a reciprocal thing, but the benefits are tremendous”. This ethos has paid dividends. There are currently thirteen Michelin rated 1*, two 2* restaurants in the area, and 3* El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, currently the No. 1 restaurant in the world, which has taken on the mantle from the now closed Catalan restaurant elBulli. I asked Joan Roca, the chef of the three brothers who own El Celler de Can Roca, why so many Catalan cooks have Michelin stars, and why don’t they compete with each other? He said “Our aim is to help each other become first rate chefs. The local food tradition helps us to be better chefs, because the quality and variety of the food here makes it easy to cook. When we have a day off we go together and eat and analyse and learn mixing different foods together and presentation. By working all together instead of competing, our aim is to learn from each other and get better. It’s also the way we cook things, the passion we put in, learning together like a pyramid. Every now and then this makes a new famous Catalan chef.” Perhaps it is simply being Catalan – Catalonia punches above its weight in so many ways.
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The American
WINING & DINING
BUMPKIN
119 Sydney Street, London SW3 6NR • www.bumpkinuk.com • Reviewed by Michael M Sandwick
W
hen I came to London for the first time in 1983, I was very disappointed in the food. Apart from a glorious tea at the Savoy and some excellent Indian food, it was difficult to get a decent meal. London 2013 is a whole other can of baked beans! Now it’s foody heaven – and British food at that. The Olympics, Queen’s Jubilee and birth of Prince George all contribute to the national pride that has given a great lift to all things British, including the cuisine. Bumpkin is a fine example of this trend. There are four restaurants, located in Chelsea, Notting Hill, Westfield and South Kensington. I ate at the Chelsea branch in the secret garden. I don’t know what’s secret about it. The place was mobbed! And rightly so. It is so relaxed and comfortable, I kept expecting someone to wheel out the Weber. So cozy in fact, nobody ever seemed to leave! Bumpkin prides itself on serving British food that is carefully sourced. Even the wines are fully sustainable and bio-dynamic or organic. My companion and I were both teetotal when we dined, but there is a very decent, extremely varied wine list
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including four wines from England, priced so as not to break the bank. The sourcing of food to ensure its quality really pays off. At Bumpkin, they also know what to do with it. Good food, prepared simply and served beautifully. We started with the day’s special, mussels in white wine with bacon (£9.95). The mussels were bursting with natural flavor, so unlike the bland, commercially farmed variety. Starter number two was breaded cod cheeks with oyster mayo, pickled cucumber, caviar and sea veg (£8.95). I bet you didn’t know cod had cheeks! Well, they do, and they are divine. I call them poor man’s scallops because they look similar in size and shape. They are tasty morsels and here, prepared very well. My only gripe was that the plate was garnished with seaweed that was tasteless and rubbery. I’m a great fan of seaweed. It is delicious and filled with minerals, so I would have preferred something edible. Next up was grilled welsh lamb rump with roasted heritage carrots and crushed minted peas, and garlic prawn, scallop and monkfish skewer with crispy toast, pickled cucumber,
orange, grapefruit and prawn sauce, both at (£21.95). Both were beautiful to look at and delicious. Again, it was clear that all the ingredients were of top quality and in my mind, well worth paying for. The only miss was that the prawn sauce for the seafood was served cold. I asked if this was intentional and it was, a choice I simply don’t understand. The seafood was cooked perfectly and served hot. Why would I want to dip it in cold sauce? Just asking. For dessert, iced dark chocolate and honeycombe slices with fresh strawberries and yoghurt dressing (£5.95) was delicious if not completely successful. All three ingredients were wonderful on their own but for me, didn’t quite meld into one dish. As well, they seemed a bit stingy on the honeycombe. Still, we licked the plate clean. Dessert number two was a triumph. A classic sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream, a wonderful, perfectly balanced combination of sweet and salt. It took great strength of character to share this dessert with my friend. The fact that I did surely earned me a place in heaven!
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Benares
12a Berkeley Square, London W1J 6BS • www.benaresrestaurant.com Reviewed by Michael M Sandwick
I
love Brick Lane, but if you thought Indian food starts and stops there, think again. This wasn’t the best Indian meal I’ve had in London. It was the best meal period! Benares is like a temple. A sleek cocktail lounge with a soothing water feature and a great dining room with no adornment. It’s all about the food, and worship we will. Chef Atul Kochhar is a national treasure. He is the first Indian to be awarded a Michelin star and one of the very few, regardless of race, who has earned two. His unique combination of Indian cuisine with British ingredients is nothing short of genius. Thankfully we had already arranged to have the tasting menu before we arrived. I say thankfully because, had we not, I think I’d still be there trying to decide what to have. Reading the menu is like shopping when you’re hungry. You just want EVERYTHING! It all sounds like it’s fit for the gods. And it is. But like all things divine, it costs. The tasting menu is £78 per person and another £55 – 75 for accompanying wines. For me, it’s worth every cent. There are though, much less expensive alternatives. A set menu at £29/35 for 2/3 courses and of course, à la carte.
A scoop of artfully spiced creamy chicken tikka, served in a mini cone, wrapped in silver and perched on a little pedestal started the tasting menu. And that was just the amuse bouche! One bite of heaven which no doubt took hours to prepare. Crispy soft shell crab and Atul’s signature peri-peri lobster served with a glass of 2012 Viognier. As a norm, I wouldn’t drink wine with Indian food, but here the pairings are absolutely perfect. The Viognier, so light and dry, was a perfect foil to the spiciness of the peri-peri which in turn enhanced, without overpowering, the delicate sweetness of the crab and lobster. The problem with tasting menus is you always want more. At this point in the meal, I wanted 6 more tikka cones and 2 more plates of crab and lobster! Fennel infused lamb chop, mustard marinated king prawn with a glass of St Laurent Heinrich from Austria. This was the best lamb chop I’ve ever had. Cooked in the tandoori style, it was so tender, I didn’t need my teeth to chew it. Even the gorgeous prawn
couldn’t live up to that, so it was a pity to serve the two together. We then received a second lamb dish which I still think odd. Indeed, looking at the menu, the next dish should have been sea bass. Roasted rump of Cornish lamb, shoulder samosa, potato and broad beans, rogan sauce and a glass of 2011 Côtes du Roussillon-Villages. I had been so taken with the tandoori lamb chop, the rump was disappointing by comparison. Only second degree heaven! A bit too much gristle marred this otherwise perfectly roasted lamb and the samosa was superb. The wine was deep, rich and intricate, the kind you want to roll around in your mouth for a while before you swallow and get that gorgeous dark berry finish. Second degree heaven isn’t bad! To finish, a rose and raspberry bhapa doi and pistachio burfi. Don’t even ask me what that is but it was the best raspberry jelly I ever ate and I wanted to lick every bit of it off the glass! A 2009 Chenin Blanc was happily less sweet than the usual dessert wine to balance the intensity of the raspberry. Fabulous tea and petits fours just about did us in. Had it done so, I would have died happy.
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Nathan Outlaw
The Michelin-starred chef has just opened his fourth restaurant. We sat down over a cup of coffee to find out what makes Nathan tick.
athan Outlaw is a talented Cornwall-based chef with two restaurants in Rock, Cornwall, one in Port Isaac that opened August 20th, and one in London. His first book, Nathan Outlaw’s British Seafood was published in the UK in Spring 2011, and last year in the US.
else. My food is simple yet has complexity, something you wouldn’t do at home. My recipe books are for people to cook at home, to give them confidence cooking fish. It can take less than 4 minutes to cook a meal. Fish is so varied, there’s many more varieties than meat.”
Why Cornwall? “Rick Stein, and his restaurant in Padstow! He singlehandedly made the area fashionable. When I was 19 I worked for Rick and met a local girl, who I married. I’m from Kent, my family’s still there, but I always loved Cornwall, where we came on childhood holidays. I love all of it. I used to surf, my children are 8 and 10 and they learn surfing and sailing at school. North Cornwall is a wealthy pocket, particularly Rock, in it’s own bubble. It’s resisted the downturn, and there’s lots of holiday homes with money.”
The restaurants? “For the last few years we’ve stayed open in winter, although we close for Christmas and New Year and January. The staff work hard, and they deserve a break. It gives us time to experiment and plan. Outlaw’s is à la carte, some fish, Restaurant Nathan Outlaw is all fish, the menu changes daily according to what the fishermen have landed. I might change it in the afternoon because I’ve been brought
The best fish. “Cornwall produces brilliant seafood – the colder the water, the better the fish. I buy from the small boats and know them all. I support sustainable fishing. Our scallops are hand-dived from the Helford River and come to us the same evening, scallops need to be really fresh. The Spanish, French and Belgian big boats are wrecking the fishing here. British fisherman have a raw deal.” Why cook? “My father was a chef, I’ve never wanted to do anything
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some wonderful fish. My first restaurant, aged 24, was The Black Pig. The Australian owner of St. Enodoc hotel used to eat at my restaurant, and asked me if I’d take over the restaurant there, then a year later we converted the lounge into a fine dining restaurant. Last year the owner of the Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge ate here and said ‘take over my restaurant’ which is how Outlaw’s Seafood Grill came about. I’m in London two days a week to oversee it. My new restaurant Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen, is all about small plates of great
photos: Rob Whitrow photography
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The American
RECIPE from Nathan Outlaw
Outlaw’s Lobster Cocktail with Orange, Basil & Spring Onion S
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Ingredients The meat from 4 cooked medium lobsters For the mayonnaise: 4 egg yolks 20ml white wine vinegar Juice of an orange 500ml rapeseed oil Salt to taste For the garnish 20 basil leaves 2 oranges 4 baby gem lettuce 2 treviso radicchio 1 bunch of spring onions salt and black pepper for seasoning
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What’s next? “Tonight I take the sleeper train to London to film Saturday Kitchen with James Martin and the legendary Michel Roux. I’m writing my next book, Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen, which will be out next Spring, and I’ve just returned from New York where I’ve been discussing fish with [British Michelin 1* chef] April Blumfield of New York restaurants The Spotted Pig, The Breslin and The John Dory. And I’m filming a pilot for a fishing and cooking series for Fox Europe.”
Servings: 20 Preparation Time: 40 minutes
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Passing the baton? “I started the Nathan Outlaw Academy at Cornwall College. The students learn to eat, then learn to cook. I can’t not cook! I’m happiest with my hands in a sink scaling and gutting fish. I’m quite a calm person, I never shout. I like a kitchen with a lot of younger people in it, they’re so enthusiastic. I take on lots of apprentices. All my Cornwall staff are from the College, even up to the chef.”
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seafood, simply prepared and designed for sharing. Port Isaac is an active fishing community, with a great seaside feel, and it’s great for lobster and crab.”
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photos: Rob Whitrow photography
Method First make the mayonnaise: Place all of the ingredients except the oil into a food processor and blend until smooth. Gradually add the oil until the mixture thickens to a firm mayonnaise. Season with salt and add orange juice to taste. You can keep this refrigerated for up to 3 days. For the garnish: Remove the skin and pith from the oranges with a sharp knife, and cut out the segments. Halve the segments, ready to serve. Remove the outer leaves from the lettuce and radicchio and cut the remaining leaves in half, length ways. Slice the spring onions finely. Slice the basil, just before serving. To serve: Dice the lobster meat into 1cm-2cm cubes and mix with the sliced basil, spring onions and mayonnaise, using just enough to bind the lobster together. Adjust the seasoning with salt if required. In some small glasses, build the lobster cocktail by alternating the leaves, orange segments, and lobster mayonnaise. Finish with a crack of black pepper and a few small basil leaves. For garnish. A few slices of sourdough on the side won’t do any harm!
ome no-fuss, lobster magic to wow friends and family on a summer’s day. We’re lucky we have access to arguably the best Lobsters in the world, right on our doorstep in Port Isaac. Ask your fishmonger to cook and prepare the lobsters for you. If you want to cook them at home, place them in freezer for 30 minutes to sedate them, before cooking them in a large pan of boiling salted water for 5-6 minutes. While warm, remove the body and claws. Crack the shell of the body by squeezing together between the palms of your hands, then peel the shell away, as you would a prawn, until you can pull the flesh out. The claws will need a crack with the back of a knife before breaking apart and pulling out the meat. Check the meat for any shell or cartilage, and remove the waste tract from the base of the lobster tail.
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The American photo: Jess Judge
Cellar Talk By Virginia E. Schultz
Zinfandel WINES OF THE MONTH BEDROCK: The Bedrock Heritage Sonoma Valley 2011 $37.00 Wine Spectator gave this a 95 rating and I couldn’t agree more. It’s a blend of Zinfandel, Carignane and 21 other blends. I had it with home-made sausage, scallop potatoes, freshly picked peas and freshly made sourdough bread and was still contentedly drinking it with the blueberry pie served at the end. If you want to impress, this is the Zinfandel to serve. TURLEY: Zinfandel Paso Robies Dusi Vineyard 2011 $42.00 Lovely complex flavors, although the tannins can be a little too big for some people as I discovered when I served this with steak and pork pie (the recipe is actually for steak and kidney). I have decided to save the second bottle at least until 2016 to see how it changes. FATTOI: Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2007 $100.00 Okay, I splurged a bit, but I was feeling down because I couldn’t join my friend Maxine in Venice with our lovely friends Dick and Baxter. Besides, I love Italian wine and had three days enjoyment drinking this wine that, like Italian men, knew how to please until the delicious lingering end.
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love Zinfandel! No, it’s not a first class contender, but I save the premier cru wines for special occasions (when I can afford it or a friend opens a bottle...or if I’m lucky, two, half of which I can take home to sip on later). Zinfandel is what I drink at the end of a hot summer day or in the cold of winter when I want to relax. I’m not wearing a Chanel or Yves St Laurent, but a pair of jeans or something casual that I wouldn’t wear to shop on Bond Street or even Knightsbridge. When you serve a Zinfandel, your guest is not going to comment on the lovely bouquet or the way it lingers on the tongue. Zinfandel is like an old friend who’s known you for years and doesn’t need to impress. Zinfandel has changed – something few people realize. That rusty, teeth-staining wine is long gone, at least in the majority of American brands. You can drink it when it’s barely off the vine with corn on the cob or a cheeseburger and no one is going to comment. Stylistically, Zinfandels show more focus and are beginning to have less alcohol, yet retain that lovely fruit, which is why I love drinking this wine alone. It was Helen Turley, more than anyone, who first brought the changes in Zinfandel, but it is her brother Larry, whom she fired, who is creating the reds impressing my knowledgeable European friends. Of course, there is criticism about alcohol levels of 16 and even 17 per
cent (some of those same critics don’t hesitate to serve Chateauneuf-duPape, I might add). Some of the best Zinfandels are grown on old vine plots. Winemakers such as Larry Turley talk continually on how these vines resist droughts; long heat waves can destroy a vineyard in a matter of weeks. Many of the old Napa vineyards were destroyed in the ’80s and replanted with walnuts and prunes, but Larry followed the old fashioned rule of pulling out ten and keeping the best of five. These vineyards first were used to make the sweet pink Zinfandel loved by college students or the wine served at the end of the meal with chocolate. Then, surprise, surprise, someone in the ’90s discovered (re-discovered!) that these same vines made a wonderful red Zinfandel one wasn’t afraid to serve to even wine connoisseur friends. At the time, I found the best way to serve these wines was to decant them into a crystal decanter and let my friends taste before I told them what they were drinking. Recently I had a 2010 Seghesio Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley Cortina that I wouldn’t hesitate to offer my friend Nelly, whose French palate can be extremely critical. I think it’s a shame more Americans don’t serve this wine – it is so very American. Wines can vary in price, especially in the States. Unlike in Europe where wine can be sent from anywhere to the UK, in the States it’s not possible to buy a bottle of wine in California or Oregon and have it sent to a state such as Georgia. Ridiculous! I’d rather not get into how I feel about that!
