purr

rashbre central hasn't really featured pretty pictures of kittens very much, but I thought after the recent visits of Faz, bob-kat and Storm, that I'd better make an exception. So, for cat lovers everywhere, heres' a gratuitous link to the wondrous Purr 'n' Fur.

Thursday Thirteen (V45)

1) Thus week I have been in Brussels, Belgium and not really had any time to post blog entries or snap any photos.

2) I did go out one evening to a rather agreeable restaurant, where about ten of us enjoyed a typically Belgian supper together. We were a mixture of nationalities, with the Americans and Nordics being used to eating early and the rest of us prepared for a more leisuredly pace.

3)A bonus of the visit was being given some rather special Belgian chocolates, which have survived their trip back to England and are still unopened. Maybe this weekend...

4) I arrived back in the UK at around 19:30 in the evening and then had to go straight to another meeting in a hotel near Terminal Four. Then a phone conference call on the way home. Yes, I do have a handsfree in the car.

5) As well as the chocolates, I received another gift a few days ago; its a book on hypnotism. I shall need to practice in front of a mirrrrorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

6) Dusk this evening and I have already been hypnotised, but its by a bat that has spent a happy 30 minutes flitting around and around the garden. Quite inquisitive, once it spotted me it came up close for a look, but all the time flying at probably 40 miles per hour.

7) Strangely, I first spotted the bat a few days ago when returning on my bike. It whooshed past and I thought, "No- it can't be", but it was.

8) Also flying around this evening is a helicopter. Its quite late and an unusual sound effect at this time. Reminds me of some American cities.

9) The bat and the helicopter are not as scary as the eight Russian "bear" bombers which have been chugging around outside British airspace today. Mr Putin is testing American airspace too, whilst also selling weapons. Mr Bush probably sees it a s a competition.

10) I notice that the box of Belgian chocolates has mysteriously opened itself.

11) I don't think there'll be too many additives in the chocolates, compared with the number in some childrens' foods, which have just, today, been declared to have the potential to create hyoperactivity. "quelle surprise", as the Belgians might say (if they came from the French speaking area).

12) The French are also about to host the Rugby World Cup. I see England is to play the USA first. No problem.

13) Thatl'll do for this evening; as its already 23:30 on Thursday, I douby if I'll get any 'swaps' from this entry!

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OTA : Wordless Wednesday

New London Parking Penalty
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iTouch

Well, my post about the new iPod was speculative and slightly wrong, but not that wrong, really. Here's the real thing. To my surprise, the initial capacity is the same as the last Nano. I'd have expected a disk based system with maybe 10 times the capacity at launch. Oh well.

autumn

Surely it still too early? However, there are tree leaves already turning yellow and brown.

iPod 6?

iPod 6th generation preview?

...or just more speculation.

You decide.

purple

I never meant 2 cause u any sorrow
I never meant 2 cause u any pain
I only wanted 2 one time see u laughing
I only wanted 2 see u laughing in the purple rain

Purple rain purple rain
Purple rain purple rain
Purple rain purple rain

I only wanted 2 see u bathing in the purple rain

A great gig with Prince keeping the whole Dome on its feet from the opening chord to the very, very, very end of the show. Consumate performer, robust band, great dancers, many great tunes mixin it up between soul, jazz, funk, fusion, blues, rock, pop. The Prince threw a great party for London.

strictly no cameras allowed, so you'll have to imagine the rest

dome vs wembley

A minor comparison of the Dome vs Wembley as a venue. Not a "Sports" comparison, but for audience care and facilities. The Dome crushes Wembley in a moment. Better transport access, better entry logistics, better free space areas, better range of on site facilities, better restaurants and cafes, better food. And as a venue for live, 20,000 seats at the dome still seems fairly intimate whereas 50,000 seats at Wembley creates distant dots.

And an £8 disgustoburger at Wembley is no match for the £7 chinese at the Dome.

C'mon Wembley, fix it.

memory jogger

Last week when I was jogging around the Serpentine, I also diverted the short distance to the Diana Memorial, which was fairly quiet at the time. I snapped a couple of pictures and then realized its ten years since the accident, this week.

The memorial is quite a contrast to the normal statues and obelisks sprinkled around London. A long circuit of water, actually two flows that meander from a source to a lower destination like two halves of an 'O'.

