The Xtra Diary - Artist Hamish Mackie talks about his time in Africa

Published: 1 October, 2010

MOST artists could probably do without being charged at by their subjects – especially when the subjects in question weigh over six tonnes. But for Hamish Mackie, whose sculptures of the wildlife of the Serengeti will be shown at a Mayfair art gallery this month, the experience of being lunged at by a male African elephant was “actually rather enjoyable”. 

Once he was safely back in the UK, Mr Mackie, 37, cast the sculpture in bronze. It will be on shown along with those of other animals including an impala, a leopard and a lobster at The Gallery in Cork Street. 

“To be able to go out to Africa and spend time with these animals and to call that work is hardly a bummer,” he told Diary.

• Hamish Mackie is at The Gallery, Cork Street, Mayfair, W1, from October 11-23. For details call 020 7287 8408.

Going underground for Blitz experience

IMAGINE having to sleep on a cold, hard floor in a damp hollow shell. 

You are sharing the space with hundreds of others. Any sound anybody makes echoes around the walls. You live in constant fear of air attack.

This is what Diary got a sample of this week, as we went back in time to experience what life was like for the thousands of Londoners who took shelter in Tube stations during the Blitz.

Under London – part exhibition, part installation, inside the abandoned Aldwych Tube station – was organised by the London Transport Museum to mark the 70th anniversary of the Blitz. 

It incorporated three days of public tours of the disused station in The Strand, where photographs of the destruction wrought on the area during the bombardment were on show.  

The station had been made to look exactly as it did in 1940, complete with wartime government posters and an original Tube train from the era.

Actors in 1940s dress, including spivs and wardens, guided visitors around the station. The wartime characters tried to flog “oily rags” – fags – or chatted about how they had woken up in the station being urinated on by rats.

More than 70 Tube stations were used as shelters for civilians during the Blitz. Aldwych was one of the first. To begin with, the stations had very basic conditions. People slept wherever they could find a space, and toilet facilities were very limited. Later, however, things got better. A ticketing system was introduced, and a catering service began, offering basic snacks.

But while people may have had their reservations about cramming into these makeshift bomb shelters in the 1940s, now it seems they can’t get enough of them.

Three thousand members of the public bought tickets to experience Under London. Organisers said they sold out in less than a fortnight.

Hamfisted student joke?

STUDENT unions are proud of their tradition of getting stuck into anti-racist campaigns – but do those close to student politics sometimes get a little too carried away?

Earlier this month University of London student paper London Student published a tongue-in-cheek column called The Tight Fist – taken from a website of the same name.

Its author was Dan Stein, a PhD student at the London School of Economics, based off The Strand. 

Mr Stein began his column thus: “Do you spend too much money? Fortunately, Jews such as myself possess tried and true penny-pinching strategies...” He went on to offer money-saving tips for fresh-faced “freshers”. Alongside the column, the paper ­printed a cartoon showing a hand clutching a pound note and a Star of David necklace.   

Cue accusations of anti-Semitism from ­University of London Union president Clare Solomon, who requested that the paper be taken out of circulation. 

In London Student’s most recent issue, published this week, editor Joe Rennison wrote an apology: “We would not have printed the article if we had thought that it was anti-Semitic. It ­follows that we still do not feel that the article is anti-Semitic.”

But that was not enough to satisfy Ms Solomon. She accused Mr Stein of perpetuating racist stereotypes.

Mr Stein said his “Tight Fist” blog has “many Jewish fans”.

So, rather a big fuss about nothing, then? Diary is far too fond of a student union bust-up to suggest as much.

Fanfare for the Commons man

DURING the day John Kearns guides groups of school children around the House of Commons – but by night he is a comedian, and next Friday (October 8) he is expecting some big names at his party at the Canal Cafe Theatre, which is open to the ­public (sort of). 

Included on the guest list are Tony Blackburn, The Apprentice candidates, Konnie Huq and Ed Miliband.

The invitation promises an evening in the company of Mr Kearns as well as stand-up Pat Cahill and north ­London sketch troupe Appocolypso. 

“Nobody’s replied yet but I think that’s because they’re really busy,” Mr Kearns told Diary. “If nobody turns up we’ll just pretend they’re there. We have put name tags on all the seats and if people who are just normal punters turn up they can sit on them.”

• The Canal Cafe Theatre is at Delamere Terrace, Little Venice, and the night begins at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £5 and can be purchased from the box office on 020 7289 6054