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The American
MUSIC Wickham Festival
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Top to bottom: Shooglenifty; Slim Chance; The Waterboys; Roy Bailey; and Seth Lakeman photos ©Michael Burland
he American went glamping at the family-friendliest music festival in Britain. Wickham is situated in beautiful English countryside, but compared to Glastonbury it’s human-scale, just 5,000 weekend tickets. Despite its boutique size it boasts quite a folk-biased line-up, spiced with interesting pop and rock bands, all within a short walk so it’s possible to see everyone you want to. Highlights included, on Thursday, The South (formerly Beautiful), 10cc and Dexys (formerly Midnight Runners). Friday: Eliza Carthy, Bella Hardy, Lucy Farrell and Kate Young proved that four women armed with fiddles and voices can grab a crowd and entertain mightily. Lau, two Scots and a token East Anglian, built layers of atmospheric sound from traditional instruments plus added tech - Martin Green plays ‘accordion, loops and laptop’. Lunasa provided a masterclass in Irish folk virtuosity while Shooglenifty’s contemporary roots music has been described as ‘acid-croft’ and ‘hypno-folkadelic ambient trad.’ The Waterboys’ on-off career is definitely on again, if their rocking, resurgent set was any proof. Saturday was folk day, with two early crowd-pleasers: Fay Hield & The Hurricane Party’s trad northern ditties, and Roy Bailey. The veteran protest-singer now has shaky hands, a tremulous voice and occasional lyric-forgetfulness. No problem, he had the crowd eating out of his hand
and teenage girls queuing for signed CDs, a British Pete Seeger. Le Vent du Nord ramped things up with their Québécois electric folk, and Spiers & Boden (mainmen of Bellowhead) were hugely entertaining, teasing the audience by keeping crowdfavorite New York Girls (responsible for the North American polka boom) for a cheeky encore. Welsh singersongwriter Martyn Joseph had had a bad day but his satnav failureenhanced angry delivery suited his intense songs, especially on Lonely Like America. Show of Hands are old Wickham hands and old friends of the regular crowd. Seth Lakeman is powerful when he’s on his own, toting fiddle or tenor guitar, but with a full band he rocked the tent. Sunday’s lineup was eclectic and electric, ranging from Rory McLeod’s London/Andean crossover folk to Aussie all-round entertainer Rolf Harris with his rock band. On the way were The Spooky Mens Chorale, an hilarious acapella troupe that is a group of men, but definitely NOT (they insist) a ‘Men’s Group.’ Slim Chance are the sadly departed Ronnie Lane’s old group, Wilko Johnson (interviewed in this issue) was simply awesome old-school R&B. The Blockheads were, as ever, huge fun, the huge hole that was Ian Dury’s personality manfully filled by his best friend and minder Derek The Draw. The Isle of Skye’s bagpipe-rocking Peatbog Faeries closed proceedings in fine trad-psych-jazz-trip style. A five star festival for anyone with a little folk in their heart.
For our ‘Live & Kicking’ gig recommendations, go to www.theamerican.co.uk/pr/diary_dates.php 28
The American
Rich Hall
Waitin’ On A Grammy Off The Kerb Productions For Rich Hall’s latest album he unusually mixes studio tracks with live recordings at the Soho Theatre. Most comedy records are hit & miss. Here, Mosque (‘If the Mosque is rocking, don’t bother knocking just come on in’) and Tight Wranglers (large girl wears bluejeans) are... unnecessary. But the ‘hits’ are worth the entrance price. Bob Dylan (Is Getting Back Together) is a scathing, semi-serious critique of the folk icon including an authentically excruciating harmonica solo. And there are several of Rich’s trademark improvised musical tributes to unfortunate audience members (especially Alex the IT worker), alongside Roberta the KKK member, the song of the Atheist Cowboy (Bertrand Russell gets too few name-checks in comedy cowboy songs these days) and the ‘exotic’ Yorkshire town of Rotherham.
Pink Martini Get Happy Wrasse Records
It’s been four years but Get Happy is finally here and it finds ‘the little orchestra from Portland, Oregon’ in sparkling form doing what they do best. They trawl the world for dimly remembered old standards in every language, the flotsam and jetsam of popular music, and transform them, with only a hint of a wink, into three minute segments of musical bliss, often with arrangements which would make Liberace blush. Highlights include a swingin’ Ich dich liebe (excavated from a Mamie van Doren western), a 95 year old
ALBUM S theof MONTH
Still waitin’... Rich Hall
Phyllis Diller’s rendition of Smile and the best Uskudar since Eartha Kitt. They give Meow Meow a lazy blues number, in Japanese, and come over all Gainsbourg with the French underground star Philippe Katerine. Only Pink Martini could hire Rufus Wainwright and then upstage him. In a poignant tribute to his late mother, they pair him with The Von Trapps (yes the grandchildren!), who are on Heavenly Chorus duty. He and the vocally ravishing China Forbes also shine in a medley of Get Happy/ Happy Days Are Here Again. Pink Martini defies all categorisation and Get Happy has sass and sex and heart. It’s also very danceable.
Spin Doctors
If the River Was Whiskey Ruf Records The Docs’ latest studio album was released in May but we’re mentioning it to support their return to London, performing a rare concert at The
Garage in Islington on September 25th (with special guests Dodgy). You’ll remember their quintuple platinum album, Pocket Full Of Kryptonite, and its hit singles Two Princes and Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong which you couldn’t avoid in 1991. But don’t come to this expecting the same. Instead of alt/indy rock, this is the sound of a band enjoying themselves by going back home to the late eighties when they played the New York City blues circuit. If the River Was Whiskey sounds like it was recorded live in the studio with no (few?) overdubs, and it features the original line-up of Chris Barron (vocals), Eric Schenkman (guitar), Mark White (bass) and Aaron Comess (drums). “Every note feels dangerous,” says Barron. Don’t know about that, Chris, but it sho’ sounds fun. All the tracks are Spin Doctors originals, and the standouts are Some Other Man Instead, the Black Crowesesque About A Train and What My Love?, a kinda modern Hideaway with words... well kinda!
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The American
Wilko Johnson
The man who reinvented British R&B shares his love of American music – and his love of life – with The American. Words and pictures by Michael Burland.
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his interview started by asking the interviewee ‘how are you?’ Normal enough, but in this case it has a special nuance. Even if you don’t know Wilko Johnson’s name, you have heard his influence. His band, Dr Feelgood, his songs, and his manic, choppy guitar style inspired bands, both American and British, from the mid-1970s onward. Truly a Transatlantic musical hero. [Editor’s note: for full effect read this interview with an early Dr Feelgood or Wilko solo album, on loud.] He’s been in the media over the last few months for a different, sadder reason. At the start of 2013 he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. He decided to say no to treatment, preferring to enjoy his last time on Earth without chemo- or radiotherapy. With his approach to life, he has become inspirational again. So, Wilko, how are you? “I wake up each morning thinking, am I OK? And after a while I decide I am.” The American met Wilko at the
30 September 2013
Wickham Festival in Hampshire where he gave one of the most intense, exciting performances of a great career. He looked a little tired but the casual observer wouldn’t guess there was anything amiss. I thought that for our audience we could start by talking about Wilko’s relationship with America and American music. His music is very British, but from American roots. How does he think of it? “I started learning to play in the sixties, listening to The Rolling Stones. I quickly found out where the Stones were deriving their music from, and that was my introduction to American music. I’m talking about the blues, soul music – black American music, R&B. This music was so much more powerful than the pop music I had been used to. I was only fifteen or so, I didn’t know much about anything really, but I became very keen on that kind of music, from the popular records on Motown and Stax through to the blues. I suppose I became a bit of an R&B snob, I didn’t want to hear anything else – except Bob Dylan. I loved John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. I’ve never thought of myself as a blues musician though. I blush to think what my teenage bands must have sounded like. It was all covers, I didn’t start writing stuff until Dr Feelgood. When I did start to write songs I had a test... if I could imagine, say, Bo Diddley playing it, I was on the right lines. And although I loved American
music, I was trying to make it English and keep it inside my experience. I never wanted to write about riding on freight trains.” R&B is the ultimate Transatlantic form of music – starting in the States, revitalised and evolved by the likes of The Rolling Stones and The Animals in ‘the British invasion’, back and forth. “It was curious how that happened, when the Stones went over and played American music to audiences who were hearing it as something new. And it kept bouncing backwards and forwards. As indeed it should, ‘cos it’s a very ‘bouncing backwards and forwards’ kind of music!” he laughs. Dr Feelgood started when Wilko met a feisty youth called Lee John Collinson – later known as Lee Brilleaux. “Before I went to university me and my brother had a jug band, playing on the streets. One day these boys came up to us, very interested in what we were doing and asking all kinds of questions. One of them was Lee Brilleaux, the other was John Sparks [later ‘Sparko’, Dr Feelgood’s bass player]. Lee was four of five years younger than me, only about fourteen, but I thought he really had something, he was really on the ball. I went off to university then, and when I came home in the summer I found they had started their own jug band and were doing quite well. Years go by, and I was walking through the old council estate and I bumped into Lee who was by this time a
The American
solicitor’s clerk. I was still a kind of hippie but he was wearing a threepiece pinstripe suit and had a sharp haircut. He looked fantastic! We started talking and he told me that their jug band had evolved into a rock and roll band and the guitarist had just left. I hadn’t played for a few years but I still had my guitar. I thought perhaps I could do it, but I didn’t say anything about me joining, and he didn’t say anything... we kept talking but we went away without him asking me to join, or me asking if I could. But later that evening Sparko came round to my house and said. ‘Do you want to join our band’ and I said yes. It was purely a local band, doing it for fun. This was the early ’70s and R&B was not fashionable. We did that for a couple of years gradually evolving the style of the whole thing, musically and the look of it.” Most bands at the time – the Feelgoods started in 1971 – wore flared jeans, had long hair and played long guitar (and bass and drum) solos, and there was a huge gulf between small local gigs and large venues like the Hammersmith Odeon and Wembley Arena. Being out of town, on a local scene, Dr Feelgood had the time to hone their look and sound, and when they finally hit the London scene they seemed to appear fully formed, from out of nowhere. One of the highlights of Wilko’s high-energy performances is his guitar style in which he plays rhythm and lead lines simultaneously. How did he come by it? “One day I heard a record by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, and the guitar playing knocked me out. This was Mick Green. He was influenced by Americans, and my style comes from me trying to be like him and not quite getting it right!” Dr Feelgood are also recognized as a major influence on American art-
ists including Blondie, The Ramones and the CBGB’s crowd in New York City. But they never had big commercial success in the States. What went wrong? “In ‘76 we did two big tours of America and we were on the brink of really doing something. CBS were right behind us, we were their blueeyed boys and they were going to do it for us over there. And then... the band fell to pieces... ” Wilko pauses. There is obviously still a lot of hurt there. “After the Feelgoods viciously threw me out of the band I felt abandoned and I started blowing it in every kind of way. I didn’t have any management. I just carried on playing and plunged into obscurity. Other things were happening in music, but I found myself able to make a good living, travel round the world and play. As far as fame and stardom was concerned I’d had my fifteen minutes. And that
was OK. After a couple of years Ian Dury asked me to join the Blockheads and I had rather a splendid time with them. I came away from the Blockheads with their bass player [the magnificent Norman Watt-Roy] and I’ve carried on ever since.” To many people Wilko’s reaction to his illness, terminal pancreatic cancer, has been both extraordinary and inspirational. At Wickham he was in good spirits but looked in good physical form too. How is he really? “I was diagnosed at the beginning of this year and they told me I would have ten months to live. At that time I felt absolutely fit. I wanted to know how long it would be before it really hit me because I wanted to do a farewell tour while I
September 2013 31
The American
was still fit. They said about six or seven months, and we’re approaching that now. Did my reaction surprise me? I suppose it did. We’ve all probably imagined what we’d feel like if we were told we only had a few months to live. When the guy told me, I was absolutely calm. It was as if he was telling me something I’d known all my life. Walking out of the hospital afterwards, into the sunlight, looking at the sky and the trees, I thought... ‘I’m alive, so intensely alive’ I just felt this joy. I wasn’t like that before – generally I’m a miserable so-and-so, prone to depression. But for the first six months I was on a kind of high, just enjoying the moment. I suddenly realised, you don’t have to worry about the future now because there is no future. You don’t have to worry about the past because you can never really make amends. All you can do is enjoy the moment as it comes. “Obviously I couldn’t walk around with a soppy smile on my face for a whole year! I get bad
days. But I’ve never fallen into despair about it. I mean, look at me, I’ve been so lucky. I’m still feeling healthy now. I’ve had a wonderful year, with this consciousness. I’ve been to Japan four times – I love it there. We did a farewell tour in April, then I retired. After a couple of weeks, I didn’t really like it! But because I don’t know when the illness would strike me and make me incapable of playing, I didn’t want to book gigs not knowing if I would be able to play. Then summer came, and the great thing is I can do festivals and if I’m not able to play it’s not going to stop the show, so we’ve done a few. But as the summer dwindles into the autumn... As long as I’m feeling fit why not? “The cancer gives a whole different feeling to performing. One of the great things about rock and roll is that it’s ephemeral, of the moment. Playing a gig with this consciousness, it’s like... look, man, this is passing.” A final question. So, what is the best thing about being Wilko Johnson? “Aaaargh! I dunno!... I’d have to say, I spent 40 years with my late wife Irene. She died nine years ago, I’m still in love with her, and she was the greatest thing in my life.” Look out for more gigs at www.wilkojohnson.org. And go to www.theamerican.co.uk, where Wilko tells us about the London pub rock scene, how Dr Feelgood influenced the punk explosion, the ‘Thames Delta’, speaking Old Icelandic, owning William Burroughs’ gun, acting in Game of Thrones and more.
