Photomonth '09 - The East London Photography Festival

The largest photography festival in the UK with more than 150 exhibitions and events hits over 80 East End venues throughout October, providing more than a flash of inspiration to anyone who appreciates a bit of shutterbug action.

This year, co-produced by Alternative Arts and our friends at Shoot Experience among others, the festival celebrates photography in all it's variety but focuses on the art form and its role as a powerful tool of contemporary communication. The month starts with an opening and evocative exhibition of an East End childhood by Paul Trevor at the Museum of Childhood.

Watch out for Photofair transforming Spitalfields' traders market into a photographers' paradise with stalls, galleries, prints and games as well as a Shoot Spitalfields Shoot Experience.

Other highlights include Photo-open at the Old Truman Brewery, portfolio reviews and the Photomonth lecture given by Mark Neville (Port Glasgow Book Project) at the Whitechapel Gallery, talks and debates at Amnesty International UK and a whole series of workshops and seminars at London Metropolitan University. There are also exhibitions from major artists and the debut of the Youth Photography Award.

Focus on photography this October and don't forget to share your Photomonth with us in the Londonist Flickrpool.

Photomonth runs 1 October - 30 November 2009. Visit the website for more info: www.photomonth.org

Walking in a Wintle wonderland through Dalston

Scott Schuman, an American blogger whose website, The Sartorialist, features pictures of people he's spotted on the street that he believes dress well, accompanied by a few anodyne comments, was in Liberty this week signing copies of a book he has put together.

Not a huge crowd-pleaser, you might think, yet on Monday a queue of fancifully dressed male fans snaked around the store waiting for his autograph.

The capital's streets are acting as a playground for a new generation of young dandies happy to experiment with the way they dress: head up Kingsland Road from Shoreditch to Dalston, and you will see everything on show from the ironic, and now ubiquitous, butch combo of jeans, checked shirt and waxed Barbour worn with full moustache, to the more effete ensemble of skinny suit with ankle-skimming trousers and tiny bowtie.

More pictures: The Jsen Wintle men's wear show

This resurgence of style-conscious male dressing has earned men their own day of shows on the London Fashion Week calendar. Yesterday saw everything from metallic camouflage pants to fox fur capes on the catwalks at Somerset House for next spring/summer.

The two big presentations were from the Man show, curated by Topman and Fashion East, and British-based designer Jsen Wintle's eponymous collection.

At the Man show there were striking offerings from Katie Eary and JW Anderson. Eary's models looked like Bodyworlds cadavers sporting bruised leather jackets, gold bone and pearl ribcages and brass sandals. Anderson's collection had a big emphasis on bomber jackets, with a selection in towelling, silk crepe and nylon.

Topman's own collection also featured bomber jackets but these were less successful — the unstructured, Nineties shapes seemed lacklustre. More tempting was the label's tailoring: fitted silk jackets and slim-cut trousers looked modern, deceptively expensive and perfect for office or club.

In contrast to most of the show yesterday, Wintle, who also designs a covetable men's range for M&S, sent out a collection for fashion-forward grown-ups. Here were clothes for the man whose social media might be LinkedIn rather than Facebook.

The beautifully cut jackets, elegant trousers and voluminous shorts — nearly all in pastels and creams — were presented with such lightness of touch they practically floated down the catwalk.

Although the energy and talent of the new generation of designers is to be applauded, it is always a relief to see something put together with the skill of an experienced designer who, until this week, has shown in Paris.

Wintle, who had David Walliams, Richard James, Evgeny Lebedev and Joely Richardson in his front row, is a name to watch. If we can persuade him to continue showing this side of the Channel, Wintle might be a label of which London could become increasingly proud.

Hackney's buildings throw open their doors for Open House weekend

Mapledene Road

By Peter Sherlock

SOME of the borough's most striking buildings opened their doors to residents for free at the weekend.

Open House Weekend, a London-wide celebration of building design, takes place every October.

