Rejection (Fear) Poem

Rejection
Is it something I face because your ideas I don't accept them?
But I reject myself if I let them make me conform, if I let them
Why does everyone believe we must be the same,
Follow this and that, forget ideas of individuality
Originality is not something we should forsake
We can all learn something if we adopt each other's mentality,
Can't let it hold you down, fear is the gravity.
Things we don't know, its just natural to abandon it.
But like I learnt from Gravity no such thing as fear
So I levitate above the hate, get knowledge that
holds weight, rejection is never something that will bar
my way.

AYO

I blame the underground

3 REASONS WHY I AM BLAME THE UNDERGROUND...

To begin with, I am no snob towards public transport, I do not ride around everywhere in a black taxi or fly to school in a private jet- in fact I seem to spend at least a third of my life sitting/standing on train’s… (So I think I am entitled to have a little moan.)           

1.     Firstly, the main culprits for making me late to school everyday... PEOPLE WHO TAKE HOURS TO PUT MONEY ON THEIR BLOODY OYSTER. It’s quite simple really, you press ‘next customer here’, scan your oyster card and top it up; three simple steps that should take a person of minimal intellect no longer than 30 seconds… So I'm running late for school and see the last possible train to make it in tie comes in a minute. It would be possible, if I didn't have the constant misfortune of queuing behind an absolute invalid who doesn't have a clue what day it is let alone how to top up their oyster.  Then after making me a good 2/3 minutes behind schedule have the absolute cheek to double check the money has gone on... OF COURSE IT HAS YOU IDIOT!!! 

2.      Please, please, PLEASE, do not walk in front of me on the underground unless your name is USAIN BOLT. There’s only a matter of seconds before my train arrives, I'm prepared to make an embarrassing sprint through the station to catch it…I am then stopped in my tracks by a sweet, little, old and (very deaf) old lady, clutching on to a walking frame, walking no faster than a mph.Whom, (to be perfectly honest) looks in no fit state to leave her sofa let alone be travelling on the underground. ‘Excuse me please… ‘Excuse me’… ‘EXCUSE ME PLEASE’… ‘EXCUSEEEEEE MEEEEEEE’...  It is then I lose all hope of catching my train. 

3.  This may make me sound like a cold and heartless individual; but, there is nothing that frustrates more than people who jump in front of trains. Now, I am not passing judgement on suicide or anyone who wishes to commit it, I am simply saying that jumping in front of a train is an incredibly selfish way for one to kill there selves, not only is it traumatising and emotionally damaging to the train driver and anybody else that has to witness it; but it also a massive inconvenience for those who wish to use that tube line and ARE IN A HURRY!!! Put yourself in my shoes.. You've already been made very, very late for sixth form because of the idiot in the queue for the ticket machine and the sweet (but very annoying) old lady limping in front of you through the station. You finally make it the platform, and too your bloody luck see the train line has been closed! Then after a good ten minutes of ranting and blaming TFL for being so useless are told it's because 'someone has died'... I am then left standing at the platform looking like an unsympathetic bitch, who is very, very LATE FOR SCHOOL.

J. Lennie

Murder to Excellence.

MURDER TO EXCELLENCE 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yn5qj1pCj4 Listen. 

For those of you who don't know, The Throne is a collaborative hip-hop duo which consists of Jay-Z and Kanye West. Although they had been making music together years in the past it was only until 2011 they decided to team up and create what would be one of the most renowned albums of the year. One of the tracks which inspired this post was one called 'Murder to Excellence' which dwells on the highs and lows of African-Americans. 

The song's title has a double meaning: The phrase 'Murder to Excellence' can be described as a transition from the evil of murder to benefits of success and it can also be used as a metaphor for people 'killing' their own successes. The song and whole album are centred around America's corporations and capitalism and how racism and materialism are murdering blacks. The first part of the song is the 'murder'. 

