journalist & writer
By Sara Valle Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced that London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) will cover whole of Greater London from 29 August 2023. Drivers will face a daily fee of £12.50 for using London’s roads from next year, as part of the mayor’s attempt to clean up the city’s toxic air and tackle the climate emergency. …
By Sara Valle, Lauren Spencer and Gabriela Yorgova Breweries might have to serve warm beer amid blackout warnings from the National Grid’s chief executive, and Holloway hospitality businesses are worried they might have to close down. John Pettigrew said earlier this month Britain could be affected by the winter blackouts from 4pm to 7pm during …
Continue reading "Warm beer? Industry workers speak out amid economic crisis"
By Sara Valle The Scottish boy with an Italian name is back! After eight years of radio silence, Paolo Nutini announced he would be part of the line-up for different UK festivals like TRSNMT in Scotland and the legendary Knebworth, then he announced extra dates in Spain, Italy, France… And just a few days after a series of intimate shows was booked, …
Continue reading "Paolo Nutini: Nothing bittersweet about the singer-songwriter’s return"
By Sara Valle-MartÃnez Being a fan is hard. As Caitlin Moran puts it in her book, How To Be Famous, there’s something incredibly intimate about consuming someone else’s art. And the connection is even stronger when you’re a teenager exposed to any kind of stimuli. It’s especially hard if you’re a girl. Inevitably, being a teenager means feeling …
By Sara Valle-MartÃnez (top image courtesy of Deva Fernández) Back in the beginning of 2010, people moved from MySpace to Tumblr, a social media platform in the form of a blog that allowed users to post and reblog photos and texts of all kinds. With the death of MySpace, emo kids were left with nowhere to showcase their music …
By Sara Valle There are over nine million immigrants living in the United Kingdom according to a 2019 study by The Migration Observatory. This means 14% of the population could be experiencing what is known as “migratory grief". The British Psychological Society says there are two types of loss: the physical one, which would refer to a …
By Sara Valle The Musicians’ Union defines busking as part of many musicians’ lives, and says that for many, it can be a lifelong career. But this type of art is threatened by those who wrongfully see it as begging. Last year, it was threatened even further by a global pandemic that required everyone to stay at home. In …
Continue reading "Busking and Covid: quiet streets and unsung voices"
By Sara Valle Caroline Polachek sold out two nights in a row in London on her come back to England after the lockdown. Caroline Polachek @ Roundhouse (London) 28/10/2021. Photo by Sara Valle-MartÃnez. On the 12th of March 2020 Caroline Polachek played in London’s gay bar Heaven. People joked that she ‘opened the gates of …
Continue reading "Caroline Polachek @ Roundhouse (London) – full article"
Sara Valle 