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The son of Muddy Waters, Mud loves playing in Britain but can’t wait to get back to Chicago cooking, he tells Darren Weale
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f award-winning Blues singer Mud Morganfield were to choose an ideal home, it would probably be an aircraft carrier moored permanently in the mid-Atlantic to make it simpler to travel between his shows in the US and Europe. Mud recently played the aptly named North Sea Jazz Festival alongside an array of big names. When we caught up with Mud backstage at London’s Blues Kitchen in Camden, he told us that was the last time he went out of his way to watch performances by fellow artists. Mud reflected, “Yes, that was when I was playing at the North Sea Jazz Festival! I went to see Larry Graham and Prince. Prince is always good. Larry Graham was excellent. The North Sea Jazz Festival is one of the greatest festivals I’ve been to. The fans went crazy, asking, yelling and screaming for more, though I couldn’t do much except our encore, with the next act coming up, and the next act was Sting!” Mud, the eldest son of American Blues legend Muddy Waters and Mildred McGhee, is cooking up a storm in the world of the Blues. Brought up in a rough neighborhood in Chicago and without his father present after his early childhood, Mud has come relatively late to performing. A career largely spent as a truck driver isn’t perhaps ideal before becoming a full-time Blues singer, but music is in Mud’s blood. One lesson he has certainly taken from his father has been to surround himself with top
The American
At the Blues Kitchen, Camden: Jed Van Kleef, Ronni Busack-Boysen, Laurie Garman, Big Joe Louis, Mud Morganfield, Fred Jelly Brain Parodi, Kat Pearson and Francesco Accurso Photo: Jennifer Noble
Mud Morganfield: Transatlantic Blues musicians, with hand-picked bands both in the States and a touring European band that accompanied him when he appeared on British TV show Later… with Jools Holland in 2012. Mud says of the show, ”It was fantastic, great! I felt honored to be there.” Another British connection came about when House-actor turned Bluesman, Hugh Laurie, invited Mud to join him onstage at Chicago’s Park West Theater, a clip from which can be found on YouTube in the Perspectives documentary about the Blues and Hugh’s music with The Copper Bottom Blues Band. Hugh was subsequently quoted in Blues Matters magazine as saying, “Mud Morganfield carries himself like a prince of the blood. He wore the third best suit in the world and sang the paint off the walls. It was a great night.” Mud has another US-UK connection. Kat Pearson, a Londonbased singer originally from Los Angeles, performs with Mud in an argumentative duet, Payin’ My Dues, on her soulful and compelling debut Kat & Co album, I Kat The Blues. So, how did the truck driver turn singer? Mud credits his mother, and
a series of events. First, Mud says his father appeared in dreams, playing music to him. Second, he and his mother were watching a TV tribute to Muddy Waters and his mother cried when she realised her son didn’t get a mention. Third, on his mother’s 75th birthday, Mud had Chicago Blues singer Mary Lane play. When she realised Mud’s vocal ability and extraordinary legacy, she helped him perform and play live, leading to a first appearance at the Chicago Blues Festival and a debut album. It is, though, Mud’s second album, Son of the Seventh Son, that has really helped him take off. Joined by notable Chicago musicians including harmonica men Bob Corritore and Harmonica Hinds, and son of his father’s drummer, Kevin ‘Beedy Eyes’ Smith, plus Barrelhouse Chuck, Billy Flynn, E.G. McDaniel, and Rick Kreher, Mud produced a fine album. Nominations for numerous awards followed, and Mud now has two Blues Blast awards to put alongside photos of his late father in his home. Mud says of the awards, “I’m enjoying them immensely, they’re better than the money sometimes, they are achievements and
show recognition from my peers.” So, what does Mud Morganfield miss when touring? “Home! Chicago is my home, man, I was born and raised there and I’ll end by dying there. “And I miss the food. There are so many great places to eat, but two I love are Ruby Tuesdays with their baby back ribs, and Johnny’s Beef, for their beef sandwich.” It is easier to enjoy being away from home when you have a welcome at your destination, and Mud agrees that is what he gets in the UK, “A great crowd live here, friendly people, the same in the US.” To see Mud’s news and live dates, check out his website: www.mudmorganfieldblues.com, which also contains links to Mud’s appearances on Later… with Jools Holland and Hugh Laurie’s documentary. Other sites of note: www.katandco.co.uk www.theblueskitchen.com www.bluesmatters.com Another UK venue where Mud performs is the Boisdale, Canary Wharf (reviewed in The American, May 2013): www.boisdale.co.uk
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The American
CHOICE Tim Hetherington: You Never See Them Like This
Open Eye Gallery, 19 Mann Island, Liverpool Waterfront, Liverpool L3 1BP www.openeye.org.uk September 6 to November 24 Anglo-American photojournalist Tim Hetherington died two years ago from shrapnel wounds suffered while documenting the Libyan civil war. He won the 2007 World Press Photo competition, his documentary Restrepo won the Sundance Film Festival, and earned him a posthumous award from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and his Afghanistan – The Other War aired on ABC’s Nightline. This exhibition of photography and films – in the city of his birth – draws heavily on his 2010 book Infidel, which depicts the lives of American soldiers away from the intense action of Afghanistan,
asleep and during recreation in the breathless vistas of the Korengal Valley.
Nash, Nevinson, Spencer, Gertler, Carrington, Bomberg: A Crisis of Brilliance, 1908-1922 Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gallery Road, London SE21 7AD www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk to September 22
War artists from a century earlier are to be found in A Crisis of Brilliance. From 1908 to 1912, the Slade School of Art in London enjoyed what drawing teacher Henry Tonks described as the school’s last ‘crisis of brilliance’, as some of Britain’s most distinctive 20th century artists encountered one another. It was an extraordinary gathering: modernist-post-impressionist painter Sir Stanley Spencer, who transfered biblical scenes to his
Korengal Valley, Kunar Province. Afghanistan. April 2008. @Tim Hetherington / Magnum Photos
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C. R. W. Nevinson, Le Vieux Port, 1913, oil on canvas, 91.5 x 56 cm, UK Government Art Collection © Estate of Christopher Nevinson / The Bridgeman Art Library
beloved country village of Cookham (see The American, July 2013); David Bomberg, whose geometric shapes translate human movement and form into cubist geometry (earning him expulsion for the radicalism of his approach); figurative and portrait painter Mark Gertler (“what an egoist!” – Virginia Woolf); Bloomsbury group Bohemian Dora Carrington, painter and decorative artist (and briefly Gertler’s lover) whose life and relationship with homosexual writer Lytton Strachey was depicted in the film Carrington starring Emma Thompson; surrealist painter Paul Nash, who later co-founded the influential art movement Unit One alongside Henry Moore and others; and fellow war artist Christopher R. W. Nevinson whose use of vorticist, futurist and later realist styles conveyed the horrors of the Great War’s trenches and battlefields. Their output is captured through 70 original pieces concentrating on their work during and after the 1914-18 war.
The American
Lindisfarne Gospels Durham
Palace Green Library, 3 & 4 Millennium Place, Durham DH1 1WA www.lindisfarnegospels.com to September 30
Francis Bacon, Henry Moore: Flesh and Bone
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2PH www.ashmolean.org September 12 to January 19 A major combined exhibition of the work of Francis Bacon and Henry Moore has not been attempted before, aside from group gallery exhibitions in the ‘40s and ‘50s. Given that they were roughly contemporaries, that both were influenced by classical sculpture and later surrealism, that both are famous for amorphous rather than anatomically exact depictions of the human form, this is surprising. Bacon even asked Moore to teach him to sculpt. The influences of their young lives – Moore was injured at the battle of Cambrai, WW1, Bacon growing up during a period of civil unrest in a yet-to-be-independent Ireland – may be seen as influencing a subtext of human mortality in their work. Flesh and Bone brings together 20 of Bacon’s paintings alongside 20 sculptures and 20 drawings by Moore, isolating and contrasting Bacon’s obsession with the hues of human flesh with Moore’s interest in structure from within.
Alex Katz, 4:30PM, July 2007 Photography by Paul Takeuchi, NYC ©Alex Katz/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
Alex Katz: Beneath the Surface
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Centre Square, Middlesbrough TS1 2AZ www.visitmima.com to October 13 Associated with the American Pop Art movement through use of chromatic simplicity, Alex Katz predates the movement as a figurative painter, though he is as accomplished with landscapes. There’s been a paucity of Katz exhibitions in the UK over the years, so Middlesbrough must be congratulated for bringing together iconic paintings, collages and 36 drawings for a display of works on paper covering 1949 to 2012.
On loan from the British Library, the ancient book of Lindisfarne Gospels is a little closer to the place of its creation at the moment. Created by the monastic community of St Cuthbert around the year 700, the book is one of the finest and earliest illustrated manuscripts in existence. Its original jeweled cover was lost during Viking raids and it is now displayed in a formidable 1852 replacement. This sacred text is joined at the Durham exhibition by numerous other Saxon treasures including the gold, garnet and enamel Taplow belt buckle (AD 550-650), a folded gold cross from Staffordshire (AD 650-700), the Hexham Plaque (AD 600-800), and other gospels including The Cambridge-London Gospels (AD 725), Rushworth Gospels (AD 800-822) and Durham Gospels (AD 690).
Robert Indiana: A Retrospective
Walton Fine Arts Gallery, 152-154 Walton Street, London SW3 2JJ www.waltonfinearts.com September 19 to October 31 The man who tilted the ‘O’ of LOVE was born Robert Clark, changing his last name to the state of his birth. It is fitting that he adopted a placename: his family moved house
A page from the Lindisfarne Gospels
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The American
numerous times during his formative years, and he traveled no less in adulthood, joining the US Air Force, and studying art in Chicago, Maine and Edinburgh before settling in New York and becoming tied to Pop Art. Those young years on the road clearly influenced Indiana’s work, the repeated stencil text, and stars and stripes motifs evoking road signs, authority badges, and military insignia, while simultaneously informing a generation of graphic designers. A major exhibition of his work gets underway this month in New York, with a satellite retrospective at Walton Fine Art in London.
Bob Dylan: Face Value
National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London WC2H 0HE www.npg.org.uk to January 5, 2014 Singer-songwriting legend turned portrait artist Bob Dylan will have a display at the National Portrait Gallery, London during this fall, including 12 new works. Dylan only began exhibiting his pastels six years ago, although he has sketched and drawn
Nina Felix by Bob Dylan, 2013.
36 September 2013
© Bob Dylan
Robert Indiana, Tilt / The American Dream,1997, Serigraph,16.5 x 14 inches © Walton Fine Arts
since childhood and has painted since the late 1960s. Bob Dylan: Face Value will represent characters from the artist’s imagination and recollection, some real some fictitious. a
AUCTION & ExHIBITIONS Beyond Limits
Chatsworth House, Chatsworth, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1PP www.chatsworth.org September 9 to October 27 A selling exhibition in collaboration with Sotheby’s, but don’t let the commercial aspect put you off. The substantial art collection of Chatsworth house (home to the Cavendish family and by extension connected to the Mitfords and Kennedys) is joined by this annual display of monumental sculpture, including work by Jaume Plensa, Manolo Valdés, Mario Merz, Juan Muñoz, Marc Quinn, Bill Woodrow, Tony Cragg and Allen Jones, all to be enjoyed in the historic gardens. For the first time there will also be an indoor selling exhibition (September 18 to 23).
One of only a handful of versions of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s (1828-1882) masterpiece Proserpine is part of Sotheby’s British and Irish Art auction, November 19, with a modest estimate of £1.2m-1.8m. A colored chalk rendering of the iconic image depicting Rossetti’s muse (and textile designer William Morris’ wife) Jane as Pluto’s mythical abductee is on the market for the first time in 40 years. A version in oils is part of Tate’s touring Pre-Raphaelite exhibition. www.sothebys.com
Out of the Ordinary
85 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3LD www.christies.com to September 5 Christies’ exhibition (and auction) gathers together oddities including the Waxflatter ornithopter from Steven Spielberg’s Young Sherlock Holmes, a 1950s robot, Francis Bacon’s paintbrushes, a Triceratops skull, the world’s largest caviar dish, and, for the relative with everything, a rocking horse the size of a house.
The American
Coffee Break Quiz
The calm blue waters of the Ashokan Reservoir. But which US river feeds it? Photo: Julian Cotton
15 S eptember 9: The Ashokan Reservoir was created by
the damming up of which US river?
1 W hich American animator created Betty Boop?
It happened 50 years ago...
2 W hich fantasy series details events in the land of
16 S eptember 2: The CBS Evening News became the first
Westeros?
3 W hich is the odd one out?
(A) Doric (B) Iconic (C) Ionic (D) Corinthian
4 S cience: shrimps, insects, spiders, scorpions and
trilobites all belong to which phylum?
5 I n Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick, what is the
name of the narrator?
6 B y what other name are the mid-17th century French
and Iroquois Wars known?
of the three national networks to present a half hour news program. Who introduced that CBS newscast?
17 S eptember 7: The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in
Canton, Ohio. Name the NFL’s founding Canton team which won the 1922 and 1923 championships?
18 S eptember 24: Another CBS question: Petticoat
Junction debuted on this day. It, along with Green Acres, were spin-offs from which TV comedy show?
Quiz answers and Sudoku solution on inside back cover.
7 W hich operating system do all of the world’s top 10
supercomputers use?
8 B ritish History: Who were Old Ironsides and Tumble-
5 6 8 3
down Dick? (A) Pirates (B) Lord Protectors (C) Mayors of London (D) Warships
9 N ame the 1983 film about a Texan oil company trying
to buy a Scottish village, starring Peter Riegert, Burt Lancaster, Peter Capaldi and Fulton Mackay.
10 N ame Washington DC’s first airport (1926-1941).
3 7
11 W hat was the nickname of the leader of the US and
coalition forces during the first Persian Gulf War?
5 5 6
It happened 100 years ago... 13 S eptember 1913 is a poem by which Irish poet? 14 S eptember 25: British actor Charlie Chaplin signs his
first film contract. With which film company?
4 7
8 2
12 N ame the Disney pets: Mickey Mouse’s dog, Darling
and Jim Dear’s dog, Geppetto’s cat.
8 4 5 2
2 8 1
4 1
9
2 5 7 8 6 September 2013 37
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BOOK reviews Night School Fracture CJ Daugherty Atom Paperback, £6.99 384 pages ISBN: 978-0349001715 The series so far has been exhilarating, but CJ Daugherty has outdone herself with Night School Fracture, the latest addition to her series of books about Allie, a teenager who has been brought into a war which few people of her age know about. This power struggle has made her life a misery, as she has lost some of her friends, her boyfriend, and her faith in her school, Cimmeria, and its headmistress, Isabella. This book is even more gripping than the last (which I didn’t think was possible). The fight has now been brought to Cimmeria’s doorstep, and as events unfold, so do Allie’s feelings; guilt, love, loss, revenge, longing and friendship. Many things have shaped who Allie has become, but Cimmeria is definitely a major one. It has taught her so much, yet still has so much more to give, which makes this book highly recommendable. – Fleur Burland Sully
Street Smarts: Adventures on the Road and in the Markets Jim Rogers Crown Business, hardback £20 ($26) 272 pages ISBN: 978-0307986078 Somewhere between a personal memoir, a financial self-help book, and a warning about the future of the West lies Street Smarts, Jim Rogers’ latest best-seller.
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Rogers (one of the two financial investors that most people can name, the other being Warren Buffett) follows his previous books like Investment Biker and Adventure Capitalist by offering his insights into the current state of the global economy and the future of the business world. But he has two major advantages over other financial tomes usually written by dry academics or untested commentators. Number one, he has been there, as founder of the extraordinarily successful Quantum hedge fund. And number two, he tells a good story. From digging for bait in Demopolis, Alabama, to coxing the crew that won the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, through inadvertently spending the Woodstock festival on stage in a ‘borrowed’ security jacket and riding his motorcycle across China, he has been there and done that. In the course of his travels he has seen first hand how political decisions, revolutions and the weather can affect economies half way around the world, and how the center of world power is shifting to the East. His conclusions? The producers of real goods (farmers, miners and so on) will be back in positions of power, replacing the financial money-shufflers. And today’s smart
kids will find their way to Asia, much as the brightest and best went to New York last century. From the macro to the micro, he examines how the US governments FATCA banking legislation is leading to capital flight and lines of Americans waiting to give up their beloved US citizenship. Thought-provoking, worrying, inspirational, useful, and always very – Michael Burland readable.