This part of the song is about the frequent black-on-black violence that occurs in America. These murders are often rooted to gang association and other problems of living in deprived areas. Jay-Z, Kanye and I'm pretty sure everyone else will agree that black-on-black violence is not the way. Being black in America and for a fact anywhere else can be proven to be quite a struggle especially with the recurring stereotypes of us being violent, loud, materialistic and obnoxious. Instead of African-Americans and other blacks all over the world supporting each other, we have allowed material things, money, government, society and our current situations to box us in and turn us against each other. It such a shame that people like Malcolm X have died trying to make a name for blacks however in today's world we undo all their work when we kill each other. Why should people like Malcolm X and Martin L. King have wasted their energy trying to defend us when we're progressing backwards in society and not trying to make a better perception of blacks. If you ask most people the first things they associate with 'black' are the things mentioned before such as crime, notoriety and so on. One of the reasons I feel black-on-black crime became frequent is because young blacks in particular have been deceived for years about what power is. The roots of many of these things can go as far as slavery. Most of the black-on-black crime happens in the deprived suburbs in America and even here in the UK. Money has become a necessity to live and therefore a symbol of power, meaning people will do what they have to do to get it even if that means killing your own people. It is a dangerous illusion and more people, especially the blacks need to realise power is the ability to control people or things. Power is self-control! The truth is we are stronger together than when we divide ourselves according to where we are from, money and race but unfortunately there are too many big egos which blind people to this truth. The murders in the city of Chicago which have mostly been blacks are more than those that are killed in Iraq. Am I the only one that find these statistics appalling? The social-economic situation of most African-Americans in America has also lead to the fact that black people only live an average of twenty-one years before death. Let's hope all of us get to celebrate our post-demise. One of the phrases from this part of the songs from Jay-Z goes: 'If you put crabs in the barrel to ensure your survival you gon' end up pulling down n****s that look just like you'. This particular phrase has a significant meaning; Blacks (crabs) being placed in the projects (barrel) causes us to turn against each other trying to get out.  The second part of Murder to Excellence is now the excellence which is seen throughout the black community and how we need more of it.

In this part of the song The Throne go on to praise what is known as Black Excellence. Despite all the negativity surrounding African-Americans there has been successes. It is impossible to forget one of the most powerful men in the world is the president of the United States - Barack Obama and its already known that he is black. Ben Carson was the first black neurosurgeon coming from a deprived background. These people should serve as a reminder not to let your skin colour bar you from reaching your goals. Black people doing well is actually something common however the media showing all the violence over shadows this. There are many black people in the U.S and U.K that have made something of themselves. Examples of this can be musicians and actors: Ashley Walters, Jme, Malcolm Kamulete, John Boyega and the list goes on.  The only thing we need now is some Black Excellence to over take the murder. Excellence is something that I believe comes in all shapes, colours and ages but if we had more of it, the world would be a better place. Not just for blacks but for everyone.

  

One Direction

One Direction were formed in 2010 on the UK version of the X Factor. The group consists of 5 boys, Niall Horan (20), Louis Tomlinson (21), Harry Styles (19), Zayn Malik (20), and Liam Payne (20).
They all auditioned for the x factor as solo acts in 2010. They were all successful in the audition, but it all turned around at bootcamp. They were told that they wouldnt make it to the next round of the show. After leaving the stage, obviously very upset, they were then called back on, as Simon Cowell had decided that they would work better as a group, and decided to put them through. This is when one direction were formed. They only had 3 weeks to get to know each other before flying out to the judges houses. They were put into Simon's category. They were successful and simon put them through to the live shows. Here they performed every week, giving it their all to receive votes from the public. They managed to get all the way to the final. They ended up coming a well deserved 3rd place. They then promised the fans that they weren't going to split, by saying 'Dont worry, this isnt the end of one direction.'
Although it was made clear that only the winner could get a recording contract, Simon signed one direction up with Sony. This led them to release their first single, 'what makes you beautiful' in the september of 2011.
This song proved to be extremely popular, going straight to number 1. The fans then started to name themselves 'directioners.' There were the core fans- the small group that followed them around since x factor. They took to social networks to make the rest of the UK fans, who joined them on social networks and got the rest of Europe involved. This quickly spread to America. And they very quickly became the biggest boy band in the world.
Their first tour, 'up all night', which is also the name of their first album, sold out within minutes. It was a UK theatre tour, only in fairly small venues.
A year after, their album 'take me home' was released. By this point, 'one direction infection' had gone global, so this was their first worldwide arena tour. These tickets also sold out in a matter of minutes, so on major demand, had to put up lots more dates. By this point, they had won many awards and had loads of number 1 singles, broken records and became the biggest boy band in the world.
29th of August 2013 - following the groups success of the two tours and countless awards, 'This Is Us', the groups movie was released into cinemas. This went to number 1 on the movie charts.
Next year, they are due to have another world wide tour, but this time its a stadium tour, which includes playing at Wembley.

