Always the Sun Music & Arts Festival is being organised by The Boileroom and is named after the song by Guildford’s own The Stranglers. It promises to have plenty of big names and ways to get creative over the two day celebration of music and art.

Along with the above, The Stranglers’ own former vocalist Hugh Cornwell, Dub Pistols and The Allergies will also be performing along with many others on the main stage; the DIY Stage will be curated with even more musical acts to guarantee that you have something great to listen to – whether it’s music that’s totally new to you or the songs that you know word for word.

If you feel like a change from all the music, then there’s several other areas of the festival that you can visit, including All the World’s a Stage, featuring a variety of performances in comedy, street dance, theatre and more to keep you entertained.

The Outdoor Kitchen will gather several chefs such as The Great British Bake Off contestant Stu Henshall to judge the festivals own bake off; Masterchef finalist and restaurant owner Dan Britton will be showing you how to make delicious meals from the food that people often waste.

The Crafty Peacock will be the hub of all things craft, several workshops will be in place to get you stuck into yarnboming, ceramics, jewellery, painting – perfect for children and adults alike!

The Imaginarium is the place to be if you want to experience the joy of play and interaction, mad science experiments, amazing demonstrations of skill and sensory workshops to really engage your mind.

With a festival like this, it’s clear that September is a month to really look forward to – let’s hope that it catches the last of the summer sun, so that we can truly enjoy Always the Sun.

The festival will be held on September 10-11. Click here for more info and tickets.

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Debra Stephenson
G Live, London Rd, Guildford GU1 2AA
Friday at 7.30pm

The star of BBC’s Dead Ringers and The Impressions Show, and ITV’s Newzoids and Coronation Street, takes to the stage for an evening of comedy, music and impressions!

Tickets cost £17.50 plus booking fees.

The All-Star Stand Up Tour 2016
G Live, London Rd, Guildford GU1 2AA
Saturday at 8pm

G Live presents four heavyweight comics in this all-star comedy tour.

Featuring double Sony Award winner and star of Mock The Week, Gary Delaney; top comedy trickster and star of BBC 1’s The Magicians, Pete Firman; Kiwi compere Jarred Christmas and, unbeaten legend, Never Mind The Buzzcocks team captain and one of Channel 4’s 100 Greatest Stand-Ups in the World, Sean Hughes.

Tickets cost £21 plus booking fees.

An Evening with Olga Bobrovnikova – hosted by The Rotary Club of Guildford
Holy Trinity Church, High Street, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3RR
Saturday at 7.30pm

For one night only a truly magical evening with the renowned, Russian-born concert pianist Olga Bobrovnikova who will play, talk about her life, memories and music and will be joined by some interesting guests along the way.

Music by Bach through to Elgar and in between some classical and some simply popular arrangements will all be performed by this remarkable pianist.

The nearest car parks are Castle Car Park and York Road. There will be some free on street parking after 6pm. Admission for adults is £15, £7 children aged 5-18 years.

Shakespeare: Will’s Birthday Bash – Cymbeline
St Mary’s Church, Quarry Street, Guildford, GU1 3UA
Saturday at 7.30pm

In the 400th year since Shakespeare’s death, Guildford Shakespeare Company are marking the occasion with the last of their three annual events for Will’s Birthday Bash.

Celebrations come to a close this weekend with a special staged-reading of Cymbeline in the evocative St Mary’s Church. Tickets cost £14 and can be bought at the event.

Surrey Hills Sculpture Garden
Birtley Estate, Bramley, Surrey, GU5 0LB
Saturday from 11am

Guildford’s annual sculpture exhibition features sculptures from top local and UK sculptors.

All sculpture is for sale and proceeds from commissions go to the Surrey Hills Trust Fund, which supports local community projects.

Admission costs £5 for adults and includes the catalogue and unlimited re-entry to the exhibition. Under-16s enter free. The exhibition runs for the next five weeks.

Curators on our Doorstep – Exhibition at Haslemere Museum
Haslemere Museum, 78 High St, Haslemere, GU27 2LA
Saturday from 10.00am to 5pm

Members of the local community have curated this very special exhibition showcasing the Museum’s fine art collection. All the paintings on display have been selected by local people from across the community and will include a fascinating insight as to why they were chosen.

