Abena Bailey Features

Published work

For recent published works follow the links below

 

Doing Bali in a few days

http://www.redbrookmedia.com/magazine/bali-hearts-content/

 

Fun in Tokyo

http://www.redbrookmedia.com/magazine/tokyo-abena-bailey/

 

Italian villa holidays

http://www.redbrookmedia.com/magazine/la-dolce-vita-villa-style/

 

Must-dos in Paris

http://www.redbrookmedia.com/magazine/paris-travel/

 

Smart travel in Thailand

http://www.redbrookmedia.com/magazine/living-the-life-in-paradise/

 

Cornish retreats

http://www.redbrookmedia.com/magazine/cornish-retreats/

 

McQueen - moments of genius

http://www.redbrookmedia.com/magazine/mcqueen-moments-of-genius/

 

Celebrating Tommy Hilfiger

http://www.redbrookmedia.com/magazine/life-lessons-tommy-hilfiger/

 

Designer activewear

http://www.redbrookmedia.com/magazine/alexander-wang-designer-activewear/

 

British classics

http://www.redbrookmedia.com/magazine/we-love-a-classic/

 

News stories and features

X Factor make-up

http://www.makeupbyalex.co.uk/content/features/stylemagazine.pdf

 

Glam granny's boudoir pics! 

http://strictlyboudoir.co.uk/in-the-news-strictly-boudoir-photography-in-hemel-berkhamsted-tring-gazette.html

 

The nurse behind 'Call the Midwife'

http://begrease.rssing.com/browser.php?indx=1289487&item=983

 

Gazza's ex-wife's tell-all book

http://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/more-news/sheryl-gascoigne-talks-exclusively-about-her-book-1-1207540

 

Life's hard - luxury bootcamp

http://www.tringtoday.co.uk/what-s-on/it-s-a-hard-life-shedding-pounds-in-the-lap-of-luxury-1-4177599

When I interviewed Joe McElderry I couldn't help but think what a genuinely nice man ;0)

I sounded out Joe about fame after X Factor, growing up and finding his own voice. Interview date - November 2012.

Christmas time has always been eventful for Joe McElderry. Who can forget the Rage Against the Machine campaign that stopped him from getting a Christmas number one after he won X Factor?

And then last Christmas Eve his stalker Ennis McBride was arrested outside his home in South Shields.

Yes the festive season is an emotional time and we can be pretty sure those old memories of being on X Factor will come flooding back when he sees the live shows on TV each year. 

As the X Factor contestants have been battlling it out, Joe has put out his fourth album 'Here's What I Believe' and has been zooming around the country promoting it.

For him life is super busy: "It changes every week," he said.

"Sometimes I do photo shoots, video shoots, record music, write a song and do three shows. All in one week. When I promote an album, I literally don't know where I am for three months."

One sobering date in the diary for the star this year was going to court to give evidence against McBride, who had denied a charge of harassment against Joe and his mum Eileen Joyce.

The 53-year-old  from Stockport had set up a Twitter account so that he could send insulting Tweets to Joe and had turned up at his and his mother's home on more than one occasion.

McBride was found guilty of harassment and fined £1,000 on September 11, and thankfully, he now has a restraining order against him that prevents him from contacting Joe or his mum.

Joe said: "I'm glad its all over and I'd just like to draw a line under it now."

And that is certainly what he has been doing. Not letting the stress of it all get to him, he has been seeking out and finalising venues for his tour next year and he was excited to tell us all about it.

He said: "I'm looking for the best places possible, maybe something similar to last year's concerts. I enjoy both large and intimate venues but it all depends on where we can go.

"The album is the first one that I've done song writing on. Four albums down the line and now I've really taken the creative control on this one. I'm more mature as a person."

Here's What I Believe went to number eight in the charts and made Joe the first X Factor star to have four top 20 albums and three top 10 albums.

"The days before it come out, I was a little nervous," he admitted.

"Just before an album comes out is the point I start to panic. It's the anticipation of what people are going to think of it.

"Your own songs come from personal experience and I wanted mine to be a fair representation of me and my music. I spent a lot of time on it."

He sounds confident yet easy-going over the phone, maybe a bit older than his 21 years.

He has had to grow up quickly since moving out of his home for the first time and settling in to the X Factor house in London three years ago.

At the age of 18 he was plunged into a fast-paced, not to mention ruthless, industry and immediately after his win he was at the centre of the Facebook campaign to get Rage Against The Machine to Christmas number one - a protest against the control X Factor had over the pop charts.

