What’s on
THE BEST EVENTS FOR SUMMERTIME FUN AROUND THE NETWORK
BY MARK ROULSTON & GINNY CUMMING
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY
GUITAR HEROES
EDINBURGH
Calling all would-be Angus Youngs and Eddie van Halens. Strap on your imaginary guitar, turn your invisible amp up to 11 and gurn your way to rock superstardom. This year sees the 15th annual UK Air Guitar Championships, whereby scores of eager young axe wielders and six-string heroines take to the stage in venues around the country in a bid to become the country’s high priest or priestess of make-believe guitar mastery. Last year Deku Chan, an Irishman with a name more apt for a James Bond baddy than an invisible guitar player, beat off the challenges of Brandy Brewer and the Eagle Air Band to walk away with the title of UK Air Guitar Champion. And on 12 June, eager punters in Edinburgh have the chance to emulate the great Mr Chan when Bannerman’s Bar in the centre of the city plays host to the Scottish heat of the competition.
For information about the competition and details on how to enter the Edinburgh heat, go to www.ukairguitar.com Bannerman’s Bar, 212 Cowgate, Edinburgh, tel: +44 (0)131 556 3254
TOE CURLING
EAST MIDLANDS
June 12 sees one of the UK’s more unusual competitions take place in the hauntingly beautiful Peak Districk national park. Held at the Bentley Brook Inn, just outside the village of Ashbourne (32km west of East Midlands airport), the World Toe Wrestling Championships see barefooted competitors interlock their big piggies and grapple for the honour of having the toughest toes since Big Foot last had a pedicure.
For more information, go to www.bentleybrookinn.co.uk
JAN KAPLICKÝ EXHIBITION
PRAGUE
The work of the late Czech architect, Jan Kaplický, comes under the spotlight with a major retrospective in Prague, running until 2 August in the capital’s DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, and featuring models and photographs of Kaplicky’s most iconic building and furniture designs. The architect, whose work often resembles something from 1960s sci-fi – think Barbarella – was responsible for the National Library in Prague and the media centre at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, which looks like an intergalactic battlecruiser. Kaplický, who passed away in 2009, also designed the majestic, iconic Selfridges building in Birmingham.
DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Poupětova 1, Prague, www.doxprague.org
FILM BUFF
PARIS
Fancy being the first in line to see the latest instalment of Toy Story? And who’s up for spending an evening or two in the company of film stars and über-babes Jane Fonda and Charlotte Rampling?
It’s that time of year again, and the eighth Festival Paris Cinema is offering cinema goers in the French capital everything from screenings of the latest Hollywood blockbusters and Q&A sessions with famous actors, to a retrospective of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai).
For aficionados of celluloid sleaze, the event kicks off with Nuit de Cinema (Night of Cinema) – an entire night dedicated to the works of Koji Wakamutsu (think the pervy In the Realm of the Senses) and US porn auteur Joe Sarno. Oh là là!
The Festival Paris Cinema runs from 3-13 July at various venues around Paris.
For more information, go to www.pariscinema.org/fr_1
SNAIL TRAIL
SARDINIA
The thought of eating snails may be as appetising to some as wolfing down last week’s leftovers, but Sardinia-bound adventurous eaters could do a whole lot worse than heading over to the village of Senis (97km south of the airport at Alghero) on the first Sunday of August for the Sagra Della Lumaga – a day-long feast of snail-slurping and merry-making.
TAKE A VIEW
DUBROVNIK
On a clear day you can see forever… well, almost. For those who want unrivalled panoramics of Dubrovnik, the days of slogging it up the endlessly winding paths to the top of Mount Syd are over.
From 1 June a cable car will run from the old town to the 412m summit of this rocky hulk, which towers over the attractive fortified city, in little over three minutes. At the top, visitors can look out on the pretty pitched roofs, countless church steeples and the glistening Adriatic Sea beyond.
And for those energetic types who have attempted the hour-long hike up the barren slopes of Syd, there is a restaurant where you can quench your undoubted thirst!