This is a unique opportunity to see some of the Museum’s outstanding fine art collection. The works on show are from the reserve collection and not normally on display to the public.

The is Museum open from Tuesday to Saturday 10am-5pm. The exhibit will be available for the next 29 days.

Bill Bailey: Limboland
G Live, London Rd, Guildford GU1 2AA
Monday and Tuesday at 8pm

After his previous sell-out tour Qualmpeddler, Bill Bailey returns to the G Live stage with his new show Limboland.

The gap between how we imagine our lives to be and how they really are is the subject of Limboland. With his trademark intelligence and sharp wit, he tells tales of finding himself in this halfway place. From his countless global travels, he recounts the hilarious saga of a disastrous family trip to Norway to see the Northern Lights. He rails against a world that doesn’t match up to our expectations and contemplates the true nature of happiness.

No Bill Bailey show would be complete without music, so Bill’s performing his version of the protest song, a heart-rending country and western ballad played on a Bible, and a fabulously downbeat version of Happy Birthday.

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The piece of public art which is the biggest project of its kind in Guildford will cost £70,000 and will be fully funded from developer contributions which are collected during planning process as compensation for environmental losses such as the removal of trees.

The artwork made out of hand-forged steel will be designed for a riverside location at the Ladymead end of Woodbridge Meadows reflecting the nature of the area in an eye-catching representation of fish swimming among tall curved reeds.

Lead Councillor for Economic Development, Tourism and Heritage, Cllr Geoff Davis, comments

“Our aim is to have an exciting and original landmark piece of public art for everyone to enjoy. The artwork will complement existing environmental improvements and will have the potential to become a new local landmark for our town.

“We have appointed an experienced artist for this project with a track record of producing outstanding work.  The successful design  and proposal reflect the aim of our public art strategy, which is to encourage creative and innovative work in the future while conserving, celebrating and promoting Guildford’s rich cultural heritage.”

The artist and his team will work with the Council, the Woodbridge Meadows Public Art Project Board, the Guildford Public Arts Advisory Group on the project. The local community including local schools and businesses will also be consulted on the final design of the project.

Installation is planned for summer 2016.

Artists impression of sculpture from Guildford Council Twitter @GuildfordBC

More information about Charles Normandale and his work can be found at http://www.charlesnormandale.com/

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Here are some of the highlights of this year’s festival.

October 11

This year’s festival starts with actor and adventurer Brian Blessed taking us through his life from coal miner’s son to in his show Absolute Pandemonium. It promises to be a funny, warm-hearted and LOUD evening.

October 12

Terry Waite and HRH Princess Michael of Kent will be talking about their latest novels. Alan Turing’s nephew Sir Dermot Turing who has just writing his uncle’s biography will be providing insights on his famous uncle from a family perspective.

October 13

Comedian and writer Helen Lederer will be talking about her first comic novel Losing It, Melvyn Bragg will be talking about his latest historical novel Now Is The Time and former MP Vince Cable will be talking about his book After The Storm which provides a view from inside the coalition on how the country has fared since the financial crisis of 2008.

Other events include a Poetry Jam at The Boileroom, a talk about Ernest Shackleton and advice on plotting a novel.

October 14

Adam “Bomb” Jones, a Welsh front-row player who has won three Six Nations Grand Slam titles will be talking about.

Mark Bostridge  will be talking about his latest biography about Vera Brittain and the First World War, Sonia Purnell will be talking about her biography of Clementine Churchill and Wey Poets will be holding an open evening for anyone who likes to read poetry.

October 15

Award winning journalist Matthew Syed will be talking about how to turn failure into success by learning from mistakes, Lord Waldegrave will be talking about his memoir of his time as an MP and his involvement in the arms-to-Iraq scandal and Michael Billington will be talking about his new book The 101 Greatest Plays from ancient Greek to the present day.

Max Hastings will be talking about his book The Secret War about the impact of spies, code breakers and partisan operations on events.

October 16

Agatha Christie Inspires is a talk about how she inspired two authors’ new books. Hugh Fraser is best known for playing Captain Hastings in Poirot and Kathryn Harkup examines the use of poisons in Christie’s novels.

Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel is a hilarious show with an all-star cast that improvises a Jane Austen novel based on audience suggestions. A hit a last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, previous shows include Strictly Come Darcy, Me Tarzan, You Jane Austen and Mansfield Shark.

October 17

Damien Lewis is talking about about The Nazi Hunters, the untold story of one of the secret chapters of the history of the SAS which was officially  dissolved after WWII but carried on in secret, personally commanded by Churchill whose task was to hunt SS commanders including those who escaped justice at Nuremberg.

Reader’s Day is a mini-festival hosted by Guy Pringle featuring Guy Saville, Gill Hornby, Kate Williams, Liz Fenwick and Saira Shah.

Free Family Activity Day is inspired by classic stories such as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Winnie-the-Pooh and Wind in the Willows. There’ll be crafting, trails and story-telling for ages 3-12 as well as illustrations from the E H Shepard archive.

October 18

The festival concludes with An Audience with Sir Roger Moore who will be in conversation with Gareth Owen about his life and career with inside stories and exclusive anecdotes.

As well as events with authors talking about their works, there are also events to inspire and help prospective authors with their works.

For more information about these events including booking information and other events taking place during the festival visit http://www.guildfordbookfestival.co.uk/events

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On Saturday September 12, as part of the heritage open day 2015, the Yvonne Arnaud is giving you the opportunity to explore buildings of cultural and historical interest not normally accessible to the public.

Heritage open days are England’s biggest heritage festival involving 40,000 volunteers. It celebrates their fantastic history, architecture and culture; offering people the chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences, all of which are free to explore.

Main stage tours will take place at 11am and 12.00pm, whereas the town mill and mill studio tour will take place at 12.30pm.

So, by the time you’re finished, you’ll be just in time to grab a spot of lunch in the theatre restaurant or at The Weyside, a homely waterside pub with wood beams, armchairs and a terrace.

No booking is required for this event, simply turn up. If you wish to attend the theatre tour, make sure you arrive in the theatre foyer prior to when it starts. Similarly, the tour of  the town mill and mill studio will commence in the mill studio foyer.

On both the main stage and in the Mill Studio an electric mix of classical and contemporary work is staged by new, lesser-known and established writers.

Ballet, opera, and children’s events are also staged, so this could be the perfect opportunity for you to investigate where the magic happens. This is the perfect family day out without breaking the bank and it also gives you  the opportunity to celebrate what it is that makes the Guildford area and neighboring areas special.

So bring along friends and family, have a spot of lunch and an enjoyable afternoon.

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The line-up includes Gill Hornby, whose first novel, Hive, was the hit of 2013, Liz Fenwick, who has penned three highly popular romantic novels set in Cornwall, Guy Saville, with the sequel to his action thriller The Afrika Reich, and historian Kate Williams, whose debut novel The Storms of War is an evocative tale about the tumultuous lives of the  De Witt family during the First World War.

Jim Parks, Guildford Book Festival Creative Director, said: “Each year we are able to build upon our successes and this is just a taste of the huge array of literary treats that we have in store for 2015.

“With such an eclectic mix, we are sure to have something for everyone, so be prepared to be inspired, challenged, and of course entertained!”

This year markes the 200^th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen’s Emma, and to celebrate Guildford Book Festival is welcoming back Austentatious. An improvised comedy play based on nothing more than a title from the audience, and performed in Austen’s incomparable style, the evening was a sell-out in 2013, and is expected to be a huge draw again.

Each year, Guildford Book Festival works in partnership with local community groups and other charities to bring unique and inspirational events to members and prospective members, and to raise awareness of these organisations within Guildford and the surrounding area.

Would-be writers will be able to kick-start their writing career by taking part in a ‘plotting’ workshop with romantic comedy novelist Chris Manby, and in the session ‘How to get published’, led by bestselling author and Books Editor at Woman & Home Fanny Blake (Orion) and journalist turned writer Lucy Atkins (Quercus).

The 2015 Guildford Book Festival will be hosted from October 11-18 and the full line-up will be revealed in August.

