October 31st
'Ony guisers Mister?'
(Note for younger readers: this was the traditional Halloween cry of the street urchin as he went door to door prepared to tell a joke, sing a song, recite a poem or otherwise humiliate himself in return for a handful of chump change and a toffee apple. You see, there was none of this 'trick or treat' nonsense when I was a lad - or 'demanding money with menaces' as I prefer to think of it. And we used to make our lanterns out of neeps back then, no soft southern pumpkins for us. And I'll tell you something else: if you were off the school sick you'd better be prepared to make your own entertainment, cause the telly shut down in the afternoon, right after 'Pipkin's Puppets' featuring the rather splendid Topov the Monkey. Kids these days - they don't know they're born. But I digress.)
Well, no, sorry lads. I wasn't requiring any guisers round my gaff this evening, as instead I attended - along with many others - Zuzana's fascinating talk on her recent trip to the Ecuadorian rainforest. Very entertaining it was too - a sight more entertaining than some sulky adolescent turning up at my door expecting a fiver, minimum, for thirty seconds of 'I'm a Little Teapot'. Still, never mind, you can always dust down the 'Scream' masks again next year - and in the meantime I'm sure you'll get your own back by letting off fireworks outside my window constantly for the next week or so. Sheesh.
October 27th
Ha! To all of you who laughed at the idea of a Ukrainian Poetry Evening - yah-boo-sucks. They're not laughing in the Ukraine, I can assure you. See here if you don't believe me. And if your Ukrainian isn't up to scratch (Why not take my correspondence course? Best results guaranteed. No one will ever kick sand in your face again) here's a dodgy translation here. Dzhuliet, eh? Boys oh boys, that one's going to run and run.
Meanwhile, do you remember the good old days? Not the excellent television programme of the same name, but the actual good old days, when a cracking night out meant sitting in a draughty church hall listening to a lecture - with slides - from the Reverend Eric Stoke-Poges on his days with the SPCK Missionary Society among the headhunters of Papua New Guinea? Well, neither do I, but Henderson's are reviving them this Saturday as Zuzana from the shop gives an illustrated talk on her recent trip to Ecuador. And no, it's not just 'here's what I did on my holidays' as she was there doing voluntary work in the rainforest, which is a far cry from lounging around, a Factor 24 oil slick, pretending to read the latest John Grisham while surreptitiously eyeing up the talent in some cheesy Club 18-30 resort. Not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with that either, obviously.
Zuzana's talk is at the Henderson Gallery at 7pm on October 31st - and it's free, so come along and bring your friends.
October 24th
Artists from New York, Jerusalem and Paris all flew into town to attend the opening of the de Koenigswarter Family show at The Henderson Gallery last night.
Afterwards the family were invited downstairs to the restaurant for a meal, where top local musicians Graham High and Ian Charlton were playing. Ever resourceful, Peter W suggested to them they might like to play 'Round Midnight'. What? The iconic classic that had first introduced matriarch Nica de Koenigswarter to the music of Thelonious Monk and a lifelong friendship; the tune that was always for Nica the great jazz tune; the tune that the de Koenigswarter family had known all their lives, had grown up knowing just as they had grown up knowing Monk himself; the tune they had heard being played by the very best?
There were, one imagines, a few butterflies, but Graham and Ian obliged, and gave a mesmerising performance which had diners transfixed. At the end, amidst thunderous applause, Berit de Koenigswarter was heard to cry, 'Yeah! Thank you guys, thank you!' Way to go boys. 'Crossing Continents: the de Koenigswarter Family' continues at The Henderson Gallery; Graham and Ian appear in Henderson's Restaurant on alternate Friday nights.
October 22nd
Yet another special night at Henderson's today as the Gallery hosted the inaugural meeting of the newly formed Edinburgh branch of the Oxford Alumni Association.
Organisers had hoped for a turnout of around twenty; in the event numbers grew and grew until close on ninety were packed into the place, all eagerly discussing plate tectonics or rough breathing or whatever it is these brainy types talk about. Here thrusting young things networked ferociously, there cheery old buffers, whose noses suggested their colleges had laid down a goodly stock of vintage port, reminisced about the time Young Squiffy ripped the rear out of his cavalry twills sliding down the banister at the Bodleian.
Juliet, who organised the event, and who is herself an alumnus (or is the feminine 'alumness'?) ought to be congratulated on another triumph, and a big thank you goes out to Simon behind the bar and the ever excellent kitchen staff for their sterling work on the night.
October 20th
Without blowing our own trumpet (well, it just wouldn't be like us) I honestly think that Henderson's is fast becoming the Barbican Centre of the North. No, really. I mean, take tonight for example - we had not one but two major cultural happenings, um, happening.
Upstairs in the Gallery we had the launch of a new translation of Janet Paisley's poetry into Ukrainian - that's right, Ukrainian - and a right good do it was too. Indeed, Joy Hendry, who was hosting, described it as one of the best book launches she'd ever been to, and she's been to a few.
