For some reason, this main content of this entry was written almost a year ago. I can not remember why it was not posted. As most of the links are still there I’ve designed to bring it out of the ‘drafts’ folder.
2004: Maybe Somebody Was Listening
2004: Forgotten Credits
2004: Supporting Greg
2004: Desert Drag
2003: January Snow? A Surprise to Transport Chiefs
One of my favourite films of the mid-Nineties was The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert. I saw it the year after I came to London in the ABC Cinema on Tottenham Court Road. There was a drag show before the performance which was, for me, the first time I had seen drag queens in the flesh. The cinema was packed and there was a great feeling of expectation as the film started. I was not disappointed and it remains one of my favourite films.
A short time after the film came out, the producer Al clark, wrote a book about the making of the film. I have been meaning to read that book for almost ten years and, finally, I got round to it.
2004: Maybe Somebody Was Listening
2004: Forgotten Credits
2004: Supporting Greg
2004: Where In The World
2003: January Snow? A Surprise to Transport Chiefs
Hutton has spoken and the BBC came in for criticism. I have a great affection for the BBC, I worked for them for a while, but in the light of some of the facts that emerged it seems that some of the procedures to ensure accurate journalism seem to be flawed. The government, on the other hand, seems to have got off lightly. But I do wonder if the resignations of both Gavyn Davies and Greg Dyke will some how backfire on Number Ten.
I also wonder if, had the tables been reversed, politicians would have resigned in quite such dignified manners?
I am a great believer that leaders, in business and government, should take responsibility for the decisions of the people they employ. That is not to say that they should resign for every mistake made (I am also a believer in that human beings make mistakes and mistakes are allowed). I think Gavyn Davies and Greg Dyke were great for the BBC. But it is right that they do the honourable thing. It speaks so much more about them as people than anything that has come from Parliament since Robin Cook resigned.
the resignations of the BBC’s Director General and Chairman illustrate the differences of mentality that exist at the BBC and in the government. Though sad, it is refreshing to see those with responsibility acting honourably and resigning. By contrast our cabinet ministers usually have to be pushed from power when found wanting – clinging desperately and shamelessly to their posts and privileges. Greg Dyke and Gavin Davies have acted with a maturity and correctness unmatched by the government. [What now for the BBC?]
I hope the people that take over will have as much integrity.
2008: Boston Legal Series 4 Starts Thursday (but you wouldn’t know it)
2006: Free Hair Extensions
2004: Favourite Photography
When I started actively updating this site – blog style – it was a mix of opinion, rant, reviews (book, cinema etc.) and weblog (if weblog is taken to mean a list of interesting things I’ve found on the web). I’ve been neglecting that part of it for a while, so here are some of my current favourites. They’re all based around photography and images as I really would like to be able to take better pictures. Anybody know of a good course in digital photography in London – ideally a weekend-based?
2008: Boston Legal Series 4 Starts Thursday (but you wouldn’t know it)
2006: Free Hair Extensions
2004: Integrity in Public Life
It is worth noting that after this incident with the Odeon’s online purchasing system, they have not only responded to my comments saying that the error has been fixed but they have also looked into the cookie issue. It was great to get their correspondence and great to see an organisation respond to consumer feedback. Full marks to them and I shall return to the Odeon once again. Now, if only they would support Mozilla …
2006: Logo For Our Times
2003: Pop
I am planning on going to the cinema tomorrow. I just tried to book on Odeon’s web site and received this very unhelpful error message (click for full message)
and there was nothing else. No link to get help. No explanation of what 202 is and, more importantly, every time I followed their ‘try again’ instructions I got the same message.
I am sure they must spend millions on their cinemas to ensure they are giving the customer the optimal experience. So, why don’t they do it on their web site?
I use Mozilla as a browser and I’ve already had to switch to IE just to use Odeon’s site. Then I see they’re using some service tracking facility which is trying to set cookies on my machine – but it can’t because IE blocks them. As I don’t use IE as a browser for anything but Odeon, it’s the default privacy settings that are causing this. Now, I don’t think this looks very good on a secure site. You would have thought that they would want to alarm users as little a possible. It’s a simple thing to prevent by ensuring the third-party cookie is p3p complaint.
