For the sixth instalment of our ever popular albums club we will be turning our attention to I Don’t Want to Go Home by seminal New Jersey rock/R&B band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.
 

The album helped establish the basis of the Jersey Shore sound and features a number of guest artists and duets, a tradition continued in their next album, This Time It’s for Real. The track How Come You Treat Me So Bad features a duet with Lee Dorsey, while Broke Down Piece of Man features a duet with Steven Van Zandt, It Ain’t the Meat (It’s the Motion) features a duet with Kenny ‘Popeye’ Pentifallo, and finally You Mean So Much To Me features a duet with Ronnie Spector.
 

As an antidote to the digital MP3 compressed age, we will be playing the album in full on vinyl. Joining us to discuss the record we are delighted to be welcoming writer and journalist Nick Coleman alongside best-selling novelist Nick Hornby.

Nick Coleman has been a music journalist for over twenty five year. Last year he published his acclaimed memoir Train in the Night: A Story of Music and Loss which chronicled his Sudden Neursosensory Hearing Loss. Described by D J Taylor as “A deft and heartfelt exploration of music, silence, adolescence, English pop and the emotional consequences of serious illness, and above all a discussion of something modern culture has very nearly lost touch with – the idea, and the desirability, of taste.”

Nick Hornby is an award winning novelist, essayist, lyricist, and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity and About a Boy, as well as for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His books have sold more than 5 million copies worldwide.

Singing Workshop with Diana Cabarrus now booking
 

Sunday July 7th, 3 – 5 pm
 

This will be an opportunity to engage with singing whether it’s a while since you’ve sung, or whether you’ve sung a lot. There will be a bit of information on how best to develop your voice; some warm ups, and the rest of the session will be spent learning and singing songs drawn from a repertoire of contemporary and folk material, adding some harmonies and having a good sing-song. Participants are welcome to submit requests although we can’t guarantee they will be chosen.
 

This workshop is suitable as a part 2 to our June singing Workshop, or as an individual stand alone session. More details on Junes singing workshop here: http://idler.co.uk/product/courses/singing-workshop-june-12th/
 

Diana’s musical adventures suffered an early setback when a choir master failed to spot any potential whatsoever in her junior warblings, and admission to the choir was refused. Spurned by the choral establishment, she embarked on the path of rock and roll, and has been merrily urging people to take up their right to enjoy music loudly, quietly and mostly in tune ever since.
 

She has founded London’s longest-established pop and rock music education service, Key To Music. She continues to release original alt/psych/indie music as Candythief (double A-side single coming this summer). She designs and delivers all kinds of different music projects from junk rhythm improvisation to song-writing, which she enjoys doing with groups from all over the UK. She gigs regularly with all kinds of functions bands, in theatre and with her own material.
 

CONCESSIONS TICKET PAGE ONLY.
 

CLICK HERE FOR FULL EVENT INFORMATION & TO PURCHASE STANDARD PRICE (£6) TICKETS
 

CONCESSIONS TICKETS: Children 5-17 years, National Trust Members and Students £4.
Add to your basket to add your name to the door.
(Valid NT or NUS cards must be shown at the gates to gain admission)

 
Children under 5 go free.
 

Ancient Philosophy with Dr Mark Vernon
 

Pay Per lesson – £30
 

Lesson 1 13th May: The Pre-Socratics and the birth of philosophy
Lesson 2 20th May: Socrates and Plato and the examined life
Lesson 3 27th May: Aristotle and the study of happiness
Lesson 4 3rd June: Stoicism and the discovery of the logos
Lesson 5 10th June: Epicurus and the question of pleasure
Lesson 6 24th June: The Sceptics and Cynics: how to rebel and suspend disbelief

 

Dr Mark Vernon is a writer, broadcaster and teacher. He began his professional life as a priest in the Church of England. He has a PhD in philosophy, and degrees in theology and physics. His most recent books are two on God – God: All That Matters (Hodder) and The Big Questions: God (Quercus) – and he has written books on friendship, wellbeing and the good life.
 

The ancient philosophy course draws on his book, Plato’s Podcasts: The Ancients’ Guide to Modern Living (Oneworld). Mark writes regularly for publications in the UK, including the Guardian, TLS and The Tablet. He also broadcasts on the BBC. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London and a keen blogger at www.markvernon.com

Idler Course Testimonials
‘Mark is a great teacher who helps to bring clarity to some potentially very intimidating subjects.’
 

‘A great place to think, laugh and learn.’
 

‘It is much better to be talk philosophy than to read it.’
 

‘I never spent Sunday afternoons looking forward to Monday until I joined this course!’
 

13th May: The Pre-Socratics and the birth of philosophy
Socrates is the seminal figure of western philosophy, but he himself emerged from a tradition already centuries old. In this evening we will consider the thought of individuals from Thales, sometimes called the father of philosophy, to the big hitters such as Heraclitus and Parmenides, who argued over whether everything is in a state of flux or is, ultimately, one. The surviving texts of these philosophers are fragmentary but we can build up a fascinating picture of their extraordinary takes on the world, ideas that have echoed across the centuries to our own day.

