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AN ORCHESTRA YOU CAN'T REFUSE
The greatest film ever made is being elevated to ethereal extremes with the help of of string, brass, woodwind and percussion—so an orchestra. Take in The Godfather via a suitably spiffy screen, with the recorded soundtrack removed and the film's massive score played out live by a specially formed orchestra. The work of Nino Rota, the Milan born musician achieved international acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s for his work with Italian directors scoring movies including White Nights, The Leopard and La Dolce Vita. Starting at 7pm on September 16, the concept premiered to a sold out crowd at the Royal Albert Hall in 2014. Tickets start at £40.50, rising to £63. And they're selling proper smartish.
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BURGUNDY VS CALIFORNIA, PART DEUX
In 1976 Steven Spurrier, a British Wine Merchant in Paris, carried out a blind tasting competition. It was to be an amusing aside, as top Cuvées from Burgundy and Bordeaux were pitched against some ‘cooking wine’ from California. After a West Coast wine topped every category, the rise and rise of New World wines began. As a nod to this iconic tasting, Jackson Family Estates of Cali' will be putting their wines to the test against Bouchard Père & Fils from Burgundy. Hotel du Vin is on food for this one-off event, tickets for which are £85 to include four courses, eight wines and Champagne by way of apéritif. July 1. Call 0121 794 3005 or email events.birmingham@ hotelduvin.com to book. More
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THE UNIVERSITY OF JURASSIC
Meet Al. Al's been dead for around 150 million years (gutted) and as an Allosaurus, was pretty much the predator to be most scared of in the Jurassic period (as well as being the forerunner to the T rex). If you're in the market for a one-on-one with our Al, as luck would have it, The Lapworth Museum of Geology reopened on Friday, and they're giving him a place to crash until he can get back on good terms with his therepod dinosaur crew. Following an extensive £2.7m redevelopment, the completely free museum, which is open daily and housed on the University of Birmingham's campus has got 3.5 billion years of history to get to grips with. The team has also unveiled plans to open a theme park containing cloned dinosaurs on a remote tropical island called Isla Nubar. They haven't.
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FILM: THE CONJURING 2
There are two kinds of scary: Donald Trump scary, and someone-coming-up-behind-you-while-you-listen-to-a-podcast scary. The Conjuring 2 excels at the latter, and isn’t too bad at the former. This time, we’re in a well-realised Seventies London, where the paranormal investigators of the first film examine a fictionalised version of the Enfield haunting. Saw director James Wan, and leads Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, are absolute pros at selling hokey material. Great fun. Times
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COLOUR US HAPPY
Digbeth's adding to its venerable collection of body art this Saturday, with over 120 street artists (including Eins 29, whose work is pictured), across 18 spots, in the name of City of Colours. Forced to take a break last year due to funding (well, lack thereof), the team is back with a huge affordable art fair, retro gaming, battling of the illustration variety, a gorilla party in a car park, giant doodling wall and more graffiti than we ever imagined could be legal. From 11am 'til 8pm on Saturday. More
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Venue: The Blue Piano, 24-26 Harborne Road, Edgbaston, B15 3AA; website
Choice: Singapore Carrot Cake (£5.25) Chooser: Chef patron, Siew Kuan
When Siew Kuan and her husband decided to launch a Southeast Asian restaurant, Siew's starting point was the family recipes she distinctly remembered as superior to the food she received at her friend's homes, growing up in Singapore. Based on the recipe Siew's sister perfected at her hawker stall, the "carrot cake" is in fact a homemade savoury rice cake (taken as a starter) which adeptly and surprisingly combines carrot, mooli, chilli and a mixture of spices the kitchen are not for revealing. Topped off with a bit more chilli, spring onion, egg and Asian radish, the dish is street food at its absolute best—gloriously fresh, dripping with authenticity and providing textures and tastes that, simply put, will make your mouth whoop. The big hitting beef rendang nasi lemak (Edgbaston's answer to a traditional Malay picnic) and the grilled black peppered pork ribs were also both serious contenders for the pick this week. Listen to Siew and you can't fail to order well. Menu
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