The Transmitter Issue 8 by Transmission Publications Ltd

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ISSUE 8 OCTOBER 2009

CONTENTS ROCK MEMORIES 8 BRIGHTON PETER EVANS REMEMBERS THE RIALTO CINEMA IN CHURCH ROAD FACTS 10 FILM WE HUNTED DOWN A FEW LINKS BETWEEN FILMS AND THE LOC AL AREA IS BACK 14 SCI-FI HOWARD MALE LOOKS AT THE BUG-EYED MONSTERS COMING YOUR WAY IN SEARCH OF KEN RUSSELL'S WALLPAPER 16 WE HUNT FOR REAL EVIDENCE OF THE GREAT DIRECTOR'S LOC AL HISTORY 20 JUMP! JONATHAN MAIN TALKS TO A LOC AL ACTING LEGEND NADIM SAWALHA OF A FILM-MAKER 22 DIARY WE STOLE MARK ADDERLEY'S DIARY AND PRINTED IT...(DON'T TELL HIM) BANG FILM FASHION SHOOT 25 SMASH WE CELEBRATE THE REOPENING OF SMASH B ANG WALLOP IB OR NOT TO IB 32 TO WHAT'S IT LIKE TO DO THE INTERNATIONAL B ACC ALAURÉAT? THE PORK CHOPS 36 DOWN NADIA SAWALHA SUFFERS THE FATE OF THE FAMOUS IN SAINSBURY'S ALBERT'S TABLE 38 TRANSMITTER FOODIES GET SOME POSH NOSH IN CROYDON ARE YOU CHEWING GUM? 40 MICHAEL EYRE TAKES A SIDEWAYS LOOK AT SOME C ALIFORNIAN WINES A WORLD OUT THERE 43 THERE’S HOWARD MALE REVIEWS SOME NEW MUSIC RELEASES THE BOOKSELLER 44 JONATHAN AND MORE GREAT BOOKS WHAT'S ON 46 SOME STUFF TO SEE AND DO ROUND HERE

www.thetransmitter.co.uk 3

Editor

Andy Pontin

Sub Editors

Jonathan Main Annette Prosser

WELCOME TO OUR FILM ISSUE!

From the Editor

Regulars

Liz Clamp Justine Crow Michael Eyre Howard Male Nadia Sawalha Sue Williams

Design

Smash Bang Wallop Simon Sharville

Printing

The Marstan Press Ltd

Contact

editor@thetransmitter.co.uk

The Transmitter is published by Transmission Publications Ltd Registered in England 6594132 PO Box 53556, London SE19 2TL

Cover

Liv as Uma

Styling, hair and makeup by

Heather Morris at fortyseven

Photography by

Smash Bang Wallop

Dear Transmitter readers, I am very happy to present our film issue. We've been wanting to do this since T#1, and right now seemed the perfect time. If we all play our cards right, we could get a fab independent cinema right here in Crystal Palace. That means getting off our butts and signing petitions, writing to councils etc - it's dull but think of the reward! See how to get involved on page 6. Last week, while finalising the content for this film issue I noticed that WH Smiths in Victoria Station had all film magazines placed on the same shelf as Nuts and directly below Men Only (any female Transmitter readers unfamiliar with these titles can hazard a guess as to their target readership from their titles). I pondered for a moment as to why WHS had these 'magazines-of-general-interest-regardless-of-sex' all filed under 'trivial-weak-minded-easily-distracted-moneywasting-male'. That can't be right, I thought. There was a 'film issue editorial meeting' scheduled at Transmitter Towers later that very day, so I made a mental note to slide this to the top of the agenda to see if any of the worker bees could offer some insight into WH Smith's inexplicable shelving policy. As the appointed time came for the meeting to start I noticed we looked a bit light on attendees. 'Justine not here?' I asked Jonathan. 'She couldn't make it. Sends her apologies.' 'Anyone heard from Annette?' I tried. 'Annette just texted to say she was busy with Liz in Balham.' 'Oh, Liz not coming either then...Don't suppose Nadia's coming?' 'No' 'Helen?' 'No, she had to dash off.' Said Howard, 'So, what's this thing on the agenda about WH Smith's film magazine shelving policy?' he continued. I Looked grimly around at the assembled potbellied, middle aged males. 'Forget it.' I said. Oh, and before I forget, we are going to have a Transmitter Short Film Festival...if you want to submit a short film (up to 10 minutes long) our judging panel will be selecting the best for a gala screening around halloween time (well a few beers down the Numidie with a projector, but it'll be fun!) See the Transmitter website for more details on the judging panel and the rules and all that stuff. Doesn't matter if its shot on a flip or a BIG RED ONE - just so long as it's short! Anyway, enjoy the issue! Andy P

LOCAL news FOR LOCAL PEOPLE CENTENARY CELEBRATION LAUNCH

THE MANAGEMENT

Imagine Croydon have your say...

Monday 5 October, 5 - 7pm The Phoenix Centre, Westow Street, Upper Norwood

reparations were being made in Crystal Palace Park two days in advance, with the puttingup of marquees, testing of sound systems and constructing of outdoor challenges. And a good job they started early too, as on Saturday 5 September, over 6000 London members of Girlguiding UK got together for the launch of a year-long celebration of the organisation’s centenary. That’s a lot of Rainbows, Brownies and Guides all in one place at one time. Crystal Palace was chosen as a venue to commemorate the actions of two brave and feisty girls, one hundred years ago, who approached Robert Baden-Powell at a Boy Scout Rally in the Park and demanded ‘something for the girls’. In just a few short months, the Guide movement was born.

At the six-hour event Rainbows, Brownies and Guides could take part in numerous activities including circus skills, dance workshops, zip-wires and climbing walls and, when a bit of down-time was required, could even get their nails painted. There was live music too, including a performance at the Bowl by new London boys FranKo (very popular) and a good old (High School Musical) sing-a-long.

According to one local Brownie it was all ‘really, really good’ with the best bit ‘definitely the inflatable obstacle course’. Girlguiding UK has also been responsible for the renovation of the maze in the park, undertaken with the support of the London Borough of Bromley and the London Development Agency and help from artists Leo Brook and Tiffany Black. Local Guide groups have been involved in the redesign of the park’s historic feature, which includes the introduction of native British trees and the restoration of the grand entrance with its arc of Lombardy poplars. The official opening took place during the launch celebrations, presided over by Chief Guide Liz Burnley (pictured here with members of the 3rd Gipsy Hill). The new maze has remained true to the original layout, and next time you’re there keep your eyes peeled for ten new artworks (granite monoliths featuring emblems of nature significant to the Guide movement ) which you can search for as you race your way through the hornbeam bushes to be the first to arrive in the centre. All together now, ‘I promise to do my best …'

www.girlguiding.org.uk

The Council is currently seeking resident's views on the 'Imagine Croydon' long term visioning project. In tandem with this work, the Council has begun producing its Core Strategy. The Core Strategy Issues and Options - Initial Report is the first important step in preparing Croydon's Local Development Framework (LDF). The LDF is a suite of planning documents that will guide development and shape the places that make up the borough over the next 20 years (it replaces the old style UDP 'The Croydon Plan'). The Core Strategy is a "spatial plan". Spatial planning is all about places. It gives physical and geographic expression to the economic, social, cultural and ecological policies and priorities of the borough. It also provides a way to direct investment to achieve better places. The initial consultation report sets out how the borough should develop over the next 20 years and provides the basis for the other lower tier planning policy documents to follow. Whilst making sure we build enough homes, shops, jobs, schools, health, leisure and recreation facilities, it will also outline how we will protect our natural and built environment and adapt to climate change. www.croydon.gov.uk/ planningandregeneration/ planningpolicy/ldf/corestrategy

The Kingsway Church (KICC) have now submitted a planning application for change of use of the old Gala Bingo Hall, from D2 (leisure) to D1 (place of worship). Copies of the application are online at www.bromley.gov.uk/environment/ planning/planningapplications and

are also on show at Bambino, Church Road and at the Upper

Buy the T-shirt!

Now

is the time to make Bromley Council aware of our objections to this proposed change of use. Sample objection letters are available at Bambino, Church Road and The Bookseller Crow, Westow Street, or can be downloade from www.picture-palace.org

Norwood Library, Westow Hill.

A Big Public Meeting & Rally is planned for early October. Date, time and venue to be advised. check www.picturepalace.org for updates.

Campaign T- shirts

Available from Frankie and Lola and The Bookseller Crow, both on Westow Street SE19

www.picture-palace.org

shop openings saturday 26th

CRYSTAL PALACE TRIANGLE SEES A FLURRY OF NEW SHOPS OPENING THE WEEKEND OF 26 SEPTEMBER - JOIN IN THE FUN! SMASH BANG WALLOP Gift Shop and Gallery

Personal Training Studio

TRAINING POINTS

SECRET GUITAR SHOP Music Emporium

GRAND REOPENING This Weekend

OPENING PARTY This Weekend

OPENING DAY This Weekend

Saturday the 26 Sept from 10.00am

Saturday the 26 Sept from 12.00pm

SBW is back with all your favourite stuff and lots of new surprises. Palace pictures (dinos 'n stuff) Lovely gifts Kids bits & pieces Fab and affordable silver jewellery NEW!! Vintage couture jackets & dresses

• •

Everyone welcome! to join and book 30 min free Personal Training 15 min free Sports Massage.

