The www.londonbridgefestival.com domain works for the Festival, but it doesn't for the London Fringe. Had to explain to quite a few people recently that the Festival was over but the Fringe continues through the year in London.

The word Fringe needs to be in the domain name. So, registered www.londonfestivalfringe.com, and will move content from the Festival site to this site. Should launch in a few days. London Festival Fringe has the three words that covers most of what we're trying to do. It can cover the small festivals that go on in the city, as well as the fringe events that take place.

Meeting at FringeReport last night was well attended. Quite a few people were enthusiastic about the idea of the London Fringe. What it comes down to is that they need to promote their events.

Performers have little time to promote their shows at fringe events. They usually get friends and family and acquaintances to come along. What they need is another audience, people who hear about the show and want to see it for what it is, not because they know somebody in it. It's hard to get the message out to this 'new' audience. As P T Barnum said, 'Something terrible happens when there is no promotion .. Nothing.'

The artist is skilled in the medium she chooses to express her idea. It doesn't matter what is shown, so long as it has an audience. The bad art will disappear, and the good art will survive. Art has a message, it may be trivial or important, and what decides this is the audience. There are ways of engaging an audience from the subtle to the sensational. What makes great art is the emotion felt by the audience.

Art is about discovering things you did not see before. All these ideas in art - these words, images, objects, film - are a way of looking at our world. We choose our way, and art helps us make that choice. Art has, in its expression, values, beliefs, stories, metaphors, symbols, ways of thinking.

As a way of thinking, it provides us with a vocabulary to do so. It's a vocabulary that we use to be part of a group. We need to have a similar vocabulary to share with others. Our experiences change as art adds new words and ideas to our existing vocabulary.

Blake, (1757 -1827), wasn't recognised in his lifetime. And he only ever lived in London. His ideas about the world influenced countless others, filmmakers, writers, artists.

He was an "English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. His prophetic poetry has been said to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language". His visual artistry has led one modern critic to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced". Although he only once journeyed farther than a day's walk outside London during his lifetime, he produced a diverse and symbolically rich corpus, which embraced 'imagination' as "the body of God", or 'Human existence itself'." From wikipedia

.. is a bare stage, Frank Sinatra singing New York, New York from a CD player, a simple costume, lights and a small audience. Tanya Sleeman performing burlesque at Nolias Gallery last night.

We've got to move with the times. Your phone is with you all the time. It will, not too long in the future, become your primary means of receiving information.

We're developing an iPhone application that tracks news and reviews for shows at the London Fringe. It will also list Fringe venues and tell you a little about them. Anyone who promotes their shows through the Fringe website, will have their show information available on the iPhone application. Reviews will need to be submitted to the website as well for them to appear on the iPhone.

Apple takes a while to approve these apps so it will be some time before release. Will need to write apps for other mobile devices, too.

An informal - and very impropmtu! - showcase event at Nolias Gallery at Thomas a Beckett: The Delectable Dancing Dollies and solo performance by Tanya Sleeman.

It stretches from the City of London in the north, one square mile of buildings with offices that contain people in suits who transfer money across wires and call it a day's work, to the area of Southwark in the south, where people live and connect in useful ways and make things.

This bridge has a 2000 year history and is famous around the world. It is also a boring bridge. The only feature worth writing about is that, at night, both sides of the bridge are lit up with a strip of bright red light. This makes it attractive. In the day, it goes back to being boring again, and the only reason you might want to use it is to actually cross the river.

If you don't know it, this was the bridge that was sold to the Americans, the one in the film, Mary Poppins, and the one that desperately needs to be redesigned for the 21st Century.

The area on both north and south sides of the bridge is interesting.

For now, let's talk about the area to the south, Southwark. It is the old and the new London, a London that has a heart and a character. It's easy to talk about, to visit, to walk through, to enjoy, to spend time in. In the 19th century, the area was known for its brothels and theatres, as well as bull and bear baiting, activities not permitted across the river in the City itself. But, that's another story.

