Malevolent God smites pagans, schedules cloud for summer solstice
First He made it overcast for last week’s lunar eclipse, and now this. Terrible is His wrath, terrible and cloudy.
20 Jun 2011
End discrimination against hot people, says beauty pageant star
“Girls now get judged based on the way they look. If they are pretty they can’t do certain things because they are too pretty for it and they might not be taken seriously in some situations. I think that wrong because there are girls out there who are pretty and who are very smart.”
Leidy Laura Romero, Greater London’s representative at the forthcoming Miss Teen Great Britain competition, launches her crusade. [Via Hackney Gazette]
20 Jun 2011
Hell hath no fury like a writer in a really bitchy mood
“I am reading Proust for the first time. Very poor stuff. I think he was mentally defective.”
Evelyn Waugh takes down Marcel Proust. From Flavorwire’s brilliantly diverting list of 30 great author on author insults.
20 Jun 2011
Brian Haw - hero or crank?
Brian Haw has died. He will be remembered for the unique commitment and stamina with which he stood against the wars of this decade. His exceptionalism testifies to the strength of his beliefs, and the extent to which they outran those of mainstream society.
Rikki Blue, quoted in Pennie R Quinton’s piece at Al Jazeera, puts into words Haw’s core belief, with which none of us can argue:
“Brian demanded that the world stops killing kids. He was such an angry man but when he smiled it was like the heavens opened. He suffered so much persecution and violence during his time in the square – but nothing could shake his belief that killing kids is wrong.”
But was he really, as the piece’s headline has it, an unsung hero? It’s a strange term to use about someone whose protest was geared, quite understandably, for maximum publicity, and who directly inspired a Turner prize winner. That artist, Mark Wallinger, writes an impassioned memorial in The Independent
“Over time, Brian has been proven wholly right. It’s pretty obvious to everyone now that we went to war on a lie. In many ways he was the guilty conscience of all the complacent, lazy people who hadn’t taken a stand or examined their views at all.”
Brendan O’Neill at The Telegraph disagrees. He thinks Wallinger and “the chattering classes” used Haw as a proxy for their own beliefs, so they could feel like they were protesting without having to endure any of his privations.
“Artist Mark Wallinger won the prestigious Turner Prize for recreating Haw’s camp inside the Tate, which had the added bonus of allowing those liberals who claimed to love Haw but would never dream of visiting his increasingly grotty camp to visit an exact replica of it in the rarefied environs of Pimlico instead. In flattering Haw, in providing him with both bodily and political sustenance, the chattering classes ensured that he stayed put. Thus could they relax at home, sipping organic apple juice as they watched Channel 4 News.”
20 Jun 2011
Borough film set in turmoil as extras evicted
Traders have been chucked off Borough market, and Peter Wilkinson, the Chairman of the trust which runs it, finds himself in a spot of bother. Se1 has a long interview with him which gets to the nitty gritty
“Whilst it’s arguably had five to ten years riding a wave, that wave has crashed on the shore…Just while we are going through this period of change, inevitably there is going to be some disquiet. The edges of that disquiet are at times unpleasant.”
The Guardian reports the disgruntled traders’ view
“Wilkinson talks a lot about having a relationship with the traders, but it’s by diktat,” said one trader. “Borough Market is being chopped and moulded to suit one person’s idea of what it should be. But it’s not consensual and he’s not experienced enough.”
One to watch.
20 Jun 2011
London agenda for Monday 20 June
1. Learn to be a grown-up at the Paradise Guide to Life [Le Cool]
2. Listen to artist Frederic Amat chat with Dr. Robert Lubar about Miro [Run Riot]
3. Go see Crystal Stilts with the 1990s and Still Coroners at Xoyo [Flavorpill]
4. Imagine a world where all the news one sees is defined by one’s salary, where one lives, and who one’s friends are at the Filter Bubble Wait, you are a Londoner, 18-32, right? [Ian Visits]
5. Learn about the Supreme Court [Tired of London]
20 Jun 2011
The things that happened this week
This week in the Scoop, Adam bemoaned a mayoralty so weak that 1 in 5 Londonders couldn’t name the incumbent, even when it’s Boris. Darryl ran with it and asked why we don’t demand more powers for the office.
Plus, whose taxes should pay for Brian Ferry? And the man who wants to be the Lib Dem’s mayoral candidate got stuck in to Lembit over plans for a 24 hour tube.
Elsewhere, Lauren reviewed Tracey Emin’s “expertly curated” show at the Hayward, we looked at the proliferation of 18th century London coffee shops, had some fun with national birds, and welcomed a new M&Ms store in Leicester Sq with open arms and open mouths.
17 Jun 2011
This newborn deer fawn in Epping Forest is pretty cute
This one. Incidentally, Epping forest is only 25 minutes from Liverpool St, and an excellent place to see woodpeckers, as I discovered last weekend.
17 Jun 2011
Massive Taschen book sale this weekend, King's Rd branch
The biggest news of the day. Here are the details. It started this morning so it’s on right now. I recommend The Book of Symbols, it’s beautiful.
17 Jun 2011
The best pub names in London, ever
The Whale and Crow
The Razor and Hen
The Axe and Bottle
The Shovel and Boot
The Leg and Stars
The Bull and Mouth
The Bible and Swan
The Frying Pan and Drum
The Hog in Armour
The Dog and Gridiron
The Lamb and Dolphin
The Bear and Ragged Staff
The Ram and Teazle
The Crown and Rasp
Ye Olde Dr Butler’s Head
Oh for a pint in any of these. Taken from the book Old London City (1924), by Lilian and Ashmore Russan.
Follow Mike
Twitter: @MikPollitt
Email: michael.pollitt@snipelondon.com
17 Jun 2011
Snipe Highlights
Some popular articles from past years
- Random Interview: Eileen Conn, co-ordinator of Peckham Vision
- Margaret Thatcher statue rejected by public
- The best church names in London, and where they come from
- Diary of the shy Londoner
- Nice Interactive timeline lets you follow Londoners' historic fight against racism
- 9 poems about London: one for each of your moods
- London has chosen its mayor, but why can’t it choose its own media?
- Hope and despair in Woolwich town centre
- An interview with Desiree Akhavan
- Silencing the Brick Lane curry touts could be fatal for the city's self-esteem
© 2009-2026 Snipe London.