Guitars, amplifiers and lots of other music related paraphernalia

You are also able to book our group sessions like Pilates, yoga, core, body conditioning, baby massage & pre/post natal exercises.

Cone along and enjoy a glass of sparkling wine - all day Staurday.

Come and explore our new space and have something to eat & drink.

40 Westow Street SE19

85 Church Road SE19

Want to know where the magazine stylists go?

Haynes Lane Market Crystal Palace Furniture Collectables Vintage Music Art Books

Haynes Lane (bottom) SE19

THE SECRET GUITAR SHOP & music emporium 

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We buy and sell for cash Guitars, amps and all music related paraphernalia

Fashion

GRAND OPENING TOMORROW SATURDAY 26th

Open Tuesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 11-5 www.hayneslanemarket.com

We are at the bottom of Haynes Lane, turn LEFT and we are outside Antenna Studios.

That's it, the secret's out . .

call: 07946 545 463 7

BRIGHTON ROCK MEMORIES By Peter Evans

was in love with movies before I fell in love with books. And just as it is possible to be in love with two women at the same time, I have remained faithful to both ever since. But one never forgets one’s first love, or where it happened. For me it was at the wonderful old Rialto cinema in Church Road, a glorious art deco monument to entertainment, built in 1928 – just one year after Al Jolson sang Mammy in The Jazz Singer and brought the curtain down on silent movies forever. My first memory of the Rialto dates from 20 years after that, when the film-makers John and Roy Boulting brought their star, Richard Attenborough, and the Sunday Pictorial film critic Dick Richards, to the Rialto for a gala showing of their 1948 hit, Brighton Rock. I was too young to appreciate that

the film was based on Graham Greene’s classic book, or pay attention to the fact that Greene and Terence Rattigan had adapted it for the screen. But I was terribly impressed with Richard Attenborough’s performance as Pinky, a teenage gangster in a suit and rakish hat. I became a fan then, and remain so until this day. I was in short pants, or would have been if I hadn’t slipped into a pair of long trousers to get into an ‘A’ certificate for the occasion. It was the first seriously glamorous night I had ever spent, and the attending celebrities were the first bold-print names I had ever met – I think I told my mother that I had ‘mingled with’ the stars in

the foyer, but she was still furious with me for coming home so late, it was past nine, the way mums are when they are worried – and whose autographs I collected. For me that evening made the Rialto and Crystal Palace the two most exciting places on earth. And still as I walk past the old cinema, the now defunct Gala Bingo Hall, I recall that special evening and wonder how many others remember that time when the stars came to the Palace in the austere years of the 1940s.

Many years later, after I became a Fleet Street columnist, and later an author, I got to know the Boulting brothers, Dick Richards, and Dickie Attenborough (Now Lord Attenborough), very well. But I never mentioned the time I first met them. The very fine journalist Dick Richards wrote me a letter to say how much he enjoyed the daily column I wrote from New York for Beaverbrook’s Daily Express – when the Express was a broadsheet, and

a paper to be reckoned with. But I never had the nerve to tell him that long ago I collected his autograph at the Rialto, Crystal Palace. When I wrote The Mask Behind the Mask, the bestselling biography of Peter Sellers, the Boultings wanted to buy it for a movie (they had made Sellers a star in such films as Heavens Above and, of course I’m Alright Jack). I didn’t tell them either that in my bag of memorabilia I had their autographs.

Now they are gone, and Dick Richards, too. But thankfully Dickie Attenborough is still with us. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Rialto could be restored to us and, once again, become the most exciting place on earth? Peter Evans latest book is Nemesis: Aristotle Onassis, Jackie O, and the Love Triangle That Brought Down the Kennedys (HarperCollins)

film facts! WE DUG UP SOME TENUOUS MOVIE LINKS BECAUSE WE WERE A BIT BORED Our Mother's House (1967)

Ken Russell

The Italian Job (1969)

Directed by Jack Clayton - seven

Michael Caine was directed by Ken

Michael Caine's famous "You're only

children decide to raise themselves

Russell in the Harry Palmer episode

supposed to blow the bloody doors off!"

after their mother dies. All goes well

Billion Dollar Brain in 1967, just two

scene in The Italian Job was shot in

enough until the arrival of their no-

years prior to The Italian Job. Ken

Crystal Palace Park.You can clearly see

good father (Dirk Bogarde). But at least

Russell lived at that time in Church

the transmitter behind Charlie Crocker

he takes them for a boat ride around

Road, Upper Norwood, SE19.

(Michael Caine) in this scene.

the Crystal Palace dinosaurs! (below) Ken Russell most likely discovered this area while filming a1960 short film Architecture of Entertainment/ Journey into a Lost World in which John Betjeman takes a boat trip around dinosaur island and is portrayed Indiana-Jones-like going through the mist and bushes to be confronted with the demons.

Michael Caine as Charlie Crocker

In the final sequence Betjeman ponders that although the old Crystal Palace is no more, its replacement (the

Michael

transmitter) offers as much variety, and

Standing as

to a much bigger audience.

explosives

See more about Ken Russell on page 16.

'expert' Arthur

Georges Delerue's lovely, melodic scoring for Our Mother's House made headlines 17 years later when it "influenced" Quincy Jones's music for The Color Purple (he copied it basically and won an Academy Award for it!). Arthur blows slightly more than the van doors off in Crystal Palace Park. Noel Coward, The Italian Job music was by Quincy

also appeared in

Jones; Yup, that ever-so-British

The Italian Job, as

sounding knees-up cockney pub song

'Mr Bridger', the

"Self preservation society" was actually

mastermind behind

written by an American - genius!

the heist. His grandad had

Quincy Jones

been the organist at the Crystal Palace.

ulwich resident Ian Glen (below in a still from 1988 film The Fear) is a top notch actor seen in lots of TV and film roles as well as plenty of critically

acclaimed 'serious' work such as playing Macbeth, Hamlet and Henry V with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was recently seen as one of the Fielding brothers in C4's riproaring historical costume drama City of Vice.

dulwich Secrets

Glen worked with Nicole Kidman (below with Glen) in west end hit The Blue Room which required both actors to get naked.

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise settled

Our sources tell us that Tom Cruise (above)

As well as the worthy stuff, Glen also keeps

briefly in Dulwich Village in a suitably big gaff

and Nicole Kidman's adopted son Connor

his bank manager happy with lets-get-a-

(above). The couple were in London on an

attended Dulwich College (below) for a

british-thesp-for-evil-baddie roles in big bucks

18 month shoot for the sexually charged film

short time while Nicole was living in Dulwich

American action films like Resident Evil and

Eyes Wide Shut directed by Stanley Kubrick.

- handily near her Blue Room co-star Ian Glen.

Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie (below).

Dulwich College was founded in 1619 by

Dulwich College was used as a location for

Elizabethan England's top thespian Edward

Tomb Raider (2001) where Lara Croft played

"Ned" Alleyn.

by Angelina Jolie (right) can be seen in the College Great Hall (above) during the auction

Alleyn was portrayed in the 1998 film

at the beginning of the film.

Shakespeare in Love by Ben Affleck (above). Alleyn could afford to found a college after making loads of cash as the proprietor of several playhouses, bear-pits and brothels.

go JASON! Jason Maverick is a multi-skilled entertainer based in Crystal Palace. A mime artist and contact juggling specialist, he zigzags between corporate entertainment and street theatre events. A former international athlete, he has performed in more than 20 countries since 1987. Jason's recipe for water Tried to make water today 2 spoons of hydrogen 1 spoon of oxygen It worked But to be honest I think I made it …a bit too runny

Jason Maverick

Jason Maverick as Dr Manhattan

Tel: +44 (0) 7976 690941

image courtesy www.thefoundcollective.com /Secret Cinema

PLAQUE fact! Boris Karloff was born in 36 Forest Hill Road, East Dulwich.

PLAQUE fact! Will Hay lived at 45 The Chase, Norbury, SW16 from1927-1934

PARK fact! Brit hotties Joely Richardson and Anna Friel walk aimlessly around Crystal Palace Park with a bunch of other supposedly 'cool' twentysomethings in an episode of Stephen Poliakoff's The Tribe (1998)

Look out for exciting opera and theatre events at cinemas in autumn The metropolitan opera Live in Hd 2009-10 season

Sat 10 Oct 2009, 6.00 - 9.30

Sat 24 Oct 2009, 6.00 - 10.00

Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca

GiusePPe Verdi’s aida www.picturehouses.co.uk/metropolitan_opera

All’s Well That Ends Well

Thursday 1 october 6.45 pre-show, 7.00 curtain-up

by William shakespeare

www.picturehouses.co.uk/ntlive

cLapham picturehouse

greenwich picturehouse

the ritzy, Brixton

0871 704 2055

0871 704 2059

0871 704 2065

www.picturehouses.co.uk

SCI-FI is back The science fiction and fantasy movie is alive and well, and coming to a cinema near you. Howard Male looks back at its history and promising-looking future.