Among those taking part was the cultural workspace, Village Underground, in Holywell Lane, Shoreditch.

The restored Victorian warehouse boasts two former London Underground carriages.

The four carriages have been hoisted above the Shoreditch skyline by crane and converted into artists' studios.

Also opening its doors was a Victorian terrace house in Mapledene Road, Dalston, a former drug den that has been converted by architectural firm Platform 5 into a family home.

The architects have allowed light to run through the building via a glass-covered sun wall and moveable glass roof above the kitchen.

A spokesman for Open House Weekend said: "The event was a great success. Hundreds of people joined in for what has been an incredible celebration of London's architecture.

Historic Hackney

Explore one of London's older inner suburbs with a hot trot around historic Hackney. Led by a local, track Hackney's development over 600 years from medieval country village, to country retreat and Victorian working class suburb. Uncover a building with 13th century origins, a Tudor mansion built by one of Henry VIII's leading courtiers, immaculate Georgian terraces, a non-conformist chapel beloved of Betjeman, and an Edwardian variety theatre – amongst other unexpected treasures.
In partnership with City Highlights

Thu 22 Oct, 11am – 1pm
Book in advance £8
Explore one of London's older inner suburbs with a hot trot around historic Hackney. Led by a local, track Hackney's development over 600 years from medieval country village, to country retreat and Victorian working class suburb. Uncover a building with 13th century origins, a Tudor mansion built by one of Henry VIII's leading courtiers, immaculate Georgian terraces, a non-conformist chapel beloved of Betjeman, and an Edwardian variety theatre – amongst other unexpected treasures.

In partnership with City Highlights

http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/EventsExhibitions/Events/FeaturedEvents/Walks.htm

Green Day Launch London Art Exhibition in Shoreditch

Green Day have commissioned 21 original pieces of art inspired by their most recent album release, '21st Century Breakdown'.

The paintings will be shown exclusively at the StolenSpace Gallery in Shoreditch, East London from October 22nd until November 1st to coincide with Green Day’s sold out UK concert tour.

It will open the day before the band’s two sold-out performances at the O2 Arena in London.

Speaking of the exhibition lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong said, "We‘re really excited to be associated with this incredible show. Seeing the pieces that our new album has inspired is very exciting.

We feel a strong connection to that type of creative expression; we think the fans coming out will love it."

Each of the collaborating artists (Including painter Ron English and French stencil artist C215) were each sent the album's lyrics and asked to produce a piece of art that reflected that song.

One of Britain's longest running and best loved rock acts split up today after Dave announced his retirement from Chas & Dave

The cockney duo had been playing together since 1972 and were responsible for classic tunes such as Rabbit, The Sideboard Song, Aint No Pleasing You and Snooker Loopy.

Now, just weeks after Oasis split, bassist Dave Peacock, 64, has announced his decision to retire from the music industry following the death of his wife Sue from lung cancer.

Although Chas & Dave went together like apples and pears, lead singer and pianist Chas Hodges today vowed to continue playing their hits under the new name of Chas And His Band.

Chas and Dave first started knocking out tunes in the Cat and Mutton on London Fields where Chas' aunt use to run the pub.

Chas, 65, today said: "Obviously it's sad. It's the end of an era but the start of another one - the show goes on.

"I still see Dave every week and he's coping but I don't think he wanted to do the gigging any more.

"He has horses and he loves driving them round his grounds and painting gypsy wagons which he's very good at so I don't think he'll miss the gigging.

"Chas & Dave is a legendary name but I shall be taking over the gigs. I'll be doing the old songs as well as new ones and talking about Dave during the show."

The band's agent, Barry Collings, added: "Sadly Dave's beloved wife Sue passed away in July this year after over 30 years of blissful marriage.

"Understandably Dave has taken his loss very badly and he hasn't the heart to continue gigging and with regret he has decided to retire from the music business."

The duo, who pioneered the musical genre 'Rockney', had undergone a renaissance in recent years with bands such as The Libertines citing them as an influence.

