Ider at Albani Music Club

I am ashamed to admit that I have lived in Winterthur for six years now and last night was the first time I entered the Hallowed Grail that is the Albani Music Club.

However, I am very happy that my first experience of Albani was at yesterday’s Ider gig. We were gutted to only catch the end of Ider at last year’s Winterthur Music Festival when we arrived to see Metronomy. We loved what we saw so I was thrilled to see them return for another gig last night as part of their debut tour to promote their first album Emotional Education.

My husband and I were pretty early to arrive so settled into some comfy armchairs in the mezzanine and had a pretty spectacular vantage point of the stage below.The atmosphere was buzzing. A DJ was playing all our favourite tunes – from Soft Cell to Jet - and the Albani acoustics are top notch – not too loud but with the most amazing bass line which boomed its way into our heart and soul. The backdrop was set wonderfully and when Ider came on they did not disappoint.

An hour and a bit of sublime pleasure followed listening to the breathtaking harmony of the two girls, Meghan Markwick and Lily Somerville. Highlights were provided by Brown Sugar with its resounding heartbeat and dreamy chorus and You’ve got your whole life ahead of you, with its moody resonance. A cameo appearance of my personal favourite Pulse was received by an appreciative crowd with its sensual beat and breathlessly spine-tingling lyrics and we were treated to a sensational capella section at the end of Baby Love when the girls faced each other in a physical evocation of the magical connection that has produced such an original and beautiful sound.

It was emotional - like a big warm musical hug - and an education – I cannot recall ever hearing harmonies so exquisite. Believe it when I say Ider are on a one way rocket trip to an illustrious future – and Albani Music Club provided them with a leg up of acoustic magnificence.

New piece of work

It’s been so long since I last updated my blog. I have been so busy with the summer holidays, having my wisdom teeth out (ouch) and getting creative. At Morgenland I have created my most favourite piece of wood carving yet, seen above. This was the first time Erwin has allowed me to use a piece of wood in his offcut collection. – oak! I felt honoured to be able to carve such a beautiful piece of wood. The tools literally glided through the surface. So satisfying. I was truly in the zone doing this piece. And I think it shows. Even Erwin said it was my masterpiece! He also suggested it looks like a green fish in a smart coat which I like. With this in mind I think I'll call him Dapper.

Well done Luca!

I must say a big bravo to Luca Hänni who secured a whopping FOURTH place for Switzerland in last weekend´s Eurovision Song Contest. Luca is a 24-year-old talent with slick moves, a well honed bod and a baby face from Bern. Not only did he wow the monumental crowd with a polished, live performance on the night but he also wrote the song! Together with my 12-year-old we must have watched the performance a dozen times. I´m hoping he will be putting in an appearance at this year´s Winterthur Music Festival...anyway, here is the performance for me, sorry, you, to enjoy :)

Alfresco theatre tonight and tomorrow!

There´s a buzz going on in the pretty little courtyard of the retirement centre at Neumarkt. It´s all part of the Keller Theater´s latest venture to bring contemporary theatre to the masses.

The production is centred on the story of Marie and Robert who are neighbours (but used to be lovers) Robert lives with his mother in a house which largely belongs to the neighboring businessmanTheophil, who married Marie when Robert was absent for several years while training. The mother of Robert, Mrs. Schoedler, wants to be carried out of the house in any case before her death.

The play takes place in a confined space in the room of Mrs. Schödler, a living space too small to allow a peaceful coexistence of such idiosyncratic characters and so it explodes, leading to murder. But there is a twist - the action is hidden from the audience at the beginning, who only hear what is going on through special headphones - providing a rather different experience to a normal night out at the theatre. The atmosphere is guaranteed in this beautiful quarter of Winti.

The performance marks the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Paul Haller's play, Theater Marie with a new production of the touching story of Marie and Robert.

The performance begins tonight and tomorrow night at 8pm.

