Latest Homes magazine

Matt McGuire meets wine buyer turned window maker David Lilly

From soaring cathedrals to lipstick and booze-filled parties, dishevelled bespectacled secretaries to cherished homes, there are a number of fine places where you can happen upon stained glass. However, it’s sadly not possible to make a living out of all of them, so David Lilly chose windows and lamps.

“I was a wine buyer for 20 years,” reveals David. “But I’d always been fascinated by stained glass and a few years ago took an evening class. I adored it, started doing bits and pieces for friends and then they encouraged me to get a website. And when you’ve got one of those, everyone can find you.”

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Matt McGuire does a bit of overdue sole searching, all in the name of a good cause

This week we’re off into the wardrobe. Not one of those fancy Narnia or Monsters Inc. ones, just a common-or-garden one full of all the normal stuff: favourite party clothes, dishevelled work wear, ill-fitting presents, and, of course, guiltily stowed and woefully under used sporting attire. Like Lycra-blend t-shirts and shorts. Like bright white trainers that are just too, well, bright white.

A few weeks ago I unearthed a pair of such shirking shoes in my own wardrobe and decided to put them through their paces.

“It’s not that we’re lazy,” they insisted. “It’s just the weather’s been so blooming unencouraging, hasn’t it? I mean, yes, you’re right when you say we haven’t made it out of our box quite yet, but we’re sure we’d still fit! And then there’s this ravenous appetite for sachets of silica gel that neither of us can seem to kick…”

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Matt McGuire finds himself chatting to a local heroine in need of all our help and respect

It’s Help The Aged Week this week at Faces. So ready your reminiscing receptors and perhaps even donate a Euro or two.

The honourable lady in question has just turned 97, boasts a slate grey complexion and is rather generously proportioned. She’s also a roof. The roof of the wonderful Duke of York’s cinema to be precise.

Being an ageing structure, she’s sadly not as well as she once was and so an appeal has been launched to save her. I went along for a chat to find out how it was going. “Well, my appeal’s been running since September of last year,” began the roof. “It was my 97th birthday, as it goes – a lovely day. And, well, yes, I’m simply overjoyed at the progress so far.”

The appeal is for £25,000 and so far £15,000 has been raised. “It’s just so good of everyone to chip in to try and help out,” she beamed. “I wouldn’t have thought it possible for so many people to be so nice. I’ve seen a lot of changes to the town in my years up here, but this just proves you shouldn’t believe everything you hear. People are still lovely.”

After providing nearly a century of top notch sheltering, the roof of this fantastic Grade II listed building has sadly begun to fail of late and repairs are essential if the UK’s oldest purpose-built cinema is to survive.

“Monies have been raised via sales of delicious Roof Appeal cake, a fund raising screening of All About Eve and general donations. But there’s also seat sponsorship,” added the roof. “That last one’s great: for £100 you get a plaque on your favourite seat, along with a dedication. There’s been a super response, and the likes of Steven Berkoff – who I’ve always had a soft spot for, Norman Cook, Lynne Truss and Alistair McGowan have all got involved, as well as a lot of local companies. I really am so chuffed.”

Until now, The Duke of York’s has led a charmed existence, free in the main from vandalism and accidents and even avoiding bombing throughout the Second World War.

“Though we did have a machine gun positioned on the lower balcony [outside the current café/bar] during that time,” recalls the roof. “That was awfully exciting!”

Help ensure the old lady gets to see many more exciting days (and help keep your popcorn dry) by making a donation today.

The Duke Of York’s Picturehouse roof, Duke Of York’s Picturehouse, Preston Circus, Brighton BN1 4NA | Map
Tel: 01273 818 549
Visit: www.picturehouses.co.uk

Matt McGuire takes a trip up Coombe Road in search of tasty sustenance for the body and soul

The festive season is now officially over (meaning, I think, that it is now sadly illegal to shoot jangling reindeer and/or carol singing preteens) and it’s time to make amends for all our foolish frolicking. As a nation our vitamins and inhibitions have been banished and replaced with liver ache and shame, and so it is to places like Manna that we should all repair.

