Latest news with #Jerwood
Spectator
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Whatever happened to Caroline Lane? A Margate mystery
Should you search for someone who has disappeared seemingly of their own volition? David Whitehouse, the author of novels that scooped the Betty Trask and Jerwood prizes and were shortlisted for the Gordon Burn and CWA Golden Dagger awards, happened upon a real-life mystery. Having his hair cut in Margate, he was told about a woman who had lived in the neighbourhood and vanished. The story came from a resident of the same block as the missing Caroline Lane. Whitehouse's interest was piqued. This is the background to Saltwater Mansions, the name of the apartment block from which Lane, a feisty (even grumpy) middle-aged woman had seemingly evaporated with no explanation. She had moved there in 2005 and made her presence well known to the residents' committee organising communal repairs. Although only one person remained in the block who had actually met Lane, Whitehouse does not skimp, and seeks out a man who had sat on the committee and been driven to distraction by Lane's refusal to comply with plans agreed by other residents. Whitehouse's probing would be a credit to any police force. He is fascinated by the fact that it was only her neighbours who noticed that Lane had disappeared. They reported her as a missing person, but the mystery was never solved. Whitehouse makes it his mission to find out what happened to Lane. But this is not just an investigation of a disappearance. Along the way, he questions the morality of delving into another person's private life. Isn't it their prerogative to leave town – or the world – if they wish? Is his interest prurient? At the same time he is haunted by the fact that when Lane's neighbours finally gained access to her flat to look for clues they found a vast pile of unopened mail and very little else. Why would this woman have carried on paying her direct debits for 13 years? Why would she have abandoned a flat she owned? And what was the legal situation for her neighbours, who were owed money for repairs, a sum that had swollen with each year? Whitehouse is interested in people, and his curiosity and ability to listen mean that he finds out the stories of others, many of them complex and coloured by past experiences. He even looks for the reason why his father is as he is, avoiding deep analysis of his emotions or searching conversations. Paradoxically, his long-standing disquiet about his father's inability to open up acknowledges the man's extreme altruism. A vivid portrait of Lane emerges from those who knew her. During one excruciating committee meeting, when she refused to agree with the other tenants and insisted on piling additional expenses on them by demanding an independent third-party audit, Mr Peake, the long-suffering secretary, 'had squeezed his mini pain au chocolat so tightly it was now roadkill in his palm'. The small touches can make one shiver. 'Caroline may have disappeared, but it didn't feel like something had happened so much as something hadn't. It was as though they heard an echo when there had never been a sound.' 'Outside Caroline's kitchen window, streaks of rust appeared on the fire escape's metal banisters, a copper red trail glittering in the midday sun.' Margate, too, is brought alive – downtrodden at first, then discovered by yuppies and gentrified. The rolling sea keeps time in the background like a metronome, its eternal nature testament to the fact that not all mysteries can be solved. Whitehouse realises that he has always associated the sea with an ending, invoking its presence at the close of his novels. His similes are poetic: 'I watched the tide edge out like someone trying not to wake a sleeping lover.' It would be a spoiler to hint at how the story ends. But the reader is left with the understanding that everyone has their tale to tell, and that the reasons behind events are often mysterious.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alan Grieve, ‘entrepreneur philanthropist' who set up the Jerwood Foundation to finance arts causes
Alan Grieve, who has died aged 97, was a solicitor who in 1977 established the philanthropic Jerwood Foundation for John Jerwood, and ran it as chairman after his client's death in 1991, transforming it from a little-known foundation making donations mainly in the fields of music and education, to an ubiquitous force in the arts world; he described himself as an 'entrepreneur philanthropist'. Grieve was 30 when the senior partner of Taylor & Humbert, his Gray's Inn law firm, asked him to look after a 'tricky client' – tricky because he was based in Tokyo. John Jerwood was a British businessman who had made his fortune in the postwar years exploiting Japan's monopoly over the cultured-pearl industry. He was married to a Japanese woman but they had no children. Grieve travelled the world for Jerwood, becoming his solicitor, business adviser and confidant. In the mid-1970s he was given power of attorney to create a charitable foundation, which Jerwood ran for 14 years as a personal fiefdom. When Jerwood died in 1991, Grieve took control of an organisation with huge assets, and over the next two decades invested shrewdly to treble their value. Meanwhile, he set the foundation on a firm path of cultural philanthropy, building and adorning galleries, libraries, playhouses, dance studios and rehearsal spaces, and funding student bursaries and prizes ranging from drawing to dance. In the mid-1990s, when the Royal Court Theatre was on the brink of closure due to safety concerns, Grieve offered £3 million to help rebuild it, though he dismissed as 'absolute nonsense' press suggestions that he had insisted the theatre be renamed the 'Jerwood Royal Court' until Buckingham Palace vetoed the idea. Soon afterwards came Jerwood Space, a project involving the conversion of a Victorian school in Southwark into a nest of dance and drama rehearsal studios operating on what Grieve calls the 'Robin Hood principle', with rents calibrated according to what clients could afford, along with an art gallery that soon established itself as a focus for hip shows of contemporary painting. By keeping the core of the foundation small – with just three council members, supported by a select advisory council of experts, including Grieve's daughter Amanda, Lady Harlech, the fashion muse and director of Chanel – he ensured that it remained both flexible and independent, able to cut through or avoid the red tape that is the bane of projects involving public funding. For the