london – Page 6 – L'ItaloEuropeo – Independent Magazine in London

“London Calling”… and Italian gastronomy answers!

By Valentina Celi

The first edition of “London Calling” has just wrapped up, fulfilling its aim to represent the high quality of Italian culinary excellence in Britain.

Four days full of events to satisfy even the most demanding palates: this is “London Calling”, the event that sparked the first week of September in the British capital, with the intent to “promote the gourmet food made in Italy through a tasty and multi-sensory journey, involving Italian and British importers companies in the B2B meetings “.

The idea stems from the intuition of Confcooperativa and Confartigianato of the Emilia Romagna Region and the need to facilitate contacts between foreign countries and small and medium-sized Italian companies, the ones who most of all have suffered because of the economic crisis, and who are now seeking redemption thanks to the high quality and craftsmanship of their products.

Here is the complete list of companies that have taken part in “London Calling”:

“4 Madonne”, Dairy Farm, Lesignana (MO)

“Acetaia La Bonissima”, Balsamic vinegar makers, Casinalbo (MO)

“Attinà”, Preserved food factory, Villa San Giovanni (RC)

“Bardini” Chocolatiers, Piacenza (PC)

“BAUM”, Fair Trade, Ferrara

“Busuoli” Pastry, Mirandola (MO)

“Cantina Settecani”, Wine makers, Settecani Castelvetro di Modena (MO)

“Cantina Solopaca”, Wine makers, Solopaca (BN)

“La Contadina”, Preserved food factory, Sant’Antonio Abate (NA)

“Salumificio La Rocca”, Cured pork meat factory, Castell’Arquato (PC)

“Sapori del Duca”, Gastronomic Company, Pesaro

The young and dynamic team of INDIGO – International business developer, was in charge of the organizational part, and not only it garnered the support of some of the most interesting companies in the area, but it also increased the participation by going beyond the borders of the Emilia Romagna region, and involving some innovative factories from Southern Italy.

In the past days we had at LondonONEradio’s microphones one of the organizers, Daniele Catalano, who told us in detail the “London Calling” concept and gave us an insider’s perspective of the project; listen again to the interview on LondonONEradio.

To promote the Italian culinary excellence in the UK, the organisational team has given free rein to the creativity of the managers of the famous “Bacco”, Italian restaurant, who realized an ad hoc menu, to bring out the the maximum from the products, even adding some artistic twists.

Some of the courses of the “London Calling” dinner at Ristorante Bacco

Bystanders were able to enjoy the company of the producers, who have done their utmost to best explain the pursuit of quality of the raw materials and special processes used in processing their products, which were then tasted thanks to a six-course dinner, in which the Calabrian chef Andrea Librandi was able to give the right push to sponsored products, while enhancing the flavours of the interesting selection of wines.

The menu and wine list selected to represent Italian companies at London Calling

In short, “London Calling” … and Italian gastronomy answers!

JK Rowling will release ebooks on Harry Potter characters

It looks like JK Rowling cannot help but come back to the magic world of Harry Potter every now and then: it was announced this Wednesday on Pottermore, the digital world founded by the author for fans of the little wizard, that three short ebooks would be released starting 6 September. The series will be a collection of writings that Rowling has made for the website throughout the years as well as new stories about some of the most relevant charachters who appeared in the books. These will be available on Pottermore.com as well as via digital bookstores and will become the latest addition to the Harry Potter franchise, after the release of seven books, eight films and the sold-out theathre play, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child“. The franchise will not stop here: the first of three spin-off, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is set to be released in November.

But let’s go back to the widely discussed “Cursed Child”: the stage play, which has been going at the Palace Theathre since July 30th, has received both praises and critics. This new addition was also released as a book, on July 31st: it was an idea aimed at allowing fans all over the world – even the majority who could not attend the play in London – to somehow enjoy it. The script was written by Jack Thorne and approved by Rowling and it focuses on the story of Harry and Draco’s sons – Albus and Scorpius – who travel back in time and have to face a series of consequences that drastically change the present.

