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The Irish Times – Friday, April 6, 2012

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BRIAN BOYD

SMALL PRINT: TO MARK THE 45th anniversary of the release of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band this year, the artist responsible for the iconic album cover work, Sir Peter Blake, has brought out a Sgt Pepper’s 2012 version of the album cover.

The original 1967 cover – perhaps the most famous album cover ever – was at the time the most expensive music art work ever assembled. It cost £2,868 – at the time, this was 100 times the average cost for an album cover. Despite the fact that it made the pop artist Peter Blake’s career (and was a factor in him being awarded a knighthood) he was only paid a one-off fee of £200 for his groundbreaking work.

For the original cover, the four Beatles were asked to come up with a list of people that had influenced or were important to them in some way. They came up with 70 figures ranging from Karl Marx and Bob Dylan to Marlon Brando and Laurel and Hardy. Both Jesus Christ and Adolf Hitler (Lennon’s choices) were considered unsuitable.

With this year also being Sir Peter’s 80th birthday, he decided to return to the artwork and update it for contemporary audiences. He came up with 79 new characters. “I’ve chosen people I admire, great people and some who are dear friends,” says Blake. “I had a very long list of people who I wanted to go in but couldn’t fit everyone in. That shows how strong British culture is. The Sgt Pepper album cover was made by cutting pieces of cardboard and hand-colouring them. This one is computer generated. I often thought that if I did it again it would be very quick on the computer but it was very laborious.”

On the new version, only one Beatle survives – Paul McCartney. There are nods to contemporary culture with appearances by Tracy Emin, Noel Gallagher, Amy Winehouse, Alexander McQueen, Kate Moss, Ian Curtis and Damien Hirst. Gallagher was delighted to be included: “Given that I’ve devoted quite a lot of time to gazing at the original Sgt Pepper album cover, you can perhaps imagine what it means to me to be selected. It’s nice to be recognised by as great an artist as Sir Peter Blake.”

Many people though are confused by the new artwork. While figures such as JK Rowling, Paul Weller, Helen Mirren, Stella McCartney and the Monty Python foot are instantly recognisable, there are some odd choices, including Fanny Cradock and Tommy Steele. The game here is to see how many of the Sgt Pepper’s 2012 cast you can recognise. Out of the 79, I’m stuck on 55.

THE SGT PEPPER’S 2012 ROLL CALL 

1. Amy Winehouse 2. Sir Paul Smith 3. Ian Curtis 4. Nick Park 5. Robin Day 6. Lucienne Day 7. Francis Bacon 8. Roald Dahl 9. Alfred Hitchcock 10. Lucian Freud 11. Kate Moss 12. Paul Weller 13. Sir Tom Stoppard 14. Danny Boyle 15. Sir Mick Jagger 16. Fanny Cradock 17. Mr Chow 18. David Chipperfield 19. Harold Pinter 20. David Bailey 21. Mary Quant 22. Anish Kapoor 23. JK Rowling 24. JRR Tolkien 25. Robyn Hitchcock 26. Sir Terence Conran 27. John Peel 28. Martin Parr 29. Sir Tim Berners Lee 30. John Hurt 31. Rick Stein 32. Sir Jonathan Ive 33. Sir David Lean 34. Sir David Attenborough 35. Bridget Riley 36. Sir Terence Rattigan 37. Richard Curtis 38. Tommy Steele 39. Mark Hix 40. Vidal Sassoon 41. Sir Ridley Scott 42. Justin de Villeneuve 43. Lord Norman Foster44. Peter Saville 45. Tracey Emin46. Sir Paul McCartney 47. Gavin Turk48. Barbara Hulanicki 49. Agatha Christie 50. Delia Smith 51. David Bowie 52. Twiggy 53. Audrey Hepburn 54. Gary Oldman 55. Damien Hirst 56. Stella McCartney 57. Mary McCartney 58. Alexander McQueen 59. Dame Vivienne Westwood 60. Dame Helen Mirren 61. Grayson Perry 62. Wreckless Eric 63. David Hockney 64. Eric Clapton 65. Ian Dury 66. Sir Elton John 67. Chris Corbin 68. Jeremy King69. Dame Shirley Bassey 70. Noel Gallagher 71. Richard Rogers 72. Elvis Costello 73. Liberty Blake 74. Chrissy Blake 75. Sir Peter Blake 76. Rose Blake 77. Daisy Blake 78. Monty Python foot 79. Victoria Vintage

SCHOOLS RUGBY: Battling Burford edged out in final

3:15pm Wednesday 4th April 2012 in Sport

SCHOOLS RUGBY: Battling Burford edged out in final

Burford School went down to a 35-22 defeat against Richard Lander (Truro) in the England RFU South West Division Under 14 state schools championships at the University of Bristol.

They beat representatives from Berkshire, Bucks, and Dorset Wiltshire – without conceding a single try to reach the final.

Back row (from left): Jake Edwards, Bradley Allen, Charlie Brown, Tom Renwick, Connor Pummery, Cameron Wensley, Gareth Jenkins, Kieran Dingle, Reiss O’Callaghan Howard, Austin Shipway. Front: Bill
Wallace, Josh Knibbs, Tom Harvey, Matt Cradock, Dan Wilson, Oliver Toner, Harvey Dodman-Edwards, Jake Haines, Jack Davies and David Kloos.

A HISTORY OF FOOD IN 100 RECIPES BY WILLIAM SITWELL (Collins £20)

By
Roger Lewis

PUBLISHED:

13:22 EST, 5 April 2012

|

UPDATED:

13:44 EST, 5 April 2012

Enlarge

 

Overlooked: Fanny and Johnny Craddock

Sorry, I regret to inform you that the greatest and most authoritative book ever to have been devised on the subject of food – my own Hog Roasts – has been somewhat delayed.

I was taking the research so seriously, my pancreas blew up. It has been celery sticks and tap water since. Sob.

It’s not only that I love my tucker, I love reading about it and thinking about it – so William Sitwell’s book is a whopping treat.

It even contains a recipe for Fig-Fed Pig I found eerily familiar: force-feed a pig with figs and mead. The figs expand and start  to ferment. The liver becomes enlarged  and the pig croaks. Roast on a spit immediately.

My diabetic nurse said: ‘Now do you see why you were in High Dependency?’

Young William Sitwell, the great-grandson of eccentric Sir George Sitwell, author of The History Of The Fork and the seminal First Catch Your Peacock – and related by blood to Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell – says that ‘the history of food is coloured by the individuals who enveloped themselves in the subject and who wrote recipes that help tell its stories’.

Earth apples: The French were convinced that potatoes caused leprosy

So we begin with Egyptian recipes for bread, and end with Nigella and Jamie telling us what to do with a box of Maldon salt and spot of Colman’s mustard.

I regret the absence of Fanny Cradock, who stuffed a chicken while dressed in a Norman Hartnell ball gown and who kept barking at her drunken husband (‘Pass me the bloody bain marie, Johnnie!’). And where are the Two Fat Ladies, Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright?

Nevertheless, important themes emerge. The first has to do with the very origins of civilisation.

Cooking marks the beginning of a sophisticated society – the manufacture of utensils, the organisation of a kitchen, the lighting of fires, the communal aspect of eating meals, hospitality and etiquette.

Murals in tombs and the lumber left in burial sites teach us about the development of milling, leavening and baking.

The Bible and ancient texts describe feasts of mutton, flatbread, chickpeas, geese, starlings and blackbirds. ‘You can almost smell the 4,000-year-old leg of lamb bubbling in a sauce thick with Mesopotamian  herbs,’ salivates Sitwell, perusing a papyrus.

IF YOU LIKE THIS, WHY NOT TRY…

 

TASTE BY KATE COLQUHOUN
(Bloomsbury £9.99)

EATING FOR ENGLAND BY NIGEL SLATER (Harper Perennial £8.99)

The second major theme in the history of food concerns its preservation.

Until salting and pickling techniques were perfected, tribes had to hunt and gather and follow the migrating herds season after season. There  was always a strong likelihood of starvation during the winter months.

Mankind has come a long way from spearing a woolly mammoth to popping into Tesco for a bag of pre-washed rocket salad and tin of mackerel fillets in coconut chowder.

As Sitwell puts it, the problems of storage were paramount ‘in the centuries preceding the advent of the supermarket and the fridge’. The first fridge was a bucket of snow kept in a hole. To prolong the life of food, the Romans went in for elaborate sauces. The Vikings dried and smoked their fish.

Apparently, ‘pasta was a momentous addition to world civilisation’ as it could be kept indefinitely in jars, a hedge against times of famine, and could also be stocked aboard ships, allowing for longer voyages. Though the British adored potatoes when mashed, boiled or fried, the French never liked what they called earth apples, ‘convinced they were responsible for leprosy’.

Nor would Scottish Presbyterians go near them, ‘because they weren’t mentioned in the Bible’.

When the splendid Sir George Sitwell attempted  to pay his sons’ fees at  Eton by ‘sending down a trainload of potatoes’ from the family seat at Renishaw, Eton sent the spuds straight back. But despite the import/export trade, good grub has mostly meant decimating the local wildlife.

Henry VIII’s banquets consisted of 19 courses, stretching from sturgeon to jelly, interspersed with ‘vast quantities of wildfowl’, partridge, crane, heron  and egrets.

(Even I’ve had a few of those, though then again, too few to mention.) American frontier cookery books contain recipes for squirrel, racoon and beaver – as well as bears.

‘If marinated at least 24 hours in an oil-based marinade, all bear except black bear is edible,’ said the author (and hats off to anyone who’d captured, skinned and prepared enough Grizzlies, Polar, Kodiak and Brown bears to hold a tasting session and know the difference).

The British, it must be said, have, until recently, been suspicious of food and ideas about food that are not indigenous.

‘To serve unimaginative food was looked on as almost a virtue; to enjoy a meal, a sin,’ complained Robert Carrier,  an American of Irish and French descent who once had a restaurant in Islington, North London.

Fit for a king: Suckling pig was not the only delicacy served up at Henry VIII’s banquets

As a nation we were never happier than when we were rationed during the war, scoffing on carrot sandwiches, battered pork rind, spam fritters and gristle rissoles.

