The American Issue 729 January-February 2014

January - February 2014

THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE

Est. 1976

®

www.theamerican.co.uk

2014: SCOTLAND’S YEAR EATING OUT • POLITICS WHAT’S ON GUIDE MUSIC • REVIEWS

Jace Everett

9

772045 596442

The maverick country singer on God, fatherhood and beating the system A brief encounter with David Sedaris ...

A Mustang for Britain ... finally it’s on its way

PLUS: OUR EXCLUSIVE US/UK ORGANIZATIONS GUIDE

NOW

FREE

The American ®

Issue 729 January - February 2014 PUBLISHED BY SP MEDIA FOR

Blue Edge Publishing Ltd. Old Byre House, East Knoyle, Salisbury SP3 6AW, UK Tel: +44 (0)1747 830520

Departments: News, Article ideas, Press releases: editor@theamerican.co.uk Advertising & Promotions: advertising@theamerican.co.uk Subscriptions: theamerican@blueedge.co.uk The team: Michael Burland, Content Director + Motors & Music michael@theamerican.co.uk Sabrina Sully, Content Director & Community Contact sabrina@theamerican.co.uk Daniel Byway, Content Executive dan@theamerican.co.uk Virginia E Schultz, Food & Drink (USA) virginia@theamerican.co.uk Michael M Sandwick, Food & Drink (UK) mms@theamerican.co.uk Mary Bailey, Social mary@theamerican.co.uk Alison Holmes, Politics alison@theamerican.co.uk Jarlath O’Connell, Theater jarlath@theamerican.co.uk Richard L Gale, Sports richard@theamerican.co.uk

©2014 Blue Edge Publishing Ltd. Printed by Advent Colour Ltd., www.advent-colour.co.uk ISSN 2045-5968 Main Cover Image: Jace Everett Circular Inset: 2014 Ford Mustang Square Inset: David Sedaris, photo Rob Banks

@TheAmericanMag

W

elcome to this January - February issue. Due to circumstances beyond our control (a very serious illness in the team), for the first time we’ve brought out a joint edition. But you’re not missing out. Subscribers will get an extra issue. And we’ve added extra pages and packed them with some choice articles. Hogmanay gives way to Burns Night and it’s a Homecoming Year for Scots everywhere. An LA teenager goes to a Hogwarts-a-like private school. We chat with Jace ‘Bad Blood’ Everett, Anglo-American singer Sarah Gillespie and TNA superstar Gail Kim. We get starstruck by David Sedaris. And we preview the offseason (‘like spring football for real football nerds’), muse on the state of motorsport, and wonder if sensible golfers should hibernate. Add all our regular features and I hope you will...

Enjoy your magazine, Michael Burland, Content Director michael@theamerican.co.uk

Among this month’s contributors

Dr. Alison Holmes The American’s political ‘Transatlantic Columnist’ is an Okie now based in California and an international relations scholar.

Jarlath O’Connell The American’s theater reviewer’s pithy and witty reviews tell you what’s hot and, just as importantly, what’s not.

Richard L Gale The American’s Sports Editor looks forward to the offseason, the busiest time for football nerds - he happily admits he’s one.

Read The American online at 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.

January - February 2014 1

The American • Issue 729 • January - February 2014

In This Issue...

Regulars 4 7 12 20 24 26 34 36 40 47 50 52 60 69

News Diary Dates Features Wining & Dining Cellar Talk Music Coffee Break Arts Choice Theater Books Drive Time Sports American Organizations The A-List

30 Jace Everett The ‘Bad Blood’ guy with the Southern baritone tells us about his inspiration

10 Peggy Lee Loves London

Toy poodle visits a biking icon

12 Scotland’s Homecoming

A spotlight on Scotland. 2014 is the country’s year in so many ways

16 The ‘Hood to Hogwarts

American Juan Luquin tells us of his journey from the streets of LA to Head Boy at a top Independent English school

18 Starstruck with Sedaris

P ete Lawler comes face to face wtih David Sedaris, American raconteur

26 Sarah Gillespie

U pcoming Anglo-American singer Sarah talks to The American

30 Jace Everett

37 I conic Exhibition Preview The first major insight into Warhol and Burrough’s photography

40 Theater Reviews Strangers on a Train, Lorna Luft, Candide, Seussical the Musical, Richard II and The El Train, all come under our reviewers’ critical eye and pen

48 A Tale of Two Cities

50 Drive Time

36 Arts Choice

Our pick of the exhibitions includes the photography of Andy Warhol, William S Burroughs... and David Lynch

Here’s where football nerds get excited

54 Is Domination Dull?

Bourdais, Franchitti, Schumacher, Johnson, and now Vettel - does sporting dominance damage a driver’s popularity?

You’ve heard the voice, now meet the man Two whole pages of teasers to test your brain power

A new Ford Mustang, designed for Europe - and a right-hander for the UK

52 The Offseason... Yay!

34 Bumper Coffee Break

Did New York’s new mayor really know what he was doing when he quoted Charles Dickens?

58 Eagle Eyed

Should you play golf in a British winter?

68 Thames Valley American Women’s Club

A profile of this active group

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The American

NEWS Medal of Honor Review

U

S Senators and Members of Congress have written a joint letter to Secretary of the US Army, John McHugh, urging a review which could see Army Lt. Col. (Ret.) James Megellas awarded a Medal of Honor for ‘extraordinary valor and leadership’ during the Battle of the Bulge at Herresbach, Belgium on January 28, 1945.

The letter, which was sent during November 2013, points to witness statements which identify Megellas as having singlehandedly taken on and destroyed a 50-ton German Panzer tank and its crew as it was advancing on his men. Its writers indicate that Megellas’ heroic acts were not reported during earlier reviews, and that “Based on ‘compelling evidence of error’ during the award process of 1945” Megellas’ case should receive “a full and comprehensive review”.

Megellas, now 96, is among the most decorated officers in the history of the 82nd Airborne Division, and since the age of 90 has visited US troops in Afghanistan on three occasions.

PHOTO: MCI CHAD J MCNEELEY/US ARMY

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Ambassador Barzun and family with their ‘green’ transport for the day

Embassy News: Ambassador Presents Credentials

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mbassador Barzun officially took up his post upon presenting his credentials to the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). He was confirmed by the United States Senate on 30th July 2013 and officially sworn in by US Secretary of State John Kerry on 15th August 2013 at the Department of State in Washington, DC .

How Affordable Care Act Affects Expats

H

ave you heard about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)? If you are a US citizen living in the UK, here is what you need to know: Americans living abroad are generally subject to the same individual shared responsibility provision as citizens living in the United States.

From 2014, this provision requires US citizens to have minimum essential coverage (MEC), qualify for an exemption, or make a payment when filing their federal income tax return. However, US citizens or residents living abroad for at least 330 days within a 12 month period and/or who qualify as a bona fide resident of a foreign country for an entire taxable year are treated as having MEC, and therefore will not owe a shared responsibility payment for any of those 12 months.

For more details, including important information about tax

and social security, visit the Department of State’s website at http:// travel.state.gov/travel/living/living_1234.html For general questions about the Act, see the dedicated ACA website [www.irs.gov/uac/Affordable-CareAct-Tax-Provisions-Home] operated

by US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The HHS website includes a link to information about whether US citizens residing abroad are subject to ACA. For tax issues related to ACA, see the ACA page within the IRS website [www.irs.gov/uac/Affordable-CareAct-Tax-Provisions-Home]. The IRS site provides further links, depending on whether you are an individual, employer, or other organization.

For more information, see the Question and Answer page for Individuals [www.irs.gov/uac/Questions-andAnswers-on-the-Individual-SharedResponsibility-Provision].

The American

MJD of the Jacksonville Jaguars PHOTO RICK WILSON

Newly opened Visitor Centre at Stonehenge

Stonehenge Gets ‘Immersive’ Makeover

T

he new Stonehenge Exhibition and Visitor Centre opened on December 18th, offering visitors to Stonehenge a fascinating and interactive introduction to the history of the pre-historic monument. The centre will host original tools used in the construction of the landmark, and objects representing the lives, rituals and struggles of Neolithic and Bronze Age men and women.

The centre is part of a £27 million project which sees the area around the monument altered to improve the visitor experience. Dr Simon Thurley of English Heritage commented that the aim is to transform Stonehenge from a “stopover or quick photo opportunity”, into an immersive experience letting visitors “step back in time and into the shoes of those who created and used this extraordinary place.”

Among the highlights of the small but excellently designed new Exhibition Centre is a reconstruction of the face of an early Neolithic man who was buried on the site, which has been created using forensic evidence and skeletal analysis. Apart from the stones themselves, this extraordinary head is worth a visit on its own. Other highlights include two rare 14th century manuscripts with drawings of Stonehenge, Roman coins and jewelry and early surveying equipment.

Entrance to the site is managed through timed tickets and advanced booking is strongly recommended.

Electrifying Boris

L

ondon Mayor Boris Johnson took a new electric Metrocab taxi for a spin just before Christmas.

The zero emissions vehicle is the first electric-powered cab to meet the needs of London black cab drivers, many of whom drive miles from outside the city. Its electric motor can be recharged from domestic sockets and charging posts, but features a ‘rangeextending’ gasoline engine.

“‘Ere guv, I had that Boris in my cab the other day”

NFL London 2014: Dates Announced for Three Regular Season Games

T

he NFL have confirmed the dates for the International Series games in London for the 2014 season, featuring an unprecedented six teams playing in the UK: *Oakland Raiders will host the Miami Dolphins in Week 4 on Sunday, September 28th. *Atlanta Falcons will host the Detroit Lions in Week 8 on Sunday, October 26th. *Jacksonville Jaguars will host the Dallas Cowboys in Week 10 on Sunday, November 9th.

All games will be played at Wembley Stadium. Game times will be announced at a later date.

Season tickets are already available via www.ticketmaster. co.uk, with remaining individual game ticket sales beginning in mid-January.

In addition to the early purchase opportunity offered to this year’s season ticket holders, anyone buying a season ticket for the three games in 2014 will save at least 20 per cent over individual game purchases and will be subject to only one booking fee.

January - February 2014 5

The American

American Citizens Abroad (ACA) Town Hall Evening

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merican Citizens Abroad (ACA) held its first Town Hall Evening in London on November 27, at the Royal Overseas League hotel. ACA has organized similar Town Hall Evenings in Geneva, Switzerland, where it is based, and is now reaching out to American communities across Europe.

Over 100 people attended the event and were able ask questions to the expert panel and express their concerns about key issues.

ACA is a non-profit, non-partisan, volunteer association whose mission is to defend the rights of Americans living overseas.

ACA works to represent overseas Americans’ interests before

the Executive Branch of the US Government, the US Congress, the Federal Judiciary, and in the press.

With offices in Washington DC and Geneva, Switzerland, the association draws on over three decades of experience of laws affecting Americans living overseas.

The evening’s topic was “The changes in the US tax laws and how they impact US citizens abroad”. The moderator was Professor Colleen Graffy, Associate Professor of Law at Pepperdine University in London.

The panel of experts talked on various topics relating to tax obligations, investment regulations/ options and estate planning.

The expert panel consisted of

Charles Bruce (Bonnard & Lawson), Daniel Hyde (Westleton Drake Tax Advisors), Daniel Freedman (London & Capital) and Alex Jones (Deloitte). Their presentations will be available on the ACA website.

This first event ensured everyone who attended left the evening better informed.

ACA is looking to return to London for a 2014 Town Hall Evening, and to establish a London chapter.

For more information on joining and becoming involved with the ACA, contact the Association via their website, www.americansabroad.org

American Billy Walton Band Play ‘Sweet Caroline’

T

he New Jersey-based Billy Walton Band closed their UK and European tour in style as they became the first act to play on the deck of a Radio Caroline ship in over 48 years, reports Darren Weale. On November 26th, the group boarded the ship Ross Revenge whilst in berth at Tilbury Dockyard, and spent the day browsing the ship’s vinyl record library and interviewing Radio Caroline DJ Steve Anthony before playing a memorable set on the ship’s deck.

American musician Jimmy Smith last graced the deck of one of the station’s ships, the Mi Amigo, in May 1965. Radio Caroline began as an unlicensed pirate radio, broadcasting from offshore vessels to circumvent the control of record companies and the BBC radio network during the 1960s. DJs including Tony Blackburn and Simon Dee made their name on board Caroline ships.

6 January - February 2014

Steve Anthony described the Billy Walton Band as a “great bunch of guys, and the short set they played on deck was just brilliant … It was a pleasure to welcome the boys and Billy on board.” The video of Billy’s Radio Caroline appearance is part Billy Walton (center with guitar) and band on Radio Caroline’s deck

of the new YouTube series, Talent In Focus, showcasing British and overseas talents in music and more.

Go to www.talentinfocus.co.uk for video links including Billy’s and for upcoming recordings that will be open to the public.

The American

The American

Your Guide To The Month Ahead

See our full events listings online at www.theamerican.co.uk List your event FREE in The American – email editor@theamerican.co.uk or call us on +44 (0)1747 830520 Quidam - Cirque Du Soleil Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP www.cirquedusoleil.com January 4 to February 16 The international cast featuring 45-world class acrobats puts on a show at Royal Albert Hall with Quidam. See stars including America’s own super-juggler Patrick McGuire (Interviewed in The American, December 2013) - as they light up the stage with a unique and exciting performance that only Cirque du Soleil can deliver. Quidam tells the story of young Zoé, who creates the ‘Quidam’ world to enliven her sense of imagination and her dreams.

Cabaret at Crazy Coqs Crazy Coqs, Brasserie Zedel, 20 Sherwood St, London W1F 7ED www.brasseriezedel.com/crazy-coqs January 7 to March 1 Crazy Coqs has quickly established itself as a cabaret hotspot for London, and throughout January and February, a number of American stars will be performing. Carole J Bufford brings her show, Body and Soul to London January 7-11, before Brent Barrett takes to the stage, January 14-18, with Night Songs, featuring tracks by Billy Joel, Stephen Schwartz, Jimmy Webb and others, all dealing with the moon, the night and dreams. Linda Purl gives a UK debut to Midnight Caravan, January 21-25, a salute to the great female singers from the ‘40s

and ‘50s, including Ella Fitzgerald and Judy Garland. Liz Callaway then presents an evening of songs and stories from her eclectic career, with music from Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein and others, January 28 to February 1. She isn’t American, but a special mention for Frances Ruffelle, who presents a night of Parisian delights, February 4-8. Los Angeles, California born Natalie Douglas celebrates the songs of Nina Simone, Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln and Billie Holiday, February 11-15, before Jeff Harner presents his show, Does this song make me look fat?, February 25 to March 1.

The London International Mime Festival Various, London www.mimelondon.com January 8 to February 1 During the 38th International Mime Festival in London, shows and workshops at venues such as the Barbican, the Royal Opera House and the Leicester Square Theatre promise juggling, comic performances and an incredible selection of other feats of visual theater.

Ellen Terry with Eileen Atkins Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, London, SE1 9DT www.shakespearesglobe.com January 12 to February 23 Dame Eileen Atkins takes to the stage for the first Shakespeare performance at the new Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.

Atkins takes inspiration from Ellen Terry - considered to be one of the finest Victorian Shakespearian Actresses - as she takes on the role of a dozen parts, from Viola to Volumnia, from Lady Macbeth to Desdemona, to shed light on female characters in the Shakespearian canon.

‘This bewitching poison’: Alcohol and the Royal College of Physicians Royal College of Physicians, 11 St Andrews Pl, London NW1 4LE www.rcplondon.ac.uk/bewitchingpoison January 13 to June 27 300 years of drinking are examined in this new exhibition at the Royal College of Physicians. With paintings, prints and rare books on display, this is a unique opportunity to explore the history of alcohol and the response of doctors, campaigners , artists and satirists, from the ‘gin craze’ of the 1700s to the modern day. The exhibition is accompanied by an evening lecture, March 18, and two study tours, April 30 and June 18 2014.

NBA Global Games London The O2, Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX www.theo2.co.uk January 16 NBA returns to London’s O2 arena with a scintilating regular season game between hosts The Atlanta Hawks and the Brooklyn Nets. The two Eastern Conference rivals square off on January 16, with The Hawks’ two-time All Star Al Horford, and vets Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap. The Nets’ include veterans Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and London 2012 Gold Medalist Deron Williams, going head to head on the court.

The Body of an American The Gate Theatre, Above The Prince Albert Pub, 11 Pembridge Road, London W11 3HQ www.gatetheatre.co.uk 020 7229 0706 January 16 to February 14 January - February 2014 7

The American

With Chimerica’s success still ringing in our ears, here’s another tale of photojournalism and humanity. Two actors take on twenty roles for a story that stretches from Mogadishu to Los Angeles.

Dan O’Brien’s play was winner of the inaugural Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama as well as the L. Arnold Weissberger Award. Part of the Gate Theatre’s These American Lives series of award winning plays from the US.

A chance to hear Professor Reynolds

In Woodrow Wilson’s Shadow: America’s Great War, 1914 - 2014 The Eccles Centre, The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB www.bl.uk/eccles February 21 The second Sulgrave Manor Watson Chair lecture to be held at the British Library sees Professor David Reynolds considering America’s role in the First World War, and how one of its key figures - Woodrow Wilson - and the conflict itself has been re-interpreted through the following century. Professor Reynolds is Professor of International History and a Fellow of Christ’s College, Cambridge. He studied at Cambridge and Harvard Universities and has been a regular visitor to the United States .He is a member of the Society of American Historians, an author and writer and presenter for BBC TV and Radio.

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Butterflies at RHS Garden Wisley RHS Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB www.rhs.org.uk/wisley January 18 to March 9 Hundreds of exotic butterflies will be released into the Glasshouse at RHS Wisley in January, as the garden creates a tropical haven for the cold winter months. Visitors will have the opportunity to see butterflies from the Blue Morpho and the Giant Owl to the red and black Big Billy.

British Screen Classics at Tricycle Theatre Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 7JR www.tricycle.co.uk 020 7328 1000 January 19 to April 13 Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter curate a special season of classics from the British Screen at the Tricycle Theatre.

The season’s launch begins January 19th with A Private Function, which is followed by a Q&A with its writer, Alan Bennett, alongside Malcolm Mowbray, Michael Palin, Jim Carter and Bill Paterson.

Further screenings include: Topsy Turvey, February 9th; Brassed Off, March 9th; and Shakespeare in Love, April 13th.

The London Jam 2014 Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, London N4 3JP www.parktheatre.co.uk January 20 to 26 Improvisation is the name of the game– no scripts or rehearsals! An international array of stars descend on London’s Park Theatre to perform, including USA based Dad’s Garage, whose Improv Show! takes place on January 22nd. The week culminates with the 7th 50-hour London Improvathon, a marathon session of 2 hour episodes, in which a brave cast take to the stage for 50-straight hours of comedy.

The London A Cappella Festival 2014 Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG www.londonacappellafestival.co.uk January 22 to 25 The 5th A Cappella Festival brings a truly international flavor to London, with groups from around the globe, including all-American act - The House Jacks who perform on January 23rd. Having performed on US television, and with stars including Ray Charles, James Brown and Train, The House Jacks’ debut at the A Cappella Festival will be well worth seeing (and hearing!).

Burns Night Bonanza at Honky Tonk Various, London www.honkytonklondon.com January 25 Honky Tonk’s London restaurants in Clapham and Chelsea celebrate Burns Night with an all-American feast, poetry and even some ceilidh line dancing.