The Facebookers won and Joe had to settle with a number two spot: "I don't think I understood what was going on," he explained.

"At the time I thought it was unfair but looking back it was exciting to be part of a huge moment in music history. It was a pretty big deal but at the time I thought 'stupid Rage Against The Machine!'

After that debacle Joe attempted to quash speculation about his sexuality and came out as being gay.

"Everyone wanted to know about my personal life rather than my music so I thought if I did one interview I could put it behind me and make everything more about my music."

But 16 months after being signed to Simon Cowell's Syco label, Joe was dropped and that left him devastated.

It wasn't the end for him. His next step - going onto Popstar To Operastar - enabled him to come into his own and he won, got signed by Universal and released two hit albums - Classic and Classic Christmas.

There have been many ups and downs so far in his budding career but they have all given him vital lessons for the future.

He said: "At 18 years of age I didn't know who I was as a person. You don't at that age. It's about growing up and maturing, trying things out, working hard and learning from it."

Image by Dean Freeman

Totally unjudged, Brendan Cole’s theatre show is all about him and now that the Strictly dancer has stepped into his own could he be thinking about the patter of tiny feet? Abena Bailey had to ask.

 

 

When it comes to the BBC’s successful Saturday night show Strictly Come Dancing, the attention is all geared towards the celebrity dancers.

The professional dancers they are paired up with smile sweetly in the background but one has managed to steal a bit of the limelight for himself and has become a star in his own right.

Tall dark and handsome, Brendan Cole not only ticks all the boxes when it comes to looks but the former builder has won himself the nickname of the bad boy of Strictly.

He breaks rules to wow the audiences with some pretty impressive lifts and until he married model Zoe Hobbs in 2010 he provided plenty of entertainment for the gossip columns, which linked him to a string of beauties including Martine McCutcheon and Abi Titmuss.

So what’s on the cards for him now that he has been a married man for more than a year we wonder. A baby?

“Children are in the plan. That's definitely what the future holds,” he revealed.

“We've decided  when we're going to have them. It’s exciting. It’s all a part of life and something that is very important to both of us.”

The question really is when will there be a mini Brendan running around. This year?

He laughed and carefully said: “Quite possibly. This year could be huge.”

After first appearing on television screens in Strictly back in 2004 it was always only going to be a matter of time before the outspoken New Zealand-born dancer produced his own stage show.

In Live and Unjudged he brings the audience into his way of thinking.

He said: “It’s my show, there’s my name on the door, I write it, produce it, direct it, cast it and decide on costumes. I don’t leave anything to anyone else.

“It’s important to me to be able to bring out my creative side and what’s good about the show is it’s very intimate and includes everything I love about dance. Plus it’s not just one dance after another dance, it’s very audience interactive. There’s a moment where we get the audience up off their seats to do a salsa.

“I wanted to do something like that because people sit and watch Strictly but there’s a massive want out there for the public to be part of the dancing and I wanted to give them that opportunity when they come to see Live and Unjudged.”

 The 35-year-old has come a long way from being a six-year-old boy whose mother used to drag him ‘kicking and screaming’ to dance classes with his brother Scott.

“I hated it,” Brendan laughed.

“We used to jump out of the window and run down the street. It wasn’t until we started competing when we got hooked.”

This little memory has become one of those wonderful things that he and his mother look back on and laugh at.

He said: “Mum has been over several times to see my show and my sister came over last year.

“The fact that my family love it makes it private to me in a way. My sister is very proud of me and because she’s a dancer herself it makes me feel lucky to have been able to do it.”

 Wife Zoe is often in the audience while big brother Scott also stars in the show dancing on stage and sharing anecdotes with the audience.

Brendan said: “Having Scott in the show adds a whole different dimension. It’s more personable because he can take the mick out of me.

“Scott’s the happiest he’s ever been.

“Getting people up on their feet at the end of performance is a special feeling and the fact that my brother is a part of that and experiences it with me means we can go home, have a beer and reflect on it together.”

Kicking off in 2010, the touring show has been praised for its elegance, charm and fun. So where does our dancer go from here?

“I want to do another one but I have to see how things go because I can’t just do a show for the sake of it. I need to be inspired to create and it takes months to produce something like Live and Unjudged.”

When summer does come it can feel so tropical in Cornwall

Turquoise waters, white sand beaches and tropical gardens...it may sound like the Caribbean but on a trip to Cornwall Abena Bailey discovers that there is paradise right here in the UK.

