Paul in London

Paul: What seats do you have close to the front row?
Box Office: Well I can give you B14 and B15
Adam: Oh dang you sank my battleship

On Friday evening I finally got to see Sunday in the Park with George. It has been playing at the Menier Chocolate Factory in Southwark sine November and the season there has been completely sold out. It transfers to the West End in May (www.sundayinthepark.co.uk) but it was nice to see it in the smaller space of the Chocolate Factory (even if the seats are unreserved and not that comfy).I took M to see it as he is a bit of a musical aficionado; well he has seen Mamma Mia three times so I figured this might be his cup of tea. Prior to the show we grabbed a bite to eat at an Italian restaurant and it was there where I explained the plot of the show to him, the artist George Seurat and the history of pointillism in between bites of lasagne. M commented later during interval this briefing was useful in explaining some aspects of the first half of the show. I then was able to warn him that in the second half of the show the narrative really does something unexpected and moves forward 100…

Some thoughts on Wanadoo as a broadband provider that I thought I would jot down and write to them about today after speaking to their tech support people (on the telephone no less).

A Letter to Wanadoo

As a new customer I would like to draw the attention of the Board that to the high number of failures provided by your company. I am sure I am not alone in this. I signed up with Wanadoo on 20 January 2006 for a wireless and talk package because it was competitively priced (not cheaper than others but competitive) and provided an easy means to register (online). Unfortunately, this was the only positive experience I have had with your company.

Wanadoo’s failures include:
Failure to provide a basic broadband internet service. A call to a consultant today, 24 February, suggested that this is because your service is trying to connect a faster speed to what is possible on the telephone line. Meanwhile I will be a month without an internet service while you have been charging me for a service t…

Simple really, I have been waiting for wanadoo.co.uk to connect me. It should have taken two weeks but they are taking five weeks and still counting... Great service...

Scenes from Regent Street Saturday 01:14.

Scenes from Picadilly Circus Saturday 01:10 - Catching the night bus home

Given all the fun in the last month about politicians and their gay sex romps, a new internet game has been doing the rounds. It is actually fairly tame as the object is to tickle as many rent boys as possible, and in this case the reality was far far more sordid. Still it would be a career-challenging move to open it at your workplace…

Man #1: How long have you been coming here?
Man #2: Since Christmas…
Man #1: Oh really?
Man #2: Yeah…
Man #1: What'd you do tonight?
Man #2: Pecs

On Monday night I was unfortunate enough to find myself watching the Schuman Plan at the Hampstead Theatre. For a major theatre with its own artistic director it was a little odd that they were presenting something that seemed like a high school drama class production. It was earnest enough to be one. The only difference I could see was that it lacked youthful energy and acne. Huge slabs of dialogue were taken up with political history and there was at some point a character playing former PM Ted Heath mincing it up with "Land of Hope and Glory" playing loudly in the background. Oh at this point it is probably worth mentioning Schuman was the French Minister who came up with the idea that would become the basis for the European Union.

A was a bit annoyed that we went to see crap theatre. But I thought it had potential as a story but the writer decided to ignore all that and focus on a polemic about Britain in the EU instead. Schuman didn't feature at all. It was just as w…

Scenes from the Barbican Sunday 22:32. A chilly and quiet evening for all...

I caught Munich on Sunday which was an amazing experience. Part of the movie reminded me of those classic movies from the 1970s about conspiracies, paranoia and brutal murders. Actually there was so much testosterone in this flick that at one point I wanted to tell the two annoying people behind me to "stop kicking the back of the fucking seat!" Mindful that after seeing a whole season of "The Sopranos" late last year and then for the next week I couldn't stop saying expletives (such as "I'm going to get some fucking water") I decided to put up with the annoying cinema goers and not create a scene.

Anyway the film was brilliant and no doubt will become a classic in its own right (but maybe not straight away). The acting, storytelling and filmmaking were all incredible. There was enough politics on both sides to give some insight into the motivations of it all. And perhaps there was a modern day morality tale in it that Spielberg sought for all of…

Scenes from outside Clapham Common Tube Saturday 16:49. People get really excited about the Clapham high street for some unknown reason. It really is a a tarmac jungle at this part... Outside the tube is also the best spot to be if you want to get your phone nicked by young lads riding on bikes at high speed...

American Man: You're from Brooklyn?
Ad: No I'm from Brisbane
American Man: Shouldn't you be wearing a t-shirt that says Brisbane not Brooklyn then?
Ad: What do you mean?
American Man: What's that you are wearing?
Ad: Clothes…

Scenes from Charing Cross Tube Northern Line Wednesday 21:37. A slight modification to the station artwork involving a badly drawn iPOD. Then again, no Londoner should be without one...

Scenes from the Thames Wednesday 21:06. Tourists on the Jubilee Bridge = 2, Temperature = -2

Scenes from the National Gallery Wednesday 16:09. Looking towards Whitehall and Big Ben. Temperature somewhere above freezing. Just...