Gambling on smartphones takes off

Betfair and Paddy Power figures show huge growth in the number of bets placed using mobile phones

Gambling via the new generation of smartphones such as Apple's iPhone is rising rapidly, according to figures from bookmaker Paddy Power and betting exchange Betfair. Paddy Power's chief operating officer Breon Corcoran said 34% of its active customers are now accessing the service through their phones, with its mobile revenues more than quadrupling during 2010.

Corcoran also outlined the growth in users. In January 2010, the company had 10,000 mobile customers. A year later in January 2011, this had increased to 50,000. Yet by April 2011, it had 120,000 mobile users, thanks to its apps for the iPhone, iPad and phone and tablets running Google's Android mobile software.

Independent figures released this week by IHS Screen Digest claim that net mobile gambling revenue in the UK rose from �19m in 2009 to �41m in 2010, with senior analyst Ronan De Renesse hailing "a new wave of speedy, glamorous mobile gambling applications" as the key factor in this growth.

Betfair ? which has had a troubled time on the stock market despite strong full-year figures ? said it has been prospering from mobiles, announcing that in its last financial year, it took more than �1bn in bets from mobile devices, and that 168,000 people placed a Betfair bet from their phones ? up 122% on the previous financial year ? while revenues from the company's mobile apps and mobile sites was up 88% year-on-year. "Developing new betting methods and experiences for the increasing amount of our customers who wish to access Betfair through their mobile phones is a key priority of the business," said Raj Vemulapalli, Betfair's vice president of mobile engineering.

The company is investing heavily in mobile, including launching next-generation mobile web apps for handsets running Google's Android software ? already the dominant platform worldwide ? and launching methods for outside app developers to integrate its betting exchange into their own apps. Those who do will get a 5% share of any revenues they generate.

Ever since the launch of 3G data services, there have been great expectations for mobile gambling; it was one of the "three G's" expected to make big money for mobile operators. (The other two were games and "girls", meaning adult content).

But the three content types experienced mixed fortunes in those early years after the operators launched their first 3G services. Games became a steady revenue stream, but operators struggled to convince more than 5% of customers to pay for them. Adult content did better once operators had age verification systems in place. But with the arrival of the iPhone in 2007, and a huge number of apps in 2008, games have become a huge source of downloads and revenues. Mobile adult services however have been sidelined by the approval policies of the store owners, especially Apple.

Yet mobile gambling is one of the few areas where Google has taken a harder line than Apple in terms of approvals of apps for its online app market. Apple has banned pornography, but this year began allowing real-money gambling apps at the App store for the first time. But Google has moved in the opposite direction ? leading Corcoran to take a friendly pop at Google for barring such apps from Android Market, where people with Android phones can buy apps on their phone or a desktop computer.

• Betfair
• Gambling
• Mobile phones
• Smartphones

Stuart Dredge

Charles Arthur

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/30/gambling-on-smartphones-takes-off

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Victoria Wood recalls a historic day for Manchester music

Victoria Wood's new play takes its inspiration from a childrens' choir she loved. David Ward recalls the poignant reunion of the original singers

On 19 June 1929, 250 singing children ? 190 girls and 60 boys ? from 52 local schools travelled by tram to the Free Trade Hall in Manchester to record a happy chorus by Henry Purcell with the Hall� Orchestra, under the direction of Sir Hamilton Harty. They made two nervously bad attempts before finding their form for a third take; it was issued on Columbia 9909, a 12in 78rpm disc that cost four shillings and sixpence and sold 1m copies.

Nymphs and Shepherds, sung by the Manchester School Children's Choir, stayed in print for more than 60 years and was a much-requested radio number; it is available now on a CD called Golden Years of the Gramophone.

For those of a certain age, Manchester's bright-voiced kids singing about Flora's holiday immediately conjures up sunny Sunday dinner times, Two-Way Family Favourites on the BBC's Light Programme, the smell of roast lamb in the oven and the sound of someone chopping fresh mint.

Victoria Wood grew up with Nymphs and Shepherds, thought it was wonderful and played it to her children. Now she has used it as the starting point for That Day We Sang, a new play with songs ("It's almost a musical") commissioned by the Manchester international festival. The story unfolds in both 1929 and 1969, the year of a choir reunion at which Nymph Enid, a secretary, meets Shepherd Tubby, an insurance salesman. It's the first time their paths have crossed for 40 years.

That reunion is Wood's invention; but other reunions really happened. The last was in Manchester town hall (where the choir had sung in 1927 for the building's 50th anniversary) in 1989, 60 years after the recording. I know; I was there.

Then a reporter in the Guardian's Manchester office, I had called Alan Rusbridger (who edited Guardian Weekend and has since gone on to higher things) to suggest a Nymphs and Shepherds feature. But he had never heard of the choir or its famous record. "I'll ask round the office and if anyone knows about it, you're on," he said.

I hung on and then heard down the phone a ragged chorus sing Purcell's tune in a variety of keys. So I wrote my feature and then joined the singers, most of them in their 70s, on their special day in Manchester town hall. By 1989, only 146 singers (118 nymphs, 28 shepherds) were still alive and about 60 had come together for a final meeting. "This will be the last reunion because it's so saddening saying goodbye to our departing members," said Stanley Rose, the mutton-chopped shepherd who had organised the gatherings. "Our recording has a life of its own and is now entirely removed from the people who recorded it. It might live on forever, but we won't."

The singers were scattered at tables around the Great Hall with its Ford Madox Brown murals of great Manchester moments including The Proclamation Regarding Weights and Measures in 1556 and The Opening of the Bridgewater Canal in 1761; the Nymphs and Shepherds event, at least for me, turned out to be another great Manchester moment. The plan was that the veterans would enjoy tea and fancies and receive a gold disc from a representative of EMI; a carefully rehearsed ensemble would then stand on a podium and sing their special number.

