Events
News and events from around our network, including, the man who invented St Trinian’s and a plane-lover’s paradise
[ MOSCOW ]
MUSIC RUNS RIOT IN RUSSIA
WE’RE INSPIRED by Coco & Igor, Jan Kounen’s exquisite new movie starring Karl Lagerfeld muse Anna Mouglalis. The film, which is out 6 August, charts the passionate and fiery affair between French fashion icon Coco Chanel and the radical Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. Each a creative giant in their own right, the film shows the lovers’ first dramatic encounter in Paris, at the premiere of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring – a performance that literally caused a riot with the audience booing, howling and swearing until the police had to intervene. Chanel, however, was transfixed. Though it lasted only six performances, the Rite was soon hailed as a masterpiece, marking the death of the ‘old world’ and a switch to modernity. Stravinsky was just one of a number of musical maestros to emerge from Russia, as you’ll discover if you’re travelling to Moscow this summer. Here’s our pick of the current finest – although contact them before you go, as things change quickly in this ever-evolving city…
The Most Club is among the hippest venues in town. Frequented by foreign celebs, it offers live jazz and Japanese food. +7 (495) 928 1707
Daisy Mitchell Club Chill out and listen to some soulful tunes. One of the most popular clubs for true blues lovers. +7 (495) 245 4183
Sixteen Tons Club This fabulously mellow art club, on the ground floor of a pub, mixes local heroes with occasional big names. +7 (495) 253 53 00, www.16tons.ru
Krizis Zhanra Newly opened, this intimate bar is the best bet for local and foreign bands. +7 (495) 623 25 94, www.kriziszhanra.ru
Shanti Similar to the international Buddha Bar chain, Shanti is cool with Eastern cuisine. +7 (495) 783 68 68, www.shanti.ru
Sharon Walker
[ HANOVER ]
Wishful thinking
RONALD SEARLE’S FIRST PAID CARTOONING JOB came in 1935 – when he was just 15. Since then the 90-year-old has contributed drawings and cartoons to Life, Punch, Le Monde, the New Yorker and numerous books. Now best known as the creator of the anarchic St Trinian’s boarding school, there’s something wonderfully English in his dark, cheeky drawings. You can enjoy his acid penwork this summer at the Wilhelm Busch museum in Hanover. Searle has turned much of his personal archive over to the museum, including a wealth of drafts, documents, sketches and other artefacts spanning his 75-year career.
Ryan Millar www.wilhelm-busch-museum.de
PERSIAN TREASURES Iran’s art scene is booming and collectors are taking notice. Thanks to heavy bidding by the Middle East’s super-rich, prices of Iranian art have more than doubled over the past few years. At Christie’s April 2009 auction, a sculpture by the Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli, sold for $2.8 million, a world auction record for a work of art by a Middle Eastern artist. With Sotheby’s auctioning similar works in London this October, now is a good time to invest.
Britt Collins
[ LONDON ]
THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO
THE WILD BLUE YONDER will look wilder than usual as the Farnborough International Air Show gears up this year. The first five days are for trade visitors only, a global showcase of the latest aviation technology. But for the final weekend, the doors are thrown open to the general public and the famous air displays take place. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, two Messerschmitts and two Spitfires will once again be dogfighting over the Hampshire skies. On the ground, you will be able to see the Bloodhound supersonic car – a British attempt to break the land speed record – as well as skateboard display teams and BMX stuntmen. There is also a new Space Zone where robots roam free and you can experience simulated space travel for yourself.
Britt Collins 19-25 July, www.farnborough.com
[ LONDON / BERLIN ]
FRESH IDEAS
THE FOOD MAY BE FROM SOUTH EAST ASIA, but the inspiration for London restaurant Monsieur M came from Berlin. “I never thought about opening a restaurant,” says German entrepreneur Marc Bringmann. “But while visiting a friend in Berlin, we went to a tiny Vietnamese restaurant that only offered six freshly made dishes which changed daily. I wondered why we didn’t have one here.”
A couple of years and many adventures later he launched Monsieur M, with its daily changing choice of Vietnamese/Thai three main courses and sides. And the pricing is just as simple as the menu; lunch costs just £3.
Robina Dam www.monsieurm.co.uk
[ SIERRA LEONE ]
LOOKING AFTER BABY
INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS in Sierra Leone took on special significance this year as President Ernest Bai Koroma announced a radical new health programme: free healthcare for pregnant or breastfeeding woman and children under five. The plan has been substantially supported by aid agencies like Save the Children, Médecins Sans Frontières, the UN and the British government. According to Unicef, the campaign will help more than a million children and 250,000 pregnant women and new mothers.
Ryan Millar
[ BELFAST ]
POINTS OF VIEW
PHOTOGRAPHER JOHN BAUCHER has taken over 2,000 portraits of Belfast’s residents and visitors using an unusual technique. He sets up two cameras, then takes a picture with one camera through the viewfinder of the other, resulting in these jewel-like miniatures. On the last night of the exhibition you can even take home your favourite picture – for free.
5-24 July, Belfast Waterfront, 2 Lanyon Place, +44 (0)28 9033 4400, www.waterfront.co.uk/whatson
[ GRONINGEN ]
NO BUNNIES NEEDED
DUTCH SCIENTISTS have developed a way to use thinly sliced human tissue to check whether drugs have harmful side effects. This is great news for lab rats, but humans can share in their relief – the tissue comes from organs removed during operations. For her efforts, Geny Groothuis, a professor at Groningen University, has been given an award from the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals. It’s not the first time that she has been recognised for her animal-friendly science – in 1998 she was awarded the Hugo van Poelgeest prize for alternatives to animal experiments.
RM
