15ARTSGUERNSEY PRESSWednesday 6 January 2016

ARTS If you have a story to tell, get in touch with Shaun Shackleton on 240210 or email sshackleton@guernseypress.com

OUT THERE

Oddsocks entertainsLOOKING for a ‘knight’ out filled with magic, music and mirth?Oddsocks’ rip-roaring production of The Legend of King Arthur is at St James from Wednesday 13 to Saturday 16 January. Follow the boy who would be king as he pulls the sword from the stone. Watch Knights of the Round Table joust, tremble as Lady Guinevere reveals her hidden strength and gasp as Merlin’s magic controls the twists and turns of this classic legend. Audiences can expect an exciting, action-packed spectacle for the whole family.u Performances start at 7.30pm. Tickets are £19.50, £15 students, available at www.guernseytickets.gg and the box office on 711361. Pre-show suppers are available in Cafe St James each evening. For information, menus and reservations, call 714175.

GARDENER Christopher Bailes (pictured right) is giving a presentation based around one of the

Royal Horticultural Society’s gardens. It takes place at the Princess Royal Centre for the Performing Arts on Friday 15 January.Titled ‘Rosemoor Reborn – the first 25 years of a new national garden’, the talk will cover some of his time in charge of the gardens at Rosemoor in Devon. Rosemoor was the home of Lady Anne Palmer, who donated it to the RHS in 1988.That same year, Kew-trained Christopher joined the society as curator of the celebrated gardens.This presentation tells the story of Rosemoor’s grounds through two decades of expansion, up to its current status as a national garden of 65 acres, attracting more than 170,000 visitors a year.

u The presentation starts at 7pm. Tickets are £5, available from www.guernseytickets.com and the box office on 749999.

Paradise regained – the story of RHS Rosemoor

Young and talentedCLASSICAL music lovers have a treat in store with the annual Youth Camerata concert on next month at St James. The evening will be presented by some of Guernsey’s most talented young musicians and this year there will be many new faces on stage on Saturday 6 February. The mix of musicians is drawn from Guernsey schools, Wells Cathedral School and the Royal Northern College of Music conservatoire. Among them, vocalist Kirsty Dempster, Jack Tostevin-Hall and Annabelle Pizzey on oboe, viola player Hanako Dickinson and percussionist Jacob Sidebottom will be making their Youth Camerata debut and they will be joined by pianist Jack Colley, Frazer Wilkes on trombone and harpist Marie-Claire Benoist. Well known in Guernsey, soprano Rhiain Taylor (pictured above) will be returning to complete the line-up. The varied programme includes works from the 17th through to the 20th century.u The free concert is part of the BWCI Concert Series and starts at 8pm. Proceeds from a retiring collection will be shared between the St James Youth Promotions Trust and the Guernsey Camerata. Anyone unable to attend the concert but wishing to make a contribution should contact Mrs G Freeman at Le Grantez Farm, Castel, or call 263831.

Picture perfectingPhotographers have the chance to get top-notch advice from the Royal Photographic Society next month when local members are joined by UK

experts at Les Cotils. Shaun Shackleton talks to society fellow Nick Despres ahead of the event

GUERNSEY photographers will get the chance to be advised by assessors from the Royal Photographic Society includ-ing local members Nick Despres and Steven Le Prevost, at Les Cotils next month.

The event is aimed at photographers seeking advice on gaining wider recognition for their skills, those looking to gain one of the RPS’s internationally respected distinctions and people looking to become society members.Founded in 1853 as an educational charity, the society is the UK’s oldest and largest photography organisation. It offers three levels of distinctions: LRPS (Licentiateship), ARPS (Associateship) and FRPS (Fellowship).‘For an LRPS you need to submit a panel of 10 images,’ explained Nick, who has been a society fellow since 1993. ‘The judges encourage a wide range of themes. These can be prints or digital projections.‘For the ARPS there is quite a jump in standard and you need to submit 15 images. You always get good feedback if unsuccessful. There might be small areas to improve or a complete rethink. Some might come with a couple of ideas and their strength might lie in portraiture or landscape.‘For the FRPS, there’s a huge jump. There are only 600 worldwide. For this you need 20 images.’The event will cover all three levels of distinction, with specialist guidance in the creative, travel and natural history categories.The creative category recognises creativity either in camera or in post-production; travel applications should express the feeling of a time and a place; and natural history themes can include zoology, botany and meteorology. There will also be an Introduction to Distinctions programme led by Roy Robertson Hon FRPS, which will showcase recent successes at all levels.Participants will have the opportunity to

receive guidance on their proposed panel and its preparation. The assessors will show examples of successful panels and participants will be invited to display their images for comment and consideration. For LRPS and ARPS, this will be an open session and spectators are welcome. The FRPS sessions will be one to one in private.It is advised that participants read the Distinctions Handbook before attending, which can be downloaded from the RPS website, www.rps.org.‘In my dozen or so years as being a fellow there is no one who has applied for a distinction and not benefitted from the process,’ said Nick. ‘It really teaches people a lot.’The sins of the fathers

CINEGUERNSEY’S film for January follows three men as they uncover their families’ Nazi-entangled past.The documentary What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy (PG) is screened on Wednesday 13 January at the Frossard Theatre and sees the trio travel together across Europe. For two of the men the journey involves confronting their fathers’ past – both were senior Nazi officers. But for the third, human rights lawyer and author Philippe Sands, it means visiting the place where much of his own Jewish family was destroyed by the fathers of the two men he has come to know. The film is an emotional, psychological exploration of three people wrestling with their past, present-day Europe and conflicting versions of the truth. u Doors open at 6.45pm for 7.30pm start. Tickets are £8, £6.50 members, £5 students, available from www.guernseytickets.gg and Culture and Leisure outlets.

What we were readingIF YOUR New Year resolution is to read more, the Guille-Alles Library Reading Group could help spur you on.This month they will be discussing ‘crackers and turkeys’ – the books that were loved over Christmas and those that were not. Readers are asked to bring along a title read during December to discuss with the group – an absolute cracker or a total turkey.The group will also be planning its discussion schedule for 2016 and all ideas are welcome.January meetings will be on Wednesday 13, 7.30-9pm and Saturday 16, 3.30-5pm.u Admission is free, no booking required. For more information, contact Adam at abayfield@library.gg or on 720392.

Book your placeThe event takes place in the Harry Bound Room at Les Cotils on Saturday 27 February, 10am-4pm. Tickets are £15 RPS members, £20 non-members and £10 spectators and can be booked at Les Cotils on 727793 or at www.rps.org/guernsey.Please do not bring work on the off-chance that it can be judged. Only panels that have been booked can be assessed. Attendance must be booked in advance and is strictly limited.

Nick Depres’ Peastacks (above) and Steven Le Prevost’s Set of Three (below).