England

There is one woman, above all others, whom the world’s greatest ballerinas rely upon when it comes to fitting their shoes perfectly, Michelle Attfield of Freed of London. With generous spirit, self-effacing nature and fierce professionalism, Michelle is the queen of the pointe shoe and a legend in ballet circles. In her half century at Freed, she has fitted ten-year-olds at the Royal Ballet School and accompanied them throughout the course of their careers, subtly modulating the design of their pointe shoes to accommodate both their physical change and the needs of their repertoire. “Sometimes I discover I know more than I think I do, when I look around for an expert and then realise that I have been around longer than anyone.” she admitted to me with a laugh of self-deprecation. In the volatile world of show business, Michelle is one of those rare figures whom dancers can always count upon for unwavering loyalty, appreciation and practical advice. An ex-dancer and former customer of Freed, who was trained to fit shoes by Mrs Freed herself, Michelle embodies the spirit of the company that she has served all these years and which she delights to speak of. Yet she is the model of discretion, drawing a tactful curtain over the details of her intimate relationships with the great divas, and preferring to enthuse about show-business customers such as her beloved Patrick Swayze who visited Michelle at the shop after hours for extra fittings. “Supine with admiration,” is her verdict upon Mr Swayze. “I’ve worked for Freed of London for forty-nine years, I’ve given my life to this company. I trained as a dancer but I wasn’t quite good enough to be a ballerina, so I qualified as a teacher and, since Freed’s shop in St Martin’s Lane were always advertising for staff in The Stage, I went along. I was a Royal Academy of Dance student from the age of ten, so I had known Mrs Freed all that time. It was April and I had a teaching position starting in September, and when I told Mrs Freed she said ‘Why don’t you  stay with us and stop all this nonsense?’ I said, ‘But I’ve got a job with the Royal Ballet.’ So I went to work at Freed permanently and never looked back. I tried to leave once when daughter was born but, luckily for me, some of my customers refused to deal with anyone else. So they rang me and said, ‘You’ve got to come back.’ She was a monster. Mr Freed made shoes but Mrs Freed made the business. She was the dynamo. He was a shoemaker and a good one, she was a milliner. He did the making and she did the sewing. He invented the concept of making the shoe to fit the foot, prior to that they were very stylised, they propped you up but they didn’t let you dance. This development coincided with choreographers like Frederick Ashton and John Cranko wanting a little more and dancers who were willing to give a little more, and our shoes helped them to do it. Mrs Freed visited the factory every day at seven-thirty and then she went and ran the shop all day – and she did that every day. I discovered the reason they always advertised in The Stage was because no-one could work for Mrs Freed. People exited from the shop very quickly, girls used to start in the morning and leave in the afternoon. I’d come back from lunch and ask ‘Where has she gone?’ Mr & Mrs Freed loved dancers but they didn’t want to go to the ballet. ‘No dear, you take the tickets and go to the ballet,’ they’d say to me, ‘we’ve had enough of that all day.’ You had to work uber-hard but I had been a dancer and dancers are used to hard work – class in the morning, rehearsal in the afternoon and performance in the evening. People either left at once or stayed forever, and it was the most wonderful place to work if you loved ballet – I fitted Margot Fonteyn! I learnt to dance with

Rory McEwan The Colours of Reality cover of the exhibition catalogue Today I found out why people rave about the botanical art of Rory McEwan.  I went to the The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Francis Bacon is very high on my list of dinner party guests of all time. Seen here on the wall of the Museum of Mankind in Burlington Gardens, he was a fascinating mixture of scientist, statesman and writer. Did you know he died after contracting pneumonia, experimenting with the use of freezing to preserve meat?

