Working together to make West Ealing a better place for residents, businesses and visitors.
This talk on Caravaggio is put on by OPEN Ealing on Monday 4th February 7.30 – 9.30pm. The talk is given by V&A guide Colin Lomas and is one of a series of highly entertaining talks by Colin. It’s being held at the Ealing Centre for Independent Living, 1 Bayham Road, W13 0TQ
£5 entry and illustrated notes provided
7.40 – 8.40 illustrated talk
8.40 – 9.30 refreshments & discussion
More information available from Colin Lomas – ring 07909 896541
West Ealing’s very own arts centre has much to offer. For a full programme, including a quiz night, book club, pass on a poem, a talk on Hindi cinema, and guided trips to inspirational building interiors, go to www.openealing.com .
West Ealing Neighbours’ chair and co-founder of OPEN Ealing David Highton was awarded a British Empire Medal in this New Years Honours List. The award was ‘ for services to the community in the London Borough of Ealing’. David said’ I’m just the visible tip of the iceberg for this award. There are so many people who have worked tirelessly for West Ealing Neighbours since we were set up and many, many volunteers who gave their all to making OPEN Ealing a great success. These are the people who deserve to share in this award. It’s for all of them as much as it is for me. With their help and hard work WEN and OPEN Ealing have made a difference to our local community’.
I went to the launch last night of Creative Ealing, a consortium of creative arts venues in Ealing working together to publicise and promote the work of the four founding local arts venues – The Questors Theatre, The Ealing Club, OPEN Ealing and The Drayton Court Hotel. I was involved in the development of this idea when I was with OPEN Ealing and I’m delighted to see it come to fruition.
Back in the summer, what set me thinking about the need for arts venues to co-operate was my regular walk to do the banking in Ealing Broadway. On my way there I walked past the two new hotels being built almost opposite one another in the Uxbridge Road – Travelodge and Premier Inn (plus the nearby Hotel Xanadu in Bond Street). I wondered how guests would know what entertainment was on locally. What could they go and see or do that day or evening? The answer seemed to be they wouldn’t easily find out this information. There didn’t seem to be any central website or publicity that listed what arts events were happening in Ealing that day or that week. Out of these bank visits came the idea of arts venues in central Ealing joining together to create this central website and joint publicity. And so Creative Ealing was born out of discussions between these founding venues and now it’s real and you can find its website here
I hope this is but the start of Creative Ealing’s journey and, as it gains recognition as a key source of information about what’s happening in the arts in Ealing, other venues will join and a momentum will gather to create an ever more informative site.
The launch of Creative Ealing follows hot on the heels of the launch of The Ealing Music and Film Valentine Festival. From the 14th to the 17th February next year a really exciting looking series of events, concerts, talks and exhibitions will be put on at various arts venues in central Ealing. Highlights for me include blues music at The Ealing Club and Raga Jam at The Questors. There’s something for everyone and it’s another welcome initiative for the arts in Ealing.
OPEN Ealing Family Fundraising Day – Activities for children and young people
Saturday 21st July
11am – 3pm
Drop in anytime, no booking required.
Minimum donation to access all activities: £5
Free for parents or guardians
Drop in anytime from 11am to 3pm and join us for a series of activities for kids and the rest of the family. We’ll have:
We will also have a book sale to raise additional funds for OPEN Ealing with a share of the proceeds going to the local Ealing group of Cancer Research UK.
Children must be accompanied by an adult. Refreshments will be available on a donation basis.
18th July 7.30pm
Tickets: £5
Big Heart – a poetry show about surviving a heart attack (with jokes!)
How do you fight back when your own heart tries to kill you? Get a sneak preview here .
In 2010, for his thirtieth birthday Richard Tyrone Jones, the healthy, gym-going ‘Ringmaster of Spoken Word’ (ThreeWeeks) got a rather unexpected present. Heart failure.
Having battled back from the brink of death to (almost) full-health, armed with a pen and a pacemaker, he has now written a show about his experiences, which he describes as ‘a unique prescription of cardiomyopoetry, animation and anecdosage.’
Richard will expand on the lurid details of his near-near death from dilated cardiomyopathy (heart failure), atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) and atrial thrombosis (blood clot in the heart), his convoluted convalescence and living everyday life with the condition that will almost certainly kill him. Here is truly a show for anyone who ever had a heart. Or failure. Many Fringe acts consider their show to be a matter of life and death. This one literally is.
What had caused this triple-decker of misery? And can being so dangerously ill actually improve your life?
Richard Tyrone Jones is a poet, writer and founder of spoken word clubnight ‘Utter!’, celebrating its 10th birthday in 2013, and is also Director of Spoken Word for PBH’s Free Fringe. Germline, his first book of stories, poems and art was published by Vintage Poison Press in 2009. Big Heart (& other sickness) is published summer 2012 as an e-book and paperback.
‘Raw, at times graphic, and very funny’ BBC Ouch!
‘Fascinating, sobering, hilarious, and ultimately uplifting’ New Scientist
‘Masterfully manages the listeners’ mood as it oscillates between laughter and despair… It is a big-hearted show, and a valuable lesson in making the most of whatever life throws at you. Highly recommended.’ Fringe Guru
BIG HEART earned recommendations from Time Out and New Yorker for preview performances in London and was nominated for ‘Best spoken word show’ at the Buxton Fringe. Following Edinburgh it tours the UK this Autumn. See www.richardtyronejones.com for details.
Richard Tyrone Jones’ BIG HEART is supported by The Wellcome Trust and aided by Apples & Snakes, The British Heart Foundation and the Cardiomyopathy Association.
