How not to put on an exhibition

The National Gallery in London has been the host of a much vaunted exhibition of Leonardo Da Vinci. Getting tickets was not easy - by the time you'd got to the check-out phase of the website, th ticket you were about to buy had been snapped up by someone ahead of you in the process. But I did managed to snaffle one for today, even though I started to try and buy as soon as tickets went on sale.

For me, the big attraction was that both the London and the Paris versions of the painting The Virgin of the Rocks were to appear in the exhibition, their first time in same room ever. I've seen each painting in its gallery many times, but to see them together would have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. What could possibly go wrong.

Well, the massive numbers of people allowed in during each hour of timed entry tickets was a problem. But it was as nothing compared to the curator's decision to exhibit the two paintings, not side by side, but at opposite ends of the gallery!

People were standing in the middle of the room turning their heads this way and that, trying to compare the two over the heads of the people standing between them and the paintings. It was not possible to see details from such a distance. The only place where they appeared side by side was in the film at the end of the exhibition. Well, sorry, I can put pictures of them together at home to better effect.

The man responsible for this expensive farce is curator Luke Syson. All I can say is, I'm glad he's soon off the the Met. I'm just sorry they didn't entice him away before he made such a botch of what could have been the most amazing exhibition ever.

Endgame - Day 11

You don't believe Frank looked after you, Bobby? I'd be surprised if you did!

The richest man ever to visit Deptford

I was born and bred in Deptford, a very poor part of south east London. In my grandparents' day dockers worked whenever there were ships to unload, and didn't when there weren't; railwaymen built new railway lines until they were all built. The tallyman lent money till payday (what's so new about payday loans?) and unemployment was rife. The docks and surrounding area were bombed extensively during WWII, and I grew up among ruined buildings (great for playing in!) alongside the public park that had been made out of the gardens of the 17th century diarist John Evelyn's manor house...or what was left after Peter the Great of Russia had himself wheeled through the hedges in a wheelbarrow. I suppose in absolute terms, the Tsar of all the Russias might have been richer, but today Bill Gates visited Deptford Green School.


Deptford Green was the first school I taught in, and it's the school my student Alex's brother now attends. He was one of the students chosen to attend the function, so I followed the news with interest.

Endgame - Day 10

Right at this moment, Bobby hates the Captain.

Endgame - Day 9

A happy moment - even if Bobby was just going to use the photo his mother gave him to link her to Brady.

Endgame - Day 8

I'm only half way through my Endgame album, so I think I'd better indulge us all with a few more pictures from that tearjerking episode.

This picture of Bobby's reaction to Frank's enquiry about their mother's affairs "being in order" speaks volumes. Who needs words?

Endgame - Day 7

Bobby loves his mummy. Sometimes she even loves him back.

Credit where it's due

Just watched Don't Go In The Woods. Watching the credits at the end, I noticed that one of the First Assistant Cameramen (wot, no women?) is called Nicholas Deeg.

Unusual surname. My German cousin Hartmut Deeg lives in Rochester, New York, to be near his kids, but I don't know their names and ages. I wonder if I have a young cousin who worked on Vincent's film?

I see Hawk D'Onofrio and a young Bogosian also assisted.

Preview

The French version of Season 7 on my Dutch DVDs (???) has a couple of interesting features.

First, the title:

Clever of them to put it in wonky.

Then they actually put the title of the episode itself in the opening credits:

Which makes me wonder why the original version doesn't do the same. (For those who doen't speak French, the title has nothing to do with "Amends", it means "Nine Years After").

Endgame - Day 6

Classic way to organise your thoughts and gain control of your emotions - Bobby looks down.

Endgame - Day 5

It takes a lot to shock Bobby.

Shop to Drop

I love shopping. I hate shopping. It's so difficult to get what I want in my size. But I enjoy looking - for a while. Yesterday I found some vivid turquoise skinny jeans in the supermarket, part of their range designed by "How To Look Good Naked" presenter Gok Wan. It didn't hurt that they were half price.

Today I found some bright orange jeggings. Irresistible.



But my search for boots seemed fruitless. I tried every single shop. I know you always find things in the last place you look, 'cos why would you continue looking after you've found it? But I had literally looked in every single shoe shop and department store in two town centres, and in the last shop left I found these:Now it can snow.

Con Artists

I'm sure none of my readers will be surprised at this description of a bank in this day and age.

I just received a letter from my credit card provider, which is also my bank, to say they are raising my "personal" interest rate to almost 16%. This is at a time when the base rate is just 0.5%. This is because the "status of my credit file has changed".

