The Cost of Love: Valmike Rampersad Q&A

Valmike Rampersad is one of the stars of The Cost of Love – the low budget movie made in Greenwich by local director, Carl Medland.

A graduade of the Central School of Speech and Drama, Rampersad has appeared in several movies and recently shot his first his first Hollywood feature, ‘The Exquisite Continent’ with Emmy Nominated Director, Stephen Gyllenhaal (‘Losing Isaiah’). He took time out from filming in LA to answer some questions about his role in The Cost of Love, which is released today on DVD.

How did you get the part of Raj in the Cost of Love?

I met Carl Medland (Director) at a screening of a friend’s film and he asked if I would be interested in auditioning for the role. The synopsis sounded too good to pass up, so Carl sent the script and I thought it was excellent. I then met with Carl and read for the part.

What attracted you to the character?

It was one of those scripts that you just wanted to keep reading until you get to the end – a real page turner. I was keen to be a part of this film because it is very different from any of the others I have done and it gave me a chance to be a character that brought me out of my comfort zone – one that is very different from me. My character, Raj, is also based on a very good friend of Carl’s, which helped to make him more real.

Can you explain a little about the role of your character in the movie?

Raj is a cardio thoracic surgeon who has the world on his shoulders, but he hides his feelings from everyone. His fiance is dying from cancer and the reasons for his marriage to her are unclear. He is ultimately conforming to doing the right thing. Dale, a male escort (played by Christopher Kelham), is Raj’s best friend from childhood and is in love with Raj. Raj has the life that Dale wants – a good job, a fiance, a steady income etc. Raj’s life is intertwined with all of the other colourful characters in the film and in some way we all affect each other by one of the many types of ‘love’ at whatever the cost. Dale offers Raj an escape from his daily routine lifestyle, along with a sense of security.

The movie was made on a low budget and is very Greenwich-centric… what was it like to work on?

Indie low budget films are often the most fun. It was very professionally done and beautifully shot, all on schedule and with a really excellent crew, most of whom I am still in contact with. Carl is also an excellent Director – he knew what he wanted in each scene and he knew how to achieve it from his actors. Playing ‘Raj’ opposite Christopher Kelham (Dale) was made that much easier because Chris did such a brilliant job. He really put a lot into creating his character and was a fun person to work with.

Many people will fondly remember Michael Joyce who appears in the movie but died tragically before it came out. Do you have any memories of him?

Michael made everyone on set laugh. He was such a happy guy, always colourfully dressed and smiling. I had the joy of shooting a couple of scenes with him and he really was brilliant to work with. I actually couldn’t stop laughing whenever he was around!

Who do you think the movie appeals to?

I think the film speaks mostly to a gay audience but there are as many straight characters as there are gay, so hopefully with all the various stories going on in the film, it will appeal to everyone.

What have you worked on since The Cost of Love and what can people see you in next?

I am currently spending a fair bit of time between Los Angeles and London. I had a wonderful opportunity shooting with Emmy Nominated Director, Stephen Gyllenhaal on his film, ‘The Exquisite Continent’, in LA. I am also working on two other projects in LA but not allowed to say what they are for now! I shot a film called ‘The Rise and Fall of John Tesoro’ in Trinidad, where I was born, which was a lot of fun. It was nice to be able to go to work and then head back to my whole family at the end of the day, not to mention the home cooked food! The film is now doing the film festival circuit. I shot a print and commercial campaign for Nivea as one of their new faces, celebrating 100 years of Nivea, which has just launched. Hopefully a couple of other features I shot last summer will be out soon – one is called ‘London Life’ and the other still has a working title.

You can find out more about Valmike at his own website.

The Cost of Love is available on DVD from today.

Interview with Cllr John Fahy – Part Two

Greenwich’s regal connections will come to the fore next year when it becomes a royal borough. As the man in charge of the council’s culture portfolio, is Cllr Fahy proud of this honour?

“I am very proud of it – notwithstanding Henry VIII’s activities in Ireland and all of that, forget all that,” the County Cork-born councillor says, “It’s just an enormous benefit for the borough. It’s long overdue.

“We are a World Heritage Site, home of time and all of that. It’s a joy that we’ve been able to get it, and again it’s because of the hard work of the leadership of the council in pushing that agenda forward.”

Is a new logo for the borough in the offing?

“I think there’s some work going on but that’s under wraps at the moment. We have to fit into the palace agenda.”

But the bigger story for 2012 is the Olympics. Cllr Fahy is himself looking forward to the swimming, equestrian and shooting events and is in the lottery for tickets.

How does he think preparations for the events being staged in Greenwich are going?

“Absolutely terrific. It’s interesting that the silent majority are totally enthused about the Olympics and I just find it fascinating that there’s this hard core of objectors around Greenwich Park who are a serious minority.

“It’ll just be amazing…  the millions of people that will see the iconic vista from the top of the Wolfe statue right down, it will just be amazing.”

One of the angriest press releases I’ve seen from Greenwich Council, I tell him, came when the ticket allocation for local children was announced. Was he disappointed with what was available for local kids?

“In reality, we continue to press… our ambition is to secure a ticket to some event during the Olympics for every school child in the borough.

“Whether we achieve that or not will depend on a whole range of things. They’d be able to tell their children and grandchildren ‘I was there in 2012’. As people were saying in 1948, ‘I was there’.”

Cllr Fahy raises the idea of staging a concert in Greenwich Park in August, between the Olympic and Paralympic games.

