Friday, March 28, 2008

Doctor-author reading

There will be a joint reading by renowned doctor-authors on Wednesday 21 May 2008, 7.30 pm, at Swedenborg Hall, The Swedenborg Society, 20-21 Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TH. For further information or to reserve places, please e-mail gmb@hammersmithpress.co.uk. The £5 entrance fee includes a complementary glass of wine.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

The English Surgeon

The English Surgeon
DFG Screening at the ICA
Thursday, 20th March, 4pm

DFG is proud to present The English Surgeon, Geoffrey Smith's remarkable and moving documentary, shown to great acclaim at the Times bfi London Film Festival and Sheffield Doc/Fest.When brain surgeon Henry Marsh first visited a Ukraine hospital in 1992, he found the medical conditions absolutely appalling. Since then he has worked with his Ukrainian protege Igor Petrovich to help create a viable clinic using discarded NHS equipment, and to bring hope to people where there was none. In Geoffrey Smith's moving, beautifully shot documentary, we follow Henry on his latest trip, to yet another corridor filled with patients for whom he is their last chance. Marion is among them, determined to do something about the enormous brain tumour threatening his life, even if it means undergoing an operation he must stay awake throughout. As Henry tackles increasingly risky procedures, he is haunted by the memory of an operation which went catastrophically wrong. Featuring exclusive access to the KGB hospital in Kiev and original music composed and performed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.Dir. Geoffrey Smith, UK 2007, 94 minsSurgeon Henry Marsh will join the director Geoffrey Smith for a very special Q&A after the screening.

For more details see: www.dfgdocs.com/Events/1302.aspx
Read the interview with Director Geoffrey Smith by Kerry McLeod here

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Wellcome trust

The Wellcome trust was set up on the death of Sir Henry Wellcome, an eccentric, self made pharmaceutical entrepreneur. Throughout his life his passion for medicine and archeology manifested in a diverse collection of objects from the mundane to obscure. The latter being epitomized by the angry metallic teeth of the “anti-masturbation” devices sitting proudly in unison with the array of steel clad chastity belts.

However, I found a deeper love downstairs from the collection in the “sleeping and dreaming” exhibition. What is sleep? What are dreams? Why do we need sleep? Why do we dream? Do we need to dream? Considering one third of our lives are spent in this state science has really struggled to answer the above questions and hence many modern day ideas are born from the realms of the arts. This dichotomy is reflected in the exhibition as the romance of the arts conjures up interest while science serves to give context.

The exhibition was light by way of facts and those that were represented my Bsc primed eyes met with distain in the absence of evidence. So I left with a feeling of unsatisfied fascination and a frustrated inquisitiveness.

Saturday, March 01, 2008

LSE SU Arts Week 2008!

Invitation to Arts Week 2008 Launch!
The LSE Arts Forum is happy to invite you to a lunch reception to spark off Arts Week 2008.
In celebration of the Arts at LSE, join us and enjoy free food and drink, a creative crowd and LSE artistic talent!
Time: Monday 3 March, 12.00
Location: Parish Hall
Please find the Arts Week What's on Guide attached, listing all arts-related activities/talks/performances across campus during the week.
For more information, please contact: su.artsforum@lse.ac.uk
Hope to see you there!
LSE Arts Forum
(Arts Week is supported by the LSE Arts Advisory Group and the LSE Students'Union)

The most important things are the exhibition really - its on every day between 10 and 4. The launch is going to be the best part as it will showcase a scene from the play that my sister is producing, Dr Faustus, but will possibly be very overcrowded due to the incidence of free food. There are also other events which might interest, such as plush monster making on Tuesday afternoon, a knitting workshop and numerous book clubs, life drawing events, workshops, etc. Hope to see you there!

The nearest tube to the LSE is Holborn Station on the central line. If you need any more info on how to get there you can email rashidt@lse.ac.uk