A post which went lost and missing earlier this year!
April was a lovely month for visits from far-flung friends. One of my
very dearest friends was in London on a lap of honour the last couple of weeks before a significant milestone. It was fantastic spending time with her and catching up. We had excellent, sociable meals here and here. She was whisked away to a country spa for a few days, but was back in Londres for an afternoon of hitting the Tates.
I had not seen any of the temporary exhibitions, so it seemed like a plan. We decided to start at Tate Modern and take the Tate-to-Tate boat upstream to Tate Britain.
Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective
To be honest I couldn’t really remember much about Arshile Gorky from my Art History studies – other than he seemed to be a second-ranking Abstract Expressionist. This show bears that impression out – it contains copious quantities of rather dull and derivative surrealism-based abstraction – all bar one room, which is by far the most impressive.
Poor Gorky had a desperately unhappy and tragic life – his father left Turkey for America when the future artist was little more than a baby; he and his remaining family had to flee Turkey during the Armenian Genocide and in the aftermath his mother died of starvation in Russia while Gorky was still a teenager.
Many years later he came across a photograph of himself and his mother from this time and used it as the basis for a series of portraits and paintings: without doubt masterpieces all. Tender, sombre and tragic – a supreme memorial. I responded to these so much more than to the abstracts – several of which were beautiful, but mostly just seemed professional and competent. One wonders if Gorky was in the wrong place at the wrong time – he was a brilliant figurative artist in a New York art world in thrall exclusively to Abstraction. And it turns out my half-memory was wrong – it was Gorky apparently who lit that Abstract Impressionist fuse. But in retrospect his artistic heirs overshadow him.
Arshile Gorky
Tate Modern
10 February - 3 May 2010
Van Doesburg and the International Avant-Garde: Constructing a New World
Van Doesburg was a founder member of the Avant-Garde and crossed swords with the Bauhaus (before the Bauhaus succumbed to his vision). The title of the show definitely describes it well - his ambition was definitely to construct a new world. The exhibition contains examples of his typographic work, furniture design and architecture as well as painting. The typography still looks modern. This show is hugely fun and very absorbing.
Van Doesburg and the International Avant-Garde: Constructing a New World
Tate Modern
4 February - 16 May 2010
Chris Ofilli
Both of us are Chris Ofili fans and were looking forward to this one with anticipation. A retrospective, especially a first one, is a tricky event for an artist - can the body of work sustain the hype?
Ofili is undoubtedly the real thing - stunning paintings and ambitious ensembles; very sensitive drawings too.
Chris Ofilli
Tate Britain
27 January - 16 May 2010
Henry Moore
This show looks very handsome - the sculptures are arranged against beautiful coloured walls. It’s very refreshing to see Moore’s more intimate pieces.
Henry Moore
Tate Britain
24 February - 8 August 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Grace Kelly - Style Icon at the V&A
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Grace Kelly’s film career ended when she was 27 upon her marriage to Prince Ranier of Monaco, and thereafter she lived the life of a European Princess – atoning for her privilege by doing good works while dressed in haute couture. But not acting. A rumoured comeback in 1962 was quickly denied. And thereafter one of the most notable film actresses of her generation did not act in films. Like Garbo before her, she absented herself at the peak of her career: unlike Garbo Grace remained centre stage for life.
The wedding of the Prince and the actress was incredibly glamorous and hopeful at the time – a symbol of an alliance between an America maturing into easy sophistication with a shattered Europe reinventing itself after the cataclysm of war. Joy was returning to the nations, even if we still had rationing.
But the dutiful timeline in the V&A’s exhibition brochure tells a more melancholy story – pre 1956, classic films with Alfred Hitchcock - an Oscar for Best Actress; post 1956 – this ball and that ball; cutting this ribbon or that ribbon. And this room full of pretty frocks, so dismally failing to conjure a sense of the woman.
Post Diana and Charles we are used to examining the cracks in the magicked up veneer of "happily ever after" - the newsreel footage showing an interview with Ranier on their engagement reminds one forcefully of Charles's ominously wooden public declaration of love: "Yes, whatever that may mean". Grace acts her part to perfection but there is no screen chemistry with her prince. And the rest is couture.
Grace Kelly: Style Icon
Victoria & Albert Museum
running to 26 September 2010
"I am very happy that Grace has found herself such a good part" - Alfred Hitchcock
Grace Kelly’s film career ended when she was 27 upon her marriage to Prince Ranier of Monaco, and thereafter she lived the life of a European Princess – atoning for her privilege by doing good works while dressed in haute couture. But not acting. A rumoured comeback in 1962 was quickly denied. And thereafter one of the most notable film actresses of her generation did not act in films. Like Garbo before her, she absented herself at the peak of her career: unlike Garbo Grace remained centre stage for life.The wedding of the Prince and the actress was incredibly glamorous and hopeful at the time – a symbol of an alliance between an America maturing into easy sophistication with a shattered Europe reinventing itself after the cataclysm of war. Joy was returning to the nations, even if we still had rationing.
But the dutiful timeline in the V&A’s exhibition brochure tells a more melancholy story – pre 1956, classic films with Alfred Hitchcock - an Oscar for Best Actress; post 1956 – this ball and that ball; cutting this ribbon or that ribbon. And this room full of pretty frocks, so dismally failing to conjure a sense of the woman.
Post Diana and Charles we are used to examining the cracks in the magicked up veneer of "happily ever after" - the newsreel footage showing an interview with Ranier on their engagement reminds one forcefully of Charles's ominously wooden public declaration of love: "Yes, whatever that may mean". Grace acts her part to perfection but there is no screen chemistry with her prince. And the rest is couture.
Grace Kelly: Style Icon
Victoria & Albert Museum
running to 26 September 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
The Muffin Man
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Emma inducted me into the secret society of Muffin Man devotees this weekend. This cosy teashop blushes unseen just off that orgy of consumerism that is the Kensington High Street - it’s a quietly seductive little slice of Ye Olde England: original retro, not the expertly designed ironic kind. Imagine a country teashop circa 1955; a haven of peace to meditate on the eternal verities of fresh, tasty cakes and perfectly brewed, real tea in china teapots. And scones. Weighed down with cream and jam.
The place was full but relaxed and our waitress was friendly and the kitchen obliging - Emma doesn’t do tomato so they substituted without fuss avocado in our high tea sandwiches, which arrived promptly. Emma’s passion cake was light and high-keyed with bright spicy flavours; my Queen Mother’s cake (walnut and date; hold the gin) was topped with seriously toffee-ish black sugar icing. Both were absorbing enough to command our full attention despite the fact Brian May and Anita Dobson were having tea at the next table. No doubt they were as impressed as we were with the very reasonable prices for the scrumptious tea.
The Muffin Man is a delightful oasis to sit and gossip and recharge for a further bout of serious shopping on the High Street, it is now high on my list of favourite London places. Thanks Emma!
Details for The Muffin Man are on my Qype review
Emma inducted me into the secret society of Muffin Man devotees this weekend. This cosy teashop blushes unseen just off that orgy of consumerism that is the Kensington High Street - it’s a quietly seductive little slice of Ye Olde England: original retro, not the expertly designed ironic kind. Imagine a country teashop circa 1955; a haven of peace to meditate on the eternal verities of fresh, tasty cakes and perfectly brewed, real tea in china teapots. And scones. Weighed down with cream and jam.
The place was full but relaxed and our waitress was friendly and the kitchen obliging - Emma doesn’t do tomato so they substituted without fuss avocado in our high tea sandwiches, which arrived promptly. Emma’s passion cake was light and high-keyed with bright spicy flavours; my Queen Mother’s cake (walnut and date; hold the gin) was topped with seriously toffee-ish black sugar icing. Both were absorbing enough to command our full attention despite the fact Brian May and Anita Dobson were having tea at the next table. No doubt they were as impressed as we were with the very reasonable prices for the scrumptious tea.
The Muffin Man is a delightful oasis to sit and gossip and recharge for a further bout of serious shopping on the High Street, it is now high on my list of favourite London places. Thanks Emma!
Details for The Muffin Man are on my Qype review
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Adventures in Wonderland
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Alice arrived in a Clapham wonderland earlier this month as Trinity Hospice welcomed Londoners to its garden open day in aid of the NGS.
The afternoon was themed as an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ family fun-day with entertainers, including magicians and costumed stilt walkers for children, stalls to browse and drinks and light refreshments. All in the setting of the magical and beautiful English country style gardens.
Alice arrived in a Clapham wonderland earlier this month as Trinity Hospice welcomed Londoners to its garden open day in aid of the NGS.
The afternoon was themed as an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ family fun-day with entertainers, including magicians and costumed stilt walkers for children, stalls to browse and drinks and light refreshments. All in the setting of the magical and beautiful English country style gardens.