When rationing was abolished in 1953, Elizabeth David rhapsodised about ‘the aromatic perfume of rosemary, wild tarragon, and olive oil’ and this only made good people like my own mother feel dissatisfied – dissatisfied with life.

Yet though people flocked to buy David’s hedonistic books on Mediterranean greediness, have you ever met anyone who followed any of her recipes?

Similarly with Delia, Gordon, Marco and the rest of the bunch – though we watch their programmes and buy their books, the whole shooting match is only incidentally about food.

They are about sexiness (Nigella the domestic goddess), Chief Scout laddishness (Jamie Oliver – ‘Really, you can do it! So good luck and have fun!’), potty-mouthed ego (Gordon and his hair transplant), suicidal self-destruction (Keith Floyd), being scarily temperamental (Marco Pierre White – who should be reminded he’s only a cook, not Ghengis Khan), and gastronomic surrealism (Heston Blumenthal, the kitchen Salvador Dali).

I’m not sure exactly what Delia Smith is about. About £15?million, probably.

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FOOTBALL: Ducklington are crowned champs

10:20am Wednesday 4th April 2012 in Headlines

Ducklington, who won the Under 10 Green League

Byron Townsend netted a double as Ducklington clinched the Giles Sports Witney Youth League Under 10 Green League crown with a 2-1 comeback victory at title rivals Banbury United Youth Puritans.

Harry Godden gave Banbury the lead in the second half.

But Townsend levelled when his shot was deflected past the Ban-bury keeper, before he grabbed the winner to spark Ducklington’s title celebrations.

Witney Vikings Youth had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Grendon Rangers in the Red League.

Lennon Cradock scored for Witney, with Sam Hencken replying.

Drew Samson and Reece Deasy found the back of the net for Tower Hill Stars in a 2-0 win at Brackley Athletic in the White League.

Charlie McPherson’s hat-trick gave Tower Hill a 3-1 home win over Garden City in the Under 15 A League.

McPherson’s opener was cancelled out by Alex Christodoulou, but he struck again, before completing his treble with a penalty.

Matteo Barraclough hit a hat-trick as Yarnton Blues won 4-2 at home to Middleton Cheney in the B League.

Paddy Kinch also netted for Yarnton, with Luke Spencer and Joel Granaghan replying.

Alfie Bonham hit a hat-trick in Charlton District’s 8-1 home win over Witney Vikings Youth in the Under 12 Supplementary Cup Red League.

Luke Crosby (2), Arun Oakes (2) and James Drewry were on target, with Stan Reeves replying.

Harry Buckingham bagged a brace in Ducklington’s 4-0 home win against Middleton Cheney in the Under 11 A League.

Jack Bellenger and Freddie Buckingham also netted.

Adam McCarthy’s ninth-minute strike was enough to give Cumnor Minors a 1-0 victory at Tower Hill, who were suffering their fourth consecutive league defeat.

Eynsham claimed second spot in the B League and secured promotion to the A League with a 4-1 home win against Garden City.

Liam Varney, Jack Simmonds, Ben Weller and Joseph Drinkwater did the damage in the first half.

Caradoc Rice scored twice as Stonesfield Strikers won 3-1 at Witney Vikings Youth in the D League.

Sam Press also netted for the victors, with Sasha Parker replying.

Liam Cross hit a hat-trick in Bicester Town Colts’ 7-0 win at Grendon Rangers in the Under 9 Blue League.

Mason Hewitt (2), Ollie Barker and Sam Carnnells were also on target.

Highfield Juniors won 2-0 at Garden City, with goals from Matthew Innes and Samuel Pearce.

OTHER SCORERS

Under 9 Blue League: Bure Park Juniors 0, Bardwell 1 (M Smith).

Under 11 B League: Bampton Tn 1 (O Crossley), Hook Norton 1 (B Parker); Bicester Town Colts Stars 1 (T Wraight), Launton Boys 1 (L Bluett).

Under 12 Supplementary Cup – Red League: Brackley Athletic 1 (J Deacon), Bloxham 3 (og, L Cornforth, M Hall).

Under 15 A League: Bicester Town Colts 1, Tower Hill 3 (J Washbourne-Calcutt, C Taylor, J Lawrence).

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The Medford City Council will hold subcommittee and a committee of the whole meetings before it’s regular 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday.

At 5:45 p.m., the council will hold a committee of the whole meeting to receive an update on the Proposed Governors Avenue parking garage and parking management request for proposal.

At 6 p.m., the council’s subcommittee on public safety will meet to discuss possible alternative locations to build a new police department headquarters. The subcommittee, chaired by Councilor Richard Caraviello, has invited Chief Leo Sacco to attend the meeting.

Both pre-meeting meetings will be held in room 207 at City Hall.

The council’s 7 p.m. meeting includes a public hearing for Medford Gas at 85 Main Street, which is seeking a license to offer used car sales.

The council is also expected to discuss the following resolutions:

• Be it Resolved that in light of the upcoming Cradock Bridge repairs and due to the traffic concerns and public safety issues that the bus stop location at 9-15 and 21 Main street be either changed or eliminated on or before July 1st in order for bus patrons having enough time to adjust to either the location change or its elimination. (Brought by Councilor Robert Penta)
• Be it Resolved that the Mayor immediately appropriate funding for light
  installation in the Rt 16 public parking lot behind St. Joseph’s Church for which the city has control over in the interest of public safety. (Councilor Robert Penta)
• Be it Resolved that the trash in Medford Square be discussed. (Councilor Robert Penta)

The best cooking shows not only make you hungry, they also dangle a tantalising new lifestyle in front of you, all dappled in sunlight, gently urging you to move to the country or start throwing your own pots. A fantasy of some carefree existence in which you have time to skip through organic farmers’ markets, fondling plums and finding just the right lardons for your poule au pot.

The newest of these is the impossibly twee-sounding The Little Paris Kitchen, presented by Rachel Khoo, a Croydon-born Paris resident who serves up lunch in her minuscule studio apartment (after she’s folded away her futon to make room for the tiny table). Pots and herbs and spoons dangle from every wall; her kitchen would have Thumbelina knocking them over with her elbows.

The food is French, unpretentious and wonderful-looking and Khoo does it all on two rings and mini-oven while looking like an actual china doll in a selection of neatly proportioned vintage frocks. She should be incredibly annoying, but her clear-eyed enthusiasm and adorable home make you want to move in with her – even though there isn’t room.

Khoo’s TV kitchen is entirely fitting in this age of austerity, all humble and real with wobbly work surfaces and no dishwasher. Most TV cooks swagger about their Olympic-sized gastrodome, swinging enormous roasting tins full of produce around their heads and scattering their capacious work surfaces with chives. It’s nice to see someone selling us a lifestyle that’s actually achievable for the average wage-slave.

Irish baking maven Rachel Allen does herself no favours, wafting around her giant cookhouse, all vast expanses of worktop and panoramic views of emerald meadows through the picture window. It’s bigger than Khoo’s entire flat and seems to completely suit Allen’s simultaneously imperious/smug TV manner.

Gentleman’s favourite Nigella, meanwhile, undulates around her large, urban scullery which is softened and feminised with fairy lights and up-lit knick-knacks so you know she doesn’t take life too seriously. Look, she’s licking chocolate fondant off her fingers and lingering by the door to her enormous fridge in her nightgown, just too weak to resist seconds.

But is it her fridge? Whether a borrowed kitchen or their own, the culinary stage is carefully designed to sell – be it the food, the accompanying book or the tie-in grow-your-own herb kits.

Jamie Oliver memorably used the kitchen in his flat to great effect in the first series of The Naked Chef back when he was knee-high to a Michelin star – even if the telly company was helping him out with the rent. His exposed brickwork, scooter-riding and banister-sliding were all-important components of the show.

They told you he was a maverick and all about the joie de vivre. He didn’t have time to get his walls plastered or to actually tread on each individual step because there was too much delicious, locally sourced fun to be had. Now Jamie’s eschewing the kitchen altogether and doing his cooking in the garden, so keen is he to emphasise his connection to the ingredients. Next series will be him in a bivouac up a mountain, rubbing sticks together.

In contrast to Oliver’s ham-flinging slapdashery, Heston Blumenthal usually prefers the unforgiving stainless steel and wipe-clean severity of the science lab – only stepping into a domestic kitchen for his recent Channel 4 series. Entirely stripped of extraneous knick-knacks or jars of ornamental pasta, a professional kitchen means business. Blumenthal dissects, reduces and dehydrates with the air of Allo Allo’s Herr Flick, carefully prising the fallen Madonna with the big boobies from inside a tightly packed knockwurst.

Meanwhile, the mother of them all, Delia Smith, prefers to give instruction from either her homely kitchen or the comparative comfort of her conservatory. It’s such a 1980s status symbol, the conservatory. She’s letting you know she’s done quite well for herself but she’s also not too posh to get down on her hands and knees in the vegetable patch just visible through the window.

Meanwhile, a relatively new addition to the canon is ex-model Lorraine Pascale, who has the audacity to cook in a crisp white shirt with no apron, if you please. Her kitchen is minimalist and spotlessly presented. It says: “I’m chic. This is no effort for me. I’m a self-cleaning oak-veneered culinary paradise and I’m bigger than your whole house.”

But best and bleakest of all was Fanny Cradock’s latter-years “kitchen” set up in what was obviously a TV studio. You were most certainly not invited into Fanny’s home to get your mucky footprints all over her lino. It was desolately uncluttered with mustard/nicotine walls and depressing beige units – nothing too fussy to offset the technicolour food and the terrifying eyebrows that hovered six inches above Fanny’s head. Her drab culinary oubliette lent the already sickly looking food an added air of “after the event” despondency.

And faced with that, who wouldn’t choose Khoo’s cheerfully microscopic pixie kitchen any day of the week?

Sir Peter Blake has taken inspiration from his famous Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover to create a new artwork.

The English pop artist, 79, is best known for designing the 1967 Beatles cover, a colourful collage of life-sized cardboard models of famous faces together with the Fab Four.

