R.I.P. Robbie Robertson.

A Visit To The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

It has rained here nearly every day recently. It hasn’t felt much like summer, but we should be grateful I suppose to live in a green a pleasant land. I would find temperatures such as those endured around the Mediterranean almost unbearable. Anyway, due to the rain I haven’t got out and about much lately. Thursday was quite a pleasant day however when I set off on the train to London with my sister and her partner. The reason for the trip was to see the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition because my elder brother had an exhibit in it called The Stormy Sea. I believe it is the first time a stained-glass work has been accepted for this event.

 The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually in Burlington House, Piccadilly during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, architectural designs and models, and is the largest and most popular open exhibition in the United Kingdom. It is also the longest continuously staged exhibition of contemporary art in the world. The first Summer Exhibition took place in 1769; it has been held every year since without exception. I was relieved that our train was running on time because there were a lot of cancellations due to industrial action on some services. We arrived at Waterloo at 11.50 and decided to walk to the gallery as it was only about a mile away. Even so we managed to get lost because I made a mistake about which bridge we had crossed over the Thames. 

My sister asked a policeman for directions, and he pointed us towards Leicester Square and Piccadilly. I must say I find central London quite irritating at this time of the year. The streets are jammed with tourists and traffic. Also, the school holidays adds to the melee of madding crowds. Not to worry, we eventually turned right at Fortnum & Masons where we found the courtyard of Burlington House which seemed in comparison like an oasis of calm. I hadn’t been to the Summer Exhibition before. The last time I came to the R.A. was for the Monet exhibition in 1999. 

On entering the first room the immediate thing that struck me was the vibrant colours of the exhibits which covered the walls. It was a feast for the eyes. There were 1613 works of art on display, so it would be impossible to study every one of them in a couple of hours. I could only look at those that particularly caught my eye. There are about eighty members of the R.A. who are entitled to show their work every year, so as well as quite unknown artists there are also works by the likes of Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Norman Ackroyd, Eileen Cooper, Humphrey Ocean, Paula Rego and many other notable artists. 

I made a beeline to find my brothers work and was pleased to see a little red sticker on the plinth which showed it was sold. It seemed to me that at least half of the works in the exhibition appeared to be sold which is a great thing for the R.A. because it is the commission on sales which helps fund all its educational work. Then I had a look at as many other pieces as possible. There was one huge work by the late Paula Rego called Oratorio which is impossible to miss. A mixed media triptych of paintings and mannequins which I found quite disturbing, almost grotesque, but also very moving. 

Other works that I admired included Ship by Chris Orr. Sisters In Scarves Eating Pimlico Chips by David Stewart, Beam Me Up Scotty by Barry Wilson, Daydream Believer by Eileen Cooper, Natural Selection by Jock McFadyen, Interior At Oriel by Ken Howard, Gossip: Post-Covid by Laura Carey, and many others that I can’t remember the names of now. Looking back at what I liked, I think that what attracted me to certain pieces was bright colours, humour, emotions, and a strong message. After spending a couple of hours in the gallery we got on the Bakerloo Line at Piccadilly Circus back to Waterloo for a nice relaxing drink in a nearby pub. London was too hectic for me to do anything else. Then we made our way back home after a very enjoyable visit to the R.A. Summer Exhibition. I would certainly go again, but maybe on a Sunday next time when London might be a bit quieter. 

Sinead O'Connor Raglan Road

R.I.P Sinead O'Connor.

The Korgis, The Lost Trades, & Rachel Hill, The Laverton Westbury, 21/07/2023.

Rachel Hill

We hear a lot of bad news these days, but there have been things to celebrate in Westbury recently. Firstly, the iconic White Horse is getting a much-needed refurbishment, and secondly the annual Westbury Festival has been taking place. One of the highlights for me has been the concert on Friday 21^st of July at the Laverton Hall featuring The Korgis, The Lost Trades, & Rachel Hill. The M.C. for the evening was Leander Morales fresh from his triumphant appearance at Glastonbury. The opening act was a young singer-songwriter from Cambridge called Rachel Hill who accompanied herself on acoustic guitar. She also very cleverly made use of a loop pedal which allowed her to harmonise beautifully with herself to stunning effect. Songs that stood out for me were her own compositions Ghost, Peaches & Cigars and It’ll Be Ok. The audience joined in enthusiastically with the choruses of the songs. The highlight of Rachel’s short but sweet set was her acapella version of Creep by Radiohead which got a huge ovation from the audience. 

The Lost Trades.

The second act of the evening was Wiltshire’s very own The Lost Trades. They are Jamie R Hawkins, Phil Cooper and Tamsin Quin. Some of the songs on their first album were recorded right here in Westbury at Phil’s house. They were all successful solo artists on the folk scene before pooling their talents to form The Lost Trades and have since built a reputation as a great live act and have spent weeks on the Folk album charts. If you like acoustic Americana type music with great harmonies, then The Lost Trades are the band for you. Crosby, Stills & Nash always come to mind when I hear their songs. 

Lost Trades.

Outstanding songs from their wonderful set included Old Man Of The Sea, Atlas, Long Since Gone, Little Blackbird, Valhalla, Fireflies and Best Foot Forward. In fact, every song was enjoyable. I predict a bright future for The Lost Trades. They deserve to be performing at Glastonbury next summer. 

The final act of the evening were The Korgis. They are mainly known for their hit singles If I Had You, and Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime which was a huge hit all over the world in 1980. There is a lot more to The Korgis than that though. Although they became famous in many countries, they are still a local band. Some of their early recordings were made in Camden Crescent in Bath after they were formed from another successful band called Stackridge. The only original member of the band I recognised in the present line-up was the singer James Warren. 

They are presently a five-piece band, including a female member called Danielle. The opening song was the reggae influenced Sign On The Dotted Line, followed by a Stackridge song The Last Plimsoll and 10cc’s Wall Street Shuffle. One of the band Paul Smith used to play in a duo singing Paul Simon songs around the pubs of Bath with Roland Orzibel who later found fame with Tears For Fears. In recognition of this the band performed a mash-up of Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover and Mad World. After performing their hit If I Had You Danielle sang the lead on their version of Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse Of The Heart. A new song Oppenheimer was next. The band said it was a coincidence that there is a new film out now called Oppenheimer. 

Don’t Look Back was next which was a big hit in Brazil because it was used as the theme song to a popular TV soap opera. Trevor Horn produced some of their early hits, so the band paid a tribute to him with their excellent version of Video Killed The Radio Star. Other highlights included Hold On which included a video filmed at nearby Iford Manor, This World’s For Everyone, and a stunning version of The Beatles A Day In The Life, and their world-wide hit Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime. They left the stage, but M.C. Leander persuaded them back for one last song The Best Thing You Can Do Is Love Someone. That brought a most enjoyable evening to a close. Thank you very much to Ian Cunningham, Leander Morales and all the team that work so hard to make The Westbury Festival such a success. 

 

The Korgis, If I Had You. Westbury, Wiltshire 2023

For 'Detectorists' fans. The Unthanks at Glastonbury.