Friday, June 11, 2010
World Cup Fever Hits Clapham!
The World Cup starts today - here's hoping for a massively successful tournament for the host nation, South Africa, and let's hope the England team can overcome their somewhat fractious beginning and do us proud.
Am I dreaming that flag mania seems to increase with every World Cup? The colourful bunting definitely adds to the jollity of the Nation, even if one isn't a fan of the football. Some Clapham pubs are joining in the festivities - most impressively The Alexandria.
Which admittedly has the most impressive frontage to begin with.
Well done Alexandria!
Revolution on Clapham High Street has put a wall of flags behind their double story glass facade, which results in some interesting photographic effects.
Let's hope that mysterious throbbing neon zero in the centre of the USA flag is an omen for the match against England on Saturday.
And over in Clapham Old Town, even posh florists Birksen are getting in on the act.
The good old Prince of Wales goes for traditional bunting as well as a St George's flag.
Well, Clapham is all behind England! Go team!
Saturday, June 05, 2010
My Eurovision Winnings
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Well this year’s Eurovision wasn’t all bad - in fact, Good Luck alert! I won some wireless Sennheiser headphones in Acediscovery’s Eurovision competition. To enter you had to guess the winning score (not the winner). Just as well I am better at predicting scores than guessing winners. My favourites Sweden failed to qualify.
They arrived this morning (the headphones, that is, not Sweden) and I plugged them in immediately. Totally enjoying the freedom of moving around the flat untethered by cables.
Well this year’s Eurovision wasn’t all bad - in fact, Good Luck alert! I won some wireless Sennheiser headphones in Acediscovery’s Eurovision competition. To enter you had to guess the winning score (not the winner). Just as well I am better at predicting scores than guessing winners. My favourites Sweden failed to qualify.
They arrived this morning (the headphones, that is, not Sweden) and I plugged them in immediately. Totally enjoying the freedom of moving around the flat untethered by cables.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Eurovision - The Finals, Oslo 2010
Last night’s Eurovision Final in Oslo was a great success and huge fun. I was thrilled that Germany won - a really encouraging result, showing the big four are still capable of winning if they have a good song (and also encouraging because it was a good song - we’re not being overwhelmed by shlock).
Here is my digest of best bits and tweets.
diamondgeezer Eurovision only takes up 0.09% of a year. It feels so much longer.
edwardclarkeWoo hoo! We're live in Oslo! #esc #eurovision
charltonbrooker Is it me or does the slight echo on Norton's voice make it sound like he's narrating from beyond the grave? #eurovision
efan78 Did Graham just say "Euro-Camp", is there any other type? #eurovision
guy_interruptd OH MY FUCKING GOD! MY ENTIRE TWITTER STREAM HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER BY FUCKING EUROVISION!
1 Azerbaijan
Safura
Drip Drop
wolfstar_de Azerbaijan's entry is a cheapo Beyonce/Alicia Keys/Leona power-ballad clone in 3/4, except without the charisma. It's dull as ditchwater.
edwardclarke ForeVAAAAH #Azerbaijan #esc #eurovision
thoroughlygood@edwardclarke Stop that. Stop that now.
2 Spain
Daniel Diges
Algo Pequeñito (Something Tiny)
Popjustice Something tiny in the number two slot reminds me of (NO THANKS - ED)
LeeBinding It's the Nutcracker... on crack. #eurovision
roryjmaxwell Leo Sayer, a Soprano and a toy soldier on acid. Spain at #eurovision
3 Norway
Didrik Solli-Tangen
My Heart Is Yours
LeeBinding He's flatter than Kate Moss's tits. #norway #eurovision
4 Moldova
Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira
Run Away
indiaknight Hoo, saxophonist sexytime.
edwardclarke This saxophonist is obscene on all sorts of levels. Just wrong
5 Cyprus
Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders
Life Looks Better In Spring
NickArchuleta Cyprus is way too English sounding :( #ESC
6 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Vukašin Brajić
Thunder And Lightning
travelling_wolf Bosnia and Herzegovina, I'd snog you drunkenly on the stairs at a party and regret it in the morning. #eurovision
7 Belgium
Tom Dice
Me And My Guitar
indiaknight Allez les Belges! #eurovision
SamStreet69 Belgium’s answer to James Blunt ... As if one Blunt wasn't enough! #eurovision
efan78 Will someone please turn the wind machine on and get this whiny bloke off the stage please? #eurovision
8 Serbia
Milan Stanković
Ovo Je Balkan
owenblacker RT @spaceboy: OMG years of authoriarian nationalism has produced the uber gay in Serbia! The gay to end all gays, indeed the end of gays.
LeeBinding Dance! Dance like your passport depends upon it! #eurovision
9 Belarus
3+2
Butterflies
charltonbrooker "We're like butterflies, flying to the sun". What, putting in a lot of effort to no avail?
10 Ireland
Niamh Kavanagh
It's For You
thoroughlygood NDN: "She's got Bridget Jones knickers on under that, I'm telling you." #eurovision #ireland. We're asking the neighbour to leave now.
11 Greece
Giorgos Alkaios & Friends
OPA
Soeno RT @ScoobyDoofus: Does the term "Greek entry" make anyone else giggle? #eurovision
LeeBinding Typical Greek man, bragging. 'Whopper!' #eurovision
12 United Kingdom
Josh Dubovie
That Sounds Good To Me
gabexmosh I love how the UK's stage choreography has the dude ignoring the girls, while the male dancers ogle him. #wyldhomo #ESC
ScoobyDoofus Cheesier than a cheese sandwich with cheese flavoured bread. #UK #eurovision
Killdozer For you UK, ze Eurovision iz over #eurovision #esc
delrico to quote my mate Chris: "It costs us millions and we have no hope of winning. It's like a musical Afghanistan." #eurovision
projblogsphere "DO NOT CALL FOR THE UK" ... No, seriously... do not vote for #UK. #Bad #ESC
acabelt RT @McRoell: You have been Rick-Rolled #ESC #UK
nminers Aaaargh my ears!!! #uk #eurovision
charltonbrooker This from the nation that brought you The Kinks
thoroughlygood Next year, the #uk should just have someone stand on stage in silence for 3 minutes. #eurovision
dutchtea slecht UK 0 POINTS #ESC
13 Georgia
Sofia Nizharadze
Shine
edwardclarke Norton: "No one got hurt - that's the main thing " #Georgia #esc #eurovision
14 Turkey
maNga
We Could Be The Same
efan78 Ah, Bondage Cyberwomen and Linkin' Park's bastard love children, what more could you want? #eurovision
15 Albania
Juliana Pasha
It's All About You
arlloyd Albania 9/10 #eurovision http://bit.ly/Vxkgm (although it could also be BBC Newsreader does Goldfrapp for Children in Need)
16 Iceland
Hera Björk
Je Ne Sais Quoi
zatytom Oh Iceland, frumpy valkyrie awesomeness. #esc
LandersIE Is she wearing the after show party marquee? #Eurovision
17 Ukraine
Alyosha
Sweet People
benlocker Ukraine does Noir Desir crossed with Joanna Lumley. Well odd. #eurovision
Queen_UK Oh dear. Ukraine clearly has deepset social problems.
nok32uk #eurovision Sweet people? Sweet Jesus!! #esc #ukraine
18 France
Jessy Matador
Allez Olla Olé
travelling_wolf French have, quite sensibly, moved away from the vote losing Edith Piaf model this time. #eurovision
owenblacker Damn them! RT @Ewan: They've had to "family riendly" the French dance and outfits #eurovision
indiaknight Jessy Matador is a brilliant name.
19 Romania
Paula Seling & Ovi
Playing With Fire
thoroughlygood: Significant Other on #romania's female singer: 'Don't flirt with him. He's disgusting.' #eurovision #romania #esc
20 Russia
Peter Nalitch & Friends
Lost And Forgotten
benlocker Russia changes gears, not keys. #eurovision
21 Armenia
Eva Rivas
Apricot Stone
owenblacker Armenia: Bloody wacky song, and a disappointing lack of hot Armenian boys on stage, but Im' quite liking this #eurovision
squawkbox That top is a bit tight, isn't it? #armenia #eurovision
roryjmaxwell "Apricot stone hidden in my hand"? She assumes that her tits have rendered you senseless - the lyrics are just random shit. #eurovision
charlotteyoung: ... I can quite confidently say that this is the best song about Apricot stones I've ever heard. Seriously. #eurovision
zatytom I'm properly loving this apricot madness. #esc
22 Germany
Lena
Satellite
benlocker German girl dances like she's desperate for the loo. Wish they'd fielded Max Raabe. #eurovision
travelling_wolf: What accent is she singing with? Is she a German cockney? #eurovision
MayorWatch Am impressed, German act well into her song and no-one on Twitter seems to have mentioned the war. Must be a record.
