Monthly Archives: April 2011

Look into the basement of this former London townhouse and you’ll find a waterfall with a lifesized crocodile chained in it next to a sign that says ‘No Swimming’ – but where? As usual, clue under the cursor.

….is this, and why? (Run the cursor over the picture for a clue)

I’ve been researching the subject, and this weekend there’s a four-day party on the site of the original Festival Of Britain to celebrate the 60th anniversary, but sadly there’s no Skylon. But I went down there this afternoon (where it was 26 degrees, hotter than Ibiza) and found beach huts, bunting, a beach and other […]

Steve Gordon’s 1981 comedy ‘Arthur’ knew exactly what it was doing; a dryly witty comedy about a man infantilised by his own wealth, it’s fondly remembered for Dudley Moore and his relationship with his butler, Sir John Gielgud, who won an Oscar for the role. One of the many things it got right was spelling […]

Apparently I live in the worst 10 percent air quality area in Britain, due to the huge arterial road nearby. A new scheme is piloting a ‘dust supressant’ trial to do something about the fine black dust that sifts down around us. The dust is in all cities – it’s caused by tyre and brake […]

I thought that being stranded in London over the next few days was going to be Hell. I have no interest in the Royal Wedding, and had already displayed my ignorance on the subject after being interviewed by Reuters, who asked me what I thought of Kate Middleton. I said I didn’t watch the X […]

And I thought Easter had been arranged so that people could sit outside Primark in Oxford Street smoking for four days. Living in multicultural London, you tend to forget about the religious importance Easter has for Christians – I seem to have spent the last couple of days wishing more friends a good Passover. The […]

At the risk of turning this blog, which is primarily meant to be about creativity, into a London travel guide, I should have added this because the mere fact that it survives is a marvel. I used to go here in my twenties, but the one and a half acre rooftop gardens (the largest in […]

I hate Easter. It’s the vacation I never take, and this year it’s trebly bad because it heralds an unprecedented getaway from London that encompasses four free holidays, giving many people a whole two weeks off at Spring. Not me, though, as my partner is working, which means I will be too. Plus, as I […]

I was surprised to find the cover of my old graphic novel (sorry, comic) with artist John Bolton online, where it’s still being bought and sold. The rather odd choice of romance, adventure and mental illness came about because John wasn’t keen on drawing lots of complicated backgrounds, so I came up with a kind […]