Shauna Taylor shares some of her favourite architectural sights from Shanghai.

It was Ernest Dimnet who once said that “Architecture, of all arts, is the one which acts the most slowly, but the most surely, on the soul”. Had it been only a few years ago, before moving to Shanghai to conduct my studies in a purely scientific field, I would never have given these words much more than an indifferent glance before quickly disregarding what I’ve come to realize was its truly powerful significance.

Having hailed from the tropical paradise of Jamaica where my admiration for Mother Nature and her lush, radiant greenery had always taken precedence over the monotony of concrete structures. I once firmly considered architecture as merely being a necessary means to a developing economy’s end and would never have likened it to the creative expressions associated with ‘real’ art. Yet Shanghai, with its dynamic array of flamboyant edifices scraping the skies into a modern tomorrow, seemed to have captivated my very being, allowing me to see architecture as an intricate way of molding the fine elements of Mother Nature herself into towering works of art. Over time it became official that this slow conversion in perspective had surely made its impact on my soul.

With its race ahead to dazzle the world as being one of the most futuristic cities of the eastern hemisphere, Shanghai has quickly built for itself a universal playground of imaginative thinkers that continue to test the reigns of bold architectural genius upon its very grounds. Such changes are truly a far cry from the image most of the world has held of this amazing country for many years. Five years ago I for one would have quickly painted an image of cobbled streets narrowly aligned with pagoda-shaped buildings on either side with large sculptures of dragons and lions adorning most of their city structures. And yet, although a number of these designs are still present throughout the city and in many other areas of China, still it is clear that it has embraced an architecture that not only demonstrates an openness to the outside world but a creative manifestation of globalization carved into glass and stone. With its rapidly changing image one can only imagine what ten years down the road will dare expect from this amazing city:

Above: Shanghai World Financial Center (492m – 1614ft, 101 storeys).

Currently holding the world’s highest observation deck.

Lujiazui, Pudong District, Shanghai.

Above: Shanghai Oriental Art Center used as a Concert Hall and Performances. It covers an area of 40,000 square meter and is linked by curved glass walls from base to top and the shape gives the effect of changing as you move around it. Pudong, Shanghai, China (PRC).

Above: 'The Sundial', located on Century Avenue which has the only street sculpture themed as ‘time’ in the world. Pudong, Shanghai, China (PRC).

Above: Sections of the Yuyuan (or Yu gardens) in daytime showing traditional architectural designs within the heart of the city.

Above: The Yuyuan Gardens at night.

Above: Scene from People’s Square at dusk. Shanghai, China (PRC).

Above: Scene from the Bund overlooking Pudong and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai, China (PRC).

Above: Sky-scrapers in Pudong.

Above: The Jin Mao tower and the World Financial Center from a distance.

Above: “Another day, another skyscraper”. Construction workers heading home from a long day’s work. Pudong Business District, Shanghai, China (PRC)

Supermarket Sheep

Please go to cashier twelve. Beep. Beep. Unexpected item in bagging area. Beep. Please wait for assistance. Beep.

Baa! Baa!

Not so long ago, while mindlessly queuing for the next instruction from a haughty digitised voice, herded through the snaking cordons like a lamb to the slaughter, I had a moment of clarity; “What in Heaven's name am I doing here? Why am I treating food shopping as a chore? How has it come to this?”

Call me old fashioned if you will, but of all the things I want for my life, none of them is staring into space while kicking a basket forwards in increments of 6 inches, surrounded by beep beep beep and whining children. Listen to those kids people, they're screaming to get out; they know.

Now I'm not against supermarkets per se, in fact I still often succumb to their glitzy charms, particularly if I've had a busy week, but I've taken a conscious decision to inject some enjoyment into food shopping, and that enjoyment comes from going to local shops.

The real inspiration came one Sunday morning while out on my bike near Victoria Park, in London's East End. Cycling down Lauriston Road, in general admiration at its surprising prettiness, I spied an animated group of people on the pavement, outside what turned out to be the local butcher. Teeming with customers - queuing, laughing, rabbiting - it was a scene of neighbourly delight, and I wanted a part of it.