"Before we do," announced someone (possibly Rose), "we'll play the record to remind you of the words." The hall fell silent and the Hall�'s long-dead players set off, through 60 years of fizz and crackle, on the intro to the chorus. As the 1929 children began to sing, I was aware of a haze of sound that at first I couldn't identify; then I realised that every nymph and shepherd in the room was gazing into the long-ago and very quietly singing along with his or her 1929 self.

Sixty years disappeared as the chorus flowed through this grand space for three minutes or so. It was an eerily beautiful, unforgettable, soul-stirring musical moment; not authentic Purcell, but rather the sound of people connecting with the sheer joy of singing together.

I had earlier interviewed Stanley Rose, who had written a little book describing his intensely happy four years in the choir and his memories of the day of the recording. "The pleasure [of singing] meant more to me than any of my other boyish interests, whether they be our new loudspeaker wireless set or the new talking pictures at the cinema. Or even watching Manchester City playing their brilliant football."

Rose is dead now but it's clear that no experience in his life rivalled his Nymphs and Shepherds years. And that singing time, and particularly the day of the recording, is the inspiration for Wood's play. "I have stayed true to that first idea that people can have a day in their lives that is very important and if they can reconnect with that day, reconnect with the people they were then, they can suddenly revive their emotions," she says. "That's what it's about ? the power of music to revive your love of life. And hopefully it's funny."

In That Day We Sang, Enid and Tubby are brought together for a film being made by Granada TV about the 40th anniversary of the record, in 1969. "They are two people who don't know each other but just happen to meet on this day when they are being filmed," Wood says. "That sets off a chain of events. They put headphones on Tubby and play him the record, which he hasn't heard since he sang on it, and he starts to cry. That's the start of his emotional journey triggered by hearing the music. He's very jolly and jokey but everything has been locked down. He has lived with his mother who doesn't like music. She has only just died; now he is able to listen to music and it is able to propel him on to the next stage of his life." And the next stage of his life is a relationship with Enid. "The play asks what as a child do you aspire to be? As a man, what do you feel you owe that child? The story goes forward and back."

And back it goes to the Free Trade Hall in 1929 when 250 terrified children ?"Some would have called us a scruffy lot of elementary school brats," suggested Rose ? trembled, overawed by the place and the occasion; they sang with confidence only after their inspiring teacher, Gertrude Riall, told them they were braying like donkeys and were as soggy as yesterday's bread pudding, and clapped her hands to free them of the spell she said had   gripped them. For the play, the fear and the music of the original nymphs and shepherds will be recreated by two choirs of 50 (accompanied by the Hall� Youth Orchestra) from four north Manchester primary schools. They have been coached since last October by the soprano and choir trainer Anna Flannagan. The 1929 children were selected by audition; the 2011 children are almost all volunteers and Flannagan has had to take her choir, as Riall did with hers, on a long, improving journey. "They are singing a million light years away from how they were singing when I first met them," Flannagan says. "They know how to breathe and they sing beautifully in tune."

They have also been taught to sing posh, as Riall used a blackboard and phonetic spelling to ensure that her choir employed received pronunciation vowels, said "end" for "and", "darnse" for "dance" and "mewsic" for "music". The 2011 children have found some of this hilarious, even if they were initially not keen on Purcell and his tune. "They told me they didn't like singing Nymphs and Shepherds," Wood says. "I told them that was show business, get over it. But I think that by the time they come to do it, are in their costumes dressed as 1929 children, they'll feel differently."

It would be nice to report that the 30 singers from Bowker Vale primary, one of the four schools involved in the production, have been joyously singing Nymphs and Shepherds ("Your flocks may now securely rest/ Whilst you express your jollity") in the playground. But they haven't, though acting head Gloria Hinz says her 10-year-olds have loved an experience that has done an immense amount for their confidence.

Leah found unforgettable the time she spent recording four songs in a studio; Athar says working with Wood was an amazing opportunity; and Zac met lots of famous people on a trip to London. Aisah adds: "This event made me realise that there are lots of other musics out there. This is a huge event and ? wow! ? I'm in it."

Which is probably how many of those 250 children must have felt as they rode the tram to Peter Street in 1929.

? That Day We Sang is at the Opera House, Manchester, from 6-17 July as part of the Manchester international festival: mif.co.uk

• Victoria Wood
• Theatre
• Classical music

David Ward

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/jun/30/victoria-wood-historic

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Wimbledon 2011: Maria Sharapova overcomes shaky start to reach final

? Sharapova beats Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-3
? Favourite will play Petra Kvitova in final

Maria Sharapova set up a Wimbledon final against Petra Kvitova after storming back from a shaky start to beat Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-3.

The Russian fifth seed, who won the grasscourt grand slam in 2004, slipped 3-0 down to the German wild card in the first set of the semi-final but suddenly found her groove to rattle off a string of winners.

Rain was in the air just as Sharapova was excelling but the drizzle held off and her momentum was maintained.

The second set was again inconsistent from both players but the 24-year-old prevailed and will now fancy her chances against the Czech eighth seed in Saturday's final.

• Maria Sharapova
• Wimbledon 2011
• Wimbledon
• Tennis

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jun/30/wimbledon-2011-maria-sharapova-final

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50 family freebies for summer

School holidays needn't be financial hell. Britain is bursting with free activities ? from arts and crafts, festivals, music, cinema and much more

Festivals

1. The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is one of Britain's biggest free events, typically attracting half a million visitors over its four days. This year it takes place on 11-14 August and the schedule includes several "mass ascents", when more than 100 hot-air balloons will take to the skies (weather permitting), "nightglows", where 30 or more balloons "glow in time to music", plus a variety of arena and air displays. It is held at Ashton Court on the edge of Bristol.

