Classic Cafes Website

A wonderful evocation of the classic London Cafe!

http://www.classiccafes.co.uk/
"Often dismissed as 'greasy spoons', Classic Cafes are actually little gems of British vernacular high street design. This site celebrates their ambience and architecture with over 130 vintage London Formica caffs (and many others around Britain) reviewed, revealed & reappraised."

London's 'Olympic Park' - an audio walk with Iain Sinclair

The transformation of London's east end ahead of the 2012 Olympics is well underway. But construction of a sparkling new stadium and Olympic park - as depicted in artist impressions - has only just begun.
Radio 4's Today programme asked author and local resident Iain Sinclair to tour the area. He explains why he is sceptical about the benefits the London games will bring:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7524000/7524163.stm

London's Olympic Park – a future ruin? - Iain Sinclair

Three years ago – with the Beijing Olympics about to start – Evan Davis went for a walk around the 2012 Olympic site with author Iain Sinclair, who was apprehensive and sceptical about the London project.
Now – with the games just a year away – the presenter of BBC Radio 4′s Today programme returned to east London for another stroll to see if Iain Sinclair had changed his opinion about the grandest of Grand Projects. They started in nearby Victoria Park.
Link to the slideshow with audio
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14201879

"I drink therefore I am"

On 8/6/11 I will have been tea total for a year, not a drop has passed my lips!
I have lost a lot of weight, saved a lot of money and  generally feel a lot healthier. All this sounds great but there is one big drawback my social life is non-existent, I don't see any of my old drinking buddies and basically go out on my own, except for the odd occasion when I go out with my wife when we can find a babysitter!
When I meet my old drinking buddies on the street they usually greet me with "how are you?" as if I'm ill then the conversation becomes very stilted and then we quickly go our own ways.
I'm not blaming them they invest a lot of time and effort into their drinking and don't want someone like me upsetting their equilibrium, but for gods sake I've known some of them for years and been through a lot with them.
It's a very strange situation but not one unheard of in the field of alcohol counselling, my counsellor, an existential psychotherapist no less!, calls it the Mitwelt dimension!!! I just call it being dumped!

“In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” Confucius

Lakshmi Mittal - worth £17.5b - accused of employing slave labour and having horrendous health and safety conditions in his mines (91 miners have died), bribery, 'cash for influence' in the 'Mittal Affair' and environmental pollution.
Roman Abramovich - worth £10b - accused of blackmail, bribery, theft, loan fraud, share dillution and breaching anti-monopoly rules.
Leonard Blavatnik - worth £6.2b - accused of racial discrimination, 'Lyondell' scandal and links with Russian organised crime.
Gopi and Sri Hinduja - worth £6b - the 'Bofors Scandal', cash for passports affair and accused of supplying army vehicles to the Sudanese Government breaching arms export legislation.

Etc , etc, etc , etc........

All the above appear in the latest edition of the Sunday Times Rich List and are all UK citizens, doesn't it make you proud to be British?

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Proposals by the DCLG to cut socio-economic indicators

On the Department for Communities and Local Government website there is a consultation document outlining proposals to cease publication of a number of statistical data sets, they include:

* Housing and Planning Statistics and key facts
* Electronic Survey of Empty Homes
* Local Area Council Tax Dwellings
* Register of Licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

* Commercial and industrial floor space and RV statistics

* Economic Deprivation Index

* Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI)

* Child Well-being Index

* Citizenship Survey (all parts)

There is also an implied threat to the next 'indices of deprivation'.

Isn't it funny that the majority of the data sets are in one way or another indicators of poverty and deprivation? Are the condems trying to do away with data and statistics that show the impact and outcomes of their policies in a bad light?