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Winnipeg

Winnipeg – Manitoba’s capital city located in western Canada is an ideal holiday destination. Winnipeg is somewhat under populated compared to other Canadian cities making it an ideal place to visit if you want to take in the sights avoiding busy crowds. Winnipeg is a very multicultural city due to the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1881 which seen European and Philippine settlers arrive in search of employment. There are many historical events that have taken place in Winnipeg over the past two century’s that have left its mark on the city, this is evident when visiting the red river floodway and Fort Douglas that was built by Irish and Scottish settlers in 1812.

Although Winnipeg isn’t a popular tourist destination you won’t be disappointed with what it has to offer. it’s a great city for art galleries, museums, restaurants, theatres, shopping, festivals, concerts and the arts.
The best time to visit Winnipeg is during the autumn as summer can be really hot and humid and winter can be freezing, temperatures have been known to drop to as low at -40C.

Sightseeing

If you enjoy visiting old buildings you should start with a trip to the Fort Garry Hotel that was constructed in 1812 by the Grand Truck Pacific Railway and the old architectural buildings of the great exchange district dating back to 1881.If the family are going with you to Winnipeg there is plenty to keep the little ones occupied such as the Assiniboine Park Zoo and the Manitoba Museum and Planetarium which is a real educational visit in itself with astrology and science information.

Winnipeg is also well known for its large lake, it is considered as one of the longest in the world and its surrounding forests were given national park status. These peaceful forests offer nice walks and a chance to view some of Canada’s wildlife such as deer and bears.

Nightlife & Entertainment

Winnipeg is a city that oozes art and culture. Not only does Winnipeg have a Symphony Orchestra it also has a Royal Ballet School which puts on performances several times throughout the year. Festivals are big in the city there are many good ones to choose from such as The International New Music Festival held in January featuring the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and a good mixture of classical and modern music is played and if the whole family are going you wont want them to miss the Teddy Bears Picnic held in May or The Winnipeg International Children’s Festival which features four days of fun filled entertainment for the kids and for the adults The Winnipeg comedy Festival and the Winnipeg Folk Festival is for the whole family to enjoy.

Nightlife in Winnipeg is as loud or as quiet as you please with its good selection of swanky bars, exclusive clubs and top class international restaurants. There are also venues such as Pyramid Cabaret and the Freehouse that regularly have up and coming live bands and singers. Themed bars are also plentiful so if you fancy a pint of Guinness you may want to head to the Irish Bar.

Getting to Winnipeg

Flights departing London arrive at Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport. Flying time from the UK to Winnipeg is around 7 hours 55 minutes. To enter Canada you are required to hold a current valid passport which doesn’t expire for at least 6 months from the date of travel. You will also be required to complete a visa waiver form or apply for a visa if you are do not live or were not born in the UK. A medical examination may also be a requirement for those entering Canada from countries out with the EU.

In the last two weeks in October, I have been on a magical world tour that included the US, France, Italy, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan and India, to mention a few. But as all these countries came to me in London, I only had to travel to London. Before you all wonder if I have gone crazy, let me tell you that the Times BFI 51st London Film Festival made it possible! There were around 184 feature films and 133 short films from 43 countries, shown at various venues in London. The Festival Started on 17 October, with the opening night gala showing David Cronenberg’s ‘Eastern Promises’ and finished on 1 November, with the closing night gala showing Wes Anderson’s ‘The Darjeeling Limited’, a train voyage across India. Few films from the festival are reviewed below and I hope you enjoy the tour as much as I did.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Julian Schnabel/France.

What does one say after witnessing such brilliance! Perhaps, ‘Thank God for the London Film Festival’, without which I could not have seen this most wonderful French film! Brilliance in performance, acting, photography and technical details were evident through the film, making it totally gripping to the very end. The directorial skill was at its best in the restrain showed at the most crucial moments. The film is based on a true story. J D Bauby, the editor of French Vogue suffered a stroke and the film starts as he comes out of a coma after 20 days. He was diagnosed with a rare ‘locked in syndrome’, which left him with his memory and only the movement of his left eye! With the help of the speech therapist, through the alphabet of blinking, he tells his story which became a best seller.