Each of the band members picked their favourites for the crowd scene, which featured Marilyn Monroe, Bob Dylan, Marlon Brando, Karl Marx, Marlene Dietrich, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy among others.

The new artwork features the names who have inspired Sir Peter, who has been dubbed the Godfather of Pop Art, over the decades.

British artists, film directors, musicians, writers, film stars, fashion designers and chefs, as well as himself and his family, are all represented.

Those whose faces are on the new image include murder mystery writer Agatha Christie, fashion designers Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood and the late Alexander McQueen, filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, singer Amy Winehouse, artists Anish Kapoor, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and David Hockney, supermodel Kate Moss, TV cooks Fanny Cradock and Delia Smith, Harry Potter author JK Rowling – and Sir Paul McCartney once again.

Sir Peter said: “I’ve chosen people I admire, great people and some who are dear friends.

“I had a very long list of people who I wanted to go in but couldn’t fit everyone in – I think that shows how strong British culture is and its legacy over the last six decades.”

 

1. Amy Winehouse; 2. Sir Paul Smith; 3. Ian Curtis; 4. Nick Park; 5. Robin Day; 6. Lucienne Day; 7. Francis Bacon; 8. Roald Dahl; 9. Alfred Hitchcock; 10. Lucian Freud; 11. Kate Moss; 12. Paul Weller; 13. Sir Tom Stoppard; 14. Danny Boyle; 15. Sir Mick Jagger; 16. Fanny Cradock; 17. Mr Chow; 18. David Chipperfield; 19. Harold Pinter; 20.David Bailey; 21. Mary Quant; 22. Anish Kapoor; 23. JK Rowling; 24. JRR Tolkien; 25. Robyn Hitchcock; 26. Sir Terence Conran; 27. John Peel; 28. Martin Parr; 29.Sir Tim Berners Lee; 30. John Hurt; 31. Rick Stein; 32. Sir Jonathan Ive; 33. Sir David Lean; 34. Sir David Attenborough; 35. Bridget Riley; 36. Sir Terence Rattigan; 37. Richard Curtis; 38. Tommy Steele; 39. Mark Hix; 40.Vidal Sassoon; 41. Sir Ridley Scott; 42. Justin De Villeneuve; 43. Lord Norman Foster; 44. Peter Saville; 45. Tracey Emin; 46. Sir Paul McCartney; 47. Gavin Turk; 48. Barbara Hulanicki; 49. Agatha Christie; 50. Delia Smith; 51. David Bowie; 52. Twiggy; 53. Audrey Hepburn; 54. Gary Oldman; 55. Damien Hirst; 56. Stella McCartney; 57. Mary McCartney; 58. Alexander McQueen; 59. Dame Vivienne Westwood; 60. Dame Helen Mirren; 61. Grayson Perry; 62. Wreckless Eric; 63. David Hockney; 64. Eric Clapton; 65. Ian Dury; 66. Sir Elton John; 67. Chris Corbin; 68. Jeremy King; 69. Dame Shirley Bassey; 70. Noel Gallagher; 71. Richard Rogers; 72. Elvis Costello; 73. Liberty Blake; 74. Chrissy Blake; 75. Sir Peter Blake; 76. Rose Blake; 77. Daisy Blake; 78. Monty Python foot; 79. Victoria Vintage

 

The artist said: “The Sgt Pepper album cover was made by cutting pieces of cardboard and hand-colouring them. This one is computer generated. I often thought that if I did it again it would be very quick on the computer but it was very laborious.

“Putting this together made me realise we’ve got the most exciting artists, actors and chefs … in this country. Our cultural scene is incredibly healthy.”

Sir Peter has made the artwork to go on display during his 80th birthday celebrations at this year’s Vintage Festival, celebrating the best of British culture.

Author Rowling said of her inclusion in the work: “Given that I’ve devoted quite a lot of time to gazing at the original Sgt Pepper album cover, you can perhaps imagine what it means to me to be selected. What an honour.”

 

Noel Gallagher said: “When they told me I had been chosen I was obviously very chuffed. It’s nice to be recognised by as great an artist as Sir Peter Blake.”

Wayne Hemingway, who runs the Vintage Festival, said the work was “a tribute to Britain’s standing as the world’s leading creative nation”.

“Sir Peter is the Godfather of British Pop Art and is still as passionate as ever about art and culture.

“It is truly an incredible honour to have him re-imagine such an iconic work of art and we are proud to be dedicating the Sunday at Vintage this year to celebrate his 80th birthday and creative and cultural legacy.”

The Wayne Hemingway Vintage Festival, where an exhibition of Sir Peter’s work will be on show, takes place in Northamptonshire from July 13th to 15th.

The Irish Times – Monday, April 2, 2012

Maven Specialists in selling start-up and SMEs

DEVELOPING A smart new product or service is one thing. Selling it to paying punters is another and something small companies often struggle with.

There are companies who specialise in driving sales for clients, but their service is generally aimed at big, well established organisations. Maven is a new, inside sales and lead generation business-to-business company targeted specifically at start-up and SMEs in the technology sector. The company is coming up to its first birthday and having started out with founder Mark Cradock (above) alone, it now employs 12 people.

“Tech companies are often very good at what they do but hopeless at selling it,” he says. “I’ve worked in this sector for many years and identified a niche to provide a service to small business who often don’t have the resources to hire a sales professional. I hand-picked my team for their experience and proven track records using tried and tested methodologies. We have the expertise to operate in Ireland, the UK, Europe (including Eastern Europe as we have the languages and the knowledge) and the US.

“Our service is very price competitive. We cost around 30 per cent less than our main competitors and clients can turn us on or off as they need us. There are no long term contract commitments. So far around 60 per cent of our business has come from referrals,” Cradock says.

Typical clients for Maven are emerging SMEs with new cloud-related products or services for whom the Irish and UK markets are too small but who lack the knowledge and contacts to break into bigger markets, where the critical volumes lie.

Maven was set up with assistance from the Carlow County Enterprise Board and has been revenue generating from the beginning. Cradock expects his team to grow to 16 people in the short term.

Apart from generating sales leads the company has a number of other services, including database cleansing and building and sales recruitment consultancy. Mark Cradock originally studied science at university but took a job with a technology company as a young graduate to fill a gap and has never looked back.

– Olive Keogh 

PLANS are back on track to build Africa’s highest and longest cableway, from George up the Outeniqua Mountains.

A viability study, including an environmental impact assessment, is under way for the ambitious project.

The cableway will stretch more than 5km, from the base of the southern Cape mountains to Cradock Peak, 1573m above sea level — about 500m higher than Table Mountain. Garden Route Cableway director Alwyn van Rensburg and co-director Pierre Poolman are talking to the Eden District and George municipalities, Transnet and Cape Nature about the project.

“We are the third group to attempt the project and although we have looked at the other ideas, we are starting from scratch,” Mr van Rensburg said yesterday.

“The environmental impact assessment is a process that you can’t predict and we realise that Cape Nature is very serious about preserving the natural beauty of the mountain. We are still in the very early stages of the project but if everything goes to plan, it would be a bonus to have the cable car up and running in three years.”

There are also plans to include a rail tourism experience, linking the small town of Herold behind the mountain to George. The area has hops and wine farms, rock paintings and historic buildings.

Mr Van Rensburg said it was difficult to estimate what the project would cost, or how much it would eventually turn over.

The company is awaiting quotes from international experts for the construction of the cableway, and investors will be approached.

A similar project fell through two years ago when cableway expert Claude Pretorius died aged 85. He had designed and installed the cableways at the Pretoria Zoo and Hartebeespoort Dam.

He envisaged that the George cableway would create 9000 jobs during the construction phase and generate R50m a year.

Garden Route Media

I do it every time – pick them up and then wish I hadn’t

The first time I hitchhiked is when I was a student at the (then) University of Natal, Durban, over 20 years ago. A bunch of us would stand at the corner of King George V Avenue and Francois Road (now Rick Turner, I’m told) just below the tennis courts and stick our thumbs out to passing traffic.

The Durban Metro Transport buses were an unattractive option due to the prohibitively exorbitant R3.50 fare. We relied on the kindness of fellow students, staff members, benevolent strangers from Manor Gardens and Chesterville Township.

Most of our benefactors would drop us off at the King Edward VIII Hospital, where we’d catch one of those busses we called “Indian busses” headed for town from Montclair/Chatsworth on Sydney Road. R1 fare, you see. One could even get away without paying the fare, because you didn’t pay upon boarding.

A conductor would come around afterwards to collect his R1, and if you gave him a long enough “stare ahead”, he’d assume you’d already paid.

Hitchhiking or giving lifts to strangers is generally a crummy idea. This is what I tell my kids. Most stories that end with unsuspecting folk caught up in bizarre foursomes on a Delmas smallholding with a farmer called Gerhardus, his 200kg wife and a member of their livestock, start with the sentence: “So I stopped to give this woman a lift.”

The perils of hitchhiking are no more dramatically illustrated than in the news story emanating from Bobland last week. Apparently marauding gangs of evil women are said to be roaming the Harare highways in search of virile young men from whom to forcibly extract semen. How I wish I were making this up.

To illustrate just how immature and inappropriate some of my friends are, one of them asked: “So, where does one sign up for this service?”

But I digress. If you think the possibility of being abducted and having my eyes gouged out by crazy, devil-worshipping cult members would be my primary fear regarding picking up hitchhikers, you do not know me at all. I have taken the art of worrying about all the wrong things to new, dizzying heights previously not scaled by any man or woman, dead or alive.

You see, for all my aversion to giving lifts to people, now and then I roll the dice and go right ahead. It is often in remote parts of the country where I know there is no formal mode of transport. Just try and catch a taxi or bus between Cradock and Colesburg, for instance, and report back on your findings. (Casts askew glance in transport minister’s direction).

On the R550, the stretch of road between Walkerville and Heidelberg, I’ve seen human beings disappear into the back of a refrigerated van just to get to their destination. And having travelled extensively with my mom as a child using public transport, I guess I suffer from what Lerato Tshabalala calls “new-middle-class guilt”. I see a dowdy old lady struggling with Shoprite bags and I can’t help but think of my mother and an impressive array of aunts who rely on public transport to get around.

