Shopcade Mobile app featured in After Nyne Magazine

CONTENT LIST
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO FORWARD PR & THE AGENCY GROUP

//BUSARDI
//SHOPCADE
//AOFM
//DEV
//CHRISTY LEE ROGERS
//HAKEEM KAE-KAZIM
//PHILLIP LAREA
//KATE NASH
//CARNIVAL
//DRAWN TO FASHION
//CONFESSION
//CORDELLIA SIMPSON
//MARK A. MURPHY
//SUZI MORRIS
//ELEANOR BENNETT
// AFTER NYNE UNSIGNED
//DANIEL GOTHARD
//EMMA ROBERTS
//ROB RYAN
//BELEVE
//CLARE TAYLOR
//TOKAIDO ROAD
//KIT RICE
//LAURE HATCHUEL-BECKER
A MAGAZINE CURATED BY CLAIRE MEADOWS (EDITOR - IN CHIEF) & CRAIG HEMMING (FASHION EDITOR)

LOVE, CLAIRE.
FROM THE DESK OF CLAIRE MEADOWS
EDITOR - IN - CHIEF
So here it is, the
biggest issue of After
Nyne Magazine. It’s been
a joy to put together, and
we’ve had a great time.
Ourcoversstars,Britsigner
andfashioniconKateNash,
and international star DEV
have done us proud – they
look stunning on both of
our dual covers. They both
talk exclusively to After
Nyne Magazine, and we’re
delighted to report that
they were both wonderful.
New to this issue is our Un-
signed section, in which
we’re proud to showcase
the talents of bands, and
models as yet unsigned,
but who we believe
have the talent to go far.
We’ve also showcased
two inspiring women –
model and mum of four
Cordelia Simpson and
Marsha Powell, founder of
the charity BelEve, which
dedicates itself to pro-
moting and supporting
girls and young women as
they embark on the first
steps of their life journey.
So read on, we’re sure
you’ll love it. Don’t for-
get to spread the word
on twitter @AfterNyneHQ.

Since Jonathon Saunders,
Mary Katrantzou and Erdem
graduated onto the London
Fashion Week schedule,
the capital has become re-
nowned for its trademark
bright colours, geometric
prints and precision cuts. For
generations, sweeping ball
gowns, long trains and layers
upon layers of tulle has been
the strong suit of the Parisian
fashionestablishment–that’s
until Busardi, Thailand’s old-
est surviving fashion house,
signed up to show in London.
Think Valentino’s use of lace,
combined with Alice Temper-
ley’s eye for detailing and a
splash of Dior-style embel-
lishment, Busardi bridges the
gap between ready-to-wear
and haute couture. However,
with a 65 year-old heritage on
its books, this fashion house
is by no means emerging.
Run by mother and son duo,
Busardi and Tuck Muntarb-
horn, the label’s first London
collection was a panoply
of floral lace, petal embroi-
dery and three-dimension-
al rose appliqué offset by
provocative slits, shorter
cuts, sheer paneling and
bursts of weighty adornment.
“I initially trained as an archi-
tect,” explains Busardi who
does all the designing. Busar-
di left university with the in-
tention of becoming a land-
scape architect, which might
go someway to explaining
the recurring use of garden
flora in her collections. “I was
raised in an environment sur-
rounded by sketches, manne-
quinsandrollsofsilkandchif-
fon,” explains Busardi, whose
mother was also a designer.
“Eventually, I came back
to fashion and set up
my own label with my
son Tuck in Thailand.”
Tuck, who lives in London is
credited with injecting con-
temporary zeal into the brand.
“I’m constantly trying to bring
in aspects of my London life-
style, challenging concepts
and innovative ideas to help
us perfect the international
Busardi women,” explains
Tuck. It was his idea to style
the dresses at Busardi’s Lon-
don Fashion Week show with
black leather thorn chokers.
“My input helps my mother
build upon the foundations
of our rich heritage and cul-
ture and propose modern
and relevant designs with
function. With such a long
legacy, we aim to summa-
rise the past and add to it,
through a strong luxurious
aesthetic that can still trans-
late into beautiful clothes
that women want to wear.”
In Thailand, Busardi’s sump-
tuously rich creations, be-
deckedwithlayersoflaceand
oodles of silk have become
the uniform of the well heeled
and has even got the gold
seal of approval from the roy-
al family. However, for London,
Busardi wanted to break a few
regal rules. “My girls are no
longer prim and proper,” the
designer said backstage after
the show, “While holding on to
the romantic essence of the
brand, I decided to give this
collection a subversive and
wicked spin.” The move to the
West hasn’t just opened up
the brand to new circles, it’s
also given it fresh perspec-
tive, crystallising the luxury
label’s highly decorated par-
ty dresses into stunningly
memorable pieces worth
more than a second glance.
By Harriet Bowe

Meet Nathalie Gaveau, the
newest fashion entrepreneur
to land in London’s gilt-edged
emerging tech scene with a
start-up set to redefine so-
cial commerce. Up until now
social commerce, or s-com-
merce as it is more commonly
known, has been approached
by fashion’s leading brands
with trepidation. Then Nath-
alie came along with Shop-
cade, securing a slew of the
high street’s biggest names
to her business, including
ASOS, Topshop, Urban Out-
fitters, along with more pol-
ished luxury players such
as Liberty, MR PORTER and
even Saks Fifth Avenue.
“I moved to London when I
came back from Hong Kong
because I wanted to launch
Shopcade in English from
the start and expand global-
ly,” adds the serial entrepre-
neur, who has already taken
Shopcade over the Atlantic
and into America and is cur-
rentlylookingtoexpandinto
theproverbiallandofoppor-
tunity: Asia. “It’s an exciting
time for Shopcade,” adds
Nathalie.“Withover800,000
active consumers leaf-
ing through over 150,000
brands daily, Shopcade’s
global ambition to become
the one-stop shop for fash-
ion lovers the world over is
swiftly becoming realised.”
5
Minutes
with
Fashion
Boss:
Nathalie
Gaveau
“The secret is the fact that it’s
people, not brands that drive
social commerce,” explains
Shopcade’sNathalie.Withthis
in mind, the app is taking the
fashionandcelebrityworldby
storm. Operating like a ‘shop-
pable’ Instagram, the millions
of dresses, skirts, tops and
shoes that filter through the
site daily are powered by the
choices that celebrities, fash-
ion bloggers and consumers
have made. In fact, a whole
host of high profile bloggers
have already put their name
to it – and at the brand’s April
Style Battle party, everyone
from model, DJ and present-
er, Vogue Williams, celebri-
ty hairdresser, Lee Stafford
and stylist to the stars, Re-
bekah Roy got on board.
Hailing from Paris, Nathalie
knows a thing or two about
fashion. “Style is really a
way of life in France. It has
definitely influenced me. My
grandmother was a famous
model, alongside Brigitte
Bardot and for the Carven
brand and she always said
that you have to make an ef-
fort to look stunning.” How-
ever, her impeccable eye for
fashion comes packed with
a business punch. In 2010,
Nathalie put her former com-
pany PriceMinister on the
selling block – walking away
with 200 million euro. Proving
that female entrepreneurs
can shatter the glass ceiling,
the departure consequen-
tially made Nathalie part of
one of the largest consumer
website exits across Europe.
BY HARRIET BOWE

Stacked with big, beautiful
pictures and minimal text;
everyone loves a good coffee
table book. And the newest
one to go to print – ‘MAKEUP
IS ART’ by the Academy of
Freelance Makeup (AOFM) –
is no exception to the rule.
Impossible to put down, the
bestselling hardback book
is a newly updated, super
glossy, gorgeous make-up
manual, created collectively
by the world’s leading back-
stage make-up artists under
the direction of Jana Ririnui,
creative director of AOFM Pro.
These make-up artists have
preened models to perfection
at catwalk shows in London,
New York, Paris and Milan
Fashion Week, as well as on
editorial shoots for some of
the world’s most prestigious
printed publications, block-
buster films, music videos,
television and celebrity.
“At AOFM Pro, we work with
only the best,” explains Jana,
who has lead the creative
direction for each edition of
‘MAKEUP IS ART’, including
the most recent third copy,
which includes 40 addition-
al pages of rich content and
imagery. “When the likes of
Dior and Chanel started to
bring out their own books,
we saw ‘MAKEUP IS ART’ as
an opportunity to profile the
make-up artists that work
behind the scenes for these
brands. The new edition is
the third time it has gone into
print, which is something
that we are very proud of.”
Billed as the most insightful
make-up manual that the in-
dustry has ever known, the
book instills years’ worth of
professional make-up expe-
rience and breathtaking vis-
uals into 264 pages. Flicking
through you can find basic
make-up advice along with
step-by-step instructions
for a range of truly inventive
looks using specialist tech-
niques – from Lady Gaga-in-
spired creations and 80s
glitter lips, to underwater
make up and body painting.
The new edition also contains
the most up-to-date knowl-
edge and works as a direct
educational tool for those al-
ready working in the industry.
However, the most important
thing about any coffee table
book is of course the front
cover – and ‘MAKEUP IS ART’
is simply stunning. Plastered
with a mythical model sport-
ing a pair of perfectly placed
eyelashes so long it looks as
if they could flutter off the
page, it’s sure to intrigue any
reader to pull it off the book-
shelf and open its pages.
BY HARRIET BOWE
Make-up by
Anne-Marie Lawson for AOFM
Pro
Photographs by
Jenny Brough

DEV
AFTER NYNE CHATS WITH AMERICAN ARTIST DEV ABOUT FASHION, MUSIC AND HER UPCOMING EP.
;

Our fashion editor Craig Hem-
ming catches up with US
Rap sensation DEV and talks
about fashion and her up-
coming EP Bitersweer July!
Do you feel fashion influ-
ences the music you write?
Yes. Fashion is a great form
of expression personally and
musically. They go hand in
hand. I go through phases
with my clothes depend-
ing on my mood and vibe
for performance. Its impor-
tant and really fun for me.
What inspires you?
My daughter and fiance.
Magazines. Daily life and re-
lationships. traveling. Books.
Movies. Anything really.
Let’s talk about how far
you’ve come, what has been
your career highlight?
Receiving plaques for my a
few of my songs. Filming a
documentary for MTV. Host-
ing the woodies. Recording
Bittersweet July. It’s been a
crazy ride so far, we’ll see!
What’s your favorite song
from the new EP and what
does it mean to you?
I dont have one favorite.
These records have got me
through an interesting year
and a half and were very
fun therapeutic experienc-
es. They’re all my favorite!

How has the response been
to the latest single ‘Kiss It’?
- Its been good! My fans
enjoy the sarcasm and
sass of the song. Its meant
to be sweet and bratty.
Whatcanyoutellusaboutthis
new EP, has there been any
evolution in terms of the style
of music you are creating?
-There’s definitely a good
progression with Bittersweet
July. It’s a lot more personal
and has a bigger pop sense
to it I think. The vulnerable re-
cords are even more vulnera-
ble, and the melodic records
havebigprettyhooks.I’mreal-
lyexcitedforpeople tohearit.
How do you think your
music differs to cur-
rent ‘chart’ music?
I think I’ve always had a quirk
about myself. A little left-
of-center, but still relatable
and honest. My music, since
day one, has always been a
good mix of sounds/genres.
Could you summa-
rize your experience
of making this new EP?
It was intense. It was just as
emotional and difficult as it
was beautiful and exciting. I
had great days and great ses-
sions, and some really dark
ones. It took a lot to create
these life moments and ex-
periences into this project,
saying enough without say-
ing too much. I think this is a
good starting point for a new
phase for me. I’m constantly
growing and learning about
myself. It’s levels to this.
What can we expect next?
M u s i c ,
Shows,
Videos.