All in all, I am torn. I want to book online because it’s convenient right now and, because I find it useful, I want them to see the value of their online presence. On the other hand, this site is making it hard for me to book and I am seriously thinking of going to another cinema.
2006: Pants To That
The first omnibus service arrived in London in 1829, prior to that people had to walk around London. Can you imagine the change that the bus has made to people’s lives? Although back then they were only for the wealthy, transport soon became an important part in the growth and prosperity of London. From the horse-drawn trams to today’s bendy buses, life for people around the capital would never be quite the same again. The arrival of mass transit allowed people to move out of the centre of the city and it permitted people to travel, both for employment and leisure.
London has had trams, trolley buses and the world’s first underground system. The last tram ran from Woolwich to New Cross on 5 July 1952 when trolley buses took over. Trolley buses were fairly short-lived and buses, as we know them today, were introduced to the capital in about 1910. The Routemaster bus has become a symbol of London and, as I previously noted, was introduced in the mid-fifties. It was the last bus to be specially designed for travel in London.
Today I visited the London Transport Museum that is housed in an old flower market in Covent Garden. Sadly, it’s not the world’s biggest building so the collection is a little limited. It is, however, fascinating and I loved every minute of the time we spent there. I love the trams (I think this comes from a fascination with Blackpool trams when I was a child) and the operation of the underground is really quite interesting, as it the development of the familiar tube map that Henry Beck designed in 1959.
Sadly, the future of London transportation exhibit is a bit dated and, therefore, a disappointment. Luckily for me it’s the history that appeals so much more.
There are a couple more pictures in the gallery.
2005: Back London’s Bid For 2012
2003: 23 Mile Traffic Snake
2003: Starbucks
I’m sure spending Christmas in prison is not much fun at all and walking naked across the UK must be hard on the feet:
The former Royal Marine made the 900-mile journey to question society’s attitude towards the human body [Naked rambler completes his trek]
I appreciate the fact that he’s trying to get us to lighten up but, really, in this weather?
2005: Hitch Hikers Guide Is Coming
2004: Shop ‘Til You Drop
2003: Lost In La Macha
2003: The Digital Music Debate
Since Christmas British retailers have been telling us what a bad year it was. But it’s not all doom and gloom. The Times today tells us about Tesco and this rampant success. Apparently, in the year to February 2003, ‘Out of every £8 spent with British retailers, one went to Tesco’. [Tesco: The profits of doom?, Times Online]. And it would seem that this is not enough – they are going for more. Seems that the rise of the mighty retailers will not be stopped, while the little ones who try to compete are blocked with threats of legal action. I don’t really see how the case of BPI vs CD WOW is that much different from me popping to Hong Kong and buying the CDs myself. They’re legal copies. Ah well, I imagine the legal people were also taking a good chunk out of every pound I spent on CDs last year. It all makes me sound so anti-big business when, really, I am not.
2005: Hitch Hikers Guide Is Coming
2004: Naked Across Britain
2003: Lost In La Macha
2003: The Digital Music Debate
Many people are linking to Brisingamen’s post, You see, the trouble is, I’m not actually American, which pretty much sums up a great deal of the reaction to the current state of security paranoia in the United States.
Consequently, if I’m to be fingerprinted, photographed, iris-scanned, weighed, poked, prodded, stripped naked, denied access to sanitation, handcuffed if I so much as raise my voice to complain, and generally humiliated because of your government’s Patriot Act, I do not anticipate that I will be comforting myself with the thought that, hey, it’s okay because I’m doing my bit to ensure the security of the American people. [Source]
Many people, quite rightly, point out that many countries have been living with terrorism for years and have learned to live with it in ways that to not lead to a situation where people no longer want to visit. It seem to me the principal of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is being lost and that is a worrying trend.
Knowing American immigration and security, I am fairly certain that Samantha Marson was stupid and should have know better, and security officials were right to detain her. But a potential prison sentence of 15 years?
2003: New Year New Mirror