Paul in London

Scenes from Charing Cross Tube (Northern Line) 23:30... L'amour est dans le ciel... 

Scenes from London Bridge 23:00 - Caught up with drinks with B tonight and made my way home a little bit tipsy - but still managing to capture the banal... 

News: swim for your life This week Hampstead bathers win court case establishing their right to swim in freezing ponds - without a lifeguard - if they wish to do so. Bathers and their supporters hailed it as a victory against the Nanny State (which is very important here, unlike in Australia where people love the government to tell people what they should and shouldn't be doing). The case was seen as a test case against endless regulation and fear of litigation. The judgement paves the way for members or the swimming club to swim at the ponds without life guards on duty - and also protects the Corporation of London from being sued should anything go wrong. That sounds awfully sensible.

Rats A rat went scurrying past me in the kitchen last night. He seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. This news seemed to be just as shocking to my flatmate as the news that I should vote Tory. I suggested that warfarin would solve the rat problem, but that Tory voters are bound to flourish as Labour continues to stay in office. At the National Theatre tonight a rat ran out from under one food counter and hid under the table near me. It then ran back. A few of us watched this rat run with bemusement. Have made mental note to just use the bar at intermission in future. They do seem to be getting closer ...

Theatre: History Boys. Pass it on... Finally caught The History Boys at the National. It was closing night of its extended run and it was another astonishing piece of theatre. As theatre goes, this has to be as good as it can get. At the conclusion, the audience gave a standing ovation to the cast and playwright Alan Bennett . The play is described as "an unruly bunch of bright, funny sixth-form boys in pursuit of sex, sport and a place at university". But there is so much more going on here. Broader issues of Education are explored as just the starting point. This is a play that is full of witty barbs and sharp dialogue that surely will have a place in future dictionaries of quotations. A particular favourite of mine in the second act... Mrs Lintott (a teacher): Our Headmaster is a twat. An impermissible word nowadays but the only one suited to my purpose. A twat. And to go further down the same proscribed path, a condescending cunt. At a point later in the second act th...

An open letter to Mother I had a quiet weekend (not counting getting home at 3am on Saturday and Sunday morning) so I used the time to catch up on some letters from home. Since my mother is probably the only person that reads this I thought I would answers some questions from her recent letters: I don't know anybody that collects stamps. I try not to use the word philately in conversation in case it is misunderstood... Don't let Dad leave you outside the men's toilets. It isn't a good look. I did hear about the baggage handler who had a camel's head. It is nice to hear that QANTAS employs all sorts... When seeing London in only one day, Do breakfast in Soho not Piccadilly, go to the Tate not Saatchi Gallery, and see a £10 play at the National or use the TKTS booth . So there you have it.

Scenes from Selfridges Oxford Street Sunday 19:38 

Tory boy and didn't even know it... I found out from the following website that I should vote Tory if I did bother to register to vote. Actually on my first attempt it suggested because I had such non-committal responses to all their questions I should vote for nobody - so I am doing the right thing by staying out of this one. Only after I decided on the questionnaire to keep Britain out of the Euro and to believe in tax cuts and ID cards did the site suggest I should vote Conservative. Labour came second. Interesting stuff, although it does not factor in the character of candidates and the type of person you would be more inclined to vote for... Policy, pledges and platforms (for whatever that rubbish is) surely can only get you so far... Personality of the leader will always clinch it for me... The other thing is that I don't know how I am going to break this to my housemate who did the test and was told he should vote Green... He will be horrified. It was his birthday the ot...