Up Helly Aa Galley Shed, St Sunniva Street, Lerwick, Shetland ZE1 0HL www.uphellyaa.org January 28 This traditional Viking fi re festival features a torch-lit procession and culminates in the burning of a replica galley.

Entertainment takes place in locations around the village through the night.

TNA Wrestling UK Tour Various, UK www.facebook.com/tnawrestlinguk January 30 to February 2 TNA Wrestling returns to the UK with four shows at the Glasgow Hydro (Jan 30), Manchester Arena (Jan 31), Wembley Arena (Feb 1) and for the fi rst time the Birmingham NIA (Feb 2). TNA’s past shows and television tapings in the UK have included world heavyweight Champion Bully Ray, Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, and legends Hulk Hogan and Sting.

The American

Scottish Snowdrop Spectacular 2014 Cambo House, Kingsbarns, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8QD www.camboestate.com/gardens February 1 to March 16 Enjoy the season for snowdrops as Cambo Estate hosts a national collection of over 350 diff erent snowdrops; with art and crafts workshops, sculptures and more.

Joan Collins - One Night With Joan Leicester Square Theatre, 6 Leicester Pl, London WC2H 7BX www.leicestersquaretheatre.com February 2 to 9 The Hollywood Star brings her acclaimed one-woman show back to London, discussing her life and career in an intimate evening.

Letters from America: Exploring Cornwall’s “Great Migration” Trelissick Garden, Feock,Truro, Cornwall TR3 6QL www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ trelissick-garden February 4 As part of Trelissick Garden’s Lecture Lunches series, Chloe Phillips looks at the correspondence of one family from Cornwall affected by the “Great Migration” to America and looks at America’s Cornish links. In 1874, Richard Scoble migrated to Nevada. He wrote over 50 letters to his family, describing North America’s mining frontier and providing a fascinating insight into American life.

Hockney, Printmaker Dulwich Picture Gallery, College Rd, Greater London SE21 7AD www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk February 5 to May 11 Coinciding with the 60th anniversary of David Hockney’s first print show, Dulwich Picture Gallery celebrates the life and work of the great artist, focusing on his

two main print techniques, etching and lithography.

Irving Berlin: From Rags to Riches Usher Hall, Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH1 2ES www.usherhall.co.uk February 8 A celebration of one of the most popular American songwriters in history, Irving Berlin.

Superior Donuts Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD southwarkplayhouse.co.uk February 11 to March 8 Tony and Pulitzer award winning playwright Tracy Letts brings the UK premier of Superior Donuts, which tells the story of Arthur Przybyszewski, who runs a small donut shop in Chicago owned by his Polish immigrant father. Testing the waters of the American Dream, Letts brings to life an eclectic cast of characters and the changing face of a Chicago neighbourhood.

The Georgian Valentines Ball Entrance Hall, British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB www.bl.uk February 14 Enjoy a Georgian themed banquet at the British Library on Valentines Day, with a full three course historic feast, baroque musicians, cocktails and dancing.

Who do you think you are? Live Olympia, Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UX www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com February 20 to 22 Exhibitors from around the world come together for this unique event, which provides services and information for those who wish to study and find out more about their ancestry.

Somewhere in England: Portraits of the Americans in Britain 1942 to 1945 American Air Museum, IWM Duxford, Cambridgeshire, CB22 4QR www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-duxford to March 31 Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the American forces arriving at RAF Duxford during World War II, the striking images in this exhibition, some not seen since the War, come from the Roger Freeman Collection of over 15,000 images of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces, recently acquired

by IWM. They show the diversity of roles undertaken by the personnel of the United States Army Air Forces and Women’s Army Corps and the Red Cross, not just the pilots and ground crew, but journalists, Barbers, Weather Officers, Adjutants, Chaplains, Parachute Packers, Intelligence Offi cers, Runway Control Officers, Medical Corpsmen and more. Freeman (1928-2005) was the son of an Essex farmer who lived close to Boxted airfield. Roger reminisced, “as an aeroplane-mad youth, I was soon to relish the American presence in the East Anglian sky… they were to leave a considerable impression on those who knew them, which did not fade easily when they departed.” Pictured is Virginia Irwin, a writer from a Missouri newspaper, interviewing Lt. Glennon T ‘Bubbles’ Moran of the 352nd Fighter Group at Bodney air base in Norfolk.

January - February 2014 9

The American

The American’s expatriate canine UK correspondent heads for the open road

'When Mark invited me out for a Sidecar Saturday, I thought he meant a Cocktail'

Ace Cafe London

1 Ace Corner, North Circular Road Stonebridge, London NW10 7UD T 020 8961 1000 O Stonebridge Park Buses: 18, 112, 224, 440, PR2 www.ace-cafe-london.com The Ace Cafe was originally built as a roadside cafe in 1938. Bombed in WWII, it was rebuilt in 1949 and it soon became popular as a meeting place for bikers where they could drink tea, eat egg and chips and listen to Rock ‘n’ Roll on the jukebox.

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With its mix of motorbikes and Rock ‘n’ Roll, the Ace Cafe helped launch the careers of bands and racers. The motorcycle business boomed in the ’50s and ’60s but by 1969 it was in decline and the Ace Cafe closed. In the ’90s Mark Wilsmore organised a reunion on the old site to mark the 25th anniversary of its closure.

Twelve thousand people turned up.

And in 2001, after a complete makeover, Mark reopened the Ace Cafe, and now it hosts bands and classic car or bike events from Petrolhead Nirvana to Sidecar Saturday almost every night of the year.

PHOTO © KATRINA LESKANICH

BUY THE BOOK: Extract from the book Peggy Lee Loves London, available on Amazon.

Signed copies can be ordered from Katrina’s website www.katrinasweb.com/shop

01225 460503 www.americanmuseum.org

WASHINGTON OLD HALL Visit the home of Washington’s direct ancestors, in Washington, Tyne & Wear. Incorporates parts of their original medieval home.

0191 416 6879 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/washington-old-hall

UNIQUE BRITISH TOURS Specialises in 17 Unusual Theme Tours such as The American Connection, Crimes, Curiosities & Eccentrics and Ghosts, Witches and Legends. +44 (0)1293 823566 enquiries@uniquebritishtours.co.uk www.uniquebritishtours.co.uk

GREENWICH ROYAL TOURS Fun and informative walking tours of historic Greenwich, London’s secret gardens, Law in London, and new for 2014, Shakespeare tours. www.greenwichroyaltours.com UK: 0800 542 1200 bookings@greenwichroyaltours.com

SULGRAVE MANOR A Tudor and Georgian manor house built and lived in by the direct ancestors of George Washington. Discover what led to the Washington family seeking a new life in America.

OLD COUNTRY MILITARY & HISTORY TOURS INC. UK, Europe, USA : Military, Kings & Queens, homes & gardens, art & architecture, genealogy.

Relaxing, informative personalised tours.

01295 760 205 www.sulgravemanor.org.uk

+44 (0) 1747 828719 www.oldcountrytours.com

STONEHENGE Experience this prehistoric monument in all its splendor.

New Visitor Center & experience. Advance bookings.

Special out-of-hours Stones access available.

THE ROYAL INSTITUTION Founded in 1799 to educate the public in science.

Artefacts and equipment, incl. one of the 3 original Colt 45’s. Museum and talks program in central London. +44 (0) 20 7409 2992 www.rigb.org

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM IN BRITAIN Housed in Georgian splendor, co-founded by an American, the museum showcases America’s decorative arts.

Exhibitions, workshps, Quilt collection.

www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge

The American

A Very Scottish New Year S

cotland enjoys three major festivities this month. First up, New Year’s, or Hogmanay as it’s called north of the border. Later in January it’s Burns Night, the celebration of the national poet.

The Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games take place there this year, as does the Scottish Independence Referendum.

What’s more, the whole of 2014 has been designated the Year of Homecoming to Scotland, so whenever and wherever you are in the country you can enjoy the best of Scotland.

Hogmanay - Drink Responsibly!

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he derivation of the name ‘Hogmanay’ is a subject of much debate. There are three main camps, championing French, Norse and Celtic (technically Goidelic) roots.

The word is first recorded in 1604 in the Elgin Records as hagmonay

12 January - February 2014

(“delatit to haue been singand hagmonayis on Satirday”) then in 1692 it is found in the Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence: “It is ordinary among some plebeians in the South of Scotland to go about from door to door upon New-years Eve, crying Hagmane”.

Although we have settled on ‘Hogmanay’, as with many words of that era there are a variety of local spellings and pronunciations, among them Hoghmanay, Hagmanae, Hagmonay, Hagmonick, Hanginay, Hangmanay, Hogernoany, Hogminay/Hogmenay/Hogmynae, Hoguemennay, Huggeranohni and Huigmanay.

It may have come to Scotland via the Auld Alliance - for centuries, France was the nation’s main ally while England was their mutual enemy. In the Northern French dialect hoguinané (or hoginane, hoginono or hoguinettes) meant a

gift given at New Year, a child’s cry demanding such a gift, or New Year’s Eve itself, derived from the 16th century Old French ‘aguillanneuf ‘. The Celtic theory rely on a similarity of ‘Hogmanay’ to the Isle of Man’s celebration ‘Hop-tu-Naa’, And the Vikings had a rhyme that evoked ‘Hogmen’, or hill-men, banishing trolls into the sea, ‘alay’. Take your pick!

Whatever the etymology, or the spelling, to the Scots Hogmanay is a more important celebration than Christmas. In the rest of the UK, New Year’s Eve is an excuse for a wild evening’s party. Scotland sees it differently: just an evening?!

Scottish Hogmanay parties generally go through until at least the small hours of New Year’s Day, and both January 1st and 2nd are Bank (public) Holidays. The extra day can be used for further celebrations, or recovery from NYE, according to taste and stamina.

The American

Catch A Haggis For Burns Night

Robert (Rabbie) Burns, known as the Ploughman Poet, is the national poet of Scotland. He wrote Auld Lang Syne, among many poems.

Celebratory suppers were first held by his friends on the anniversary of his death, July 21, 1796. The date was later changed to his birthday, January 25, and they have been an annual event ever since - another excuse for Scots and their friends to enjoy a drink of whisky (note, no ‘e’!) and a good meal.

Ah - the meal. You may have heard that amid much ceremony and bagpipe playing, the assembled guests feast on haggis, served with neeps (mashed swede, AKA turnip or rutabaga) and tatties (mashed potatoes). Many people ask what haggis is. The haggis (haggis scoticus) is a small creature found living wild in the Scottish highlands. As hill-dwellers, haggi (the plural) evolved with their right pair of legs, front and rear, shorter than the left, enabling them to run speedily round highland hills in a clockwise direction, evading predators like lynx and golden eagles. Of course it makes circumnavigating the peaks in a counter-clockwise direction tricky. The canny highlanders realized this and devised a cunning strategy to catch the little beasts.

The haggis’ mating season is in the midwinter, and just after Christmas the men of the village go out armed with long nets, staking them around the base of the hill. Hiding behind bushes, they wait patiently until they see a herd of male haggi passing above them whereupon they make the noise of the female haggis. The males turn round quickly, looking for a mate, and

with their short legs now downhill, tumble down into the waiting nets.

Simple! ...Actually, haggis is a dish, not a beastie. It consists of minced sheep’s offal (liver, lungs and heart) cooked with oatmeal, onion, suet and seasoning. But don’t let that put you off. It’s very tasty, nutty and savory. Pour a tot of Scotch on your haggis to improve the flavor. And you’ll probably be invited to pour more into a glass - it is the perfect accompaniment to the national dish. If you’re not used to drinking

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whisky, be careful. A good single malt is a wonderful creation (as are many blends), but it can be strong, especially if ‘cask strength’ of 60 to 65% alcohol by volume. To be polite, perhaps the best advice is to accept a glass graciously, but don’t try to keep up with your hosts.

Grace is said before the supper - but not just any one will do. A traditional Scottish version, known as the Galloway Grace, or Covenanters’ Grace, was renamed the Selkirk Grace after Robert Burns spoke it

at dinner with the Earl of Selkirk.

(Although many believe it was his, Burns did not write it.)

“Some hae meat and canna eat And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit.”

Through the evening guests recite Burns poems, like To a Mouse.

After many toasts of whisky, to the haggis, the monarch, to friends both absent and present, and to Burns himself, the throng stands, links hands and sings Auld Lang Syne.

Why haven’t most Americans eaten traditional haggis before coming to Scotland? Shockingly, the recipe is banned in the United States. In 1971, the US Department of Agriculture decided that one of the key ingredients – sheep’s lights, or lung – could not be sold for human consumption. Millions of people around the world would disagree, including the Scottish government who are still lobbying against the decision, but the ban remains.

Alternatives are available, for example bean-based vegetarian versions, and you could ask your host for a different meat, but somehow an ‘address to the chicken’ just doesn’t have the same ring. However, entrepreneurial Americans are now manufacturing lung-free haggis for the US domestic market.

Retired healthcare executive Ronald Grant Thurston makes McKean’s Haggis in Bangor, Maine. The idea came to him after a visit to Glasgow, his wife Isabella’s birthplace. He uses cereals imported from Scotland but offal from American cows and sheep – and no ‘lights’!

January - February 2014 13

The American

Burns’ Address To A Haggis The host or an honored guest proclaims Burns’ Address To A Haggis as he prepares to slice the haggis open with a dirk or a Sgian Dubh [pronounced ‘Skeeann Doo’ - a Scottish dagger]:

Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie [cheeky] face, Great chieftain o’ the puddin-race!

Aboon [above] them a’ ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm [intestine]: Weel are ye wordy o’ a grace As lang’s my arm.

Or olio [olive oil] that wad staw [make sick] a sow, Or fricassee wad mak her spew Wi’ perfect scunner [disgust], Looks down wi’ sneering, scornfu’ view On sic a dinner?

The groaning trencher there ye fill, Your hurdies [hips] like a distant hill, Your pin wad help to mend a mill In time o’ need, While thro’ your pores the dews distil Like amber bead.

Poor devil! see him ower his trash, As feckless as a wither’d rash, His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash, His nieve [fist] a nit [louse’s egg, tiny], Thro’ bloody flood or field to dash, O how unfit!

His knife see rustic Labour dicht, [wipe - the speaker draws his dagger] An’ cut you up wi’ ready slicht, [skill - he plunges it into the haggis] Trenching your gushing entrails bricht, Like ony ditch; And then, O what a glorious sicht, Warm-reekin, rich!

But mark the Rustic, haggis fed, The trembling earth resounds his tread.

Clap in his wallie [mighty] nieve [fist] a blade, He’ll mak it whistle; An’ legs an’ arms, an’ heads will sned [cut off], Like taps o’ thristle [thistle].

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an’ strive: Deil [devil] tak the hindmaist! on they drive, Till a’ their weel-swall’d [swollen] kytes [bellies] belyve [soon], Are bent like drums; Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive [burst], “Bethankit” hums.

Is there that o’re his French ragout

Ye Pow’rs wha mak mankind your care, And dish them out their bill o’ fare, Auld Scotland wants nae skinkin ware [watery soup] That jaups [slops about] in luggies [bowls]; But, if ye wish her gratefu’ prayer,

14 January - February 2014

Gie her a haggis!

Homecoming

The first Scottish Year of Homecoming was held five years ago in 2009. It was so successful, culturally as well as financially, that it’s being repeated. You may have seen some of the promotions fronted by Scottish heroes like Olympian Sir Chris Hoy, violinist Nicola Benedetti and Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley Homecoming is a celebration of Scotland in all its varied glory. For the locals to celebrate their ‘home,’ for those with Scottish blood to explore their roots, and for others to discover all Scotland has to offer, from its surprisingly varied heritage (did you know it was a major part of the Enlightenment, that explosion of intellectual and scientific advances in the eighteenth century involving David Hume and Adam Smith among many Scots intellectuals?) to the wild rugged, natural landscapes of the Highlands and historic cities such as Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow.

The Year of Homecoming 2014 features the Commonwealth Games and golf’s Ryder Cup in a year-long programme of events and activities. 45,000 visitors from around the world are expected to commemorate the the 700th anniversary of Scotland’s most famous battle at Bannockburn Live. The three day spectacular (June 28 to 30) features historical encampments, Scottish music, food & drink, crafts, literature and outdoor activities, plus a brutally realistic re-enactment of the Battle of Bannockburn, when King Robert the Bruce beat the English Edward II’s army and wrested Scotland from the grip of English dominance. In the words of 'O Flower of Scotland', the country’s unofficial national anthem, The Bruce’s men

The American

“Stood against him, Proud Edward’s army, And sent him homeward, Tae think again” New events for 2014 include the John Muir Festival, heralding the opening of the John Muir Trail across central Scotland which remembers the influential Scots naturalist, the Forth Bridges Festival to mark the 50th anniversary of the iconic Forth Road Bridge, the Findhorn Bay Arts Festival in Moray, the World Sheepdog Trials in Tain and the European Festival of Brass based in Perthshire. Existing events include the many Edinburgh Festivals (the capital is host to twelve each year), the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, the Edinburgh Mela Festival, the Royal National MOD, the Turriff Show, the East Neuk Festival, the Orkney Nature Festival and Tweedlove Bike Festival. Here are a few ideas to choose from this year:

Hogmanay 2013/14

Across Scotland - and the rest of the UK December 31

Welcome the Year of Homecoming Scotland with a series of spectacular events. Fear not if you’re nowhere near Scotland’s capital - there are private and public Hogmanay parties everywhere across the country.

Stonehaven Fireball Ceremony Aberdeen City and Shire December 31

Bring the New Year in the Stonehaven way, and watch the procession as 45 men and women swing large balls of fire above their heads.

Edinburgh Loony Dook South Queensferry December 31

Celebrate the start of Scotland’s

Robert the Bruce’s statue at Bannockburn. It was returned in September after refurbishment ahead of the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn in June.

year of Homecoming and raise money for a good cause in this New Year swim in the River Forth.

An Lanntair Ceilidh Festival

Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides December 31 to Jan 3

A series of ceilidhs throughout the New Year week featuring local artists and one of Scotland’s most popular ceilidh bands, Skerryvore.

Wha’s Like Us? A Nation Of Dreams And Ideas National Library Of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, Midlothian, EH1 1EW to May 18

For centuries, Scots have made a significant impact on the world outside Scotland. From Adam Smith to Dolly the Sheep, Scotland has been – and continues to be – a hotbed of ideas, innovation, creativity, and dreams. The National Library of Scotland has created an alphabet of achievement which presents a broad selection of the many ways in which Scottish influence has extended around the globe. Some

stories are ‘well-kent’, others barely known at all, but together they contribute to Scotland’s reputation for creativity and pioneering innovation, at home and abroad

Burns And The South West Langholm, Ayrshire and Arran to November 30

A year-long programme of events, exhibitions and attractions celebrating Scotland’s National Bard.

Celtic Connections Festival Glasgow January 16 to February 2

Scotland’s largest city’s annual folk, roots and world music festival, celebrating Celtic music and its connection to cultures across the globe.

Burns Night Parade Dumfries January 25 to 27

Bringing us back to the Scottish bard is this light inspired carnival in Dumfries, the home of the World’s Biggest Burns Night.