Rogers’ works have
been exhibited through-
out the US and Europe
and are held in private
and public collections
throughout the world.
She has been featured in
International Magazines,
including Harper’s Ba-
zaar Art China, Eyemaz-
ing, The Independent,
Casa Vogue, Photo Pro-
fessional and others.
Rogers’ work Reckless
Unbound is currently
housed at Longleat in
the UK; the stately home
which is the seat of the
Marquesses of Bath and
also home to Renais-
sancegemsoftheItalian
masters, like Titan’s Rest
on the Flight into Egypt.
Christy Lee Rogers is a
visual artist from Kailua,
Hawaii. Her obsession
with water as a medium
for breaking the con-
ventions of contempo-
rary photography has
led to her work being
compared to Baroque
painting masters like
Caravaggio. Boisterous
in colour and complex-
ity, Rogers applies her
cunning technique to a
barrage of bodies sub-
merged in water during
the night, and creates
her effects naturally
in-camera using the re-
fraction of light. Through
a fragile process of
experimentation, she
builds elaborate scenes
ofcoalescedcoloursand
entangled bodies that
exalt the human char-
acter as one of vigour
and warmth, while also
capturing the beauty
and vulnerability of the
tragic experience that
is the human condition.

Hakeem Kae-Kazim rose to
fame in the Oscar Nominated
film Hotel Rwanda playing
George Rutugunda. This tal-
ented actor has an impres-
sive list of credits and grew
a huge fan base when he
played the villain Colonel
Dubaku in Fox’s series 24. He
went on to play in many of
Hollywood’s prime time TV
shows and Blockbusters in-
cluding X-Men: Wolverine and
Pirates of the Caribbean. Now
he is to star in STARZ much
awaited new series, Michael
Bay’s original Black Sails.
In the highly anticipated pi-
rate adventure, Black Sails
Hakeem stars as Mr. Scott, a
former slave, whose loyal-
ties are put to the test. This
much-awaited series centers
on the tales of Captain Flint
and his men and takes place
twenty years prior to Robert
Louis Stevenson’s classic
Treasure Island. The series
is set in 1715 and the Golden
Age of Piracy in the Caribbe-
an is at its apex. The former
British colony of New Provi-
dence Island is now lawless
territory, controlled by a few
dozen of the most notorious
pirate captains in histo-
ry. Hakeem stars alongside
Zach McGowan (Shameless),
Jessica Parker Kennedy
(The Secret Circle, 50/50),
Mark Ryan (Transformers,
The Prestige) and Toby Ste-
phens (Die Another Day).
Hakeem is well loved for his
TV work, which recently has
included many primetime
shows including Human Tar-
get, Criminal Minds, NAVY
NCIS, Law and Order, Cobert
Affairs and Strike Back. This
Nigerian born actors list of
impressive credits include Pi-
ratesoftheCaribbeanIII,Lost,
Cane with Jimmy Smits, Law &
Order:SVUwithMariskaHargi-
tay, The Triangle with Sam
Neill, The Librarian with Gabri-
elle Anwar, X-Men: Wolverine
with Hugh Jackman, The 4th
Kind alongside Milla Jovovich
and Darfur with Billy Zane. His
latest films Half of a Yellow
Sun and A Chance of Rain,
are set to be released soon.
After Nyne Magazine
talked to Hakeem recently
about his upcoming roles,
and a lot more besides.
Hakeem, Black Sails is get-
ting rave reviews. Tell us a
little about what attracted
you to the role of Mr Scott.
I found it interesting how Mr
Scott wasn’t born a slave, but
he was captured at a young
age. So I believe he has a dif-
ferent mentality to someone
who was born a slave and
because of this I decided to
base my character on Black
Ceasor the African pirate
who was around in the 1700’s.
Mr Scott is a former slave
- how do you think the film
‘12 Years A Slave’ has im-
pacted on Hollywood?
12 Years a slave, is a fantastic
film but I feel that the narra-
tive needs to be expanded in
Hollywood In terms of telling
the black story. We weren’t
just slaves and servants we
have so much more history
and it would be great to see
that also be told in Hollywood.
Take us back in time to film-
ing Hotel Rwanda - did you
have any idea when you
were filming it that it would
have the success it did?
I had no idea, how success-
ful and powerful it was going
to be! But after reading the
script and doing research, I
felt it was a story that need-
ed to be told with a great
impact. I am very proud
to have been a part of it.
Filming it was also very pow-
erful and painful. We had a
lot of Rwandan refugees on
set and I spoke to them about
their experiences and tried
to understand the mentality
of what was going on at the
time and why it all happened.
Youhaveanextremelyimpres-
sive body of work both in film
and tv - what has been your
single favourite experience
in the past couple of years?
I would say my favourite ex-
perience would be being on
Black Sails right now! I’m en-
joying it so much and I’ve had
the fortune of working with
such amazing actors. It really
is a joy and a pleasure to go
intowork,everyoneiswonder-
ful and really down to earth.
Whoareyourowninfluences?
I really admire Sydney Poitier!
But in terms of acting I love
watching Sean Penn, Denzel
Washington and Mel Steet,
they are amazing to watch
and I really love their work.
Outside of work, what
are your passions?
My Family!
Did you always intend
to become an actor?
Not really, It just sort of hap-
pened.Iwasactuallyplanning
on becoming a doctor but I
changed my tracts and de-
cided to study acting instead.
Tell us what’s next for
Hakeem Kae-Kazim
After I leave South Africa, I’m
going back to LA to start work-
ing on a film called ‘Daylights
end’. I have also just finished
writing a script so hopeful-
ly by the end of the year I’ll
be producing my own film!

CROWS
BETWEEN
H E R E
A N D
THERE
PHILLIP LARREA

Harbinger stares east,
Messenger west.
They sit on a fence
in Nebraska to contemplate
this coal-fired Eagle line
out of Kansas City
bound for the coast.
She carries sheared
waves of grain
on tracks built before
The War Between the States.
One stop more in Wyoming
to take on butchered beef
hung in freezer cars
to preserve death’s freshness
during that long trip
on a slow boat to China.
This time it is Harbinger’s job
to deliver the news
of what has been traded away.

G R E A T
A N D
S M A L LFOR NELSON MANDELA
PHILLIP LARREA

My revolution is not televised,
it has been miniaturized
wallet-sized yet so large
I am forced to discard
my labor permit,
license for movement,
number to be.
All burnt in a wood stove
by candlelight.
Cords stacked high outside.
Contraband stored
grain by grain,
preserved pluots jammed
in this 8x8 state
I am unconfined
by what I do not want for
what I do not lack.

KICKING IT WITH
AFTER NYNE TALKS FASHION, MUSIC & AMERICAN DREAMS WITH LONDONS VERY OWN KATE NASH.
COVER IMAGE BY ALICE BEXLEY/ STORY IMAGES BY CHRISTOPHER DADEY

What does fashion mean to
you and why do you feel it’s
so important to your work?
Fashion is fun and it is also
an important element to
my onstage performances.
What I wear on stage has
to communicate to the au-
dience and work for me as
performance-wear when I’m
playing the bass, the gui-
tar, the drums or singing.
I’m sure you’ve been keep-
ing a close eye on Fash-
ion Week, what has been
your personal highlight?
AW14 was the first season I
wasn’t able to attend fashion
week, as I’ve been working in
Los Angeles. However, I’m a
massive fan of Rebecca Mink-
off, Charlotte Ronson, Diane
von Furstenberg, Bora Aksu,
FELDER FELDER, Mark Fast,
Eudon Choi, Sibling, House
of Holland, Simone Rocha,
Burberry, Miu Miu…so I was
catching up online from afar!
Your latest album ‘Girl Talk’
seems a million miles
away from the sound of
Made of Bricks, what in-
spired this amazing album?
Girl Talk is definitely a pro-
gression. It’s a lot heavier.
I wrote everything on the
bass. It also has a lot of pret-
ty melodies. I was thinking
about Hole, The Breeders
and The Beach boys a lot.
Your friendship with Re-
bekah Roy is quite unique,
how did this come about?
We met on a shoot and kept
in touch and it spriralled from
there. She really gets me. Re-
bekah made fashion week fun
forme.IthinkbeforethatIwas
always intimidated by it. I felt
like I wouldn’t really fit in, Re-
bekah helped me realise that
fashion week is about cele-
brating being an outsider. The
freaks and geeks and weirdos
and outsiders are embraced
within the fashion world.

What is the most meaningful
track from Girl Talk, and why?
I love the punkier, more ag-
gressive side of album, but
the ballad track ‘Oh’ means
a lot to me, as one of my best
friends, who passed away
before Girl Talk was released,
sings on the track with me.
How’s the tour going, any
highlightsyou’dliketoshare?
I’m just getting ready to tour
America again and will stop-
ping in cities across the Mid-
west and the Weat Coast. I’m
really looking forward to play-
ingCoachellaagain.It’soneof
my favourite music festivals!
What would be the mes-
sage behind your latest al-
bum, can we expect more
music from you soon?
I wish I had had Girl Talk when
I was a teenager. It would
have helped me through
so much! It’s all about re-
lationships, being a strong
person, looking after your-
self, editing out friends
who aren’t really friends.
I am working on new mu-
sic now in Los Angeles.
Ending on a nice one, If
you could give any ad-
vice/words of inspiration
to your fans a.k.a your Girl
Gang what would it be?
Don’t let anyone else tell you
what you can or cannot do,
and straight from my mum:
‘Don’t let the
bastards get
you down.’

CARN
I V A LPHOTOGRAPHY BY FOX HARVARD
FoxHarvardiscurrentlyaUS-basedfashion&portraitphotogra-
pher.BorninTampaandraisedinSarasota,he’sanativeFloridi-
an who currently resides in the Tampa Bay area. Fox began pri-
vate art lessons in adolescence and went on to attend a private
performing arts high school before proceeding to study Studio
Arts at the University of South Florida. He attributes his present
styletoapplyingthesamecreativeapproachtophotographyas
hedidtopainting.Themajorityofhisworkpossessesanovertly
uninhibited and cinematic flair, incorporating strong emotive
and sentimental qualities that regardless of subject matter,
seem to allude to a time not long forgotten. His work captures
the undisguised beauty of the people he works with and simul-
taneously professes an undying love for elegance & sensuality.

