Taste of London | Book Off | Winns Gallery | Motherland | Meghan...
From tasting London to discovering new galleries in the park, lifting the lid on Meghan Markle to book wars that will keep you riveted, our new The Week in Colour is full of ideas for what to eat, visit, read, watch and listen to in the next seven days.
DINE: Taste of London. It’s that time of year people, Glasto for gastros is here! Every year around 55,000 foodies flock to Regents Park for one of the most important events in the culinary calendar. For five days, many of the capital’s hottest chefs, restaurants and food and drink brands cook up storms and showcase their mouth-watering delights to wow the crowds. With Taste Residencies from world class chefs, such as double-Michelin star legends Magnus Nilsson and Sean Gray, and some of London’s most talked about restaurants represented, Duddell’s, El Pastor, Ikoyi and Barrafina to name a few, this year’s edition of Taste will surely not disappoint your palate.
Taste of London runs from 13-17 June at Regents Park. Check out the website https://london.tastefestivals.com/ or follow the festival on Twitter @TasteofLondon.
LISTEN: Book Off podcast. It’s coming up to a year now since one of our favourite literary podcasts was first launched. And since BBC book buff Joe Haddow first brought the highly entertaining concept to our ears, the show has gone from strength-to-strength. In the last month alone, high profile authors such has Kate Mosse, Mark Billingham, Sarah Franklin and Louise Doughty have all featured and the show even made its first live, in-the-flesh debut at the Stoke Newington Literary Festival. The concept is simple; two authors each argue the case for a book which has inspired them, and Joe picks the winner based on who’s spiel was most convincing. Whether you’re truly bookish or a casual reader, this show is a fantastic way to discover good reads, old and new, and what’s more, it’s thoroughly enjoyable to listen to.
The Book Off podcast is available on iTunes and Soundcloud. Follow @Ohdobookoff for updates on Twitter.
VISIT: Winns Gallery. In the heart of the beautiful and historic Lloyd Park in Walthamstow there is a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. Not far from the William Morris Gallery, and situated amongst the weeping willows and medieval moat that was the famous textile designer and social activist’s childhood home, Winns Gallery is small yet welcoming space now showing contemporary artworks in a beautifully curated and diverse new show. Opening this week, the exhibition brings together paintings, collages, sculptures and ceramics from the artists who use the nearby studio space and the sense of community contributes to the special feel of the exhibition. Linda Green’s photo and paint collages are inspired by Epping Forest in May, with their enchanted and golden textures dissolving together on the forest floor. Andrea Humphries’s beautiful re-imaginings of Tudor portraits and her still life paintings are pure joy to behold, while Raewyn Harrison’s textured and intriguing ceramics are absorbing and original narratives. These and more wonderful artists to discover in the heart of one of London’s loveliest parks.
Winns Gallery is at the Aveling Centre, Lloyd Park, Walthamstow. The group show opens this week and doors are open between12pm and 7pm. #WinnsGallery @ForestVenues @raewyn_harrison.
WATCH: Motherland. Out on DVD this spring, season one of BBC 2’s hilarious saga of the motherhood ‘scene’ in London’s Queen’s Park is British comedy at its awkward, agonising and perfectly-observed best. The sitcom covers the uncensored daily lives of a group of North West London parents, whose daily battles over lift shares for the school run, children party logistics and tantrums in the car leave them manic, sardonic, boozy and stressed as they race to be, or at least keep up with the ‘Alpha Mums’. Chugging tea and chocolate cake in the local café, the series captures the unglossy and unglamorous side of parenting with a brilliant script and excellent casting. Like all great comedies, Motherland treads the line between the cynical and the sympathetic, with Anna Maxwell Martin as the dazed and dishevelled central figure in the eye of a parenting hurricane.
Motherland, Series 1 is now out on DVD. Series 2 has been commissioned for BBC2 later this year.
READ: Meghan: A Hollywood Princess. Yes, sorry, we just couldn’t help it. Those lovely freckles and a smile like a sunny June morning - but what’s really going on behind those shiny, sparkling eyes? If anyone has some insight, it’s probably Andrew Morton, the king of royal biographers, who brings new insights with his interviews with those who know Meghan personally, to help us get a bit closer to the most talked-about woman of the year. From her childhood in LA, studying at an all-girls Catholic school to her big break as an actor to her previous marriage and how her mixed race heritage has impacted on her career, Morton delves beneath the surface of the Megs and Harry story. As a seasoned royal biographer, Morton is perfectly placed to shed definitive light on the new Duchess of Sussex and to reveal fascinating similarities and differences with royal romances of the past and with the other forceful female characters that have shaped the modern monarchy.
Meghan: A Hollywood Princess by Andrew Morton is published by Michael O’Mara and is out now in hardback from all good bookshops and on Amazon. Follow the publisher on Twitter @OMaraBooks.
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