My Birthday Number Ones (2002 - 2011)

This is the final post in this series looking at songs which made number one in the charts on my birthday. It been an interesting exercise, because I think it disproves the old chestnut "Pop is not as good as it used to be": every decade has thrown up classic songs as well as horrors. And the last 10 years has certainly seen some great songs that I'm pretty happy are in my birthday chart. So here is the final run down:

2002: Enrique Iglesias - Hero

Enrique comes across here as the male version of those power divas from the 90s, singing very much a power ballad. He looks good though.

2003: Christina Aguilera - Beautiful
Disabled by request A gorgeous ballad by Christina - will this be a clasic? She succeeded Tatu as number one in 2003; they were the official on my birthday number one:

2003: Tatu - All The Things She Said

Hard to believe now this manufactured girl band were number one for a whole month. Great fun pop song though.

2004: Busted - Who's David

Huge in the mid-00s. Why? Oh wait. This trio completely passed me by; I have no recall of this song.

2005: Jennifer Lopez - Get Right

Stunning sounds and moves from Jenny from the block

2006: Meck ft Leo Sayer - Thunder In My Heart Again

"It wasn't just because it was a hot tune, it was all because "Oh my God, it's Leo Sayer" - Leo Sayer
And Leo becomes the third artist to have two number ones on my birthday chart! - this time, almost three decades apart. Stunning achievement, Leo ( and great assistance from Meck)

2007: Mika - Grace Kelly

The next three hits are amongst my favourites of the last few years; amazing to think they all made number one around my birthday. Mika's video was another one directed by Sophie Muller (who did Shakespears Sister's Stay)

2008: Duffy - Mercy

Duffy's amazing voice and debut single livened up the beginning of 2008.

2009: Lily Allen - The Fear
Embedding disabled by request
How can anyone say Pop has dumbed down faced by this brilliance?

2010: Helping Haiti (Various Artists) - Everybody Hurts

I prefer R.E.M.'s original version, to be honest, but still this was in aid of a very worthy cause and it's great having something by R.E.M. in my birthday chart - they are one of my favourite bands.

And the final, most recent song, is:

Adele - Someone Like You

Words cannot express how thrilled I am Adele made it to number one with this astonishingly affecting song. She blew me away when she sang it on Later With Jools Holland last November - I pre-ordered her album on the strength of this performance - but I never imagined she would get to number one with it, even less so against Lady GaGa's hugely hyped Born This Way (which I have also bought!) Big congrats to Adele.

from viagogo:

"Adele tickets are likely to become even more in demand as she has made history this week with her latest chart positions.

The singer has become the first artist since the Beatles to have two top five singles and two top five albums in the charts simultaneously.

Fans of the soulful singer appear to have been inspired to buy her latest single 'Someone Like You' after her Brit Award performance last week as her single jumped nearly 50 places to land the number one spot."

And that's all folks - thanks for coming with me on the journey :-)

My Birthday Number Ones (1992 - 2001)

Here we are in the 90s, the time when super divas roamed the earth. It is also another decade in which an artist scored two number ones on my birthday. Who do you think? Is it one of THEM? Time to find out.

1992: Shakespears Sister - Stay

I absolutely love this, and the video must be in my personal top three (it was directed by Sophie Muller). Just wonderful stuff. This stayed at number one for 8 weeks.

1993: 2 Unlimited - No Limit

"No no lyrics" - but this slice of Eurodance was the best-selling European song of 1993, and clearly popular in the UK too, as it reached number one. I sneakily quite liked it too.

1994: Mariah Carey - Without You
The first of the super divas reigning supreme (Embedding disabled by request). Mariah takes the 1970 Badfinger song to number one again, and stays there for a whole month. Although it is possibly the most covered song of the last forty years, Badfinger themselves never released it as a single, not seeing its potential.

1994: D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better

Maria was preceded as number one by D:Ream's biggest hit. The song achieved immortality as the theme tune to Tony Blair and New Labour's successful 1997 Election campaign.

