Listings


WED 18 JAN Cupcake Classes. Cupcake decorating class hosted by Bella’s Cupcakes. Learn how to master the art of cupcake decorating with the experts at Bella’s Cupcakes. 7-9pm. A limited number of places available at just £35 each. Advance booking essential. For further information and booking, please see visit Bella’s website at www.bellascupcakes.co.uk/ classes.html or email hello@bellascupcakes. co.uk Chislehurst Methodist Church, Prince Imperial Road, Chislehurst, BR7 5LX. THURS 19 JAN Lunchtime Recital. Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance. 1.10pm. Free. St Alfege Church, Greenwich Church Street, SE10. FRI 20 JAN Concert. St Paul’s Sinfonia. 7.30pm. £tba. St Alfege Church, Greenwich Church Street, SE10. SAT 21 JAN


Dick ens


Museum of London by Denise Silvester-Carr


Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth on February 7 1812, the son of a well-intentioned but irresponsible father who alternately squandered money and then led a respectable life. To celebrate the bicentenary of his birth the Museum of London have mounted a major exhibition, one of many cultural activities - television, theatre and elsewhere - that tell of Dickens’s life and work in London. He was a committed man who published in his novels, papers and in lectures the poverty and wealth he encountered. In the short film, The Houseless Shadow by William Raban, modern London is explored after dark with a commentary by Dickens of the city he had grown to know more than 250 years ago. The family had moved between London and Chatham when he was


young and, with his father in the debtors’ prison in the Marshalsea, young Charles was put to work in a blacking factory, an experience he would never forget. Later he began work in Court and went on to be a reporter on the Morning Chronicle. He walked through the alleys, streets and gardens at night, observing and storing the material he could use in his newspaper articles and books. What he saw influenced him greatly and was instrumental in the readings he gave, many for good causes like Great Ormond Street Hospital for which he raised money. He started writing the first of his serials, Sketches by Boz, followed by


The Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist, which was turned into a puppet show as early as 1837. And in all he these he painted a picture of London with all its foibles. Copies of his manuscripts, drawings, paintings and items of furniture


from his homes, among them his desk and a large, ornate piano that is typical of middle-class Victorian values, and a podium from which he gave his lectures both here and in America. There are tinsel prints and posters from the theatres he visited and one which shows Ellen Ternan, his mistress, on the bill for Much Ado About Nothing at the Haymarket, and colourful costumes of actors he had seen, including one worn by Grimaldi, the clown. There is the door of Newgate Prison, described in Great Expectations. Four etchings by Whistler of the Thames show scenes of the working river. A large painting by Luke Fildes shows people waiting to see if they are admitted to the institution and a moonlit scene by Henry Pether shows Trafalgar Square with the great lion on top of Northumberland House. This is the Victorian London that Dickens knew, the good side and the


bad, and he relentlessly described them in his novels and lectures. It is a world Dickens knew and which to us remains relevant today.


Lunchtime Recital. ‘Reverie’. 1.10pm. Free. St Alfege Church, Greenwich Church Street, SE10 9BJ.


Charlton Society. Spencer Percival. Speaker Hugh Gault. 2.30pm. Charlton House, Charlton SE7 8RE


