Random thoughts on a Saturday morning

The grown-ups at Chez Storms-Hewitt have gross colds so this week hasn't been the most dynamic. Regardless, it's a quiet Saturday morning so here are a few thoughts from the week...

This recipe for a reasonable chocolate cake looks gorgeous...

Happy 90th to Nelson Mandela. It looks like last night's birthday concert in Hyde Park was a huge party. If you want to see any of the re-broadcasts, wheck out the 46664 website...

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been in office for one year. How do we feel? What do you think??

The campaign for humane treatment of Tesco chickens didn't go too well this week...

The economy is tight but the summer sale season is here! I've already appreciated the amazing discounts at Gap, John Lewis and The White Company. I've done my part to boost damp national retail figures...

Nutrition is the hot topic at our house right now, with both adults in weight-loss mode and trying to set some good examples for Bailey. This mindset got me reading the Starbucks nutritional information on their beverages. I think I'll keep it safe and stick with the black iced Americano...
Glastonbury has started, in the rain. It's a normal English summer.

Today's discovery

Yes, this is going to sound pitiful but after these months of caloric austerity, I'm at a new place in my life when the simple things mean a great deal. Today I'm suffering with a cold and feeling rather miserable (but am getting through thanks to the local Boots counter) and during lunch had to run to the shops in Watford to return some weekend purchases (wrong sizes...alas). Whilst there, I had the idea that Starbucks might do an iced coffee for me if I begged, in my hoarse voice, because that would be such a treat today. I got there and asked the barista about it and, of course, they do iced coffee. They'll ice anything you want! Why hadn't I thought of this months ago?? I now am at my desk with a lovely black iced coffee and feeling hopeful about the state of the universe, at least until the drugs wear off...

Strictly Gershwin

Yesterday afternoon Bailey and I headed to the Royal Albert Hall to see the matinee of Strictly Gershwin. The crowd LOVED it, and who wouldn't? Big huge songs, beautiful costumes on beautiful ENB dancers, and all inside the Royal Albert; talk about a great combo. We enjoyed it, but in hindsight, Bailey, although she managed it, was a little young to sit for 2 1/2 hours of Gershwin (an hour at this age would've been perfect). All in all though, it was an enjoyable afternoon and getting to attend just about anything at the Royal Albert is well worth the effort (did you all know the first show I saw there was standing in the very tip top to see Johnny Cash? Summer 1995.)

Happy Father's Day and more

Happy Father's Day to all the delightful dads out there. In my own life, I give my Father's Day good thoughts to spouse/friend/confidant/
Bailey's beloved daddy Simon, always supportive and straightforward sweet Ron, and inspirational bro Ted. Of course there are others who have shown the fatherly way through the years, and so I give them a little thought of thanks this morning.

At our own house Simon is getting to sleep in. Bailey, of course, got up well before civilised people do, very excited to have an entire day ahead to celebrate her daddy. While Simon sleeps until it's a reasonable time to get up, we are using the time to watch a documentary about King Tutankhamun.

But for the non-Father's Day concerns, it's been a crazy week in UK politics. First, there was a government vote on extenting the time a terrorism suspect can be held without charge to 42 days. The Prime Minister barely won the vote, by only 9 supporters, but he's considering it a strong victory. What a terrible state of UK civil liberties...

And on another topic of great concern, we've also got a Shell fuel transporter strike, causing panic petrol buying all over the UK. I'm not pandering to the panic by filling up the tank before necessary, and am finding myself frustrated with all those who did, which actually caused the shortages...

And then we've got Ireland's "no" vote on the Libson Treaty, putting the EU in a complete state of madness...

Oh, yes, then we've got government workers leaving top secret documents on the train after their commutes...

But on the happy side, yesterday the Queen celebrated her public birthday with the Trooping the Colour. Here are some pics...

Also, it seems the UK public places smoking ban has had some positive effects in hospital emergency rooms.

