Latest news with #SomersetHouse
The Sun
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Coronation Street star Trevor Michael Georges shocks fans as he reveals VERY famous god-daughter at headline London gig
CORONATION Street actor Trevor Michael Georges left fans shocked after revealing the famous identity of his goddaughter. The screen star, who plays Ed Bailey on the ITV soap opera, left his followers stunned after revealing he is the godfather to none other than hit pop star Freya Ridings. 6 6 6 Trevor shared his surprise link to the Brit-Award nominated singer after he attended her show at Somerset House over the weekend. Taking to his Instagram account, the Corrie favourite shared a series of snaps of Freya performing on stage, alongside the caption: 'When your God daughter is a pop star you just go with the flow.' Trevor then shared another post which featured a series of snaps taken backstage at the show of him posing alongside Freya as well as her father, the actor Richard Ridings who is famed for voicing the character of Daddy Pig in hit children's series Peppa Pig. Captioning that post, Trevor jokingly penned: 'God dad and dad dad (and Pepper Pig's dad)!!' Trevor's followers flocked to the comments section to express their delight at the surprising connection between him and Freya. One follower gushed: 'Wonderful," while another wrote: 'And what a great flow to go with.' A third added: 'Love this picture. Freya you were awesome.' Trevor's Corrie co-stars including Georgia Taylor and Elle Mulvaney also reacted to his post by hitting the heart button. FAMOUS FAMILY It's thought that Trevor is a longtime friends of Freya's father Richard. Coronation Street viewers in tears as Ed Bailey finally confesses all to shocked family The actor also appeared in Coronation Street as well as other TV shows including Fat Friends, Highlander and hit 90s series Common as Muck. Since 2004, Richard has voiced Daddy Pig in iconic kids' TV series Peppa Pig. Freya has achieved global success with her music since bursting on to the music scene in 2017. Her song Lost Without You has featured in a number of hit TV shows including Love Island. In 2020, Freya was nominated for Best Female at the Brit Awards. The singer was also personally selected to perform at Victoria Beckham's Fashion Week party. 6 6 6
Japan Times
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
At London Design Biennale, a multisensory exhibit of washi paper
Clad in a dress made entirely from washi and standing on the iconic Nelson Stair inside London's Somerset House, Midori Komachi appears to float among clouds also made from the traditional Japanese paper. At the bottom of the stairs, the 36-year-old begins to play her violin, pauses for a recording of cello and shakuhachi flute to rise, then plunges into motion, plucking the strings with her whole body. The rustle of washi against skin joins the ensemble, culminating in an exhilarating, John Cage-like experimental score reverberating through the five-story rotunda. 'Sound is lighter than air,' writes Komachi, quoting acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, in the exhibition pamphlet. Yet her plucking carries weight, like the sekimori ishi (boundary stones) that anchor the washi clouds, imported by Sekisui House Kuma Lab Codirector Toshiki Hirano, who also designed Komachi's washi dress.
CBC
15-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Skepticism, cautious optimism as work on Somerset House begins
Social Sharing There's skepticism about whether substantial renewal work has finally begun on Somerset House, which has sat derelict for nearly 18 years in the heart of Ottawa's Centretown neighbourhood. The 129-year-old building at the corner of Bank Street and Somerset Street W. partially collapsed in October 2007. The eastern half of the building was demolished nine years later, while the western half has been boarded up since the collapse. New work on the building began at the start of June, but for those who've been following the Somerset House saga, there's still doubt as to whether it will ever be fully restored. 'Blot on the landscape' "It's better than we've seen for a long time," Linda Hoad told CBC as she looked out onto the concrete foundation that had been laid and what appeared to be fresh wood on the basement floor. As co-chair of the Heritage Ottawa advocacy committee, she's been attuned to what's been happening with Somerset House and says she's now "cautiously optimistic." "It's a blot on the landscape — and on the reputation of the city, to some extent," Hoad said. "We've seen more work done these past two weeks than we have for I don't know how many years," she added. "But we aren't counting on anything at this time." Once home to hotels, pubs The three-storey downtown building has a long history. Built in 1896, Somerset House was originally a department store for the Crosby, Carruthers Company. It then transformed into a series of hotels and pubs, including the Lockmaster and the Duke of Somerset. According to the city, permits to restore the building — which would include 14 apartments and two businesses —were issued in 2023, but as a private property it remained the owner's decision as to when the work would be done. Lesley Collins, program manager of heritage planning with the city, wrote in a statement to CBC that work is "actively underway" to repair and stabilize the building. CBC contacted building owner Tony Shahrasebi twice but did not hear back. With little done to Somerset House over the last 18 years, many people have been using similar words as Hoad has to describe the building's progress — or lack thereof. "That's been part of the problem is that every time, there's a promise to move ahead," said Ottawa Centre MPP Catherine McKenney. "It drags out. Next thing you know, another six months, year, two years has gone by. And here we are, 18 years later, and nothing has been done on that building." McKenney, the former two-term councillor for Somerset ward, also said the building has been an "eyesore" since long before they joined city council. They said they've watched various parts of the building rot away, including around the windows and window wells. 