20th May: Socrates and Plato and the examined life
Socrates is arguably the most influential figure in western philosophy, though oddly he wrote not a word. Most of his ideas come to us via Plato, from the notion that the unexamined life is not worth living, to that of dying for a principled cause. But what are his great insights? Why is he so important? And can Plato be trusted, because this was a philosopher who had his own, powerful ideas about how to live – ideas we will explore too.

27th May: Aristotle and the study of happiness
He has been called the first scientist and his philosophy dominated in the west right up to the Renaissance. Today, he is increasing influential for his work on virtue ethics, an approach to moral philosophy that is gaining wide recognition once more. How to be happy? What does it mean to have a friend? How should we organise society so as to flourish? We will ask these questions and more of Aristotle.

3rd June: Stoicism and the discovery of the logos
The Stoics offered probably the most successful practical philosophy of life right up to the Christian period – individuals from Cicero to Marcus Aurelius followed them – and even when the new religion arrived, Stoic ideas were imported. Notions about ‘going with the flow’ and ‘keeping a stiff upper lip’ can be traced back to Stoic ideas, and behind them lie a fully developed understanding of the nature of the cosmos.

10th June: Epicurus and the question of pleasure
Hedonism is the philosophy for a consumer age, though Epicurus – the founder in the west of this strand of thought – would have critiqued our way of life severely. Pleasure is the central question for him, but the trick is to enjoy small pleasures rather than become addicted to ever bigger, unsustainable highs and kicks. Epicurus taught in a garden and wrote from matters such as friendship, to the atomic nature of matter.

NB No course on 17th June

24th June: The Sceptics and Cynics: how to rebel and suspend disbelief
These two groups of philosophers were, in a way, the punk-rockers of the ancient world. The Sceptics, from the ancient Greek for ‘searcher’, argued that it is better to suspend your relentless questioning when answers clearly are not to be found: rest easy with mystery. The Cynics, after the word for ‘dog’ because they were accused of living like dogs, challenged the other philosophers by holding a finger to all social conventions. They were Greece’s equivalent of the Hebrew prophets, calling the powerful, the mighty and the confident to account.

Singing Workshop with Diana Cabarrus now booking
 

Wednesday 12th June – 7 – 9pm
 

This will be an opportunity to engage with singing whether it’s a while since you’ve sung, or whether you’ve sung a lot. There will be a bit of information on how best to develop your voice; some warm ups, and the rest of the session will be spent learning and singing songs drawn from a repertoire of contemporary and folk material, adding some harmonies and having a good sing-song. Participants are welcome to submit requests although we can’t guarantee they will be chosen.
 

Diana’s musical adventures suffered an early setback when a choir master failed to spot any potential whatsoever in her junior warblings, and admission to the choir was refused. Spurned by the choral establishment, she embarked on the path of rock and roll, and has been merrily urging people to take up their right to enjoy music loudly, quietly and mostly in tune ever since.
 

She has founded London’s longest-established pop and rock music education service, Key To Music. She continues to release original alt/psych/indie music as Candythief (double A-side single coming this summer). She designs and delivers all kinds of different music projects from junk rhythm improvisation to song-writing, which she enjoys doing with groups from all over the UK. She gigs regularly with all kinds of functions bands, in theatre and with her own material.
 

 
Fancy escaping the hubbub of the city for the day? We invite you to join us for this trip to the kent coast line to gather, prepare, cook and consume foraged sea foods. Your host and teacher for the day is experienced Idler forager Lucia Stuart. Lucia Stuart is a chef, cookery writer and forager with a passion for making wild food simple and fun to gather, and cook, throughout the seasons.
 

Itinerary:

Midday: meet at Kings Cross St Pancras for train from London to the coast (1.5 hours)

2 pm: reach the beach; begin the hunt for oysters and shellfish

4:30 pm: Beach Feast – we will feast upon our bounty in situ. Gathered around the camping stove and picnic table we will watch how to cook and smoke the oysters, and sup on Lucia’s favourite recipes washed down with Sauvignon Blanc and accompanied by hunks of homemade seaweed bread.  You will also be treated with salted caramel and Kent fruit pavlova.

7.30pm: finish. Return to London or … make a day of it by ‘idling’ at the nearby Walpole Bay Hotel in Margate – a quirky and reasonably priced Edwardian timewarp overlooking Walpole Bay and beach.

Please bring with you: a strong basket, a chisel or scissors or knife to dislodge the oysters from rocks, and plastic bags for mussels and winkles and other shellfish.

Treat yourself to an evening of oysters and merriment with chef and foraging expert Lucia Stuart. At our Oyster Supper Club. Not only will you eat a good number of fresh Kent oysters, you will learn about how to forage them and about oyster foraging rules; you will find out how to open them, prepare them, and serve them.

