Scenes from High Holburn 14:59 - Boys on the street
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Rubbing it in... At after-work drinks last night, J mentioned he was going to his partner's place and was looking forward to a night in. Massage was mentioned as part of the night in. I commented that it had been some time since I had that... The massage, not the night in... So J told my mission for the evening was to get a massage - without having to pay for it (as that would be too easy)... Today I texted J: Mission Accomplished London is like that... When it works, it works very well...
News: Flounders and Flowers Variety called it "Les Miz lite" and others have been even less unkind. So much so that The Independent suggests there is a curse of the Shaftesbury theatre... Or at least a curse of crap productions playing in it... Oh and Kew Gardens has a big, smelly flower And lock your doors, Violent crime in London is up , although crime overall is down. Part of the increase in certain stats is that they are now being recorded. For instance, sexual offences are up, as indecent exposure now is a criminal offence and is recorded. Fascinating stats are available across all of London to enthrall.
News: The Sun endorses Labour The Sun Newspaper - not to be outdone by the conclave in Italy - set up its own chimney and set off a puff of smoke today in London. The smoke was red indicating it will support Labour for its third term. Oh and the front page today read "From Hitler Youth to Papa Razi"... Boom boom!
Post France The weekend trip has had a positive impact on me. I have been drinking more French red... It helps with the cold I still have... I have been enthralling colleagues with photos from France. Plus since returning I have downloaded some music off iTunes by Dalida . Quand on voulait la danser Il suffisait de marcher Le lambeth walk C'était pas compliqué He ! So I now have the French version of "The Lambeth Walk"... And I never did have enough eighties French pop in my collection...
Scenes from the National Theatre 19:18 - Book signing with Julian Clary . After a talk tonight that I attended I picked up a copy of the book as well... and got Julian to sign it... Up close he doesn't look half bad. However his good hair stylist and tailoring made one feel downright shabby so avoided any conversation...
Bad news... Hearing about the death of a friend today has put blogging a little on hold... But coming home on the tube tonight I did listen to a song by William Finn which contains some great lyrics: I believe, And I have found, Hyperbole, is not what makes the world go round, Just living, just navigating firm and level ground, Has power to astound, I have found. It's been said, And I have heard, That quiet, doesn't have to be a dirty word, Just talking,is often more expressive than a shriek, Its nice to merely speak, I have found. Look around Contentment it seems, Simply happens It appears Accompanied by no grovels And no tears from "I have found" - William Finn And so life goes on...
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Paul's Travelling Tips Miscellany More on my weekend later but first my observations travelling 300kph out of Paris: A trip to Paris, then on to Angers need not be tiring... Just travel first class. My return leg was in a solo seat so I did not have to play footsie with anybody... The seats are bigger and the cars are quieter... And in general the cars have much better looking people in them... Although the only attractive people in my car tonight are the women... You also get nicer messages on the PA system, and the crew are much more polite. Unless of course you are Grace Jones trying to get a free upgrade, or the Asian woman at Gare Du Nord who showed her ticket to the smart French gent after me and got: "YOU ARE CAR THREE THIS IS CAR TWELVE! MOVE ALONG!" I am typing this while having a nice glass of champagne. There is a bottle of Bordeaux waiting after that as well... The 3pm train out of Waterloo is a good one to catch if you wish to pick up a Gaelic Businessman ret...
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Travelling Travelling on the Eurostar speeding through the French countryside, one notices how much smarter it is to travel in first class. However one can sympathise with Grace Jones as the leg room is still a bit minimal. Have been playing footsies with the French businessman sitting opposite me for most of the journey. Oh and there is an over representation of laptops in the car I am travelling in - hence getting out the iPAQ to be a poser as well...