Production shots for "You Should Be So Lucky" at Above The Stag Theatre in Vauxhall directed by Andrew Beckett.
Pictured, Ellen Vernieks as Lenore.
Great Set, lovely cast and crew and the venue is a real life secret gem inside a railway arch in old Vauxhall Town.




Here's a review

Saturday September 6th saw the 3rd annual Pup Aid event on Primrose Hill.
Attractions included the golden retriever display team who sat still while their handlers walked around them in all sorts of directions, then they all marched up and down together for a while before performing the sit and stay thing again. Exciting.
The main event however was the dog show.
This is Ollie, he is dressed as Liberace complete with wig and sparkly cape and arrived at the arena in a handbag.
I did mention that this was Primrose Hill didn't I?

Last week, I went to Eastbourne, camera at the ready at all times in case something happened. Nothing did, so I went somewhere else, and then the moment my back was turned, the pier burns down in spectacular front page style. Typical.

Today, MP and Vicar, both with time on their hands.

Alice Herz Sommer has died. I found out when I was flicking through The Independent earlier this morning. Lovely Alice.
Sometimes I would visit her at her flat, and sometimes she would even let me take her photograph. I first met her when she was 99 years old, and she talked for a while about this and that, and then she told me about the spoon. She said that after the war, a man who had been friends with her husband in Dachau, tracked her down and brought with him the sad tale of her husband's death from typhus, and her husbands spoon, the only thing he possessed in the camp.
After she had told me all this, she got up from her chair and went to a drawer in the dresser and after a moments rummaging she returned clutching her treasure, Alice still had the spoon. We decided we would photograph it.
There are plenty of photos of Alice around in various publications today, some of them mine, but none with the spoon.

Alice Herz Sommer 1903-2014

I've spent a couple of evenings at West End Lane Books recently. First to cover Ian Rankin who was signing copies of his new book "Saints of the Shadow Bible" and the second for the launch of "Decca Records and Klooks Kleek" by local authors Marianne Colloms and Dick Weindling, which charts the history of rock music in humble West Hampstead. NW6 was rocking back in the day, Hendrix, the Zep, and John Mayall were just a few of the bands who played Klooks Kleek at The Railway Hotel, and it's great to see the book finally in print. Some months ago I was lucky enough to spend the afternoon with the authors, the original Klooks promoters and musician Zoot Money, looking at some of the old photos, exploring the now unused club space, and hearing their tales of the glory days, and for me at least, it was one of the most memorable afternoons of the year. If the book comes anywhere near capturing those truly technicolor stories of gig nights, and the palpable fondness for that period that all of those present clearly shared, it's going to be a pleasure to read.

Having a flick through the papers and looking at some of the mostly good reviews for Religion & Anarchy at the Jermyn Street Theatre, and of course it's always fun to see some familiar photos along the way.
The production shots I took a couple of weeks ago are in The Telegraph and Time Out.


Gillian Wright and Clive Mendus in "How to Train an Anti-Semite"

Spent a lot of Saturday walking around Primrose Hill with Batman. After we'd been to the library and the sewing shop we got a little bit tired and Batman had to lean against the railings for a minute or two to take a short Bat rest. He seemed completely unaware that the cat sitting on the bin behind was quietly mocking him.

This, just in case you were wondering is a Doga class.
Doga is a word made up by the instructor and inventor of this new pastime using elements of the words Dog and Yoga.
Doga is a yoga class you can go to with your dog, so while you are stretching and balancing, and using deep breathing techniques to reach your inner calm, your dog has the opportunity to illustrate how entirely out of synch he/she is with you by  chasing another dog across someone else's yoga mat, slurping noisily out of the communal water bowl or avoiding the persistent and amorous advances of a huge black poodle called Wesley. Classes are not yet available on the Broadwater Farm Estate because there would be a massive and bloody staffy dog fight, but it is rumoured that they will soon be available in Hampstead.

Programme and production shots for Steven Berkoff's Religion & Anarchy at Jermyn Street Theatre.
Berkoff's five new interlinked plays exploring anti-semitism.
And yes I did encounter the man himself, and no he didn't want a biscuit.
Best go and see it for yourselves, it's on until 26th October.