Climate and Civilisation: Channel 4 screening and debate at The Dana Centre

Monday, 7 December 2009, 19:00 - 20:45

Tony Robinson and experts are at Dana for an exclusive preview of a Channel 4 series, 'Man on Earth', that looks at the role of climate change in past civilisations. Join the post-screening debate: what can we learn from the past to help us with our own climate challenge?

Event organised by: Channel 4 and The Science Museum

Speakers
Tony Robinson, TV presenter
Joy Singarayer, lecturer, climate modelling, Bristol University
Jago Cooper, School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester

Chair
Ralph Lee, Head of Specialist Factual, Channel 4 Television

Bravo, Renzo!

I had an interesting, uplifting experience this afternoon. Whilst wandering through the wet streets of London having visited my favourite shop, Stanfords Map Centre in Long Acre, I crossed a few roads on my way to Cambridge Circus and was stopped in my tracks by the new Renzo Piano building next to Tottenham Court.

It’s a curious construction. Stuck into a plot that is too small for it and mainly surrounded by West End side streets, it erupts into facades of different colours, dwarfing the majority of buildings surrounding it. Its faces are bright and cheerful; the horizontals of its windows and louvers crisscross the verticals to feel symmetric despite the contrasts of its angles and dimensions. Odd. I’m not that accustomed to being stopped in my tracks by modern buildings these days. Very rarely does a new development have this effect and, usually, only because it is a) neck breaking in scale, particularly height; b) a folly of humorous proportions, juxtaposed and marvellous in true surreal fashion; or c) original, groundbreaking, maybe contextualised into its environment. Central Saint Giles is not one of these but a slight combination of all of them.

It was also helped by the weather. It had been typical this weekend – the kind that receives a collective all zones moan (but secretly I adore it, like so many Londoners do of course): strong wind in gusts that blow the greasy auburn leaves around the streets, accompanied by grey rain at varying degrees of intensity. Yet the moment I saw Piano’s brainchild the sun momentarily peeked through the gloom to illuminate the south facing facade against a sodden and thunderous backdrop (reminiscent of the contrasts in Giorgione’s Tempest).

I’m sure others will begrudge it but I think it both titillates and titivates, and as such is a superb achievement. What with London Bridge’s Shard of Glass soon set to be a growing feature on the Southbank skyline, Lords Foster and Rogers will be looking over their shoulders and clasping their mantles of London leading architect tight.

What's in the November/December issue of Lucid Magazine?

Hot off the Press? The first ever Lucid Debate will be held at the
Science Musuem. Join us and leading jounalists from top news
organisations to discuss the media and climate change

This month, Lucid Magazine comtemplates Religion Today. Read about
Humanism, The Invisible Muslim and the lives of three very different
Britons in our faith themed feature.

Dust storms, flash floods and bush fires. Is it the end of the
world as we know it? Sylvia Arthur asks if recent climate extremes
signal the beginning of the end.

Paul Knipe visits Mongolia and finds tradition and modernity amid
the wilderness in a country that’s embracing the Western world after
decades of communist rule.

While the mainstream media wonders what to do about declining
newspaper sales and the internet, there’s a revolution going on
elsewhere which they’d do well to join. James Willsher looks at a
new frontier for news and advertising.

Athena Kugblenu investigates what we’ve got to look forward to if
David Cameron maintains his momentum.

Stephen Maughan travels to Romania and discovers that, although
there are positives, more still needs to be done to improve child
care.

And finally...

Lucid's gracious hots in Ghana, Afrikids, are holding their annual
pub quiz on Tuesday, 15th December. Why not get together with a group
of friends and have fun while raising funds for charity?

Support Afrikids

Lucid's favourite charity, Afrikids, is holding two events that need your support:

• Do you like the thought of an investment where your returns are not in money but in the joy you will get, year after year, in helping some of the world's most vulnerable children?


• Are you keen to give back to the community but not sure where to trust your funds?
  

Then come and join a syndicate of likeminded people and enjoy the launch of the Afrikids Social Investment Club on 19th November in Canary Wharf, London.

Then, next month, Afrikids is holding their annual Christmas Pub Quiz on Tuesday, 15th December. Why not get together with a group of friends and have fun while raising funds for charity?

For more on Afrikids, visit their website at http://www.afrikids.org/.

From the new issue of Lucid: Nature's Revenge

Dust storms, flash floods and bush fires. Is this the end of the world as we know it? Sylvia Arthur goes on the road with the men and women determined to alert the world to the gravity of climate change. Read more

Maldives calls attention to the threat climate change poses to island nation

By: The Associated Press 17 Oct 2009 08:26 AM ET

GIRIFUSHI, Maldives - Members of the Maldives' Cabinet donned scuba gear and used hand signals Saturday at an underwater meeting staged to highlight the threat of global warming to the lowest-lying nation on earth.

