antiminke's london archives

The state of popular culture in the UK - 'Is Al Murray's gay Nazi homophobic?'

Is Al Murray's gay Nazi homophobic?:

Insulting gay stereotypes are back in vogue in comedy, decades after properly being consigned to their graves alongside shabby and derogatory portrayals of other minorities. ... Gays aren't getting bashed physically, but verbally the onslaught is unremitting. "Stop being so gay." "That's a bit gay mate." "Don't be such a poof." All these crop up on chat shows and comedies with a knowing laugh. ... Just as it is on the school playground and just as it has been sanctioned by the BBC with presenters such as Chris Moyles and Jeremy Clarkson, "gay" has become an acceptable insult, and one we are all being invited to laugh along with. If we don't, we're accused of being "politically correct": a neat way to silence your critics.

There's the usual rash of anti-PC brigade rubbish in the comments section but there are also some really good comments: "It may be postmodern for "gay" to mean rubbish AND homosexual, but gay people no longer have a word to describe themselves which doesn't have a negative connotation. This is a triumph of homophobia."

I've been thinking about a guerrilla 'homophobia is gay' campaign, with stickers with QR tags that yield a summary of research that shows '80 percent of men who are homophobic have secret homosexual feelings', but I'm not sure how well it would work out there. I've found asking homophobes hassling me in real life whether they're one of the 80% has been effective in the past, but maybe that's just because they're not used to being challenged. Whaddya reckon?

"In Prof. Adams's test, homophobic men who said they were exclusively heterosexual were shown gay sex videos. Four out of five became sexually aroused by the homoerotic imagery, as recorded by a penile circumference measuring device (a plethysmograph)." (Source for quote, original reference 'Is Homophobia associated with Homosexual Arousal?', U.S. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, (1996, Vol. 105, no. 3, pp. 440-445)).

'Freedom through shopping' in Dalston Lane

A random find on Flickr the other day - a nice bit of culture jamming captured at Dalston Lane: "Freedom Through Shopping".

Boris hypocrisy in cultural provision and access?

Boris Johnson's 'Cultural Metropolis: The Mayor's Priorities for Culture 2009 - 2012 (pdf link, front page showing one of those despicable central London cultural venues)' states that:

"there are physical and sensory barriers that can reduce access for disabled and older people, as well as those with young children. There is real potential for cultural organisations to build new audiences by removing such barriers"

but at the same time he's letting Transport for London "scrap an upgrade scheme to offer step-free access at South Kensington station"?

And if it's so hard for 'outer borough' Londoners to get in to central London, how much harder would it be for outer Londoners on the other side of London to get to something held in an outer borough? Let alone for a tourist. So is he going to magically multiply the funding available so events can be held in the north, south, east and west, or do most people just miss out?

But hey, maybe it's all part of his 'donut' strategy - suck up to London's outer suburbs (the poor neglected waifs) and ignore the inner suburbs who were rude enough not to vote for him.

Yep, London still needs Boris Watch.

Boris Watch

London needs Boris Watch. It needs their 'attempt to enhance the accountability of the new London mayoralty'.

Not just because he's stopping public transport projects and scrapping the proposed congestion charge for West London, made the anti-racism Rise festival erm, not anti-racist anymore, but also because Boris Johnson and arts advisor Munira Mirza are so good at spin they'd have you convinced night was day if you weren't careful.

Depress yourself reading between the lines at Boris Johnson shakes up funding for capital's cultural events:
"Ritterband said if groups were unable to strike sponsorship deals for their events, it would suggest the event was not "commercially viable"."

Since when was that a yardstick for whether a community event was worth putting on? Do artistic merit and community value not count anymore?

And I love their cheap south/north, inner/outer suburbs attempt at 'divide and conquer' London.

And it gets even more head-spinning in 'Give young people high culture not hip-hop - Johnson':

Arts chiefs should stop patronising young people by targeting them with hip-hop and movies, and instead offer them access to high culture, Boris Johnson, the London mayor, will say today.

...

In a report outlining his strategy, his chief of arts and culture strategy, Munira Mirza, argues that too much emphasis has been placed on making events "user-friendly".

She said: "Too often, it is presumed that young people will only like art that they can immediately relate to.

"Working-class students may be steered towards popular culture like hip-hop, new media and film on the basis that they will find older art forms such as opera or ballet irrelevant." Mirza said this was "extremely patronising".

