December 12th - December 18th 2005
Sunday Incunabula
Saturday Lime Street
Friday Well founded
Thursday Dribbling
Wednesday Really sweet
Tuesday My left ear
Monday Marine humour
Sunday 18th December 2005
I know what it means; I know what it ought to mean
Incunabula: - the margin or error in any conversation, or series of conversations, between two or more people who do not share a common language e.g. an Englishman and a Brazilian
Saturday 17th December 2005
Lime Street, Autumn 2005
Friday 16th December 2005
Heaven knows I'm not one to bear a grudge, so the fact that my publishers went bankrupt still owing me some (admittedly miniscule) royalties is not likely to influence my opinion of The Foundry - the Shoreditch bar to which they were simultaneously devoting most of their attention.
Thus it is, of course, much more in sorrow than in anger that I quote the entire text of the pertinent review on Fancyapint.com:
Fashions will come and go, but the hyper pretentiousness of this place is something that will endure long in the memory look after it is as passe as flock wallpaper or peace and love.
If you like the studied junkyard look complete with sub-Chapman brothers hanged dolls suspended from the ceiling, graffitied slogans heavy with platitudinous inanity, not enough room to stand and music too loud for a proper conversation; then you'll love this place.
Similarly, if what you want to do in a pub is preen and posture and read the fliers advertising the Student Wankers Party's events then it's great.
But anyone else who ventures in here might suddenly find themselves calling for the return of National Service (before or after tasting the obscure, but not very good lagers on tap).
Thursday 15th December 2005
Victoria Wood thinks sitcom is dead - I guess she doesn't watch Peep Show.
The Good Life it's not, as my favourite exchange from a recent episode demonstrates:
M: The thing is...I didn't really pop my pill. I'm pretending..
J: Oh Mark! Why didn't you bang one?
M: Cos I don't want to wake up dribbling in a phone box with a trucker's penis in my ear!
J: Mark, that is so not the E experience: you're much more likely to wake up with depression, and a sense of worthlessness...
Wednesday 14th December 2005
An English teacher who planned to spend the night in a hotel with one of her pupils to celebrate the end of his GCSE exams was spared jail by magistrates yesterday.
Samantha Grixti, 30, who is married with one child, admitted kissing the 16-year-old boy after she started giving him extra tuition before his English exam.
Jenny Ross, prosecuting, described Grixti as a "bubbly" person well liked by pupils and staff at the school..."Inquiries conducted at the school reveal that the defendant had said to another teacher: 'I've been naughty, too, by getting off with someone'."
Magistrates imposed a suspended, three-month prison sentence and ordered Grixti to carry out 180 hours' community service, with a supervision requirement for two years.
Grixti, a teacher for six years, said earlier: "The school have been really sweet. They know the kind of person I am and how this kicked off and what stupid situations I get myself into.
"It is something that just exploded out of nowhere. I never thought I would be in a position like this. It seems to be all women teachers at the moment. I think they're going bonkers."
All very light-hearted, no? Now try reading it again, only this time make the teacher male. Suspended sentence? I don't think so.
Tuesday 13th December 2005
I've been going out on London's bar and club scene now for more years than I care to count - most of you weren't even born when I hit my first gay bar, bless you.
And in all those years the number of times my photograph has appeared in one of the gay papers can be counted on one hand. No, let's be accurate: the fingers of one finger.
And even then, more than ten years ago, when Queer Nation was still at The Gardening Club, I was absurdly hard to spot, lurking as I was behind two huge black queens dressed entirely in white.
This week, and not before time, I made my second appearance - in Boyz' coverage of the entirely wonderful Glitter Ball at Horse Meat Disco the Sunday before last:
You may well recognise my gorgeous friends amongst the sixty or so people pictured here. But unless you have a spare hour or so I really don't recommend trying to find me - not unless you're on exceptionally good terms with my left ear.
Monday 12th December 2005
People will think loads of men getting naked is a bit gay but we don't care what others think.
......previous week
