piper playing at the gates of dawn #iowfest

The Isle of Wight ferry was suitably hippified with plenty of tents and backpackers amongst an occasional yachting blazer, although we were a little ahead of the curve, judging by the amount of metal crash barriers which didn't seem to be serving a useful purpose.

And by the time we found Newport we decided that a special signal had been sent out the all of the traffic cones in the UK, causing them to congregate in this one spot. "the cone machine is coming down and we're gonna have a party"

With our local knowledge, we're currently looking out to sea away from the still gently simmering crowds. An Indian take-away and wine yesterday evening and we are set up well for the day.

Impressed that I've found a wifi hotspot, but things may start to go erratic after this as we enter the Gates of Dawn.


Proper site pictures later, after I've charged various devices and found the little connectybit.

all of your cones are belong to us.

(君達の基地は、全てCONESがいただいた。)

grooving in a field

Sun. Sea.

You get the picture.

Dusting off the strange headgear for a long weekend in a field with music.

walking around a slightly wet London

Instead of today's tube strike slowing us down, we all seemed to get to our various destinations early.

I had a pre-meeting rendezvous at a coffee shop and was around an hour early.

My colleague arrived about 3cms of latte later.

We were so early that we took a phone conference prior to our main meeting from within the coffee shop(different tables for this part because of the unfortunate echos and and delays delays delays when using multiple cellphones in one l-l-location-n-n).

Then on to our meeting.

Would our host be there?

We'd been checking our phones for last minute emails. Nothing to worry about. She was also early, although wanted to pop outside for a cigarette before the session started.

We waited and looked out to the streets. Solid masses of people wearing trainers and carrying backpacks.

London was walking.

backpackandtrainers cam

london tube strike walking and cycle routes

Tomorrow evening threatens the start of a London Tube strike, so I've been idly looking at some cross town pedestrian routes. These involve the somewhat inscrutable overhead walkways around the Barbican on the way to a couple of meetings sprinkled around the northern side of town.

I think both venues are quite walkable without too much trouble, so I may just start out a little earlier than usual with some string and breadcrumbs.

There's also some handy walking and bus guides from many main line stations here

Additionally, there's going to be a several BikeTubes which are processions of cyclists commuting along the tube routes.

And I've had them for a long time, but don't forget the rather useful free TfL maps of bicycle routes through London.

Mind the Gap.

that razor sadness that only gets worse

9th and Hennepin
Pat and I have been in brief dialogue about how you take on the dreams of the ones who have slept there.

I'm lost in the window, and I hide in the stairway and I hang in the curtain, and I sleep in your hat...
...and no one brings anything small into a bar around here.
9th and hennepin - tom waits

moon in the window and a bird on the pole

Lazy weekend interspersed with wild talk of future projects for bubbleandsqueek and keyhole surgery. Ideas away from day jobs whilst wrestling with time.

We piled a collection of music, verse, theatre, writing, photography and video onto a metaphorical creaking table covered in wine and whiskey spillages which became more exuberant as the day progressed into evening.

My example is to get 'The Triangle' published - I'm still waiting for the proof copy- and now that Debra's excellent photo book "52 weeks" is in the public domain, I feel its the right time to also get my contribution out there.

Debra's book is suitably luscious to hold and look at. It also has an unfolding story through the year 2008 and there's a subtext of moving from another country back to the UK and of the surrounding thoughts.

John has a stack of projects including the redraft of his spooky hotel scenes which he took to the Royal Court. Mel is thinking dystopian but back on planes next week. Julie is trying to ensure I spend next weekend under canvas in a muddy field.

But it also goes to show that some determination can make things happen, even around the usual hurly burly of work and the rest of living.

So the few of us sat chatting together throughout yesterday were ready for anything.

Except Monday, of course.

Clap Hands.

wagon wheels on the corner cabinet

With a new UK government corner cabinet attempting to get its show on the road, I found my my mind turning to thoughts of wagon wheels. It was probably an effect of the surfeit of wine that John and I drank before meeting Georgina.

The overhead televisions were running stories of the latest resignations from Gordon's flailing party. Geoff Hoon, John Hutton and Caroline Flint amidst her accusations of elitist inner circles and window dressing.

If not the wine bar, it was probably the later extended Shiraz experimentation whilst we enjoyed Georgina's paella in the mysteriously shortening evening.