The alphabet of blinking and the explanation about moving the tongue on the roof of the mouth to improve the movement and swallowing clearly show extensive research, which I am sure would be quite helpful for families in similar situations. It also shows that a stroke can affect anyone, even the most charismatic 43 year old Editor in chief of Vogue. J D Bauby’s flamboyant lifestyle is shown through the film as flash back just to remind the audience what JD Bauby was like before he was committed to the wheelchair. His relationship with his father was most touching! He still had his imagination and memory and his wonderful sense of humour was shown through his thoughts, by a voice over by Mathieu Amalric who stars as Bauby. A great film not to be missed

In Memory of Me:Saverio Costanzo/ Italy

As the film is set in Venice One expects to see at least a bit of this beautiful city. But that was not to be! The camera has eyes for the outside world only when a large ship slips by the window of the seminary. ‘In Memory of me’ is a very intense film that goes into the inner depth of spirituality and the conflicts encountered. The story is about Andrea who is accepted into a Jesuit seminary, isolated in an island. The recruits undergo very strict training to prepare them for the disciplined work that awaits these soldiers of Christ. The rituals are repeated in a methodical fashion everyday and that includes cleaning of the corridors of that magnificent monastic building.

The inmates’ personality is analyzed to such an extent that they start to doubt their own spirituality and whether such mental cruelty is justified. The silence that lingers in the magnificent corridors is mesmerizing, to say the least. We have heard of severe Mother Superiors, but the Father Superior in this film is frightening. Some find this fearsome training unbearable and decide to leave. Andrea too reaches his turning point, but finally realizes that he is made for better things and God has a purpose for him and decides to follow Him. This film is a lesson in itself in how one gives himself to God, and then loose that faith and ultimately regaining the love of God and the faith. A very intense film that makes one think.

Secret Sunshine: Lee Chang-Dong/South Korea

This film tells the story of a woman who moves to her husband’s hometown after he was killed in an accident. Her agony, mental torture, spiritual conflicts and social interactions are portrayed quite well and the actress, Jean Do-Yeon, who plays Lee shin-ae has given a brilliant performance. But somehow, director looses his plot towards the end when he deals with religion and its conflicts and how it affects Lee shin-ae.

The World Unseen: Shamim Sarif /UK-South Africa

Written and directed by Shamim Sarif, ‘The World Unseen’ tells the story of two women in South Africa and the turmoil in their society in the 50s. Miriam (Lisa Ray), a submissive woman who lives with her husband in an isolated village, meets Amina (Sheetal Seth), who is the opposite of Miriam. Amina is quite unconventional and a free spirit who runs a coffee shop in partnership with Jacob. Jacob is black and Shamim has succeeded in showing the problems they encounter in an apartheid South Africa. Miriam meets Amina in the coffee shop and they couldn’t ignore the strong attraction they both felt. Amina was everything Miriam wanted to be, strong willed and independent. Amina volunteered to give driving lessons to Miriam and their suppressed feelings take over. Director has shown great restrain in showing the relationship, but without loosing any of the intensity. They face hostility from the police and Amina’s husband. Amidst all this there is inner conflict and Miriam’s realization that she cannot return to her controlling husband, but decides to do what’s practical. Sheethal’s performance is the backbone of this film that reflects the director’s skill in getting the best out of the actor. Shamim Sarif’s debut attempt shows great promise. A film to watch!

Get Download Festival tickets now at Stubhub.com!

When bands do reunion tours, or for whatever reason get back into the game of touring nationally or internationally, it’s always a good thing for music fans. It means that your favorite artists, the ones you grew up listening to—maybe by replaying one song on a mixtape over and over, wishing you had an album by them—will finally be able to play for you live.

The Download Festival is a great opportunity for this, especially in 2008. The three-city festival that tours this summer will be appearing in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Headliners include noise-pop legends The Jesus and Mary Chain, post-punkers Gang of Four, and in Philadelphia, Iggy Pop and The Stooges. Bands that are getting lots of airplay these days, like electro-rockers Ghostland Observatory, ethereal synth band M83 and the electronic patchwork quilt of Cariobou will all be supporting headliners.

This will undoubtedly be an exciting tour to attend, if only to see the major headlining acts. The Jesus and Mary Chain took influence from The Velvet Underground, and in a way shadowed that well known art-rock band by becoming an influence to the shoegaze bands that followed them. Songs off their most popular album, “Psychocandy,” include “Just Like Honey” and “Taste of Cindy,” both songs that have gone on to become favorites of music fans everywhere.

