The Official Community Of Nitin Sawhney

Something in my inbox tells me that the draw for participants in Mr. Gormley's One And Other plinth project is nigh!  Excuse me while I cut and paste....

"Just a few days from now, the first places will be allocated for Antony Gormley's One & Other. Have you applied yet? Actor Judi Dench, campaigner Trevor Phillips and poet Lemn Sissay have. They've joined thousands of ordinary people from all over the UK and volunteered to stand on the Fourth Plinth in London's Trafalgar Square for an hour each, creating a living monument 100 days long.

In the wee small hours of Monday morning, our computer will whirr into action and the first draw will be made. You can still apply later, but for your best chance, make sure you've staked your claim to a place by 11.59pm on Sunday!"

If you fancy your chances, head for  http://www.oneandother.co.uk/  and get in there before those bloomin' celeb's grab all the time slots!!! 

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Meanwhile, in London this Saturday.... http://www.progressivelondon.org.uk/conference/progressive-london-conference-2010.html

 ..... and of course if you don't make it to the plinth, you can always post a plinth postcard on the website.  probably worth looking from time to time to catch up on these.  See, Buga, there is another chance to put democracy in action.

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"We are all dependent on one another's gifts, to the extent that if someone else is damaged or frustrated, offended or oppressed, everyone suffers, everyone's humanity is diminished." ++ Rowan Williams

Nitin's actually an ambassador for the project - it's just been put on the One and Other website! - www.oneandother.co.uk

Does this mean that we might possibly see his nibs up on that plinth or.... no, wait, I'm being ridiculous... Nitin, standing still for an hour? Impossible!!!

Thanks for keeping us informed..... couldn't help but notice a spot of plagiarism going on with that heading though.......

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Meanwhile, in London this Saturday.... http://www.progressivelondon.org.uk/conference/progressive-london-conference-2010.html

I've had another look on the site, but can't find any information on what an ambassador does - except by inference, that he is willing to be interviewed about the project.

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"We are all dependent on one another's gifts, to the extent that if someone else is damaged or frustrated, offended or oppressed, everyone suffers, everyone's humanity is diminished." ++ Rowan Williams

Maybe he has to loiter at the base of the plinth from time to time, you know, leafleting, hugging grannies, babies etc, posing for pictures with bewildered tourists before answering their directions queries and, all the while drawing their attention towards the living artwork above......

......OH!!  Does this mean that we have to refer to the man as "Your Excellency" from now on, if we meet him?  I mean, imagine spotting him there shooing away pigeons and suddenly that gushing excitement you feel gives way to fears of how to correctly approach and address His Excellency... do you bow or curtsy, prostrate yourself at his feet or what?  No longer will it be perfectly acceptable to just shout,

            "OI GORGEOUS -  YEAH, YOU WITH THE LEGS!!!"

 

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Meanwhile, in London this Saturday.... http://www.progressivelondon.org.uk/conference/progressive-london-conference-2010.html

I'm sure if Nitin were at the base of the plinth he might prove a distraction from the person on the plinth itself.  Especially if, in his ambassadorial role, he were to hand out Ferrero Rocher (note other brands of chocolate are available) neatly stacked on a plate.  I believe that is what "His Excellency" is meant to serve on all the best occasions.  Although in this weather there would be a strong chance that the chocolate would melt.

Dear Buga, you obviously have forgotten that I told you that the Psalmist says that the Lord does not take delight in the legs of a man  or the strength of a horse for that matter.  I can already imagine you objecting that you are not the Lord, but you seem to be usurping the role by moving heaven and earth.

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"We are all dependent on one another's gifts, to the extent that if someone else is damaged or frustrated, offended or oppressed, everyone suffers, everyone's humanity is diminished." ++ Rowan Williams

"Dear Buga, you obviously have forgotten that I told you that the Psalmist says that the Lord does not take delight in the legs of a man  or the strength of a horse for that matter."