2. Four days in August will see Stockton-on-Tees in the north-east of England transformed into a vast performance space when the 24th edition of the Stockton International Riverside Festival rolls into town, bringing with it aerial performers, dancers, comedians and street theatre acts. "Expect the unexpected" is the mantra of the organisers, who promise "a stellar lineup of co-commissions, UK premieres and international artists". The event attracts around 250,000 visitors; your diary dates are 4-7 August. Most events are free.

3. If you want to see flying squirrels, skateboarding cows and Incredible Hulks throwing themselves off Worthing Pier to see who can "fly" the furthest, aided only by non-motorised "wings," make a beeline for the Worthing International Birdman event, taking place in the West Sussex seaside town on 13-14 August. This annual competition for "human-powered flying machines" is always a big draw. Many flyers take part to raise money for charity, while others have their eye on nabbing one of the cash prizes on offer for flying the furthest.

4. It's billed as Europe's largest free city-centre music festival (organisers claim 320,000 people came along last year), is one of Liverpool's flagship cultural events, and it's free. This year's Mathew Street Music Festival takes place on 28-29 August, and will see bands from all over the world perform on six outdoor stages, from 11am until 6pm. Tribute acts are a speciality; if you don't like the Beatles, you might want to give this one a wide berth.

5. A football match played in the middle of a river ? what's not to like? If you're in the Cotswolds area on Bank Holiday Monday, 29 August, pack your cagoules, head for the Gloucestershire village of Bourton-on-the-Water and bag yourself a good waterside spot for the annual Bourton-in-the-Water Football in the River match. For 30 very wet minutes, two six-a-side teams of players from Bourton Rovers Football Club will do battle in the middle of the River Windrush. The match is free to watch, and is due to kick off at 4pm.

6. Organisers of the Bristol International Kite Festival, taking place over the weekend of 3-4 September, are planning an aerial extravaganza to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Kite flyers from New Zealand, Kuwait and Thailand are expected to join flyers and enthusiasts from across Europe at the event, which will feature flying displays, kite-fighting battles and synchronised routines. Admission is free, though there is a �7 charge for car parking. It takes place at Ashton Court Estate, Bristol.

7. The Carrivick Sisters, Uiscedwr and Bag of Rats are among the acts lined up to play at this year's Burnham-on-Sea Folkfest in Somerset on 1-4 September. This is the sixth Folkfest, and it's free.

8. The Faversham Hop Festival is an annual, two-day, free family event held on the first weekend in September (3-4 this year) which commemorates "the golden days of hop-picking, when families would come to Kent and pass the evenings with music and stories". It takes place in Faversham and there will be live music, street theatre, morris dancing ? and, presumably, large quantities of beer.

9. If you're hankering for a bit of pop-festival action but money is tight, how about Little London Fields in Hackney, north London, on Saturday 20 August? It's billed as "2011's biggest, little, free, completely independent arts and culture festival", and the organisers say there will be plenty of bands, art displays, food stalls and other attractions. The event will run from noon until 9pm. Register for free tickets at the website.

10. The world's biggest (and free) seafront airshow takes place in Eastbourne, Sussex, from 11-14 August. There'll be displays by the Red Arrows, the Breitling WingWalkers, Royal Navy Black Cats helicopters and a flypast by the Belgian Air Force's F16s.

11. The Sunderland International Airshow, 29-31 July, launches in spectacular style with a free celebration event for all the family, from 7-10pm. Organisers promise live music, night-flying and dramatic fireworks display over the sea.

12. Celebrate south Asian culture at Manchester's Mela from  23-24 July. The event will feature music, poetry, street arts, kabbadi sports, and a huge array of food stalls. It takes place in Platt Fields Park, Fallowfield, Manchester.

Sports and activities

13. There's a great deal on offer at Schwim Free, which lets adults and children swim free at 400 pools across the UK, many in fancy private clubs. It is sponsored by Schweppes, and you have to buy a 500ml or 750ml bottle of its Abbey Well water; they sell for just 50p in Tesco. There are some drawbacks ? you can only go at specific times, usually off-peak (mid-afternoon in city centres, lunchtimes in residential areas) and can get a maximum of five entries only, but it's worth a try. The website lets you put in your postcode to find pools participating in the deal near you.

14. All youngsters in Wales can swim for free at local pools throughout the school holidays. Publicly-operated leisure centres have to offer at least 14 hours of free swimming per week, including a minimum of seven hours of "structured aquatic activities" such as snorkelling, life saving and water discos to under-16s.

15. There's a patchwork of free provision across the rest of the UK. Glasgow's 12 public pools give free access to schoolchildren during the summer holidays ? but you have to live or go to school in Glasgow city and first obtain the (free) Young Scot/Kidz card. Other councils, such as Edinburgh, have axed free swimming because of spending cuts. Much depends on whether they are in receipt of government grants. Newcastle has free swimming sessions at all council-managed pools for under-18s. Norwich offers free swimming to under-16s at its Riverside Leisure Centre for holders of its Go 4Less card.

16. During the school holidays The FA Tesco Skills coaches run taster sessions for boys and girls of all abilities. These sessions are free, as Tesco hires the venues. Free holiday sessions take place during the Easter and summer holidays, as well as every school half term. It runs at 36 venues across England during the school holidays. You don't need to buy anything, just book online at least two days in advance. Each session lasts two hours, from 10am-12pm or 1pm-3pm, over one or two days.