President Mohammed Nasheed and 13 other government officials submerged and took their seats at a table on the sea floor — 20 feet below the surface of a lagoon off Girifushi, an island usually used for military training.

With a backdrop of coral, the meeting was a bid to draw attention to fears that rising sea levels caused by the melting of polar ice caps could swamp this Indian Ocean archipelago within a century. Its islands average 7 feet above sea level.

"What we are trying to make people realize is that the Maldives is a frontline state. This is not merely an issue for the Maldives but for the world," Nasheed said.

As bubbles floated up from their face masks, the president, vice president, Cabinet secretary and 11 ministers signed a document calling on all countries to cut their carbon dioxide emissions.

Urgency
The issue has taken on urgency ahead of a major U.N. climate change conference scheduled for December in Copenhagen. At that meeting countries will negotiate a successor to the Kyoto Protocol with aims to cut the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that scientists blame for causing global warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Wealthy nations want broad emissions cuts from all countries, while poorer ones say industrialized countries should carry most of the burden.

Dozens of Maldives soldiers guarded the event Saturday, but the only intruders were groupers and other fish.

Nasheed had already announced plans for a fund to buy a new homeland for his people if the 1,192 low-lying coral islands are submerged. He has promised to make the Maldives, with a population of 350,000, the world's first carbon-neutral nation within a decade.

"We have to get the message across by being more imaginative, more creative and so this is what we are doing," he said in an interview on a boat en route to the dive site.

Nasheed, who has emerged as a key, and colorful, voice on climate change, is a certified diver, but the others had to take diving lessons in recent weeks.

Three ministers missed the underwater meeting because two were not given medical permission and another was abroad.

A Liberal Leader of the Opposition?

Ipos-Mori conducted a poll asking people who they were most likely to vote for at the next general election. The triumph of the Conservatives (36%) was no surprise to me, but the progress of the Liberals had me choke on my morning coffee. Ipsos-Mori has them in 2nd place (25%) ahead of Labour (24%). This represents an 8 point gain for the yellow party, whilst Labours figure evidences a stagnation in support, showing no change at all.

What does this mean? Until now, Liberals would find themselves voting Labour so as not to waste their vote on also-rans. Nick Clegg, how ever much he wants it, will probably not be Prime Minster this time next year. But maybe they've set their sights to high. A Liberal leader of the opposition has not been touted as a possibility in the popular press so far. On this evidence, if Liberal supporters dare to dream, it should be.

The Tryfan challenge

For all nature loving adrenaline junkies and thrill seekers out there consider a trip to Snowdonia. Or more specifically, a trip up the explosion of rocks that are Tryfan and the adjacent Glyders. These mountains are often overlooked in favour of neighbouring Snowdon but are a very rewarding alternative to the famous peak, offering climbs up rock faces and scrambles up steep scree slopes amid some of the most challenging terrain in Britain. And if that’s not enough, tradition dictates that the hardiest of souls take a death-defying leap across two column-like rocks that adorn the tiny summit of Tryfan.

Bob and I spent last weekend in the Welsh mountains, fuelled by a desire to detox and have 48 hours in the countryside with only the most essential items. It takes about 4 1/2 hours from London and it’s not until you get onto the A5 past Shrewsbury that the route becomes interesting. From Llangollen it begins to wind through rolling forest, past low lying hills and picturesque Welsh villages to Betws-y-coed, famous for its old iron bridge and ‘ugly house’, and gateway to the mountains.

On the Sunday, under cloudless skies and tingling with a mix of adventure and fantasy of Tolkienian proportions, we parked up at the foot of Tryfan at the east end of lake Llyn Ogwen that lines the valley floor (according to legend the final resting place of King Arthur’s Excalibur) between the Glyders and the Carneddau range. There is no gentle introduction to Tryfan. From the lay-by it’s a thigh burning two hour climb to the peak. The start is steep but with a defined route; after a while this changes to a mix of scree, sheer rock and thicket tufts with no obvious path. There are many ways to the top and all of them will have nerve jangling moments involving thin ledges, scrambling and rock climbing.

The summit is a small expanse of craggy rock that’s only big enough for a few groups of walkers at a time. Its main attractions are ‘Adam and Eve’, two boulders that stand three metres high and about a metre apart, visible from the valley floor where they look like human figures. It’s common to see brave souls jump from one to the other to gain the ‘freedom of Tryfan’, although I never mustered the courage to get that honour.

Tryfan sticks into the sky like a jagged dome. From the A5 past Llyn Ogwen it stood noble and sublime in the perfect weather we had that day, separated from the ‘bristling ridge’ at the start of the Glyders by the Bwlch Tryfan pass. But the mountain has been labelled one of the most challenging walks in mainland Britain and has claimed several lives over the last few years, most recently in April this year. Although this is a great and thrilling climb, walkers beware: treat Tryfan with caution and the utmost respect.