My greatest fear about picking up hitchhikers is that it leads to awkward social situations. For starters; there’s the issue of hygiene. One minute you’re driving happily in your air-conditioned vehicle humming along to your Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes CD. The next minute you’re driving with all your windows rolled down in 38°C heat to get some ventilation because the hitchhiker you picked up has extreme theories about water conservation and regular baths.

And then they always have the overwhelming urge to share their life stories with you. Next thing you know, you’re a reluctant King Solomon trying to adjudicate in a convoluted case involving Jeremiah, your hitchhiker, and a band of thieving-wizard uncles from Giyani in Limpopo who are trying to strip him of his chieftaincy birthright.

The best advice I can give under such circumstances is always a muted “Maybe you should just get a real job”, which I’ve always been told is a deal-breaker in Zulu royal household circles.

A few months ago I gave a lift to a pair of smart-sounding university girls travelling between Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth a day after their final exams. After about 20 minutes of listening to their inane jabbering about everything under the sun except biochemistry and microbiology (or whatever it is they claimed they were studying), I became increasingly irritable.

Why was I robbing myself of blasting my Bobby Womack CD at full volume to listen to two girls going on about how much they hated some other girl because she has a better weave?

Of course, the final straw in the whole hitchhiker scene is when the recipient of your hospitality tugs at your heart strings right at the end of your journey: “You’ve taken me this far. You might as well take me all the way to New Brighton.”

I love New Brighton as much as the next guy trying to get to the airport on time, but I draw the line at driving around New Brighton delivering passengers with murderous thoughts about classmates with “pretentious” weaves.

I guess my point is that if you’re hitchhiking and you see a guy with a big head and glasses driving along, don’t bother sticking your thumb out.

By Kernan Andrews

FIVE GALWAY bands will be taking to the stage of the Headford Town Hall on Saturday April 7 for a night entitled Headstock.

The line up for the night is This Nachez, Sneaky Pint, The Metrognomes, Next Exit, and 9 Ideas. All of them play different kinds of music and all of them hail from Headford and the bands want this to be a day to be about the community.

“We want this day to be enjoyed by the locals and to show everyone that a gig like Headstock is not just ‘banging noise for a younger crowd’,” says Éimhín Cradock, drummer with This Nachez.

The organisers have made every effort to ensure that young and old will be catered for with music, food, and even a relaxation area for those too tired for the moshing. Tickets are €5. Doors open at 1.30pm and the event runs until 7pm.

BOSTON, Mar 29, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
Boston
Medical Center (BMC) and seven affiliated health centers will join Blue
Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’ (BCBSMA) Alternative
Quality Contract (AQC). The five year agreement combines a
global budget with significant performance incentives based on
nationally endorsed measures tied to quality, health outcomes, and
patient experience. BMC will manage the growth in health care spending
to a level that falls below BCBSMA’s network average expense trend.

“The AQC has become a national
model for payment reform and we are pleased that Boston Medical
Center has committed to working with us in a deeper, more collaborative
way to lower the cost and improve the quality of the care they deliver
to their patients,” said Andrew Dreyfus, President and CEO of Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Massachusetts. “The agreement continues to validate that
the AQC is an attractive model that can work for a variety of provider
organizations — including urban hospitals and community health centers –
that are committed to lower the cost and improve the quality of health
care.”

BMC works with an extensive network of community health centers in
Boston, including seven that will participate in the AQC contract:
Codman Square Health Center, Dorchester House Multi-Service Center, East
Boston Neighborhood Health Center, Greater Roslindale Medical Dental
Center, South Boston Community Health Center, South End Community Health
Center, and Upham’s Corner Health Center. By joining the AQC, BMC is not
only committing to improving the cost and quality of care for patients
that seek care at Boston Medical Center – they are committing to work
with the seven health center partners to improve the quality and cost of
care for patients receiving their care in a health center setting. The
AQC contract will also include Boston Medical Center’s community-based
primary care physicians who are part of the Boston University Affiliated
Physicians (BUAP) group. These practices are in Boston’s Back Bay and
South End, Foxboro, Norwood, and Taunton.

“BMC’s focus is providing high quality, affordable and accessible care
to all our patients, and we work closely with our community health
center partners to deliver on that high standard, whether it’s here at
the hospital or in the community,” said Kate Walsh, BMC President and
CEO. “Participating in this agreement together gives us an exciting
opportunity to coordinate even more closely, and that will mean even
better care for our BCBSMA patients.”

“East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC) provides a range of high
quality services to the communities we serve. BMC is a key partner in
efficiently and effectively meeting the full spectrum of our patients’
health needs. Joining together in this agreement not only strengthens
our ability to provide great care, it’s a model for the kind of
innovation in health care delivery we’re all working toward, ” said John
P. Cradock, EBNHC President and CEO.

This agreement brings nearly 800 additional physicians into the AQC who
care for approximately 13,000 of BCBSMA’s in-state HMO members. The AQC
now has more than two-thirds of doctors in BCBSMA’s in-state HMO network
participating who provide care to approximately 76% of BCBSMA members.

With their significant gains in quality, AQC providers now significantly
outperform the rest of BCBSMA’s fee-for-service network on a
comprehensive set of quality and outcome measures. This is particularly
true in managing chronic illness, preventive care screenings and
treating depression. Recent independent studies conducted by Harvard
Medical School, published in the New England Journal of Medicine,
and Brandeis
University, published in Health Affairs, found that the AQC
is achieving its twin goals of improving care and slowing costs.

These studies found that in the first year of the AQC:

—
Medical spending was nearly 2% lower among physicians and hospitals
participating in the AQC compared with those working in
traditional fee-for-service contracts. Importantly, for physicians and
hospitals with no previous experience in a global payment model,
spending was 6% lower than that of providers in traditional
fee-for-service contracts.(1)

—
Quality of care among AQC providers was significantly higher
than that of non-AQC providers in the BCBSMA network,
especially for adults with chronic illness and for children.(1)
Groups identified coordination of care for high-risk patients as a top
priority and implemented several different initiatives to help reduce
avoidable hospital admissions, readmissions and emergency department
visits.(2)

—
All groups identified quality improvement for patients as a top
priority because the AQC offers much greater financial rewards for
high quality than typical pay-for-performance programs.(2)

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (
www.bluecrossma.com )
is a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan
headquartered in Boston. Celebrating our 75th anniversary in 2012, we
are committed to working with others in a spirit of shared
responsibility to make quality health care affordable. Consistent with
our corporate promise to always put our members first, we are rated
among the nation’s best health plans for member satisfaction and quality.

Boston Medical Center

Boston Medical Center is a private, not-for-profit, 508-bed, academic
medical center located in Boston’s historic South End. The hospital is
the primary teaching affiliate for Boston University School of Medicine.
Boston Medical Center emphasizes community-based care, with its mission
to provide consistently accessible health services to all. The largest
safety net hospital in New England, Boston Medical Center provides a
full spectrum of pediatric and adult care services, from primary to
family medicine to advanced specialty care and a network of 15 community
health centers throughout Boston serving more than a quarter million
people annually. By combining a commitment to uncompromising excellence
with a commitment to caring for those most in need, BMC has become a
national model of care, and caring, for all.

(1) New England Journal of Medicine, “Health Care
Spending and Quality in Year 1 of the Alternative Quality Contract,”
July 13, 2011.

(2) Health Affairs, “Medical Group Responses to Global
Payment: Early Lessons from the ‘Alternative Quality Contract’ in
Massachusetts,” September 2011

(3) Includes contracts signed in 2011 that begin in 2012
(Cooley Dickinson Hospital and Cooley Dickinson Physician Hospital
Organization and Partners HealthCare)

SOURCE: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

        
        Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts 
        Sharon Torgerson, 617-246-2357 
        Sharon.Torgerson@bcbsma.com 
        or 
        Boston Medical Center 
        Jennifer Watson, 617-638-6729 
        Jennifer.Watson@bmc.org 
        or 
        Boston Medical Center 
        Maria Pantages Ober, 617-638-8496 
        Maria.Ober@bmc.org
        

Copyright Business Wire 2012

“DO you fancy a cup of tea?” asks Paul Weller. “I’m just about to make one.”

In his dressing room before the final show of a five-night run at London’s
Roundhouse, the Modfather is getting the drinks in.

A few years ago, celebrating a No1 album or backstage at one of his gigs would
mean a full-on party. But today, a teetotal Weller doesn’t touch anything
stronger than a cup of Tetley’s.

“I haven’t had a hangover in 18 months and I feel great,” says Weller, who
admits that he was an alcoholic.

“Life is good and I’ve even been driving home after these shows. That would
never have happened before.”

Sonik Kicks, Weller’s 11th solo album, is not only a winner in sales, topping
the album charts on the first week of release, it’s also one of the
most critically acclaimed of his 35-year career.

And it is remarkable that in the past few years the ex-Jam and Style Council
singer, now 53, has given us his three most experimental albums with Sonik
Kicks, 2010’s Wake Up The Nation and 2008 double 22 Dreams.

He says: “It’s been a great creative time for me and I’ve lived and worked
long enough to know you have times in life where you’re very, very on it and
others when you’re not. This is something I want to keep going with.”

And it’s not only his music that is experiencing change but his personal
life too.

His
new wife Hannah, 25, gave birth to twin boys, Bowie and John Paul, in January.

Dressed in a stripy shirt, Paul looks as dapper as always but since quitting
booze, he looks fresher-faced than in the past and his new lifestyle clearly
suits him.

Sipping his tea, he says: “My lovely mother-in-law has been up to help us out
so we’ve slept more this week than we normally do.”

Proudly showing me pictures of his sons on his phone, he says: “Look at them.
They sleep facing each other but they don’t acknowledge each other yet.

“They’re doing well. Both of them have doubled their bodyweight already, which
is not normal apparently. Twins only do that at six months. Here’s another
photo. One of my other sons has been taking millions of pictures of his
skateboard, I see,” he laughs.

