For the love of dogs

Some of you may have seen the series by this name about the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home on TV this autumn.  Paul O’Grady, an avid animal lover, takes us on a behind the scenes look at one of London’s oldest animal welfare organisations. 

My sons and I are obsessed with watching this show.  My boys and I would love to have a dog, but my husband sees the very practical side and claims that we travel abroad too much and it would be a hassle and expensive to arrange ‘dog care’ every time we go away.  Our consolation is to visit Battersea!

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home was founded in 1860, originally accepting dogs, and by 1883 also accepting cats.  They take in all sorts of strays and abandoned dogs and cats and look after them until they can be adopted by a loving family.  We visit regularly for two reasons:  1. We love to see the dogs in particular and to read the plaques outside their kennels telling their story; 2. We know that the donation we make to enter the home goes to supporting this wonderful organisation.

The work that Battersea does is really amazing.  They provide first rate medical care, and the staff are clearly besotted with all of the animals.  On a recent visit, we asked to see a Labrador called Alfie.  Alfie was brought into the home when his owner had to be moved into a care home, and there was no one to look after him.  As part of the routine process at Battersea, all dogs that are brought in are neutered.  During this operation, they discovered that Alfie had a tumour.  They arranged an additional operation, removed the tumour and surrounding tissue in the area, and had a biopsy done.  It seems that Alfie will make a full recovery, and I am happy to hear that he has been adopted!

In an effort to have a dog in the family, we occasionally dog sit for some friends.  My husband is willing to make this concession, as he knows that the rest of us look forward to having a dog in the house even for a little while.  If you have the time and inclination, it is also possible to become a foster carer for a Battersea dog.  Some dogs find it extremely stressful to be in a kennel and Battersea, as well as other animal welfare charities, often place the dogs in foster homes until they can find a more permanent place to live. 

 

I’m sure that many of you, like us, would love to have a pet.  I highly recommend a visit to Battersea; you may fall in love with a wonderful dog or cat.  There will be a Christmas special of Paul O’Grady:  For the Love of Dogs, airing on Christmas Day at 6pm on ITV1.   But think long and hard before adopting a pet and don’t forget the famous slogan from another dog welfare charity, Dogs Trust, ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’. 

by Eva Stock

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs at Christmas: Tuesday, 25th December, 6:00pm on ITV1

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home: www.battersea.org.uk  

Visit the FOCUS website: www.focus-info.org 

Quiz Night Tonight?

What is the longest London tube line? How many James Bond movies have just one word in the title?

My colleague Eva and I recently attended a Charity Quiz Night and had a great time. If you have not been to a Quiz Night then I would encourage you to do so. Not only will you have fun, but you will also better understand the local culture. The Quiz Night is a popular British event and it can be hosted at the pub, at school or even at the office. The Brits love these events and there are people who attend them regularly and become quite the experts.

Our Charity Quiz Night was hosted in a bar and many other business colleagues were invited. Of course at these events there is often little food, but lots of drink, in particular pints of bitter. So after having grabbed our pints, Eva and I sat at a table. If you don’t know the other people on your team well, and especially if they are business colleagues, it can be quite embarrassing to show your lack of general knowledge! The two of us, being Italian and American, immediately told our quiz mates that we would not contribute a great deal to the answers that had anything to do with Britain. The Quiz Master, who can either hold this role for fun or for a living, is the host of the event and he or she sets the tone. The questions, generally categorised under 10 different topics, can be very tricky. The “Knights of FOCUS”, that’s what we decided to call our team, used a combination of knowledge, guesswork and luck to answer over 100 questions. Surprisingly enough, Eva’s American culture came in handy with a few of them and my Italian/Latin knowledge helped us to answer some obscure questions.

The best part is checking the opponent team’s answers, so there is no way of cheating! Also we could not use our smart phones (which I suppose many people do) as there was no reception in the room! The two tables next to ours were doing quite well, and it was really fun to compete against them. In between the different lots of questions there is time for chit chatting and this is really when you have the opportunity to get to know people on your team. Again, be prepared for lots of drinking and loud comments and don’t feel badly if you don’t know many answers. We came fifth, so overall we did our “bella figura”. Remember Quiz Nights are often for charity, for fun and for meeting new people and if you also get to understand the questions and answer a few them then you are well on your way to becoming a local!

P.S. the answer to the James Bond question is 5 but to get the first answer you’ll have to do some research or go to a Quiz Night! Enjoy!

By Alessandra Gnudi

Visit the FOCUS website: www.focus-info.org 

A Digital Dining Experience

I like to try new things. When I read on a newspaper that there was a new kind of restaurant in London where you can order your food using a computerised menu, I wanted to go there immediately. Well, the “immediate” did not come so soon and I almost forgot about this restaurant. Thankfully there is Groupon, a website with many discounted offers. One day, an offer popped into my inbox which said: "Pay £20 for £40 towards food and drinks at Inamo". The very same interactive restaurant  I wanted to go! I bought the deal straight away, booked a table and went with my partner.

 

Inamo specialises in an Oriental fusion cuisine. It has modern interiors and lively music. We were happily greeted at our arrival and seated at a table. There were empty plates in front of us and nothing more. Except for the “tablecloth” which was not actually a cloth at all, but projected patterns. The waitress explained to us how to order and then the fun began.

