Paul in London

News: The freakshow is wet Something interesting for once happened at a premiere at Leicester Square. Tom Cruise gets drenched with a water doing his usual meet the fans and plug the movie opening of the War of the Worlds. The freakshow otherwise known as Tom and Katie were in town (after frightening most of the States with their antics) for today's premiere. Of course as today was the hottest day this year with temperatures hit the mid-thirties the water was probably a welcome addition...

News: That's cheap And on email banter, all the news on Friday in London was about a senior Lawyer who asked a secretary to pay for his dry cleaning bill after she accidentally squirted ketchup on his suit. The story got out because he sent a reminder to her asking her for the £4, and she copied her response to him to many other colleagues. Those colleagues then forwarded it on to people, and then those people then forwarded it on and suddenly it is a hot story... Not as good as the infamous Claire Swires blowjob story from a few years back, but still a tad amusing

Silly Friday Afternoon Email Banter -----Original Message----- From: A Sent: 17 June 2005 12:17 To: Paul Subject: I just found a hot SA man on the 10th Floor!!! he's a temp accountancy assistant. Not bad at all! A -----And then ----- From: Paul Sent: 17 June 2005 12:24 To: A Subject: RE: It all happens on a friday on the 10th floor... So what made him hot? I once dated a SA... He was part english part african and part queen so my friends called him the South African Queen. He had the most hideous voice I have ever heard, but nice broad shoulders so you have to weigh these things up don't you think...?? Paul -----And still then----- From: A Sent: 17 June 2005 12:26 To: Paul Subject: RE: It all happens on a friday on the 10th floor... He has tanned skin, brown eyes, short dark hair and nice chiseled but not harsh features. He looks like a man. Yeah and they're arrogant fookers... hey as long as he doesn't speak much we should be okay right? Unfortunately he met me when ...

Overheard at the gym Friday night: High Maintenance Man : I don't want to go to Steve's place tonight in my work clothes. I am going home. Low Maintenance Man : Why not I am doing that I'm going straight from here? High Maintenance Man : Well that might be fine for you but it certainly isn't fine for me I am going home first...

Theatre: Tick Tick Boom! Caught the show Tick Tick Boom at the Menier Chocolate Factory on Thursday night. It is a soft rock chamber musical (to give it some sort of category) telling the story of a struggling musical theatre writer who is just about to turn thirty and is wondering what he is doing with his life. Now that's something I can almost relate to, and probably explained why I was happy to overlook the shaggy story at times which veered into the standard issue story of relationships, life lessons and so and and so on. It also helped that that the production was fantastic. It looked and sounded great. The icing on the cake was the three leads as well. Neil Patrick Harris (who once found fame as Doogie Howser MD), Cassidy Janson and Tee Jaye were the cast and made the show work so well. Neil Patrick Harris has an amazing sublime voice and Cassidy Janson and Tee Jaye were just as good. The show was written by Jonathan Larson prior to writing "Rent" who died just be...

Idle Chatter and roots at work... F (to boss): Did you get those papers? Boss: Yes I got them no worries.... Hmm I am begining to sound like Paul Paul (looking up from being busy): What? Boss: You're always saying "no worries" Paul: I am? I do?

Music: André Previn and the LSO Tuesday night caught André Previn and the LSO performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No 24 in C Minor and Shostakovich's Symphony No 10 in E Minor. Previn's 75 this year ( or he may be 76 but little facts like that get in the way of pressing schedules) and as a tribute to their former music director, the LSO have been holding a series of concerts to mark the occasion. It was an amazing performance. Previn played the piano for the concerto as well. The Mozart was probably a little too light after a busy day in the office, but there was no chance the Shostakovich would send you to sleep. At times it was like it would wake the dead. Whatever his age may be, he has been a prominent figure for so many years it is easy to remember most of the photos around of him are often a decade (or two or three) old. But today, on Tuesday night, he was quite an old man. He shuffled on stage with his head arched low. He changed glasses for conducting and playing t...

The awful truth Post Sunday's event at Clapham Common it was confirmed to a fellow Australian by a person working at the event that there were few bottles of wine on sale after the New Zealanders trashed the place the day before smashing bottles and having sex out in the open. Now those familiar with Clapham Common would say that this would not be different from any other night there, but the fact the Australians on Sunday couldn't take a bottle of foine woine on the grass made any New Zealander as popular as Russell Crowe at Concierge Convention... And he is a New Zealander too...

Overheard at the coffee stand at the Barbican: American Man (to girl who was putting milk into her coffee): Wow you are putting a whole cow in there...

News: Live 8 Despite it being a mostly white lineup, the buzz around Live 8 was enough for it to get 2m texts from people wanting one of the 65,000 tickets on offer... From last Monday you had to text the answer to a very simple question (where is the G8 Summit being held) from your mobile phone to be eligible for the lottery of the tix... Part of the money raised will pay the Prince's Trust for agreeing to cancel its party in the park so the Live 8 shenanigans would be the main event for the summer... Such a noble cause full of best intentions no doubt, but how a group of rock acts will free up trade to enable the economies of Africa to be able to trade freely and fairly with the rest of the world is anybody's guess...