The Royal Deer

The Royal Deer

The Royal Deer press cutting from Farnham Diary

We are losing 18 pubs a week. They are not dying, they are being killed by greedy pubcos (pub owning companies) that are screwing pub landlords with extortionate rents and drink prices often double the market rate, with the net result the pub goes bust and is then put on the market for redevelopment.

• Pubs screwed by greedy pubcos

For a pub to be brought back from te dead is a rare event, a cause for celebtration.

One such pub is The Royal Deer in Farnham.

But this will be more than a pub. Marios, who runs The Barn, a highly successfiul arts centre, plans to do the same with The Royal Deer.

Like The Barn, The Royal Deer will be a cultural centre, live music, theatre, films, excellent food, art exhibitions, yoga, art classes.

It is a development The Tumbledown Dick in Farnborough (currently earmaked for destruction for a Drive-hru McDonald’s) will be well advised to follow closely.

The earliest recorded publican or licensee for The Royal Deer is Henry Jouning in 1878.

Two rings

two rings

One from Brazil, inspired by The Alchemist.

The other from Glastonbury.

Resurrection and beyond

A detailed look at the various passages according to St Paul. A series of post-Easter talks by Canon Robert Cotton of Holy Trinity and St Mary’s.

Week III Paul and four paintings.

For both the Greeks and Jews, resurrection represents a paradigm shift.

For Greeks, death was a one way journey of no return. Not annihilation, a shadowy existence as shades. A few eminent persons, heroes and the like, may have a temporary earthly existence as shades.

For Jews, it was a developing concept. Pharisees had the concept of martyrs, fighting the enemy, a glorious death, to be resurrected to join the final victors. Not so the Sadducees, they were content as the ruling class, and the last thing they wished to see or encourage were martyrs to overthrow the existing order, they dismissed the idea of martyrdom, and victory as a shared experience.

the empty tomb

An empty tomb. Shock at finding it empty. Where was the body? But to then simply go home!

Greek icon resurrection of the dead

A Greek icon. Jesus resurrecting the dead at the end of time.

The Resurrection, Cookham (1924-1927) – Sir Stanley Spencer (1891-1959)

As Jesus died on the Cross, the skies turned black, the Temple curtain was torn in two. Or does it signify the end of time? Very Gothic, very Victorian.

The Gospels speak of the Resurrection of Christ, Paul takes this further, the resurrection of everyone.

John Updike, in Seven Stanzas at Easter, asks us to not mock God with metaphor, in other words, accept the harsh reality.

A little girl asked: How does God make people real? Then she answered her own question: First he draws them, then he colours them in.

• The Cross
• The Resurrection
• The Risen Existence: The Spirit of Easter
• ‘I Thirst’

I Will Love You Until Forever

I Love You

How much do I love you?

I loved you yesterday,
I love you today,
And I’ll love you tomorrow.

I will love you until forever.

That’s how much I love you.

どれだけ君を愛しているかって？

昨日も愛していたし、
今日だって愛しているし、
明日になっても、愛してる。

ずっと、永遠に愛してる。

それだけ君を、愛しているよ

Originally posted by Jo Sickbert and my lovely Japanese friend Misako Yoke.

【日英二ヶ国語ブログ】Blog with @JoSickbertArt "I Will Love You Until Forever": ow.ly/kuA0P—
Misako Yoke (@misakouroco) April 28, 2013

For Annie, with love.

West End Centre

West End Centre a cultural oasis in the cultural wasteland of Aldershot

upright piano in the bar

West End Centre is a cultural oasis in the cultural wasteland that is Aldershot, located in what was a former school, a few minutes walk from the dead and dying town centre.

They host music and comedy, occasional drama.

During the day, art, languages and other activities.

Tucked in one corner of the bar, a battered old piano, but on hitting a few keys, it does appear to be in tune and thus playable.

Their use of social media is at times dire, especially twitter, which is rather sad as it gives a total misleading impression of the venue, as you find it you pay a visit.

A rare exception, and a very clever idea, was retweet and we will put you in a draw for a free CD. An excellent idea and ought to be a condition for all acts when booked. Provide us with a few free albums, or a download code if on bandcamp (and if not, why not?) and we will offer to the punters. A win-win all round. Whoever is on gets publicised, their music gets spread around, the West End Centre gets free publicity.

Congratulations to @keithpp, @sarahmowat and @daveface86 – winners of a @DukeSpecial CD! Let us know how you want to receive your prize—
west end centre (@teamwesty) April 12, 2013

We have 5 copies of Duke Special album Oh Pioneer to give away to a good home before his gig here on Wed 17 Apr. Retweet to enter the draw!—
west end centre (@teamwesty) April 02, 2013

Amazing gig from @DukeSpecial at @teamwesty tonight, fabulous solo set complete with audience singalongs plus an encore on the bar piano!—
Matt Legge (@the_villain) April 17, 2013

@teamwesty @DukeSpecial Just got home, what a fantastic night! Especially the encore on the old Joanna in the foyer!—
Carl Pickles (@carl_pix) April 17, 2013

This could backfire if people did not like the music. But if not, hand back or pass on. But if people do like, more likely to tell their friends.

