Brilliant evening last night with the Cambridge Storytellers. As you might expect, they are a local group of story-tellers devoted to folk / oral traditions. The Storytellers meet for regular monthly nights at a local cafe, CB2s, but this was one of their more organised, formal events, held in conjunction with Cambridge Preservation Society at the ( Read more... )

On a budgeting kick, I decided to take a look at what I spend on household food and drink. I wanted to see how my diet might vary, if at all, over a fixed period (two months in early-late spring). And I was curious to learn: just how omnivorous am I? I mean, I have my own ideas about that, but I knew my actual behaviour might be different.

I decided ( Read more... )

...is a small, flinty town "that they forgot to close down", like Mozza says. Perched on the rim of North Norfolk, it's a classic, ageing seaside resort and a working-class counterpart to the suffocatingly genteel towns of Southwold and Aldburgh, further south. I don't think Great Yarmouth was ever grand, although its seafront promenade still has a ( Read more... )

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I saw them play the Junction last week - I think it was Thursday. Massive crowd of sort of averagely trendy, "normal looking" people (branded jeans, logo tshirts, product-ised hair - guys and girls), most in their late 20s. Had the feeling the audience were re-living their University days. Felt a bit left out! I was never into Supergrass as a band ( Read more... )

SOS Kindersdorf, an NGO working to support children's welfare and well-being, ran an innovative pilot project [link to report, in PDF], in which they gave 71 children digital cameras, and invited them to use the camera to document their world ( Read more... )

Don't know what to think about this one.

Frank Stephenson (he of the new Mini) has cast his spell over the cheery little Cinquecento. Comes with about a gazillion options to help you "personalise" your new and shiny motor. As part of hyping the car, Fiat has invested big in Web 2.0 marketingThe UK launch was a festa of PR extravagance: "At a ( Read more... )

Fidel Castro has finally articulated in public what has long been speculated of the Cuban leader: that he will not return to Cuban public life as leader. Excerpts of his public letter, translated by BBC Monitoring, revealed a mood that was characteristically defiant, but also reflective. Fidel defended his legacy, claiming he had always acted with ( Read more... )

Looking forward to an evening of crispy, squidgy, buttery pancake goodness.

Favourite toppings: lemon and sugar - simple, tasty. Bacon and maple syrup (with apple?) - classic Americana. Plain old butter - straight onto the plate!

Friends in Cam. have introduced me to nutella and banana. Tasty, and makes you feel about 5 yrs old. In a good way.

I was pleased to get a message announcing NativeWiki, a public wiki about indigenous nations and peoples of the world, past and present. Curious about what might have been added about Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, I clicked on "Geographic Regions" on the left-hand menu bar, only to find that the "Australia and New ( Read more... )