Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Another Royal Wedding...........Continued
I see that the Royal Wedding fandango has changed up a gear with the announcement that Harry will be Best Man, the Brides sister will be the Maid of Honour and certain children (I missed who they were) will be Bridesmaids and Page Boys…………..but I still find it impossible to conjure up any enthusiasm for the event.
However……….a Big Fat Royal Wedding…………..now, that would grab my attention.
To see Wills turning up at the Abbey in a Ford Transit, wearing a vest, before changing into a white (with contrasting satin braiding, of course) tux in the back of the van………….and then the Bride clambering out of a shocking pink stretch Hummer before stumbling and staggering up the aisle in a vast, over inflated, internally illuminated meringue of a dress, accompanied by a horde of Bridesmaids dressed as Disney princesses on steroids and Page Boys dressed as Elvis……………….that’s what I call entertainment! I’d pay good money to see that.
The viewing figures would go through the roof and the popularity of the Royal Family would reach unheard of heights but I’m not holding my breath. In reality things will follow the old familiar and very safe, path and I can’t help but think that they’re missing a trick there!
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Chinese New Year 2011
Despite my initial disappointment at finding out that, according to Chinese philosophy, I am a Rabbit, my year has now come around and I am determined to make the most of it. The western year of 2011 has had a very bad start for my family and myself, so perhaps embracing the East will bring better luck.
According to the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, people born in the Year of the Rabbit are articulate, talented, and ambitious. They are virtuous, reserved, and have excellent taste. Rabbit people are admired, trusted, and are often financially lucky. They are fond of gossip but are tactful and generally kind. Rabbit people seldom lose their temper. They are clever at business and being conscientious, never back out of a contract. They would make good gamblers for they have the uncanny gift of choosing the right thing. However, they seldom gamble, as they are conservative and wise. They are most compatible with those born in the years of the Sheep, Pig, and Dog...............I'm not at all sure that I go along with all of that, but am happy to cherry pick the best parts for my own internal CV!
To be really honest, I’m not a believer in these things, eastern or western, but it does no harm to keep an open mind. Just in case!
Although Chinese New Year falls on the 3rd February this year, the celebrations in London will take place on Sunday the 6th. The main event happens in Trafalgar Square but check out Chinatown in the area around Gerrard St, for a more intimate experience.
It just remains to say Kung Hey Fat Choi to all and especially to my fellow Rabbits. Lettuce and carrot juice all round…………No one can say that Rabbits don’t know how to party!
According to the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, people born in the Year of the Rabbit are articulate, talented, and ambitious. They are virtuous, reserved, and have excellent taste. Rabbit people are admired, trusted, and are often financially lucky. They are fond of gossip but are tactful and generally kind. Rabbit people seldom lose their temper. They are clever at business and being conscientious, never back out of a contract. They would make good gamblers for they have the uncanny gift of choosing the right thing. However, they seldom gamble, as they are conservative and wise. They are most compatible with those born in the years of the Sheep, Pig, and Dog...............I'm not at all sure that I go along with all of that, but am happy to cherry pick the best parts for my own internal CV!
To be really honest, I’m not a believer in these things, eastern or western, but it does no harm to keep an open mind. Just in case!
Although Chinese New Year falls on the 3rd February this year, the celebrations in London will take place on Sunday the 6th. The main event happens in Trafalgar Square but check out Chinatown in the area around Gerrard St, for a more intimate experience.
It just remains to say Kung Hey Fat Choi to all and especially to my fellow Rabbits. Lettuce and carrot juice all round…………No one can say that Rabbits don’t know how to party!
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Jerry Sadowitz,
Last night I went to see Jerry Sadowitz at the Leicester Square Theatre. What an exhausting evening. It was one and a half hours of relentless tirades against everyone and everything. The ratio of swear words to, so called, decent language was heavily in favour of the swearing. In fact, decent language was in very short supply. How he keeps up the constant stream of verbal (and, occasionally, physical) abuse is beyond all understanding.
It should be pointed out that he is an equal opportunities abuser. No one escaped his attention and no subject was taboo. Everyone was treated with the same level of disrespect.
A tough act to watch and not for those of a fragile temperament but very, very, funny!
It should be pointed out that he is an equal opportunities abuser. No one escaped his attention and no subject was taboo. Everyone was treated with the same level of disrespect.
A tough act to watch and not for those of a fragile temperament but very, very, funny!
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
The Fourth Plinth
So, we now know what the next two occupants of the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square will be. The 2012 winner is a child on a rocking horse, titled "Powerless Structures" by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset. The 2013 winner is a giant blue cockerel by Katharina Fritsch titled "Hahn/Cock". Neither of these would have been my choice. I favoured either "It's Never Too Late And You Can't Go Back" by Mariele Neudecker or the ludicrously outrageous "Battenberg" by Brian Griffiths, a huge, brick , copy of the pink and yellow cake of the same name.
Although the fourth plinth was never used for its original purpose, it has, in recent years, been used to display a variety of artworks with varying degrees of success. Of these, perhaps the most widely reported was “One and Other”, devised by Antony Gormley. Over the course of 100 days, 2400 members of the public each spent 1 hour isolated on the plinth. The hour was theirs to do, pretty much, whatever they liked. Some used it to protest or to draw attention to a cause. Some to talk about their favourite subjects. Others behaved outrageously and some did nothing at all. An interesting idea but was it art? Also, and perhaps this was just my bad luck, I always seemed to see the ones who either did nothing at all or were so badly prepared that they may just as well have been doing nothing at all!
