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Greenwich news and information

Greenwich Summer Sessions 2011

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The Greenwich Summer Sessions return this year with a line up that’s bigger and better than before.

Greenwich legends, Squeeze, will be performing in their hometown and there will also be sets by Status Quo, Neil Hannon from the Divine Comedy, the Pogues, Mark Ronson and Status Quo.

The series of concerts will take place in the stunning surroundings of the Old Royal Naval College.

Greenwich Summer Sessions 2011 Tickets

26th July 2011 – Neil Hannon from the Divine Comedy featuring Jose Gonzales
27th July 2011 – Mark Ronson & The Business Intl + support
28th July 2011 – Status Quo + Nine Below Zero
29th July 2011 – Squeeze + support
30th July 2011 – The Pogues

Old Royal Naval College
The Greenwich Summer Sessions will be staged in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College

Fergus Noone’s Photography Column: April

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In every photograph we take, we already make judgments on how certain subjects fit into the frame. Cropping comes naturally in this sense, but other elements will decide what makes your photograph truly stunning.

The best composed shot is one that follows what is known as the rule of thirds. By dividing the image up in three, a photographer can find an equal balance within the frame and decide on further elements like viewpoint, cropping and finding diagonal lines.

These lines can bend and help the viewer move their eyes along the photograph. If we take my image of the Royal Naval College as an example, the staircase in front of The Queen’s House act as a natural diagonal line that moves your eyes to the ground, whilst the path leads you to the horizon line to meet with Canary Wharf juxtaposed with the old architecture of the college.

The path that runs horizontal acts as a way of dividing the picture in half, whist the sky and the stairs in the foreground complete the rule of thirds composition. We are left with a balanced shot of a cityscape during a part of the day where there is luckily a dramatic sky!

Greenwich is the perfect location to find interesting angles, whether it is in the natural landscape of the park, by the shore of the Thames or through the colonnades of its classic architecture. Don’t be afraid to fill the frame and avoid leaving to much empty space.

Use your macro settings and experiment with texture and abstract forms; it can be easily done with plants, trees or any inanimate object. Remember the rule of thirds with sweeping landscapes and be aware of the sky when the sun sets to enhance the drama of the photograph. Composition is only one of the various aspects within the medium, the most important being light so try, if you can, to get out during those golden hours, (early morning/early evening) and contribute to the Daily Photo section of Greenwich.co.uk.

Any further questions regarding your photography, come join us on our photography tuition workshop, Richard and I will walk you through all the necessary points of the camera body itself and help you to achieve beautiful photography using natural light. For more information log on to our website.

Line up for Greenwich Summer Sessions announced

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Squeeze, Status Quo and Mark Ronson will all be headlining this year’s Greenwich Summer Sessions.

The concert series returns to the grounds of Greenwich’s Old Royal Naval College for its second year and will also include performances from The Divine Comedy, The Pogues and José González.

The sessions, which are the brainchild of local promoter, Peter Conway, will take place at the end of July with more acts still to be announced.

“Greenwich Summer Sessions got off to a great start last year and this year’s line up looks to be just as popular. Where better to to spend a summer’s evening than in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College listening to a line up of top musical acts?” commented Cllr John Fahy, Cabinet member for Culture and the Olympics.

The announcement came this morning at a launch event at the Old Brewery in Greenwich attended by Squeeze legends, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook . Tilbrook teased assembled journalists by announcing this would be Squeeze’s last ever gig – before clarifying he merely meant their last gig in July!

For Chris Difford, this morning’s launch was his first visit to the grounds of the naval college since  Sir Francis Chichester was knighted there in 1967.

I asked Chris, who no longer lives in Greenwich, if he was looking forward to seeing some familiar faces from his past. “I think there’ll be local faces and whenever we play locally, we get that. We’re like the village cat I suppose; we come back around and everyone strokes us”, he said.

Line-Up

26 July – The Divine Comedy / José González
27 July – Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. + support
28 July – Status Quo + Nine Below Zero
29 July – Squeeze + support
30 July – The Pogues + Support
31 July – TBA

More information can be found at www.greenwichsummersessions.co.uk

Greenwich - March 2011

Tim Barnes awarded honorary degree

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A former chair of the Greenwich Society has been honoured by the University of Greenwich for his work with law graduates.

