In a slightly surreal turn of events, I recently found myself in a chess tournament in a pub; It’s not where you’d ordinarily find chess games taking place - you’d think the alcohol might interfere a little - but take place it did. I actually didn’t play in the tournament; I left that to my [...]
I’ve previously mentioned Psapp, and I am still enjoying their music more than ever. The good news for fans then, is that Psapp have a new album out soon. They’ve also recently become quite well known, having scribed the theme music to the excellent new US import Grey’s anatomy which follows the also excellent House [...]
Sometimes I wish I was still living in London. Tomorrow sees the March for Free Expression taking place in Trafalgar Square at 2pm. If like me, you can’t attend, you may be interested in the petition. Freedom of expression, and freedom of speech, are important rights that seem to be under sustained attack by various groups [...]
I’ve written before about rainbows, and how alluring they are, all the more so when you understand how they form. Frances’ brother, Paul, e-mailed me a link to a dramatic rainbow picture over Ullapool Bay. This reminded me of a few pictures of a beautiful rainbow that appeared out of our back windows last month. [...]
I’m popping down to London for a brief work related visit tomorrow and Thursday. Up at the crack of dawn for a red-eye down. Apologies if I don’t manage to hook up with folk, but it’s primarily for work reasons, and I have to be back in Glasgow to meet my parents who are visiting [...]
I spent much of the morning listening to Beethoven’s 3rd and 9th symphonies whilst working. I’d downloaded them last month, and wonderful it was too: certainly made for difference to my normal music choice. Earlier this evening I caught one of the adverts for the BBC’s Prom season which is underway at the moment. It’s a [...]
It was a horrific day yesterday. The terrorist attacks on London that have killed and injured so many people are truly atrocious for their callousness and indiscriminate nature, timed no doubt to cause the maximum injury. Somehow it seemed all the more stark - hard though that was - given the scenes of jubilation following [...]
So it’s great news for London, having beaten Paris to host the 2012 Olympic games. Superb news, despite my earlier reticence. Hopefully everybody will be able to enjoy the celebrations, but the hard work starts now for so many people. It’s a huge prospect, but one that will surely lift the east-end of London substantially, and [...]
In just over three hours time, we’ll know whether London has secured the 2012 Olympic bid. I have to confess I’m a late convert to the proposal. When I lived in London I was more than a little shocked to hear that Londoners would be expected to pay quite a chunk (something approaching £100 extra [...]