Join the campaign for a political debate

This week, as the party conference season gets under way, the choice that we, the electorate, face is becoming ever more apparent and even more immediate.

In just under eight months, the UK will get the chance to choose its next leader in a General Election. This time, there’s no opportunity for the Prime Minister to change his mind about calling a ballot or dilly-dally over the timescale because, the fact is, he is required to do so. So, this final conference season before the next election is crucial for all the parties in contention.

The party conference is a particularly good opportunity for the Liberal Democrats whose leader, Nick Clegg, is all but anonymous in the public consciousness. Since his election as party leader two years ago, Clegg has failed to register with the electorate in any significant way and his party has remained stagnant. The coverage of the LibDem conference will provide Clegg with a timely chance to raise his profile, if not his poll ratings, and give him a head start in what will undoubtedly be an upward struggle in the run-up to next May.

For the Conservatives, who will descend on Manchester the week after next, the issue is not to increase their visibility but to build upon it. Cameron is clearly regarded as the prime minister in waiting by the media. No one seriously doubts that the Conservatives will win the election come next spring. The Tory task is to further enhance and reinforce their standing with the electorate and showcase concrete policies that will enable voters to visualise them as a party of power rather than a party that’s been in opposition for the last 12 years.

As for Labour, well, there’s an air of predictability about the party’s Brighton conference because even the Labour faithful know that they have little chance, short of a miracle, of reversing the poll trends, though there’s doubt that their defeat will be as big as has been predicted. So, we’ll wait and see what Mandy and co. can pull out of the box in this pre-election platform.

Incidentally, Sky News is running a campaign to get the three main party leaders to take part in the first ever televised debate of prime ministerial contenders. This format, which is new in the UK campaigning arsenal, is the norm in American and German politics where the aspiring heads of government go head-to-head live on TV before huge viewing audiences. So far, Cameron and Clegg have said yes to Sky’s invitation and their eagerness to face-off with each other and, more importantly, Gordon Brown is hardly surprising. Both have everything to gain from the encounter. The debate will undoubtedly attract record numbers of viewers, if nothing else because of natural curiosity because it’s a first, and both leaders will get the chance to reach voters their party machines couldn’t possibly reach by themselves. And Cameron would have to perform disastrously to lose the sizeable poll lead and translate this to electoral defeat.


In contrast, Brown’s reluctance to agree to take part in the debate is understandable and even laudable. He has more to lose than his opponents, although some would argue not much more considering how low his poll ratings are. Perhaps things can only get better for Brown since they can’t get any worse? Nevertheless, Brown is not a natural performer and politics is as much about presentation as it is about policy.

So, what will this election be fought on? Hopefully, the issues since the personalities are virtually non-existent: public spending cuts, the economy, the environment, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan… the list goes on.

A televised debate is unlike the traditional Party Political Broadcast in that the aspiring PMs won’t be talking at the electorate but talking to them, guided by the debate chair whose task it will be, not only to ask the questions but to demand the answers that the public want to hear. It provides a unique opportunity to hear and see just what the candidates can do for you as an individual and the country at large.

You can sign Sky News’s online petition for a television debate by going to www.sky.com/leadersdebate.

The Good WAR? Afghanistan in the media by Atiya Munir

14th July 2009

The Good WAR? Afghanistan in the media

With an increase in the number of British troop casualties in Afghanistan hitting the news and our Ministers and military still insisting that this is a ‘good’ war that can be won, I seized the opportunity to attend a meeting organised by Media Workers Against the War1 and Stop the War Coalition2 to get an alternative perspective on what really is going on inside Afghanistan. As I walked down Euston Road towards Quakers Friends House, the venue of the meeting, I wondered how many and what kind of people would be turning up for an event like this. I expected a small gathering of anti-war activists and young students but was surprised to enter a large hall packed full with an enthusiastic audience of over a hundred people of all ages and very ethnically diverse.

It was emphasised that all speakers would be giving their personal perspectives on what’s happening in Afghanistan and, therefore, would not be representing the views of their organisations. Lindsey German, founder of the Stop the War Coalition, opened the plenary with a reminder that, though it may have been the worst week in terms of casualties for British troops, worse days has been experienced by Afghani civilians, which largely go unreported in the Western media or the scale of casualties is denied. The session then kicked off with Guy Smallman, a photojournalist recently returned from Afghanistan with a slideshow showing the casualties in the Afghan village of Granai in which a US air strike in May had killed 140 civilians, the highest number of civilian casualties since the conflict began. Guy showed us photos of small children that had sustained serious burns from the air strikes with some having lost their entire families, a ruined mud mosque, destroyed mud-houses and stacks of unrecognised body pieces waiting to be buried. A particularly haunting photo was of some young boys and girls who stood aloof with blank faces. Contrary to the United States’s claim that the heavy air strikes were carried out in response to their surveillance showing the presence of the Taliban, the villagers denied this saying that they hated the Taliban and had not allowed them to enter the village. When American un-manned drones started their air-strikes the villagers ran to take shelter in the mosque, which was then probably read by the US Army's drone operator sitting behind a laptop looking through its cameras as a group of Taliban. Tragically, 93 members of this group were children and not a single Taliban!

