The Wickedest of Cargoes

I recently went to see an exhibition put on by Newham Council at Stratford Town Hall about the slave trade. I should perhaps, before too long, do a blog about Stratford Old Town Hall - it is a building that is a work of art in itself. The picture shows elected Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales visiting the exhibition when it opened. I was interested to discover how many local notables from East Ham and West Ham were connected with the campaign to abolish the trade in slaves two hundred years ago, and slavery itself. These include MPs who aided Wilberforce in passing the Abolition Act in 1807, and various campaigners, including Elisabeth Fry, Samuel Gurney, and Buxton. Of course the Borough has other links of a more unsavoury nature - Tate & Lyle have their biggest sugar refinery in Silvertown. I was impressed by the exhibition - it included a wide variety of artefacts and a good narrative outlining the history of slavery from ancient times to the present day. Slavery (in a variety of forms) exists throughout the world today.

The Entertainer

I couldn't find a picture showing the cast from the present run at the Old Vic. The illustration here is from the film starring Lawrence Olivier. It is said that the great actor told Robert Lindsay that he would be ideal in the lead role. Mr Lindsay has only just reached the appropriate age to take on this monster of a part, requiring incredible dexterity, skill and determination - Robert Lindsay took on the role with tremendous verve.

This play is set in Britain at the time of Suez and is intended to be a metaphor for the decline of the British Empire - as the leading character (Archie Rice) is a music hall entertainer at the end of the era of variety. Perhaps this was one of the great triumphs of television that it hammered several nails into the coffin of this 'artform'. Like Britain, Archie has lost his way and can't quite find a role in the new world. His wife, played by Pam Ferris, is a total revelation - she changes her mood rapidly and expresses every emotion with superb timing.

The action is set in the lodging house Archie has taken for the season. There lives his father - who is a retired actor - clearly of greater standing than Archie - his wife and one of his sons, who had refused to be conscripted into National Service. The other son is away in the army, and his fate forms the centre of the piece. the play opens with the arrive of their daughter, who is going through some tricky relationship difficulties. Although this is a comedy it darkens as it progresses, and is very thought provoking. Archie himself is extremely repulsive in his behaviour and attitude, but somehow induces sympathy. The remainder of the family also parade less than attractive qualities, but somehow you empathise with them.

The play is rarely revived - and it isn't surprising because it is rare to find such quality of acting from a cast and this play demands such high standards. It is worth reviving more often. My rating: 8/10

Cutty Sark

Fortunately, when the fire broke out, much of the structure had been removed for a massive restoration and preservation project.

The fire was started deliberately it is believed, and the Cutty Sark Trust are concerned that the heat of the fire may have buckled the iron hull, but they will have to wait for further examinations.

Go to http://www.cuttysark.org.uk to contribute towards the restoration. The Cutty Sark normally gets 7 million visitors a year - so if each person send £1 they will be close to meeting the costs of all the work required to make it once again a place of pilgrimage for all wanting to get a taste for Britain's Maritime History

19 Princelet Street, Spitalfields

A friend told me about this unusual project in East London. 19 Princelet Street in Spitalfields, close to Brick Lane and Liverpool Street is a house built in 1719 that has had a remarkable history. It was firstly rented by a Huguenot family of refugees, then after a period of prosperity the area began to decline. The building was converted into lodgings for silk weavers, who created large windows on the upper floors to allow them to work longer hours. Irish immigrants used it as a lodging house in the nineteenth century and then in 1869 a Jewish Friendly Society took the lease and built a synagogue in the garden to serve the growing community of immigrant jews from eastern Europe. A caretaker lived in one of the flats, and other rooms were rented out. In the C20th the Jewish congregation began to dwindle, and the last wedding was held in the 1970s. The building became derelict, although one reclusive lodger continued to rent the top floor, although he walked out one day leaving his 'home' untouched for a decade or so. A charity rescued the building, but it is still in danger. It is now trying to raise £3m to preserve it. For a few days a year it is open to visitors, when I came out today there was a queue reaching to the corner of the street. It is next open on Sunday 27th May.