“There is an opportunity between the  Olympics and Paralympics to use Greenwich Park. There’ll be a stadium in there which will be kitted out so what the hell, why can’t we use it?

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had Bono in Greenwich Park in 2012? It’s a space that’s there and we need to talk to LOCOG and the police and all that about it to see if it’s possible to use it. It’s a thought.

“It would be a promoter coming in and we would be helping to facilitate it. We wouldn’t be dipping into our pockets.”

With next year set to be huge for Greenwich’s Mr 2012, there’s still a few highlights in this year’s cultural calendar to discuss.

News of a new addition to the Greenwich Festival season, the Peninsula Festival, first surfaced on the 853 blog. It is the brainchild of entrepreneur Frank Dekker and is due to run on the peninsula for several years, including the creation of a temporary beach.

Fahy welcomes the start-up’s plans.

“We are engaged in facilitating and enabling organisations and companies to flourish, and giving a helping hand.”

“I think it’s helped where private sector organisations come in, set themselves up in Greenwich and establish the peninsula as a cultural destination of choice for people who want to enjoy themselves. I think it will be just great.”

Cllr Fahy is especially interested in plans to bring tall ships to Greenwich in 2012, having been to a tall ships festival himself in Amsterdam – “it wasn’t a council jolly”, he is quick to point out.

“There was something like two million people in Amsterdam during that weekend. Absolutely amazing. If we can create that kind of opportunity within the Peninsula, it could become a vibrant place.”

Cllr Fahy tells me he is “very excited” by the National Maritime Museum’s new Sammy Ofer wing, which is due to open later this year.

“Full credit to Kevin Fewster and the team for achieving their objective of getting the building on time and it will be bring enormous additional value to Greenwich.”

But what does he think of the NMM’s decision to charge £10 to stand on the Meridian Line at the Old Royal Observatory?

“Well, I think it’s a bit of an overkill.”

Would he pay £10 to stand on the Meridian Line?

“No.”

Could a £10 charge to stand on the Meridian Line damage Greenwich’s reputation in the eyes of visitors?

“Yeah.”

He is clearly not comfortable criticising the decision and his answers are noticeably shorter. He does, however, say he understands that “what they’re trying to do is increase their income”.

The missing link for visitors to Greenwich at the moment is the Cutty Sark. The restoration of the famous tea clipper is nearing completion. But the council has had to find £3million to help rescue the project.

Is he convinced there would be sufficient return on the council’s investment?

“Absolutely. You guys may get a sense that the council sometimes feels like a cash machine and we just give away money.  There’s lots of discussion and debate and analysis before we make any decision.

“It needs to be recognised that we have high levels of deprivation and unemployment, so the council has a role to provide opportunities though investment to maximise employment opportunities.

“The £3 million will have achieved an important development in terms of the Cutty Sark in the longer term. It will stabilise the town centre and increase tourism income and everybody will benefit. That’s the role of the council as it attempts to regenerate its areas.”

What came through during the interview was Fahy’s enthusiasm and optimism for Greenwich’s cultural offerings over the next 18 months and beyond.

With his cabinet responsibilities touching upon many of the issues that local people care most passionately about, he will be under the spotlight to ensure that the end results match his optimism.

Read Part One of this interview

Interview with Cllr John Fahy – Part One

As I sat down opposite Cllr John Fahy, I remarked that this would not be the first time his words would be recorded this week.

Our interview was taking place a few days after local journalist Darryl Chamberlain broke new ground by posting audio clips from the council chamber onto the internet.

But Cllr Fahy was not bothered by his sudden appearance online.

“It’s important we keep up with modern day communication strategies so I haven’t any hang ups about it,” he said.

“The council meetings are a public venue where people come along, quite rightly, and represent their interests and the interests of their community.

“We have the press there who can take notes, so what’s the difference, really?”

His relaxed outlook on what may prove to be an important step forward for council transparency is not atypical for the genial Irishman.

Hailing from a small village east of Cork, John Fahy moved to the UK at the end of the 1950s. He first made his home in Guildford, where he started a career in the trade union movement.

He moved to London in 1987 and was first elected to Greenwich Council three years later. He has been the cabinet member responsible for culture, including the Olympics, for four years.

We met at the café in East Greenwich Pleasaunce, a park he describes as “absolutely wonderful”. Getting people back into parks is one of his priorities – and cafés have a big role to play.

“I became interested in creating an environment whereby the parks would be successful if we had cafés so people had an opportunity to come, walk their dog or play sport.

“Having a café here also has the element of security because people are here, the staff are here and so it brings it all together in a positive way.

“We’ve got this café, we’ve got a café in Eltham Park South, we’ve got Avery Hill and we’ve been discussing the prospect of a café in St Alfege Park”.

“It will probably mean converting an existing building and we’re working with the friends of the park to achieve that.”

The improvements at  the pleasaunce in recent years have seen it handed a prestigious Green Flag Award.

Greenwich Council has five-and-a-half Green Flag parks – the half being Blackheath, shared with Lewisham. Does he have ambitions to increase Greenwich’s Green Flag tally?

“We’re aiming for twelve by 2012 but obviously we want to create more. For instance, the Friends of St Alfege Park are talking of achieving Green Flag status by 2013/14 so the Green Flag parks will continue in a very positive away”.

But with Greenwich lagging behind Lewisham – which already has 12 and a half Green Flag parks – is there a sense of competition with neighbouring boroughs?

“No, no, no – I talk a lot with my counterparts in Lewisham and Bexley so we’re up to speed with what others are doing but it’s not competitive in that sense.”

