For Those Listening To Radio 3 @ 7.30pm Tonight

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These are the notes the audience at Snape will have as a guide to the piece’s structure. It is based on The Jolly Corner by Henry James, but is set on a Transatlantic ship, New York in the late ’40s and Soho present day. Spot the Benjamin Britten references (because there’s none in the music).

THAT OBSCURE HURT.

Music by Guy Barker.

PART ONE.  Prologue: An Atlantic Overture.

Early 1950s. The English musicians of Geraldo’s Navy arrive at the docks in awe at the size of their ship, the SS Lucretia. As they board the ship, the captain and the crew bark at the disorientated new hands, sending them this way and that, looking for their cabins, their instruments, their gig and then, as they set sail into rough seas, the newcomers try unsuccessfully to find their sea legs. Eventually, they locate their berths and settle into work and, over the sounds of the ocean, we hear the strains of the dance band and we find ourselves momentarily in the Verandah Ballroom before the skyline of Manhattan makes in appearance. The excited musicians drop their instruments and scuttle ashore. They take in the sights, sounds and throbbing energy of the city – exciting and intimidating in equal measure. They find themselves on 52nd St.

PART TWO. Prince At the Pagoda.

Early 1950s. The jazz club on 52nd St where the musicians listen in rapture to host Harry Prince as the band plays a roaring be-bop piece that incorporates passages from the solos of the great modern jazz maters of that era: Bud Powell, Fats Navarro and even a four-bar quote from Dizzy Gillespie’s “Ow”.

PART THREE. In Darkness.

Present Day. Spencer Bryden is watching CCTV from a remote location and sees the ‘ghost’ haunting his club (Gordie’s or AMJG) in Soho, London. An account of the encounter is read out by Jennifer Muldoon, an investigator into psychic phenomena.

PART FOUR. Opus 50/ A Time There Is

Present Day. Spencer, still reeling from the images he saw on the CCTV, visits the Soho jazz club (Gordie’s, above) he inherited from his father, which is in its final week of operation before its proposed sale.  Harry Prince Jr – the son of the man Spencer’s father saw in NYC all those years ago – sings a song about the passage of time.

PART FIVE. Powder Monkey.

1960s flashback. Harry Prince Jr, with a little help from Alice Staverton, the club manager, evokes the sounds of the club in its sixties heyday.

PART SIX. Notturno.

Spencer is alone in the club after hours, the room silent and deserted, the tables with empty glasses, the walls slick with 60 years of smoke and sweat and the echo of all the music that has been played and is about to disappear forever.

PART SEVEN. A Kind of Ghost.

Spencer becomes aware he is not alone. He glimpses a figure. He chases him backstage, terrified but determined to confront the spectre. But the ghost doesn’t want to be caught – it is elusive and playful, giggling, darting and dancing (in one instance to a tango) through the club, shredding Spencer’s already taut nerves, until, finally, an exhausted Spencer manages to corner the phantom. When he finally does confront the ‘ghost’, he realises he is looking at a different version of himself. This was the terrifying image he saw on the CCTV.  This is the man he would have been, had he not left London for exile. But this ghost is suffering – he has cancer, is constantly chewing nicotine gum to suppress the urge for the cigarettes that have killed him. He has come to warn Spencer. And enlighten him.

PART EIGHT. I Hid My Love.

Spencer reels yet again at the revelations from his other self (musically, the brass chorale in Opus 50 reappears, but this time played on the strings). The ghost departs and Spencer discovers cans of old film from the days when his father was alive. He plays the super-8 movies and sings a song about the love of his father (and Alice), and how he denied it. This piece is designed to echo ‘the sounds of the era of ‘The Great American Songbook’.

PART NINE. Alice’s Gift.

Alice finds Spencer passed out in the club. She wakes him. He reveals what the ghost told him- that Alice has paid off the gangsters who had been threatening him and that she has saved the club – if he wants to keep it, he can. Alice makes a speech explaining herself and finally declaring her love for Spencer. He realises he has been a fool – he can have the club, and Alice too. With thanks to Henry James and his friend Edith Wharton.

PART TEN. Floods of Noise.

The spirits of every musician who has ever played the club celebrates including a reprise of Powder Monkey.