17. Asda has thousands of free school holiday sessions available in a variety of sports across all parts of the UK. Advance bookings can be made from today (11 June) for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and from 16 July for England and Wales. "To date, more than 120,000 children have tried a new sport for free through the scheme, out of this number, 45% have continued to participate in sport," says Asda. Pick up free vouchers at Asda stores and then find out what sessions are available. Book early to secure your place. Centre phone numbers will be provided on the search results page.

18. Find thousands of free tennis courts and get free coaching sessions at 14 locations across the UK organised by charity, TennisForFree. If you don't have your own racquet, they'll even loan you one. Sessions tend to run at weekends, are suitable for all ages and last around two hours. For example, Birkenhead Park in the Wirrall offers free coaching between 10-12 on Sundays. No booking is required. All that you need to do is turn up on the day.

19. There are a large number of free family-oriented cycling days organised by Sky Ride. For example, Sky Ride Leicester, which takes place this year on 28 August, attracted thousands of riders last year. The route is entirely open and optional, so you can come and go as you please and ride for as long as you choose. Sky Ride is a national campaign from Sky and British Cycling created to inspire and help everyone, whatever their age or ability, to get on their bikes and have fun. "From big traffic-free events, to local rides, from routes and trails to courses and training, there's something for everyone," it says.

20. Go-ride, also sponsored by Sky, offers coaching for six-to-16-year-olds in mountain bike skills at centres around the country during the holiday period for around �10 a day.

21. Youth clubs offer a huge range of free after-school and holiday time activities. Local clubs can be found at Clubs for young people and UK Youth or by contacting your local council. Scouts run summer camps, such as that at Tolmers in Hertfordshire, for a bargain �80 a week, while most of the 8,000 scout groups across the UK organise summer day trips and activities. Membership typically costs �40 a term. Go to scouts.org.uk/join or call 0845 3001818. You can also download a "Parents Summer Holiday Survival Guide" on the site.

Free play/activity days

22. National Play Day is on 3 August. The idea is for children and their families get out to play at hundreds of community events across the UK. Over 850 events took place in 2010, making it the biggest on record.

23. Breeze Leeds is an annual summer festival of music and arts for young people in the city. The centrepiece is "Breeze on Tour". Every week, one of the city's parks is taken over offering a range of free activities, including events such as Breeze has Talent. Only open to Breeze cardholders, free to Leeds residents aged 18 and under.

24. Lark in the Park is a community event, provided by churches in Thanet, Kent, which takes place each summer (this year 12-21 August) in Sidcup and Ramsgate, providing kids clubs, youth activities, fun days, community action projects and evening events where everything is free.

25. Sheffield's Super Summer Weekend is in Graves Park and offers free entrance to see characters from favourite children's TV shows, trampolines, vintage fire engines, inflatables and food stalls. Also on site is a funfair with the all rides, bar one, at 99p a go on the Friday. It runs from 5-7 August. Also in Sheffield but more for teens is Tramlines, a free, "for all" music festival in the city centre featuring dozens of acts from 2 -25 August.

26. Brighton & Hove city council's Play Service is running five community play days through the summer, as well as a National Play Day event at Hove Park on 3 August. There will be activities aimed at getting kids and families involved in active play. All are free and will run from 11am-3pm. The community play days are: 27 July, Farm Green, Bevendean; 10 August, Queens Park; 17 August, East Hill Park, Portslade; 24 August, East Brighton Park; 31 August, Preston Park.

27. There's a free summer festival at the Museum of Childhood, in Bethnal Green, featuring rickshaw rides, children's performers, stalls, food samples, live music, clay model making, face painting and a day out in the museum's gardens: Sunday 7 August, 11.30am-4.30pm. Among other free events at the museum is the Feline Festival on 19 August, 12pm-4pm. Come dressed as your favourite feline for an afternoon of music and games. Admission is free and there is no need to book in advance.

28. The South Bank beach, London, is outside the Southbank Centre on the Thames, an area that is transformed with tonnes of sand, beach huts, and a pop-up cafe into 70 metres of urban seaside. It's part of the Festival of Britain anniversary celebrations and you can experience the beach until 4 September, plus a host of other free events around the area.

Free cinema

29. Manchester's Spinningfields hosts a season of free, family open-air film screenings through the summer holidays. Films are shown every Saturday morning at 11am from 23 July to 27 August, with the current schedule including Toy Story 3 and the Jungle Book. Sporting events are also screened free, while there's an evening programme at �2 a ticket every Thursday for adults and older teenagers, which includes Touching the Void, Sex and The City and Saturday Night Fever. The season finale is a double-bill of The Devil Wears Prada and The September Issue. Bring your own picnic and blankets, or hire them for �2. Soft drinks can be brought in but only alcohol bought on site can be consumed during the film.

30. FreeFilmFestivals.org runs events, mostly in London, but sadly there's none on the schedule during the school holidays, unless your holidays stretch to 9 September, when there's a free screening amid the ruined chapels and derelict tombstones of Nunhead Cemetery. There are lots of other take-your-own-picnic open-air events across the country, but they tend to charge entry prices. Try The Nomad for listings ? for example, Lulworth Castle in Dorset screens an open-air Pirates of the Caribbean on 11 August, but it costs �9 adults and �6.50 children. Or the Whitley Bay Film Festival is this year playing The Fog in the town's Lighthouse building on 22 August. Ticket prices yet to be announced.

31. Glasgow Young Scot and Kidz Card holders and an accompanying adult get in free to special Saturday morning screenings at 11.30am at the GFT, Rose St, and Cineworld Parkhead.

