July 2010

NEWS

It’s almost upon us. . . our Latitude 2010 preview

As the countdown clock on the official website marks just ‘29 Days To Go’, I find myself once again at Henham Park Estate courtesy of Festival Republic. However, things are slightly different to my last visit. . .

The hall to which we are directed is home to a huge window through which the beautifully green park can be seen. Blue skies allow the summer sunshine to show off our English countryside at its best; a wise old oak tree spreads its branches as if inviting us back again for what promises to be yet another wonderful weekend of music and performing arts, Latitude 2010.

Melvin Benn, creator of Latitude Festival and managing director of Festival Republic, has invited us here to announce some new additions to the Festival, all of which, he explains, will be adding to the ‘Absolute Quality’ that Latitude offers.

Firstly, the site will play host to an actual fully functional eatery, the Giant Robot Restaurant. The original Giant Robot can be found on Clerkenwell Road in London and offers a treat ‘for all those of us brought up on a diet of 1950s Hollywood movies’. Tables need to be booked in advance, and so check the website for details as they are announced.

Into its fifth year now, Latitude has found its feet. Actually it’s found a lot more feet, increasing its capacity by 5,000, taking the total to 30,000,and so the site has been adjusted to compensate for these extra ‘tuders’.

The theatre will be moved and the comedy area will be larger due to big names, such as Tommy Tiernan and Emo Phillips, who will undoubtedly draw large crowds. Other small changes will also take place to enable the main arena to be larger to take on the extra crowd. I must stress though that, even at 30,000, I’m sure that Latitude will not lose its quality feel; Glastonbury it isn’t (and doesn’t want to be).

Melvin Benn also makes it quite clear that it is important to him to support local talent from the surrounding counties at Latitude. These include classical artists Cevanne from Aldeburgh in Suffolk, who will perform their album Big Ears on the Lake Stage, poet John Osbourne from Norwich, whose publication Radio Head was awarded Book of the Week by BBC Radio 4, local theatre group Mouth To Mouth, who will perform Shakespeare’s The Comedy Of Errors and band These Ghosts, who will also perform, amongst many others.

Also new this year is the ‘Bicycle Competition’. Latitude was the first festival to be awarded the Julies Bicycle IG Mark, a kite mark awarded to companies that have the environment at the forefront of importance when creating events and, with this in mind, one lucky winner will receive a custom-made Latitude bicycle supplied by retailer 14 Bikes on Brick Lane, London. The winner may well be expected to ride to next year’s festival!

Finally, and with great expectation, the Latitude Contemporary Art Award was announced. This award will allow six chosen newly emerging artists to create an original piece throughout the Festival weekend. These will then be judged and the winner will be awarded £10,000 to commission an original work to be displayed at Latitude 2011.

With all of the announcements made, I took the opportunity to ask the organisers questions about the Festival. I was interested in how the event is put together and what it takes to organise an event of this size. Firstly, I spoke with Tania Harrison who is charge of the theatre and cabaret acts.

I asked Tania, does she think that organising live theatre differs from live music?

‘Absolutely, I have to think about the entire production and if we can do it. Theatre and cabaret shows all have their own sets and contain their own elements. I have to check with the whole production team to see if it is actually possible.’

How hard is it to flow from one act to another?

‘I have to work around certain criteria, such as visuals and length of time for changeover. I also have to take into consideration who else is performing throughout the Festival and at what times; for instance, while Florence and The Machine are playing, I will cater for an older audience who may not be so interested in that group.

How many acts are you booking for the weekend?

‘I have booked 600 different acts that will perform throughout the weekend. From the Royal Shakespeare Company to Mrs Barbara Nice of Channel 4’s Phoenix Nights, who will be appearing at Latitude’s first Working Men’s Club!’

I then spent a few minutes with Jon Dunn who is in charge of booking all of the live bands throughout the Festival.

How far ahead do you book acts?

‘As soon as possible. If the right act wanted to confirm for 2011 now, then we would book them. I am already talking with a few acts and we will see how it goes.’

You seem to have a good eye for booking smaller bands and, by the time they play the Festival, they are very popular. Is that a something you have developed over the years?

‘No, it’s luck, ha! We have found that with Florence. This time last year, she was playing to 500 people. She is massive now, which is great for both her and us as a festival.’

When does preparation start on the site?