Now, the people are diverse, styles are numerous, history is everywhere. There are arches, cobbled streets, new buildings, cafes, restaurants, pubs, courtyards, street views, river views, birds-eye views, run-down warehouses, shopping centres, a bus station, train stations, the river bus, dog-and-duck tours, theatres, horror stories, Shakespeare. This is the area Dickens wrote about. And so did Chaucer and Johnson and Marlowe. There are people living, working, visiting; thousands of tourists each day, even more thousands of commuters. They walk past Cross Bones graveyard, the only unconsecrated graveyard in the country - a plot of ground that was set aside four hundred years ago to bury 'single women' - a euphemism for prostitutes. They were called 'Winchester Geese' because they were licensed by the Bishop of Winchester. Perhaps, some of them were buried with dignity.

The area is a fine place to live and work and a great place to be entertained. So in the late summer of 2008 a few people got together and talked about running a Festival there, the London Bridge Festival.

Well, the Festival happened over a couple of weeks in July 2009, and after the Press Launch which was a clever mix of artistic chaos and order, but more about that later, we realised we could establish the London Fringe.

This is that story.

.. for his picture of Underground Rebel Bingo in Islington. The theme was London, Glamour and Grime. See more photos below, selected by judge Kate Day of The Daily Telegraph.



Thanks to judge Kate Day at the Daily Telegraph.

Dan's website: www.daniellanephotography.co.uk

Heck, London's got it all, it's got theatre and music and painting and dance, it's got the restaurants and the people, the streets, the river and bridges, the history and politics.

It doesn't need a Fringe. All that art stuff is going to go on anyway. It's going to happen in the small venues, and the big venues and the venues in between. It's going to happen in the theatres, galleries, streets, it'll happen whether you're there or not. And the media will talk about it. They'll say where it happened, write about it, and forget about it.

So why bother putting it all together? Why create a brand, the London Fringe, something that people will recognise, something that the performer can say she 'did', something that can be remembered.

Why give out London Fringe awards to the best artists and performers in a competition, something they can be proud of?

Why create a place for people to go to, somewhere they can say they saw a performance, an event?

We don't need a London Fringe. Let's carry on the way we've been doing for years now, do stuff and forget.

The site has been redesigned to help you promote your events throughout the year. And to sell tickets through wegottickets.com. You can add events to the front page of the site easily and quickly. Here's an example. Your profile page will tell people who you are what you do.

There are a few things I don't get. For one, all this food: berries in winter and the reddish shine of fish that must come from waters far away. I would like to taste one though. And then there are the shoes, heels that look like slivers of rock, delicate silvery bands. I see them all from my window. I remember when shoes were made only of leather, we even stuffed them with moss. That was what we knew.

You can hear me? This is odd. I'm used to talking to myself. I'm not sure if you can, but I'll keep talking. Maybe you hear, God, maybe things are changing.

I've been here a very long time, but I already said that. My daddy was a gin bootlegger, one of the first in the area. I mean he started out legit. People thought he was a magician. All they'd ever had was ale, and when this new liquid appeared, smooth as water and strong as ox - they drunk like fishes whose gills burned in the sooty air.

This neighborhood was a mess, but you wouldn't know it now. People were dying everywhere of fumes, of plague, the water brown, dead rats and cats rotting in the street. Hugo's leather tannery was just round the corner, you could smell the vats and they'd empty the dyes round back, dark liquid mixing with the dirt and shit, making its way down the cobblestones. The mills were just down the road, the workers going deaf, arms caught in machinery, hundreds worked there 'til the place burned, chocked with bodies charred black.

So we set up our shop as a haven to eat and drink. We'd paint the meat with fresh blood when it got too old, anything to keep the place enticing. Our customers were all the poor sops who came down here to work. At the end of their shifts, they'd spill out, caught in the caressing hands of the women who waited for them. The clear gin would calm, help them forget, sooth aching bones and spirits. The women would lure with the promise of touching soft flesh, being inside somewhere human. I grew up here. I learned to watch the signs: first a simple sore on the lips, then a rash and ulcers, pulling clothes trying to hide the wounds, then the madness, they'd wander, naked, cry out.

