Discovering Van Gogh

The Words & Image team of Ann and Rob went along to Beyond Van Gogh, the Immersive Experience, at the NEC Birmingham, which is on until 1 September 2024 and is well worth seeing.

I couldn't help thinking that if anyone would appreciate this beautiful exhibition it would be Vincent Van Gogh himself. The 19th century artist – now regarded as one of the most popular Post-Impressionist painters of our time,

struggled throughout his life to acknowledge his own worth and his own genius. Through his many letters to his brother Theo, which are part of the experience, he lets his dreams, his thoughts and his struggles on painting and art be known. And now through this experience a much wider audience can get to know the man behind the paintings.

Although I’m no expert on Van Gogh, it seems to me that his desire was to capture on canvas nature, colour, light and texture, as well as people, portraits and even everyday things. When he couldn’t afford to pay a sitter, he would practice by painting his own self-portrait. He was a painter for just ten years but in that time he painted a lifetime’s work, but sold only one painting.

Reading his letters it seems that his efforts fell short in his own eyes. In desperation and frustration Vincent Van Gogh cut off his own ear.  He then put himself into an asylum, where he continued to paint but finally and tragically, aged just 37 he took his own life.

It was through the efforts of Vincent’s sister-in-law, Johanna Van Gogh-Bonger, who inherited Vincent’s paintings after the death of Vincent’s brother Theo that Vincent Van Gogh’s works came to be eagerly sought after. 

While the paintings were worthless at the time, Johanna brought them to the eyes of the art world, bringing Vincent the posthumous appreciation and fame while eluded him in life. 

As most people know, one of his sunflower paintings sold at Christie’s Auctions in 1987 for a record-breaking $39 million.

Now to see his work – hundreds of his paintings lifted from the confines of their canvas and digitalised through modern technology to be beautifully presented in such fluid form, I think, would have pleased Vincent Van Gogh immeasurably.

The Van Gogh Immersive Experience is produced by Paquin Entertainment Group. Developed in partnership with Annerin Theatrical and Normal Studio. And to celebrate the opening of the experience, on Wednesday 31 July Helen Marriott, Marketing Manager at the NEC and Scott Christensen, Creative Development General Manager at Annerin Theatrical welcomed a small audience to a preview of Beyond Van Gogh, the Immersive Experience.

Following a sunflower themed trail into darkened halls we learn of Vincent Van Goch's story. Told through extracts of his letters and quotations, reproduced on large hanging canvasses over Van Gogh paintings while soft classical music plays soothingly in the distance. The soundtrack incidentally, of ‘Beyond Van Gogh the Immersive Experience’ can be found on Spotify.

We are eventually led into a huge hall with wall-to-wall Van Gogh images ebbing and flowing over walls, floors and even over the people themselves. It feels psychedelic almost – a kaleidoscope of Vincent Van Gogh's beautiful paintings - colours textures and patterns slowly moving and blending together, constantly merging into something new.

The mesmerising visions create a feeling of calm and relaxation, and it’s fine to sit on the floor and let his paintings wash over you or stroll around this massive hall as Van Gogh’s world of art opens up to you – an altogether beautiful experience.

For tickets and news of where this will be on show next, go to: https://www.thenec.co.uk/whats-on/beyond-van-gogh/

MEETING DAVE PROWSE ALIAS DARTH VADER

 

The first Star Wars film – Episode IV: A New Hope, was released on 27^th December 1977. This retroactively entitled movie was followed by the sequels Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), forming the original Star Wars trilogy. As everyone knows they went on to become a phenomenal success worldwide.

For the 20^th anniversary of Star War, Words & Images duo Rob and Ann arranged to go down to London to meet up with Star War’s arch villain, Darth Vader – alias Dave Prowse. The resulting article was featured in the December 1996 edition of sci-fi magazine Infinity – yes Rob and Ann have been working together that long!

We met up with Dave Prowse at his London gym where we chatted over a mug of tea. He was a great host, very friendly and easy to talk to. He made us so welcome. A tragedy that he is no longer with us.

So, for Star Wars fans, here’s a re-print of the article:

Star Wars – Twenty Years On.