We may still be a long way off from getting a movie theatre back in Crystal Palace but there's still Brixton and Beckenham offering multiscreen facilities in which you can see films as they are meant to be seen; as full-on, in-yourface experiences rather than just emanating from the small screen in the corner of your sitting room. And the one kind of film that has always demanded to be seen as a fully immersive widescreen experience is the science fiction or fantasy movie. So I advise you to stop reading now if you don't know Captain Kirk's middle name, or if the opening music of 2001 A Space Odyssey leaves you as cold as outer space rather than filled with awe, because the sci-fi movie is back with a vengeance this year, with several more new releases in the run-up to Christmas. Already we've had the successful rebooting of the Star Trek franchise which miraculously met with both the approval of the hard-core Trekkies and the hard-nosed critics. (Star Trek gets 4 Transmitter Stars. It's awesome, it's out on November 17 and I'm gonna buy me a Bluray player! - Ed) Then, later in the summer, there was a far more lowkey offering from David Bowie's son, Duncan Jones (It can't be a coincidence that Moon - the tale of a lone astronaut, missing his wife and slowly going crazy - has come out at the same time as old odd eyes' 40th anniversary edition of Space Oddity, however much Duncan wants to distance himself professionally from his father's influence).

But Moon reminded all of us sci-fi fans how rare the thoughtprovoking sci-fi film is. Considering what a substantial audience there seems to be for such films, it's extraordinary how short the list of truly great sci-fi films is. One can go back to the classics of the 50s , 60s and 70s, such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet, Fahrenheit 451, Solaris and The Man Who Fell to Earth (back to Bowie again.) But then there was a real dearth of material in the 80s and 90s with only Blade Runner and Terminators 1 and 2 springing to mind as having genuine substance and vision. However, more recently, that old sci-fi sentimentalist Spielberg has been giving as something edgier than E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind with his flawed but very watchable A.I., spoilt only by an absurdly protracted ending, and his darker remake of War of the Worlds which boasted some genuinely haunting imagery even if, in this instance, the ending seemed curiously rushed. But the best of Spielberg's recent efforts was an excellent adaptation of Philip K Dick's Minority Report. This complex and dazzling murder mystery makes the viewer question the very nature of free will, while messing with your mind in the way that only the best sci-fi can. (shame they both had Tom Cruise in them -Ed) Great science fiction has always had the power of Greek myth in the way that it recontextualises we human beings so as to shed

new light on what makes us tick. For example, no scene in a movie better deals with the notion of The Self and how tenuous our grasp of it is, than the heartbreaking moment in Blade Runner when the suspiciously flawless Rachel finds out she's a replicant rather than a human being, and that her treasured memories are in fact just implants. But unfortunately the worst sci-fi is just bug-eyed monsters and intergalactic fireworks, so the genre remains under appreciated. However, here we are in the autumn of the dizzyingly futuristsounding year of 2009 AD, with what looks like it might be quite a healthy crop of new sci-fi and fantasy films to feast our minds and eyes on. First up there's District 9, a film in which the insect-like alien visitors are impoverished refugees who have been with us on Earth for some twenty years.This plotline gives the film the opportunity to do what sci-fi does best, which is to put human concerns into a fresh context in order for us to see

ourselves more clearly. The special effects are extremely good and the realistic looking depiction of life on the refugee camp, along with the nail biting (and extremely violent) action sequences make this a riveting mix of The Fly and Black Hawk Down.This is not one for the very young or the very squeamish. Whether Bruce Willis's latest vehicle Surrogates will have the same weight is hard to say. It takes us only eight years into a future, to a world in which everyone stays safe at home while their surrogates - sophisticated robot doubles - go out into the world to deal with all the stuff people don't want to. It's a perfect, peaceful world, free of fear, violence and crime.Yeah right! This is a Bruce Willis film, so it's about as likely to be free of violence and crime as a Peckham housing estate.You can be certain that the human excrement will hit the retro fan, about some 15 minutes into the movie, and a good time will be had by the audience as Bruce gets beaten within an inch of his life, before eventually winning the day.

Next up we have what might just possibly be the future of cinema. One of Hollywood's biggest directors, James Cameron, has decided to embrace the new 3-D format. Avatar is also the director's first film since Titanic and it took four years to make at a cost of over $200 million. So, needless to say, expectations are high. As this piece was going to press, opinion was divided on the trailer, and you'll have to wait until December to see the whole movie. But my suspicion is that it will be all spectacle with little to engage the viewer either intellectually or emotionally. But I sincerely hope I'm wrong. But I'm holding out much more hope for the new Terry Gilliam film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Not only because it has the dream (or rather nightmare) proposition of Tom Waits playing the Devil, but also because, while Gilliam sometimes fails to deliver on the coherent narrative front, his films are always a joy visually. And Doctor Parnassus looks to be no exception. When Heath Leger died in mid production, Johnny

Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell were brought in to fill his shoes for the remainder of the film. Only the great Gilliam would have had the nerve to try to pull off such a conceit. And the trailer looks truly mind-blowing, so fingers crossed. Finally, apologies to chic-flic lovers, arthouse retentives and historical drama addicts, for the fact that this first Transmitter movie column has stuck to matters intergalactic, but that's the way the cookie dissipates.

Howard Male 15

In search of KEN RUSSELL's Wallpaper Dressing (where the assembled critics rubbished it), that he got blind drunk on the sherry provided at the after party and spewed up in a coal bucket back in Church Road.

en Russell, now 82, lived for what is arguably the most significant creative period of his long career in film-making in Church Road, Upper Norwood with his wife Shirley. Local artist Audrey Hammond notes in her book Crystal Palace - a Pictorial Record that Russell ‘is remembered locally for insisting that Bradley’s stock Palladio wallpapers, in the days when it was a general builder’s merchants ’ We decided that this needed investigation by our team of sleuths. As Bradleys is no longer available for comment we went in search of his house to see if we could find any trace of Russell’s alleged extravagances. “Ken Russell turned up one day while I was in the bath”, we were told by Paul, who now lives with his wife Ruth in Russell’s erstwhile home in Church Road. “I opened the door in nothing but a towel and saw a huge limousine parked outside. “Hello” said the big man at the door “I used to live here, can I take a look around?” I was flabbergasted but readily agreed once I realised who he was.” After we had also sweet talked our way into the house, we investigated thoroughly and found, at the back of an upstairs bedroom wardrobe, some 60’s wallpaper. “That has been there ever since his time, we think” said Ruth. “It’s just bloody wallpaper” said Paul with a slightly incredulous look on his face, as he watched us photo-

“I remember tottering along Regent Street and collapsing in a doorway of what used to be a bank. I was moved on by a policeman so I stumbled down to Green Park and slept until it was dark.Then I got a 74 bus home to Upper Norwood and collapsed on the bed where I said to my wife, 'I think I'm going to throw up!' and she brought a coal bucket over and I did. I never listened to the critics again.' Ken Russell in EMPIRE, November 1997

Ken Russell's poofy wallpaper graphing the back of his bedroom cupboard. “This is important Paul..”said Ruth, much to our satisfaction. We nodded solemnly in agreement. “Cultural history..” I ventured. “Bloody nonsense.” Muttered Paul.

en Russell is responsible for some of the best films of the twentieth century. His thoughts on life, love and film are much sought after these days by publications such as The Times and The Observer. Perhaps his most famous scene, from Women in Love in which a naked Oliver Reed wrestles with a similarly unattired Alan Bates, is a milestone in film history. This scene, as it was shot, has its roots here in SE19, as we reveal below… Ken Russell started his career making his own short films, moving on to direct short films and dramas on famous composers for the BBC. His first feature film was French Dressing, shot in Herne Bay in 1963, but the film didn’t make much of an impact on the critics or audiences. Russell was so upset following a press showing of French

After this initial critical setback, Billion Dollar Brain starring Michael Caine was well received and then Women in Love really put Russell on the international movie map. The 70s produced career highlights with a series of controversial films, The Music Lovers,The Devils,The Boyfriend, and more music based works with Savage Messiah, Mahler, Tommy and Lisztomania. After the 70s his popularity declined. Altered States suffered production difficulties but enjoyed good box office (partly on the back of a fashion amongst young people to see it while on LSD - ah those were the days!). He went on to direct Crimes of Passion, Gothic, Salome's Last Dance, cult horror Lair of the White Worm and The Rainbow in the 80s, but the 90s and beyond saw more erratic output, with many short films that went largely unseen, although a UK TV series of Lady Chatterley was a success. In 2000 a lonely Russell posted an online personal ad. "Unbankable film director Ken Russell seeks soul mate," it read. "Mad about movies, music, and Moët et Chandon champagne." The posting found Ken a wife (his fourth), but its very existence showed how far into obscurity one of Britain's once-most famous directors had fallen. In 2007, at the age of 79 he appeared on reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother but walked out after a few days.

hirley Russell should be hailed as supreme goddess by all the Vintage lovers of Crystal Palace. Shirley was already a highly regarded designer from the early 60s when she began work on Russell's feature debut, French Dressing (1963) . She went on to receive Oscar and BAFTA nominations for her sartorial evocation of the 20s in Women in Love, won a BAFTA for Yanks (1979) and received a further BAFTA nomination for Hope and Glory (1987). She maintained her

reputation for period work with Enigma (2001). Her Times obituary read "...She could date any portrait from its clothing to within a year or two, and was frequently consulted by museums and art dealers on questions of attribution. She pioneered the use of real, historic clothes in her films, and would tour the country searching auctioned wardrobes, jumble sales and thrift shops to build up an incomparable collection of 20th century costume....".