January - February 2014 15

The American

Head Boy Juan Luquin

L

ike the majority of Americans, I’d never left my own country, though I’d always dreamed of travelling the world. The UK was a faraway land where everyone drank afternoon tea, rode around in red London buses and had an accent like Hugh Grant. I reflected on this as we drove through the gates of Taunton School (looking for all the world like Hogwarts), where I was about to spend the next two years of my life. Back in 2011, as a pupil at New Designs Charter School in West LA, I was picked from hundreds of others for a two-year scholarship to Taunton. Now here I was, more than 130 miles from London in a green place called Somerset where I would take my A Levels – and hopefully get a British accent.

People always ask me if was I homesick and I can honestly say in those first few months there just wasn’t time. I was really sad to say goodbye to my family and friends,

16 January - February 2014

From The ‘Hood to Hogwarts “You’d be in the house, hear gunshots, look out of the window and just see someone lying down there.” That was life for one LA teenager.

Now head boy of an English independent school, Juan Luquin tells us how everything has changed… but knew this was the chance of my life and I was going to seize the opportunity. I was excited to begin a new chapter and wanted to make them proud and prove anything is possible. I promised myself I would always give it my best and never give up. It didn’t take long to settle down to life at Taunton School because I’m always looking for new things to try out and experience. I’m involved with everything the school has to offer from debating, volunteering, volleyball, hockey, athletics and am even captain of the football team. Also, I’m a House Prefect which involves setting an example for the younger boys to follow and taking charge of the daily routine such as putting the junior boys to bed, which with two younger brothers myself feels like home from home. I feel like I’ve been part of the school from the very first day and I know that will continue for the rest of my life. Everyone here is really

friendly and makes you feel you’re part of something very big and very special.

My one great sadness is my mother and father are unable to visit the school and meet everyone here because of their illegal status in the US. My father is still fighting deportation as an illegal immigrant from Mexico and my mother is waiting for US citizenship. Life is not always easy, they live with my brothers in a cramped one-bedroom flat in an area that has seen its fair share of gun and drug crime.

I Skype them as often as I can, but it would be wonderful if they could just see the place for real.

The most challenging part of my whole experience at Taunton has been the academic side. Back home, I was always on top of my classes, but I struggled the first year here, especially with my Physics A Level as I hadn’t studied the subject before. The curriculum was

The American

“For all the world like Hogwarts“ the Gothic frontage of Taunton School, Somerset

much more difficult and intense compared to back home and the class sizes were much smaller and the homework more challenging, but fortunately now everything has fallen into place. I’m now concentrating on passing my A Levels and looking at where to study once I return to the US. The school puts a lot of effort into channelling students towards the right career and helped me concentrate on the areas of study that will lead me towards an engineering path. I hope to study at a top Californian university such as Stanford or at Harvard on the East Coast.

The highlight of my time at Taunton so far without doubt was being named Head Boy at the start of my second year. I was absolutely delighted. I am thrilled at people’s faith in me, but my biggest thanks must go to my parents who have always been my role models. I appreciate all the effort they have

put in on my behalf, and in return I will do my best at everything to make them proud.

One thing I do miss about home is the Californian sun. Before I came here I’d heard so much about the British weather, but I never believed it – now I know it is true. It’s the most odd weather in the world, you just don’t know what to expect.

And as for my wished-for British accent, well, it’s coming on. So watch out Hugh Grant! 

Juan’s scholarship was funded by the Fulfillment Fund, an LA charity that helps deprived students to achieve a college degree, and Taunton alumni Bob Peirce and Alan Morris, both based in LA. Taunton School has also contributed financially. John Newton, Taunton’s headmaster, is set to travel to LA this academic year to investigate the possibility of running the scholarship again with the Fulfillment Fund. For more information visit: www.fulfillment.org

Do these pictures talk?

17

PHOTO ROB BANKS

The American

Starstruck with Sedaris Our intrepid correspondent Peter Lawler comes face to face with David Sedaris, American author and raconteur extraordinaire

“Isn’t this so exciting?” I am giddy. e are at the BBC Studios in London for a Radio 4 recording. Radio 4 recordings rank among my favorite things to do in London (that and listening to Radio 4 in the morning while thinking snooty thoughts about all the other commuters on the train, but that is a different blog post). It keeps the “entertainment” budget down and is always a blast.

I am whispering in the hushed tones of a sweaty-palmed schoolgirl about to meet Harry Styles. As it happens, I am not about to meet Harry Styles. I am about to meet David Sedaris, author of Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim and When You Are Engulfed In Flames as well as many other canonical classics. He is my expat writing idol.

We are here to watch him record another series of readings for the Beeb’s next season of Meet David Sedaris. Initially excited at the prospect of having my favorite book of his, Me Talk Pretty One Day, signed by the man himself, I could now feel my nerves gathering. We had arrived so early that our timing bor-

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18 January - February 2014

dered on unfashionable; such was our fear that we’d be turned away because of Sedaris’ popularity.

I had also expected the book signing to be afterwards in some chaotic rush waiting at the “stage door” like some stadium rock concert. Contrary to this, when the kind employees of the BBC usher us in, we are given a choice: directly into the theater to the right or the line to the left if you have anything you want signed. And there, sitting behind a modest table and chatting affably to attendees who had brought books to sign was David Sedaris, smiling broadly as though his favorite thing to do of a Sunday afternoon was to shoot the breeze with his readers and sign autographs. I get to meet him sooner than I expected, I think, but what will I say? I haven’t even had time to come up with anything witty or even competent.

Further adding to my discombobulation is the man in front of us in the line, who is (some might say selfishly) squeezing as many precious moments of time as he could out of his encounter. “So sorry about

this,” he says. “I’ve brought these for my book club.” He piles onto the table six thick volumes that might as well be The Collected Works of David Sedaris. I do hope the book club appreciate the effort, I think to myself. And the time.

“That’s okay,” David reassures, “Nobody minds.” His kindly eyes look sincere, but I’m not sure he means it. I raise my eyebrows to the missus, who looks at me admonishingly.

Book Club Man walks into the theater door, his volumes bulging from his rucksack.

It’s our turn.

“Hey, we’re both wearing corduroy jackets! What do you think of that?”

Already Sedaris has thrown me a curveball by remarking on our sartorial similarities.

“Quite. A. Co-inc-i-Dence?” I say, standing smiling stupidly, frozen in headlights. Uncharacteristically, I find myself a bit starstruck. The man is making polite conversation and I am acting like he’s thrown a mind-clearing zen riddle at me.

Plus, my voice sounds a half octave higher than it should. Whether it’s to match Sedaris’ own high-pitched

strain or anxiety, I’m not sure. I cast around mentally for a response to redeem myself and my mother-inlaw’s favorite aphorism about how, “great minds think alike… And fools seldom differ!” comes to mind, but I discard it since it sounds just as foolish as what I’ve already said, which is not much.

Irish people generally and large numbers of Britons pride themselves on passing celebrities in the street with casual indifference. It’s one of the reasons why artists and musicians love spending time in Ireland (that and they pay no income tax). One Irishman famously refused to vacate an elevator for President Clinton’s visit to the Guinness Brewery in Dublin uttering, “Sure, who’s he that I should have to move for the likes of him?”

It’s one of the nicer qualities I thought I had acquired having lived over twelve years with an Irish person. According to my Irish wife, we have passed British actress Denise Van Outen, Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, and no less a demigod of Broadway and The West End than Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber (yes, he is a Lord, lil’ crazy, huh?) in the streets of this fair metropolis. They could be nobodies or (worse yet) anonymous estate agents for all the notice I took of them at the time. In fact the only thing that strikes me as memorable about any of those encounters is the way Paula gleefully observed how plain Denise Van Outen looked, which, apparently, “just goes to show it’s all makeup and airbrushing.”

Still, for all my celebrity nonchalance, here I was in front of David Sedaris, a man whose writing I found both riotously funny and also felt deeply “connected” to, amusing and poignant at times in equal

measure, standing. Mute. Smiling like the village idiot.

I’m from Pennsylvania.

I’ve seen a lot of village idiots.

“We would like you to inscribe it to our son,” we manage to tell him before I go dumbstruck. “He’s six, so of course your writing is entirely inappropriate for him now, but we’re sure he’ll appreciate it when he’s older.”

“Any other children?”

“No, just the one.”

“Well, you’re going to have another one in 2015,” Sedaris confidently predicts. “The ultrasound will say it’s a girl, but it will actually be a boy, and although he will have an incredibly small penis, he’ll get on really well in life, great personality, wonderfully talented and you’ll name him… Congressman! Yes, you’ll name him Congressman.”

I have to admit, at least until halfway through, he had us with his predictive powers, and now he has us and the rest of the line of attendees waiting for autographs in tears laughing. You either appreciate David Sedaris’ sense of humor or you don’t, like the Marmite of memoir funny men. Paula jokes with him about how our son is halfAmerican and how we were once told by American Embassy staff that he could be president legally if he wanted to. “Or Congressman!” quips Sedaris. “Or Congressman!” repeats Paula, who seems to suffer from no similar case of starstruckness.

I am reminded of the time when I was 15 and I stalked Michael Stipe for three blocks down South Street in Philly, my friends reluctantly in tow, to finally follow him into the since closed Rhino Cafe, shake his hand and tell him what a great inspiration his music was and would always be to me. Yet here I stand

before an eloquent and witty writer in a state of paralysis.

Sedaris gives us our signed copy of Me Talk Pretty One Day, we thank him, and we walk into the theater.

As we sit at the back with Paula still raving about how funny and strange he is at the same time, I half-distractedly open the book and read the inscription: To Frey, I knew your parents when they were young.

David Sedaris Well played, Mr Sedaris. Well played indeed.

“Ah well,” I sigh. “I wanted to say so much to him.” And it’s true. I did.

“Oh, Pete,” Paula says with effortless condescension. “Probably best that you didn’t.”

The lights dim, the producer announces the show, I sit back, resigned to the fact that she is probably right.

If you’ve never read David Sedaris’ writing before, do get your hands on some of his stuff, posthaste. I heartily recommend Me Talk Pretty One Day, a book that has caused me to utter embarrassingly loud guffaws on the train. By myself.

And if you are in London or indeed anywhere in the UK for any extended period of time, get yourself on the BBC mailing list for free tickets to live recordings. They’re bags of fun and they’re free!

January - February 2014 19

The American

LES TROIS GARçONS F

rom the outside, Les Trois Garcons looks like the glorious Victorian pub it was in 1880. Now, a quick glance through the glass door and at the menu which hangs beside it, might lead one to believe that this is just another opulent, pricey French restaurant. How wrong one would be!

Walking inside is a bit like falling down the rabbit hole and landing in Shoreditchland. A bejewelled tiger, winged monkey and crowned bulldog are just a few of the many ‘objets’ that greet you upon entry.

The ceiling and walls are dripping with crystals and in the middle of it all hangs an inspired installation of vintage handbags. Wondrous, whimsical and done with great style, the room just filled me with expectation. I was not disappointed.

The three owners are from Malaysia, Sweden and France. This

20 January - February 2014

might give a clue as to the eclectic nature of the place. At its core however, Les Trois Garcons is most definitely French. Our maître d’ and waitress both had the elegance, knowledge and accents of French professionals but clearly felt right at home with bejewelled tigers and winged monkeys. The same can be said of head chef Michael Chan who serves up some serious French food, adorned with the gems of the oriental and to a lesser degree, Scandinavian kitchens. Even better than the decorators, Mr Chan has understood and mastered the art of the unexpected.

Sweetbread and crayfish spring roll on sesame dressed bean sprout salad (£12.50) was a true delight.

Crispy on the outside and succulent on the inside. I ordered the dish because I adore the delicate taste and texture of sweetbreads, both of

which were lost here. Hmmm. The art of the unexpected! Leave your preconceptions at home. This is a beautiful dish. The maitre d’ kindly offered to do our wine pairings and brought a Gewürztraminer from the Pyrenees. More interesting than delicious but nice to try something different.

Seared Scottish scallops on Jerusalem artichoke and chestnut gratin, kumquat puree and coral crackers (£12.50). Wow! Scallops and Jerusalem artichoke is a fantastic combo with bittersweet puree a perfect counterpoint. The Rully 1er Cru 2011 (white burgundy) that was served with this dish was, hands down, the wine of the night. Next time (yes, there will be) I will just order a bottle.

Poached ballotine of chicken and lobster, glazed lobster claw and boneless chicken wing, lobster and

The American 1 Club Row, London E1 6JX www.lestroisgarcons.com Reviewed by Michael M Sandwick chicken wonton, sugar snaps and a spiced lobster bisque (£25). What a mouthful! Preparing this dish would take amazing amounts of both time and skill for which I have the utmost respect. The ballotine was very tasty but sadly, just a bit rubbery and again, the main ingredients get lost in the process. Everything else about the dish was exceptional.

The wontons were perfect and the bisque was, perhaps, the best I have ever tasted. A glass of Riesling was a fine pairing though I found myself still longing for the Rully.

Fillet and belly of Mansrigg farm pork with runner beans, amaranth, gluten free celeriac gnocchi and a ginger honey sauce (£24). Mr Chan’s signature dish and with good reason. Again, this could be the best pork ever in the most gorgeous, buttery sauce. And the gnocchi were inspirational. A glass of Malbec was intense, velvety and smooth.

For dessert we shared a quince tarte tatin for two with mulled wine sorbet (£18). My companion missed the tart crispiness of apples, but I didn’t. I thought the quince worked well with the buttery caramel and the beautifully spiced sorbet was so heavenly, I would be tempted to serve it on its own. This was accompanied by a glass of one of my favorite dessert wines, Maury Vintage Rouge, 2008. Perfect.

The wine list is gorgeous and as one would expect, pricey. But expectation stops there. So if you can manage £70 a head, get yourself to Shoreditchland and jump down that rabbit hole!

Above: Raw, pickled and pureed and char sui roasted beetroot with walnut cheese pepper bonbons and alfalfa sprouts Below: Bouillabaisse from the lunch menu

January - February 2014 21

The American

81 Fulham Road London SW3 6RD

www.bibendum.co.uk Reviewed by Michael M Sandwick

BIBENDUM Oyster Bar B

ibendum opened in 1987 in the Michelin Building, former headquarters of the Michelin Tyre (Tire in Yankee) Company. In fact, Bibendum is the proper name of what is commonly known as the Michelin Man. The building itself is worth a visit. A stunning example of late Art-Nouveau architecture, boasting beautiful metal work, tiles and mosaics, all with car and tyre motifs.

The Oyster Bar, on the ground floor, was originally a tyre-fitting bay for passing motorists! You’d never know it now, it’s a lovely café with a full on street level view of vibrant Fulham Road. Very informal but don’t be fooled, service is 5 star!

Previously, The Oyster Bar served only cold seafood. Now, with a new kitchen, it also offers hot food starting with breakfast at 8AM. Now that tyre bay concept comes in really handy. On your way to work, pull in, get serviced with a fab little breaky and you can be on your way again within half an hour. And the coffee is cheaper than Starbucks!

We put ourselves in the capable hands of the oh-so-charming maître d’. Don’t try this if you are on a budget! If you do however, he will

22 January - February 2014

ensure that you are surprised, satisfied and in need of an extra notch in your belt.

We began with a plateau de fruits de mer (£29.95 for 2) with half a lobster each for an additional (£36). For my money, I would skip the lobster. Good as it was, the rest of the seafood was better and more than ample. Ours included some Gillardeau Speciales oysters at (£4 each) and worth every cent.

Perhaps the best oysters I’ve ever had! In fact, if this was the only thing I ate, I would have been more than happy. Coupled with a glass of deliciously citrus Robert Oatley Chardonnay (£8.95) and parmesan biscuits (£2.95) we were happy campers indeed.

We were there to sample the new kitchen however, so the feast continued with chopped avocado, prawns and jalapeño (£6) my only disappointment. This dish was truly bland, the jalapeño non-existent and the three small prawns barely a mouthful. Sorry guys, but this dish needs a tune-up.

The tarte flambée (£6), a pizzalike crust with crème fraiche and lardons was excellent as was the pissaladière (£6) covered with

caramelized onions, olives and anchovies.

The fish of the day was mackerel, grilled simply and to perfection, served with a wonderful cucumber salad. The cucs were cut in long thin strings to look like seaweed and beautifully spiced to cut the strong taste of mackerel.

I was so fond of the chardonnay, I decided to try the Cabernet Sauvignon from the same vineyard.

It was equally good, rich and spicy.

At this point we were about to burst, but the Maître d’ obviously thought we still looked undernourished, so he brought us 3 puddings! (£6.95 each).

A classic crème brûlée was exactly as it should be. The apricot and almond tart was nearly perfect.

The almond tart was moist and not too sweet. Exceptional. But a layer of whole dried apricots were simply too crude for the fine cake and made it difficult to eat. Chopped and mixed with the apricot jam would have brought this heavenly tasting dessert into perfect harmony. To finish, a petit pot au chocolat, six bites of dark, rich, creamy chocolate heaven. Yet another notch in the belt, but absolutely worth it!

Unique

BRITISH TOURS

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The American

Cellar Talk

By Virginia E Schultz

Montepulciano

V

ino Nobile di Montepulciano was first mentioned by Tito Livio in Ab Urbe Condita’in the first century. It is the wine recognized

by Italy for its superior quality and sitting here on my balcony early evening listening to the fountain below I can almost agree with Francesco Redi who declared in 1685 that, ‘Of all wines, Montepulciano is King’. In recognition of its quality, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano was awarded Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) status in 1980, the first wine region in Italy to be given that honor.

Italian wines in the early eighties had a rather dubious reputation, especially in the States. My grandfather, the only one in the family who drank wine regularly, turned up his handsome Roman nose at it with disdain and, unfortunately, I was influenced by him. It wasn’t until I visited Italy in the late seventies and was introduced to Montepulciano by a business friend of my late husband I learned how wrong he was. All Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wines must meet strict standards, including at least two years of aging after the January 1 harvest. And this year, because of a longer than usual growing season in 2010, Sangiovese, the leading grape of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, had an extended ripening which gave it the classic aroma of red fruit and flowers that embrace many foods from red meats

24 January - February 2014

to pasta and pizza.

Reserva wines which require a minimum of three years in the barrel plus six months of bottle aging beginning January 1st, resulted in wines of exceptional balance and elegance. Although Sangiovese is at the heart of the wine, the final blend includes traditional red grapes like Canaiolo, the more tannic Colorino or violet-scented Mammolo and international red varieties include Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah play an important role. A visit to Montepulciano in late September is a wonderful time to see the harvest of Sangiovese and the celebration of the present vintage begins. However, one of the most delightful times I spent there was in late August when the wine barrels were rolled through the streets and four of us ended up eating in a local restaurant with an Italian couple who turned out to be relatives of the owner. Check out the harvest calendar at www.stradavinonobile.it.