Manna is a café for the soul, and it’s run by the effervescent Christine Hearn. “I love feeding people,” she says, with a grin. “I love fattening them up!”

Christine had never run a café before (“It was complete madness! I had no idea of the regulations or what was really involved!”), but had always liked the idea. Then three years ago she came across Coombe Road with its bona fide Victorian parade and fell in love with its olde world charm. “It’s such a great street – there are so few left like it,” she says. “Everything pointed to it being the right time to give it a go.”

“I love feeding people, I love fattening them up!”

It was also important for Manna to be an integral part of the local community. “I always wanted it to be a place where, say, if a kid ever got accidentally locked out of home, they could just rock up,” she smiles. And this friendly, family feel of the place is enhanced by the fact that Manna is often staffed by Christine’s own children.

Most of the fabulous food (including incredible cakes, delightful panninis and toasties, scrumptious soups, salads and more) is homemade and that which isn’t is locally sourced. “The bread’s from The Real Patisserie,” explains Christine, “and we get a lot of our veg by trading our cakes with folk on the allotments.”

They recycle and compost and are also as organic as their budget permits. “But no matter how ethical and green you want to be the price of purely organic produce is often prohibitive for small businesses,” she admits. “We’re really proud of the quality of food we provide, but sadly there have to be limits.”

The décor at Manna is homely and inviting too, all natural wood, pot plants and twinkling fairy lights. And in case that raises your post-Poppins heckles, please pipe down and remember the first rule of interior decoration: fairy lights are for life, not just for Christmas.

Christine Hearn, Manna café, 24 Coombe Road, Brighton BN2 4EA | Map
01273 620635

Matt McGuire discovers a Christmas shopper’s paradise tucked away in the North Laine

I’ve always been of the opinion that you have to go a long way to beat a grotto. They’re just so darn cute, cosy and inviting (except for their tendency to be filled with overly friendly, overly plump and overly bearded gentlemen). So imagine my delight at stumbling across a little haven of fairy lights and gifts – awash with the scent of pine needles, peopled by merry folk and without a chubby ho-ho-hoer in sight.

The Christmas Forestry and Market is nestling on North Road (just up from the Heart & Hand pub and opposite Glazed Expressions, the pottery painting shop) and it’s got a sleigh load of lovely gifts for you to stuff into stockings.

“It’s a lovely, dream-like space to visit, full of twinkling lights and billowing fabrics”

Take a walk through its tree-lined and fairylight-lit entrance and you’ll come across the likes of Liz Lilley’s handmade cosmetics, created using only locally sourced, organic, chemical-free ingredients (including honey from a local bee farm), as well as candles, mirrors and assorted accessories. Then there’s Zoingimage (ex of the sadly defunct Ship Street Market), offering a range of canvas pictures and gift ideas made using Serge’s beautiful original photographs, as well as a range of stalls offering traditional Christmas decorations. And then there are others offering such delights as: speciality Italian cakes; hats, fleeces and other fine wearables; original artwork; handcrafted jewellery and, oh yes, French biscuits.

It’s a lovely, dream-like space to visit, full of twinkling lights and billowing fabrics, and there are even plans to offer mulled spiced apple juice (they don’t have a license, sadly) to warm merry shoppers and their cockles.

But all this is without mentioning their supreme selection of Christmas trees, all lusciously huddled at the back of the market. “Oh, it’s brilliant,” beams Liz. “My stall’s right by them and they smell fantastic. They’re the best ones I’ve seen in Brighton. And I’m not just saying that!”

Locally grown, these magnificent creatures are also benefiting local primary school kids. “Vouchers have been distributed to dozens of schools,” explains Alistair, whose own stall is handily full of Christmas decorations. “The kids distribute them to friends and family and then when they purchase a tree the school gets £2.50. It’s a really simple and effective system and we’re hoping to raise thousands.”

So go on, decorate your house, trouser some quality prezzies and help out local sprogs (and traders) while you’re at it.