Brain on Fire Susannah Cahalan Particular Books, Penguin £9.99 250 pages ISBN: 978-0-141-97534-4 New York Post reporter Susannah chronicles the time when her ‘brain caught fire’ and she lost control of her mind and her body. A traumatic, fascinating true story Possibly an insect bite triggered the headache that started it all, but within days this twenty-four year old was getting hallucinations, paranoia, seizures and violent psychosis. Was she mad? Why had it developed so quickly? Frightening and shocking in that ‘but for the grace of god’ kind of way, it’s well written and compulsive. – Patricia Howard
The American
Theater reviews
A
lice Walker’s Pulitzer Prizewinning story of the suffering and injustice meted out on poor black women in 1930s Georgia has achieved the status of a classic, yet it was only published in 1982. Three years later came Steven Spielberg’s movie adaptation, which cemented Whoopi Goldberg as a star and introduced the wider world to Oprah Winfrey. Famously, the movie received 11 Oscar nominations but went home empty handed. Strangely the 1995 Broadway musical also had 11 Tony nominations but just sneaked one win. With source material like this, which is held in such esteem and which carries such baggage, adapters have trodden here at their peril. It’s heavy on plot and spans 30 years in the lives of a vivid group of characters, so finding a way to compress it all was no mean feat. John Doyle’s decision to strip the action back to a bare, slatted, thrust stage with just the odd chair for props is therefore inspired. Liberated from sets and clutter the action is fluid and we focus more intently on the emotional journey of the characters. His movement direction, aided by Ann Yee’s perfectly understated choreography, is exquisitely simple and manages to evoke a sense of community and to firmly establish both place and character. On Broadway the piece had a lukewarm reception but was a commercial success with a run of over two years. Marsha Norman’s book is an exemplar of concision and the score by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray is a wonderfully melodic melange of gospel, blues, jazz and funk influences. While the songwriters all have major pop
The Color Purple credentials and can rustle up an anthemic chorus to lift a roof, they’re less adept at crafting songs that do the job that songs in musicals need to do. Celie’s climactic number I’m Here is a case in point. It starts tantalisingly with the promise of the Whitney-esqe barnstormer only to dribble out, leaving a great vocalist stranded and the audience hungry. Neither does the piece ever really settle on whether it should be sungthrough or not. A star is born, though, in the case of Cynthia Erivo as Celie (pictured). An astonishingly confident all-rounder, she has a commanding stage presence and takes us from introverted teen to defiant middleaged survivor without a hint of sentimentality. She is aided by West End veteran Nicola Hughes as the sultry saloon singer Shug and Sophia Nomvete as the proud and tragic Sofia. Celie’s physical attraction to Shug, short changed in the movie, is given due prominence here, however the men don’t come off so well. Christopher Colquhoun battles bravely to flesh out the violent Mister but the speed of the plot means he has too much catching up to do. The central theme of Celie’s journey towards establishing her own racial, sexual and spiritual identity is perhaps too big an ask for a two
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Novel by Alice Walker, adapted for the stage by Marsha Norman Music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray Reviewed by Jarlath O’Connell Menier Chocolate Factory, 53 Southwark St, London SE1 1RU www.menierchocolatefactory.com To September 14 hour commercial musical. Unlike the novel, the musical predictably goes all Hollywood in the end and we rush from a Celie who has cursed God to one who is drunk on life-affirming joy. Foregrounding Celie’s spiritual journey in this way no doubt had greater resonance in the US than it might do here, but it does the piece damage. Nevertheless, John Doyle’s great achievement with this production is to find a way of connecting the audience to the soul of these characters, unleashing this in a shimmering, foot-stamping joyful concoction. This is what a musical can do. In short, this production is a joy.
September 2013 39
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The Ladykillers By Graham Linehan, based on a screenplay by William Rose Vaudeville Theatre, Strand, London WC2R 0NH www.theladykillers.co.uk Reviewed by Jarlath O’Connell
photo © DAN TSANTILIS
F
ather Ted writer Graham Linehan and director Sean Foley of The Play What I Wrote fame have adapted this classic Ealing Comedy and converted what was a wonderfully subtle, if macabre, comic gem into broad slapstick. For fans of Linehan and Foley, it’s more of the same. For fans of the original movie, it’s a travesty. The argument will be made that it needs to be different from the movie, which is fine to an extent, but when you fillet the movie of everything which made it special and add nothing apart from Three Stooges cartoon violence, and knowing anachronisms of language and performance as per Little Britain, you have to ask why they couldn’t have fashioned something original. They are, in the end, just riding on the film’s coat tails. The tale of a shambolic criminal gang who occupy the upstairs room of a demure but feisty old lady’s rickety house in London’s Kings Cross, and pose as a string quartet to cover a planned heist from the mail train,
40 September 2013
is rightly regarded as a high point in British film comedy. But it had more than laughs. In the expert hands of Alexander Mackendrick it not only had an expressionist sheen (not least Alec Guinness’s portrayal of the ghoulish fake Professor), but also great tension. The tension stemmed from the audience’s complicity in the con trick. You had to believe the old lady would fall for their scam. Here that simple point is thrown out the window and characters of the individual gang members are turned into broad music hall archetypes mugging for the audience’s attention. The film was tight and perfectly paced. Here the focus is on each gang member’s slapstick attempts to kill one another, which misses the point that it is actually about them being incapable of killing her. The gang members are all re-written and given unnecessary back stories so we get a crude closet transvestite, a young druggie who obsessively cleans, a brain-numbed ex-boxer and a “granny hater”, which one presumes strikes a chord with
the male undergraduate demographic. In a similar vein there’s also cross-dressing old ladies à la Little Britain. The gloriously unhinged Professor Marcus is reduced here to a bumbling idiot struggling with his over-long scarf and John Gordon Sinclair is hopelessly at sea in the part. The cod-Major Courtney (played with comic brio by Cecil Parker in the film) is rendered by Simon Day into an am dram panto turn and the likeable lug One-Round is so broad he could be in children’s theater. Louis, the Romanian henchman who spouts Malapropisms, is another exercise of vocal strangulation from Con O’Neill. Ralf Little redeems matters somewhat by bringing some nuance and a winning charm to the Peter Sellers role as the cockney spiv. The evening is rescued, though by the great Angela Thorne (famous as Marjory from the 1980s sitcom To The Manor Born) who is, as she might put it herself, “perfectly splendid” as Mrs Wilberforce. The show has returned to the West End following a national tour and a re-casting, and one suspects that it was a better fit in the Gielgud Theatre. Here it is far too cramped, though Michael Taylor’s amazing set has been rightly acclaimed. The rooms practically collapse into one another in a wonderfully skewed Dali-esque creation, all jaunty angles and topsy-turvy lines. Ben and Max Ringham’s sound design and Scott Penrose’s effects are also top class.
The American
Daytona
By Oliver Cotton Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP While the play’s run at the Park Theatre is now over, it can also be caught at the Theatre Royal, Bath, October 14-19. www.theatreroyal.org.uk Reviewed by Tim Baros
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The three actors put in great performances. However, the fourth big star of the show is the Park Theatre. A stone’s throw away from Finsbury Park tube and train station, and opened in May 2013, the Park Theatre is like an oasis in an area that is still up and coming (or up but still has a long way to go). A multi-leveled glass-fronted building, with several levels including two theatres, an education suite, one bar on the ground floor and another bar upstairs, the Park Theatre also has a gallery. It still looks brand new – you can practically smell the fresh paint. The theater in which Daytona is playing,
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aureen Lipman, CBE, British film, theater and television actress; Harry Shearer, American actor, Spinal Tap member and voice actor for several characters in The Simpsons; and John Bowe, English television and theater actor most recently seen on stage in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert – together they star in the world premiere of Oliver Cotton’s play called Daytona in the gorgeous new Park Theatre in Finsbury Park. Lipman plays Elli, longtime wife to Joe (Shearer). Set in 1986 Brooklyn, they both lead a simple life. Both retired, former accountant Joe still finds time to manage the taxes of one client while at the same time pursuing his and Elli’s hobby of ballroom dancing. One day there is a knock on the door – Joe’s brother Billy (Bowe), who Joe has not seen in over 30 years. After escaping a concentration camp back in 1945, Joe and Billy found their way to America where they were about to set up a business together before Billy left at the last moment, only now returning. Billy has revelations about his new life (in Daytona, Florida), and more shocking revelations about an old man, a shadow from their shared past that he met just two days ago, and the violence that transpired. This is just the first act.
pho tos
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called Park 200, is two levels and holds 200 people. The seats on the first level surround the set, making the audience feel part of the production, or at least eavesdropping on a very good and dramatic conversation. The other theater in the building is Park 90, a smaller space that is currently showing Skin Tight, about an ordinary couple with an extraordinary love reliving their darkest secrets, deepest passions and heartbreaking truths.
The American
The American
Theater Previews Inside Wagner’s Head Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House, Bow St., Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD www.roh.org.uk September 6 to 28 After single-handedly capturing the life, times and spirit of Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare, Olivieraward winner Simon Callow presents a one-man show about the life, radicalism and petty anti-Semitism of composer, Richard Wagner.
Hysteria Hampstead Theatre, Eton Avenue, London NW3 3EU www.hampsteadtheatre.com September 5 to October 12 Sigmund Freud flees Nazi-controlled Austria for Swiss Cottage, hoping for peace. Salvador Dali and a barelyclad woman in the closet makes that unlikely. Antony Sher is once again Freud in the Hampstead Theatre’s revival of the ingenious farce, a 2012 hit at the Theatre Royal Bath.
The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui
photo: shaun webb
Barking in Essex Wyndham’s Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0DA www.barkinginessex.com September 6 to January 4 An all-star British cast - Lee Evans (There’s Something About Mary), Sheila Hancock (Sister Act), Keeley Hawes (Ashes to Ashes), Karl Johnson (Lark Rise to Candleford) star in the Premiere of a new play by Clive Exton (Poirot, Jeeves and Wooster). Con man Algie Packer is returning from prison with the hope of reuniting with millions of pounds in illgotten gains. Only there’s a problem with that theory, and Algie’s family have some explaining to do.
Duchess Theatre, Catherine Street, London WC2B 5LA www.duchesstheatre.co.uk September 18 to December 7
Much Ado About Nothing
Written for the American stage, but never produced in English until 1961, Bertolt Brecht’s satirical allegory of the rise of Adolf Hitler recasts the central character as a bullying 1930s Chicago mobster. This production earned rave reviews at the Chichester Festival Theatre, and now transfers to the West End with Henry Goodman (The Winslow Boy, Yes, Prime Minister) in the title role.
Stage and screen legends James Earl Jones (The Great White Hope, Fences, On Golden Pond) and Vanessa Redgrave (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Long Day’s Journey Into Night) combine on stage for the first time since the 2010 Broadway production of Driving Miss Daisy, taking on the roles of Benedick and Beatrice in Shakespeare’s comic tale of love and honor. Witty ripostes abound under
42 September 2013
The Old Vic, The Cut, London SE1 8NB www.oldvictheatre.com September 7 to November 23
the directorial eye of Mark Rylance (Boeing Boeing, Jerusalem, Richard III).
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Noël Coward Theatre, London WC2N 4AU www.michaelgrandagecompany.com September 7 to November 16 Sheridan Smith (Olivier Awardwinner for Legally Blonde) finds her Titania enamour’d by David Walliam’s marvellous hairy Bottom as Michael Grandage directs the Bard’s highly enjoyable story of fairyland jealousy, complicated elopements, and mis-targeted enchantments.
Dunsinane (Tour) Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Oxford, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Bath www.nationaltheatrescotland.com to October 12 Siobhan Redmond (TV’s The Smoking Room, Between the Lines) as Lady Macbeth comes under the category of ‘casting heaven’. Here she stars in David Greig’s sequel to ‘the Scottish play’. A highly satisfying proposition for those of us eternally perplexed by the Bard’s off-stage offing of one of his most iconic female characters, What if Lady Macbeth survived, the powerful widow adopting an English commander as the new puppet of her ambitions?
The American
Farragut North
Fiddler On The Roof (Tour)
Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk September 11 to October 5
www.fiddlerontheroof.co.uk September 5 to April 26
From Beau Willimon, head writer of the hit US version of House of Cards, comes another tale of political intrigue and ambition. In the middle of the campaign trail, a call threatens to send a young aspiring press secretary’s controlled world into a tailspin. Loosely based on the 2004 Democratic campaign of Howard Dean, it was turned into an Oscar-nominated screenplay, The Ides of March.
Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky and Hutch) is Tevye in a new tour of Fiddler On The Roof that begins a UK and Ireland tour at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton with stops at Newcastle, Bath, Edinburgh, Canterbury and more. The story, of course, is that of a milkman grappling with his headstrong daughters’ wishes as changing times and traditions come into conflict. Glaser is no stranger to the hit musical, having played Perchik in the 1970s movie version.
The Lyons
A Tale of Two Cities
Menier Chocolate Theatre, 53 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RU www.menierchocolatefactory.com September 27 to November 16
The King’s Head Theatre, 115 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1QN www.kingsheadtheatre.com September 29 to October 19
The European premiere of Nicky Silver’s award-nominated play, which transfered from off-Broadway to Broadway in 2011-2012. The Lyons family gather around dying patriarch Ben, but bickering and betrayals ensue. Starring Tom Ellis (TV’s Miranda), and directed by Mark Brokaw, who directed the New York run.
It hardly seems possible that a stage adaption of the Dickens classic – adapted by Terence Rattigan and John Gielgud, no less – has never been performed on stage before, but here comes the World Premiere! The tale of revolution and espionage will be performed by eight actors.
American Lulu Young Vic Theatre, 66 The Cut, Waterloo, London SE1 8LZ www.youngvic.org September 13 to 24 A new interpretation of Alban Berg’s opera Lulu. While the civil rights movement takes its first steps, a young dancer is suffocated by the sexual advances of men and women alike in the smoky jazz clubs of 1950s New Orleans. Stars American soprano Angel Blue and Jacqui Dankworth.