I stood in the gift shop of the Minack Theatre, in Penzance, and gazed at a postcard of a Cornish beach scene showing a basking shark under the water approaching a crowd of unaware people playing in the bright blue seawater.

“That picture hasn't been photo-shopped you know. That is the real colour of the sea,” the lady at the gift shop told me.

“One of the ladies who works here is a photographer and when she gets a moment she pops out on to Porthcurno Beach with her camera and takes snaps for the postcards.”

It wasn’t hard to believe that the image I was looking at was Porthcurno Beach and not somewhere on the coast of the Mediterranean.

This south coast of Cornwall is so glorious people nickname it the English Riviera as it is blessed by good weather.

Situated at the most westerly and southerly point of Britain, it is mostly surrounded by sea. 

The sunniest times are from May to July and during these months the Minack Theatre’s subtropical garden is in full bloom - cacti and plants from South Africa and Mexico thrive here.

There is no other place in the world like the Minack Theatre. Back in 1931 and local woman named Rowena Cade carved it out of the side of the cliff.

She enlisted the help of two local craftsmen to build a stage for an amateur performance of The Tempest, which took place overlooking the sea.

Today the Minack continues to celebrate amateur dramatics and has an exciting summer programme, which this year includes Guys and Dolls, Hamlet, Pirates of Penzance and the season will end, as it does every year, with a proms night and fireworks.

Theatre-goers sit close to the stage for serious plays and further back for large scale productions.

They take picnics, blankets and cushions and are not only treated to the spectacle of a show; the sea creates its own drama too.

The actors compete for attention with dolphins, basking sharks and ships and at night the stage is covered with a blanket of stars.

I had booked a luxury farmhouse through Cornish Farm Holidays. Out of the 80 odd farmhouses they offer, I chose the Granary on Chegwidden Farm.

The self-catering accommodation was located, in St Levan, which is just a 20 minute stroll away from the Minack Theatre and Porthcurno beach.

Situated close to Land’s End, this location is ideal because you can take a helicopter over to the isles of Scilly, have a day trip in St Ives and visit scores of easy-to-find attractions dotted about.

There are tropical gardens, museums, coves, vineyards and breweries.

Chegwidden Farm has a farmhouse, which sleeps six people, and a Granary, which sleeps four.

Both are exceptionally beautiful and are decorated in traditional farmhouse style. Expect polished beams, exposed stonework, solid pine furniture, log burners in living rooms, Agas in the kitchen and hot tubs on the terrace.

The working farm is hidden away up a country lane in the small village and is surrounded by fields where sheep and cattle graze.

The animals are kept in pens on the property behind the Farmhouse and Granary and you can see them from the living room window.

There farm shop opposite sells fresh eggs, vegetables and meat, which are produced on the farm.

I felt like I could have all the benefits of living on a farm without having to do any of the work.

Farm owner Viv Hall lives down the lane in a bungalow and was up at the crack of dawn each morning to do various jobs.

She told me that youngsters who stay love the farm animals and she often takes them on tours around the yard and lets the kids help out if they want to.

On arrival guests are greeted with a welcome hamper of Cornish chutneys, jam, shortbread biscuits, local apple juice, a bottle of cava and a batch of freshly baked scones.

All the essentials, such as milk, butter, cooking oil and condiments, were provided and there was a huge bunch of freshly cut daffodils on the kitchen table.

I couldn’t have felt more at home. The hot tub had also been fired up and was ready to go.

I spent our days exploring the beaches, gardens and took walks to see performances at the theatre.

Evenings were for slow cooking kebabs in the Aga while lazing under the stars in the hot tub. It was bliss.

Get away from it all... in The Docklands

Horse riding, antiquing and boat trips are not exactly the first things that spring to mind as things to do in the London Docklands area.

 

Most people laughed when I told them I was going to a farm in the city. “I thought you were in The Docklands?” was the common response to which I relished replying: “Yes, I am. I'm going horse riding.”

There are  more than 90,000 people working in the 97 acres of Canary Wharf, which is one of Europe's biggest clusters of super sleek skyscrapers and home to leading international companies and more than 200 shops, bars and restaurants, so you can imagine the atmosphere.

Shopping arcades; Cabot Place, Churchill Place, Canada Place and Jubilee Place; are packed with high end stores, such as Bang & Olufsen, Kurt Geiger and Tiffany and Co.

It's pretty manic. Thousands of business people march along making urgent calls made into smartphones and tube announcements to get on the train, get off the train and mind the gap, constantly ring in your ears.

