Picture Yourself There

Museum of Broken Relationships

They say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and at the Museum of Broken Relationships in East Berlin you’ll find supporting evidence of this from some pretty furious women. Take the axe, for example, that one woman used to smash up her ex-partner’s furniture, proudly displayed alongside the items she destroyed.

Not your traditional tribute to love, then. But the museum aims to channel the emotions ordinarily expressed when a relationship breaks down, and turn them into something creative. Love notes, engagement rings and even a wedding dress are on display. So you can either visit and appreciate the catharsis that can come from giving away such painful memoirs – or, you can go a think how lucky you (and your exes) are that you’re not quite so bonkers.

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Ochi Day, Greece

You know our motto at Picture Yourself There: every day’s a school day. And you can prepare for something of a history lesson this morning as we give you the lowdown on Ochi Day, a national holiday for Greece which falls on 27th October. On this day in 1940, the Greek dictator Metaxas was issued an ultimatum from Mussolini’s ambassadors which threatened war unless Italian troops were allowed to occupy areas of Greek territory. Metaxas delivered his response, ‘ochi’: ‘no’.

Well, so says the urban legend, anyway. To be fair, it was supposedly 4am when all this was going on, so he probably wasn’t feeling all that talkative at the time (who is before a coffee and a bagel?). Student parades take place to this day (is there any occasion students won’t commemorate with a march?), with the boulevards of Athens grinding to a halt as the people celebrate. Take a trip to Syntagma square to join in the fun.

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Turner Prize - A restrospective

It’s a little bit like that crazy auntie of yours who comes round every Christmas, wearing stripy stockings and shouting over the Queen’s speech: perennially controversial and a touch abrasive, but nothing less than an institution. The Turner Prize, the one event in the art world guaranteed to get everyone talking, is looking back at its 23-year history this month, with an exhibition of the best (and worst) entries since the competition began.

So, you can take another look at Damien Hirst’s famous ‘Mother and Child, Divided’ (or, more prosaically, the one with the cow in formaldehyde). Likewise, Tracey Emin’s ‘My Bed’ is on show, a work that will undoubtedly provoke thoughts either on a) our own private insecurities and imperfections, or b) the fact that, compared to this one, our own bedrooms really are quite tidy.

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Festival of Creativity, Florence

If you’re one of those people who sat down in front of Blue Peter every week, pasta shells and sticky-backed plastic in hand, you’ll be interested to know that on 25th October, the Festival of Creativity will be taking place in Florence. You can probably leave that washing up bottle behind (even though you’ve emptied it specially), but we’re sure you’ll enjoy it very much anyway.

Held at the Fortezza da Basso, with an exhibition space of more than 40,000 square metres, artists, speakers and musicians will be coming from around the world to celebrate the most exciting bits of modern art and culture.

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The Big Draw

Every young(ish) British adult will recall brilliant 1980s children’s art show, Hart Beat, featuring the one and only Tony Hart. One may also recall watching the screen avidly as the end credits rolled, looking out for that prized drawing that you sent in. The Gallery as this part of the show was called, did sometimes show pretty good stuff, but let’s be honest: usually it was bad or even downright terrible. This may come across as a little harsh, but it may be that this is often a good thing these days… (how exactly was an unmade dirty bed short listed for the Turner prize?)

In any case, now is your chance to make amends for that dodgy painting of a red squirrel. Practise makes perfect, better late than never and all that; this month, The Big Draw, gives you the chance to showcase your (hidden?) talent. Next weekend, Covent Garden is hosting its own, local event so why not join well known faces like Posy Simmonds and Gerald Scarfe and get drawing. Apparently, there are opportunities to experiment with charcoal, sand, clay, digital imagery, choreographed movement, vapour trails (?) and fire. We’ll stick to the crayons thanks very much…

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Labour Party Conference, Bournemouth

It’s party time again. Hang on, put your glowstick down – we’re not talking about that kind of party. We’re talking about the political party conferences about to begin across the country, beginning with Labour’s event in Bournemouth on 23rd September. Alright then, take the glowstick if you want to, but I’m telling you they won’t take you seriously.

This year, Prime Minister Gordon Brown will be looking to finally exorcise the memory of Tony Blair – he’s so eager to get his point across that he’ll be making his speech on Monday rather than waiting until Tuesday as tradition would dictate. With the polls currently looking good for Labour, Mr Brown will be hoping to maintain the positive mood throughout the five-day conference.

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Seattle Museum of the Mysteries

Put the Fender down – rock and roll is officially bad for your health. This week, a team of doctors from Liverpool John Moores University revealed that, from a group of 1,064 famous musicians, almost twice as many had met an untimely end as would be expected from an average group of the same age. We’re not sure whether your choice of instrument affects how dangerous music is as a hobby, but we’re assuming you’ll be more at risk of living fast and dying young if you’re an axe-wielding, crowd surfing mosher than if you’re a dab hand at the triangle.

Musicians who have become icons following their deaths at a young age of course include rock legends Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix, figures who live on in the memories of their millions of fans. And, so it's said, at the Seattle Museum of Mysteries, where their soulful spirits have found a suitable haunting place. Visitors with an interest in the macabre can take a tour of various burial places and haunted sites thanks to Washington State’s only paranormal science museum. Not, we think, for the faint-hearted…

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First Female Beefeater at the Tower of London

You probably wouldn’t expect to see a Beefeater guarding the Tower of London while wearing a fetching shade of coral lipstick. But as of this week, it won’t be such a rare sight anymore – Moira Cameron, from Argyll in Scotland, is the first woman ever to take up the prestigious post after serving in the Army for 22 years.

While we’re in no doubt whatsoever that Moira will be every bit as competent as her male colleagues, we had to laugh when we heard her confession that she does keep a little stash of lip gloss in her official tunic. As long as it doesn’t catch on with the rest of the Beefeaters, we reckon that’s fair enough.

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Portsmouth Dockyard 800th anniversary

According to the song, Britannia rules the waves – and while that might not be strictly true nowadays (if it was, Richard Branson would probably be Lord Admiral), there was a time that the English Navy was the most respected on the high seas. Portsmouth dockyard, one of the most famous in the world, will soon be acknowledging 800 years of shipbuilding for the navy and will be celebrating with an interactive historical show over Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th. Hopefully minus the traditional rats and scurvy.

With so much history and so little time, it’ll be a race to cram everything into just two days (think not so much Goodnight Sweetheart, more Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure). From watching Tudor food being cooked in a replica galley of the Mary Rose, you can take part in interactive displays about Horatio Nelson’s dramatic victories and also the Battle of Britain.

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Terracotta Army

Some people have very strong beliefs and superstitions. Whether it’s just walking around the ladder rather than under it, or a dedicated attendance at church every Sunday (or, alternatively, tuning into BB every night), many of us invest time and effort in what we believe to be true and important. Few of us, however, go so far as China’s First Emperor Qin Shihuang, who - preparing for immortality - ordered the construction of 1,000 terracotta soldiers to serve him in the afterlife. Not to mention the horses, grooms and chariots that were also discovered in his tomb in 1974.

And there was me thinking that I pack too much when I go on a trip. The famous Terracotta Army is one of the most incredible sights on earth, commonly described as the Eighth Wonder of the World – and you’ll be able to catch these ancient warriors in all their glory when they come to the British Museum in London. But why not go and see them at their burial place in all their glory?

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