“TV audiences are asleep in armchairs… It’s a good thing to shake them up if only to reach for the phone.” Ken Russell

Poofy - as Russell intended

iconic SCENE BORN in se19 “If you’re a young film maker, the sky’s Due to Russell’s penchant for going about in sandals and long hair, Oliver Reed called him “Jesus”. the limit. It’s “I know you’re in there, Jesus,” never been Reed screamed while pounding at door of Russell’s home. easier. If you’ve the “I saw your poofy candles through poofy lace curtains. If you don’t got talent, just your open up, I’ll kick your poofy purple front door down.” press the red Russell, trying to relax with Shirley before a warm fire, candlelight, and button.You a plate full of spaghetti Bolognese, recognised the terrifying voice. An don’t have to inebriated Reed, dressed in dinner and flanked by his current know anything jacket girlfriend, barged through the door. Screaming that he refused to do the poofy wrestling scene “in the else.” Ken Russell The following is an edited excerpt from Phallic Frenzy: Ken Russell and His Films (Cappella Books) by Joseph Lanza

Manly - as Reed insisted

poofy moonlight on a river bank” and look like a poof in “a poofy commercial,” he insisted that the bout take place, per Lawrence’s novel, in the stately indoors preferably a posh gentleman’s hall fraught with trophies and other manly knicknacks. “It’s one thing to get away with it in a book,” Russell countered, “and quite another to bring it off on screen.” But before the poofy Jesus could utter another word, Reed proceeded to demonstrate his tough love jujitsu. “And suddenly I was flying across the table, over the candles, and landing by the gas stove,” Russell recalls. Presented with an ultimatum – Reed’s way or traction - Russell rethought the scene. And a cinematic icon was born.. right here in Church Road, SE19!

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jump! WE TALKED TO LOCAL ACTING LEGEND NADIM SAWALHA

‘The only thing that matters in life is courage,’

adim Sawalha, the distinguished Jordanian born actor who has lived with his family in Crystal Palace since 1973, tells me, ‘You close your eyes and jump. That’s what it is all about. Sometimes you are lucky, and sometimes you are not, but that’s what it’s all about.You have to close your eyes and jump.’ To the consternation of his Bedouin father he decided at an early age, in preference to the more conventional career path of doctor or engineer, that he wanted to be an actor, and when he was 19 he closed his eyes and jumped to England to study acting at the Rose Bruford College in Sidcup. ‘I stepped out of the plane,’ he later recalled, ‘and I saw that the tarmac was wet. I thought, what a place – they even wash the tarmac here. I didn’t realise it rained every month in England.’

He is amused too, as he recalls his fellow students’ attitude to the laidback manner that he carried with him from his homeland – ‘always two or three minutes late for assembly’, he chuckles, ‘and then later, when I was, for once, on time, the whole class applauded me’, he says laughing. After drama school he spent 10 years working at Bush House for the BBC’s Arabic service as an actor, scriptwriter and producer – he translated Othello, Hamlet and Waiting for Godot amongst others, into Arabic – before eventually, his curiosity got the better of him and he realised, he says, that he had come to England for the experience and to learn, and not to work at a job that he could just as easily have been doing at home. Emboldened by this thought he jumped again, resigned his post and set about his acting career, initially picking up small parts, a line or two here

and there, playing a varied list of nationalities other than his own and perfecting, out of necessity, an Indian accent. He worked at both the RSC and the National Theatre and then his first major break came in 1972 with the film A Touch of Class – the comedy starring George Segal and the Oscar-winning Glenda Jackson – in which he had a supporting role, playing a Spanish waiter. The director Melvin Frank offered him three or four good close-ups and therefore a profile that promised the reward of plenty more work in the months that followed. Thirty-seven years later, in addition to his constant work on the stage (comprising a number of selfauthored one man shows including All I Want is a British Passport, his acclaimed play about Mohamed Al Fayed) he has appeared on television in everything from The Sweeney and The Avengers, to Holby

City and Murphy’s Law and in feature films as diverse as The Wind and the Lion, The Living Daylights and The Return of The Pink Panther. At one point in our conversation he jokes that he was recently in B&Q when he came face to face with an actor he recognised but couldn’t name. He realised that the other man was having a similar problem and the two simply stared at each other in baffled acknowledgement before walking away from each other without saying a word. He thinks that it may have been someone that he worked with in India on the television film Mountbatten, but he couldn’t be sure. In 2005 he was cast in the substantial role as the emir of an oil-rich country in the George Clooney produced epic Syriana. The film, deservedly, went on to win awards including a best supporting actor Oscar for Clooney, but the experience left Sawalha a little bemused when it took the Hollywood producers almost six months to decide that the language he was speaking on screen really was Arabic – to the point whereby they sent a tape to somebody in Malaysia who then listened to it before confirming that it was, indeed, the case. More recently he has played the starring role in the first independent Jordanian feature film for fifty years. In Captain Abu Raed he plays a childless widower and janitor at Amman airport, who, emptying the bins one day, finds a discarded airline captain’s hat. He wears it on his walk home and gets mistaken by the neighbourhood children for an international pilot. Sawalha is clearly delighted by the experience, saying, ‘after fifty years in cold climates I went back to play one of the nicest, the best Jordanian characters ever created.’ The film has, so far, won 27 international awards including the World Cinema Audience Award at the 2008 Sundance Festival, which makes it all

the more of a shame that it has not yet been released in the UK. Later this year he is off on another leap of faith, to the Punjab, to play a dreadlocked mystic living in a cave in the British film West is West a sequel to the hugely successful stage play East is East (he was in the original cast) and which later became an equally successful film. Finally, I mention his appearance in 1997, possibly somewhat prematurely given the wealth of his work in the last ten years, as the subject of the television

program This is Your Life. ‘That was such fun to do,’ he says, ‘and a complete surprise.’ He disappears for a moment and returns with the famous red book, the one that I had assumed was just a television prop, but no, it is a big fat souvenir of the show, of his life. He turns the pages filled with photographs of his guests, fellow actors, eminent friends, and above all, his family. ‘I was very flattered,’ he says, ‘and I know that this book will be a very nice thing to look back on one day.’ One day, I think, but not just yet. And not without a sequel.

Jonathan Main 21

diary of a local filmmaker

WHAT'S IT REALLY LIKE IN THE FILM AND TV WORLD? WE DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE. SO, WE BROKE INTO A LOCAL PRODUCTION COMPANY'S OFFICE, STOLE A DIARY AND THEN PRINTED IT FOR YOU. LIKE REAL JOURNALISTS. Monday 7th September 9am

9.45am

The staff answer in dribs and

after the summer. The

apple juice. The coffee machine

'Wife Swap'

First day back in the office pressure's on to come up with

the next high concept TV show. Big Brother's been axed, and, according to the tabloids,

Strictly Come Dancing sounds

more like Strictly Come Boxing

We’ve run out of cranberry &

drabs;

is jammed. We urgently dispatch

'Secret Millionaire'

get more juice.

(Slight pause - I don't add it

the Runner to Sainsburys to

'Bridezilla'

staff, 'Reality TV is in its

to wipe board)

I stress to my

death throes! We've got to move

'Masterchef'

fast.'

'That thing with that bloke

The time is ripe for a small

A development meeting is

pauses. No one knows what he

in media-savvy Crystal Palace)

Our development team stroll

this year. Reality TV is dying! TV Production Company (based

to wow the TV watching nation with a show that will come to define an era; a zeitgeisty

production that captures the

emotional desires and ambitions of an entire generation.

urgent development meeting

is scheduled first thing this afternoon.

*Note to self; could we already

called. Time to brainstorm.

extraordinarily swanky

front row).

haircuts. Well, I say every

I discover I've committed the

sports a very swanky haircut.

Having drawn the spider's body

ONE of them – and it is HE who In fact I haven’t a clue who he is.

be found.

telling us we've won an award. The office is palpably excited as we wait for the follow up

call telling us what we've won

out, but wipe board pens can't

thoughts of grandeur.

BBC Woman on the end of the line: 'Yes. You've won the

award for the most innovative use of Library Music beneath

rapier-wielding musketeer. Today, I am driven.

that this spider is now a

the development meeting is postponed.

*note to self (find out who

employed the Bridezilla freak)

AND telling your new programme

window of creative opportunity

idea to someone other than your grandmother and still getting a positive response. The two

secret weapons for any aspirant producer. It's taken 15 years

to piece together this bible of rules.

The office sits in stunned

'So, what do people watch?'

ultimately wear as shoes.

12.45pm

I stand poised at the top of my

silence.

for the words these legs will

graphs are the only way to

a Graphics Sequence in a Food Show.'

for stumpy legs - but no room

permanent feature in the office,

to one of the boards like a

succeed in TV. Spider graphs

BAFTA, or an RTS? We entertain

I've left just enough room

by Swanky Haired One, I set

and apple juice (you know,

bite our nails. Could it be a

as a large pot bellied torso,

With the additional discovery

permanent marker handed to me

In my humble opinion, spider

the Copella variety). We all

cardinal sin of spider graphs.

Inadvertently, using a

and why we've won it. Staff crack open some cranberry

'Bridezilla' (again from the

ONE of them – there is in fact

is there anything in it?*

Receive email from the BBC

'X Factor' 'Help Me I Stink Of Fish'

of them sporting brand new,

Swiftly, the wipe boards come

9.35am

means),

into the room – every one

have stumbled across media

gold? 'Strictly Come Boxing' -

from Hotel Babylon' (everyone

spider graph.

The morning has gone. Our

is, with every minute that passes, diminishing. In

this business, every second

you're not making a sound or creating some noise, you're

yesterday's news. Indeed, the

‘news’ section of our website, sits dormant, begging for

a headline. It’s an online albatross around my neck.

No matter how good your last

series may have been - your

I return to the document ...

