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10:00 am  •  18 May 2010

This kicks off this week and I attended the press launch a month ago to see what it was all about (there was free Cranberry juice too, you know I’m never mad at that). SO I learned that the festival was in its ninth year, it’d be offering “a diverse and dynamic programme of films” and the opening film had Bullfrog in the title (?)

(Quick check of the film programme)

Ah, Correction.  That’s Bronco Bullfrog, a cult classic from 1969.  Never heard of it, and if you have, then go knock yourself on Thursday :-) Tell me what it’s saying too.  

Personally, the fests highlights for me will be the outdoor screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s silent film The Lodger accompanied by a live band on Saturday, April 24th.  It’s free too! High-five! Yea!

There’s also the premiere of The Rime of The Modern Mariner on Friday, April 23rd, which will feature a performance/party with Carl Barat (Libertines) at St Anne’s Church in Limehouse.  Not my thing, but it could be yours. 

Lastly, there’s a screening of SUS on April 24th, a film based on the “stop and search” law and will include a Q&A afterwards with Stephen Lawrence’s mom Doreen and the QC on the Lawrence case.  This should be good. 

The festival runs from April 22-30th and for more info visit www.eastendfilmfestival.com

6:00 am  •  19 April 2010  •  1 note

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10:00 am  •  13 April 2010

I’ve done some bold things in my life, but I think attempting to rap Fu-gee-La (one of the hardest hip-hop songs EVER, I now realise) in a West End bar,  tripping up on Wyclef’s opening verse, being booed and sweating like a pig will go down as one of my top 3 “But why?!” moments of all time.

But before I get too far ahead in the recap, I will say that if you’ve never, ever done karaoke, do it.  Do it this weekend, do it tomorrow.  Just do it and don’t look back,  grab that mike like you’re auditioning for X-Factor and want to WIN.  You’ll be glad you did.

This particular night was held by a company called Breaking The Ice, and since 2007, they’ve upgraded the traditional pop style of karaoke with R&B and hip-hop singalongs, which, if you’re something of a hip-hop head like me, will appreciate - especially for the chance to rap along to everything from Kriss Kross’s Jump to Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince .

The Sway bar (61-65 Great Queen Street) hosted the party’s long-awaited comeback and although the crowd was initially reserved,  by the time we heard Alexander ONeal’s Criticise and a very energetic rendition of Michael Jackson’s PYT, everybody was happy to get into the swing of things, like the (too) eager fella below:

And then it was my turn.  Along with my friend @misskhart, we initially decided to do Q-Tip’s Breathe and Stop, but at the last moment I convinced her we should perform Fu-gee-La because we used to sing it all the time at school.  Shame that I forgot we always used to skip Wyclef’s opening verse so after we hopped onto the stage, let the music kick in and delivered the first three lines, everything after “Tell the woman be easy Naah squeeze the Charmin” had us stumped until the chorus literally SAVED us.  And when I say stumped, I mean standing there in silence for at least a minute, scratching our heads and begging the crowd to help us out. Somebody “booed” instead. Rude.

That said, I tried to deliver that chorus like Beyonce pretending to be Lauryn Hill pretending she had a hit in the last two years (hee hee!), so I did not play! And judging by the crowd’s positive response, our earlier faux pas was soon forgotten.   But God knows the next time around (oh yes, there will be a next time - May my friends!), I’m revising my selection IN ADVANCE. 

For more info about Breaking The Ice, visit http://www.flavourmag.co.uk/breaking-the-ice-is-back/ or join the Facebook fan page.

10:00 am  •  12 April 2010

Somebody sent me a press release about this Malick Sidibe exhibition in Ladbroke Grove a few months back and I knew once I stepped into Lichfield Studios, I’d be in monochromatic heaven :-) Ooh, the things that tickle me so!

Sidibe’s snaps are hot - the stripey background with floral ground cover was wonderfully kitsch and his subjects were wannabe trendsetters, responding to the influence of Western culture on Mali, and even though a number of them are stony-faced (you know that face people pull when they think the camera’s gonna zap them? Yea. That face), you can tell that they adored having their photographs taken.  

Personal favourite was the A nous deux avec pots de fleures - 1975.  From the looks of it, the “boyfriend” is pleased to work it for the lens, while “missus” looks like she’s gonna hurl. Classic! 

The exhibition is on until April 16th (and thank you gallery owner Tristan Hoare for letting me in when it was closed xxx)

6:00 am  •  22 March 2010

I didn’t realise how taboo speed-dating was until I told people I was gonna do it. But for me, it was no biggie – I’d seen enough movies and TV shows to understand the protocol. You speak to random strangers for a few minutes or so in the hope that a first impression could be the difference between singledom and perhaps, one day, going half on a baby. Aint no thang, surely?

Well!  I had a total of 13 dates (each 3 minutes each), and only one stood out as a potential friend – he was very charming, relaxed, cute, intelligent – and we ended up talking into the interval (so, about 10 mins). Safe dude. And here’s the most memorable worst of the bunch:

The spitter – A very peculiar dude who needed a towel to wipe up the excess saliva he was splashing all over my table. He was a bit of an eediot too – when he asked me what I did for a living and I told him, “journalist and photographer” and he said (and I quote): “That’s an interesting job…I hate you already.” Is that so? Next. (And you better hope I don’t spot you on Crimewatch jack!)

The Old City guy – So the maximum age for the fellas at this event had to be 35-years-old. I’m certain homie was 42. And he was nervous. Oh so, nervous. And there were a lot of awkward silence. Poor chap. Possibly a divorcee :-(

Mr Star Sign – His first question was, what’s your star sign, of which I reluctantly said ‘Leo’, and was given a big fat smile afterwards. Ooooookay. And ‘Isn’t it?’ was his favourite response. He did remind me of Apu from the Simpsons, I can’t even lie.

Mr Tipsy – I mean, really? You’re that shook? Dang.

Mr Arrogant – A dude who was extremely forceful, intense, fake – and who leaned into my personal space, ended up coming out for dinner with us (more or less invited himself), and called me an Alpha Female. All in the name of ‘I Like You’ (or so I was told by one of my friends). His presence more or less ruined my evening. You’re not meant to come out of the boundaries of the event – unless dude is like THAT DUDE (and even then, THAT DUDE needs to go through SpeedDaters computer system and match me before we can even contemplate friendship) So that was that.

But hey, I did it :-)  Yey, me. I’d do it again too.   Any questions? Please feel free to ask.

6:48 pm  •  9 March 2010  •  1 note