A LETTER FROM CRAIG HEMMING
FASHION EDITOR.
IF AFTER NYNE DID WEIGHTS
WE’D DEFINITLEY BE THE
SCHWARZNEGGERS OF THE
ARTS PUBLISHING INDUSTRY.
THE NEW LOOK HAS BEEN
COMING ON AMAZING AND THE
LAST ISSUE RECIEVED SUCH
AMAZING FEEDBACK. IT FEELS
LIKEWEJUSTKEEPGETTINGBET-
TER AND BETTER, DON’T WORRY
WE WONT STOP THERE EITHER!
THIS MONTH WE ALSO INTRO-
DUCED NEW SECTIONS SUCH
AS AFTER NYNE UNSIGNED,
ALSO TO THE RIGHT IS SOME-
THING FROM OUR DRAWN TO
FASHION FEATURE, AFTER NYNE
IS ALL ABOUT GIVING YOUNG
TALENT NEW OPPURUNITIES
AND WE BELIEVE OUR MAGA-
ZINE IS THE BEST PLATFORM
FOR THIS, I LOVE THIS IMAGE
INSPIRED BY MARC JACOBS
FALL COLLECTION, DRAWN BY
CHELSEA LENTELL
FROM SOMERSET!
I’D ALSO LIKE TO THANK
A FEW PEOPLE, SUCH AS
ALISSA APPLEGATE (THE
AGENCY GROUP) WHO
ENABLED US TO HAVE NOT
ONE BUT TWO COVER GIRLS!
COURTNEYBLACKAN(FORWARD
PR), WITHOUT YOUR HELP THIS
ISSUE WOULD NOT HAVE GAINED
THE MOMENTUM IT NEEDED,
WE ARE FORVER GRATEFUL!
IT REALLY HAS BEEN AN HON-
OUR BEING GIVEN THE CHANCE
TO PUT MY OWN TWIST ON
THE ORIGINAL MAGAZINE AND
I REALLY HOPE YOU ALL LIKE
THE CHANGES (LITTLE AND BIG)
I’VE MADE IN THISS ISSUE.
SEE YOU IN AUGUST! X
CRAIG HEMMNG
@CRAIGAFTERNYNE
DRAWJNG BY CHELSEA LENTELL

DRAWN
TO
FASHIONAFTER NYNE TAKES A LOOK AT THE
INTERNETS BEST UPCOMING FASHION
ILLUSTRATORS. WORK COURTESY OF
EXAMPLE, EXAMPLE, EXAMPLE, EXAMPLE

Lying here in my hospital
bed, guess, if I was honest
with myself – my death bed
– I’ve been contemplating
my past life. I’ve had plen-
ty of time for reflection; in
between all the tests, in
between the bouts of pain
and shots of morphine; and
so I have decided to tell my
love of my life, the truth!
I first had these tell tale
signs of love over twenty
yearsago–theheartthrob-
bing, the racing pulse and
the desperation of want-
ing. Wanting to be together,
to kiss and to touch and be
touched. Always watching
from afar, making all sorts
of excuses, just for one
more moment together.
We had so few times alone
and such a short time to-
gether over a life time.
Exhausted just from think-
ing and remembering I
found myself drifting off
to sleep once again. I’m
woken later the same day,
it’s Visiting Time; my fam-
ily, all grown up are here
– stroking, kissing, smiling
and I suppose pretending
all is well. I know that I am
dying, in fact, I welcome
it. All through my life I’ve
diced with death, usual-
ly at my own hand; four
suicide attempts and my
favourite sport – driving
too fast. I simply loved
that speed and total disre-
gard for personal safety.
My husband, Andrew is so
precise, cautious and so
careful – well they do say
that ‘Opposites Attract’.
The love and passion we
once shared just fizzled
out but then we had the
children, and in those days,
the wife stayed with her
husband ‘no matter what’
especially when children
were involved, so I stayed
and regretted it there after.
enthoughthechildrenhave
left; a love-hate relation-
ship, having been black-
mailed into staying and I
suppose one gets stuck in
the same rut or perhaps,
it’s a case of ‘better the
devil you know’ and all that
Not long after our youngest
left home I was madly in
love with someone else, a
close friend. I wasn’t proud
of myself and I certainly
didn’t set out to cheat on
my husband but I was de-
termined that I would take
the risk should the oppor-
tunity arise. Unfortunate-
ly, it never did; I never got
the chance nor did I pluck
up the courage to divulge
how I felt! I am hoping that
‘my friend’ will visit soon.
As my family left the ward,
my friend did arrive; com-
plete with an armful of
flowers. The delicious
scents of the carnations,
stock and the roses over-
whelmed the room sadly
masking the body scent of
my friend as I received the
cordial cuddle. Over the
years, I had become famil-
iar with my friend’s facial
expressions, body odour
and idiosyncrasies’ like
the raising of an ‘eyebrow’
or blinking when very nerv-
ous. I could see only but
sadness in those usually
sparkling green eyes that
always made me melt. I
got my usual peck on the
cheek – this was as much
as I had ever had, and I can
tell you that it has been a
frustrating twenty years! I
was suddenly tongue-tied,
so unusual for me, as I had
always been the one with
the quick response. God,
where do I start? Taking a
deep breath and grabbing
my friend’s hand, I began..
‘Back in 2000 I remem-
ber thinking how sexy you
were and I really tried not
to think of you in that way,
after all we were already
good friends and I didn’t
want anything to spoil that.
I have never stopped lov-
ing you – there wasn’t a day
that went by that I didn’t
think of you. I used every
conceivable excuse I could
think of just to see you. My
husband suspected but I
shrugged it off, after all we
weren’t actually having an
affair. Every night I dreamt
of us making love – your
hands caressing my entire
body, exploring me using
your lips and making love
all night long. I imagined
ournakedbodiesentwined,
your body heat warming
my heart and soul, and of
course, the unbelievable
sex. I can still remember
how just thinking of you
made me so randy and so
wet. I often caught my-
self staring at you, at your
wonderful body, and typi-
cally we were in a crowd.
I thought you must’ve sus-
pected but you never said.
And then you had that af-
fair, remember with your
boss? Oh God, I was so de-
pressed – I couldn’t under-
stand why not with me as
my heart was burning with
desire. I supported you
through the affair, for years
it went on, but I still loved
you, I still hoped. I contin-
ued to dream and to ogle!
My favourite dream was
the two of us sneaking
off together for a week-
end away. I told Andrew
that I had a work-related
course and had to stay
away overnight. I guess
you would’ve had a similar
excuse. Anyway, we were
alone in a luxurious hotel
room; where there was an

enormous four-poster bed
withdrapesallaroundit,an
en-suite with a Jacuzzi and
room service. We never left
the room the whole week-
endaswespentallourtime
making love. We were em-
barrassed at first but once
we kissed and touched
one another, there was no
stopping us. Of course, it
was perfect, just as good
dreamsalwaysseemtobe..
My only regret is that I nev-
er told you how I felt but I
have always been thankful,
even grateful for our fan-
tastic friendship. I know I
am dying and I just wanted
to say thank you for being
my best friend all these
years, I really don’t know
what I would have done
without you. You’ve always
been there for me, so un-
derstanding, tolerant and
supportive. I don’t want to
go without telling you how
much I love you.’ Tearfully,
I kissed my friend’s hand.
My friend, also tearful
turned and kissed then
hugged me and said ‘I did
suspect but I was afraid,
you know if I was wrong –
I didn’t want to sacrifice
our friendship either. It’s
a pity we can’t turn back
the clocks. I will miss you
so much.’ The next thing
I realise that my friend is
being ushered out of the
ward by some fat nurse.
Our arms are stretched out
desperately seeking one
more moment touching,
until even our fingertips
no longer touch. A wave
and a kiss blown from
the doorway and I was all
alone with the nurse fuss-
ing over the medication.
As I drifted back to sleep
and high under the mor-
phine I dreamt I had met
my friend back in the late
1980’s without the re-
straints of marriage and
children, we were young
and free. The sun was
shining and we were on
the open road on a Honda
500cc ‘Goldwing’ heading
past Loch Lomond. We ar-
rived late in the afternoon
at the hired cottage in the
Scottish hills. All the while
whilst riding the bike, I was
thinking of how exciting
the first time making love
would be, the anticipation
was driving me wild as I
held on more tightly than
was necessary. I watched
you taking off your black
leathers and letting your
hair fall free from the hel-
met. We got the log fire
started and ran a bath. We
laughed as we watched the
bath fill with the dark peaty
brownwater.Wewerequite
sore from the long drive
sitting on the bike and
were eager to get into the
hot bubbly water. I chose
the tap end seen as you
had done all the driving! As
we lathered one another, I
couldn’t help fall into that
dreamy state, bewitched
by your body and the bath
salts too. As you washed
my back I felt your hands
slide around to my breasts,
then cupping them and
squeezing them nipping
the nipples between your
fingers. I could feel myself
and my body in turmoil
already. I felt your body
slide up pressing against
mine. I turned facing you,
so we could kiss – nibbling
your lips and sucking your
tongue – our tongues dart-
ing in and out, kissing con-
tinuously until we gasped
for air and all the time you
continued to play with my
nipples. Then your mouth
kissed its way down to my
breasts, taking as much
of one of them into your
mouth as you could. You
sucked my nipples so
hard they stood erect for
ages while your hands
slid round my arse and
between my thighs. Your
hands forced my legs apart
and fondled my sex – ex-
ploring the crevices and
lips, at first ever so gen-
tly, and then desperately.
We almost ran and fell
onto the bed in one anoth-
er’s arms still dripping wet
locked in an embrace. We
made love like we never
had done so before, com-
pletely at one another’s
mercy and so intense. We
then fell asleep together in
each other’s arms, our bod-
ies wrapped around tightly.
I drifted in and out of sleep,
the coming and going of
family and friends was
beginning to blur. Strange
when so young, time does
not exist, everything takes
forever but as one gets
older time does eventual-
ly run out. All those things
one puts off for another day
– oh why, did I? That day
just won’t arrive now for
me! Only last month I was
still under the impression
that I had all the time in the
worldandnowtimehasrun
out. I struggled but opened
my eyes and saw you, my
dear friend, tears rolling
downyourcheeksbutsmil-
ing back at me as I felt your
handsqueezemine.Withfi-
nal thoughts of you, a smile
upon my face, I slipped
away into that final sleep.

Hat by American
Apparel/ Body-
suit and kimono by
Veltvet Johnstone/
Shoes by Spy Love Buy

CORDELIA
SIMPSON
Photography Oliver Morris/ Stylist Tasha
Leslie-Badu/Make - Up and hair Claire
Appleby/HairCheveuxParIsha/Asst.AdeleNeverson
All jewellery by Jolita Jewellery

Cordelia Simpson is an inspi-
ration for women everywhere
who have passions, and be-
lief in themselves. A mum
of four, she recently won a
modelling competition run
by Angel Sinclair’s Models of
Diversity agency. I met with
her to discuss her incredible
journey, being a role model
and what she would like to
see more of in the industry.
Cordelia, how would you
describeyourjourneyupto
the point where you decid-
ed to take up modelling?
I trained at London Studio
Centre college in Perform-
ing Arts. I then went on to
have a successfully career
as a backing dancer and
danced for the likes of Whit-
ney Houston, Black eyed
peas, 50 cent and lots more.
When I was 20 I fell pregnant
with my daughter Carma it
wasn’t planned and defi-
nitely wasn’t ideal but with
my family’s support I went
on to have her. I was a sin-
gle parent as her father was
very abusive so we separat-
ed early in the pregnancy.
I returned to work for a year
and then I met the love of my
life and soul mate, my hus-
band Bob. We want on to have
a further 3 children in 4 years
which left me at 26 with a 5,
3, 2 year olds and new baby.
Busy few years! I then got
married the following year.
Unfortunately at 25 I lost
my mum to cancer which as
you can imagine was devas-
tating. Not only was she my
best friend but she was also
a huge inspiration to me and
without her I’ve had to dig
deep to find the confidence
and strength to succeed.
Throughout my 20’s I didn’t
lose sight of the fact that once
the children are old enough
I would pursue my career
again but this time I wanted to
go down the route of model-
ling and presenting/ hosting.
If you could pinpoint
one moment that influ-
enced your decision,
what would that be?
Within a month of deciding
to start modelling I entered
MOD’s head shot competi-
tion and to my astonishment
I won. It was a real confi-
dence boost and definitely
spurred me on to push my
modelling career further.
You could be called a
role model - how would
you feel about that?
I would be happy to be seen
as a role model. In fact that’s
exactly what I would love,
if I could influence people
and give them the incen-
tive they need to progress
in life through any career
path, that would be amazing.
What pressures have
you seen on other
women during your
time in the industry?
I’ve met lots of women that
are conscious about certain
areas of their bodies, legs or
arms are too big. Also height
is an issue. I’m feeling those
pressures too, if I’m honest,
but I am determined to stay
true to my self and keep my-
self at a healthy weight. Be-
sidesIenjoyfoodfartoomuch.