MAN TURNS BASE METAL INTO GOLD

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I just spent most of the day at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studio, where Guy Barker was rehearsing the BBC Concert Orchestra and his own big band. Kurt Elling joined for the afternoon, straight off the plane from Miami, with one and a half hours sleep under his belt, and began to sing the ballad from That Obscure Hurt, the piece being rehearsed. He was singing my words and I was reminded of a quote from maverick producer/writer Kip Hanrahan on his music : “Sometimes it doesn’t mean anything more than handing rolled steel to Jack Bruce and watching as he turns it into gold in front of thousands of people.”
Well there weren’t thousands there today, but you can catch Kurt do just that same alchemy by listening to That Obscure Hurt on Radio 3 on Wed. 12th June at 7.30pm or, better, seeing him do it live at Snape Maltings in Suffolk at the same time (see http://www.aldeburgh.co.uk).photo

LOCATION FOR NEW BOOK

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The sequel to DEAD MAN’S LAND won’t be out until January 2014, but this is a short article about Elveden/Thetford Forest in Suffolk, where much of the action takes place. It might seem a long way from the trenches of Flanders, but there is a definite connection.

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What links the Koh-i-noor diamond, Ireland’s black gold, the first armoured tanks, onions, and one of the most extensive and well-used forest parks in England? The answer is the Elveden Hall Estate – currently owned by Lord Iveagh of the Guinness family – which is made up of 10,000 acres of farmland as well as 12,500 acres of heathland and woods (plus a well-hidden Center Parcs) which sits right next to Thetford Forest Park recreational area, where you can walk, ride or even Segway the trails (or zip wire through the canopy). Whether you like the great outdoors, locally grown produce with minimum food miles under its belt or fascinating local history, it’s a great spot for a weekend.

WHERE WILL I BE SLEEPING? The Elveden Inn (01842-890876, elvedeninn.com), which is owned by the estate, was once a dark, poky country pub, but has recently been sympathetically expanded, adding a conservatory and a large outside terrace. It has just four rooms (with two more planned), which follow a familiar boutique-ish vernacular– oversized leather bedheads, dark wooden furniture, crisp white bed linen, and clean simple lines. Nothing innovative, but streets ahead of the fusty décor that most pubs and hotels in the area offer. The staff is young, friendly and efficient, children and dogs are welcome and, for obvious reasons, it pours an excellent pint of Guinness.

WHAT’S FOR DINNER? Superior pub grub, from home-made pasty with seasonal farm vegetables from the estate (£11.95), local venison with rabbit rosti and cabbage (£13.95), Haddock in Guinness (of course) batter (£11.95), plus good filling ploughman’s at lunchtime (£10.50). Although vegetarians might struggle a little (only two choices on the mains), under-tens are very well catered for, with a main course (pasta, Suffolk ham and egg, mini-burger etc, with chips or jacket potato and baked beans or veg or salad), a fruit drink and ice cream for £6.95. There’s a Beer & Bands Festival 14-16th June, with guest ales and ciders and live music.

WHAT ELSE TO DO: Get out into the forest. For riders, Forest Park Riding and Livery Centre (01842-815517) at Santon Downham in nearby Brandon offers hacks along lovely bridle paths, taking in the pine trees, but also stands of sycamore, chestnut and oak, as well as crossing heather-rich heathland, from £20 per hour. At High Lodge Forest Centre (01842 815434, forestry.gov.uk/highlodge, parking charges £1.90 per hour to £10 for five hours plus) there are activity trails for kids (giant swinging tyres, ropeways etc.), orienteering trails, you can hire mountain bikes (£7.50 first hour, £3.50 subsequent hours, includes helmets; kids £6/£2.50), over-10s can take out an all-terrain Segway (£25 per hour), or swing or zip-wire through the canopy, all with Go Ape (goape.co.uk, 10-17 years olds £20, 18 and over £30 for 2-3 hours in the tree tops; there is a new junior course for 6-12s, £15).