The birth of Bowie and John Paul takes the Weller brood up to seven, ranging
from 23 to two months and Dad is intensely proud of all of them.

His eldest, Nat, 23, and Leah, 21, are from his marriage to Style Council
singer Dee C Lee.

Then there’s Dylan, 16, who was born out of a short relationship with her
make-up artist mother Lucy, then Jesamine, 12, and Stevie Mac, six, from his
long relationship with ex-partner Samantha Stock, who Paul left when he met
Hannah Andrews who sang on his album 22 Dreams.

They married in September 2010 on the Italian island of Capri.

“Life throws things at you and you never know what’s going to happen next,” he
says.

“You might have all the plans in the world but that doesn’t mean anything.
Life holds its own secrets and you have to go with them. Sometimes change is
painful but ultimately it’s good.”

Sonik
Kicks is also a family affair. The psychedelic Dragonfly is adapted
from a poem by Jesamine.

Hannah duets with Weller on the jazzy Study In Blue and Leah and Mac sing on
the album’s closer piano ballad Be Happy Children, a tribute to Weller’s
beloved dad and manager John who died in 2009 after a long illness.

Weller says: “Not all my kids are musical. My two eldest ones are and Mac’s
going to follow in my footsteps, I think. He’s just started to play guitar.
He just asked me to show him one day and he’s only six.

“And I hope I have the same relationship with my kids as I did with my dad. He
was a brilliant dad and we were great mates. And we got to spend so much
time together which is pretty unheard of in life.

I still miss him at times but I’ve got more of a philosophical view as I think
he’s with me in whatever form you want to think of it. I can see that
carried through to me and to my kids and hopefully to their kids too.

We don’t entirely die as part of us is carried on and continued in the next
generation.

“As for singing with Hannah, Study In Blue is a great song. I really love it.
We wanted the right song to do a duet, without it being too slushy.

“Hannah sings with me but she’s not a professional singer and she hasn’t got
any aspirations to be that.

“She was brilliant when the twins were born. A proper little trooper. And they
were big for twins. One was 5lb 10oz and the other one was 6lb 3oz.”

Latest single That Dangerous Age is based around a riff similar to The Kinks’
All Day And All Of The Night and David Bowie-style vocals. He says: “Yes,
there is some Bowie in there. I like a lot of his stuff and Hannah is a
massive fan.

“I suppose the song’s theme is born out of when me and Hannah first got
together. Because of our age difference, people really took an interest in
it, saying I must be having a mid-life crisis. But we just fell in love and
that’s it.

“I’m of the opinion, once you’ve been touched by music then age doesn’t
matter. What are you supposed to do, put away your records and clothes when
you get to a certain age?

“My mum is 71 and she still listens to the records she’s always listened to.

“That Dangerous Age is a character study about a guy who’s in mid-life, who’s
got a good job and is dissatisfied and regrets all the things he’s never
done.

“But it’s certainly not about me. I had my mid-life crisis when I was in my
thirties.”

Dragonfly and The Attic feature Blur’s Graham Coxon. He’s not the only mate
Weller’s got in on the album either.

Noel Gallagher plays on three tracks The Attic, Around The Lake and When
Your Garden Is Overgrown and long-term friend and Ocean Colour Scene
guitarist Steve Cradock appears on a number of songs.

“Yep the extended family features on the record as well as the family,” he
smiles. “It was a fun album to make.”

One relationship that has suffered, though, in recent times is that of
co-songwriter and producer Simon Dine, who has been credited as helping with
Weller’s rebirth. The pair fell out over money, and went their separate
ways.

Paul says: “Yes, we both worked on this record together but we fell out
towards the end. I don’t really want to go into it but it was over money.

“I know there’s been mention of him being the reason behind my rebirth,” he
smirks. “But for the past 35 years I’ve put out pretty good records without
him too.”

Listening to electronic music, Weller thinks, has really shaped his new sound
on Kling I Klang and album opener Green, a psychedelic mindbender that might
even surprise some of his die-hard fans.

“It’s certainly one to make people sit up straight away and realise we’re in
for a different ride,” he says. “It’s bold, with a Kraftwerk thing going on.
There are about two or three tracks on the album that they have influenced.

“Electronic music is something I’d never heard before but I checked some out a
couple of years ago.”

On Paul’s five nights at London’s Roundhouse last week, he played Sonik Kicks
in its entirety. And he says this year will all be about selective shows so
he can spend time with his family.

He explains: “We’re just going to do some one-off shows and make them as
special as we can.

“A few dates in Europe and we’ve got a couple of gigs in New York then other
stuff later in the year, like the Latitude festival. It’s all about picking
and choosing really.

“You just get to a certain age and you can’t really do it anymore.

“It’s the same with smoking. I quit for nine months then started again in the
last month it must be stress but after tonight I’m stopping again.

“The changes have been good for me, so has my new family.

“It’s all about looking ahead and there’s plenty of that to come.”

Sonik Kicks is out now.

©Getty

Paul Weller on stage at the Roundhouse

There’s a song on Paul Weller’s new album called “That Dangerous Age” about middle-aged desperation to recapture one’s youth. Weller, 53, has form in this department: his new wife is 27 years younger than him. But the “dangerous age” has a musical dimension too. The middle years are tricky for rockers to negotiate. It’s a time when they fall prey to indecorous attempts to appear relevant, like David Bowie, who now seems to have given up making music, or when they turn into sedate establishment figures, like Eric Clapton.

Not long ago Weller appeared to be heading down the Clapton route, settling into a comfortable role as dad-rock guru to the Noel Gallagher generation of Britpop bores. But 2008’s bold, sprawling album 22 Dreams kick-started a remarkable resurgence. Now comes fresh evidence of Weller’s Indian summer, Sonik Kicks
, which he debuted by playing in full on the day of its release.

More

On this story

• Florence + The Machine, Alexandra Palace, London
• Roots Manuva, Roundhouse, London

IN Music

• Così fan tutte, Gerald W Lynch Theater, New York
• Circus Tricks, Riverside Studios, London
• The Civil Wars, Shepherds Bush Empire, London
• Out of Chaos, Volksbühne, Berlin

The show opened with Weller centre stage in the immaculate suit he wears on the cover of Sonik Kicks, a handkerchief standing to attention in breast pocket, his hair an ashy-blonde feather cut, guitar slung around his waist. The look was the Modfather redux – but the music painted a more nuanced portrait.

Two drummers gave the songs drive while psychedelic effects added rich textures, led by Ocean Colour Scene’s Steve Cradock on guitar. A string section (all young women, as string sections are obliged to be at rock concerts) played jaunty pizzicato melodies. Weller’s vocals were commanding and his attitude was no-nonsense. At the end of songs he shook his guitar as if wringing every last note from it, before striding into the next number.

“Study in Blue” was the highlight, a dream-like fusion of jazz and dub reggae with his wife Hannah on backing vocals, for which Weller wrecked his spotless Modfather look by wrapping a plasticky melodica around his neck. Middle age has opened up expansive and adventurous possibilities in his music.

For the second half of the show he played a series of muscular acoustic versions of his solo songs, before switching with a “Right, let’s have it” back into electric mode. The only Jam song was “Town Called Malice” as an encore. A protest song against unemployment and austerity in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain, it was a pointed choice of finale. Even nostalgia has a purpose in Weller’s fruitful 50s.

www.paulweller.com

The city last week heard nothing but disapproval from transportation officials, who oppose the removal of a bus stop on Main Street in Medford Square.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) told the Medford City Council it opposes removing the bus stop in front of 21 Main St., a move the body has been mulling over for months.

Those supporting the removal argue it’s become a public safety hazard and a burden on businesses that deal with trash, loitering and other problems.

Opponents of the move say the stop is too important to lose because the elderly and disabled depend on it.

Removing the stop would affect three bus lines — the 95 and 101, which travel to Sullivan Square, and the 96, which goes to Harvard Square.

Councilors discussed the proposal during a Committee of the Whole meeting on March 13, where Councilor Robert Penta suggested moving the stop from its current location to Riverside Avenue near CVS in order to help boost sales for businesses on that side of the Square.

However, MBTA officials told the council if they remove the stop, they should do so assuming the bus routes will not be changed. While the council has sole authority to designate bus stops in the city, only the MBTA can change routes.

“Please assume as you make these changes that the buses will not be rerouted,” MBTA planner Greg Strangeways told the council.

With reconstruction of the Cradock Bridge set to start in 2013 or later, City Council President Robert Maiocco insisted the bus stop will eventually need to be removed.

“Even if we determine that bus stop needs to be removed temporarily, we’d like to see it returned to its spot on Main Street,” Strangeways told the council.

The MBTA planner added bridge construction would already cause some delay for those bus routes. Looping the buses around the Square would only further the delay.

“Do you make your decisions based on time or public safety?” asked Ralph Quinn, co-owner of the ERA Andrew building at 12 High St.

Strangeways responded while safety is a concern for the MBTA, they have not experienced safety issues at the bus stop in question.

Still, Quinn called the intersection unsafe, pointing out how buses stop abruptly around the corner as cars race by to beat stoplights and pass by them.

“Our building has been hit six times in the last five years,” Quinn said.  “It’s a matter of time before someone gets severely hurt.”

Medford resident James Mapstone argued removing the bus stop would cause serious hardship for the disabled community. Mapstone, who depends on a scooter for mobility and is married to blind resident Barry Cramm, collected more than 100 signatures for a petition to oppose the stop’s removal.

Maury Carroll, co-owner of the new restaurant, Carroll’s, at 21 Main St., questioned Mapstone’s credibility on the issue. Carroll called attention to a flyer Mapstone was distributing in Medford Square that accused the restaurant owner of discriminating against public transit riders and against disabled people.

“I’ve given each councilor what I call a total slanderous piece of literature they’ve been handing people in Medford Square,” Carroll said. “They have as much credibility to speak on this as the man on the moon.”

Carroll noted how his wife and son are both public transit riders and flashed his handicap permit to disprove accusations he is prejudice against the disabled.

Carroll said he personally witnessed Mapstone aggressively tugging at peoples’ shirts in the Square to get them to sign his petition. Mapstone denied the accusations.