'Poster child for demolition by neglect' Ariel Troster, the ward's current councillor, has also seen the building deteriorate, calling it "the poster child for demolition by neglect." "People are right to be concerned, and they're right to be cynical. The reality is that we don't have a lot of tools to compel a property owner to take care of their property, to develop it and to do those added renovations," Troster said. The city can fine someone under the Property Standards Act if a property is falling apart, Troster said, and can send bylaw officers when there are maintenance complaints. But "when it comes to carrot and stick, we don't really have a big stick," she added. In a September 2023 report, the city said 19 orders had been issued since 2007 against the property under the Building Code Act. There had also been 31 calls to bylaw, resulting in 11 violation notices and six property standards orders. In that report, staff said that aside from the removal of the easterly wing in 2016, nothing had been done to the property. But Troster also said there are rumblings of a possible plan to impose a vacant commercial property tax on buildings like Somerset House, left vacant for years, similar to the residential vacant unit tax. On Tuesday, the built heritage committee also approved additional money for owners of heritage properties on a stretch of Bank and Somerset streets to improve those buildings' facades — including the windows, brickwork and heritage signage. While also skeptical that significant repairs are underway, Jack Hanna, co-chair of the planning committee of the Centretown Community Association, said he hopes the once "magnificent" Somerset House — with its exquisite masonry and a six-metre sheet metal spire that soared up on its leading corner — eventually returns to its original glory.
Arab News
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Saudi Arabia makes a splash at London Design Biennale
DHAHRAN: Saudi Arabia is presenting 'Good Water' at the London Design Biennale, which runs until June 29 at the UK capital's Somerset House. The Saudi National Pavilion — commissioned by the Architecture and Design Commission supported by the Ministry of Culture, and presented under the leadership of commission CEO Sumayah Al-Solaiman — examines water systems, accessibility, equity and scarcity. 'In a biennale that explores the intersection of inner experiences and external influences, 'Good Water' reflects the spirit of inquiry we hope to share with the world,' Al-Solaiman said in a statement. 'With this pavilion, we are proud to support the next generation of Saudi practitioners and provide platforms that amplify their voices on the international stage.' The pavilion's design team - Clockwise from top left - Dur Kattan, Aziz Jamal, Fahad bin Naif, and Alaa Tarabzouni. (Supplied) Saudi artists Alaa Tarabzouni, Dur Kattan, Fahad bin Naif and Aziz Jamal worked as co-curators, collaborating across various disciplines. 'In this team, we don't have specific roles,' Jamal told Arab News. 'We all collaborated on everything. For example, the video, we all shot together — we all wrote together. We all have different backgrounds in the arts sector but we've worked together (in the Saudi art scene) for the past five years; it's more of a democratic process and there's no strict guidelines.' At the heart of 'Good Water' is the sabeel, a traditional water fountain usually placed and funded privately in a shaded outdoor communal space. It is meant for use by anyone in the community, free of charge. The sabeel is an enduring symbol of hospitality and generosity, deeply rooted in the Arabian Peninsula and found in many spots throughout the Middle East. A sabeel fountain in Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Aziz Jamal - Courtesy of the Architecture and Design Commission) 'Growing up in Dhahran, you would see sabeels everywhere. Our house didn't have one, but there was a mosque in front of our house that had one,' Jamal said. The London installation strips the sabeel of nostalgia and recenters it as a contemporary, working object. Visitors are invited to fill their cups as they pause to reflect on the often unseen systems, labor and energy that make the flowing 'free' water possible. Stacks of paper cups will be provided, bearing the message 'Good Water: 500 ml = one AI prompt' in vibrant color. There will also be refillable water bottles so spectators can have a 'water-cooler moment' to chat, sip and ponder. The pavilion also features four short videos filmed at an old water factory in Riyadh, showing the painstaking journey of water from droplet to distribution. The screens trace the production process across different sizes of bottles. Jamal's relationship with water has shifted since he started working on this project. A water delivery truck in Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Aziz Jamal - Courtesy of the Architecture and Design Commission) 'I have to say, going to visit the water factory (in Riyadh) and seeing the enormous effort that it takes to fill up one tiny water bottle, you don't take that effort for granted anymore, because it's not just a matter of getting the water filled up; it's testing it, going through inspection, doing all the mineral checks,' he said. 