By Amy

Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction- Film Review 

Pulp Fiction, a film starring two of the most well known actors around the world, John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson. A film of action, blood and witty comedy, which could only be directed by Quentin Tarantino, an Oscar award winning writer and director. This gangster film has made itself unique by going back and forth in time throughout the film, revealing stories that interconnect to each other and the characters link to one another. It may sound confusing, but you won’t be lost for long watching this laugh out loud sinful film. The film was released in 1994 and till this day it is still a refreshingly different film to all the rest that have come out ever since. Some scenes are astonishingly mad, explicit and crude however they're entertaining as they are acted so precise and well that the craziness is seen as reality to the viewers. 

The film begins in an american diner, a couple try to spontaneously rob a cafe, with guns and a crazy look on their face however they still manage to come across harmless when compared to the two hit men in the following scene, John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson. Although the two characters are driving along talking about burgers, they portray a menacing feel to the scene, they are able to intimidate the audience which shows how spot on their characterisation of the characters were. 

The film also stars a well known actor who goes by the name of Bruce Willis, in the film he plays a dodgy boxer and a woman's lover, he's also part of one of the most provocative scenes in the film. As you might be able to tell, this film is original in so many ways and not afraid to show the exaggerated reality of drugs, sex and murderers. Everyone should get the chance to see this film, whether they love it or hate it, it is going down in cinema history. Too good to be ignored. 

Frances Knight

It Takes a Dream to Create a Village

It Takes a Dream to Create a Village

The summer of 2012, the year of the London Olympics introduced the new Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Velodrome and BMX Circuit but beyond this there was a whole new astonishing development in London’s prime location, this was called the Athletes village. Many of you would have already been aware of this site but how many of you actually what happened to this post the Olympic Games?

Stratford’s neglected, contaminated, derelict brown field site was transformed into exemplary living accommodation for up to 17000 competitors during the e the village at the same high standard of living as the sports competitors. For this reason there is being a conversion of the Olympic village to a new residential district called the East Village.

East Village's legacy will endure for decades, if not longer, through provision of approximately 3000 new homes and regeneration of an abandoned corner of East London. Not only accommodating many thousands of residents, it will also promote the vicinity and improve the appearance of Stratford City with its remarkable infrastructure. Courtyards and lakes are being incorporated in East Village to enable families to enjoy the scenery and have amazing outings with their children in this new, refreshing, picturesque environment. 

Towering flats and spacious balconies give residents a breath taking view of London’s finest sceneries at night of famous landmarks including Big Ben( only 6 miles away) and London Eye. This gives residents a real experience of London life which they are bound to love. This is on top of easy access to travel with a newly built international station and Westfield shopping Centre which is on the perimeter of the village.

What is there not to love?

Being a resident in East London myself, never would I have imagined in my wildest dreams that such a conspicuous district would have been constructed in my area. It is completely mind-blowing, the amount of work that has been put into this project of East Village with at its peak 6000 workers walking into the village per day to make this work and the level of performance is outstanding. This project employed around 40000 workers and at a time of crisis in the economy. There is no evidence for me to say this was a waste of money and I am immensely proud to say I live in an area with such a huge attraction to the public’s eye.

Brownfield marshland to Olympic accommodation to residential living… now that is what you call a real sustainable development!

H.D

Somers Town: Film review

Somers Town: Film review

Two teenagers, both newcomers to London. Marek who just moved to London with his Dad, and Tomo who is a runaway from Nottingham, who has nothing back there and is looking to forge a life out in London, but unfortunate events happen to him the first night he stays there and ends up meeting Marek, and form a unlikely friendship and chase and fight over a girl, Maria.

Shane Meadows who was hired to make a short film to promote the new euro star terminal in st. Pancreas.  One of the key themes in this short film is contrast; Tomo is very much an opposite version of Marek. Tomo is short and lazy and also cheeky, whilst Marek is tall, hardworking and very shy. Another theme is growing up, when  Marek met Tomo, he slowly changed, some bad things but some positive things, a example of a this is that he was coming out of his shell, and had a friend and he was having fun, but Tomo had a bad influence on him, when they stole laundry from the local launderette. Both of them were growing up over this period, they both loved the same girl, but they made sure it didn't get between them, saying that they both were still very childish, lying to impress a girl, and Tomo hiding under Marek’s  bed from Marek’s dad.

I personally had mixed feelings about this film, I thought it was cleverly made, for example ever time you met a new character; it would be a colored scene, but any other scene would be in black and white, (Spoiler) but when they went to France it was in color. Meadows themes and ideas were very interesting, I liked that the 2 main characters were contrasted, it added to the humor, to see how both of them got to know each other.