Indeed, Chas & Dave supported the band during their London shows in 2003 and 2004 with Pete Doherty and Carl Barat joining them on stage for a few songs.

The band also played to a packed out tent at the Glastonbury festival in 2005.

Darren Juniper, the son of a school friend of Chas who introduced him to Dave years ago, is now standing in on bass. They have resisted the temptation to call themselves Chas and Daz.

The line up, completed by longtime drummer Mick Burt, will be continuing to fulfil all outstanding Chas & Dave engagements.

Chas will be performing all the Chas & Dave hits in the second half of the show including Margate, Gertcha and London Girls, along with some tracks from Chas's new solo album.

The first half of the show will now feature Chas's tribute to Rock 'n' Roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis and end with Rabbit to 'give the audience a taste of what's to come in the second half'.

Chas & Dave's debut album 'One Fing 'n' Anuvver' was released in 1975 earning critical acclaim from the likes of Radio One legend John Peel.

Featuring songs such as 'Ponders End Allotments Club' it had a strong North London angle and was acclaimed as the first example of cockney rock 'n' roll.

Their proudly cockney vocals led them to title their 1978 EMI album 'Rockney'.

Critics described the musical style of 'rockney', as 'pub singalong, music-hall humour, boogie-woogie piano and pre-Beatles rock 'n' roll'.

Gertcha was the first of their eight Top 40 hits in 1979 while Aint No Pleasing You reached number two in the singles chart in 1982.

Famously, the pair collaborated with Tottenham Hotspur FC on their legendary FA Cup Final songs in 1981, 1982 and 1987.

Their magnificent 'Ossie's Dream (Spurs Are On Their Way To Wembley)' b/w 'Glory Glory, Tottenham Hotspur' rose to number five in the charts in May 1981.

Chas & Dave are revered at Spurs and when Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was spotted at White Hart Lane for his club Manchester City's defeat last season, playful fans chanted: "You're just a shit Chas & Dave."

The band also contributed theme tunes for TV shows such as 'Crackerjack' and 'In Sickness & In Health'.

Contrary to urban myth, they did not do the Only Fools and Horses theme, turning the opportunity down because they were too busy.

Fan Justin Walker, 45, said: "It's a very sad day. Chas & Dave have been a British institution for 30 odd years and it's a great shame Dave will not be up on stage anymore.

"Of course the songs will always live on."

Sue Peacock died of lung cancer aged 63 on July 4 this year, despite never having smoked.

A tribute on the band's website: "Sue was quite simply a remarkable human being. Loved by anyone who was lucky enough to know her, she never had a negative point of view on anyone or anything.

"Sue and Chas' wife Joan were inseparable best friends, and she and Dave were godparents to Chas and Joan's children.

"Sue was instrumental behind the scenes for Chas and Dave, working tirelessly on the side of the business that musicians just aren't good at.

"It's accurate to say that without Sue and Joan, there wouldn't have been Chas and Dave."

Illegal workers found at Dalston sweatshop making clothes for chain store Jane Norman

COPS swooped on a Dalston sweatshop and discovered fourteen illegal workers making clothes for popular high street chain Jane Norman.

Workers, 12 women and two men, from China, Turkey and Vietnam were taken away by the UK Borders Agency last Wednesday (September 16).

Some 24 UKBA and police officers raided Dila Ltd in Frederick Terrace just after noon, where they found 35 workers behind sewing machines, cutting patterns and attaching buttons.

The sweatshop's owner now faces a fine of up to £140,000.

Mabs Uddin, a UK Border Agency Inspector, said: "These arrests show our commitment to operations targeting businesses which employ illegal workers. It is a crime that not only undercuts local business, but also has a serious impact on local communities - taking jobs from those who are genuinely allowed to work.

"We will act on any information received and if appropriate visit the place concerned to make arrests. We will not tolerate illegal working in East London."

UKBA said there was no suggestion that Jane Norman were involved in the employment of these individuals.