Apassionata. After the successful debuting show “By the Light of the Stars” returns to The O2 arena with their new show “Together forever” A stunning and beautiful show combines a horse’s natural elegance and nobility with the finest equestrianship, exhilarating stunts and touching music sung by an opera singer. 2.30pm & 7.30pm. £52 & £65 + bkg fee. www.TheO2.co.uk. The O2 Arena, The O2, Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX. Open Mic National Finals comes to indigO2! The best up and coming young UK music talent, from bands to solo artists from all styles to rock, pop, indie, rnb and hip-hop. Selected finalists will take to the stage and battle it out to become winner of the Open Mic National Finals 2011. From 2pm. £15 + bkg fee. www.theo2. co.uk/indigo2. IndigO2, The O2, Peninsula Square, Greenwich. SUN 22 JAN Circus of Horrors: The Ventriloquist. The jaw- dropping show that rocked Britain’s Got Talent will take you on a whirlwind journey and send shivers down your spine. 7.30pm. £13 - £23. 020 84647131. Churchill Theatre, High Street, Town Centre, Bromley, BR1 1HA. TUES 24 JAN Forces Sweatheart. Sing along to your favourite songs with our ‘sweethearts’ Beryl, Carolyn and Jenny - songs from Vera Lynn, Gracie Fields, Marlene Dietrich, Carmen Miranda and Anne Shelton, plus songs from the demob sweethearts, Alma Cogan, Ruby Murray, Doris Day and Eartha Kitt remembering the early days of the post-war years. 2.30pm. £12. 020 84647131. Churchill Theatre, High Street, Town Centre, Bromley, BR1 1HA. WED 25 JAN National Television Awards. Britain’s most popular awards show as the NTA returns to The O2 on 25 January 2012. Join the stars on their big night out at the 17th annual event and experience all the fun and excitement of being there in person. Hosted by Dermot O’Leary, the NTA will include special guest performances. 6.30pm. £32.50 + bkg fee.


www.TheO2.co.uk. The O2 Arena, The O2, Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX. THURS 26 JAN Lunchtime Recital. Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance. 1.10pm. Free. St Alfege Church, Greenwich Church Street, SE10 9BJ. FRI 27 JAN


Morning Recital – Classics with my Baby. Concerts are one-hour long and designed for babies and children of all ages and their carers. Can’t make this one? Email for updates on classicswithmybaby@gmail.com. 10am (concert 10.30am start). Adults £7, Babies & Children Free. www.classicswithmybaby.com. St Alfege Church, Greenwich Church Street, SE10 9BJ. SAT 28 JAN Dig-In. If you are interested and enjoy digging, sawing and removing ivy even in the coldest of weather. Gather at the Wildlife Centre at 11am, equipment will be provided. For more info call Sue Yates on 020 8692 1760. Wildlife Centre, South end of lake in the flower garden, Greenwich Park, Blackheath. Saturday Space Explorers Workshop. From finding planets in the night sky to predicting the phases of the moon, these workshops offer a great introduction to astronomy for younger visitors. 2pm, 2.30pm, 3pm, 3.30pm, 4pm, & 4.30pm. Free. Suitable for 5+. Learning Centre, Royal Observatory, Greenwich Park SE10. SAT 28 & 29 JAN


The Strictly Come Dancing Live UK Tour. Joining the list of stars who will be out to wow arena audiences across the UK and Ireland are McFly heartthrob Harry Judd, ex-EastEnders legend and national treasure Anita Dobson, former footballer Robbie Savage and many others will be returning to the show. Sat 1.30pm & 6.30pm, Sun 12.30pm & 5.30pm. £35 & £42.50 + bkg fee. www.TheO2.co.uk. The O2 Arena, The O2, Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX. SUN 29 JAN Choral Evensong. 6.30pm. St Alfege Church, Greenwich Church Street, SE10 9BJ. THURS 2 - 5 FEB


The Carole Nash MCN Motorcycle Show. Get up close and personal with the world’s most exciting new bikes, meet your biking heroes and shop for essential gear and accessories. Plus the adrenalin-fuelled Revolution show presents racing legends going head to head in a gritty battle for glory…visit. www. mcnmotorcycleshow.com. Thu 2nd & Fri 3rd: 10am - 5pm, Sat 4th: 9am - 6pm , Sun 5th: 9am - 5pm SUN 5 FEB The Friends Annual Lecture. Greenwich Fair and the Revels, an illustrated talk by Haratio Blood of Warwick Leadlay Gallery on the historic annual fair which attracted huge crowds of the raffish, rowdy and respectable. 11am. £10 incls glass of wine. Tickets from C Bevan, 52 Greenwich Park Street, SE10 9LT. Cheques made payable to Friends of Greenwich Park with sae. King William Lecture Theatre, King William Building, University of Greenwich. MON 6 FEB Jazz. Mick Collins Modern Jazz Orchestra. 8.30pm – 10.45pm. £6. 020 8466 1726. H.G.Wells Centre, St Mark’s Road, Bromley High Street South, Bromley BR2 9HG.


www.meridian-magazine.co.uk l 41


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48