On the other hand, the pace of the movie, for me was way too quick, (spoiler) when they decide to go to France they skip the whole trip to there, which I thought that they could of got a bit more personal and find out why Tomo ran away from home and what happened with Marek’s mother. I found it a bit cliche and very cheesy, they decided they would go to France, and they somehow found Maria. I think Shane Meadows rushed the film a bit, and he could have done more with it.

Shane Meadow actually created this to make a short film for a new euro star terminal in st. Pancreas, his aim was to show what love can do to you, no matter how blind it is, and the fact that Marek and Tomo traveled to France not knowing anything but her name shows that.

I would recommend this film, but it will be annoying towards the end with the short ending and the unanswered questions.

I am going to give this film a 6/10, it was a great story and the comedy was great, but they could have done so much more.                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                 
O.K

ONLY GOD FORGIVES - FILM REVIEW

 

Release Date: 2nd August 2013 (UK)

Age Certificate: 18

Running Time: 88 mins

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Writers: Nicolas Winding Refn

Stars: Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas and Vithaya Pansringram

Every couple of years, there's only a few films that splits the film community in half. This year that film is Only God Forgives. Some say it’s a masterpiece, whereas others would say it is the worst film they’ve ever seen. I couldn’t wait to view it and come to my own conclusion.

Julian, played by Ryan Gosling, is a drug-smuggler thriving in Bangkok's criminal underworld. However, he sees his life become even more complicated when his mother, Crystal - played by the ever competent Kristen Scott Thomas, dictates him to kill whoever is responsible for his brothers recent death. 

I’m going to say it; I loved Drive! (directed by Nicholas Winding Refn) It's become a cult film, so it's easy to say, but it was just one of those films that brought a feeling I hadn’t felt before. I would have loved to have seen it on the big screen, but unfortunately I ‘didn’t look old enough’ to get in. After reading the rave reviews I bought it on Blu-ray a couple of months later. The romance, the tension and the direction all bought something to the table, to create a great work of art. 

I sat down to watch Only God Forgives wanting to leave with the feeling.  After viewing the film I didn’t know what I felt. Perhaps it was one of confusion. I wasn’t confused about the concept of the film, it was the confusion of whether I liked it or not? 

Right from the bat, this film looks amazing. I knew it would, as I regard the cinematographer Larry Smith, as a genius. He has an eye for shots that stay with you long after the film has ended. Only a few flicks in the history of film look as good as this. It’s that stunning! Directing is also outstanding, apart from his twisted visions that he shows in his films. In addition to this, the soundtrack is mesmerising - a moody electronic vibe from Cliff Martinez, who also worked on ‘Drive’

The downside of Only God Forgives is that it is gratuitously violent; I mean there is an eye ball stabbing in this film! You don’t need that in a motion picture, personally it did nothing for me. Some of the other scenes are a bit too graphic but as Nicolas Winding Refn said, ‘violence is my fetish.’ His favourite film has been The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ever since he was 14. Enough said!

I felt nothing for any of the characters; they were are all heartless, cold and murderers. The only exception was Crystal, Julian’s mother. She’s just a bitch.  Julian was a troubled child; it is possible there was forced incest between him and his mother. Not the typical motherly love you might say. There is also another hidden truth that he has buried away; all I’m going to say is that hands have a big role to play in the film. He yearns for forgiveness.

Only God Forgives has concealed meanings and metaphors, mostly and probably all to do with God. I’m not going to say which character is supposed to represent God, but I’m sure you can work it out.

I could dive into this film describing the meanings scene by scene but I don’t want to spoil it too much. Even if one doesn’t enjoy the concept and story, just go to admire the absolute beauty of the film.

The key complement I can give, is that it’s a film that I have not seen the likes of before. There should be more films that are more ’out there’ and shouldn’t have to worry about being commercially acceptable. 

7.5/10

Score could change (it’s one of those films)