“I did not pull on anyone’s coattails,” Mapstone said. “I did not intimidate anyone.”

Diane McLeod, director of Medford’s Office of Human Diversity and Compliance, said she received several calls and e-mails from residents concerned about losing the bus stop. McLeod suggested the council look at other options, such as adding more trash barrels to the area, before removing the stop.

“There’s a lot of different options I would appreciate,” said McLeod. “Let’s look at those first. I feel like it’s throwing the baby out with the bathwater here.”

Medford resident and bus rider Ken Krause said the overriding concerns seem to center around behavior and he thinks steps could be taken to address those issues. Adding a shelter, public restroom and more trash barrels could help, he said.

Krause also pointed out the Medford Square Master Plan prepared by Sasaki Associates in 2005 recommended moving the bus stop south onto the Cradock Bridge with a pull-out lane to minimize traffic congestion.

“I’ve attended all three meetings on the issue, and moving the stop slightly south seems to be the most sensible improvement for all concerned,” Krause said.

Councilor Frederick Dello Russo Jr. suggested both the Office of Community Development and McLeod gather more information in order for the council to make an informed decision.

McLeod said she would look at a way to distribute a survey or questionnaire at the Main Street bus stop to gather feedback before coming back to the council.

Let the debate begin.

That’s what usually happens when we name our All-Tidewater teams.

Below is a list of boys and girls players who just missed making All-Tidewater.

I will talk about the boys and Lee Tolliver the girls.

When picking the All-Tidewater team, I speak to many coaches and experts. Nearly everyone agreed that there wasn’t a dominate team or player like past seasons.

There were no Norcom and no one like Norcom’s Dorian Finney-Smith or Norfolk Christian’s James Michael McAdoo.

When picking the team, I also look at the all-district and all-region teams. Sometimes I question some of the choices but I don’t see every game in every district like the district coaches do.

I also take a lot of stock in how far teams advance in the Eastern Region tournament. This season made it difficult because no team made the Eastern Region finals.

The last factor I weigh is what area coaches say on their All-Tidewater forms.

That said, there were five players who just missed making All-Tidewater.

Let’s start with Cape Henry sophomores Devon Hall and Jimmy Paige. Both helped lead the Dolphins to the school’s first boys state title. Hall was named the most valuable player of the state tournament and Paige was named to the all-tournament team.

Some public school coaches question the caliber of play in private schools but Cape Henry did beat Hampton, the 2012 Group AAA state champion.

The thing going against Hall and Paige was that they had similar numbers. Also, neither player was chosen the Tidewater Conference Player of the Year.

But I definitely see both players making All-Tidewater the next two seasons.

The TCIS Player of the Year honor went to Bishop Sullivan’s Marcus Burwell. Last season Burwell was second-team All-Tidewater. What worked against him this season is the Crusaders finished third in the Tidewater Conference. They also didn’t win the Tidewater Conference regular-season or tournament titles. And they lost in the first round of the state private school tournament.

Norcom’s Devin Patterson also was right there. He helped lead the Greyhounds to the Eastern District tournament title and was named second-team All-Eastern Region. He really turned it on late averaging 17.4 points in his final 11 games and scored 20 or more points five times. But the Greyhounds got bounced in the first round of the Eastern Region tournament.

The last player who just missed making All-Tidewater was Landstown guard Tim Marshall. He is arguably the best shooter in the Eastern Region. He was the victim of stats. He averaged only 13 points because he plays within a system. Had he been at any other school he probably would have averaged 20 points a game. It didn’t help that the Eagles – who won the Beach District regular-season and tournament titles – got bounced in the region quarterfinals. They were the favorites to win the region tournament. Evidently coaches took notice as Marshall and teammate Darren Roberson were named honorable mention all-region despite their impressive record, final state ranking and titles.

Here’s a look at players who just missed.

Third team

Cape Henry sophomore guard Devon Hall

• VISAA Division II state tournament Most Valuable Player

• Helped lead Dolphins to the VISAA Division II state title and a share of the Tidewater Conference regular-season title

• Averaged 15 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists and earned All-Tidewater Conference honors

Cape Henry sophomore guard Jimmy Paige

• All-Tidewater Conference

• Averaged 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks to help lead the Dolphins to the VISAA Division II state title and a share of the Tidewater Conference regular-season title

Norcom senior guard Devin Patterson

• Second-team All-Eastern Region and first-team All-Eastern District

• Helped lead Greyhounds to the Eastern District tournament title

• Averaged 15.5 points

Landstown senior guard Tim Marshall

• Honorable mention All-Eastern Region and first-team All-Beach District

• Helped lead Eagles to Beach District regular-season and tournament titles

• Averaged 13 points and made 58 3-pointers

Bishop Sullivan senior guard Marcus Burwell

• Tidewater Conference Player of the Year

• Averaged 17.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and 5.5 blocks

• Recorded first triple-double in the four-year history of the Virginia Preps Classic with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks against Wilson

Fourth team

First Colonial senior guard Avion Jones

• Honorable mention All-Eastern Region and first-team All-Beach District

• Led South Hampton Roads Group AAA players with 20.3 points

• Helped lead the Patriots to Eastern Region tournament

Salem senior guard Divante Walker

• First-team All-Beach District

• Averaged 16.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.2 steals

Western Branch senior forward Rashon Woody

• First-team All-Southeastern District

• Averaged 17.9 points

Great Bridge sophomore guard Marcus Evans

• Second-team All-Southeastern District

• Averaged 14.1 points

Kellam junior forward Ramone Snowden

• First-team All-Beach District

• Averaged 17 points

 

 

GIRLS ALL-TIDEWATER TEAM

Today’s All-Tidewater Girls’ Basketball Team is a list of 10 players out of all of South Hampton Roads’ finest.

There are undoubtedly some fans who feel their favorites are missing.

So here’s a brief explanation of how the team was selected.

First of all, it’s been 10 years since I covered girls’ basketball, and it took a while to get back into the flow.

And as I do with field hockey, I weigh heavily on the all-district and all-region teams, tossing in a mix of nominations from coaches and as much observation of players as work permitted.

When it came down to it, selecting 10 players out of the South Hampton Roads talent pool was tough.

So here are the other players who were under consideration:

Third team

Areana Davis, Salem

Latrice Hunter, Norfolk Christian

Ariel Wilson, Lake Taylor

Sarah Bollmann, First Colonial

Nora Williams, Grassfield

Fourth team

Gabrielle Swinson, Landstown

Takerra Parsons, Bayside

Shanese Harris, Western Branch

Shrita Parker, Ocean Lakes

Krista Moss, Deep Creek

 

 

PAST ALL-TIDEWATER BOYS TEAMS

Here is a list of past All-Tidewater boys basketball teams.

The list doesn’t include teams from 1972-75 because we were unable to find those teams.

This list also doesn’t include the complete 1993 team led by Maury’s Joe Smith, who was the Player of the Year that season.

Another thing is that not every All-Tidewater team had a player of the year.

If anyone has information on any of these teams, please email me at larry.rubama@pilotonline.com

Enjoy and reminisce.

 

1970 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Roy Ebron, Booker T. Washington; Ricky Michaelsen, Princess Anne; Craig Liedler, Maury; Keith Sudduth, Cox; Charlie Carr, Maury.

Second team – G len Windle, Norcom; Roger Cooper, Lake Taylor; Tom Couch, First Colonial ; Ronnie Carter, Maury; Randy Michie, Western Branch.

Third team – Leroy Coker, Norcom; Jim Miller, Norfolk Christian; Ronald Boone, Kennedy; Irving McCoy, Booker T. Washington; Elvin Wilson, Norview.

Honorable mention – Donald Overton, Booker T. Washington; Johnny Freeman, Booker T. Washington; Lee Pearson, Churchland; Pat Callahan, Granby; Larry Riddick, Great Bridge; Soc Williams, Kellam; Earl Chaptman, Kennedy; Major Lewter, Kennedy; Larry Trotter, Maury; Charles Blake, Norcom; Richard Hoffman, Norfolk Catholic; Jimmy Gerald, Norview; Gearge Sweet, Western Branch

1971 – Earl Chaptman, Kennedy; Tommy Butts, Princess Anne; Karlton Hilton, Maury; Curtis Cole, Booker T. Washington; Irvin McCoy, Booker T. Washington.

Second team – Winford Copeland, Norcom; Major Lewter, Kennedy; Tom Couch, First Colonial; Wesley Smith, Cradock.

1972 – Not available

1973 – Not available

1974 – Not available

1975 – Not available

1976 – Ronnie Valentine, Norfolk Catholic; Dexter Reid, Granby; Derek Warren, Booker T. Washington; George Darby, Granby; Mike Ellis, Norcom.

Second team – Stanley Branch, Cradock; Sam Kroll, Norfolk Collegiate; Ken Evans, BTW; Mike Newhall, Norfolk Academy; LaRue Harrington Norcom; Arthur Jones, Wilson.

1977 – Joe Whitfield, Deep Creek; Rick Kresinske, Norfolk Catholic; Guy Morgan, First Colonial; Reggie Smallwood, Manor; Barry Wright, Norcom.

Second team – Nick Balance, Maury; Bubba Felton, Maury; Robert Greene, Norview; Ken Easley, Oscar Smith; Randy Powell, Great Bridge

1978 – Joe Whitfield, Deep Creek; Billy Mann, Lake Taylor; Guy Morgan, First Colonial; Barry Wright, Norcom; Gene Jones, Norfolk Catholic.

Second team – Larry Skinner, Maury; Jeff Kroll, Norfolk Collegiate; Jeff Inman, Great Bridge; Lonnie Blow, Frederick Military Academy; Allen Davenport, Norcom

1979 – Barry Wright, Norcom; Julius Norman, Booker T. Washington; Quentin Moore, Maury; Daryl Christian, Kellam; Mike Downs, Kempsville.

Second team – Rich Davidson, Cox; Robert Artis, Deep Creek; Wendell Henry, Bayside; Morris Clark, Indian River; Danny Troppoli, Frederick Military.