I took over my daddy's business, I think that's where it all went wrong. They started to crack down. The gin act of 1751, you heard of it? They tried to make our lives illegal, blamed us for all kinds of things. Well eventually it caught up with me and they locked me up here. I was here 'til it burned down and then something happened. I don't know what exactly. It's like the place is gone, but I'm still here, in the same cell I used to be. Everything else moved on, and I'm a remnant, I don't know why.

You could help, you know that. But maybe you know too much about forgetting. I know your life is different. I just get glimpses, but I can piece together how it must be. I can smell the fresh air of spring coming off the river, I watch whole families zoom in cars, your doors and windows closed. You live lives of containment, you balance on a cobblestone street on the finest heel of a shoe. These buildings used to stink, sweat, carry the grime of disease in their mortar, but you've washed them clean. Built glass buildings, new kinds of lights. You've made your own sun.

Our vices and trials must now seem so crude. Painted over rotten meat, sewers in the street, death lurking like rowdy school children ready to pounce. Your vices are quiet. Viruses that travel softly in the air, the spills washed quickly down drainpipes to lakes unseen, the silences of each person locked in his or her house, guarded tight against the rain or sun or cold or warmth or feeling too much. You die alone, at least we died in each others arms.

You could help you know. Maybe this is a sign, now that you can hear me. Maybe I can be released. I may be kin to some of you, I had two daughters, they lived right here. I may be in your blood. We're not so different really. Hell, I watch you come in the mornings, streaming to work. Then I see you in pubs after work, falling drunk and high in the street. You die in your houses, have your own plagues, but it's the same death, just hidden away. At least we faced ours straight on.

I just want out of here. Please see me, tell me you can hear me. I am a part of you; I'm not so far away. I may speak in tongues of men and demons but I know you recognize my voice. Through a glass, darkly, but now face to face. Will you see me? Will you release these ghosts?

submitted by: Alex Burger

We asked the three judges to list the 10 shortlisted films in order of merit. Titles and genres were given out at random to the teams. Some combinations were, perhaps, more difficult than others. Hard to say which ones as it's mostly subjective.

We felt that the judges would use their experience in making films to decide the best movies. Having three judges would iron out any large differences in backgrounds and temperament.

None of the organisers were involved in the judging. And we did not know the judges beforehand.

Hope this goes some way to explaining the result.

Returned films not shortlisted:
And Tomorrow Will Be Sunny, Sport, YAM
We Have To Stay outside, Adventure, Thickness Productions
Cry, Wait and Hope, Sport Solid, Scale
On Mondays Wearing Hats Is Not allowed, Western, Wildtype films
Those Who Stay Will Win, Adventure, The Argentum Playerz
Sweet 16, Drama, Team Otter

Shortlisted 1:
When You Were Nothing but a Dream, Thriller, The lazenby collective
Only People with Chocolate May enter, Mystery, Dul & Mundane
Young and Overrated, Horror, Aquagem
Not Just yet, Crime/Gangster, Underground Circus Jesus
We Are Sorry for Any Inconvenience caused, Children's film, Alfa-Masi

Shortlisted 2:
Death of the Undertaker, Documentary, Jumpsuit
Hug Me. Now! Crime/Gangster The Love Ducks
The Best Hen Fantasy Bullett
My T This Morning Action Movie Mirage
I Just Can't Understand, Science Fiction, Shattner's Bassoon

London Fringe 48 Hour Film Award 2009 winners to be announced tonight, sponsored by Silver Leaf Pictures. Also, Sandy and the Bells will be singing acapella while she's in the process of finding musicians to join her band.

Julia is an excellent photographer. We'll be using her photos to put together an e-book on the 2009 London Fringe. Here's some she did for the film competition. Please don't mind if she asks you to sign a model release. We need it to be able to use your picture.