Doom is where the Darth is!

Can you imagine the evil Darth Vader lecturing on road safety? Or Frankenstein’s monster signing autographs for little children? Maybe not. But Ann Evans discovers that these good deeds are all in a day’s work for the man who played them: gentle giant Dave Prowse…

When Darth Vader was unmasked in Return of the Jedi, we finally saw the face of the sad old man who professed to be Luke Skywalker’s father. But it was a bit of a shock to the millions of devoted Star Wars fans who knew that the person really behind that black dome was six -foot seven muscleman, movie actor Dave Prowse.

Twenty years on, the real Darth Vader is looking a whole lot more sprightly than he did in his movie swansong. We tracked him across galaxies and universes to his gymnasium, just south of the River Thames in Borough, London, where Dave reveals that the face belonged to an actor called Sebastian Shaw.

“Everyone knew I was Darth Vader,” says Dave. “But when he was unmasked, there was someone else. It really was the dirtiest trick. But then Return of the Jedi was a terrible movie to work on, unlike Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back – they were terrific.”

However, even the original Star Wars brought some disappointment. “Originally I was going to do everything,” he recalls. “I did the dialogue all through the movie and was supposed to re-do it in the studio to improve the sound quality, but at the last minute they dubbed in the voice of an American actor, James Earl Jones. I was very annoyed about that.”

But apart from those upsets, Dave loved working on the Star Wars films, and creating the character of Darth Vader. “I was virtually left alone to do what I wanted. There would be a few stage directions, like you come in that door and go out the other one, but all the actions and mannerisms of Darth Vader were mine. No one told me what to do. The makers of the film were very concerned that stunts were carried out safely, however, and they brought in a fencing coach who taught me to fence for the laser sword fight scenes. I did all the fighting in the first film, half in the second but none in the third; the fencing coach did all the scenes in Return of the Jedi.”

Monkey Suit or Mask?

Dave has never had an acting lesson in his life. But in fact, he was originally given the choice of two parts in Star Wars, after being spotted in A Clockwork Orange playing a beefy bodyguard.

“They offered me Chewbacca first,” said Dave. “But I didn’t fancy walking around in a monkey suit all day. I asked what the other part was and they said it was Darth Vader, the villain of the film. So, I said, “Right I’ll have that part,” which was probably the best decision I’ve ever made. People always remember the baddie, don’t they?”

The film turned out to be the biggest money maker of all time, taking a staggering £600 million. But during the filming none of the cast could foresee the tremendous impact Star Wars was to have on audiences (and popular culture).

“We thought we were making a load of rubbish! laughs Dave. “Mind you, the makers obviously had faith in it. No one spends £22 million on a film if they don’t think it’s going to be any good.”

Location scenes were filmed in Tunisia, the rest was shot at Elstree Studios. Many of the props were scaled down models which the actors didn’t get to see at all. But not all. “We had a full-size Millennium Falcon for example. But when you see me in my cockpit, twiddling all the knobs, what you don’t see is eight blokes outside, rocking it and shaking it like mad!

“People used to say, I bet you had a wild time, partying. But we had no social life at all. I was up at 5am, had a two-hour drive from my home in Croydon to Elstree. From 8.30am to 5pm I worked on the film, then it was back to run the gym and do my own training. There was no time for parties.”

Dave has no souvenirs from the filming of Star Wars. After spending five months working on the film he was just glad to get it all over and done with. And by the time The Empire Strikes Back started, Star Wars was such a colossal hit that security on the film set was really tight. “No one was allowed in or out,” he explains. “Even if you wanted to take anything out as a memento, you couldn’t. They were paranoid about it.”

Dave recalls that Star Wars fever had a marvellous effect on his career. Offers of work came rolling in including a 12-part BBC TV series, Confessions and Carry On films, and even a role in Shakespeare’s As You Like It. On top of this there were guest appearances on such classic comedy shows as Benny Hill, Stanley Baxter and the Morecambe and Wise Show. “I played Eric and Ernie four times,” grins Dave. “It was a bit of an accolade to be invited to appear in one of the plays wot Ernie wrote!”

