Category Archives: Culture

Charleston House

Charleston House

…in pictures

I went to the penultimate day of the Charleston Festival in Lewes, East Sussex, which was marking its 25th year. I heard Charlotte Higgins and Adam Nicolson read from their new non-fiction books on Classics. Charlotte Higgins’ ‘Under Another Sky’ was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize.

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Donald Campbell exhibition at Leatherhead Museum

Donald Campbell BluebirdI wrote this for essentialsurrey.co.uk
An exhibition on the life of Surrey born speed record breaker Donald Campbell, holder of 13 world speed records in the 1920s and 30s in the famous Bluebird cars and boats, launches Leatherhead Museum into Spring.
Read my full story here.

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Clandon Park Remembers World War One

Clandon Park

Clandon Park near Guildford, is famous for its imposing Venetian Palladian architecture, impressive Marble Hall and intricate stucco ceilings. So it may come as a surprise that it was once used as a military hospital. Indeed, visitors to the property, which the National Trust has owned since 1956, can now see a First World War operating theatre, which has just been recreated within the building to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War and the role that the estate played.

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Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

Shakespeare's Globe backstage

A few years ago I was given a private tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London and I had special permission to photograph the space. I felt very privileged to be able to wander around with my camera, free to capture the changing light across the seating, beams, stage and even backstage area.

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William Kent: Designing Georgian Britain at the V&A Museum.


William Kent, Esher PlaceDesign for a Neo-Palladian Villa overlooking Waynflete’s Tower, Esher Place 1730-1735
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

An exhibition examining the life and work of William Kent, one of the leading designers of early Georgian Britain, has opened at the V&A museum.

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Renoir Exhibition at The Lightbox, Woking

The Lightbox, Woking

An exhibition of Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s work has opened at The Lightbox in Woking in Surrey.

The exhibition features paintings, sculpture, etchings, sketches and letters by Renoir, which  illustrate the rise of his popularity.  Renoir almost exploded into the art scene in 1874 when his work first came to the attention of British art collectors and two of his paintings were shown at an exhibition in London; in the same year six of his works featured in the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris.  Since then, Renoir has become one of the most internationally acclaimed artists whose art is coveted by collectors in the UK and all over the world.

The Lightbox is the first regional gallery to bring
together a cohesive representation of the work of Renoir held in British collections.  ‘Renoir in Britain’ includes loans from The National Gallery, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate, Ashmolean Museum, The British Museum and The Courtauld Gallery.

It’s a fantastic exhibition, I highly recommend a visit!

‘Renoir in Britain’ is at The Lightbox in Woking until 20th April 2014.  Free entry (donations welcome)

Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday: 10.30am – 5.00pm Sunday: 11.00am – 5.00pm.
The Lightbox,
 Chobham Road,
 Woking, 
Surrey. GU21 4AA

Me at Renoir

The Lightbox is also hosting a lecture on Thursday 27th March at 1pm by Christopher Riopelle, Curator of post-1800 paintings at the National Gallery on ‘Renoir’s Life and Legacy’ (£6 adults, £5 concessions.  Advance booking required 01483 737837.)

The Golden Age of Journalism

Don Short JournalistDon Short

Journalism has changed radically over the last 50 years. This is not news. The ‘Golden Age of Journalism’, so-called because of the thriving scope of newspapers and magazines and the associated ‘glamorous’ lifestyle of journalists in the 1960s, seems a world away from journalism today. Continue reading The Golden Age of Journalism