Christmas Forestry and Market, 73 North Road (just up from the Heart & Hand). BN1 1YD, open 10am until late, seven days a week, until 24 December, tel: 07795 332 079, email: christmasforestry@mail2web.com

Matt McGuire meets Martin Thomas to discuss his beautiful wooden furniture – naturally

Well, here we all are, loitering uncomfortably in the firing line of Christmas. G-g-ghastly, isn’t it? Still, it does present the perfect opportunity for me to introduce you to an excellent carpenter. (No, settle down at the back, not that one…)

This splendid chisel-wielder is one Martin Thomas, the man behind Mahdi Mu and creator of such furniture and interiors as to make your heart sing. His workshop on Farm Road is overflowing with knick-knacks and pieces-in-progress and is a wonderful and serene place to visit.

“I work predominantly with found objects and recycled materials – stuff that comes my way,” begins Martin. “For example, I’ve just sourced lots of timber from the Palace Pier, including some gorgeous purple-heart wood.” He shows me some sanded sections and they are indeed a joy to behold.

“there’s a spiritual edge to my work, working with found objects I allow each piece to take shape naturally, it’s often an organic progression”

Martin’s been working with wood for 20 years. After studying at art college in Epsom, he left the UK to travel the world. “I found inspiration here, there and everywhere,” he smiles.

“There’s a spiritual edge to my work,” he adds. “Working with found objects, I allow each piece to take shape naturally. Sea-worn timbers, for example, can come in such incredible shapes. When I begin to work it’s often an organic progression to the final piece.” Many of the shapes and forms remind me of Gaudi and his seaweed balconies, his wonderful and unlikely, rippling structures.

Martin creates any and all one-off pieces – from chairs to ornaments, tables to shrines – as well as full commercial fit-outs. “I’ve done a few of commissions for Zel”, he says, “as well as the full install for the Bee’s Mouth bar. But my current major project is for the forthcoming Myhotel (the boutique hotel chain) on Jubilee Street. I’m doing a range of desks and furniture for their themed suites on the top floor. So I’ve got my hands full for a while!”

But when he isn’t busy bevelling, Martin also travels the festivals with Zuvuya, his hazelwood geodesic dome that houses a cinema and bar. Oh, and as if all that weren’t enough, he’s also found time to fashion a monumentally marvellous moustache. Top marks all round, then.

Tune in next week, tinsel fans, for Brighton’s first frankincense and myrrh boutique, as well as a beguiling online swaddling store.

Matt McGuire meets a new member of the Brighton artworld, sculptor and general multi-talented artist Keziah Wilkes

The future might be bright, the future might be orange. And, if 80s one-hit-wonders Timbuk3 were to be believed, we may even have to wear shades if we want to view it safely and/or look cool while sauntering about in it. But one thing is certain: it will be chockfull of art.

ArtisticFutures.co.uk is the website of Brighton-based sculptor and portrait artist Keziah Gabriela Wilkes, and it’s bursting at its finely wrought, delicately crafted seams with wagonloads of wonderful work.

“I was drawing and painting before I could speak or write,” begins Keziah. “And later, in secondary school, some fantastic teachers gave me free rein in the art department. They showed me advanced techniques very early on and, well, basically allowed me to make a huge amount of mess! That’s when I knew I wanted to be a sculptor.”

While gaining a first class degree in sculpture and a Masters in art and design, Keziah held a number of exhibitions. One sold out completely, and she’s since gone on to undertake a wide range of private commissions.

“I love portraiture too,” she adds. “There’s nothing more challenging or satisfying than capturing someone’s spirit or character on paper.” Indeed, fellow Brightonians beware, because Keziah rarely leaves the house without her sketchbook and is currently compiling a collection of drawings of faces she sees out and about in cafes and bars, on buses and on trains.

“I particularly love drawing people on train journeys,” she smiles. “Everyone’s anticipating where they’re going to or returning from somewhere and everything they’re thinking and feeling is so transparent. They’re not even really participating in the journey; their faces are relaxed, they’re completely open…”

“It’s wonderful to be around so many creative people all the time. It’s really inspiring”

These found faces will soon be available to view on her website, alongside existing images of other work that includes body castings and bronzes, life drawings and paintings, as well as a range of supremely tactile aluminium casts complete with red flocking.

