Content tagged: uk

Hi from London

Probably the final London instalment from Laura: Hello again! I was sitting at work today, talking about Indian saris, and my boss Phil mentioned a sari he'd seen that was the colour electric blue. Of course, being an Australian child of the 80s, I started singing Electric Blues. Suddenly my colleagues were strangers; they did not know the words. They did not know the song. And they certainly didn't have a clue who Icehouse was. A thought came into my head: it's time to go home. So this afternoon, Simon and I paid for our flights back to Australia. Although ... more

Another update from Laura

Ho hum. Probably naïve of me, but I had no idea how focused London is on the finances of the world. UK television, newspapers, current affairs shows every single day are dominated by news of all the bank collapses and money woes and recession talk. It’s all a bit doom and gloom at the moment, isn’t it? For the first time in my life, I’m also in an industry (recruitment of all things) where people lose their jobs and lose them quickly. No fat cats at all, but people like secretaries, accountants, help desk workers, consultants and techies I was ... more

Hype Machine

I'm not really sure I've got room in my life for another music based website, but lately last.fm radio has been leaving me uninspired. Today I discovered the The Hype Machine and after a week or so of mostly listening to the office radio station of choice1, an afternoon of The Hype Machine's latest tracks has been a welcome relief. On another music front, I'm off to Gotye live at Scala tonight! Get warmed up (or see what you're missing) by playing Gotye at The Hype Machine. And best of all, once you've signed up they'll even Scrobble your tracks! ... more

Rebuilding/Renewing Social Norms

I've just been reading about the nanny state over at skepticlawyer1. In her post, Helen (who I've just discovered has a Wikipedia entry) included a video by Drew Carey about how the US Government, or it's many state Governments, have a particular penchant for banning things. Much like the Australian Governments of recent times. Although I wouldn't agree with everything in the Drew Carey video being 'un-banned', it does make a great point. Helen has made the even better point that the law entering the fray where social norms used to do the job quite nicely is not the best ... more

Hi from London

Well, it’s taken a while, but the Elverys are finally connected to this thing you people call “the internet”. Simon and I moved to Bayswater on the 28^th March, so it’s only taken the efforts of two very small, not-for-profit companies called Virgin and British Telecom to get us up and running. Eighty-one days: longer than it takes to go around the world, but less time than it took to build the Pyramids. We already think Jiselle and Tony's baby is both clever and thoughtful. We are sure he or she waited until mum and dad were back from Cairns ... more