It’s a busy couple of weeks at OPEN Ealing. A few dates for your diaries, Blackberries, iphones and any other digital devices!
Still Life – Thursday 12th July at 8pm – entrance free
Following a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival in 2011 this production is touring the UK in June and July.
Three months, two human rights observers and countless accounts of occupation distilled into an hour of story, song and image. Catch a glimpse of the struggle and humour or village life under occupation.
More details – http://www.openealing.com/?m=20120712&cat=5
Big Dance: Regeneration 2 – The Mountain on Friday 13th July 7.30pm Tickets £8
An intergenerational dance inspired by mountain themes and images, incorporating electronic music, live music and original artwork – http://www.openealing.com/?m=20120713&cat=5
Big Heart – a poetry show about surviving a heart attack (with jokes!) Wednesday 18th July 8pm Tickets £5
How do you fight back when your own heart tries to kill you?
In 2010, for his thirtieth birthday Richard Tyrone Jones, the healthy, gym-going ‘Ringmaster of Spoken Word’ (ThreeWeeks) got a rather unexpected present. Heart failure.
Having battled back from the brink of death to (almost) full-health, armed with a pen and a pacemaker, he has now written a show about his experiences, which he describes as ‘a unique prescription of cardiomyopoetry, animation and anecdosage.’
Richard will expand on the lurid details of his near-near death from dilated cardiomyopathy (heart failure), atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) and atrial thrombosis (blood clot in the heart), his convoluted convalescence and living everyday life with the condition that will almost certainly kill him. Here is truly a show for anyone who ever had a heart. Or failure. Many Fringe acts consider their show to be a matter of life and death. This one literally is.
What had caused this triple-decker of misery? And can being so dangerously ill actually improve your life?
Get a sneak preview on Richard’s show here
Richard Tyrone Jones is a poet, writer and founder of spoken word clubnight ‘Utter!’, celebrating its 10th birthday in 2013, and is also Director of Spoken Word for PBH’s Free Fringe. Germline, his first book of stories, poems and art was published by Vintage Poison Press in 2009. Big Heart (& other sickness) is published summer 2012 as an e-book and paperback.
‘Raw, at times graphic, and very funny’ BBC Ouch!
‘Fascinating, sobering, hilarious, and ultimately uplifting’ New Scientist
‘Masterfully manages the listeners’ mood as it oscillates between laughter and despair… It is a big-hearted show, and a valuable lesson in making the most of whatever life throws at you. Highly recommended.’ Fringe Guru
BIG HEART earned recommendations from Time Out and New Yorker for preview performances in London and was nominated for ‘Best spoken word show’ at the Buxton Fringe. Following Edinburgh it tours the UK this Autumn. See www.richardtyronejones.com for details.
Richard Tyrone Jones’ BIG HEART is supported by The Wellcome Trust and aided by Apples & Snakes, The British Heart Foundation and the Cardiomyopathy Association.
Friday 6th July 12.30-1.30pm free admission
Garry Smith plays a resophonic guitar and plays mostly with a slide but isn’t primarily a Blues performer. Instead he relies mostly on self-penned songs and instrumentals and covers of songs by such people as Tom Waits, Steve Earl and Richard Thompson. Of course, there may be SOME Blues. There may also be English or Irish folk music. His aim is to go beyond the repertoire expected of the instrument and to explore the possibilities open to the slide guitarist. He has recently performed at the Bracknell Guitar Festival and supported artists such as Steve Tilston, Sarah McQuaid and Peter Case.
For more details and to listen to Gary perfom, visit his My Space page.
Refreshments will be available to purchase. We will be serving sandwiches, quiches, cakes and hot and cold drinks.
I’ve been lucky enough to go to two live music events in Ealing in the last 24 hours and I’ve really enjoyed both. Last night I was at the Ealing Club to see the Creole Brothers play their version of Louisiana Creole music. The Ealing Club has a key place in the history of British Blues Music and these twice monthly music nights are beginning to reestablish the club as an important part of Ealing’s cultural scene.
Back to the music. If you’ve been to the club you’ll know it’s tucked away down the steps by an estate agent opposite Ealing Broadway station. As we walked down the steps to the entrance I could hear the sound of Cajun music. It was a great sound to hear and got even better when we went inside. Sitting in a circle were musicians of all ages thoroughly enjoying playing their music. Their joy spread to everyone listening and before long people were up and dancing.
The main event of the evening was the Creole Brothers. Without realising it we happened to be sitting near them as they waited their turn to play. One played the accordion and the other a fiddle. Cajun music has a powerful driving rhythm that soon has your feet tapping and the singing in French seems to fit the rhythms so well. A great night out.
This lunchtime at OPEN we had the soaring voice and very skilled cello playing of Laura Victoria. Laura should have been joined by Sarah-Jane Miller but Sarah was ill so Laura played solo. At first the cello seemed an odd choice of instrument to accompany her modern take on folk music but it worked beautifully. Her voice is so expressive and soars and dips, delighting the audience. Laura’s hour long set included many of her own songs interspersed with at least one jazz classic. Whether singing unaccompanied or making the cello fill the air with multiple sounds, Laura was compulsive listening. I thoroughly recommend you give her a listen – www.lauravictoriamusic.com
Tonight (Monday) at OPEN Ealing Sean Michael Pearce, curator of a new exhibition OPEN Ended, will talk about the exhibition and give people a guided tour.
OPEN Ended is a group exhibition which explores the different media including sculpture, painting, print – and materials usually found on a building site. Pearce has selected works from people who have inspired him but which also work well together.
There is more information about this exhibition at www.openealing.com. The talk starts at 7.30pm. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.