Greenwich and Lewisham had worked together for many years on the Blackheath firework display, but Greenwich abandoned the event at short notice in 2010. Lewisham was left to set up a public appeal to cover the shortfall.

Had he apologised to his Lewisham counterpart or been embarrassed at the way it was handled?

He begins defensively.

“I’m very keen to talk about the future rather than the past.

“Human frailties exist in councillors as well as everywhere else really. It seems to me that we could have reflected further on what were doing.

“But I think you have to put it in the context that we knew that whichever government was in power post the election, that there was going to be cuts so we deliberately took a decision to find savings where we could and build up some resources so that when it came to the cuts, we had a bit of a fair wind to seek to minimise the effects.

“I think we did reasonably well in terms of that, unlike Lewisham who are now closing five libraries and a whole range of other things.”

Do the Blackheath fireworks have a future?

“It will be difficult,” he says.

“I think there’s a balance to be struck between the private sector contribution and the council contribution and I don’t think in terms of the fireworks that the balance is sufficient. We’re happy to support projects. but in the next few years it’s going to be about doing more for less.”

Lewisham is looking at closing libraries and Cllr Fahy is proud that Greenwich isn’t doing the same. But with any internet-connected computer able to access more information than most libraries, I wondered about the future for libraries, and if the trend for usership was up or down.

“Before the fire in the Eltham Centre, figures were going up. But because the library was closed for a few months, we’ve had problems.

“With the opening of the new Woolwich Library, there’s going to be a significant improvement in IT provision so therefore the balance between readership and all of that will change.

“We need to develop life-long learning centres where it’s not only about taking out a book, it’s about going to the library, researching, using the IT. Kids going in after school to do research, improving their knowledge and all of that. That’s the thing we need to develop.”

The tech-savvy councillor says he is keeping an eye on the effect the Kindle is having on e-book reading and says he is “very interested in the concept” of people able to download music at libraries.

The council’s claim that no libraries are closing in Greenwich has been called into question after the Kidbrooke Kite blog revealed the library at the Ferrier Estate was closing and wouldn’t be reopened or replaced.

“Yes, but I mean, the library in the Ferrier was only open two days a week. It’s a bloody awful place in terms of the quality of the books we have in there so it’s not fit for purpose.”

Cllr Fahy points to “extensive library provision in Eltham… and increasing space in Woolwich”.

“The amount of floor space for libraries has increased dramatically across the borough,  and of course we’ve put significant investment in.”

Our meeting came just after the council increased the cost of tennis at its courts in line with inflation and, more controversially, decided to extend the enforcement of charging to Plumstead Common.

Local players were surprised to learn of the charges when a notice appeared and the courts were padlocked shut.

The councillor is aware of the criticisms that had surfaced on local blogs and a popular tennis website and anticipates my question.

Could he clarify the situation?

“Let me say this. The charges have only increased by the rate of inflation. The charges have always been there.

“But we have to look at these issues in the round, really, and we are developing a tennis strategy as we have been around a whole range of sports.”

He says the council is looking at ways to develop tennis across the borough and to create an elite tennis squad.

“Why can’t we provide opportunities for the next McEnroe or Murray to come from Greenwich or from Woolwich?

“But what we want to create is an opportunity for people, which has been the case for years at Plumstead, whereby mum and dad and the kids with a tennis racket and a few balls can come out and have some time on the courts.

“Would we charge for that? I doubt it because we would have to someone sitting there all day.

“I didn’t know the signs at Plumstead were going up. Was I aware, I would have probably said, well, you know, ‘we know what the score is’.”

It sounds like there won’t be an immediate change to the situation at Plumstead, I say.

He agrees, adding he was unaware of the courts being padlocked shut.

“Why do we need to wind people up like that? This is a tough call for all of us in terms of trying to achieve budget reductions.

“We don’t want to persecute people, we want to work with them to improve our sports.”

“Councils work like a bureaucracy and we need to be mindful… it is about collecting money but it’s also about making sure that we increase the number of people participating and if the barrier is one of finance, then we need to be flexible.”

Cllr Fahy says the council does need to improve revenues from tennis, and as with the libraries, he has an eye on greater use of technology.

“We have to find ways to maximising income within a flexible arrangement and I think a swipe card may be one way of doing it.

“We need to have different charges for different areas. The Greenwich Card may become a swipe card so a person who wants to engage in tennis can join on an annual basis, swipe their card and play.”

Read Part Two of this interview

From Laramie, With Love: Greenwich Director Joe Walsh

Joseph C Walsh is the young Greenwich director behind the “searing” Laramie Project coming to Greenwich Theatre later this month. Based on the life and brutal 1998 murder of US student Matthew Shepard, the play’s subject matter – prejudice and homophobia – is still, as illustrated by Greenwich’s very own recent News Shopper letter-writing row, a hot topic. Greenwich.co.uk spoke to Joe to find out more.

Joe, you’re bringing the Laramie Project to Greenwich Theatre – your local theatre – later this month. What’s the play about?

It examines a small town’s reaction to the murder of 21-year-old University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in 1998. The original writers of the play travelled to Laramie six times in the 18-months after Shepard’s death and conducted over 200 interviews with people in the community.

Those interviews paint a fascinating, sometime funny, incredibly moving and insightful portrait of a town struggling with its own identity and international media scrutiny.

So every word in the play is ‘real’?

Yes. It’s completely based on interviews with the people of Laramie as well as journal entries and court documents. The play does an incredible job structuring this into a satisfying theatrical event.

