Is India running America?
To be continued...
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
What makes a place 'Bohemian'?
What makes a place 'Bohemian'?
Lets start with the ever reliable, good old Wikipedia: 'The term "Bohemian" as related to Bohemianism – i.e. describing the untraditional lifestyles of marginalized and impoverished artists, writers, musicians, and actors in major European cities – has little or nothing to do with the above (description of Bohemian as the term used to describe people of Czechoslovakia), though, often leading to confusion.' Confusion indeed. This question came about when one Restaurant's website described Didsbury, South Manchester as 'Bohemian'. As a resident of Didsbury, I immediately rebelled, reading it out to my office because they were really very interested. It turns out that me following this up with, 'Didsbury is full of chain pubs, there are no independent places at all, it's hardly bohemian!' was a step too far for one Didsbury bubble dweller. I did exaggerate, I'll admit, but if driving through Didsbury village you will see Costa, Slug & Lettuce, Fellucini's, Varsity, Cafe Rouge, O'Neills and Pizza Express so the main thoroughfare proves my point. However, venture down the side roads and it proves Mr Bubbles' point, that there are lots of independent places. He's right. Which begged the question, why does Didsbury seem so utterly lacking in the bohemian lifestyle? Quite simply, the clientele is trying too hard. Trying too hard to be seen in the independent bars and restaurants away from the riff-raff of the chain pub. What is clear in Didsbury is that the punters in Chain or Independent are exactly the same, except one is drinking 'chain' lager, the other is drinking bubbling goblin cider. So, it's the people that make it bohemian and the Didsbury population at large is far from impoverished, marginalized, bohemian. Lets try elsewhere.
Lets start with the ever reliable, good old Wikipedia: 'The term "Bohemian" as related to Bohemianism – i.e. describing the untraditional lifestyles of marginalized and impoverished artists, writers, musicians, and actors in major European cities – has little or nothing to do with the above (description of Bohemian as the term used to describe people of Czechoslovakia), though, often leading to confusion.' Confusion indeed. This question came about when one Restaurant's website described Didsbury, South Manchester as 'Bohemian'. As a resident of Didsbury, I immediately rebelled, reading it out to my office because they were really very interested. It turns out that me following this up with, 'Didsbury is full of chain pubs, there are no independent places at all, it's hardly bohemian!' was a step too far for one Didsbury bubble dweller. I did exaggerate, I'll admit, but if driving through Didsbury village you will see Costa, Slug & Lettuce, Fellucini's, Varsity, Cafe Rouge, O'Neills and Pizza Express so the main thoroughfare proves my point. However, venture down the side roads and it proves Mr Bubbles' point, that there are lots of independent places. He's right. Which begged the question, why does Didsbury seem so utterly lacking in the bohemian lifestyle? Quite simply, the clientele is trying too hard. Trying too hard to be seen in the independent bars and restaurants away from the riff-raff of the chain pub. What is clear in Didsbury is that the punters in Chain or Independent are exactly the same, except one is drinking 'chain' lager, the other is drinking bubbling goblin cider. So, it's the people that make it bohemian and the Didsbury population at large is far from impoverished, marginalized, bohemian. Lets try elsewhere.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tesco's work plastic fashion
I couldn't be bothered to go home, grab my stuff for the next working day and face feeling bad about spending another night away from my house and housemates so I went to Tesco. I went to buy dinner for two and to look in the department named 'Clothes', not 'fashion'. I wanted to see if I could avoid wearing the same thing to work two days running. It was a poor choice of shapeless t-shirts (short but wide), vests (gaping under the armpits) and knitwear and polyester high-wasted, low-rise trousers in the light grey usually reserved for men's clarkes shoes so I was in the process of giving up. I spotted a pair of pinstripe trousers on my way back down the aisle towards the safer bet - food - they were ok, wearable for work and for £10...'100% recycled plastic bottles'. Made from...'100% recycled plastic bottles. Amazing! http://www.eartheasy.com/wear_ecospun.htm On the downside, how eco-friendly is this process? Round and round and round and round we go...
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Beehive Emphysema
Having bandied potential reasons around as to why Amy Winehouse might have contracted emphysema (before we found out that she doesn't in fact have it) - the usual: smoking, smoking crack, sleeping in your own sick (?), one soul finally piped up with 'hairspray'...we googled it and you can indeed contract serious respiratory diseases from excessive exposure to hairspray. Whoever said hairdressing wasn't a dangerous career...
Friday, June 13, 2008
Giddy
I went to view a garden last night, a very big very beautiful garden in the grounds of a great big house. The "conservatory" alone could seat 50 people for dinner. On the tour were the garden designer (beige chinos, white shirt, navy blazer, gold buttons), the gardener (jeans, brown wax jacket, long ginger hair, beard, bottle of beer) and the interior designer (long slick hair, fitted tweed suit - for the country). It's important to understand the relationship between the interior and exterior living spaces. Also on the tour were hoity toity, airy fairy women and their long-suffering husbands. One woman had taken advantage of the champagne and was loving the sound of her own voice. Her orange pashmina wafted around her in the wind as she pawed at the designer and siphoned him off from the group. She was boasting, 'I've got trees...an orchard...yes and I've just taken a cutting of...' She didn't draw breath and presented the crowning glory ... 'and I've got horses...'
'Haven't we all!' Guffawed the garden designer!
'Haven't we all!' Guffawed the garden designer!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