Falling on his feet

Dave never set out to be an actor. As a young man he had just one ambition – to become Mr Universe. “I was 6ft 5 inches and 11 stone! So I decided to put weight on. By the time I left school, all I wanted to do was lift weights. I started buying body building magazines and had pictures on my wall of Steve Reeves, Hercules in the movies, who I admired for 44 years before eventually getting to meet him. My sole purpose in life was doing weightlifting and body building.”

Dave got up to 20 stone and became British Heavyweight Lifting Champion, a title he held for three years – 1962, 1963 and 1964. He also did the Highland Games for three years and became the first person ever to simultaneously lift the famous Scottish Dinnie Stones which weigh 340lb and 445lb a piece. Eventually he held six different British records, all the while striving to achieve his main ambition.

Then came shattering news. “I was told by one of the competition judges that I’d never become Mr Universe. At 6ft 7ins and 26 stone I asked why wouldn’t I? And was told it was because I’d got claw toes. You can work on practically every part of your body to improve it – but there’s not a lot you can do about the shape of your feet!”

With his ambitions shattered, Dave had to change direction. “I thought, if I’m doing all this training, I may as well try and get some money out of it, so I turned professional and became Britain’s Strongest Man, touring around, demonstrating physical feats of strength.

From this he was offered his first job in acting, in a play at the Mermaid Theatre where they needed someone to walk on stage and pick an actor up off the floor. Hardly award-winning stuff but it got him his union ticket. Other parts followed including Jabawaki in The Rose Medallion and Casino Royale with David Niven. He got his first starring role in Space 1999 and went on to play Frankenstein’s monster in two Hammer chillers made in the early 70s. “They were great fun,” recalls Dave. “If fact it was funnier playing in horror films than in comedy when often the comedian would be so wound up trying to be funny that he wasn’t – with the exception of Kenny Williams, he had me in stitches every time he opened his mouth.”

Darth in Disguise

Dave says that the most satisfying work he has undertaken during the last two decades is his role as the Green Cross Code Man. “The Government offered me a decent contract to devote myself entirely to the Green Cross Code for seven months a year, touring all over the world, talking with kids. You’d go to school to give a talk and with Star Wars being on then, the kids wouldn’t think it was the Green Cross Code man talking to them, they all knew it was really Darth Vader in disguise in a superman suit! All the questions would be about Darth Vader – never any about road safety!”     

Dave also made a record for children, called Stop, Look, Listen and Think. “I sang it to my daughter as Stop, Look, Listen and Stink! And that’s what caught on. All the kids sang it and it stuck in their minds. They’ve probably passed it on to their kids.”

At the end of 1989 Dave had an accident with some weights and he had to have a hip replacement operation. While getting over that he suffered a fall in the gym and damaged his ankle, necessitating another operation. “The most important thing for myself was to carry on doing the Green Cross Code Man,” said Dave. “But being barely able to walk – well you couldn’t have Darth or the Green Cross Code Man on a walking stick. So I would sneak into school, get changed and hide until I could get to a stool in the hall, and then the children would all come to me. I’d be able to stand for a while and they’d come and I’d sign autographs, then once they’d gone I could sneak out again on my sticks.

“For 14 years I was the Green Cross Code Man. During that time, we reduced the number of accidents by half from over 40,000 to less than 20,000 a year. I visited 700 cities throughout the world, worked in 2,000 schools and talked to half a million children.”

Dave is still currently troubled by health problems, fearing that a replacement operation may be necessary on his other hip. Up until last year (1976) he was in a surgical boot and calliper. But it doesn’t stop him regularly working out at the gym which he has run for the last 26 years. Nor does it prevent him touring the world attending science fiction conventions – he has recently concluded ‘The Bad Guys Tour’ with Gunnar Hansen, who played Leatherface the psychotic killer in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

As well as working on a book about his life. Dave is also looking forward to the re-release of the Star Wars trilogy next year (1978) and the making of another three Star Wars films – with a 1999 release date for the first. “George Lucas is writing the new scripts now. He was waiting until the technical side – animation, special effects and so on – reached the stages it has now, before making another film, because he wants it to be really spectacular. And yes, I do really hope to be involved in the next three films. I would very much like to do it if I’m offered the role.

