Celebrating 50 years as one of the world’s best loved ska and reggae groups, the legendary Toots and The Maytals are set to play the biggest UK tour of their illustrious career in August and September 2011, including a date at O2 Academy, Oxford, on Tuesday 13th September.
Led by the charismatic ‘Toots’ Hibbert, The Maytals formed in Kingston, Jamaica in 1961. ‘Toots’ popularised the reggae sound with hits such as "Do The Reggay" (widely acknowledged as the first song ever to feature the word ‘Reggae’), "Pressure Drop", "54-46 (That's My Number)", "Sweet and Dandy", "Monkey Man", “Funky Kingston” and “Reggae Got Soul”.
On the eve of announcing his UK tour, ‘Toots’ said from his home in Jamaica, “Everybody knows the UK is like a second home to me, so I’m looking forward to seeing all my old friends and making some new ones on this very special anniversary tour.”
Over the last five decades, ‘Toots’ has influenced countless artists including The Specials, The Clash to Amy Winehouse,and has toured with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow and Los Lonely Boys.
More recently, Toots and The Maytals won a Grammy Award in 2005 for ‘Best Reggae Album’ with ‘True Love’. The album consisted of re-recorded versions of their classics alongside legendary musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards.
Anyone who saw Toots and The Maytals’ stunning performance at last year’s Glastonbury Festival, not to mention the BBC’s documentary about the group, as part of their acclaimed ‘Reggae Britannia’ season (February 2011), will testify that these dates are a must-see opportunity to witness one of reggae music’s true greats, live in action.
Ticket Competition
We are giving away a pair of tickets to see Toots and the Maytals at the O2 Academy Oxford on Tuesday 13th September. This competition is now closed.
Duotone’s album launch:
The Northwall Arts Centre, Oxford
Saturday 15th October, 2011.
Doors: 7pm – Show 7.30pm
A theatrical night of music and poetry to mark the release of Duotone’s new album ‘Ropes’
“As soon as you listen to the opening song you’ll be hooked” **** 4 Stars (Maverick)
Since their debut release ‘Work Harder & One Day You’ll Find Her’ back in 2009, Duotone have been steadily building a following with their shows that breathlessly move from the most delicate moments of heartfelt intimacy right through to powerful thrash cello and driving beats.
‘the two musicians are hugely versatile individually and together, turning seamlessly from a gentle meditation to a cello and cajon breakbeat workout within half a minute. Their musicianship is flawless’. Mark Wilden (Music in Oxford)
Duotone are fast becoming one of the word of mouth success stories of 2011 with memorable shows at London’s Southbank Centre, Green Man, Warneford Chapel - Oxford and the End of the Road.
Don’t miss this opportunity to see them perform alongside some of Oxford’s best musicians and poets at the North Wall, featuring Wod, Alan Buckley and Jane Griffiths & Colin Fletcher.
Duotone are Barney Morse-Brown (cellist for the Imagined Village) and James Garrett.
Video:
Ticket Competition
We are giving away a pair of tickets to see Duotone at The North Wall on Saturday 15th October. To enter simply email your full name and phone number (please make sure the subject of the email contains 'Duotone'). The winner will be notified after the competition closes on Friday, 7th October.
Oxfordshire’s largest traditional street fair, first recorded in 1624. A wide variety of attractions, large and small, from traditional carousels to hair-raising rides plus music, food, coconut shies and more. Located on St Giles’ in the city centre. The road is closed to all traffic.
Bainton Bikes is proud to offer the official guided cycle tour of Oxford where you will discover not only the beautiful dreaming spires and the University, but also the peaceful surrounding countryside and a taste of the daily lives of the past and present Oxonians.
Our tour has 11 designated stops, where our guides share some Oxford insight. It lasts for 2.3 – 3 hours which includes a refreshment break at the 17th Century Trout Inn.
Price - £25, Students - £20, children under 16 - £15. Price includes bikes, tour guide and a drink at The Trout Inn.
Booking is essential, which can be done by phone 01865 311610, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or via our website http://www.baintonbikes.com
Bainton Bikes are based in Oxford and run by people who know and love cycling in Oxfordshire.
Tour Giveaway
Bainton Bikes is kindly offering a pair of tickets for the Cycle Tour to one of our lucky readers! This competition is now closed.
For more information about Bainton Bikes and the official guided cycle tour of Oxford, visit their official website.
Foodies Festival Oxford - South Parks - August 27, 28, 29
Celebrate the finest food, drink and culinary talent at Oxford's annual food & drink festival. Watch Michelin star and top chefs cook live and passing on their culinary secrets. Sample from over 100 specilaity food and drink producers and pick up exclusive ingredients. Try your hand at masterclasses and tasting sessions including food and wine matching, chocolate tasting and cocktail mixing, with cooking for kids classes for budding young chefs. Indulge in signature dishes and sip summer cocktails whilst enjoying live music.