‘The stages will start being built next week, and so that gives us about three weeks to prepare.’

What about the midday Sunday spot? Last year, we had Thom Yorke. This year?

‘We have yet to confirm the act for Sunday. We are waiting to decide. We waited until quite late last year to announce Thom Yorke. Hopefully, it should be within the next week or so.’

I then asked Melvin Benn, Director of the Festival, where the initial idea for the Festival came from.

‘I felt the need to create a festival that expressed the arts diversity that I enjoy in my life – an interest in music, an interest in film, theatre and literature. There are very few festivals, in fact there are no festivals that really take that cultural depth to its heart, and I wanted a festival that represented my life and that’s why I created Latitude.’

Once again, Latitude has fully sold out. If you have tickets, then maybe I will see you there. If not, then keep an eye on the Southwold Organ for a full review of the weekend.

Andy Sizmur

The 2010 Latitude team (top left: Jon Dunn, top right: Melvin Benn, bottom left: Sharon Reuben and bottom right: Tania Harrison)

(The picture that accompanies this piece is the copyright of Kerry Wilmot, who very kindly supplied it.)

A hidden gem of Southwold

Tucked away at the back of the Pier Car Park and perched on the other side of the Paddle-boat Lake is one of the experiences of Southwold that many visitors and even residents are not aware of – the Boating Lake Café.

Run by Pam Jackson and her dedicated staff, the small wooden chalet-style building dispenses ‘The Best Cream Teas in Southwold’, all-day breakfasts, home-made cakes and a warm welcome, as your humble editor can attest. He can also attest to the excellence of the home baking (the fruit scones were delicious). It is that rare place, a boating lake right near the sea, and full of the character that is one of Southwold’s great strengths and attractions.

Pam is very passionate about the Café and feels that it is a pity that it is relatively underutilised. Too many seem to be unaware of what is right under their noses.

It certainly is a pity, as both Coast Magazine and Country Living have singled the Café as a place of note. Indeed, Country Living recently said that it was one of the 25 tearooms in the UK to visit.

The Café’s regulars would also agree. Pam tells me of the people who just come to enjoy the food and the atmosphere, and return year on year. The visitors’ book is full of really good comments and the feedback from people staying in nearby holiday homes is also good.

A big problem is that the lakes are effectively out of action at the moment because of the problems with the water levels, meaning that they cannot be used for boating. As a result, many seem to think there is no obvious reason to visit the Café and it is not on the way anywhere.

They could not be more wrong; the Café is a focus for many local community events – for instance, it hosted a Help for Heroes event on Armed Forces Day on 26th June and a Tea Party for Marie Curie Cancer Care on 3rd July.

And that is just the start: Pam wants to do more and for it to go ahead – she is exploring opening the Café up for use in the evening and renting out the Picnic Huts to artists and other creative types. That said, she wants to hear from the readers of the Organ and is open to any ideas or suggestions they might have. She wants to be of service to the community.

Looking to the future, the low water levels clearly cannot be ignored. Pam wants our readers to be aware that they are very aware and very concerned about this. She is really sorry that people are not able to take boats out at the moment, particularly as it is a tradition for many families. She wants to hear people’s stories, thoughts and feedback about this situation.

Progress on this has been slow, but the various involved parties are working towards a solution and Pam is positive.

She also wants the Organ’s readers to know that the use of part of the Boating Lake site as an overflow car park in the summer months has the blessing of Waveney District Council (it helps with the parking problems at that time), and to assure them that rare orchids and other life in the area are not affected.

In the meantime, the Café is open for business and will give you a warm welcome. Its hours during the summer are 9.30 am–4.30 pm Mondays to Fridays and 9.30 am–5.30 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. To contact the Café, telephone: 0793 941 0182 or e-mail: southwoldboatlake@hotmail.co.uk.

Do drop by, you won’t regret it!

Blooming Blythburgh

The Flower Festival in Blythburgh Church was held over the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May in aid of repairs to the roof of Wangford Church. The displays were exceptionally good and everyone associated with the Festival should be congratulated. Worth a special mention were the model houses in the St Edmunds Church display. They were created by David Carpenter and were truly mini-masterpieces. Also good was the ‘Flower Bed’, or was it a ‘Bed of Flowers’? The Church was absolutely full when I was there, so hopefully it was the success that all hoped it would be.

Brian Burrage

(Thanks to Brian for supplying the accompanying photographs.)