Keziah moved to Brighton two months ago. “It’s wonderful to be around so many creative people all the time,” she smiles. “It’s a big change from where I‘m from and really inspiring.”

All of which is lovely, of course. But we should clearly all take care next time we find ourselves dozing off on the train, lest our dribbling, gormless chops get stealthily documented and then cast in multiple tonnes of bronze for eternity…

Keziah Gabriela Wilkes,
ArtisticFutures,
www.artisticfutures.co.uk
email: keziah@artisticfutures.co.uk

Matt McGuire has a sneak of preview of Relay, an exhibition exploring sound

Come with me now on a journey into sound. Or, to be more precise, sound art.

Nestling in the heart of The Lanes, in the little-known Friese Greene Gallery, is an exhibition called Relay. It’s the brainchild of Julian Weaver and Gavin Peacock, otherwise known as Finetuned, a ‘curatorial organisation’ that commissions and exhibits work that ‘manifests a particular engagement with sound’. A chewy concept, perhaps, dear reader, but a fascinating and entertaining one too. Go on then, read on.

“We started Finetuned because we wanted to help highlight the nationally and internationally renowned artists that live and work in and around Brighton,” explains Julian. “Too often they exhibit in London or Helsinki or elsewhere too far afield. We wanted to bring them closer to home.”

“We wanted to help highlight the nationally and internationally renowned artists that live and work in and around Brighton”

This latest exhibition (divided into two parts) features installations and text from eight artists and writers, all on or relating to the subject of sound. The second half gets underway on 30 November and includes such delights as a silent six-foot church bell built from 125 rings of lasercut MDF, the recording of the tuning of a bell at the foundry that created Big Ben and a set of mic’d-up automated swings.

“The gallery is the main outlet for the exhibition,” begins Gavin. “But it’s also being broadcast to the Ruskin School of Drawing in Oxford, Quay Arts on the Isle of Wight and Farnham Maltings in Surrey.” “It’s all about reaching different people,” adds Julian. “Ouroutreach programme used the slogan: ‘Love art, hate galleries?’ There shouldn’t be boundaries to these things. Hopefully we can engage with people that wouldn’t normally access this type of event.”

As you might imagine, Julian and Gavin don’t have common-or-garden CVs. “I guess I’m a sculptor,” smiles Gavin, whose previous work included ‘Flatpack’, a series of modular units that audiences could arrange and rearrange as they saw fit. “But lately I’ve been working more with video, including the Compton Skyline Project [part of the Brighton Festival].”

“While I work primarily with sound,” reveals Julian. “And on locating the disparities in historical documents. Not to mention researching events throughout history that have links to both zeppelins and pianos.“ Excuse me? “Yes, there’s a lot of them,” he grins. “For example, the Hindenburg had an aluminium and pigskin baby grand aboard…”

With facts like that at their fingertips, you know these are people you can trust to put on a show.

Relay is at Friese Greene Gallery, 15–17 Middle Street, Brighton, from 30 Nov–21Dec.
Open Tues–Sun 12pm–6pm. Visit www.finetuned.org

Matt McGuire delves into the audio and visual treats that Romania will be bringing to Brighton

Brighton is going to be coming over all Romanian this forthcoming weekend, 23-25 November, and that, my friends, is a very, very good thing indeed.

The fantabulous folk behind Brighton-based Balkan Beats have yet again excelled in luring some of the world’s leading exponents of Eastern European tailfeather-shaking to our town. Mahala Rai Banda are a Romanian band with an incredible sound born from their mixed musical heritage: one part military marching band, the other Bucharest ghetto party music. Awash with raucous rhythms and violins, walls of brass and accordions, the band graced the popular Electric Gypsyland 2 album (alongside the likes of Nouvelle Vague and Forty Thieves Orkestar) while one of their most ludicrously upbeat tunes, Mahalageasca (head to their Myspace for a listen), appeared in the film Borat.