32. Vue Cinemas have a summer screening programme, which isn't free ? but at �1.25 is a bargain ? and runs every day through the school holidays. Vue also has a Teenscreen programme aimed at 13-18-year-olds, at �2 a ticket. Times are usually around 5-6pm.

33. Free previews can be found on sites such as Show Film First, See Film First, Momentum Screenings and Disney Screenings. Sign up and get screening codes for selected new films. But the tickets aren't plentiful and go soon. The films may also be unsuitable for under-18s. A useful starting place is the Free Cinema Tickets Forum on the moneysavingexpert.com website.

Free theatre and live shows

34. Free tickets to the X Factor Shows ? and many other popular TV programmes ? can be found at the Applause Store. The drawback is that most are age restricted (16+ and 18+ is common) so it's not great for families with younger children. The website is currently taking free reservations for the X Factor auditions in Cardiff, Liverpool, London and Manchester during June and July. Applausestore is currently operating a reserve list for Sing if You Can, a new ITV primetime singing show, that only has a 12+ restriction.

35. The More London Free Festival runs during the summer featuring free theatre, music, film screenings, fringe events and live music performances for all ages at The Scoop, the outdoor venue at More London near Tower Bridge. Wednesday 1 June - Friday 30 September.

36. Not free, but terrific value at just �5, are the groundling tickets at Shakespeare's Globe theatre on the South Bank, London. After all, it was Shakespeare who coined the phrase "Neither a borrower nor a lender be." You have to stand in the yard but it's right in front of the actors and is an experience not to be missed. This summer's programme includes Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It and Anne Boleyn.

37. Shakespeare's Globe on Tour returns this summer with Hamlet and As You Like It, playing at venues across the country. Again, it's not free but tickets start at �5 for children in spectacular locations such as the open-air Minack Theatre on the coast near Penzance.

38. The Watch This Space London Festival takes place outside the National Theatre with outdoor theatre, circus, music and dance events over the summer, including highlights such as science fiction inspired light projections, aerial circus performers, paintball jugglers and wire walkers, from Friday 1 July to Sunday 11 September ,with most events free to attend.

39. Free theatre workshops are thin on the ground, so it's a matter of checking local drama clubs. For example, Flash Musicals Youth Theatre in Edgware, Middlesex, runs a week-long summer holiday workshop free of charge to children aged eight and up living in Harrow or Brent. At the workshop, participants learn a musical and perform it in the theatre at the end of the week to family and friends. There are lots of fee-charging theatre groups offering week-long summer workshops for young people, such as TheatreWorks in Leeds and Creation Theatre in Oxford, but prices start at �100.

Free arts and crafts workshops

40. Free family arts and crafts workshops take place at Somerset House in central London every Saturday afternoon throughout the rest of the year. All of the workshops give families the chance to explore Somerset House, the Courtauld Gallery and Embankment Galleries: Saturdays 2pm-3.30pm. Suitable for children aged six-12. Free tickets available from the information desk in the Seaman's Hall at 1pm on the day on a first-come first-served basis.

41. Free workshops at the British Library are based on its world famous collection and are suitable for ages six to adult. They take place from 11am-12.30pm and 3pm-4.30pm every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 2-25 August. No booking required.

Free museums

42. Despite cutbacks, national museums remain free. Check the DCMS website for a list of the museums and galleries which are free to all. Many are in London, but you'll find ones outside the capital too, such as the National Railway Museum in York, and the National Media Museum in Bradford.

43. Impact at Royal Observatory is a free exhibition exploring the history of meteors, comets and asteroids and their potential effects on our planet with photographs, awe-inspiring films and interactive exhibits. Saturday 12 March to Monday 29 August.

44. Tate Modern in London is to open a new under-five's zone: a free play space for toddlers and their families which invites "children on a creative, physical and sensory exploration of themes inspired by Cubist art works". Tate Modern and its sister gallery Tate Britain offer Children's Multimedia Guides, available daily from the respective information desks, and priced at �4 (�3.50 concessions) for five-year-olds and over.

45. "BP Saturdays at Tate Britain" will kick off as soon as schools break up on 23 July. These free events for families will include drop-in artist-led activities and gallery workshops, taking place on Saturdays from 10am-3pm. Watch out, too, for the first big open-air screening of the Tate Movie Project in Trafalgar Square, due to be unveiled in the summer. It will show contributions towards an animated film made by and for children across the UK, as part of an ambitious national project involving five-13-year-olds.

The National Trust

46. Entry prices into some of the National Trust's properties can seem steep, but in tune with austerity, it has created a programme of activities you can enjoy without spending a penny.

47. Free National Trust activities in Yorkshire and the north-east include "spot the dancing bear and turtle" at Brimham Rocks and "Go rock pooling in Robin Hood's Bay". In the north-west, you can get poetic with Wordsworth in the Lake District; stand among 38 stones at Castlerigg Stone Circle, or walk in the footsteps of Beatrix Potter in Hawkshead.

48. In central England, the National Trust is tempting families with crabbing at Brancaster, and bird watching in Dunwich. Or take in the views at Wenlock Edge and see Shrewsbury's last remaining watch tower.

49. In the south of England, children go free at Waddesdon Manor, a French-style chateau in the Buckinghamshire countryside. Learn about the space race at the Needles' New Battery on the Isle of Wight or learn about the Magna Carta at Runnymede.

50. In Northern Ireland, scale the highest peak at Slieve Donard, or go wildlife spotting in the Murlough Nature Reserve. In Wales, become a Roman centurion at Segontium or uncover the secrets of smugglers at Port Eynon.

And what you have to pay for

Summer camps They may not be cheap, but activity day camps can offer a vital childcare solution for many working parents worried about how they are going to manage the long school holiday.