Revisited'. I don’t like going

that will define you.

'Revisited' ... 'House

the kiss of death to any new

next project is always the one And if

there isn't a next project in development ... Well ... Then there’s no definition at all.

Disasters in the Sun – Revisited'

Which reminds me – we must try

It’s a funny business Telly.

camcorder when we next get

on it, and then quite suddenly

out that new High Definition commissioned.

3pm

The young Bridezilla freak

drops a piece of paper in my

in-tray. I eye him as he walks away. He's odd. He's definitely odd. There's a strange twinkle in his eye, and a smug spring in his step. He wears those

trendy meedja jeans, the type

You think you've got a grasp it has a huge fit, or seismic

earthquake, and nothing really

on the record too often. It's idea. But, I feel that we

definitively have our HIT. A derivative hit certainly, but, more impressively, a

deceptively simple little twist on an old and familiar format.

4.45pm

that revolves around the notion

Quick call to IT – shove this development news on to our Home Page. It’s a certain recommission. We have our Holy Grail of an idea.

animals suddenly 'punches

5pm

makes any sense anymore. The

ideas that commissioners once

wanted have changed overnight, and suddenly a leftfield idea of making people behave like

through', and before you know it, every channel controller

'Where's Bridezilla?'

wants a bit of the People-asPets genre.

Prodcution Manager - 'He’s left'

straw like in their narrowness

And yet – there are those

'What do you mean he’s left?'

up your nose, screw up your

pimply occasions, when you

'He’s been headhunted.'

how, but you know (you just

'What? Since he put this in my in-tray?'

that simply keep getting

narrower the nearer they get to the feet, getting so utterly

that youre compelled to wrinkle eyes and go 'oooohhhhh!!!' in pain. I swear they can't be comfortable.

I pick up his document. It reads;

'House Disasters in the Sun ...'

I blink. I look up out of the window. I remember fondly the success we scored with this

derivative little series. The

sinking patios, the earthquakehit swimming pools, the melting conservatories, and that one in which that guy was making a paella in Marbella just as

magical moments. Those goosecan't quite explain why, or absolutely bloody well know)

you've struck creative gold. It

hit with a desire to protect

'Yeah, things are moving quickly in the business. He’s gone to the company that produces Bridezilla – said you didn’t respond quickly enough to his proposal.'

also a pathological, almost

....?!*!?*

already out there' – that

(*note to self; Sky-Plus Bridezilla next Wednesday, and never – NEVER – pre-judge a man in unnaturally narrow trousers)

sort of creeps up your neck and sinks a cold knitting needle

down your spine; a combination of fear and profound,

unfettered excitement. You're and nurture the idea, but psychotic fear that 'it’s

someone is already making it – that perhaps someone has read your mind, or hijacked your email server and stolen it.

a block of iced urine fell

Well. This was one of those

through his roof, paralysing

the office, and Wham! 'House

from an aeroplane and smashed his Chihuahua from the waist down.

moments. Day One, back in Disasters in the Sun -

Join our Crystal Palace network! Find someone close by to exchange your skills with and get something done for nothing! * Get your skills listed * Promote yourself in the Triangle * Ask & answer local knowledge questions * Swap skills with Crystal Palace members Local community members have over 50 skills to offer, ranging from dog walking to design. Join the localskillswap community and exchange your skills to get something done for nothing.

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WE SAID WEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;D BE BACK.. 40 WESTOW STREET SE19 3AH SATURDAY 26 SEPTEMBER

to ib or not to ib? A nother year, another batch of record breaking A level results. One in four grades was an A in fact. What with re-takes, re-marks and syllabus re-jigs the word 'devalued' always seems to pop up in the media. Uncles telling you how much harder things were in 'their day' and now top universities asking for the new A*. Now that scares me slightly…

That’s why I am currently studying the IB. But what is the IB? as I’m so often asked by my friends. No, it's not a BTEC, nor is it some new vocational course, nor is it a venereal disease. It’s quite established I’ll have you know. The International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) is a bit different. It is a rigorous two-year course for 16-19 year olds taught in 138 countries.You study six subjects over two years, three

Higher Level subjects (your stronger, preferred subjects) and three Standard Level subjects (your supporting subjects). These must include maths, English, a science, a language, a humanity and an optional subject of your choice. For instance I study at higher level economics, biology and chemistry, and at standard level maths, English and French (killer, I know). Each exam mark is out of 7, with a maximum of 45 points. Wait, that doesn’t add up…. Oh yes, you can boost your 42 mark with up to 3 extra for doing CAS Creative, Action or Sport; Theory of Knowledge (like philosophy merged with critical thinking) and an Extended Essay (a research paper of 4,000 words on one of your subjects). Personally I enjoy the IB, at the end of GCSEs I had no idea what I wanted to do as my career or what course at university or what A levels to do for that matter. I mean, who knows what they want to do with their life at 16? I

didn’t want to be restricted and pushed into a direction I wasn’t sure I wanted to follow, so I decided to keep my options open. If you are one of those people who knows exactly what you want to do then maybe the IB isn’t for you. But surely there’s no harm in studying literature if you want to be a doctor or keeping your hand in maths if you’re a linguist? You don’t need to be a genius to study the IB, just interested. It's all about becoming a well-rounded individual and I like having the balance between the sciences and the arts. Not only does the IB allow more freedom, it’s also widely recognised by universities and employers all over the world, expanding travel opportunities.

OPEN DAYS

Tue 22nd September Wed 7th October Thu 15th October Fri 6th November 9am - 11am

✆ 020 8557 7000

www.sydenhamhighschool.gdst.net Email: info@syd.gdst.net 15 Westwood Hill, Sydenham, London SE26 6BL

SYDENHAM HIGH JUNIOR SCHOOL Independent education for girls

New science and art rooms. New classrooms. New playgrounds.

Transmitter Autumn 09:Layout 1

11/09/2009

16:09

St Dunstan’s College However the IB is not all rosy. First of all you can kiss goodbye to those free periods, also put some of your Summer aside to write your Extended Essay when it's sunny and your friends are texting you to come hang out in Brockwell Lido. And be prepared for deadlines, deadlines and more deadlines. Probably give up on sleep too (joke). But no, I think it is something to feel immensely proud of. When I’m done I’ll look back and think 'I was up for a challenge'. Did I mention we break up almost a whole month before A level students, before they have even gone on study leave? So at least the extra long summer is some consolation. www.ibo.org/diploma Georgina Morris Conway

Stanstead Road, SE6 4TY

Independent co-educational day school for 3 to 18 year olds

Senior School Open Mornings Saturday 3 October 9.30-11.30am Saturday 14 November 9.30-11.30am

www.stdunstans.org.uk 020 8516 7200 or admissions@sdmail.org.uk

(St Dunstan's College sixth former)

Charity number: 312747

OPEN DAYS 10am - 1pm

Sat 26 Sep

9.30am - 11am

SYDENHAM HIGH SENIOR SCHOOL

Mon 28 Sept Tues 29 Sept Weds 30 Sept Thurs 8 Oct Wed 11 Nov

020 8557 7000

www.sydenhamhighschool.gdst.net Email: info@syd.gdst.net 19 Westwood Hill, Sydenham, London SE26 6BL

Independent education for girls

Page

the same charachas really changed, all you remember? Nothing First day of school – can Anxiety levels are d! roun playg the de g outsi this time, you’re cryin ters are there – it’s just can seen like a whole of place. For parents it child to look lost or out high, no-one wants their ics, meetings, dates & phon jolly ules, sched head around reading s. extra career, getting your es for those first few week are a few hints and guid people to remember. Here Tips for reception.

The Dull Stuff:

off without help. their uniforms on and comes Make sure they can get does mean that some stuff really, really boring but Label everything, yes

o o

nise their name back when lost. scissors and also recog child can use a pair of many Really helpful if your o would be surprised how you but us obvio s seem Arriving to school on time, o parties don’t make it , clubs, meetings and important dates: termtimes Get a calendar for all those o

The Best Stuff

l picture for that first day at schoo Getting the camera out , in their first year Watching your child grow ng about their day Picking them up and heari e new friends and your child to mak A great chance for you

o o o o

ool , the last thing step this is. At this stage adults forget what a huge It sometimes appears that it’s all about. g in seamlessly is what fittin – crowd the from you want is to stand out their primary school to a school where few of ially if they have gone of Shameless Encourage friends espec they’ve brought the cast think you if even a face friends are and don’t pull

Starting Secondary Sch

home.

ling still helps s you’re Boring again but label ment and remember unles the list of required equip Make sure they’ve got . point some at ing of kit. lucky, it will all go miss lier, hold off buying loads from one uniform supp If you don’t have to buy o of skirt, trousers etc ds are wearing this type frien their all that space to be able Otherwise you will find sure there is time and homework before make If your child hasn’t had o

to complete it.

new open day 2:Layout 1

10/9/09

10:19

Page 1

AND R grum EMEMBE py R expe unifor after th ct to at be prepar ms to was first week a bit tire h/iro d and e, get what n/l tin homew w ork to g them to abel, pack ith school ed schoo be don l and lunches e. Goo to back d Lu ck! again an

Rosemead Preparatory School Independent-Co-educational-3-11 years, Founded 1942, ISA & IAPS

