Weekend down the tube

Been meaning to show you one of the better sites on t'internet, The Cartoonist, for a while now and here's the perfect opportunity - a post on the London underground song with recent interview and little movie.

The song has been floating around for a bit now now and two young doctors behind it have created an album - all money raised goes to Macmillan Cancer Relief. Buy, buy. Then stick it in a ghetto blaster and play the song in a tube station. Or hand out copies to buskers for them to practice and play.

All of which reminds me - passing through Piccadilly Circus Underground station yesterday, I checked out a neat, amusing and nicely done art project, The Gold Card Adventures by Ellie Harrison, based on the distances travelled in a year on London's wonderful public carriage systems and where they could get you abroad. It's well worked out, the postcards are rather nifty, and anyone who spends that much time obsessively recording and manipulating data from something like public transport travel times gets a gold star from me....

The day before, sloped out to Exmouth Market to hook up with Inane, Anglepoised and Nomen Luni, amongst others, to hang about with and talk rubbish. Topics covered were: the style implications of wearing 2 shirts; if one could acquire information by eating it, what would happen if one ate alphabet soup; monkfish; male /female designated facilities not being clearly marked and leaving one to work out the right door from silly pictures and colours; snagging; a gents toilet in Arkansas, USA that has an en-suite pool table room with referee; the early oeuvre of Depeche Mode, Ministry and Lawnmower Deth; pub and bar design; packets of cigarettes that cost £17; et cetera.
First time I've ever actually been to Exmouth Market to stop, look around and peer in shops, as opposed to walking past it or through it. Used to wander that way a lot when I was going through speech therapy. It's an OK area, if a little too clean and self-consciously cobbled, you know what I mean?
Eye caught by Clerkenwell Music - good little shop with varied selection (although disgraces itself by having a little stand with such bands du jour as Coldplay, Travis, Keane, Snow Patrol, Razorlight, White Stripes, Vines - you know the section of the music appreciation Venn diagram I'm talking about. Yeah.) Picked up a Best of Temptations CD (worth buying for Ball of Confusion, Get Ready, I'm Losing You, Ain't Too Proud To Beg, alone. Just remember to skip My Girl. Yuck.) and Tea For The Tillerman by Cat Stevens. Sweet.

Grabbed a bite to eat at Little Bay - lovely food and, pre-7pm, the prices are lower so it's a bit of a bargain. Became fatigued and had go home early, owing to Friday night out with a couple of work colleagues in Strada, here (looks like they're branching out. Pizza Express, beware. They might be pricier but they're a lot nicer.) This of course means I didn't stay in on Friday as planned. Sigh. Still, there's always next Friday to be good...