There was a little hole on the right hand side from the plate and when you put your hand on it, the menu appeared in front of you. The “hole” was actually a computer mouse and you moved your hand to scroll the menu. Every time you stopped the mouse, you could see the dish projected to your empty plate, so you had an idea how it would look like. Ordering was very easy: just a double click and the dish or drink was ordered. The service was quick and the food very good. The portions were quite small, but because ordering was such fun, it was actually good as otherwise we would have eaten too much.

There were many ways to get entertained during the dinner. You could watch the chefs preparing the food in the kitchen (the picture was projected again on the table) or to play computer games (on the table) or to play with the ‘tablecloth’ by changing the themes, patterns and colours.

After we were filled up with all that fabulous food, it took just one last click to order the bill. No need to be patient and try to get the attention of a  waiter.

It truly is a fun place for adults and also for children and teenagers.

By Eva Unt

Visit the FOCUS website: www.focus-info.org

Inamo Soho: www.inamo-restaurant.com

Inamo St James: www.inamo-stjames.com

Secret Cinema... tell no one!

Here at FOCUS we love experiencing all that London has to offer. This year is no exception and Alessandra has chosen a special treat for the staff: Secret Cinema. 

 “Secret Cinema is a growing community of all that love cinema and experiencing the unknown. Secret audience. Secret film. Secret location. Secret worlds.”   It is a different way of watching films. You sign up for an event and all you know is the date and time of the event. You do not know what you will watch and what the experience will be. You are then sent an invitation with some instructions including the address and the dress code. Ours was a Court Summons from the State of Oak Hampton and we needed to wear suits. This was all we knew and all I can say (it is a secret after all!).

The producers re-create the environment of the selected film and the attention to detail is simply amazing. We spent 2 – 3 hours in that staged set and all of our senses were stimulated. There were actors guiding us through the experience (though we were not always sure who was an actor and who was a fellow participant!).  Food and drinks were available and were also in tune with the theme.

The event finished with the screening of the film. It is only then that it all makes sense. The film we watched is one my favourites. I had already seen it quite a few times, but I must say that it just felt completely different to watch it this time. It was almost as if I understood what they were feeling and living in the film.

For an even more complete experience, there was also a Secret Restaurant and a Secret Hotel to complement the evening.

A few tips:

- You may not end your evening where you started.

- Follow the dress code instructions and do not hesitate to wear a coat to and from the event. Thermals keep you warm.  Cycling/ running trousers with a concealed zipper pocket are also good.

- Be open-minded and ready for the unknown!

The new Secret Cinema 020 production will take place in April/May 2013 in London and for the first time in Athens and New York. London sessions are already sold out! Register your interest on their website to learn first about other productions (or in case more dates are added!)

by Ana Beatriz Alencar

PS: The 19th Secret Cinema season has finished and  I can now reveal that the film was 'The Shawshank Redemption.' After court, we were all sentenced to prison and had to change from our nice suits into prison clothes. Life in prison was tough, but fun. You can see more of the production pictures here. 

Visit the FOCUS website www.focus-info.org 

The London International Gallery of Children’s Art (LIGCA)

London is a very diverse city, where art and culture from many different countries are interrelated and celebrated in various forms. Since moving here I have always been fascinated by it, and I’m grateful to have been involved for a long time now with a charity that is definitely part of all this: The London International Gallery of Children’s Art.

The London International Gallery of Children’s Art (LIGCA) is devoted to art produced by children from around the world. Its aims are to celebrate the creativity of young people and promote international understanding and awareness through cultural exchange.

For over 16 years LIGCA has been able to hold a wide range of exhibitions, some on loan from other organizations, some commissioned by LIGCA.    It has worked in partnership with such respected organizations as Citigroup, Unicorn Theatre, Leonard Cheshire Trust for the Disabled, Royal Academy of Art, UN High Commission for Refugees, and the Chinese and Mexican embassies in London.  Exhibitions have come from many parts of the world, including Britain.

I really enjoy being part of this very international group of people: volunteers and trustees come from different continents bringing their unique skills and experiences to the community.

Through the exhibitions I have had the opportunity to learn about different cultures in a very special way. The possibility to see through the eyes, mind, heart and art of children is a special gift. One of the exhibitions that struck me was ‘Far from Homeland’ where children who were victims of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia conveyed what life was like for them in a refugee centre. I remember one artwork in particular where the scenery changed from coloured to black and white and everything was destroyed after the passage of an airplane and its bombs.

Unfortunately at the end of 2011 LIGCA lost the gallery space, but the trustees have decided to continue the charity mission by establishing an Art Education Fellowship Award, while they are still pursuing the idea of finding a new gallery space.

£3,000 will be awarded to an individual or a group of individuals to design a project that will advance the cause of international understanding through the medium of children’s art as a reference point.  The objective of the project is to develop an educational experience in conjunction with a school or community based organization working with children and young people. 

Are you interested? Do you know anyone that might be? Please visit www.ligca.org for more details.

by Paola Longobardi 

Visit the FOCUS website www.focus-info.org