No, I haven't forgotten, you simply haven't mentioned it until now, besides, who said anything about men's legs? I might've been thinking of shouting it at a passing horse....... actually, I think I just shot myself in the foot with that comment..... and how.

Good point about Mr.S's distracting presence, although I can't imagine him dishing out any choccies that weren't made from fairly-traded ingredients. Remember that photo shoot he did for Oxfam and the Make Trade Fair campaign few years back, when he was almost completely buried under a mountain of monkey nuts? Maybe he could buy all the ingredients and make his own praline balls to hand out to people..... now that really would be spoiling us, wouldn't it!

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Meanwhile, in London this Saturday.... http://www.progressivelondon.org.uk/conference/progressive-london-conference-2010.html

I think I should explain that "shooting yourself in the foot" is only metaphorical - you don't really have a gun.

The BBC is obviously interested in horses' legs, judging by a recent trailer for the Derby.  They show rippling muscles in close up, and only at the end of the trailer do they zoom back to show the whole horse.

 I remember the Fair Trade campaign you mentioned - it was called Generation Why, but is no longer on the web.  I probably still have the pictures though.  I can't see Nitin making delicate praline balls, as I believe cooking is not one of his strong points.  Well no-one's perfect 

At home we used to hang strings on monkey nuts from trees in our garden, and I wonder whether they could do that on the fourth plinth.  On reflection, it might not be such a good idea, as at home we were attracting garden birds such as blackbirds, tits and sparrows, whereas Trafalgar Square is full of those pesky pigeons. Nearly as bad as seagulls .....

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"We are all dependent on one another's gifts, to the extent that if someone else is damaged or frustrated, offended or oppressed, everyone suffers, everyone's humanity is diminished." ++ Rowan Williams

Ah yes, seagulls.  They can spot a bag of chips from twenty miles off and home in on it in seconds… don’t seem to poop as much as pigeons do though – thankfully, not on the chips anyway.

Nitin can’t cook?  Must be that busy, busy lifestyle of his – which makes me wonder what do busy, busy guys eat?  Chips?  No. Too greasy – think of what that would do for switches, keyboards, strings etc, etc.  Pot Noodles? That would require the switching on of a kettle – he probably hasn’t done that since Macca popped round for a brew.  Chocolate?  CHOCOLATE! Think about it, while it might not seem the most obvious choice given its potential to get a bit messy, it’s energy-boosting, makes you feel good and, with practice, it is even possible to unwrap the stuff and scoff it before it can melt…. Especially if you keep it stashed in the fridge.  What more can a busy person ask for in a foodstuff?  So, I don’t think we need concern ourselves regarding his excellency’s lack of culinary skills… not if chocolate is the main ingredient. Chances are that it’ll disappear down his gullet before he’s even read the recipe.  Perhaps the best we could hope for would be a silver platter bearing a mound of nuts…. chopped, if he could be bothered…

As it happens, I do have a gun.  More than one, in fact.  (at this point, if Nitin’s not already out of the country then, assuming that he’s just read that bit, I suspect that one extremely nervous, cultural ambassador is now frantically trying to cram as much chocolate as possible into his attaché case, while simultaneously grabbing his passport and heading for the nearest international airport – fear not, your excellency, they are not those kind of guns and besides, it’s not poor orienteering skills that prevent me from stalking you…. it’s pure laziness…. laziness and a reluctance to share my Divine bar with absolutely anyone.  Typically, my arsenal consists of a toy gun that emits sparks, another one that blows bubbles and one that I attach to my hose and aim at my raspberries.  I do have a couple of packets of those twists of paper with minute amounts of gunpowder inside – you know the sort of thing that you can throw on the ground and they pop… I can’t even remember why I bought them but they came in handy for a practical joke once, that involved a loo seat and an unsuspecting flatmate…eons  ago, of course.  So yes, 3 guns and some explosives….