Unknown-1   History buffs might want to explore why nearby Thetford and the Eleveden church are pilgrimage sites for Sikhs – in 1860 the British wrested control of the Punjab from the young Maharajah Duleep Singh, who was just eleven. As part of the war booty, he had to hand over the legendary Koh-i-noor diamond (now part of the crown jewels and valued at £80m). He was also exiled from India and given Elveden Hall, which he converted into an astonishing Maharaja’s palace. It became one of the great shooting estates of the country, frequented by royalty and nobility. Now empty, it is currently being (slowly) restored by Lord Iveagh, whose family bought the estate after Singh’s death (and allowed the land to be used for secret testing of the first tanks in 1916). You can glimpse the house from the churchyard of St Andrew and St Patrick Church on the A11, which is where Duleep Singh is buried (along with his wife and his son Albert). A walking trail and driving route around Thetford (see explorethetford.co.uk) takes in the Ancient House Museum (a 15th century merchant’s dwelling), a dramatic statue of the Maharajah on peaceful Butten island, as well as sites further afield associated with the man.

Even if you can’t see Singh’s country seat, you can buy the estate’s produce (especially its onions, pickled and otherwise, of which it produces a great deal, and locally reared and wild meats) from the excellent farm shop, which come with a decent if pricey café attached. It also puts on events in the nearby walled gardens – a mini-crufts Dog Day on Saturday July 14 and outdoor theatre on August 17th & 18th and, on September 7th, the return of the Big Onion food festival (where there’s more to eat than onions – cookery demos, food stalls/stands and live music). There is also free spectating of cycling events through the estate, a sort of Tour de Thetford (Saturday Jun 8 & 29th). See elveden.com for all details. Rooms at Elveden Inn (01842-890876, elvedeninn.com) cost from £105 B&B.

TWO WHEELS, TWO HOTELS

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Two more cycling hotels which only didn’t appear in the Sunday Times Travel today (26/05) due to space.

KIRCHBERG, TIROL, AUSTRIA
The Kitzbüheler Alps-Brixental region (covering the resorts of Kirchberg, Westendorf, St Johann, Kirchdorf, Kitzbühel, Hopfgarten) has more than 800km of mountain bikes routes graded according to the level of difficulty from green to black. The Bike Academy (bikeacademy.at) in Kirchberg is where Kurt Exenberger (former Austrian national MTB coach) and his team offer workshops, tours, technique training and more. The 4* Gourmethotel Sportalm (00 43 5357 2778 , hotel-sportalm.at or through the Bike Academy, bike academy.at) in Kirchberg which has full bike storage/washing/repair/guiding/advice facilities, has seven nights from £463 per person, half-board-plus (eg extra snacks, drinks), including three guided tours, a technique training session with Kurt Exenberger and his guides and video supported analysis. Bike rental from £19.50 per day through the academy. There is also a three-night beginner package with two guided tours from £217pp. The hotel has sauna/steam/Jacuzzi and solarium plus plenty of fresh mountain air (the hotel offers guided hikes) even for non-MTB-ers. Fly to Innsbruck with Easyjet (easyjet.com); car hire from Holiday Autos (0871-472 5229, holidayautos.co.uk) from £165pw.
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KERRY, IRELAND
The Park Kenmare Hotel (00 353 64 664 1200, parkkenmare.com) is well known for its extensive spa and its golfing breaks, but it also takes cycling seriously, with no fewer than 18 graded routes out of the door, from 5km-180km, from meandering coast roads to hair-raising descents. It also offers secure lock-up, bike cleaning, emergency back-up, breakfast and gym warm-up/walks. Prices are from £174pp B&B for a cycling break plus the possibility of a ‘cycling buddy’ (£123 for the day), high-energy cyclists’ lunches (£10) and a comprehensive muscle-saving massage (£118). Non-cyclists have a large range of activities to choose from, including the spa, golf, riding, walking, kayaking to spot the local seals and other watersports. The hotel has its own hybrid bikes for guests or it can advise on local cycle hire.