 D.R. HAYES

Satan; A fall out from Heaven

Lucifer; the angel which befell upon the shelter of human civilization, struck this once place of magnificence, like a lightning bolt. Lucifer, once head of choir in heaven, bellows his destructive and diminishing foulness onto innocent persons. Do we have the ability to question the integrity of us people, when it is said to be the damning forces of Satan which condemn us to such reckless thoughts and lack of morals instilled within us. Many claim it is not us who solely embark on the journey of evil but this negativity has been enforced onto us.  Can we question the truth of this?. There are  boundless rumours of secret societies present and organizations which attribute to the worship of Satan. For instance the rumours of The Illuminati is infamous. The  idiotic yet deceiving  mannerisms of these 'worshippers' could be blinding us from the truth. Many ridicule the '666' hand gesture and masonic hand pyramid gesture. Of course as a society we ourselves cannot acknowledge what is of a true nature and what is false. Many claim the music industry and film industry, in fact the whole entertainment industry have been controlled by The Iluminati and celebrities are ordered to perform certain roles. Wether this is all true or not, we shall not be able to establish  the possible agendas of the Illuminati. We cannot be able to differentiate between what is goodness and what is evil. We shall usually act as to what we see is right.. The forces of nature becloud us from our love for good, as natural disasters are responsible for the deaths of millions. Is the almighty God not foreseeable of this disgust of a future?. Can freemasonry be worthy of the title of a new religion?. Will it be racist for us to despise their rules of religion and their worshipping? Many may infer this to hypocrisy as it is of good morals to be obedient and respectful of others. The true question we may ask ourselves is; is god real?. Surely if the presence of this almightiness is real then so should Satan's. Maybe we are not too fit of a position to speak of their presence. There is no such evidence for their evidence, except what is written in the scriptures of holiness. If  man claims to be seeing a ghost, they are either hallucinating, under the influence of a side affecting substance, or a being with insanity. There is no evidence for supernatural occurrences , so people who 'see' are damned insane. There is no evidence for God so does that not make over 3 billion of us insane?. It was stated that reasons being for Satan's exclusion from heaven were selfishness and self empowerment. These two words are quite fond in the dictionary of our brains, as we too act with selfishness and thoughts of self empowerment at times. Does this make us multiples of Satan?. Satan is usually illustrated in the colour of red. This colour popular amongst us is symbolic to hatred, blood, death, war and fire. All words of a negative aspect to perceive Satan as a diabolical presence of this universe, earth, us?. Make no mistake to indulge in a period of hate for this wicked creation, but surely remember that the colour red is also a  representative of love, passion, determination and strength. These desirable words make us wonder of the character Satan truly is. It is both positive and negative words intertwined to form a creation. These words may of been burnt into our thoughts and feelings from birth. We all have goodness and badness within us. Some more bad than others,and some with a performance of more good actions. Satan was an angel, was he not? so how does  God not have the willing power to destruct him, as Lucifer must of been his creation. Does God not have control of negative forces?. Is this the reasons being for the occurrence of natural disasters. A rapist may blame the sultry looks of the victim and a murder may blame the annoyance of its victim. It is true that many are affected by a bad upbringing and a form of psychological disorder, but are we not to blame for ourselves. Lucifer was an angel but a corruption of power distraught his good will. Who knows... does God exist? does Satan exist. That is not for us to discover but we shall act in a good manner as we can still distinguish between what is good and what is evil. If these  scriptures are speaking of truth, remember Lucifer once an angel, now a wicked force of nature. We too can easily fall into the footsteps of badness but as members of this society, we can only act upon what we have been taught. We are taught that yellow is yellow and we believe this only because we have been taught this. Real or not, stick true to the angel within yourself.  RAKULAN SIVALINGAM

Utopia - TV show

Utopia is one of those shows where a guy walks into a school and kills some children. And all for the camera to see, all for the eyes of the audience. Of course, you don't exactly SEE the shot hitting the child, but, you know it does, because he aims his gun at a child, shoots, and the starting credits roll. The first episode has what feels like a ten minute torture scene of someone putting bleach, sand and chilli into someone's eyes, after which he fully takes one whole eye out with a spoon. Offended? Good, because Utopia breaks the mould for British television. It's HARD, incredibly dark, beautiful and violent, brave enough to show scenes that could cause controversy for decades. It's a British show that DOESN'T know its limits. It isn't afraid of what the viewer might think. This show goes up there with Britain's best to offer, amongst Sherlock, Top Boy and Luther.

As well as a lot of blood, Utopia has a lot of yellow in it. One of the best features of Utopia are the beautifully framed and crafted shots that are shown to us. Each shot is like a piece of art, the framing so excellent it'd make an excellent piece as a photo on a wall. The show is very artistic. You can't help but stare in awe. And within these shots is a lot of yellow. It's hard to explain, the creators were insistent on including this colour in almost every scene. It's a recurring theme or so, perhaps, maybe. One thing's for sure is that it does make the show look even more good and even more attractive. An additional plus is that the music or score or whatever, is also brilliant, very edgy and nervy, yet maintaining and pushing the pop arty feel of the show.  