Critics’ opinions were different: the theathre play received a number of five star reviews when it officially opened, while the majority of reviewers was left disappointed by the book, which according to critics provides “a different experience”, “incomplete”, if compared with the actual play. The problem is, the play is only accessible to the minority of people – and to the quickest minority, I would say. Tickets sold-out in a record time even after the latest release of a couple of days ago: in addition to that, the few tickets released – originally £70 – are being resold on a secondary website for £6,200. The Staff at London’s Palace Theathre have been told to refuse entry to anyone who owns resold tickets: “Our priority is to protect our customer and we are doing all we can to combat this issue“, they stated.

Despite the critics and the silly prices of tickets, both the play and the book are currently having an incredible success: the script has become the UK’s fastest-selling book of the decade and the play is currently the hottest in London – and will probably be for a while.

The Night Tube opens this weekend

LONDON – The opening of the Night Tube has been in the talks for a long time and now it is finally the time to see how this new service, offered by what is described as the best city underground in the world, will better this reputation. The Night Tube will officially open for the first time this Friday and Saturday, August 19th and 20th – it will be a 24h service available on weekends, and it will cover the Central and Victoria Lines, to which the Piccadilly, Jubilee and Northern will be added this autumn. In addition to this, some bus lines will also be available with a 24h service: 34, 123, 145, 158, 296, E1, W3 and W7.

railtechnologymagazine.com / Ian Nicholson

As the opening approaches, excitement and worry travel at the same pace: the officer in charge of policing the London Underground announced that it is going to be a real “challenge” to keep London safe while the 24h service is on. The main focus, underlined by both Superintendent Horton (BTP) and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is indeed safety for Londoners and visitors: that’s why £3.4 million were invested to have about 100 BTP officers on patrol when the Night Tube launches. This opening will mark the start of a new exciting chapter for London: it will unlock the full potential of the nightlife and it will also be helpful for Londoners who travel to or from work. “Passengers on the night Tube must be able to travel with the same confidence they are used to during the day“, Khan stated.

The cost of a ticket for the Night Tube will be the same as a standard off-peak day ticket.

MPs will face a six-year alcohol ban due to relocation in Whitehall

LONDON – As unveiled by The Times a few days ago, MPs currently working in the Palace of Westminster will be relocated to Richmond House, Whitehall, where the Department of Health Offices are set while a multi-billion pound refurbishment begins in 2020.

This office block where they will move, was transferred to finance an Islamic bond scheme two years ago so this means it cannot be used for anything that is not sanctioned by Sharia law. This was a point that caused a lot of controversies: while some critics say that imposing Sharia law onto government premises could undermine Britain’s financial and legal systems, the reality is that the application of this law would actually be beneficial for bond-buyers, who would earn rental income from three Government offices as interest payments are banned.

What really is inconvenient is the six-year ban from alcohol MPs would – and will – have to face once they move to their new “home”, due to the Sharia law. Numbers do not lie and it is proved that MPs drink quite a lot of alcohol throughout the year: 50,000 bottles of House Savignon, 26,000 of House Merlot, 11,000 of Peroni and 13,3 litres of Jack Daniels. For this reason, many attempted to resolve this issue by proposing to make the Red Lion Pub national “soil”, in order to allow MPs to have their “daily drinking dose” without going against the Sharia law.

This idea was rejected, along with other two ideas that would have made the renewal way longer and way more expensive. The current plan of refurbishing will cost between £3,5 bn and £3,9bn and will be carried out in around six years. The second “plan” was that of moving MPs and peers at different times – this would have costed £4,4bn and it would have taken 11 years to be completed. The last one, with 32 years of “work in progress”, expected the works of refurbishment to carry on while MPs kept on working in the building.