SHERLOCK HOLMES – THE MAN OF MANY FACES (AND PLACES)

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I am speaking about Dead Man’s Land and Dr Watson at the conference below (click for the poster) on the Friday morning but there is masses for the Holmes fan. I shall be attending Tyler Shores’ talk on ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Copyright Mystery’ for sure.
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KURT ELLING, BENJAMIN BRITTEN AND GERALDO’S NAVY

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An extract from the programme notes for That Obscure Hurt, a new piece by Guy Barker:

“Guy Barker and Robert Ryan first came to Snape Maltings in 2008 for a performance of dZf, their reimagining of the story of The Magic Flute. As a result of that performance, the Aldeburgh Music Festival asked whether Guy would be interested in creating something similar to celebrate Benjamin Britten’s centenary. Guy accepted and then asked Ryan if he could again help. ‘I am a long term admirer of Benjamin Britten’s music,’ says Guy, ‘and I knew from the very beginning this had to be a very different approach from the one we used for dZf.’
In the end they went back to the title of the concert series ‘Inspired By Britten’ and decided to look at where Britten had turned to for inspiration of his own work and Ryan began to consider the two operas based on Henry James ghost stories – The Turn of the Screw and Owen Wingrave and discovered another of the tales, The Jolly Corner, which had all the elements they required to make a start. Although Britten never tackled a third James story, they felt as if they were tapping into the same source. However, the jazz element of the music had to grow organically from the setting of the story (Barker was insistent that none of Britten’s music be touched or referenced).

So, the story was relocated from an apartment block in New York to a jazz club in Soho. There is a prologue, about the dance bands who worked on the transatlantic liners, crossing to New York, which gave them a thematic link to Britten’s own crossing to America. The Cunard dance bands (“Geraldo’s Navy”) are legendary in the jazz world – musicians such as Ronnie Scott, John Dankworth and Stan Tracey would sign on with the sole intention of rushing ashore in NYC to hear the new music being played in the clubs of 52nd St and the Village by modern jazz giants such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Bud Powell.

Unknown When originally conceived by Ryan, there was to be no spoken narration or songs in the piece. As things developed, Barker began hearing songs and while experimenting with an idea for the prologue set in NYC, all he could hear in his head was Kurt Elling’s voice. And so Kurt was approached to play Harry Prince, singer at The Pagoda nightclub, and agreed and the piece took another turn. It subsequently became apparent that a different form of narrative was required in addition to Kurt.

With dZf they had an American actor but the writers wanted to go a different way this time by using with an English actress. Barker had seen Janie Dee perform the works of Pinter and Ayckbourn and knew she had the voice they needed. The final piece features these two great performers plus the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Guy Barker Jazz Orchestra – a total of 77 individuals on stage.”

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So just to reiterate – we have managed to get the great Kurt Elling, who recently sold out Ronnie Scott’s for eight consecutive shows, to come to the concert hall at Snape Maltings deep in rural Suffolk and sing my “lyrics” and the equally wonderful Janie Dee to do the narration. As I said to Guy: ‘You always said Kurt could sing the phonebook and make it entertaining.. we’re about to find out if that’s true.’

* That Obscure Hurt premieres as part of Aldeburgh Festival at Snape Maltings on Wednesday June 12th. Further details: 01728-68710, http://www.aldeburgh.co.uk/events/guy-barker-obscure-hurt. It will also be broadcast live on Radio 3.

 

THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES v TROLL BOY

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I first met the vivacious Carla Valentine at a crime event at the British Library. The ever-lovely Laura Wilson (A Capital Crime, Stratton’s War) aside, she was by far the brightest thing on a stage of mostly dressed-down middle-aged men (me, Mark Billingham, Barry Forshaw) and also managed to captivate the audience with statements such as: ‘I’ve always been interested in death’.
This utterance was in response to a question from Barry, asking how she had come to advise on TV shows such as Silent Witness and films like Resident Evil.
Fascinating though that is, her day job is equally intriguing. She is the Technical Assistant Curator at St Bartholomew’s Pathology Museum. Her domain is a stunningly dramatic Victorian room, an open space with three galleries or mezzanine levels, topped off with a vaulted glass roof. On the shelves that line this hall are endless jars of specimens, dating back to the 18th century, of everything from a ravaged scrotum (a cancer known as chimney sweep’s disease) to various foreign bodies pulled out of people (you’ll have to find out where the artillery shell was found and what it was doing there for yourself). The museum’s original purpose was as a teaching aid for training doctors in the various pathologies of the human body; Carla’s role is to conserve and re-catalogue the collection, which had been sorely neglected over the years.

