circular!

I didn't get a chance to go and visit this photo gallery down on the South Bank this week, but I wish I had. It takes photos every three seconds and you can then interact with the photos to move them back and forwards in time. Makes your head spin!

local!

I've just started reading the new Tracy Chevalier novel, Burning Bright, which is about some children who befriend William Blake (hence the name). I knew that William Blake had lived in Lambeth right around the corner from my office as there is blue plaque and a William Blake housing estate. But the book is quite amusing in that it talks about all the local pubs that are still there over 200 years later! The Red Lion (now called The Walrus), the Horse & Groom (now called the Horse) and the Artichoke (now called the Artichoke and Camel) are all pubs we frequent. Me and William Blake!

inflated!

Found this article in the Observer yesterday fascinating - it's about the change in behaviour, market forces and society that has resulted in such high prices, resulting in people like me being unable to buy a property in the situation I'm in. Fascinating, but depressing!

The road that's profiled is about 20 mins from where I live but is probably a little more upmarket, the houses look a bit bigger. But it's probably a good reflection of a typical London street.

floating!

Kt and I went for a session at 'Float' in Notting Hill yesterday. It's a flotation tank center - it uses Living Nature products and has some ties with Air NZ (I think there's a tank at the terminal at Heathrow - will use it if I'm ever flying first class home!). and so I'd obtained a two for one offer from a mailing list I'm on.

Anyway, it was a fabulous experience. We each had a separate room with a tank in it that was shaped like a cocoon. After a shower and stripping off you get into the tank and stay there for about an hour. The first ten minutes have music or nature sounds then it goes silent for about 40 minutes. It was really relaxing. It took a while to get my neck and arms to relax and I ended up using a neck pillow to feel comfortable. And then the rest of my body ached quite a lot - getting used to being aligned differently I think. The water was really salty and buoyant - tasted horrible!

The whole experience made us feel really relaxed and it really lasts too - would recommend it - but maybe I'll wait until there's another half price offer - £50 a time is quite expensive!!

organic!

Found this article about the opening of the new Wholefoods store in Kensington interesting. Sounds like it's going to be a huge store. It will be fascinating to see how this changes British supermarkets overall - like the article says they're pretty functional and bare at present. But I wonder how it will affect the smaller organic food shops and farmers markets that are growing in popularity here.

smokefree!

I for one can't wait until the smoking in pubs and restaurants ban comes in England on July 1st. Am definitely part of a group that will go to the pub more when it gets introduced! When I was working today I came across a section on the Enterprise Inns website that gave details of what structures they could erect to get around the ban - amusing to see the 'Jumbrella' and the 'Terrasol' - who on earth thinks up these names?

potent!

Arcade Fire
Originally uploaded by WordsWithoutThoughts.

Megan and I went to see Arcade Fire in concert at Brixton last night - it was a fantastic show, mesmerising with a band who are totally committed to what they're doing. There were lots of musicians on stage and they moved from instrument to instrument. Our favourite was the guy who played a drum strapped to his back, and also had the most vigorous tambourine shaking style I've ever seen! The audience were totally enraptured and were really connecting with the music. They didn't play an encore on the steps as they'd done at a few of the smaller shows earlier this year - those songs are available on YouTube.

bowled away!

I went bowling on Wednesday with a group from work - it was my third bowling trip in two months and I think I'm getting worse every time! But it was great fun. This time we went to Bloomsbury Bowling which is in the basement of a hotel near Tavistock Square - there's an American diner, karaoke booths and bowling lanes there. We did spend an hour in the karaoke booth which was fully exploited by some members of our team and was highly amusing. Vaughan kept on trying to get a Radiohead song to sing but each time the machine threw up a different AC/DC song.

At least I didn't manage to bowl backwards like I did last time I went bowling, but I did get the lowest score out of everyone!

poetic!

I was looking for reviews on beerintheevening.com to illustrate the post below, and came across reviews from 'Haiku Dave' - pithy, witty little reviews written as a haiku. Brilliant

local!

Simon and I visited Broadway Market, near London Fields, yesterday. It's a lovely wee market, along the lines of a Borough Market farmer's market, but on a smaller scale. Some lovely food vendors there, including organic meat and cheese, as well as some jewellery and clothes stalls. Only about thirty minutes walk from my house, so it's a good Saturday activity! We stopped in at the Spurstowe Arms for lunch on the way back - very good! Not too crowded, with a good lunch menu.

sinister!

Itsu restaurant
Originally uploaded by MhairiT.

Walked past Itsu restaurant on Piccadilly today - this was the sushi restaurant where Alexander Litvenenko possibly was poisoned with the polonium that killed him a couple of weeks later.

The restaurant is all boarded up and there's a sign on the hoardings. It's made to look like a James Bond title sequence camera shutter and reads "An international espionage incident has transformed this Itsu into a world-famous meeting place. Sad and shocked, we would like to thank you for the many emails of encouragement. Our customers and staff are magnificent. We will reopen and we will flourish. Meanwhile, enjoy Itsu's healt and happiness at Hanover Square and 313 Regent Street".

compelling!

I went to see the fascinating Frost / Nixon at the Gielguid Theatre last night. It's the story behind the interviews that Richard Nixon granted to David Frost in 1977 after he'd resigned post Watergate. It sounds a bit dry but it was actually fascinating. Amazing to think how many machinations went on to get the interview and also how much pre-work went into the questions and set-up. Frost was thought of as quite a light-weight chat-show host but he recruited some crucial researchers. The whole thing had the air of a boxing match. Great performance by Michael Sheen as Frost and Frank Langella as Nixon. Was thinking that i wasn't really that familiar with Nixon's mannerisms or delivery - don't really see that much footage of him as you would Kennedy or Reagan.

Easy to get a ticket for the show - pre-Christmas in London is a good time to go! Really noticeable on the way home in the bus how deserted all the pubs and bars are. London really empties out at this time of year!