You’ve produced it before haven’t you? What’s the history behind the show?

It was premiered in Denver, Colorado in February 2000 and then in New York in May 2000. Since then it’s become one of the most produced plays in the USA and has received productions worldwide including two major London productions. Our production is the first major London outing for the show since 2005.

And what’s your relationship with the show?

It started in 2000 when I saw the original Off-Broadway Production. To this day it is one of the most powerful, memorable and special experiences I have ever had in the theatre. It became a goal of mine way back then to direct the show and try to share it with as many people as possible.

Last year we presented it at The Space in Mudchute and revived it as part of the Dublin International Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival. We’re thrilled to bring it to Greenwich Theatre – my home theatre.

It’s been described as a ‘must-see’ and ‘emotionally searing’. Why emotionally searing?

Because the audience is aware that every word said on stage came from a real person. The town of Laramie is shown warts and all, and we as an audience are asked to come to our own conclusions about the people and the incidents presented.

The subject matter itself is hugely emotive, and the play is so well structured that the audience becomes completely wrapped up in the story-telling.

Joe Walsh in action in West Side Story. Photo: Mat Roberts / Facebook

Tell us about yourself. You’re from the States but live in Greenwich…

I’m originally from a city called Lynn just outside Boston. I grew up performing and in my teens began directing. Theatre has always been a part of my life. I grew up in a political family and although I didn’t follow directly in their footsteps I feel that my interest in projects like The Laramie Project comes from that background.

Is where you are from anything like Laramie? Are you from Smallsville USA?

Lynn is a fairly big city, so no. But I think what is amazing about The Laramie Project is that I do see some of where I grew up in it and the people I knew. I think the themes and concerns expressed by the townspeople are universal.

How did you end up in London and Greenwich?

I moved here eight years ago to do my Master’s Degree in Directing. I’ve lived in and around Greenwich the whole time.

And now you work fulltime as a director?

At the moment I split my time between freelance directing and education. I’m the musical theatre director in residence for Plumstead Manor, and previously was the head of musical theatre for Greenwich Theatre.

As a director, I’ve directed half-a-dozen UK premieres, a couple of Irish premieres, an acclaimed Irish tour of The King and I and a London revival of The Anniversary. In the West End I served as resident director on When Harry Met Sally and Coyote on a Fence.

What’s Laramie like now?

The company returned to Laramie for the 10th Anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death to see how the town had changed. It seems that many people feel that Matthew’s death opened a dialogue that changed people’s opinions about sexuality. Others think nothing has changed and there are some who try to excuse the entire incident as a robbery gone wrong.

Matthew’s father said, “Matt’s beating, hospitalization and funeral focused worldwide attention on hate. Good is coming out of evil. People have said enough is enough.”

I suppose one of the messages from the play is that prejudice and bigotry happens anywhere, and can have dreadful consequences. What do you think then when you see something like the News Shopper letter row, in your own big-city back yard?

Well, it’s people like Mrs Fitzsimon’s that make me so proud of the work we are doing with this play. Mrs Fitzsimon is perfectly welcome to her beliefs and opinions, however, it does concern me that this letter may be read by some as a reason to commit violence against members of the gay community – marginalisation and judgement of a minority group plant the seeds of violence.

I would very much like to share The Laramie Project with Mrs Fitzsimon and hear her opinions on the Matthew Shepard case. I will try to get in touch with the News Shopper and offer her free tickets to the show.

Are you a campaigner at heart? Is that why you’ve brought this play to the stage?

Yes, I think I am. I was brought up in a political family and have always been drawn to theatre with a social conscience. I love the theatre. I love all genre of theatre, and I do think that at the heart of anything you can find a message to share.

Can theatre really change the way people think? Or is it usually a case of preaching to the converted?

I think great art can change the way people think. When I saw the original production of The Laramie Project there were older women sitting in front of me. At the interval one said she wasn’t enjoying it and wanted to leave. The other convinced her to stay. By the end the one who wanted to leave had to be helped out of the theatre by her friend because she was so moved. It had a profound impact.

Living in a place as seemingly open as London it is very easy to forget that people have fought hard and some have lost their lives in order to open up a dialogue about sexuality and all forms of equality.

I know your local is the Rose and Crown, next door to the Greenwich Theatre… what are your other local haunts / top tips?

Well, there is obviously our gorgeous park, lovely beer gardens and of course Greenwich Theatre and Picture House. I can also guarantee that the Organic Café has the best breakfast in London.

And what’s next for you? And the Laramie Project?

As I said, we’re keen to bring The Laramie Project to a wider audience. We’d love to take it on tour and find a home for a longer run in London. We’re also developing a very exciting schools project for the show, and are hoping to present The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later at Greenwich Theatre in October. Personally I’ve just begun writing a new musical and am going to be touring Germany with a theatre company.

Thanks Joe. That’s enough from us. Plug your play in 25 words or less.

The Laramie Project is an important, entertaining and moving piece of theatre. It will open your mind and make you think about yourself and your community. It is a special piece of theatre that will resonate with everyone, and leave you contemplative and inspired. Oh, that’s 44!

The Laramie Project, Greenwich Theatre
Tuesday 21 September – Saturday 25 September 2010
Greenwich Theatre Box Office: www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk / 020 8858 7755

Spencer Drury on 2012, Schooling and the General Election: Interview Pt3

This is part three of Adam Bienkov’s interview with Spencer Drury – Conservative candidate for the Greenwich & Woolwich parliamentary seat and leader of the Conservatives on Greenwich Council. Part one and part two were published on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

Olympics

Hosting the 2012 Olympics has a been a polarising issue in the borough, but the Greenwich Conservatives have so far been relatively quiet about it. Drury himself has mixed feelings about the Games.