“Choosing to play Darth in the original Star Wars was probably the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. After all, you might not remember the goody in a film – but no one will ever forget Darth Vader.”

Next time: Rob and Ann join Dave Prowse and Gunnar Hansen for lunch in Coventry.  

                                                                      

 

 

 

MEETING THE HOFF - DAVID HASSELHOFF

 

We’ve been really lucky over the years meeting some famous people and getting to chat with them. We were reminded recently that in November 2012 we went to a Memorabilia Show where Knight Rider and Bay Watch star David Hasselhoff was topping the bill. The six-foot-four actor/singer certainly drew in the crowds and made his presence known as he met his fans, signed autographs and posed for a sea of photographers.

He also had a good look around the stands buying up some of Knight Rider memorabilia and meeting old friends from the film world. He delighted visitors even more when he held court in the packed Memorabilia Theatre, talking, answering questions, making everyone laugh with his stories and even bursting into impromptu song at the drop of a hat. Undoubtedly if you weren't a Knight Rider fan before, you certainly came away from the show afterwards as one.

 Talking about his role as Michael Knight in Knight Rider which ran from 1982-86 and which is still being shown all over the world, he seemed to have only good memories. “The series Knight Rider has been so good to me,” he said. “It was great fun to work on. We'd have nine cars on the set every day – and we used to wreck them. It was a man's dream, get into them, drive them, wreck them!”

 

He remarked that the car still follows him everywhere. “It's even here today, although if anyone says they have the original, they haven't. I have that at home. For my 60th birthday my staff got me a KITT car, so as I'd got a lot of the original stuff including the dash I had it all re-chromed, put it all together and drive it.”

 He went on to tell the attentive audience that it was necessary to have a stunt man for the scenes where KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand) had to make those incredible jumps.

 David said, “With the jumps, when the car landed, the front end would usually be smashed up and it could have broken the driver's back. It was scary and dangerous. A harness had to be rigged up inside the car for the stunt driver. But I did all the other driving and the fighting.”

 He didn't have anything good to say about the Knight Rider series that NBC later put out. In his usual good-humoured way he said, “NBC developed a TV series but forgot to put me in it!  They didn't get the voice for KITT right which should have been William Daniels – people hated it! They forgot what the show was all about.”

 

David's long career certainly didn't stop with Knight Rider, along came the extremely popular TV series Baywatch in which he played the role of chief lifeguard Mitch Buchannon alongside Pamela Anderson.

 He talked also about his time of being a judge on Britain's Got Talent. “I won't be doing any more judging on Britain's Got Talent, I couldn't understand anybody,” he joked. “Actually, I laid a lot of that on. But if you saw the show, you'd see I was nice to everybody.  I don't want to make people cry. It takes guts to walk onto a stage, so I'm not going to knock them.”

At one point during his talk, I asked him a question over the mic – but I wasn’t quite prepared for his answer though!

 I asked what the highlight of his career has been so far. Straight off the cuff, he answered: “There was this interview with this beautiful journalist. It was the best interview I have ever had. There was this beautiful journalist asking me questions, so I answered them and invited her back to my motorhome, she came in and we....”

With the audience turning to stare, the Hoff grinning mischievously, and me turning beetroot, I was relieved when he got back to the question in hand! “Seriously, it was being at the Berlin Wall on the day it came down. November 9^th 1989. 

"When the Berlin wall came down, I was on a crane singing to a million people on the east and west. I was singing Looking For Freedom and people on either side of the wall were singing along in English. I love East Germany. Their first language was German, their second was Russian. They only learned English through music and songs. The fact that they regularly watched Knight Rider using trash can lids to pick up a signal was amazing.  I'd say being at the Berlin Wall was a massive highlight of my career. The other highlights were the birth of my daughters.”

 And one of our highlights was meeting the Hoff.