Kit is an iron-lunged, piano-wielding songstress with a big heart and a list of grievances.

She is currently in the process of completing her live band, trying to get a nice independent record deal, and playing around with the e-piano function on her Yamaha. myspace

Thanks to Alice French and Jemma West for arranging it all, and Nolia for the venue.

Andrew Blackman congratulating Alex, who wins a £200 Gift Voucher from Waterstones.

2nd Prize: "Perspective" by Annabel Banks
3rd Prize: "The Grand Union" by Esther Madden
Commended: "Chasing Dragons Underground" and "To Be Like You".

Thanks to Josie Collins who organised the competition, and to the Old Operating Theatre for the incredible venue, and to the Times Literary Supplement who also supported this award. Shortlisted stories here.

Arranged by Alice French and Jemma West.

Originally the brainchild of crooning minstrel Gregory Griffin; a californian transplanted to the blasted wastes of Manor House, Lofty Heights have since evolved into a band of mid-20's misfits peddling Colin Meloy style indie pop that plunges you into a strange world of lonesome ancient mariners and the perils of sharing the washing-up. Having honed their skills on pretty much any stage/floor/warehouse you can think of in the East London area, Lofty Heights' live shows are a whirling dervish of surf melodies, mustaches, charangos and absurd in-jokes. Pretty cool, huh? myspace

Thee Single Spy write songs about drowning towns, lyrical Christian campfire traditions and the smoking of herbal anxiety medications. Once the spirit of older, cracklier times and rhymes, they now play rock music.

www.myspace.com/theesinglespy

Orlando is a songwriter, poet and actor. For the last two years he's been working on a raft of songs about love and salvation in supermarkets, the lost and found on the underground, and beautiful morons everywhere. Collaborating with Michael; a film composer and classical pianist, Dan; a cellist and Masters student at the Royal College, and Bob on bass, he has created a manic-depressive orchestra that goes from intimate to epic. www.myspace.com/orlandoseale

The Anti-Rhythm Bandwagon are ready to cause a storm with their undeniably infectious folk/blues/rock foot-stomping show. With influence and comparisons drawn from Artists such as John Martyn, Radiohead, The Doves, The Band & Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, they take the listener on an aural journey from their native Scotland, to Country central Nashville & back to the Blues depths of New Orleans in a single song see 'White Van'. myspace

The Folk influenced observational tales of Sandy And The Bells never completely let's go of the indie music culture of it's surrounding London Town. Although avoiding a distinctly LDN vocal imprint, the band's roots are less explicit, leaving the listener to be drawn in by the lyrical content and at it's best, the audience is encapsulated by a voice laced with innocence matched with equally emotionally enriched instrumentation. myspace

Nutyas Surya Gumilang, who goes by the initials NSG, first discovered he had a talent for music through the compositions he produced playing "Music," a cult music-creation suite available on the original Sony PlayStation. His debut album, Working Class Superstar, released on July 24 and available from iTunes, is a beautifully produced multi-genre album that effortlessly skips from hip-hop to acoustic rock to dance music; moreover, not a single one of its 10 tracks could be categorized as filler material, and several of the songs are outstanding. http://www.nsg-music.co.uk

Belle is a dynamic young performer/singer songwriter who moves seamlessly through trip hop, soul and jazz. She has performed at festivals and venues across London including the Royal Court Theatre Bar, Jazz Cafe, Walthamstow festival, Oh bar, Purple Turtle, The Underbelly amongst others. Currently working on an ep with a producer from Universal and a live album and racking up some gigs, she is finding time to work with young homeless people in Newham on arts and community activities. She is also running the extremely successful night (of which she is a resident artist) Spotlight sessions with Music is Life. myspace

Kit Richardson is an iron-lunged, piano-wielding songstress with a big heart and a list of grievances.