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Her crowded office was believed to be where Arthur Conan Doyle once wrote and as any Sherlock Holes fan knows, St Bart’s is where Watson and Holmes first meet (in the disused Path building next door to the museum) in A Study in Scarlet. When I visited, Dr Lucy Worsley, she of the cardigans and hairclips and troublesome Rs (which she winningly talks about on her blog – http://www.lucyworsley.com/blog/) was filming a BBC documentary in the main room, so Carla took me up to her work space, which some might think a Little Workshop of Horrors, full of glass and plastic jars housing organs in various stages of repair and conservation.

Personally, I loved it –I used to be a biologist back when DNA was still an exciting new discovery – but there was one item that fascinated me more even than that Sherlock Holmes link. In one cylindrical jar stood a homunculus, just shy of a foot high, which appeared to be Not Of This Earth. In fact, it looked like the sort of model WETA Studios might make for an orc-like being in Lord of the Rings – imagine the Creature from the Black Lagoon shrunk to a seventh of its size. Carla has no idea who ‘he’ is or where he came from or how he was created, as the label has long gone (and yes, it has crossed my mind that it was a hoax to humiliate gullible people like me). He has a nickname, “Troll Boy”, and, although I would love to show you a picture, the Human Tissue Authority (yes, really) might take a dim view if it is a humanoid less than 100 years old.

Sadly, Troll Boy isn’t on display in the main gallery, but even if he was, the museum isn’t open to the public. However, Carla curates a variety of events, including taxidermy courses, lectures on surgery, pathology and medicine and ‘skull art’ workshops a la Damien Hirst – see http://www.facebook.com/bartspathologymuseum. She is also running a blog with more information on the collection, its past, present and future: http://potts-pots.blogspot.co.uk/. So if you want to see the soaring inside of the building and those endlessly fascinating specimens, book in to one of the events – there is one featuring Dr Watson (and me) coming up in November, details follow – but plenty before that, too.

A SIDE ORDER OF CHOWZTERS

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Sadly we didn’t have room to fit in all the good fast food recommendations from Chowzters’ (www.chowzter.com) bloggers in the Sunday Times article on April 21. So here is what you were missing:
NEW YORK
Blogger: Yvo sin
Blog: http://feistyfoodie.com/
White BearYvo Sin 135-02 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, NY 11354
(718) 961-2322
White Bear may be a hole in the wall, but #6 – wontons with spicy chili oil (12 for $4.50/£2.95) – makes overlooking the tiny space totally worth it. The wontons are quickly steamed, topped with pickled mustard greens and a slick of chili oil (fiery red, but not particularly spicy), and then handed to you on a Styrofoam plate (if it’s to stay) or in a Styrofoam container. Ambiance and decor isn’t the focus here, and that’s all obvious once you take your first bite.

HONG KONG – Juliana Loh
http://www.julianaloh.com/
Aberdeen Fish Market Canteen
102 Shek Pai Wan Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong
This place is open at the crack of dawn, and as it’s eponymous name suggests, the owner Ar Lo gets the freshest daily catch from the market next door and this local dive doubles as a canteen for those working at the fish market. There is no formal lunch menu here, tell the owner your budget and what you’d like to eat and he puts together a menu for you. Some signature dishes to order here include the salt and pepper calamari, garlic and vermicelli with scallops, scampi with fried garlic, stir fried clams with black beans and chili sauce, deep fried abalone and a range of catch of the day fish to choose from. If you’d like a little variety away from seafood, there are side dishes like stir fried vegetables and fabulously well done French toast – Hong Kong style with caramelized condensed milk drizzled generously over. Beer needless to say goes well with your seafood orders, a Chinese beer like Tsing Dao goes pretty well with it. A meal for two would set you back about 700HKD aprox = 90USD / 60 pounds.

BERLIN -Suzan Taher
http://foodieinberlin.com/
Curry 36Mehringdamm 36, 10961 Berlin, (www.curry36.de)
Don’t be put off by the perennial queue it moves fast and in no time you will be feasting on this Berlin institution on a cardboard plate.
Steckerlfisch & Co
At markets around Berlin, (www.steckerlfisch.com)
Charcoal grilled fish served on paper with blobs of seaweed and dill mayonnaise.
Hamburger Heaven
Graefestrasse 93, 10967
(www.hamburgerheaven.de)
Standing out among the many independent hamburger shops for serving hand cut fries, fresh mayonnaise and house made ketchup. Pick from regular, free range or organic patties.