Pop Up Underground Restaurant Review: The Pale Blue Door in Dalston

The Pale Blue Door will swing open again later this month for five more days of camp supper club food and frolics in Dalston. Artist Tony Hornecker has been hosting a pop up restaurant-cum-installation at his house this summer. It's been such a success that he's declared he'll be back from the 30th September to 4th October.

We stepped through the Pale Blue Door on bank holiday Sunday and loved the glowing candlelight, the heavy velvet drapes, the chintzy crockery as well as being served a welcome G&T by a gorgeous drag queen in an incredibly short dress. The food wasn’t gourmet but still tasty and filling. A three course meal with wine, including a roast and yummy homemade crumble, was ours for a £30 fee.

But this wasn't about the food, it was about everything else. It was about clambering up steep stairs and disappearing through trapdoors, about high ceilings and ceilings so low you have to crawl … about chickens living on the roof and a bathroom dressed in red velvet still serving as home to the inhabitant's toothbrushes. It was about the voyeurism of exploring someone else's home, in this case an artist's live/work space transformed into a wonderland.

We shared our evening with an eclectic bunch of Londoners who'd resisted the August bank holiday exodus and were looking to be fed and entertained. There were retired folk and pregnant women, as well as couples, friends and people who'd braved it alone.

It's really up to the individual how much you immerse yourself in the experience. We ate, drank and we were rewarded with glorious Tina Turner renditions from our hostess. By the time coffee was finished, we were dancing with our dining neighbours. The next morning glitter was everywhere, in places you'd never imagine, and the gin and red wine combined to produce seriously fuzzy heads. But it was worth it for a mad and wonderful night.

To book email thepalebluedoor@hotmail.co.uk or visit tonyhornecker.wordpress.com.

Secret Cinema on London Fields

A few weeks ago the Secret Cinema did the Warriors on London fields, the event was a roaring success and great use of the park, more events should be arrange on this great field, see how it unfolded...

• Time Lapse
• Teaser Trailer

Vogue loves to reference Dalston!

Street Chic

A Whiter Shade of Pale Part V

Today there is an autumnal chill in the air, so I break out my Meadham Kirchhoff reconstructed Breton - Deauville meets Dalston.

Italian Vogue's Collest Place in London - Dalston!

With a nod of thanks to Mwmbwls at London Reconnections, he (or she, but it's such a geeky site I'm guessing he) draws our attention to an article in Construction News, which references an Italian edition of Vogue magazine, which allegedly claims that Dalson is the coolest place in London. So let's recap. I'm telling you that London Reconnections tells us that Construction News tells us about an article in Italian Vogue. Clear? Good. Because I didn't believe a word of it and went in search of hard evidence, and it took a lot of furious Googling before I found it here.

Anyway. I'm excited about the arrival of Haggerston station, as it'll be within stumbling distance of my house, and will take me direct to somewhere within stumbling distance of my studio, which will shave my morning and evening journey times by a half. To be honest, looking at it, I can't really see who else is going to benefit from the East London Line extension, but I for one can't wait.

But the whole vogue connection set me wondering. Can a place retain its cool once it's properly connected to the transport network? Are the floods of vogue-reading Italians going to take the place downhill? I already exclaimed in horror to my wife as we passed an Art Gallery on Kingsland Road the other day - an Art Gallery! Kingsland Road! It can only be a matter of time before Matalan is replaced by Heals. What if Kingsland Waste gets all antiquey?

And combine that with the claims of the New York Times that Deptford is the hippest place in London, and we're going to find the East London Line is one to be avoided because of the rapid shuttling of the in-crowd backwards and forwards between Dalston and New Cross.

I'm going to have to take the rough with the smooth, I suppose. Or start shopping in Archway. Or maybe Upper Street will be overtaken by Deptford High Street and Kingsland Road, and we can all have a relaxed quiet value-for-money Friday evening again.