He tells me that while the cross country equestrian events will be “fabulous for the park” and an “amazing event” he admits that “this is not the line that NOGOE would like to hear.”

However, he also thinks that the temporary stadium is a “sticking point”:

“The 20,000 seat stadium I have got serious questions about. I mean the fact that it’s a temporary stadium, I’m already thinking is that worthwhile? But where they’re planning on putting it will actually ruin the views down the park to Maritime Greenwich. I mean if you put a great big stadium in front of that then you’re ruining the very views that they seem to want. That seems to me to be self defeating.”

He also believes the Council have missed a big opportunity to capitalise on the Games.

“The Olympics have got tonnes of money and as far as I can work out Greenwich as an area is going to have no legacy from it. Well I mean I say no legacy, but there might be trees chopped down but no legacy from it in any positive physical way.”

So will the Games be good for Greenwich overall?

“Well if you could sort out the congestion as a legacy then I think that people in Greenwich would take the rough with the smooth but at the moment we are just getting the rough.   We’re just getting problems from it and we’re getting damage to a much valued park although I don’t think it will be as bad as NOGOE are making out. I really don’t feel that.”

Are NOGOE representative?

“I think they are representative of a certain group of people in Greenwich but when you go out knocking on doors, I mean I was out in Greenwich last weekend and not one person mentioned it to me. Not one person. Schools, bins and recycling are the things that come up. People are more concerneed about other things. I think that is why you won’t see political parties focusing on it in a major way because on the doorstep it is not the major issue that people are concerned about.”

Schools

I’m speaking to Drury after the announcement that the John Roan school will no longer be moved to the Peninsula. He is relieved:

“The plans to put the John Roan school on the peninsula were always ridiculous. They were planning to put a bigger school on a smaller site, five stories tall with a playground on the roof. It was madness.”

While pleased about this, he believes that it is symptomatic of a wider problem:

“The Council’s education policy is in chaos frankly. We’ve still got the worst GCSE results in London.  They’ve improved a lot but they’re still the worst in London. So our kids are leaving education at a substantial disadvantage to most other kids across London.  And that’a huge blow to us and a massive shame”

He supports the Conservative plans to create smaller “Free Schools” run by parents:

“Parental choice is absolutely vital in this and we know parental choice is already happening in Greenwich because so many hundreds of kids at eleven go out of the borough, whether to private or to Grammar schools.  But what’s interesting when you look at the figures is that they are not just going to the Grammar schools they are also going to Welling and other schools along the border with Bexley because they are better run than Greenwich schools frankly.”

The General Election

Drury is set to stand against Nick Raynsford in Greenwich later this year. I ask him if he knows him well. He tells me that while he sees him annually at the borough’s Remembrance Sunday event, he hardly ever comes across him otherwise:

“I think Clive Efford [Labour MP for Eltham] marked himself as a local MP who didn’t care about Westminster very much. Well I think that Nick Raynsford is the opposite to that. There is a local area. He’s aware that it exists, but Westminster is where his heart is.”

Like Efford, Drury has a close attachment to the area. Raised in Woolwich and a long standing councillor in Eltham, Drury still lives within the borough.

With boundary changes giving the Conservatives a real chance of winning Eltham, I ask him why he didn’t choose to stand in his home town again:

“I did [consider it] but it was for various personal reasons. My daughter had been in hospital for two months and then my wife became ill as well. It was in the run up to the selection for the parliamentary seat and I came pretty close to just packing it all in frankly. And ironically it was a letter from Chris Roberts asking if everything was okay that changed my mind.

“It made me think think that maybe politics isn’t just about doing silly stunts and playing silly games. That maybe there is a point to it”

Council leader “can’t seem to work with other people” – Spencer Drury Interview Pt2

This is part two of Adam Bienkov’s interview with Spencer Drury – Conservative candidate for the Greenwich & Woolwich parliamentary seat and leader of the Conservatives on Greenwich Council. Click here to read part one of the interview.

I meet Spencer Drury the day after the monthly full meeting of Greenwich Council. As usual the Conservative group raised a motion which was voted down by Labour, with Council leader Chris Roberts dismissing the debate as a “complete irrelevance.” Only a handful of voters were there to hear it.

And yet every week a newspaper promoting the Council’s agenda and featuring exclusively Labour politicians is distributed to the entire borough. Many thousands of voters will go on to read it.

So how can an opposition party ever hope to counter this imbalance?

“There is a real problem in Greenwich. Labour have been in power for 40 years and as an opposition the changing system has made it hard to make any contribution at all. We’re marginalised on scrutiny panels which are 100% chaired by Labour members and we can bring motions to Council which obviously get voted down. So the council side of it is very hard to contribute to at all. And it is hard to break through what is essentially a taxpayer funded infrastructure in place to support the Labour Party.”

So would the Conservatives close down Greenwich Time?

“Yes. Well I think that you would need some kind of communication, so I would look at the Bexley model where you have a quarterly magazine and it is a case of just what’s on in the borough. But this council spends a fortune on advertising itself and Greenwich Time has to go. It is wrong. It is morally wrong to be pumping out propaganda at the expense of the taxpayer”

But is it really just a political vehicle?

“I mean it went weekly the week after Boris was elected. Tell me that wasn’t a political decision. It was fortnightly before then and it went weekly genuinely the week afer he was elected.”