1980 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Billy Walker, Booker T Washington; Grady Brown, Indian River; Jesse Nimmo, Princess Anne; Andy Bolden, Granby; Quentin Moore, Maury; Daryl Christian, Kellam;

Second team – William Milteer, Maury; Rolando Lamb, Cradock; Andy Hartell, Norfolk Christian; Bobert Artis, Deep Creek; Ken Wood, BTW

1981 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Rolando Lamb, Cradock; Horace Lambert, Norview; Garth Forsyth, Norfolk Academy; Mark Davis, Great Bridge; James Holmon, Booker T Washington.

Second team – Lance Hinton, Norview; Jerome Branch, Wilson; Darryl Dozier, First Colonial; Bruce Smith, Booker T Washington; Gary Knox, Bayside

1982 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Wes Stallings, Deep Creek; Darryl Dozier, First Colonial; Pat Creecy, Indian River; John Thomas, Maury; Anthony Davis, Lake Taylor.

Second team – John Speller, Deep Creek; Garth Forsyth, Norfolk Academy; Anthony Gaston, Granby; Todd Black, Kempsville; Paul McGovern, Cox.

1983 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Mark Whitaker, Manor; Anthony Davis, Lake Taylor; Brian Smith, Lake Taylor; Barry Mitchell, First Colonial; Garth Forsyth, Norfolk Academy.

Second team – Joe Runk, Deep Creek; Anthony Gaston, Granby; Rodney Scott Booker T Washington; Mark Batzel, Kempsville; Deon Bell, Indian River

1984 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) J.R. Reid, Kempsville; Garrick Davis, Great bridge; David Blackwell, Manor; Ken Moore, Lake Taylor; Joe Darby, Green Run.

Second team – Amp Davis, Lake Taylor; P.J. Honore, Wilson; Walt Reynolds, Maury; Davis Lyons, Granby; Lamont Walker, Booker T Washington

1985 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) J.R. Reid, Kempsville; Joe Darby, Green Run; Lamont Walker, BTW; Glen Youngkin, Norfolk Academy; Lorenzo Starks, Norcom.

Second team – Marcus Snipes, Maury; Tony Williams, Maury; Marcus Anderson, Indian River; Brian Pieroni, Deep Creek; Joe Miller, Princess Anne

1986 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) J.R. Reid, Kempsville; Alonzo Mourning, Indian River; Arthur Jimerson, Deep Creek; James Melton, Booker T Washington; Kenny Brown, Maury.

Second team – Rico Campbell, Booker T Washington; Dwight Pernell, Deep Creek; Antonio Stith, Booker T Washington; Darrick Williams, Wilson; Ralph Young, Maury

1987 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Alonzo Mourning, Indian River; Greg Ford, Indian River; Kenny Brown, Maury; Rico Campbell, Booker T Washington; Odell Joyner, First Colonial.

Second team – Curley Young, Deep Creek; Carlos James, Lake Taylor; Reggie Blackwell, Manor; Cornell Parker, Maury; Darrick Williams, Maury.

1988 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Alonzo Mourning, Indian River; Kenny Johnson, Green Run; Curley Young, Deep Creek; Cornell Parker, Maury; Odell Joyner, First Colonial.

Second team – John Haase, Kellam; Larry Skinner, Booker T Washington; Torraine Sears, Great Bridge; David Baldwin, Norview; Steve Hamilton, Green Run

1989 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Curley Young, Deep Creek; Cornell Parker, Maury; Odell Joyner, First Colonial; Steve Hamilton, Green Run; Torraine Sears, Great Bridge.

Second team – Clayton Ritter, Kempsville; Tony Lundy, Suffolk; Sean Bell, Indian River; Phillip Williams, Booker T Washington; Stewart Wright, Wilson.

1990 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Darrell Paul, Deep Creek; Phillip Williams, Booker T Washignton; Joe Leake, Princess Anne; Thomas Barnes, Maury; Petey Sessoms, Cradock.

Second team – Arnicholeas Bount, Oscar Smith; Chris Davis, Deep Creek; David Stickel, Salem; Ronell Williams, Bayside; James Worsley, Indian River

1991 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Petey Sessoms, Cradock; Michael Evans, Booker T. Washington; Greg Taylor, Deep Creek; Mario Mullen, Bayside; Ronell Williams, Bayside;

Second team – Carnell Penn, Salem; Lorenzo Watkins, Cradock; Brian Brickhouse, Maury; John Nixon, Deep Creek; Marcus Cooper, Norview

1992 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Michael Evans, Booker T. Washington; Willie Young, Norview; Joe Smith, Maury; Ronell Williams, Bayside; John Nixon, Deep Creek.

Second team – Jeff Anderson, Cox; Ed Geth, Granby; Jeff Mordica, Great Bridge; Ivan Chappell, Western Branch; Jay Clarke, Manor

1993 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Joe Smith, Maury;

1994 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) D.J. Dunbar, Churchland; Kenny Brown, Booker T. Washington; Orlando Chatman, Oscar Smith; Marvin Rodgers, Churchland; Matt Whalen, Cox.

Second team – Jay Clarke, Norcom; Chris Elliott, Booker T. Washington; Shawn Hobson, Granby; Shaun Jackson, Maury; Tony Morrison, Indian River

1995 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Shawn Hobson, Granby; D.J. Dunbar, Churchland; Antoine Willie, Nansemond River; LaShawn Jones, Bayside; Shaun Jackson, Maury.

Second team – Rian Everett, Tallwood; Kinte Smith, Cape Henry; Shawn Wilson, Booker T. Washington; Matt Whalen, Cox; Kenny Inge, Atlantic Shores

1996 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Jason Capel, Indian River; Will Brooks, Green Run; Rian Everett, Tallwood; Kenny Inge, Atlantic Shores; Ike Richardson, Maury.

Second team – Plaxico Burress, Green Run; Neil Roberts, Tallwood; David Selby, Indian River Montoria Valentine, Nansemond River; Antoine Willie, Nansemond River

1997 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) David Selby, Indian River; Jaime Irvine, Cox; Terry Gray, Booker T. Washington; McKinley Ford, Kempsville; Sadiki Tingling, Churchland.

Second team – Lavar Griffin, Oscar Smith; Antoine Willie, Nansemond River; Toot Young, Lake Taylor; Terrell Taylor, Tallwood; Keith Willis, Norview

1998 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Carlton Aaron, Atlantic Shores; Terry Gray, Booker T. Washington; Keith Willis, Norview; Jaime Irvine, Cox; Stacy Gregg, Maury.

Second team – Ian Caskill, Cox; Terrell Taylor, Tallwood; Terrence Wilson, Nansemond River; Frankie Cabrera, Cape Henry; David Fanning, Western Branch.

1999 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) David Johnson, Maury; Ian Caskill, Cox; Daryl Towe, Princess Anne; Keith Willis, Norview; David Fanning, Western Branch.

Second team – James Smith, Cape Henry; Jason Clark, Kellam; Jontae Harrington, Lake Taylor; Stacy Gregg, Maury; Rashad Smith, Salem.

2000 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Hassan Robinson, Granby; Rashad Smith, Salem; James Smith, Cape Henry; Shawn Wiggins, Lakeland; Spencer Ross, Western Branch.

Second team – Jeff Marshall, Great Bridge; Troy Nance, Cape Henry; Calvin Smith, Granby; Jeff Johnson, Maury; Robert Strickland, Indian River.

2001 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) John Gilchrist, Salem, Jacoby Key, Salem; Robert Strickland, Indian River; Jason Smith, Cape Henry; Kiah Thomas, Granby.

Second team – C.J. Fayton, Princess Anne; Rex Kenley, Kellam; Chris Harper, Deep Creek; Calvin Smith, Granby; Antonio Johnson, Salem

2002 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) John Gilchrist, Salem; Marquie Cooke, Nansemond River; Paul Johnson, Salem; Rex Kenley, Kellam; Branden Smith, Indian River.

Second team – Keith Artis, Nansemond River; Arvydas Eitutavicius, Norfolk Collegiate; Jonathan Vincent, Lake Taylor; Daniel Williams, Booker T. Washington; Maurice Latham, Maury

2003 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Marquie Cooke, Nansemond River; Jamel Hamilton, Maury; Darryl Monroe, First Colonial; Valdas Vasylius, Norfolk Collegiate; Jonathan Vincent, Lake Taylor.

Second team – Brandon Adair, Princess Anne; Vernon Macklin, Norcom; Ruell Pringle, Salem; Bryant Wiggins, Maury; Chris Wooldridge, Norview

2004 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Marquie Cooke, Nansemond River; Jamel Hamilton, Maury; Vernon Macklin, Norcom; Donnie Stith, Salem;Bryant Wiggins, Maury.

Second team – David Jefferson, Lake Taylor; B.J. Jenkins, Green Run; Antoine Paige, Indian River; Jonathan Vincent, Lake Taylor; Terrance Woodbury, Granby

2005 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Vernon Macklin, Norcom; George Degroat, Norcom; Kendrick Easley, Granby; Keith Josey, Nansemond River; Stanley Pringle, Landstown.

Second team – Demetrius Buie, Maury; Tory Green, Salem; B.J. Jenkins, Green Run; Karolis Petrukonis, Norfolk Collegiate; Eric Whitehurst

2006 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Kelly Beidler, Tallwood; Ben Finney, Norcom; Myles Holley, Booker T. Washington; Karolis Petrukonis, Norfolk Collegiate; Mike Scott, Deep Creek

Second team – Kameron Chancellor, Maury; Franklin Hassell, Indian River; B.J. Jenkins, Green Run; Brandon Plummer, Booker T. Washington; Vaughn Wilson, Nansemond River.

2007 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Myles Holley, Booker T. Washington; Darius James, Tallwood; Andre Jones, Nansemond River; Chris McEachin, Norview; Richard Barbee, Salem.

Second team – Denzel Bowles, Kempsville; Mark Brown, Nansemond River; Calvin Johnson, Lake Taylor; Corey Law, Deep Creek; James Vann, Booker T. Washington

2008 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Corey Law, Deep Creek; Kendrix Brown, Norview; Marcus Davis, Ocean Lakes; Andre Jones, Nansemond River; Jamar Wertz, King’s Fork.