1995: Celine Dion - Think Twice

. . . and the second super diva hoves into view. Celine's voice is of course incredible but this is surely a very poor choice of song: desperately cloying, sentimental, and obvious. I actually can't remember this at all; it must have passed me by completely in 1995.

1996: Babylon Zoo - Spaceman

A bit of an oddity, this: although it held the record for the most number of records sold in the first week of release, and stayed number one for a month. Jas Mann seems to have had bad luck with contracts which slowed down his subsequent career. Nice, very memorable debut though.

1996: Oasis - Dont Look Back In Anger

My 1996 birthday week saw Oasis's iconic song claim the number one spot, and mark out space for mid-nineties Britpop.

1997: No Doubt - Dont Speak

No Doubt's biggest international hit, featuring Gwen Stefani's stunning performance.

1998: Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On

And here it is folks - Celine Dion's second outing in my birthday charts, singing the theme from THAT film. She was number one until the 22nd February, and on that day was superseded by:

1998: Cornershop - Brimful Of Asha

Cornershop reached number 60 in 1997 with this song, but Fatboy Slim's remix took them to number one in February 1998.

1999: Britney Spears - Baby One More Time
Britney's stunning iconic debut video is disabled by request. A brilliant pop song, and one of the highest selling singles in the UK ever, it has already been covered by a multitude of artists, notably by Travis.

2000: All Saints - Pure Shores

The theme to the movie The Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and witten by William Orbit and Shaznay Lewis, this was the first single off All Saints' second album (and one of the UK's best sellers of 2000). I remember the group single handedly made combat trousers fashionable in the late nineties.

2001: Atomic Kitten - Whole Again

Aww, poor Atomic Kitten! This was their real-life "save me" song, as Virgin Records wanted to drop them and were persuaded to release one more single. This was it. The record company was unwilling to plough any money into the video (hence the obvious cheapness), and finally, Kerry Katona dropped out of the band just days before the song charted, on account of her pregnancy. Well done in spite of everything!

So that's it for this decade, the last in this series coming up tomorrow.

My Birthday Number Ones (1982 - 1991)

My third decade of No.1 Birthday hits starts off with a classic:

1982: The Jam - A Town Called Malice

A bit controversial at the time, as EMI complained that as it was part of a 'double sided' single its aggregated sales were unfairly keeping their contender, Golden Brown by The Stranglers from reaching No.1. Life is tough.

1983: Kajagoogoo - Too Shy

The New Romantics are upon us! Kajagoogoo actually achieved a no.1 - this one - before Duran Duran ever did. Unfortunately it appears to have been their only one, and tensions in the band the band soon soon resulted in the lead singer, Limahl, being fired by his bandmates.

1984: Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax

Another iconic hit, notorious for being banned by the BBC at the time, and also for the scandalous original video, which only surfaced recently (the above is not it).

1984: Nena: 99 Red Balloons

In another amusing juxtaposition of styles and cultures, Frankie's raunchy number was followed immediately by Nena and her 99 red balloons.

1985: Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson - I Know Him So Well

Tim Rice, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus teamed up to write the musical Chess and in the process wrote this mammoth hit for Elaine Paige and Barabara Dickson, which was number one for a whole month.

1985: Dead Or Alive: You Spin Me Round

After that, the country demanded something more energetic! - and got it with Dead Or Alive's classic. Apart from launching Pete Burns into the spotlight, the song was the first of many collaborations by Stock Aitken and Waterman.

1986: Billy Ocean - When The Going Gets Tough

Another song from the movies - this was the theme to The Jewel of the Nile starring Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas.

1987: Ben E King - Stand By Me

History works in mysterious ways. This was originally released in 1961 - the year of my birth - and reached no. 27 in the UK charts. However, it recharted after the release of the movie Stand By Me in 1986 and went to no.1 in the UK following its use in a Levi's Jeans ad.