It is the first time that MPs will be outside the House of Parliament since 1941, when both Houses were in fact convened at Church House in Westminster due to a fear that the Chambers might be bombed while the Houses were sitting. These works have become more and more necessary and essential throughout the past years: the landmark has a leaky roof, crumbly stonework and faulty cabling. The Queen Elizabeth Tower is also tilting by 18 inches. The restoration and renewal unit of the British Parliament has said that since the UNESCO world heritage site’s construction in the mid-1800s “many features have never undergone major renovation”.

Duke of Westminster dies at 64: 25-year-old Hugh Grosvenor inherits the estate

LONDON – The 6th Duke Of Westminster, one of the richest men in the UK and in the world, with an estimated fortune of £11bn, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor died at the Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire on Tuesday after suddenly becoming ill on his Abbeystead Estate. His only son – he has three daughters, too – the 25-year-old Hugh Grosvenor inherits his fortune. Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor, born in 1991, works as an account manager for a green tecnhology company: he was also chosen as the youngest godfather of Prince George.

The property business of this family started more than 1,000 years ago, when the ancestors of the family we know right now acquired 500 acres of swamp – some of which they still own today, in the Mayfair and Belgravia area, near Buckingham Palace, some of the most expensive zones in London. The relationship between Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor and the Royal family has always been close: he was asked by Prince Charles to be the mentor to his son Prince William. He is described as a very down-to-Earth man, who inherited his father’s fortune in 1979: during an interview with The Independent he said that if he had had a choice, he wouldn’t have wanted to be born wealthy. He was very active in the charity area: his Westminster Foundation supports a number of charities in areas where his estate has an interest; he also served as president of the Royal National Institute of Blind People and the first aid charity St. John Ambulance for years.

600 extra armed police to be deployed in London as a long-term response to terrorism

LONDON – Authorities have announced on August 4th that an additional 600 armed officers will be deployed in London as a long-term response to the series of deadly attacks that happened across Europe. The threat level of the city remains “severe“, but it has been announced that this move made by the Metropolitan Police is not linked to any specific intelligence; Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Met commissioner, said that he is sure people will understand their determination to protect London and its citizens after all that’s happening in the EU. He also added that having firearms officers who will use force to stop attackers is essential, since the majority of London police officers do not carry firearms and therefore could not protect themselves and the public if faced with an armed terrorist.

His statement and convinctions are fully shared by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor, who puts London public’s safety and security before everything else. “There is no reason to be alarmed. Our police officers are working together with our communities to prevent the possibility of an attack“, he said.

This will not be the last addition to the Police: as stated by the Police Federation chairman, Steve White, the best-case scenario is to recruit an extra 1,500 officers in two years. “Some forces are getting volunteers coming forward, but they are not always being selected because they don’t meet the criteria or they are not of sufficient quality to go through the rigorous selection and training process”, he added.

Home Offices figures for the year to March 2016 showed that the number of armed officers in England and Wales significantly dropped, but police chiefs are confident forces’ number will get back to normal over the next 18 months.

Let the games begin: where to watch the Olympic Games in London

It’s summer and it’s definitely time for the Olympic Games!

It is quite clear that London is not that blooming Rio de Janeiro, way too far from the exotic Brazilian city, but certainly not less dynamic, speaking about events.

However, the Britain Capital pays tribute to this thirty-first edition of the Olympic Games, combining a number of sports events in various places around the city.

Let’s see what’s planned.

In Dalston, Hackney, the local community has organised a festival with a very evocative name, Rio in Dalston, to be held from 5 to 21 August: a big screen will broadcast the Rio Olympics events live on the BBC, but you will also find shows, live music performances, film screenings, dj-set and much more.

The event is planned and supported by local volunteers and organisations in order to raise money for charities, especially those supporting refugees. The aim: ensuring that sport and culture become universally accessible.

The choice of Dalston as the main location to host the festival is quite emblematic: the neighbourhood has undergone a rapid change over the last years, looking for an uneasy balance between old and new, with social institutions threatened from real estate market pressures.