Second team – Andrew Dawkins, Atlantic Shores; Jaquon Parker, King’s Fork; Darius Theus, Norcom; Keith Wright, Norfolk Collegiate; Nick Wright, Nansemond River

2009 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Jaquon Parker, King’s Fork; Andrew Dawkins, Atlantic Shores; Donte Hill, Norfolk Collegiate; James McAdoo, Norfolk Christian; Steven Pledger, Atlantic Shores

Second team – Desmond Lee, Booker T. Washington; Donte Morales, Landstown; Darius Theus, Norcom; Jamar Wertz, King’s Fork; Deshawn Williams, Norcom

2010 – (PLAYER OF THE YEAR) Dorian Finney-Smith, Norcom; James McAdoo, Norfolk Christian; Davante Gardner, King’s Fork; Briante Weber, Great Bridge; Sim Frazier, Maury

Second team – Julian Norfleet, Landstown; Jamal Ferguson, Maury; Terrell Diggs, Churchland; Brandon Britt, Atlantic Shores; Terrell Allen, Cape Henry

2011 – (PLAYERS OF THE YEAR) Dorian Finney-Smith, Norcom AND James McAdoo, Norfolk Christian; Trey Freeman, Kellam; Quinton Upshur, Booker T. Washington; Ashton Moore, Nansemond River.

Second team – Decarlos Anderson, Norcom; Sim Frazier, Maury; Tyrice Thomas, Tallwood; Demetrius Pollard, Cape Henry; Marcus Burwell; Bishop Sullivan

 

 

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March 16, 2012

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The ageing legend proves he still has what it takes

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8 / 10

That old footballing maxim about the fleeting nature of form and the permanence of class is cold comfort to musicians ailing from the creaking bones and waning powers of middle age. For Paul Weller, the quips about his new single almost write themselves: ‘That Dangerous Age’… what, 53? When annual visits to the colonoscopist become mandatory and your own mortality is confronted every time you rev the engine of a gaudy new sports car? Knife-edge stuff, truly.

Yet if the song itself is testament to anything, it’s that His Modjesty is both in on the joke and remaining above it. A whip-smart riposte to tabloid accusations of a mid-life crisis (Weller’s new wife Hannah is – avert thine eyes, children! – 27 years his junior), ‘That Dangerous Age’ plays with perceptions of its author as a listless, moneyed skirt-chaser before rendering them utterly moot by being – and we’re not sure why we’re so surprised by this – very good indeed: two-and-a-half virile minutes of shoo-oop-ing plastic soul that would provoke jealousy in Bowie himself. It’s an early indication that the Indian summer ushered in by 2008’s ‘22 Dreams’ and the Mercury-nominated ‘Wake Up The Nation’ isn’t over just yet.

Those looking to find fault with ‘Sonik Kicks’ will doubtless mention Weller’s recent appraisal of it as “groundbreaking”, while ignoring the caveat of, “Well, for me it is…” that followed. In truth, he’s not quite so far outside his comfort zone as you might think: the album was made at his studio in Surrey, with the usual names (Steve Cradock, Noel Gallagher, Graham Coxon), plus his wife and kids on guesting duties. Producer and co-writer Simon Dine, widely credited with Weller’s current purple patch, returns again – although, as the two are now locked in a financial dispute, it’s likely for the last time. The best song here, the sumptuous, string-laden English pastoral of ‘By The Waters’, is a close cousin of ‘Wild Wood’, while ‘Be Happy Children’ – a mid-paced meditation on fatherhood that tests the limits of the listener’s sentimentality – is so dadrock-by-definition you briefly wonder if he’s gone all meta on us.

What is surprising, though, is Weller, that most non-negotiably English of musical icons, dabbling in krautrock, as he does on three tracks here. ‘Green’ is a Neu!-ish mish-mash of insistent synths and distended guitars, with Weller delivering an oblique spoken-word lyric that opens the album on a studiedly enigmatic note. Even taking that foretaste into account, however, ‘Kling I Klang’’s spiky electric oompah can’t help but come jackbooting out of left-field, spitting venom about the Afghan war while its knees busily piston up to its chin.

Oh, and did someone say jazz-reggae? No? Well, that’s understandable. But despite everything ‘Study In Blue’ has going against it (it’s a duet with his wife, features liberal use of melodica, and is – ahem – seven minutes of jazz-fucking-reggae), on record it’s disarmingly lovely. ‘When Your Garden’s Overgrown’, a tribute to Syd Barrett which wisely doesn’t bother trying to sound like its subject, is instead infused with the shameless love of strummed melody that characterised pre-Africa Damon Albarn.

At this stage in the game, Weller is perfectly aware of what his audience wants, but he’s also secure in the knowledge that they’re not going to simply desert at the first sign of divergence. As such, he’s now less beholden to expectation than he has been at any time since he disbanded The Jam. How much responsibility for this late-period renaissance lies with the now-estranged Dine? That’s a question for another album. ‘Sonik Kicks’ is the sound of Paul Weller growing old the only way he could – not particularly gracefully, but with no small amount of style.

Barry Nicolson

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9.5

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Video: Paul Weller – ‘Sonik Kicks Will Be Groundbreaking’

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Music reviews: telegraph: Listen to Paul Weller’s new album ‘Sonik Kicks’

“Paul Weller has made his new album ‘Sonik Kicks’ available online a week ahead of its release.”

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// —

Mawande Jack

An accelerated programme to construct houses for the poor, especially in the rural areas, this financial year has been unveiled.

Places earmarked for major housing projects include Mount Ayliff, Dordrecht, Ezibeleni, Cradock, Middelburg, Burgersdorp, Steynsburg, Aliwal North and Motherwell.

Work on many of the projects is expected to start this month. Two of the projects have been designated as national housing projects by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale, to be launched in Soweto-on-Sea and Joe Slovo in Port Elizabeth.

Sexwale disclosed that the massive projects in the Nelson Mandela Bay involving 6500 low-cost housing units that would cost the state R617m.  About 8700 units were being planned for Dordrecht, Ezibeleni, Cradock, Middelburg and Burgersdorp at a cost of R663m.

The Eastern Cape human settlements departments said the problems in the 700 housing units project in Mount Ayliff that had stalled had been resolved and would cost R61m to complete by December. About R103m has been set aside for the repair of 1262 defective houses in Motherwell.

mawandej@thenewage.co.za

By
Adrian Thrills

PUBLISHED:

20:08 EST, 15 March 2012

|

UPDATED:

10:29 EST, 16 March 2012

Paul Weller: Sonik Kicks (Island)

Rating:

Verdict: He shoots, he scores

A chart-topper with The Jam in the punk era, Paul Weller spent the Eighties playing smooth jazz-pop with The Style Council before launching a solo career 20 years ago.

So if anyone has a right to milk the nostalgia market, it’s him.

But The Modfather, 53, re-draws the map again on Sonik Kicks. His 11th solo album is an edgy, yet vibrant, affair full of jazz, folk, psychedelic rock and reggae, featuring backwards guitars,  old-school synths and special effects galore.

Style guy: Paul Weller is on top form

Out on Monday, it isn’t just experimentation for the sake of it, either – there are great tunes here, too.  

The past few years have been eventful for Weller, and his new songs pack a powerful emotional punch. In 2009, his father died after a long illness. On a happier note, this year Paul and wife Hannah Andrews, 25, had twins:?Bowie and John Paul.

The indignant tone of his current single That Dangerous Age – built around a riff similar to All Day And All Of The Night by The Kinks – mocks those who claimed photos of Paul and Hannah the worse for wear in Prague in 2008 were part of a mid-life crisis. He says: ‘It’s about how society views people of a certain age.’

Weller, now teetotal, faces his demons again on the wonderful Paperchase, which reflects on excesses, though he admits some of it was inspired by the death of Amy Winehouse.

On a gentler note, Study In Blue, with Hannah on backing vocals, is a jazzy throwback to The Style Council. Elsewhere, we get German electronics in Kling I Klang and Around The Lake, Spanish flamenco on Drifters and psychedelic rock on Dragonfly – with Blur guitarist Graham Coxon on a Hammond organ. Other familiar sidekicks in unfamiliar guises include guitarist Steve Cradock on drums – and Noel Gallagher on bass. Despite a fondness for abstract sounds, Weller’s greatest strength is still his songwriting.

Among the most memorable are The Attic, which revisits the kitsch end of pre-Beatles pop, and When Your Garden’s Overgrown – which constructs an alternative life for Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett. It’s a great track and – like Paperchase – a little like Blur.

The final track, Be Happy Children, is even stronger. A  tribute to his father, it features two of Weller’s seven children – daughter Leah and seven-year-old son Mac – on vocals.

After all that experimentation, he closes with a soulful tear-jerker. It’s hard to think of anyone who mixes the ground-breaking and the sentimental with such aplomb. But there is no one in pop quite like Weller.

Listen to Sonik Kicks in full at paulweller.com. And he appears at the Roundhouse, London for five nights from Sunday (theticketfactory.com).

 

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SCHOOL SPORT: Brilliant Burford

10:30am Saturday 17th March 2012 in Sport

Burford’s victorious team

BURFORD School triumphed in the England Rugby Football Union South West Division Under 14 State Schools Championships at Cokethorpe School, Witney.

They beat representatives from Berkshire, Bucks, and Dorset Wiltshire – without conceding a single try.

Now they face Cornwall at the University of Bristol on Thursday.

The victorious team are above. Back row (from left): Jake Edwards, Bradley Allen, Charlie Brown, Tom Renwick, Connor Pummery, Cameron Wensley, Gareth Jenkins, Kieran Dingle, Reiss O’Callaghan
Howard, Austin Shipway. Front: Bill Wallace, Josh Knibbs, Tom Harvey, Matt Cradock, Dan Wilson, Oliver Toner, Harvey Dodman-Edwards, Jake Haines, Jack Davies and David Kloos.

Comments(1)

nelly21

says…

11:07am Sat 17 Mar 12

Fantastic victory Burford U14’s ..Good Luck in Bristol !
nelly21

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