1988: Kylie Minogue - I Should Be So Lucky

I always think this was Kylie's debut but in fact it was her second hit. She flew to the UK to record with the by now ubiquitous Stock Aitken and Waterman. Apparently they forgot she was due to arrive and wrote this in 40 minutes while she waited in reception. She then recorded it in an hour. The rest is pop history.

1989: Simple Minds - Belfast Child

This beautiful song was written in the aftermath of the Enniskillen bombings.

1990: Sinead OConnor - Nothing Compares 2 U

Sinead's beautiful cover of the Prince song took it to worldwide prominence and launched her mainstream career.

1991: The Simpsons - Do The Bartman

Michael Jackson is another iconic figure who does not appear in my birthday charts. However. Michael wrote this (uncredited) because he loved the tv show. It went to number 1 in the UK but was never released in the USA.

And thus concludes my third decade - fourth coming up tomorrow.

My Birthday Number Ones (1972 - 1981)

So moviing on to my second decade of birthday week No.1 hits.

1972: Chicory Tip - Song of My Father


Chicory Tip probably hasn't remained in contemporary consciousness. But this, my friends, is real musical history. The song was co-written by Giorgio Moroder, no less, and is the first pop song to prominently feature a Moog Synthesizer.

1973: The Sweet - Blockbuster


Right - now we are in the era of Glam Rock. Sequins! Shiny! This was a massive hit for The Sweet.

1974: Suzi Quatro - Devil Gate Drive

Not I think one of Suzi's most memorable hits, but makes me think. By the end of Glam, Rock was clearly mature enough to allow for a consciously retro, nostalgic approach like this to work (with Suzi's gender being the contemporary twist). Also I wonder how much her look and attitude here fed into Punk a few years later? Fairly sure the Punks themselves would deny all influence!

1975: Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel - Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)

Good grief, just how sexy does Mr Harley think he is here? This is a lovely song though, and is probably still very familiar from its frequent use in tv ads, most recently for Marks & Spencer. It has also featured in two movie soundtracks: The Full Monty and Velvet Goldmine.

Steve Harley's birthday is the 27th February, so this was No.1 for him on his birthday in 1975.

1975 - Telly Savalas - If

Make me Smile was followed by Telly Savalas's If as No.1 - Telly making it as an add-on to his hugely succesful career as tv detective Kojak.

1976: Four Seasons: December 63 (Oh What A Night)

I loved this then, and it has stood up well to the passing of time. A remix charted in 1994.


1977: Leo Sayer - When I Need You

Leo Sayer, like Petula Clark, features twice in my Birthday No.1s! This was a huge hit for him at the time, reaching number 1 in both the UK and the USA. It was the first UK No.1 for its writer, Carole Bayer Sager. However, I feel it's all a trifle tedious and whiny now.

1978: Abba - Take A Chance On Me

But, hey! Abba! Woo!

If Armageddon swept away all late 20th-century popular music and left somehow only these blog posts, we would lose all the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elton John and Rod Stewart - all massive artists who clearly neglected to have hits in late February. However, Abba saves the day. I was a total fan - this had to be kept somewhat under wraps from cool kid friends, who followed virtually every music critic at the time and dissed them. But ha! Time has vindicated the Swedish super group.

1978 - Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights

Abba was followed at No.1 in February 1978 but this extraordinary debut single by the legendary Kate Bush. Definitely a song one remembers.

1979: Blondie: Heart Of Glass

Was 1979 the greatest ever year in the history of the popular musuc charts? Judge for yourself.This is the amazing Blondie's debut smash.

1979 - The Bee Gees - Tragedy

Followed on immediately by the Beegees! The melodrama of this one has always thrilled me.

1979 - Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive

And the Beegees were followed by this all-time classic by Gloria Gaynor! Honestly, from the Village People to Pink Floyd, 1979 has got it all!

1980 - 1980: Kenny Rogers - Coward Of The County

Down to earth with a thump. Yuck. The obvious sentimentality took this one to No.1, it can't disguise the nastiness now. It deserves oblivion.