MEETING THE HAIRY BIKERS

Selling someone a ropey old motorbike that broke down out on its first ride out, hardly seems the best way to win friends and influence people. But that was exactly the start of a beautiful friendship for Simon King and Dave Myers – better known as the Hairy Bikers. 

The duo are familiar faces on our TV screens with many travel/culinary series under their belts, such as The Hairy Bikers’ Food Tour of Britain; Hairy Bikers’ Best of British; Hairy Bikers’ Asian Adventure and many more. Then there’s Dave on Strictly Come Dancing as well as their publication of a host of cookery books, plus guest appearances at shows and festivals. 

A few years back we went to the Isle of Man for the Queenie Festival – queenies being small scallops found in the waters around the Isle of Man. And who did we spot on the beach cooking queenies – but the Hairy Bikers. Our main interview with them however happened at the BBC Good Food Show at the NEC when we were invited to go ‘backstage’ to talk to them about their lives and career. 

We loved hearing about their early years. The duo have been friends for around 30 years and it all began when they met in 1992 while working on the Catherine Cookson series in the North East of England. Si was the second assistant director and Dave was head of prosthetics, hair and make-up. 

“It was The Gambling Man, Robson Green was in it. Dave had to set fire to him, I had to put him out!” Si told Rob and I in that colourful Geordie accent of his. “We’ve both been into bikes ever since we were kids. Meeting on the Catherine Cookson set, I had this bike I was selling, so I sold it to Dave.”

“Yes, he sold me a remarkably bad motorcycle,” said Cumbria-born Dave. 

“Ah, yes, but it was shiny!” quipped Si.

“Yes, it was shiny but half a mile into my journey it decided to self-destruct. I headed back to Si to get my money back – and we’ve been great friends ever since.” 

As kids, they both had similar childhoods in the fact that motor bikes fascinated them. “We’ve always had bikes, long before we should have,” admitted Dave. “When I was twelve I was bombing around the entries illegally on a motorbike.” 

 As for Si, he was into building bikes from the bits he always found in his Aunt Hilda’s shed. “She lived close to an accident blackspot, and I’m not saying she picked up pieces from the road, but these bike bits were always in her shed. In those days, that’s what you did, built up these bikes.” 

With both of them loving the open road, they teamed up to enjoy a fantastic career travelling the world and trying out the local cuisine on the way.

Si said, “I think learning about a place’s cuisine is probably the best way of learning about the culture of that town or country.” 

On their travels, the pair have certainly experienced a vast range of foods, although Dave pointed out that some of the things they’ve supposed to have eaten are pure myth. However, they both recalled a time in Portugal when Si went for something on the menu that sounded great but turned out to be unwashed, uncleaned crispy pig’s intestines. Not surprisingly the thought of tripe is now his idea of food hell.

And, as it turned out, a loathing for tripe is yet another thing the pair have in common. “I’d say tripe is my food hell too,” said Dave. “My father used to eat raw tripe, soaked in vinegar and eaten raw. The smell was foul.”

Dave said that he really got into cooking during the days he was at Goldsmith Art College in London. “I was a better cook than I was an artist,” he said, adding that it wasn’t a case of baked beans and student food for him. “My cooking was quite elaborate to say the least. I ran up a heck of an overdraft on food, that’s all I can say!” 

“These days when I’m cooking for the family, especially after I’ve been cooking something special for a show, they’re begging me to cook something ordinary. “Please can we just have a burger!” 

Si’s love of cooking stems from when he was a little boy. “My father was a very good cook, both parents were, so I’ve always been around food, I’ve just grown up with cooking. It’s such a natural thing. The best bit about cooking though, is cooking for the people you care about.” 

How true! 

And it was a lot of fun meeting them. 

Thank you Hairy Bikers for taking time out to talk to us!

Meeting Lance Henriksen

 

Lance Henriksen and Millennium co-star Megan Gallagher.
 

One of the nicest actors we’ve ever met, and who we’ve been fortunate enough to interview twice is Lance Henriksen. He is best known for his roles in action, horror and sci-fi movies, in particular Bishop in the Alien films. He also played Frank Black in Fox TV series Millennium. However, his list of films reaches to almost 100 movies, including The Terminator, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Damien, Omen II. Hellraiser, Pumpkinhead – the list goes on.

