Shakespeare and his Globe

Shakespeare's Globe may not be the best theatre in terms of comfort or convenience but, when it comes to sheer entertainment, it is difficult to fault. You could stand in the pit with the Groundlings and lean on the front of the stage to get up close and personal with the actors, or you might sit in relative luxury (the optional cushion is a must-have item), a little detached from the action but better placed to observe it. In either case, the atmosphere is fantastic and the level of audience involvement is much higher than in an ordinary theatre, where the play is the most important thing and having fun is often looked down upon.

If you haven't been yet, the Globe Theatre (link) is something to look forward to; if you are a seasoned veteran of the Pit then you've had a great experience that should be repeated as soon as possible. 

The Bishops Attack

It is rare for me to defend Gordon Brown and the Labour Government, but an attack by a group of unelected, unrepresentative and unaccountable religious fantasists (the Bishops of Durham, Winchester, Hulme, Manchester and Carlisle - link) on the policies and achievements of the current administration is not something that should be ignored. This is not to say that I agree with the actions of the Government, nor that everything the Bishops say is wrong, but it looks very much like an abuse of their privileged positions for them to use their religion as a launchpad for an attack on a secular Government.

Why is the Pope Obsessed With Galileo?

In a strange break with tradition, the Pope, in a move which would presumably have led to his excommunication and execution for heresy in the 17th century, has paid public tribute to the work of Galileo Galilei (link). The Pope, modestly titled the "Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church", said that an understanding of the laws of nature could stimulate appreciation of God's work; the new science-friendly Catholic Church might now reform its outrageous policies on AIDs, condoms, child abuse, homosexuality, stem cell research, abortion and the alleged celibacy of its priesthood, but it seems unlikely. 

Blogs

I have had a load of ideas for post topics over the last week, none of which has made it as far as the keyboard and now, when I sit in front of the computer with a little time to spare, none of them seem very appealing. Here are a few, in no particular order:

• The car park gadget recently deployed at Gun Wharf Quays,
• SimCity on the iPhone,
• Magazine subscriptions,
• The Old Alresford Christmas Cryptic Quiz,
• Wireless keyboards - blessing or curse?
• Motorway crawler lanes, especially on the M27,
• Trains (again, as if there wasn't enough already written),
• The lack of free public Wifi in the UK.

I also haven't written any reviews or ranted at anything for weeks, which will be a relief to my reader but which I quite miss - there's nothing quite like writing a load of tosh about a load of tosh to raise your spirits. 

Anyway, the point is that after the disruption to my routine caused by spending 50-70% of my time in Tallinn each month, everything is now back to normal and I should have time to write reams of meaningless rubbish on the train each day; if you have missed the dribble I churn out (which seems unlikely), I plan now to sate your thirst with more irrelevent (and irreverent) scrawlings than you can shake a stick at. You have been warned.

Train Frustration

This morning's train wasn't cancelled but it was so late that it might
as well have been. When it eventually arrived, South West Trains had
left half the carriages at the previous station so it was a little
crowded when it reached Southampton Airpor.

I gave up on the 0708, usually a quiet, relaxed train on a Friday, and
caught the 0738 instead which, because of the delays, ran only seven
minutes later.

Short Train

My normal morning train has ten carriages and is almost always full
but today's has only five after a points failure prevented the second
half of the train teaching the station where the two parts were to be
concatenated. As a result it is fairly busy, not to say completely
rammed. No seat for me today.

Leicester Square Bar and Restaurant

Excellent dinner this evening with Lucien and Ko at the above-
mentioned establishment. We waited a long time to eat but the food was
very good (I recommend the salmon). Worth a visit but allow plenty of
time.

Booking through TopTable (www.toptable.co.uk) was, as ever, simplicity
itself.

Car Park Running

I have this morning run the length of the station car park three times
as I hurried to buy a parking ticket, deliver it to the car and then
return to the platform to catch the 0650 to Waterloo. As I collapsed
panting into the first empty seat, I decided that I need to work
harder at the gym.

Hats

I am not normally a big fan of hats but I find myself seriously
tempted by the Estonian leather and fur hats on sale at the Christmas
Market inthe town square. At the moment the choice is between sheep
and rabbit (the blue fox is a little too grand for my tastes). More
later...

Measles and Economics

Last time (probably). The Economist has an article about the upswing in measles cases in the UK which is rather more informative and better written than my recent scribblings. You can find it here.

MobileMe

I have been using Apple's MobileMe service for a few months to see how it goes but, with the end of my free trial period fast-approaching, I have unsubscribed on the grounds that it offers far too little benefit for the money. If I made more use of the features it might be better value but using it only for Contact synchronisation and backup is rather a waste, especially as the iPhone syncs perfectly well with Exchange, to which I also have access.

Will I reconsider in the future? Not as things stand, no, but if Apple bulk-out the service and offer new innovative features then maybe. If the cost was lower (say £10 a year) I might have stuck it out to see what Apple could come up with over the next few months but £59 is too much to ask for a service that offers no real benefit.

Rain-Soaked Jeans

My train today has been delayed by signalling problems which has given
my jeans time to dry after the soaking they received in Southampton.
Unfortunately, the weather appears to be no better in London so the
reprieve from damp trousers will be brief.

It could have been worse, however; Tallinn's forecast is just as damp
and even colder, with the threat of snow tonight and tomorrow. It
looks like my next trip to Estonia (Monday) will be an exercise in
keeping warm. Where can I buy snowshoes?

More Rain

Southampton today is cold and wet; horizontal rain seems to be the
order of the day, so I sit now on the train, steaming gently, hoping
that the weather in London will be slightly better.

Quote of the Day

The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.

Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

A book worth reading. Get it here.