A lovely bit of London

I am currently in London for work, staying overnight. this is not normal, but a late finish and an early start mean a hotel works better this time...and whilst the hotel I am staying in is not flash, not 'state of the art' , not boutique and not a lot of other things, it is all this:
Central - 5 mins from Euston station on foot , clean & tidy , friendly and
on a pretty Georgian crescent - so not a main road and so minimal traffic noise.


The rooms are basic but roomy (a rarity in London) and as long as you can manage to switch the main light off by the door and use the bedside lamp without the plethora of switches you often get by hotel beds these days, it all works well!

The shower was hot and functional, but not powerful and the brekky was good enough.




Also, if you we're staying a couple of nights, the Brunswick is only a 5 minute walk away with a good mix of shops, eateries and a cinema

If I ever had the need and the money to live in central London, I'd probably pick this area - Brunswick Square gardens, pretty even in the early autumn light - Bloomsbury dahling!

A few minor frustrations...

I have been frustrated / annoyed / exasperated by a number of small things this week - maybe writing them down will deal with them once and for all...

1) and most recently - self-serve tills in a very busy supermarket are NOT suitable to be played with by a child 'helping' his mother put things through said till when the queue to use these modern miracles is growing. Take the child away from the till, use it yourself and get out of there - that is what it is all about.

2) and just before the above happened - self-serve tills are clever, they can find the bar code on the item if you wave it over the criss-cross red lighty bits... you do not need to find the bar code, flatten it out and press it firmly against the base reader for every item... especially when the queue is growing!




3) from yesterday - if you are getting on a train with a bike and at ALL the stations that train stops at people have to get off on the left hand side - do not park your bike in front of the left hand doors and then huff and puff at people who then need you to move your bike so they can get off the train.

4) same train - if there is a young lady who is clearly pregnant, stand the f*ck up and let her sit down. It should not take another passenger (me) to point out her need is greater than yours, you perfectly healthy mid-20's man on your mobile phone.

5) work related - when someone looks busy and is clearly typing something on their computer, do not just assume you and your needs are more important, especially when it relates to the Christmas (f*cking) party, stand there for a few seconds quietly and you will be acknowledged as soon as the busy person is able to...





6) dog walking related - when you park your car do not block the whole pavement AND the sight lines of a junction - one or the other would be bad, both just shows what an inconsiderate tw*t you are.





I think that's it for now - I'm hoping this is a kind of therapy and from now on these irks will simply wash over me - if that happens you can be sure other things will p*ss me off though!

From Miss UK to Jimmy Savile

I just watched 'Wonderland' on BBC2 all about ladies who were once beauty queens of the 1970's and 80's - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008tj5q - it was truly shocking, but explains a lot about where we are today...

As one girl walked across the screen the TV announcer described her swimsuit as "that provocative little item she is nearly wearing..." FFS, that was on NATIONAL TV!

Another compére asked a girl what she wanted to be and she said 'a bank manageress' his response "Really? Do we have such things as bank manageresses" he went on to ask "surely the men would be put out that you girls are muscling in..." never mind the arcane use of 'manageress', the whole attitude is shocking - and he was able to say it openly on national TV... That was 1982 I think - I was 10! I was alive when such  was the norm and accepted on the telly, every year for Miss England, Miss UK and Miss World.

What was most shocking was that, at the time, no one seemed to notice this misogynistic bent to our nations entertainment - no one thought it was belittling and wrong. No one shouted 'No! Stop! you can't treat girls like that!' and there in lies a stark reminder of a current news story. 

The accusations about Jimmy Savile and other radio and TV presenters from that era abusing young women are making headlines and the talk of rumors and gossip abounding, but no one doing anything about it, is the sickening sub-story to it all.

The blasé attitude of (it would seem) the entire nation to the objectification of young women allowed barely clad girls to parade across our TV screens and our TV listings magazines, declaring their life ambition to work with children or animals (heaven forbid they would want to be manageress of a Bank!) and to marry someone famous.

This total lack of realisation that this was not right, added to the casual attitude, described brilliantly by Katy Brand here (http://t.co/cag1lBbQ) in the Telegraph, of those involved in the world of entertainment to young females at the time - even those who have since the 1980's made a living out of 'good works' for children for goodness sake - makes my blood boil.

If all of this does nothing else, I hope it makes people realise that such images and events are not 'OK' and that they never were. That some one has to say' No! Stop! we can't let this go on' - because go on it does... 






The last vestige of this era that still pollutes our national consciousness  is Page 3 in the Sun newspaper - so come on lets have No More Page 3 - join the dots, see the light and sign the petition - I just have: https://www.facebook.com/NoMorePage3

A week of culture!

This week I went to see Swan Lake performed by Birmingham royal Ballet on Tuesday and the stadium production of Jesus Christ Superstar tonight - I am nothing if not eclectic in my tastes!

So, the ballet was a beautiful and classic production of this iconic ballet - just visually gorgeous and musically brilliant. 


A highlight was the curtain coming up to a scene of the lake covered in foggy smoke - only for the chorus of swans to rise up out of the fog to the "ooohs" and "aaahhhhs" of the audience.

Ballet dancers astound me - the girls look so delicate and waif like, but they clearly have immense strength and muscular control plus flexibility. The boys are more clearly muscular and bulgy (socks down the tights!) but perform amazing leaps with grace and agility... 

My own experience of ballet classes was very brief - we all knew I was no Darcy Bussell, but I was good at "naughty toes, good toes" ;-)

Tonight was totally different - a modern take on the Lloyd Webber classic I have seen before in a more traditional setting... This is the 'Stadium Tour' version of Jesus Christ Superstar, with Jesus played by Ben Forster - who won the TV talent show to find Jesus. He was very good, although if I'm being picky (and I am!) his wig was a bit odd...
Tim Minchin plays Judas and he is, quite simply, brilliant in the role. I'd seen the very clever piano  /song sketches on the telly, but I had no idea of the power and depth of his voice - shivers down the spine... and as for his anguish as he realises the consequences of that kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane, that was so well done, I don't quite know how to express it. (and that's not like me!)




Mel C as Mary Magdalene was also impressive and even (though it pains me to say it) Chris Moyles as Herod was better than expected...

So, overall a cultural week spent in the company of two lovely friends - I should do this more often!

My first Blogg by app!

Following my rant about useless iPhone apps I can not get rid of, here is one that might be helpful in meeting my objective of doing more, shorter Blogg entires...

This is the Blogger app, it was free and it appears to work :-) now, lets see if I use it...

(ps- thanks to a Twitter user I follow for pointing me in it's direction)