1980 - Blondie - Atomic

However, Kenny Rogers was followed quickly by another terrific Blondie effort.

1981: Joe Dolce Music Theatre - Shaddap You Face

Another very efficient novelty number, in grand pop fashion being followed by the sublime:

1981 - Roxy Music - Jealous Guy

Was this the greatest cover ever made? I always think that Bryan is singing about Jerry, but in fact she had left him for Mick three years previously. Anyhow, he sings it with total conviction.

And another ex-Beatle, John Lennon, makes it into my Birthday charts (albeit as the writer) - posthumously, sadly.

Well, that concludes my second decade on an extremely high artistic note: what does decade three have in store? Find out tomorrow!

My Birthday Number Ones (1961-1971)

One of my dearest friends has a blog entitled Fast Approaching Fifty. I've always been in awe at her frankness, because I too am fast approaching fifty and am severely in denial about it. So maybe the time has arrived for me to come out and say I'm fabulous and (about-to-be) fifty! Yikes!

Since it is obviously way too late for me to have a whole blog dedicated to the subject, I thought I could do series of mini-blog posts counting down to this significant event, which is in 5 days' time. I've lived through a half-century of pop music. I thought it would be fun to do a count-down of every No. 1 song in the charts during my birthay week, over the last five decades. I'll do a decade every day, five posts in all, with the last on my birthday. It will be a little snapshot of musical history; a cross-section through time.

So here goes.


1961 - Petula Clark: Sailor

I imagine the nurses were humming along to this tune in my mother's maternity ward back in February 1961. Interesting fact: Petula Clark features twice in my personal charts, and neither time is her song "Downtown" or "Don't sleep in the Subway", the two songs for which she is principally remembered today. Petula actually had a major career in the 50's before she reinvented herself as a 60's pop star. This song definitely harks back to her 50's heyday, and makes me feel positively prehistoric.

1962 - Elvis Presley: Rock a Hula Baby

But hey! Rock was young! And Elvis was in the building. Strangely though, this lesser Elvis hit feels almost as if his handlers were desperately trying a new angle on Rock - as if they felt it was a fad they had to keep going as long as they could. This was from one of Elvis's movies, and is the first representative of quite a slew of movie-music hits in my charts.

1963 - Frank Ifield: Wayward Wind


Another dinosaur. *Blocks ears*

Frank was actually the first artist to have three UK No.1 hits, and was last in the charts as recently as 1990, with "She Taught Me to Yodel".

1964 - The Bachelors: Diane


Ok I've heard of the Bachelors. Didn't they use to hang out with Cliff Richard? Not a song that has lasted well.

1965 - The Kinks: Tired of Waiting for You

I'm going to cheat a bit here (but hey it's my birthday so I can). The Kinks were officially No.1 on the 22nd February 1965 (and a great classic British band they are too); but more importantly for my personal development the No.1 on the very next day, the 23rd February, the day after by birthday, was:

1965 - The Seekers: I’ll Never Find Another You

This was the very first gig I (almost) went to! Oh, the excitement! As I recall, our neighbour's teenage daughter, my babysitter, thought it would be an excellent idea to take the four-year-old me along to a Seeker's concert. I was thrilled to bits. However, my mum thought it was way too past my bedtime and I was grounded :-(

The Seekers were an Australian band and absolutely mega for a brief period mid-sixties. You can hear the way their folk sound fed into the nascent hippy movement.

1966 - Nancy Sinatra: These Boots are Made for Walking

Definitely the most iconic pop song in my charts so far. Nancy Sinatra was pretty much a one-hit wonder, but what a magnificent hit to have.

1967 - Petula Clark: This is My Song


And here we have the second Petula Clark song in my chart, and also the second to come from a movie. Written by Charlie Chaplin, no less. I've chosen the French version here because I think it sounds better. Check out Petula's mini!