She added: "There's been a kind of inverse snobbery about culture. I get the feeling some people would look at Shakespeare and say, that's a bit too intimidating for working-class people.

But isn't there snobbery in assuming that hip-hop and film can't have the same cultural worth as opera or ballet? And of course the assumption that 'young people' only like 'popular culture' because they haven't been provided access to the ballet by well-meaning arts administrators rather than because some hip-hop or new media is actually good - well, that isn't patronising, is it?

Of course it's all masked in language for which they can't be called to account - 'get the feeling that some people would' covers a lot of sins.

Btw, if you google 'boris watch' a sycophantic load of drivel is currently the first hit, so if you also have a blog, why not link to BorisWatch and help people get to the right site?

Labour's new immigration policy?

BBC: Migrant numbers 'must be reduced'

He said the key was to "break the link" between people coming to the UK to work and gaining citizenship, which increased the population.

Gastarbeiters, anyone?

The death of Dalston, part 6523 in a series

From the Guardian Travel section: Streets ahead: Kingsland Road in east London

The tagline is, "Each week we visit an emerging neighbourhood in a different city". Emerging from what, exactly? From obscurity, or from freedom from tourists?

Sexism is the new racism for Boris?

Boris might have solved racism in London so that we no longer need an anti-racism festival, but apparently sexism is all the rage:

The F Word: Boris purges women from City Hall?

The Evening Standard reports that five top women in City Hall have been ousted since Boris Johnson won the election, and the position of women's advisor scrapped.

London under Boris - racism solved. Apparently.

The Rise music festival is today. But since there's no racism in London anymore, it's no longer an 'anti-racism festival'. Who knew that electing Boris Johnson as Mayor would have such an immediate effect? Racism is gone. Thanks Boris! If only he was Mayor of Everything, racism would be a thing of the past. Wouldn't it?

The Guardian, Mayor drops festival's anti-racism message:

Rise has been held in London since 1996 and has become the biggest anti-racist music festival in Europe. It was supported by the previous mayor, Ken Livingstone, as well as by trade unions and the National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR).

But yesterday a spokeswoman for Johnson said this year's event, on July 13, would no longer carry an anti-racist message: "Boris has made a commitment to go ahead with the Rise festival this year but wants to emphasise its cultural and community dimensions." During his election campaign Johnson was forced to apologise for describing Africans as having "watermelon smiles" and writing of "piccaninnies". He said his comments were taken out of context and he was committed to fighting racism.

But last night a spokesman for the NAAR called that claim into question. "The sincerity of Boris Johnson's claimed commitment to opposing racism in his election campaign is shown to be false by the fact that one of his first decisions is to abandon Europe's biggest anti-racist festival," he said.

'Paying to be discriminated against'

in the Guardian: Paying to be discriminated against

Religious people already have a huge concession in that civil partnerships can't be performed in churches. It is unjust and unfair then that religious people now seek to colonise civil and secular spaces like council offices or magistrates courts demanding religious exemptions. The point of state-run facilities are that any citizen can make use of them and expect equal treatment and service. These are all taxpayer funded services - so, in effect, non-believers and gay people are paying to be discriminated against. If religious officiants who are willing to perform ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples are not allowed by law to opt in, in why should secular registrars be allowed to opt out?

People are rightly protected from being discriminated against because of their religion, but the spirit of this law should not be perverted to allow religious people license to discriminate against others on the basis of their religious belief. Equality legislation is already undermined by numerous exemptions, practically all of them concessions to the religious.
...
We should be aware that the people behind this push to religionise our society are not the regular church-goers who generally wouldn't dream of behaving in this bigoted way. It is a small group of determined zealots who will not stop until we're all subject to their version of "religious freedom" (which seems to mean freedom for them, and restrictions for others). Often behind these apparently vulnerable individuals there stands a highly organised and well-funded pressure group.

More background at the BBC.

An interesting view of the changes in Hackney

In Airportising the city: Images of flying yuppies and total spatial control.

(The reason I googled 'Gillette Square' is because I could hear lots of music - steel drums? coming from there).

But check out what's on next weekend: "Delicious Dalston will be a one-day music and food affair, with a programme of music organised by the Vortex Jazz Club and a range of stalls selling sustainable produce. Growing Communities' 'Maisie the milk float' will visit Gillett Square with a range of organic vegetables and fruit with Hackney-grown produce plus stalls selling diverse African and Caribbean fresh foods and juices."