From Dalston to Halston: East London designer Marios Schwab takes over as creative director of the glamorous US label

Flashback: May, 1977. Bianca Jagger, estranged Rolling Stones wife, Interview cover star and party girl par excellence takes to the floor of Studio 54 like a disco Lady Godiva atop a white steed. But unlike Godiva, Jagger is far from naked; instead she is draped in silk jersey, trussed with gold cord and glowing in the barrage of paparazzi flashbulbs. It's a heady cocktail of glamour, sex and celebrity that remains powerful and seductive – even today.

At least, that's what the head honchos of New York label-cum-legend Halston (the name inside that white jersey creation) hope. They include Harvey Weinstein, one of several investors who bought the label in 2007 and Tamara Mellon, who is on the board, and the new weapon to harness that enduring brand appeal: Marios Schwab. One of London's leading young guns – though when the phrase is mentioned he exasperatedly points out his age (32) while I tot up his catwalk outings (nigh on 10 seasons) – Schwab's cerebral, considered approach to fashion has seen him consistently dubbed the Next Big Thing.

That tag has come good now as Marios Schwab holds the somewhat grander title of creative director at Halston. Announced in May, the high-profile appointment has the fashion world buzzing. At first glance, Marios Schwab and the Halston founder could not be more dissimilar. Born Roy Frowick in Iowa in 1932, Halston dropped both first and last names upon his arrival in New York to be known only by his middle name – or, more enigmatically, "H", a self-made myth who in the words of the photographer Francesco Scavullo "invented pretentiousness" for Seventies America.

Schwab is anything but pretentious: a pragmatic Greek-Austrian alumnus of Central Saint Martins whose label, based in London's still-gritty far-East End, is literally and figuratively a thousand miles away from H's glamorous American excess. But how does Marios Schwab relate to Halston? How to reconcile this young designer known for sexy-but-severe intellectual attire with the tarnished Manhattan megalith best remembered for dressing the disco-crazed hordes of Studio 54? It seems their work, too, is worlds apart – yet despite being approached by sexed-up Italian conglomerates and dusty Parisian couture houses alike, Schwab declares that Halston was the only one that felt right. "When they approached me, I instantly thought 'This is the house I want to work for.' Sometimes, you just feel super confident about something."

It is interesting that he feels so "super confident", as for some frock-watchers Schwab's appointment comes from left-field. After all, he is lauded as a conceptual whizz-kid who has taken inspiration from medieval dissection manuals, hobbled models in floor-length tube-skirts and cracked cocktail dresses open like volcanic fissures. All a far cry from Liza and Bianca et al in jersey jumpsuits and Ultrasuede shirt-dresses, and rightly so: Schwab's appointment brings high concept to Halston.

In his own mind, Marios Schwab already has the Halston hallmarks down pat. "I like the era, the people, the fantasy. Halston was ultra-sophisticated, but with a punch. It wasn't boring, it was super sharp." All adjectives which could easily be ascribed to Schwab's own creations, albeit in a very different fashion. From the start, Schwab was sharper than most: his first catwalk outing under the auspices of new talent showcase Fashion East in 2005 made the press sit up and take note. Far from the show-off shenanigans of most early collections, Schwab's show was firm, focused and eminently wearable. Feted by taste-breaking American Vogue as "London's leading exponent of the early-Nineties revival", Schwab's spring/summer 2006 collection caught on to the Alaïa-like aesthetic that was then barely a blip on fashion's radar. "You want to wear something and look like a supermodel – or maybe a superwoman," Schwab states of that first show, while "supermodel" and "superwoman" are phrases that pop up throughout his conversation alongside much impassioned Mediterranean hand-gesturing. It's easy to imagine Schwab's burning passion for clothes, women and fashion in general inflaming even the coolest of Manhattan boardrooms.