Gang of Four was in the music press quite a bit four or five years ago, when the post-punk revival flooded records stores with bands that borrowed their chicken-scratch guitar work and tense vocals. The infamous post-punkers fortunately decided to begin touring again.

Iggy and The Stooges needs no introduction. A crucial rock act that set the bar for how insane and dangerous a live show can be, Pop had aged but his live performances still have not. Everyone living on the East Coast is lucky to get to see him at the Philadelphia show.

This July, make sure you get Download Festival tickets so you can enjoy these bands and more. There’s really no excuse when the lineup is this good. Look up some tickets now on Stubhub.com!

The love of films becomes a celebration in London for two weeks during ‘The Times BFI 51st London Film Festival’. The capital city is buzzing with people who love films and filmmakers from all over the world. This festival gives a chance to view films, documentaries and provide opportunity to meet filmmakers and celebrity artists. It also promotes world films that may not be available for screening in the cinemas across the nation. The festival is an important venue for development and promotion of films from UK and abroad and it showed around 184 feature films and 133 short films from 43 countries, at various venues in London. The Festival Started with the opening night gala showing David Cronenberg’s ‘Eastern Promises’ and finished with the closing night gala showing Wes Anderson’s ‘The Darjeeling Limited’, a train voyage across India. Few films from the festival are reviewed below.

Closing The Ring: Richard Attenborough/ UK-Canada

Richard Attenborough has done it again. ‘Closing the ring’ is one of the most beautiful films I have seen in a long time. This film is about the value of love and the loss of it, inability to grieve, loyalty among friends and above all, the heartache and suffering brought on by war. Shirley MacLain and Christopher Plummer have excelled in their performance. Christopher Plummer showed his adoring fans that he could still win hearts, just as he did all those years ago as the handsome captain in ‘Sound of Music’! ‘Jimmy’ (Martin Mac Cann) was a delight to watch along with Pete Postlethwaite. Richard Attenborough shows us that there is no shame in falling love and keep it live, no matter what your age is. ‘A film that touches your heart and tells you something’, that’s what ‘Closing the Ring’ does and therefore, an example of good cinema truly at its best. Question & Answer time with Lord Attenborough after the screening was sheer delight.

The Darjeeling Limited: Wes Anderson/USA

A light hearted film that tells the story of three brothers who haven’t seen each other for a year going on a train journey through the deserts of India. They are trying to bond with each other and with the beautiful but unknown conditions in India. Wes Anderson’s film brings comedy, conflict among siblings and some hilarious moments. These brothers who love each other don’t like each other very much and their odd behaviour comes as no surprise once you meet their mother (Angelica Houston), who gives a great performance along with Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson. A good laugh and a film you don’t want to miss.

I’m Not There: Todd Haynes/USA

‘I’m not There’ means just that! It’s a biographical journey into Bob Dylan’s life, portrayed by six actors, but Bob Dylan, as the title says, is not there! If you think an 11-year-old black boy, Marcus Carl Franklin, who is splendid as Bob Dylan is odd, the worse is yet to come; but that’s surely the best, Dylan played by a woman! Cate Blanchett in black and white turns up as Bob Dylan and you don’t for a moment suspect that it’s a woman. She is just magnificent and puts the other ‘Bobs’ in the shade. It’s confusing and chaotic if you are not a Dylan fan, but entertaining till the closing credits. The music however is real stuff and as the closing credits roll in, songs like the original ‘Knock knock knock’n on heaven’s door’ keeps you on your seat.

The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford: Andrew Domonik /USA

Definitely ‘a Brad Pitt film’ and everyone else fades away in the background. The film is based on the legend of Jesse James, ‘the gentleman outlaw’ who became an American icon. Brad Pitt has shown his acting ability yet again, only more so this time. He has graduated in the ‘Jack Nicholson School of acting’! A film worth watching and the cinematography is at its best. Perhaps the film would have been even better, if it did not stretch that long after the assassination of Jesse James; great film, in spite of this and not to be missed.