In this framework, start-up and non-profit organizations have grown showing how the universal language of sport and culture can actually bring people together.

On Friday, there will be the opening ceremony: you can take part for free from 8pm onwards at Ridley Road Market. Free admission also for the Brazilian Jazz Night at the Vortex Jazz Bar from 11.30pm.

The festival high regard is celebrating the importance of social inclusion, based on respect and solidarity, while ensuring equal opportunities for all.

On Wednesday 10 August, at Gillet Square, there will be the screening of Congolese Judo duo, officially representing the first Refugee Olympic Athletes team. A beautiful message about how diversity can be a strength and not a diversity sign.

Admission is free, following that there will be a music and poetry show performed by the Congolese band Kasai Masai.

Rio in Dalston will close on 21 August with the screening of the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games: live music, Brazilian barbecue, workshops and much more entertainment.

For the occasion, the highlights on the Big screen will be the men’s marathon and the men’s basketball final.

Speaking about Olympics, there are several places in town where you can watch the games on Big screens. Among them, we point out Pop Brixton, South London, summer meeting place for sport lovers; Broadgate Exchange Square, Moorgate and St. Katharine Docks where you will enjoy the comfort of sport competitions on a beach chair overlooking the picturesque harbour.

So let the games begin!

“I’m not a pacifist, I’m simply against war” – Gino Strada at the Royal College of Surgeons

Royal College of Surgeons, 25th of July, London.

The Q&A at the “Why War” event, created by EmergencyUK, is started by the Londoner Giles Duley, a war-photographer who’d rather be classified as a anti-war photographer.

He shared with the audience the reasons why he happened to become a photographer and eventually a “anti-war photographer”; when he was a sportive young man he was victim of an accident that kept him in the hospital for a while, during which he received from his godfather two gifts: an Olympus camera and a book about the famous war-photographer Don McCullin. He then became passionate about photography and pursued a career as a music, fashion and tabloid photographer, traveling around the world, meeting cool and famous people. A life that all of his friends used to be jealous of, but he wasn’t very happy about that. At the end of the day he used to go back to his hotel room, feeling like he didn’t do anything special for himself of for the world. That’s when he re-opened that book that was given to him some years before about war-photography that he finally found out what he wanted to do though his art, storytelling the war.

So he starts co-operating with big associations and charities like Doctors without Borders, directly on the battle field. Unfortunately, in 2011, in Afghanistan, he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) and he was severely injured, losing both legs and an arm. This accident didn’t stop him from going back to work, once he recovered and so now he’s recently been back to refugee camps near Syria, where he documents the lives of these people that he’d rather not call “victims” of the war but normal people, with an incredible strength, to whom he wants to give back dignity through his photos and portraits; “When I speak to these people, I don’t see refugees, I see doctors, lawyers, builders, children, normal people who have been deprived of their normal lives”.