He tells me about the council’s campaign to bring the Oyster card to the Thames Clippers. For Drury this was little more than a show, with the aims of the campaign won long before the council even became involved:

“I asked for the background papers and the Council didn’t actually do anything. They just ran their campaign in Greenwich. They didn’t tell the Mayor they were running this campaign. The Mayor had already made the decision anyway and they delivered their petition to him I believe a week before the decision was announced publically.  So all the decisions had been made and their influence was absolutely zero.”

So why bother to do it?

“They just wanted to stand around and pose with printed blue cards run in their own council paper saying how fabulous they are.  And it’s just rotten. It’s just wasting time and money when they should be doing things that improve the lives of people in this borough.”

So what can the opposition do in these circumstances. Where can they be effective?

“Well what you can do is be a good ward member and make sure that your residents are represented. And I enjoy that and it is worth doing.”

But do the Council listen to those representations?

“To be honest we’re pretty much excluded. Chris Robert’s political approach is to make sure that the Labour party does what he wants them to and he’s got no interest in paying attention to any other views even those within the Labour party, let alone the opposition. And he will let us contribute occasionally on minor things so I’m hoping that he will be letting us contribute on the coat of arms for the Royal Borough for instance. But this is not something that is going to make much difference to many residents.”

What do you make of him personally?

“Well I think he is very divisive. With Chris you are either with him or against him. And that applies to opposition politicians but that also applies to people within the Labour party. You see very often the Labour group split over the hard line that he has taken over certain issues. And his relations with the Mayor of London are dreadful now and they were dreadful when there was a Labour Mayor of London.  He just can’t seem to work with other people.”

I ask him about reports that Roberts is moving wards at the election. Is he running away from defeat?

“Well he had one of the lowest votes I believe of anyone on the council and he was comfortably lower than the other two Labour councillors in the peninsula. So there is certainly a negative attittude towards Chris and he is certainly the only person who I have spoken to people about on the doorstep and they have said “well I’m not a Conservative voter but I’m definitely not voting for Roberts”. So he definitely isn’t a popular figure”

In part three of the inteview, to be published tomorrow, Spencer Drury is asked about the 2012 Olympics, schooling in Greenwich and the forthcoming General Election campaign.

Blackwall Tunnel U-turn a “huge disappointment” – Spencer Drury Interview Pt1

The Conservative’s parliamentary candidate for Greenwich and Woolwich has spoken of his “huge disappointment” after the Mayor broke his promise to reinstate tidal flow in the Blackwall Tunnel.

Speaking during a wide-ranging interview with Greenwich.co.uk, the current leader of the Conservatives on the council Spencer Drury said:

“I think it is a huge disappointment because it does create congestion unnecessarily. For years it worked perfectly well and I can’t see why it suddenly had to change.”

In the run up to the Mayoral elections, Boris Johnson promised to reverse the controversial decision to end tidal flow “at the earliest opportunity.”

The pledge gathered widespread support in the area and formed a major part of his transport manifesto. However, last month he admitted to LBC presenter Nick Ferrari that he would not fulfill his promise:

“If I were to impose my will and say restore that contraflow and if there was then to be some huge conflagration in that tunnel and there were fatalities I’m afraid then under the present law of corporate manslaughter brought in by this Labour government then the tragedy is that I would be liable.”

Asked about the legal implications comments, Spencer Drury replied:

“I’m not aware of the legal position so I will have to take [Boris's] word for that, but yes it is a disappointment.”

The importance of relieving congestion at Blackwall was highlighted after a recent fire in the tunnel caused widespread traffic chaos in the area. It also comes after reports that Olympic lanes will be installed in the tunnels.

However, on this issue Spencer Drury insists that the Mayor has listened:

“We’ve spoken with the Mayor’s office and they have said that this is not the case, so I don’t believe that the plan that we have seen in the public domain is the plan that we are going to end up with. I think the Mayor is listening to us on this.”

He also hit out at Greenwich Council for failing to deal with congestion in the area:

“I have always said that one of the things that you could have as a legacy from the Olympics is sorting out congestion in Greenwich, that we could get outside organisations involved and say that we want this as a legacy and I think that many more residents would be on board about the Olympics if it meant we could sort out the town centre.”

However, he suggested that the council’s plans to pedestrianise the town centre were little more than an election gimmick:

“If you were cynical about it you might suggest that it is just because there is an election coming up because there doesn’t appear to have been a proper plan behind this. The problem is that they haven’t done a study on the surrounding areas. This is a huge hub within SE London and the impact the plans would have on Lewisham and on Deptford and on the A2 is even bigger. And because the Council have not looked at it on a global scale we might have a situation where it would work for one part of Greenwich but then has a negative effect elsewhere.”

He believes that the council should instead secure funding to widen certain roads in the borough and even to build a road tunnel under Blackheath:

“Well one of my colleagues was very keen on taking one the road across the heath down into a tunnel because you could dig down very easily there and make it wider. I think that would be a lovely idea although I don’t know whether we would ever be able to afford it. But quite clearly if we want to look after our town centre we have to look at something that would be a genuine leagacy from the Olympics”

In part two of our interview Spencer Drury speaks out against plans to build a temporary stadium in Greenwich Park, says that the continued publication of Greenwich Time is “morally wrong” and claims that Chris Roberts is a “divisive” and unpopular leader of the council.