Meanwhile, rumours say they're trying to close down Ridley Road market... are they replacing the grubby authentic with an 'artisanal authentic'?

Saki at the Arcola

A quick recommendation for the Fledgling Theatre's charming production of 'Wolves at the window' at the Arcola - excellent performances and writing, and some lovely stage work. Go see it if you're in London.

Boris arts spin - or does Boris have the ability to go back in time?

I was so annoyed and bemused by something I read in today's Urban Junkies London newsletter that I wrote to them.

I am really curious about today's mailout, which says "Boris has temporarily come to the rescue. His launch of "Lates "" - but UJ have been promoting Lates at various venues for months, so you must know that the Lates initiative was already up and running when Ken was mayor.

I'm really disappointed - I know spin is everything and the truth means little in politics these days but I didn't expect to see it in Urban Junkies.

It's hugely ironic because Boris is probably going to have a huge negative impact on the arts in London. How dare his office try to claim an existing and well-established program started by the previous mayor as "Boris' Lates"?

I'll take everything I read in Urban Junkies with a pinch of salt now. I already did, to an extent, because their editorial direction was so clearly influenced by their advertisers, but at least it was obvious - when there was a huge ad banner followed by a big push in the text, you knew how to read between the lines. And Urban Junkies ran Lates ad campaigns before Boris was mayor, so I don't see how they could claim ignorance of the prior existence of the Lates program.

Zoe Williams on Boris, the blond buffoon

I guess at least I don't have Howard in Australia and Boris in London - that would be too much to deal with. But look what we have now as the Mayor of London. Zoe Williams writes in the Guardian:

Two mistakes we make about Boris: the first is that, because he says "unacceptable" things, then he must be honest; he must be outside the airless bubble of PC. This is bilge. He is no more honest than any other philanderer before him. He has lied flagrantly, flamboyantly, to save his marriage, and given how little else he's prepared to do for it, one must conclude that he doesn't put a very great premium on telling the truth. So if he gives out these apparently harsh truths about gay people or Liverpudlians or the people of Congo, it is not because the fire of truth burns so brightly within him that he can't snuff it out. It is because he genuinely despises these people. He despises gays and he despises provincials (you are all right with Boris if you come from Liverpool but don't sound like a Liverpudlian. Once you've been to public school, then you are from postcode POSH), and he despises Africans. He despises them, and he despises those of us who would hold such judgments to be bigoted and inhuman.

...

It ought to beggar belief, oughtn't it? Not that this self-satisfied creature of privilege should hold such views, but that he should be able to spout them and then have us all instantly forget about it. What are we, idiots?

Sadly enough people in London are idiots. I guess (John Howard's own) Lynton Crosby's dog whistle worked on the poor neglected fools in the outer suburbs of London.

Montreal and London

Montreal was really quite cool. Lots of restaurants, cafes, bars... good museums, live music. I met some ace people, and had too many late nights. The nicest (i.e. shabbiest) cafes are the ones with free wifi, and I basically spent my first two days there soaking up the sun. Later the weather turned cold but that sun was worth it.

I've come back to lots of grey London skies that are barely distinguishable from the grey buildings, and news of the mole man. At different times that place has been on my route home, and I always hate walking past that house. Not because I think the footpath is going to cave in, but there's something about the intensity of his life that hurries my steps.

Walking home one night this week, I saw three homeless men on a bench. The one at the edge was cradling a man sitting on the ground like a pieta with added Red Stripe.

Fictional cities

I randomly came across 'Fictional Cities' while looking for something else.

We all have our favourite places and favourite stories about them. Our idea of these places is usually a mix of experience and imagination, and fiction is usually no small contributor to our mental maps.

I love London, Venice and Florence, so I made this site, with lists and reviews of all sorts of fiction set in these three cities.

London Olympics a £440m 'drain on culture'

According to a report on the BBC

The 2012 Olympic Games will drain away up to £440m from London's sport and arts groups, a report shows.

"Both the Cultural Olympiad - a four-year programme of events aimed at increasing participation in cultural activity - and the Government's Olympic sports participation target - to increase the number of people who are physically active by two million by 2012 - were identified as being heavily dependent on smaller grassroots organisations.