'Before, if there was a little bit of water in my water bottle, I'd just leave it, but now I make it a point to drink (it) all … to finish the bottle. It has made me more conscious of every drop.' Jamal's aim is for visitors to the pavilion to reach that same realization. 'What I really hope for is for people to interact with the piece,' he said. 'We want that act of generosity to come through and we want people to drink the water.' He noted that the sabeel in London will dispense locally sourced water, not imported. A catalogue written by the curators will also be available, offering further context in the form of essays, research material and images of water infrastructure and sabeels from across the Middle East and North Africa region. Saudi Arabia is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world and the largest producer of desalinated water globally, supplying over 60 percent of its potable water, according to the Saudi Pavilion team's research. 'We thought (the sabeel) was a perfect symbol of the attitude and the general principle behind this concept of water as a human right and not as a luxury,' Jamal said. 'It's free drinking water, but it's from a private source. So we felt it really encompassed this phenomenon of paying it forward and offering water to people who don't have access to it.' With 'Good Water,' the Saudi National Pavilion puts this scarcity — and the labor behind everyday hydration — center stage. 'Our research was about water and access to water,' Jamal explained. 'When we were first conceptualizing the piece for the London Biennale, we were looking at the infrastructure and water and access and what's the hidden cost of free water in Saudi — and specifically looking at the objective of a sabeel: What does this act of generosity and act of making water into a human right mean? And what is the hidden cost of that?' Though the widespread distribution of plastic bottles has displaced the sabeel to some extent, Jamal emphasized its enduring relevance, especially in a country with scorching summers and sizeable outdoor workforces. 'People are on the go, so they need something convenient,' he said. 'I don't think water bottles have killed off sabeels completely. A lot of the workforce in Saudi still use it all the time. It's not just drinking water, it's cold drinking water, and in Saudi that's very important.'
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hope for Somerset House renewed as 'major construction' finally underway
Construction is underway to renew the derelict Somerset House, a historic building in Centretown that's sat empty for almost two decades, according to the local councillor. This 129-year-old heritage building at the corner of Bank Street and Somerset Street W. partially collapsed in 2007. The eastern half was demolished and the western half boarded up, remaining empty and largely untouched ever since. In an interview with CBC on Sunday, Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster said she was "really excited" to see significant development work on Somerset House begin. "There was a large concrete pour that happened on Friday ... and that was the first piece of major construction on this building for 17 years," Troster said. "Frankly [it's] been a much derided eyesore in the centre of town." 3 different redevelopments approved For Troster and others, the work is a relief — but also a symptom of the city's inability to act on a major "blight" affecting downtown Ottawa. When Jack Hanna, chair of the heritage working group for the Centretown Community Association, heard about the renewed construction efforts, his excitement came with an asterisk. "We have our fingers crossed that this time work proceeds through to completion," he said. That cautious attitude has been years in the making. Redevelopment plans put forward by the owner, TK Holdings, had been approved by the heritage committee three times: in 2013, in 2017 and again in 2023. A sign boasting the 2017 redevelopment plan is still on display on the Bank Street side of the building. In the meantime, the city has allowed an unstable wall to come down, ordered repairs and declined the developer's plan for a different project until Somerset House was fixed. "People look at it and they see what it was and what it could be again and it just irritates them," said Hanna. "It sits there year after year and nothing happens and it gets worse." 'Demolition by neglect' Hanna and Troster both described the building as an example of "demolition by neglect" — a building that's allowed to become rundown because it's too expensive to repair. The city should have more tools to compel owners to act before properties reach this state, Troster argued. "[Demolition by neglect] leads to urban blight and ... a downturn in the urban core," she said, adding that it's "very hard to compel [owners] to take action." Many landlords are letting properties sit empty or unrepaired until interest rates drop, Troster said. A vacant commercial property tax, she suggested, could encourage them to not leave properties empty. Hanna agreed, noting the city currently "can only do so much." "It needs more tools," he said. "It needs a tax to encourage developers to get on with building what they proposed to build." It's an issue Troster said she'd investigate if she won a second term after the 2026 election, as her focus now is on a renovictions bylaw. City staff worked hard to ensure construction began on Somerset House, Troster added, noting there was "a lot of hand-holding, a lot of faith" to re-establish a relationship with the owner. She didn't have a specific construction timeline but said she hoped things would "move considerably over the summer."