Bodysuit by
Velvet Johnstone/
shoes by Spy Love Buy

Have you experienced
any form of discrim-
ination during your
time in the industry?
I do find it strange when
the specifically want to see
Caucasian women but I hav-
en’t come across a time yet
when they only want to see
mixed race or black women!
How do you feel about the
efforts of people such
as Angel Sinclair, cam-
paigning for more di-
versity in the industry?
I think what Angel stands for
is amazing it’s so important
that we are all counted as in-
dividualsandthereforeavari-
ety of people should be repre-
sented through the modelling
industry. She still has a way to
go but at least she is moving
in the right direction and giv-
ing diversity a voice. I support
her 100% and am extremely
grateful for her enthusi-
asm and confidence in me.
I have been told by a top
fashion agent that it is hard
enough getting work for a girl
under 5’7” but being black as
well would be impossible!!
What would you like
people to take away
from your own story?
If you have a dream you can
achieve it don’t follow the
crowd or be influenced by
what people perceive as an
unrealistic goal. If you want
something in life you need
to stand up and be heard. But
know one said it will be easy!

NOW
W E
A R E
STARS
MARK A. MURPHY

Youarewantedbytheheavens.
And I am a man in need of air –
who leaves twig and
branch to despair
at the hardly hid-
den deceit of dreams
where we meet phantoms
in the tortured ether
unable to untie the
mist, or decipher
the confessions of
knives and kindness.
So we live in a win-
ter of photographs
where every page
might remember
the deeds and do-
ings of last November
when I failed to call or wish
for us upon the es-
caping billion stars.
I interrupt Jesus mid-
speech, begetter
of your bloody li-
bretto and score
where you find noth-
ing now matters.
So what is left,
but sad partitions
in the clouds where
lovers might deliver
the heartbreaking
news to each other
that love does not
care for gentleness.
Love is beyond
what hunted dogs
and the mysterious river
maypartiallyrecallinthenever
ending flood of lives
lived below the bogs.
Wake, my love, wake
with the sensations
of rain tickling your
neck, next year
when we think of
the star, Mintaka
in the belt of Orion, we
shall remain nameless
to the millions that
are yet faceless
in the womb of
the earth-mother,
but it is not in doubt that their
dreams will come
among us to undress
the dawn where
we might confess
to the sparrow-hawk
and the kestrel our
rancour at the killing and
the killer that would sor-
row the mother in her nest.
Why do I write you?
Hardly a day passes
when I do not bolt heav-
ens’ door on the earth and
all its sores. and all that
binds the mud and ties us.
We are children
now, defenceless
to all that would enslave the
dour recollection of our rap-
port, but we persist as sun
and moon and nebulas still
being born in the galaxies
beyond our making. I give you
no cure, only the long aeons
of your life without me, the
sure cold of Munch’s Frieze.

MARK A. MURPHY
BLUE
N O V E
M B E R

Where has my Nora
gone? I do not see her
in our white painted room
where her crucifixes
hang above the bed.
I do not see her
in the garden where the
blue rhododendrons
clamour for light.
Where is my only girl
who makes the moon-
light my midnight friend?
In this pitch less
room, I must wait
with the antique barom-
eter, the dried out roses
and the porcelain an-
gel for the common crow
to break the silence
of my nightly vigil,
claim my fitful sleep,
claim my broken schemes.
Blue was her dream,
blue, always her colour
when she took hand-
fuls of barbiturates,
when November rain re-
turned with its idle words.

R a c h
m a n i
noff’s
R h a p
s o d y
MARK A. MURPHY

It is not certain when
or if will we meet again
in this life.
More years pass. There
is so much to say.
I love you. You are no
ghost, but a living creature.
I can no longer touch, kiss
or feel. I am no ghost, but a
man bent on loving, though
my time may well be through.
HowcanIforgetaboutbeauty?
How can I unravel the
wool or indeed the past
which is pinned to my
soul whilst the leaves
fall from the elms?
When we made love, noth-
ing could tear us asunder.
We fell into bed ignor-
ing the march of armies
outside. We fell into bed
without mortal hunger,
smiling, laughing,
thoughitwasnotyetparadise.
Night followed night.
For whom did we cry, my
love? For whom did we cry?

‘On
location
with Suzi’
Morris’

To many the thought of work-
ing in film conjures up the
thoughts of exotic filming lo-
cations or red carpet events
in Leicester Square but what
is a day on set for an Art Di-
rector for Film really like?
Its 0700 and my alarm goes,
meeting with the director
and crew over breakfast in 45
minutes. My body clock tells
me its 0500 and asks me why
am I getting up so early – I am
in Petra in Southern Jordan.
I am an abstract oil painter
having just finished an in-
tensive year long Masters
Degree in Fine Art at the City
& Guilds of London Art School.
Having missed what everyone
tells me was a great summer
2013 – the offer to go over-
seas and see the sun was
always going to be a ‘YES!’
This is my eighth project
with Fact Not Fiction Films,
a small independent multi
award winning film and doc-
umentary Production Com-
pany based in West Sussex.
We have a crew of 12 and I am
here as Art Director on the
investigative thriller feature
film, A Dark Reflection. This
is not a studio film with gen-
erous salaries and budgets.
This is a co-operative model
film where we are all given
shares in the film – there is no
pay up front. We are all doing
this because the issues at the
heart of the film, issues that
could impact anyone who
flies today. The film explores
what many claim is ‘Avia-
tion’s biggest cover-up’ and
is the aviation version of films
like Erin Brockovich or The
Insider. Being part of a film
that could potentially make
air travel safer for everyone
is primarily why I am here.
Our unit is in Jordan to cap-
ture the opening six or so
minutes of the film that in-
troduces our lead character,
journalist Helen Eastman. The
actress Georgina Sutcliffe
plays the role of a tough jour-
nalist working in a hostile
overseas setting. ‘Georgie’
is a delight to work with and
her smile and enthusiasm
for the film makes the film-
ing more like a family holiday
than a regimented studio film.
Typically the larger the
production crew, the less
flexibility there tends to be.
The director and producer
of the film is former British
Airways Captain Tristan Lo-
raine. Tristan has filmed in
Jordan before and has a very
clear idea of what he wants
the filming to achieve which
makes my life much easier.
After a hearty breakfast in the
Marriott we head off for our
first location. A small kebab
caféinanearbylocalBedouin
village. In a studio film, the
café would be rented for the
day or built as a set. We have
use of it for only a few hours
whilst business continues at
the quiet time of the day. Con-
sequently, we have to work
extremely fast. Films are very
rarely shot in consecutive or-
der as you see the film on the
silver screen but to a shoot-
ing schedule put together by
the Line Producer and Produc-
tion Manager. The scenes in
Jordan are at the start of the
filmbuttherestofthefilmhas
in fact, already been filmed.
The scenes in the café are
made up of wide shots, shots
that help show the location
and setting of the scene and
other shots such as ‘close
ups’ or a ‘two shot’ (when
there are two people in the
camera shot). We start with
the wide. Our Director of Pho-
tography (DOP) is Nick Eriks-
son, a young rising star in the
world of film. He has a First
and Second Assistant Camer-
aman, Joshua J.J. Green and
Ciaran Maginn. Josh’s primary
roleistomakesureeverything
filmed is ‘sharp’ or in focus
and Ciaran’s is to set the cam-
era up and load and unload
the film magazines. A Dark
Reflection is being filmed
on 35mm film as opposed to
digital, digital is becoming
more commonplace in TV
and in feature films. 35mm
is the gold standard. It’s a bit
like painting with Schmincke
Mussini oil colours, it’s as
good as it gets. The advan-
tages of film are its amazing
latitude to capture brightly
lit areas and the darker are-
as all in one go. Digital lacks
the latitude of film and the
look of film is magical com-
pared to digital. Using film
also brings a discipline to
filming often lacking on dig-
ital productions because of
the far higher cost of filming.
Each ‘take’ has to be properly
rehearsed before actual film-
ing. Georgina is exemplary
in her deliveries; a director’s
dream, as her performances
are usually precisely what
the director is looking for.
As Art Director, for the wide
shots in this scene, my role is
to prepare the set for filming
and ensure the location is not
in anyway seen to be in Jor-
dan, as the scene is actually
set in an unknown overseas
location. Any logos or brand
names need to be cleared by
the legal team, sometimes a
slow process, so its often eas-
ier to remove obvious ones
or confirm with the DOP that
any potential brands in shot
are ‘soft’ i.e. out of focus and
unrecognizable. As we have a
small crew on this location, I
will also look to ensure there
are no continuity issues.
Film scripts are usually writ-
ten in a program called ‘Final
Draft’. The program formats
each A4 page in a very pre-
cise way. One page of script
usually equals one minute
in the film. Our film script
is 117 pages, so the running
time of the film without end
credits, will be in the 2 hour
mark. The start of the scene
we are filming this morning
appears in Final Draft as:
INT. LOCAL RESTAURANT – DAY
Helen and Tom sit down op-
posite KAMIR, 40’s. He sips
Arabic coffee, his hand shaky.
Helen faces Kamir,
Tom is between them.
K A M I R
If you were followed –
HELEN EASTMAN
We weren’t.
Tom holds the camera and
glances at Helen who nods
for him to start filming.
Kate Morgan our young Third
Assistant Director is also act-
ing as continuity girl in Jor-
dan. Kate ensures the script
is followed and provides the
editors with all the details
of every take, such as lens
used and if the take is use-
able or not. Jane Williams
who is Head of Hairdressing
on the film, also works as
a make-up artist in Jordan.
Everyone here has more than
one role. Even our Executive
Producer Captain John Hoyte
and his daughter Lucy have
to act as crew members.
Once Jane has got the actors
ready, the ‘wide shot’ is filmed
quite easily with a few local
extras keen to be part of the
film. The wide sees Georgina
and Tom, played by young ac-
tor Luke White, enter the café
and sit down. This is followed
by single and two shots of the
threecharactersinthisscene
before we come to the main
partofthescene:theshooting.
The scene sees two charac-
ters in the café shot by an
assassin with an AK-47 as-
sault rifle. The consequences
of being shot in the head by
a high velocity rifle are, as
you would imagine, visually
quite shocking. The bullet
enters with a very small entry
wound and basically takes