Roofing in a town near you: Paul Michael Glaser
OTHER SHOWS
Tours: Hard-to-resist Pop Idol alumnus Will Young reprising his award-nominated role as Emcee in Cabaret (Aug 28 to Nov 30, www.kenwright.com); To Sir with Love, ER Braithwaite’s tale of a black ex-RAF pilot turned teacher who inspires otherwise rebellious teens (a role made famous by Sidney Poitier) (Sept 6 to Nov 30, www. touringconsortium.com); and The Private Ear/The Public Eye, a pair of one-act comedies by Peter ‘Amadeus’ Schaffer contrasting the attitudes of 1960s Britain (Aug 29 to Nov 9, www. originaltheatre.com). Non-tours: the world premiere of The Herd, a family drama by award-winning actor Rory Kinnear – Bush Theatre, London (Sept 13 to Oct 26, www.bushtheatre.co.uk); Ibsen’s morality play Ghosts explores a woman’s wish to divide her son from his philandering father’s money – Rose Theatre, Kingston upon Thames, (Sept 19 to Oct 12, www.ett.org.uk); and the Dublin Festival of Theatre includes Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot; Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s The Threepenny Opera, Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms and RB Sheridan’s The Critic; plus the Richard Maxwell /NYC Players presentation Neutral Hero, heralded as one of The New York Times’ top ten plays of 2012 (Sept 26 to Oct 13, www.dublintheatrefestival.com)
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The American Interview:
Colman Domingo – A Boy and His Soul
T
he multi award-winning playwright, director, actor, dancer and Broadway musical artist met The American at the US Embassy where he performed excerpts from A Boy and His Soul, the show he is bringing to the London stage this month. “It’s all part of my grand plan to become global cultural ambassador” the Philly-born renaissance man jokes, talking about the Embassy performance. But he’s being modest. The show rounds off a couple of hectic days in which Colman visited several schools in London, inspiring kids from all backgrounds (some of whom are at the Embassy and come up with the best questions in a Q&A session) to get involved with the performing arts. But the 43 year-old, unlike most thespians who’ve ever been interviewed, was not one of those kids who from the age of two leaped out from behind the drapes crying ‘look at me Mom, I’m an ac-tor!’ “No,” he explains with a laugh, “I wanted to go into magazine journalism,” [a noble profession - ed]. I studied at Temple University, majoring in journalism, and took an acting class as an elective. My acting teacher asked my if I’d thought about acting as a career. I hadn’t, because I grew up in a blue collar family, I was the first kid to go to college, and I was
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getting good grades and thinking about going to grad school then getting a job with benefits!” All the sensible things people tell you to do? “Exactly. And here was this professor inspiring me me to go the other way. So I started taking classes offcampus at The Walnut Street Theatre School, downtown in Philadelphia. I kept it very private, because I didn’t want anyone to dampen my possible dreams. I moved to San Francisco after college to spend some time before I started work in journalism, I started to audition and got some acting work, and my couple of months in San Francisco turned into ten years! From beginning as an actor I expanded into directing and eventually started writing. There’s nothing in my background that prepared me for my career... except life and experience. I had no idea I could even do these things, but I have a lot of nerve, I like to take risks and I have chutzpah. Early on I auditioned for a circus company – I got the job and learned how to be an aerial web artist, and juggle, and walk on 5 feet tall stilts. Anything I don’t know, I will learn it.” Is there anything he doesn’t do? “It’s a running joke with my friends I’m also a professional photographer, I’m ordained so I can marry couples, I cut hair. I try to do everything I’m interested in, and if I like it I go full out. When I worked in some of
the top-notch restaurants in San Francisco I tried to learn how the chefs were making this great food. I don’t believe there’s anything I’m passionate about I can’t learn, and I can keep growing and evolving” he pauses. “...But I don’t know how to do plumbing!” Colman says he’s an odd breed. He didn’t see himself as a performer so he never pigeon-holed himself, and he can play outside the box because he creates a lot of things for himself. He also passes his knowledge on to others at the O’Neill National Theater Institute. Why? “Hopefully I can help them find their own voice, whether they leave as an artist or as a more fully expressive human being. But I try to make it fun, I’m naturally a silly person. A friend told me I’m a classic Shakespearean fool – a philosopher on one hand and foolish on the other. But the fool can say anything – and speaks the truth, always.” Experience, Colman’s touchstone, is the bedrock of the show he is bringing to London this month, A Boy And His Soul. “It’s autobiographical. Maybe 20 percent is theatrical license, but it’s a love story I wrote about my family, our trials and tribulations growing up in Philadelphia in the late ’70s and early ’80s, and the beautiful soul music we listened to: The O’Jays, The Spinners, The Jacksons, Gladys Knight & the Pips...
The American
“ I like to take risks and I have chutzpah. Early on I auditioned for a circus company – I got the job and learned how to be an aerial web artist, and juggle, and walk on 5 feet tall stilts. Anything I don’t know, I will learn it.” I use the music the way I hear it. There are times my mother is Gladys Knight, and I’m riffing on top of it in the character of my father, to tell the story. It’s not a musical, more a play with music. It dictated itself, and it happened in the writing of it. “I started it in 2005 when both my parents were ill and they asked me to clean out our family home because they were having to sell it. Coming from a working class family, this was our heritage and our legacy, so we had to deal with all of that, but we realized our parents had to sell it to pay for their medical and care. We also had to figure out what to do with these memories, the things that may not be there any longer. The play also deals with the passing of my parents. And it touches on finding your soul. How do you keep your soul when things are collapsing all around you? It’s serious, but it’s done with a light touch, with humor, some of it acerbic. It can be sexy and
visceral, honest and passionate. I think it has a big heart. That all has parallels with soul music.” Part of the story is his character coming out as gay. “Yes, but I think of it as the ‘B’ storyline, this boy coming of age,” says Colman. “When I first wrote it, my director said it was really good, but it was all about my other family members – he wondered why I wasn’t in it at all. I didn’t want to make it my ‘coming out play’. It was about the larger themes of family and music. Coming out is threaded into it, through how my family dealt with it – which was very different to how most families at the time did. It’s changed, but it’s still not about me. I rarely use ‘me’ and ‘I’, it’s about ‘us’. It’s also about my second coming of age. I thought I had become a man in my twenties, but it wasn’t really true until I was dealing with my parents’ mortality. “My father never saw the show, my mother saw it on DVD, and my
siblings have seen it. My brother said, ‘First I was horrified, then I was just surprised, and then I was so proud.’ They think of themselves as ordinary people from a small town, but their stories matter. Ordinary people are the most extraordinary. And I love being on stage with my family for two hours every evening” Finally... what is the best thing about being Colman Domingo? “Ha! ...that’s a great question ... the best thing about being Colman Domingo is that somehow I’ve been blessed with many, many friends and people who really love and support me.” You can see Colman in A Boy and His Soul at the Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 7JR, September 4 to 21 (www.tricycle.co.uk) He will also appear in The Scottsboro Boys at the Young Vic Theatre, 66 The Cut, London SE1 8LZ, October 18 to November 23 (www.youngvic.org)
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DRIVE TIME FIRST DRIVE:
Chevrolet Trax Michael Burland takes Chevrolet’s new compact SUV on a small adventure
Hardcore Softroader S
o, The General has taken his existing small crossover softroader, the Vauxhall/Opel Mokka and Chevy’d it up with a ruff-tuff bodykit and big gold bow-tie. Cars like these are all the rage, from the MINI Countryman to the Nissan Qashqai. They’re not ‘real’ offroaders, of course, and many of them are twowheel drive only, but they enjoy the benefits of higher seating position, more interior space, funky styling and much lower running costs than a traditional 4x4. That’s the theory. The launch of the Trax was held a mere three miles from The American’s country base. I had a plan for a better test than a mere couple of hours on the road. I possessed tadah! - local knowledge... Salisbury Plain is criss-crossed by ancient droves, the tracks that shepherds and cowmen used to drive their beasts along. They’re often still marked as byways, and while they’d be impossible for a pure road car,
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any self-respecting SUV should handle the gravel surface and occasional puddles. I decided to see how Trax handled one of my favorite, easy droves. That was my theory. Which to take? There are three engine options in the Trax, a 115PS (Euro-horsepower) 1.6 liter petrol, a 140PS 1.4 turbo petrol and a 130PS 1.7 VCDi common-rail diesel. There’s a 6-speed auto-shift transmission option on the diesel and All Wheel Drive is optional on the 1.4 and 1.7s. Even the lower LS trim level boasts Stop-Start technology, aircon, cruise, automatic headlamps, reverse parking sensors, steering wheel audio controls, Bluetooth and Hill Start Assist. LT adds a color touch screen display for most controls and Siri speech recognition, Hill Descent Control, skid plates, and rear parking camera. For my mission I needed a 6-speed manual shift and AWD, so I grabbed the keys to a Borocay Blue
1.4 LT. Everything was hunky-dory as we picked our way along the drove. What we didn’t know, Trax and me, was that a large section of the drove had been washed out during the recent summer storms, scraping away the gravel that normally covered some rather alarming slab rocks, exposing them and some extra deep dips. Suddenly we had a choice. Do a multi-point turn and sheepishly return the way we’d come, or bravely (ahem) carry on and see just what the Trax was made of. Whaddaya think? Trax just wanted to carry on, so who was I to stop it? Turns out, the Trax is made of sterner stuff than 99 percent of owners will ever find out. Apart from a shortage of ground clearance (sorry, front spoiler) it managed our minimountaineering session very well indeed, surprising a few bemused hikers, several Hereford cows, and, frankly, me. Is it as sophisticated on the road as a Countryman, as commodious as a Qashqai, or as solidly built as a VW Tiguan? No. But for between £15,495 and £20,495 any country- (or town-) dweller who needs a practical, rugged, fun, willing companion should have Trax on their shortlist.
The American
Hawkeyes fly in London Iowa dominates in London’s Copper Box debut, but a capacity crowd heralds big time basketball in the capital. Words: Natimi Black-Heaven Photos: Gary Baker
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he British Basketball League’s London Lions made their highly anticipated move to East London’s Olympic venue, the Copper Box last month, with a preseason clash with the Iowa Hawkeyes before a capacity crowd of 7,500. Over the past couple of years, British fans have become accustomed to world class international basketball events like NBA regular season games, Euroleague Final Four and even the 2012 London Olympic Games, but it’s no given when it comes to overseas university teams. College basketball may be a big deal in the States but across the Atlantic the NCAA is rarely followed, except by die-hard (and often expat) basketball fans, so a sold out event featuring an unranked D1 college team is a sign of increasing popularity. It probably didn’t hurt that Hawkeyes’ junior center Gabriel Olaseni is a London native and was very much recognised for his achievements by the crowd, receiving a standing ovation during player introductions. Last season Olaseni put up career averages across rebounds, blocks and points earning him a starting job as Iowa’s first choice centre. Catching up with him after the game, Olaseni said that coming back home to London is “always good and inspiring young people to play
basketball is worth it.” Well, he was certainly inspiring in this contest with a 14 point performance that included many thunderous dunks. The Hawkeyes finish their European tour in Paris with a couple of games against top professional teams but after that, Olaseni and Iowa head back to start training camp with the overall aim of making an appearance in the NCAA tournament. Olaseni does not yet have plans to represent Great Britain in international competition as his work schedule limits his free time to just 2 weeks a year which, he explains, is reserved “strictly family.” So, although we may not get to see Olaseni on home soil representing GB, be sure to watch out for the Brit and the Iowa Hawkeyes as they make a run NCAA glory. London-born Iowa center Gabriel Olaseni
Game recap:
After the 1st quarter, the game had already swung in favor of Iowa. For every run the Lions pulled off, Iowa had the perfect recipe for a cool, calm and calculated comeback, with offense primarily run through the 6’10 big man Olaseni. A great block by Lions center Matthew Bryan-Amaning followed by a fast break dunk by Joe Ikhinmwin gave the Lions momentum leading into the 2nd quarter, but the offensive rebounding and relentless offensive pressure by Iowa kept London’s hard work in check. Going into the half, the Iowa Hawkeyes led the contest 49-37. In the second half, the Americans brought a ruthless onslaught of aggression to the rim. The Lions were able to make a few crowd pleasing plays as London continued to block shots, steal the ball and throw it down with extreme power, but when it came down to the wire, London’s fuel tank ran dry. The game ended 107-72 in favor of the Hawkeyes but we’ll certainly look forward to seeing a lot more of the London Lions as they begin a new era at their new home in the Copper Box! The season begins at home, September 27 against the Manchester Giants. For more information, visit www.londonlionsbasketball.com
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2013 NFL Preview
Richard L Gale offers up some divisional projections for the coming season
© San Francisco 49ers
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he process of building preseason predictions goes through three stages. First you look at the changes and go with your gut. Second, you let the ‘numb3rs’ guys muddy your convictions with projections ‘averaged towards the mean’ [what now?]. Then, just after you have your Grand Unified Theory of how it’s all going to play out, the four horseman of the mockopalypse ride in: injuries, suspensions, quarterback controversies, and rookie phenoms. Going into last season, we knew that Andrew Luck was a franchise QB, Robert Griffin was pure talent, that the 49ers were the obvious NFC West pick. But few knew that Luck would take the talentlight Colts to the playoffs in year one, that running back Alfred Morris would give Washington as big a boost as RGIII, or that the NFC West would turn into a battle between Seahawks’ rookie passer
Russell Wilson and 49ers’ unheralded backup QB Colin Kaepernick. And we all had Adrian Peterson down for a 2000-yard season straight back from ACL and MCL tears, right? Alongside the givens – the 49ers and Seahawks will contend again, the Broncos’ time is now, the Patriots are untouchable in the AFC East – are the spicier speculations: that Washington gets squeezed, Kansas City is the most improved team, the Patriots’ closest divisional rival is the Bills, and that everybody quits beating on Tony Romo. Well, maybe.
NFC West
1. Seattle. It isn’t whether the 49ers and Seahawks make the playoffs, but which can secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs. 64% completion, 26 TDs, 10 picks as a rookie is not an abberation. QB Russell Wilson is for real, and, if a rash of suspensions don’t prove otherwise, so are the Seahawks. A spectacular young secondary means that, if they can down San Fran Dec. 8, they’ll have the inside track on a Super Bowl run and Super Bowl glory. The 49ers will have the Seahawks breathing down their necks in the NFC West
2. San Francisco. The 49ers added WR Anquan Boldin to Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham and TE Vernon Davis, but with 2012 first rounder AJ Jenkins looking a bust and Crabtree going on the PUP list to start the season, that depth is a potential weak link. Ex-Eagles CB Nnamdi Asomugha hopes to resurrect his reputation. 3. St Louis. If we haven’t seen the best of Sam Bradford yet, we should with Jake Long at left tackle. However, RB Steven Jackson was the heartbeat of this roster. Losing him hurts. 4. Arizona. New head coach: Bruce Arians; new QB: Carson Palmer. Same old losing record.
NFC East
1. Dallas. The QB with a better passer rating than Troy Aikman (and almost 5000 yards last season) has a deep backfield, WR Dez Bryant focused, and an improved line, plus there’s a new 4-3 defensive alignment set to rejuvenate DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer, and excellent man corners. 2. NY Giants.The O-line and, shockingly, the D-line are the question marks. DT Cullen Jenkins arrives, DE Jason Pierre-Paul remains, but Osi Umenyiora and Chris Canty are gone. Still, a team with Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, and Hakeem Nicks is never out of it, and RB David Wilson seems destined for a breakout. 3. Washington. The difficulty picking this team to repeat in a division so tight it squeaks is you have to buy into RGIII and Alfred Morris having as good a year in 2013. Griffin’s history suggests an ongoing fragility factor that, despite a (too?) mature defense has me nervous to assume 2013 won’t be a little ham-strung. 4. Philadelphia. Chip Kelly’s spread offense is the division’s X-factor: up-tempo it suits RB LeSean McCoy like a glove. A Vick/Foles QB controversy is tertiary news to McCoy’s numbers and the search for a better secondary than Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie mysteriously failed to supply last season.