2004 and 2006 were excellent years, but expensive. I was fortunate to taste Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano 2007 Valdicava which a friend brought back from Italy. It costs around $200 in the USA, £75 up in the UK, so sadly I won’t be having it soon. However, I discovered La Colombina Brunello 2008 whose tannins are incomplete, but if you put it aside for another two years it will be perfect.

wine-making equipment at Montepulciano

Sangiovese Sorbet

I

had something similar to this in an Italian restaurant and when I couldn’t get the recipe, tried and tried until I came up with this: 1 cup water 1 1/4 cups sugar 1/2 bottle of a top Montepulciano juice of 1 large lime Pinch of grated lime zest Combine the water and sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring in the sugar gradually until the sugar dissolves completely. Continue cooking at a simmer for another five minutes and then let it cool. Stir in the Montelpulciano, lime juice and lime zest. Put into an ice cream maker and freeze. Serve in chilled wine or martini glasses. Top with a slice of fresh peach or strawberries.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, beat 2 egg whites until soft peaks form. Beat in 2 tablespoons sugar until it is firm peaks. When the sorbet is almost frozen, fold in the meringue and continue freezing.

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Quote ‘THE AMERICAN’ for TWO FOR ONE ENTRY

October 2013 13

Sarah Gillespie The half-American, half-British musician is something of an enigma. Folk, Jazz or Blues singer? Yank or Limey? Artist or political animal? All of the above?

She tells Michael Burland about her eclectic life and her Opposite page: Sarah Gillespie Live new album Glory Days PHOTO COURTESY YOU TUBE

S

arah Gillespie’s music manages to combine intelligent, passionate, sometimes humorous lyrics, clever yet rootsy musicianship and kick-ass hooks, all at the same time.

Her family background may have helped.

She was born in London to an American mother and a British father who met in a pub in London.

It must have been love at first sight: “My father was doing his Masters degree, and on their second date he decided to use his grant to pay her rent so she wouldn’t be evicted from her flat. My mother, who was from Minneapolis, split up from her first husband, and she had family over here - my uncle was head of the CIA in Northern Europe. She had lived in Italy for five years and fallen in love with Europe.”

Life was both Transatlantic - a couple of times a year the family visited their American relatives in Minnesota - and surrounded by music. Neither of Sarah’s parents was a musician, but her father had “an infectious passion” for music, and bought the young Sarah LPs of Bessie Smith, and Ella Fitzgerald singing Cole Porter.

“Most burgeoning performers or artists would listen to that and want

26 January October 2013 - February 2014

to sing like Ella Fitzgerald. I didn’t have that reaction - I wanted to write lyrics like Cole Porter!” Sarah laughs. “I was amazed by how witty those songs were, and how stylish and clever. And I listened to rock and roll, classical music, Fats Waller, and lots of Bob Dylan - who’s also from Minnesota, of course. I was steeped in all of that.”

That’s some of the greatest songwriters in history, right there.

Did she listen to regular pop music at all?”I really tried to,” Sarah laughs, “but I was living a lie! I was so infatuated with the music I loved that I didn’t have time for contemporary chart music, with lots of synthesizers.” Instead of a Saturday job she took her guitar busking, playing on the streets for pennies.

Songwriting came easily, and early. “I was about three. I wasn’t writing them down, just making songs up all the time. One day my mother picked me up from play school and asked me what the song was that I was singing. I thought I was in trouble - I thought you were supposed to learn songs, not make them up. I started writing them down when I was seven or eight, on the piano, then I got my guitar when I was fourteen. It

was my dream to have a guitar, I’d been pining for one. That felt right straight away. But when it arrived, I really thought I’d be able to play it instantly, as if I could upload it into my fingertips. Of course I then had to sit and learn it. I don’t play piano any more, although I’ve recently felt I’d like to reacquaint myself with it, to bring out different things in my writing. Playing with lots of different people, and allowing lots of different music into your life really shapes the way you compose, I think.”

The musicians Sarah’s mentioned so far are all American. With all the family trips to Minnesota, does Sarah feel American, or British, or both? A long pause...

“I flip between the two,” she thoughtfully replies. “I often find myself talking about ‘the English,’ saying ‘they’ do this or that. It’s really annoying for my band when I talk about ‘the English’ not being able to complain, or having to explain the concept of a salad to the waiter in a pub! I’m sure they’re embarrassed by me. Other times I feel English. I’m proud to have lived in America for a few years of my adult life too. I’m infatuated with America. Who isn’t? I went round

The American

the entire country by Greyhound bus when I was 18 years old, it took a year. I love it very much - there’s a lot to love. But I love coming back to England too. There’s something about it. I think it’s the humor, and the NHS (or what’s left of it) and the familiarity of it. But I can live in either. I make it up as I go along.

I have two passports, and two citizenships.”

Does that extend to two accents? “I used to! My American grandmother did not understand a single word I said, so I would slip into an American accent for her.

And everybody stared at me in grocery stores, as if I’d just arrived from Mars, so I appropriated this American accent. But when I got back t England I couldn’t shake it off. My Dad would say, ‘What the hell have you done with my daughter?!’”

A sophisticated Anglo-American singer songwriter would fit right into the New York scene - in fact she lived in NYC for a while - so what keeps pulling her back to London?

“It’s where I was born. I went to University and did my Masters degree here - having dual nationality it’s much easier to go into academia in England, pragmatically, because of the basic costs. My roots are here

and now my career is too - I have a network here. But last summer I did a few concerts in America and I’ve recently played in Seattle and New Mexico and I’m planning a proper tour in the States for 2014.”

Sarah’s academic career involves a first class degree in Film And Literature, then a Masters in Politics and Philosophy from Goldsmiths University. She could have been a politician. “Possibly, ha ha. I was just confused by the world we live in and I thought I might become less confused if I read more books and argued with people. Obviously that didn’t happen. I just came out more confused. But I wouldn’t mind doing a doctorate one day. I’m very political.”

That political sensitivity comes out in Sarah’s art. Not just music, she also paints, performs poetry and hosts songwriting workshops as well as writing political papers published on various news websites. “I wrote a song about extraordinary rendition on my second album, In The Current Climate, called ‘How The West Was Won’. It’s a kind of parable that could be applied to many different narratives - British imperialism, what America is doing currently... And I did a thing about

post 9/11 paranoia called ‘The War On Trevor’ about someone misidentified as a terrorist, which is clearly political. But I’m not a placardwaving lefty. It’s hard to describe my politics because I don’t believe in the binary of left and right any more. There’s a liberal supremacism at play in a lot of the rhetoric and discourse around now. And yet, recently with Syria, there’s talk about taking the Nobel Peace Prize away from Obama and giving it to Putin, which would be awkward!

My songs are more lamenting or parodying things, rather than a list of things I don’t approve of.

That is overly modest. More than simple parody, her lyrics often cleverly manipulate ideas and listeners’ expectations. She’s said that among her influences are songwriters like Tom Waits, Cole Porter, and Dylan, but also poets like TS Eliot, James Tate and the Beat Poets of the 1950s. “Yes, the Beat Poets were writing poetry that impacted on the ear rather than the eye. It was poetry that made noises. I’m dyslexic and that appealed to me. I like the power of alliteration and interrhyming and the way words can explode in proximity to each other and evoke meanings you didn’t

January - February October 2013 2014 27

know were there. American poets were the masters of that - although Gerard Manley Hopkins is one of my favorite poets and he’s British, and there’s TS Eliot [born in St. Louis, Missouri, Eliot became a naturalised British subject]. Good poetry can wake you up to a new way of seeing and hearing and writing.”

A regular group of musical collaborators that Sarah works with includes drummer Enzo Zirilli, Ben Bastin on double bass, Mercurynominated composer and pianist Kit Downes, and Gilad Atzmon on accordion, clarinet & sax. Atzmon is making a name for himself on the British jazz scene and has produced Sarah’s three albums.

“Gilad’s amazing,” Sarah says.

“Imagine John Coltrane if he were born in Jerusalem, with Arabic harmonies and classical aesthetics.

There’s lots of pathos and brilliance, but silliness as well. It’s a lot of fun!

You must see him live.”

Sarah plays with her Trio & a Quartet, and has performed at the London Jazz Festival and Ronnie Scott’s, all of which sounds pretty jazzy. But the new album Glory Days doesn’t shout ‘JAZZ’. And her guitar playing is much more exciting and skilful than standard singersongwriter strumming, hitting the strings hard and bending bluesily at times, intricately arpeggiating at others. Is she a jazzer? A singer songwriter? A guitar player?

“Some people think it can’t be me playing guitar. They have a mental block about it. I think it’s because I’m a girl. They think if you’re a serious artist, as a woman, you must be dowdy, you can’t wear lipstick at the same time. When I started, everyone wanted me to dress all hippyish like Joni Mitchell.

28 January - February 2014

I thought, sod that, I want to wear high heels, not ethnic left wing jewelry because it fits their brand! And that’s why I didn’t get a big record deal,”

she laughs.

“Glory Days is more of a singer songwriter album than my previous ones. I play folk clubs and regular venues, not just jazz clubs. But I like being in gorgeous, louche, basement clubs with red velvet curtains. And I like the seriousness with which jazz fans listen to the music, it’s like being in church. They’re appreciative and they’ve welcomed me into their scene.”

Jazz songs are seldom as acerbically humorous, or psychedelically inventive, as Gillespie’s. Glory Days features “Flamenco-dancing pigeons”, a love that is “like digesting dynamite,” a protagonist who “inhaled a thousand bees, spat out wings like olive pips,” a man who “thinks monogamy is a kind of wood,” not to mention Charlie Sheen and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

She paints pictures with words.

She paints actual pictures as well. Are music and painting different things?

“They’re very different to me.

Painting requires a lot of premedita-

tion, whereas I can just stroll into my living room and suddenly be writing a song on my guitar. I spend a lot of time having vague ideas for a painting, but if one takes off I’m absolutely hypnotised and I’ll forget to eat or go out into the real world. It’s a strong, weird feeling, especially if I’m doing abstract expressionism where I’m not trying to replicate how something looks. It’s kind of like I’m at war with color. I don’t know why, but I just have to have turquoise there, or that yellow is too lemony. I get lost in music, in a different way. I get obsessive, repeating a loop on the guitar until it settles in my fingers.

Sometimes songs come out in a gentle way, other times they rush out of me like a freight train. The song ‘Glory Days’ came to me when I was buying frozen peas in the store down the road, fully fledged, in one second.”

One final question: What’s the best thing about being Sarah Gillespie?

“Hmmm. I feel very free. And I appreciate that increasingly.”  After a launch party for the vinyl edition of GloryDaysat theVortex Jazz Club on January 21st , Sarah’s UK dates are: Jan 24thWakefield Jazz Club; February 1st St David’s Hall, Somerset; March 27th St Austell Brewery; 28th Constantine, Cornwall,TheTolmen Centre; 29th Ivybridge, Cornwall,Watermark Arts Centre; April 10th Soho, London, Pizza Express Jazz Club; 30th Halifax, Dean Clough Arts; May 1st Durham, Old Cinema Launderette; May 2nd Banchory, Aberdeenshire, TheWoodend Barn; 3rd Edinburgh,The Sound House; 15th - Chelsea, London, 606 Club; 17th Oxford,The Albion Beatnik Bookstore. In June 2014 she will be touring the USA. Check dates and order the album at sarahgillespie.com

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The American

From Bad Things To Good Book:

The Jace Everett Interview It’s a good bet you have heard Jace Everett’s distinctive southern baritone. Maybe on his eponymous album, or Red Revelations or Mr Good Times, or his theme tune for the hit TV vampire series True Blood. His latest album, Terra Rosa, is out now, he tells The American.

B

orn in Evansville, Indiana in 1972, Jace was on the move from an early age. His father’s work kept them place-hopping, and at the age of one the family moved to Indianapolis, then St. Louis, Missouri, winding up in Fort Worth, Texas by the time he was six. That’s a very formative age. Does Jace think of himself as a Texan?

“I try not to!” he laughs. “There’s a lot about Texas that I really love, but if you’re not born there, you aren’t a Texan to the native Texans. It’s such a jingoistic environment. A lot of people from Texas out the Texan flag above the US flag, and flag waving has always been something I’m not particular good at. So, yeah, I grew up in Texas, I consider myself a Texan, but I don’t say that to folks simply because you can get slapped around for it! It is a very musical place. A lot of that Texan arrogance is founded on facts. There are some amazing things about that culture, and music is right there at the top of the list.”

The wander-bug must have bit.

In 1990 Jace attended Belmont University in Nashville for three years, then found himself in Europe, then back to Nashville. “I was practising being homeless,” he jokes.

Did Jace’s various locations affect his musical outlook?

30 January - February 2014

“Definitely. The Texas thing, particularly the outlaw country and blues and rock & roll aspects, those are really strong in Texas music.

I don’t think I’m very Nashville sounding, although the record I made for Sony had some of that, because it was made by a Nashville committee. But once I broke free on my own, what Nashville did for me was to let me sit at the feet of some of the great songwriters here and learn at least a few of their tricks. I believe my song writing has gotten better because I live in a community of very competitive and very skilled songwriters.”

Nashville itself has become a much more varied musical environment.

“Oh man, it’s almost unrecognizable from when I moved here in 1990, and pretty much in only positive ways. It’s become the place to move if you’re in the arts. The cost of living is manageable, and the community is incredibly varied.

There’s a lot of film and television stuff going on, visual arts, and there are several universities so there’s always an influx of young people with new, rebellious ideas, ‘kicking against the pricks’, which is imperative to keeping a place happening.

I’m a very liberal guy from a

political standpoint, and it’s good to have in these two very conservative states, Texas and Tennessee, hotbeds of liberals and conservatives and minorities and Caucasians slammed together in the relatively small areas of the state capitals.”

“Americans think I’m a cynical bastard whereas Brits tend to think I’m just being rational” In the early days, to pay the bills Jace had a series of odd jobs like digging ditches, washing trucks and waiting tables, the classic route for aspiring artists. But within a year of his European jaunts he landed a record deal with Sony Nashville.

“An overnight sensation!” he chuckles. “But I was so damn tired by the time I got the record deal that it was hard to get overly excited about anything.

I’m a fairly skeptical person. I

The American

The American

“I talk to God - a lot and I keep hopin’ he’s going to talk back” think one of the reasons I have so much fun in the UK is that Americans think I’m a cynical bastard - whereas Brits tend to think I’m just being rational. I agree with the Brits, obviously. It was cool, I was excited, but it didn’t feel completely real, working with a major record label, when some of the songs are yours and you’re having to fight to record them, some are songs that are being shoved down your throat, by people you’ve never met. I was grateful, I was not even thirty years old and I had been through a lot, and was finally getting an opportunity. But I always kept one eye on the door. Now I have a business partner and we partner with distribution people and so on. In the UK we work with Wrasse Records, Ian Ashbridge - great guy - and his wife Jo. I’m independent, I own my own my masters and my publishing.

The creative freedom it allows us is

32 January - February 2014

priceless.”

Jace’s European trip happened when he was playing bass for a singer-songwriter he’d met in Nashville. They toured Switzerland, France and Italy, playing everything from Kiss to Garth Brooks with some of the band leader’s original material, all in one set.

“For a 21 year old who had never been to Europe, it was an exciting time,” says Jace. “We spent about a year over there, broke up into two trips. We were there so long I once came home with a pregnant waitress! It’s true - I’ve got a seventeen year old son to prove it.”

Was it difficult having a family relationship while out on the road?

“Unfortunately his mother and I could not maintain our marriage.

When he was five, she and he went back to France. That was very difficult. I spent a lot of money flying back and forth to France, three or

four times a year. But three years ago he moved to Tennessee to live with me. It’s just brilliant, it’s the most important thing in my life, and the most fun. He’s been on the road with me some. He’d just moved in with me when I was about to do an Australian tour, which didn’t make much sense, so I gave him the song list, he packed his acoustic guitar and he played in the band for three weeks.”

That must have been the ultimate bonding experience for father and son. “It was - and it was very humbling for him also, because my drummer kept yelling at him for speeding up and slowing down. But then he yells at me sometimes and I’m forty years old and his boss!”

Jace Everett is best known in the UK for ‘Bad Things’, the True Blood theme tune. Is that true in the States too?

“In the States it’s possibly all

The American

I’m known for!” he laughs. “Well, I knocked over a liquor store a few years back - I’m kidding, don’t print that! True Blood happened after my record company had dropped me, EMI Publishing had dropped me, and in 2007 I was back to playing bass for a guy singing cover tunes.

I had written a number 1 song for Josh Turner, so I had some money coming in, but I had a family to feed.

Then I got a phone call from Gary Calamar, a music supervisor at HBO, telling me they wanted to use ‘Bad Things’. Apparently Alan Ball [creator of True Blood] had just found the song randomly on iTunes.

It was winning the lottery.

A lot of people think I became rich because of it, which I have decidedly not because Sony and EMI owned the song, but I have been allowed the greatest luxury anyone could have, which is being able to do what you want to make a living.”

New Album - Terra Rosa

Which leads nicely on to Jace’s new record. A single, ‘No Place to Hide’ has already been featured in True Blood and is released in Britain on February 3. The new album Terra Rosa is out here January 27th. It is a kind of concept album, a song cycle that explores ideas from the Old and New Testaments.

It is recognisably a Jace Everett album, dark & bluesy country, but more varied stylistically than before. ‘No Place To Hide’ sounds like it could have come from one of Johnny Cash’s American recordings.

‘Lloyd’s Summer Vacation’ features

The new album which ‘explores ideas from the Old and New Testaments’.

a Tex-Mex garage rock organ while ‘The Great Fish (Wave After Wave)’ is epic pop. ‘Rise Up’ is the most like ‘Bad Blood’, “One of my dirty little secrets is that I grew up in Texas as a rightwing, conservative, evangelical Christian, from when I was about twelve to when I went to college at seventeen. For two or three years all I listened to was what they call contemporary Christian music, which in itself is very varied - as long as it’s about God it doesn’t matter what it sounds like, so there’s an element of that in my writing.

Terra Rosa is Jace’s take on stories from the Bible, but from his own perspective, not following the Church’s ‘party line’. “Absolutely. I am not what most American Christians would call a Christian. But it’s amazing literature, and the books of Genesis and Exodus in particular are fascinating. The stories have value regardless of what your beliefs are.

It’s a damn good read and people ought to check it out. And it’s a great source of song material for me.”

If ‘they’ don’t call him a Christian, would Jace call himself one?

“I try not to call myself anything.

I’m just not a flag waver. It’s not really a conscious choice, it’s just

who I am. It’s like, I have red hair, I didn’t pick it (nor would I have, probably!). I talk to God - a lot - and I keep hopin’ he’s going to talk back. Let’s see. I hate to use the term ‘spiritual’, it’s become so whiny and namby-pamby. And the whole atheist movement too - I’m a huge Christopher Hitchens fan, just ‘cos he’s hilarious, and I like Dawkins and those guys too, but they can be pedantic bores too. The need to evangelize, no matter what the product is that you’re selling, gets tedious to me.”

There is a great tradition in country music of the sacred and the profane warring but coexisting, from Johnny Cash to Jerry Lee Lewis. Is Everett in that tradition?

“I went to one of those pseudomega-churches as a kid. There were about 400 people in the youth group and I was in the youth band and went on mission trips and preached sometimes. But one of my fondest memories is playing the Devil in two of the plays we put on.

That may have been a premonition of what the future held for me!”

UK TOUR:

See Jace Everett with his guitar player on January 30th at Sheffield, The Greystones; February 1st Newcastle, The Cluny 2; and Feb 2nd Glasgow, Celtic Connections Festival.

Then, with his full band, on April 24th at Birmingham, Hare & Hounds; 29th Nottingham, The Maze, and 30th London, The Borderline.