out the back of the person’s
head. This needs to be re-
produced on the walls near
where the two characters are
sitting. The exact trajectory
is worked out for complete
accuracy. I am now painting
the walls of the café with the
highest quality of stage blood
the market can produce. At
£50 a bottle, it looks so real
local bystanders ask them-
selves if the café is now the
butchers shop or if the last
customer perhaps failed to
pay his bill. It’s totally water
soluble so washes off the
walls very easily after filming.
Each camera shot is called a
‘set-up’ with a slate number
identifying the set up and
‘take’ written on the ‘clap-
per board’. This is used to
allow the editors in post-pro-
duction to sync the sound,
which is recorded separate-
ly to the film footage being
filmed at 24 frames a second.
The last ‘set-up’ is where the
day gets really interesting.
The director, keen for accura-
cy in the film, has a real AK-47
being used and firing blanks
as opposed to a plastic weap-
on. Before filming the gun
being fired and using up val-
uable film stock, he asks that
the weapon be fired to make
sure it all works properly.
The weapon check is carried
out in the street by one of the
local production managers,
Mohammed Nawafleh, ciga-
rettehangingoutofhismouth.
He clearly knows a lot about
weapons. Not surprising real-
ly, as the last film he worked
on was the Academy Award
Winner Zero Dark Thirty. I
look around at how nobody
seems worried an assault ri-
fle is being fired in the street
and remember I am not in
London anymore. It’s exciting
- you remember in the world
of film - anything is possible.
Being an automatic as-
sault rifle, it fires a round
and automatically reloads
itself in the blink of an eye.
The test firing however high-
lights a problem. The gun
does not reload automatical-
ly because the blanks being
fired don’t have enough gas
release to reload the weapon.
Its suggested that the gun be
manually reloaded but that
is not part of the story and
not realistic, so the director
jokingly says ‘we need some
real ammunition’. Much to my
surprise an unknown local
steps forward and says he
can supply as much ammu-
nition as needed ‘for a small
fee’. 30 rounds are ordered
and the crew starts to look
a bit worried! Five minutes
later the ammunition arrives.
Georgie’s father was an elite
soldier so she remains un-
phased. Clearly for the ‘re-
verse shot’ of the gun being
fired we need another loca-
tion or the café owner will be
rebuilding the place after we
have gone. The location man-
ager ‘has a cousin’ and we
all drive off to a remote farm.
The farm looks over the most
scenic of valleys. Once all
the livestock is moved away
to safety, the film camera is
set up beside the gunman to
capture the shooting. Just be-
fore we ‘turn-over’ the camera
and ‘roll sound’, I turn to the
director and highlight that
its amazing that the man us-
ing the weapon, actually one
of our local drivers, has been
given the AK-47 to fire and yet
never asked for any tuition.
He smiles and says ‘I hadn’t
thought about that – I guess
everyone can fire an AK-47
over here’ and smiles. After
the filming he and Georgie
also fire the weapon easily.
After a wonderful meal and
break back at the hotel, it’s off
for more filming. This time at
the local hospital, arranged
by ‘another relative’. The
scenes we are filming are
the arrival of one of the two
people shot in the café. The
hospital is a working hospital
and they have kindly agreed
to let us film after 11pm
when they are fairly quiet.
My role as Art Director
in the hospital is to en-
sure everything is as real
as possible. We remove
any signs that identify the
hospital location, apart
from that it’s ready-made.
It’s not a set; it’s the real
deal. I was also very
lucky we had extras that
all work in the hospital.
Doctors, nurses and special-
ists simply acting as extras
in what they do every day. I
supply the expensive missing
blood in generous quantities.
After we ‘wrap’ the film-
ing, we leave the hos-
pital under an ocean of
stars, its 2 in the morning.
It’s a long day but one you will
never forget. It’s the amazing
world of film and A Dark Re-
flectionisafilmthatwillmake
a difference and I am glad to
have played a small part in
helping to make it happen.
For more informa-
tion please visit:
www.adarkreflection.com or
www.suzimorrisart .com

Eleanor Leonne Bennett is
an internationally award
winning photographer and
visual artist. She is the CIWEM
Young Environmental Pho-
tographer of The Year 2013
and has also won first plac-
es with National Geograph-
ic,The World Photography
Organisation, Nature’s Best
Photography and The Nation-
al Trust to name only a few.
Her photography has been
published in the Telegraph,
The Guardian, The British
Journal of Psychiatry, Life
Force Magazine, British
Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and
as the front cover of books
and magazines extensive-
ly throughout the world.
Eleanor’s art is globally ex-
hibited, having shown work in
New York, Paris, London, Rome,
Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Co-
penhagen, Washington, Cana-
da, Spain, Japan and Australia
amongst many other loca-
tions. She was also the only
person from the UK to have
my work displayed in the Na-
tional Geographic and Airbus
run See The Bigger Picture
global exhibition tour with the
United Nations Internation-
al Year Of Biodiversity 2010.
Her written work has had
permanent showcase on
the official company blog
of Zenfolio. In 2012 shewas
especially invited by the
founder of the BCC to con-
tribute an article to highlight
the importance of the Day
Of The Imprisoned Writer.

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- Fill a wine glass with ice.
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UNSIGNED
AFTER NYNE PRESENTS
INCLUDING: MAN CANT FLY./ CHESS GALEA/ OLIVIA REED

Debuting in 2013, Man
Can’t Fly have already
made a name for them-
selves on the Radio 1
Playlist with introduc-
tory single ‘Don’t Waste
My Time’. Championed
by BBC Introducing,
MCF secured a slot
on the Intro stage at
Reading & Leeds 2013.
Man Can’t Fly are mak-
ing their eagerly-antic-
ipated return with their
second independent
single ‘Vacant’. Collab-
orating with female
singer-songstress A Girl
Called Ruth (featured
in The Guardian Band of
the Day and a favourite
of BBC Radio Wales), the
track boasts a quirky ‘Of
Monsters and Men’ feel,
with a sharpened edge.
Further achievements
include video airplay
on C4’s Sunday Brunch,
a performance at Bing-
ley Music Live Festival
alongsidePrimalScream
and Nile Rogers, a sell-
out gig at The Cockpit
in Leeds, and an upcom-
ing support slot at The
Dunwells album launch.

MANCANT
FLY.
https://www.facebook.com/mancantfly
@mancantfly

What inspired you to get
into modeling, do you have
an icon, or anyone you as-
pire to be as good as?
It was by chance when I was
about fourteen I got asked to
do abit of modelling and I just
decided it was something I
enjoyed so carried it on into
a career. I could list a few
supermodels that I admire
but I don’t aim to be them as
everyone has a different path.
What do you love most
about modeling, and
what makes you differ-
ent to the current market?
The thing I love most is meet-
ing a lot of lovely new people,
I’ve met some friends for life
through modelling. I do a lot
of alternative art based mod-
elling which I think makes
my portfolio very different.
My editor thinks it’s crazy that
you aren’t agency signed! Do
youfindfreelancingasamod-
el is much easier/more fun?
Not being signed to an
agency has its pro’s and
con’s but it means I have
the pick of who I work with.
What has been your most
fun/memorable shoot, talk
us through the experience!
It has to be the paint shoot
that’s featured, it was a very
cold and challenging shoot
but was definitely the most
fun with a photographer that
I really get along with. It was
also very quick after I was
painted as we both knew
what images we wanted to
get from it, my shower after
was an experience within
its self, it was very colourful!
How do you prepare for
photo-shoots do you have
anything specific you al-
ways do before hand?
Not particularly, I always
eat extra healthy on the
morning of a shoot though!
This months Unsigned model
comes in the form of Rebecca
Louise, from York/London. We
pickedupherimagesfromins-
tagramandloveherpotential!
Fashion Editor Craig
Hemming caught up with
Rebecca on her career, and
life as an unsigned model!

REBECCALOUISE
IMAGES COURTESY OF DEKKER PHOTOGRAPHY

Chess was born and raised
in Malta, surrounded by clas-
sical music that her parents
listened to and played. She
started ballet at the age two
and piano at the aged five.
Chess began writing songs
very early in life and kept
them in a songbook at the
bottom of her wardrobe.She
spent her childhood and
teenage years immersed in
music – listening to anything
from Queen to Beethoven and
the Spice Girls. She loved it
all.Originally a classically
trained singer, Chess moved
on to contemporary singing
in her teenage years when
vocal coach and mentor
Joshua Alamu (Pop Idol, The
Voice) paid a trip to Malta.
Chess poured her heart out
to him letting him know of
her dreams and he suggested
she moved to the UK. So she
worked everyday for a year,
spent nothing, and moved to
Guildford to attend the Acad-
emy Of Contemporary Music.
Here she completed a Higher
Diploma in Vocals (Perfor-
mance). Meanwhile, her mu-
sicstartedtoberecognizedin
Malta–achievingalocalnum-
ber one with ‘stilettos’ and
nominations for best dance
song for her collaborations.
Working with great upcoming
producers like Xenia Gha-
li (Jessica Sutta – Pussycat
dolls) and Edd Holloway (Eb-
ony Day) – Chess wrote lots of
songsthatcaughtthepublic’s
attention. She created two
EP’s, which did extremely well
in reviews, magazines and
newspapers as well as blogs.
The EP’s were supported by
two fully funded kick-starter
projects, which had backers
from all over the world. She
has gigged in many places
around the UK and Malta and
hasgainedradioairplayinthe
UK, Australia and Malta. Chess
was recently featured on BBC
Introducing and Best Of Brit-
ish Unsigned and was nom-
inated for Best Solo Artist at
the 2014 Malta Music awards.
Chess, you started writ-
ing songs at such an
early age. Where did you
find your inspiration for
the songs you wrote?
I always had a creative imagi-
nation and a lot of determina-
tion even when I was a child. I
gotmyinspirationfromlisten-
ingtomusicandwatchinglive
performances of my favour-
ite singers/bands. I danced
as a child as well so that
helped with the inspiration.
You mention Queen, Bee-
thoven, the Spice Girls -
such diverse influences.
Any other influences you
would like to mention?
I love Queen for the incredi-
ble songwriting, harmonies,
and Freddie’s inspiring per-
formances as a front man.
The Spice Girls were my first
love, who brought pop into
my life. Beethovan has creat-
ed emotional compositions
that evoke passion. Another
great influence is Prince, who
is a multi-talented musician
and an incredible singer and
performer. I always try and
emulate him in some way.
Another more recent in-
fluence is Lady Gaga who
is re-inventing older ide-
as. She is a real showgirl
and I love that about her.
Your first year in the UK
- working hard, spend-
ing nothing - was that a
difficult time for you?
It was a really tough time, I
had about 3 jobs at one point
at the same time, and I was
still at college too! But I be-
lieve that you need to work
hard for something you want.
It’sallaboutworkingyourway
to the top and staying humble.
Who have you worked
with that has really ex-
cited you? Who would
you like to work with?
Xenia Ghali is a DJ/song-
writer/producer who I have
worked with in the past - she
has a great vision and ex-
ceptional talent. I would
really like to work with Dis-
closure, Sam Smith, and
Zedd in the near future.
What’s next for
Chess Galea?
I will be releasing new ma-
terial soon, and re-creat-
ing my whole live appear-
ance to give my fans the
full experience. So watch
out - it will be a good one!!!

