I have been posting quite a bit of music lately, and so, I ask myself, why stop now? We went to see the Moderately Optimistic Jazz Orchestra (MOJO) at the Vortex Club in Dalston Kingsland yesterday. We had a few drinks and met with some good friends, it was an excellent way to spend a…
Happy Sunday
I spotted this on the awning of an underground (literally) cocktail bar in East London. I can’t tell if it’s trying to persuade passersby to part with their money over expensive drinks or attempting to offer some kind of pop-philosophical critique of free will in e modern age. You’d think Kierkegaard has a bar tab…
Some Time Off On Achill Island
The good people of Achill will always ask how you are fixed for a drink, be it a water, a jar of stout, or a whiskey to warm you after a walk in the rain. There’s always a relation or a friend visiting from abroad and the people who live here want to show a…
A Chance Meeting in Camden
On the walk to work the other morning, I caught a young lad doing a bit of spray-painting on a wall near the office. “That’s looking grand,” I remarked, “I’ll have to take a photograph when it’s finished.” “Thanks,” he said, ” It’s looking a lot better than it did yesterday. I went a bit…
A Weekend in Greece
If you ever happen to find yourself spending some of your very important and hard-earned vacation time in Thessaloniki, the capital of Greek Macedonia and the country’s second largest city by population, there are a number of details to which you will become privy about Greek culture that will forever change how you perceive this Southern European Republic and…
A Quick and Silly One
I spotted this sign whilst taking a break in Greece. I can’t help imagining that it is actually warning: “Please don’t chop up your own arm and then throw the pieces down the toilet,” or even: “Beware, death-ray currently in operation in the bathroom!” Do any of you have any captions that could be added?
Beautiful Kew Gardens
We had fine weather in London last week. The sun was shining and a soft breeze kissed its way up the Thames and through the city. We weren’t going to let it go to waste. On Saturday herself and I took the train from our digs in the East-End and headed South-West to check out Kew…
Jelly Beans
I know I already posted something today, but I saw this and it gave me a quick laugh so I thought I’d share it:
A Greek Easter in London
The Greek Orthodox Church celebrate their Easter a week after the rest of us Roman Catholic types. They call it Pascha and see it as the most important holiday of the year – more important even than Christmas. Herself is as Greek as they come, so last Saturday night, she took us to St. Sophia’s…
New Art at Work
They’ve put some new artwork up around my building and I’m not sure if I like the stuff or hate it. I’ll leave some of it here and let you decide for yourselves. Tell me what you think.
Market Day in the East End (Street Art Gallery)
We woke up late and after a breakfast of eggs and coffee we made our way to Brick Lane to see what we could find. It was a Sunday morning and the East End was alive with the rattle and chaos of the weekend markets. If you’re not partial to being pushed and shoved by…
Some Notes on the Razor Clam
What is razor clamming? Catching razor clams is a rewarding pastime and it is a wonder that so few people living in coastal regions take part in the practice. Not only would a fair portion of those folk be ill equipped in telling you where to find a razor clam, a great many wouldn’t even know what one is in…
A brief lesson in cool
Just once I’d like to enter a party like this: The clip is from the movie Cinderfella (1960) starring the incomparable Jerry Lewis. The story goes that this sequence was shot in a single take and at the end of the scene, when the Cinderfella character runs back up the staircase, Lewis actually suffered a…
As If I Wasn’t Busy Enough, Now I Have Multiple Sclerosis
“Only fools and rakes fall ill, my boy. You know me: I am busy from morning till night and abstemious, so of course I am well.” Nicholas Bolkonski in Tolstoy’s War and Peace With the appointment confirmation letter neatly folded into the breast pocket of my winter coat, I arrive ten minutes early at the…
This is becoming a bit of a hobby
While I certainly don’t want this to become one of those blogs comprised solely of funny pictures, I saw this on my afternoon run the other day and had to take a picture. I promise that I am working on more productive things at the moment and hope to share them soon, but everything has…