Bangkok--28 Jul--TQPR
Check out what VisitBritain has in store for you this October! From tribute to John Lennon to Oscar-winning ogre to Scottish culinary, Golf and Welsh hospitality, there’s something for everyone!
VisitBritain, Britain’s National Tourism Board invites you to experience many events this October. Starting with the one and only, the world famous Beatles — this year, the city of their birth, Liverpool, is to a host a season of cultural events to celebrate the life of John Lennon. The John Lennon Tribute Season will open on Lennon’s birthday, 9 October (he would have been 70 this year), and will run to 9 December, the day after the 30th anniversary of his assassination. Organisations in Liverpool will join forces to host a series of live music, film, poetry and art events. Website: www.beatlesstory.com
On October 1—3 the Ryder Cup will be played for the first time in Wales, at the first golf course to have been purpose-built for the event. The Twenty Ten course, which opened in 2007, is one of three championship courses at the Celtic Manor Resort in South Wales. The other courses at Celtic Manor are the Montgomerie, designed by Scotland’s leading golfer Colin Montgomerie, and the Roman Road course which has been the venue for the last three Celtic Manor Wales Opens. There is also a floodlit driving range, practice range, golf shop and three teaching bays, and two large golf clubhouses, with their own bars, restaurants and lounges. The Celtic Manor Resort is 90 minutes from London Heathrow and 45 minutes from Bristol and Cardiff-Wales International Airport. It is near Newport station with direct trains to Cardiff, London Paddington and Birmingham.
Websites: www.celtic-manor.com, www.rydercupwales2010.com
The Ryder Cup, golf’s foremost team tournament, is held every two years, the venue alternating between the USA and Europe. After the Olympic Games and the soccer World Cup, it has the largest global TV audience for any sporting event.
An event not to be missed for many foodies here in Thailand - A year-long celebration of Scotland’s iconic food and drink produce has been launched to showcase the best of Scottish cuisine and promote Scotland as the land of food and drink. The celebration which will continue till May 2011, will highlight the best of Scotland: the wealth of top quality locally sourced food cooked by inspirational chefs, coupled with Scotland’s huge range of fantastic food festivals. Website: www.eastscotland.com
Another exciting event for the whole family to enjoy is none other than Shrek the Musical, the Oscar-winning ogre finally comes to the London stage. Shrek the Musical played on Broadway in New York from December 2008 to January 2010 and was nominated for eight Tony awards! For the London production an Anglo-American creative team will be led by directors Jason Moore and Rob Ashford. The music is by Jeanine Tesori, the book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and choreography by Josh Prince. The musical is based on the story and characters from William Steig’s book Shrek! Tickets for the London production of Shrek the Musical will go on sale on 1 October 2010. Website: www.shrekthemusical.co.uk
Art aficionados continue to be spoiled at Britain’s famous Tate with Turner Prize finalists. The Turner Prize was established in 1984 and is widely recognised as one of the most important and prestigious awards for the visual arts in Europe. The winner will be announced at Tate Britain on 6 December during a live television broadcast by Channel 4. The four finalists this year are Dexter Dalwood, Angela de la Cruz, Susan Philipsz and The Otolith Group.
The Turner Prize winner receives ?25,000 and each of the other finalists ?5,000. Previous winners include Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley, Grayson Perry and Damien Hirst. Tate Britain is open daily 10am—6pm, admission free. The Turner Prize 2010 exhibition will run from 5 October to 2 January, admission ?8 adults, ?6 concessions. Website: www.tate.org.uk
Japanese designers made an enormous impact on the world couture scene in the late 20th century. Innovators such as Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto challenged established notions of beauty and turned fashion into art. Yet their work has rarely been displayed in an art gallery. Future Beauty, 30 Years of Japanese Fashion, opens at the Barbican on 15 October and will survey Japanese clothes design from the early 1980s to now. The exhibition will show the work of Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Gar?ons, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto. Kawakubo's prot?g?, the techno-couturier Junya Watanabe will also be featured, together with Jun Takahashi and the new generation of radical designers including Tao Kurihara, Fumito Ganryu and Mintdesigns. Future Beauty runs from 15 October to 6 February, daily 11am—8pm (Tues 11am - 6pm, Thur 11am—10pm). Admission from ?8 online, ?10 on the door. Website: www.barbican.org.uk
Have you ever taken a journey on a steam train? If you haven’t this is an excellent time to do it The holiday company Great Rail Journeys has introduced the Steam Collection of scenic train journeys in the UK using classic locomotives. The day trips include the Easterling excursion, through Essex to the Norfolk Broads and the Suffolk coast from London’s Liverpool Street on 18 September, hauled by the Oliver Cromwell steam engine (right). The Waverley day out from York (29 August and 5 September) on the Settle-Carlisle route, is hauled by the Sherwood Forester. The Swanage Belle excursion on 20 September is a journey along the south coast from London, and the Lindum Fayre on 5 December is a train journey with the 1937 locomotive Sir Nigel Gresley, visiting the Christmas market in Lincoln.
Excursions cost from ?159 and include a full English breakfast, light lunch and four-course dinner on the train, with free time to explore on foot at selected destinations. A Great Rail Journeys tour manager accompanies each trip. Short breaks include a three-day Sou’Western Express trip from Manchester to Glasgow, with steam train journeys in Scotland. For more information, Great Rail Journeys, tel: +44 1904 521980, Website: www.GreatRail.com/Steam
There’s truly something for everyone this October, even for antique collectors. Nicolas Merchant (right), a lecturer with the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts and a passionate expert on English 18th-century furniture and country houses, is to lead three short antiques-themed breaks for collectors in October and November. The Lords of the Manor hotel in the Cotswolds will host a three-night break on 26—29 October. This antique collectors’ trip will include a tour of the Jacobean manor and gardens of Stanway, a masterclass with guest speaker Gillian White, former curator at the Elizabethan Hardwick Hall, and a visit to Rodmarton Manor, one of the finest Arts and Crafts house in Britain. Nicolas Merchant will give a talk on Paul de Lamerie, England’s Master Silversmith.
The four red star country house hotel in the Cotswold village of Upper Slaughter is a former rectory and has a one star Michelin restaurant. The three-night holiday costs ?675 per person (based on two people sharing a twin or double room) and includes accommodation and English breakfast for three nights, dinner each evening in a private dining room, one lunch and one afternoon tea, and all visits and talks. Nicolas Merchant will be leading a similar antiques break at the five red star Chester Grosvenor and Spa in the north-west of England on 20—23 October and another at Rothay Manor in Cumbria on November 21—26.
The Lords of the Manor, Upper Slaughter, Gloucestershire GL54 2JD. Tel: +44 1451 820243. Website: www.lordsofthemanor.com
For more images please contact: Ungkana Boonsawat (Ple) Tel: 02 260 5820 ext. 125
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