Envy

Here is a little something for one particular person in nz. Thanks, buddy.

Victoria and Albert

Just in case you don't believe I am actually here... Done this from my phone just to try it out. And be flash.

Crocodile Dundee

Enough about me. How are you? You are looking well. You must be looking forward to your next break. How'd that all turn out? It is awful when those things don't progress the way they should. You've got to think fast and act timely haven't you, or else these opportunities will pass you by. Don't forget to write, now.

Forgive my lapse into Flann O'Brien-esque whimsy. If I could choose to write like anyone, it would be he, in his Myles na gCopaleen guise (his real name being Brian O'Nolan, Flann being yet another nom de plume).

So, anyway, I spent most of yesterday at the Science Museum. It really is a remarkable place. Free entry and some of the most wonderful interactive exhibitions. Makes you feel appreciative of some of the philanthropic acts of days gone by. Then you remember that much of this philanthropy was paid for by the imperialist actions of said bygone days and a little tarnish is added. Ah, heck. It's marvellous (pronounced just so) and everyone should go.

On the plane on the way over I watched several films and I'll probably fill in the odd gap down here with sporadic observations on these. The worst was Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. There will, no doubt, be those wondering quite why I would watch such a thing. Well, it was a very successful film, despite the ordinariness of the first and I was rather tired. It wasn't very good though. It's aimed squarely at the kids, with pretty clumsy gags and a see-how-many-countries-we-can-include-for-marketing-purposes attitude. The FX looked poor on a small screen and the minor characters just embarrassed themselves trying to carry the plot along. Gryffudd (sp?) and Evans deserve some praise for their efforts, although Ioan still looks too young (git) while Jessica Alba will need to be careful if she wants to avoid me labelling her the new Halle Berry. And that is far from a compliment.

The Crocodile Dundee reference is due to an image I couldn't shake despite not having too clear a recollection. There was an old advert (back in the day) for a certain Aussie lager involving a tourist looking for directions. I was on the tube yesterday on the Piccadilly line and every time the announcer mentioned the eventual destination I had stuck in my head the lines:
"Do you know the way to Cockfosters?"
"Drink it warm... mate"
All the way to Leicester Square... DAMN YOU!

Allergic to England?

I have now had my traditional holiday illness. Perhaps, rather than tempting fate, I should refer to it as my first traditional holiday illness of the season. If we simply refer to it as 'food poisoning', it should give enough idea without needing to dwell upon the details. Thankfully it looks like just a 24-hour thing as I feel just fine today.

It did give me plenty of time to read more of Outlaws of the Marsh - the book on which the Water Margin, a childhood TV favourite of mine, was based. It is quite the splendid book, full of wit and flourishes with a Flash Gordon style 'how will our heroes escape? Read on to find out' attitude. And next time I miss something obvious I will be referring to it as "I have eyes but did not see Mount Taishan". However, I shall probably have to send back to NZ for my other Chinese classics in order to ensure I don't run out of reading. Tsk.

Sadly, my illness precluded me from going to the Forest match last night and I missed a remarkable thing.Yes, we lost with two late goals conceded, but that is hardly a surprise any more. The extraordinary thing is as follows. The match was originally postponed as an unfortunate Leicester player had a heart attack at half-time in the dressing room and the team was quite stunned by this. The postponement seems reasonable to me, although there is the disappointment of having been a goal up and playing really well against a local rival from a higher division. At the beginning to the rematch, the Leicester players allowed Forest to score before play properly started (Paul Smith, the goalkeeper, scoring his first goal in football, and possibly the fastest competition goal ever). It's the sort of big, honest gesture that restores some faith in football. Fortunately they have appointed the worst Forest manager I can remember (Gary Megson) as their new coach so I'm not going to be left with too much residual goodwill about them!

So, today I am off to some more embassies. This is not too bad since they always seem to be in nice areas of town. Hopefully all will go well. More anon.

Sunshine

Well really I never expected the weather to actually be good: not just okay, but warm with a gentle breeze and bright, but not glaring, sun. Walking past Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral, the Globe theatre, St Paul's Cathedral and the rest on a day like this strips away my out-of-town parochialism and reminds you that London really is one heck of a fine place. There's a moment in Contact (the Jodie Foster film) where she sees the structure of one part of the universe and says, in a small voice, "they should have sent a poet". It was one of those days.

Added to which, Forest won the first (proper) game of the season, I met up with two old friends plus one new family and have arranged yet more visits and (frankly) sponging. I'll have to get y'all some pictures really, but you'll only get jealous.