The Year of Magical Thinking

Last night I went to the National Theatre to see Vanessa Redgrave in Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking. I have been waiting to see this since it premiered on Broadway, having read the book. I'm thrilled to say the play isn't simply a shorter version of the book; it's a perfect companion piece to it, but completely stands alone as well. It was moving, of course; how could it not be, being written by such an exceptional author? I found Vanessa Redgrave's performance completely mesmerising. She started with a quiet and calm rendition of the story but by the end the emotion was overwhelming, and she showed this with her physical movements about the stage.

I saw lots of people crying when it was over. I wasn't moved to tears; possibly because I had read the book and knew what happened since the book was published. I was, however, moved by the mix of medical facts about Joan Didion's husband's and daughter's fatal conditions, but also by the telling of stories about when their daughter was small. The subjects touched upon in the play made me think, be grateful for my loved ones, and pause to think about what's worth the struggle and what isn't.

Rumour control

As I wrote earlier this week, I adore sites like Snopes and FactCheck because they wade through the rumours, research the "facts" and report the truth. I've always wondered why people forward obviously rumour-based e-mail, and ended up assuming it's because lots of people are plain old gullible. Here's a bit more depth on that theory, from yesterday's Guardian.

Must-visit site

I think FactCheck.org will be one of my new daily visit sites. I love them for giving the real story to the people, much like the great work of Snopes. Keep it up, FactCheck!

Sunday afternoon in London

Today Bailey and I headed into London to see the Psycho Buildings exhibit at the Hayward Gallery. We're talking major cool here. This was one of the most interesting and engaging exhibits I've ever seen. As if getting ro row a boat on the roof ot the gallery wasn't enough, we also got to relax inside a huge bubble, watch a film inside a tent, see a room that had been completely blown up, and walk through a clove-scented installation. One of the most fascinating pieces was a dark room filled with (what seemed like) hundreds of illuminated dollhouses. As you can see from my lack of adequate words, it was a show you really must see for yourself.

If you can't make it, here are our humble snaps. The first one is of Bailey in the rowboat, with a fab view of London behind us. The next one is Bailey inside the bubble and the last one, she's outside the bubble.

Sunday morning catch-up

It's been a busy week, starting with my in bed with some disgusting and painful belly ailment and ending with yesterday's trip to Legoland. We went to this esteemed kiddie amusement park with my friend Wilma, a lovely woman I met through work, who is a senior house matron at a local girls' school. A small group of girls and adults went yesterday and it was a very fun day. Bailey fit in great with the group, although she did have to adjust to the rules of travelling in a group and the group decision processes (like, which ride is next?). I hadn't been on a group outing like that since my days at FSU, and am happy to report yesterday's trip of eight well-behaved and respectful girls was a breeze compared with accompanying 50-100 college students anywhere...

It's been a momentous political week, with Barack Obama finally owning the Presidential nomination and Prime Minister Gordon Brown fighting for an extension in detaining terrorism suspects, to 42-days. He's struggling through yet another ugly fight and I don't see how much longer one person can manage such a combative relationship with Parliament. We'll see...

I know everyone everwhere is suffering through inflated fuel costs but I'm still shocked when I fill my car's diesel tank every couple weeks. This week I paid £1.27 a litre to fill up, which was the cheapest within my driving range. That comes out to something like £6 a UK gallon. What a crazy world...

Today's plans include a visit to the Psycho Buildings exhibit at the Hayward Gallery. Rowboating on the roof? Just our thing!

Another great idea

I've been on a winning streak of finding cool ideas this week. Here's one I love, courtesy of the oh-so clever Hammock Publishing; creating your own organisation's style manual.

An irresistible mix

Hip-hop and chess.

I love this idea

Although I'm not exactly how successful this is in reality (always the librarian, I imagine a long list of eventualities I can't quite reconcile), I love the idea of clothes swapping parties...

A great idea that got out of hand

Like lots of great parties (and plans, for that matter), the last night to drink on the Tube party got a bit out of hand due to handful of revellers. I'm not sad the open container ban is here but it's the end of an era (and the beginning of the reign of new London mayor Boris Johnson, who I used to fancy until the news broke he cheats on his wife).