Stephen Grey, an investigative journalist embedded with British troops in Helmand, narrated his personal account of what it was like on the ground and his experiences of reporting through the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Stephen gave a vivid description of the fierce nature of fighting in Helmand province during which he saw Afghani cars packed with women and children escaping the combat zone in the midst of intense firing. On one occasion, a car door exploded open and the bodies of two dead children fell out. Due to the MOD restrictions imposed on the reporters, and the journalists having to clear their reports with the military first, many incidents of soldier deaths and civilian casualties go unreported in our media. Journalists who are critical of the army’s strategy or of the conditions under which the soldiers are fighting are denied entry into the army as embeds. However, based on his time spent with the soldiers, Guy was clear that a large number of soldiers are aware of these government tactics and are becoming disillusioned about the real purpose of the war in Afghanistan. A fuller account of Guy’s frontline experiences in Afghanistan along with his extensive interviews with the soldiers can be read in his recently published book “Operation Snakebite: The Explosive True Story of an Afghan Desert Siege”.

The final talk was given by the Guardian columnist Seumas Milne, who analysed the ever shifting objectives presented by the government, from capturing Osama Bin Laden, getting rid of Al-Qaida, installing democracy and freeing the women, none of which have been achieved so far. If anything, the situation appears to be worse in Afghanistan with one of the most corrupt Western-backed governments installed, a soaring production of opium and a rise in honour-killings and crimes against women. Gordon Brown's assertion that the war in Afghanistan is helping to prevent terrorism on the streets of Britain does not bear scrutiny either - the bombing of Afghan villages and the slaughter of civilians is only fuelling a rise of recruits for the Taliban and a hatred for the West. The best strategy would be an immediate withdrawal of British troops and to let the Afghani people run their own country as they have been doing for centuries past. The only military option should be to set up a small regional coalition force made up of Pakistan, Iran, China and Russia to help in the reconstruction of the country.

A lively question and answer session followed with a reminder that as the government is lacking any clear strategies on the war in Afghanistan it was up to the British public to get a clear message across that it was time to withdraw troops. One way of doing this would be by becoming active campaigners and by taking part in the protests that the Stop the War Coalition will be organising in the coming months before the next election.

Next week3 I plan to attend a public meeting at which Malalai Joya, an Afghan female Member of Parliament, will give an eye witness account of life in Afghanistan under war and occupation. I’ll keep you posted.



1 www.mwaw.net
2 www.stopwar.org.uk
3 Stop the War Public Meeting: Thursday 23 July 7pm Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1

New powers to prosecute war criminals living in UK

Four Rwandans suspected of genocide may face UK trials after loophole is closed
By Cahal Milmo, Chief Reporter
Wednesday, 8 July 2009

Vincent Bajinya, who is also known as Doctor Vincent Brown, Celestin Ugirashebuja and Emmanuel Nteziryayo were arrested in Britain 28 December 2006 after being accused of involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Suspected mass murderers and war crimes suspects living in Britain, including four men accused of taking part in the Rwandan genocide, will face prosecution for the first time after the Government announced the closure of a loophole which had made the United Kingdom a haven from justice.

The Justice Secretary Jack Straw unveiled the biggest change in British laws covering crimes against humanity in 20 years, following an outcry over a High Court decision in April not to send four Rwandans resident in the UK back to their home country to face prosecution.

Under the proposals, the law which bars charges relating to any war crime, act of genocide or crime against humanity committed before 2001 will be changed to allow prosecutions for atrocities committed since 1 January 1991, including the Balkan wars and the 1994 conflict in Rwanda, in which 800,000 people were systematically exterminated.

Mr Straw said the change, which will be put before Parliament in the autumn, could lead to "tens" of alleged war criminals and "genocidaires" who have gained British passports or are resident in the UK facing trial in this country.

More
Rwandan genocide on Lucid Magazine

A Day of Contrasts

Life is full of contrasts but when extreme disparities are presented with a human face, life can prove too much to bear. This is even truer when confronted with both ends of the emotional spectrum in the space of one day, from optimism to despair in just a few short hours.

The afternoon began and ended on a high. Joy that my country Ghana was being celebrated for its smooth transfer of power from one democratically-elected leader to another for the third time in twelve years. At a forum organised by the Commonwealth Business Club, business leaders from the UK met with a high-profile delegation from Ghana, made up of the president and 3 of his ministers, to discuss the opportunities for investment in this fertile West African nation.