I am supposed to check the credit reference agency my bank uses to see if there is inaccurate information in my file. This appears to be free, but you have to sign up to £14.99 a month once the free 30 days are up, with no indication of quite how you cancel.

Since my bank, and my bank alone, would have provided all the information to the agency, my details would only have changed if they had changed them.

Am I wrong to assume that the bank and the credit agency are in cahoots to steal my money any way they can? 'Cos with a house I paid £12,000 for that is now worth a third of a million, a tiny mortgage, no recent credit purchases, and a reducing credit card debt, my credit profile should stellar.

Endgame - Day 4

A rare smile - even rarer as it's thanks to Frank!

Lucky You!

You didn't hear this joke on the radio and nearly crash your car.

Question: How many men does it take to wallpaper a bathroom?
Answer: Three, as long as you slice them very thinly.

Endgame - Day 3

The strain of dealing with Brady is already showing.

Endgame - Day 2

Above and beyond the call of duty - our Bobby visits Wally Stevens.

Endgame - Day 1

A mountain to climb. Please.

In the centenary year of Titanic 1...

...0ne idiot crew presents Titanic 2 - The Italian Job.



Their evacuation drill included: Women and Children Last and The Captain Gets Off The Ship First.

Let's hope the 40 missing are still alive somewhere inside and are brought out alive, like the 3 survivors the hero divers already rescued.

Rocketman - Day 7

I wish he'd hug me like he does that case.

Rocketman - Day 6

It was SOOOOOOO hard to capture this sweet moment!

Rocketman - Day 5

I just want to sink my finger into that adorable tum!

Fate Intervenes

This interesting purple slipcase for Season 6, with the even more interesting Dutch writing, was to have been my Region 2 version of the DVDs (I've been capping and posting from the Region 1 copies) but it was not to be.

A large gouge in the envelope went right through and damaged the box inside. So, for the first time, I have to return an item to Amazon. Pretty good going really.

It's not currently available (obviously Bobby is popular in The Netherlands, unless other Brit Vixens have also been in action...yes Diane, I know, you sent me the link!), so they cannot replace it. I think I'll take the hint of Fate and wait till it comes out in Region 2 English version.

Season 7, which I only had on home-made DVDs complete with watermarks etc, arrived in the same envelope in perfect external condition, which is lucky. Or again, did Fate arrange things this way?

Rocketman - Day 4

The face of a man making intelligent enquiry.

And of a sex god.

Rocketman - Day 3

Dignified and statesmanlike.

Till I rip his clothes off...

Rocketman - Day 2

Pocket Rocket Alert!

Rocketman - Day 1

Thinks: How can I make women hot for me?

Well, that pose is a great start!

Silencer - Day 7

Poor baby has a cold. Can I breathe for you, sweetheart?

Silencer - Day 6

Man-hunk alert - shoulders as wide as the world.

Silencer - Day 5

Peekaboo!

Silencer - Day 4

Just how does he look so gorgeous all the time?

Silencer - Day 3

Curls, eyelashes, lips and stubble. What more could a Vixen ask for? (OK, naked body...)

Justice At Last

Almost 19 years ago, in April 1993, this young man, Stephen Lawrence, age 17, was murdered by a gang of youths in Eltham in London, stabbed to death at a bus stop. I remember seeing it reported on Teletext almost immediately as a racist murder, but strangely the police didn't treat it as such. After all, Stephen and his friend Duwayne Brooks were black, weren't they? It must be a drug thing.

With this mindset, the police couldn't help but mess up the investigation, and it was far too long before they took it seriously enough to harvest evidence.

Even when they started to investigate in earnest, they failed to achieve a conviction, and the case was dismissed due to insufficient evidence. As a result of the case, a lengthy public enquiry took place which concluded that there was institutionalised racism in the Metropolitan Police. Stephen's parents took out a private case against those believed to be the perpetators, but this too failed.

Four years ago the police began a review of the case, which led to these men, Gary Dobson and David Norris, being brought to trial. The reporting of the trial has been painful, as mistake after mistake by the police and forensics experts were highlighted. It sounded as if cross-contamination would lead to an acquittal. Then there was the forensics expert who had deliberately taken the labels off evidence when he lost his job.

Today, at last, these rabid racists have been found guilty. Three of the original five gang members have still not been brought to justice. But at least, tonight, two aging thugs are behind bars for this savage crime, and the Lawrences finally have some measure of closure.

The bus stop where the attack took place has a memorial plaque, which has been vandalised and now has a security camera trained on it.