Climate demonstration in Winterthur today

So we've made our banner and we'll soon be on our way to Winti for the Climate protest. It begins at 2pm in Neumarkt and continues until 4.15pm when there will be lots of events and concerts. And all this because of one person. One girl. Greta Thunberg. What an amazing little lady. What a role model. Go Greta. Go us!

Another one bites the dust...

I'm always sad when old buildings get demolished. Especially old community buildings that have seen so much life and history in their time. And of course people have memories there. They can walk past an old building and have their memories triggered, thrusting them back into an earlier, sometimes, happier time when they had none of the worries and struggles that can come in later life.

So I am documenting the latest victim of progress in our village with a heavy heart - it is 200 years old and has a beautifully carved wooden front door which I would love to take to Erwin's to carve myself but I have no transport to do that. I hope it won't just become firewood. It's not just a door but a symbol -for so many people have passed through that door and experienced happiness and togetherness. When it first became empty I asked around to see if there was any chance of turning it into a new kind of community space but I was told the building had already been sold to developers for yet another apartment building - there is a glut of these taking place around our village right now.

I am also taking pictures of this event for a future art project. Many years ago when I took my A-Level art exam in the UK, for the final exam piece we could choose one from a series of questions to explore. I chose the question about chiaroscuro which used Pierre Bonnard as an example of pursuing a piece based on his work of showing light and shade. This suited me because I loved painting the human figure and loved to explore ways of painting light, in particular sunlight (I went on to get a great mark for this) but for a while I was torn between this question and another which asked for a final piece based on an exploration of demolition which threw up a whole host of possibilities, and an opportunity for a great abstract piece.

From time to time I have mulled this over and now it seems I have my muse to finally pursue this project. I have the dramatic images, the crane 'monsters' the authoritative yellow-clad workmen and of course the mist of dreams and feelings and lost memories to incorporate into a piece. So, I have a brand new artwork to focus on. Very exciting!

Fame at last!

I've been featured in the latest edition of our local magazine 'Dorfblitz' A lovely reporter came round the house to interview me just before Christmas and I was very proud of myself, conducting the interview mostly in German, just lapsing into English now and again.

I have worked as a reporter in the UK and it was interesting to see the differences in style between the two forms of interview and editorial. The reporter wanted to know my life story right back to when I began work and what I did year by year, which took some remembering!

I initially trained in Hotel and Catering Management because I wanted to travel the world. Of course, it was/is a high pressure environment, with extraordinarily long hours (usually unpaid) and the wages are tragically low. So as soon as I saw an opportunity to leap into the field of Journalism I took it, without ever looking back. I do miss working on newspapers and would love to work on a Swiss journal as soon as I master the language. I'm thinking cartoon work may be the way forward while my German is still at the basic stages...watch this space...

I should add I have had a very nice response to the Dorfblitz article from friends, the most wonderful being: 'WE are happy to have you here!' Life here in Switzerland has had its challenges for sure, but we have been welcomed with open arms in every way and I really, truly do not feel homesick for the UK. This is my home now and I am very happy to be here.

Caravan in the woods

I somehow managed to drag myself out of bed early on Sunday morning to go into the woods with Bebe, my youngest, to pick some wild garlic for pesto which she has been making with her Pfadi group - and it is delicious (although potent!)

She loves to get up and go out early when there is no-one else around and usually I fight it, especially on a Sunday when all I want to do is snuggle up in bed and read a good book, but every now and again I think it is important to indulge her - and I never, ever regret it.

It was a beautiful morning, not a cloud in the sky. The most amazing thing was the fresh, clean, crisp air which hit us as soon as we stepped outside.

It was pretty magical, we heard several cuckoos tap, tap, tapping on tree trunks and the forest school's caravan stood in the spotlight of the dappled early morning sunshine, making me reach for my camera - see picture. The caravan houses all the tools for the forest group - and there is some serious stuff in there for the children's activities, such as drills and chainsaws! It's a lovely area, with specially built areas for play and instruction. Bebe spent an entire year out there in 'forest school' before starting at Primary. And this love of nature and the Great Outdoors will never leave her.