OPEN MORNINGS 2009 Tuesday 29th September

9.00am-11.00am

Saturday 7th November

9.30am-12.30pm

Wednesday 2nd December 9.00am-11.00am Tours of the school are held on Tuesday mornings during term time. For further information please call 020-8670 5865 Rosemead Preparatory School (ISA, IAPS), 70 Thurlow Park Road, SE21 8HZ Pre Prep Department, Elmcourt Road, SE27 9BZ email: admissions@rosemeadprepschool.org.uk www.rosemeadprepschool.org.uk

Junior Department Open Days 2009 Wednesday Saturday Tuesday Tuesday

23 10 10 1

September October November December

2.00 pm 10.00 am 2.00 pm 2.00 pm

For more information please ring or email: 020 8674 6912 enquiry@shj.gdst.net Wavertree Road Streatham Hill London SW2 3SR www.gdst.net/streathamhigh

Senior Department Open Days 2009 Tuesday 22 September Wednesday 14 October Wednesday 7 October Thursday 12 November

2.15 pm – 4.00 pm 2.15 pm – 4.00 pm 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm

For more information please ring or email: 020 8677 8400 enquiry@shc.gdst.net 42 Abbotswood Road London SW16 1AW www.gdst.net/streathamhigh 35

GOING DOWN THE PORK CHO NADIA OFF-THE-TELLY GOES SHOPPING AND

hen I played the ballbreaking Annie Palmer, in EastEnders, the strangest thing would happen to me sometimes in supermarkets. As I glided seamlessly from the deli counter, via the meat counter, as quickly as I could, to the Vodka counter (if only), I would become increasingly aware of this ever-growing gaggle of shoppers all congregating at the end of whatever aisle I found myself in. For me, during my Albert Square era, going shopping was a little like being The Pied Piper of Croydon. But, rather than children following the sound of my music, it was shoppers following the contents of my shopping basket! Usually, around the time I was passing through the Slimline Tonic aisle, someone would have plucked up the courage to come up to me and say something like, 'What are you doing in here?’ as if no-one off the telly should ever do their own shopping. On one occasion, I vividly remember a woman at the meat counter sidling up alongside me, who (for some reason) seemed particularly

put-out by the fact that I was shopping ‘normally’. In mid-flow, telling me how she thought I would have had ‘someone else to do this sort of thing’, she stopped suddenly, having spotted what was in my basket - a large pot of luscious cream, thick juicy organic pork chops, fragrant saffron, a bottle of smoky dry sherry, a jar of golden Dijon mustard and some pert spring onions. Having surveyed my basket, her eyes darted back to my face, and she gave me a conspiratorially knowing look, before whispering, ‘Oh, I see,’ as though she had all her questions on the meaning of life immediately answered, ‘It’s ALL very posh’. As she raised her left eyebrow, in an instant, I realised I’d been forgiven for being somewhere I shouldn’t have been. Somehow, I had confirmed either her worst, or best, preconceptions (I still can’t work out which!) about those people ‘off the telly’. Well, here’s the super-easy dish I was shopping for. It’s a great recipe for busy people who love making good homemade suppers, no matter how long their day has been (or how long they’ve spent down

the supermarket). So, this is dedicated to that woman at the meat counter, who, in all honesty, probably thought I had my own chef waiting for me at home!!!! Oh the glamour of it all!!

posh pork chops If you fancy trying this with rabbit it goes ever so well. Just brown the rabbit in some olive oil and then simmer it in the stock and sherry for about an hour, before adding the cream and mustard. Chicken works really well with this recipe too! I like to have a green salad and my herby French dressing with this.

OPS (SHOPS) PICKS UP SOME PORK

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

•

Heat a couple of glugs of oil in a heavy frying pan and brown the chops (make sure they are really dry first to avoid spitting) on both sides (don’t move them about too much)..

• • • • • • • •

•

4 pork chops flattened with a rolling pin (try and put love in instead of rage) 1 large bunch spring onions cut into strips 2 large carrots peeled and cut into batons 20 small mushrooms 1-2 glasses medium sherry A teaspoon of grated ginger 275ml (1/2pt) chicken stock 275ml (1/2pt) double cream 3 large tbsps Dijon mustard (only Grey Poupon will do, I know it sounds a lot but it's not) 1 tsp arrowroot mixed with 2 tbsps cold water

Whilst they are cooking, put a large knob of butter into a heavy casserole and tip in the onions, carrots and mushrooms. Put the lid on and simmer the vegetables gently until they are soft. Add the sherry and let it bubble till it's reduced to half the amount, add the hot

chicken stock, ginger and salt and pepper, then simmer for five minutes. Now take out the vegetables and save, add the mustard and arrowroot, stir with a whisk and turn up the heat and pour in the cream (whisking the whole time). Put vegetables back in sauce and stir. Place chops on a warm plate and pour the sauce over. This is perfect with rice and pretty petit pois. (That’s posh for peas.)

Nadia Sawalha 37

ALBERT'S TABLE MODERN BRITISH DINING IN OLD CROYDON FOR OLD MONEY

hen the movie of my life is made, starring Helena Bonham Carter as me, naturellement, it will begin with the number 68A bus wending its way from Selhurst Park and my beautiful mother with a Jean Seberg a bout de souffle haircut turning to my handsome quiffed and side-burned Dad to ask: ‘’Ere Bill, does indigestion come regular?’ As the star of the show wasn’t due to put in an appearance for nearly another month, the maternal discomfort was immediately attributed to the obligatory third helping of allotment Maris Pipers she had eaten at Grandad’s. Now they were headed back to South Croydon and the indigestion was indeed coming regular. Dad pegged it down the aisle to ask the driver if he’d put his foot down. Stepping out of our comfort zone.. sorry, comfort triangle.. was a big decision. Where would we park?

Did we have passports? Which way was South anyway? We needn’t have worried. The old bus route is still running, though it has gotten a lot more numerical and is now known as the 468 and I’m not surprised it has got fat as it runs down a veritable seam of eateries. Though it is incontrovertible scientific fact that Croydon is centre of the universe (ask Carl Sagan.. oh, you can’t), it ain’t exactly famous for its food. However, Albert’s Table really does nail it to the gastro map of the cosmos. Wedged amidst the low-rise old town of cheery foreign restaurants, the limpid green and white doubleshop front immediately cleansed the palette. And stepping in to the high-backed dining room, hung with large evocative photo canvases – my favourite was a gothic looking artichoke - we were instantly reassured that our dins, though home-grown British, was going to be about as an unCroydony an experience as being among an entire audience weeping at a screening of Zefferelli’s Othello with

Placido Domingo at the Fairfield Halls. But that’s in a different scene. Cue the menus. And some nice beers and a choice of homemade rolls - true to typecast, I selected a nutty spelt and caraway, and the Bookseller (for it was he) took the sourdough. Ahem. We nearly saluted with patriotism at the starters – poached rabbit, homesmoked haddock, tart of Dorset crab, cauliflower soup.. I chose the crusty topped hand-dived scallops whilst he went for the woodpigeon. Mine, served in a delicious peppery tasting broth with sweet langoustines, did not deserve my facile jest about Thornton Heath ponds. Meanwhile, his was so fresh with a good strong almost livery flavour he said that it could have been flying around five minutes ago. So long, I remarked, on a roll by now, as it wasn’t above Pollards Hill. Oh how they laughed at our wit. Ah, that was just them being kind. In fact, the service was so friendly yet mercifully unfussy, that the ambience in what might have been

quite a veneered atmosphere was refreshingly chatty and relaxed. And the wine list was approachable too, with plenty of reliable bottles under twenty quid and, astutely, priced by the glass too. No wonder everyone seemed very much at home. Cue the main courses. This was a tuffy. Roast hake? Hereford beef hot pot? Mullet baked with lentils? I’d looked up at the canvas depicting the thistlelike Heathcliffey vegetable and was nearly tempted by the artichoke burger but, decided on the Romney Marsh lamb that came with its own brandy snap style basket; the Bookseller was hooked by the plaice with hand-cut chips. And action! Hmmmm. Mine was pretty much still grazing down there in the briny landscape, fit and pink as clover blossom whilst the flesh in the nest tasted like the dinner you dream of whilst chewing gristle on a ferryboat carvery. Meanwhile, his fish was robust and gamey, it had definitely out-run the same boat, served with calamari and a saucy tartar and chips stacked like a game of Jenga.

We took a little rest whilst I clicked off to the ladies, trying hard not to slide in my vintage heels (see last issue) on the hardwood floor. When I clicked back to my seat, the Bookseller realised he’d heard something profoundly unusual – no music. Laughter, clinks, chinks, scrapes, me like a dog’s toenails, yes. But not a tinkle of the ivories, not a techno beat, not a croon nor bassoon. And we hadn’t missed it one bit. No way I was missing dessert, mind. The chap went for the cheese and chutney but watching the Asian ladies opposite, drinking wine and looking beautiful, I chose the delicate sounding prosecco and peaches – I am a proud European too. There was also bread & butter pudding, Kentish raspberries and in a tongue in cheek nod to the neighbours East and West, something with Baileys, plum & almond tart? Sounds like a couple of birds wobbling out of Cinderella’s in Purley. But each dish came with a suggestion of something suitable to sip - how well

Joby and Jane seemed to know us all.Yet we emerged after a really excellent dinner against a winking Croydon skyline - our very own Manhattan - with change in our pocket. Enough at least to get the bus home. Meanwhile, back in the movie, we are still on the 68A and the driver has flown past his final stop at the station to drop the young couple right at the end of their road. When the midwife arrived, Dad was flapping. Anything I can do? he asks. Yes, the woman replies businesslike. Fetch me an ashtray and take the Labradors round the block. See, South Croydon always was a touch sophisticated. Cut!