She is currently in the process of completing her live band, trying to get a nice independent record deal, and playing around with the e-piano function on her Yamaha. myspace

Hazel will also be reading at the Reading Performance of the Short Fiction Award shortlist on July 24, at the Old Operating Theatre
B/w photo: Lucy Hewes, color: Greg

A Waterstones £200 Gift Voucher will be presented today to the winner of the London Fringe Short Fiction Award 2009 at the Old Operating Theatre. Shortlisted stories here.

Shortlisted stories here.

The Fashion and Textile Museum has teamed up with events company 'I Think I'm Here Darling, Where Are You?' and event extraordinaire Albie Hueston to create two exciting evenings of unmissable entertainment this summer.

Each night a new delightful soiree set up against the museums fantastic exhibition. For two nights only the exhibition, drenched in glamour, knickers, corsets and bras will be brimming with musicians, poets, dancers and designers who will entertain you into the evening. The event will also feature the world premiere of Ben Charles Edwards new short film "These Girls Don't Give a Frock!".

Tickets will not only get you into the exhibition but will allow you to discover some of London's hot new creative talents. An exhibition and a show all rolled into one. more

Best known for the BAFTA winning TV series, Fonejaker, a high energy mix of satire and filth.

"One thing is certain: that he's got a well-defined sense of comedy which - when delivered with the impassioned hard sell he gives to all his routine - guarantees laughs. There is certainly a genuine spirit of fun in his set." Chortle Sep 2007

"You can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him" Reg D. Hunter

Also Sara Pascoe, Luke Toulson and Tony Dunn. At the CUC Centre, near London Bridge Tube more

London Fringe Music Award night to be held at the famous St Thomas a Beckett pub, Old Kent Road, SE1, where David Bowie wrote Ziggy Stardust in an upstairs room. more

Shortlisted stories and their authors:

Adnan Sarwar, Alex Burger, Anna May Mangan, Annabel Banks, Beryl Morgan, Emily Bullock, Emma Larkins, Emma Ruth Benson, Esther Madden, HC Victory-Maines, Janine Amos, Julia Lampshire, Katie Jackson, Lawson Blacklock, Will Nero

Story Reading Performances at 1 pm, July 23, 24 at the Old Operating Theatre.

Lidija Mavra runs a volunteer network which engages with and supports homeless people in London using the icebreaking power of socks and conversation to reconnect them with 'mainstream' society. She and her colleagues are training homeless people to work as tour guides during the London Bridge Festival, with help from consultants from social enterprise and King's College London.

These 'tours with twist' will provide a new and exciting perspective on well-known landmarks and the lesser-known nooks and crannies of London. It will challenge your view of what it means to be a person living in London. Related website: www.sockmob.org

End of the Line - July, 22nd

Scientists predict that if we continue fishing as we are now, we will see the end of most seafood by 2048. The End of the Line chronicles the events that have helped to bring about this situation and how actions by industry and consumers are contributing to this rather dire state of affairs. However the film does not seek to strike fear into its viewers, instead it points to solutions that are simple and doable and which will ensure that we get to enjoy our favourite seafood for years to come.

Age of Stupid - July, 20

Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking back at 'archive' footage from 2007 and asking: why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance? The film weaves together 6 human stories of individuals wishing to make a difference and the difficulties they face, contrasting their stories against those who are part of the problem. The film highlights that we are at a critical point in our history, but that time has not yet run out for us to change the future.

11th Hour - July, 21st


This Al Gore-style environmental warning film is narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. It is a captivating documentary which explores the perilous state of our planet, and the means by which we can change its course. Contributing to this crucial film are noted politicians, scientists and other ambassadors for the importance of a universal ecological consciousness. more

"A fast paced comedy sketch show filled with live music and song. The Performances are Strong and the Comedy a little Wrong!! Come along and be the judge. NO subject is sacred, no joke too infantile. Laugh out Loud comedy every night of the festival.

Dan Carter-Hope of Punk Science and Anna-Maria Nabirye have teamed up to create a slick hour of comedy delights. This fresh brand new show is filled with unique performances and ideas. With over 25 sketches there's literally something for everyone! 7.30pm at The Wheatsheaf Pub. tickets only £5 see www.hopelessproductions for more info."