Then Giles is joined by Gino Strada on stage, surgeon and co-founder of Emergency, a charity organization that has been operating in conflict areas of Africa since 1994 to provide medical assistance to large part of the population who normally doesn’t have access to free and high quality medical care. More information can be found online on their official website, emergency.it, but today Gino’s purpose is to talk about the philosophy behind the mission of Emergency. He claims to be a cold person, even with the young patients who demand to see him before surgeries, because he’s afraid to become too emotional and attached, but also because he wouldn’t know what to say to these kids who need to be treated because of wars that could be avoided but are perpetrated by adults living in what we call a “civilized” world. The existing inequality between those who can have and those who cannot have, those who have rights and those who have not, generates discrimination and division among people, and nobody is taking care of eliminate this separation; talking about healthcare, specifically, there are so many people who cannot access quality and free treatments, even in Italy, although it covers one of the top positions in the ranking for best national health system. Then there is war; always there, ready to knock on our door, nowadays more than ever, although millions of people have already been experiencing that for decades now, with governments and media turning a blind eye on this matter. Strada said “I’m not a pacifist, I’m simply against war” and accused politicians of all parties and countries to not understand how nocive war is for everyone, and after all history showed us, is still an idea taken in examination by governments when actually it should just be abolished, because “war is not human”. Despite it, he doesn’t aim to be a politician, he only wants to keep doing his own job, the surgeon for people in need without asking to be paid by his patients. The last part of the event is the actual Q&A where various people, Italians but also other nationalities, in the audience, had the chance to ask their questions and they all seemed to lead to one main doubt: what can we do, as powerless and little human beings, to change things and stop war? The answer, unfortunately, is not easy, probably doesn’t exist, but the advice given from both Strada and Duley is to find in our own lives and routine something that can express our campaign against war. Duley found his own vocation in storytelling through photography, Strada through medicine. We can all do something starting from our ambitions, our skills and the people around us.

PureLondon – A Life Less Ordinary

OLYMPIA, LONDON – For three full days, from July 24th until the 26th, London Olympia was the right place to be to enjoy, discover and be inspired by fashion, new brands, colours and a good amount of South American music. This year’s Pure London expressed culture and beliefs through inspirational design: its theme was colorful and bright and it aimed at creating a journey around the world, dipping into each culture and taking unique ideas from them. Pure London is the UK’s leading trade fashion buying event, representing womenswear, footwear, accessories and young fashion; it takes place every February and August and it offers buyers from all over the world the opportunity to discover collections launching for the season ahead from over 800 brands (including Italian brands like Nero Giardini, Compagnia Italiana, Antica Sartoria and Joiel), attend catwalks, seminars and workshops.

This season’s Pure London saw the launch of Inside Retail, a lab designed for learning and networking events. In addition to that, seminars and workshops were provided by key industry speakers as well as independent retailers, who gave visitors and buyers insight on how to survive and thrive on the high street. Moreover, Pure London teamed up with The Guardian to deliver four masterclasses for the fashion industry throughout the three days providing essential tools, encouraging visitors and buyers to achieve their ideal business: they targeted a range of areas, going from starting a fashion business to reaching social media goals. There was an introduction to digital marketing, the essential of fashion blogging, social media for the fashion industry and how to start a fashion business.

Apart from these masterclasses and the Inside Retail, buyers and fashion brands owners were able to enjoy catwalks and seminars that went on across the three days on both the Main Stage, mainly dedicated to presenting tips and ideas on enhancing business strategy, and the Spirit Stage, where the programme was aimed at leading the way in staying online and on-trend. A daily SS17 exclusive buyers’ briefing from WGSN was presented by Sara Maggioni, showcasing the new colours, trends, items of clothing, patterns and accessories that will in vogue next year – blue with all its shades, rose gold, flowery patterns, glitters, stripes, blazers, bomber jackets, skinny jeans as well as loose trousers, layered necklaces with big pendants, sandals and espadrillas are just some of the many ideas for SS17: the general idea is that of having comfort overcome appearance; the main aim is to produce items that will make customers who wear them “feel at home“.

Another appointment of great interest were indeed the recurring Catwalks on both stages, showcasing the latest designs from a mix of stylish labels aimd and trend-led audience as well as exclusive womenswear and menswear pieces from brands and designers around the show, inspired by WGSN SS17/18 fashion forecast. The catwalks arranged on the Main Stage were divided into different sections, the first one of them being “Encounter Cultures”, with models from all parts of Europe and the world, the right occasion to represent the main theme of this year’s event, the meeting and discovering of new colours and shades coming from cultures of all around the globe.

The next Pure London event will take place from February 12th until the 14th, at the Olympia (Kensington Olympia stop, Overground) – add these dates to your Outlook.