To my mind, the most successful occupant of the plinth was "Alison Lapper Pregnant" by Marc Quinn. A challenging and powerful figure that I grew to like very much.
Going back to the residents for 2012 and 2013. Aside from a certain amount of comedy value, a rocking horse and a big blue cock do nothing for me, but I can’t help thinking that had the artists had got together and found a way to combine the two, that they just might have been on to a winner!
Although the fourth plinth was never used for its original purpose, it has, in recent years, been used to display a variety of artworks with varying degrees of success. Of these, perhaps the most widely reported was “One and Other”, devised by Antony Gormley. Over the course of 100 days, 2400 members of the public each spent 1 hour isolated on the plinth. The hour was theirs to do, pretty much, whatever they liked. Some used it to protest or to draw attention to a cause. Some to talk about their favourite subjects. Others behaved outrageously and some did nothing at all. An interesting idea but was it art? Also, and perhaps this was just my bad luck, I always seemed to see the ones who either did nothing at all or were so badly prepared that they may just as well have been doing nothing at all!
To my mind, the most successful occupant of the plinth was "Alison Lapper Pregnant" by Marc Quinn. A challenging and powerful figure that I grew to like very much.
Going back to the residents for 2012 and 2013. Aside from a certain amount of comedy value, a rocking horse and a big blue cock do nothing for me, but I can’t help thinking that had the artists had got together and found a way to combine the two, that they just might have been on to a winner!
Saturday, 15 January 2011
Thursday, 30 December 2010
A Longer Life
So, one in five of us currently living in the UK are likely to survive beyond the age of 100. I didn’t sign up for this kind of nonsense. If I were still active, independent and financially viable (all three, of course, two out of three is not acceptable) then I suppose that I could live with it, but that seems increasingly unlikely. Housing and employment (yes, employment, we are surely going to be expected to work longer) issues are bound to raise their ugly heads. Plus, pensions and NHS resources are already stretched to the limit with no great prospect of things improving.
I think, perhaps, that the biblical idea of “three score years and ten” is cutting things a little too short in the modern era, “and twenty” seems more reasonable, but “and thirty” is really starting to push your luck.
Who knows what the overall impact will be in global terms and, more importantly, what knee jerk reactions will be contemplated by the authorities of the future. The realities of Soylent Green and Logan's Run are beginning to seem less and less outrageous as the years march on!
Interestingly, it seems that Japan is already experiencing problems related to excessive longevity. Is this something that we will all have to live with in the future?
I think, perhaps, that the biblical idea of “three score years and ten” is cutting things a little too short in the modern era, “and twenty” seems more reasonable, but “and thirty” is really starting to push your luck.
Who knows what the overall impact will be in global terms and, more importantly, what knee jerk reactions will be contemplated by the authorities of the future. The realities of Soylent Green and Logan's Run are beginning to seem less and less outrageous as the years march on!
Interestingly, it seems that Japan is already experiencing problems related to excessive longevity. Is this something that we will all have to live with in the future?
Sunday, 12 December 2010
10 Rillington Place
There have been a number of notable killers associated with the Royal Borough of Kensington (and Chelsea!). From the John Haig, the Acid Bath Murderer to Neville Heath, the sadist but perhaps the most famous of all is John Reginald Halliday Christie . Even if you’re not familiar with the name you will probably know his address.
10 Rillington Place is one of the most notorious locations in London and was the scene of eight murders between 1943 and 1953.
As a local, I have always been fascinated by the events that took place in this house. Despite the fact that much of the story predates my birth and that Christies life ended on the gallows in Pentonville Prison before I reached my second birthday, it was still part of the local folklore when I was at primary school. That was probably helped by the fact that my school was not much more than a 10 minute walk from the scene.
In the 1961 book of the same name, Ludovic Kennedy publicised what he saw as the terrible miscarriage of justice associated with this address. Although the true facts are still unclear, this did eventually lead to the posthumous pardoning of a man executed for one of the murders.
I have deliberately avoided going into the details of this fascinating, and controversial, case. If you are at all interested, I would recommend reading 10 Rillington Place by Ludovic Kennedy. Plus there is a great deal more information (and, of course, misinformation) available on the internet.
For a very real sense of the time and the place of these events visit www.10-rillington-place.co.uk
10 Rillington Place is one of the most notorious locations in London and was the scene of eight murders between 1943 and 1953.
As a local, I have always been fascinated by the events that took place in this house. Despite the fact that much of the story predates my birth and that Christies life ended on the gallows in Pentonville Prison before I reached my second birthday, it was still part of the local folklore when I was at primary school. That was probably helped by the fact that my school was not much more than a 10 minute walk from the scene.
In the 1961 book of the same name, Ludovic Kennedy publicised what he saw as the terrible miscarriage of justice associated with this address. Although the true facts are still unclear, this did eventually lead to the posthumous pardoning of a man executed for one of the murders.
I have deliberately avoided going into the details of this fascinating, and controversial, case. If you are at all interested, I would recommend reading 10 Rillington Place by Ludovic Kennedy. Plus there is a great deal more information (and, of course, misinformation) available on the internet.
For a very real sense of the time and the place of these events visit www.10-rillington-place.co.uk
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