NFC South
1. New Orleans. Whether you pick the Saints ahead of the Falcons depends on whether you think playing the season without head coach
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The American
NFC North
1. Green Bay. The Packers always seem locked in mortal combat with their own roster depth. They drafted DE Datone Jones to address the D-Line, but training camp injuries on the O-line (Brian Bulaga) are already casting an injury shadow. The departure of WR Greg Jennings (366 yards) is not that big a deal. When Aaron Rodgers can win 12 games without even a 500 yard back, you have to wonder how far they can go with Alabama’s Eddie Lacy and UCLA’s Johnathan Franklin in the backfield. Don’t hand the Super Bowl to the Seahawks too soon. 2. Chicago. If last year’s 10-6 record wasn’t some sort of clue, the Bears are just a little better than people think. With Marc Trestman as head coach, ex-Saint Jermon Bushrod at left tackle, and Matt Forté and Michael Bush in (and out of) the backfield, and Martellus Bennett upgrading tight end it is now Jay Cutler’s time (as in ‘now or never’). Despite LB Brian Urlacher’s departure, the defense is no worse on paper with Lance Briggs, DJ Williams, James Anderson and in bursts, rookie Khaseem Greene. 3. Minnesota. Adrian Peterson may only manage 1700 yards or so this season, but to progress, the Vikings will need to see what more QB Christian Ponder has. 4. Detroit. Yeah, we get it: Matthew
Stafford to Calvin Johnson. What else you got? Maybe Reggie Bush’s versatility can shake things up on offense. And they have that Suh-perb [ouch!] defensive line. Safety Glover Quin and the return from injury of CB Bill Bentley could be reasons for progress.
AFC East
1. New England. Bill Belichick still rules, Tom Brady still slings, but with Rob Gronkowski coming off injury, that other TE best not mentioned, and Danny Amendola and Kenbrell Thompkins the WRs, the focus now is on a backfield lead by Stevan Ridley (1263 yards last year). Despite the slow talent drain no division rival quite seems ready to challenge the Pats. 2. Buffalo. If any 2013 rookie QB can be as impactful as the 2012 vintage, it’s ex-Seminole EJ Manuel. The talent in rookie WR Robert Woods is also clear, Stevie Johnson is a 1000-yard receiver, and RB CJ Spiller is set for massive numbers in head coach Doug Marrone’s system. The defense boasts DT Marcell Dareus, DE/ LB Mario Williams, safety Jairus Byrd... this is a talented team. 3. Miami. The Dolphins just need Ryan Tannehill to take the second step after a solid (7-9) first campaign massively upstaged by other rookie flingers. Ex-Steeler Mike Wallace gives him a big-name target. They’ll also try Lamar Miller as the every-down back. On defense, DEs Cameron Wake and Dion Jordan promise to be an exciting blitzing experience. But managing to lose LT Jake Long, CB Sean Smith and RB Reggie Bush in the same offseason is a perplexing own goal. 4. NY Jets. Expect the preseason quarterback competition to last until about Thanksgiving.
AFC West
1. Denver. Losing LB DJ Williams wasn’t good; losing DE Elvis Dumervil through a mis-timed fax was plain demoralizing; and at press time, LB Von Miller’s one-month suspension seemed to continue the unraveling. Regardless, QB legend Peyton Manning, receivers Wes Welker, Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas and Wisconsin’s Montee Ball in the backfield mix remains an attractive pick
© Denver Broncos
Sean Payton costs a few games, and whether one of the worst defensive seasons in NFL history is purely down to suspensions. This team lost its first four 2012 games by one possession, but went 7-4 thereafter. This is still the Drew Brees show. 2. Atlanta. In case you think this division belongs to the Saints except when Hurricane Katrina or Roger Goodell come visiting, bear in mind the Falcons won it two of the last three seasons, made the playoffs four of the last five. Matty Ice, Julio, Roddy, and Gonzo, Steven Jackson and Quizz Rodgers... enough fantasy football for you? They replace John Abraham with Osi Umenyiora, but the defense is only so-so. 3. Tampa Bay. No team worries my predictions more than the Bucs. Doug Martin is a franchise back, there’s solid talent throughout the offense, and they added Darrelle Revis and Dashon Goldson to the secondary. If Josh Freeman connects the dots in the last year of his rookie contract, he could turn this division upside down. 4. Carolina. Theory: Cam Newton doesn’t win and it’s all his fault because of his personality. Reality: despite a stable of good running backs, this team loses the close ones because Newton (4610 combined yards, 27 combined TDs) has 33yo Steve Smith and a bunch of fill-ins at WR.
for AFC champions. 2. Kansas City. Andy Reid is now the man with the plan, the first part of which was acquire ex-49er Alex Smith, the passer who lost his start while leading the league in QB rating. Despite the 2-14 record last year, the Chiefs didn’t lack talent. Jamaal Charles ran for 1500 yards and by drafting OT Eric Fisher and failing to trade Branden Albert to Miami, KC looks much more talented on the line. DT Dontari Poe played solidly as a rookie, and the LB corps may be the best on paper in the AFC. They’re going to take a leap to .500 or above this year. 3. San Diego. Head coach Mike McCoy needs to light a fire under QB Philip Rivers, and the injuries have already started - WR Danario Alexander out for the year. 4. Oakland. Somebody has to come last. The Raiders are eminently qualified. There’s barely a position they’re impressive at except kicker Sebastian Janikowski.
AFC South
1. Houston. They have a 4000-yard passer (Matt Schaub), a 1500-yard receiver (Andre Johnson), a franchise back (Arian Foster), a good line, the defensive player of the year in DE JJ Watt (20.5 sacks, 16 pass deflections), a LB corps that will be at least as good as last year, and a secondary that, while losing safety Glover Quin, gains Ed Reed. So why the consensus that the wind is sagging in the Texans’ sails? They’ll be in the mix for a first round playoff bye. 2. Indianapolis. Last season was special – coach Chuck Pagano fighting off cancer, interim Bruce Arians as Coach of the Year, Luck fulfilling all prophecies as the cast-iron guaranteed franchise quarterback. But the line is still building, Vick Ballard and Ahmad Bradshaw will share the backfield and the kicking game is the only other area of high quality. That’s not enough to start doubting Houston’s divisional dominance. 3. Tennessee. Jake Locker must prove he hasn’t hit a low ceiling, RB Chris Johnson’s 2000 yard season was four years ago, but the Titans improved the O-line in the offseason, signing OG Andy Levitre and drafting FSU’s Chance Warmack. 4. Jacksonville. Luke Joeckel, the next Tony Boselli, was drafted, but its a long road back. So, ‘Blaine Gabbert – yes or no?’
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© pittsburgh Steelers/karl roser
AFC North
1. Baltimore. The Super Bowl champions lost WR Anquan Boldin, C Matt Birk, S Ed Reed, LBs Dannell Ellerbe, Brandon Ayanbadejo, Ray Lewis... However, after the exodus of leadership, they lucked into ex-Bronco DE/LB Elvis Dumervil, and rookies S Matt Elam and LB Arthur Brown suit their style. With Joe Flacco having silenced doubters and RB Ray Rice and plenty of defensive veterans still aboard, they’re the team to beat in at least the division. 2. Cincinnati. Andy Dalton threw 27 scores, BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for 1000 yards, AJ Green caught 97 balls, and in Jermaine Gresham and Tyler Eifert Cincy have a two-deep at TE to rival the Cowboys’ in these post-Gronk/Hernandez days, they have a great D-line and three start-quality corners. But the Bengals have never made the playoffs three seasons in a row. 3. Pittsburgh. Aggressive defense, Troy Polamalu, and Big Ben are the headliners, but the roster keeps getting nibbled: LB James Harrison, OG Willie Colon, OT Max Starks, S Will Allen, WR Mike Wallace. While the Steelers have the next generation of lineman just waiting to click, they’re getting a little behind the 8-ball at WR; they barely retained Emmanuel Sanders. RB Le’Veon Bell upgrades the backfield. 4. Cleveland. QB Brandon Weeden will be better, Trent Richardson (950 yards) will play healthy, and the coaching staff is much improved. Miracles, such as 6 wins, are not impossible.
A Steelers line packed with young players relies on guard Ramon Foster (No.73) for veteran leadership
The NFL season returns to our television screens September 5 and the NFL International Series returns to Wembley with two games in London this year. Josh Modaberi spent a little time with Steelers guard Ramon Foster and Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams, who face each other in the first of those clashes, September 29.
Ramon Foster Pittsburgh Steelers Guard In conversation with
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amon Foster is raring to go for the new season and has been preparing himself mentally during the off-season. “During the off-season you have to push yourself very hard,” comments Ramon Foster, ironically taking time out of pumping iron to face the press corps on the Wembley turf. “I think that is one of the biggest dynamics of playing in the NFL. “The workouts are very challenging, you have to do different things to keep yourself mentally strong because the physical things you can handle – it’s the mental things: to keep on pushing when a workout gets hard or if it is a tough game.” Foster is disappointed with the Steelers’ 2012 campaign. “Last season we had an 8-8 season and as far as I’m concerned that is way below the line of what we looked to achieve. We’re looking to bounce back from it. The Super Bowl is everything we strive for. “As far as my own personal goals I am aiming to be consistent and dominant.
That is one of the most important things you can do in this sport – to be dominant in every facet. That’s one of the main things I focus on.” One of the scheduling hurdles the Steelers face is an early date against Minnesota in London. Ramon is undaunted: “Usually the International Series games take place in October. Personally I don’t think it will make any difference having the game in September – each Sunday is the same and that’s how we’ve got to treat it. Whether it’s early or late in the season kind of doesn’t matter. Maybe we’ll be just more ready to go as it’s early. “We take it one week at a time and to play over in London early on in the season means we might have less injuries and the guys are still energised.” Foster, who was a starter for the Steelers at Super Bowl XLV, is looking forward to the encounter. “Wembley is a great stadium and when it is filled with 90,000 people the atmosphere is going to be amazing. Hopefully they embrace us the same way they do with the soccer. “I’ve watched a few of the NFL games that have been played at Wembley and it always looks like it is a good environment to play in. It will be a regular game for us but in a different environment which will be very special.”
The American
Kevin Williams Minnesota Vikings Defensive Tackle
© Minnesota vikings
In conversation with
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evin Williams has been selected for six Pro Bowls and named an All-Pro five times during his decade with the Vikings. Josh Modaberi asked him how he has been enjoying the off-season. “I just try to get away from football in general. I’ve been doing this for a long time and it feels really good to unwind and clear your mind. It helps you come back better prepared for the next season. “Once you start training it’s basically season back on again. I spend time with the family and kids, we went on vacation. It’s nice to just go fishing and hang out.” With batteries recharged, the 32-year-old from Arkadelphia, Akansas is ready for the new season to get underway. “We are hoping to come into that game at Wembley against the Pittsburgh Steelers undefeated,” he said. “We want to get off to a great start
and it is always tough to stay undefeated late on in the season, but that is our goal. We go into each game one at a time and we know we’re going to have a tough opponent in Pittsburgh. We will come over to London and take in the city but will still prepare the proper way and be ready for a good game.” Williams is the longest-serving player on the Vikings roster, having joined as a first-round draft pick in 2003. Last season the Vikings made it to the Wildcard round of the playoff, losing to the Green Bay Packers. Williams intends to build on last year’s performances. “We just need to continue playing consistent ball,” he explained. “I need to keep doing my assignments, taking care of my responsibilities to consistently be where I need to be, and with that I will put my team and
my team mates in good positions.” Last season in the draft, Minnesota picked up Matt Kalil, Harrison Smith and Blair Walsh, all of whom were instrumental in helping the Vikings go 10-6 and reach the playoffs. Williams is expecting the same from this year’s rookie class. “From what I’ve seen, the rookies are doing well,” he added. “We had a great class a year ago, they all contributed, and two of our rookies made the Pro Bowl, so we are going to expect this new rookie class to come in and contribute in the same way. They are going to have high expectations on their backs and we are really going to count on them.”
Find more NFL interviews and expanded division capsules online at www.theamerican.co.uk September 2013 51
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TJ Yeldon follows Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy as powerback for the Tide © alabama athletics
Unstoppable Immovable By Richard L Gale
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Southeastern Conference With the talent the NFL leaches out of Alabama on a yearly basis, it defies mathematical sense that the Tide return 8 starters on defense, including team MVP CJ Mosley. Offensively, super-safe AJ McCarron (3 ints, 30 TDs) returns, TJ Yeldon was a 1,000 yard back even when Eddie Lacy was in the stable ... The extent to which Les Miles is maintaining the LSU layers of talent will be seen this season on defense, where just three starters return. With Jeremy Hill seemingly returning to the backfield alongside Alfred Blue, they have the personnel to stay high on the top 25 radar ... Last time we saw Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel as a footballer, he was posting 516 combined yards on Oklahoma. Manziel appears to have celebrated all the way from January to August. Having defined the term ‘freshman sensation’ the scene is perfectly set for the redefining the term ‘sophomore slump’. If he’s allowed to play ... In the SEC East, it’s a 3-way dogfight between Aaron Murray (36 TDs, 10 ints) and Georgia, QB-hunting Jadeveon Clowney (13 sacks) and South Carolina, and the down-anddirty defense of Florida. None would seem to have the top-to-bottom talent to take Alabama in an SEC title game, though Georgia came mighty close last time and must be favored to meet them again.
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he Chinese word for paradox (literary ‘spearshield’) is based on the claim of a spear so sharp it could penetrate any defense, and a shield so strong it could defend any attack. Such philosophy may fit for the 124 FBS teams trying to figure out how to neutralize the unstoppable, immovable Alabama Crimson Tide, looking to make it three national championships in a row and continue their dynastic dominance. The legend of Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel reached epic dimensions after he led the Aggies to a regular season upset of the Tide last year, but by season’s end, there was Alabama, back in the championship game and slapping down the previously unbeaten Notre Dame Fighting Irish. With autograph-for-pay rumors swirling, it isn’t even clear whether there’s going to be some Manziel magic to keep Alabama from perfection this season (nb. Alabama at Texas A&M, September 14). If any team can stop, rather than temporarily divert the Tide’s irrepressable advance, it’s clear it will have to be an SEC foe or an ‘unbeaten’ from another conference.
Big Ten
Sanctions meant last year’s one unbeaten team, Ohio State, missed out on championship talk. Most of the offense is back, including Heisman contending QB Braxton Miller (28 combined TDs). The D-line (and most of the front seven) will be new starters, but the schedule is very friendly ... Their main Leaders Division rival is official B1G champs Wisconsin which has a new head coach (Gary Andersen), and a fairly inexperienced QB. Despite a new attacking defensive scheme (watch for LB Chris Borland) and RB James White (12 TDs in just 126 attempts), the division would seem Ohio State’s ... The training wheels should be off dynamic Michigan QB Devin Gardner with Denard Robinson gone, and a lot of the action is at home, including Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State. They need to watch for tricky road trap games, however ... Nebraska will ride QB Taylor Martinez (23 TDs, 12 picks) and RB Ameer Abdullah (1137 yards, 8 TDs) but there’s a lot of inexperience on defense and there’s a breathless 5-game November stretch ... Michigan State has the defensive personnel to tickle the NFL’s fancy, but we need clarity at QB and RB before predicting any upset courtesy of a potentially great line.
The American
The Big 12 has four main contenders: Oklahoma State have a scheduling advantage with TCU and Oklahoma visiting, but picking them for the conference requires overlooking the previous parttime status of QB Clint Chelf and RB Jeremy Smith (though they looked the part) ... Oklahoma has a little more continuity on the line, but even less experience at QB. Blake Bell, nicknamed ‘Belldozer’ as a short-yardage running QB (24 TDs in two seasons) must yet show he can command a driving offense. The defense is fresh on the line and in the secondary – not a good combination ... Texas at least have dull but effective David Ash behind their complete, returning line. But the defense leaked worse than Julian Assange ... TCU was supposed to have most of its vaunted defense back, but MLB Joel Hasley left football, while on the O-Line one former starter retired with injury and another transfered. Is the scene set for QB Casey Pachall (substance abuse), and RB Waymon James (injury) to return as prodigal sons?
