All change!

I am moving over to a new blog about London life shortly, so please come back soon for more news about the site. Best wishes, Drew

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Driving you mad!

What is the deal with bus drivers? As I was waiting for the 242 this morning, I watched as a young guy with a heavy rucksack ran towards the stop as his bus - the 38 - approached and drove away. I am convinced that the driver saw him and yet, he didn't stop. I mean, honestly... what goes through their heads? Of course, it's not the first time that I've seen it - the bus comes along, you can see the stop and you're running, running, running... and, despite the fact that the driver can see you in his mirror, he just drives on. He might as well blow you a kiss and flick you a V-sign. And if the bus is half-empty, it adds insult to injury.

Some - not all, but too many - bus drivers in London are bloody mean-spirited. Credit where it is due - it can't be an easy job - you get cut up by cars, you've got to navigate roadworks, you take verbal abuse from difficult passengers and 'attitude' from ticket-less kids who expect a free ride - but it is their job to stop and pick us up.

Fortunately, the backpacker didn't have to wait too long for another 38 - and when my 242 arrived, I immediately regretted boarding it. It sounded like a mobile hospital ward, and I was stuck infront of some coughing, sneezing, phlegm-swallowing maniac. I moved away as soon as the top deck thinned out at Liverpool Street station, but I woudn't be surprised if I've caught something from the dirty swine.

Favourite quotes

When I come across an interesting, amusing or pithy comment in a film, TV programme or newspaper, I always jot it down and later, put into my red Moleskine notebook. Here are some of my favourites from a wide range of sources, including the BBC's Ashes to Ashes; one of the Bond films; a lecture on how to perform Shakespeare; Ugly Betty; and a stand-up routine from the comedian Bill Bailey.

"You're cleverer than you look!" "Well, better than looking cleverer than you are...!"

"he's got as much charm as Gollum"

"he's got fingers in more pies than a leper on a cookery course..."

"the chicken kiev is the culinary equivalent of the spitting cobra"

"those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first call 'promising'"

"teenagers are toddlers with hormones and attitude"

"I'm in prison with a man who's so dyslexic that he thinks he's in here for HGB"

"I might come dressed as a nun. Or a cat. I haven't decided yet."

"to perform a great text, you need oxygen and blood"

"people in prison have done things that the people outside prison have thought about, and not done"

Привет Россия!

Я рад видеть, что этот блог становится ежедневных просмотров в России. Тот, кто вы есть, спасибо - и добро пожаловать!

Mark Rylance returns to the Globe!

I love it! Mark Rylance, who is wowing audiences as Johnny 'Rooster' Byron in Jez Butterworth's award-winning Jerusalem in London's West End, will return to the Globe Theatre on the South Bank next year to play - wait for it! - the title role in Richard III and Lady Olivia in Twelfth Night. 

I can't think of many actors who could pull this off or, indeed, who would be approached to do it at all  - but I'm sure that he will be amazing in both productions. It will be his first engagement at the theatre, where he was Artistic Director, since 2005 - and I'm sure that tickets will sell very quickly for the shows.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16000371

Farewell, Movember!

Here we are. The first of December. Farewell November... and 'Movember'. I wonder how many men in London - indeed, across the UK - spent a bit more time in the bathroom this morning to shave off the furry caterpillar that they've been growing above their top lip to support 'Movember'.

When I met Stephen Fry at the Guildhall a couple of weeks ago, I was quite surprised to see the moustache that he was growing to support the charity - and since then, I've lost count of the number of moustaches - some of them impressive (well, if you like that sort of thing...), others noticeably ratty and under-developed - parading around the capital, as if it had been invaded by a group of 1970s porn stars.
It's all for a very good cause, mind you, and I hope that it raised a lot of money (not to say, a few smiles) and awareness of men's health issues, including depression and prostate cancer. For more details, take a look at http://uk.movember.com/  

Jeremy Clarkson - what a car crash!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15977813

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15987170

You can always rely on Top Gear presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, to come out with a breathtakingly offensive remark. And here's the latest one - directed at the striking workers. If I may be permitted - albeit briefly - to sink to his level, I think he's an arsehole.

In due course, I'm sure that his representatives will spring to his defence by saying that he didn't mean any offence and that it's all part of his 'knock-about' style, but the words have been said and the damage has been done. Do you ever believe their excuses? In a word, no.

UPDATE: Oh, look, everyone - here's the news of Jeremy's apology... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15993549