Heavens above!

As residents know, the coast at Southwold is a navigation point for the RAF, and we regularly see any military aircraft as a result. Every June, we are lucky enough to get a sneak preview, often at quite close quarters, of part of the official RAF flypast in the Trooping the Colour ceremony marking the Queen’s Official Birthday, as the aircraft form up in formation over the town before flying south to London. This year’s Trooping the Colour on 12th June was no exception. BBC Look East broadcast on the following Monday a special report giving the pilots’-eye view of the proceedings, in which Southwold looked very small and toy-like as the aircraft banked over it. In response, the Organ gives the Southwold’s-eye view of the same event. Not so small! Thanks go to Kerry Wilmot for such impressive photos.

An OBE with a local link

Among the recipients of the  OBE in the Queen's Honours List was Dr Jane Miller, the daughter of Mr and Mrs John Miller, who live in Southwold.

Dr Miller's award was for her services to malaria control and elimination in Tanzania. She has spent 15 years in Tanzania working on the control of malaria, particularly the provision of insecticide treated mosquito nets in rural areas where pregnant women and children are most at risk of contracting the killer disease.

Two years ago, Jane co-ordinated  with Mrs Jay Williamson and her fund-raising at St Edmund’s Church to supply treated nets to the Ngara Anglican Primary School in northwestern Tanzania. It was part of her Malaria Haikubalik (Malaria is not Acceptable) Campaign.

‘Hear Suffolk’ is back for 2010

Take a moment to imagine if you couldn’t hear the sound of radio in the mornings or your children playing their musical instrument. This is reality for many people and a major new photographic competition is being relaunched for 2010 today by one of Suffolk’s best-known small businesses to raise awareness of this.

Called ‘Hear Suffolk’, the competition is being staged to coincide with National Deaf Awareness Week to raise awareness of the effects of hearing loss.

Award-winning hearing care company, the Hearing Care Centre, who is based at Southwold Hospital, is inviting amateur photographers from across Suffolk to enter the competition with pictures, which demonstrate the ‘sounds of music’ in Suffolk that may not be heard by those with hearing loss.

‘It could be a band playing at the Southwold Jazz Festival, a church choir at Sunday service or morris dancers on the promenade – the choice of photo opportunities is endless,’ says Karen Finch, Managing Director of the Hearing Care Centre. ‘In fact, any picture which depicts the quintessential sounds of Suffolk music in a powerful way,’ she says.

‘People with good hearing often don’t realise the impact even mild hearing loss has on the enjoyment of ordinary things around us – we want our competition and the campaign to draw attention to some of the sounds that hard-of-hearing people cannot hear.’

Last year’s competition was so successful that entries received were well over three figures.

The Hearing Care Centre is involving photographic societies from across Suffolk in the competition, but anyone can take part. There’s a prize of £250 for the best picture and in a special class for entrants who are under 14 there’ll be a prize of £100. The runners up will also get cash prizes and the best pictures will go on display in a special exhibition.

The judges will include Barry Freeman ARPS DPAGB, who is a member of Ipswich and District Photographic Society and the Photographic Editor for the East Anglian Daily Times newspaper.

To enter the competition, send your picture as an A4 print (in colour or black and white) to Photographic Competition, The Hearing Care Centre, 5 High Street, Ipswich IP1 3JZ. Make sure write your name, address, contact number and age (junior category only) on a label on the back of the print. If you want your picture returned, please enclose a suitable stamped and self-addressed envelope.

For more information and full terms and conditions, visit www.hearingcarecentre.co.uk/hearsuffolk.

 The competition deadline is 31st August 2010.

Relive your Guiding days with the Trefoil Guild

Have you visited the Centenary exhibition in Southwold Museum and did you drop in to see the Then and Now camp on Southwold Common to mark the centenary of 1st Southwold Guides? Perhaps you have memories of your days at camp as a Guide or Guide Leader or you fondly remember your time as a Brownie.

The Trefoil Guild is comprised of people who are now or were in the past involved with Guiding. Come and join like-minded individuals who meet for talks and outings or just to enjoy each other’s company and who support Guides, Brownies and Rainbows in the area.

From September, the Trefoil Guild will be meeting on the fourth Wednesday of the month in the Guide Centre, Cautley Road. For details of our current programme, contact the Secretary on 01502 725116.

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