They tend to be run by private companies or charities, typically cater for children aged between four to 16, and are usually based at schools and colleges. Some offer a wide range of things to do; others concentrate on a sport or activity such as football or tennis.

One of the biggest operators is Super Camps, which has 67 venues around the country, from Manchester to Cornwall. You can expect to pay around �154-�164 for a week (five days) at a multi-activity day camp.

Another of the biggies, King's Camps, has around 40 venues, from Bath to Aberdeen, with a concentration in the north of England and the Midlands. For a "standard hours" five-day week this summer, you might typically be looking at around �132-�135 (a few venues are cheaper ? for example, at the Leys School in Cambridge, a week currently costs �102.60). King's Camps is part of the King's Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to developing children and young people through sport.

Barracudas has 24 locations offering summer camps, predominantly in the Greater London area, the south-east and East Anglia ? they include Barnet, Brighton, Chelmsford, Sevenoaks, Twickenham and Welwyn Garden City. The typical weekly price is �134.

Camp Beaumont is another leading day camp operator in the south-east, with 11 summer locations in London and the home counties. A week typically costs �227-�235.

In all the above cases, these are usually the full brochure prices. Ask about special offers and deals such as introductory/early booking/online booking/buy one get one free and corporate discounts.

Cheap getaways The Youth Hostel Association is offering family rooms during the summer holidays in a number of its locations for just �29 per night.

The rooms, which sleep up to six people in bunk beds, have to be booked before 30 June, and you have to arrive in your chosen hostel between 22 July and 25 August 2011 ? which is bang in time for the school summer holidays.

Unlike lots of cheap-stay offers from hotel chains, the special offer hostels are in locations in which you would actually want to spend a few days. Seaside destinations include Salcombe (pictured), Tintagel, and Scarborough. Walkers and scenery lovers could head to the Lake District staying at hostels including Helvellyn or Derwentwater. Theatre fiends could stay at Stratford upon Avon ? there are over 40 to choose from, all over England and Wales.

The accommodation is basic but the advantage it has is you can choose to self-cater in the kitchens provided ? saving a fortune on eating costs. Children love it, as they tend to meet others the same age. Often there is great walking or a beach within walking distance.

Plenty of hostels are linked by public transport, and at �29 a night it's the same price as camping.

You will need to join the YHA or pay a nightly premium; family membership costs �23 a year.

You can book this summer scorcher online using promotional code SIZZLER-001. Alternatively, call the YHA on 01629 592700. Don't delay, because the rooms are expected to sell out fast.

? This article was amended on 13 June 2011. The original included the National Football Museum in Preston as an example of a museum which is outside the capital and free to enter. This museum is currently closed to the public, and is expected to open in Manchester's Urbis building in early 2012. This article also said that Trafalgar Square will see the first-ever screening of the Tate Movie Project. This has been corrected.

• Saving money
• Family finances
• Consumer affairs
• Festivals
• Museums
• Day trips
• Family holidays

Patrick Collinson

Rupert Jones

Rebecca Smithers

Jill Papworth

Miles Brignall

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jun/11/50-family-freebies-summer-holidays

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Radio review: Aung San Suu Kyi's Reith Lecture

In her somehow still serene voice, San Suu Kyi set an example of conviction that was humbling to hear

There were many poignant moments in Aung San Suu Kyi's first Reith Lecture (Radio 4), but one of the most powerful things about it was that as she spoke eloquently about freedom, you remembered that these lectures had to be smuggled out of Burma.

So it was a Reith Lecture without a lecturer present in front of an audience. This didn't matter to those of us listening on the radio and in fact echoed the role radio played for San Suu Kyi (right) in her years of incarceration. "When I was officially un-free," she said at the beginning of her lecture, "it was the BBC that spoke to me."

It was by any standards a great Reith Lecture, and the most moving I can recall. In her somehow still serene voice, San Suu Kyi quoted from the literature of resistance and political prisoners, compared Burma to the Arab Spring ("Yes, we do envy them their quick and peaceful transitions," she said of Tunisia and Egypt) and set an example of conviction that was humbling to hear. "We learned to be free," she said, meaning that the mind can never be imprisoned.

To coincide with her lectures, the BBC has made available transcripts and audio of Reith Lectures from 1948-2010. Exploring these, and hearing the first 2011 lecture, are both luxurious freedoms to cherish.

• Aung San Suu Kyi
• Radio
• Burma

Elisabeth Mahoney

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/jun/28/aung-san-suu-kyi-reith-lecture

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What to say about ... Kevin Spacey in Richard III

Spacey commands the stage ? and a big screen ? in Sam Mendes's Richard III. But it's all too much for some critics

With his talent for camp villainy, Kevin Spacey really couldn't find a role in Shakespeare better suited to him than Richard III. Or that, anyway, seems to be the consensus. "I'd always felt," Sam Mendes said recently "that he was born to play this part." And now, in this production which concludes the current cycle of the Bridge Project, Mendes has given Spacey the chance to prove it. With one exception, which we'll come to, the critics like what they see.

According to the Telegraph's Charles Spencer, Spacey turns in "an often electrifying performance which brilliantly identifies the two forces that drive the 'poisonous, bunch-backed toad' ? heartless ambition and a profound self-loathing." Ditto, says Michael Billington. "Spacey doesn't radically overthrow the Olivier concept of Richard the satanic joker," he explains. "What he offers us is his own subtle variations on it: a Richard in whom instinctive comic brio is matched by a power-lust born of intense self-hatred."