I was deeply emboldened by the fact that the president of 4 months, John Atta-Mills, chose not to belittle the strides made by the previous government, now in opposition Eschewing politics and pot shots, he said, “We cannot reinvent the wheel and we will build on the achievements of the previous government”.

Such talk was music to my ears as it confirms the maturity which Ghana has reached in its political and democratic development. I left the reception with hope and happiness about the future of Ghana.

A few hours later, however, on a beautiful evening in the picturesque surroundings of London’s South Bank, the culmination of a week of events to highlight the continuing unacceptable situation in the Congo took place. A panel of speakers including journalist Tim Butcher, Congolese activist Marie-Clare Faray, MP Eric Joyce, chair of the APPG, and photojournalist Susan Schulmann each presented their view on the crisis based on personal experience.

It took every ounce of fortitude not to dissolve in to a torrent of tears as Marie Clare-Faray gave an impassioned response to a question on what can be done to bring stability to her country. In her answer she inadvertently revealed that she, like thousands of other women in the Congo, had been a victim of rape, which is systematically used as a tool of war, as well as other forms of sexual exploitation. She then asked brokenly through her tears, “Do we have to die so you can use a mobile phone?” The room fell silent.

I realised in the stunned silence that followed Marie-Clare’s words that, for a moment, I completely forgot myself. For that moment all my trivial and not-so-trivial worries - of which there are many - paled in to insignificance when confronted with this woman’s story. It may only have been fleeting but in that instant I was totally consumed by an overwhelming compassion for someone other than myself, someone who has lived through, and daily relives, unimaginable heartache of which there is no end in sight. We could all do with losing ourselves sometimes…

Today’s events brought home to me more than ever that, although there is one continent, there are two different Africas, just as those who carved up the continent had intended it to be. That isn’t to lay the blame entirely at the developed world’s door. As panel chair Oona King said, the actions of individuals are just as much to blame as the action (and inaction) of corporations and governments. And as individuals we can all play a part in helping to bring an end to the suffering of millions who, though they may not be known to us personally, are related to us as fellow human beings in this world of contrasts.

With a song in her heart and some sense in her head!

This evening I had the pleasure of speaking to one of the UK's most talented and underrated vocalists in a no-holds-barred interview on the state of jazz music today.

Gill Manly is a jazz artist who's just released her second album "With A Song In My Heart" to much critical acclaim. Having been in the industry for a couple of decades, Gill spoke honestly and refreshingly about her experiences in music and her thoughts on the industry, warts and all. After a sabbatical of a few years, Gill returned to the stage and the recording studio to find not much has changed since she exited the business and found spiritual enlightenment.

Look out for Gill and other talented women in jazz in a feature on the rise and rise of women in jazz in the next issue of Lucid Magazine, online on Monday, 4th May.

Photographer Patrick Farrell wins Pulitzer for Haiti images

BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI

Veteran Miami Herald photographer Patrick Farrell has been awarded journalism's biggest award, the Pulitzer Prize, for his harrowing images of the victims of the storms that ravaged Haiti in 2008.

Farrell, 49, visited Haiti four times during last year's hurricane season, capturing scenes of the dead and the survivors of a series of storms that generated devastating flooding across the impoverished nation.

He was in Haiti the night Hurricane Ike -- the fourth storm to hit there in a month -- washed across the already overwhelmed countryside, drowning even more homes and people.
Farrell's published photographs, along with stories by Miami Herald Caribbean correspondent Jacqueline Charles and Herald reporter Trenton Daniel, are credited with helping raise international awareness of the storms' toll on Haiti and its people's struggle to survive in the aftermath.

''Patrick's photography is the most provocative and at times disturbing storytelling work that I have seen or edited,'' said Luis Rios, The Herald's director of photography. ``It is exceptional documentary photography with a purpose -- to chronicle the misery and heartache of the Haitian people.''

The Pulitzer Prize jurors recognized a package of 19 black-and-white photographs, entitled ''A People in Despair: Haiti's Year Without Mercy.'' The images range from the flooded streets of Gonaives, to the aftermath of a storm-related school collapse in Port au Prince, and the deadly toll on children in the rural town of Cabaret who were washed away from their parents' grasp by rushing floodwaters.

In all, more than 800 Haitians died and more than 1 million were left homeless by the unrelenting series of storms.

Farrell's Haiti photographs have also won the Society of Professional Journalists' 2008 Sigma Delta Chi Award for excellence in journalism in Photography Spot News, as well as awards in the Pictures of the Year International competition and the 75th National Headliner Awards.

