Month: May 2015

Neoteny – Mon 4th May

‘Once there was a Prince who wanted to marry a Princess. Only a real one would do. So he traveled through all the world to find her, and everywhere things went wrong. There were Princesses aplenty, but how was he to know whether they were real Princesses? There was something not quite right about them all. So he came home again and was unhappy, because he did so want to have a real Princess.

One evening a terrible storm blew up. It lightninged and thundered and rained. It was really frightful! In the midst of it all came a knocking at the town gate. The old King went to open it.

Who should be standing outside but a Princess, and what a sight she was in all that rain and wind. Water streamed from her hair down her clothes into her shoes, and ran out at the heels. Yet she claimed to be a real Princess.

“We’ll soon find that out,” the old Queen thought to herself. Without saying a word about it she went to the bedchamber, stripped back the bedclothes, and put just one pea in the bottom of the bed. Then she took twenty mattresses and piled them on the pea. Then she took twenty eiderdown feather beds and piled them on the mattresses. Up on top of all these the Princess was to spend the night.

In the morning they asked her, “Did you sleep well?”

” Oh!” said the Princess. “No. I scarcely slept at all. Heaven knows what’s in that bed. I lay on something so hard that I’m black and blue all over. It was simply terrible.”

They could see she was a real Princess and no question about it, now that she had felt one pea all the way through twenty mattresses and twenty more feather beds. Nobody but a Princess could be so delicate. So the Prince made haste to marry her, because he knew he had found a real Princess.

As for the pea, they put it in the museum. There it’s still to be seen, unless somebody has taken it.

There, that’s a true story.’

Hans Christian Andersen, ‘The Princess and the Pea’ translated by Jean Hersholt

More on the creative industries – Sat 2nd May

Today is the beginning of the Brighton festival, a whole month of cultural events including art exhibitions, plays, comedy revues, musical performances, talks, walks and happenings. These take place not only in every public venue in town, but indeed many private houses are also thrown open to the public, these filled with the endeavours of the numerous talented artists, photographers and craftspeople who live here. Also, during this time the streets are filled with itinerant performers, including jugglers, fire eaters, mime artists, conjurors, buskers, skateboarding troupes (some including dogs) and comedians, to name but a few.

You will note I do not have any photographs whatsoever that seem to indicate this fact. I consider this a personal success.

Suite – Fri 1st May

Incomplete list of bathroom-suite colours. Some might evoke tender memories; the recollection of others could wake you screaming in the night:

Almond Rose, Alpine Blue, Aqua, Armitage Blue, Aubergine, Autumn Tan, Avocado, Bahama Beige, Bali Brown, Bamboo, Bermuda Blue, Blue Grass, Burgundy, Chablis, Crème, Cameo Pink, Caspian Blue, Champagne, Chiffon, Cornflower Blue, Coral Pink, Cream, Damask, Emerald Green, Flamingo Pink, Freshwater, Gazelle Brown, Grey, Harvest Gold, Heather Pink, Honeymoon, Honeysuckle, Indian Ivory, Imperial Purple, Jade Green, Jubilee Blue, Kashmir Beige, Lavender Water, Light Green, Linden Green, Lilac, Melba Peach, Midnight Blue, Mimosa, Mink, Misty Pink, Moss Green, Ocean Spray, Old English White, Orchid Pink, Oyster, Pampas, Peach, Peony, Pergamon, Platinum, Pewter, Pompadour, Primrose, Romany, Rose, Rosewater, Sable, Sandalwood, Sapphire Blue, Savannah Green, Sepia, Shell Pink, Silver Fox, Sky Blue, Soft Mint, Sorbet, Sorrento Blue, Sun King, Tahiti Pink, Turquoise, Twilight Pebble, Whisky, Whisper Apricot, Wild Rose, Wild Sage, Willow Green, Wych Elm.

Getting creative – Thurs 30th April

I’ve heard several politicians speaking recently on the TV and radio, in the run up to the elections, about support for the creative industries. This all sounds lovely, we don’t get a lot of assistance for the arts in the UK and its nice to think that there are people out there who care for artistic production, especially since the Olympic games soaked up so much national funding. Except…

I had to do some work on this subject a couple of years ago and, in so doing, it came as a bit of a surprise to find out what the civil service terms ‘creative industry’. Art might be included, but it’s buried in a very long list of other occupations, most of which don’t actually seem to involve making anything.

‘So what’ you might say? And indeed I’d have to agree, there are a lot of other things we should be spending public funds on like housing, healthcare, education etc. But if someone says they are going to do something, its worth knowing what they mean. And if ‘supporting the creative industries’ actually means tax breaks for ‘Marketing and sales directors’ (one of the industries on the list, for instance) then I’m not sure if this qualifies for support for the arts.

The list itself, as defined by the DCMS, goes a long way to suggesting the kinds of issues created by lumping so many different occupations under this title, so here it is for your delectation. Do look through the whole list, the devil is in the details, but don’t expect anyone using the term to actually have the faintest idea about the issues faced by actual, er, artists. So, if you come across a politician in the next couple of weeks, why not ask them to explain what they mean if they use the term. If nothing else it might give you a laugh.

Creative industries as defined by the DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport):

Advertising and marketing: Marketing and sales directors; Advertising and public relations directors; Public relations professionals; Advertising accounts managers and creative directors; Marketing associate professionals
Architecture: Architects; Town planning officers; Chartered architectural technologists; Architectural and town planning technicians
Crafts: Smiths and forge workers; Weavers and knitters; Glass and ceramics makers; decorators and finishers; Furniture makers and other craft woodworkers; Other skilled trades not elsewhere classified
Design: product, graphic and fashion design: Graphic designers; Product, clothing and related designers
Film, TV, video, radio and photography: Arts officers, producers and directors; Photographers, audio-visual and broadcasting equipment operators
IT, software and computer services: Information technology and telecommunications directors; IT business analysts, architects and systems designers; Programmers and software development professionals; Web design and development professionals
Publishing: Journalists, newspaper and periodical editors; Authors, writers and translators
Museums, galleries and libraries: Librarians; Archivists and curators
Music, performing and visual arts: Artists; Actors, entertainers and presenters; Dancers and choreographers; Musicians

(DCMS headings in bold followed by what’s grouped under these titles)