1968 - Manfred Mann: Mighty Quinn

Meanwhile, the hippy thing is starting to go a bit psychedelic here. A classic song and performance, but has never done anything much for me.

1969 - Amen Corner: Half as Nice


Another little cheat coming up - Amen Corner were No.1 on the 22nd '69, but Peter Sarstedt took over on the 25th, and stayed no.1 for the next month.

Appealing stuff, Amen Corner - I was into this; hasn't really lasted.

1969 - Peter Sarstedt: Where Do You Go To My Lovely

But Peter Sarstedt's song is a classic! Sentimental and a bit kitsch, this was the ultimate in sophistication when I was 8. Many years later, my first visit to the Boulevard St Michel brought me out in goosebumps.

1970 - Edison Lighthouse: Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes

The happy innocent hippy vibe lives on! Love this, but perhaps you had to be there at the time :)

1971 - George Harrison: My Sweet Lord

The archetypal hippy song, and the only Beatle to feature in my charts. A worthy climax to my first decade!

More coming up tomorrow.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy love-fest to all you loved-up couples out there! Some photos of the Valentine's celebrations in Clapham and London: a veritable orgy of balloons, hearts, cake and pink.

Birksen Florists in Clapham Old Town always have the most ravishing seasonal windows.


Love is a four letter word: cakes from Konditor and Cook in Borough Market

Ceramic Valentines from North Street Potters, Clapham

You know you want me: cards from Scribbler, branches all over London

Chez Jules in Birmingham

Birmingham - Eating & Drinking - Restaurants - French



Ah, Birmingham - I go every year for the Spring Fair. We decided to beat the crush travelling back to London by eating in town first. I chose this place due to it’s mostly good reviews and as a change from our more usual Indian.


Chez Jules is just off New Street very close to the Station. It’s on the first floor, and the rather grubby entrance staircase doesn’t prepare you for the handsome, large, split-level dining room upstairs. There was a great buzz, even on a pre-Valentine grey tuesday in February. We got a big welcome by the friendly and mostly efficient staff.

The smoked salmon pancakes arrived very swiftly. Obviously pre-prepared much earlier in the day and refrigerated sadly flattening the taste of the fish and it’s herby pancake wrapping.

A trainee waiter took away my cutlery at this point, so when my main course arrived I had no knife and fork. Frantic waving to flag down someone to help ensued.

My main was an accurately cooked, meltingly tender chicken chasseur. The sauce was well-judged, not overpowering the chicken. To accompany it I had the house’s famous potato gratin, which comes in it’s own little frying pan - absolutely delicious; perfect comfort food for a cold winter’s night.



To finish, a large slice of tarte tatin - pastry not as crisp as I would have liked but there was an amazing depth of toffee apple goodness, served on a wash of excellent custard.



In all, we felt it was a delightful, characterful yet unpretentious sort of place serving honest, good food. A good choice, and for the price, very deserving of 4 stars.

Check out my review of Chez Jules - I am hedgiecc - on Qype

Chinese New Year

Kung Hei Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year! I went on a photo-walk in Soho and here are the results.




It is the year of the metallic rabbit.I hve mine already! And if I'm very good I'll get to enjoy it at Easter :-)

Cheese Tasting at Le Café du Marché in London

Last Thursday’s cheese and wine tasting at Le Café du Marché was exactly what was needed to slough off the late-January blues.

The restaurant is hidden down a cobbled alleyway just off Charterhouse Square: one of those charming surprises that London tucks away in odd corners. It’s in a converted Victorian warehouse - all huge windows, profusely flowering window boxes, white-painted brickwork and pretty signage. Our event was up a spiral staircase in the upstairs room - featuring very handsome exposed beams, warm brick and delightfully French decorative touches.



I immediately sensed I was in good hands with the staff, who briskly whisked away my coat and proffered a welcoming glass of sparkling rosé. After a brief chat to meet the other Qypers present we all sat down to the main event.



