Susan Jonusas
"I recently returned from three days at sea to find that autumn has, at last, arrived in London. October is my favourite month to walk in the city’s parks – there is no better place to watch the transition of the seasons than in the slow creep of orange across the last green leaves of summer. Around this time every year I pull out my copy of Ray Bradbury’s deliciously macabre The October Country, rationing out each short story as the nights draw closer to Halloween. This month I am hugely excited to be speaking at the Cliveden Literary Festival. It is such an honour to be included in a programme that features many people whose work I have admired for a long time. I am particularly looking forward to hearing Mark Galeotti speak on Russia, and for Robert Harris in conversation with Albert Read. As it will be my first time visiting the house, I will have to make sure I find time to explore!”
Susan Jonusas - Historian & Author.
Experience: Frameless
Frameless is a phenomenal new and permanent immersive multi-sensory experience opening on the 7th of this month just a stone’s throw from Marble Arch in a quaint little, sorry we mean GINORMOUS, 30,000 square foot venue. You will get the chance to literally step into some of the world’s most famous artworks from Kandinsky to Monet, Cezanne, Canaletto, Klimt and Rembrandt. “The art seeps into every inch of space. It’s in front of you, behind you, above and below you. You won’t simply be looking at a picture, you’ll be in the picture, with every brush stroke, every splash of colour, every moment of inspiration.” As you journey through each of the four distinctive galleries, you will experience a different type of immersive technology in each one. With over 479 million pixels delivered by a million lumens of light, Frameless takes immersive technology to a whole new level, accompanied by a score of classical and contemporary music played over 158 surround sound speakers. It’s an immersive experience to excite and inspire visitors of all ages. This is definitely going to be one of the biggest arrivals to the London culture scene this year.
Restaurant: Rambutan, Borough Market
Rambutan is the latest gastronomic venture from chef, restaurateur and author Cynthia Shanmugalingam as she continues on her journey of exploration of her Sri Lankan roots. Situated in the heart of Borough Market, Rambutan follows the book of the same name which shines a light on Sri Lankan cooking with a focus on Cynthia's Tamil roots. Born in Coventry, she has fully embraced her food heritage and undertaken extensive travel in Sri Lanka to really embed herself in the food scene and bring that love and passion to Londoners. Split over two floors, there is a basement bar and ground floor dining for 60. Dishes will include delights such as Black Coconut Pineapple Curry, Jaffna Crab Fried Rice with Bitter Greens, Bone Marrow Curry and the classic hoppers, rotis and dosa’s you would expect. Drinks are suitably idyllic with tropical flavours and ingredients including lemongrass, pandan leaf and iced Ceylon tea. The interior takes inspiration from the modern, post-colonial style of Sri Lanka’s most famous female architect, Minnette de Silva. Picture Ceylon teak chairs, geometric patterns, stunning hand painted tiles and more.
Bar: Fairgame, Canary Wharf
Adults only games night…no no get your mind out the gutter. We are talking about the brand new fairground games themed bar opening in Canary Wharf this month called Fairgame. All those fairground games you couldn’t get enough of, now with the very latest tech, plus cocktails and epic street food. From Roll-A-Ball Derby to Skeeball. Shoot the Clown to Whac-A-Mole, plus a few old favourites in-between. In an innovative twist on iconic games, friends and workmates face-off for a fun-fuelled experience like no other. With every game hooked up to innovative RFID wristband tech, their bespoke app logs gamers’ scores, tracks leader boards and takes bragging rights to a whole new level. How will you fuel all this excitement? Well, our game loving pals, there’s some street food legends on offer including Burger & Beyond, Rudy’s pizza and Dos Mas Taco’s. Then the Bumper Bar is on hand to quench your thirst making this the best new activity night out London has to offer.
Exhibition: Science Fiction, Voyage to the Edge of Imagination
Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of Imagination is a blockbuster Science Museum exhibition launching this month that invites us to boldly go and explore strange new worlds. Through imaginative works of literature, film and television, we are compelled to consider the consequences of our actions, seek answers to profound questions about what it means to be human and examine the possibilities of tomorrow. On arrival you board an extra-terrestrial spaceship on an immersive journey of discovery in this unique story-led exhibition. Guided by the AI, we can examine visions of the future through science and science fiction, encountering authentic items from celebrated science fiction films, television series and literature as well as significant scientific objects that have shaped modern life. In the spaceship’s Bio Lab, we get to question alien vs human life while studying the monster from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, known as the first science fiction novel. Then we can investigate and explore the wonders of modern medicine and surgery, prosthetics and cybernetics and so much more. This exhibition really covers it all with an enormous wealth of references to bring it all to life. This is a must book for half term and tickets start from £10 and under 7’s go free.