Justine Crow Albert's Table South End, Croydon CR0 1BF Reservations 020 8680 2010 (please mention The Transmitter!)

aRE YOU CHEWING GUM? MICHAEL EYRE TAKES A SIDEWAYS LOOK AT SOME CALIFORNIAN WINES

For those of us who don’t quite have the time to wander palely around the vineyards of West Coast America, all of these wines come from a rather fabulous little ‘independent’ called Philglas & Swiggot (www.philglasswiggot.co.uk). They have three shops in Richmond, Clapham Junction and Marylebone. Well worth a visit.

Conundrum 2007 Rutherford California 13.5% (£21.95)

Belle Glos Pinot Noir 2006 Meiomi Sonoma Coast 14.5% (£25.99)

No, not the speciality press that turned down Miles’ book in Sideways, but a rather spectacular blended wine from Jon Bolta. The blend, which changes annually, is secret. We can guess all we like, which adds to the fun of the drinking of this eminently approachable wine. It is big, bold, fruity and fab. With apricot, peach and honeysuckle on the nose sliding silently sideways into a palate of citrus, pear, melon and vanilla, a true cornucopia of aromas and flavours. Unbeatable. As they say in California, ‘enjoy’.

Pinot Noir at its most juicy! This wonderfully fat and ripe drink is a revelation. The nose of black cherry with a hint of liquorice propels you into a valley of dark fruit driven, full bodied, sweet tannined layered blend of flavours that will knock your socks off. Ok so it’s no Cheval Blanc 61, jeez! Live a little.

Frog’s Leap Chardonnay 2006 Napa Valley 13.5% (£20.50)

Seghesio Zinfandel 2007 Sonoma County 15.5% (£21.50)

Contrary to the common perception of Chardonnay, this particular piece of work does not whack you in the face like a great big oaken stick dipped in butter but rather gently lets you in with delicate apply overtones on the nose leading into a subtle palate of soft stone fruit with the merest hint of vanilla. Rounded off with a bright and tangy, acid/fruit balanced, long finish. An extremely pleasant surprise, a cue to possibly rethink Chardonnay?

Frankly my dear, there is no good reason why you should! What we have here is the most enormous, well built, devastating piece of work I have had for some time. The phrase ‘knife and fork supplied’ comes to mind. The nose is instantly assailed by spicy, smoky, soft black fruits, the palate oozes ripe raspberry, blueberry and cracked pepper flavours sustained by some well balanced tannins that are truly life affirming. Whisky wow-wow I breathed.

“I am not drinking any fucking merlot!” As and when.

Michael

The finest bookshop in the multiverse

THERE’S A WORLD OUT THERE! THIS TIME AROUND MR MALE WAFTS YOU OFF TO NIGERIA, ZIMBABWE, CALIFORNIA AND BROOKLYN, BEFORE LANDING YOU BACK IN LONDON. AND YOU DIDN’T EVEN HAVE TO GET YOUR PASSPORT RENEWED!

here’s no theme to this issue’s column, apart from the fact that we are back to discussing music from places other than Crystal Palace. First up is the CD I've played most the most over the past month or so. The Nigerian singer Nneka’s second album No Longer at Ease (Yo Mama’s Records) is a darkly stunning piece of work that improves with every play. From the claustrophobic, lo-fi production to the minor-key melodies, Nneka comes on like a Nigerian Tricky, confiding her deepest fears and anxieties in regard to both personal relationships and her country and continent's deepest woes and troubles. From reggae through to rock and township jive, each track here is like a new experiment; a new Frankenstein hybrid that Nneka and her producer, DJ Farhot, have felt compelled to stitch together out of old styles and new sounds. A slightly gentler kind of experimentation – at least musically speaking - can be found on the

Zimbabwean singer Netsayi’s Monkeys Wedding (World Connections). Netsayi’s star is certainly rising, as is clear from the fact she is about to embark on a nationwide tour with the legendary Ladysmith Black Mambaso. If you can imagine a more politically influenced Joan Armatrading fronting an African band, then you are half way to getting a sense of what this record sounds like. There’s one hilariously bitchy song in the vein of You’re So Vain in which the clearly specific but unnamed female target is cattily asked if she still spends all her money on ‘weaves and magazines.’ This is one of the most accessible yet idiosyncratic world music releases of the year. The latest incarnation of London based Oi Va Voi have just released their best album to date with Travelling the Face of the Globe. They deftly integrate Jewish klezma and Ladino styles and have a natural gift for good song writing. In a perfect world this album would generate at least four hit singles. But in

the real world, where Lady Gaga is an exciting and innovative musical talent, this simply isn’t going to happen! Meanwhile, over in Brooklyn, Spanish producer Roberto Carlos Lange has been cooking up possibly the first ever lo-fi world music record. There’s a pleasing murkiness to the dense mess of household object-generated polyrhythms over which Roberto strums his acoustic guitar-led songs, under the guise of Helado Negro. Awe Owe is on the delightfully named Asthmatic Kitty Records. Finally, one for any lovers of arch and arty funky pop! Don’t ask me why they’re called Fol Chen. And don’t ask me why the animated video for the sublime sunshine-filled No Wedding Cake features singing fish and dancers with the heads of lions (check it out on YouTube, it’ll blow your mind.) And don’t ask me why they are wearing masks in all their publicity shots. But these enigmatic young Americans somehow manage to sound like a cross between Devo, Prince and the Carpenters, which has to be one of the most unlikely sonic cocktails one could imagine. Their debut release Part 1: John Shade Your Fortune’s Made (also on Asthmatic Kitty Records) bubbles over with great tunes, wry lyrics, and disconcertingly loud drums. And they’re great live too.

Howard Male

the BOOKSELLER Jonathan Main sleuths out more local literary links

aymond Chandler one of the founding fathers of the modern private eye story and the author of such specifically American novels as The Big Sleep, Farewell My Lovely, High Window and The Long Goodbye, is not perhaps the first name that comes to mind when we think of authors with local connections to Crystal Palace. But although he was born in 1888 in Chicago, when abandoned by his alcoholic father in the early 1900s, his mother took her son back to England to live in Auckland Road, Upper Norwood. Indeed, some accounts of his life have him attending an Upper Norwood primary school, but what is certain is that he later went to Dulwich College and that he named his famous detective Philip Marlowe after Christopher Marlowe the Elizabethan dramatist who gave his name to one of the day houses at the college. Of course we know the stories of these books as much from the 10 films that have been made from them and the actors, Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, Elliot Gould, amongst others, who have portrayed Marlowe. We know the scripted wisecracks. But if you have never read the actual books, perhaps because you think they will be too familiar, and too stuck in the crime genre, think again. They are quite brilliant and Chandler was one of the best prose stylists who ever lived. 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of Chandler’s death and to mark the occasion Penguin have reissued five of the novels in very handsome facsimiles of their original Hamish Hamilton jackets (£12.99 - £14.99).

"It was a blond. A blond to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window."

rompted by the suicide of his mother, Tim Lott’s The Scent of Dried Roses (Penguin £9.99) is a heartsearching investigation into his family’s history. Originally published in 1996 it is now also deservedly reissued by Penguin as a modern classic. On 30 November 1936 Lott’s father Jack saw the Crystal Palace burn down. He was watching a film, an American gangster B movie called Public Hero Number One at the Albany Cinema on Anerley Hill when the manager of the cinema came onto the stage to tell the audience that the building was being evacuated. There was, he said, molten glass falling from the sky. Lott’s grandfather was co-owner of Wells and Lott Fruiterers and Greengrocers located on Gipsy Hill. The family of five shared a two bedroom flat above the shop with the Wells family. It must have been snug, to say the least. Jack went to

Woodland Road School in Cawnpore Street and then to Rockmount School and he attended Cubs and Scouts at the 37th Croydon in Cooper's Yard. Later, with the business prospering, the family moved to a house in Essex Grove, but at busy times, Art, the grandfather, sometimes slept on the floor of the shop rather than waste time going home. I have never done that. It only feels like I have. Eventually Lott’s parents move to West London and the book charts beautifully the lives of a particular upper-working class generation where the lavatory is still the toilet and you have your dinner at lunchtime. Recently I have been reading Evie Wyld’s After the Fire a Still Small Voice (Jonathan Cape £16.99) a book that also explores the lives of three generations, this time of Australian men wounded in many ways by different wars. It reminded me very much of one of my favourite Australian writers, Tim Winton and it’s hard to believe that it is a

first novel. And I’m only slightly biased because Evie, a graduate of Goldsmiths and a part-time bookseller in Peckham, walked up the hill to give me, not only a copy of the book, but also a very elegant tinnie cooler to keep my beer cold. Just space enough to mention two more local authors who also have new books out at the moment. Christopher Bowden who many will remember from his previous novel The Blue Book, now brings us The Yellow Room (Langton and Wood £8.99). (I’m guessing something Red, will be next.) It comes with praise from both Andrew Marr and Julian Fellowes, which can’t be bad. And short story writer Terence Jenkins publishes The Return, his first collection of prize-winning stories (Troubador Books £6.99), both of which are available from The Bookseller Crow. Now, where did I put my bedroll?

