These short films offer a rare opportunity to see Berlin before it was flattened in the war. They include the 1941 work ‘In Berlin Fliesst Immer Noch der Spree’ (The Spree River Stills Runs Through Berlin) which shows monuments such as the old Reichstag, the Berlin Cathedral and the ornate City Palace, which was later blown up by the communists in the 1950s for ideological reasons. ‘Panorama’ from 1944 depicts a ‘typical’ Sunday in Berlin, as seen through the eyes of Nazi propaganda officers. ‘Berlin Erwacht’ (Berlin Awakes) was made by a communist East German one year after the erection of the Berlin Wall.
January 29, 2009
January 26, 2009
Turning Darkness into Light
This major exhibition in Trinity College is based around the Book of Kells, an ancient Celtic manuscript housed in the beautifully restored Old Library. Written in around 800AD and one of the most beautifully illuminated manuscripts in the world, it’s been on display in Trinity since the 19th century and has always been a big draw on the tourist trail. Tickets to the exhibition include entry to the Long Room, the main chamber in the Old Library – nearly 65 metres long, it houses around 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books and also has a collection of busts and sculptures around its walls that was started in the 1700s.
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January 21, 2009
January 17, 2009
The English Shop
Do continental breakfasts leave you peckish? Then a full Anglo-Irish plate of grease could be just the ticket. A newly opened tea room next to Brussels’ English shop has just begun serving up weekend brunch with meat and eggs supplied by Irish butchers, Jack O’Shea’s, next door. For under 500BF (£10), you can gorge yourself on sausages, rashers and black pudding and wash it all down with bladder-bursting quantities of tea and coffee at no extra charge. During weekdays, the tea room specialises in lighter fare, such as salmon rolls and quiche lorraine.
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January 16, 2009
January 13, 2009
Pet Shop Boys
Those nice young men Neil and Chris come to town on the promotional tour for their latest album, ‘Nightlife’, sporting spiky wigs in an effort to stave off the advancing years. They’re not fooling anyone, but their Europop backbeat, coupled with Tennant’s idiosyncratic vocals and lyrics, remains as wry and arch as ever. Expect a good crowd and a fair outing for all the old hits, like ‘West End Girls’ and ‘Go West’.
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January 10, 2009
Eastern Court
Hidden away in the quiet streets off the Stary Arbat is a cheap haven for eastern food. Eastern in Moscow means food from Central Asia and the Caucasus rather than the Middle East with kebabs and laghman – a meaty noodle soup – among the dishes on offer. Most of the food is meat-based although there are some tasty stuffed peppers, good lavash bread and the almond cookies with raisins are a must. One room, usually reserved for private parties, allows you to lounge in Eastern style on luxurious.
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January 4, 2009
Maná
From the streets of Guadalajara, Mexico, come Maná, the most successful Latin-rock band ever. Originally named ‘Sombrero Verde’ in the late-1970s, Maná found fame with their second release, 1992′s ‘Dónde jugarán los niños?’ (‘Where will the Children Play?’), which by 1997 had sold three and a half million copies worldwide. Maná’s fresh, eclectic mix of pop-rock with reggae and Afro-Latin rhythms and pro-ecological lyrics has now earned them a huge following throughout the Americas and Europe, several awards from Billboard and MTV as well as a Grammy.
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January 1, 2009
Chris Smither
He’s been around since the 1960s but it wasn’t until the 1990s that Chris Smither garnered widespread acclaim, after the release of his live album, ‘Another Way to Find You’. Now regarded as the premier blues and folk singer-songwriter in the USA, Smither draws inspiration from Lightning Hopkins and Mississippi John Hurt as well as crafting some fine sets of lyrics. He sings pretty good, too. Appearing with UK slide guitar legend Mike Cooper and local favourite Penelope Swales.
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