For more information, go to www.tzdubrovnik.hr/english/index.php
FESTIVAL HEAVEN
NICE
What could be more idyllic than chilling out and basking in the Mediterranean sun on your own island off France’s Cote d’Azur? Perhaps nothing. But being surrounded by thousands of like-minded souls listening to the hottest sounds this side of Eyjafjallajoekull’s lava flow comes a close second.
This summer the organisers of Les Voix du Gaou have pulled out all the stops to get the coolest bands to play what is arguably Europe’s most scenic festival.
From 17-29 July, the likes of enfants terribles Babyshambles, Skip the Use [below] and rockers Skunk Anansie will join reggae legends Toots and the Maytals on the isle of Le Brusc just off the coast at Six Fours les Plages, 160km south-west of Nice.
For further information, go to www.welovefestivals.com or www.voixdugaou.fr
Hey DJ
The grandmother of all turntablists scratches a living Filling the dance
BY MARK ROULSTON
THE OPENING BARS OF CARL ORFF’S O Fortuna are heard and the young, 500-strong crowd in Paris’s ultra-hip Queen’s nightclub whoop, whistle and cheer. As the song from the Old Spice advert reaches its crescendo, the familiar tune suddenly changes. A fractured dance beat is dropped in and the chic party-goers are whipped into an uncontrollable frenzy of dancing that lasts all night.
Welcome to the world of DJ Mamy Rock – or plain Ruth Flowers to her friends and family. Hers is a world no different from that of deck spinners the world over, but there’s something that sets Mamy Rock apart from the others… her age.
At 70, you would expect most grandmothers to be enjoying a cup of tea in a favourite armchair while watching Alan Titchmarsh, but Ruth prefers to spin phat beats for her adoring fans in the clubs of France, Germany and Italy.
“Wherever I go in Europe, I’m always mobbed,” she says. “I love seeing young people enjoy themselves so much. It gives me such a wonderful feeling to know that people respond to what I do.”
Combining modern breaks with rock licks from yesteryear, DJ Mamy Rock cuts quite a figure behind her decks. With diamanté-encrusted headphones, black-as-jet shades and gold bomber jacket, she looks as if she’s come straight from LA or the Bronx rather than her Bristol home.
“I love this look,” she says, “and it goes with the whole youth thing.”
Ruth’s epiphany came four years ago, at a party to celebrate her grandson’s birthday held in a London nightclub. The bouncer tried to warn her off going in.
“It was frightfully noisy, but everybody was dancing and having a good time. I said to myself: ‘I can do that.’ My grandson put me in touch with [French music producer and manager] Orel Simon. It was daunting at first and I was a little apprehensive, but with Orel’s help, I soon got the knack of the turntables and here I am today,” explains Ruth.
For those who think a 70-year-old DJ is a bit Pete Tong, DJ Mamy Rock has no plans to don a pair of comfy slippers and put her feet up. Her first single – Still Rocking – came out in May, while the summer months see festival appearances around Europe.
“I don’t intend to retire and pick up my knitting needles just yet. My family and friends love what I do. Why would I stop?” www.mamyrock.com
Wish We Were Here
NEW PARISIAN BOLTHOLE LE SEVEN PROMISES A FANTASY WORLD OF LUXURY AND MAKE-BELIEVE
IT’S HARDLY UNUSUAL FOR A BED TO PROVIDE the focus for a hotel room, but that’s where convention ends with brand-new Parisian design hotel, Le Seven.
The beds in each of this boutique hotel’s 21 “basic” rooms float a metre off the floor. Combined with a simulated starry-sky ceiling, ultra-violet highlights and bubble spotlights, this place paints a glowing picture of futuristic luxury.
From Philippe Vaurs and Christophe Sauvage (the creators of blogosphere favourite the Five Hotel), Le Seven has garnered a hot buzz for its edgy design concept even before its opening, slated for 1 July. No two of the hotel’s rooms are exactly alike and all but seven are levitation rooms, allowing guests to float like comfy clouds beneath a neon sky.
The hotel creators promise that this will engage a “unique sensation of lightness and love”. For those eager to really indulge a taste for fantasy, however, there are also the seven suites that give Le Seven its name – each crafted by a different designer and each with different themes and interactive features.