Tom Badcock of Cheese Cellar and Joel Lauga of Great Western Wine had prepared an amazing evening of cheese and wine pairings. Tom especially is a fabulously over-the-top cheese genius (“I grew up on a farm milking goats”), and I scrambled to type notes on my iPhone as Joel’s parade of wines took swift hold of my freshly-detoxed January brain:

“Cheeses are dynamic - they move”;

Thistles are coagulants - hence “milk” thistles - but the ancient Romans used snails to coagulate their cheese;

“Swiss Vicherin killed more people than any other cheese” (Tom was particularly strong on European cheese culture wars);

And perhaps the comment of the night:

“The best Roquefort is put down a cave and stroked for six months by French troglodytes.”

Tom explained that blue cheeses only go with sweet wines, and illustrating the point perfectly was Joel’s choice of 2008 Domaine Castera Cuvée Privilège - a divine wine which is definitely going on my must-buy list.


Tom Badcock from Cheese Cellar (photo by Tiki Chris)

Another stand-out pairing for me was the 2009 Gewurztraminer Classici DOC, Alto Adige, Colterenzio with lactic goats cheeses. I also loved the Rioja with the Vicherin (Mont d’Or).

Cheese-wise it is unfair to expect me to pick a highlight as anything cheesy rocks my world, although I came away with a firm resolve to eat more Vicherin (in season NOW) and to hunt down a Lancashire bomb.

Our hosts at Le Café topped the evening with more Rosé and a wonderful spread of charcuterie and crudités. To finish, a fudgy and deeply flavoursome rhubarb sorbet. What an amazing restaurant - I highly recommend a visit; in fact I am planning to go back for my birthday next month.



Thanks Qype for arranging this truly stunning evening.

Check out my review of Le Cafe Du Marche - I am hedgiecc - on Qype

London Art Fair

The energy and enthusiasm of the city always amazes me. On a dark, freezing night at the beginning of January - a time to be tucked up in the warmth at home detoxing after December’s blow-out - throngs of Londoners descended en masse on the 23rd London Art Fair.


It has now officially become a venerable institution and it’s great to see the Fair thriving despite all the developments in the London art fair scene in the last decade - at the affordable end, London now has the Spring and Autumn Affordable Art Fairs in Battersea, and of course Frieze occupies the high-end Avant Garde international slot. But the London Art Fair seems to straddle quite successfully the contemporary-ish, affordable-ish well-heeled (and unsqueezed) middle ground - focussing mainly on UK Art.

Much of the stuff on display was familiar if you’ve been to London galleries or other fairs during the past year, but it is good to see it all mixed up with emerging artists and the more affordable side of the ‘big names’. I’d really like a Tracey Emin etching! - and it was great to see again Grayson Perry’s amazing Walthamstow Tapestry (last viewed at the Victoria Miro Gallery) and some of his ceramics dotted around. There was an incredible buzz at the preview evening and so much to see. The Fair ends today.

One of Emily Young's beautiful angels - the way she works with the markings in in the stone is exquisite

A detail from Ralph Fleck's Antiquariat (2010, Purdy Hicks Gallery)

A gorgeous floral by Ffiona Lewis - Window Poppy - Cerulean Blue (2011, Redfern Gallery)

If I had the cash this is the one I would buy - a quietly powerful early work by Derrick Greaves (L'Humanite, c 1953)




Many thanks to Nic for inviting me to accompany him - you can read his review for Londonist here.

2010 - my year in twelve photos

January
Appropriately enough for a year packed with political action, I began by attending the photographers' protest in Trafalgar Square against the heavy-handed implementation of Section 44 of the Terrorism Act by the metropolitan police. Retrospectively compared to the student protests of later in the year, this was very genteel.

February
Lesley insisted I celebrate my birthday and these chocolate-mint cupcakes really cheered me up!

March
Not an easy month, but one that reaffirmed the preciousness of famiy ties: my sister-in-law had a difficult recovery from a routine operation, and while she was in hospital my niece collapsed on a shopping trip and was whisked away by ambulance for hours of tests. My nephew and I slipped away for a quick pizza. He very sweetly left half of his for his father and sister. Luckily, everyone made a full and energetic recovery.