BUENOS AIRES – Alexandra LazarAli Lazar http://www.eatingthaifood.com/
Parrilla, Rodriguez Peña 682, Recoleta
Recommended dish: Peña Empanada de carne frita
A down to earth neighbourhood parrilla (steakhouse) that specializes in grilled meats, Parrilla Peña also offers a complimentary fried beef empanada at the beginning of each meal. It’s one of those perfect crispy, doughy, fried, flavourful bites where you wish you could go home with a dozen more, but then realize you have a massive steak dinner coming out next (order the bife de lomo, or tenderloin).

ISTANBUL – Tuba Satana
http://www.tubasatana.com

Karadeniz Pide Doner Salonu
Mumcu Bakkal Sok No: 6, Beşiktaş.
In the middle of Beşiktaş Food market, lies one of the best döner places in the city. Order a portion on top of pide, and enjoy the heavenly taste of the succulent meat, great with pickles, onions and ayran. Hurry, it sells out very quickly and it’s only open for lunch. Around £5.40, with ayran yoghurt drink.

ROME -Tavole Romane
http://www.tavoleromane.it/foodtours/en/

Cesare al Casaletto,

Via del Casaletto 45. Price: average 30€ plus wine. After a full day of walking and some time to relax take the 8 tram reaching the end of the line to have dinner at Cesare al Casaletto. It’s a perfect trattoria to enjoy an authentic local experience, with a menu including dishes that change according to season and Roman calendar days. Choose your sauce and preferred pasta shape (mezze maniche with carbonara is recommended). Don’t miss also fritti misti, deep fried starters. It also has an excellent wine selection.

Gelateria del Teatro
Via di San Simone 70 (another shop in Lungotevere dei Vallati 25-27).
If you are still hungry after dinner I recommend a visit to the historical center of the city and an evening stroll near Pantheon and Navona square followed by a refreshing natural gelato at Gelateria del Teatro. Liquorice and sage & raspberry are two of their fantastic non-traditional flavours. A cone is a shade over £2.

RIO DE JANEIRO – Tom Le Mesurier

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Nova CapelaSAMSUNG
Avenida Mem de Sá, 96 Lapa
00 55 (21) 2252-6228 ‎
Nova Capela is renowned for selling the best Bolinhos de Bacalhau in Rio. Inside the crisp golden shell you’ll find a luscious mix of delicious salt-cod, potato and herbs. For an authentic taste of Rio, add a few drops of fiery chili oil and wash it down with an ice cold draft beer. Price (per bolinho): R$3.50 £1.20).

Tacacá do Norte
Rua Barão do Flamengo, 35 Flamengo
00 55 (21) 2205-7545‎
Tacacá is an amazing Amazonian soup, brought to Rio by Amazonians who moved the city looking for work. The soup features huge, juicy shrimps in a base of jambú, a tangy leaf with strong anaesthetic properties. This delicious combination is served in a traditional drinking gourd and will leave your lips numb and your tongue tingling. Price: R$13 (£4.30)

Cervantes
Rua Barata Ribeiro, 7 Copacabana
Tel: +55 (21) 2275-6147
The sandwiches of Cervantes are legendary among late night revellers in Copacabana. Inside the lightly toasted milk bread you’ll find layer after layer of juicy filet mignon, topped with a massive slab of melted cheese and Cervantes’ signature addition, a slice of gently grilled pineapple. Sounds strange but this combination really works, as evidenced by the queues leading out the door after midnight. Price: R$23 (£7.70).

* The Chowzter/Coca Cola Fast Feasts Awards, hosted by Alexander Armstrong, take place at East London’s Village Underground on April 28 and tickets cost £25 including drinks plus the chance to buy food from some of London’s best food trucks (Pizza Pilgrims, Big Apple Hotdog, Spit and Roast). See chowzter.com/awards for tickets. Winners will be announced on the website.