Find out more at http://19princeletstreet.org.uk

Renoir Landscapes

I was pleased I managed to go to the Exhibition of Renoir Lanscapes at the National Gallery, just before it closed this weekend. I'd been recommended to go by a work colleague.

I have to say I found the townscapes more charming than the countryside views, and some of the Venetian pictures appeared somewhat unsuccessful. Renoir certainly had an eye for scenes involving water - the ones involving boating, or with a river in the background really caught my attention - but for vibrancy of colours the Algerian pictures are superb.

My favourites? 'Woman with a parasol and a Small Child on a Sunlit Hillside' (1874); 'Allee in the Woods' (c1878-9) - what a beautiful impression of a wild wood, 'The Jardin d'Essai, Algiers' (1881), 'Field of Banana Trees near Algiers' (1881), 'The Railway Bridge at Chatou' (1881) - utterly charming, and of course 'Chestnut Trees in Bloom'. What can be nicer than viewing some art followed by a cup of tea in the cafe in Trafalgar Square? Bliss.

The Eurovision Song Contest

Words fail me.

Tony Blair - history will judge him kindly

Ten years of government led by Tony Blair will shortly come to an end.

I'm going to list the things that I think should be remembered about him and his term of office.

The first Labour leader to win three general elections with large majorities.

The minimum wage.

The Freedom of Information Act.

The incorporation of the Human Rights Convention into British law.

Power Sharing in Northern Ireland.

Greater tolerance for minorities - the introduction of Civil Partnerships.

Greater equality and protection of minorities.

Better maternity and paternity pay.

Holiday rights.

A decade of low inflation.

A decade of economic growth.

Free entrance to museums and galleries.

Family Tax Credits.

IRAQ

A victory for democracy?

The election of Nicholas Sarkozy may not end the problems that beset France. I wonder if he can really get to grips with the deep seated divisions within French society. Is he truly the French Margaret Thatcher? Certainly he recognises that the French need to work harder, economic growth is more important than a job for life. The enormously high levels of youth unemployment can only signal trouble unless jobs can be created and France can be dragged into the top ranks of economic powers in Europe. There is a degree of schizophrenia within French society, proudly nationalistic and yet holding unrealistic views about their place in the world. This is an aging population finding change difficult to cope with - and yet they voted for a man who seeks economic transformation - perhaps because of his hard line on immigration, to outflank Le Pen. However, who will be the stokers of the engine of economic growth if the immigrant population are cast out - the French workforce seem to only want to have the lifetime civil service jobs. The excellent 85% turnout is incredibly impressive and Royal did well to gain 47% of the vote. Sarkozy needs to unite and not alienate, and Britain will find it difficult in Europe if Sarkozy maintains his opposition to Turkey's accession and continues Chirac's defence of French farmers in the face of the costs and economic realities.

Sarkozy will need to start work pretty quickly if he's going to be believed as the true reformer.

St Paul's Covent Garden

A friend of mine had a nine hour stopover at Heathrow en route between Manchester and Hong Kong on Tuesday. I suggested

we met at Covent Garden, to take up some of the time. After a pleasant lunch we drifted around the piazza and came across a
a real gem of a Church - St Paul's, which is known as the actors Church. The face turned to the square is plain, classical and understated, but the reverse face overlooks a lovely garden with

many seats. We wandered into the church and discovered an array of plaques to many actors, theatre producers, dancers, directors and playwrights. Richard Beckinsale, Flora Robson, Oscar Wilde, Noel Coward, Edith Evans, are all commemorated. The interior of the Church is restful and plain, very Georgian. In many ways the fact that it is so plain makes this Church very moving, and there close by the door is a plaque marking the life of Vivien Leigh. How appropriate is the epitaph upon it - taken from the play Anthony and Cleopatra:

'So fare thee well,

Now boast thee, death, in thy possession lies

A lass unparall'd.'