In the Independent, Paul Taylor paints a more detailed picture. "There have, it's true, been more creepily charismatic and more unnerving portrayals," he says. "But Spacey's performance combines instinctive, stage-commanding authority with lovely, droll touches of drop-dead understatement. There are times when this Richard seems like a satanic second cousin of Vincent Price, with his little mocking tosses of the eyebrows, flouncily dismissive flaps of the hand, archly subversive pauses ..."

On theartsdesk.com, James Woodall is in a concurring mood, though he too would like a bit more peril with his prancing. "Is he dangerous enough?" he asks of Spacey's Richard. "In a revealing moment in a programme Q&A, Spacey says he's 'stopped drinking, smoking, everything to dedicate [himself] to this character'. I rather wish he hadn't. If there's anything missing from his performance, it's decadence, a whiff of sweaty corruption and moral disintegration."

Overall, however, these are very good notices, which also scatter quite a bit of praise on Annabel Scholey's Lady Anne and Haydn Gwynne's Queen Elizabeth, as well as Mendes's grandiloquent staging. "The moment I shall cherish," Billington says, "is that of Richard newly enthroned at the start of the second act. Spacey's eyes express the momentary exultation of power only to move in a second to a restless insecurity."

Interestingly, however, this is precisely the moment that embodies what is wrong with the production, in the eyes of its one sceptic. Quentin Letts ? for it is he ? does like the showmanship evinced by Mendes (though he could have used less drumming). Yet in the end, he says, "I found myself wondering if Mr Spacey's self-esteem was an obstruction," citing "a surfeit of sarcasm and campness". Needless to say, while Letts wondered this, the giant close-up of the movies star only made things worse. "There's just a big screen full of Spacey," he protests in his review. "Too much." Note to ticket-buyers, perhaps: sit further away.

Do say: Spacey gives an authoritative account of the self-loathing in which villainy gestates.

Don't say: A bit like Alan Rickman in Die Hard.

The reviews reviewed: A lot of Spacey for your money.

• Theatre
• Kevin Spacey
• Sam Mendes
• William Shakespeare

Leo Benedictus

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/jun/30/kevin-spacey-richard-iii

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Nottingham Forest offer McGoldrick in bid to get Bristol City's Maynard

? Maynard cost �2.25m when he joined City in 2008
? Bristol club reluctant to lose their 24-year-old striker

Nottingham Forest are prepared to offer the forward David McGoldrick as a makeweight to help secure the signing of Nicky Maynard from Bristol City.

Steve McClaren, the Forest manager, has confirmed his interest in signing Maynard, who cost �2.25m when he joined City from Crewe Alexandra in 2008.

City are reluctant to lose the 24-year-old striker, who has also attracted interest from Leicester and West Ham, but Forest hope that offering McGoldrick as part of the deal will help to push the transfer through.

• Transfer window
• Nottingham Forest
• Bristol City

Stuart James

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jun/29/nottingham-forest-mcgoldrick-bristol-city-maynard

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Single-tier state pension 'will benefit poorer retirees'

Government proposal to scrap the state second pension and implement a single payment would redistribute money from higher-earning pensioners to lower earners

State pension reform proposals for a flat rate single-tier pension could redistribute income from 5 million of the higher earning pensioners to 7 million of the poorest, according to independent research.

One of the options proposed by the government in its green paper A State Pension for the 21st Century is to scrap the state second pension (S2P), which provides an additional payment on top of the basic state pension for employees. Instead, a single state pension payment the equivalent of �140 a week in today's earnings terms would be paid to people reaching state pension age from 2016 onwards.

Analysis by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) found that such a move would be cost neutral to the government and would result in those on moderate salaries of �25,000 and above, who qualified for the S2P for more than 30 years, getting a lower total state pension than under the existing system.

About 5.2 million pensioners would lose an average of �18 a week by 2034 in today's earnings terms. But women and carers, particularly those who have taken time out of the labour market before 2002 or who have had very low earnings, the self-employed (who do not benefit from S2P) and those on job seeker's allowance would benefit, gaining an average of �23 a week by 2034 in today's earnings terms.

Pensioners who continue claiming the state pension well into old age could also benefit from a more generous rate of annual increase to pension payments.

PPI director Niki Cleal said: "The introduction of a single-tier state pension as proposed by the government of around �140 a week could be broadly cost neutral, but would lead to winners and losers.

"A single-tier pension is likely to be beneficial for some women, carers and some low earners who tend not to qualify for a high amount of state pension in the current system. The self-employed may also benefit, although they may have to pay higher national insurance contributions in the future."

A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "We are pleased that the PPI has found that these plans would make the state pension fairer for women, the self-employed and lower earners, and benefit 7 million people without requiring any extra spending.

"A single-tier pension would provide people with clear incentives to save and certainty and clarity over what their state pension will be worth when they retire. We're clear that anything contributed under the current system would be honoured."

The PPI said the reform would dramatically reduce the number of pensioners reliant on means-tested benefits. The proportion of pensioner households eligible to claim pension credit could fall from 35%, or 4.4 million pensioners, to only 5% (0.8 million pensioners) by 2055.

However, the single-tier state pension would only be paid to those retiring after its implementation, meaning a whole generation of people who have already reached state pension age could be left worse off.

End of contracting out

Cleal also warned that the single-tier option would mean the end of "contracting out", where money contributed through tax to the S2P is transferred into a pension fund of the employee's choice. Defined benefit or final-salary schemes benefit from about �5bn of this money each year.

Cleal said: "The single-tier pension could place additional burdens on employers and employees in defined benefit schemes in both the public and private sectors, as national insurance contributions would increase. The final impact on private pension scheme members would depend on how employers reacted to the government's state pension reforms."