The Cost of Love: Greenwich.co.uk meets Carl Medland

It’s not uncommon to see film crews in Greenwich but usually they are here mainly to capture the historic buildings of the Old Royal Naval College and create a perfect period setting. Seeing Greenwich on the big screen as it really is today is something rather less common, but soon to change thanks to a new movie by local film-maker, Carl Medland.

‘The Cost of Love‘ is Medland’s first feature length movie having previously worked on corporate films and a number of award winning shorts. It’s been a very personal project for the Greenwich-based filmmaker – he wrote, directed and part financed the project himself. He is now working on the final edit and looking forward to seeing his film at the Greenwich Picturehouse in the Spring.

Primarily, but by no means exclusively, aimed a gay audience, the film was shot in just sixteen days last August. Greenwich is at the very heart of the film, both with its scenery and its cast. Look carefully and you will see many recognisable places and faces, including Michael Joyce who frequently appeared in local pubs as the drag act, Estee Applauder, and who tragically died in a car crash just months after filming ended, and the ubiquitous Robert Gray.

I met Carl last week at the Picturehouse, naturally, to find out a bit more about him and his new film, and began by asking him about his background.

I moved from Devon to London for university and obtained a 2/1 degree, and after that I set up a theatre company. The thing I most liked doing was the writing of plays and the directing of them. My childhood passion was making films, I used to hire cameras and make short films with family and friends. I set up a film company , and half of my business is making corporate films. Last year was quite a quiet year so I had the time to commit to the project. I’ve done about twenty short films over the past five years, I really needed to make the leap and make my first feature. It’s good to learn your craft on the short films and I’ve won some awards like best music video last year, and best performance in a short film.  Everyone kept saying to me “have you done your first feature film?”, so I thought why not get all of Greenwich behind me and make a Greenwich film.

Greenwich.co.uk: What’s the film actually about?

The film speaks quite loudly to a gay audience, although there’s as many straight characters as there are gay. Dale [the central character], played so brilliantly by Christopher Kelham, is like a whirlwind with everyone he comes into contact with, and everyone in the film is affected by love, either good or bad, and they have this real cost to giving themselves to love. It all takes place in Greenwich over four days, and you flashback into the characters’ past as the story unfolds. There’s shades of light and dark, high drama and high comedy.

I wanted to capture the truth of what’s happening today, especially in the gay community. In the last year we’ve had gay beatings, a gay killing, there’s been a lot of homophobic attacks and I didn’t want the film to shy away from those themes. A lot of gay films in the UK come from America, there’s not many British films. I wanted to make a British film, directed at a British audience with British people in real locations.

Greenwich.co.uk: You part financed the film yourself , which is a brave thing to do. Do you think it can be successful?

I think it will. It’s such a professional look to the film. We’ve got really good cameras, really good lighting. Everyone was at the top of their game. The actors were amazing. It’s the best script I’ve written, and I think it all came together.

Greenwich.co.uk: There’s been some quite well known gay British films – I’m thinking ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’, ‘Beautiful Thing’ and ‘Get Real’ – and they have quite a cult following. Do you have the same expectation for this, that it might attract that kind of following?

Yeah, completely, yeah. I really think this would be good for the UK. I think we need another film like ‘Beautiful Thing’ or ‘Get Real’. And actually, ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’, funny you should say that because the whole premise of this film is a white attractive, young guy in love with an Asian guy [played by Valmike Rampersad], so it has that ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’ feel, and there’s a bit of a reference to that and ‘Beautiful Thing’ in the film.

Greenwich.co.uk: A lot of filmmakers choose Greenwich for its period settings. Do you think it works well as a contemporary backdrop for filmmaking?

Yeah, I do. We used the gay bars in Greenwich – we shot scenes in the George and Dragon, and the Rose and Crown, and we used the Metro [sexual health] centre in Norman Road. We also had the Greenwich Drag Race, which we filmed as an actual live event. As we were filming it, there was a scene just before the drag race where Michael [Joyce]‘s character gave the character Dale, a handheld camera and says “can you film me?”. So it gives the scene a documentary feel, a bit like ‘Cloverfield‘.

What we’re trying to do with this film is capture the truth. A lot of it based people on people I know; qualities they have. I think some of my friends will know exactly who they are when they watch the film.

The Cost of Love will be shown here at the Greenwich Picturehouse in March with dates and times to be confirmed. Carl believes that the film will then get onto the festival circuit, and he is currently in talks with distributors in the hope of securing a wider release.

“It would be a mistake for Ken Livingstone to stand again” – Nick Raynsford interview pt3

In part three of our interview with local MP, Nick Raynsford, he gives his thoughts on a variety of issues…

ON PLANS FOR AN EAST THAMES CROSSING

“I have absolutely no doubt that the Thames Gateway Bridge was necessary and will be built in due course and the mayor in the meantime is using this review as a fig leaf to cover his embarrassment. The reason he rejected the bridge was not a proper appraisal of Transport needs. It was because Ian Clement who was then his Deputy Mayor, now disgraced, was the leader of Bexley Council which politically was totally opposed to the TGB. It was a purely political decision. Boris knows that and he is trying to find a way out from an embarrassing position.

“The idea that you will somehow solve this problem by having some kind of additional ferry where the Bridge was supposed to be is for the birds.”

ON THE SILVERTOWN LINK AND TOLLING BLACKWALL

“In the long term there probably is a need for the Silvertown Link as well but I think the overwhelming priority is to get the Thames Gateway Bridge in first. Actually if you have TGB you would almost certainly have to toll Blackwall as well because you would have the risk of people not using the TGB even though it may be the logical one to use because of the toll.”

