logo
Goodbye ‘Downton Abbey' auction and UK exhibition announced

Goodbye ‘Downton Abbey' auction and UK exhibition announced

Kuwait Times3 days ago
Visitors attend a 1920's themed event at Highclere Castle, near Newbury, west of London, on September 7, 2019, ahead of the world premiere of the Downton Abbey film. --AFP
'Downton Abbey' fans will be able to bid on props, costumes and other items from the hit TV show and movies, with the announcement Thursday of a 'farewell' auction and showcase starting next month. The sale by London auction house Bonhams, which will feature everything from dresses to a clapper board, will run online for just under a month from August 18.
It comes ahead of the release of a third film -- 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale' -- in cinemas in September, and follows six highly successful seasons of the show on the small screen. Bonhams is marking the occasion with a free 'special exhibition' at its New Bond Street location in the British capital open to anyone and featuring some of the sale items, it said. 'Downton Abbey is an exceptionally well-researched piece of storytelling on aristocratic society in the early 20th century,' Charlie Thomas, of Bonhams, said in a statement announcing the sale and accompanying showcase.
'The costumes and props show the impressive attention to detail that brought the world to life on screen and making it so beloved by millions across the globe.' Among the higher priced items going under the hammer are the Downton Abbey 'bell wall', the servant call system which featured prominently in the television series. It is estimated to fetch up to £7,000 ($9,400).
Various dresses will be available, including a wedding costume worn by Lady Mary Crawley -- played by actress Michelle Dockery -- in the first episode of season three priced at £3,000 to £5,000. Meanwhile the clapper board used in the production of the film 'Downton Abbey: A New Era' is set to cost £1,000 to £1,500, while an autographed script of episode one, season one, is estimated to go for £600 to £800. — AFP
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘Shop local': Bad Bunny brings tourism surge to Puerto Rico
‘Shop local': Bad Bunny brings tourism surge to Puerto Rico