But the report, by the assembly's economic development, culture, sport and tourism committee, said it was these very organisations that would be hardest hit by the funding diversion"

"...our investigation shows that the on-the-ground opportunities Londoners were promised are at risk because the funding diversion effectively ham-strings the organisations needed to deliver them."

I'd love to say "London Olympics in 'bad for arts' shocker" but of course no-one with any sense is surprised.

Random thoughts about increased UK immigration fees

I missed this at the time, but this IHT article, For non-Britons living in U.K., price of residency gets heavier, suggests the massive increase in immigration fees forces legal immigrants to pay for efforts to police illegal immigrants.

I know I'm an unusual case because I work for a charity and earn a lot less than a normal IT person, but Britain has benefited economically a lot more from my being here than I have. I had to save throughout the year to pay the fee and I'm still not sure it's worth it.

Officials say the proceeds will help pay for a big new push to enforce immigration laws and crack down on illegal arrivals. The Home Office, the government department in charge of domestic security, said it wanted to hire more enforcement agents, build detention centers and increase its ability to process migrants efficiently without spending tax money.

Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said it was fair to require those who benefit economically from living in Britain to pay for the changes. The Home Office emphasized that the biggest increases were directed at foreigners who live and work in the country, not at students or visitors, and said it was fair to raise charges now because they had not gone up since April 2005.

But immigrants say they are being unfairly burdened with the cost of an effort that was previously shared by all British taxpayers, not just the foreign-born ones.

Foxy!

I have a fascination with London's urban foxes, so this film, Nightwatch, which shows a fox let loose in the National Gallery and recorded on surveillance cameras is lovely - like having a little fox in your computer.

I would watch Big Brother if it was about foxes.

A week in the life of me

Tonight I went to see small metal objects at Stratford Railway Station, part of the Ozmosis series at the Barbican. It closes on the 10th so Londoners still have time to see it.

Yesterday I recovered from Saturday's parties (my drinks, the rooftop fireworks party, lesbo club with the bestie over from Brussels) at the Turkish baths with my local bestie. On Friday I went to Behind the Mic - definitely an event to check out again -Thursday I enjoyed the comfort of conversation and food at one of the Vietnamese places on Kingsland Road, Wednesday I saw Airealism's Noir, on Tuesday I heard Judith Butler and Chetan Bhatt speak at the LSE then went for drinks, and oh, yes, on Monday I was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

I got permanent residency!

I do have lots more to say but I'm getting ready for a wee celebration today so updates later.

I passed!

I passed the Life in the UK test, and it only took six bloody minutes in the end! So the next step is to fill out lots of forms, have an interview and give the government lots of money. And that's only for Indefinite Leave, citizenship is still a long way off.

if you're curious about whether you'd pass, check out these sample quizzes.

No advice about what to do if you spill someone's pint

People ask if the Life in the UK test book really does tell you what to do if you spill someone's pint down at the pub, but it doesn't say! How am I meant to adapt?

It does say 'women should not use unlicensed minicabs' - I'm not sure how I feel about that. Is it sensible, or does it make it seem like any woman who does get an unlicensed minicab is recklessly asking for trouble? What message does it send?

Random Londoness

I'm sitting the Life in the UK test next week, so I can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (basically, permanent residency). I have to renew my Australian passport before applying for the new stamp because I've run out of pages, so I went to the Post Office this morning. I was served by an amusingly grumpy woman who spent most of her time grumbling about previous customers to her colleagues or trying to sell customers a Post Office visa card ("it'll only take three minutes" - what a sound approach to financial planning). The fingernail of her little finger on her left hand was painted a deep blood red, and was a good ten centimetres long, a half-circle's worth curving over her keyboard. Squick.

Today I saw a man in purple leggings and a pink elf/fairy dress waiting in the ATM queue. No-one gave him a second glance, except to check out the fake hooked hand he was holding. Yay for big cities.

I'm going to an event at Lord's Cricket Ground soon, and I went to the journeyplanner to look for directions. For some reason all the journey times were coming out as two hours or so, which didn't make sense - until I checked the details and saw it was sending me to 'Harlington Tandoori'. I have no idea what computer weirdness linked the two.

Exploding scientists of hate seized

And other headlines at the Evening Standard headline generator.