23 Portugal
Filipa Azevedo
Há Dias Assim
GuyAitchison The Portugese entry seems to be singing in Portugese. What's that about? #eurovision
pembdave Portugal... Take a hint... #eurovision
24 Israel
Harel Skaat
Milim
ajscroxton Theoretically, and given Ireland sent the 1993 winner, could Israel send Dana International again? This needs to happen. #eurovision
25 Denmark
Chanée & N'evergreen
In A Moment Like This
jenblower aaaw, The Police + ABBA + Key change = Denmark! #eurovision
26 Spain (again)
thoroughlygood OH WOW. #spain gets to perform again because of that stage invasion. Good show. Nice. Great for us anoraks. #eurovision.
edwardclarke What? Why punish all of us when only one person ran on stage? #esc
guy_interruptd ROFL! I do love you, Mike! RT @LondonVoiceover: Sing twice if you like. But the phrase "snowball's chance in hell" comes to mind
leebinding I'm marking Spain down because the stage invaded actually added to it. #eurovision
Interval Act
MadCon
Glow
jackwallington Eurovision Flashmob!! YES!!
Leanne_Cee #Eurovision Dancing scenes in private houses all over Europe. Amazing how they bring it together
bbceurovision Best interval act since Riverdance, in my humble opinion!
RedMummy Am loving live webcams on #eurovision. Not sure whether to call RSPCA or NSPCC first.
jackwallington Everyone else amazing. UK just lifts up some drunk people. We are SHIT.
Voting & Winner
Cardiff_Blogger We're in the top half! Finish now! #Eurovision
jonemo Congrats to the UK who did much better than expected (and well better than their 10year average) in the #esc!
wolfstar_de Germany winning Eurovision? That's about as likely as a Conservative-LibDem coalition. Oh fuck.
Eurobin Lena wins for Germany with a Lily Allen / Kate Nash type of song that the UK should have been doing - UK missed the boat #eurovision #esc
pauljchambers We finished last??? It's all the coalition's fault #eurovision
Queen_UK Be thankful society frowns on capital punishment, Mr Waterman. Be very thankful.
ajscroxton Listening to Katrina and the Waves. Happy days of 1997. No Eurovision wins under the Tories.
leebinding There. I'm done. Thank you kindly for listening, darlings. I'm off to crawl further into a bottle of gin for the rest of the night.
Here is my digest of best bits and tweets.
diamondgeezer Eurovision only takes up 0.09% of a year. It feels so much longer.
edwardclarkeWoo hoo! We're live in Oslo! #esc #eurovision
charltonbrooker Is it me or does the slight echo on Norton's voice make it sound like he's narrating from beyond the grave? #eurovision
efan78 Did Graham just say "Euro-Camp", is there any other type? #eurovision
guy_interruptd OH MY FUCKING GOD! MY ENTIRE TWITTER STREAM HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER BY FUCKING EUROVISION!
1 Azerbaijan
Safura
Drip Drop
wolfstar_de Azerbaijan's entry is a cheapo Beyonce/Alicia Keys/Leona power-ballad clone in 3/4, except without the charisma. It's dull as ditchwater.
edwardclarke ForeVAAAAH #Azerbaijan #esc #eurovision
thoroughlygood@edwardclarke Stop that. Stop that now.
2 Spain
Daniel Diges
Algo Pequeñito (Something Tiny)
Popjustice Something tiny in the number two slot reminds me of (NO THANKS - ED)
LeeBinding It's the Nutcracker... on crack. #eurovision
roryjmaxwell Leo Sayer, a Soprano and a toy soldier on acid. Spain at #eurovision
3 Norway
Didrik Solli-Tangen
My Heart Is Yours
LeeBinding He's flatter than Kate Moss's tits. #norway #eurovision
4 Moldova
Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira
Run Away
indiaknight Hoo, saxophonist sexytime.
edwardclarke This saxophonist is obscene on all sorts of levels. Just wrong
5 Cyprus
Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders
Life Looks Better In Spring
NickArchuleta Cyprus is way too English sounding :( #ESC
6 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Vukašin Brajić
Thunder And Lightning
travelling_wolf Bosnia and Herzegovina, I'd snog you drunkenly on the stairs at a party and regret it in the morning. #eurovision
7 Belgium
Tom Dice
Me And My Guitar
indiaknight Allez les Belges! #eurovision
SamStreet69 Belgium’s answer to James Blunt ... As if one Blunt wasn't enough! #eurovision
efan78 Will someone please turn the wind machine on and get this whiny bloke off the stage please? #eurovision
8 Serbia
Milan Stanković
Ovo Je Balkan
owenblacker RT @spaceboy: OMG years of authoriarian nationalism has produced the uber gay in Serbia! The gay to end all gays, indeed the end of gays.
LeeBinding Dance! Dance like your passport depends upon it! #eurovision
9 Belarus
3+2
Butterflies
charltonbrooker "We're like butterflies, flying to the sun". What, putting in a lot of effort to no avail?
10 Ireland
Niamh Kavanagh
It's For You
thoroughlygood NDN: "She's got Bridget Jones knickers on under that, I'm telling you." #eurovision #ireland. We're asking the neighbour to leave now.
11 Greece
Giorgos Alkaios & Friends
OPA
Soeno RT @ScoobyDoofus: Does the term "Greek entry" make anyone else giggle? #eurovision
LeeBinding Typical Greek man, bragging. 'Whopper!' #eurovision
12 United Kingdom
Josh Dubovie
That Sounds Good To Me
gabexmosh I love how the UK's stage choreography has the dude ignoring the girls, while the male dancers ogle him. #wyldhomo #ESC
ScoobyDoofus Cheesier than a cheese sandwich with cheese flavoured bread. #UK #eurovision
Killdozer For you UK, ze Eurovision iz over #eurovision #esc
delrico to quote my mate Chris: "It costs us millions and we have no hope of winning. It's like a musical Afghanistan." #eurovision
projblogsphere "DO NOT CALL FOR THE UK" ... No, seriously... do not vote for #UK. #Bad #ESC
acabelt RT @McRoell: You have been Rick-Rolled #ESC #UK
nminers Aaaargh my ears!!! #uk #eurovision
charltonbrooker This from the nation that brought you The Kinks
thoroughlygood Next year, the #uk should just have someone stand on stage in silence for 3 minutes. #eurovision
dutchtea slecht UK 0 POINTS #ESC
13 Georgia
Sofia Nizharadze
Shine
edwardclarke Norton: "No one got hurt - that's the main thing " #Georgia #esc #eurovision
14 Turkey
maNga
We Could Be The Same
efan78 Ah, Bondage Cyberwomen and Linkin' Park's bastard love children, what more could you want? #eurovision
15 Albania
Juliana Pasha
It's All About You
arlloyd Albania 9/10 #eurovision http://bit.ly/Vxkgm (although it could also be BBC Newsreader does Goldfrapp for Children in Need)
16 Iceland
Hera Björk
Je Ne Sais Quoi
zatytom Oh Iceland, frumpy valkyrie awesomeness. #esc
LandersIE Is she wearing the after show party marquee? #Eurovision
17 Ukraine
Alyosha
Sweet People
benlocker Ukraine does Noir Desir crossed with Joanna Lumley. Well odd. #eurovision
Queen_UK Oh dear. Ukraine clearly has deepset social problems.
nok32uk #eurovision Sweet people? Sweet Jesus!! #esc #ukraine
18 France
Jessy Matador
Allez Olla Olé
travelling_wolf French have, quite sensibly, moved away from the vote losing Edith Piaf model this time. #eurovision
owenblacker Damn them! RT @Ewan: They've had to "family riendly" the French dance and outfits #eurovision
indiaknight Jessy Matador is a brilliant name.
19 Romania
Paula Seling & Ovi
Playing With Fire
thoroughlygood: Significant Other on #romania's female singer: 'Don't flirt with him. He's disgusting.' #eurovision #romania #esc
20 Russia
Peter Nalitch & Friends
Lost And Forgotten
benlocker Russia changes gears, not keys. #eurovision
21 Armenia
Eva Rivas
Apricot Stone
owenblacker Armenia: Bloody wacky song, and a disappointing lack of hot Armenian boys on stage, but Im' quite liking this #eurovision
squawkbox That top is a bit tight, isn't it? #armenia #eurovision
roryjmaxwell "Apricot stone hidden in my hand"? She assumes that her tits have rendered you senseless - the lyrics are just random shit. #eurovision
charlotteyoung: ... I can quite confidently say that this is the best song about Apricot stones I've ever heard. Seriously. #eurovision
zatytom I'm properly loving this apricot madness. #esc
22 Germany
Lena
Satellite
benlocker German girl dances like she's desperate for the loo. Wish they'd fielded Max Raabe. #eurovision
travelling_wolf: What accent is she singing with? Is she a German cockney? #eurovision
MayorWatch Am impressed, German act well into her song and no-one on Twitter seems to have mentioned the war. Must be a record.