Top ten signings that will finally be completed in the upcoming summer transfer window. Check in to Transfer Window: Done Deal Alerts 10. Joao Moutinho (Porto to Tottenham) Tottenham made a late attempt to sign Joao Moutinho from Porto towards the end of last summer's transfer window as a replacement for the departing attacking midfield duo of Luka Modric to Real Madrid and Rafael van der Vaart to Hamburg. Andre Villas-Boas knows Moutinho from when the two were together at Porto, and saw the playmaker as an ideal addition to his squad. However, a move failed to materalise and the 26-year-old stayed in Portugal. It is now being rumoured that Spurs will try for him again this summer, with Villas-Boas determined to land his man. Moutinho would still be useful at White Hart Lane as adequate replacements for Modric and van der Vaart were never really found; Gylfi Sigurdsson and Clint Dempsey have had inconsistent seasons and may even be sold this summer to fund a move for Moutinho, who they hope would help push them to that elusive fourth spot. The North Londoners may face competition from Monaco for his signature, but he's certainly unlikely to be at Porto for much longer. 9. Andre Schurrle (Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea) Chelsea nearly signed this talented German winger last summer, and remain fond of his skills. A year on, his stock has risen even higher, with more fine performances in the Bundesliga, confirming him as one of the best of many talented young players coming through in Germany at the moment. The 22-year-old attacker has 11 goals and 7 assists this season and is being widely tipped to seal a move to Stamford Bridge in the coming weeks, as the club's owners have confirmed he will be leaving. Schurrle himself has also said himself that he has played his last game for Bayer Leverkusen, and unless someone else makes a late bid, Chelsea will surely be his destination. He will cost around £20million and looks a promising signing for the Blues, who will hope he can provide something a bit different in their attacking midfield positions, or even play upfront on occasion and prove more of a goal threat than the misfiring Fernando Torres. 8. Leighton Baines (Everton to Manchester United) Leighton Baines has been one of the best full-backs in the Premier League for a number of years now, looking set for big things ever since impressing as a youngster at Wigan. Last season he finally looked like making a big move to Manchester United, though a deal was never completed between the two sides. He has gone on to improve even more this season, scoring 5 goals and providing 5 assists from left-back, and showing himself to be a great attacking threat with his forward runs, long range shots and teasing crosses. With David Moyes leaving Everton to take over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, he is understandably keen to push a deal through this summer. United could do with strengthening at left-back, where Patrice Evra looks somewhat past his best, and backup Alexander Buttner has not looked like becoming first choice with his displays this season. Baines looks like an excellent signing, and he will surely welcome the chance to link up with Moyes once again. 7. Bacary Sagna (Arsenal to PSG) Bacary Sagna has been something of an unsung hero for the Gunners, proving a reliable and consistent performer in his six seasons at the Emirates Stadium. However, the French right-back's time at the club may now be coming to an end, as speculation has increased over the last few months that he will leave the club. The 30-year-old has failed to agree on a new contract after being locked in talks for much of the season, and criticised the club earlier in the year for selling key duo Robin van Persie and Alex Song last summer. PSG have been monitoring his situation and seem his most likely destination, as he has admitted he would not rule out a move to the French capital. Sagna has one year to go on his current contrac

Anfield side look to reshape defence. Check in to Transfer Window: Done Deal Alerts Having seen January signings Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge greatly aid moves to freshen up his attack Brendan Rodgers appears to be keen to address issues concerning the Liverpool back-line this summer with moves to bring in a trio of quality defenders according to the Daily Star. Chief among Rodgers' targets is highly-rated Schalke defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos, who is valued at £12m, who the Northern Irishman sees as an ideal long term replacement for retired centre-back Jamie Carragher. The 21 year old has had an excellent season with his Gelsenkirchen based side, whom he helped to secure a Champions League berth Papadopoulos is a solid no-nonsense performer who rarely makes mistakes and is also very handy at popping up with occasional goals and is a regular in the Greek national team. Rodgers will hope Sporting Lisbon consider offers for 20-year-old talent Tiago Ilori, valued at £4m, and having seen the Portuguese side already agree a deal to sell their star striker Ricky Van Wolfswinkel the Merseyside club may fancy their chances of landing the young defender from the cash-strapped Primeira Liga side. Rodgers is also monitoring Ajax’s adaptable defender Toby Alderweireld too though Liverpool will have to fight off interest from other prospective suitors, said to include Roma and Tottenham. Ajax boss Frank de Boer may face a fight to keep hold of his top talents this summer as a number of his young stars have been linked with moves away from the Amsterdam side. Alderweireld, who can play at right back or in the centre of the defence, has helped his Dutch side to three successive Eredivisie titles and may feel it's time for a fresh challenge. Having seen former Ajax defensive colleagues Jan Vertonghen and Thomas Vermaelen move to the Premier League the 24 year old could well be tempted to follow suit.