Jerwood Space project, Grieve made his one and only application for a grant from the National Lottery. He was successful, but kept the money for only a matter of weeks: 'I realised that the Arts Council would want to bear in on me, tell me I hadn't done this or that. So I rang up Gerry Robinson [then chairman of Arts Council England] and asked to whom I should make the cheque out. I think you'd say he was taken aback.' Other capital schemes included the Jerwood Library of the Performing Arts at Trinity College of Music (now Trinity Laban) when it moved to the Royal Naval College, Greenwich; the Jerwood Gallery at the Natural History Museum; the Jerwood Library at Trinity Hall, Cambridge; the Jerwood Sculpture Park at Witley Court, Worcestershire; the Jerwood Centre for the prevention and treatment of dance injuries at the Hippodrome, home of Birmingham Royal Ballet; the Jerwood Centre at Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere; and the Jerwood Hall at the London Symphony Orchestra's music centre, St Luke's, built in the shell of a Hawksmoor church in north London. Grieve's particular passion was British art of the 20th century, and in 1994 he oversaw the founding of the £30,000 Jerwood painting prize for originality and excellence in painting in the United Kingdom. With the Turner Prize increasingly associated with the wackier end of the art spectrum, before it was phased out in 2004 the Jerwood became the prize many painters most coveted; winners included Craigie Aitchison, Patrick Caulfield, Prunella Clough and Maggi Hambling. At the same time Grieve assembled a collection of British art for the Jerwood Foundation which started with Frank Brangwyn and David Bomberg, and included works by Walter Sickert, Augustus John, Stanley Spencer, Winifred Nicholson, LS Lowry, Christopher Wood, Terry Frost and Keith Vaughan, to which he added the work of Jerwood Painting Prize winners. He spent £1.5 million, never paying more than £100,000 for a work, and set about building a gallery to house the collection. In 2012 the Jerwood Gallery, designed by Hana Loftus and Grieve's son, Tom, from the architecture firm HAT Projects, opened in Hastings; by this time Grieve reckoned the collection was worth around £6 million. The building won a RIBA National Award, but in 2019 the gallery, now Hastings Contemporary, cut ties with the Jerwood Foundation following a funding dispute. The Jerwood Collection of Modern and Contemporary British art is now accessible through a loans and exhibitions programme. Alan Thomas Grieve was born in London on January 22 1928 to Lewis Grieve and Doris, née Amner, and educated at Aldenham School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he read law. During National Service he was commissioned in 1949 in the Royal Armoured Corps (14th/20th King's Hussars) and thereafter served in the TA in the City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders). After a few years as an assistant solicitor at the City law firm Slaughter and May, in 1958 he joined Taylor & Humbert, becoming senior partner in 1980. He then oversaw the firm's merger with Parker Garrett and remained senior partner in the merged firm Taylor Garrett until 1989, when it merged again with Joynson Hicks to become Taylor Joynson Garrett (now Taylor Wessing), of which he became a consultant. Grieve was appointed CBE in 2003. In 1957 Alan Grieve married Anne Dulake, with whom he had two sons and a daughter, Amanda Harlech. The marriage was dissolved, and in 1971 he married Karen de Sivrac Dunn, with whom he had a son and daughter. Alan Grieve, born January 22 1928, died May 14 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Metro
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Conflict frontman Colin Jerwood dies aged 63 after 'short illness'
Colin Jerwood, the frontman of English punk group Conflict, has died aged 63. Formed in Eltham, South London, in 1981, the band's first release was 1982's The House That Man Built. Two years later they set up Mortarhate Records label, which released their own records, as well as ones from other bands including Hagar the Womb, Icons of Filth, Lost Cherrees, The Apostles, and Stalag 17. Since they started out, Conflict have been known for being outspoken regarding issues such as anarchism, animal rights, and the anti-war movement. In the 1980s several of their gigs were followed by riots and disturbances. Last year the band released the album Live in Dublin, their first new music in over 20 years. It was followed by This Much Remains, which was released last month. However, the band has now announced the death of its lead vocalist Jerwood, who died after a 'short illness'. 'As you can imagine we are struggling to find the words to describe how sad and upset we feel upon hearing of the loss of our band member and dear friend Colin,' the statement began. 'We extend our deepest condolences to James, Georgia and the rest of Colin's family and friends. We ask that you respect their wishes and understand that we are all currently grieving a great loss. Thank you. Gav, Fi, Fran and Matt.' His family also said that they shared the news 'with a heavy heart'. 'We know for his supporters that this is difficult news to hear,' they said. Jerwood's family then shared details of an online memorial page ( and said fans could 'donate to charities in his memory'. 'We appreciate all your support for Colin and Conflict over the years,' they added. They asked fans not to attend the funeral, but said they would be 'reading through any comments on the memorial page and your presence will be felt'. Paying tribute, UK organisation Unite Against Fascism also wrote: 'Many anti fascists will be sad to hear that Conflict's Colin Jerwood has died. His Eltham roots & the poisonous racism at times locally meant he backed a/fascists for many a year & when it really mattered.' More Trending Meanwhile Cherry Red Records said he was 'sharp, driven, and always pushing forward' and had 'left a mark on punk music that won't be forgotten'. Before his death, Jerwood had been working on a memoir to document 'conflict, the movement, and me'. Conflict's original line-up included Jerwood, Francisco 'Paco' Carreno, John, Steve, Pauline, and Paul, also known as Nihilistic Nobody'. Former drummer Carreno died aged 49 in 2015. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Jessie J 'going to disappear for a bit' after being diagnosed with breast cancer MORE: OnlyFans and adult film star Koby Falks dies aged 42 MORE: Parks and Rec star Jonathan Joss shot and killed aged 59 in 'homophobic attack'