This area is also a major tourist destination where surprisingly it is actually possible to mimic a country break and relax.

Just four stops away  from Canary Wharf on the DLR is Mudchute, which is home to Mudchute Farm.

Here the only sound to break the peace was a cock crowing. At 32-acres, Mudchute is the largest of the capital's 15 city farms and offers riding lessons in its arena and surrounding countryside.

A half hour horseback tour of the land, which is home to llamas, Gloucester Old Spot pigs, cows, goats and other farm animals, is an ideal way to begin a country break.

Lessons are in the mornings and evenings and costs £25 per  adult for an hour's group session. Booking in advance is essential because they are popular.

With one countryside activity ticked off, I had the ball rolling.

Next. Does anyone fancy antiquing, a walk around a manor house and then maybe a picnic?

Yes it's true you can buy vintage anywhere in London and easily picnic in the Royal Parks, but Greenwich village, a waterside escape with Georgian buildings, is wonderfully twee.

I got chatting to Laurence O'Toole, a musician in a band called Sonic Jewels, who runs The Beehive vintage shop, on Creek Road: “Greenwich has the feel of a seaside town like Brighton. There are loads of designers, riverside cafes and a chilled out vibe,” he told me.

He was right about the artisan feel. Greenwich Market has about 100 designer makers selling original clothes, art, accessories and gifts.

The weekend Clock Tower Market specialises in all things vintage. You can even get arty yourself painting plates at Biscuit Ceramic Cafe, on Nelson Road.

A peek in National Maritime Museum, walk up to Royal Observatory and ice cream in the park kept me amused.

Tired and hungry I decided to head to my hotel, The Radisson Edwardian New Providence Wharf , where I was booked in for a massage and dinner.

The 169-room tower luxury hotel in the usual wharf architectural style has a sleek interior and no chintz in sight.

I was grateful for the mod cons – Bang & Olufsen stereos, entertainment systems, bathroom television and Wifi.

The East River Spa has treatment rooms and steam, sauna, rain shower and ice rooms - top quality with twinkly lights.

After the best and most intense massage of my life I lay in the Thai-style relaxation room on a heated lounger sipping chamomile tea mesmerised by the panoramic night time view of the O2.

Later dining on modern British – pan-fried Scottish scallops with sun blushed tomato, broad bean and basil broth and cheesecakes hidden in sugar towers - I realised that finding country break activities in a financial district was  actually very easy. It offers the joys of the country married with the practicalities of the city.

I chat with Katie Melua

 

People were asking 'whatever happened to Katie Melua?' after she suffered a breakdown. Now the doe-eyed songstress is back touring with a new album and is making wedding plans. Abena Bailey catches up with her for a chat.

 

First things first, congratulations on your engagement to former superbike champ James Toseland! Are you looking forward to the wedding?

"Thank you. Yes I'm absolutely excited about the wedding. It's the only thing that's on my mind at the moment...that and the album of course."

 

So what kind of wedding do you want?

"I just want a small affair. It will be relaxed and chilled out with family and friends. It might be in the UK or Georgia. My family are over the moon. Being Georgian means family is important so they are excited.

 

How are the plans going?

"I've been looking for a dress and caterers. There's so much to think about but I've got a couple of girls from the office helping out. They have been great."

 

So you were off the radar for a bit when you went through a breakdown a couple of years ago. How are you now?

"I love being back on track. It's good to be at work and just doing it."

 

You were only 20 years old when you became the biggest selling female artist but the years that followed brought too much pressure for you to handle. Are you going to do things differently this time?

"Yes, definitely. I'll be dealing with things in a different way, putting things in perspective and balancing the work/life situation better. It's really about spending more time with my family and friends and just being in love."

 

Has love influenced your recent works?

"I would say so. I wouldn't be as romantic and happy if I wasn't in love."

 

What was the main inspiration for Secret Symphony?

"I did a gig a few years ago with an orchestra in Germany and it was such an amazing feeling to be on stage with an orchestra I thought about doing it for an album."

 

What is it about an orchestra that appeals to you so much?

"It's just indescribable. I can't put it into words. It's such an emotive and huge sound it really is fantastic. When you work with an orchestra you feel like you're doing something epic and subtle all at the same time."

 

So you're back working with Mike Batt - the man who discovered you at the Brit School almost 10 years ago. After three successful albums you did your fourth album, The House, with William Orbit. So why back to Batt for Secret Symphony?

"Mike is phenomenal at string arrangements so I thought it was the perfect time to work with him again."