Meanwhile, downstairs in the Wine Bar, the inaugural Most Entertaining Workshop Concert was an absolute triumph. The workshop participants all performed magnificently - even the lad who was spotted in the toilets beforehand singing along to his mobile phone in a desperate last minute attempt to memorize the words before taking to the stage - and afterwards the course leaders took over to jam away far into the night. The next concert promises to be unmissable - and you'll find details on here first.
October 17th
A word of warning to any patrons involved in adulterous relationships (not Henderson's customers surely) or on the run from the police on five continents (Barrie?): your favourite local restaurant is to be transformed into a film set for the next few weeks.
BAFTA winner Johanna Wagner and her faithful sidekick Penfold have been commissioned to begin work on 'Henderson's - The Movie', coming soon to a screen near you. Probably the screen in the restaurant en route to the toilets. Yee-ha! The Hendersons are going to Hollywood!
October 15th
Great news for Nina in Henderson's Shop, wonderful news, fantastic news! Congratulations girl, I hear you're over the moon.
And no wonder - the new range of Austrian Organic Fair Trade Chocolate has arrived. 'I just don't know which to choose', says an excited Nina, breathlessly. 'The cashew nut and pineapple, the plum brandy, the Scotch Whisky, the, the..........oh, I don't know. I could eat them all, breakfast, lunch, dinner, I could eat them all.' High praise indeed - Nina loves 'em. Then again, Nina is pregnant.
October 10th
A sad day at The Henderson Gallery as we finally bid a fond farewell to the Paul Martin show. The last day rush saw dozens through the door eager not to miss it. If you weren't one of them, sorry - you'll just have to wait for the commemorative book and DVD. Talking of books, that for our previous exhibition 'Unspoken Lines' is now available. Its 180 pages feature an in-depth conversation between artist Joyce Gunn Cairns and Julie Lawson from the SNPG and full colour plates of the portraits in the show alongside biographies of the sitters. For further details take a peek at the Gallery's new all-dancing, all-singing website.
October 9th
Henderson's @ St John's and the Henderson's outside catering team, lead from the front by the indomitable Juliet, leapt into action today to serve the luminaries in attendance at the Church of Scotland Church and Society Council's conference on the economy. Hungry lads these meenister chappies. Among those in attendance was International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander who, we can exclusively reveal, is particularly fond of our Homemade Chocolate and Banana biscuits. There you go. You won't find that in the papers.
October 7th
Some of the older boys and girls may remember the visit of the Korean journalists back on September 5th when I remarked that 'all we need now are the Japanese for a clean sweep' of the East Asian press. Well, today it happened. A clutch of journos from the top Japanese lifestyle magazines popped into Henderson's for breakfast before being whisked off on a whistlestop tour of the Malt Whisky Experience and Edinburgh Castle (you see the exalted company we keep?) Then it was back to Henderson's for a reception in the Gallery followed by a meal downstairs in the company of Juliet, Mark and Fiona Powell, that copywriter guy and assorted other like-minded bods. A grand old time was had by all, and the hilarity continued far into the night.
'And when will we see the results of all this press activity?' I hear you cry. Well, Juliet has been in email contact with Park Hyemin of the JoongAng Ilbo - the second biggest newspaper in Korea don't you know - and an article is in the pipeline. When it appears we shall post a link for those of you whose Korean is up to it. The rest of you sad sack no-marks will just have to take it on trust.
October 6th
Henderson's commitment to culture continues with the announcement today that they are to hook up with Edinburgh's 'Most Entertaining' organisation to host their regular Musical Workshop Concerts. If you've never heard of these Workshops, the idea is to take a group of people of all ages and all musical abilities - including those who have never played an instrument in their lives - and over the course of six weeks prepare them for a public performance. I suppose it's like one of those Reality TV shows, except that unlike them it is, um, most entertaining. The first concert will be held in Henderson's Wine Bar at 7PM on Tuesday 20th October, and entry is absolutely free. Come and prepare to be amazed - oh, and if you're interested in taking part in a future course you can find more information here www.mostentertaining.com
October 5th
Pa-a-a-arty! Last night saw the post-festival party for the festival staff. Thus far our intrepid cub reporter has been able to establish that Bannerman's was visited, as was Whistlebinkie's; that at some point music was being played; and that quite a lot of cash seems to have been spent along the way. He'd love to be able to give you further information, but despite close questioning of the staff, details remain somewhat sketchy. Damn, I wish I'd been there.
October 3rd
OK, there's good news and bad news for all you Gallery fans. The good news is that Paul Martin's sublime show 'Through a Glass Darkly' has been extended until October 10th. Hurrah. The bad news is that, no matter how much we may beg, that is absolutely, positively it. Boo. I know, I know, we feel just the same. We don't want it to end either. In fact Gallery Director Peter W's flatmates have been in touch to complain about the irritating muffled sobs coming from the lad's bedroom as he cries himself to sleep each night, Peter Andre style. Still, now we can start looking forward to the de Koenigswarter Family show 'The Defective Gene'.