PAC-12
Defense, RB Marion Grice and the 29 TD passes of Taylor Kelly are the reasons Arizona State is most likely to make it out of the South (we’re not picking USC for anything again for a long while, despite WR Marqise Lee and a host of other players we’d happily draft) ... But really, this is all about November 7, when Oregon visits Stanford. The Ducks have QB Marcus Mariota (32 TDs, just 6 ints, plus 750 yards and 5 TDs rushing), RB De’Anthony Thomas, and there’s 16 starters returning. They lost only one game, in OT, to Stanford. However, they also lost coach Chip Kelly in the offseason. Stanford lost two games last year, both tight. Kevin Hogan, who went 5-0 in high profile starts (including at Oregon) is back with most of the line but few of the receivers. Stanford’s defense led the conference – and the nation – in sacks last year, and was 5th in the nation against the run. Nearly everybody including LBs Shayne Skov (their leading tackler), AJ Tarpley and Trent Murphy (10-sacks) is back. The key to whether the winner of the Ducks-Cardinal showdown (Stanford!) faces some SEC champ in the National Championship Game could be down to not tripping over upperclassmen-heavy Washington or Oregon State looking to play spoilers.
Atlantic Coast
The Virginia Tech defense (particularly the line), North Carolina senior QB Bryn Renner (28 TDs, 7 ints) and the sheer number of returning starters
at Georgia Tech (unfortunately not in the passing game) has them in the ACC Coastal mix. However, the promise of QB Stephen Morris alongside his entire returning line and starting receivers, plus the big play potential of RB/KR Duke Johnson makes Miami the pick in the Coastal Division ... In the Atlantic Division, it should be an epic battle between QB Tajh Boyd’s Clemson and a Florida State team returning some serious beef up front for redshirt freshman QB Jameis Winston, already being built up as ‘Famous Jameis’ for future Heisman hype. Nonetheless, we’ll take experience over rawness for a conference title, which is why Boyd (46 combined TDs last year), WR Sammy Watkins, a top-ten defense (the front seven is highly experience) and even a kicking edge has Clemson the pick in the division and the conference.
American
The Cincinnati Bearcats host the Louisville Cardinals for a December 5 date that should be a conference title game in all but name. Cincy’s defense will be a cut above the AAC’s standard, and QB Brendon Kay and his entire starting line return. With coach Tommy Tuberville taking over for Butch Jones, the Bearcats will continue to punch above their weight. Louisville should roll to an 11-0 start and make some national noise. Intricately woven into that, will be the Heisman campaign of Teddy Bridgewater, last seen downing Florida in the Sugar Bowl, 33-23 ... UCF went 10-4 last year and George O’Leary’s team must be accounted for by Louisville on October 18.
Independents
Notre Dame are back to relevance. The defense still boasts Louis Nix III, Stephon Tuitt, Prince Shembo and three of four starting DBs are back. Notre Dame has star power and the depth of a championship team.They may even be a contender if the chips fall their way. However, losing starting QB Everett Golson in the offseason – he temporarily left ND entirely – hardly qualifies as that. Some of those close 2012 victories could become close losses in 2013 ... In Keenan Reynolds, Navy have a QB who can truly throw. Though only 6 defensive starters return, the two-deep is packed with upperclassmen who saw significant time. This may be coach Ken Niumatalolo’s best squad. Ten wins is not out of reach ... A whole raft of key BYU players are gone, but more remain, including LB Kyle
Ohio State’s Braxton Miller – unbeaten in 2012. Can the Buckeyes do it again? © OHIO STATE athletics
BIG 12
Van Noy (13 sacks in 2012) and NT Eathyn Manumaleuna (the starter ahead of Ziggy Ansah before injury). Brett Thompson will be the next in BYU’s impressive TE tradition, and WR Cody Hoffman tallied 100 catches last year; mobile sophomore QB Taysom Hill could be one of the breakout stories of the season ... A little more shotgun, a little less triple-option, but the Army defense was amongst the worst in the FBS in most categories in 2012.
Other Conference Picks
Boise State’s depth chart is deep with offensive players who have seen significant time. The situation on defense is more testing. They’ll likely meet Fresno State twice, including the MWC title game. If Bulldogs QB Derek Carr (37 TDs) plays like last year. I fancy the Bulldogs to win both encounters ... Air Force faces too much change on offense to expect better than bare bowl eligibility unless the defense is a lot better. QB Kale Pearson flashes drive-sustaining passing skills ... C-USA: Marshall QB Rakeem Cato evoked memories of the Pennington/Leftwich years with 37 TDs last season ... The MAC is highlighted by QB Jordan Lynch of Northern Illinois. He should continue to dominate discussion as the Huskies head for another MAC title ... Sun Belt: Arkansas State.
Find team conference capsules for all 125 teams online at www.theamerican.co.uk Continue overleaf for Heisman contenders...
September 2013 53
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Eagle Eyed
Heisman chase: If not Johnny Football, who? Picking Johnny Manziel again for the Heisman trophy is just too obvious. Beating Alabama again, while impressive, would be far too early for writers and voters, who require new shiny things on a weekly basis. Winning QBs in major conferences are the surest thing, so Ohio State’s Braxton Miller, Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, Alabama’s AJ McCarron and Clemson’s Tajh Boyd (in that order), while Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater, Northern Illinois’ Jordan Lynch and Fresno State’s Derek Carr will enter alongside unbeaten streaks. Michigan’s Devin Gardner, Stanford’s Kevin Hogan and Georgia’s Aaron Murray can leap in if they take over in showcase matchups. Amongst the RBs, Wisconsin’s James White, Miami’s Duke Johnson, Oregon’s De’Anthony Thomas and Alabama’s TJ Yeldon are headliners, though the last two will be competing against their own passers. USC’s Marqise Lee heads the WRs. But after Manti Te’o came close, could this be the year of the defender? Could monstrous South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney prove that, in the end, the immovable object does indeed triumph?
Darren Kilfara dons an ESPN cap and a two-way radio for a long weekend of golfspotting at the 2013 Open Championship
photo: Glen Johnson/TAMU Athletics
I
’ve always preferred watching golf tournaments on television to attending them in person. Like the Tour de France or a Formula 1 race, the narrative arc of a strokeplay golf competition can only be perceived with the wide-angle lens that television gives you. From vantage points close to the action, individual vignettes can be savored, but their meaning often dissipates in the absence of narrative clarity, and being in the right place at the right time to see the key moments is more a matter of luck than judgment. For the 2013 Open Championship, I discovered a new – and hopefully better – way to watch golf: I worked at Muirfield as a spotter for ESPN. Armed with two-way radios and all-access armbands, spotters patrol the front lines of the battle to create narrative order from the chaos of tournament golf. Every day I followed a different group from inside the ropes and acted as the eyes and ears of the production team: when one of my guys was doing well, I made sure Jim Zirolli – my ESPN production contact, a Connecticut native with a Hartford Whalers cap and a permanent grin – knew my group’s hitting order at every tee, fairway and green and how many shots each golfer had taken. If anyone made several birdies in a row, or received a notable slice of good or bad luck, or faced a pleasingly televisual predicament (e.g., an awkward stance in a bunker or against a stone wall), or was on the
clock because of slow play, I reported that as well. In turn, “Jimmy Z” filtered the spotters’ reports to his fellow producers who chose which shots to show and which graphics to display to the viewers back home. Does that sound like fun? It was, to a point. On Thursday, my assigned threesome of Alvaro Quiros, Kyle Stanley and Alex Noren was a combined 28-over-par after 14 holes, and as I trudged around Muirfield in nearsilence I pondered existential questions about being at the epicenter of the golfing world yet unable to watch any decent golf. But then a BBC spotter told me Shiv Kapur – in the fourthlast group of the day – had birdied his first three holes, and as I was near the fourth green and none of my colleagues were following Kapur’s threesome, I volunteered my services and was quickly rerouted. Kapur promptly birdied three more holes to lead the tournament outright, and suddenly I was at the heart of ESPN’s coverage – calling every shot over the radio, running up the fairways to measure and report yardages to the hole, even sharing my own tales of having watched Kapur shoot 64 to qualify for the Open at my home course of Dunbar. By the time Kapur’s closing par ended ESPN’s first-day telecast, I’d been on the course for eight straight hours and 30 consecutive holes, applied three separate coatings of sunblock, sneaked bottles of water from the coolers at two tees to stay hydrated, used the “FOR PLAY-
The American
ERS ONLY” portable toilet by the 10th green in the absence of reasonable alternatives, and felt like I’d never worked harder or better in my life. Friday was fun as well. My group included Darren Clarke and Martin Laird, both of whom shot 71 to remain in contention, while Jimmy Z remained in fine form, constantly chattering into my earpiece and narrating the ebbs and flows of “the movie”, as he called the broadcast: “O’Meara just made another bogey – he’s out of the movie.” “If Leonard can get one more birdie, he might get back into this flick.” He also uttered my favorite line of the week: “Sergio is peeing in the bushes! Garcia totally just peed in the bushes to the right of the eighth fairway. I guess that’s why Muirfield doesn’t have any lady members.” Alas, at the weekend the veteran spotters got the best groups, and I was left following Steven Tiley and Ken Duke on Saturday, and then Thomas Bjorn and Matt Kuchar on Sunday. I learned a lot about Muirfield itself and saw plenty of competent golf, but none of the latter was particularly broadcastworthy. At least things improved after I clocked off: from my late-Saturday spot at the top of the grandstand behind the 13th green, I could see six different holes through my ESPNborrowed binoculars and compose my own mental broadcast, while on Sunday afternoon I secured a great position behind the 17th green from which I saw Phil Mickelson’s amazing approach and decisive birdie. I’d kept my spotter’s radio on and knew Mickelson was more than 300 yards from the flag, and I knew from everything I’d seen that week exactly how tough the 17th hole was playing into the
The tools of my trade at Muirfield – ESPN cap, radio with headset, backpack full of water and sunblock, lanyard with media pass, and spotter’s armband worn around my belt.
easterly wind, so at that moment I was probably as qualified as anyone to judge and appreciate the greatness of Mickelson’s shot. Still…does that really matter? I don’t subscribe to the modern cult of celebrity, so why should seeing great golfers in the flesh viscerally thrill me? Aren’t memories what you make of them, regardless of how you experience them? What does it mean to have had seen Mickelson’s birdie at the 17th so clearly, except that my six-foot-three presence two rows behind the ropes meant someone else wasn’t able to see it at all? (Equally, was the buzz I got from being inside the ropes not tempered by regret at occasionally obstructing the sightlines of other paying spectators?) With my binoculars I could just see Mickelson raise his hands in triumph at the final hole between two TV towers, just as I saw Lee Westwood make his amazing eagle at the fifth hole on Saturday from my perch high above the 13th – but what does it mean to have “seen” those moments live and in person from such a dis-
tance, instead of on television from a comfy seat in my living room or while inside the ropes as an ESPN spotter? There are no right answers to these questions, but my desire to ask them fills me with a curious melancholy. In the end, I’m not sure I enjoyed the 142nd Open Championship any more than many other Opens I’ve watched on television. However, this time I do think I gave a tiny something back to the Open itself: I improved the viewing experience in some small way for everyone back home who would have loved to be at Muirfield in my place, and when I was off duty I also got to applaud some of the golfers whose great exploits have excited and delighted me for so many years. After all, nobody can actually hear you clap on the other side of the TV screen. 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.
September 2013 55
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American Organizations
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
An index of useful resources in the UK If your group or organization is fundraising, has upcoming events, or is running something you’d like more people to know about, get in touch with Sabrina at The American. If your entry needs amendments please let us know – we rely on you to keep us up to date! Telephone 01747 830520, Fax 01747 830691, sabrina@theamerican.co.uk. We would be pleased to receive profiles, news or short articles about your organization for possible publication in The American.
ESSENTIAL CONTACTS EMERGENCIES Fire, Police, Ambulance
999 or 112 (NOT 911)
001 100 155 153 151
MEDICAL ADVICE LINE NHS Direct delivers 24-hour telephone and e-health information services, direct to the public. www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk 0845 4647 and being phased in for non-emergencies: 111
CIVIC & SERVICES
56 September 2013
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 Red Cross RAF Mildenhall Tel: 01638 542107, After Hours 07031 15 2334 red.crossv3@mildenhall.af.mil
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/
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/individual-support/ american-friends
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 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 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 Donmar Inc. Stephanie Dittmer, Deputy Director of Development 020 7845 5810 sdittmer@donmarwarehouse.com www.donmarwarehouse.com/p46.html
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
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 TELEPHONES Direct Dial Code, US & Canada Operator Assistance, UK Operator Assistance, Int. International Directory Assistance Telephone Repair
American Friends of the British Museum Mollie Norwich. The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. 020 7323 8590 www.britishmuseum.org
American Institute of Architects Mailing address: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX Tel: 0203 318 5722 chapterexecutive@aiauk.org membership@aiauk.org www.aiauk.org
Here are some crucial telephone numbers to know while you are in the UK.
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 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 www.sadlerswells.com/page/american-friends UK Office: 020 7863 8134 development@sadlerswells.com
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
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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 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 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
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. Tel. 020 7290 9888 www.babinc.org ukinfo@babinc.org British American-Canadian Associates Contact via The English Speaking Union – esu@esu.org
Has your group done something you’re proud of? Tell us email sabrina@theamerican.co.uk
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 66-68 Exhibition Rd, 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 Circumcision Matters Problems arranging circumcision for your new-born boy? If so go to www.circumcisionmatters.com or call 020 7390 8433 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 Farm Street Church 114 Mount Street, Mayfair, London W1K 3AH Tel: 020 7493 7811 www.farmstreet.org.uk 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 US Toll Free Tel:1-800-438- VOTE (8683). www.fvap.gov vote@fvap.ncr.gov
Friends of St Jude London Debbie Berger Tel. 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 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 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 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 Tel:+1.207 892 4358
September 2013 57
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UK Office: Chawton House Library, Chawton, Alton, Hampshire GU34 1SJ Tel: 01420 541010 www.chawton.org/support/nafchl5.html
Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner 5th Floor, Counting House, 53 Tooley Street, London SE1 2QN 0207 211 1500 info@oisc.gov.uk www.oisc.gov.uk 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
58 September 2013
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, Flat 9 Hanover Court, 5 Stean Street, London, E8 4ED 075 3393 5064 abwinlondon@gmail.com www.meetup.com/American-Business-Women-inLondon/ 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
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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’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 Clubs Patricia Connett-Woodcock 87 Brabazon Road, Heston, Middlesex TW5 9LL 020 8897 0723 tricia_baasdc@btinternet.com www.squaredancing.co.uk 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
American Women of Surrey PO Box 185, Cobham, Surrey KT11 3YJ. www.awsurrey.org
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
American Women’s Association of Yorkshire The Chalet, Scarcroft Grange, Wetherby Road, Scarcroft, Leeds LS14 3HJ. 01224 744 224 Contact: Carol Di Peri
Daughters of the American Revolution – Walter Hines Page Chapter Diana Frances Diggines, Regent dardiana@hotmail.co.uk www.dar.org
The American Women’s Club of Dublin P.O. Box 2545, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 IRELAND www.awcd.net info@awcd.net
Daughters of the American Revolution – Washington Old Hall Chapter, North Yorkshire Mrs. Gloria Hassall, 01845 523-830
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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
International American Duplicate Bridge Club Contact: Mary Marshall, 18 Palace Gardens Terrace, London W8 4RP. 020 7221 3708 www.ycbc.co.uk/american.htm
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
Petroleum Women’s Club of Scotland pwcscotland@yahoo.co.uk www.pwcos.com
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
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.