Farrell, a Miami native, has been a Herald staff photographer since 1987. He's a member of the class of 1977 at Christopher Columbus High, a Miami Catholic school, where he ran cross country and shot photos for the school yearbook. He graduated in 1981 with a bachelor of arts degree in television and film production from the University of Miami.

Farrell grew up in the High Pines neighborhood of unincorporated Miami-Dade County near South Miami, the seventh of 12 children born to Dr. James and Peggie Farrell.

Farrell says he owes his discovery of photography to an eye injury he suffered when he was shot in the right eye by a BB gun pellet while he was trick-or-treating on Halloween 1971. He spent a week with both eyes bandaged shut at Larkin General Hospital in South Miami.
His view of the world changed after his bandages were removed, and he began to pay more attention to the details and light around him, Farrell says. As a result of the eye injury, Farrell is a ''left-eye shooter'' and holds the camera up to his left eye. (Most people naturally shoot with their right eye.)

After he discovered photography, he destroyed a bathroom in his parents' home by turning it into a darkroom.

Farrell started his career working for several small community papers in Florida.
His Herald assignments have taken him to Turkey, Haiti, Cuba and throughout Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. He was part of the Herald staff that won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for the coverage of Hurricane Andrew's devastation in South Florida.

Indian literary talent takes centre stage

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being in the company of three distinguished Indian writers (and one Brit!) who had come to London as ambassadors for Indian literature as part of The London Book Fair.

In a discussion titled "Cities in Literature", part of the British Council sponsored India 09: Through Fresh Eye programme, writers including Sukhetu Metha (pictured above), author of the acclaimed Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found discussed what is it about cities that inspire so much writing. Each author spoke about their own experiences of city life and how it influenced their writing (novellist Shankar, who's penned 80 books in Bengali, has set all his books in Calcutta) and then read a passage from their chosen work. Austin Williams, the aforementioned lone Brit on the panel, spoke about London while Namdeo Dhasal's publisher, who attended in place of his awol client, read about the dark side of 70s Mumbai from Dhasal's radical collection of powerful poetry.

But it was Sukhetu Metha's shimmering account of contemporary Bombay life, a city of 21million people, that really caught my attention. Part reportage, part memoir, Metha's gift for capturing the spirit of the city was compelling to listen to and, I was told, even more fascinating to read. "The Londoners of the future are being born in Bombay today", he said, speaking of the relationship between global cities in the 21st century.

After hearing the panellists speak so eloquently and passionately about their cities and their work, I immediately went out and bought Metha's Maximum City (five years after everyone else it seems!) and read up on Namdeo Dhasal and Shankar. When I'm done with Maximum City, which is living up to the hype as an absolute page turner, I'll definitely go in search of other Indian writers and their words. There are worse ways to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Drum 'n' bass pioneer turned artist Goldie talks about his new Shoreditch show | thelondonpaper.com

Drum 'n' bass pioneer turned artist Goldie talks about his new Shoreditch show | thelondonpaper.com

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Lucid's Top 5 for April 09: #2

In at number two...

Much has been made of the USA’s first black president and Iceland’s first openly gay prime minister but we ask whether the UK is ready for either.

The question is: “Will the UK elect a gay PM before a black PM?”

Athena Kugblenu and Francis Kaikumba go head-to-head to debate a hot topic in the run up to our politically-charged May issue. Read our tête-à-tête then join the debate by leaving a message in the comment box: http://www.lucidmagazine.co.uk/#/headtohead/4532736292

Lucid's Top 5 for April 09: #1

In at number one...

April 6th marks the 15th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda and, in an exclusive interview, Paul Knipe talks to Mr Hotel Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagina, the man whose story inspired the 2004 Oscar-nominated film starring Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo and Nick Nolte. Mr Rusesabagina now runs the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation and campaigns against injustice, particularly in the Great Lakes region of Africa, which includes Rwanda and the Congo. He says:

"Unfortunately it takes a movie for the world to wake up. It took 10 years for Hotel Rwanda to be made, for the international community to realise that there was genocide in Rwanda. It is taking just as long to realise that in the Congo – since 1996 I believe – more than 5 million people have been butchered, and yet we do not raise a single finger to say no to cruelty and crimes."

Read his inspirational story here.

Lucid exclusive! Eric Benet: Chocolate Legs

Check out our review of Eric Benet live at the Jazz Cafe in the April Lucid Update. Sign up to receive it here.

Review - Plague Over England

1950s London was a difficult place to be gay. A quick wink or a lingering look was enough to be charged for ‘importuning male persons for an immoral purpose’. Homosexuality had been denounced politically, and for the less liberally minded there was a gay plague over England.

So in 1953, when recently knighted John Gielgud entered a public lavatory off the Fulham Road and emerged in handcuffs with an undercover policeman, his reputation and career were on the brink of collapse.

