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

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."

 

 

Making beauty queens

Miss Hertfordshire organiser Sue Waite told me about pageant life and the women going for the beauty queen crowns of today.

 Last year's Miss England winner backed the student protests against tuition fees and the year before that the reigning Miss England – nicknamed Combat Barbie because she was a soldier - replaced the swimsuit category of the competition with a sportswear round.

What is going on? The old beauty contest model of scantily clad girls wishing for world peace has been replaced with intelligent and confident young women.

As well as modelling jobs, crown holders are getting column inches in newspapers and are taking on tough challenges that could well break their manicured nails.

Take Suzi Cummings, from St Albans, who was Miss Herts 2008. She is now a fully qualified fire-fighter while Miss England 2009, Katrina Hodge, is a Lance Corporal.

The competitions have officially become about more than just beauty.

Driving this new way are scores of organisers across the country who not only coordinate the regional contests from start to finish but also guide and nurture the young beauties.

Miss Hertfordshire organiser Sue Waite said: “Girls of today are very confident and know what they want and how to achieve it.

“Life for them is definitely not about getting married and having children early, as it was in my day.

“The main aim of the pageants these days is to show that beauty is not just on the surface. It goes a lot deeper. The bathing beauty is a thing of the past. Brains and confidence are major factors in the competitions of today.”

Sue has the exclusive licence in Hertfordshire to fast track her winners to the Miss England finals and this year is expanding her affiliation by introducing Mr Hertfordshire and sending 17 to 27 year old men from the area to the Mr England finals.

Her  first contact with the wannabes is by phone, letter or email, when they make inquiries or apply to enter. Next Sue will meet them at first round auditions.

After this point the heat is on. Rehearsals get under-way and girls panic about all kinds of problems from dress and sponsors to charity events and nerves.

There is a lot riding on it for them. Winning Miss Hertfordshire puts them through to Miss England and after winning that the next step is a chance to compete for the Miss World title and its $100,000 prize.

While the contestants fret over this Sue single handedly keeps organises the big show when a panel of judges picks a winner from the 40 contestants.

To get to this stage it takes five months of hard graft; finding a venue, sponsor, which this year is The Galleria, entertainment, prizes and judges.

Sue does it all alongside her full time job working in a corporate role for Honda.

Before running Miss Hertfordshire she felt nervous addressing even a small group of her work colleagues but now she is the person impressionable young women look up to and seek advice from.

She said: “I am in constant touch with girls for the three months leading up to the final and by that time I do feel as if I have gained 40 daughters.

“It's mainly nerves that they come to be about so I tell them that if I, a woman in her fifties, can get up on stage and present to the crowd then they, being young and beautiful, also can.”

For many of the hopefuls entering Miss Hertfordshire is the first step in realising their dreams to become models, actresses and television presenters.

At this year's finals at The Gordon Craig Theatre, in Stevenage, on June 12, the judges will look for a woman who has poise, beauty and naturalness.

It's a new kind of x-factor. The winner will be humble, ethical and elegant. They will be a role model to their peers and raise money for chosen charities as well as attend events and model. It's still about beauty, but with a purpose.

 

 

Abena Bailey at home with...Jennifer Worth

Best-selling author of Call the Midwife, Shadows of the Workhouse and Farewell to the East End, Jennifer Worth invites Abena Bailey to her home, in Hemel Hempstead, for coffee.

“I do an awful lot of thinking when I'm out cycling in the countryside. Ideas come to me when I'm miles away,” Jennifer told me as we sat in the cosy living room of her Victorian town house.

At 75 years old she has a love of the outdoors and regards cycling 30 to 40 miles  a good day.

“I'm a fairly early riser. In the summer I'm full of beans at 5am but in the winter it's hard to get up by 9am, but whatever time, I'm up to go cycling in the early hours when the light is coming up and there are long shadows on the ground. It's gorgeous. I wouldn't miss it for anything.”

Jennifer estimated that she cycles a good 1,000 miles a year, which is an awful lot of time to think. Her love of it comes from working as a midwife back in east London during the 1950s when her bike was her main form of transport.

“These days I ride a made-to-measure Roberts touring bike because I realised as I'm getting older – I was 70 when I bought it – having a top quality bike is easier to ride.”

As a member of the Cycling Touring Club, Jennifer has peddled the landscapes of France, Holland and plans on taking on the Rhine valley.

She said: “I must admit I am a fair weather cyclist. Sometimes I ride twice to three times a week, then not at all for three weeks if the weather is bad. I'm not going out in wind and rain!”

It was not the first time I had visited Jennifer at her home, in fact it was the fourth time, as my visits have always coinciding with her latest book releases.

In the Midst of Life, which is out now, investigates how social attitudes to death have changed and is told through the stories of people Jennifer has met and studied in her years working as a nurse.

I wanted to find out about her discipline as a writer and how she uses her time to write the memoirs.

She said: “You hear of authors who say that they have a strict regime, but not me, that would bore me to tears.”

 At home, looking out into her pretty garden that has neat boarders and a pond is one of her favourite places to get down to work.

The adjoining living room is quiet, there is no television, instead an old Blutner piano, from 1902, which Jennifer found in a Weymouth pub 45 years ago while she was there on holiday.

Her living room used to have a buzz about it when Jennifer taught piano and  held musical evenings at her home for family and friends to raise money for St John's Church roof.

In the last 10 years it has got quiet, not only because Jennifer prefers to be alone with her thoughts, but also because she often stays at her flat in Brighton. She also travels to concerts to perform with the English Concert Singers, of which she is a member.

“I have long periods when I'm not writing anything but during that time I'm thinking,” she said.

“Things come into my head when I'm cycling and I feel like I know what I need to do.

“By the time I get down to writing it's usually all done in my head, I can write straight off for hours on end with almost no corrections – apart from The Midst of Life, which required a great deal of change.”

Not one for typing, Jennifer loves the feel of a fountain pen nib on paper and has handwritten all of published works. Her husband Philip enjoys typing them up, which Jennifer says he finds it relaxing.

What is evident in all of the real life stories about the people, who Jennifer met while working as a nurse, midwife, ward sister and night sister, from 1953 to 1972, is that they are extremely vivid.

“I have a very retentive memory,” she explained.

“I don't have to write notes to myself all the time because if I've thought of something, it's there to stay.”

 

In The Midst of Life by Jennifer Worth is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and is available in book stores now.