One good thing about the London tube strike

The Guardian posted this list of 'useful maps during the Tube strike', including the Tube lines superimposed on a real street map so you can see how the Tube map relates to the real world - very handy if you're new to London and don't know when not to bother with the Tube, two walking sites and a map that shows how long it takes to get to each station from a particular station.

One good thing about the London tube strike

The Guardian posted this list of 'useful maps during the Tube strike', including the Tube lines superimposed on a real street map so you can see how the Tube map relates to the real world - very handy if you're new to London and don't know when not to bother with the Tube, two walking sites and a map that shows how long it takes to get to each station from a particular station.

Sums up recent legal immigration policy for me:

Shadow immigration minister Damian Green said: "The underlying problem is that the government has lost control of the immigration system, so has been reduced to making superficially tough gestures.

Tougher migrant rules 'illegal'

Arts vs Olympics

Excellent article from John Tusa of the Barbican Centre:

"If the government is truly serious about the arts, it would first restore the Olympic theft. Then it would aim to keep up arts funding overall in real terms as the base of the next three-year settlement. Only then should it start to consider what extra new money it should put into the arts to showcase to the whole world how healthy, vibrant, vigorous, original, creative and dynamic the national arts scene is.

To do so requires some big ideas. Here are a few. Set the arts world the challenge of commissioning, for performance in 2012, new works in all its major fields. We deserve a 2012 portfolio of works that will be looked back on as artistic landmarks - the next great British opera, drama, sculpture, installation, public event, painting, novel, film, TV drama, TV documentary, exhibition. That would be worth funding. It would create a true legacy. It would stimulate the run-up to the legacy, the 'pre-legacy' as the cant has it."

A Cultural Olympiad? Great idea - now give us the money

Why the UK should never have an ID Card or joined-up databases

"The roll call of banks, retailers, government departments, public bodies and other organisations which have admitted serious security lapses is frankly horrifying," said Mr Thomas.

BBC

This was on the front page of the Age online: Divided in sport, united in love

First they played against each other, then they fell in love. Now two of the world's greatest women hockey players have had a baby together.

That's the story of Australian Olympian Alyson Annan and her partner, former Olympic rival Carole Thate.

It's a charming story, and it's a great balance to Howard's homophobia which at this distance otherwise forms my opinion of Australia's attitude to all things gay.

Oh, and al-Qaeda can go fcuk themselves.

London is turning into Melbourne - it was beautiful and sunny this morning, and I was even going to venture from my desk and go to the park at lunchtime, but we've just had a massive downpour.

I never particularly liked the 'four seasons in one day' thing in Melbourne and don't want it over here too!

(I could also do without hayfever, ta)

So the biggest issues in the news this week are the new London 2012 Olympic logo (which has also been blamed for triggering epileptic seizures; and 'is gingerism as bad as racism?'.

Susan Sontag tribute

Last night I went to the Susan Sontag tribute at the ICA. It was an inspirational evening. The tribute made me realise how badly we need essayists who can crystallise ideas that remain troublesome but cloudy for the rest of us, and form a focus for effective agitation or action for change.

How to annoy your workmates

A kitchen conversation, earlier today:

Guy from Finance: did you celebrate on the weekend when Australia won the cricket?

Me: Oh, I don't bother celebrating, we're always winning one thing or another.

The Bubble

I would review the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival shorts 'Trouble and Strife' but owing to a mix-up with daylight savings (i.e. I forgot) I missed the session. I had a lovely time catching up with people in the new back cafe at the NFT so I can't really complain.

Puccini for Beginners

Another LLGFF review:

After a week of sunshine it's back to being cold again and it snowed a bit on Monday and Tuesday. We've solved the problem of the lack of heating in the office with a new program of spontaneous Aboriginal Morris dancing.

Ok, quick film review. I'm trying out the hreview microformat at the same time.

A quick catch-up on things around London:

A few Sundays ago I went on a trek to see Jake and Dinos Chapman's Two Legs Good, Four Legs Bad at
Paradise Row. Last Sunday I wandered around Shoreditch looking for open galleries. Not much luck at first, except scaffolding pillars outside the Foundary were decorated in different styles, no idea who by.

The final gallery was Flowers East, where I really liked 'The Person Who.......' by Jiro Osuga - mostly paintings but there was a room with a table of toys and small paintings that folded out to show a different side.