I was around the palace/abbey area at the time it was all happening and remember the sheer volume of flowers at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and Kensington Palace. Looking back at some of the photos on google doesn't really convey the scale, compared with walking through the area at the time.

Thursday Thirteen (V44)

Time to open the door on another Thursday Thirteen. I'm combining it with the tag request from Webby's world a few weeks ago, which is one of those "08 random things about me" memes. Joe asks that the rules are published first, so here goes...

The Rules (condensed) Each player must post these rules first. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write about their eight facts on their blog. At the end of your blog post, choose eight people to get tagged, list their names, and link to them. Don’t forget to contact them telling them they’re tagged. Also, point them to your blog post so they know what to do.

So here's a few random things.

1) I was out yesterday evening at an Indian restaurant with a couple of friends. One I hadn't seen for about two years and the other for about six months.

2) I'm continuing to cycle or run most days at the moment, but decided not to keep a 'blow by blow' (stagger by stagger?) account of it on here.

3) I've just installed a new Windows environment on one of the macs. To test it I fired up explorer with this blog and noticed how the formatting on explorer was all wonky. I've spent about 15 minutes hunting down the missing brackety things to make explorer work again. No such problem with Mac.

4) Three white vans are due to deliver things to home today. There's a high probability to be out when they arrive. UPDATE One arrived whilst I was in.


6) Going to see Prince at the Dome tomorrow. I don't think the rumours are true that the sponsors have painted O2 on the roof so that it can be seen from planes and outer space.

7) Next week I will be in Belgium, on business.

8) I'm operating on expressos today. There's no milk and I'm not so fond of black tea.

9) Yesterday lunchtime, I sat on the banks of the River Thames for a while. It was the first time this summer I've noticed it being actually cold when the sun was behind a cloud. On the radio, farming news is already talking about autumn.
10) There are some very noisy builders working close to where I am typing right now.

11) I usually spend about ten minutes writing a blog entry. Thursday Thirteen and memes always seem to take longer. I guess its because they become multi themed.

12) A couple of days ago I spotted that one of the Alien movies was on television. They are still some of the best scary movies in my opinion. It was the one where 12 aliens had escaped onto the big space ship. Best watched with the lights out for maximum effect. I think it probably affected my resting heart rate (running and cycling reference there!)

13) Still no more white van deliveries. I will have to go out soon. I really need tea.

14)I won't tag people, but please self select to either do Thursday Thirteen or Joe's meme.

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electrifying
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Brick Lane

Strolling onward to Brick Lane, nowadays nicknamed "Bangla Town" by the locals. Originally an area for the manufacture of bricks, then a Jewish neighbourhood and nowadays the centre of the Bangladeshi community. Ask a Londoner about Brick Lane and they'll talk about the excellent curry restaurants (bring your own beer- the restaurants are mainly Muslim). There's also the markets in the middle part of the Lane and at night its a clubbing area with the Vibe and others open till very late. The 24 hour Beigel Bakery does good trade around the clock.

The Bangladeshis first came here as seamen in the 1920s and expanded a wide range of trading in the area. The signage is often in Bangladeshi and as well as items likw saris from the indian sub-continent there's designer fashion from the Laden Shop or vintage clothes from Rokit.

Around the middle of the Lane is the tall chimneyed Truman's Black Eagle Brewery with origins in the 1700s. Nowadays its been converted to a tourist, cafe and shopping area, although part is still open for guided tours.

The area was one of the most densely populated in the middle of the 19th century and at that time was known for slums, narrow alleyways, poor water supplies and no proper sewage facilities.

Brick Lane today is a bustling and multi-cultural area. Off to each side are other small roads with fame of their own. Chicksand Street is reputed to be where Bram Stocker stayed on his return to Transylvania. Flower and Dean Street was the address of most of Jack the Ripper's victims at some stage in their lives and Hanbury Steet was the site of one of the murders. I'm not sure about Bacon Street.

And any spare flat surface will have been postered or display some form of graphic. This varies from mindless tagging to the street art of Banksy or sometimes installation pieces that have somehow made it onto the street.

Brick Lane may have converted to being more be halal than kosher, but the area continues to cast a vivid image into east London.