There's a Rat in Upton Park, what am I gonna do? Check in to Transfer Window: Done Deal Alerts West Ham United have finally completed a deal to bring Shakhtar Donetsk defender Razvan Rat to the club, according to talkSPORT. The 31-year-old full back becomes Sam Allardyce's first signing of the summer ahead of a busy window that could see him bring in up to five more players. Rat has been a long time target of the east London club and his arrival has been most welcome as first choice left-back George McCartney has missed the bulk of the campaign through injury. The Romanian international will add some much needed culture and experience to West Ham's defence, having played extensively in the Champions League and featuring for his national side at Euro 2008. Rat has 88 caps for Romania and is said to be very excited at the prospect of challenging himself in the Premier League. His departure from Shakhtar ends a ten year association with the club that has seen him bag six Ukrainian League titles, four Ukrainian Cup wins, three Ukrainian Super Cups and one Uefa Cup in 2009. He has made just under 300 appearances for the side, scoring ten goals. A pre-agreement had thought to be in place in March, but both player and club denied the rumours, but now he has ended months of speculation by finally joining the Hammers.

Wenger given greater flexibility as a number of high earners look set to leave the club. Check in to Transfer Window: Done Deal Alerts Arsenal fans can look forward to a summer of big spending from the club according to The Mirror. It has been reported that Gunners boss Arsene Wenger will be given significant amounts of money to spend on reinforcements this summer. Part of the reason is the fact that the club have now paid off their debts on the loan they took out to build the Emirates Stadium but Wenger will also enjoy greater freedom as a result of a number of the club’s higher earners leaving the club. The club’s highest earner, Russian midfielder Andrei Arshavin, has been receiving a pay package in the region of £90,000 a week despite barely featuring for the club this season. His contract expires in the coming weeks though freeing up a larger amount of the budget for new signings. A number of clubs are also thought to be interested in the squad’s fringe players including the likes of Gervinho, Marouane Chamakh, Nicklas Bendtner, Park Chu-Young, Andre Santos, Denilson, Johan Djourou and Thomas Vermaelen Wenger will be hoping to use the financial backing to help restore Arsenal amongst the teams capable of challenging for the Premier League title. Reports in recent weeks have linked them with the likes of Stevan Jovetic, Gonzalo Higuain and QPR’s Julio Cesar.

The surrounding countryside on the hour long bus journey from Córdoba provided a constant reminder of why I was travelling on this ageing coach in blistering heat. With my head resting against the glass, I watched reflected a continuous vista of olive groves stretching up and down in beautifully neat lines over the gently undulating hills, nothing else but olive trees, trailing off into the distance in every direction.Stepping off the bus, in an incredibly louche manner, I took in my surroundings, the rather sleepy Spanish market town of Baena, destination for a fair amount of the olives I’d seen on the journey, there to be squashed relentlessly and mercilessly at the hands of Núñez de Prado, makers of some of the finest organic olive oil you can get your grubby mitts on, which was exactly what I had in mind.Taking a swig of water and bemusedly studying the map on my phone, I wandered off aimlessly into town, accompanied by Elly, in search of the famous olive oil mill, determined to bluster, cajole, bribe or threaten my way in (as it turned out, there was no need for any of this, they happily let anyone in).Arriving unannounced in the oil mill office and enquiring about the possibility of a site tour I was a little taken aback to have the President of the company, Francisco Núñez de Prado (or Paco to his pals) stepping up to act as guide.Joined by a handful of fellow olive oil tourists we were led around the mill by the extremely entertaining Paco, who explained the process in English, Spanish and French – with a little German thrown in, just for the sheer hell of it.The Núñez de Prado family have been making Olive Oil for seven generations and have eschewed the use of chemicals in the growing process since 1986 being subsequently certified organic in 1990.Harvest season runs from November-January with 160 employees picking the olives entirely by hand ‘working really fast’.The olives are crushed in terrifying looking, rolling, heavy granite presses which date from just after the Spanish Civil War, in 1944 and were installed by Paco’s father.The resulting paste is then hydraulically pressed. They only produce Extra Virgin Olive Oil and there is only a 1st cold pressing.The company’s primo product is Flor de Aceite or ‘Flower of the oil’ a free run EVOO that is produced by squeezing the crushed olive oil paste between mats, 10 kilos between each mat with a total of a tonne being pressed at a time. The end product is the oil that seeps out. 11 kilos of olives are needed to make just 1 litre of this oil. After pressing the olive oil is pumped into glass tanks that are hermetically sealed to prevent flavour contamination. As the oil sits, it separates naturally from the water, which is then pumped away. Nothing is wasted, this ‘black water’ and the leftover crushed, tasteless olive oil paste is combined and used on the olive groves as a fertiliser. The finished oil is then rested for a couple of months before bottling.And that is more or less that. We then got the opportunity to purchase some of this exceptional product at almost ridiculous knock down prices £4.25 for a bottle of the Flor de Aceite. Thank you very much, stick me down for a case.I found the whole thing fascinating, probably because the process is so beautifully simple, just like me. Also, I hadn’t really considered how olive oil was actually made, I mean, I had intelligently surmised you squashed the olives, but had absolutely no idea what the actual squashing operation looked like. Now I do. Artisanal squashy.Afterwards we had a quick wander around Baena, noting that olives, somewhat unsurprisingly for a town surrounded by the things, are sold absolutely everywhere. Feeling a bit sharp-set and having an hour or so to kill before our bus back to Córdoba we wandered into a bar down the road from the bus station, where the bocadillos we ordered (despite taking an age to arrive, what with the kitchen actually making a tortilla from scratch for the filling) were each ab