I also saw Tim Berners-Lee speak (leave a comment or email me for my notes) on Tuesday, and saw Orfeo at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, both of which were really rather fabulous.

From one extreme to another - on Wednesday I went to WANC, ate delicious vegan food, caught up with some friends and learnt how to flirt in Greek, and last night I got all dressed up and went to the Royal Albert Hall for the opening night of Madame Butterfly. It looked like there were seats available up in the gods, so go see it if you can.

I went to see Kylie at the V&A today. It's hard to believe they've devoted a whole exhibition to her, but it was actually surprisingly interesting to see the costumes. The early ones were a strange nostalgia trip and the later ones made me want to camp it up as a showgirl in a shiny outfit with a corset.

Update: after thinking about it more - I guess I expect to learn or have my thinking challenged in an exhibition, and I'm not sure that happened. So I hate to say it but overall it was more a display of pretty clothes than an exhibition.

Yes, it snowed in London. And here are some cute pictures (not mine).

I shouldn't be amused by how quickly London falls apart when it snows just a little bit but it's hard to resist.

Is this one reason I like working in a museum? It's a constant reminder of the myriad histories present in any city and a privileged insight into the lost layers of the city.

"An interesting exercise can be performed on the streets of London. Look around you, at the shopfronts and the traffic and the houses, and imagine these things as historical phenomena. Envision them as a temporary stage set in a drama with no ending. Then the true nature of the period will become apparent."
From a London: City of Disappearances

No wonder London sucks you in: "Of all cities, London most powerfully touches the imagination. It is the landscape for these stories because no other place has the same capacity for labyrinthine obliquity. It elicits wonder and horror in equal measure. In Blake's words, it has become 'a human awful wonder of God'."

Randomly, I learnt from www.worldwidewords.org that there aren't any roads in the City of London, as 'all the ways there had been named before the word came into the language.'

The back forks of my bike seem to have been damaged in the move so I caught the bus today. It was a lovely way to start back at work because I had an idyllic walk through the park to the bus stop, past two ponds full of all kinds of ducks and some swans and Canadian geese. It's going to be gorgeous in summer. I will get another bike soon but I think I'll try and detour through the park each day.

Four work Christmas parties down, one to go.

The bathroom at work was suddenly girly again as everyone rushes to whack on some slap before the final party. The luncheon today is a big posh do held in the City of London, with lots of ritual cheers and a toast to the Queen. The first year I went an old man came up to me at the end and told me "they'd decided I was the best top". I still have no idea what that means but I'm pretty sure they didn't mean best Top.

It's properly cold in London now - last night I had to wear gloves for the first time, and temperatures are heading below 0C overnight.

I had the first of five work Christmas parties on Friday night, and survived.

At some stage I put my hand in my jeans pocket and found the scrap of paper I thought I'd lost with the name of my Secret Santa person written on it. Secret Santa presents are given out at one of the other work parties and is taken very seriously - I would have been in trouble if I hadn't been able to remember who my present was for.

In other news, I've decided that I hate the rain.

This pointless personal post was brought to you by the ATT100 and Ironmonger Row baths.

How cool is this?

If you were worried by the change in law last year that made it an 'offence to organise or take part in a demonstration in a public place within the "designated area" (up to 1 km around parliament)' but didn't know what to do about it, someone has done all the thinking for you. Just register your protest on the second Wednesday of every month and protest whatever you like on the third Wednesday of every month.

"A recent law has made it illegal to demonstrate anywhere near Parliament without official police permission, and Mark is organising MASS LONE DEMONSTRATIONS to highlight the danger and stupidity of having this law in a democracy."

Go Ken!

"Young people who play their music out loud on buses in London could be stripped of their free travel passes, the mayor has said." BBC

Then again, it probably wouldn't be such an issue if we still had conductors...

Today is exactly four years since the start of my first UK Work Permit, so if the legislation hadn't been changed retrospectively (not that I'm bitter, oh no) I could have applied for Indefinite Leave to Remain last month. This would have meant I could work for any company in the UK without worrying about work permits, and that a year later I could apply for a UK passport. More importantly, it would have provided some security and hopefully reduced sarcasm from Immigration officials.

Oh well. Overall, I'm still incredibly lucky to have grown up in first world country with enough education and the opportunity to travel and work overseas so I shouldn't whinge too much.