The buzz around his potential succession to Halston's former head designer Marco Zanini, who left after just two seasons, began at Schwab's spring/summer 2009 show last September. It was a collection of twisty-turny jersey frocks, Grecian drapes and a sinuous slashed onesie snaked with golden rope. "These garments are about the body. This is my identity. I always wanted to create garments that are related to the body, because that's what we're actually covering." In retrospect, both the clothes and the thought behind them made it the perfect dress rehearsal for Halston – but the connection between the two designers is more subtle than that. Schwab himself states "Halston is sculptural in a fluid way, Marios Schwab in a less fluid way", and it's easy to relate Halston's method of wrapping abstract fabric shapes around the body to Schwab's own fiendishly complex garments that ripple around female curves like geodesic domes. If Andy Warhol praised Halston garments for their simplicity ("How American garments should be"), Schwab's creations may be complicated to construct, but are nevertheless deceptively simple to wear. As with Halston, that approach has won critical and commercial success: a roster of stars, including Chloe Sevigny, Sienna Miller and the singularly monikered Kate and Kylie have Schwab hanging in their wardrobes, while the label has 50-plus stockists worldwide.

For those who may consider this as Schwab selling out, his attitude to the age-old art versus commerce debate is refreshing. "I'm not going to create the 'It' bag. I don't think that's necessary, there are so many 'It' bags around. Do you think Dior created because he said to himself, 'I want to sell'? What's the point of being a creator if you don't start with the fantasy of fashion?" In a sense, this is what the Halston team have recruited Schwab to provide: an injection of his rigorous, intellectual vision into the brand and New York Fashion Week. At the same time, the launch of a new label, Halston Heritage – redeveloping iconic pieces from the label's archive at an accessible price point – will help offer the necessary financial support to give Schwab's fantasy a free hand when his first collection hits the New York catwalk in February 2010.

This month Schwab travels to New York, to meet his transatlantic creative team for the first time and finally get his hands on those archives. Whether Schwab will lean on those or go his own way is still to be decided: "I really love the brand, I love the history of Halston," he declares. "But I like doing things that are not obvious. I like a challenge." Challenging is certainly the word that comes to mind: Zanini left under something of a dark cloud after barely two seasons and subsequent lacklustre collections were created by a nameless design collective. Schwab's own reasons for accepting the job are as clean-cut as a Halston frock: "It just fits. It fits like a glove." If his creations follow the same simple formula, Halston is on to a winner.

UK’s first carbon-neutral theatre planned for Hackney

An east London theatre is planning to appoint architects to design the UK’s first carbon-neutral theatre building.

The Arcola Theatre in Hackney aims to relocate to a 2,000sq m site next to Dalston Junction station and create a 350-seat theatre built of sustainable materials including straw bales and doors salvaged from skips.

Engineer Arup has given 18 months worth of pro bono work for the proposal while the London Development Agency has awarded a £60,000 for a feasibility study subject to Hackney Council approving the site.

Read more: http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=426&storycode=3148299&channel=783&c=1&encCode=0000000001a15304#ixzz0QhuwZvdK

Dalston's Rio cinema celebrates its 100th birthday

IN the heyday of British cinema, Hackney's movie-going public had no fewer than 23 cinemas to choose from.

Today, all but one of Hackney's long-lost cinemas have been consigned to the scrapbook of history.

The only remaining cinema, the Rio in Kingsland High Street, Dalston, is celebrating its 100th birthday this year.

The grade two listed building has been transformed into one of the capital's most popular independent cinemas.

In addition, it has developed many outreach schemes, including free screenings for the over-60s with free tea, cake and transport.

It also has a school screenings programme that works with more than 10,000 children and young people every year.

To celebrate its centenary, the cinema is embarking on a new community project to make archive film more accessible and to bring the borough's rich and vibrant history to the big screen.

As well as using existing material in the Hackney Archives, the Rio is interested in secret treasures residents may have hidden away.

"Home movies are a rich source of memories and key to unlocking and accessing our pasts," said Jemma Buckley, the audience development officer at the cinema. "8mm, 9.5mm, 16mm, Super 8 - we are interested in it all.