You and Mike are a dream team when it comes to music. You went from finding it hard to get air play for Closest Thing To Crazy to the album Stop The Search going to number one. What is that works with you and Mike?

"We bring the best out of each other. It's always a joy working with him, he has such a passion for music, which we share. We don't always agree and sometimes we argue but most of the time we agree on things and he has such a good attitude and he's really inspiring to work around."

 

Which songs on the Secret Symphony did you write with Mike?

Forgetting All My Troubles, Heartstrings and Lone Wolf. Lone Wolf is really sombre. It's about being attracted to certain people that are dangerous for you. I've been intrigued by outsiders and interested in strange people and it has caused trouble."

 

What happened?

"I don't want to go into details because I want the song to speak for itself and I want the audience to attach their own stories and feelings to it."

 

Are there any other tracks on the album that you feel particularly close to?

"The single I'm really proud of is Better Than A Dream. It's a really happy, intimate and lovely song about the person you're with being better than you imagined."

 

Ah, so did you write it about your husband to be?

(Giggles) "When I sing it I think of him."

 

Katie Melua will be performing at Hampton Court Festival on Friday, 22nd June. Her new album ‘Secret Symphony’ is out now on Dramatico. Visit www.katiemelua.com

 

See examples of my features published online here

Interview with comedian Robin Ince

 

Real life feature on grandma's boudoir photoshoot

 

Real life feature on pensioner with a home crammed with gramophones!

 

Travel feature on luxury stay at Le Mas Candille in Mougins

 

Travel feature on having a country-style break in London

 

Pole dancing in burqas...

 

Gini Zdesar has just set up pole dancing classes at her home studio in a trendy canalside development in Kings Langley.

It is a fledgling project as she has just moved to the area – a far cry from Bahrain, where this time last year she was rushed off her feet with demand from Middle Eastern women who wanted her to teach them moves on the pole.

She said: “It all started when I brought my pole over to Bahrain so I could use it to lose weight.

“All of my friends noticed that I was looking good and wanted to know what I was doing.

“When I told them it was pole dancing they wanted to give it a try. I started putting posters up in The Rugby Club, which is frequented by ex-pats and liberal Middle Eastern women, and next thing I knew about 80 per cent of my clients were Middle Eastern and Muslim.”

While world news reports highlighted simmering unrest in Bahrain between the governing Sunni Muslim and the Shia Muslims and debates were raging about whether the F1 Grand Prix should go ahead in the country, Gini was experiencing a Bahrain that was very different.

She said: “I had plenty of women coming to my door all covered up.

“They would come inside and whip off their burqas and cloaks to reveal their gym wear underneath.

“They loved pole dancing and some of them told me that their husbands had never been so interested in their fitness regime!”

The image of a woman in a burqa conjures up thoughts of oppression, religion and even terrorism among some people in the Western world, But for the pole dance instructor women in burqas were her best clients.

They enjoyed individual 45-minute lessons that concentrated on flexibility, co-ordination, fitness and confidence, rather than sexiness.

It was more about working up a sweat and losing weight.

Gini said: “I also held pole dancing parties. Women would come wearing burqas and they would wait for the male caterers to leave before they would take off the cover-ups and reveal designer clothes and very high heels underneath.

They dressed liked celebrities. “They would drink mocktails and let themselves go on the pole.”

It made Gini think that maybe the burqa wasn’t the sign of oppression that some people may think.

She said: “I don’t know whether it was their choice or they are told to wear them by their husbands and families but some of the Middle Eastern women would arrive for pole dancing covered up and some would come in shorts and T-shirts, depending on how they felt.

“One week my friend Nas came wearing gym clothes and the next she came wearing the cloak part of her burqa because she felt my security guard was staring at her during her previous visit.

“It was her choice to cover up. “The reason women wear the burqa is so that men don’t get any pleasure from looking at them.

“When my husband told me he wanted to go and work in Bahrain I was very worried about whether I would be able to expose any part of my skin and what I would be allowed to wear. I didn’t know much about the country,” she explained.

“I was dreading it but when I got there I was really shocked at how westernised it was.

“Bahrain gets a lot of stick from other Middle Eastern countries for not being an Islamic state and being more liberal.”

It seems there were two worlds in Bahrain – one of civil unrest between Sunnis and Shias and the other was a cosmopolitan life lived by well-off Middle Eastern people and ex-pats.

The political and religious differences were kept separate from those living a more westernised lifestyle, who felt safe tucked away in their guarded villas and shopping malls.