Short film by Poppy Egerton

One minute film by Poppy Egerton for Situations Competition at Winterthur Fotomuseum:

Daumier-Pettibon exhibition opens

Ratapoil, Daumier, 1851

I had an unexpected couple of hours free while in Winti so headed to the Reinhart am Stadtgarten to check out its new exhibition Daumier – Pettibon which runs until 4^th August.

A prolific French draughtsman, Daumier produced more than 500 paintings, 4000 lithographs, 1000 wood engravings, 1000 drawings and 100 sculptures during his lifetime. This particular exhibition centres around the foibles of the bourgeoisie, the corruption of the law and the incompetence of a blundering government – and the subsequent uprising and French Revolution of 1848. This feels very relevant for me right now, as my beloved homeland is currently embroiled in the never-ending tragic pantomime that is Brexit and seems to be heading for a bloody revolution of its own.

On entering the exhibition you are welcomed by an enchanting sculpture by Daumier of what looks like a regular ‘dandy’, a prequel to today’s hipster – he honestly wouldn’t look out of place cruising down London’s Brick Lane. But a closer look reveals a contorted pose and fiendish grin, depicting Daumier’s fictional Ratapoil (skinned rat) created as republican hopes dissolved after the proclamation of the Second Republic in 1848 under the presidency of Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, later Napoleon IIl, which already characterized a new repressive regime. With the fictitious figure of Ratapoil, Daumier unmasked the power claims of the new ruler and his pretensions to the emperor throne.

Headache, Bong, Bong, Bong, Ding, Ding, Ding

Prior to this, during the reign of Louis Philippe, Daumier joined the staff of La Caricature where he began his pictorial campaign of satire. He was published almost daily for 40 years in the press and his caricature of the king as Gargantua led to Daumier's imprisonment for six months at Ste Pelagie in 1832. (The UK Government has recently introduced new criminal laws giving sweeping powers to the police which will impact on future protests)

Daumier reveals the ugliness of society in really beautiful, and often humorous, work - his drawings are simply exquisite. For example, he uses the symbol of a big, bountiful pear to represent the bourgeois King Louis-Philippe. In The White Washers, three government employees of the king, the Prime Minister Soult, the Interior Minister Argout and the Attorney General Persil, try to wash the tricolor white (the tricolor flag was an achievement of the French Revolution) The clean washing does not quite succeed: "The blue does go out, but this devilish red sticks like blood", is to be read. I love the humorous touches in his work – I especially love Headache, Bong, bong, bong, ding, ding, ding (1833) and France Rests (1833) and who can resist The Past, the Present, the Future – surely inspiration for the mayor in The Nightmare before Christmas.

Raymond Pettibon, Without title 1985

American Raymond Pettibon is also pretty scathing about modern society, with topics from politics and religion to sports and literature. Since the early 1980s he has used his pen and black humour to portray haunting images of the American promise of ‘happiness’ and lithography which reveals its nightmarish distortions. His handwritten drawings, gouaches, collages, and wall-art comprise various sources, such as pop culture, as well as very personal notes. Pettibon also realised a piece of wall art especially for this exhibition. I especially liked the montage of his work at the far end of the gallery, with that familiar laconic expression of Donald Trump peering out. The Ratapoil character of the present day.

Daumier – Pettibon runs until 4^th August.
Reinhart am Stadtgarten (closed on Monday)
Admission 19fr

France is resting, Daumier, 1833

The past, the present, the future, Daumier, 1834

Weekend art exhibition

Morgenstund hat Kunst im Mund, the unconventional art exhibition will take place at Hotel Wartmann over this weekend (12th and 13th)

More than three dozen artists travel from far and near to spend the night at the Hotel Wartmann and to sell works of art. This year's theme is 'friendship' with the renowned Swiss writer and journalist Iso Camartin reading from his book 'In the Garden of Friendship'.

On Saturday there is a bar with musical intermezzi provided by Francis Duende and on Sunday there is a public breakfast.

Times are as follows:
Saturday 3pm-8pm
Sunday 10am-2pm

Admission is free. For a detailed program see www.kunstweise.ch