January - February 2014 33

The American

JANUARY QUIZ

Coffee Break 1 What is overmorrow?

2 What is the name for a group of kittens?

3 Which note do most American car horns beep in?

Tony Jannus taking off on January 1, 1914 , the first commercial airline flight. How much did they charge for the tickets each way?

COURTESY ST. PETERSBURG MUSEUM OF HISTORY

4 What is Hippophobia the fear of?

It happened 100 years ago...

5 In a pack of 54 playing cards, which is the only King

16 January 1, 1914: The first scheduled winged airline

to have no mustache?

6 Burns’ Night is celebrated in Scotland on which day

of January?

7 Which US Fashion icon claims to be a descendant of

Robert Burns? a) Tommy Hilfiger b) Calvin Klein c) Ralph Lauren 8 President Ronald Reagan signed ‘Martin Luther King, Jr Day’ into law in which year? a) 1980 b) 1983 c) 1986

9 The Internet’s Domain Name System was created in

January of what year? a) 1975 b) 1985 c) 1995 d) 2005

10 What is the American birth flower for January?

a) Honeysuckle b) Daisy c) Snowdrop d) Lily

11 In the US, January is the national awareness month

of what? a) Parent Leadership b) Black History c) Blood Donor d) American Heart 12 January always begins on the same day as what other month (except for leap years)?

13 What area of land was brought by the USA from

Russia in 1867 for $7.2 Million?

14 Which US president was never elected as President

or vice-president by the people?

15 Which US president invented the folding bed and

the swivel chair?

34 January - February 2014

service was launched, from St Petersburg, California to Tampa, across Tampa Bay using Benoist airboats, about five feet above the water! This cut the journey time from two days to 23 minutes. How much were the tickets each way? a) $5 b) $10 c) $15

17 January 6: Brokerage firm Merrill Lynch is founded,

but to which bank was it later sold in 2008?

It happened 50 years ago...

18 January 10, 1964: The first Beatles album is released

in the US. What was it called?

19 January 8: Lyndon B Johnson delivered his first State

of the Union, and declared a war on what?

20 January 29, 1964: Dr Strangelove has its premiere –

but what subject did the film satirize?

It happened 25 years ago...

21 January 20, 1989: George H.W. Bush succeeds Ronald

Reagan, to become the 41st President of the United States. But who did Bush defeat in the previous year’s Presidential Election?

22 January 24: Serial killer ‘Ted’ Bundy is put to death

by electric chair in Florida. But what was his proper first name? a) Edward b) Edwin c) Theodore

The American

FEBRUARY QUIZ Winston Churchill with American Generals on a balcony watching Allied vehicles crossing the Rhine, but what was Churchill’s middle name?

BY MORRIS (SGT), NO 5 ARMY FILM & PHOTOGRAPHIC UNIT COURTESY IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM

23 Which territory is larger, England or Florida?

24 What does the ‘S’ in Harry S Truman stand for?

It happened 25 years ago...

25 What was the first commercially available pancake

36 February 10, 1989: Ron Brown is elected as

26 What was Winston Spencer-Churchill’s middle

27 What is an octothorpe? (you’ll find it on a keyboard)

ready-mix in the USA?

name? a) Leonard b) Strange c) Randolph

28 Which states meet at the Four Corners Monument?

President of the Democratic National Committee, the first African-American to lead a major American political party. What was unusual about his death, whilst serving as the US Secretary of Commerce, in President Clinton’s administration?

29 Who was the first Time magazine Man of the Year?

30 During a leap year, how many days are there in

February? a) 27 b) 28 c) 29

Quiz answers and Sudoku solution on page 69.

It happened 250 years ago...

3

31 Which port city in Missouri was founded in 1764 by Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, and hosted the 1904 Summer Olympics?

It happened 100 years ago...

8

32 F ebruary 2: The film Making a Living was released in

3

the USA – which actor made his film debut in it?

33 February 5, 1914: William S Burroughs was born, but what does the ‘S’ in his name stand for?

It happened 50 years ago...

34 February 9, 1964: Which British band made their

American TV debut on The Ed Sullivan Show?

35 February 25: Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston to

become World Heavyweight Champion, but who is Clay better known as?

5 8 6 7

1 5 7

1

2

1 2 7 3 9 6 8

5

1

2 3 9 8

2

4 January - February 2014 35

The American

Thomas Campbell, as well as two views of Edinburgh produced as illustrations for Sir Walter Scott’s The Provincial Antiquities and Picturesque Scenery of Scotland.

Queen of Scots

Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen St, Edinburgh EH2 1JD

JMW Turner, Loch Coruisk, Skye, watercolor © NATIONAL GALLERY OF SCOTLAND

Turner in January

Scottish National Gallery, The Mound, Edinburgh EH2 2EL to January 31st Whilst many New Year Resolutions last no longer than a few days after January 1st, one which continues to delight is the annual display of JMW Turner’s watercolors at the Scottish National Gallery, a tradition stretching back over one hundred years. The 38 works on show were bequeathed to the gallery in 1900

by London art collector Henry Vaughan, with the stipulation that they should be ‘exhibited to the public all at one time, free of charge, during the month of January’.

Alongside the Vaughan Bequest,

36 January - February 2014

additional works by Turner from the national collection include watercolor designs for the collected works of the Scottish poet

Adding to the Scottish Homecoming, in January 2014 The Scottish National Portrait Gallery has acquired an arresting portrait in the form of a Chromogenic print of Queen Elizabeth II. A genuine picture, no Photoshop involved.

Queen of Scots, Sovereign of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle and Chief of the Chiefs, 2010 (printed 2013) © JULIAN CALDER, COURTESY NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND

The American

Warhol, Lynch and Burroughs The Photographer’s Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, London W1F 7LW to March 30th

Three American artists connected through the art of photography. The Photographer’s Gallery undertakes a fascinating and illuminating major project in this exhibition. Andy Warhol, David Lynch and William S Burroughs are well known within their respective fields, but here the focus on photography is intended to inform and enrich our understanding of the main body of their work, to provide a view into their creative sensibilities.

For both Warhol and Burroughs, this exhibition represents the first major insight into their photography, and how the photographic process contributed to their art.

Warhol is well known for his polaroids, but it he began to intensively use his 35mm camera during the 1970s. Photographs taken during the last decade of his life are on display, providing an insight into his world; people in the streets, parties, cityscapes, signage, still life, consumer products and other objects. Over 100 works from William S Burroughs are also featured, mainly photographs taken between the early 1950s and ‘70s in locations such as New York, London, Paris and Tangier, including self portraits, street scenes, domestic interiors, construction sites and portraits of other artists and writers including Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg.

David Lynch’s photographs reveal the cinematic view of a film director at work, exposing dark and brooding images of derelict factories shot in black and white in locations including Germany, Poland, New York and England. Over 80

Untitled, c. 1972, by William S. Burroughs © ESTATE OF WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

photographs are on display, taken between 1980 and 2000, evoking the theme of industrialisation which was prominent in Lynch films such as The Elephant Man (1980) and Dune (1984). For fans of American art, this exhibition is a unique opportunity to gaze through the lens of photography and explore the ideas and influences of three important American artistic figures.

tures in the world, and planned to become the centerpiece attraction of a land development known as the Helix Project near Falkirk, Scotland. The scale models, or Maquettes, have previously been on display in Edinburgh and Chicago, and with the support of the American Scottish Foundation, Bryant Park and the City of New York Parks and Recreation they will be seen by more than 250,000 people a day during the Spring display.

Glasgow-born Andy Scott, the sculptor of The Kelpies, described the opportunity as ‘a huge privilege’, and expressed confidence that ‘they will help put Scotland, and the Helix Project, firmly on the map, not only for resident New Yorkers, but for international visitors to the city’.

Andy Scott with horses and The Kelpies COURTESY ANDY SCOTT

Andy Scott’s The Kelpies maquettes

Dale Chihuly – Beyond the Object

It may be the year of Scottish Homecoming, but it’s also the year of spreading Scottish art and culture around the world. From March 19 to April 22, 2014, scale versions of Andy Scott’s The Kelpies will be on display in New York’s Bryant Park.

The Kelpies are two 100ft steel horse heads, the largest equine sculp-

Probably best known in London for his monumental V&A Chandelier, and another chandelier in the foyer of Claridge’s, American artist Chihuly is credited with revolutionizing the Studio Glass movement and elevating the perception of the

Bryant Park, New York, United States March 19th to April 22nd

Halcyon Gallery, 144-146 New Bond Street, London W1S 2PF www.halcyongallery.com February 8th to April 5th

January - February 2014 37

The American Lumiere Blue Chandelier by Dale Chihuly © DALE CHIHULY, COURTESY HALCYON GALLERY

The Sunflowers

National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN January 25th to April 27th

glass movement from a craft to an art. He has collaborated with the greatest American and Italian glass artists, and is reknowned for his ambitious architectural installations around the world, in historic cities, museums and gardens.

This exhibition sees the artist responding to the interior architecture of the building, transforming the gallery space with his distinctive hand-blown glass sculptures, and it will be the first time he has exhibited neon artworks in the UK. ‘What I’ve always really been interested in is space’, says Chihuly, and three of the six new Chandeliers created for this exhibition will be suspended over ground installations to create a striking negative space between their pointed forms. Also pop along to Harrods and check out the first artwork ever commissioned by Harrods, Chihuly’s Amber and Gold Chandelier, which will be unveiled in the new Grand Hall on February 5th.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), Sunflowers, 1889-01, Arles, oil on canvas ©VAN GOGH MUSEUM AMSTERDAM (VINCENT VAN GOGH FOUNDATION)

38 January - February 2014

Van Gogh’s iconic ‘Sunflower’ paintings have stood the test of time, and visitors to the National Gallery in early 2014 will have a unique chance to see two of Van Gogh’s paintings in London, side by side, for the first joint display in 65 years. The ‘Sunflower’ series dates back to 1888, when Van Gogh painted pictures of the sunflowers to decorate the room of his friend and mentor, Paul Gauguin. There are five versions of ‘Sunflowers’, three currently in Tokyo, Munich and Philadelphia. The version owned by the National Gallery will be displayed alongside another version owned by the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, providing visitors with new insights into the materials used by the great artist in the development of his paintings, and how the process of making influences the meaning of the works.

Sensing Thought, 2005,wood, plexiglass volume, computerized neon setting © JAMES TURRELL, COURTESY PACE GALLERY

James Turrell

Pace London, 6 Burlington Gardens, London W1S 3ET February 7th to April 5th The work of Los Angeles born artist James Turrell isn’t often seen in the UK, but for the first exhibition of his work at Pace London, Turrell’s creativity with glass and light will be illuminated, quite literally.

Turrell’s inspiration is drawn from astronomy, physics, architecture and theology, and features panes of glass creating unique effects from a sophisticated array of LED lights.

Along with two never-before-seen pieces from his Wide Glass series, the exhibition allows both artist and audience to explore technological possibilities and sensory practices, focusing on light and space – not objects, nor images. Turrell’s work is also currently being exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art until April 2014, so this exhibition in London is a unique opportunity to see works by one of the most influential American artists of the past fifty years.

The American

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 6AR

By Craig Warner from Patricia Highsmith’s novel of the same name www.strangersonatrainlondon.com

I

n 1950 Patricia Highsmith wrote a novel called Strangers on a Train.

The next year Director Alfred Hitchcock turned it into an unforgettable movie, and now, in 2013, we get the chance to see it on stage in a very forgettable production.

Why did it take 63 years for the book to make it to the stage? Craig Warner (and director Robert Allan Ackerman) are the men who have turned what could’ve been a very interesting and tense psychological thriller into something that looks like a college production. It is not just the script and directing that are not up to par for the West End, even some of the acting is, dare I say it, not very good.

Two men meet on a train, Guy Haines (Laurence Fox) and Bruno (Jack Huston). Bruno is a very friendly guy, one who will chat to anybody and everybody. In talking to Guy, Bruno learns from Guy that he is currently in the middle of a divorce from a woman, Miriam (Myanna Buring), who may or may not be carrying his child and whom Guy wants a divorce from so that he can marry his new girlfriend Anne (Miranda Raison). Guy makes

40 January - February 2014

a casual remark that he wishes she were dead. Bruno, on the other hand, wishes his father were dead so that he can inherit his father’s money. Bruno mentions to Guy that this is what will take place, he will kill Miriam if Guy kills his father. Of course Guy doesn’t take this seriously, anyway he is too busy with his job as an architect, and is about to be awarded a huge project that will up his profile and make him rich. Bruno, meanwhile, is very serious about this proposal. They part ways. Bruno then strangles Miriam in an amusement park.

Upon learning that Miriam has been murdered, Guy forgets all about the conversation on the train.

It is only when Bruno reappears and tells Guy that he has done his bit as per their train conversation that now it is Guy’s turn to kill Bruno’s father. Guy and Anne are about to be married, and Guy continues to brush off Bruno. It is only when Bruno starts showing up everywhere, sends letters to Guy’s colleague and others stating the guy had a hand in Miriam’s death, that Guy realizes there is something very bad about Bruno. Anne and Guy get

Reviewed by Tim Baros to January 5th 2014 married, and Bruno ingratiates himself into their new lives, attending their wedding, popping up uninvited into their new house that Guy designed, and with Anne pregnant, Bruno tries to take a bigger role in their lives. Guy realizes that in order to get Bruno out of their lives, he needs to kill Bruno’s father, so he does. Once done, the story does not end there, though you wish it would. In scenes that could’ve come out of a homoerotic thriller, Guy and Bruno end up together, locked in a passionate struggle, until Guy puts an end to their misery.

As Guy Haines, Laurence Fox, playing an ordinary guy pulled into an extraordinary chain of events, is laughable, and not intentionally. He is just reciting his lines, not really acting at all. And the emotions on his face don’t seem to reflect the scenes he is in. Imogen Stubbs as Bruno’s mother, suffering after the death of her husband at the hands of Guy, gives us a poor man’s Blanche DuBois. Her accent of a southern woman is over the top.

Meanwhile, Raison as Anne needs to speak up so the audience can hear her, some of her conversa-

Laurence Fox and Jack Huston PHOTO BRINKHOFF AND MOGENBURG

Lorna Luft

- Back in Business The Crazy Coqs at Brasserie Zedel 20 Sherwood St, London W1 tions are missed because she is not loud enough. The only knight in shining armour is Huston (grandson of director John and nephew of Anjelica). He is very believable and very good as Jack, with a mustache and a dastardly cunning look. He is perfect in the role of Bruno. The only other good thing I can say about the production is that the set is extremely good, kudos to production designer Tim Goodchild.

The set is on a swivel, so every time there is a scene change, the swivel moves to a new interior, either an office, an apartment or a spooky staircase. In the scene at the amusement park where Bruno kills Miriam, they are on a Merry Go Round, which actually goes around, but nowhere in sight is the other part of the set, and surely they couldn’t have removed it that quick? It looks like some sort of optical illusion.

Another stroke of genius is when black, white and grey images of cities, buildings, and newspapers are projected onto the stage, making it look like an Alfred Hitchcock film.

So if anyone asks me if Strangers on a Train is good, I will tell them that the set is amazing!

A

fter a sell out week earlier in the year, Lorna Luft returned to Brasserie Zedel for a two-week preChristmas run and got everyone in the mood with a vivacious ‘Happy Holidays’ and you can’t get more American than that.

It was a spirited performance but with a singer possessing a voice this big in a room this small, some closer attention needed to be paid to sound levels.

In a later Yuletide section we got to see the genesis of this voice when the perky 11-year-old Lorna performed ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ with Jack Jones on her mother’s TV show. Mother of course was Judy Garland, and with an even more famous sister, Lorna has had to title her own memoirs Me and My Shadows.

Now in her sixties, she’s just come through major cancer treatment and told us how her doctor reassured her that her voice wouldn’t be affected by the treatment, but of course the songs would take on a new emotional resonance. This she demonstrated in an emotive rendition of Kander and Ebb’s hymn to resilience ‘My Own Best Friend’.

For this show she wallowed

Reviewed by Jarlath O’Connell in the Great American Songbook (and there’s no harm in that) and it helped in her linking the material that folk like Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Comden & Green all spent a lot of time round their place during her formative years.

Jerry Herman is a particular friend and Luft’s belter voice and merry bluster is a perfect fit for numbers like ‘Dearie’ or ‘Wherever He Ain’t’. ‘Martha the Megaphone Watson’ is her aptly titled comic alter ego from her White Christmas show (she added a character not in the movie), she gave us songs from that and the touching Songs My Mother Taught Me including ‘The Man That Got Away’ and ‘Rockabye’.

In an unashamedly sentimental set, she didn’t push any boundaries but she is a part of showbiz history and can deliver the goods. We also got a loving tribute to the great Dorothy Fields and an odd ‘Not even nominated’ medley that links many great standards merely by the fact they didn’t get nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song.

While this was a flimsy excuse for a medley, arranged by her accompanist (and husband) Colin Freeman, Lorna’s forgiven, as they’re all great songs.

January - February 2014 41

PHOTO NOBBY CLARK

The American Reviewed by Jarlath O’Connell

Candide

Menier Chocolate Factory, 53 Southwark St, London SE1 1RU Music by Leonard Bernstein Lyrics by Richard Wilbur Book adapted from Voltaire by Hugh Wheeler Additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, John Latouche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker and Leonard Bernstein

T

he theatrical powerhouse that is the Menier Chocolate Factory strikes gold yet again with its now annual Christmas musical. It’s as regular as panto. This year’s Candide surpasses even their highest standards and is one of the best sung and most cleverly staged productions in town.

The sprawling tale of a quintet of simple folk who endure one horror after another as they flee war and persecution across 18th century Europe and South America contains some of Bernstein’s greatest tunes, but it has had an undeservedly chequered performance history.

Originally developed with Lillian Hellman, they used Voltaire’s novel to satirise people who sail through life with an attitude of blind optimism, oblivious to the horrors around them, a complacency they saw as far too rife in early 1950s America. With a busy Bernstein at his professional peak the show had many false starts and opened on Broadway in 1956 to rave reviews but poor audience response. Since then Bernstein reworked the book a number of times, most successfully in Hugh Wheeler’s revised libretto in 1973, which is used here.

The breathless narrative switches from Westphalia to Lisbon (and its earthquake) and Paris and

42 January - February 2014

Buenos Aires and many points in between, ending up in Venice, and designer Paul Farnsworth liberates the piece by staging it in the round, thus avoiding lots of tedious scene changes. Director Matthew White and choreographer Adam Cooper together give the piece a rumbustious energy, which is totally captivating in such an intimate space.

There is beautiful attention to detail in how scenes are blocked to benefit audiences on all sides and witty design elements, such as using large drapes to conjure up storms or mountains. Gareth Owen’s sound design too is an object lesson in how you balance the voices of soloists and chorus coming at you from four corners of a room.

And what singers they are in this stunning chorus, under the musical supervision of David Charles Abell.

In the leads James Dreyfus brings his customary comic panache to Pangloss, Cacambo and Martin and David Thaxton shines as the gloriously vapid Maximilian. In the difficult role of Candide (how can you not present him as a sap?) Fra Fee couldn’t be more perfect. He is innocence personified and has the voice of an angel. He is going places and you’re not likely to forget that name.

