May 1st 2015

Dear friends,

I would like to introduce you to Zahra and Nikbakh (photos below). These two Afghan women deserve our respect. You can read in their faces the dedication they demonstrate in the face of endless hurdles a deeply patriarchal society throws at them. Some of you helped a year or so ago when you made donations to help these women become teachers. You may remember I ran a couple of marathons to raise some of the funds needed to enable these two women to attend a teacher-training course. 

Mir – the protagonist of my Afghan films – went to a small school in his remote mountainous village and if it was hard for him and the other boys, it was far harder for the young girls. I couldn’t leave without trying to do something for them. It has not been easy organising this and I would never have managed it without the selfless support of Melanie Bradley at Afghan Appeal Fund and my film-maker friend Shoaib Sharifi. It took us time to find two women who were in a position to travel to the northern city of Mazar to receive training and then bring those skills back to Mir’s village. Eventually Shoaib found them: Zahra and Nikbakh. It’s just two individuals but for the young girls now growing up in the village it will be transformational.

Both women have been back from Mazar and in their holidays have begun teaching. Equally good news is that the school has built a new additional block just for girls – giving them more space and facilities. The village as a whole is delighted to have better education for its young girls which is one small demonstration that Afghan culture is not universally anti-women’s schooling. 

To remind you: parents don’t mind their daughters being educated but, as they reach their teenage years, it is culturally unacceptable for young girls to be taught by men. The school needed female teachers. Indeed, every school in Afghanistan needs female teachers. So thank you to those of you who made a donation. If we all do one small positive thing every day, it does make a difference…..

For my part, I had to pull out of the 2015 Brighton marathon as I hurt my Achilles tendon but am now in training already for the 2016 marathon. We continue to fund the teacher training – and would like to do more – so please, any donation helps, just follow the link to my Just Giving site here

It's funny . Folk ask if I was nervous before yesterday's marathon. A bit, it's true. But not as much as being in a cinema waiting for folk to come in. This is an encore performance of Exhibition: Manet and fortunately think it's sold out...but still have butterflies. 

15 April 2013

Two marathons completed in a few days!….The first was Manet. After around 15 months of work, the film was shown in cinemas around the world on Thursday 11^th April.  30 countries, 1000 screens. Fantastic.  The reviews have been supportive and included full pages in the Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Toronto Star, and more.   One or two sniffed that it’s better to go to the exhibition to which I reply: OF COURSE!  We encourage everyone to go to the gallery or any gallery in fact.  But 99.9% of the world’s population couldn’t get to the Royal Academy. It’s a strangely arrogant criticism really, especially from a London-based critic or blogger.  I was at a screening in Brighton and the audience loved the film – and some expressed that they simply could not, for reasons of time, cost and mobility, get to the show.  We don’t yet know the worldwide attendance or reaction but it will take time to build the ‘brand’ and we’re already deep into the next two films – on Munch and Vermeer.  The first of these marathons is over though and we just have to shower ourselves down and crack on with the next.    Actually I took that very literally on Sunday (three days after the Manet screening) when I completed my first ever marathon. I’d trained quite well up until February but March was much less consistent with so much travel and work. Overall, I’d done a lot of 5-10 mile runs but I'd only run 17 miles and 20 miles once each before so this was entering the world of the unknown... It took me Friday and Saturday to prepare my stuff – gels, music, right running gear, etc.  I had to ‘load up on carbs’ which just meant stuffing my face (easily done!) and by 9am on Sunday morning, I was one of 9000+ runners in Brighton’s Preston Park. I wasn’t afraid of the distance but you never know how your body is going to feel.  Anyway, at the gun, it was so packed everything was very slow and crowded but after two or three miles, I got into a nice rhythm. The sun didn’t exactly shine (and the wind certainly blew) but it was lovely running in my lovely city.  I kept to a noticeably slower pace than I run half-marathons and found it OK, indeed fun, for the first 18 miles but then it started to get harder.  With me, it was my calves (which I’d hurt two weeks previously running without a warm-up or proper sleep & nutrition).  From 18 to 22 miles, I could feel they were getting tired. By 22 miles, I was having to grit my teeth and keep my head down. People were cramping up all around me and stopping and I just didn’t want that to happen to me. Luckily I managed to keep running and just beat my target of cracking 4 hours by doing it in 3 hours 58'. It was - as everyone had told me - super fun with all the crowds of Brighton out on the streets, kids handing out jellybabies alongside musical bands and groups of drummers, etc. For me the most genuinely moving thing was the messages of support from friends and acquaintances - as well as the super donations we've had for Mir’s teacher (we're a third of the way towards our target at justgiving/PhilGrabsky).