Top of the list for spy-hard Bond fans will be the 007 Suite. With its 60s décor, kinky steam-bath shower and choice of every James Bond movie on the TV, boys will be in retro heaven. Even more retro is the Marie Antoinette Suite – one for the ladies – with its padded white leather bed and pink chandeliers. Not forgetting the Alice in Wonderland Suite, where subtle nods to the Carroll story allow guests to feel that they have fallen down the rabbit hole.
Those who can tear themselves away will find themselves in the Latin quarter, 10 minutes from the intellectual glories of the Sorbonne or the peaceful Luxembourg gardens.
Hotel Seven, 20 rue Berthollet, 705005 Paris, France, tel: +33 (0)1 4331 7421, www.sevenhotelparis.com
Adrenaline Junkets
Three super-fly reasons to jet off to Prague this summer
BY MARK ROULSTON
CALLING ALL EXTREME SPORTS FANS. WONDERING where to get your kicks this summer? Clued-up thrill-seekers are hurtling over to Prague for what promises to be a gnarly couple of months.
The month of high-octane kicks starts during the first weekend in July, with more half-pipes and 50-50 grinds than you can shake a stick at. The 16th Mystic SK8 Cup (2-4 July; www.mysticsk8cup.cz) will see “thrashers” – professional skateboarders – from around the world jet in for three days of radness plus the chance to win 30,000 US greenbacks.
Taking place on Stvanice Island, which sits between the two banks of Prague’s Vtlava river, this festival of freestyle action also features skateboard workshops and some of the finest sounds around.
After those pounding few days, take a hook turn to the World Flying Disc (that’s frisbee to you and me) Federation Championships (www.wucc2010.com). This four-yearly competition comes spinning into town on 3 July, and 100 teams from the four corners of the globe will battle it out until July 10 for the honour of becoming world frisbee’s top dog.
The adrenalin really gets pumping again at the G2 Joyride festival (3-4 September; www.joyride.cz). A pot pourri of extreme sports in the centre of Prague, it features everything from wakeboarding, jet skiing and BMX to mountain biking, freediving and surfing. And if that’s not enough, there’s also paintball, breakdancing, archery, beach rugby, street football and, once the sun goes down, non-stop dancing courtesy of the Czech Republic’s finest DJs and bands. www.bentleybrookinn.co.uk
Crown Jewels
PRAGUE CASTLE SPARKLES WITH AN EXHIBITION OF SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST COVETABLE BLING
BY MARK ROULSTON
OOZING STYLE AND BOUNDLESS CHIC, Cartier has been at the vanguard of haute couture longer than the Eiffel Tower has been elegantly lording it over Paris.
Since 1860, the French jeweller has crafted mind-blowingly beautiful pendants, rhinestone necklaces, rings, vanity cases and watches for royalty, movie stars, Russian oligarchs and others with more money than they know what to do with.
Now, visitors to Prague have the chance to feast their eyes on some of maison Cartier’s most opulent creations.
Running from 9 July to 17 October 2010 in this wonderful city’s Prague Castle, The Power of Style exhibition collects together more than 350 luxury pieces created throughout the fashion house’s prestigious and oh-so-bling history.
One of the many attractions on show in this former home of Bohemian kings and queens is a platinum stomacher brooch. Dating from 1907, this head-turning piece contains no fewer than eight sapphires and enough diamonds to fund a military coup in Africa.
Visitors to the exhibition will also get the chance to see a platinum and diamond bracelet [below], once owned by Hollywood star Gloria Swanson, and the Tutti Frutti necklace. Perhaps one of Cartier’s most striking works, with its emeralds of blue, green and red, this was specially made in 1936 for Daisy Fellowes, wife of Reginald Fellowes and heir to the Singer sewing-machine fortune.
