Hansard Society research paper on on-line campaigning in the recent UK election, Spinning the Web. Interesting in parts, but brings to mind Marx’s dictum.
Month: July 2005
Envirowise up
Businesses can now find out how they could save money by being green, through the Government’s Envirowise web site. Link via Sussex Enterprise
Other Glasgow recommendations
Other recommendations from the Glasgow trip.
Food: Bouzy Rouge seafood and grill, home of a huge and excellent Chateaubriand. Antipasti – a friendly and easygoing Italian, with a branch on Sauchiehall Street and one (the one we visited) on Byres Road in the cool West End.
Theatre: Glasgow Rep‘s production of Twelfth Night in the Botanical Gardens – lots of walking around following the actors, very involving and a good production.
Glasgow arts
To Glasgow for our anniversary, and a few spectacular discoveries. Apart from Glasgow itself – trendy, good restaurants, good architecture – we visited a couple of fantastic galleries.
The Burrell Collection, out in Pollok Country Park, was a real discovery. It’s a great little collection of paintings, sculpture and artefacts from 1st Dynasty Egypt through to a good little collection of Degas. It also has a good selection of Lucas Cranach the Elder.
At the Hunterian Art Gallery, by the University, we saw the reconstructed Mackintosh house, but best of all discovered the Scottish Colourists – the name for several artists including John Duncan Fergusson who, from their origins in Scotland, worked around Europe in the pre-WWII years. Amazing, rich colours and thick, tactile paint – very memorable. A book about them is linked in the sidebar.
You’ve got to admire the brand consistency
Unclear photo above taken outside the Economist Shop, in London, where building work is taking place. The ‘business as usual’ sign is an Economist advert (red background, white letters, you know the score) reading “Business, as usual”. Very impressive.
Report on railway stations
The NAO reports on the condition of Britain’s railway stations. Things are getting better, but travellers don’t like smaller, unmanned stations. I can’t say I blame them, at least in some inner city areas.
The long way round
By G*d!
Cornish spreads to London
The flag of St Piran flies over the City Lit with evening classes now available in the Cornish language (or Kernewek, if you’re Lisa Simpson).
Faith that can move mountains
Edward Whelan writesin the National Review (US) about US courts that rely on international legal principles in reaching decisions. The argument of originalism is too long to go into here (there are books about it), but I thought it was interesting how the originalist argument made by Mr Whelan relies so much on faith in the ‘genius of the founders’. Unquestioning faith in an ancient text, written by sages for very different conditions – what does that remind you of?