Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Charge affairs
According to yesterday's DT, smoking a single joint (it doesn't say anything about inhaling) increases the risk of catching schizophrenia (I had thought this was an obsolete diagnosis in the land of multiple personality disorder) by 41%, with the risk unchanged as you smoke more and more of the stuff. Elementary logic tells me that this means - assuming that the figures are based on something other than DT wishful thinking - rather that there is some correlation between the desire to smoke a joint and the likelihood of catching schizophrenia. But maybe I am missing something.
It also alleges that the stuff you can buy now has all been grown under arc lights in suburban lofts and is much too strong - but not making the point that if the stuff was controlled rather than criminalised we would have some control over quality - in the same way as we do for food, drink and drugs more generally.
Which led me to wonder how many tobacco and pub users are going to think that if they can't have a fag in the pub any more, they might as well have a spliff at home. I think there ought to be a Yougov poll to investigate, funded by the DT.
Visited the Courtauld Institute yesterday. They havn't improved the lighting of the pictures but I had forgotten how much good stuff they have got there. They even had a Van Gogh - not my sort of painter usually - that I really liked. Peach trees near Arles or something.
Then on to inspect the refurbished South Bank Centre. It turns out that refurbishment means a super new water feature (which we tried, along with lots of children and sundry adults. I think we were the oldest by a comfortable margin), selling off chunks of the periphery to various bars and restaurants (which seemed to be doing a good trade) and doing up the interior of the concert hall (which we were unable to see). The rest of the Festival Hall appears to be more or less untouched, apart from having stripped out some of the shops and fiddled around with the bars - helpfully getting rid of the tank trap which used to be around the long bar. Rather elderly green carpet still in place. Not bothered to give the elderly detailing a wash and brush up. The whole thing has a rather unfinished, transitional look about it. We must visit again in a few months time to see whether things have got better.
Portugese custard tarts in Madeira in Vauxhall. Very good.
Finished off in Clapham, where amongst other things we had an excellent tortilla. And I have finally worked out that there are two sorts of tortilla - one which I like and one which I don't. Odd that it has taken so long for the penny to drop.
It also alleges that the stuff you can buy now has all been grown under arc lights in suburban lofts and is much too strong - but not making the point that if the stuff was controlled rather than criminalised we would have some control over quality - in the same way as we do for food, drink and drugs more generally.
Which led me to wonder how many tobacco and pub users are going to think that if they can't have a fag in the pub any more, they might as well have a spliff at home. I think there ought to be a Yougov poll to investigate, funded by the DT.
Visited the Courtauld Institute yesterday. They havn't improved the lighting of the pictures but I had forgotten how much good stuff they have got there. They even had a Van Gogh - not my sort of painter usually - that I really liked. Peach trees near Arles or something.
Then on to inspect the refurbished South Bank Centre. It turns out that refurbishment means a super new water feature (which we tried, along with lots of children and sundry adults. I think we were the oldest by a comfortable margin), selling off chunks of the periphery to various bars and restaurants (which seemed to be doing a good trade) and doing up the interior of the concert hall (which we were unable to see). The rest of the Festival Hall appears to be more or less untouched, apart from having stripped out some of the shops and fiddled around with the bars - helpfully getting rid of the tank trap which used to be around the long bar. Rather elderly green carpet still in place. Not bothered to give the elderly detailing a wash and brush up. The whole thing has a rather unfinished, transitional look about it. We must visit again in a few months time to see whether things have got better.
Portugese custard tarts in Madeira in Vauxhall. Very good.
Finished off in Clapham, where amongst other things we had an excellent tortilla. And I have finally worked out that there are two sorts of tortilla - one which I like and one which I don't. Odd that it has taken so long for the penny to drop.
# posted by Jim @ 1:29 AM 