…Anyway, chocolate… another thought… you know how audiences used to do that thing of holding up their lighters at gigs, during slow and poignant numbers?  Maybe we should conduct an experiment, collectively, during the next tour? When Nitin’s band start playing a slow (and poignant!) number, we could all thrust our hands in the air and silently wave bars of chocolate in time to the music…. And see how long it takes before the man’s willpower dissolves and he nosedives into the, er, moshpit (anyone got a stopwatch  that measures time in nano-seconds?).  It might seem a little disruptive but he won’t mind, I’m sure.  Strikes me as the kind of person who likes enquiring minds, afterall.

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Meanwhile, in London this Saturday.... http://www.progressivelondon.org.uk/conference/progressive-london-conference-2010.html

We get seagulls and pigeons here, since Cardiff is a city and also near the sea

I didn't actually say that Nitin couldn't cook, just that it wasn't his forte.  So I didn't expect him to venture into the realms of making confectionery, especially as he might need specialist equipment such as a sugar thermometer.  My days of doing this are over, I might even say aeons ago (I'm not a fan of the disappearing dipthong), apart from the occasional foray into stuffing dates.  I think we are on safer ground with chocolate - indeed I remember Nitin saying he liked chocolate in a Sunday Times magazine article.  Yes, I do have a recall for odd facts and information - comes in very handy in my job too. 

I love the idea of holding up chocolate instead of phones.  I can't say that I have held my phone in the air at a lot of gigs, though I did succumb at the last U2 tour.  Of course we could all throw chocolate at the stage (note at the stage and not the performers) - far more edifying, not to mention tasty, than throwing chocolate than - ahem - other items that are thrown at Welsh artists like Tom Jones or even slightly lesser known acoustic artists.

As for guns I was totally shocked that you have 3 - until I realised that I possess a glue gun I used it for gluing nuts together for Christmas decorations.  I couldn't find any pictures on the net that were exactly the sort of thing I did, but surprise, I found a picture of decorated monkey nuts.  Now there's an idea for you to use at school!

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"We are all dependent on one another's gifts, to the extent that if someone else is damaged or frustrated, offended or oppressed, everyone suffers, everyone's humanity is diminished." ++ Rowan Williams

I'lI hold on to my chocolate, if you don't mind! 

I see that Bristol's prodigal son is returning with an exhibition - oh, you lucky blighters!

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article6487376.ece

What are the chances, do you think, of he-who-shall-remain-faceless turning up and making his mark on the fourth plinth? 

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Meanwhile, in London this Saturday.... http://www.progressivelondon.org.uk/conference/progressive-london-conference-2010.html

You mean you wouldn't give your buttons to Plinth Charming   You are lucky to have the choice- my son is back from uni and I have to resort to new and more ingenious ways of hiding chocolate if there is to be any left for me.  Not to mention mountaineer over the piles of bags and tennis racquets to get into my study.  I can't see how Nitin would be on the plinth if everyone is chosen at random - unless a couple of slots are reserved for him.  More details on some of those selected is at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8099284.stm

I'd heard about the Banksy exhibition on the TV news and planning via Facebook to visit with a few friends - if we can synchronise our diaries. If I go and pictures are allowed, I'll send you some.  It's on until 14th August, so maybe you could get off the train at Bristol on your return to the capital.

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"We are all dependent on one another's gifts, to the extent that if someone else is damaged or frustrated, offended or oppressed, everyone suffers, everyone's humanity is diminished." ++ Rowan Williams

By "he-who-shall-remain-faceless" I was refering to Banksy!   Why put Nitin on a pedestal?  He's lanky enough as it is!!

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Meanwhile, in London this Saturday.... http://www.progressivelondon.org.uk/conference/progressive-london-conference-2010.html

Even if Banksy did turn up, no-one would know it was him.

Nearly anyone is tall to me, as I am only 5'2".  But put Nitin on a pedestal?  He keeps tell us he is "Human". 

 

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"We are all dependent on one another's gifts, to the extent that if someone else is damaged or frustrated, offended or oppressed, everyone suffers, everyone's humanity is diminished." ++ Rowan Williams