CHESSGALEA
chessmusic.co.uk
@chessofficial

BURSTING
W I T H
L O V E
DANIEL GOTHARD

Lawrence Weller, a chronic
asthmatic, died on the floor
of his parents’ bathroom;
on the day of the party cel-
ebrating their twenty-fifth
wedding anniversary.
He was found by his fian-
cee, Amy. She screamed
until her throat was too
sore to go on, and then fell
to the floor next to him,
sobbingintohisstillchest.
He was lying on his back,
wide-eyed, as if he had
been asked a perplexing
question; his blue lips
slightly parted, as if he
had one last thing to say.
The bathroom door was
nearly taken off its hinges
as Lawrence’s brother and
father ran in to see the hor-
ror they had half-expected
since Lawrence had nearly
died of pneumonia when
he was four years-old. And
there it was next to the
shower unit – the dead son
everyone loved; the boy
they had watched grow in
to a man – so many years
of always triple-checking
they had packed his inhal-
ers when ever they trav-
elled outside the house –
andnowhewasagrown-up;
they had hoped and prayed
he was over the worst
of the asthma attacks.
But fate had decreed the
biggest tragedy of their
lives would happen to
them on a day when the
family home had never
looked happier – plastic
banners of Happy Anniver-
sary festooned the lounge
and dining room; balloons
of many different col-
ours and shapes adorned
every ceiling corner. Mu-
sic filled the place. Love
and life were supposed
to be in the air, not the
chilly claw of the Reaper.
‘Someone call a bloody
ambulance ... now, now,’
Lawrence’s father shouted.
He moved Amy to one side;
his other son cradled her,
and then he tried mouth-to-
mouth resuscitation – he
had been learned First Aid
to try and add another skill
to the family health arse-
nal; in case a day like this
one came along. But he had
always assumed he would
never need the skill; nev-
er feel his child’s cold lips
beneath his. His child was
gone. And he knew it even
as he blew deep and added
compressions to the chest
area. My poor boy, he want-
ed to say, my poor, poor
boy. But he kept trying to
breathehislifeintohisson.
The paramedics arrived
a few minutes later and
took over the job of at-
tempted revival. But it was
futile. And after approx-
imately fifteen minutes,
one of them looked at his
watch, wrote the time of
death on a pad and turned
to Lawrence’s parents.
‘I’m so very sorry,’ he said.
Lawrence’s father hugged
his wife and felt her tears
soak his shoulder. He
looked at his son’s face –
he interpreted the wide
eyes as desperation, and
was suddenly drenched in
guilt; assuming his boy had
diedsilentlyhopinghisdad
would find him and save
him – wasn’t that a father’s
duty, to protect his chil-
dren? And then he looked
at the blue Salbutamol
inhaler in Lawrence’s left
hand. The lid was still on.
He wondered whether his
poorboyhadbeentooover-
come to even take a single
breath of the vital steroids.
The paramedics insist-
ed the family and friends
leave them to ‘take care’
of Lawrence’s body. The
house emptied reasona-
bly quickly; lots of tears
and hugs were exchanged.
Amy was taken, by her
best friend, Louise, to the
spare bedroom where she
and Lawrence had been
due to spend the night.
And after an hour or so,
when the body had been
taken away – Lawrence’s
parents followed the
ambulance to the hos-
pital – the house fell in
to complete silence.
Michael, Lawrence’s broth-
er, and Sam, Lawrence’s
best friend, drank copius
amounts of brandy and
stared in to space. Michael
could hear Louise and
Amy upstairs talking and
crying, and he wondered
if he should offer them
some of the alcohol too.
But he couldn’t move. His
arms and legs felt some-
thing other than numb
– they felt disappeared.
His body felt gone. Just
his eyes left. How would
life go on now, he thought.
Sam wanted to do some-
thing, say something. He
was a teacher; used to
giving information and
solving ‘issues’. He wanted
to believe he could offer a
shred of detail that might
be remembered as a de-
fining point of hope in this
hellish scene. But instead
he sipped more and more
brandy and kept thinking
of Lawrence’s last words
to him, just a couple of
hours ago, ‘I need to talk
to you in a minute or two.
I really need your advice.’
What had been so impor-
tant? Nothing was now.
What ever he needed to
say was lost for ever. His
best friend, the boy with
the frail lungs but the
biggest heart, was dead.
He felt alone. He had never
even told Lawrence how
much he cared for him.
Why didn’t men ever do
that, he thought, I must tell
my friends I love them, and
soon,Imust.Hedrankmore
brandy, leaned across the
arm of his chair and patted
Michael’s arm, gently smil-
ing and nodding. Michael
looked back at him and
tried to return the smile.
Upstairs, in the spare bed-
room, Amy and Louise lay
next to each other; hold-
ing hands; one moment
silent and the next clutch-
ing each other tighter,
as emotion and shock
poured out in violent sobs.
‘We had just ... we had
just decided on a wed-
ding date,’ Amy said..
‘I am so sorry, Amy, so sor-
ry. He loved you so much.
He was such a sweet man.
You were lucky to have
him. We all were,’ Louise
whispered. Later that day,
when Lawrence’s parents
had returned from the hos-
pital – his mother had been
prescribed with a sedative,
which she shared with Amy
– Michael, Sam and Louise
began to take down the
anniversary decorations;
quicklyfillingbinbagswith
the remnants of the short-
lived celebration. Sam be-
gan cutting the necks of
the balloons with kitchen
scissors, gently allowing
the air to leave; rather
than loudly popping them.

‘No, no, Sam, stop,’ Amy
said. ‘Not that one. That
was the last one Lawrence
blew up. I want to keep it.’
Sam handed the silver bal-
loon to Amy and hugged
her; taking care not to
crushtheprizedposession.
She took the balloon up to
the spare bedroom; care-
fully wedged it between a
chair leg and the wardrobe,
put on Lawrence’s pyjama
top and took a deep breath
of his natural aroma – the
scent triggered a sudden
and horrendous vision of
him struggling to catch
his breath; pulling at his
collar perhaps and trying
to call out for help – she
clenched her eyes and
re-ordered her thoughts
to the sight of him smiling
above her, kissing her fore-
head and handing her a
cup of tea in bed, as he had
done on that very morning.
And then she crawled un-
der the duvet and stroked
the pillow where his
head should have been.
Shortly after, Louise looked
in on her, said she would
see her tomorrow, and then
left. The following week
was like a fever dream to
Amy. Michael called her
every a day, as did Louise
and Sam. And she tried to
find anything to distract
her long enough to avoid
thinking about the look
on her lover’s face; lying
dead on a bathroom floor.
The nights were the worst
of times, alone in their bed,
in their home – wall mount-
ed sketches by Lawrence
they had framed (he had
been an architect) and var-
ious holiday photographs
only served as painful re-
minders of the recent past
and the no longer future.
‘Do you feel able to write
a eulogy?’ Michael asked
Amy two days before the
funeral. ‘It wouldn’t have
to be much. I just thought
it might be a chance for
us all to talk about how
much he meant to us.’
‘Of course. I want to tell
him about ... where ever
he is. You know ...’ she said.
Michael smiled and nod-
ded,andsqueezedherhand.
Amybarelysleptacrossthe
next forty-eight hours, try-
ing to think about what to
say; how she could verbal-
isethedepthofherloveand
how heartbroken she felt.
Throughout each day
since Lawrence had died
shefoundherselfreturning
to the hat-box under their
bed, where she had placed
the silver balloon for safe-
keeping. It was beginning
to look a little diminished –
slight crinkles were slowly
appearing around the tied
neck – and she wanted to
find a way to preserve it
– not just for a little while
longer, for as long as she
lived. The balloon held
what might have been
Lawrence’s last breath.
Amy spent some hours
looking up preservation
techniques online: For-
maldehyde? Dry ice?
Some form of jelly?
She eventually dismissed
each one as either unwork-
able or ridiculous and con-
centrated on the eulogy.
She began with a poem
by EE Cummings: a favour-
ite of Lawrence’s, and the
one they had talked about
using at their wedding, “ I
carry your heart with me,
I carry it in my heart ...”
She cried as she copied
the poem and repeatedly
glanced at a desk pho-
tograph of the two of the
them, smiling and hugging
by a Christmas tree; taken
by Louise two years before.
Eventually, at two o’clock
in the morning, on the day
of Lawrence’s funeral,
she was finished. She re-
read the words one last
time before falling asleep.
And was woken by the ra-
dio clock alarm in what
felt like minutes later.
Amy dressed in the black
clothing she had bought
for this awful day. She
wanted to cover herself
in darkness; let what ever
celestial being(s) might
be ‘out there’ know how
crushedshefelt;howmuch
she blamed them/it for ru-
ining her life. Michael and
Louise called to confirm
the time their car would
be collecting her, and
then she sat and stared at
the sketch Lawrence had
finished fairly recently. A
self-portrait – bright eyes
and a sweet smile. Amy
had asked him for it as
an anniversary present.
Shehadn’teatenthatmorn-
ing, but instead made a
third cup of coffee and took
it in to her bedroom and
sat on the bed. She pulled
the hat-box on to the duvet
andopenedthe lid.The bal-
loon was sagging and now
looked about half empty.
She held her head in her
hands and cried again;
there was no way to pre-
serve a balloon. And even if
she ever did find a method,
it was too late for this spe-
cialgift.Sheknewwhatshe
had to do. She went to the
kitchen and brought some
scissors back to the bed.
She had watched Sam
gently cutting the tops of
the other balloons during
the wedding anniversa-
ry clear-up. The air from
each one had oozed out;
some of it making Sam’s
fringe rise up. Amy lifted
the silver balloon out of
the hat-box slowly and
with the care of someone
holding a newborn baby.
She pressed it against her
cheek and then kissed it.
‘I will always love you,
Lawrence. I carry you
in my heart,’ she whis-
pered, her mouth
against the balloon skin.
Then she picked up the
scissors, pinched the tied
neck and made a delicate
cut. Air started to leak
out. Amy held the balloon
near her face; closed her
eyes to allow Lawrence’s
breath to wash over her.
And then she heard
words in the breath.
Lawrence’s voice;
like a recording.
Shesqueezedtheleakshut,
swallowed hard and stared
around the room. What
the hell was going on?
Amy walked around the
flat, checked the answer-
phone and the computers
– no sounds. And then she
sat on the sofa and held the
balloon up again. She was
shaking as she let the last
of the air dash across her
face. And there were his
last words; his last breath.
‘I’m in love with Louise ...’