"Living in London prematurely ages your skin by three-and-a-half years, according to new research." (BBC)

Brilliant, thanks London.

Blah blah blah. But maybe it'll keep the yuppies out of Hackney:

"'Hackney came bottom of all of the country's 434 local authorities in a survey that examined local crime statistics with environment issues, lifestyles, exam results and employment rates for locals,' said Phil Spencer, co-presenter with Kirstie Allsopp of Location, Location, Location" (Observer)

Another viewpoint via the BBC.

Why yes, I *am* a grumpy old woman. Though I can't see how you could enforce it, given how scared Londoners are of talking to each other.

"A commuter has started a petition calling for a ban on playing music on mobile phones on London buses.

Tom Wright said he is fed up with being forced to listen to other people's music on public transport." BBC

About time, too: "The train network in London is to adopt the Underground's zone layout to simplify the fare structure.

The move will pave the way for Oyster smart cards to be rolled out across the railway system from January." BBC

But on the other hand, poor old London: "Al-Qaeda has become more organised and sophisticated and has made Britain its top target, counter-terrorism officials have told the BBC." BBC

King's Cross on July 7

King's Cross
Originally uploaded by mia!.

I'm never usually there that early but there seemed to be as many commuters as ever. The mood was generally determined and a bit sombre, but maybe everyone always looks that way that early in the morning. Lots of police and transport police everywhere.

More comments on the photos themselves on flickr.

There was a really cute sniffer dog who clearly saw more interesting things to be sniffing than a bicycle chained to a fence between King's Cross and St Pancras, but I didn't think the police would appreciate me taking a photo of it.

Tomorrow morning I have to get the 30 bus to King's Cross for St Pancras. Do I feel weird about it? Kinda. Is that going to stop me? No.

My lunch break, by Mia, aged 32.9945205479452055

I fr!cking hate the Post Office.

I've just wasted two hours trying to send a visa application to the Romanian Embassy, and I really don't have time at the moment.

Before I set out, I looked up the nearest Post Office on their website. It didn't mention working hours, so I assumed they'd be a standard 9 - 5 or 10 - 6 or something.

I walk down there, and they're just closing for their lunch break. That makes sense, it might get busy between 1 and 2:15, what with people running errands in their lunch break and stuff, so you're much better off closing over that time.

So I walk down to the Old Street Post Office, wait in line for FSM only knows how long, finally get served.

Bit of annoyance over special delivery vs recorded delivery envelopes - one is available behind the counter, the other isn't. Ok, whatever, just give me whichever one you've got. All I need now is a Postal Order to pay for the visa application.

Except you can't pay for Postal Orders with a card - cash only, he says. Perfectly logical - after all, if you're sending a lot of money and want to make sure it gets there safely, carry it through the streets as a wad of cash first. Just hope you don't get mugged or you'll never be able to buy whatever it is you needed a Postal Order for in the first place.

So now I'm back in the office, visa application still unsent, but now I'm hot, tired, hungry and mightily p!ssed off.

Did I mention that I hate the Post Office?

"The mysterious "London stone" is going to be rescued from a building due to be demolished. Does it mean that London is going to be saved from an ancient legend?

...the London Stone - an ancient and mysterious object mentioned by Shakespeare, William Blake and Dickens, which has been seen as one of the capital's greatest relics since at least the Middle Ages and probably much earlier." BBC

One in 10 workers 'incompetent'

"More than one in every 10 workers in England are incompetent at their jobs, a survey of 72,100 employers suggests." BBC

Yesterday was lovely. I went to the Art Car Boot Fair, checked out a graduate art show also on Brick Lane and caught up with friends for beers. And it was even sunny! Later Min and I saw Bic Runga, supported by Anna Coddington, in a lovely intimate gig at the Spitz. Anika Moa also sang back-up. I hadn't seen her before so that was a bonus.

I didn't make it to any of the birthdays I was meant to go to, but I think I needed a break more than I needed big nights out. Work has been too busy for too long. So now it's heads down and back to Roman pottery codes, OAI XML stuff and clay objects.

This is the most surreal thing I've heard all week:

"Hackney Council has threatened to sue sportswear giant Nike for allegedly using their logo without permission." (BBC)

From the Hackney Council website: "The logo, which appears on public buildings, council vans, staff uniforms and street signs across Hackney, has been used by Nike on t-shirts, vests, trainers and footballs designed to promote Nike's grassroots football campaign for the World Cup."