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Jointly curated by independent curator Nicola Gauld and the award-winning Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry, Caught in the Crossfire draws on private collections, and on the important collections of The Herbert, which were developed in response to Coventry’s experience of aerial bombardment during the Second World War and its role in peace and reconciliation.

The exhibition explores how artists have responded to the experiences of people, communities and countries suffering the brutality of war and conflict but also striving for peace, reconciliation and friendship. It takes us on a challenging journey from the home front to the frontline and back again, as seen through the eyes of artists, soldiers and people affected by conflict.

The exhibition includes work from internationally renowned artists (including official war artists John Keane and Peter Howson, and street artist Banksy) working in varied media.

Provocative, subversive, moving, inspiring are all words that may be applied to Caught in the Crossfire. Nicola Gauld describes it as an exhibition which “aims to make people confront and contemplate the often brutal imagery of conflict and the terrible destruction it can cause, but to also show that art can be used for protest, and that ultimately the aftermath can be peaceful, former enemies can begin to live alongside one another, and reconciliation is possible.

The exhibition is not an attempt to discuss one particular conflict, neither does it try to discuss all conflicts, but it is an exploration of the ways artists respond to particular events around them, at particular points in history, and to explore some fundamental issues – the impact of war at home, abroad, upon soldier and civilian, the presence of voices of resistance and dissent, and the potential for reconciliation.

Artists featured in the exhibition at Guildford House are Conrad Atkinson, Banksy, Barnbrook Design, Blek Le Rat, Ian Berry, Thomas Galler, Peter Howson, Al Johnson, John Keane, Peter Kennard, kennardphillipps, Simon Norfolk, Michael Peel, Jamal Penjweny.

After opening in Coventry, Caught in the Crossfire travelled to Dresden in Germany and now comes to Guildford.

The exhibition is on display at:

Guildford House – 155 High Street, Guildford

31 January to 28 February 2015, 11am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday

Free entry

In addition to the Caught in the Crossfire Exhibition, we will be hosting an illustrated talk; Caught in the Crossfire: a curator’s perspective by Nicola Gauld.

Saturday 14 February 2.30 – 3.30pm

Guildhall, High Street, Guildford GU1 3AA

Tickets £3: available from Guildford Museum, Guildford House Craft Shop; or by telephoning 01483 444751; [email protected]

From a press release by Guildford Council.
Image: Peter Kennard

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Daniel was born in Cuba in 1973 and in 1997 graduated from the Art Academy ‘Oscar Fernandez Morera’ in Trinidad with a B.A. in Fine Art. Following his graduation, Daniel won the first prize in the Small Format Art Competition at the Sancti Spiritus in Cuba and he has worked hard to make himself a well-known artist in Trinidad where he lived and worked as a freelance artist until 2001.

In 2002 Daniel was invited to Finland to be part of a cultural exchange programme, where he spent six months taking various art courses and participating in different art projects and events such as the Faces Festival as well as exhibiting in Helsinki, Saavo and Porvoo.

Daniel is now based in Surrey, despite exhibiting around the world in Cuba, Finland, Spain and the UK. He has said, “I am really excited to be launching my exhibition at the bar. Anyone is welcome to come along for the event and they will receive a complimentary glass of wine on arrival. I will be going along to the launch and I am really looking forward to chatting to people about my work and getting their thoughts on my pieces.”

“I hope people enjoy looking at my paintings and take some inspiration from them for their own work.”

The painting at the top (image sourced from Daniel’s website HERE) is entitled Surrey Hills II and the artist added, “Nature fascinates me and I am lucky to live in Surrey and contemplate its landscape every day. Finding hidden cottages nestled in hills gently guarded by trees is quite magical to me.”

“My latest works are a combination of accidental and deliberate forms, where self-created images look to run free but are controlled. In many of my paintings I have consciously adopted my native colours and have aimed to capture the thrill of being outdoors and the fragility and preciousness of life.”

Sara Burks, Owner of Bar des Arts, said: “It’s always great to find out more about artists from the area so we’re thrilled to be able to display some of Daniel’s paintings in our gallery area.

“The launch event looks set to be a great night where people can come and view the paintings and find out more about Daniel’s work. The gallery will then be free for people to visit until January.”

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