sports – The Cultural Exposé

Somewhere You Should Go… Basecamp at 100 Leonard Street

Lucy Palmer — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 10:00:20 +0000

Don’t know if you heard but there’s a little sporting event happening in London this summer… it’s got a little bit of media attention… so in homage of the mighty Olympic Games, The Book Club in Shoreditch is hosting its own sporty event Shoreditch- style called Basecamp.

Taking place July 27 to August 12 at an outdoor carpark near 100 Leonard Street, Basecamp will show screenings of all the fantastic sporting events, ensuring a great atmosphere to view the Olympics. And if you feel inspired to take part and become the next Usain Bolt they will be hosting their own events in ping pong, beach volleyball, croquet and more.
But for those of you not so interested in the ‘sporty’ side of the Olympics there’ll be a paddling pool, frozen cocktails and live art. And the best bit cider and real ales from London Fields Brewery and delicious food from Street Kitchen who only use 100% UK produce from sustainable and organic farms.If you didn’t get a ticket to the Olympics this is the next best thing, so see you in the paddling pool, I’ll be the one with a large pear cider… (Words: Lucy Palmer)

For further info about Basecamp, visit www.wearetbc.com

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Something you should see… Salute

Laura Thornley — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 10:00:38 +0000

You’ll be hard pushed to find a more iconic image than the photograph of the black power salute at the 1968 Olympics. It has become an image that epitomises a century of civil rights, politicised youth and defiance against archaic laws. But this new feature documentary by Matt Norman highlights a part of the image that you may not have previously noticed: the third Olympian in the image. Australian Peter Norman – Matt’s uncle – won silver that day but never competed in athletics for his country again, just like African-Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos. Why? because he was complicit in the politics on the podium.

The doc follows the road to the Mexico City Olympic games and the events that surrounded that fateful year. Working with a variety of found footage and interviews Norman has created a tense and emotional doc that makes for compelling viewing. It provides a great insight into the history of the time (for any of us who missed the details first time round) addressing reasons why the young athletes chose to act and the bravery it took to stand up at that moment – with innumerable sniper rifles around the stadium.

Their solidarity that day and Norman’s support for his fellow athletes stayed with the civil rights movement until his recent death. The documentary paints a genuinely heartwarming image of camaraderie, in the face of such horror elsewhere. With the Olympics around the corner it couldn’t be released at a more opportune moment so it’s a must see if you have any doubts about what sportsmen can do for the world. (Words: Laura Thornley)

Salute is on general release July 13th.

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Somewhere you should go… East in East: Euro 2012, Rich Mix

The Cultural Exposé — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 10:08:53 +0000

Fresh off a wonderful weekend of celebrations to honour our beloved Queen comes the next major event to put our loyalties to GB to the test – Euro 2012. But with most sporting events, there’s no harm in showing love to another worthy team (cough, Spain) – while this particular fest is opting to pay homage to our comrades from the Eastern Bloc with 20 days and nights of live music, exhibitions, films and spoken-word, brought to you by the best Eastern European artists and musicians based in the capital. There’s plenty of football of course, will all the matches being screened live starting with Poland v Greece on June 8th – but whatever the outcome, it’ll be worth sticking around after each game to check out acts like the folksy Csergo Band & Monooka (June 8th), party starters Stephunk T (pictured) & Charlotte Michelle (June 9th), mesmerising singer-songwriter Tanja Tzarkovska (June 12th) and the funky Radio Gagarin Crew (June 15th). Oh, and did we mention all these Eurocentric festivities were FREE? One for the diary we think…

East in East runs until July 1st. For more info, visit www.richmix.org.uk/whats-on/festival/euro-2012-festival

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Something you should do… rollerski

Matilda — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:00:11 +0000

If you ever thought about hitting the slopes in Europe one day, but might have a slight aversion to the cold (raises hands), you might want to get your head around the idea of skiing – on wheels. Rollersking is the cross-country equivalent of the sport minus the snow, and goes back as far as the 1950’s, when competitors needed an alternative way to train in the summer. Nowadays, you’ll find plenty of urbanites in Hyde Park skating pole to pole, having fun with one of the most unique hobbies worth taking up his summer.

I joined the Rollerski company on a Thursday evening for a beginners lesson – and soon found out it’s a lot harder than it looks. Once I was fitted with boots, a helmet, elbow and knee pads (which would later be my saving grace), and given a pair of poles and skis, our instructor led the small group through a series of drills and exercises – like the forward-leaning “zombie run” – just to understand how we would need to move when we put on the skis.

The rollerskis themselves felt a bit awkward and on the tarmac, it was a little tricky moving along, as well as learning how to stop and turn (unsurprisingly, I fell down five times). Also, it was important that we took our time with the entire process, as it was tempting to just take to the skis and dash off, with little concept of different techniques like double poling, which would later be my favourite.

Yet after two hours of skating along in different ways – one skate on, no poles, both poles, skating around in a circle, three strides and a roll – the entire group was starting to get it. Of course, we’d need a few more lessons to really get the hang of rollersking, but we definitely proved you can have with with skiing – right on our doorstep. (Words: Matilda Egere-Cooper)

For more info, visit www.rollerski.co.uk

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Something you should see…Fire In Babylon

The Cultural Exposé — Fri, 20 May 2011 12:09:36 +0000

“One people, one nation, one destiny” – a quote that best describes the purpose of the West Indies cricket team, taken from the documentary film, Fire in Babylon. If ever there was a movie that represents the plight and triumph of a sports team, this is it. Legends from the West Indies cricket team of the ‘70s and ‘80s give a personal insight into the vicious rivalries with England and Australia, the rise of cultural pride and the glory of Caribbean-style cricket.

Expect a hard-hitting (literally) look at the journey players such as Viv Richards, Colin Croft and Clive Lloyd took to prove that the Caribbean boys were more than just a laughing stock (something England definitely found out the hard way). The use of a pumping reggae soundtrack to accompany the interviews links in with the Rastafarian teachings about ‘Babylon’ — the negative system holding down the people of the African Diaspora. The fight against colonial oppression, using the power of cricket, is also an underlining theme that runs throughout the movie.

Verdict: A must-see for the younger generation and those in search of a spark of inspiration. (Words: Aaron-Spencer Charles)

Out in Cinemas from May 20th.

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