And you can see why I like Hackney: the Mayor said: "I also want assurances from Nike that all this kit has been ethically produced."

For some reason, this really moved me:

"Take a look and remember", he told her. "You will never, ever hear about this again." (BBC)

One of the churches I pass on my walk to work has a banner advertising "Sunday brunch, stalls and coffee 12 to 2pm". The English afternoon tea is truly dead, and I bet the stalls don't have any scones either.

"The first official recognition that the Iraq war motivated the four London suicide bombers has been made by the government in a major report into the 7 July attacks." (Observer)

I came across this at work today, I had no idea that 1 in 20 people in London are refugees: "According to Refugees and asylum seekers in London: A GLA perspective (2001): 'Refugees and asylum seekers in London are estimated to number now between 350,000 and 420,000, or about one in 20 of the city’s resident population. This is a proportion around 30 times greater than the UK average'."

The weather report might say it's going to be -2C tonight but spring has definitely arrived. The daffodils are well and truly up, and on my walk to work this morning I saw two (male) mallards mating in the canal.

It's kinda nice noticing the tiny signs that show that spring is on the way in a way that I wouldn't have in Australia, but I could have done without the cold. I thought it was because I'd gotten used to going somewhere warm in March but it turns out it's the coldest March in years, and for the first time ever it's been colder than December, January and February.

Cyclepaths and more cyclepaths.

It's still cold enough that I'm putting off getting on the bike - it tried to snow tonight - but I guess I'll be out there at some point.

This quote from an article about Britain's plans to switch to metric road signs made me laugh: "The UKMA says conversion of road signs was originally intended as part of metrification when it started in 1965 and should have been completed by 1973.

But it was put on hold in 1970 and never restarted." (BBC)

I wish I'd had this information when I arrived in the UK: TNT's letter of the week was all about how to get an NI number. It took me three years to get a National Insurance number in the end.

I keep meaning to try this:

Just another Friday night in (south) London:

I've just been reading the second verse of the British national anthem. I wonder if they'll ever use it again?

"O Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God save us all! "

Source: BBC

(Updated because I'd said English, not British)

What's your nearest tube station really called?

How could I not mention the whale?

"Two bus drivers whose vehicles were targeted in July's London bombings, have returned to work two months on." BBC

We've just had the last bank holiday weekend of the year. I went to drinks to give someone a surprise sumo suit on Friday, a birthday picnic in Regent's Park and an after party on Saturday, then lay around in the park reading the papers with friends, lunch at a Filipino cafe with a pretty garden, home for a nap then out for Belleruche and more birthdays on Sunday, then Hyde Park on Monday. The weather was lovely all weekend, perfect for lying around in parks.

I'll have lots of photos to put on flickr at some stage.

Waaah! The BBC weather site forecast for today is "Last of the summer heat.".

It's Thursday. That never used to mean anything in particular, but it does now. You see it in the faces of bus commuters and in the looks exchanged when someone late to a meeting explains that their Tube line was closed, or their Tube terminated early.

Currently doing the email rounds in London.

Interesting article about the effect of the bombings on tube journeys.

It's difficult. I've been consciously not avoiding sitting next to 'Asian looking' people but that feels a bit patronising and tokenistic. I guess it's better than nothing.

On the other hand, I haven't been up top on a bus since it all happened.

It's still weird that 'Asian' here means 'Indian', and 'South East Asian' means what Australians would call 'Asian'. I think Australians are more likely to know what South East Asian country someone comes from, and Britons are more likely to know which 'Asian' country someone comes from.

I've been very quiet lately. Working hard to get everything finished before I fly to Vietnam to meet Mum. I'm having pre-trip drinks in Shoreditch on Sunday, if I haven't told you already.

I've upgraded MT to test the newer comment spam fixes before I go to Vietnam, do let me know if you notice anything strange.

So I'm at a show biz party (thanks Min!) and a woman I met on the dance floor asks what I do.

"I work in a museum", I say.

"Oh, really? Cool. My dad has a museum. Do you know the Design Museum?"

It was that kind of party.

Another excellent weekend. I saw three films from the French Film Tour, and went to Fist.

The best film of the lot was Pot Luck (L'Auberge Espagnole). It made me want to run away and live as a student in Europe. The Man on the Train and Summer Things were also very good.