Gini said: “The Sunnis made sure that the Shias stopped coming out of their area.

“We had the police keeping them under control. Whether that was good or bad, I don’t know.”

As the economy in Bahrain took a dip and contract work in the UK became more lucrative for Gini’s husband the couple decided to move back to England.

Towards the end of their stay, which was at the end of last year, the political unrest became more evident.

“There were police check points and curfews in certain areas that weren’t there when we first arrived,” explained Gini. “

By then we could hear gun fire in the distance and smell tear gas in the air but I was never scared.”

Find out more about Gini’s pole dancing classes at www.thepoleworkout.com.

 

Appeared Hemel Hempstead Gazette 

Behind the scenes at Brits

Since the launch of Ingeny Music two years ago its A and R director Damian Knowles, from Hemel Hempstead, has made a few trips down the red carpet.

Abena Bailey met with him in his studio to find out what happens on the other side of the velvet rope.

Tinie Tempah was performing on stage at the 2011 Brit Awards and the atmosphere inside the O2 Arena, where it was held, was simply electric.

Pumped up with excitement Damian, who was sitting at a table five rows from the stage couldn't help but send a few Tweets to Tinie's producer Richie Montana, who was sat with an entourage at a front table.

Tinie's performance is just smashing it! The light show is awesome, he tapped out on his iPhone .

Richie replied, 'Thanks bro we drunk and about to get messy'.

“The Brits was immense,” Damian, 29, told me.

He described beingtotally surrounded by big name musicians - some who he had admired since he was a teenager.

“I was sitting there like a little girl, you know shaking and enjoying every moment. It was the same at The Savoy where we went for the Universal Records after show party.”

The glitzy event at one of the West End's most iconically glamorous hotels was the hottest ticket in town.

Cheryl Cole, Katherine Jenkins, Jessie J, Fearne Cotton, James Corden, Paloma Faith, Robbie Williams, Pixie Lott and a host more stars, were all in attendance at the party hosted by Take That.

Outside a throng of paparazzi photographers and fans looked on.

Estranged husband of model Katie Price, Alex Reid ended up in the papers in the following days because he couldn't use his status to get in past security and was papped while being refused entry.

The Brits award ceremony, shortlist announcement party, and the many after parties are either strictly invitation-only or extremely hard for even the most renowned mover and shaker to gain entry.

As a member of the voting academy, which is made up of 1,000 panellists who choose the musical acts to be shortlisted for the Brit Awards, Damian was definitely in.

For each category he chose five acts from a selection of 30. Among his choices were Eminem and Tinie Tempah.

Damian's company Ingeny Music Ltd, which is a family business he runs with parents John and Frankie and two silent partners, represents artists working in showbiz.

One is international vocalist and musical arranger Tee Green, who has written a number one track for N Sync as well as coached and worked with the likes of Kylie Minogue and Alexander O'Neal.

Also on the artist roster is East 17's Terry Coldwell, musician and director John Knowles, who last year presented Smugglers The Musical at The Elgiva theatre, in Chesham.

Dorian Graze, a band from Hemel Hempstead , which released its debut single The Destination on iTunes, in January, and singer and dancer Nikita.

Ingeny also represents television presenters Nick Knowles, who presents DIY SOS and Real Rescues on the BBC, and Chantelle Munt, who has presented Smart Live Casino and appeared on The Only Way is Essex.

Damian's name was on the guest list of  both the awards and after party: “Even though it was a music event there was a stationery theme running through the interior. There were oversized pencils and thigns and even palms trees.”

The free bar was in full swing and cocktails inspired by the Union Jack colours of the  new look Brit Award trophy, which was designed by Vivian Westwood, were being served.

“Even the food was surreal,” revealed Damien. “Very British I suppose. It was tea party food. Exquisite miniature cakes, sandwiches and tea were being offered to guests.

“I I told one of the members of Mumford & Sons they will soon be in for a challenge when Dorin Graze hits the scene big time, I had a chat with James Corden, Will Young and Dermot O'Leary.”

These parties are just as much a time for networking as they are for celebrating and Damien knows this all too well.

As a professional, who in his eyes, is in the lower echelons of the industry, he has to push the buzz he gets from meeting stars and seeing live performances, to the back of his mind.

“It's not like I can approach anyone and ask for a photo with them. The moment I do that, I become a member of the public in their eyes and not a businessman. They just wouldn't look at me on their level,” he explained.