MILITARY
Petroleum Women’s Club Contact: Nancy Ayres. Tel: 01923 711720 nanayrs@btopenworld.com
The East Anglia American Club 49 Horsham Close, Haverhill, Suffolk CB9 7HN Tel: 01440 766 967 Email: eaacexpats@karej.co.uk
Hampstead Women’s Club President - Betsy Lynch. Tel: 020 7435 2226 email president@hwcinlondon.co.uk www.hwcinlondon.co.uk
Women’s Writers Network Cathy Smith, 23 Prospect Rd, London, NW2 2JU. 020 7794 5861 www.womenwriters.org.uk info@womenwriters.org.uk
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
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
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
Valley of London, England, Orient of Europe Cell: 0776-873-8030 mjack36480@aol.com
West Midlands. B93 8ZY T: 0870 720 0663 info@naconnect.com www.naconnect.com
Pilgrims of Great Britain Allington Castle, Maidstone, Kent M16 0NB. Tel. 01622 606404 Fax. 01622 606402 sec@pilgrimsociety.org
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
Propeller Club of the United States – London, England propellerclubhq.com
Bentwaters/Woodbridge Retirees’ Association President: Wylie Moore. 2 Coldfair Close, Knodishall, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 1UN. 01728 830281
Details changed? Let us know email sabrina@theamerican.co.uk
British Patton Historical Society Kenn Oultram 01606 891303
Royal Society of St George Enterprise House, 10 Church Hill, Loughton, Essex IG10 1LA. Tel.+44 (0) 20 3225 5011 info@royalsocietyofstgeorge.com www.royalsocietyofstgeorge.com
Brookwood American Cemetery (WW1) Brookwood, Woking, Surrey GU24 0BL 01483 473237 www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/bk.php
Stars of Great Britain Chapter #45 Washington Jurisdiction. Lakenheath, England sogb45@yahoo.com http://starsofgreatbritainchapter45.com
Cambridge American Cemetery (WWII Cemetary) Superintendent: Mr. Bobby Bell. Asst. Superintendent: Mr. Tony Barclay. Coton, Cambridge CB23 7PH. 01954 210350 cemetery@abmc-er.org www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/ca.php
St John’s Wood Women’s Club Box 185, 176 Finchley Road, London NW3 6BT membership@sjwwc.org www.sjwwc.org
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
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
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
UK Panhellenic Association Contact Susan Woolf, 10 Coniston Court, High St. Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex HA1 3LP. 020 8864 0294 susanrwoolf@hotmail.com
New Neighbors Diana Parker, Rosemary Cottage, Rookshill, Rickmansworth, Herts WD3 4HZ. 01923 772185
UK Anglian Shrine Club (Master Masons) Secretary: David A. Mostyn Long Furlong House, Holt, Norfolk NR25 7DD 01263 740223 davidmostyn@longfurlong.plus.com
North American Connection (West Midlands) PO Box 10543, Knowle, Solihull,
W.E.B. DuBois Consistory #116 Northern Jurisdiction
Commander in Chief, US Naval Forces Europe US Naval Forces Europe-Africa - US Sixth Fleet www.c6f.navy.mil CNE-C6FPAO@eu.navy.mil Eighth Air Force Historical Society Gordon Richards/Michelle Strefford UK Office, The Croft, 26 Chapelwent Road, Haverhill, Suffolk CB9 9SD 01440 704014 www.8thafhs.org 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)
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Unit 8965, Box 30 RAF Mildenhall, Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk, IP28 8NF Tel. (01638) 542039 rao@mildenhall.af.mil
01480 84 3364/3557 Emergency Contact: 07986 887 905 RAO@Alconbury.af.mil
American School of Aberdeen Craigton Road, Cults, Aberdeen. 01224 861068 / 868927.
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
2nd Air Division Memorial Library The Forum, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 1AW 01603 774747 www.2ndair.org.uk 2admemorial.lib@norfolk.gov.uk
Benjamin Franklin House 36 Craven Street, London WC2N 5NF. Tel 020 7839 2006 Fax 020 7930 9124 info@benjaminfranklinhouse.org
USAF Retiree Activities Office Director: Paul G Gumbert, CMSgt (USAF), Ret 422 ABG/CVR Unit 5855, PSC 50, Box 3 RAF Croughton, Northants NN13 5XP Phone: 01280 708182 e-mail: 422abg.rao@croughton.af.mil
Military Officers’ Association of America www.moaa.org msc@moaa.org 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 Reserve Officers Association London Col. B.V. Balch, USAR, 72 Westmoreland Road, Barnes, London SW13 9RY memberservices@roa.org www.roa.org 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 Bldg 239 Room 139 RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk IP28 8NF +44-1638-54-4942/1566 phillip.guffa@mildenhall.af.mil
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
60 September 2013
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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, www.acs-england.co.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
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 Butler University, Institute for Study Abroad 21 Pembridge Gardens, London W2 4EB 020 7792 8751 www.ifsa-butler.org/england-overview.html Centre Academy London 92 St John’s Hill, Battersea, London SW11 1SH Tel: 02077382344 Fax: 02077389862 info@centreacademy.net www.centreacademy.net Centre Academy East Anglia Church Rd, Brettenham, Ipswich, Suffolk IP7 7QR Tel: 01449736404 Fax: 01449737881 admin@centreacademy.net www.centreacademy.net 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,
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London SW1W 9TR Tel 020 7824 7040 www.ecis.org ecis@ecis.org
www.ithaca.edu/london bsheasgreen@ithacalondon.co.uk
European-Atlantic Group PO Box 37431, London N3 2XP 020 8632 9253 justinglass@btinternet.com www.eag.org.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
Florida State University London Study Centre Administrative Director: Kathleen Paul 99 Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3LH. Tel 020 7813 3233 Fax 020 7813 3270 www.international.fsu.edu/london/ intprog1@admin.fsu.edu
Missouri London Study Abroad Program 32 Harrington Gardens, London SW7 4JU. 020 7373 7953. www.umsl.edu/services/abroad/universities/ molondon.html web_office@umsl.edu
Fordham University London Centre Academic Coordinator: Sabina Antal 23 Kensington Square, London W8 5HQ 020 7937 5023 londoncentre@fordham.edu www.fordham.edu Fulbright Commission (US-UK Educational Commission) Dir. of Advisory Service: Lauren Welch Battersea Power Station, 188 Kirtling Street, London SW8 5BN 020 7498 4010 www.fulbright.co.uk 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 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 Rd, 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
Regent’s University London 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 Schiller International, Wickham Court School Layhams Road, West Wickham, Kent BR4 9HW. Tel 0208 777 2942 Fax 0208 777 4276 Wickham@schillerintschool.com www.wickhamcourt.org.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 UKCISA - Council for International Education 9-17 St. Albans Place, London N1 0NX 020 7354 5210 www.ukcisa.org.uk
University of Notre Dame London Program 1 Suffolk Street, London SW1Y 4HG 020 7484 7811 london@nd.edu www.nd.edu/~ndlondon/lup/future/ introduction.htm 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 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: www.facebook.com/ groups/223876564344656/ Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/groups/Berkeley-ClubLondon-4186104
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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, 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 Emirda. 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.
62 September 2013
Delta Sigma Pi Business Fraternity London Alumni Chapter. Ashok Arora, P O Box 1110, London W3 7ZB. Tel: 020 8423 8231 bertela@yahoo.com www.dspnet.org
kkbullivant@alumnae.mtholyoke.edu www.mtholyoke.co.uk
Notre Dame Club of London Hannah Gornik, Secretary: ND_Club_London@yahoo.co.uk
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 Alumni Club in London Jodi Ekelchik, President alumni.london@nyu.edu NYU STERN UK Alumni Club Matthieu Gervis, President sternukalumniclub@hotmail.com
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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
email sabrina@theamerican.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 Penn State Alumni Association Penn State Alumni Association Ron Nowicki - 0207 226 7681 pennstatelondon@yahoo.co.uk www.alumni.psu.edu
Georgetown Alumni Club Alexa Fernandez, President GeorgetownLondon@Yahoo.com
Princeton Association (UK) Carol Rahn, President Jon Reades, Young Alumni carol.rahn@orange-ftgroup.com jon@reades.com www.alumni.princeton.edu
Gettysburg College Britt-Karin Oliver brittkarin@aol.com Harvard Business School Club of London www.hbsa.org.uk
Rice Alumni of London Kathy Wang Tel. 07912 560 177 kathyw@alumni.rice.edu
Harvard Club of Great Britain Brandon Bradkin, President president@hcuk.org www.hcuk.org
Skidmore College Alumni Club, London Peggy Holden Briggs ‘84, co-ordinator 07817 203611 peggyhbriggs@gmail.com
Indiana University Alumni club of England Anastasia Tonello, President 020 7253 4855 iuinlondon@yahoo.com www.alumni.indiana.edu/clubs/england
Smith College Club of London Kathleen Merrill, President smithclubgb@googlemail.com http://alumnae.smith.edu
KKG London Alumnae Association emilymerrell@gmail.com LMU Alumni Club London (Loyola Marymount University) Kent Jancarik 07795 358 681 kent@jancarik.com 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
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
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Texas A&M Club London Ashley Lilly, Co-President Devin Howard, Co-President london@aggienetwork.com http://clubs.aggienetwork.com/londonamc/ 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
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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 londonuvaclub@yahoo.com http://members.aol.com/UKUVACLUB/UVA-london.htm
ARTS North American Actors Association Chief Executive: Ms. Laurence Bouvard Americanactors@aol.com 07873 371 891
SPORTS
US Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point) UK Chapter President: Allison Bennett bennett.ac@gmail.com Facebook: Kings Point Alumni - London/United Kingdom
Eagles Golf Society Sharon Croley c/o Eventful Services, 49 Hastings Road, Croydon, Surrey CRO 6PH sharoncroley@blueyonder.co.uk
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
English Lacrosse PO Box 116, Manchester M11 0AX Tel: 0843 658 5006 info@englishlacrosse.co.uk www.englishlacrosse.co.uk
Vassar College Club Sara Hebblethwaite, President 18 Redgrave Road, London, SW15 1PX +44 020 8788 6910 sara.hebblethwaite@virgin.net
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
Warnborough Worldwide Alumni Association c/o International Office, Friars House, London SE1 8HB Tel. 020 7922 1200 Fax. 020 7922 1201 www.wwaa.info admin@warnborough.edu
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
Wellesley College Club Ana Ericksen, President. ana@ericksenuk.com
Infinity Elite Cheerleading (founded by C.A.C) Mondays 4.30-8.30 – Maiden Lane Comm. Centre, 156 St. Paul’s Crescent, London NW1 9XZ. Tumble: Thursdays 6-8 – Paget Centre,18-28 Randells Rd, Islington, London N1 0DH. Tel. 077 9132 0115 http://londoninfinityelite.clubbz.com www.facebook.com/InfinityAllstars
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
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 membership@soskan.co.uk www.soskan.co.uk
Herts Baseball Club Adult & Little League Baseball www.hertsbaseball.com LondonSports Instruction & competitive play in baseball, basketball and soccer, boys/girls aged 4-15, newcomers or experienced players. 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 these listings 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 sabrina@theamerican.co.uk. We would be pleased to receive profiles, news or short articles about your organization for possible publication in The American.
September 2013 63
The American
Suppliers of quality products and services hand-picked for you 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.
ACCOUNTANCY & TAX 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 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 020 8346 5237 www.jaffeandco.com Tax & Accounting Hub Professional service at affordable prices. Fixed fee U.S. Expatriate tax preparation service in London. Federal/ State, Foreign bank account/IRS audits response +44 (0)20 3286 6445. M: +44 (0)79 1439 3183 152 Burford Wharf, 3 Cam Road, London, E15 2SS www.taxandaccountinghub.com 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
64 January 2013
EDUCATION
DRIVING INSTRUCTION
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
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.alison-driving-school.co.uk alisondrivingschool@yahoo.co.uk 01784 456 037, cell 07956 220389
GROCERY
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
LEGAL 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
Coffee Break Answers
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Competition Winners
Lidgate Butchers Organic meats from a 150 year old business now run by the fifth generation of the same family. 110 Holland Park Avenue, London W11 4UA Tel. 0207 727 8243 www.lidgates.com
1. Max Fleischer; 2. Game of Thrones; 3. Iconic - the other three are styles of columns in classical architecture; 4. Arthropoda; 5. Ishmael; 6. The Beaver Wars; 7. Linux; 8. Lord Protectors: aka Oliver Cromwell and his son Richard, who held power during the Commonwealth of England (between 1649 to 1660); 9. Local Hero; 10. Hoover Field; 11. ‘Stormin’ Norman’ (General Herbert Norman) Schwarzkopf, sometimes also known as ‘The Bear’; 12. Pluto, Lady (and later Tramp and their offspring), and Figaro; 13. WB Yeats; 14. Keystone; 15. The Hudson; 16. Walter Cronkite; 17. Canton Bulldogs; 18. The Beverly Hillbillies.
Chimerica - Janet Tanner and Margot Weale, both of London. Passion Play - Jane Alderson of London, Anne Pargeter of Saltford, Bristol World Club Rugby 7s - Adam Earl of Bristol, Natalie Teich of London N5, Tim Cleary of Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, Stuart Brown of Dorset and Yoel Gordon of London W3.
The American
TAIL END
Peggy Lee London From the parks to the watering houses, through the capital’s many famous, unusual and historic locations, The American’s new canine correspondent Peggy Lee seeks out the dog-friendly delights of old London Town.
The Spaniards Inn Hampstead, East Finchley, London NW3 7JJ T 0208 731 8406 www.thespaniardshampstead.co.uk Buses: 210 The Spaniards Inn is one of London’s oldest pubs. It’s a characterful English pub steeped in literary history, which was built in 1585 on the edge of Hampstead Heath between the villages of Hampstead and Highgate. It was a tollgate inn frequented by highwaymen – including Dick Turpin – the poets Lord Byron, who wrote Don Juan and She Walks in Beauty, and John Keats, who legend has it wrote Ode to a Nightingale while supping a few pints of ale here. The Spaniards Inn also gets a mention in both Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Oh and it’s
haunted. Of course it is. The ghost of Dick Turpin has apparently been spotted riding by and there’s a spectral figure of a lady in white who has been seen in the beer garden. Now it’s a lively pub with roaring open fires inside, a couple of fine 16th century dining rooms and a huge beer garden boasting a dog-wash (it’s a very dog-friendly pub). The original beams and oak panelling have been retained and because the building is Grade II listed – very little has changed. The restaurant serves a menu of pub classics including sausage and mash and seasonal pies and posh nosh like seabass and wing rib of beef, with a helpful recommendation of one of their specialty beers, real ales or ciders from their cellarman.
Haunted? Rubbish! People say they’ve seen Dick Turpin riding by at night – but I’ve only heard the hooves of his horse, Black Bess. photo © Katrina Leskanich
BUY THE BOOK: Peggy Lee Loves London by Katrina Leskanich and Cher Harper is available from Katrina’s official site www.katrinasweb.com, www.peggyleeloveslondon. co.uk and www.amazon.co.uk
September 2013 65
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