The organisers and judges of this year's Funny Women Awards have been amazed at the incredibly high standard of entrants seen so far in showcases in London and the South. Two more showcases take place this week as part of the London Bridge Festival on Thursday 23rd and Saturday 25th July.

Shortlisted entries selected by Kate Day at the Daily Telegraph.

Merry Christmas by Fabian Acker
Canal tower block, Commercial Road by Phil Clarke-Hill
Ridley Road Jet Wash taken in Ridley Road Dalston by John Crutchlow
Girl in Southfields by Sam Seager
Underground Rebel Bingo by Daniel Lane
Sushi in Kensington by Andy Hewson
Mask by Lanis Levy
Bird cast away with rubbish by Marijo Alba

Winner to be announced shortly.

"Nolia is the proud owner of two Art Galleries, the St Thomas a Beckett and Nolias Gallery. A stylish Malaysian woman with 61 years of REAL living, she is instantly recognizable and succinct in her 4ft 11". She defies her age by displaying the boundless energy that most people can only dream of.

She is a mother figure for lots of young artists who are starting out, injecting them with life, and introducing them to the zest she bears by the moundful. I have my suspition that the secret of this energy lies is in her spicy cooking. Garlic, Chillie and Ginger are her blueprint for clean blood flow. Her dinner parties are filled with delicious food, entertainment, laughter and honest family sharing.

As well as having three children of her own and two grand children she has the gift of song. At the St Thomas gallery she hosted a live music and art event for the London Bridge Festival. After she introduced the first act, there was a technical hitch. So, in true Nolia style, 'If one wants a job done, one must be able to do it oneself', she sang Summer Time acapella, with as much feeling and flare as the songs' songstress, Billy Holiday.

It seems that her hard work, genuine love, care for detail and time for people are what makes her clock tick louder and brighter than most. A magnetic heart beat and an inspiration!" written by Helena Biggs, performance artist and creator.

Photo: Julia Burstein, more here

When will it be finished? When will it be dry? How much will it be? Questions people asked Bahar as she painted a canvas of Tower Bridge in a beautiful costume in the window of the gallery.

Bahar will be back for more questions the last day of the festival 25th July. For more details about the gallery, please visit www.newcitygallery.co.uk

Jo did a smashing set about a Russian comedienne, Tatiana. Jo's profile and her gig list.

Runners-up: Rachel Anderson, Rich Lyons.

Special mention: Louise Scodie, Inel Tomlinson, Helen George and many other fine comics.

Thanks to everyone taking part in the competition and to MC Paul Ricketts.

TanoG Trio will tune into tracks that take off from some of the raw sounds of the 60s smoothly moving into 70s funk groove. @ Nolia's Gallery, The Thomas a Beckett 320 Old Kent Road, SE1 5UE London.

London is an extraordinary place to live in. It has, and continues to inspire, countless stories from the very best writers. We're running a competition to find the best writers among you. We are looking for fictional stories, no more than a 1000 words, that are inspired by: London, Glamour and Grime more

Come find out as Kim Tilbury explores what it's like to have a fine pair that literally speak for themselves. Aided by two supporting actors, Robert Bradford and Lexie Kendrick, Kim (un)covers adolescent confusion over protrusions, the effect of melons in the marketplace, great breasts in history, the Kubler-Ross theory of accepting your assets, and what happens to boobs when you age. shows

Actors: Zosha and Faith, Photo: METbrand (www.metbrand.com)

The paradox that is London Bridge. It is the heart of London where people come to enjoy the city, the many performers along the embankment and the art and entertainment in the various venues in the area. Yet, it is an area where people 'collide'. Market traders drink back to back with London's design community, while pin stripe 'suits' bump along with various down and outs. Everyday in the area we see people 'collisions', these are good, bad, sometimes with anger, often with love.

We are looking for various performers interested in being part of this visual experience. It will be photographed and documented as part of the London Fringe which continues through the year. Please contact Alex at - metbrand@metstudio.com