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Music: Gaia
On the 11th October Southwark Cathedral will open a brand new installation from artist Luke Jerram. Measuring seven metres in diameter, Gaia features detailed imagery of the Earth’s surface compiled by the Visible Earth series at NASA. The artwork provides the opportunity to see our planet floating in three-dimensions. It’s really going to be quite spectacular to admire and accompanying this sculpture is a specially made surround sound composition by BAFTA award-winning Composer, Dan Jones. Artist, Luke Jerram, said of the piece: “I hope visitors to Gaia get to see the Earth as if from space; an incredibly beautiful and precious place. An ecosystem we urgently need to look after – our only home. Halfway through the Earth’s six mass extinction, we urgently need to wake up, and change our behaviour. We need to quickly make the changes necessary, to prevent run away Climate Change.” Cathedrals can be exquisite places for moments of quiet reflection no matter your beliefs and so whisk yourself away to the space for some personal time to think on both how we can protect our planet but also how you can yourself make a change your own impact on the world in every sense. Entry is by ticket only but tickets are free, just please make sure to book in advance.
Book : The World, Simon Sebag Montefiore
From the master storyteller and internationally bestselling author - the story of humanity from prehistory to the present day, told through the one thing all humans have in common: family. It begin with the footsteps of a family walking along a beach 950,000 years ago. From here, Montefiore takes us on an exhilarating epic journey through the families that have shaped our world: the Caesars, Medicis and Incas, Ottomans and Mughals, Bonapartes, Habsburgs and Zulus, Rothschilds, Rockefellers and Krupps, Churchills, Kennedys, Castros, Nehrus, Pahlavis and Kenyattas, Saudis, Kims and Assads.
A rich cast of complex characters form the beating heart of the story. Some are well-known leaders, from Alexander the Great, Attila, Ivan the Terrible and Genghis Khan to Hitler, Thatcher, Obama, Putin and Zelensky. Some are creative, from Socrates, Michelangelo and Shakespeare to Newton, Mozart, Balzac, Freud, Bowie and Tim Berners-Lee. Others are lesser-known: Hongwu, who began life as a beggar and founded the Ming dynasty; Kamehameha, conqueror of Hawaii; Zenobia, Arab empress who defied Rome; King Henry of Haiti; Lady Murasaki, first female novelist; Sayyida al-Hurra, Moroccan pirate-queen. Here are not just conquerors and queens but prophets, charlatans, actors, gangsters, artists, scientists, doctors, tycoons, lovers, wives, husbands and children. This is world history on the most grand and intimate scale - spanning centuries, continents and cultures, and linking grand themes of war, migration, plague, religion, medicine and technology to the people at the centre of the human drama. As spellbinding as fiction, The World captures the story of humankind in all its joy, sorrow, romance, ingenuity and cruelty in a ground-breaking, single narrative that will forever shift the boundaries of what history can achieve.
Art: O Barco / The Boat
Grada Kilomba is a Portuguese Berlin-based transdisciplinary artist whose work draws on memory, trauma, gender and postcolonialism, interrogating concepts of knowledge, power and violence. In October she brings her critically- acclaimed installation O Barco / The Boat, to the courtyard of Somerset House. Displayed in the UK for the first time, the large-scale installation and performance will be specially presented on the occasion of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair’s 10th anniversary, which has shown at Somerset House since its inception. The striking 32-metre-long installation is composed of 140 wood blocks, the configuration of which outlines the lower ‘hold’ of an historical European slave ship. Charred by the artist, the blocks contain poems in 6 different languages, intricately inscribed into their textured surfaces. Directly addressing the history of European maritime expansion and colonisation, the piece invites the audience to consider forgotten stories and identities. Alongside its sculptural elements, the artwork includes live performance, combining song, music, and dance, with music production by award-winning writer and musician Kalaf Epalanga.
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Charity of the Month: Survival International
Yes it’s true, we are already looking ahead to the festive season! Christmas is the time to let your family and friends know that they are in your thoughts, wherever they are in the world. Support the charity Survival International by sending one of their stunning Christmas cards this year. Their cards include many beautiful images of tribal peoples in the Arctic by photographers Yuliya Vassilyeva and Vijesh Kumar Raju. Whilst you are shopping for cards you can also buy a range of stunning Christmas presents including their annual ‘We, The People’ calendar, full of stunning photographers of tribal peoples from around the world by both professional and indigenous photographers, which you can gift-wrap in their beautiful wrapping paper. Survival International is a charity that supports tribal peoples helping to stop loggers, miners, oil companies and governments from destroying their lands, lives and livelihoods across the world. From the Amazon to the Kalahari, from the jungles of India to the Congo rainforest, Survival works in partnership with tribal peoples.
App of the month: Life Tidy
With the general cost of living increasing and life returning to pre pandemic speeds, it may seem like you can’t keep on top of bills and expenses. Why not take the stress out of that side of life with an app that helps you stay organised and efficient including with your finances and more? LifeTidy is the first platform of its kind providing a holistic, simple and intuitive way of storing all of life’s key documents, contracts, policies and life admin, reminding users when important renewals, payments and decisions need to be made. LifeTidy is an encrypted, totally secure platform that allows you to securely log, manage and share your data with family members, wealth managers, lawyers, insurance companies, doctors, or any other trusted third party. Goodbye clutter, hello lifetidy.