“Last year I spoke to Noel Gallagher at the Brit Awards after show party and I really wanted to ask him to endorse something for me but I couldn't, it would have put me beneath him. This is the stuff I play with all the time. I'm in a chicken and egg situation. You have to grow things yourself to make people want to come on board, but you need people on board to grow things.”

The reality of the showbiz party for an A&R director of a growing management company is it's all about making contacts, getting exposure both to the industry players and for your clients in the papers if the event is being photographed.

Take the OK Magazine party Damien attended: “It's a big pap night. I tell you seeing life in lights like that shuts you up for a moment to take it all in.”

For the onlooker all is not as it seems. Not everyone who attends the party is allowed to walk up the red carpet. On occasions it is reserved for celebrities only, so their accompanying friends and family will be asked to go in through a different entrance.

Many of the stars, who turned up for the Brit Awards were at The O2 for most of the day sound checking. They had a sit down dinner inside and then traipsed outside to walk back in again up the red carpet for the cameras.

Damien said: “I was at the Brit Nomination party last year at Indigo and I notice how the stars were brought in and then had to walk around the back of the photographers to get to the sponsor's board to be photographed in front of.

All the camera men and journalists, who were kept behind a rope, clamoured for pictures and quotes but if they had just turned around they could have got closer.”

The exclusivity and unattainably builds a hysteria that helps to creates many products that the public want to buy into.

Celebrity magazines, fashion labels, brands and musicians use these as a tool to encourage people to buy their products.

Brands rush in to give stars their products to use or wear in front of the cameras, who then sell pictures to the magazines, who then sell the the culture to the public, who then buy the magazine and the products.

A seat at  a table of The Brit Awards will cost a guest from £750 to £840 and tickets for a whole table costs about £10,000.

The levels go from VIP, to VVIP, to platinum VIP.

“So you see, it's red carpet but its not red carpet for me,” explained Damien.

“We are not red carpet until we have got to the stage when one of our artists is up for an award – then it will feel like it should.

“I want to walk up the red carpet with one of the artists I'm representing. That's my aim for next year.”

 

Abena Bailey meets the Adeyfield pensioner who shares his home with a huge collection of gramophones

Dennis Huke's  home is crammed with more than 200 gramophones.

 

He’s built up the collection from all over the country during the last 11 years – just as the rest of the world was converting to compact discs and downloads.

Dennis, 76, doesn’t just collect gramophones – he also has old records, the needles needed to play them, paintings and postcards that double up as records.

He has machines dating back to the 19th century, as well as novelty players from every era in music from the 1900s to the 1970s.

“I tend to like the more quirky styles,” he said, showing me a model VW camper van that whizzes around a record, picking up the tune as it goes.

There’s nothing he enjoys more than showing people his collections.

He admits that his children and grandchildren have grown bored of his gramophones and his endless enthusiasm for them, but he didn’t mind.

He has found new audiences in local schools where he takes along items from his collection to show pupils.

A variety of community groups as well as friends and strangers have been to his home and have been treated to ‘the tour’.

As I wandered around I spotted a tiny five centimetre diameter record hanging on the wall.

“It’s called the Queen’s Dolls House record and actually plays God Save The King. I stuck it onto one of the players with some Blu Tac and got it going,” Den explained.

Other curiosities include an encased gramophone doll, vanity cases and hat boxes that open up to reveal gramophones inside, a 1960s disco gramophone with lights that flash to the rhythm of the music and a host of portable and cabinet-style machines.

His oldest device dates back to 1887. It was in pieces when Den came across it at a market but he has since restored it and it’s now worth £6,000.

He even has an American-made machine – the Sonora.

He said: “When I first got my Sonora cabinet machine it was black with dirt but it looks like new now after a clean and polish.”

When it comes to the mechanics of a gramophone, Den is almost an expert, – although he would never admit it.

He explained how simple the workings of a machine were by showing me a gramophone he had fashioned himself from a cardboard pizza box.

When you have this sort of talent there is no need to splash out lots of cash on shiny new pieces when you can buy them cheaply and restore them.

Den said he could probably get £200 from a collector and squeeze £50 from a non-collector for the Sonora.

“One of the things that is driving down the prices is the fact that people don’t have room for the cabinet-style machines in modern homes because they are built smaller,” he explained.

Even in his own home many of his players are kept in boxes to save on space.

But he has taken great care in restoring them and they all play wonderfully.

The tone of the music gives a charming old-world feel to his home.

Den said: “I warn my neighbours before I have one of my sessions when I play a few in the evening.