ON AIRPORT EXPANSION

“City Airport at the moment is meeting a need but it is a difficult one which has been highlighted by the introduction of these transatlantic flights. They are much, much noisier and you are in a very, very densely populated area and people living there are nervous about further expansion. It’s a small niche airport providing a need for people particularly in Canary Wharf and the City who want to get quick access to an airport and travel faster than they can via Heathrow, but it is not he right location for a major airport certainly not flying transatlantic flights.”

Greeenwich.co.uk: Did you oppose the recent expansion of the airport?

“I didn’t oppose it because at the moment I think that City Airport should continue to expand but if you had an estuary airport, which I back, then clearly that would replace City and the business demand for it at Canary Wharf would gravitate very, very easily to the Estuary Airport.”

Greenwich.co.uk: Doesn’t the same arguments you have made for not expanding Heathrow, also apply to City Airport?

“You’re talking about completely different things. You’re not talking about a major international hub airport. You’re talking about a relatively small niche operation, which closes for half the weekend. No flights at all Saturday to Sunday lunch time because that’s the conditions in which it operates. So it is a small operation which while the planes are small, doesn’t create a great deal of conflict. I get more complaints from
constituents about flights into Heathrow than I do about City Airport.”

ON THE NEXT MAYORAL ELECTIONS AND KEN LIVINGSTONE

“I’ve said no more than that I think it would be a mistake for Ken Livingstone to stand again. I think in many ways he was a very good mayor. He made mistakes but he also did some very brave things which got the mayoralty off onto basically a very sound footing. So I pay a lot of tribute to Ken but I don’t think that he would be the right candidate next time. I think that the Labour party should be looking for a new younger candidate who would be able to take London through really towards well into the second quarter of the century.”

ON BORIS JOHNSON

“I think he has been successful with communicating with the public who like his cheerful slightly eccentric style, but I think he’s made some serious mistakes on policy of which the TGB is an example. He’s clearly made a hash of the tall buildings policy, where he initially said that there won’t going to be any and has stood on his head on that, and he’s also I’m afraid made some very poor choices in terms of people to serve him and that surprises me because his criticisms of Ken for employing Lee Jasper were in my view well justified and you would have thought he would have been rather more careful about who he appointed and how they operated in his office. So it’s a mixed picture.”

Missed the previous parts of this interview?

PART 2: Nick Raynsford on the “bogus claims” of Olympic protestors and the “cult of personality” at Greenwich Time.

PART 1: The Greenwich Market Hotel “will be built” says Nick Raynsford

Greenwich Market Hotel “will be built” – Nick Raynsford Interview Pt1

Nick Raynsford MP has said that councillors were “absolutely wrong” to reject the redevelopment of Greenwich Market and says that he has “no doubt” that the hotel will be built. The comments came in an extensive interview for Greenwich.co.uk which we are publishing in three parts all this week.

The highly controversial market proposals were unanimously rejected by councillors earlier this year, but Raynsford believes that they will now go through on appeal:

“Having read rather carefully the officer report and I speak as a former minister for planning so I did have to take decisions on issues like this, I think the Hospital have got good grounds for an appeal”

“In that situation when a scheme has been strongly supported by the officers and it is rejected by the politicians then very often inspectors tend to agree with the professionals and grant the appeal.

“I think this thing will be built. I have no doubt.”

Asked whether he had spoken to Council leader Chris Roberts since he rejected the proposals, he replied:

“Yes I have and I told him I think he was wrong. He was absolutely wrong on this issue. I don’t always agree with him.”

Raynsford believes that “vested interests” misled the public about the scheme:

“The proposals didn’t get explained as they should have been to the public who were apprehensive, but you also had some people who had a vested interest in trying to present this as a Bluewater type scheme rather than what it was.”

Greenwich.co.uk: What do you mean by “vested interests”?

“Well Andrew Gilligan had turned his mind against the thing right from the outset. He was totally hostile to it, and he literally would not listen. His view was this was a totally awful scheme, and the article he wrote for the Evening Standard showed an illustration or Turnpin lane, and the argument was, this is all going to get knocked down. Nonsense. The only thing that was going to be knocked down were those steel girders that hold up the roof at the moment which actually protrude into Turnpin lane and make it a less easy area to negotiate. And the only change would have been rather more elegant supports holding the roof up. And that to my mind is not the product of somebody who has looked at it seriously.”

Raynsford still believes that the hotel will bring much needed economic benefits to the town:

“Greenwich has a huge international reputation but it doesn’t get the full benefit of that. It is known to be a beautiful place, but on the whole the tourism revenue we get is the revenue of a day trip destination. People come to London, and they say that one of the things they must do is go to Greenwich. They’ll probably take a boat down the river, they’ll spend five or six hours in Greenwich, go to the Maritime Museum, perhaps go into the park, to the Painted Hall and the chapel and perhaps the Observatory and then they’ll go back. So they come back to central London and they’ve probably spent  £10-15 in Greenwich and they’ve spent hundreds of  pounds [in the centre]”

Asked whether Greenwich Hospital will appeal the council’s decision he replied:

“Of course it is up to them, but I think they are considering whether they are going to make a fresh application or whether to appeal. Frankly I think that if they appeal they have a very good chance of success, because the officer report which is the serious professional appraisal, gave it very strong support… So a good scheme and I think that there is every chance that it will be built in due course.”

In part two of this interview, to be published tomorrow, read what Nick Raynsford has to say about the “bogus claims” of Olympic protestors and the “cult of personality” at Greenwich Time.

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