Stamford Bridge side set for plenty of summer transfer activity. Check in to Transfer Window: Done Deal Alerts Jose Mourinho is hotly tipped to make an emotional Stamford Bridge return this summer and The Sun claim that the returning Blues boss has already started drawing up a wish-list of transfer targets. This source claims that the main area of the Chelsea squad Mourinho will look to address if the club's strike-force and though the 'Special One' does have an interest in the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Robert Lewandowski and Radamel Falcao he believes that for a variety of reasons this quartet are not realistic targets. This has led Jose Mourinho to focus his intention specifically on Napoli goal machine Edinson Cavani, who has been strongly linked with an exit from his Serie A side. The 26 year old has been an astonishing success at the San Paolo, scoring 103 goals in 137 appearances and helping his Naples side to a runners-up spot in Serie A this term. The £42.5m rated Uruguayan has been tracked by a number of Europe's 'Elite' but Mourinho will hope to tempt the powerful forward into making a move to the West London club. The Sun states that Bayer Leverkusen youngster Andre Schurrle is 'sure to arrive' at Chelsea this summer, a move that will also aid in Roman Abramovich's push for a more effective attack. The £20m rated German intenational has had an excellent season this term, helping his side to a third place finish and a Champions League berth for next term. The adaptable attacker can play out wide or in an orthodox striking role, though is not as such a prolific goal-scorer and is more renowned for his clever approach play. Abramovich will look to offload Fernando Torres to make way for new additions and Mourinho will have to decide whether Belgian Romelu Lukaku, who has enjoyed a season long loan spell at West Brom, is ready to rejoin the Chelsea first team set-up.

Emirates Stadium star quiet on speculation, but admits he is happy in London. Check in to Transfer Window: Done Deal Alerts Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski has refused to quash speculation linking him with a move to Italian champions Juventus this summer, according to The Express. The 27-year-old joined the Gunners last season from German side Koln, but has failed to set the league alight and fill the boots of Robin Van Persie as many of the club's fans had hoped. He bagged 16 goals in 41 games since arriving for £11 million, but that hasn't stopped Juventus from keeping tabs on him. Turkish giants Galatasaray have also been said to be interested, along with teammate Gervinho, but the German international has claimed that he is happy in north London despite not rushing to bat away the rumours. "There are always offers, I don't have any influence on that," he told German newspaper Bild. "Of course I feel honoured. "But, the fact is, I have a contract with Arsenal. There's no reason to leave the club. However, in the football-business a lot of things are conceivable." Podolski's current deal at the Emirates runs until 2016, so the Italian giants would have to stump up a considerable fee to prize him away. Juve have had Arsenal tearaway Nicklas Bendtner on loan this season, but the big Dane failed to make an impact and is expected back in London this week where he will likely be placed on the transfer market.