"Over the last 30 years, video players have eroded the need for home projectors and we are aware that film owners may no longer be in possession of the appropriate equipment to view this special footage at home.

"Some may even have inherited the films and never seen the content."

The Rio is staging a special home movie screening day when residents will have the opportunity to bring along their film reels and view them on screen.

Furthermore, the Rio is able to digitise this material - so it can be played and enjoyed again and again at home on DVD.

If you have any old film footage at home, or would just like to know more about the project, contact Jemma at the Rio by emailing jemma@riocinema.org.uk, or calling 020 7241 9419.

THE RIO - A SHORT HISTORY



* In 1909, Clara Ludski, the owner of an auctioneer's shop at 105 Kingsland High Street, recognised the growing potential of moving pictures and converted her shop into a 175-seat electric picture house. It was called the Kingsland Palace and was among the first full-time cinemas.

* Such was the success of the Palace that the building was extended in 1913 and opened two years later as the Kingsland Empire.

* Despite success, the Empire changed hands a number of times over the next two decades. By the mid-1930s it belonged to London and Southern Cinema Group, which was eventually brought out by Classic Cinema Group.

* In 1936, the London County Council inspected the building and thought it insufficiently ventilated. The balcony and auditorium were altered to ensure improved ventilation. This, with almost no alteration, is the Rio as it is today.

* The advent of television in the 1950s led to a decline in cinema audiences across the country. In an attempt to restore enthusiasm, the Dalston Classic became the Classic Cartoon Cinema and the Classic Continental Cinema.

* Following the relaxation of censorship laws, it relaunched as the Tatler Cinema Club in 1970, offering a steady stream of blue movies with only a quick breather for horror films on Friday nights.

* Audiences were not convinced, however, and four months later, the grand tradition of the cinema variety was revived in the form of live strip shows. In 1971, the Tatler returned to showing general release films at weekends. It survived in this dual role until 1975 when it became the Dalston Classic once again - but only briefly as Classic decided to close the cinema in 1976.

* The building was re-opened in April, 1976, by Dalston businessman Paul Theodorou, with a new name - the Rio. However, Mr Theodorou was unable to make a success of the venture and soon agreed to sell the lease to residents who wanted to open the building as a community arts centre.

* In 1977, the Rio Cinema Working Party approached Hackney Council for funds to buy the building. The council agreed to finance the purchase of the sub-lease and made the working party the new managers of the building. The Rio became a not-for-profit company and a registered charity.

* By 1995, the Rio was badly in need of extensive refurbishment. The Arts Council funded the revamp, which was completed in 1999. The building was awarded grade two listed status.

Blur Banksy is ruined by mistake

A mural by graffiti artist Banksy, which once featured on the cover of a single by rock band Blur, has been painted over by Hackney Council.

The spoof image of the Royal Family, painted on the side of a building in Stoke Newington, east London, was partially covered with black paint.

The building's owner was in tears as she begged workmen to stop. By the time she persuaded them it was almost gone.

Hackney Council said the image was painted over in error.

Property owner Sofie Attrill gave consent for the mural to be painted on the building so it could be photographed for the launch of Blur's 2003 single Crazy Beat.

Since then it has attracted tourists from all over the world and become a local landmark.

We never wanted to make money out of it like many do - but it was a part of our lives. Now it's gone Sofie Attrill, building owner

Ms Attrill, 50, a property manager who lives in the building, said workmen used rollers to cover it in black paint.

She said: "The workmen were smiling as they did it - they thought it was funny.

"I just burst into tears. But a crowd gathered and we managed to get them to stop before destroying it completely."

Hackney Council needed permission to remove the mural because it was on private property.

But its letters were sent to an address Ms Attrill lived at 25 years ago.

After receiving no response the council served an enforcement notice.

Ms Attrill continued: "I don't care about art or politics - I am just an ordinary girl who liked being cheered up by seeing this on my street.

Damon Albarn's Blur commissioned the piece in 2003

"People have always been telling us to sell it or cover it in Perspex, but we only wanted it to be here for the public's enjoyment.