Lucia uses wild foods foraged from hedgerows, woodland and the seashore to create sophisticated and delicate recipes. The evening’s menu will include fresh Kent oysters, a wild foraged salad, and a beef, stout and oyster pie, and a summer sorbet or ice cream for pudding.

Lucia will give a short talk on oyster hunting, oyster reproduction and other quirks of the molluscs. There will be time for you to ask questions about her recipes over a refreshing post-prandial cup of herb tea. And she will be signing hardback editions of her beautiful book Eating Flowers.

The price is of the evening is £50 which includes welcoming Hendrick’s cocktails and a glass of chilled white wine to complete your oyster experience.  There are only thirty places and tables will be communal. Beer and wine will be available to buy.

The Menu is being confirmed but will include:

Fresh Kent oysters

Beef, Stout and Oyster Pie

Wild Foraged Salad

Summer Sorbet

Tea

Programme of Events

7pm Cocktails in the garden

7.30pm Seating for oysters and talk from Lucia Stuart

8pm Main course and pudding

9pm Tea and questions

9.30pm Book signing and carriages

Lucia Stuart was born in Greece to Scottish parents. She is a wild food cook and the author of Eating Flowers, a botanical cook book.

After gaining a Fine Art Degree, in 1992 she opened a restaurant and cafe in the South of France where wild cherry leaves, nettles and elderflowers made their way onto the menu. Her edible plant adviser was a botanist and war veteran. In 1997 she launched gourmet holidays, French Food from Hedgerow to Market, with her American business partner Popphana Brandes. Guests came from California to learn how to make vin d’orange, lapin au prunneaux and fig sorbet.

After 10 years of French rural life Lucia returned to London and worked in corporate dining rooms. In 2006 she wrote an illustrated cook book, Eating Flowers with the aim of making wild food easy to recognise for young children and cooking fun.

Lucia’s company The Wild Flower Kitchen offers Coastal foraging days, wild food events  and seaweed cookery lessons.

Chess in a Day – Sunday 20th October

11am – 5pm.

Improving your chess at the Idler with John Foley

 

Chess is a game of endless fascination played the world over. The game is easy to learn, but hard play well. Perhaps you know the basic moves but wonder what to do next? Your may have played in your earlier years and want to rekindle your interest.
 

This course provides an accessible guide to improving your chess. We will be using a mixture of methods from analyzing instructive positions to playing mini-games to allow you to focus on specific themes. At the end of the day you will play against other course participants supervised by the tutor.
 

The course is suitable for all levels of player including those with only a vague idea of how the pieces move.
 

John Foley is an experienced chess educator who gives courses around the country. He runs the training courses for Chess in Schools which has revolutionised chess in primary schools. He runs the British Chess Magazine team in the National first division (4NCL), is chairman of Kingston Chess Club, and plays competitively for Surrey. He was London Junior as well as Oxford University champion.
 

Schedule for the day
 

11am – 1pm:
Arrival, tea and coffee
Moves and rules
Basic tactics
Activity session: assisted chess exercises
 

1 – 2pm: 
Light Lunch
 

2 – 4pm:
Instructive chess positions
Basic strategy
 

4pm- 5pm:
Activity session: play supervised friendly games.

Dates: Monday 23rd September to Monday 28th October

Back by popular demand, Danny Wootton’s Ukulele for Beginners course will cover basic chords, strumming and music theory.

Danny Wootton’s course will cover theory as well as practice. As well as learning contemporary pop songs, you will learn a bit of classical uke. The course will feature guest appearances from Idler Academy Head of Minstrelsey Michael Tyack (below), who will teach you simple medieval and Renaissance chord progressions and plucked melodies. You will of course also learn how to play well-known pop songs. The course will end with a party and a performance from the group.

Our ukulele courses are enormous fun and very satisfying. Your playing will advance far more quickly than if you were only self-taught.

Note: for those of you without ukuleles, we sell good models from £35 upwards. Please telephone us on 0207 221 5908 for more details.

Are you concerned about climate change, peak oil and our children’s future? Do you want to go green? Fed up with the problems and want to start looking for solutions? Then Permaculture is for you! Through Permaculture principles you can discover how to take control of your life, make your own food, cut down on your bills and improve your mental health into the bargain.

“Permaculture really is idling in action,” says Tom Hodgkinson of the Idler. “And Graham is one of the best teachers out there when it comes to implementing intelligent design on the principle of minimum effort, maximum effect.”
 
This one day workshop can either be considered as a “stand alone” introduction to Permaculture ethics, principles and design, or else can be a lead-in to the more in depth full 72 hour Permaculture Design Course.
 
This day will be led by experienced permaculture teacher Graham Burnett, author and illustrator of Permaculture: A Beginner’s Guide and holder of the Diploma in Permaculture Design and a guest tutor.
 
ITINERARY:
 
11am – Arrival, tea coffee, introductions
11:15 – 12:30 Permaculture – what is it? Ethics and principles
 
12:30 – 1:15 – LUNCH
 
1:15 – 3 Designing with Permaculture
 
3-3:15 tea/ coffee
 
3:15 – 4:30 Practical permaculture