 

Our interview took place on a balcony at a Memorabilia Show, and Lance was enjoying the atmosphere of the event. “This is so much fun. It’s the first time I’ve done anything like this and its great fun, meeting the fans and talking to them.”

Rob Tysall and Lance Henriksen

 We asked him about his early ambitions to be an actor, to which he replied, “I always wanted to be an actor, even when I was a little kid. When I used to run away from home, I'd go to movies and sit all night watching Kirk Douglas. When I was 16, I tried getting into the Actors Studio and they told me to get lost. I said: 'I'll come back when I'm a man', and I came back when I was 30. I went to sea, I travelled the world ... I was waiting."

 

You can't do every movie - although I do a lot of them - and the thing I'm longing to do is… it's not that I think I'm funny…but I long to do a situation comedy. The challenge for me in a part is if it's something I haven't done. If I'm going to have a rough time doing it, then that's what I'll do. If I'm in the comfort zone, I can't. I have to get off-balance enough to be alive."

 

"I'm pretty slapstick in my life but nobody sees that. You get typecast. I'm from New York and I have a shit-detector that's outspoken. I'm very streetwise and the producers detect that. So, they get me on a movie and kill me. I go into their offices and I'm sure when I leave they say, 'You know, he'd be great to kill'. I've been killed every way you can imagine!

 

“In the Alien films, everything has happened to me. I’ve been ripped in half in the first one. The next one I was chopped up. In Alien vs Predator I was impaled on the Predator’s wristblades.” Laughing Lance added, “They keep bringing me back to life and killing me all over again!

 

Ann in conversation with Lance Henriksen

 “Alien v Predator was made in Prague, made in five months but it was five winter months and very cold, so really what you saw in the film was real, it was very cold. None of the sets were heated, and they were huge sets. None of the scenes were digital except perhaps maybe the crew ship going through the ice because it was impractical to do that in reality.

 

“It was amazing that nobody got hurt on this movie. You’d got this predator – a vast guy anyway but in his outfit, he was eight feet tall. He had to get into training, he had to train like a fighter.

 

“It was the most wonderful ensemble, everybody connected, and we’d all go out to dinner together. And after working with them, you do miss them. Colin Salmon for instance will always be my friend, I made some good friends that I still keep in touch with. I loved doing this film, the writer director Paul Anderson is a lovely guy – a bright, enthusiastic man.”

 As was Lance Henriksen himself!

Risen From The Ashes - Astley Castle

 Discover the fascinating story behind Astley Castle in Warwickshire.

 You could liken Astley Castle to the phoenix risen from the ashes. It has literally been brought back from a crumbling burnt out shell to become an award-winning historic gem nestling in the North Warwickshire countryside.

 Astley Castle dates back to the 13th century, it's been home to three Queens, played a vital role in the Civil War and is said to be haunted by the ghost of Lady Jane Grey.

 Over the centuries it's been knocked down, burnt down and vandalised, yet despite all that it has instilled passion in those who have fought to preserve and renovate it. And today it's one of The Landmark Trust's most treasured and successful historic building renovations. In 2013 it won the UK’s most prestigious architecture award, the RIBA Stirling Prize for Architecture.

 Astley Castle is tucked away in the little village of Astley near Nuneaton. It’s believed that there has been a castle on this site since Saxon times and was visited by royalty as early as the 11^th century. In 1266 Warin de Bassinghburn was granted licence to enclose his house – Astley Manor with a dyke and a wall and to crenelate it. The banks of the moat were 10 – 15 feet high.

 As centuries passed every age has stamped its mark on Astley Castle At one time it was owned by Thomas, Marquess of Dorset and his wife Margaret. Their son, Henry who later became Duke of Suffolk was the father of Lady Jane Grey, the ‘nine days queen’ who spent some of her childhood there. It was also home to the wives of King Henry IV and Henry VII.