April

A volcano who no one had ever heard of blew up in remote Iceland, and it was truly stunning how many of my friends, relations, acquaintances and colleagues its ash cloud inconvenienced. Roy and Glenis (luckily for us) were here already, but were delayed going home. We had a very jolly early picnic at Kew with their two-year old granddaughter Lulu. (photo courtesy Lulu)

May
A lovely month with many happy get togethers but perhaps the most memorable was an early birthday party at Saigon Saigon for the lovely Sue (another victim of the Icelandic volcano). All Sue's London friends were in attendance.

June
South Africa's long awaited football world cup started. I joined my flickr and facebook friend Charles for a night of supporting Holland outside London's Dutch pub, De Hems.

July

John and Caroline, being very cautious types, waited 20 years before deciding the time was right to get married. They did so in high style, in a beautiful forest ceremony at a country house in Somerset, with much pleasant carousing over the course of a weekend.

August
We all flew back to Jo'burg for my Mother's 80th birthday party at the Westcliff hotel, and a second wedding reception at Inanda country club. It was great catching up with my oldest and best friends in both Jo'burg and Cape Town.

September
The South African jaunt spilled over to early September, allowing me to post another photo - Sue again, with Mark, at another picnic in early Spring: at the West Coast Nature reserve (home to fabulous displays of daisies, as well as cliff rocks basking in sunshine with terrific views)

October

A landmark month for me, seeing my first ever paid gig as a photographer at an official event (thanks to Emma for believing in me!) Careerwise, things reached a new level with the company offering me a full-time permanent position working from home.

November
Snows in November - for the first time since I came to live in London in 1986! On the streets of London things were hotting up though with a series of protests by students against the ramping up of tuition fees (and the shocking U-turn by the Lib Dems on the issue).

December
I host Christmas! - Actually for the first time since moving to my flat. A super-jumbo turkey kept us all well-fed for three meals running!

New Year's Eve

CVI

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
        The flying cloud, the frosty light:
        The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
        Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
        The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
        For those that here we see no more;
        Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
        And ancient forms of party strife;
        Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
        The faithless coldness of the times;
        Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
        The civic slander and the spite;
        Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
        Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
        Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
        The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
        Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

        ~ from In Memoriam, Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)

Halloween!

I've been away

... but I'm back now. Heavens lots has been happening over the last few months! A quick catch of breath and then onwards to Christmas!

London Stone

.

Like a child outgrowing its toys, London has its very own transitional object: the London Stone. The city has clung onto this object for so long it has forgotten why it was important in the first place: fertile ground for urban legends to flourish.

“Already a subject of speculation in the 16th century, subsequently identified in turn as a Roman milestone, as a Druid monument, as the ‘Stone of Brutus’ and as ‘London’s original fetish stone’, it is now considered by some to play an essential role in the ‘sacred geometry’ of London. How have such diverse opinions as to its purpose arisen? – and can we truly identify its date and its original function?”

Apparently it’s on very important ley lines; it may have been part of an ancient megalith circle; it is reputedly the fountain of authority in the city; it protects the city from harm. And it is does all this from a frankly grim spot on Cannon Street across from the station - housed in a dirty little wrought-iron shrine at ankle height, built into the side of a shortly-to-be redeveloped shop. Sad and crumbling and no different to any other lump of stone you’ve ever come across.


It’s documented way back (mentioned by Shakespeare, no less), and according to John Clark (the former Senior Curator (Medieval) at the Museum of London) was sited in a very interesting location in the geographies of both Roman and Anglo-Saxon London. However, the Enlightenment in its arrogance moved it (all?) out to the side of the road and the Victorians bricked it up in the side of a church. Oh, and completely removed all archeological trace of its original site when Cannon Street was cut-and-covered for the Circle Line.

So there it is. A London mystery.