T H E
S T O R M
WOKEME
EMMA ROBERTS

I was dreaming. I was dream-
ing of us. You and me. You
were here. Lying next to me.
I could feel your breath on
my cheek. We ate scrambled
eggs and salmon for break-
fast and drank champagne
and got a little drunk. Then
we slept some more. You were
there. Next to me. The wind
blew the shutters open and
you got up to close them. In
the half-light I could see your
silhouette. We spent the day
walking. We walked and we
walked and then we sat under
the trees in the park and you
read Hemingway to me. Our
fingers entwined. We took our
shoes off and buried our feet
in the grass. The sun was hot
on our skin. I quietly worried
we would burn. It did a little.
Then you said you were hun-
gry so we went to a café and
ate croque monsieurs and
drank a bottle of red wine. I
think it was Merlot. Your eyes.
I remember your eyes. But I
don’t remember why, I just
remember feeling comfort
in them. I dreamt about the
first time you said you loved
me. I dreamt of our wedding.
Like it was yesterday. Was
it? I dreamt of her birth. I
remember her eyes. Those
eyes again. Yours. Just like
yours. I dreamt all of this. The
three of us. I remember her
first day at school. I remem-
ber how I cried. But I didn’t
let you know. I missed her so
much. But she loved school.
Every minute of it. And then
she grew up. Our little baby
grew up. Into such a beauti-
ful woman. I remember when
she came to me and told me
she was ill. My heart stopped.
I dreamt all of this. I remem-
ber telling you, and watching
your face. I will never forget
that. Maybe this is why it
comes back in my dreams.
Do you remember that? Of
course you do. We watched
as she fought. She fought so
hard, didn’t she? We couldn’t
help her though. Could we?
We couldn’t, could we? Our
baby. So brave. So strong.
But she’s peaceful now. No
more fight. No more pain.
That’s a good thing. Isn’t it,
darling? That’s a good thing.
Isn’t it? And then it was you
and I again. Just like how it
was in the beginning. She
had touched our lives. She
had loved us as we had loved
her. She will always be with
us. She will always be young.
She will always be our baby.
Before she was taken away.
I was dreaming. I was dream-
ing of us. Do you remember
that day we walked to the
park and you read Heming-
way to me? You read for ages
and then we ate croque mon-
sieurs in that cafe. I always
remember that. I remember
the waiter. I thought he looked
like Cary Grant, do you re-
member me saying that? You
said I was right. I always re-
member that. We loved her so
much, didn’t we? Why did they
have to take her? Why wasn’t
it someone else? I’m sorry. I
was just dreaming. Of us. The
three of us. I always do. In my
dreams we are walking. The
three of us. The sun is warm
on our faces. I worry we might
burn. Her skin is so young.
So pure. Our baby. We walk
for miles and miles. We walk
and yet we never tire. The
day goes on and on. It never
seems to end. When I look at
the sky the sun is high, it nev-
er sets. It follows us. Forever
warm on our skin. We walk
and we laugh and we run. We
sit for a while under a tree. We
take off our shoes. I can feel
the grass beneath my feet,
even now. I can feel how the
blades tickle my toes. We lie
and watch the clouds. Looking
at the shapes. A sheep, a lion,
a dragon, a mouse. I can see
them now. I always dream of
the clouds. They passed us
one by one, the dragon, the
lion, the sheep, the mouse.
Always the mouse. She al-
ways saw the mouse. Our
baby. I dreamt all of this. I al-
ways do. I dreamt about that
day she came into our bed.
I remember she said ‘The
storm woke me’ and we cud-
dled up. The three of us. The
wind shook the shutters open
and you got up to close them.
I remember your silhouette
in the half-light. I always re-
member that. I dream a lot.
Now you are gone. I dream of
us. I forget you are not here. I
forget it’s just me now. Some-
times I reach out for you. I can
feel your hand. Your breath
on my cheek. I can see those
eyes. Her eyes. I always re-
member your eyes. It was like
myself looking back at me.
If I dream you are there. She
is there. Like it was. The sun
is warm on our faces. I think
we might burn. I always did.
I don’t know why. Sometimes
we did a little. I remember
that. The clouds skit across
the sky. They move faster and
faster, I can barely tell the
shapes anymore. I watch the
leaves on the trees change
colour. First green, then yel-
low, then brown and then they
fall on our faces. But we just
lie there, together. Our fingers
entwined. I can see your lips
moving. But I can’t hear the
words. I can see the book in
your hand, but the words just
float away. You smile and look
at me and I look at her. She
points up to the sky and says
‘Look, a mouse! Can you see?’
I cannot see, but I say ‘Yes dar-
ling, I can see’. The clouds are
moving too fast. I cannot tell
the shapes anymore. I dreamt
all of this. I always dream of
clouds. I always dream of us.
Do you remember that day we
lay in the park and ate croque
monsieurs in that café? I al-
ways remember that. I like to
dream. We are always togeth-
er in my dreams. Like it was
yesterday. The years vanish
and we are young again. The
threeofus.Inmydreams.Iwas
dreaming of us. I always do.
The leaves are green,
they do not turn
and the sun
does not set.
Forever warm
on our skin.

R O B
R Y A NAN INTERVIEW BY CLAIRE MEADOWS

RobRyanisoneofthemostex-
citing visual artists working
in the UK at the moment. His
intricate, and poignant work
is instantly recognisable -
delicate, yet tactile, whether
on screenprints, limited edi-
tion ceramics or tea towels.
After Nyne Magazine caught
up with him ahead of his
appearance at SohoCre-
ate in London in June to talk
cups, collaborations and
why supporting the arts is
more important than ever.
First of all Rob, thanks for talk-
ing to After Nyne Magazine.
We’re big fans of your work.
Hey! The pleasure is all mine.
You’re on the panel of Soho-
Create, which we covered in
the last issue of the magazine.
Can you tell us what inspired
you to want to take part?
I’ll be honest, I was asked. re-
ally I have got so much work
that I want to create in the
studio that I haven’t got too
much time to spend on this
sort of thing, but I love Harriet
from Tatty Devine and any ex-
cuse to hang with her is good.
You’re in conversation with
Harriet Vine at SohoCre-
ate. Can you tell us a little
bit more about the Ryan/
Tatty Devine partnership?
Well we’ve known each other
quite a few years, I used to do
some of their screen printing
for them back in the day. I had
a show of big painted rulers
in their shop on Brick Lane
many moons ago, my daugh-
ter Barbara had a show of
fanzines by girls there too! A
few years ago we did an acryl-
ic jewellery project togeth-
er, that was pretty cool, and
last year we worked together
on a collaboration for their
fine range in gold and silver.
You’ve partnered with the
V&A on the ‘Loving Cup’
project. Can you tell us a
bit more about this? What
was your inspiration?
It was commissioned by the
V&A specially for their ‘Wed-
ding Dress’ show. The actual
shape of the two handles
mug is based on one from
their ceramic collection. I
was given a free reign to cre-
ate so I just got on with it. I
guess my inspiration was
in a way based on kind of
old fashioned formality, but
what is a wedding? It’s just
a promise, a promise for life.
You’re part of an illustri-
ous panel at SohoCreate
- is there anyone there
whose talk you are espe-
cially looking forward to?
Helen David and Toyah, I think
it’s a really interesting com-
bination and I’m interested to
see how they crossover. And
Yinka Shonibare! I saw his
show at the Yorkshire Sculp-
ture Park - I’m a huge fan.
In your opinion, how essential
is creativity to our future?
As much as it ever was. You
know people sing the prais-
es of the ancient Greeks,
Egyptians, Romans, the Ital-
ian Renaissance, the British
Industrial Revolution but
those ground-breaking eras
are nothing compared to the
perseverance of early man
three thousand years ago and
stretching back to the very
birth of homo sapiens. Their
struggle to survive for thou-
sands of years got us where
we are now and their crea-
tivity is as good as anything
since. Creativity has to con-
tinue obviously not just for its
own sake but to improve our
understandingofwhowereal-
ly are and what we should be.
Your second book in the Invis-
ible Kingdom series is out in
October. What part has litera-
ture played in your own life?
Well I do like to read but I flit
around to whatever catch-
es my fancy. I’m not a writer
by any means, in fact I find it
incredibly hard but I guess
that’s why I try and take it
on, because it’s a challenge.
Finally, what words of in-
spiration do you have
for young artists, at the
start of their journey?
1. Put whatever you think,
dream, down in pictures and
words onto sketchbooks, ab-
solutely everything, put it in.
2. Don’t sit around waiting for
someone to offer you some-
thing or for something to
happen, get off your arse and
make things happen your-
self - you owe it at least to
prehistoric man and woman
SohoCreate takes place on
4-6 June 2014 in London.
For more information and
to book tickets please visit
www.sohocreate.co.uk.
http://robryanstudio.com/

BEL
EVECLAIRE CHATS WITH FOUNDER MARSHA POWELL

After Nyne Magazine throws
itself behind empowering
causes, and strong, inspir-
ing people who are trying
to make a difference. In this
month’s issue, we talk to
Marsha Powell, founder of
BelEve, who tells us more
about her mission statement,
and her own inspirations.
Marsha, thanks for talking
exclusively to After Nyne
Magazine. Can you tell us
a little about BelEve UK?
BelEve UK is a Social En-
terprise that is passionate
about Inspiring Change,
Education and Empowering
Growth by supporting girls
and young women aged
10-24 to develop skills to
improve their life chanc-
es and career prospects.
We believe it is important to;
inspire and empower young
women to maximise their po-
tential, while ensuring they
have the right support, skills
and confidence to make in-
formedchoicesabouttheirfu-
ture and take control of their
owndestinywithaSMARTplan.
What inspired you
to set up BelEve UK?
The BelEve journey began af-
ter the death of my beautiful
Mother. Whilst the vision was
there, the desire the take a
risk and turn my vision into
reality, very much came a
year after my Mother died. I
had worked for a corporate
organization for over 13 years
as a HR Business Partner,
so supporting people is my
thing, however I felt that my
true purpose was support-
ing, guiding and educating
young women, who do not
necessarily have the same
support or opportunities I
received from my mother.Our
vision is to be an organsia-
tion that inspires, empowers
and educates young women
whilst supporting them in
gaining the right skills and
experiences to improve the
career and life chances.
Would you like to see
government interven-
tion in these issues?
The Government should fund
more grass root organsitions
who are making a real dif-
ference in supporting young
women to improve their life
and career prospects. It is
apparent that the Government
is looking for hard outcomes,
ie more young people into
work, however supporting
them in increasing their
self-esteem and confidence
is a vital part of the process.
Tell us about the re-
cent Girls Rock event.
BelEve Girls Rock on 27 April
was in partnership with The
Albany. The inspirational af-
ternoon took over the Dept-
ford Lounge Library for the
day with over 150 guests in
attendance. This platform is
about giving females the op-
portunity to Rock the stage.
We had 8 year old Faithlyn
sing in front of an audience
for the first time. All the at-
tendees enjoyed the Hip Hop
Shakespeare workshop, the
amazing showcase of up and
coming female artists and
the Stories of 5 Success-
ful women from a variety of
professional backgrounds.
What are your plans for Be-
lEve over the next year?
BelEve UK plans to collab-
orate with other organisa-
tions to deliver our mission
of Inspiring, empowering and
educating girls and young
women. We have some great
projects planned, which will
support the females we work
with gaining new opportu-
nities and developing trans-
ferable skills in which they
will be able to use every day.
Do you think it’s equally
important for people to in-
spire and guide young men?
It is definitely important for
people to inspire and guide
young men as they face simi-
lar issue to girls. Having pos-
itive role models is equally
as important for boys as so-
ciety has different expecta-
tions, for men, which comes
with different challenges.
What can people do
to support BelEve?
In order for us to continue to
deliver high quality support
to the girls and young women
we work with we are always
looking for women to sup-
port by donating their time
and non-financial resourc-
es. Our biggest asset today
is our mentors, so we are
always looking for mentors
and women who can support
us in delivering our mission.
Follow us on twitter: @Be-
lEveUK https://twitter.com/
PICTURED UBOVE:
MARSHA POWELL