Luca Zingaretti: The pride of getting to English people’s hearts through an Italian show

LONDON – Luca Zingaretti, the Italian actor and director famous for his role as Inspector Montalbano in 1999, landed in London yesterday and is already having a busy schedule; he came to the UK to perform in both Oxford (today) and London (tomorrow) with his famous reading-monologue of “La Sirena”, also known as “Lighea”, a story written by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, an author from Sicily who is mostly known because of his masterpiece, “Il Gattopardo”.

Zingaretti will perform at the Sheldonian Theathre, in Oxford, and in at the British Museum, in London, as part of the exhibition organized to showcase the golden era of the biggest island in the Mediterranean Sea: “Sicily: Culture and Conquest”. The exhibition, which started last April and is now about to end on August 14th will tell the – almost – untold story of Sicily’s best era, focusing on the period between the 8th and 13th century, when Sicily was conquered and influenced by the Greeks and the Normans, who left lasting marks in the island’s culture and traditions. Visitors are able to know Sicily’s diversity, prosperity and importance throughout these years and in the following centuries.

“La Sirena” is a long story by Tomasi Di Lampedusa, telling the story of two men with opposite personalities: an old retired professor and a young vital journalist. Their casual meeting in a bar, in Turin, turns into a friendship as the tale goes on: their differences are the key point of the story, since the whole narration revolves around the contrast between old and new, North and South, old age and youth, dreams and reality. The old professor has lived the majority of his life bound to the memory of his true love, a mermaid met in Augusta, Sicily; on the other hand, the young journalist lives day by day, bound to no one, enjoying whatever (and whoever) comes his way. The British Museum will be completely changed tomorrow, July 22nd, in occasion of the “Sicilian Splendour” special event, taking place from 6pm: it will be a multisensory evening celebrating the soul of Sicily, past and present – including music, drama, workshops and poetry performances. Zingaretti’s performance will be part of this event, but will not be open to the general public: in the words of one of the curators, Peter Higgs, the museum “will turn into a little Sicily”.

During the press conference held today at the Italian Cultural Institute in London, Zingaretti revealed some behind the scenes of his first “meeting” with this story, which he defined a “fairytale of friendship”, as well as some experiences related to the fame which followed his role as Montalbano. “A lady suggested it to me, more than once, persistently, and then I decided to give a chance“, he told journalists gathered at the Institute. So it was only by chance that he got to know this tale and after that, he decided to bring it to the world through the powerful mean of theathre. He has been touring for four years now but what never ceases to amaze him is his constant discovery and re-discovery of how appreciated and loved Italian culture and “bella vita” are outside of the BelPaese. “Sometimes we take many things for granted and we don’t realise how proud we must be of being Italian“, he added. Of course negative comments will always find their way to weaken one’s reputation but, in his case, good sides have always outnumbered the bad ones. That’s the case of the famous Inspector Montalbano, which is the role Luca Zingaretti is most known for. He shared a little anectode about how he found out about Montalbano’s fame outside of Italy: an English man stopped him in the middle of the street to tell him about how much he and his friends enjoyed watching the series on BBC4.

“It makes me very happy and proud to know that we were able to get to English people’s hearts through an Italian show“, he confessed. The peculiarity and the charm of the Inspector lies, in his opinion, in his being the pile of “Italianity” and in the show’s ability to portray a local reality, which is in contrast with the globalized world we live in nowadays. “He’s a simple man who just needs his country, his town and his job to be happy and feel satisfied“, Zingaretti stated. His success, though, is strictly bound to the fact he is an inspector in Italy: he probably wouldn’t be as well-known as he is, if he had worked in the UK, for example. The way Montalbano is portrayed makes him accessible to people of all ages: he
represents both nostalgia of a long-gone past, full of small local realities and a goal, an objective to reach in order to live a happier life with less fiction and more real life.

Both performances of “Lighea” are sold out: the London show at the British Museum will be watched by 500 people in total, 350 of which will be there to watch it live and it will be one hour long.