Read more

Horniman’s curiosity shop

Founded by Victorian tea trader Frederick Horniman in 1901, the Horniman Museum is full of curiosities from all over the world. The highlights include the aquarium that focuses on British pond and seaside creatures – an incredible display of natural life on our own doorstep; the natural history gallery showing all manner of birds, reptiles, mammals (stuffed and skeletons) still around and extinct; and African Worlds – a celebration of African history and diversity through cultural artefacts from the continent.

It’s a curious place, reminiscent to an old flea market or a Victorian quack’s surgery at times – there is none of the modern ‘white cube’ approach to the displays. And that makes it even more intriguing and exciting. The museum has been highly praised by critics and has won several prestigious awards, including Visit London’s Visitor Attraction of the Year, 2007. Just 15 minutes from London Bridge the Horniman is well worth a visit.

The Horniman Museum is open daily 10.30-5.30pm. Entrance to the museum and gardens is free.

The sidewalk critic / the art of looking upwards

London: the daily grind, the constant pace, the constant fervour. It is a living and breathing entity with emotions, feelings and moods, just like you or I. Does London reflect mood or cause mood? Is my own fate dependent on its fate? We shape it over time, we mark it with signs, paint it with art, decorate / demolish / rebuild. At the same time the city shapes us. It gives us personality, memory and purpose.

Lewis Mumford, New York's 'sidewalk critic', once said the most beautiful thing about cities. He said that cities are a product of time, a fact of nature and a place where mind takes form. Adding “With language itself, it remains mans greatest work of art.”

Lost in thought and surrounded by strangers, somewhere between Hackney Central and Dalston Kingsland, a peeling patch of graffiti on an old brick wall reminded me of Mumford’s words. Someone’s imprint on the city – I don’t know its circumstances, its author, its purpose. But it has caused me to think about it and is part of my own consciousness now. Would that old wall have caught my attention without it? I doubt it. Would the graffiti have had the same impact on me if it wasn’t for the wall? I’ll never know.

Unique and imperfect details cover London; they cover all cities. Look sideways, look upwards (the image above shows an off-kilter square in Alexandra Palace's roof), downwards – they’re there. They are what makes the city appealing: at once both brightening the mood (mine and London’s) and providing a focus to counter the daily grind.

Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, 19-27 March, London

From 19-27 March, the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival will take place in London for the 13th year with screenings and discussions focusing on some of the most pressing stories of the era.

The London festival this year premieres Youth Producing Change, a programme of youth-produced human rights films from around the world, in collaboration with founding presenter Adobe Youth Voices, the global initiative of the Adobe Foundation. Human Rights Watch will also present a photo exhibit, On the Frontlines, to coincide with the festival at the Frontline Club in Paddington from March 2 to March 27.

This year’s line-up includes 16 features and nine shorts from 21 countries, one world premiere, one European premiere, 10 UK premieres, and two London premieres. Thirteen of the 16 features focus on the following places: Afghanistan; Burma; Ecuador; Gujurat, India; Kashmir; Lebanon; Liberia; the Palestinian territories; Russia; Rwanda; South Africa; and Sudan. Other films take a global perspective, including the universal and poetically told story of an immigrant in the opening night screening on 19 March of Eden is West by the veteran filmmaker Costa Gavras (image above).

For the full programme of screenings visit the festival website at: http://www.hrw.org/iff

One to watch: How Art Made the World

Sky Arts 2 series begins at 7pm on Monday, 2 March, 2009.

Ever wondered why humans are so obsessed with representing the human form in art? Or how politicans use images to influence and control? Then this illuminating series is just what you've been looking for...

Just why does the world appear how it does? Fusing social history, politics, science, nature, archaeology and religion, this landmark series unravels a universal mystery - why the world around us looks like it does. Modern-day mysteries are answered by journeying back to the beginning of civilisation via some of the most amazing man-made creations in the world. An intriguing narrative thread drives through each film as exciting scientific demonstrations reveal how our minds, and those of our ancient ancestors, relate to art. Beautiful, surprising, compelling and above all, relevant, with a visual ambition worthy of its epic subject-matter, this awe-inspiring adventure will appeal not only to art lovers, but to anyone who has ever wondered about humanity's place in the world.

Lucid Magazine is launching next week!

Lucid is the place to find interesting, provocative articles that stimulate debate and inspire free thinking on everything from arts and culture to ideas and current affairs. Our tagline is “Clear Opinion, Sound Debate.” Interaction is key. Don’t be passive. Get involved in the discussions and leave your mark.

