And close by the Hotel Palacio are two large non-residential venues we found in Estoril for events.

o The Casino Estoril, the largest in Europe and the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s first 007 adventure Casino Royale, has a very glamorous Black and Silver Room that can accommodate up to 1,000 for dinner and a show. There is also the Estoril Mandarin Oriental restaurant with a capacity of 150 (see last issue for reviews of food), the De Arte Lounge and the Bar Americano for 500 each, the Jezebel nightclub for 600, a Panoramic Foyer area for 300, a raked-seat Theatre Auditorium for 400 and the Zeno Lounge for 140. Oh and 1,200 slot machines for the gamblers, and all the usual card tables and roulette wheels. Web: casino-estoril.pt

 

o Just behind the casino is the modern Estoril Centro de Congressos offering a Main Hall for up to 1,000, also used for exhibitions, a raked seat auditorium seating 600 and with 6 simultaneous interpretation booths, and nearly 20 different spaces and combinations for 30 to 1,200.

Offering accommodation in the area for those attending conferences here, apart from the very close Hotel Palacio, are eleven other 5-star, sixteen 4-star and nine 3-star hotels with room prices to suit most budgets. For those with limited funds one close, clean and friendly Estoril three-star we can also personally vouch for, from a recent six-night stay, is the Hotel Alvorada. Web: hotelalvorada.com

Web: estorilcc.com

Organisers of events in Brussels who are keen to support environmentally-friendly and sustainable venues will want to look at the Bel there.

Located on the re-developing Tour and Taxis site, formerly a huge customs clearance and goods warehousing area employing more than 3,000 people, the Bel is a new eco-designed and high energy-efficient building close to the city centre with an evolving infrastructure. It offers a modern raked-seat auditorium accommodating 415 delegates on multi-coloured seating that is comfortably padded and has folding tables. Some up-to-date AV technology is also included along with induction loops for those with hearing difficulties and booths for simultaneous interpretation. Continue reading →

An open day showcasing the event spaces for up to 2,000 at the Barbican, and the food of caterers Searcys, is being held at the venue on Thursday September 10.

To attend pre-booked sessions email to [email protected]

One landmark film for students of the silent film era, along with white supremacists or Nazis, was The Birth of a Nation. This was director D.W Griffith’s beautifully-made and offensively racist 1915 Civil War epic, based on the racist 1905 rant The Clansman by Thoma Dixon. In the film black people are demeaned as lazy, dishonest and dangerous drunks, with the main black characters played by white actors with burnt cork on their faces and the Ku Klux Klan riding heroically to the rescue of the down-trodden Southern whites, including one played by silent era star Lillian Gish. This arguably made Griffith’s first major success a good example of how not to think for today’s audiences.

Griffith’s next and best film, Intolerance (Love’s struggle throughout the ages) was released the following year (1916) and viewed as a riposte to those who had accused him of racism. This analysed the damaging effects of intolerance in four different historical periods, with the stories interwoven – the fall of Babylon in 539BC, the crucifixion of Christ in Judea, the St Bartholemews Day Massacre in France in 1572 and the social problems of early 20th century in America, though for the last segment the toxic effect of the intolerance of white supremacists is not covered. Lillian Gish is billed as one of the stars but has an unchallenging role rocking a cradle as the link between the stories. Continue reading →

This is a science-fiction film that looks backward into the past, according to its director Federico Fellini, and it takes an outrageous and surreal look back to the debauchery, gender-bending and rampant hedonism of Nero’s Ancient Rome.

Homophobes probably won’t enjoy it much as what seems to be a sulkily pretty young girl in a publicity still turns out to be a sulkily pretty young boy, and gliding around androgynously in a little white mini-toga, no less. Those hoping to enjoy lovely young nymphs will have to wait until near the end of the film when a particularly lovely young one cavorts flirtatiously in front of two homosexual males, giving them a chance to reveal any lurking bi-sexuality. Continue reading →