23 Portugal
Filipa Azevedo
Há Dias Assim
GuyAitchison The Portugese entry seems to be singing in Portugese. What's that about? #eurovision
pembdave Portugal... Take a hint... #eurovision
24 Israel
Harel Skaat
Milim
ajscroxton Theoretically, and given Ireland sent the 1993 winner, could Israel send Dana International again? This needs to happen. #eurovision
25 Denmark
Chanée & N'evergreen
In A Moment Like This
jenblower aaaw, The Police + ABBA + Key change = Denmark! #eurovision
26 Spain (again)
thoroughlygood OH WOW. #spain gets to perform again because of that stage invasion. Good show. Nice. Great for us anoraks. #eurovision.
edwardclarke What? Why punish all of us when only one person ran on stage? #esc
guy_interruptd ROFL! I do love you, Mike! RT @LondonVoiceover: Sing twice if you like. But the phrase "snowball's chance in hell" comes to mind
leebinding I'm marking Spain down because the stage invaded actually added to it. #eurovision
Interval Act
MadCon
Glow
jackwallington Eurovision Flashmob!! YES!!
Leanne_Cee #Eurovision Dancing scenes in private houses all over Europe. Amazing how they bring it together
bbceurovision Best interval act since Riverdance, in my humble opinion!
RedMummy Am loving live webcams on #eurovision. Not sure whether to call RSPCA or NSPCC first.
jackwallington Everyone else amazing. UK just lifts up some drunk people. We are SHIT.
Voting & Winner
Cardiff_Blogger We're in the top half! Finish now! #Eurovision
jonemo Congrats to the UK who did much better than expected (and well better than their 10year average) in the #esc!
wolfstar_de Germany winning Eurovision? That's about as likely as a Conservative-LibDem coalition. Oh fuck.
Eurobin Lena wins for Germany with a Lily Allen / Kate Nash type of song that the UK should have been doing - UK missed the boat #eurovision #esc
pauljchambers We finished last??? It's all the coalition's fault #eurovision
Queen_UK Be thankful society frowns on capital punishment, Mr Waterman. Be very thankful.
ajscroxton Listening to Katrina and the Waves. Happy days of 1997. No Eurovision wins under the Tories.
leebinding There. I'm done. Thank you kindly for listening, darlings. I'm off to crawl further into a bottle of gin for the rest of the night.
My favourites for tonight
Tonight’s Eurovision Song Contest final will be interesting, I think. Somehow I doubt there will be a clear cut winner in the manner of last year; there are too many good songs in too many styles. All of the bookie’s favourites will divide the voters, I think, and the voters and juries will be all at odds too.
I think the one dead certainty is that neither the voters nor the juries will vote for the UK’s entry! Will we score nul points once again or will we get a pity vote from Ireland?
My friend Ethan says it tempts fate to publish your favourites but here goes. I don’t have a firm definite favourite but I would be very happy if the overall winner emerged from this group:
France
Jessy Matador - Allez olla olé
Belgium
Tom Dice - Me and My Guitar
Greece
Giorgos Alkaios & Friends - OPA
Iceland
Hera Björk - Je ne sais quoi
Albania
Juliana Pasha - It’s All About You
Ireland
Niamh Kavanagh - It’s For You
Germany
Lena - Satellite
I hope I haven’t jinxed their chances! We shall see tonight.
I think the one dead certainty is that neither the voters nor the juries will vote for the UK’s entry! Will we score nul points once again or will we get a pity vote from Ireland?
My friend Ethan says it tempts fate to publish your favourites but here goes. I don’t have a firm definite favourite but I would be very happy if the overall winner emerged from this group:
France
Jessy Matador - Allez olla olé
Belgium
Tom Dice - Me and My Guitar
Greece
Giorgos Alkaios & Friends - OPA
Iceland
Hera Björk - Je ne sais quoi
Albania
Juliana Pasha - It’s All About You
Ireland
Niamh Kavanagh - It’s For You
Germany
Lena - Satellite
I hope I haven’t jinxed their chances! We shall see tonight.
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Big Five
Five countries qualify automatically for the finals: the Big Four consisting of France, Germany, Spain and the UK; and the host country and last year's winner, Norway. The reason is these are the countries that bear a disproportionate share of the costs of mounting the competition, and if they weren't in the finals they would have major problems with their home audiences.
However, because the Eurovision Contest is democratically decided by voting I think this arrangement disadvantages these five countries: firstly because they are automatic qualifiers they tend to miss out on most of the build-up buzz and speculation; and secondly because voters in the competing countries must resent this easy ride for songs they may feel are inferior (and sometimes are!)
So how do the big four (and Noway!) shape up this year? Here's what I think.
Germany
Lena has scored a huge hit in Germany with her song Satellite and is one of the favourites to win. I think it's definitely a strong contender, but the somewhat sophisticated song and performance may leave some European voters cold. It has grown on me, I quite like it now and wouldn't be sorry if it does win, but feel it unlikely.
Spain
Daniel Diges' song Algo Pequeñito has also grown on me a little but I don't think it's a winner. It's definitely better than the UK's, however.
France
I'm pretty hot on Jessy Matador's Allez Olla Olé - a fantastic stomping dance tune for the summer; makes me happy every time I hear it.
Norway
Didrik Solli-Tangen's My Heart Is Yours is the quintessential Eurovision package - a slow crescendo in structure, featuring a pretty melody and prettier singer. It could do well.
UK
Words cannot express the sadness. Poor Josh Dubovie - the BBC's sacrificial victim. I hope his career survives this disaster. This definitely does not sound good to me.
However, because the Eurovision Contest is democratically decided by voting I think this arrangement disadvantages these five countries: firstly because they are automatic qualifiers they tend to miss out on most of the build-up buzz and speculation; and secondly because voters in the competing countries must resent this easy ride for songs they may feel are inferior (and sometimes are!)
So how do the big four (and Noway!) shape up this year? Here's what I think.
Germany
Lena has scored a huge hit in Germany with her song Satellite and is one of the favourites to win. I think it's definitely a strong contender, but the somewhat sophisticated song and performance may leave some European voters cold. It has grown on me, I quite like it now and wouldn't be sorry if it does win, but feel it unlikely.
Spain
Daniel Diges' song Algo Pequeñito has also grown on me a little but I don't think it's a winner. It's definitely better than the UK's, however.
France
I'm pretty hot on Jessy Matador's Allez Olla Olé - a fantastic stomping dance tune for the summer; makes me happy every time I hear it.
Norway
Didrik Solli-Tangen's My Heart Is Yours is the quintessential Eurovision package - a slow crescendo in structure, featuring a pretty melody and prettier singer. It could do well.
UK
Words cannot express the sadness. Poor Josh Dubovie - the BBC's sacrificial victim. I hope his career survives this disaster. This definitely does not sound good to me.
Eurovision Shock: Sweden out as ten go through in second semi-final
Bloody Hell! I didn’t see that coming! Anna Berghendahl’s This is my Life was my favourite to win the whole competition! Clearly it’s a mistake to overestimate the taste of the European public.
jonwillchambers: The last time Sweden were absent from a #Eurovision final? 1976.
jonwillchambers: How much are those fated Swedish #Eurovision glow-sticks worth on eBay? Hope they're recyclable.
edwardclarke@efan78 How can SWEDEN go out??! Abba must be spinning in their graves! #esc #eurovision
edwardclarke: Message to Sweden: I *do* know Abba is still alive. I was being *ironic*. I share your pain in falling out of Eurovision. #esc
Seriously, this does make me fear for the future creative direction of the competition. For Pete’s sake, Azerbaijan went through - I suppose it is one of the bookie’s favourites - a dreary dull song in my opinion. The Azerbaijanese have gone all out to win this year, hiring Beyonce’s All the Single Ladies choreographer. Pity they didn’t watch the recent Channel 4 programme on the best 100 pop videos of all time: they would have learnt that Beyonce’s dance routine was copied step-for-step, shimmy-for-shimmy from Gwen Verdon's Mexican Breakfast from The Ed Sullivan Show (1969). Here is Azerbaijan's Drip Drop, sung with joyless intensity by Safura:
While Sweden may have had the most musically sophisticated song of the evening, The Netherlands were very brave with a retro-tastic little diity by the creator of the Smurfs, sung by Sieneke. Again, creative daring divided the audience:
justgarance: Oh. No. We're up. #eurovision. Get your earplugs.