The green paper includes a second option, which involves accelerating the pace of existing state pension reforms so that the state pension is a flat rate, but keeping the S2P element, by 2020 instead of by 2030 as currently planned. The PPI has concluded that this option could save the government �0.6bn a year by 2055, less than 0.1% of GDP.

But this change would not benefit any pensioners, and about 5.3 million would be about 50p a week worse off in today's money by 2034, increasing to 6.7 million pensions losing an average of �1.50 a week by 2055. But this option would enable pension savers to "contract out".

Joanne Segars, chief executive of the National Association of Pension Funds, which commissioned the research, said: "A simpler, more generous state pension is a win-win that could lift millions out of poverty without hitting the taxpayer's pocket. Those who are disadvantaged by the current system, like women and the self-employed, will be better off.

"A revamped state pension would enable everyone to see that there is a clear foundation for their retirement, and that it pays to save. They can then build on this through their own pension and savings."

However the NAPF is calling on the government to give pension schemes five years' breathing space to prepare for the end of contracting out and to provide greater support for workplace pensions instead.

• State pensions
• Pensions
• Retirement planning
• Family finances

Jill Insley

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jun/28/state-pensions-pensions

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Wimbledon 2011: Andy Murray untroubled as Big Four reduces to three | Kevin Mitchell

The British No1 is in the mood and form to win the title but Roger Federer's defeat has added to evidence of the great man's decline

Andy Murray is in the mood and the form to win Wimbledon. He has the small matter of beating the defending champion Rafael Nadal on Friday to reach the final, but he is playing without fear and walks now with a winner's serenity.

On the day when one of his main rivals fell and two others had to fight hard to stay in the tournament, Murray came as close as is possible in this maddening game to playing the perfect match and left the dangerous Spanish left-hander Feliciano L�pez in a heap on Centre Court, with the faithful rising to cheer the Scot.

He won in straight sets in a minute beyond two hours and in front of an audience that had only just recovered from the shock of witnessing Roger Federer lose to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five compelling sets that added to the evidence of the great man's gradual decline. He has now gone 18 months without winning a grand slam tournament and turns 30 in August. Time waits not even for legends.

While Murray was heading for precautionary treatment on a groin strain he picked up in mid-lob at the start of the third set, Nadal was still putting the finishing touches to a four-set win over the 29-year-old No10 seed Mardy Fish, now the US's best player, on Court One. It was on that court that Novak Djokovic, who came to Wimbledon with a single defeat in six months, had earlier struggled to beat the inventive and exciting Australian teenager Bernard Tomic.

So, on a day of shock and awe, of rising and falling form, Murray was the only one of the big four to come through virtually unbothered. He beat L�pez 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and, for the third year in a row, goes through to the semi-finals, where he meets Nadal. It will be Murray's seventh grand slam semi-final ? three of them led to finals ? more than any other British player in the open era.

Nadal said the foot injury that had looked so serious two days earlier was "fine", and Murray reckoned his niggle was a minor one, too. With a passing injury each, then, they start on level terms in their semi-final ? Djokovic is no certainty to beat Tsonga, by the way.

As to who will be the favourite Nadal, reaching for his 11th grand slam tournament to bring him within five of Federer, will get the nod of the bookmakers but punters looking for even a slight edge may like to gamble on Murray because he is putting together a run that is as good as any in his career at a big tournament.

Of the grand slams in which he has reached the final ? the US Open in 2008 and for the past two years in Australia ? Murray has compiled wins en route to suggest he had a genuine chance; there are no flukes in tournaments that last two weeks and demand seven straight victories. Here it has been a similar progression but perhaps of even higher quality, certainly on a par with his form at Melbourne in 2010, before he collapsed in front of Federer's genius.

As we saw in the Swiss's loss to Tsonga ? close but, at the end, conclusive ? the aura has gone, whatever his protestations to the contrary, and the time is right for a contender to fill the void. If Murray plays with the cool precision that he showed against L�pez, he has a wonderful chance against his second Spanish left-hander in three days, albeit one 43 places higher in the world rankings and still officially the best player in the world.

It was tough to pick holes in Murray's tennis against L�pez. As Nadal is gracious enough to say, when Murray is in a groove he bears comparison with anyone.

The statistics alone from this quarter-final, his fourth in succession at the tournament, are impressive: he dropped only seven points on his serve and was not taken to deuce until the 21st game. Three of his 13 aces were the last three shots of the match as L�pez, no slouch as a server himself, could only stand and gape.

They began in near-silence, hitting decorously to match the mood, before pace and fire quickened in the first set. L�pez hit his 101st ace of the championships in his opening service game to lend the impression that he was going to fully test Murray's renowned return of serve. It did not work out quite that way.

Every department of Murray's game that L�pez tried to crack held firm but most impressive, perhaps, was his serving. It kept the 29-year-old Spaniard guessing throughout and held him firmly at the back of the court when he was clearly itching to come to the net.

Murray broke him in the sixth game, when L�pez betrayed a total lack of focus with the laziest of attempted drop shots and the set was gone in 41 minutes.

The second and third were carbon copies of the first and with the exception of some delightful exchanges when both players indulged themselves in exquisite touch tennis, Murray ruled without fuss.

His only anxious moment arrived when he was leading 4-3 in the third and was taken to deuce. That mini-crisis passed and he left court to a huge ovation ? even from his mother, Judy, whose admiration for his opponent, "Deliciano", had become the running joke of the fortnight. There is no room for levity now, though.

• Andy Murray
• Wimbledon 2011
• Wimbledon
• Tennis
• Roger Federer
• Rafael Nadal

Kevin Mitchell

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/jun/29/andy-murray-roger-federer-wimbledon

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