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Articles by Ben Bailey
When sound meets surface
Towering stone walls and vaulted ceilings intensify sound via reverberationTATTY ANTON-SMITH FOR VARSITY As I emerge from my staircase on a chilly Cambridge evening, I quickly register the eerie whisper of choral music echoing quietly around the large, brick-paved courtyard. This is something I have grown used to, given its twice weekly frequency; it now helps to shape the mood of walking from my room towards the Porters’ lodge, before being subjected to the suburban thrills of Grange Road.
The perils and oddities of Cambridge public transport
I was unwittingly thrown into a high speed kidnap situationLYRA BROWNING FOR VARSITY On a recent train journey to Cambridge, while staring idly out of the window, I was struck by the expansive clusters of modern, high-tech structures that dominate the low skyline on the Southern outskirts of Cambridge. The often windowless buildings all stand apart from each other, coated in peculiar cladding materials. They form part of the elusive but highly lauded biomedical campus.
The hidden costs of shore leave neglect
The latest results from the Seafarers Happiness Index (SHI) indicate that crew wellbeing is once more declining. According to Ben Bailey, Director of Programme at the Mission to Seafarers, a key problem driving this downturn – and one that is both symbolic and severely harmful – is the continued reduction of shore leave. Few people think about the workforce that makes global commerce possible, but nearly two million seafarers operate at the centre of it every single day.
First-time buyers: time for industry to stand on its own two feet – Bailey - Mortgage Solutions
Since launching in 2013, Help to Buy has supported more than 360,000 buyers. Despite the pitfalls of the scheme, it’s fair to say that it played a key role in helping people to escape generation rent. But, whether you thought Help to Buy was a force for good or not, it’s ending for new applications from today, and as of right now there are questions over how prepared the industry is. Arguably, the situation has never been worse for first-time buyers.
'Groomers': DeSantis Press Sec Defends Florida Bill That Bars Same-Sex Education in K-3 Classrooms
Politics By Ben Bailey March 9, 2022 at 7:30pm Both state and national Democrats have repeatedly referred to Florida’s HB 1557 as the “don’t say gay” bill and have fervently lobbied against it. Despite Democrat labelling, the legislation is aimed at banning same-sex education for children in elementary school. Christina Pushaw, who currently serves as press secretary for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, referred to Democrats as “groomers” for pedophiles over their fierce opposition to the bill.
Is Joe Biden Really a 'Moderate'... Are ANY Democrats?
Joe Biden is constantly called “the moderate candidate”. Compared to socialist Bernie Sanders, maybe. But don’t be fooled by this relativistic nomenclature. Compared to most Americans, Biden is still further left. Given Biden’s recent dust up with a union worker in Michigan over gun control, it’s a good idea to use this as a jumping off point. Many Americans hold their Constitutional Second Amendment right dear, but a moderate position on gun control no longer exists on the left.
A Place in Mind: Witness
Illustration by Mary Singer I was sitting 20 feet high in a thick red oak, the forest floor spread out below me. My lofty perch afforded a view not available to a ground dweller. From the ground, brown brush, thick and tangled, formed a visual wall. But once up in the tree stand, I could see over the brush for a good distance. It was an acorn year, which is why I was there in that particular tree on a mid-October morning.
Connections Festival 2019: Performances
Each year the National Theatre commissions ten new plays for young people to perform, bringing together some of the UK's most exciting writers with the theatre-makers of tomorrow. 300 youth theatre companies and over 6,000 young people from every corner of the UK are producing a Connections play this year. Seven youth theatre companies will come to Derby Theatre to perform their own productions of plays by Rob Drummond, Ndell Leyshon, Lajaune Lincoln & Ben Baily Smith, Laura Lomas and Tom Wells.
Rosy Carrick | Viva Magazines
It’s a show about time travel, but it’s also about how we interact with our various past and future selves on a day-to-day basis. We all navigate these relationships, whether it’s looking at old photos or leaving notes to remind ourselves to buy milk or whatever. The show asks what if that was turned the other way round? Instead of writing to your future self, what if you got a note back? It’s partly a geeky sci-fi adventure caper, and partly autobiographical.
Joan Baez | Viva Magazines
What made you decide to do a farewell tour? I asked my first and best vocal coach when I would know if I’m to quit and he said, oh you’ll know, your voice will tell you. I was 30 when he said that, and I feel as if I know now what he was talking about. I’d also like to pay a little respect to my body so it seemed like the time to quit bouncing around on buses. It’s not a bad time... for a woman of my age in this job. Ha, it’s been a long time out here. Has it affected your choice of songs?
