Paul in London

Massive disruption again on the underground network this afternoon as three detonators (not bombs) and a nail bomb on a bus have gone off across London. The day has changed direction at 2.12.

At the hairdressing salon in Covent Garden Asian woman : You are very rude man. You give bad service Hairdresser Luke : Well I think you are rude. You wanted your hair straightened and now you want it curled but there isn't enough time to do this before we close Asian woman : You are hopeless and your work is rubbish Hairdresser Luke : Lady, go and get FUCKED! At this point Hairdresser Luke threw the rubber anti-static thing that goes around the neck at her and picked up his bag and stormed off out of the shop. I sat there wondering whether (a) he hurt the woman with this rubber device and (b) whether he was coming back as until this little drama unfolded he was due to cut my hair. Fortunately he did come back to cut my hair. He didn't say much but it was the most aggressive chop I have had. There was raw aggression in his texturing... This woman sounded like she was a nightmare. I say sounded as I sat in a chair on the other side of the mirror where she was. I couldn't see...

Scenes from Soho Bar Tuesday 23:52. I ran into Adam in the gym tonight and we went for a bite to eat afterwards. After that he insisted we should have a drink so he dragged me to a bar full of gays. Since I had been working out I only had orange juice (with a splash of vodka). 

News: Dogs on the tube Sniffer dogs are being deployed on the tube network to detect bombs. They will add a much welcome cute furry presence...

Scenes from Leicester Square Tube Sunday 13:37. A less convenient interchange now that the Piccadilly Line is out of action through most of central London... The board above the exit indicating stations on the line is also covered up with tape...

Scenes from South Kensington Sunday 17:56. Everybody on the street wear pink. Pink is a popular colour at the moment... 

Overhead at the Gym tonight: Muscle Mary (on mobile phone): Well I said to him, "Glen, I am a 'uman beeeeeeing and I am still living here and until I move out my room isn't a sssshow room"

Music: The Fairy Queen (Purcell) After Glyndebourne on Saturday I went to Royal Albert Hall on Sunday to see a BBC Proms concert of Purcell's The Fairy Queen . As it was a concert it was just the music (so it was only two hours) and it was a very enjoyable way to spend an early Sunday evening. A had two tickets, one in the stalls and one in the circle. Rather than take up my suggestion of paper-scissors-rock for determining who sat where, he suggested that we swap seats at interval. That far more sensible suggestion turned out to be best as the seat in the circle provided a great vantage point to see everything, while the seat in the stalls was better for proximity. Purcell in the cavernous space of the RAH may not be the best setting for this music, but it was nice to see it, and it reminded me that between now and mid-September I should be getting to more Proms concerts. After the concert and as we left the hall to find somewhere to have supper, A spotted a few celebrities in th...

Scenes from Glyndebourne grounds Saturday 16:48 - black tie, picnics on the grounds and the opera house in the background...  

Opera: La Cenerentola (Rossini) A invited me to Glydebourne on Saturday (which just so happens to be a country house near Lewes in East Sussex, that just so also happens to have a large state of the art opera house on its grounds). Naturally the chance to see opera done very well in a smashing location was something I eagerly accepted, so on a warm Saturday afternoon I was on a train to Lewes with A... Wearing a dinner jacket (as this is the expected standard of dress), and helping A with the picnic hamper. There are a few interesting things that is all part of the opera experience at Glydebourne. First of all, dinner jackets are required attire for men. What women wore seemed to veer from flowing ball gowns in an array of summer colours to something still formal yet more sensible. And secondly there is the dining experience. While there are restaurants there, many people opt to have a picnic on the grounds. So on lush green lawns are people in black tie having salads and cold meats. I...