"You can't take a photo if it's behind a thick plastic screen."

She continued: "We never wanted to make money out of it like many do - but it was a part of our lives. Now it's gone.

"People are always doing down Hackney but this was something we could all be proud of."

Hackney Council was initially unrepentant.

Cllr Alan Laing said: "The council's position is not to make a judgement call on whether graffiti is art."

But he later added: "Due to a problem at the land registry unfortunately our letters stating our intention to clean this building didn't reach the owner.

"As soon as we realised this, work stopped. We are now speaking with her about how to resolve the issue."

Lunar clock to be built for 2012

Scientists and artists plan to build a 40m-wide lunar clock by the River Thames by 2012.

The aim is to create a new London landmark close to the proposed Olympic stadium as a monument to a more natural way of marking time.

The proposed site is at East India Dock, six miles along the river from Westminster Palace.

Its designers hope their clock will become as iconic as Big Ben, which has been marking time for 150 years.

The site is currently a bedraggled nature reserve.

The researchers hope their clock will eventually become as iconic as Big Ben.

Across the river are the magnificent skyscrapers of Canary Wharf, and nearby are offices built from sea freight containers.

Inside one of those offices, I spoke to Laura Williams - an East London artist.

She explained that the clock would be powered by the tides from the Thames.

"There are three giant concentric rings made from recycled glass," she told me. "Light shines through from the glass in time with the Moon's cycles so the largest ring shows the lunar phase.

"Gradually the light waxes on all the way around the ring and connects full circle when it's full Moon.

"The second ring is like the big hand of the clock. It's a marker of light that tracks the Moon around the globe so that's the lunar day cycle.

"The third ring - the smallest - is the small hand that tracks the tide as it goes from high tide to low."

Isn't it about time that we looked up and out to those natural time cycles of this spinning rock? David Rooney, Science Museum

The clock has been called Aluna. It is a word from the Kogi indigenous people of Colombia.

"It means memory, possibility," says Ms Williams. "It's also being in tune with the planet's rhythms and living in harmony with our planet."

David Rooney, curator of time at London's Science Museum, is also involved with the project.

He said that people had become "completely besotted with clocks and watches".

"Isn't it about time that we looked up and out a little bit to those natural time cycles of this spinning rock underneath that Moon we all see?

"It's these time cycles that we human beings are wired to - the patterns of day and night."

Moon time

Many of the world's cultures have their own lunar-based calendars.

Dr Usama Hasan is a Muslim astronomer. He believes that in this age of iPods and atomic clocks, there is a greater need than ever for an older way of measuring time.

"For practical purposes, calculating the exact time is the way forward of course," he said, "but I think you lose a a lot of spirit to the way the world works.

"That's why I don't wear a watch and I still judge time, especially the daily prayer times from light and darkness.

"Aluna is a project which tries to connect us back to the cosmic cycle, with nature. I think that's very important especially in the very technological age we live in."

The project is more than a gleam in the eye of these artists and scientists.

According to Laura Williams, a number of large corporations have offered their help.

Medal-Winning Day of the Dead

On Monday 31st August on London Fields you could have witnessed a pretty unique event - a sports day with a twist organised by Marie aka Sally Guzzle, which was held in aid of the British Heart Foundation.

The races had titles such as the 100 metre shuffle, and the brain and spoon race, so I think you can guess where this is going. Yes, it was a sportsday for zombies! I had a great time running around with my camera and I met some fantastic people there, but if you're squeamish you might want to look away now because you can guess what's coming next...






I've waited until this point to show you a rather alarming shot. The guy in the middle here is wearing a very good version of a S.T.A.R.S agent's uniform (the group battling to defeat zombies in the Resident Evil series of computer games, and also in a terrible movie...) but it looks like he's been distracted by the rather weak-looking zombie in front of him, and is completely unaware of the fierce one behind him who's about to remove his head from his shoulders :O