AngryBritain: The Netherlands: Your song roughly translates as 'There are some fucking excellent drugs available in Amsterdam' #eurovision
thoroughlygood: OK .. Look I'm really sorry about this .. but I actually quite like this. Is that bad ? #netherlands #eurovision #esc
edwardclarke: Me too! :-) RT @efan78: Yay! Shakin' Stevens' Dutch cousin! I like this one, it's very retro-#Eurovision
_irissa_: Dear other people in Europe. We’re sorry for sending Sieneke. We didn’t want to send her, but Papa Smurf made us. #songfestival #eurovision
thoroughlygood: VOTE #NETHERLANDS ... she's gorgeous #eurovision
Well, The Netherlands never made it either :-(
Through to the finals are:
Armenia
Israel
Denmark
Azerbaijan
Ukraine
Romania
Ireland
Cyprus
Georgia
Turkey
For me, Ireland (Niamh Kavanagh: It's for you) is the clear best out of the above. Most surprisingly improved in performance was Georgia - Shine sung by Sofia Nizharadze was heartfelt and charming. Cyprus appears to be a stealth UK entry (sung by a boy from Wales - Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders: Life Looks Better in Spring) - it actually stands a better chance than our official entry!
thoroughlygood: PLEASE DON'T CALL NOW .. YOU'LL CAUSE A RIFT IN THE SPACE TIME CONTINUUM. CHILDREN WILL DIE. #eurovision #esc
orbyn: These tweets almost make me wish I were watching Eurovision. Almost.
jonwillchambers: The last time Sweden were absent from a #Eurovision final? 1976.
jonwillchambers: How much are those fated Swedish #Eurovision glow-sticks worth on eBay? Hope they're recyclable.
edwardclarke@efan78 How can SWEDEN go out??! Abba must be spinning in their graves! #esc #eurovision
edwardclarke: Message to Sweden: I *do* know Abba is still alive. I was being *ironic*. I share your pain in falling out of Eurovision. #esc
Seriously, this does make me fear for the future creative direction of the competition. For Pete’s sake, Azerbaijan went through - I suppose it is one of the bookie’s favourites - a dreary dull song in my opinion. The Azerbaijanese have gone all out to win this year, hiring Beyonce’s All the Single Ladies choreographer. Pity they didn’t watch the recent Channel 4 programme on the best 100 pop videos of all time: they would have learnt that Beyonce’s dance routine was copied step-for-step, shimmy-for-shimmy from Gwen Verdon's Mexican Breakfast from The Ed Sullivan Show (1969). Here is Azerbaijan's Drip Drop, sung with joyless intensity by Safura:
While Sweden may have had the most musically sophisticated song of the evening, The Netherlands were very brave with a retro-tastic little diity by the creator of the Smurfs, sung by Sieneke. Again, creative daring divided the audience:
justgarance: Oh. No. We're up. #eurovision. Get your earplugs.
AngryBritain: The Netherlands: Your song roughly translates as 'There are some fucking excellent drugs available in Amsterdam' #eurovision
thoroughlygood: OK .. Look I'm really sorry about this .. but I actually quite like this. Is that bad ? #netherlands #eurovision #esc
edwardclarke: Me too! :-) RT @efan78: Yay! Shakin' Stevens' Dutch cousin! I like this one, it's very retro-#Eurovision
_irissa_: Dear other people in Europe. We’re sorry for sending Sieneke. We didn’t want to send her, but Papa Smurf made us. #songfestival #eurovision
thoroughlygood: VOTE #NETHERLANDS ... she's gorgeous #eurovision
Well, The Netherlands never made it either :-(
Through to the finals are:
Armenia
Israel
Denmark
Azerbaijan
Ukraine
Romania
Ireland
Cyprus
Georgia
Turkey
For me, Ireland (Niamh Kavanagh: It's for you) is the clear best out of the above. Most surprisingly improved in performance was Georgia - Shine sung by Sofia Nizharadze was heartfelt and charming. Cyprus appears to be a stealth UK entry (sung by a boy from Wales - Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders: Life Looks Better in Spring) - it actually stands a better chance than our official entry!
thoroughlygood: PLEASE DON'T CALL NOW .. YOU'LL CAUSE A RIFT IN THE SPACE TIME CONTINUUM. CHILDREN WILL DIE. #eurovision #esc
orbyn: These tweets almost make me wish I were watching Eurovision. Almost.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The First Eurovision Semi-Final: 10 Acts Qualify
Clapham Omnibus will be providing a digest of the most outstanding moments of the Eurovision festival and Eurovision tweets too, as we head towards the big final this Saturday.
Oslo put on a great show last night for the first semi-final, and excitement levels ran high as the contestants took to the stage.
bbceurovision: WAKEY WAKEY! Guess what day it is? YES! Eurovision Semi-final #1 day! Excitement levels building!!!
bbceurovision: Breaking news: Eurovision stadium hit by freak tornado, merchandise tent blown down
Greece, Portugal, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Serbia, Albania, Moldova, Belarus, Russia and Belgium were the lucky countries voted through to the finals last night. The last 10 finalists will be picked from Thursday’s second semi-final in Norway (in which the UK will be able to vote). The UK, Germany, France, Spain and Norway automatically qualify for the finals.
Tom Dice's Me and My Guitar is Belgium's first entrant to reach the final since 2004, a very lovely song and performance and surely one to put an outside bet on winning Eurovision 2010.
Malta, FYR Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Finland and Slovakia missed out on a spot in the final.
stigblog: FYROM is my favourite name for a country in the whole world. #Eurovision
Latvia (Aisha: What For? ) was the clear disaster of the night (the BBC announcer Paddy O’Connell compared her singing quite accurately to root canal work) - a case of the song being considerably better than the singer (perhaps she’s related to the Latvian TV bosses, one wonders?)
neonbubble: You can always compensate for a bad song with a great outfit. So... Latvia won't be going through then. #esc #eurovision
Dinzla: I had no idea Latvia was so flat.. #ESC Eurovision
krdr: They even f*ckd up her ala Britney Spears make-up. Latvia on #ESC
Otherwise, I’m sad Malta and Slovakia never made it - Malta’s act (Thea Garrett: My Dream) featured a spectacular glittery bird-man who emerged from the singer’s dress.
misterebby: Malta has wings coming out of her ass! #eurovision
Squibby_: Jesus, her sanitary towel's wings have a mind of their own. #eurovision
Squibby_: Is it a bird? Is it a geeza? No, it's superfaggot. #eurovision
efan78: Gah! That Bird man's even scarier close up! #Eurovision
I was previously dubious about Greece’s blatant attempt to sex up their (quite good) modern faux-folk ditty OPA, but have to admit they pulled it off and Giorgos Alkaios & (his new, sexier) Friends put in one of the most outstanding performances of the evening.
spyros: Opa Opa Opa!!! #eurovision on my 3rd pint of Murphy's. Everything sounds so much better now
MacPsych: Greece: why do I feel like I've just wandered into the Admiral Duncan? #eurovision
justgarance If Greece work "whoppa!" in at least two more times, they've got a fan. #eurovision
The most surprisingly improved performance of the evening was Portugal’s. The song (Há Dias Assim) is still a bit of stretch for me, but was given a superb production and heartfelt singing from the very lovely Filipa Azevedo.
toomuchroom: Ooh Portugal has a pair of lungs on her! #esc
Karmapriya: Miss Portugal is pretty like a princess & sings well. But another booooring song! #eurovision #esc
efan78: Dear Jim, please could you fix it for me to be a fake Mariah Carey? Love & Kisses Portugal xxx #Eurovision
I was thrilled that my favourite Albania (Juliana Pasha: It’s All About You) went through.
stigblog: Check out the violinist's hair!! Albanian fashion FTW! #Eurovision
But the undoubted hit of the night was Iceland’s Hera Björk and her soaring dance anthem Je Ne Sais Quoi : absolutely storming, and given a well-deserved standing ovation by the crowd.
Soeno: I wonder if the #ashcloud will affect Iceland's #eurovision chances.
AngryBritain: Iceland: Your song roughly translates as 'Mess with us and we'll fuck you with a Volcano' #eurovision
Soeno: Liking Iceland's diva at #eurovision... She's very... voluptuous. And she can SING. LOUD.
i_is_sam: Everyone who can vote for Iceland. Look at her rack! It's pure europop and her tits are fabulous! What more could you want?
AttitudeMag: We're not sure but Iceland might be going for the gay vote here. #eurovision
misterebby: Dana International's successor is this Icelandic entry. It's 100% awesome homo-dance-pop. Definitely should be top 5. #eurovision.