Like Hamlet without a Prince,

Candide without a great Cunégonde would be a non-starter and here they have safely and correctly called in the Strallens. This time it is Scarlett Strallen and while we all know that family can dance, what is a revelation here is Scarlett’s stunning soprano voice. But very few sopranos are blessed with her acting ability (or looks), and she turns the great ‘Glitter and Be Gay’ into a three act opera all on its own, not even sparing the chandelier.

She navigates the piece’s uncertain changes of tone throughout with effortless ease.

It is this unevenness of tone that many find unsatisfying about it and no doubt the reason is too many cooks spoiling the libretto. For the most part the show is a black satire of mankind’s warmongering stupidity, however as one tragedy after another besets this hapless troupe, diminishing returns set in as regards emotional impact. Problems then arise when it switches gear into heartfelt arias which can come across as insincere. It’s an intractable problem with this book but when the music is this brilliant, it is churlish to grumble. In many ways this dichotomy sums up the great Bernstein himself - the great intellect and the great showman fighting for supremacy.

Seussical the Musical Arts Theatre Great Newport Street London WC2H 7JB artstheatrewestend.co.uk to January 5

T

he Holiday Season: that time of the year that one yearns to soak oneself in childhood joy and wonder, something Sell A Door Theatre Company provides us with in their new, vibrant, joyful production of Seussical The Musical at the London Arts Theatre.

This show’s standout feature is its narrator and master of ceremonies, The Cat in The Hat, played with mischievously authoritative charisma (oh Matt Smith, what a lot you have to answer for!) by Elliot Fitzpatrick. His charm, his wink, and commandingly roguish presence endear him to us as he takes us on a magical journey through the wonderful world of Seuss.

The story, while a tad on the complicated side - my precocious six year old’s attention strayed - is worthy and moving: the epic quest for Horton to rescue the tiny, invisible Whos of Whoville and bear them to somewhere they can live in permanent safety. It conveys the message of the underdog and the morally upstanding individual willing to stand against society to do the right

Reviewed by Peter Lawler PH

OT

thing by those that are unable to protect themselves. And it’s even got a love story between Horton and Gertrude McFuzz at its core.

But more than that, at many points, it conveys the natural musical rhythm of Theodor Geisel’s work with catchiness and a contemporary twist. There are moments that feel a bit too contemporary and jarringly un-Seuss-like in their poppy, radio-soul sound, an element not at all helped by the decision to do the music as pre-recorded backing tracks. This may be the reason that, try as the cast might to put their all into it, the show somehow felt like it was holding back and therefore hard to invest in completely.

Nevertheless, the simple, stay-with-you quality of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens’ songs and the dazzling visuals of this nostalgic extravaganza really propel the performance.

From the running theme of ‘All the thinks you can think’, to flamboyant strains of Mayzie La Bird, played with marvelous pizzazz and sparkle by Jessica Parker, to the

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foot-stompingly hearty rendition of ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ that, I have to admit, I was disappointed to see did not develop into a fully fledged mashup of Seuss tales, the vocals and Richard Evans’ kaleidoscopically minimalist set make this a feast for the eye and ears.

The show just about wins on nostalgia as well. There are plenty of references to a choice few classics from the Seuss canon, but a few more, say a classic like The Sneetches or Fox in Socks perhaps, would have been welcome. And the mixture of accents was jarring for this American’s ear - are we celebrating the great man’s genius or the ability to universalize Seuss? Ultimately though, this production allows its whole audience, adult and child alike to enter into a sense of wonder and revel in the narratives that made many an American childhood so magical.

January - February 2014 43

Richard II

Barbican Theatre, Silk Street, London EC2 8DS to January 25 Reviewed by Michael Burland

PHOTO ELLIOTT FRANKS FOR THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

F

ive years ago David Tennant was the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Prince when he played a memorable Hamlet. Now he is the King. King Richard II to be precise, in the company’s first show in a new cycle of Shakespeare’s History plays, directed by Gregory Doran.

It’s certainly historical, but this is no docudrama, and Shakespeare’s History plays were written through the filter of the political situation of the time. But Richard II is a Tragedy too, a ‘drama based on human suffering, enjoyable to watch, but whose plot has an inevitability’.

In Richard II, it is the King’s weakness and vanity - along with the ambition and greed of his subjects - that divides the great clans of England, condemning the country to a dynastic war that lasts 100 years, the Wars of the Roses, at least, according the bard.

I’ve avoided thus far the topic that has exercised much of the press. Richard’s hair. Or rather David Tennant’s. So here goes: in Stratford -upon-Avon, where this production started before transferring to the Barbican, Tennant’s long flowing

44 January - February 2014

locks were an auburn wig, glorious but perhaps over-feminine. In London, his own hair has grown and been augmented by extensions. Much more realistic. Teamed with a floor-length white gown, the similarity to Jesus is unmissable. But there that comparison ends. Kings may have had a divine right, but this is no holy man.

The former Doctor is surrounded

by RSC veterans who combine great emotional truth with a grounding solidity: Nigel Lindsay’s soldierly Bolingbroke sets the scene with his opposition to Antony Byrne’s Mowbray. Jane Lapotaire as the widowed, vengeful Duchess of Gloucester, a magisterial Michael Pennington as John of Gaunt and Oliver Ford Davies as the Duke of York provide, in Act One, a framework above which Tennant’s Richard floats, flitting camply between these powers of the realm and his giggling, gossiping ‘favorites,’ remote from the real life machinations of his court. At one point, as his world, falls apart around him, Richard kisses his cousin and confidante Aumerle on the lips. But any

gay subtext is not overplayed, this is true affection for the one person - charismatically played by relative newcomer Oliver Rix - who stands by his king but who, in this production, becomes his nemesis.

The staging, live faux-medieval music and lighting are all magnificent and give the players the perfect setting to tell their tales. But despite the excellent tech, direction and ensemble acting, the evening belongs to Tennant, who has made his Richard special. The scene in which he hands his lost crown to his victor, Bolingbroke, is too often played heavily, the defeated Richard goading Henry to take the gold band. Tennant is brave enough to make the call of ‘Here, cousin’ sound like an owner calling a naughty puppy. His lightness of touch here, contrasted with petulance, ethereality and introspection at others, makes for a mesmerising performance.

Tickets are sold out throughout the run, but the production is being shown worldwide on theater screens. For details see onscreen.rsc.org.uk

The American

THE EL. TRAIN Three One-Act Plays by Eugene O’Neill Hoxton Hall, 130 Hoxton Street, London N1 6SH

R

uth Wilson is one of the shining lights of the British stage. A relative newcomer, she has already won two Olivier awards for A Streetcar Named Desire and Anna Christie and her screen career has taken off with a Jane Eyre and Luther, and movies such as Saving Mr Banks and The Lone Ranger.

She alone is reason enough to head east for this show, where Found Productions and director Sam Yates have hit upon a clever concept. Take three early one act plays by Eugene O’Neill and commandeer one of London’s most striking performance spaces, a gorgeous renovated Victorian Music Hall in the East End, to stage them.

To add to the sense of occasion, devise a pop up bar - an update on O’Neill’s old Greenwich Village drinking haunt - sprinkle with some great live jazz music (including the velvet voiced Nicola Hughes), to link the three plays and have them play later in the bar and you have fashioned a signature theatrical event. Admittedly the bar, which you enter via a wonderful candlelit antechamber, is more ‘vintage’ Hoxton than low class dive but if you’re in designer clothes, I guess, dives don’t really hack it?

L to R: The Dreamy Kid, The Web, Before Breakfast

But are the plays any good?

The answer most definitely is yes.

Lost plays usually make this writer shudder as they’ve often been ‘lost’ for a reason but here these three 30 minute playlets, all written and set in New York rooming houses of 1913-18, are like a primer in O’Neill.

You can see his growing gift for honing dramatic tension, his mastery of transforming the vernacular into poetry and his flaming social conscience, bursting with indignation here at the ill treatment of the weak, particularly women. Two are directed by the up and coming Sam Yates and the final play marks the directorial debut of Wilson herself.

‘Before Breakfast’ is a monologue for a harried and exhausted wife who bemoans her loafer husband (offstage) whilst trying to get him out of bed. Wilson is riveting from the outset, her character’s rebellion tempered by an underlying fear of the wastrel poet who leaves her to struggle. She’s a Lower East Side Juno.

In ‘The Web’ the tension is ratcheted up further as a consumptive prostitute does battle with her cruel pimp while trying to keep her infant child. Her knight in shining armor turns out to be an African American

PHOTOS MARC BRENNER

Reviewed by Jarlath O’Connell neighbour, who bursts in to rescue her. Wilson’s face is heartbreaking to behold as we watch her over the course of a few minutes experience being thrown a lifeline and the possibility of a new start, only to have it cruelly snatched away again in a tragic and bungled shoot out.

Simon Coombs provides stalwart support as the hero on the run.

‘The Dreamy Kid’ takes us into an African American home where Nicola Hughes (atypically in drab mode) plays a feisty Grandmother on her deathbed calling for her delinquent grandson. Coombs again is stunningly dapper and totally compelling as the beloved Dreamy. He is symbolically torn between his duties to her as she breathes her last, and his desire to stay one step ahead of the law, who are on his tail.

All three are mini masterpieces in dramatic tension and like a perfect short story they make you long for more. Richard Kent’s simple designs, Neil Austin’s stunning lighting, and Alex Baranowski’s original but period perfect music, brilliantly played by a 6 piece band, combine to make this a totally immersive experience. An admirable labor of love by all concerned.

January - February 2014 45

THEATER PREVIEWS

The American

PHOTO JACK LADENBURG

The American

Birdsong

Ellen Terry with Eileen Atkins

Birdsong on Tour PHOTO: SHAUN WEBB

Urinetown the Musical

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, London SE1 9DT to February 23rd

February 12th to June 28th

St James Theatre, 12 Palace Street, London SW1E 5JA February 22nd to May 3rd

Dame Eileen Atkins gives the first Shakespeare performance at the new Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Atkins takes inspiration from Ellen Terry, one of the finest Victorian Shakespearian actresses - as she takes on the role of a dozen parts, from Viola to Volumnia, from Lady Macbeth to Desdemona, to shed light on female characters and their depiction in the Shakespearian canon.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Savoy Theatre, Strand, London WC2R 0ET March 10th to November 29th Olivier, Tony and BAFTA- winning Robert Lindsay (The Lion in Winter, My Family) and comedy star Rufus Hound (One Man, Two Guvnors) are no strangers to the stage, and in this re-make of the classic 1988 film starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin, they step into the shoes of Lawrence Jameson and Freddy Benson, two con-men in competition on the French Riviera. Directed and choreographed by Tony award winner, Jerry Mitchell, and also starring Katherine Kingsley as the millionaire soap heiress, Christine Colgate, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels promises to bring mischief and mayhem to the West End.

46 January - February 2014

To mark the centenary of the outbreak of the World War I, Rachel Wagstaff ’s stage adaption of Sebastian Faulk’s novel Birdsong will tour the UK. The play tells the story of young Englishman Stephen Wraysford and a dangerous affair with the beautiful Isabelle Azaire which is torn apart by the First World War, and the role that Stephen must play in leading his men into the Battle of the Somme.

The novel is a classic of modern English literature, and during its tour will be performed in locations including Salisbury, Durham, Birmingham, Exeter, Cork (Ireland), Dundee and Belfast among others.

Happy Days Musical Tour

A successful stint on Broadway between 2001 and 2004 has paved the way for Urinetown to première in the UK at St James Theatre. A musical comedy with a dystopian twist, Urinetown takes audiences to a city in the future where a terrible 20 year drought has been inflicted on the citizens, and where mandatory pay-per-use public toilets operated by the ‘Urine Good Company’ aim to keep water consumption down.

Get caught short and you risk being caught red handed, and taken to ‘Urinetown’ – a mysterious place where many are sent but from where no-one returns.

Various To July 5th

La Bohème

It’s been 40 years since the first Happy Days television broadcast, and to celebrate, a musical tour will be traveling the UK spreading the cheer.

It may not be to everyone’s taste, and it has a British cast, but it boasts Henry Winkler (the original Fonz) as Creative Consultant. For those wanting to re-live ‘50s and ‘60s America, the tour encompasses major cities including Dublin, Southampton, Glasgow, Birmingham and Edinburgh.

Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece, La Bohème, will transform the Royal Albert Hall into 1940s Paris for a mesmerising evening of opera. Puccini’s story of doomed love and tragic passion graces the stage for a limited run of fourteen performances. The rotating cast features a number of American performers, including Jessica Rose Cambio, Alyson Cambridge,

Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP February 27th to March 9th

BOOK REVIEWS Square London La Bohème

Danielle Pastin, Sean Panikkar, and Michael Chioldi. Accompanying them and their fellow cast members will be the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Oliver Gooch.

La Bohème remains one of Puccini’s most popular works, and this performance is a revival of Francesca Zambello’s successful 2004 production. In a first for this staging, the opera will be sung in Italian with English surtitles.

Blithe Spirit Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 6AR March 1st to June 7th Oscar winner and five-time Tony Award-winner Angela (Murder She Wrote) Lansbury makes a much anticipated return to the West End, reuniting with director Michael Blakemore to reprise her role as Madame Arcati in Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit at the Gielgud. Coward’s comic plot is the perfect vessel for Lansbury and her co-stars Charles Edwards, Janie Dee and Jemima Rooper.

In the process of researching for a novel, Charles Condomine (Edwards) requests the support of Arcati (Lansbury) in performing a séance. But Arcati unwittingly summons the spirit of Charles’ dead wife Elvira (Rooper), which

Natascha McElhone

doesn’t prove popular with Charles’ current wife Ruth (Dee).

The comedy twists of this play come to the stage on March 1st for an unmissable run.

Fatal Attraction Theatre Royal Haymarket, 18 Suff olk St, London SW1Y 4HT March 25th to June 21st Advance warning is necessary for the upcoming fantastic but limited fifteen week run of Fatal Attraction, directed by Trevor Nunn. James Dearden, the writer behind the original 1987 screenplay, puts pen to paper on a new adaptation for this stage production at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Fatal Attraction tells a story of obsession and revenge, and how a chance encounter becomes a living nightmare for one Dan Gallagher.

Gallagher is a successful New York Lawyer, played by Mark Bazeley (The Bourne Ultimatum, The Queen). After spending a weekend with the beautiful Alex Forrest, played by Natascha McElhone (The Truman Show, Ronin), he assumes he can return to his life unaffected. But Alex isn’t a woman to be ignored, and she pursues Gallagher and his family with terrifying consequences.

Tickets are on sale now, and will sell fast, so hurry!

Gary Powell Matador, £12.99, 454 pages

Wherever you go in London, chances are you will stumble upon one of its famous squares. Square London informs and fascinates readers with the history of these locations, and reveals the secrets of those less well known. Who’d have thought that Grosvenor Square was home to a fortification of the English Civil War, or that American suffragist Hazel Hunkins-Hallinan lived by Redcliffe Square? The easily digestible format makes this an enjoyable book to read and refer to, and the stories add character to any stroll through London’s streets and squares. Author Gary Powell runs tours in the capital, and is also available to sign/deliver copies of his book in the London area (email him at powellgary_54@ yahoo.co.uk).

Daniel Byway

Anybody’s Daughter

Pamela Samuels Young Goldman House Publishing, 360 pages paperback £10.50, eBook £3.81 Brianna is a naive, 13-year-old girl who meets her boyfriend on Facebook, but going to see him for the first time, she is kidnapped and thrust into the horrific world of human sex trafficking. Her boyfriend didn’t exist. An eye-opener and cautionary tale and a must-read for every parent and teenage girl, which places the spotlight on the growing crime of child sex trafficking and warns that child predators are closer to home than you think. Sabrina Sully

January - February 2014 47

A Tale of Two Cities

The American

Alison Holmes ruminates on NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ‘Tale of Two Cities’ campaign and the danger of borrowing snappy phrases out of context

W

hy do Americans tend to use literary references with such scant regard for the original? Are they quoting out of context in ignorance or is it the temptation of the great sound bite and the increase in 140-character thinking?

The prompt for such questions is the new mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, and his ‘Tale of Two Cities’ campaign call to action. Catchy phrases do have a way of sticking around. Indeed, this one was popular even when Charles Dickens first penned it in 1859, but how does it stack up when applied to New York City?

Certainly, its opening line, perhaps the most famous in English literature, remains relevant as we enter 2014: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way...

So far so good, but what of the

48 January - February 2014

actual substance of the book and the political sleight of hand that has taken it so far out of context? It is true that the campaign’s idea was not entirely off point as the goal of the book, like many Dickens novels, was to bring attention to poverty.

However, in this case, Dickens’ keen eye was trained on poverty in Paris at the time of the Revolution - a hundred years prior to the writing of the book. The second city was, of course, London and from that, Dickens wove a complex story of class, revenge, honor - and unrequited love.

Of course, Dickens may have had a wider target of urban poverty in mind given that, in 1840 and just over a decade before writing A Tale of Two Cities he had spent time in the United States, including over a month in New York. A great deal of the eponymous character, Martin Chuzzlewit, written on his return, was influenced by this experience and de Blasio would, no doubt, be pleased with the way Dickens equated the condition of English poor with the need to free the slaves in the United States - a fight still on the horizon of American history.

Yet, during his time in New

York, Dickens did not spend his time campaigning against the evils of slavery as much as he spent it protesting American copyright laws.

Turns out his works were regularly being sold in the US without him receiving any royalties. The early US was, apparently, doing a thriving business as the Chinese copyright pirate of the early 19th century and, some might say, being ‘very New York’ about it, in that Dickens went home empty-handed.

This cultural mismatch could also be said of the de Blasio campaign theme song. Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O’Connor, a 17 year old from New Zealand who readily admits to a ‘fascination’ with ’aristocracy’, wanted to call herself simply ‘Lorde’ but felt it too masculine (as indeed it might - why not ‘Baroness’ one wonders??). The song used by de Blasio follows in this vein as evident from its title, ‘Royals’. Since his victory it has been given a huge amount of air time and is now a hit in New York.

However, while the lyrics fit the campaign’s ‘big idea’ on the surface, the concept of an antipodean with a class obsession, talking about the desire to be ‘royal’ seems so utterly retro-colonial - or perhaps even

- Really?

Left: ‘’Prise de la Bastille’’ (“The storm of the Bastille”), 1789

BY JEAN-PIERRE LOUIS LAURENT HOUEL (1735-1813) COURTESY BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE FRANÇAISE

Right: Harlem Cries PHOTO GABE GROSS

some version of a reverse ‘whinging pom‘ as to be almost satirical. For a start, republican politics (clearly NOT in the American sense) has no corollary in the United States. Second, while the disparity between the wealthiest and the poorest is intense in any large city, the largest city in New Zealand is Auckland, (Lorde’s hometown), which comes in at just under 1.5 million people.

Last year New York hit 8.3 million.

We are hardly talking a similar scale - whatever she says about tigers on a gold leash.

De Blasio is a man of the people and proud of it. He deliberately identifies with the 99% and wants to redistribute the wealth of the city to the benefit of the poor. Fine.

He won the election so let him proceed with his plans. Why take on unnecessary cultural, historical baggage? One can only assume that no one on the de Blasio team had the interest or desire to investigate the deeper cultural waters they were wading into. Or perhaps they just assumed the people of New York hadn’t heard of Charles Dickens and his famous novel?