 Just 500 metres from the castle there’s a stone monument to Henry, Duke of Suffolk, marking his desperate attempt to avoid execution for his part in the Wyatt rebellion by hiding for three days inside the hollow trunk of an oak tree. However, he was betrayed by his park keeper, arrested and beheaded at the Tower of London in 1554. The chair on which he sat in the tree is said to be at Arbury Hall.

 

Following his execution, Queen Mary ordered Astley Castle to be destroyed. It was dismantled as a stronghold. The Duchess appealed to be allowed to live in the remains of the house. Later she married Adrian Stokes who repaired the building.

 During the English Civil War, the castle was used as a stronghold by parliamentary forces, becoming one of a network of small garrisons. Captain Hunt and Lieutenant Goodere Hunt commanded about 35 soldiers there in July 1644. Royalist propaganda referred to Hunt as an ‘illiterate shoemaker’.

 In 1674 Astley Castle was bought by Sir Richard Newdigate who also owned Arbury Hall in Nuneaton. It remained in the Newdigate family until the 20th century and was then leased out. At one time the first Bishop of the revived Coventry Diocese occupied Astley Castle and in 1927 Queen Mary visited during the tenure of the Povey and Harper family.

 In 1953 Astley Castle had a reprieve from imminent decay when it was taken over by a hotel chain. It remained a popular hotel for 14 years often frequented by comedian Larry Grayson and had a cocktail bar named Lady Jane Grey. However, the hotel chain went into receivership, the furniture was auctioned off and the building left empty, at the mercy of the elements and vandals. In 1978 a fire gutted the building and Astley Castle stood derelict for many years. In 1998 it was put on the Heritage at Risk (HAR) Register.

 It was never forgotten however, and over the following years preservation societies and individuals fought to rebuild or save Astley Castle before 1,000 years of history were gone forever. From the early 1990s the architectural charity The Landmark Trust had struggled to find a workable solution to make the building habitable again.

 Finally, a competition was launched to design a holiday house that could be created within the ruins. Witherford Watson Mann architects were the winners. Their design went on to win the RIBA Stirling Prize for Architecture 2013. Funding for the project came through grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage and various charitable trusts and individuals. This Grade II Listed Building was removed from the Heritage at Risk Register in 2012.

 You cannot help but be reminded of its rich history as you approach Astley Castle on foot and walk beneath the ancient stone archway. At first glance the castle appears to be a ruin with its inner shell exposed to the elements; its mullioned windows gaping openly skywards through which birds fly in and out. However, look again and you’ll see the amazing transformation which won them the RIBA Stirling Prize.

 It’s been beautifully and tastefully constructed, the ancient and the modern sitting hand in hand, a two-storey holiday residence that sits unobtrusively within the Grade II Listed Building’s chunky sandstone walls. Ancient and modern brickwork create a beautiful and visible contrast between the old and new. Go inside and there’s an ambiance of comfort and luxury, yet the history and age of the building totally enfolds you. Speak to some of the staff and they will tell you of the ghostly lady who often passes by and says ‘Hello’.

 An elegant oak staircase takes you upstairs to a vast open kitchen area with period furnishings. Floor to ceiling plate glass windows provide perfect views of the Warwickshire countryside and the nearby ancient parish church of St Mary the Virgin. This is novelist George Eliot country and Astley Castle and the church were the inspiration for George Eliot’s Knebley Abbey and Knebley Church in Scenes of Clerical Life. Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot) and her father were known to often visit Astley Castle and the church where her parents married.

 Look to the history of St Mary the Virgin church and you learn that it was completely rebuilt by Sir Thomas Astley in 1343 as a collegiate establishment. Originally, a cruciform building with a central tower crowned with a tall spire. A conspicuous landmark that earned it the name of Lantern of Arden because a light was kept burning on its top to guide wayfarers through the surrounding Forest of Arden. Go inside and you'll find alabaster effigies of some notable castle owners belonging to the Grey family of those bygone times. Gone maybe – but not forgotten.

 Book a stay at Astley Castle https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/search-and-book/properties/astley-castle-4806

 

 

We Meet The Kenilworth Artists

 We appreciate art in all it many forms, so going along to the Kenilworth Artists’ exhibition held in St John’s Church, Kenilworth, was a great morning out. Not least to see people actually getting out and about once more – following Government guidelines, obviously, but because of the amazing talent all in one room. The exhibition is on until Sunday 4^th July 2021.