Stephen had wanted to be an architect, and the Stephen Lawrence Architectural Centre stands a mile or so from here, its aim to encourage young people in their pursuit of a career in architecture. Even before it was finished, the expensive patterned plate glass was vandalised, and stood boarded up for what seemed like years. I wish that could be the end of such evil.

Silencer - Day 2

I love to see him hunkered inside his warm jacket.

The Wrong Arm of the Law

Solicitors (for my non-UK readers, these are lawyers of the workaday, but still very well-off, kind, who handle home conveyancing and wills, rather than the people who represent you in court, who are called barristers) should of course be upright, honest and capable of keeping one's business to themselves.

As my will needs rewriting, I walked into an office in the local shooping centre and made an appointment. "You'ree lucky," I was told, "We have 10% off will-writing at the moment." As prices were from £85, this seemed to be quite a good deal.

On receipt of the first draft, I was informed that the cost would be over £100, so when I returned the draft for amendment, I asked for a breakdown. This bill duly announced that the cost was £85.50 including the 10% discount, plus VAT (Value Added Tax) at 20%. Mmmm.

Included in the pack there was also a document from somenone else's file, complete with her name and phone number.

Today I phoned her and told her how I came by her number. She was not pleased. What's more, she is being charged the "standard fee of £85" (no mention of discount). So apparently this company is dishonest, incompetent AND breaks confidentiality.

Think I'll go elsewhere. But hey, thanks guys for the draft, so I can present the completed article to the new firm.

Silencer - Day 1

I'm sure this shot was never intended to be frozen for all time, and for our delectation. Yet here it is!

Brother's Keeper - Day 7

Don't worry, Bobby, it's not Frank, just the sucker he sold your coat to.



Happy New Year, everyone!

Ghostly Encounter?

OK, I know he lived to 100, and died over 8 years ago, but I saw Bob Hope at the shops today.

No, not that Bob Hope. The Bob Hope was born in Eltham, part of the London Borough of Greenwich. The Bob Hope I saw was born in the north of England, he only lives in Greenwich.

I worked with him at Kidbrooke School, also in the London Borough of Greenwich. He's retired now, having taught at the school for decades, and the closest he came to the Hollywood of his namesake was teaching this man:

Because Jude Law went to Kidbrooke Shool.

And of course, Jamie Oliver did his School Dinners programme there.

No wonder Americans think all the English know each other.

Brother's Keeper - Day 6

Poor baby looks so unhappy when he hears there's nothing that can be done for his mummy.

Brother's Keeper - Day 5

This was a tough one to catch. It's blurred. It's poorly composed. But it's his tongue in full flick.

Brother's Keeper - Day 4

When Bobby Met Frankie.

Pengies and Cubs

No prizes for guessing where I went today.

The new penguin exhibit has been open since May, but these are the first pictures I've taken of the residents.










For a while I could only see one cub, who was sitting with dad. Then mum gave them both a feed.



Finally mum took a rest while big sister supervised a bit of meat-eating.

Brother's Keeper - Day 3

Don't frown, baby, let Val kiss it better. Whatever "it" is.

Planners' Folly

The friend I spent Christmas Day with lives a 30-mile drive away, and to get there part of my journey is along the M25 London Orbital motorway. This bridge runs across it at a place called
Polhill. For generations Polhill was a place of beauty, where families would go in spring to pick bluebells. Then the developers decided in their wisdom to reduce it to a cutting on the motorway.

The story is that, when planning the motorway and its crossings, exits and entries, thsoe responsible looked at a map, and at this site saw a line. "Aha!" they said, "There's a road. We must build a bridge across the motorway to accommodate it." And so they built this award-winning scissor arch bridge.

Sadly, the line on the map was just...a line on a map! A multi-million pound line. No one checked it on the ground. If you google bridges on the M25, you find that the Kent Sub Unit of South East Road Construction Unit takes responsibility for the design of what is described as a "pedestrian bridge, the Polhill Bridleway". I have never Seen anything on the bridge, nor have I tried to find the way on to it, but if there is a way, it's certainly well hidden. Well, at that price, I suppose they can afford to hide their mistake.

Brother's Keeper - Day 2

Just a hint of a smile - but enough to melt the heart.

Brother's Keeper - Day 1

He wants me to talk - I'll talk!

Christmas Day Albatross

I don't have any interesting photo editing or creative software on my computer (been disappointed too many times) so it's just Plain Bobby (if there is such a thing!) for Christmas Day.

I think he just realised he forgot to send our Christmas cards.