Squibby_: All the gays love a fat diva #eurovision
Oslo put on a great show last night for the first semi-final, and excitement levels ran high as the contestants took to the stage.
bbceurovision: WAKEY WAKEY! Guess what day it is? YES! Eurovision Semi-final #1 day! Excitement levels building!!!
bbceurovision: Breaking news: Eurovision stadium hit by freak tornado, merchandise tent blown down
Greece, Portugal, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Serbia, Albania, Moldova, Belarus, Russia and Belgium were the lucky countries voted through to the finals last night. The last 10 finalists will be picked from Thursday’s second semi-final in Norway (in which the UK will be able to vote). The UK, Germany, France, Spain and Norway automatically qualify for the finals.
Tom Dice's Me and My Guitar is Belgium's first entrant to reach the final since 2004, a very lovely song and performance and surely one to put an outside bet on winning Eurovision 2010.
Malta, FYR Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Finland and Slovakia missed out on a spot in the final.
stigblog: FYROM is my favourite name for a country in the whole world. #Eurovision
Latvia (Aisha: What For? ) was the clear disaster of the night (the BBC announcer Paddy O’Connell compared her singing quite accurately to root canal work) - a case of the song being considerably better than the singer (perhaps she’s related to the Latvian TV bosses, one wonders?)
neonbubble: You can always compensate for a bad song with a great outfit. So... Latvia won't be going through then. #esc #eurovision
Dinzla: I had no idea Latvia was so flat.. #ESC Eurovision
krdr: They even f*ckd up her ala Britney Spears make-up. Latvia on #ESC
Otherwise, I’m sad Malta and Slovakia never made it - Malta’s act (Thea Garrett: My Dream) featured a spectacular glittery bird-man who emerged from the singer’s dress.
misterebby: Malta has wings coming out of her ass! #eurovision
Squibby_: Jesus, her sanitary towel's wings have a mind of their own. #eurovision
Squibby_: Is it a bird? Is it a geeza? No, it's superfaggot. #eurovision
efan78: Gah! That Bird man's even scarier close up! #Eurovision
I was previously dubious about Greece’s blatant attempt to sex up their (quite good) modern faux-folk ditty OPA, but have to admit they pulled it off and Giorgos Alkaios & (his new, sexier) Friends put in one of the most outstanding performances of the evening.
spyros: Opa Opa Opa!!! #eurovision on my 3rd pint of Murphy's. Everything sounds so much better now
MacPsych: Greece: why do I feel like I've just wandered into the Admiral Duncan? #eurovision
justgarance If Greece work "whoppa!" in at least two more times, they've got a fan. #eurovision
The most surprisingly improved performance of the evening was Portugal’s. The song (Há Dias Assim) is still a bit of stretch for me, but was given a superb production and heartfelt singing from the very lovely Filipa Azevedo.
toomuchroom: Ooh Portugal has a pair of lungs on her! #esc
Karmapriya: Miss Portugal is pretty like a princess & sings well. But another booooring song! #eurovision #esc
efan78: Dear Jim, please could you fix it for me to be a fake Mariah Carey? Love & Kisses Portugal xxx #Eurovision
I was thrilled that my favourite Albania (Juliana Pasha: It’s All About You) went through.
stigblog: Check out the violinist's hair!! Albanian fashion FTW! #Eurovision
But the undoubted hit of the night was Iceland’s Hera Björk and her soaring dance anthem Je Ne Sais Quoi : absolutely storming, and given a well-deserved standing ovation by the crowd.
Soeno: I wonder if the #ashcloud will affect Iceland's #eurovision chances.
AngryBritain: Iceland: Your song roughly translates as 'Mess with us and we'll fuck you with a Volcano' #eurovision
Soeno: Liking Iceland's diva at #eurovision... She's very... voluptuous. And she can SING. LOUD.
i_is_sam: Everyone who can vote for Iceland. Look at her rack! It's pure europop and her tits are fabulous! What more could you want?
AttitudeMag: We're not sure but Iceland might be going for the gay vote here. #eurovision
misterebby: Dana International's successor is this Icelandic entry. It's 100% awesome homo-dance-pop. Definitely should be top 5. #eurovision.
Squibby_: All the gays love a fat diva #eurovision
Monday, May 24, 2010
dizzy daisies
.
Glorious sunshine across the capital all weekend! Woo hoo! Hotter than the Mediterranean, etc etc etc. I always love the festive crowds enjoying watching life go by on the Common; it makes the area round here feel like Clapham-by-Sea. Well, we have our ponds, I suppose.
Glorious sunshine across the capital all weekend! Woo hoo! Hotter than the Mediterranean, etc etc etc. I always love the festive crowds enjoying watching life go by on the Common; it makes the area round here feel like Clapham-by-Sea. Well, we have our ponds, I suppose.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
A new government
Yes, I’m still shaking my head in wonderment at the developments here in the UK. I really love how our Government changes instantly - literally, the old PM leaves Downing Street just before the new one arrives - leaving very little time to pack! Great theatre.
It’s no secret that the new Government is not entirely to my liking but Cameron’s initial moves are certainly interesting - almost as if he’s been a closet Lib Dem all this time - and no doubt we are in for some interesting times ahead. As the world is still reeling in the developing financial crisis I hope the new government can hold it all together. Today’s news is that Angela Merkel has gone rogue in Europe; thank goodness at least Brown kept us out of the Euro! Otherwise that would have been another fine mess that Tony got us into.
Here are my collection of new government tweets, from last week:
Jason_Cobb This is without a doubt, the worst evening of my life #ukelection #nffc
Jason_Cobb #blamedavecameron #blamenickclegg #blamethatcher #nffc
diamondgeezer "The Official flickr channel for the Prime Minister has moved" - old http://bit.ly/bICw3m ; new http://bit.ly/bcup3z
EvilGayTwin just got back from swimming to find David Cameron is our new Prime Minister. I should of just drowned myself whilst I had the chance!
BishopWeston@SarahBrown10 Thank you - So Rupert Murdoch won the election after all? Really is #nickcleggsfault now - he's so gonna be Haggis in a tin
LeeBinding Anyone else see the Ood singing behind Brown?
campbellclaret New slogan for Lib-dem supporters "I DISAGREE WITH NICK" !!
krishgm "the press looked from Tory to Lib Dem and from Lib Dem to Tory......but already it was impossible to say which was which"
campbellclaret what a week - trending on twitter re Boulton explosion, most popular twitterer in UK - oui, moi - and new Eton-Westminster-St Pauls govt
beano_monty @campbellclaret Will John Prescott be interviewed by Sky? I need something to look forward to.
LukePollard Has Nick Clegg gone from kingmaker to tea maker? - love that question #bbcqt
indiaknight David Cameron says "big" too much. Should vary, eg "humongous," "jumbo," "mahoosive".
It’s fascinating how dated some of these tweets are already. David Cameron is making it clear he’s not going to take any nonsense from his right-wing MPs. Will he also stand up to Rupert Murdoch? Time will tell.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Bus!
.
From time to time I do like this blog to live up to it's name. Therefore, it behooves me to report on Mayor Boris Johnson's announcement of the new Routemaster bus.
This was perhaps the most notable of his election promises - the revival of London's beloved Routemaster with the hop-on hop-off rear platform. The new bus will have this platform, but it will also have doors which will close it, so we shall have to wait and see how hoppable it really turns out to be.
In the meantime, Boris and London's Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy are very proud of the new bus's green credentials:
The new buses will be on the streets in 2012, hopefully in time for the London Olympics.
From time to time I do like this blog to live up to it's name. Therefore, it behooves me to report on Mayor Boris Johnson's announcement of the new Routemaster bus.
This was perhaps the most notable of his election promises - the revival of London's beloved Routemaster with the hop-on hop-off rear platform. The new bus will have this platform, but it will also have doors which will close it, so we shall have to wait and see how hoppable it really turns out to be.
In the meantime, Boris and London's Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy are very proud of the new bus's green credentials:
"Entering service in 2012, the futuristic design will use the latest green technology, will be 15 per cent more fuel efficient than existing hybrid buses, 40 per cent more efficient than conventional diesel double decks and much quieter on the streets."
The new buses will be on the streets in 2012, hopefully in time for the London Olympics.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Gent with flower
.
Strictly speaking I wasn't supposed to take this pic so am keeping mum about where this is from ;-)
This is a portrait of the author of an 18th-century florilegium, or plant encyclopedia. He was German and the book was published in Amsterdam beginning around 1730 (it took 12 years to complete). It's in 8 volumes; each around 500 pages long and contains 1,000 etched and hand-coloured illustrations. Each illustration was waxed to preserve the colour (and presumably to prevent it rubbing off on the facing page).