Kuwait Times

time15 hours ago

  • Kuwait Times

‘Shop local': Bad Bunny brings tourism surge to Puerto Rico

The day before Bad Bunny kicked off his blockbuster residency that's expected to bring hundreds of millions of dollars to Puerto Rico while showcasing its rich culture, he posted a simple message: Shop Local. The ethos is core to his 30-show concert series in San Juan which, after nine performances exclusive to residents, will open up to fans from elsewhere - what many Boricuas, as Puerto Ricans are known, are hoping will serve as an exercise in responsible tourism. 'It's an incredible moment for the island,' said Davelyn Tardi of the promotional agency Discover Puerto Rico. The organization conservatively estimates the residency will bring in some $200 million to Puerto Rico over the approximately three-month run, which falls during the typically less-trafficked summer months. Azael Ayala works at a bar in one of San Juan's popular nightlife zones, telling AFP that business was already booming even though the residency was only in its first weekend. It's 'completely changed,' the 29-year-old said, as crowds buzzed about La Placita where some bars were slinging Bad Bunny-themed cocktails. 'We're thrilled,' Ayala said. 'The tips are through the roof.' The fact that people are coming from across the globe to see Bad Bunny 'is a source of pride for Puerto Rico, too,' he added. Arely Ortiz, a 23-year-old student from Los Angeles, couldn't score a ticket to a show - but said Bad Bunny was still the draw that prompted her to book her first trip to Puerto Rico. 'I really love how outspoken he is about his community,' she said. 'Just seeing him, that he can get so far, and he's Latino, it encourages more Latinos to be able to go for what they want. He has for sure empowered Latinos, like 100 percent.' People sit in front of a mural of Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny at La Placita de Santurce in San Juan, Puerto Rico.--AFP photos Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny performs on stage during his 30-concert residency opening at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico. People play dominoes outside the Coliseo de Puerto Rico before the first show of Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny's 30-date concert residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This aerial view shows people queing to attend the first show of Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny's 30-date concert residency at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico. People on their way to the beach walk past a mural of Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, the municipality where he grew up. This aerial view shows people at the beach in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, the municipality where Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny grew up. Puerto Rican influencer Astrid Nahir poses for a photo in front of Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny (left) and Puerto Rican flag murals in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican artist Humberto Olivieri paints a sapo concho (Puerto Rican toad) mural in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Tourism: It's complicated But while tourism has long been an economic engine for the Caribbean island that remains a territory of the United States, the relationship is complicated. Concerns around gentrification, displacement and cultural dilution have magnified on the archipelago beloved for stunning beaches with turquoise waters - especially as it's become a hotspot for luxury development, short-term rentals and so-called 'digital nomads' who work their laptop jobs remotely while traveling the world. Visiting foreigners sample the island's beauty but are shielded from the struggle, say many locals who are coping with a chronic economic crisis exacerbated by natural disasters, as rents soar and massive blackouts are routine. Bad Bunny - who was born and raised Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio - himself has pointed to such issues and more in his metaphor and reference-laden lyrics. 'In my life, you were a tourist,' reads one translation of his track 'Turista.' 'You only saw the best of me and not how I was suffering.' Historian Jorell Melendez Badillo told AFP that Puerto Rico by design has long catered to foreign investment: 'A lot of people see tourism as sort of like this colonial undertone,' he said. But when it comes to Bad Bunny and his residency at the affectionately nicknamed venue El Choli, 'we cannot negate the fact that it's going to bring millions of dollars' to the island, he added. 'We can celebrate what Benito is doing while also looking at it critically, and having a conversation around what type of tourism will be incentivized by this residency.' Ana Rodado traveled to Puerto Rico from Spain after a friend native to the island gifted her a ticket. She booked a five-day trip with another friend that included a visit to beachside Vega Baja, the municipality where Bad Bunny grew up and worked bagging groceries before gaining fame. After posing for a photo in the town square, Rodado told AFP that she'd been trying to take the artist's 'shop local' plea to heart. 'Tourism is a global problem,' she said. 'To the extent possible, we have to be responsible with our consumer choices, and above all with the impact our trip has on each place.' 'We try to be respectful, and so far people have been really nice to us.' Ultimately, Bad Bunny's residency is a love letter to his people - a show about and for Puerto Ricans whose narrative centers on heritage, pride and joy. 'We're here, damn it!' he shouted to ecstatic screams during his sweeping first show, which at times felt like a giant block party. 'I'd come back for the next 100 years - if God lets me, I'll be here.' — AFP

King's musical sage Errollyn Wallen blazes new path
King's musical sage Errollyn Wallen blazes new path

