Does science need glowing pigs January 12, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , add a commentTaiwanese scientists have created pigs which glow in the dark by adding jellyfish genes to normal porkers. Is this really helpful to science, or just someone showing off at the expense of the poor beasts?
Gordon’s Wine Bar January 10, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Cafes & Restaurants , add a commentApparently this is the oldest wine bar in London, on Villiers St, between Embankment Tube and the strand. Go down a narrow staircase and turn to the back into some old brick tunnels which might be sewers or may be cellars. Given that this part of the city must have been at the edge of the water before Bazelgette came along and built the Embankment in the 1870s, I guess the former.
This is a wine bar - no spirits, no beer, no soft drinks, just wine. If you’re on the wagon, they’ll serve you water, or perhaps an orange juice, but that’s about it. The food is basic, but good. One of my companions had the last slice of chicken pie at 8pm, and that was about it for hot food. He was ahead of me, so I ended up with salad but next time, I’ll give the excellent range of cheeses a try. The wine list is good, with a wide range by the glass. These glasses are small, maybe just 175ml when filled to the brim, which keeps the individual prices down and means you can try a few.
Clientele are suited, mostly city or Westminster types I suspect, and even on a Tuesday night in January, it was full. Buy a drink, stand around for a few minutes and a table will appear if you’re quick enough to grab it. Just don’t expect it to be exclusively yours as people feel free to put their glasses down or, if there’s space, pull up a chair. The ambience is quietly friendly, if a little smoky. It’s is an excellent place to meet for a quick meal or drink after work, perhaps pre theatre.
Recommended.
DC Confidential, by Christopher Meyer January 9, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Reviews , add a comment
Despite having one of the best marketing campaigns for a book seen in a while, DC Confidential is already marked down to half price in Waterstones, and I wish I’d I waited to borrow someone else’s. The FCO made such a fuss about this, but if they’d just kept quiet, it would have disappeared rapidly.
It is amazing that someone could be so close to so many important events of the last two decades and write such a boring book about it. Even the pictures are little more than ‘me with this famous person’ ‘me with that famous person’, and his wife really needs to learn that you don’t have to grin like a maniac everytime a camera is around.
You could buy this from Amazon ( DC Confidential
Mouse that roared
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , add a commentOr at least burned the house down.
Penelopiad, by Margaret Atwood
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Reviews , add a comment
When the Argive fleet sailed for Troy, wives disappeared from the story and only the Trojan woman and Helen herself make a major mark for the next ten years. However, the Greek women led bloody and interesting lives which are the subjects of many plays and stories from Greek literature: Clytemnestra who sort revenge for the death of her first husband and child by killing their murderer, her second husband Agamemnon, on his return from the wars; Helen who left Menelaus for Paris, but apparently returned with Menelaus to live in married bliss after Troy was destroyed; Iphigenia, the daughter of Menelaus who was sacrificed to the gods to secure the safety of the Argive fleet.
Penelope, the virtuous wife of Odysseus, barely rates a mention. In this light little book, Margaret Atwood, tries to rectify that by telling her story. Its written in a clear, unadorned style with prose chapters told from Penelope’s point of view interspersed with a Greek chorus of her 12 maids who were killed by her son Telemachus when Odysseus returned. This is no Greek tragedy though, and it is easy to see why Penelope never rated a play of her own.
The character of Penelope is the story of the book, and she comes over as a pleasant enough woman, in difficult but not impossible circumstances. An interesting read for those who enjoy the Greek classics, or are interested in the position of women in ancient Greece.
The hardback version is published by Canongate and is available from Amazon - The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus
Hello world! January 8, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , add a commentOne of my new year’s resolutions is to blog, properly, regularly and with readers. I’ll be writing about things I see, do and muse upon as I go about my life here in the London Borough of Camden. The opinions will be personal, sometimes controversial. I intend to use it to think through ideas I have and problems I face, but it won’t be a long emotional rant.
I hope you find it interesting.