Tim Barnes QC was awarded an honorary degree, Doctor of Laws (HonLLD), at a ceremony at the chapel of the Old Royal Naval College on Monday.

The award  is for Tim’s work as chair and founder member of the university’s Law Advisory Forum which was set up three years ago to improve the employability prospects of Greenwich Law graduates

Mr Barnes commented, “This is one of the most beautiful and historic campuses in the world. We owe a debt of gratitude to the University of Greenwich for coming here. Greenwich Law students are the best turned out, best presented and most articulate that attend events at our chambers. They display the commitment and enthusiasm that are crucial qualities for a legal career.”

Kim Everett, from the University of Greenwich, says: “We owe a great debt to Tim for all he has contributed to the university through the Law Advisory Forum. He firmly believes that our Law students can achieve great things and should have the opportunity to do just that.”

Greenwich Comedy Festival 2010

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Following the success of last year’s Greenwich Comedy Festival, it returns again in 2010 with an even bigger and better line up.

Names confirmed so far include Jenny Eclair, Arthur Smith, Rhona Camerson, Ed Byrne, Phill Jupitus, Jerry Sadowitz, Adam Buxton and Stephen K Amos, Reginald D Hunter, Sean Hughes and Rufus Hound.

The festival will run between 6th  – 12th September with most acts taking place in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College.

Click here for ticketing information

Greenwich Summer Sessions

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A string of high profile music acts will be coming to Greenwich this July for the Greenwich Summer Sessions.

The sessions will kick off on Wednesday 21st July with Seth Lakeman and the Levellers. In the following days, music fans will be able to enjoy the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, former Squeeze star Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra – joined by Alison Moyet and Gilson Lavis, and then Deptford band, Athlete, will be headlining the final day.

The Summer Sessions will take place in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College.

Tickets can be purchased online via Ticketmaster:

Discounts are available for residents of the London Borough of Greenwich.

Antiques Roadshow Comes To Greenwich

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The BBC’s Antiques Roadshow trundles into town next week and they are reminding people they can come along with their antiques to get them valued. The stalwart of the Sunday night TV schedules, now fronted by Fiona Bruce, will be at the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College on Thursday 1st October.

If you have an item you would like to have valued by the experts, just turn up between 9.30 am and 4.30 pm. If you just want to go along to be part of the audience, you can get there up until 7pm.

If you have items which are too big to carry along, you can contact the team in advance by emailing photos to antiques.roadshow@bbc.co.uk (the deadline is tomorrow, Friday 25th). They will then arrange to come and examine selected items before Thursday and help you get them to the show.

The Roadshow last visited the Naval College in 1998 when a book of Japanese prints bought in a junk shop turned out to be worth £3,500.

What’s On This Week: July 27th – August 2nd 2009

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This week’s events are something of a thespian’s dream.  The Old Royal Naval College’s outdoor Shakespeare season starts with Henry V this week from Wednesday to Sunday evenings (plus weekend matinees) by the Rainbow Shakespeare Company.  Their primary focus is usually on school theatre projects so their aim here is to make Shakespeare accessible for all the family, but they also take the traditionalist’s view that Shakespeare should be kept simple and styled of its time.  Good on them if you ask me: Shakespeare just isn’t right without breeches, monologues and a vague sense of confusion about what’s going on.

Feeling a little more daring is the Black Sun Theatre Company who are staging 100% Comedy 100% Chekhov at the Greenwich Playhouse this week until 16th August.  In most people’s mind the words ‘Comedy’ and ‘Chekhov’ are generally mutually exclusive – the playwright is best known for his surreal, modernist studies of misery – but apparently he did write some funny one-act plays that are summarised into a trendy ‘potted’ version here.

Firmly back in ‘serious theatre’ territory is Greenwich Theatre on Friday evening with their production To Care For, which looks at the role of older people in our society since the post-war era.  With specific reference to their role as both carers and patients, the play was created out of interviews with older people and is based on their real-life experiences, so expect a real-life angle.  No swords or mad kings in this one (I hope) but it should be very thought-provoking stuff.

Finally on the much lighter end of the scale, The Albany in Deptford has a comedy night on Wednesday, previewing some of the Edinburgh Festival sets by ex-Friday Night Project host Rob Rouse and up-and-coming Pippa Evans.

Are there any other events happening in Greenwich this week? Use the comments section below to tell us about them.