I genuinely felt I was running for and with friends.  I had to sprint to the finish line to ensure I beat 4 hours and did feel a bit teary as I crossed it.  Physically, I felt pretty good after the race but then jumped in a car to dash to Wembley to see the FA Cup semi-final. I don’t think 90 minutes in a car is recommended as a post-run recovery. We arrived at the stadium 4 minutes before kick-off and despite my son's protestations I thought we should jog to our seat...doh! Running up the many steps, I hurt my knee!  The game though was wonderful and I spent the next 90 minutes jumping up and down and dancing quite a few jigs….  What a special day that was.  And, as you can imagine, today I’m paying for it.  Ouch.  But two ‘marathons’ in a week – thank you to everyone who has helped. If I can do it, you can! 

 

20 March 2013

Ah yes, the glamour of travelling.

Laundry in hotel basements

Starbucks oatmeal

Running between terminals to catch impossible connecting flights

Nothing – I mean nothing – on TV

Hotel windows that can’t be opened

Everyone asking for tips

Having to buy snacks on planes. Credit card only

People who respond by saying ‘Uh-huh’

Baths too small

Beds too big

Breakfast coffee that isn’t

Hidden sales taxes

Slow lifts

Endless emails

Roaming charges. How much??

 On the other hand….wonderful landscapes, many wonderful people, and Afghans would laugh at the above inconveniences….get real, Mr Grabsky.

So... back to the narrative:  Santa Fe, Tucson and LA.   Despite my little moans above, I’ve had a good time in all three. Santa Fe was special – and I am determined to go back next year and really explore the country around it.  My knowledge of New Mexico largely rests on the TV series Breaking Bad (which is great) so it was nice to see for myself the adobe buildings and mountain peaks.  Watch out though… it’s at 7000 feet. I went for a run in the hills and the sun was shining bright… bright on my closely shaven (you mean bald, dad!) head.  Ouch… The screenings went really well too… one of those where there are few pre-sales and one wonders if it’s going to all be a bit lonely and then people just kept turning up. It was a double feature of Mozart & Beethoven so that meant a midnight finish – and folk loved it.  I love those films and I love it when an audience is so enthusiastic after watching them.  I should have gone out for a tequila afterwards but it was back to the hotel, pretty exhausted.  The next day was spent on scripting and emails but I did get another run done which did seem a lot shorter on the way out than the way back…I blame the altitude again.  Despite that night being up against a Live from the Met we had another excellent turn out. Yes, I like Santa Fe and I had the best fajita of my life…by far.

Sunday was a painful flight – one of those that takes you east to go west. Yes, to go to Tucson I had to travel via Dallas.   Tucson was sweltering (and me in my ski jacket from England..) and they tell me this is still cool to them.  A lovely cinema with a very welcoming staff. But a poor turn-out tonight.  One of those nights where I actually lose money.  Maybe it was because it was St Patrick’s Day, or there were two other big classical events on, or who knows why?  That said, I’ll be back.  And those who did come enjoyed the
film and the Q&A and still bought a fair few DVDs… I was put up in a guesthouse which, in the morning light, was essentially plonked right in the middle of a cacti desert….Quite something.

Another plane saw me arrive in LA.  The more I come here and get to know it, the more I like it – but I choose a hotel at the airport for 3 days as I know (rightly as it turned out) I’d be on the computer the whole time – except for a charity screening of The Boy Mir (which was lovely and raised some money towards a female teacher for Mir’s school – check out justgiving).   My other trip was to the Getty to discuss EXHIBITION with them and film projects for 2014/15/16. For those of you who have never been, you have to go. It is quite extraordinary – John Paul Getty may have been obscenely rich but what a legacy he left behind.  Room after room of the most beautiful artworks.  Whatever else you do in LA, make sure you visit it.

Right, that’s enough from me. I have to go to the gym – only 3 and a bit weeks before my first marathon – in the hotel basement (yuk) and then pack for an early flight tomorrow.  Dinner tonight will be a rather tired cheese and lettuce sandwich (x2) and muesli with yoghurt.  Tomorrow I’m getting a steak!

Phil

Sunday 17th of February

A beautiful day in Brighton - clear blue skies, crisp cool air and barely a breeze.  Today was the Brighton half-marathon and thus the first of my three runs to try and raise the funds for a female teacher for Mir's school in remote Northern Afghanistan.  Luckily, despite all the craziness of our Manet film (and other projects) I had found early mornings and late evenings to get some runs & training in so I wasn't too frightened at the prospect of 13.1 miles (unlike my terror of 26.2 miles!) and I filled up on pasta last night and porridge this morning.  Whatever happened, that was going to be burnt off.  Good running shoes help, good running gear helps but most important of all is your music selection...and I'd been working on the perfect running choice.  Sometimes bands like U2 and Oasis are just what you need. Loud.  Anyway, all went well and I finished in a PB (personal best).  I still can't imagine having to do that circuit twice though...but I've got 8 weeks to convince myself and my calfs that I can.   If anyone fancies throwing in a few quid and making the aches and pains worthwhile please visit my justgiving page here.
Image from runbritain.com