In Memory of Me: Saverio Costanzo/ Italy

As the film is set in Venice one expects to see at least a bit of this beautiful city; but that was not to be. The camera has eyes for the outside world only when a large ship slips by the window of the seminary. ‘In Memory of me’ is a very intense film that goes into the inner depth of spirituality and the conflicts encountered. The story is about Andrea who is accepted into a Jesuit seminary, isolated in an island. The recruits undergo very strict training to prepare them for the disciplined work that awaits these soldiers of Christ. The rituals are repeated in a methodical fashion everyday and that includes cleaning of the corridors of that magnificent monastic building. The inmates’ personality is analyzed to such an extent that they start to doubt their own spirituality and whether such mental cruelty is justified.

The silence that lingers in the magnificent corridors is mesmerizing, to say the least! We have heard of severe Mother Superiors, but the Father Superior in this film is frightening. Some find this fearsome training unbearable and decide to leave. Andrea too reaches his turning point, but finally realizes that he is made for better things and God has a purpose for him and decides to follow Him. This film is a lesson in itself in how one gives himself to God, then loose that faith and ultimately regaining the love of God and the faith. An intense film that makes one think.

Things We Lost in the Fire: Susanne Bier/USA

It tells the story of Audrey (Halle Berry), her loss and how she tries to rebuild her life after loosing the love of her life in a tragic accident. Her envious life with her husband ‘Brian’ and the two beautiful children are shown as flashback. Audrey decides to seek help from her husband’s childhood friend, Jerry (Benicio Del Toro), who is a drug addict and quite dangerous at times. Though she did not like him to be her husband’s friend in the past, she felt drawn to him now as they both had one thing in common- the love they both shared for Brian. She asks Jerry to move into the converted garage that was refurnished following a fire at the house and Audrey and the children form a bond with him. Anyone would wish to have somebody like Jerry in a situation like this, but not a drug addict though! Complications set in and the emotional turmoil in dealing with the sense of loss, drug addiction, rehabilitation and the society’s role in all this are portrayed very well.

Halle Berry has given a magnificent performance. Benicio Del Toro was dazzling and he has given his best ever. It was a delight to see Halle Berry at the screening, looking gorgeous in a brilliant blue backless gown! Susanne Bier (Director) and Halle Berry answered questions from the audience after the film: a beautiful film not to be missed.

Richard Attenborough, Wes Anderson, Susanne Bier, Saverio Constanzo, Andrew Dominik, Shivajee Chandrabhushan, Shamim Sarif, Amitab Bachan, Robert Redford, Tom Cruise, Halle Berry and Adrien Brody were among the celebrities who attended the screening of their films. It was truly a festival of films, films that touched the audience and made them think. The two weeks of the festival was a stage for meeting the best filmmakers from all over the world, listen to them and see films of extreme diversity.

Thailand is wondrous, an amazingly different place when it comes to culture, tradition, customs and history. But, while on the outlook it may seem very different to a western traveler, there are many modern aspects in the country too. Bangkok is among the most visited destinations in the world and the reason for this is its wide variety of things to do and places to see. One such crowd-drawing event that’s been taking place for a decade now is the Bangkok International Festival of Dance and Music.

The Bangkok International Festival of Dance and Music is a breathtakingly beautiful collection of performances. Over 800 special artistic performers are flown in from several countries and these countries include Russia, Italy, Netherlands, France and Spain. In conjunction with Thai artistic performances, the festival puts on a spectacular gala of ballet, opera, jazz, modern dance, symphony orchestra and pop music for everyone to enjoy. The Bangkok International Festival of Dance and Music is hosted annually by Thailand’s Cultural Center.

The concept for this festival arose from a dire need to put Thailand in the world’s cultural destinations map and also as a way to reintroduce culture into Bangkok, which was rapidly becoming modernized. There was no cultural aspects in the big city’s entertainment and daily life, so the steps were taken to introduce the first Bangkok International Festival of Dance and Music in 1999. The festival was dedicated to His Majesty King Bhumibol as an honor on his 6th cycle birthday.

From its inception, the Bangkok International Festival of Dance and Music has been a huge success, drawing acclaimed international performers and a massive local and tourist crowd each year. The festival is held between September and October of each year, and the venue and ticket prices vary annually. Tickets are available through Thailand’s Cultural Center.

If you are planning on visiting Thailand for the festival or a vacation, consider Bangkok serviced apartments for your accommodation. Bangkok hotel accommodation can be expensive, especially during events and the tourist season, so Bangkok serviced apartments can provide you with great accommodation, facilities and services for less than half the cost you would pay for a major hotel.