Utopia is a conspiracy story of a group of people who are brought together by a cult graphic novel, due to the fact that these people are the only only known humans to know of this mysterious and rare comic, and there is a known sequel that they all wish to read, so they are brought together to share their appreciation, because they al think that the story is incredible, the artwork fantastic and the back story to the author scary. At the same time, another group of people, called "The Network" are seeking the sequel to this comic, because it holds information that is vital to their intentions. The Network are ruthless and brutal. They pretty much just kill anyone who gets in the way and torture anyone with information. The people in possession of the sequel are in constant danger. And so finally it lands in the hands of six people who just wanted to read a comic. Though through reading, they discover a deep, dark and nasty secret that puts the lives of millions of people at risk, thus begins their plan of trying to stop the conspiracy of The Network. 

Edward Nigma 

Invisible Cities: Italo Calvino

Jeanette Winterson once wrote that Invisible Cities by Italian writer, Italo Calvino, is the ‘book I would choose as pillow and plate, alone on a desert island’, and while I wouldn’t recommend eating off this book (it’s quite small) or using it to rest your head upon (again, it’s quite small – and hard), I would definitely recommend reading it.

Published in 1972, the novel takes the form of a conversation between the 13^th century explorer Marco Polo and the Chinese emperor Kublai Khan (also immortalised in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s virtually indecipherable, opium-fuelled poem Kubla Khan, but that’s another story), during which Marco Polo describes a number of cities he has supposedly visited on his travels. These descriptions become increasingly imaginative and imaginary as the novel progresses. For example, take this description of the city of Argia:

What makes Argia different from other cities is that it has earth instead of air. The streets are completely filled with dirt, clay packs the rooms to the ceiling…We do not know if the inhabitants can move about the city, widening the worm tunnels and the crevices where roots twist…everyone is better off remaining still, prone; anyway it is dark.

From up here, nothing of Argia can be seen; some say, “It’s down below there,” and we can only believe them…At night, putting your ear to the ground, you can sometimes hear a door slam.

Or this one of Eutropia:

On the day when Eutropia’s inhabitants feel the grip of weariness and no one can bear any longer his job, his relatives, his house and his life, debts, the people he must greet or who greet him, then the whole citizenry decides to move to the next city, which is there waiting for them, empty and good as new; there each will take up a new job, a different wife, will see another landscape on opening his window, and will spend his time with different pastimes, friends, gossip.

Calvino’s fictional Polo goes on to describe a city built on a cosmic plan, a city built on stilts, a city that never ends, a city constructed entirely of water pipes, a city divided between the living and the dead, a city divided between work and play, and many more (including Octavia, ‘the spider-web city’). In these descriptions history, fantasy and reality are inextricably intermingled; they are, in the words of Kublai Khan, ‘consolatory fables’.

This is the second novel by Calvino that I have read (the other being If on a winter’s night a traveller – which consists of the opening chapters of ten different novels!) and there are definite similarities between the two books. Both are incredibly original, imaginative and inventive, and both dispense with a traditional narrative structure in favour of an episodic approach with the different elements of the novel held together by the themes and ideas that Calvino is exploring. In the case of Invisible Cities, it seems to me that it is the nature of cities and the importance of travel and consequently of home that is being explored; Polo has travelled extensively across the world, but it is his home, Venice which seems to be always on his mind as he tells Khan that ‘Every time I describe a city I am saying something about Venice.’ It is the schizophrenic nature of cities, in all their multifarious splendour that interests Calvino (as well as Polo, Khan and the reader); it is their duality, their insatiability, their unlimited capacity for expansion, their horror and their delight.

Cities, Polo contends, are the ‘inferno of the living…the inferno where we live every day, that we form by being together.’ What could be a more appropriate description of London in 2013? There are, Polo tells Khan, ‘two ways to escape suffering it’, but you’ll have to read the book to find out!

 

Mr R.

Ivor Cutler: I'm Going In A Field

When he was alive, Ivor Cutler (1923-2006) was a quite brilliant poet, singer, songwriter and musician. He was also Scottish.

Cutler first experienced nationwide fame when he appeared in The Beatles’ film Magical Mystery Tour as bus conductor Buster Bloodvessal. Following his role in the film he made an album with Beatles’ producer George Martin, called Ludo, on which ‘I’m Going In A Field’ appears.

Cutler’s music is gloriously silly, and seems to hark back to a simpler time and a simpler life and serves in the 21^st century to remind us all that everybody takes everything FAR TOO SERIOUSLY. It’s not all work, work, work you know…or at least it shouldn’t be.

Mr R.