If you’re lucky, tickets will still be available for the show at Komedia this coming Sunday, 25 Nov, so raid your (or a loved one’s, or a passer-by’s) piggybank, don your dancing shoes and get down there. As always, DJ Satellite will be marshalling the dancefloor, both before and after.

But that’s not all folks, because, not content with the aforementioned sonic coup, the Balkan Beats have also gone and organised a weekend of top Romanian films to partner the gig.

Starting on Fri 23 Nov, there’s the opportunity to see the astonishing 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days. Described as “The discovery of the year” by The Guardian, it’s a riveting and heart-wrenching yet beautifully told story of one women’s illegal abortion in 1980s Communist Romania. Directed by the acclaimed young Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu (“Mungiu has a masterly ability”. Variety), it ran away with the coveted Palme D’or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Then, on the Saturday afternoon, there’s a screening of Mungiu’s Cannes-nominated debut, the tragic-comic Occident.

As an added treat, stars of both films, as well as leading film critic, Mihai Chirilov, will be taking part in Q&A sessions after the screenings. Both films are on at The Duke of York’s and are shown as part of the CineCity Film Festival.

This wonderful weekend of silver screen treats and dancefloor delights has been made possible with the assistance of the lovely people at the Romanian Cultural Institute in London, alongside, of course, Brighton’s own Balkan Beats. It will be supreme.

————————————-

Mahala Rai Banda play Komedia on Sun 25 Nov @ 20.30. Tickets £10/£8 conc. available
via www.komedia.co.uk/brighton or 01273 647100.

4 Months, 3 weeks and 2 days and Occident (both with Q&A events) at The Duke of York’s cinema on Fri 23 Nov @ 18.30 and Sat 24 Nov @ 14.00 respectively, See www.cine-city.co.uk

For any and all info on these or forthcoming Balkan Beats events, visit www.balkanbeats.co.uk

Matt McGuire meets a man who knows what to do when your ‘computer says no’

If your computer’s got a problem, if no one else can help, then you should find him, you should hire: The Tech Guy!

Well, yes, alright, that’s possibly an overly dramatic introduction. But when your computer next goes pear-shaped and you’ve got vital business data or a lifetime’s music and photos at risk, you’ll swiftly discover that anyone capable of rescuing the situation is elevated to superhero status. So step forward Tim Rose: he ain’t got no cape, but he’s here to save your day.

“It’s important to be able to to advise and reassure people in everyday language”

“I’ve been involved with techy things all my life and fixing computers for the last five years,” begins Tim. “I started out helping mates and then gradually got more work through word of mouth.” Informal networking even got him a job while on the operating table. Awaiting surgery at hospital, one of the two nurses preparing him for his operation was having trouble with her PC. “She asked me: ‘You don’t happen to fix computers do you?’ Luckily it was only a local anaesthetic and I was able to help!”

Tim fixes PCs and Macs (either on-site or he’ll pick up/deliver) and also builds PCs to order. But you can rest assured he’s not a codebabbling nerd. “No, I don’t talk tech,” he smiles. “I think it’s important to be able to advise and reassure people in everyday language. I might know computers, but I’m still a normal human being!”

The Tech Guy’s services also extend to Tim’s other passions: sound and light design. “I’ve done dozens and dozens of gigs and theatre events,” reveals Tim. “I’m also hoping to move into full AV [Audio Visual] home installation – surround sound, plasma screens; the full in-home set-up. That’s the perfect combination of all the bits I do, the natural progression.”

I ask him about the proudest moment so far in his life as The Tech Guy and he recalls a friend who had just finished her PhD. “Her hard drive blew up – literally! The circuit board was singed and her whole dissertation was on there. Obviously, it was ridiculously important to try and save it. I scoured internet forums and eventually found someone selling a circuit board for a similar machine and replaced it. It worked twice, before blowing up itself, but just long enough to be able to extract all the information. I saved the day! It was great.”

Tim Rose, The Tech Guy, PC/Mac repair, call 07971 404580 or email thetechguy@bigstring.com