The final days of sunshine

Sun Stations
Saturday 24th September 2011 at 8pm

A potent blend of English folk, new music and a lively show exploring our forgotten traditional calendar and annual festivals. Through a combination of live music, recorded sound, images and spoken word, this award-winning duo (amazing fiddler John Dipper from Methera and English Acoustic Collective twinned with accordionist Luke Daniels who some of you will remember from Lost Music of the Gaels) present their unique take on strange rural customs and the hidden history of our ritual year. Join John and Luke for an evening in which they update our festive cycle’s original soundtrack, plotting the stations of the sun to discover a wealth of music that will stimulate the appetites of all ages for English traditional culture. An abolsute must for all lovers of traditional music from two of the world’s very, very best musicians.

Tickets (10 or £7 concs) available now on 01453 860703

www.prema.org.uk

We're nearly there. From Thursday 1st September Prema's new website will be up and active. After years of living with our grey, muted site, we're about to relaunch with a splash of colour, a wealth of pics and some gorgeous textures. Have a look around our new site and tell us what you think

Book Club - Tuesday 28th June

So Many Ways to Begin by Jon McGregor
Tue 28 Jun 7.30pm

David Carter cannot help but wish for more: that his wife Eleanor would be the sparkling Scottish girl he once found so irresistible; that his job as a museum curator could live up to the promise it once held; that his daughter's arrival could have brought he and Eleanor closer. But a few careless words spoken by his mother's friend have left David restless with the knowledge that his whole life has been constructed around a lie. Struggling to make sense of his past through an archive of letters, photos and artifacts, David searches for meaning and truth, but the story always comes back to him and Eleanor, to their quiet attempts to hold together something they began before they could even understand what it was. Here’s the exquisite second novel from the writer who was celebrated for his gorgeous “If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things”.

Summer Garden Journals - Sunday 26th June

In spite of the recent downturn to our glorious Summer weather, there's no need to surrender outdoor pursuits.

There's nothing nicer than a wander around the garden, looking at how the borders are coming along and the recent rains have given a new lease of life to the flora around us.

Nature provides a wonderful source of visual inspiration and reference for many artists and designers. Why not spend the day with talented botanical illustrator Carol Roberts, finding new ways to record your observations. Create pages of notes and visual ingredients in the morning, really developing your eye for observing closely as you explore the local flora and fauna. Then spend the afternoon transforming your journal pages into a unique composition. A glorious Sunday spent on an adventure with watercolour with nature's bounty for inspiration.

Bring your camera, some watercolours and a sturdy sketchbook.

Make & Cake

Hungry caterpillar cake by Coco Cakes

The lovely team at Prema are on hand to help you plan your next super birthday bash or creative party. We are lucky to work with some amazing artists from a wide variety of art disciplines who have a whole heap of making marvellousness up their crafty sleeves.

We have versatile indoor spaces, a cosy garden and a lot of eccentric charm. We can even organise a beautiful birthday cake.

From sock monkeys to animation this is a great way to celebrate and even better – you don’t have to do the clearing up. We can accommodate all ages and abilities and are a fully accessible arts centre. Parties run for around 2 hours.

Give us a call and let’s see what we can cook up.

Countdown to half-term

Blimey, it only seems five minutes ago that we were in the Easter Holiday, doesn't it? And now it's half-term ... fret ye not! Prema has some great little courses to keep your little darlings occupied and creative during the school holiday.

Paper Mechanics
Tue 31 May 10am-3pm Ages 8+ £15 or £12 (Friends)
The art of paper mechanics and pop-up may be technical yet it’s easy to learn to create impressive and surprising results. Illustrator and paper folder Lisa Yardley is bringing more of her creative skills to Prema in this brilliant one-day workshop. Learn the basics of folding and cutting (craft knives will be in operation) and then combine and adapt techniques to produce individual and elaborate designs. Great for books and cards, come and enjoy this really versatile and inexpensive process.

School of Rogue
Wed & Thu 1/2 Jun 10am-4pm Ages 9+ £15 or £12 (Friends)
Rogue Theatre, one of the UK’s most prominent and daring physical theatre companies, comes to Prema this summer. Spend two delirious days with Angelina and Ollie to delve into the drama of magic, circus, scripting and your own physical being. Learn bags of new tricks and work together on the text, staging, lighting, direction and performance of a show over the two days. This workshop is suitable for young people with and without disabilities and is supported by the Clore Duffield Foundation. The places are sure to sell very quickly so book now to make sure you’re here to help create the greatest show on Earth!

Calling all bookworms!

It’s back! We’re re-launching Prema’s book club – this time the group will be convened by avid reader Siobhán McCann. The book club is a great chance to get together and talk about the book – what worked for you, what didn’t, parallels you might have spotted to other writers’ works or perhaps a chance to ask questions (so often a novel can leave us with a number of thoughts and questions).

We’re taking the theme of the second novel as our focus for the next few books. It’s all very laid-back and you’re welcome to chip in with your thoughts or sit back and listen to the discussion. Each session lasts about 90 minutes and there’ll be a pot of tea and coffee on the go and some very comfy sofas! And it’s free! What could be nicer?


Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Tue 24 May 7.30pm
When Elspeth dies she leaves her beautiful flat (overlooking Highgate Cemetery) to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina Poole, on the condition that their mother is never allowed to cross the threshold. But until the solicitors’ arrives neither Julia nor Valentina knew of their Aunt’s existence. The twins feel that in London their own lives can finally begin but have no idea that they have been summoned into a tangle of fraying lives, to unravel the secrets of their aunt, who doesn’t seem quite ready to leave her flat, even after death, Niffenegger weaves a delicious and deadly ghost story about love, loss and identity. A tasty second helping from the author who brought us the much beloved Time Traveller’s Wife.