Joe Biden could certainly offer them a tale - but this one would be cautionary and of two speeches

rather than two cities. He is the Vice-President now, but back in 1988 was the guy who stumbled and fell because he looked over the water and used another man’s speech.

Evidently bereft of his own ideas, and long before the internet made it fingertip easy to ferret out the original sources of material, he freighted in - wholesale - the words of the Leader of the Labour Party, Neil Kinnock, and paid a steep price (this delicately leaves out the fact he also plagiarized an essay in his first year law school for which he paid no price).

Of course, these episodes are not entirely comparable, we are hardly talking plagiarism, but that fingertip easy world of ideas is tempting. No longer are we forced into our own creative pools for inspiration. We can literally travel around the world and through time to find the words of the best minds.

That we don’t all steal in such ‘harmless’ ways is bound to become an even bigger question in the future.

However, politicians take snappy phrases and sound bites out of context at their peril and Mr de Blasio may need to take some care as to the role models he chooses.

By the end of A Tale of Two Cities Charles Darnay is condemned to die by the mob fever in the immediate aftermath of the Revolution and the English barrister, Sydney Carton, steps into Darnay’s place to die for the love of a woman he cannot have. No one comes out well.

We can only hope that Carton’s final cry in the novel de Blasio chose to call down over his campaign, and uttered by an innocent man stepping up to make the ultimate sacrifice for love, will continue to guide the new Mayor in office: ‘I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss, and, in their struggles to be truly free, in their triumphs and defeats, through long years to come, I see the evil of this time and of the previous time of which this is the natural birth, gradually making expiation for itself and wearing out.’

Poor Dickens still isn’t getting his proper due in New York, but at least the mayor made an elegant choice. H Dr. Alison Holmes is an international relations scholar, Associate Fellow of Oxford University, Churchill Memorial Trust History Fellow and former Fellow of Yale

January - February 2014 49

The American

DRIVE TIME

Caterham and Lotus Bikes T

wo famous British sports car brands whose histories have been linked for decades have announced within days of each other that they are to launch twowheeled motors for the first time.

CATERHAM, a Lotus dealer, took over production of the iconic ‘Seven’ sports car when Lotus boss Colin Chapman stopped making the retro car, still a highly popular lightweight roadster regarded by many as the closest experience to motorcycle riding on four wheels. The brand was bought in April 2011 by Tony Fernandes and Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun, and they

Detroit Lives!

T

he 2014 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) proved that the Motor City is still a thriving part of the global automo-

Caterham Brutus 750 – ‘the first two-wheeled SUV’

have decided to take a leap and bring out Caterhams with two fewer wheels.

Three prototypes were unveiled at the International Motorcycle Exhibition in Milan. The staggering, genre-busting, automatic transmission Brutus 750 (pictured above) is described as the ‘SUV of motorcycles’, and can operate as a street bike, off-road machine or even a snowmobile, conversion taking less than four hours. Classic E-Bike is an all-electric bike with retro styling and a range of up to 50 miles which does not require the rider to have a license in the EU. Carbon E-Bike is a ‘premium electric bike inspired by F1 technol-

ogy’. All the new bikes aim to ‘adhere to the brand’s ethos of delivering accessible fun’, and will be ‘affordable’.

LOTUS have undergone several changes of ownership over the years and the current bosses have also gone two-wheel crazy. But in a very different vein to Caterham’s. Their idea of a modern bike uses technology derives from their involvement in F1, and the styling seems to be a hybrid of a carbon-fiber hypercar, a pre-WWII retro superbike and the cycles from Tron. More details will follow, but don’t expect this hyperbike to be cheap & cheerful.

tive industry, with 50 new vehicles, the majority being for worldwide sale, being launched in snowy Michigan.

NAIAS Chairman Bob Shuman

said the optimism and confidence on the show floor reflected a healthier American auto industry, a stronger overall economy, and the continuing importance of the NAIAS. “We rocked it,” said Shuman.

“Nothing can compare to the excitement in Detroit this week.”

Vehicles making their debuts at NAIAS ranged from Ford’s latest full size F150 truck, with a revolutionary aluminum body, to the race-inspired Cadillac ATS Coupe, to the Nissan Autonomous Leaf and Chrysler’s sleek, new Chrysler 200.

The Volkswagen Beetle Dune pictured here is only a concept, but from the attention it grabbed, VW might make it real.

The American

A Mustang For Europe - and Britain T

he Ford Mustang has been an American icon for 50 years - 9 million have been sold since April 1964 and it is ‘the world’s most-liked vehicle on Facebook’ - but it has never been officially sold in Europe.

That changes as the 2014 Mustang was simultaneously unveiled in Barcelona, Spain, and five other cities around the globe, December 5.

The new car, still built in America at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant, has all the visual impact of a classic Mustang. “You only get one chance to make a first impression and when you see this car, you immediately see a Mustang strong and true,” says Moray Callum, Ford’s design director.

His brief was to include key ‘Stang design cues including a low roof height and wide stance, a sleek profile with steeply sloped windshield and rear glass, three-dimensional, tribar tail lamps and a contemporary iteration of the signature ‘shark-bite’ front fascia. Job done.

The Mustang comes in fastback and convertible flavors. European models have a choice of power plants: a 426 horsepower, 5.0 liter V8 and an all-new 2.3 liter EcoBoost engine that uses a turbo, direct fuel injection, and variable cam timing to give reasonable fuel efficiency

and CO2 emissions plus “a broad, flat torque curve that pours out when you stand on it, for easy passing or hustling down a twisty road,” according to Dave Pericardia, Mustang chief engineer. The EcoBoost plant may be small but it punches above its weight with 309 horsepower and 407 Nm [convert to lb ft] of torque.

Selectable Drive Modes adjust steering effort, engine response, and transmission and electronic stability control settings. Ride and handling should be good, with a new double ball-joint front MacPherson strut system and an all-new integral-link

independent rear suspension forget the beam rear axle of old. For the traffic light Grand Prix, manual transmission versions of the Mustang GT include launch control as standard.

If you’re planning to stay in the UK, you might want to wait before parting with your hard-earned.

For the first time a right hand drive Mustang will be on sale from early 2015. The price hasn’t been announced, but insiders have hinted the EcoBoost model will start around £30,000, with the V8 model coming in at £5,000 more.

January - February 2014 51

The American

Get ready for the offseason! Richard L Gale’s take on the football-free (?) months ahead

O

kay, just the Super Bowl to get out of the way, and finally we can get on with the offseason.

Woohoo! (Wait... what?). Yup the offseason is like spring football for real football nerds, which I’m unashamed to admit I am. Right now – or at least by the time you read Going No.1? As expected, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel has declared early for the NFL Draft. If he provides as many column inches to the pro offseason as he did last college offseason, it’ll be no dull summer.

PHOTO: GLEN JOHNSON/ TAMU ATHLETICS

this – there’s two teams still chewing through that last pesky playoff game before everybody officially knows their draft position and we get the postseason bonanza underway.

Thanks to a May Draft, in 2014, more than any year in history, the pretence that the NFL is on its holidays is utter fantasy. Here’s the breakdown of what’s happening in non-football football this summer:

February

Feb 2: That Super Bowl game.

Feb 5: Over to the college craziness of National Signing Day, as teenagers don their non-salaried caps of choice and speak to the world’s media before begging a signature off their moms.

Feb 17: Teams start to tag ‘franchise’ and ‘transition’ players (the guys whose free agency rights go on temporary lockdown in exchange for major NFL index-linked moolah).

Feb 22-25: Stopwatches at the ready, it’s the NFL Combine. Players run, jump and Wonderlic their way up the magnetic walls of NFL War Rooms.

March

Mar 8-11: Teams are allowed to contact and start negotiations with agents of unrestricted free agents.

The magic hour and day is 4pm ET, March 11, as they spend the day (1) exercising 2013 contract options for 2014, (2) offering up some qualifying offers on restricted free agents, and (3) submitting minimum salary

52

offers to 2013 contract-expirees who they want to keep exclusive rights to for just that little bit longer (if they don’t have enough free agency rights from past season). Yeah it all sounds a little dull, but come that 4pm deadline, every team has to be under the 2014 salary cap, so it’s pretty dang exciting for NFL team capologists. Expect some last minute cuts to sting worse than your Christmas credit card bill.

Mar 23-26: We interrupt your March Madness viewing for rumored rule changes and trade gossip from the Owners Meeting, Orlando, Florida.

April

Apr 7: Offseason workout programs may begin for teams that hired new head coaches.

Apr 21: The rest of the head coaches start their offseason workouts.

The rest of April: the NFL draft buildup reaches unprecedented volume, with an extra two weeks to fill, and Johnny Manziel (left) descending on the NFL like a latter-day Tim Tebow (only with more QB skills).

May

May 2: Restricted free agents must sign offer sheets by this date.

May 7: Prior team gets their last chance to exercise right of first refusal on restricted free agents.

May 8-10: The NFL Draft is already under four months away, and if you listen carefully you can already hear the hiss of Mel Kiper revving his hair.

But there’s still plenty of time for the

The American Adrian Peterson will certainly be carrying the rock again for the Vikings, and Matt Cassel is an evens bet for wearing purple, but salary cap woes could halt Troy Polamalu’s run as a Steeler.

league’s worst to out-think themselves.

PHOTO © GARY BAKER

June

Even I can’t pretend this one is a glorious month for football obsessives, but there will be fallout on the contract front. On June 2, old clubs have to send tenders to free agents which, if not signed by July 22 or whenever training camp starts, have to be negotiated and signed between that and the 10th week... no, I can tell I’m losing you. Actually, even I’m even losing me. Admit it, you’re watching baseball instead. But don’t miss the draft grades in the June issue of The American.

July

Jul 15, 4pm ET: Any team that tagged a ‘franchise’ player needs to get them signed to a multi-year contract or extension by this date, or he can only sign a one-year contract.

Mid-July: Preseason training camps are open for rookies and first year players! It’s back! Coaches are finally blowing whistles again! Seven days later, the returning veterans come wobbling into town too, followed about a month later by disgruntled skill position hold-outs looking for a fresh contract.

Jul 22: More free agency stuff.

Who cares? Players are in pads, and football writers are starting their preseason columns.

August

Football games! Quarterback competitions, injury-watch, and the last chance to get that fantasy football team started.

September

Meaningful football games! (...and the preparation for the NFL Draft begins anew).

Cap Room for London-bound Teams The end of the NFL season means goodbye to the 2013 vintage of every team’s roster as the offseason shuffle begins. Some teams are better prepared for it than others, or at least in a more flexible position.

Some of the London-bound teams should be very active, with the Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins amongst the teams with the most cap room, according to online cap gurus overthecap.com (though you probably wouldn’t have needed a capologist to guess that the Raiders and Jaguars don’t have a lot of value on their rosters right now).

The good news for the Dallas Cowboys is that while they are in one of the worst positions for wiggle room (basically, their wiggle room is the

penthouse suite and the concierge is headed towards them with a stern expression), most players are under contract. Then again, is that good news for a roster going 8-8?

Two of the most interesting rostervigils for the coming year are headed to Wembley. Detroit just hired former Colts head coach and QB teacher Jim Caldwell with both eyes locked on Matthew Stafford.

The Lions’ have limited cap room, and Stafford is disproportionately expensive for the wins Detroit has enjoyed. Meanwhile, the Dolphins, who have the room, have a lot of starters to protect. The annual exodus of key players from Miami may be exactly why ex-GM Jeff Ireland has just waved goodbye to his time in South Florida.

January - February 2014 53

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Is Domination Dull?

Daniel Byway muses on the state of motorsport

S

porting dominance isn’t new in motor racing; think Sébastien Bourdais – four-time Champ Car Champion; Dario Franchitti – fourtime Indycar Champion; Michael Schumacher – seven-time Formula One World Champion or Jimmie Johnson – now a six-time NASCAR Champion.

Then think of the latest headline in sporting domination, Formula One’s Sebastian Vettel, whose victories in the US Grand Prix in Texas and the Brazilian Grand Prix contributed to a record nine race winning streak during the 2013 season. At races throughout that streak, Vettel was notably booed by sections of the crowd during podium proceedings. Can domination of this level detract, rather than enhance, a driver’s popularity?

Vettel hasn’t been the only recipient of jeers when in dominant form. Questions on Jimmie

54 January - February 2014

Johnson’s popularity command as many column inches as reviews of his driving skills, and no Michael Schumacher book is complete without multiple chapters on his controversial spells at the top.

But this negative feedback seems to me to have less to do with a driver’s intrinsic popularity, and more to do with sport’s need to inject drama into proceedings at every opportunity.

Jared Turner of FOX Sports recently posited the notion that Johnson’s popularity with the fans has improved having won his sixth NASCAR title, after missing out on the championship in 2011 and 2012.

But the Chase has been much closer since 2011 when Brian France, Chairman of NASCAR, announced changes in the points systems to create more “Game 7 Moments”, NBA Play-off speak for

those ‘do-or-die’ final seconds to decide who wins and who goes home empty handed.

It worked in 2011, Tony Stewart becoming Champion on a tie-break after finishing level on points with Carl Edwards. It also seems to have worked in 2013, Matt Kenseth vs Jimmie Johnson read like a bout of mammoth proportions in the lead up to the final race at Homestead.

But therein lies the problem; domination removes competition, and those epic battles between big names is what creates energy, generates buzz and gives the sport its vibe.

Fans tune in not only to support their favorite driver or team, but to see them compete with top quality opposition. Vettel may have been booed at circuits en route to a dominant title in 2013, but in 2010 when the Formula One World Championship went down to the

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wire and Vettel won his first title as a marked outsider, he was applauded for his tenacity in the face of tough opposition. It seems in the absence of competition, the person under most scrutiny is the driver who’s defeating all opponents. But is this really fair? Can we really blame those who rise above the competition?

Undoubtedly, all those drivers named above have performed superb feats. But even Dario Franchitti, considered by many as a popular figure on the Indycar circuit, was booed on winning his third Indianapolis 500 in 2012.

Have we as fans lost perspective on sporting accomplishment? I found myself tuning out of NASCAR during Johnson’s reign, and Formula One hasn’t felt as exciting with Vettel’s dominant grip. But aren’t their successes the logical, and indeed exceptional, consequence

Above: Sebastian Vettel - focussed or bored?

Above Left: Sebastian Vettel in action for Red Bull Racing PHOTOS COURTESY OF RED BULL RACING © GETTY IMAGES

of our desire for competition? We crave drivers to raise the bar, but when one driver raises it too far and others can’t respond, we lament.

Formula One’s answer for 2014 is to double the number of points available for the season ending race in an attempt to prolong the competitive life of the season and avoid situations like 2013 when Vettel won the title with races to spare.

But the rejection by fans around the world has been a refreshing reminder that artificial competition isn’t satisfying, that altering the rules at the expense of pure racing doesn’t solve anything.

Perhaps in the end, the solution is to look at history. Vettel may not be in competition with his rivals on

track, but he’s in constant competition with the history books. Arguably Vettel and Red Bull Racing’s greatest feats are those that are compared to previous team/driver combinations, as they are a real threat to record-holders such as the Schumacher/Ferrari dominance of the early 2000s.

We ought to be looking at those questions. Can Vettel overcome Schumacher’s seven World Titles?

Can anyone, let alone Johnson, overcome Richard Petty’s record of 200 NASCAR victories?

All motoring purists want to see the best challenge the best, so the only way to find out if Vettel and Red Bull are to continue with this impressive reign, or if the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso can return to the front, is to sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy. Competition never really goes away in motor sport.

January - February 2014 55

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Meet TNA Knockout Gail Kim Josh Modaberi, The American’s fight fella, talks to one of the finest female wrestlers of her generation

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The formidable Gail Kim PHOTO © LEE SOUTH, IMPACT WRESTLING

56

ail Kim is one of the best female wrestlers of her generation to step foot inside the squared circle. She won the WWE Women’s Championship in her first match with the company and is the current and three time TNA Knockouts Champion.

Having worked for both companies Kim says TNA having a female, Dixie Carter in charge of the company is the biggest difference between the two major grappling companies in America.

“They are two very different companies and I’ve worked for both companies twice now,” the 36-yearold explained. “I found that my first run with the WWE was the golden era and they did give us a lot of time with story lines and characters as well as time to work in the ring.

“When I first went to TNA, I had a small role of managing and then we went on to create this Knockouts division. If you watch the two products, the Knockouts will have great matches consistently and we’re

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Gail Kim at TNA Impact London, 2013 PHOTO © INTERBEAT

more about the product in the ring.

“We have a president, Dixie Carter who is a female and she has always supported the girls in being sexy but also in the ring being athletic and I think that is the biggest difference.”

Kim has been in the wrestling business for 13 years now, as she made her debut in December 2000, and she doesn’t hesitate when talking about her greatest achievement.

“I have accomplished so much more than I ever dreamed of when I first started out on this adventure and taking my first bump,” Kim added. “I guess the biggest highlight for me was winning the first ever TNA Knockouts championship because that was a long fought battle to even have that women’s division happen.

“Winning that first title meant the world to me because I had worked so hard for that moment. I won the WWE Women’s Championship on my debut but to be honest I’m always going to be grateful for that, but I hadn’t worked for that moment and I did work for the TNA Knockouts Championship moment.

That will always be the biggest moment of my career in my eyes.”

TNA embark on their annual tour of the UK at the end of January and Kim, who resides in Tampa, Florida and has family in the UK, says the tour is her highlight of the year.

“The UK tour is actually my favorite part of the year being a talent on this roster,” she continued.

“The fans over there in the UK are unbelievable, they only get to see us once a year, they are so respecful and they appreciate all of the hard

work that we put into our product.

“Just to get to see the fans at the meet and greets before the shows in each city is unbelievable. I have family over in the UK and it is extra special when they get to watch me perform live.

“I’m so excited for this year's tour we are heading to Dublin, then we are going to be filming a live episode of IMPACT! in Glasgow, we’re doing more television tapings in London and then we are filming PPV’s in Manchester and Birmingham, it’s an amazing time every year.”

Follow Gail on Twitter @gailkimITSME. Tickets for TNA UK 2014 Tour are available from www.facebook.com/ tnawrestlinguk January - February 2014 57

Eagle Eyed Experiment with Hibernation, says Darren Kilfara

I

’m looking out of my living room window on a winter morning, and the sky is a uniform, dull gray. The Met Office website tells me today’s temperature along the East Lothian coastline will not exceed eight degrees Celsius, with winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour and rain predicted for the afternoon. I keep my slippers on and wrap myself in an extra sweater. Today, just like every day for the past two months, I’ve decided against playing golf.

When I was young, I played golf in the cold of winter almost as naturally as in the heat of summer.

In fact, I vividly remember that the first full shot I ever holed – a 110-yard four-iron, for birdie – came in a Thanksgiving tournament on a bitterly chilly day in Georgia. As a student in St. Andrews I played frequently through the winter, the novelty of links golf being too exciting to pass up. As a newlywed living in London, my golfing opportunities were limited, and I would never refuse a tee time at any half-decent course even in the icy depths of January. And now that I again live in coastal Scotland, for the past few years I’ve represented my club in the East Lothian Winter League, enjoying competitive matchplay in

58 January - February 2014

the format – foursomes – most able to neuter the worst effects of bad weather.