Imagine the logistics of organising that in that time period. No phones, no email, no typewriters or computers - no reliable postal service even. If the print run was just 1,000 that would mean they had to have 1,000,000 illustrations hand-painted to a consistent quality and correctly interleaved in the books. The text refers to illustrations by numbers (and there is an index at the end of the last volume)
I was really charmed that he had his portrait done in his baroque frock coat and wig holding a flower - his life's work.
Strictly speaking I wasn't supposed to take this pic so am keeping mum about where this is from ;-)
This is a portrait of the author of an 18th-century florilegium, or plant encyclopedia. He was German and the book was published in Amsterdam beginning around 1730 (it took 12 years to complete). It's in 8 volumes; each around 500 pages long and contains 1,000 etched and hand-coloured illustrations. Each illustration was waxed to preserve the colour (and presumably to prevent it rubbing off on the facing page).
Imagine the logistics of organising that in that time period. No phones, no email, no typewriters or computers - no reliable postal service even. If the print run was just 1,000 that would mean they had to have 1,000,000 illustrations hand-painted to a consistent quality and correctly interleaved in the books. The text refers to illustrations by numbers (and there is an index at the end of the last volume)
I was really charmed that he had his portrait done in his baroque frock coat and wig holding a flower - his life's work.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
election tweets
Britain’s recent election was historic in more than one sense - it was the first twitter election too. And of course we all know the most incisive political analysis happens on twitter :-)
So here is my digest of tweets of election night:
zefrog: It's National Lock A Tory in the Toilet At Work Day!
dontgetfooled Apparently 100K people just got text-spammed by the Tories. Guess Andy Coulson knows a thing or 2 about getting hold of private numbers...
edwardclarke Loads of names crossed off list already - voting must be pretty brisk in Vauxhall!
guy_interruptd RT @Craig_Brawn: Looking forward to the election results, its like Eurovision without the singing!
johannhari101 Now's a good time to text and call any friends/relatives who might have forgotten/not bothered to vote. Unless they're Tories, obviously
jonreed polls closing in 10 seconds. can't bear the suspense. #electionparty
edwardclarke@jonreed Yikes! BBC news saying LIb DEms on 59 seats in exit polls . . . rough night ahead!!
jackwallington It's about to start. It's exactly like the X Factor finale. The same length too, 12 hours.
edwardclarke@jackwallington But the winner gets to stay on top for 5 years!
edwardclarke Yay! BBC mutes Gove and we have the lovely Harperson instead!
edwardclarke Fight! Fight! Peter and Theresa going for it! Handbags at midnight!
edwardclarke Absolutely loving all the cock ups on the BBC broadcast - more please! And more Mandelson/Gorman punch ups!
technicalfault Absolutely outrageous to hear people have been turned away from polling stations after queueing!
zefrog RT @ianvisits @charlesarthur: That offer by Robert Mugabe to come and monitor our elections doesn't look so funny now, eh?
zefrog In France, elections always take place on Sundays. That way people have time to vote
adventuresofboz: JOAN COLLINS BEING AMAZING! WHERE IS THE VODKA!
edwardclarke@ncabani Hiding behind the sofa. Can't believe I laughed my head off when Cameron became Tory chief. Not laughing now
davidchild Looking forward to this party several hours into the free booze. Collins will get her tits out and Starkey will snog Schama.
edwardclarke RT @seemaface BEST COMMENT OF THE NIGHT - "The Queen is only activated in certain circumstances"- David Dimbleby #ukvote
jackwallington@edwardclarke It's all about activating the Queen!
Jason_Cobb Overall Tory majority prediction? Pondering early night and washing away sins in lido, or bugger it and get more bolly from wine cellar.
edwardclarke@@Jason_Cobb Hope the Bolly can last 4 years
ncabani Dimbelby: looks like Tories may be heading for a majority in parliament...
indiaknight: I feel extreme love for Scotland and Wales.
GuyAitchison The Scots are lucky, they can just declare independence if the Tories win. Could Kentish Town do the same? #ge2010
AdamBienkov RT @TimMontgomerie ConservativeHome no longer believes a Tory majority is possible
CulturalSnow RT @Timmy_Lee: People diss First Past the Post, but any system where you can give all three parties a kicking can't be all bad.
adamfishpoet Zac Goldsmith says he put less cash into his campaign than his rival. Mais oui, Zac, the truly rich rely on favours, don't they?
RedMummy Actually think that the Dimbleboy & Paxo should take a bow for conducting entire programme on professionally asking unanswerable questions.
CulturalSnow Why is Gove so obsessed with Mandelson? Luuurrrve? #ge2010
krishgm Brace yourselves for another election within a year? (Sighs)
edwardclarke To be honest I'm totally shocked at the Tories' anti-constitutional stance.
AdamBienkov Telegraph: "David Cameron's achievement eclipses Margaret Thatcher." http://tgr.ph/cS9ciu No, she won.
AlextheFly: They say never buy The Mirror, but it is, on occasion, hilarious: http://twitpic.com/1lswlf #ukelection #ge10
JonReed RT johannhari101: Gay vote for Cameron collapsed from 39% to 6%, according 2 @pinknews. It's the gays wot lost it for Cameron.
johannhari101: More than 50% voted against Cameron for parties to his left. In any other European country, that would be a landslide defeat for the right
RT @MODERN1ST: RT @jules_lewis Whoever came up with CON-DEM-NATION is a damn genius! #ge2010
Sheamus: Nick Clegg is for sale on eBay. http://bit.ly/a64FOE
ianvisits: The last time a Liberal leader considered a coalition with the Tories, he was charged with conspiracy to murder. Just saying
pureartifice: Have got day off tomorrow so am happy to help form a government but I will need to pop to Waitrose at some point.
CherylKerl: Hei this hung Polamint thing. Can the nut just aall tek torns? Yerz kna, one week at a teim faw each poaty? Wudden tha woak?
So here is my digest of tweets of election night:
zefrog: It's National Lock A Tory in the Toilet At Work Day!
dontgetfooled Apparently 100K people just got text-spammed by the Tories. Guess Andy Coulson knows a thing or 2 about getting hold of private numbers...
edwardclarke Loads of names crossed off list already - voting must be pretty brisk in Vauxhall!
guy_interruptd RT @Craig_Brawn: Looking forward to the election results, its like Eurovision without the singing!
johannhari101 Now's a good time to text and call any friends/relatives who might have forgotten/not bothered to vote. Unless they're Tories, obviously
jonreed polls closing in 10 seconds. can't bear the suspense. #electionparty
edwardclarke@jonreed Yikes! BBC news saying LIb DEms on 59 seats in exit polls . . . rough night ahead!!
jackwallington It's about to start. It's exactly like the X Factor finale. The same length too, 12 hours.
edwardclarke@jackwallington But the winner gets to stay on top for 5 years!
edwardclarke Yay! BBC mutes Gove and we have the lovely Harperson instead!
edwardclarke Fight! Fight! Peter and Theresa going for it! Handbags at midnight!
edwardclarke Absolutely loving all the cock ups on the BBC broadcast - more please! And more Mandelson/Gorman punch ups!
technicalfault Absolutely outrageous to hear people have been turned away from polling stations after queueing!
zefrog RT @ianvisits @charlesarthur: That offer by Robert Mugabe to come and monitor our elections doesn't look so funny now, eh?
zefrog In France, elections always take place on Sundays. That way people have time to vote
adventuresofboz: JOAN COLLINS BEING AMAZING! WHERE IS THE VODKA!
edwardclarke@ncabani Hiding behind the sofa. Can't believe I laughed my head off when Cameron became Tory chief. Not laughing now
davidchild Looking forward to this party several hours into the free booze. Collins will get her tits out and Starkey will snog Schama.
edwardclarke RT @seemaface BEST COMMENT OF THE NIGHT - "The Queen is only activated in certain circumstances"- David Dimbleby #ukvote
jackwallington@edwardclarke It's all about activating the Queen!
Jason_Cobb Overall Tory majority prediction? Pondering early night and washing away sins in lido, or bugger it and get more bolly from wine cellar.
edwardclarke@@Jason_Cobb Hope the Bolly can last 4 years
ncabani Dimbelby: looks like Tories may be heading for a majority in parliament...
indiaknight: I feel extreme love for Scotland and Wales.
GuyAitchison The Scots are lucky, they can just declare independence if the Tories win. Could Kentish Town do the same? #ge2010
AdamBienkov RT @TimMontgomerie ConservativeHome no longer believes a Tory majority is possible
CulturalSnow RT @Timmy_Lee: People diss First Past the Post, but any system where you can give all three parties a kicking can't be all bad.
adamfishpoet Zac Goldsmith says he put less cash into his campaign than his rival. Mais oui, Zac, the truly rich rely on favours, don't they?
RedMummy Actually think that the Dimbleboy & Paxo should take a bow for conducting entire programme on professionally asking unanswerable questions.