You’ll find displays of hand-crafted items including paintings, ceramics, glass, mosaics, textiles, prints, cards and much more. And of course, you’ll have the opportunity to meet and chat to many of the artists about their work.

While the majority of the artists in this group have long been involved in their particular craft, the group as a whole only got together a few years ago. As individual artists, the majority of these talented people knew each other or knew of each other’s work, but many hadn’t met or joined together for an art event. 

Thanks to Jo Ricketts who works in fused glass, plus a handful of the artists, they organised the group Kenilworth Artists, which now has a strong presence on social media, and of course come together to put on fabulous exhibitions for the public.

Holding their current exhibition in the tranquil setting of 19^th century St John’s Church, is a perfect venue amid the sandstone arches and stained-glass windows. They have ensured that lockdown restrictions and safeguards are all adhered to, ensuring a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere on the opening day. Visitors could happily browse the artwork, talk to the artists, and even have tea and cake.

The work on display was incredibly varied; paintings included watercolours, acrylic and oils; from the brilliant wildlife and landscape works in all those mediums by Chris R. Saunderson, to the wide variety of photography and artwork created by Natalie Thurman.

As mentioned, Jo Ricketts makes the most beautiful and unique ornaments and decorative pieces from fused glass – working with flat glass and a kiln, her skills produce outstanding work. 

Also, creating artwork that captures the attention is Kevin Alexander whose tools include a credit card and masking tape as much as a paintbrush!

In their normal working life, two artists – Helen Jayne Woodcock and Karen Pittaway, share Karen’s studio in Old Town Kenilworth. Helen creates stunning fine art paintings, often of the streets, buildings and landscapes of Kenilworth amongst other settings. While Karen’s unique paintings have an influence of L.S.Lowry about them yet full of colour, light and fine detail which speaks of the story-teller in her.

Captivated by the unusual perspective of her latest ‘lockdown’ paintings of the Kenilworth street she lives on, Karen explained to me: “These have been such strange times, I wanted these paintings to look a bit strange – a bit disorientating, hence the bending of buildings. And one shows the people out in the street, clapping the NHS. To get the perspective of distance and what can actually be seen far off, I’ve found that looking at Google Earth helps!”

Husband and wife artists Anna and Richard Poynter were both exhibiting their paintings and hand-crafted works. Richard, making sleek wooden clocks and Anna making mosaics of wildlife amongst other things. And while both clearly shared a love of painting, their own personalities shone through in their individual styles of work.

Leanne Simmons’ passion for wildlife and nature is evident in her almost dreamy paintings in oils and watercolours. She says that she strives to produce vibrant, emotion-provoking pieces of art. Something which I have to say, she certainly achieves.

Meanwhile, Louise Hutton exhibited some stunning portraits – not least was her version of David Bowie’s iconic Ziggy Stardust look. She also creates large acrylic paintings of cars such as the Aston Martin and famous celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Amy Winehouse and George Harrison in a pop art style.

Finally, for our visit we chatted to Melanie Dearing, a trained architect who has been painting all her life, but recently has been concentrating on boats and harbours for their shapes and colours. Her striking canvasses revealed the fact that she is currently painting in just five colours – red, yellow, blue, black with a white background.

No doubt your visit will discover your own favourite artists and works of art. All were unique but had two things in common. All the artists lived in Kenilworth at the heart of the Midlands, and all are passionate about art.

This free exhibition which runs until Sunday 4^th July is in conjunction with Warwickshire Open Studios, www.wostudios.org

Discover more about Kenilworth artists on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kenilworthartists

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kenilworth_artists/

This article was first published in B-C-ing-U on-line magazine:  https://b-c-ing-u.com/art/meet-the-kenilworth-artists/

If any Kenilworth artists would like high res copies of any of the images published here or on B-C-ing-U, please email Rob:  robert.tysall@outlook.com   

More images here and at B-C-ing_U.com