Jonathan Main

some things to do

Send your listings information for November/Dcember to: listings@thetransmitter.co.uk

Comedy Gipsy Hill Comedy Black Sheep Bar 23 Westow Hill, SE19 1TQ 07758 521 378 www.gipsyhillcomedy.co.uk Every other Friday at 8.30pm Tickets £7adv/£8 on door

The HOB Comedy opposite Forest Hill station 7 Devonshire Road Forest Hill SE23 3HE 020 8855 0496

Saturday 3 October Stand-up

MC Martin Beaumont, Stuart Goldsmith, Sol Bernstein and Mitch Benn. 9pm. £9/£6. Bar till 2am

Saturday 10 October Stand-up

MC Jeremy O’Donnell, Jen Brister, stephano Paolini and Will Smith. 9pm. £9/£6. Bar till 2am

Saturday 17 October Stand-up

MC Pete Jonas,Andrew Bird, Henning When and a very special guest 9pm. £9/£6. Bar till 2am

Saturday 24 October Stand-up

MC Yianni, Paul Foot, Phil Kay, Norman Lovett. 9pm. £9/£6. Bar til 2am

Saturday 31October Stand-up

MC Chris Mayo, Angie McEvoy, Tom Allen, Micky Flanagan 9pm. £9/£6. Bar till 2am.

Monday 5 October New Act Night

7 new acts try out 8pm. £3

Monday 12 October New Material Night

7 established acts try out new material. Regular contributors include Daniel Kitson, Micky Flanagan and Rob Rouse.8pm. £3

Monday 19 October New Act Night

7 new acts try out. 8pm. £3

Monday 26 October New Material Night

7 established acts try out new material. Regular contributors include Daniel Kitson, Micky Flanagan and Rob Rouse. 8pm. £3

Sunday 11 October Cracking Up

Comedian John Ryan presents his hour long one-man show. 8pm. £7/£5

Every Thursday The Celebrity Pub-Quiz

Each week a well known comedian pops the questions and dishes out the prizes over 3 hard-thought rounds.

Music The Grape & Grain

Saturday 26 September Serlo Consort

Messe Solennelle - Rossini 7.30pm. £10 [concs. available]

Saturday 17 October Organ Concert

given by Kit Perona-Wright 6.30pm. £10 [concs. available]

2 Anerley Hill, SE19 2AAn

Art Horniman Museum Balcony Gallery *

FREE JAZZ SUNDAYS 1.30pm - 4pm

Saturday 4 October 2009 May 2010 Nature as Designer

The HOB Music every Sunday in September. BOOTHBY GRAFFOE 8pm, £9/£6 "...it's not fair to call them comedy songs, they are much more than that, there are some I would dare to call genius." -The Times

Friday 2 October Soul Liberation Funk

Mixed media works by Alison Milner with photography in collaboration with Steve Speller

Bainbridge Studios 1 sydenham Place, Landsdowne Hill SE27 0AP 07970 929 645 info@bainbridgestudios.co.uk

Wednesday 30 September

60s and 70s covers: The Stones, The Beatles,

Exhibition - 6-9pm Bias is an exhibition of photographs and screen-prints by guest artists Moira Lovell and James Tye.

Thin Lizzie 10pm. Free entry. Bar till 2am

3 - 4 October 12-4pm

Originals & covers 10pm. Free entry Bar 2am

Friday 9 October Craft

Friday 16 October Fifth Element

60s and 70s pop, rock blues & beat.

Open Studios

part of Lambeth Wide Open

www.lambethwideopen.co.uk

10pm. Free entry. Bar till 2am

Friday 2 October The Cry Soulful rock 10pm. Free entry. Bar till 2am

Friday 30 October Shady Deal – pop and rock, 10pm. Free entry. Bar till 2am

St John the Evangelist Auckland Road/Sylvan Road SE19 2RX 020 8653 3305

Saturday 19th September Organ Concert

given by Catherine Ennis 6.30pm. £10 [concs. available] Mass Production (Steve Speller - see Horniman)

chariTy SPOT Have you got a charity event coming up in November/December? Send details to: charityspot@thetransmitter.co.uk

LOcAL CELEBRITY helps LAUNCH ATHOL HOUSE FUNDAY SUNDAY “I really admire the work done at Athol House and hope visitors will join me for fun and a laugh to support such a worthy cause at a time of economic hardship."

FILM Dulwich Picture Gallery Monday 21 September Volver (2006)

Cert 15 121 minutes A layered and thought-provoking film directed by Pedro Almodovar, starring Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Duenas Three generations of women survive the east wind, fire, insanity, superstition and even death by means of goodness, lies and boundless vitality. A film about the culture of death in La Mancha, Including wine and canapés. Free raffle prize - a bottle of Sherry £8, £6 Friends

Monday 12 October Les Choristes (2005)

Cert 12A 96 minutes (French with English subtitles) Directed by Christopher Barratier, Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film Including wine and canapés Free raffle prize - CD of choral music £8, £6 Friends

Jo Brand - Comedian

Image courtesy Trish Grant

Sunday 13 September Comedian Jo Brand and BBC News presenter Huw Edwards will be supporting Leonard Cheshire Disability Athol House in Dulwich, South London at its inaugural Funday Sunday fundraising event this September. Athol House is hosting a family fun day on Sunday 13 September 2009, between 2 and 5pm. Athol House is a residential home for 21 adults with physical disabilities and sensory impairments. The highlight of the day will be a 'Dulwich's Got Talent' competition, aimed at students aged 11+ from the local area and judged by the celebrity guests. One-time resident of the BBC's Celebrity Fame Academy, Jo Brand, is looking forward to being on the other side of the judges' table. This first event of its kind at Athol

House will also include music and dance performances, a Wii games competition, market stalls, drum and percussion workshops, a children’s area with bouncy castle, face painting and tattooing, massage and beauty treatments, tombola, raffle, Treasure Island and Name the Teddy games, BBQ and beer tent. The raffle will be drawn by Jo Brand and will include tempting cash prizes, plus other donated prizes such as a one-year membership to the Dulwich Picture Gallery, paintball tickets, lunch for two, a hamper, flowers, a handmade cake and other items kindly donated by shops and restaurants in the Dulwich area. Admission to Funday Sunday is £1 for adults and 50p for children, with all monies raised on the day going towards providing activities for the residents of Athol House.

Sell It Mama! returns with our second Gipsy Hill Mother & Baby Fair. Another great opportunity to buy quality secondhand baby goods and support the commercial talents of local entrepreneurial mums. Venue

Christchurch, Highland Road, SE19

Date

Saturday 3 October 2009

Time

11am - 3pm (pregnant mums can

Entry

£2 entry, children free (includes prize

‘bump’ the queue at 10.45 am)

draw and donation to Cancer Research)

Plus: Waggle & Hum (2pm), £5 express manicure & pedicures with Beauty Bug, Petal Portraits, Little Treasures, tea, coffee, cakes and much more! Enquiries:rachel@sellitmama.com More info:www.sellitmama.com

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Beginners, please WANT TO BE A FILM STAR? WELL, IF YOU ARE ABOUT SEVEN YEARS OLD, THERE'S PROBABLY STILL TIME...

hen I was about seven years old, my local theatre staged a performance of Annie with open auditions for the starring role. It was possibly the only time in my life that my headful of ginger ringlets could ever have been used to my advantage, and I've never forgiven my mother for not letting me audition. As if it would have mattered that I was fat, couldn't sing or dance and was painfully shy – surely they couldn't have overlooked the ringlets? My five-year-old daughter seems to have inherited my urge to show off, without the crippling shyness and lack of talent, so she seemed the perfect candidate for Stagecoach's acting, dancing and singing classes. The Dulwich Early Stages class for ages 4-7 is small – I think there

were 15 kids, but they move so fast it's difficult to count – and led by teacher Ashley, who the children clearly adore. The group started off with a chat about their week, before Ashley introduced this term's theme – fairytales – with a lively game involving pretending to be various fairytale characters. After a chat about which magic power the kids would most like to possess (my daughter – no bratty stage kid – went for invisibility), they split into pairs for a 'magic mirror' exercise, where one had to copy the other's movements. The concentration was incredible, and I began wondering how I could get her to 'mirror' sweeping the kitchen floor or cleaning the windows. Next came dancing, with a lively aerobics routine to warm up before

a rehearsal of their routine to ChimChimney. By now I was feeling tired just watching. Their second routine was to Blame it on the Boogie – you can make your own Michael Jackson joke – with Ashley instructing everyone to 'dance like a funky diva' and 'walk like you're too cool for school'. (Judging by my daughter's dancing, she's cool to precisely the correct degree for school, but I'd better be careful – writing about your kids becomes a minefield once they can read.) Next came the singing section of the class. Some of the younger members looked to be flagging a little, but Ashley still had energy to spare, as he led them through some vocal warm-ups, then through a song from Beauty and the Beast, before home-time. What I was most struck by was what lovely kids these are – happy and wellbehaved – which I guess is testament to how much they were enjoying the class. Ashley's enthusiasm and humour kept them all enjoying themselves, even while they were working hard, and I was impressed that they could recall some fairly complicated dance routines. My daughter danced most of the way home, grinning from ear to ear, and the smile barely faded for the rest of the day. And I'm definitely blaming that on the boogie.

Helen Davies www.stagecoach.co.uk. Classes run in Dulwich and Sydenham; Early Stages classes £157.50 per term.

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residential lettings

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web: winkworth.co.uk

email: crystalpalace@winkworth.co.uk

tel: 020 8655 9530

Winkworth property management