CulturalSnow Why is Gove so obsessed with Mandelson? Luuurrrve? #ge2010
krishgm Brace yourselves for another election within a year? (Sighs)
edwardclarke To be honest I'm totally shocked at the Tories' anti-constitutional stance.
AdamBienkov Telegraph: "David Cameron's achievement eclipses Margaret Thatcher." http://tgr.ph/cS9ciu No, she won.
AlextheFly: They say never buy The Mirror, but it is, on occasion, hilarious: http://twitpic.com/1lswlf #ukelection #ge10
JonReed RT johannhari101: Gay vote for Cameron collapsed from 39% to 6%, according 2 @pinknews. It's the gays wot lost it for Cameron.
johannhari101: More than 50% voted against Cameron for parties to his left. In any other European country, that would be a landslide defeat for the right
RT @MODERN1ST: RT @jules_lewis Whoever came up with CON-DEM-NATION is a damn genius! #ge2010
Sheamus: Nick Clegg is for sale on eBay. http://bit.ly/a64FOE
ianvisits: The last time a Liberal leader considered a coalition with the Tories, he was charged with conspiracy to murder. Just saying
pureartifice: Have got day off tomorrow so am happy to help form a government but I will need to pop to Waitrose at some point.
CherylKerl: Hei this hung Polamint thing. Can the nut just aall tek torns? Yerz kna, one week at a teim faw each poaty? Wudden tha woak?
Saturday, May 08, 2010
the point of liberals
"In the realm of practical politics, two things must happen - both of which are likely. There must be one more General Election to disillusion Labour optimists as to the measure of their political strength, standing by themselves. But equally on our side there must be a certain change.
The Liberal Party is divided between those who, if the choice be forced upon them, would vote Conservative, and those who, in the same circumstances, would vote Labour. Historically, and on grounds of past service, each section has an equal claim to call itself Liberal. Nevertheless, I think that it would be for the health of the party if all those who believe, with Mr. Winston Churchill and Sir Alfred Mond, that the coming political struggle is best described as Capitalism versus Socialism, and, thinking in these terms, mean to die in the last ditch for Capitalism, were to leave us.
The brains and character of the Conservative Party have always been recruited from the Liberals, and we must not grudge them the excellent material with which, in accordance with our historic mission, we are now preserving them from intellectual starvation. It is much better that the Conservative Party should be run by honest and intelligent ex-Liberals, who have grown too old and tough for us, than by Die-Hards. Possibly the Liberal Party cannot serve the State in any better way than by supplying Conservative Governments with Cabinets, and Labour Governments with ideas," - J.M. Keynes, in a speech given to the Manchester Reform Club in February 1926.
- from Andrew Sullivan
Monday, May 03, 2010
Kate Hoey for Vauxhall
Nick Clegg’s superb performances in the leaders’ debates on tv gave the electorate a credible ‘change’ candidate, and I hope the Liberal Democrats do well enough to make reform of the UK governing system unstoppable.
Whatever happens, this is I think the most crucial election for ages - a real watershed for the United Kingdom. The collapse of the Western world’s banking system has demonstrated just how voodoo were the voodoo economics introduced by Thatcher and Reagan in the 1980s (and enthusiastically bought into and developed by New Labour).
There was always tension in Labour regards this and Gordon Brown’s response to the crisis showed that Labour’s uneasy relationship with the economic consensus allowed ultimately for a greater flexibility in approach to massive systemic problems. It is clear Brown and Alistair Darling have actually achieved some success here, and I have no doubt that their approach is the correct one as the crisis continues to develop.
By contrast, the Conservatives under David Cameron and George Osborne do not appear to have grasped that the financial crisis has fatally cracked open the whole Thatcherite ideology and show every sign of wanting to repeat the same very damaging policies of Thatcher’s first years in power. Again, I think Brown’s claim that the Conservatives would lead the country back into recession is all too credible.
Labour has come to the end of its term and it is very clear the country does not want Brown as leader. Whatever Labour’s successes in domestic policy, allowing our foreign policy to be set by the Americans has been a disaster, leading us into an illegal war in Iraq and a seemingly unending quagmire in Afghanistan. Both Blair and Brown have introduced, have tried to introduce or are planning to introduce draconian legislation that severely restricts our civil liberties. But I think despite promising to scrap ID cards the Conservatives are likely in time to match New Labour’s disgraceful authoritarian tendency.
The extent of MPs’ greed and corruption was made clear by the revelations in the Telegraph last year. No one came out well, and the worst offenders will be no more after this election. But even in opposition, the Conservatives scored some massive clangers with expenses for moat cleaning, duck houses, etc - with one chap blithely wittering on tv about how his house looked like Balmoral, completely unaware of how the tax-paying electorate viewed this. Other Tory multi-millionaire offspring of inherited wealth seem to think it is perfectly acceptable trying to stand for election to Parliament while maintaining non-dom (non tax-paying) status.
So, together with very many in the country I am hoping for a hung, or balanced, Parliament, which I hope will force the politicians to work together to address the serious issues we as a nation face. I also tend to think that a hung Parliament will arrest our slide into authoritarianism. And I’m not entirely convinced by the economic horror stories the banksters are advancing: rather, a hung Parliament will reinforce the current Labour policy while also bringing forward the necessary banking reforms that only the Lib Dems are proposing now. And even if true, I think the economic issues are not the most important things at stake anyway - our survival as a liberal democracy is.
So, I have decided to vote for our sitting MP Kate Hoey. I like the way despite holding a massive majority she has not taken my vote for granted and has campaigned vigorously. She’s been a great constituency MP, always answering all my letters. Her record in voting against the government on civil liberties issues (and the Iraq War) is utterly exemplary and very brave. Her expenses claims are completely transparent and honest. If we are heading for a hung Parliament, we need as many clear-thinking, independent and forthright individuals as we can get. I am therefore voting for Kate.
Whatever happens, this is I think the most crucial election for ages - a real watershed for the United Kingdom. The collapse of the Western world’s banking system has demonstrated just how voodoo were the voodoo economics introduced by Thatcher and Reagan in the 1980s (and enthusiastically bought into and developed by New Labour).
There was always tension in Labour regards this and Gordon Brown’s response to the crisis showed that Labour’s uneasy relationship with the economic consensus allowed ultimately for a greater flexibility in approach to massive systemic problems. It is clear Brown and Alistair Darling have actually achieved some success here, and I have no doubt that their approach is the correct one as the crisis continues to develop.
By contrast, the Conservatives under David Cameron and George Osborne do not appear to have grasped that the financial crisis has fatally cracked open the whole Thatcherite ideology and show every sign of wanting to repeat the same very damaging policies of Thatcher’s first years in power. Again, I think Brown’s claim that the Conservatives would lead the country back into recession is all too credible.
Labour has come to the end of its term and it is very clear the country does not want Brown as leader. Whatever Labour’s successes in domestic policy, allowing our foreign policy to be set by the Americans has been a disaster, leading us into an illegal war in Iraq and a seemingly unending quagmire in Afghanistan. Both Blair and Brown have introduced, have tried to introduce or are planning to introduce draconian legislation that severely restricts our civil liberties. But I think despite promising to scrap ID cards the Conservatives are likely in time to match New Labour’s disgraceful authoritarian tendency.
The extent of MPs’ greed and corruption was made clear by the revelations in the Telegraph last year. No one came out well, and the worst offenders will be no more after this election. But even in opposition, the Conservatives scored some massive clangers with expenses for moat cleaning, duck houses, etc - with one chap blithely wittering on tv about how his house looked like Balmoral, completely unaware of how the tax-paying electorate viewed this. Other Tory multi-millionaire offspring of inherited wealth seem to think it is perfectly acceptable trying to stand for election to Parliament while maintaining non-dom (non tax-paying) status.
So, together with very many in the country I am hoping for a hung, or balanced, Parliament, which I hope will force the politicians to work together to address the serious issues we as a nation face. I also tend to think that a hung Parliament will arrest our slide into authoritarianism. And I’m not entirely convinced by the economic horror stories the banksters are advancing: rather, a hung Parliament will reinforce the current Labour policy while also bringing forward the necessary banking reforms that only the Lib Dems are proposing now. And even if true, I think the economic issues are not the most important things at stake anyway - our survival as a liberal democracy is.
So, I have decided to vote for our sitting MP Kate Hoey. I like the way despite holding a massive majority she has not taken my vote for granted and has campaigned vigorously. She’s been a great constituency MP, always answering all my letters. Her record in voting against the government on civil liberties issues (and the Iraq War) is utterly exemplary and very brave. Her expenses claims are completely transparent and honest. If we are heading for a hung Parliament, we need as many clear-thinking, independent and forthright individuals as we can get. I am therefore voting for Kate.
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