So in my tired and slightly confused state I'm not sure whether Wagon Wheels fall into the category of biscuit or that of the alarmingly generic 'snack food'.

I'll assume that the 74mm chocolate covered marshmallows are biscuits and add them to the hall of fame started with in the advanced biscuitry briefings of 2005 with the bourbon and the later, though stealthier post about that marine amongst biscuits, the hobnob.

Eagle eyed will glimpse the illicit Tim Tam by the keyboard, although I've skillfully hidden the DDS sign of a mug of tea.

Which brings me to the enduring biscuitry advice for Gordon as he tries to apply his particular wheels. He is not dealing with Penguins here and his apparent use of DEEP DUNK and SUCK may be singulalry inappropriate.

a pot boiler plot line

There was this Scotsman, who got advice about his ascendant future from a selection of cauldron stirrers. Along the way someone decided to have a pop at him, but he somehow got the upper hand and covered his tracks in the ensuing aftermath.

So his advisor comes up with another scheme. Amidst further carnage, the advisor also finally gives up the ghost but a few days later retribution is served.

I agree that the signonnow email plot has some holes

I'm intrigued that the plan to write the letter about Labour leadership seems to revolve around an email account. Using an example account such as signonnow@hotmail.co.uk would be a way to anonymise the letter ownership, but raises all kinds of other questions.

If the email address were to escape into the public domain {ahem}, it may need to be changed to prevent all manner of people sending things to it and perhaps getting back messages like this:

SMTP error from remote server after RCPT command:
host mx4.hotmail.xx.xx(xx.55.37.xxx]:
550 Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable

ESMTP (Nemesis) id 0Mxx-1MC5rZ3rxP-111dLY;
Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:02:54 +01:00

Of course, a more determined person might try other approaches, but just as likely are the people with technology to 'mute' or 'spam' the account.

So my guess is that there would be at least a couple of dummy accounts to attract all the unwanted attention, so that the real account or other record where people could write 'I agree' or send in copies of the pre-written letter was somehow unmolested.

This also assumes capabilities of MPs to send from a suitable recognisable email account to avoid ambiguity. Otherwise anyone with technical knowledge could send in mail header revised emails purporting to be from the relevant people.

I'll be interested to see the side commentary about Denial of Service attacks, Password Reset attempts and log searches for the chosen account over the next day or two, plus any thoughts of e-monitoring (by anyone from the State to the simply curious) or simply running google searches to see what turns up.

And come to think of it, "I agree" as a header is a fairly easy thing to filter.

In other news, Labour supporter Sir Alan Sugar visits 10 Downing Street today, amongst speculation that Gordon is seeking extra advisors to support the Cabinet...what is that Apprentice catchphrase?

brown election latest rumours

I should really be writing about something else today, but I can't help noticing that even the Scottish singing lady has been overshadowed by the Scottish talking man.

I see his current line is that we need to avoid chaos and keep the show on the road.

I may have a different view of chaos, so I suppose the small number of items I list below (last few weeks only), next to our illustrious leader (old photo, I'm afraid) officially do not constitute chaos.

Oh no.

economy deep in recession
factory closures
banking crisis
lawmakers' expense claims
tax money to pay MP accountants
snap resignations
individual Lords suspended
Royalty not invited to D-Day event
Cabinet resignations (Blears, Smith) before euro elections
Lords dosh for law change
bumper pensions for errant bankers
full salary and pension rights for ‘mistaken’ MPs
flipping houses to maximise expense claims
Speaker busted
lowest trust index ever for MPs
secret signonnow@hotmail.com plot to oust
meltdown(Telegraph), disarray(Independent), carnage(FT)

Feel free to reshuffle the deckchairs at will.

ejector seat parliament - who will be left?

Artwork time - rashbre 2009.
CAPTION: Parliament stretches and stresses against a June summer's day. Externally recognisable, but inner tension as a self-appointed leader fails to make appropriate decisions. Coverups continue but the pressure must release.

The ejector beckons escape and some salvage courage with the red button.

His strange smile feigns control but we are left to decide between substance or nothingness.

flipping chancellors? new balls, please...

News story generator. Use these words to make a political story. No special skill required.

flipping chancellor expenses
livid electorate buys political mascara
culpability
gordon's desperate measures
ed balls replaces darling
although unpopular
mandy goes foreign
after waiting 25 years
debacle
brown slurry
queen intervenes
?