Kuwait Times

time15 hours ago

  • Kuwait Times

King's musical sage Errollyn Wallen blazes new path

Told she would never belong in the world of classical music, Errollyn Wallen has risen to become the composer to King Charles III and the first person of color in the historic role. The 67-year-old became the Master of the King's Music last year, a 400-year-old post and one of the classical world's top honors that involves composing works for landmark events and advising the king on musical matters for royal occasions. 'He's very musical, which everybody's really thrilled about,' Wallen told AFP. 'He likes listening to music and he is curious about it - he has broad tastes, which is really wonderful,' added Wallen, who premiered her 'funky' new composition 'Elements' at the first night of the renowned Proms music festival in London on Friday. Charles showed a lighter side in March when he shared his favorite songs from around the Commonwealth in an Apple podcast, revealing a surprising appreciation of disco, reggae and Afrobeats and including hits from such artists as Kylie Minogue and Diana Ross. In a sign of his musical conviction, Charles sought advice from Wallen - 'but in the end the king chose his own' songs, she said. 'It was important for him to choose tracks that brought back personal memories to him and that's the power of music,' said the pianist, violinist and singer. 'Think of the people he's met, all the great musicians. It's incredible,' added the self-confessed cake fanatic. Teacher inspiration Wallen was born in the former British colony of Belize in 1958, and soon showed signs of a precocious talent. 'My parents said that as a baby, I didn't cry, but I was always singing.' She moved to London aged two and her mother and father then relocated to New York, leaving her and her siblings, one of whom is the jazz trumpeter Byron Wallen, in the care of her aunt and uncle. 'I was always making up songs for any boring chore,' she recalled. Wallen credits a junior school teacher for setting her on her current path. 'I was very lucky that at school, all of us nine-year-olds were taught to read and write music, but also introduced to orchestral music.' However, she received little encouragement to pursue a career as a composer. 'I love my family, but I think there was the idea that you wouldn't step out of the ordinary,' she explained. Another early memory is of a non-music teacher telling her 'you know, little girl, classical music isn't for you'. 'These subtle messages going in that I might be good at music, but I wouldn't belong to that world. 'But I was so curious and passionate about music... I think the negative messages didn't go in deeply.' 'So shocked' Indeed, taking the road less travelled only strengthened her conviction and 'led me into other paths of music making which has stood me in great stead'. 'I was a keyboard player and I played music in the community and care homes - it opened my eyes to how music can touch people.' It was at boarding school that the classical bug really took hold, and it was later nurtured at Goldsmiths', King's College London and King's College, Cambridge. Wallen also appeared as a backing artist for the 1990s girl group 'Eternal' and performed as a tap dancer, having trained as a dancer in London and New York. She had her own recording studio, and her work includes 22 operas and a range of orchestral, chamber and vocal compositions. Her arrangement of Hubert Parry's 'Jerusalem' was performed at the Last Night of the Proms in 2020, and she also composed a piece for the Paralympics Opening Ceremony in 2012. But she still admitted to being 'so shocked' when the palace called last July, generating headlines about her being the first black woman to assume the role. 'I had to remind the palace, I'm the first black person, full stop. There's never been a person of color in this role, since 1626.' Charles I created the role to take charge of his personal band, but today it mainly entails advising and composing. 'I wrote something for the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey earlier in the year... and I did say to the palace my main objective is to be a kind of music ambassador,' she said, adding that 'children are my priority'. She aims to get for 'children some of the things that so many of us had for free' when it comes to a musical education. — AFP

Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner of Championship club Swansea
Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner of Championship club Swansea

Kuwait Times

time2 days ago

  • Kuwait Times

Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner of Championship club Swansea

US rapper Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr aka Snoop Dog speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California on May 3, 2023. --AFP Snoop Dogg has become co-owner of Championship side Swansea City in an unlikely alliance between the world of rap and football, the Welsh club announced. The 53-year-old American star joins former Real Madrid stalwart and Croatia World Cup finalist Luka Modric in the club's ownership structure. Snoop Dogg made a surprise appearance on the club's social media channels last week modelling their new home jersey for the 2025-26 season and the club announced on Thursday that he has become an investor. His involvement comes after American businessmen Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen took over the club last November. Swansea will hope that Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, can use his 100 million-plus social media followers to boost the club's profile as they seek to return to the Premier League for the first time since they were relegated in 2018. Swansea's owners have said they want to generate greater revenue, which would allow them to invest more in new players under the profit and sustainability rules in British football. The 53-year-old rapper said on the club's website: 'My love of football is well known, but it feels special to me that I make my move into club ownership with Swansea City. 'The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me. This is a proud, working class city and club. An underdog that bites back, just like me. 'I'm proud to be part of Swansea City.' Swansea announced in April that Modric, who this week joined AC Milan at the age of 39 after leaving Real Madrid, had acquired a stake in the club. 'To borrow a phrase from Snoop's back catalogue, this announcement is the next episode for Swansea City as we seek to create new opportunities to boost the club's reach and profile,' Swansea's owners said in a statement. 'Snoop's colossal global fanbase and audience will certainly help us do that, and he has made clear to us throughout this process just how excited he is at the prospect of joining the club. 'Snoop has openly shared his love of football and his desire to be involved in the game and we expect his involvement to support us putting as competitive a team as possible out on the field.' Swansea's Welsh rivals Wrexham have achieved a meteoric rise to the Championship -- the second-tier of English football -- since Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchased the club in 2020. — AFP

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store