Special 2-4-1 Ticket Offer
Get 2 x day-tickets for £10 or 2 x three-day tickets for £18. Use booking code foodies241 when booking online at http://www.foodiesfestival.com/ticket-information/ or call 0871 230 5573
Ticket Giveaway
Foodies Festival and Oxford City Guide are teaming up to give away 10 pairs of tickets (worth £10 each!), which allows entry every day of the festival. This competition is now closed.
For more information about the Foodies Festival, or to purchase tickets, visit the official website. Follow the Foodies Festival on twitter.
The Oxford Plaque Guide
by Elizabeth Jean Warr
Foreword by Colin Dexter
Blue plaques, black plaques and other memorials to the city’s most famous and influential people
Many of Oxford’s buildings display memorials to people who have achieved either fame or notoriety in a wide range of spheres. In fact, plaque recipients include a marmalade maker and a Morris dancer as well as respected scientists, writers and artists. The memorials provide only the briefest of details of their lives and achievements so it is the aim of this guide to enlighten, inform and even surprise the curious observer.
• Maps and photographs will help people find their own favourite sites
• Easy-to-use A to Z format
• Impeccable research by an Oxford Blue Badge Guide
• For those who pass by plaques every day and wonder who or what was so deserving of such a memorial
• Includes buildings, structures and events as well as people
Elizabeth Jean Warr worked as a journalist and teacher before embarking on a career as a Blue Badge Guide. She has a particular interest in the hidden history of Oxford, the gardens and pre-Raphaelite links with the city. Elizabeth gives illustrated talks on the history of the city. She lives in Kingston Bagpuize.
Book Giveaway
We are giving away a copy of this fantastic new book! This competition has now ended.
Available from all good bookshops, Amazon, and The History Press.
Direct sales – telephone 01235 465577 or http://www.thehistorypress.co.uk
Posted: Monday, 15 August 2011
Music in the Abbey, 16-18th September, Dorchester Abbey
The Orchestra of St John’s, affectionately known as the OSJ, is a world renowned Orchestra of outstanding musicians. Directed and conducted by John Lubbock, the OSJ has performed in all the world’s great concert halls including the Royal Festival Hall and the Albert Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Musickverein Vienna, and the Philharmonie in Berlin and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Reviewers and audiences agree that the OSJ brings a unique freshness to the music:
“There is something very special about Lubbock's commitment to the music he conducts and how he communicates its gist to an audience, finished with the loving care Beecham once brought, an unforced warmth and radiance of orchestral timbre. The results are spellbinding.”
The Sunday Times
The OSJ is at home in Oxfordshire, and we are fortunate we can attend world class concerts without needing to leave the county.
Music in the Abbey, 16-18th September, Dorchester Abbey
This autumn the OSJ will be performing at the Orchestra’s own festival, Music in the Abbey, in the atmospheric and beautiful surroundings of Dorchester Abbey. John says, “The acoustics in the Abbey are wonderful, and playing there is always the highlight of our year.”
Audiences often remark how they hear a piece of music with new clarity and talk of the special enthusiasm and energy that the OSJ can bring to performance. Last year once concert goer wrote:
“We have supported the Dorchester Abbey Festival for a number of years now, but your concert on Sunday was absolutely the best ever - and one of the best I have ever been to in my 40 years of concert-going. Sally Matthews’ rendition of the Four Last Songs was sublime, the OSJ Voices were on top form, and all of you played magnificently with real depth of feeling and passion. Thank you, thank you to everyone for a truly wonderful concert which will live long in my memory.”
This year’s programme starts with the annual concert given by the students of Christine Cairns (John’s wife) from the Birmingham Conservatoire and continues with David Pike as the Baritone soloist for Saturday’s concert of Fauré’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Mahler’s Kindertotenleider, Ravel’s Pavane pour une Infante Defunte, and Pelléas et Mélisande again, this time by Sibelius.
On the Sunday, the programme is dedicated to Beethoven with the Orchestra’s leader, Jan Schmolk, playing the Beethoven violin concerto
Friday 16 September
The Annual Concert given by the students of Christine Cairns from The Birmingham Conservatoire
Tickets £10
Saturday 17 September
G Faure: Pelléas et Mélisande
G Mahler: Kindertotenleider
M Ravel: Pavane pour une Infante Defunte
J Sibelius: Pelléas et Mélisande
Soloists:
David Pike (Baritone)
Tickets: £30, £25
Sunday 18 September
L. Beethoven: Mass in C
Soloists
Lucy Briginshaw Soprano
Christine Sjolander Mezzo (Soprano)
John Pierce (Tenor)
David Price (Baritone)
L. Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Soloist:
Jan Schmolk (Violin)
Tickets: £30, £25
All Music in the Abbey concerts start at 7.30 pm
Ticket competition
We are giving away a pair of tickets to hear the OSJ perform at Dorchester Abbey! This competition has now ended.
