Pavlova Diaries

World Book Night organisers are asking for more volunteers to choose free books to distribute in April, and there are only a few days till 31st January when the giver application closes. Click on worldbooknight.org to sign up and be one of the 20,000 people chosen to give away 24 copies of a fantastic book on April 23 to people who don’t regularly read. Givers will only be be chosen first and foremost on their commitment to give books to non-regular readers and the answers to the questions where, who and why are taken in to account regarding this. Good luck. We’ll keep you posted on which books Pavlova Diaries will be giving away nearer the time.

To walk into a quite studio filled with seventeen artists focusing on a naked man is to enter an almost spiritual zone. Seated in a semi-circle in the quiet, high-ceilinged calm of Portobello’s St Peter’s church hall, fashionable, interesting-looking artists of all ages concentrate on the task. The gentle rub of charcoal on paper quickly becomes small works of art. This is the weekly art class run by Susannah Fiennes, a graduate of the Slade School of Art and now a well known artist in her own right and in demand for her portraits. Now there is a waiting list to join the weekly classes she shares with Guy Mortimer in Notting Hill. “Never underestimate the importance of a good model,” are some of the first words Fiennes utters,  glancing at the long-legged strong-torsoed male before us, before she darts of to gently advise one of her students. Fiennes has been teaching here for four years, coming up from her home in Wales every two weeks. Continue reading →

Not known for it’s laugh out loud programing, the Royal Albert Hall has some of the comedy world’s hottest names and rising stars performing in the Elgar Room this season. There is a bit of an offer on drinks too. For every drink you order before the show you get a half price on in the interval. Order enough and you will think anything is funny – hmmm. First up on February 23rd are Peacock and Gamble (above) with their Emergency Broadcast. On the 1st March Roisin Conaty, winner of the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award 2010 for Best Newcomer is joined by Nat Luutseme (also a woman, in case you wondered) . There is more funny stuff planned including a Wit Tank but check the website as typing it all out is too hard. Have a laugh, starts at 8.30pm and tickets are a tenner. www.royalalberthall.com/

Dark Romance is the subject of the first Salon discussion (another literary evening or ALE to you) of the year on 2nd February at the Westbourne Grove Church.  Discourse on phychological drama in film will be lead by screenwriter John Foster aided and abetted by directors Alan Renais and Krysztof Kieslowski and Wong Kar-wai. Following this Lisa Appignanesi (left), cultural commentator and President of PEN, will answer all your questions on love in time for Valentine’s day. Finally Salena Godden (right), punk poet and raconteur explains the allure of poetry. Doug and Kellie are on the bar slinging the gin. Doors 7.30pm with an 8pm kick off and tickets are a tenner. www.salon-london.com/

If you are having shopping withdrawal symptoms and in need of a fair to boost your mood in the January gloom (hasn’t it whizzed by this year?) then on Sunday, 29th you can mount the stairs of the Twentieth Century Theatre once more for Anita’s Vintage Fashion Fair. Starts at 11am and closes at 5pm and costs two quid to get in. Once across the threshold you will find 28 exhibitors of glamorous vintage fashion dating from 1800 to the 1980s. On hand to make it all fit is Recycle and Sew – www.recycleandsew.com, who can revamp, repair and alter anything. When it all gets too much and you feel your vintage (bum bum), you can collapse in Anita’s infamous vintage cafe for a nibble and a brew. The cherry on the cake is the Vintage Sweet Shop – www.vintagesweetshop.co.uk, who will be recreating the nostalgia of the old fashioned sweet shop. Feeling a bit sick yet? www.vintagefashionfairs.com

Twentieth Centry Theatre  Stop Press 

On Saturday 28th January there is a Baby Ceylons sample sale at 10.30am – 5.30pm. babyceylon.com. Also on 5th February Concert Pianist Niamh Beddy will play solo works by Schubert and Brahms as well as songs by Duparc with James WIlliams on vocals. This is a classical series and there will be another concert on the 4th March and 29th April. Tickets a tenner if you like that sort of thing. www.wegottickest.com/event/150680

Hans-Peter Feldmann’s new exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery starts with his early photographic series to new works displaying women’s handbags. Born in Germany in 1941, Feldmann was a key figure in the Düsseldorf art scene and is a contemporary of Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter and Sigmar Polke. Dedicated to collecting, Feldmann brings attention to everyday objects around us by making them into installations. Serpentine Gallery, 11 April – 3 June. www.serpentinegallery.org