“I do it about once a week. It’s actually important to play them occasionally so the springs don’t get stuck.”

It’s not unusual for the sound of old ragtime songs and renditions of Land Of Hope And Glory by the Welsh Guards to play into the evening.

Den’s love of gramophones extends to the old records, which he plays on them.

He originally went hunting for his first gramophone to play an old recording of himself aged 12 singing on BBC Radio after winning the award for best boy soprano at the Norwich Music Festival.

Now his collection of music extends to Salvation Army founder William Booth and speeches by HRH Edward Prince of Wales on Armistice Night 1927 and his last speech as King Edward VIII in 1936.

Den has a whole drawer dedicated to his most rare finds.

He said: “It’s all part of history. People say I’m an anorak – well, yes I am and hopefully I’m preserving the past as well.”

 

The family of Call the Midwife author Jennifer Worth talk to Abena Bailey about how visiting the film set helped them cope with her death

It’s rare that soon after someone close to you dies that you get plunged into a recreation of their life complete with actors, sets and costumes, but for the family of the late Jennifer Worth that is exactly what happened.

Call The Midwife - the latest Sunday night period drama on the BBC - is a moving and funny look at Jennifer’s experiences as a midwife in London’s East End during the 1950s.

It portrays an 18-year-old Jennifer - a version of her that her family never knew before she met her husband Philip and came to live in Hemel Hempstead.

The Jennifer in the series is inexperienced, suffering with a broken heart and only on the cusp of developing the strong views she was so famous for in her later life.

Her daughter Suzannah Hart said: "In a way we are blessed. There’s very few people who have this kind of memory they can keep of someone who has passed."

Jennifer, a former nurse, spent the last 10 years of her life at her home in Hemel Hempstead writing her memoirs, which were published in a trilogy of books - Call The Midwife, Shadows Of The Workhouse and Farewell To The East End.

An article by esteemed midwife Terri Coates had mentioned that there was a lack of novels about the profession and Jennifer had taken it as a challenge. Her books became bestsellers and to date have sold nearly one million copies.

Before Jennifer passed away last year, BBC One controller Danny Cohen and the company’s drama controller Ben Stephenson commissioned Neal Street productions to adapt Call The Midwife into a drama series.

Before the programme launched, colleagues, friends and family were invited to a private screening at The Courthouse Hotel in London’s West End last Monday.

Ben Stephenson addressed the audience and said how the series wouldn’t have been possible without Jennifer and thanked Philip and Suzannah for their assistance.

Guests were given copies of the book as well as monogrammed hankies, which was a good idea as by the end of the showing there was not a dry eye in the room.

Afterwards Philip told everyone how amazing it was to watch his wife blossom into a wonderful writer in her later life.

Suzannah described being swept along in the creation of her mother’s work as a wonderful experience and that having her work brought to life was a remarkable tribute.

"They even used mother’s own handwriting in a scripted sequence at the beginning, " she said.

Jennifer was very much involved in the early stages of the making of Call The Midwife, working closely with screenwriter Heidi Thomas (Upstairs Downstairs and Cranford) on the groundwork - during that time the two formed a bond.

Sadly Jennifer developed cancer and passed away just two weeks before filming started but her legacy lives on in the books and the series that are being enjoyed by millions of people.

After her funeral the BBC invited Philip and Suzannah to London to visit the film set at a disused training venue for priests in Mill Hill.

It was a real family affair as Suzannah’s daughters Lydia and Ellie were also involved as extras.

Philip said: "I was able to cope with my emotions because it was so exciting - the fact that Jenny’s book was coming to life was thrilling and made me forget the sadness."

Suzannah added: "For me it was about keeping her memory alive. It has been wonderful and I felt privileged to be involved.

"Everyone on the set held mother in such high regard we were treated with respect. It was almost as if we were the special ones. They were as privileged to meet us as we were to meet the cast members."

An all star cast, including Miranda Hart, Jenny Agutter, Pam Ferris, Helen George and Vanessa Redgrave is involved in the series fronted by a newcomer to fame, Jessica Raine as the young Jennifer.

Philip said: "I was emotionally fine about watching Jessica play Jenny. She was acting out the Jenny before my time, the one I hadn’t met. It was also an honour to have Vanessa Redgrave be the voice of older Jenny."

For Suzannah it has made the re-reading of her mother’s books a slightly different experience.

She said: "The actors pop into my imagination now. I see Chummy as Miranda Hart and can even hear her voice while I’m reading."