Watch the OSJ:
For more information about the Orchestra of St. John’s, please visit their website
For the full programme of concerts and to buy tickets for all the OSJ’s Oxfordshire concerts, visit http://www.osj.org.uk, telephone the Box Office on 0845 6801926, or buy from Blackwell’s Music Shop, 23-25 Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3AX, telephone 01865 333586
The Blenheim Singers Sing The Story of Milton Manor
The story of Milton Manor
with canapés, refreshments and music
Saturday 3 September, 7pm
In the 1760s Catholicism was still officially forbidden. Bryant Barrett, a Roman Catholic convert and lace-maker to George III, added his Chapel discreetly on the first floor behind a restrained classical façade. Medieval stained glass windows were added facing towards the back, so that then, as now, this intimate private chapel was rendered undistinguishable from outside. Inside, however, the chapel is a charming and unexpected essay in the kind of elegant Gothic idiom associated with Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill.
Milton Manor House in Oxfordshire is a jewel in the catalogue of English country houses. In its Chapel you will have the chance to hear the story of Milton Manor House told through the music of Henry Purcell, John Stanley, George Frederic Handel, William Boyce and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
PROGRAMME
7:00pm Drinks in the Walled Garden
7:20pm Introduction by current owner of Milton Manor, Anthony Mockler-Barrett
7:30pm Music in the Chapel
8:30pm Canapés, refreshments, and opportunity to explore the House
Ticket competition
We are giving away a pair of weekend tickets to this fantastic event! This competition is now closed.
Tickets £35 - Phone or email 07733330913 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
For more information about the Blenheim Singers, visit their website.
DIRECTIONS
Didcot Parkway Station (3 miles)
Abingdon (3 miles)
Oxford (9 miles)
Newbury (15 miles)
Milton lies just off the A34; 1 ½ hour’s drive from London via either the M4 or M40. The Village and the House are signposted.
Milton Manor, OX14 4EN
This summer, The Oxford Castle are showcasing a spookily spectacular collection of films to fit in with the eerie atmosphere of Oxford Castle! Four classic films, guaranteed to send a shiver down your spine! All screened within the beautiful Castle Gardens, this unique huge-screen open air cinema is an event not to be missed…if you dare.
Wednesday 31st August - Ghostbusters (PG)
Three unemployed parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service.
Oxford Castle Gardens - Doors: 7pm, Screening: 7.30pm Ticket Giveaway
We are giving away 4 pairs of tickets to see this great film! This competition is now closed.
Thursday 1st September - The Corpse Bride (PG)
When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her.
Oxford Castle Gardens - Doors: 7pm, Screening: 7.30pm Ticket Giveaway
We are giving away 4 pairs of tickets to see this great film! This competition is now closed.
Friday 2nd September - The Others (12A)
A woman who lives in a darkened old house with her two photosensitive children becomes convinced that her family home is haunted.
Oxford Castle Gardens - Doors: 7pm, Screening: 7.30pm Ticket Giveaway
We are giving away 4 pairs of tickets to see this great film! This competition is now closed.
Saturday 3rd September - The Blair Witch Project (15)
Three film students travel to Maryland to make a student film about a local urban legend... The Blair Witch. The three went into the woods on a two day hike to find the Blair Witch, and never came back. One year later, the students film and video was found in the woods. The footage was compiled and made into a movie.
Oxford Castle Gardens - Doors: 7pm, Screening: 7.30pm Ticket Giveaway
We are giving away 4 pairs of tickets to see this great film! This competition is now closed.
You may enter each competition once.
Tickets: £8.50 advance / £6.50 concessions from O3 Gallery, Oxford Castle or online at http://www.gigantic.com
For more information about these events or the Oxford Castle, please visit the Oxford Castle website.
Many of Oxford’s buildings display memorials to people who have achieved either fame or notoriety in a wide range of spheres. In fact, plaque recipients include a marmalade maker and a Morris dancer as well as respected scientists, writers and artists. The memorials provide only the briefest of details of their lives and achievements so it is the aim of this guide to enlighten, inform and even surprise the curious observer.
Wednesday 31st August - Ghostbusters (PG)
Thursday 1st September - The Corpse Bride (PG)
Friday 2nd September - The Others (12A)
Saturday 3rd September - The Blair Witch Project (15)