Suddenly open to the possibility of a local store, I'm noticing greengrocers, fruit & veg stalls, butchers and fishmongers wherever I go; not so rare it turns out as we've been led to believe; open your eyes and you shall see. Find them, look them up, support your neighbourhood business. For me, what opened my eyes was getting back in the saddle. I began to explore; what if I turn left here? That parade of shops looks interesting down there. This sort of behaviour simply doesn't happen in a car; you can't just stop in the middle of the road and eye up hanging pigs.

"But what if I don't have the time?" you cry. Well, be creative. If you've honestly, truly, really not got time at the weekend, why not grab 5 minutes in your lunch break and pop into the butcher. Even if only for some sausages. Just once. And see the difference. Real interaction with a local person who really knows their onions, or bacons, or fishes. You won't get that from Shanice on the checkout.

And time? Well are supermarkets really that time efficient? This weekend I cooked dinner for eight. Two chickens, some veg, berries & cream for dessert, some oil, some mustard. Oh yes, and March of the Penguins on DVD. £30 all in. But how on earth does this take an hour and a half to buy? I'll tell you how; by going to a store where the food is spread out across an area the size of two football pitches, in a windowless arena where time and space are at once banished to the world outside.

"Oh but I've got a system" you boast. "How dreary", I retort. How absolutely, miserably, monumentally dull, to relegate one of life's most unerring delights to a soulless efficiency drive. Boo hiss to your system. And two fingers up at it an' all. We're hunter gatherers people, not drones. And we've been hunter-gatherers for thousands of years. So hunt. And gather. And delight in the world and smells and people of food.

Supermarkets? They're just a phrase we're going through.

Everybody wants to be a pop star. Everybody wants to escape the day job for the red carpet, being interviewed alongside mates like Amy, Christina, Noel and Liam.

That’s the celebrity lifestyle (so they tell us) but behind every celebrity there are a group of wannabes called songwriters and producers. At best these people are excellent craftsmen/women with a nerdish eye for emotion and detail who often also play a mean game of pool.

Would’nt it just be great to be one of those people? You may be over 30 (and can forget about pop stardom) but hey, you’ll get to hang out with the stars and if you’re lucky you may even get paid.

So what does it actually take to be a songwriter? As a music producer it’s a question I often get asked by wannabe songwriters and my answer is simple:

1) You write a great song

2) You find a publisher or an artist who likes your song

3) The publisher places your song with a famous singer

4) You get paid.

It’s simple yet complex, especially if you start at stage 4. But let’s for fun look at stage 1 ‘writing a great song’. Assuming we’re talking pop music, a song generally has a short intro, a verse, a bridge, a chorus, verse2, bridge2, chorus 2 and then……….a mid 8 which is that part in the middle of the song where you sort of change chords and sing something like ‘DON’T YOU SEEEEE BABYYY’ or ‘I’VE BEEN MISSSINGGGGGGGGG YOUUUUUUU’……..you get the drift, and then a final chorus. Ideally each verse and chorus has the same amount of bars and we’re not talking ‘all bar one’ here.

If you can follow these simple guide lines then you’re well on your way to the Ivor Novellos. Strangely enough I’ve found a lot of writers find it difficult to follow these simple rules but that’s another story.

Now that you’ve got a structure you need to fill it with notes and words. Close your eyes, let your imagination go, write about the lover who dumped you 5 years ago for your best friend. Really let your feelings take over, say it in a new way but in a way where you come out on top the land where hope lives (remember we’re talking pop music here, not Bob Dylan). Notice that on most hit songs the melody tends to go up on the chorus. If the chorus could speak it would say ‘yesssss’ or ‘hallelujah’, this is the part that gives people hope and also the part that gets you paid so really work it until you’ve got the best combination of notes and rhythm.