LISTEN.AFTER NYNE MEETS AUTHOR CLARE TAYLOR

What made you
want to write Listen
The central character, Sarah,
interested me: a middle-aged
woman, safe in her job (she
thought), her home and her
relationship. But a dissatis-
fied woman, fed up both with
the new market-led values at
the BBC and with her partner.
I wanted to turn her life up-
side down, wreck all her com-
fortable certainties, and force
her not just to re-evaluate but
to take some sort of personal-
ly inspired action in support
of her ideals and beliefs. I
particularly wanted to rescue
a middle-aged woman from
the ‘has-been’ bin and Sarah’s
struggles, I hope, reflect the
struggles many woman have
later in life, when the nest
is empty, and they can’t see
much ahead. I wanted to give
her fire and put her through
fire, but kindly, and have her
emergegently. And,ofcourse,
I wanted her to re-discover
desire and sex. After all, she
was once a Sixties whizz-kid.
Ifyouhadtodescribethebook
to a stranger, what themes
in the book would you like to
most draw to their attention?
Thethemeoflistening:howso
often we don’t listen to each
other, or to what is happen-
ing around us; how easy and
comfortable it is to assume
we need only look after our-
selves and the government
will take care of us, benignly.
I was fascinated when I heard
about the women peace ac-
tivists at RAF Menwith Hill in
North Yorkshire who were
standing up so stalwartly for
what they did believe in, and
surprised how little attention
they received from the press.
I wanted to bring Sarah into
that world, back into the world
of feminist and political val-
ues she’d left behind and see
what happened. Sarah starts
by refusing to listen, even
- and centrally - to herself.
But gradually she comes to
realise that the state is lis-
tening to whatever it wants
perversely nobody wants to
know.Sothethemeoflistening
embracesbothstatelistening
tening and personal listening.
Onehastodowithourownten-
der hearts, the other with or-
ganised state paranoia; nec-
essary perhaps in the face of
terrorism, but terrifying when
it becomes an institutional-
ised response which the gov-
ernment denies is happening.
Sarah’s journey takes her
back to the north and that ‘re-
turn’ is a strong theme; many
of us now move away from
where we grew up and that
powerful pull, made up of a
mixture of repulsion, melan-
choly longing and nostalgia
interested me. The story is
set in the mid-nineties, when
London is on its way to tak-
ing off like a vast shiny he-
lium balloon and hovering
over the rest of England, so
the north and south theme is
pretty central - as a pre-cur-
sor to where we are now.
Finally, women’s age, or
rather ages and how unkind
younger women can be to
older women and vice versa.
A ridiculous sort of prejudice.
So there are four different
ages of women in the story.
You’ve woven a character
whose world is collaps-
ing around her with a po-
litical thriller - how did
you strike that balance?
Sarah is motivated to escape
her own collapsing world by
her need to honour the memo-
ry of her dead friend, Lucy, and
understand how she came
to die. So initially it is a per-
sonal prompting that sends
her on an adventure which
ultimately becomes polit-
ical; penetrating a US spy
base. But Sarah is political
in her views; left-wing. She
views the mid-nineties world
around her myopically - even
her own partner, one of the
first editors of Time Out Mag-
azine, is un-tainted by con-
nection with the easy money
of arms sales, for instance.
She feels her generation sold
out. The peace-activist, Erin,
the woman Sarah has to listen
to, is immensely political and
definitely has not sold out: so
through that connection we
can go into the base itself; an
entire American community
in the middle of a North York-
shire moor. I talked to people
who’d been inside the base,
and at length to some of the
peace activists who’d been
arrested and taken in-
side the perimeter and so
on. Many incidents in the
story are based on fact.
To what extent were you
able to draw on your suc-
cessful BBC writing career
in the writing of the book?
I think I drew more on my time
as a Radio Producer/Director
rather than later as a writ-
er. I left the BBC before the
mid-Nineties, when the story
is set, but I talked at length
to a number of ex-colleagues
and friends who reported a
dreadful period of staff-cull-
ing and deep creative mis-
ery, so I knew what it was like
and what was happening and
how it felt. There were many
unhappy people around the
BBC then. The same sort of
thing was happening in the
Ministry of Defence around
that time; whole departments
were being privatised, there
were huge opportunities
for staff to walk away with
big contracts. Again, it’s the
start of where we are now.
How do you think we
feel about surveil-
lance in a post Snowden,
post Assange world?
Interesting question. The dif-
ficultyisthatwedoneedasys-
tem of state defence and ob-
viously there has to be some
surveillance within that. The
problem has to do with, a) the
state denial that it happens,
and b) the fact that makes the
activity unaccountable - we,
the electorate haven’t given
the government the mandate
for mass intercepts, to do that
laws would have to be passed
- but it nevertheless goes on,
outside the body of law. And
the power that gives to the de-
fence sector is not just vast,
but total. Surveillance tech-
nology demands the support
of tech companies which are
not part of the government,
but private organisations, so
you have a net-work of priv-
ileged “insiders” with huge
freedom to abuse the system;
which only they know how
to operate. This is what Ed-
ward Snowden has exposed. I
guess we feel ambivalent. It’s
easy to see the state as our
benevolent parent, looking
after our interests, ours not to
question why etc. But people
are surprisingly in awe. I’ve
met people who don’t like to
even refer to RAF Menwith Hill,
as if by so doing they might
find their own phone is being
tapped. That is worrying. It’s
a sort of intimidation. I think
“we” are probably thoughtful
and fairly frightened. “We”
are in danger of becoming
what the politicians refer
to as “ordinary people” ie.
powerless. So I think “we”
are a bit cautious right now
and keeping a watchful
eye. At least I hope we are.
What’s next for Clare Taylor?
I wrote a novel before LIS-
TEN as part of my Fiction MA
from Sheffield Hallam Uni-
versity called ARE YOU WARM
ARE YOU REAL another mix of
thriller and personal jour-
ney - not political, but defi-
nitely on the side of the true
glad heart. I also have some
short stories ready to go - all
centred on the dark side of
rural life. So those will be
coming out later this year.

Kit Rice is not only a truly
versatile artist with a wealth
of musical knowledge be-
hind him but he is a gradu-
ate of the prestigious BRIT
school, established song-
writer and classical violin-
ist making him an emerg-
ing talent to really watch
out for in the coming year!
Kit’s first iTunes release,
Not on My Time EP was self
– produced and released
in December 2011, followed
swiftly by Lies EP in Febru-
ary 2012 which attracted at-
tention from music agents
based in Central London.
At just 21, Kit’s debut album
Stay Gone was completed
with well known produc-
er Cam Blackwood who is
known for his work with art-
ists including; Cee – Lo Green
and Jamiroquai. His first
single BYOB, was released
on November 11th 2013 with
the music video attract-
ing wide spread attention
from both the UK and the US.
Kit has performed numer-
ous gigs at venues around
the country including celeb
spots such as The Ice Bar
and XOYO. Kit was crowned
the winner of The Bedford’s
Song Slam in 2012 after wow-
ing the judges with original
tracks from his album and he
has played live acoustic ses-
sions on main radio stations
including BBC Radio London.
Kit took time out for this
exclusive interview with
After Nyne Magazine.
Kit, you started your for-
mal musical education
at the BRIT school; can
you tell us a little about
your experiences there?
IreallyenjoyedmytimeatBrit
:) I met some amazing peo-
ple, made some really great
friends & I grew so much be-
ing surrounded by people
withthesamegoalsasmyself.
When were you actually
bitten by the music bug?
I think I am a music
bug :D I’ve been play-
ing music since I was 4.
Who were your own in-
fluences at this time?
I love Prince, Brandy, Gaga,
Luther Vandross, Mary J
Blige! Too many to mention :)
What inspired you to
self-produce your first EP?
I didn’t have
enough cash haha :)
I’m a fast learner & we had
learned the basics at BRIT.
After producing that EP I pro-
duced 150 more songs my-
self which I didn’t release.
By that time I had found Cam.
At just 21 you were working
with esteemed producer Cam
Blackwood - that must have
been an awesome experience
It was :) he had all the things
a guy could ask for! Drum ma-
chines and old school fender
guitars! Incredible mics and
the knowledge to use them.
I learned a lot from Cam.
What has the reaction
been to your debut album
Stay Gone? You’ve had in-
ternational attention..
Everyone I have showed re-
ally loves it! My best friends
know all the words & I’ve had
offers from TV Advertise-
ment companies in the Uk &
abroad. I’m waiting for the
right time to release it all!
But for now I have some sin-
gle releases set up to blow!
You’ve performed at nu-
merous gigs around the
country - what do you enjoy
about touring? And what
are your least favourite
parts of the experience?
I live to perform. I write mu-
sic to perform it and when
I tour my music I feel alive.
The boys & I have been
touring the songs from
STAY GONE for a year now
and the show keeps grow-
ing to new heights! There
is nothing I don’t enjoy
about touring. Even the 5am
wake up calls thrill me :)
What’s next for Kit Rice?
My next single is out on
July 1st and I really think
you’re all gonna love it! :)
I’m playing many gigs as-
well, all can be found on my
website WWW.KITRICE.COM

TOKAIDO
ROAD.
Tokaido Road, a mul-
ti-media chamber music
opera which takes its
name from the Japanese
artist Hiroshige’s iconic
53 Stations of the Tokai-
do. It is a cross-cultural
cross-arts work that will
feature mime, dance and
poetry as well as music
and projected images
of Hiroshige’s original
woodblocks and con-
temporary photography.
It is commissioned by
Okeanos, the UK’s unique
Japanese-Western music
ensemble and will pre-
miere at the Cheltenham
MusicFestivalon6thJuly.
First of all Kate, lovely to
meet you. Tokaido Road
premieres on 6th July -
how is the lead-up going?
Thanks Claire. Its going very
well. After such a lengthy
period of fund-raising and
planning, it was an incred-
ible thrill to finally see the
score of Tokaido Road in Feb-
ruary - Nicola’s music and
Nancy’s words. It suddenly
felt very exciting – all these
ideas and characters which
had only previously existed
in our heads were suddenly
‘real’. We have a wonderful
cast and creative team. Kimie
Nakano’s set and costume de-
signs are everything I hoped
they would be – stylish, con-
temporary,beautiful.Itsfasci-
nating being both a performer
in the opera and watching
and helping it all to come to-
gether in my role as project
lead. You get both an inside
/ outside perspective. And
the relationships between
the cast and crew are an es-
sential part of the final prod-
uct too. Its incredibly busy
– someone always needs to
know something. But I’m the
very much enjoying the pro-
cess of creating the opera.
ow would you de-
scribe what you’re try-
ing to achieve with TR?
Tokaido Road came about for
anumberofreasons.Okeanos
has been performing music
with a mix of Western and
Japanese for over ten years
and we felt we were ready to
take on an ambitious project
and set new goals for our-
selves. We wanted to create
a stage work that built on
what we had already learnt
about collaborative arts and
the mix of two cultures. But
Tokaido Road takes this a
stage further. Within the 55
minute framework, we want-
ed to explore the ‘complex
and murky relationship which
exits between the arts’. So, we
have included historical art
(Hiroshige’s woodcuts), con-
temporary photography, poet-
ry, music, mime. That’s a lot of
art forms under a microscope
which have to work togeth-
er perfectly. The term I find
the most useful to describe
these artistic relationships
is ‘ekphrasis’ - a Greek word
which essentially means ‘to
show very clearly or make
completely clear’. Today, ek-
phrastic art is usually under-
stood as a form in which one
artistic medium relates to
another medium by defining,
describing or ‘commenting’
on the art form before it and in
doing so, relates more direct-
ly to the audience through
consequent illuminations. So
we’re thinking very hard and
carefully about how all the
art forms can remain distinct
yet form part of an integrated
whole. A further ambition of
Tokaido Road is to take opera
to new audiences – it seems
that the mix of arts is help-
ing is to achieve this. We’ve
had interest in the opera for
all sorts of reasons from all
sorts of people. Some are at-
tracted to the art, some the
Japanese connection, some
the music, some instruments,
the poetry, the photography…
For me, Tokaido Road is also
very much about an oppor-
tunity to examine our rela-
tionship with Japan and Jap-
anese culture. Okeanos are
not Japanese – we are West-
ern Musicians and some of
us play traditional Japanese
instruments. Our players of
Japanese instruments have
lived in Japan, studied there
and know their stuff, but we
are in my mind - to all intents
and purposes – cultural and
musical tourists. And like
any curious visitor to a new
country, we began by being
fascinated by differences
and excited by similarities.
Like Britten in Curlew
River, Stravinsky with
neo-classicism, Bartok
with folksong, Picasso
with his African masks,
artists have always
been fascinated by oth-

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