In the first issue, online on Monday, 2nd March:

· 15 years after the genocide in Rwanda what has the world learnt?
We speak to the authors of a new book on the plight of survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide that saw one million people killed as the world looked away and left a nation physically and psychologically scarred. But there remains hope. Plus, we ask what can be done to help those in the neighbouring Congo from suffering a similar fate.
· In search of the essence of Japan
When you think of Japan, the world’s second largest economy, what do you think of? Neon, Manga and high-technology? Or Geisha, Buddhism and quiet contemplation? Paul Knipe finds the essence of Japan, a country with the longest life expectancy in the world, coexisting in the traditional buildings and modern skyscrapers of the mighty Honshu cities.
· Hidden Histories
Between 1838 and 1917 over half a million Indians were transported to the Caribbean to work on the sugar plantations. Promised wages and rights, 240,000 of these migrants were taken to Guyana and today, East Indians make up 44% of the Guyanese population. Athena Kugblenu examines the reality of indentured labour and uncovers the truth about Caribbean Indians.
· Almighty Meltdown
In the first installment of a new series, Francis Kaikumba writes that the world is going through unprecedented change, not just economic but social and political, and offers his perspective on what the legacy of this period of upheaval will mean. Major institutions will crumble, systems of governance will collapse but, ultimately, people power will prevail.
· London: Capital of Cool
Twelve years after Britpop, Britart and Britfashion dominated the world’s media Sylvia Arthur argues that London is still the capital of creativity with its music, arts and culture scenes thriving despite the onset of a recession. The UK’s image may be in decline but the current economic crisis will serve as a catalyst for an outpouring of creative expression similar to that of the mid-1990s.

Sign up to the site now at http://www.lucidmagazine.co.uk/ to be notified when Lucid goes live and join our Facebook group here.

Lucid Magazine: Clear Opinion, Sound Debate

Paris, February 09

Graffiti, Paris style! I love it! I spotted this while taking a detour down a narrow side street just off the plush Boulevard St. Germain. This interesting piece of street art was above an Accessorize shop. Parisian subversives sure understand irony-:) Angela Davis would be proud.

The Lost Libraries of Timbuktu

12 Feb 2009, 21:00 on BBC Four

Aminatta Forna tells the story of legendary Timbuktu and its long hidden legacy of hundreds of thousands of ancient manuscripts. With its university founded around the same time as Oxford, Timbuktu is proof that the reading and writing of books have long been as important to Africans as to Europeans.

Athena Kugblenu by Paul Knipe

Saturday evening near London Bridge.

Lucid editorial meeting

The team gathered at Amano to discuss the launch issue. Athena was the first one there, Francis was an hour and a half late. Paul came with the goods. I came with my mind in check and my money right-:) All in all, a productive afternoon...

Truly Hypnotic Brass

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is a 9-piece, Chicago-based jazz group featuring 8 sons of Phil Cohran on horns. Originally from Chicago, the brothers started as a street ensemble before recording in 2004. They have performed with Mos Def, Aquilla Sadalla and Phil Cohran. In late 2007 they recorded with Erykah Badu and Maxwell and played at the North Sea Jazz Festival.

One to watch: Simon Schama’s The Power of Art

Sky Arts' new series begins Tuesday, 6 January

Focusing on eight iconic works of art such as Caravaggio’s David With the Head of Goliath, David’s Death of Marat and Picasso’s Guernica, this powerful series places great art at the centre of great moments in human history.This series is not a stroll through a gallery, nor is it a demure tour through a museum, instead it takes us on an extraordinary journey to the centre of human struggle and the dark heart of history. A combination of dramatic reconstruction, spectacular photography and Simon Schama’s unique and personal story telling transports the viewer back to the intense moments eight great works of art were conceived and born.

Each programme takes us where only art can go; into the vortex of Turner’s murderous seas; the light Guernica shone on fascist slaughter; and into the deep gravitational force fields of Rothko’s pulsing planets of colour. See Bernini’s thumbprint impressed on the kneaded clay of an old man’s beard and the slather of Rembrandt’s pigment crusting on his canvas. The Power of Art is the epic story of an unfolding force, a chance to witness the power of the individuals who changed the way we view the world.

The eight works of art included in the series are: Caravaggio’s David With the Head of Goliath; Bernini’s The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, Rembrandt’s The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis; David’s Death of Marat; Turner’s Slave Ship with Slaves Thrown Overboard; Typhoon Coming On; Van Gogh’s Self Portrait; Picasso’s Guernica and Rothko’s Seagram Building Murals.

One to watch: Jazz: The Gift

Sky Arts new jazz series begins Monday, 5 January, 2009.

Jazz: The Gift explores the evolution and the genius of America’s greatest original art form. Not simply a chronicle of musical fact or lore, Jazz shows this remarkable music in the context of the complicated country that gave birth to it and shows how this remarkable art form became a part of world culture. Jazz raises questions about race and class, art and commerce, virtuosity and collaboration, the individual and the community, the confluence of cultures and the universality of experience. Jazz: The Gift introduces jazz legends like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, employing engaging and detailed portraits of the great men and women of jazz to demonstrate how and why they make their music.