Paul in London

Best. Headline. Ever. , originally uploaded by Ronald Hackston . She was a big girl perhaps...

Man #1: Andrew's really nice... Man #2: Yeah? Man #1: And hot... I bet he shags around a lot... Man #2: He's got a boyfriend you know... Man #1: Yeah so?

Destined to be great fodder for the Sunday papers (and it was in both The Times and The Guardian today), I found myself at a debate on Thursday evening on the topic that Britain has become indifferent to beauty. It was a lively and entertaining debate with TV Historian pop star David Starkey and Roger Scruton arguing for the case, and Germaine Greer and Stephen Bayley against. Greer and Bayley won the debate, and not necessarily on the strengths of their arguments, but probably because Starkey and Scruton came across as fussy old men. A pity really as not only did Greer and Bayley contradict themselves, there was an emerging argument that our busy hectic lives has bumped the pursuit of beauty (in terms of the environment in which we live), down the order of priorities. Starkey and Scruton started to touch upon this, but they lost it amongst their stuffiness. Still it is delightful to hear them all speak, especially Greer. She takes a contrary view so easily that you wouldn't w

Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world... So they say... Posted via email from paulinlondon's posterous

Tuesday evening I was at the Whinger's organised evening to see a preview of Priscilla Queen of the Desert . I had been avoiding this musical when it was playing in Australia as the only thing I had heard about it was how the costumes were amazing. When I asked about the book, the music and the acting I just got blank stares. The movie has become a modern (albeit camp) classic and so has the soundtrack. So I guess on one level it seemed somewhat logical to make a jukebox musical out of it... Still it seemed like such a missed opportunity. The casting announcement of Jason Donovan and early bird ludicrous offers of inflated prices for a free programme and cheap champagne didn't make it sound any more appealing, however the Whinger's do book early and so I was locked in... It was never going to be a night of high art, and with a rather frisky and silly audience there was such a buzz from the crowd that once the music started it was hard not to resist this show. Sure the sh

Picture 101 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Spring arrived today with sunny warm weather. It was enough to make you want to get out your velour track suit and go roller-blading...

Saturday night I found myself at La Clique at the Hippodrome. It is a bit burlesque, a bit of acrobatics and a bit of theatre. While there is no thematic link and it isn't some creepy French-Canadian famtainment , this dirty and rough show is intriguing enough to not want to miss. Alas the German acrobat in the bathtub is not with the show at present, but the other acts had equal novelty value. Although there was a bit of an edge to Saturday night's performance after the hula hoops woman managed to hit some girl in the front row in the mouth with a stray hoop. Tissues were passed along the row and it was obvious she had a cut lip. For the rest of the act everyone in the front row sat slightly terrified (and covering parts of their face). Hoops split and other hoops went flying so the fear was real... In the second half the front row were warned not to lean forward with the skating act... And they took note. They were very, very obedient. And again very terrified. The second a

The cannoli in Princi is great (albeit sometimes an odd shape). Great place to eat on Wardour Street in Soho. And good value too. The only thing to watch out is for the those who linger longer after eating their lunch and those who want to sit down and eat. Like right now... And ask you if you have finished as they would like your seat... Posted via email from paulinlondon's posterous

img_0802 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Well it wasn't hot custard, it was green... And it dominated breakfast television coverage on an obviously slow news day... By the weekend the well-spoken campaigner against Heathrow's third runway was arrested ...

Saturday evening I caught Over There , which is a short play having a short run at the Royal Court. The play by Mark Ravenhill , is an interesting enough premise. It is about identical twins separated when their mother flees with one of them to the west. Following the fall of East Germany they meet again. What then takes place is exploring the differences between two ways of life with a smattering of food play and matching underwear thrown in for good measure. The battle of ideas, socialism versus capitalism and consumerism are brought to the fore and the acting by Harry Treadaway and Luke Treadaway was excellent. Actually at times you did feel for them as the play became more and more harrowing and they had to do weirder and weirder stuff in their matching underwear. I also wondered whether the play could have benefited from more creative direction and imaginative lighting. At times it also felt like it was revisiting the "shock and awe" of Shopping and Fucking . But I gues

London Redraws Tube Map , originally uploaded by Annie Mole . Moving from the Circle line to the lasso line ...

The latest in pointing out the obvious signs read "pickpockets operate in this area". So to test that assertion I took a photo with my iPhone. Darn those pickpockets, they must have been on their lunch break Posted via email from paulinlondon's posterous

At the Roundhouse warming up... Surprisingly the acoustic was not too bad... Posted via email from paulinlondon's posterous

Man #1: So how is your sister? Man #2: Ah she is just bad news...