Cartier heritage director Pierre Rainero says, “Cartier is extremely honoured to give visitors and the people of the Czech Republic the opportunity to admire these pieces, which reflect timeless Cartier style and expertise.” The Power of Style, The Prague Castle Riding School, Prague; seven days a week from 10am to 6pm, 325CZK (€12.50). For further information and tickets visit www.cartierexhibition.com
A Taste of Malta
With Eclipse, the third movie in the Twilight saga, set to hit the big screen in early July, we look at ways to stir a vampire’s blood on this Mediterranean island
BY RICHARD ZAHRA
1 NIGHT CRAWLERS
The hours of twilight provide the perfect cover for those who never sleep to blend in. Head to seaside promenades in places like Sliema, St Julian’s, Bugibba and Marsascal, go with the flow for a breezy stroll, then pop in to one of the open-air bars that throng the seafronts to suck on a Bloody Mary. Paparazzi Restaurant, 159 St George’s Road, St Julian’s, tel: +356 2137 4966
2 BLOOD-STIRRING ROMANCE
Take your loved one to Ghajn Tuffieha Bay, in the north-west of the island, the perfect spot to see blood-red sunsets. The cove is a molto bella crescent of golden sand cupped between hills and cliffs and, if you’re afraid you’ll act on your blood lust, the long flight of steps down to the beach is an effective crowd repellent. www.visitmalta.com
3 DARK DELIGHTS
It’d be bats not to stake your place to watch fireworks. Every summer weekend a couple of villages in Malta celebrate the festa of their patron saint. The displays turn the night sky into a kaleidoscope of flashing bursts and few can eclipse the impressive displays produced by villages such as Lija and Zebbug. www.visitmalta.com/village-festas
4 FANGS FOR THE MEMORIES
Suck the life out of every minute of your holiday and head to a disco, pub, salsa or rock bar in seaside towns such as Paceville, Sliema, Marsascala and Bugibba – or make like the locals and go to an open-air club to find your own Bella Swan at Gianpula or Numero Uno. www.guidetomalta.net/Activities-andEvents/malta-nightlife-clubbing
5 VAMP IT UP
Mdina, Malta’s ancient capital, is surrounded by massive walls and a maze of cobbled alleyways runs between gracious historic buildings, so old souls will feel at home. Make a triumphal entry into the Citta Notabile on a horse-drawn carriage from the Main Gate, then explore in the glow of lamplight before sinking into one of the gourmet restaurants – but you might want to avoid dishes made with garlic… The de Mondion Restaurant, The Xara Palace Relais & Châteaux, Misrad il-Kunsill, Mdina, www.xarapalace.com.mt
6 SUCK IT AND SEE
Like Count Dracula, the wine of Malta rests in a wooden cask and is kept out of sunlight, waiting until its time. Wine production here goes back 3,000 years, to the days of the Phoenicians. Hide from the sun and neck some of the local red stuff in the time-honoured art of wine tasting in the pleasant coolness of an ancient wine cellar. Marsovin, The Winery, Wills Street, Marsa, tel: +356 2182 4918, www.marsovin.com
7 TOOTHSOME
Sink your teeth into the delights of traditional Maltese treats and visit Busy Bee Confectionery and Coffee Shop at Msida seafront. This family-run establishment is renowned for the quality and impressive selection of its sweets, like the devilishly delicious ricotta kannoli and cassatella Siciliana. Busy Bee, 30 Ta’ Xbiex Seafront, Msida, tel: +356 2133 1738, www.busybee.com.mt
8 CITY OF THE DEAD
Not everyone gets to live forever, you know. Back in 3rd century Roman Malta, early Christians hewed passageways, halls and burial chambers in the rock below Rabat, then laid their dead in decorated chambers. St Paul’s Catacombs, St Agatha Street, Rabat, www.heritagemalta.org
9 INTERVIEW WITH THE VESSEL
Scoop up a bit of sand (as you know, a vampire can never leave terra firma) and embark on the Fernandes. This 26m rigged vessel will sail you to St Paul’s Islands. Swim, dine on deck and sail back to the floodlit fortifications of the Grand Harbour. Captain Morgan Cruises, Dolphin Court, Tigne Seafront, Sliema, www.captainmorgan.com.mt
10 TWILIGHT: ECLIPSE
Be sure to catch the much-awaited The Twilight Saga: Eclipse like any normal mortal. Sink into plush seats in the stadium-like Eden Cinemas and lap up the next installment. Eden Cinemas, St George’s Bay, St Julian’s, tel: +356 2371 0400, www.edencinemas.com.mt