This year, though, my attitude has somehow changed. I remain in reasonable physical condition, and my thirst for competition remains unquenched, but I have other climate-controlled outlets – curling, badminton – through which I can satisfy those urges. And I have come to fully realize that the game I have played between November and February is far inferior to the one I play the rest of the year.

Ghastly weather aside, the winter golfer must endure inferior turf and sand conditions, bogus winter tees and (occasionally) greens, torso-inhibiting layers of extra clothing, and the arthritic sting of thinly hit iron shots. Even the most foolhardy winter warriors should agree that empirically, these are not good things. Driving snow or a waterlogged pitch might enrich a soccer match or football game with unusual thrills, but professional golf migrates south for the winter with good reason.

So I’ve not played any golf yet this winter. Like any recovering addict I feel withdrawal symptoms – anxiety and sadness that I’m

SNOW GOLF PHOTO© JOHN HASLAM

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becoming just another fair-weather golfer, no longer willing to suffer for his art – but my wife interprets these as “sanity”, and I suspect she might be right. I’m sure I’ll help out my Winter League team once or twice, and maybe even enter the odd monthly medal out of habit, but I suspect I’ll hate myself for trying: golf is rarely played well when it is played sporadically. On the contrary, a long hibernation may be just what I need. By March, hopefully all of my bad habits and muscle memory will be long forgotten, and I’ll approach the 2014 season with a vigor undiminished by winter toil.

This is what I tell myself.

As I finish this column, it is now the afternoon, and the weather forecast was accurate – it’s raining quite heavily now. I think I made the right decision to stay inside.

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.

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January - February 2014 61

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62 January - February 2014

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Petroleum Women’s Club of Scotland pwcscotland@yahoo.co.uk www.pwcos.com Pilgrims of Great Britain Allington Castle, Maidstone, Kent M16 0NB. Tel. 01622 606404 Fax. 01622 606402 sec@pilgrimsociety.org

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

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

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 Petroleum Women’s Club Contact: Nancy Ayres.

Tel: 01923 711720 nanayrs@btopenworld.com

Brookwood American Cemetery The American Battle Monuments Commission Superintendant: Craig Rahanian Brookwood, Woking, Surrey GU24 0BL 01483 473237 www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/bk.php Cambridge American Cemetery (WWII Cemetery) The American Battle Monuments Commission Superintendent: Bruce D Phelps Madingley Road, Coton, Cambridge CB23 7PH 01954-210-350 cambridge@abmc.gov 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

North American Connection (West Midlands) PO Box 10543, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands. B93 8ZY T: 0870 720 0663 info@naconnect.com www.naconnect.com

British Patton Historical Society Kenn Oultram 01606 891303

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

Thames Valley American Women’s Club Membership: Claire Mangers-Page PO Box 1687, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 8XT. 01628 632683 www.tvawc.com membership@tvawc.com

New Neighbors Diana Parker, Rosemary Cottage, Rookshill, Rickmansworth, Herts WD3 4HZ. 01923 772185

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

Propeller Club of the United States – London, England propellerclubhq.com

International American Duplicate Bridge Club Contact: Mary Marshall, 18 Palace Gardens Terrace, London W8 4RP. 020 7221 3708 www.ycbc.co.uk/american.htm

Kensington & Chelsea Women’s Club President: Susan Lenora. Tel. 0207 581 8261 president@kcwc.org.uk Membership: 0207 863 7562 (ans service). membership@kcwc.org.uk

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

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

UK Anglian Shrine Club (Master Masons) Secretary: David A. Mostyn Long Furlong House, Holt, Norfolk NR25 7DD 01263 740223 davidmostyn@longfurlong.plus.com W.E.B. DuBois Consistory #116 Northern Jurisdiction Valley of London, England, Orient of Europe Cell: 0776-873-8030 mjack36480@aol.com

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

Women’s Writers Network Cathy Smith, 23 Prospect Rd, London, NW2 2JU. 020 7794 5861 www.womenwriters.org.uk info@womenwriters.org.uk

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

MILITARY 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

Joint RAF Mildenhall/Lakenheath Retiree Affairs Office Co-Directors Dick Good & Jack Kramer Unit 8965, Box 30 RAF Mildenhall, Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk, IP28 8NF 01638 542039 rao1@us.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

January - February 2014 63

The American

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

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

US Air Force Recruiting Office Bldg 239 Room 139 RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk IP28 8NF +44-1638-54-4942/1566 phillip.guffa@mildenhall.af.mil

American School in London 1 Waverley Place, London NW8 0NP Tel: 020 7449 1200 Fax: 020 7449 1350 www.asl.org admissions@asl.org

Retired Affairs Office, RAF Alconbury Serving Central England POC: Rex Keegan Alt. POC: Mike Depasquale UK Postal Address: 423 SVS/RAO, Unit 5585, Box 100, RAF Alconbury, Huntingdon, Cambs PE28 4DA Office Hours: Tuesday and Friday, 10:30am–2:30pm 01480 84 3364/3557 Emergency Contact: 07986 887 905 RAO@Alconbury.af.mil

64 January - February 2014

Butler University, Institute for Study Abroad 21 Pembridge Gardens, London W2 4EB 020 7792 8751 www.ifsa-butler.org/england-overview.html

EDUCATIONAL

US Army Reserve 2nd Hospital Center 7 Lynton Close, Ely, Cambs, CB6 1DJ. Tel: 01353 2168 Commander: Major Glenda Day.

US Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point)

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

Western UK Retiree Association President: R. Jim Barber, MSgt (USAF), Ret Phone: 01280 708182

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.

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

Director: Callum Kennedy, 16 Bowling Green Lane, London EC1R 0QH. 020 7251 3472 www.bunac.org enquiries@bunac.org.uk

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

Reserve Officers Association London Col. B.V. Balch, USAR, 72 Westmoreland Road, Barnes, London SW13 9RY memberservices@roa.org www.roa.org

2nd Air Division Memorial Library The Forum, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 1AW 01603 774747 www.2ndair.org.uk 2admemorial.lib@norfolk.gov.uk

UK Chapter President: Allison Bennett bennett.ac@gmail.com Facebook: Kings Point Alumni - London/United Kingdom

American School of Aberdeen Craigton Road, Cults, Aberdeen.

01224 861068 / 868927.

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

Boston University – London Graduate Programs Office 43 Harrington Gardens, London SW7 4JU. 020 7244 6255 www.bu.edu/london British American Educational Foundation Mrs. Carlton Colcord, 1 More’s Garden, 90 Cheyne Walk, London SW3.

020 7352 8288 www.baef.org anncolcord@compuserve.com BUNAC Student Exchange Employment Program

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 Dwight School London Formerly North London International School Viviene Rose, Admissions Director 6 Friem Barnet Lane, London N11 3LX 020 8920 0600 vrose@dwightlondon.org www.dwightlondon.org European Council of International Schools Executive Director: Jean K Vahey Fourth Floor, 146 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9TR Tel 020 7824 7040 www.ecis.org ecis@ecis.org European-Atlantic Group PO Box 37431, London N3 2XP 020 8632 9253 justinglass@btinternet.com www.eag.org.uk Florida State University London Study Centre Administrative Director: Kathleen Paul 99 Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3LH. Tel 020 7813 3233 Fax 020 7813 3270 www.international.fsu.edu/london/ intprog1@admin.fsu.edu

The American

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.islschools.org mail@ISLschools.org International School of London in Surrey Old Woking Road, Woking GU22 8HY Tel +44 (0)1483 750409 Fax +44 (0)1483 730962 www.islsurrey.com mail@islsurrey.com Ithaca College London Centre 35 Harrington Gardens, London SW7.

Tel. 020 7370 1166 www.ithaca.edu/london bsheasgreen@ithacalondon.co.uk Marymount International School, London Headmistress: Ms Sarah Gallagher George Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT2 7PE Tel: 020 8949 0571 info@marymountlondon.com www.marymountlondon.com Missouri London Study Abroad Program 32 Harrington Gardens, London SW7 4JU. 020 7373 7953. www.umsl.edu/services/abroad/universities/ molondon.html web_office@umsl.edu

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 Syracuse University London Program Faraday House, 48-51 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AE http://sulondon.syr.edu 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 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,

January - February 2014 65

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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 Tiffi n, 52 Lansdowne Gardens, London SW8 2EF Wendy Tiffi n, 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 Business School Alumni Club of London 6 Petersham Mews, London SW7 5NR www.cbsclublondon.org londonadmin@gsb.columbia.edu 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

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 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 Georgetown Alumni Club Alexa Fernandez, President GeorgetownLondon@Yahoo.com Gettysburg College Britt-Karin Oliver brittkarin@aol.com Harvard Business School Club of London www.hbsa.org.uk Harvard Club of Great Britain Brandon Bradkin, President president@hcuk.org www.hcuk.org

Details changed? Let us know email sabrina@theamerican.co.uk Indiana University Alumni club of England Anastasia Tonello, President 020 7253 4855 iuinlondon@yahoo.com www.alumni.indiana.edu/clubs/england 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/

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.

Mount Holyoke Club of Britain Rachel L. Elwes, President rlelwes@yahoo.com Karen K. Bullivant Vice-President kkbullivant@alumnae.mtholyoke.edu www.mtholyoke.co.uk

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

Notre Dame Club of London Hannah Gornik, Secretary: ND_Club_London@yahoo.co.uk

66 January - February 2014

NYU Alumni Club in London

Jodi Ekelchik, President alumni.london@nyu.edu

NYU STERN UK Alumni Club Matthieu Gervis, President sternukalumniclub@hotmail.com Ohio University UK & Ireland Frank Madden, 1 Riverway, Barry Avenue, Windsor, Berks. SL4 5JA. Tel 01753 855 360 Fax 01753 868 855 frank@madant.demon.co.uk 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 Princeton Association (UK) Carol Rahn, President Jon Reades, Young Alumni carol.rahn@orange-ftgroup.com jon@reades.com www.alumni.princeton.edu Rice Alumni of London Kathy Wang Tel. 07912 560 177 kathyw@alumni.rice.edu Skidmore College Alumni Club, London Peggy Holden Briggs ‘84, co-ordinator 07817 203611 peggyhbriggs@gmail.com Smith College Club of London Kathleen Merrill, President smithclubgb@googlemail.com http://alumnae.smith.edu Stanford Business School Alumni Association (UK Chapter) Robby Arnold, President Lesley Anne Hunt, Events robby@blueyonder.co.uk lesley.hunt@blueyonder.co.uk www.stanfordalumni.org.uk Syracuse University Alumni UK Faraday House, 48-51 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AE SUalumniUK@syr.edu www.facebook.com/SUalumniUK 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

The American

Texas A&M Club London Co-Presidents Ashley Lilly, Devin Howard 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 UConn Alumni Association ucaa@uconnalumni.com UMass Alumni Club UK Julie Encarnacao, President (0)20 7007 3869 julesje32@gmail.com University of California Matthew Daines (Program Director) 17 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3JA 020 7079 0567 matthewdaines@californiahouse.org.uk University of Chicago UK Alumni Association President: c/o Alumni Affairs and Development – Europe, University of Chicago Booth School of Business Woolgate Exchange, 25 Basinghall Street, London EC2V 5HA Tel +44(0)20 7070 2245 Fax +44(0)20 7070 2250 www.ChicagoBooth.edu

US Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point) UK Chapter President: Allison Bennett bennett.ac@gmail.com Facebook: Kings Point Alumni - London/United Kingdom USNA Alumni Association, UK Chapter President: LCDR Greta Densham ‘00 (gretaj@mac.com) Vice President/Treasurer: Tim Fox ‘97 (timfox97@ hotmail.com) Secretary: Mike Smith ‘84 (Mike.Smith@polycom.com) Facebook Group - USNA Alumni Association, UK Chapter Vassar College Club Sara Hebblethwaite, President 18 Redgrave Road, London, SW15 1PX +44 020 8788 6910 sara.hebblethwaite@virgin.net Warnborough Worldwide Alumni Association c/o International Office, Friars House, London SE1 8HB Tel. 020 7922 1200 Fax. 020 7922 1201 www.wwaa.info admin@warnborough.edu Wellesley College Club Farida El-Gammal ‘98, President www.wellesley.edu/alumnae/groups/clubs/intlclubs/ wellesley_uk_club WCLondon@alum.wellesley.edu

ARTS American Actors UK Administrator: Kelly Harris, 07873 371 891 www.americanactorsuk.com

SPORTS Eagles Golf Society Sharon Croley c/o Eventful Services, 49 Hastings Road, Croydon, Surrey CRO 6PH sharoncroley@blueyonder.co.uk English Lacrosse PO Box 116, Manchester M11 0AX 0843 658 5006 info@englishlacrosse.co.uk www.englishlacrosse.co.uk British Baseball Federation/ BaseballSoftballUK 5th Floor, Ariel House, 74a Charlotte Street, London W1T 4QJ. 020 7453 7055 British Morgan Horse Society 01942 886141 www.morganhorse.org.uk admin@morganhorse.org.uk Ice Hockey UK 19 Heather Avenue, Rise Park, Romford RM1 4SL Tel. 07917 194 264 Fax. 01708 725241 www.icehockeyuk.co.uk ihukoffice@yahoo.co.uk

Wharton Business School Club of the UK Yoav Kurtzbard, President Claire Watkins, Administrator 020-7447-8800 ykurtzbard@youngassoc.com cwatkins@youngassoc.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

Williams Club of Great Britain Ethan Kline: ethankline@gmail.com

Herts Baseball Club Adult & Little League Baseball www.hertsbaseball.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

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

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/

Zeta Tau Alpha Alumnae Kristin Morgan. Tel: 07812 580949 kristinamorgan@gmail.com www.zetataualpha.org

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

University of Illinois Alumni Club of the UK Amy Barklam, President 07796 193 466 amybarklam@msn.com

University of Virginia Alumni Club of London Kirsten Jellard, 020 7368 8473 londonuvaclub@yahoo.com http://members.aol.com/UKUVACLUB/UVA-london.htm

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

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

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

We rely on you to keep us informed. Every effort is made to ensure that these listings are correct but if your entry requires amendments please tell us. Send profiles, news or articles about your organization for possible publication in The American. email sabrina@theamerican.co.uk, tel +44(0)1747 830520, fax +44(0)1747 830691

January - February 2014 67

The American

Thames Valley American Women’s Club

ORGANIZATION FOCUS

I

f you are interested in forming new friendships, the Thames Valley American Women’s Club would like to welcome you. The TVAWC is an informal social club, open to all women in the area who are North American, or who have close ties to the USA or Canada.

The club offers friendship and support, and suggests local resources to expat families living in the Thames Valley. Every Tuesday, the club meets for a walk, activity, luncheon or book club. Holidays such as Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are also celebrated.

“If you have recently moved to the Berkshire area, this club is for you. It is important to form new friendships when you are away from home. I moved to Wokingham after living in Dubai for three years, and was thrilled to meet the TVAWC members. Because our club is small

(around 30 members), we all know each other pretty well. You don’t have to feel intimidated about walking into a large room of people where you don’t know anyone,” says Claire Mangers-Page, president of the club.

By joining the club, members have the opportunity to explore the beautiful area of Berkshire. Sometimes there is a walk at a National Trust property, followed by a coffee or tea, and a chance to relax and chat. The book club meetings take place in the homes of members.

Luncheons might be in restaurants in Henley-on-Thames, Windsor, Eton, or Marlow, for example. Activities might take place in a museum, at a winery or a garden centre.

Families are also included in some events, such as the Halloween party, which is fun for the kids. In the evenings, there may be a Bunco party in

a member’s home, or a pub dinner, including husbands and partners.

“We are always open to new ideas and new places to meet. We have done Nordic walking at Cliveden with an instructor, toured Hampton Court Palace, painted pottery, learned about plants at Wyevale Garden Centre, and enjoyed afternoon tea and some fabulous meals. We even saw Her Majesty The Queen in her carriage on the first day of Ascot, as she traveled through Windsor Great Park,” Claire says.

The dynamic and inclusive TVAWC is a non-profit organization with no religious or political affiliation, and meets primarily to socialize and help one another.

The group is diverse, with members of all age groups, backgrounds and interests. For more information on the club and membership, please visit the website, www.tvawc.com

Members of the TVAWC enjoy a walk in The Royal Landscape at Windsor Great Park, a thousand acres of landscaped gardens, lakes and woodland. Pictured in front of the totem pole are (from left): Claire, Marie, Colleen, Ashley, Trish and Patricia.

The American EDUCATION Florida State University in UK Over 50 years of experience in international education.

99 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LA 020 7813 3223 www.international.fsu.edu

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 aff ordable 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 Hayden T Joseph CPA, PA Honest fixed fee tax compliance for individuals and small businesses. US Expat Returns from £200.

UK Tel:+447554905143 US Tel:+3056515580 Derren@HTJosephCPA.com www.htjosephcpa.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

FINANCIAL ADVICE

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

Tanager Wealth Management LLP Integrated financial and investment advice for US expats living in the UK provided by US expats.

Global account consolidation, UK/US savings and retirement planning together with investment advice. Contact us for a no obligation meeting or telephone conversation.

020 7871 8440 www.tanagerwealth.com contact@tanagerwealth.com @tanagerwealth

INTERIOR DESIGN

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

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Rolando Luci Luxury lighting, including American brands, some unique to the UK. 01778 218121 www.rolandoluci.co.uk

LEGAL Setfords Solicitors Family lawyers and mediators with particular experience in expatriate cases.

01483 408780 www.setfords.co.uk lthomas@setfords.co.uk

Coffee Break Answers

1. The day after tomorrow; 2. A Kindle; 3. F; 4. Horses; 5.The King of Hearts; 6. January 25; 7. a) Tommy Hilfi ger; 8. b) 1983, but fi rst 8 1 2 4 6 7 5 9 3 observed in 1986; 9. b)1985; 10. c) Snowdrop; 3 6 1 5 7 8 9 4 2 11. c) Blood Donor (the others are in February); 9 8 5 1 4 2 6 3 7 12. October; 13. Alaska; 14. Gerald Ford; 4 2 7 6 3 9 8 1 5 15. Thomas Jeff erson; 16. a) $5; 17. Bank of America; 18. Introducing The Beatles; 19.

2 5 4 7 9 6 3 8 1 Poverty; 20. Nuclear war; 21. Michael Dukakis; 1 3 9 8 5 4 7 2 6 22. c) Theodore; 23. Florida; 24. Nothing, the 6 7 8 2 1 3 4 5 9 ‘S’ pointed to his two Grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young. 25. Aunt Jemima; 26. a) Leonard; 27. A hash tag/square symbol; 28. Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah; 29. Charles Lindbergh, in 1927; 30. c) 29; 31. St. Louis; 32. Charlie Chaplin; 33. Seward; 34. The Beatles; 35. Muhammad Ali; 36. He was killed, along with 34 others, in a 1996 plane crash in Croatia, on a trade mission.

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Swiss movement, English heart

Swiss made / Self-winding automatic movement / 38 hr power reserve / Marine grade stainless steel case / Uni-directional bezel / 300m (1000ft) water resistance / 4.0mm Anti-reflective sapphire crystal / SuperLuminovaTM indexes, bezel marker and hands / High density rubber strap / Bracelet, NATO and leather versions also available / Diameter: 42mm / Calibre: Sellita SW200-1 / 5 year movement guarantee

Showroom at No.1 Park Street, Maidenhead. To arrange a personal appointment, call +44 (0)1628 763040