Category: West Ealing events

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Irish dancing, plant swaps and more

I’m always surprised just how much is happening in and around our neighbourhood. Here’s a couple of local activties and events that give just a hint of what’s going on locally:

Irish Dancing

The O’Sullivan School of Irish Dancing has places now available. Classes for children from 5yrs . Classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

All standards welcome, (Beginners to Champion)

Contact: Deirdre O’Sullivan, 07956 346383

deirdreosullivan@hotmail.co.uk

 

Plant Swap at The Quaker House on Sunday 1st June 1-3pm

Lots and Lots of Plants in Pots

17, Woodville Road
W5 2SE

Sunday, June 1st 2014
1.00pm–3.00pm

Sow some–Grow some
Bring some,
Take some home.

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My three music highlights from the West Ealing SoundBite Festival

We’ll put up more photos and feedback from SoundBite shortly. On a totally personal note, as I was helping organise the event on Saturday, I didn’t get to see many of the acts but of those few I did see three stand out for very different reasons:

 

Maria at SoundBite

Her father Romeo sang for us last year and this year his daughter Maria sang at the craft market in St James Ave. She stopped everyone in their tracks with her smooth, jazzy singing. Hers is the sort of voice and style of singing that I’d love to listen to late night in a small, intimate venue. A venue like Ronnie Scott’s or perhaps, locally, the Bush Hall in Shepherd’s Bush could work well for her.  Catch her  here on the video of clips from the music at St James Ave and remember this is where you first saw and heard her. She starts 6 minutes in to the video.

I’d been looking forward to the Bollywood Brass Band all day and was beginning to give up hope that I’d manage to get to Dean Gardens for them but i finally caught their last set at 6pm.

Bollywood Brass band

I really enjoy their combination of drumming and brass and their engagement with their audience. You can’t help but feel the energy and joy in their music and that got through to a group of children who got up and danced right in front of the band.

T J 'Holboy" Johnson

Photo copyright Vivien Boyes

My third highlight was TJ ‘Holyboy’ Johnson who I’d been told about so I made sure I got to Melbourne Ave to catch him closing the music there. I wasn’t disappointed and nor was the crowd who were drawn to his Hendrix-style blues guitar playing and driving voice.  I was struck by the cross section of people who, like me, just felt compelled to stand there, soak it up and not miss a minute of his set.

 

 

 

 

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Great day out at Big Picnic in Dean Gardens

Big Lunch 2

Photo0363

The weather was near almost summery and everyone semed to enjoy the first ever Big Picnic event in Dean Gardens. It may all have been a bit last minute but that didn’t matter. We had live music, circus skills acts and magic for children. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen and I’m sure we’ll do it again next year and build on what was a very successful first such venture.  Watch a very short video here

Watch out for our details of this year’s Family Day where we’re planning to have a food and music festival in Dean Gardens in addition to activities in St James Ave, Melbourne Ave and Leeland Road. It’s all due to happen on Saturday 21st September.

Big Lunch 3

‘The Wish Tree’ where everyone was invited to leave their wish for what they want for West Ealing.

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‘Under her skin’ – great show at the Drayton in January

singingLaurel Swift (the one with the double bass) teaches her long-running folk workshop to local folkies at the Drayton on Monday nights, and now offers to West Ealing:

‘Under Her Skin’

Directed by John Wright

The Drayton Court, The Avenue, West Ealing  **   15-17 January 2013  **  7:45pm  **  £5

An epic tale, a modern twist, two voices, four feet and eight strings.

Debs Newbold and Laurel Swift bring a rich and innovative collision of forms to their first full-length collaboration – a story of loss and regret that is also funny, irreverent, moving and dripping with streetwise credibility. Combining dynamic performance storytelling with the effusive energy of traditional dance and music, Under Her Skin sweeps audiences into a rich imaginative landscape.

 “…a glorious, raucous, joyful show which manages seamlessly to combine the raw energy of dance, the earthiness of social realism and the magic and wonder of myth into an entirely integrated, expertly realised evening’s entertainment.”

GILES ABBOTT

This is storytelling crafted especially for adults. Based on an ancient British Selkie (seal people) folktale and set firmly in the here and now, it is an integrated show, inventive and theatrical yet with no fourth wall to get in the way of any mischief!  Debs Newbold’s highly acclaimed and charismatic storytelling voice joins the double bass, fiddle and clog dynamism of Laurel Swift to create an explosion of joy.  Under Her Skin plays freely with the conventions of storytelling and gives an ancient British folktale a strong contemporary retelling.

 

Laurel Swift is an Associate Artist of the English Folk Dance and Song Society

www.debsandlaurel.co.uk

www.morrisoffspring.co.uk

www.gadarenemusic.com

www.gloworms.org.uk

 

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Videos from West Ealing craft market, Dec 22, 2012

Rain? What rain? Thanks to Ealing Winter Night Shelter and Ralph of King Ralph who provided the entertainment on Saturday.

The craft market, and its music, will reconvene in March. To stay in touch, subscribe to this blog or email westealingneighbours@gmail.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHarxf_ME_Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TJJMcNVXl0

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News from the craft market, Dec 15th, 2012

Dina the donkey A spectator said, ‘Am I dreaming? I think I’ve just seen a donkey in the high street.’

Dina the donkey paraded in West Ealing broadway and helped tell the old, old, good-news story. There was music, too, outside Blockbusters in the craft market. (Video links are below.)

Note: Dec 22nd is our last craft market of the year so don’t miss out, come and find some unique locally made bargains to complete your Christmas shopping. More info from: westealingneighbours@gmail.com

Local youth club talent: Westside Allstars – video; Meetman and the Butchers – video

Local classical singer, Romeo, with mellow sounds full of ‘heart’: video

Local singer, Maria, with a show-stopping voice: video

Local band, Mobile Clones, make the audience happy: video

Local voices and instruments, with Slightly Mysterious carols: video

 

 

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Great session by local band Jacob and Goliath at last Saturday’s West Ealing craft market

Cover photo

I managed to catch some of Jacob and Goliath’s session at Saturday’s craft market and was mighty impressed with this young local band.  A great new addition to West London’s alternative/indie folk music scene.  Three of the  band members braved the cold, blew on their icy guitar picking fingers and really put their hearts in to their music. Lead singer Jacob Simpson has got a very striking voice and already has an impressive stage presence. You can see a recording of a part of their session at the market on a later post on this blog. Watch out for them and find out where they’re playing next on their Facebook page. 

Next Saturday we have carols, local folk band Oddfellas and the dynamic gospel choir Singology- more information on the next post down on this blog.

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Stories, songs, music, poetry, comedy and near death coming soon to OPEN Ealing

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

Still Life

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

Big Heart cropped

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.