West End Centre is marking Word Book Night. This would be a good time to launch Westend Centre as a BookCrossing zone. Ask people to bring along books which can be left lying around for others to collect and release into the wild.

As a small venue, it would be of value to others if they contributed 360 words to The 360 Deal on what they look for when booking.

• Julia K at the West End Centre
• Mike Dawes and Amy Turk at the West End Centre

Easter paintings in Farnham Parish Church

carrying the cross

taken down from the cross

I came across these painting last week, but the church was too dark to see them properly.

Today it was much lighter.

They were not originals, which I would love to see. There was no information on them, or if there was, I did not see any.

I suspect they are Stations of the Cross, but if so I only saw eleven and there should be twelve, but I may have missed one.

Note: There are twelve, one is of the Last Supper.

I have always been impressed by Stations of the Cross in churches, as in each church, they are different.

Today there was a large wooden cross, which is not usually in the church. I assume it appeared yesterday, Good Friday.

• Crucifixion or Corpus Hypercubus

Banksy: Stations of the Cross

Banksy: Stations of the Cross

How appropriate for Easter, a Banksy entitled Stations of the Cross, but according to the Huffington Post, a fake Banksy.

Takis Moraitis

Takis Moraitis

Wandering through Plaka, , the old part of Athens below the Acropolis, I came across the studio of Takis Moraitis.

Takis Moraitis hails from Cephallonia and Milos, taking up residence in Piraeus at the end of the sixties. A student of Greece, Rome and Paris, his obvious talent was soon recognized by such famous art figures as George Kouzounis, Spiros Vasilliou and Yannis Tsarouhis, each of whom helped the budding painter develop his own individualistic style with colors and lines.

The lonian Islands and the Kyklades form much of his landscape subjects, where he pays special attention to the pure blue of the Mediterranean sky, the bright sunlight and the white buildings. His has a distinctive style of fusing color and light in a dramatic evocation of romantic settings. Downstairs in the Archipelago Restaurant you will find a very different painting on the theme of “Eat, Drink and be Merry”, but again his usage of blues and golds lend a unique flavor to the hedonistic portrayal.

Moraitis has held Exhibitions in many parts of the world including Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, Romania, Australia, Dubai and the Middle East, as well as Cyprus. He has also held many personal exhibitions in many parts of Greece and the Greek Islands, and his paintings have been collected for many important private collections. His works decorate palaces in the Middle East, the Presidential Palace in Cyprus, the Cyprus State Gallery and the Municipality buildings of Piraeus, Crete and Syros.

Throughout his career he has been presented with a number of awards, including those from the International Academy of Dioskouri, Italy. Today you will find Moraitis busy re-building an old house in the Plaka area of Athens, creating a special art center where he plans to host lovers of the art world and teach youngsters who a share his interest in painting Greek subjects.

I wish I had had more time to look at his works and have a chat.

He was most insistent that I look at his cellar. What he seemed to be wanting to show me, standing in the middle of what appeared to be an excavation, was a huge earthenware jar that looked like it something out of the Arabian Nights, wheich he saiod was 2,000 years old.

Arte exposición: éxtasis de Nuria Meseguer

éxtasis de Nuria Meseguer

I never actually found this art exhibition open. The only reason I was able to view it was because I was at a concert in Castillo de San Felipe.

• Coro de Cámara de Garachico en concierto en Castillo de San Felipe

The way the paintings were hung, gave the impression they were floating in front of the walls.

Castillo de San Felipe, an old colonial fort, is now used as cultural space, art, exhibitions, theatre, music, concerts

Castillo de San Felipe

El Castillo de San Felipe, on the edge of Playa Jardín, is a 17th century colonial style fort which used to protect the town from attacks by corsairs and pirates. It is one of three fortifications which used to exist in the town.

Built under Phillip IV between 1630 and 1644. Subsequently abandoned and allowed to fall into ruin after the flood of 1826, as its original purpose as a defence against English privateers was no longer needed.

Apart from guarding the town, the castle also guarded a small harbour located at the mouth of the Barranco de San Felipe. It was this that gave the castle its original name – Castillo del Puerto Viejo.

Castillo de San Felipe is now used as a cultural space for exhibitions, music recitals and drama.

Finding it open is a problem. Only three times have I found it open but was not allowed in, changing art exhibition, rehearsals (twice).

A very misearble man manning it, a typical council jobsworth.

Yesterday it was open, or should have been open. There was due a midday recital, but it was cancelled due to illness of the pianist. A miserable woman, another typical jobsworth, refuused to let anyone in to the art exhibition, even though they had made the effort to tun up for the midday concert. Her unhelpful attitude was one of ´come back Tuesday´.