Gatehouse Art Group Artweeks

The Gatehouse Art Group welcome you to our Artweeks 2010 show at St Barnabas Church in Jericho.

Private View: 11.30 am, tomorrow, Saturday 8th May.
St Barnabas Church, St Barnabas Street, Jericho, Oxford OX2 6BG
Everyone Welcome!

This is the first time we are exhibiting outside of the Gatehouse and as part of a larger group!
This is the first time we are exhibiting outside of the Gatehouse and as part of a larger group! We are really pleased to be exhibiting in such a wonderful building - and to have had such a warm welcome by St Barnabas Church. (The church gounded in 1869 is a copy of one in Italy, and has beautiful tile work and icon paintings - certainly worth a visit!

Opening times for St Barnabas Church Artweeks Show:

Open from Saturday 8th May to Sunday 16th May 2010 inclusive

12 pm - 4 pm - Every day including Saturday and Sunday
Late openings: Thursday and Friday 12 pm - 8 pm

With best wishes from Setareh, Paul and all of the Gatehouse Art Group - drop in and see us!



Artweeks: www.artweeks.org
St Barnabas: www.sbarnabas.org.uk

You can find the Artweeks guide in public libraries and many local shops - we recommend you use the Guide as the website has listings of individual artists, and unless you know the number of the site you are visiting it is hard to locate the information you need.

http://www.homeless.me.uk

Kemlyn's Progress

I was in Mexico City for a while, had some (quite boring) security work doing nights in an office complex - low risk, moderate pay (for Mexico).

I was going stale,and the only other option was potentially pretty hairy work (the job of a security guard in Mexico City is far different to Oxford(!)-check out the level of robberies, murders, kidnapping etc., on the internet (gasp!).

So,I decided to fly to Venezuela,for a bit of a change. I haven't got any paid work as yet, but I've managed to hook up with a charity that helps indigenous people that have been/are being displaced by the the mining companies etc., or have made the age old bid to find the 'cities paved with gold'.

This is pretty cool and rewarding (a bit like the Gatehouse, except on the edge of a jungle with more people wearing feathers and with sticks through their noses!).

I've towed the party line a bit . . . the strong religious bent is another difference from the proceedings at the Gatehouse.

In reality, I'm pretty much non-partisan - but I believe in the TEACHINGS of Jesucristo (but not his divinity) and in helping the 'little man' - so a Catholic-Socialist Englishman is to all appearences a more useful and integrated specimen (and a novelty).

Happy New Year

I would like to wish a Happy New Year to everybody who is involved in and working at the Homeless shelter. I personally pray that God will continue to give you the strength and support needed, both physical and mental, to enable you to continue your work. The help you give to other people will become a blessing to yourself and your own household.

God Bless

Kind regards,
Valere

Rick/Dennis Dies 8th December 2009

Rick, a regular of the Gatehouse Art group died a few days ago of a heart attack.
Here's one of my favourite pictures from Rick.



I remember him giving Bill Heine a good grilling at the Sunday Times Literary Fest. Here's a report of that day along with some pictures:


Meeting Bill Heine (author of "Heinstein") at the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival




The Gatehouse Bookclub met the author of this year's choice. He read from chapter ? , which describes the attitude of his producers at BBC Radio Oxford to his idea to invite a homeless person called "Matt" to co-present his programme during Homelessness Week. I think most of us were quite surprised at such blatant prejudice against the homeless could be so common even amongst members of such a reputedly liberal profession as broadcasting.

Despite the fear expressed, the show went off well and must certainly have changed the attitude of many listeners. hearing this set us off on a discussion of the reasons people are so fearful of the homeless, perhaps, as one person suggested, a kind of "reverse jealousy". You've made it but dont like to be reminded about those who haven't.



Bill was asked about his favourite guest and this turned out to be Gordon Brown, much to everyone's surprise. BH found himself doing a live interview with the PM during his visit to Oxford and whatever he may have felt about his policies, found him to be a very warm human being in contrast to Tony Blair, who he's also interviewed but found much more shallow.

Someone asked about some of the less pleasant incidents related in his book, for example when a local police firearms officers had him round the throat accusing Bill of having set him up. He'd visited the studio to talk about guns and gun crimes and ended up dropping one of his guns in Radio Oxford waiting room - Bill confronted him about that on air which caused several years of bad blood between him and the police.

He also couldn't get away without talking about his iconic shark art installation that since 1986 has graced the roof of his Headington Home and is now world famous.
All in all it was a lively session and Bill was an interesting and accessible guest. Here's Rick in the picture from happier days at the festival:

Google Street View - Images of Homelessness

View Larger Map

UK Canal Chart - Black & White version

YouTube - Limits to Freedom

Some may have noticed that the gatehousefilms account on Youtube has been permanently removed without notice or explanation. This also removed copies of our films and useful comments. Youtube's owners make contact tricky, in a way that brings to mind the opening scenes of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. So we are left guessing what it was amongst our handfull of films that caused so much offence? Could it be one of our clients mobile phone footage of an anti-BNP rally, which took place on our doorstep and to which many of us participated? (Incidentally, rumour has it that Lewis Hamilton, current Formula One racing champion broke off from a nearby booksigning to join the protestors.) No, it surely can't be that, although it did certainly provoke some very rabid comments from other Youtube users - although on the whole it seemed like reasonable debate. So come on Youtube - what's your problem?