You also need a strong lyric and by strong I don’t mean Shakespeare just something that says it all and something which isn't too clichéd. If in doubt copy someone else’s song and move the words around a little.

O.k so now you’ve got a structure and a melody otherwise known as a song. It exists, but only in your head and beautiful as it may be it is now time to marry reality with imagination. This point can be difficult for artists and if it is you may need someone to hold you to it. Somehow you need to find a producer and a singer who can help you record your song. Producers come in several varieties, the enthusiastic school leaver who dreams of being the next Timbaland and the more seasoned spectacle wearing nerd who has been through the system and come through it alive. So there you have it. I know who I would choose but I’ll leave that decision to you. Session singers are easy enough to find. If you have a cheque you’ll also have a singer, in that field the world is your oyster, enjoy!

If you’ve come this far it time for a few words of wisdom. As the old saying goes, ‘you can’t polish a t**d’ and this in my experience holds a great deal of truth when it comes to music. Even the best producer in the world cannot turn a poorly written song into something workable. I am not talking about songs like ‘Aga doo doo doo’ which we may not like but they do actually work. I am talking about songs that don’t work, so for your song to build like a hit record you’ll need to ask yourself: ‘does the melody build? Are there enough hooks?

After you’ve recorded your song it’s time to put on your sales cap (don’t turn it the hip hop way, only works in America).

Let’s sum it up: you are, (in the eyes of the music biz) a novice songwriter, so what can you expect from the business?

If you’re lucky Warners will knock on your door with a suitcase full of money and you live happily ever after and while you should try all options it may be worth pitching a little lower. Say you go to a songwriter event and you meet a fellow songwriter. He listens to your demo, likes it and the two of you start a songwriting partnership. You write about 20 songs over the next 2 years, most of them second rate but song number 19 happens to catch the ear of a local promoter whose aunt is married to a shrink who councils a recovering addict A&R man from from one of the major labels. He loooooooves your song and wants to put it on an album by a couple of spotty upstarts he’s just signed.

It looks promising and you can’t believe it when you wake up one morning and you hear your song on the breakfast show. It sounds a little different, it’s seems they’ve changed the chord structure a tad and in the middle there's a kid rapping over your carefully crafted melody. Just think of the money.

"It’s a smash!" shouts the DJ, "The best track to come out of Britain since the Beatles!" (o.k maybe I am getting carried away here but it’s important to dream). Bottom line, you’ve done it, no more dayjobs, no more being pushed around by ‘THE MAN', you can sit back and have a cigar for 5 mins. But wait……. You’re only as good as your last hit and the tide is turning……….artists are beginning to write their own material and if you don’t get on the bandwagon quick it may be too late. And you already know that your newfound fame is no longer enough, it needs to be bigger and better.

START WRITING NOW!

I was lucky enough to attend a raw food event at the Streatham Food Festival earlier this year and learned some new recipes. This is one I experimented with and adapted with with help of a friend, Marinella, who I discovered used to make desserts in a vegan restaurant. She helped me make it look pretty. Who would have thought a vegan dessert could taste so good?

To make the nut base:

Take a good handful of nuts: brazil, almond, cashew. Put in blender with cardomon seeds (from 2 pods), a dash of maca powder (not essential - can get from any health food shop), to make a granular powder. Mash together with a teaspoon of tahini, a splash of water and a teaspoon of coconut oil until its all evenly mashed together. You can then shape it into one big base or make small ones in ramekins or baking cups. Refrigerate for a while (at least one hour) to help it set then tip out onto a serving plate. Add the topping about 30 minutes before serving:

The Topping:

One slice of peeled orange and one slice of kiwi fruit (slice thinly), plus half a strawberry on top. Make a slit in the top of the strawberry and add a fresh mint leaf garnish. Then sieve some cinnamon on top of the (to add a bit of drama and a pleasant aroma).

You could also squirt on some fresh cream if you want to break the raw/vegan rules. As someone once said, naughty but nice.

Enjoy!