Today it poured with rain, and once again London seemed to flood. My office was without power all afternoon. Given that we Brits are, apparently, obsessed with the weather, let’s see what it’s doing when you’re reading this!
Despite some of my rants, I have great affection for this city. Amongst the many things that continue to delight me is the architecture. Today I wandered on the south bank to the Mayor’s new home, which is, to put it mildly, stunning. Unfortunately, the inside was not open.
Bristol is only a two-hour ride from my house. I have an old friend who lives there, and I haven’t seen him for ages. Today was the day we met up again (after about 18 months without seeing each other), and it’s great when everything just slips back to how it was. You know how, with some people, it’s hard to talk to them sometimes. You get on really well, but there’s just nothing to say. Well, it usually gets worse over time, and if you haven’t seen somebody for a while, it can be very awkward (how many strained meetings must have happened thanks to Friends Reunited?). Anyway, today wasn’t like that. We slipped into our old conversations and habits. It’s nice to be reacquainted with people. Today was a good day.
The RSS of this site is available here. More useful RSS feeds from the BBC are now available here [via Plasticbag].
When did you learn about the birds and the bees? I have to be honest and say that I really don’t recall any parental talk, and I am not sure how I would have felt about it – especially since I knew I was gay. Well, according to The Christian Science Monitor (obviously not something I read every day),
while it may seem that youths are more attuned to peers, media, and pop culture, experts and teens alike say parents are needed as role models and cultivators of values in today’s confusing, image-saturated culture
I am sure I should say some more here, but I’m not sure what.
Following on from yesterday’s post, I thought I would test this little site of mine – reported as accessible in China. So, it appears I am not subversive enough to be banned in China. Well, there’s a surprise.
Yesterday on BBC News:
China appears to have blocked access to the popular search engine, Google.
The site was repeatedly inaccessible when tested by BBC News Online using a system developed by researchers at the Harvard Law School.
[story]
I went to a small Thames-side seafood festival on Saturday. I had no other reason to go except that I adore seafood in all forms. I could happily give up many other foods but not seafood (and probably no bacon, but I know I am not alone in that). That, however, is not the point. There was a bookshop, and I bought a book. I carried the book home and added it to the pile of books. I now have a large stack of unread books that are “to be read”. When will I find the time? The thing is, why do I do it? Why can’t I simply add them to my Amazon wish list and stop buying? It’s turning into an addiction!!
Without stating the obvious, and as a direct follow on to yesterday’s insightful comment, today is September. September is great because it signals Autumn and that’s my favourite season. I am not good in heat and sun and tend to dislike the dampness of winter. Autumn is cool and crisp without being damp and soggy. Autumn has the wonderful rustic, golden colours that work so well with a cloudless blue sky. The light will be perfect for the next two months. September, however, was always the month back to school after the long summer holiday. September is also my birthday which makes me the centre of attention for at least one day – and I hate that. I liked my birthday being in September when I was a child because it got overlooked at the start of a new term. If your birthday was in May, people started planning for it. In September, people conveniently missed it because they were talking about their holidays in the sunshine. So, I guess, September must be my favourite month – which means I was born in the right month. Twisted logic but, somehow, just right.
This is the last day of August. Why is it that time seems to go by much more quickly as you get older? Is this just an age thing? Clearly, time passes at the same rate – although I probably spend more time asleep at this point in my life (and, to the best of my knowledge, I haven’t slept for six months).