Bang on a Can All-Stars
Brian Eno, Philip Glass and Steve Reich are among the musicians whose work is showcased in Bang on a Can’s concert at Brighton Dome this month. Michael Gordon, who co-founded the New York ensemble over thirty years ago explains why minimalist music is reaching a wider audience than ever before. In 1987 we put on a concert that was twelve hours long. Julia Wolfe, David Lang and I put it on together, and it started at two in the afternoon and ended at two in the morning.
Skeletal | Viva Magazines
Tim France is more used to photographing bands for album covers, and lifestyle features for magazines, but lately he’s been taking a very close look at bones at the Booth Museum. I’ve had an interest in skulls and bones since childhood. I first visited the Booth Museum when I moved down from London a few years ago. I was struck by the amazing display of osteology – or bones – and so I approached them about photographing the collection.
Local music roundup: October
BRITISH SEA POWER Fri 12, Patterns, 7pm, £20 After their sold out Concorde show in February, British Sea Power are back to play a benefit gig in the substantially smaller downstairs room of Patterns. The night is in aid of charities working to help homeless people, with proceeds split between Mind and The Clock Tower Sanctuary. As if the pull of BSP wasn’t enough to pack out the venue, there’s also a bill of top local support.
Local music roundup: September
PASSENGER Sun 9, Brighton Dome, 7pm, £26 Once upon a time there was a local band called Passenger who released one album and split up without much ado. Ten years later, a similar-sounding act, also called Passenger, are packing out the Brighton Dome. Songwriter Mike Rosenberg took to busking around Europe when he quit his band, but kept the name.
Local music roundup: August
BAKK LAMP FALL Sat 4, Brunswick, 8pm, £8/7 Senegalese singer and musician Khadim Sarr came to Brighton about ten years ago and swiftly formed Bakk Lamp Fall, a six-piece band combining Gnawa desert traditions with contemporary styles. Named after the African spiritual leader Ibrahima Fall, the group incorporate the chants of the Baye Fall movement, in a similar vein to devotional Sufi music.
Viva Magazines
Tell us about the ‘Potted Previews’ you’re doing at Brighton Open Air Theatre... People will be doing short versions of the shows that they’ll be taking to Edinburgh. Last time we had Angela Barnes and Mark Steel. I tend to go for people with some sort of Brighton connection. Is it odd performing comedy in the open air? Yes, it is. When you first do it you do feel a bit exposed, and you feel less inclined to be as transgressive as you might be in a dark room after a couple of drinks.
Viva Magazines
MR B THE GENTLEMAN RHYMER Sat 2 & Sun 3, Komedia, 7.15pm & 8pm, £10 Now entering his second decade as a ‘chap hop’ performer, Mr B seems to be in no hurry to appease those who thought his act would be a flash-in-the-pan novelty. He returns this month with two dates at the Komedia and a new batch of ditties about hot topics such as chivalry, pipe-smoking and fortified wine.
Viva Magazines
Cabaret singer and storyteller Annika Brown joins local legend John Agard on a double bill at the All Saints Centre this month. Tell us about the show… John’s play Pushkin’s Half Hour is a satirical homage to Alexander Pushkin’s novel Eugene Onegin, whereas mine is a homage to the devil archetype. The connection is that between my songs I’m performing a selection of poems from John’s From The Devil’s Pulpit. Doing so takes the audience on a journey, much like a play.
Viva Magazines
Viva Lewes and Viva Brighton. What's on and what's what, in Lewes and Brighton.
Viva Magazines
Viva Lewes and Viva Brighton. What's on and what's what, in Lewes and Brighton.
Viva Magazines
Viva Lewes and Viva Brighton. What's on and what's what, in Lewes and Brighton.
Viva Magazines
Viva Lewes and Viva Brighton. What's on and what's what, in Lewes and Brighton.
Viva Magazines
Viva Lewes and Viva Brighton. What's on and what's what, in Lewes and Brighton.
Viva Magazines
Viva Lewes and Viva Brighton. What's on and what's what, in Lewes and Brighton.
Viva Magazines
Viva Lewes and Viva Brighton. What's on and what's what, in Lewes and Brighton.
Viva Magazines
Viva Lewes and Viva Brighton. What's on and what's what, in Lewes and Brighton.
Viva Magazines
Viva Lewes and Viva Brighton. What's on and what's what, in Lewes and Brighton.
Viva Magazines
Viva Lewes and Viva Brighton. What's on and what's what, in Lewes and Brighton.
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