The Earth Beneath Her Feet

Moving to London was the first time I saw the phenomenon known as anti-climb paint. The wall looked like a regular painted wall, except for 1) the sign saying "anti-climb paint" and 2) the footprints at head height that showed up beautifully against the white. An illiterate snail was sliding its way up the wall next to the warning, causing me to regret the absence of a camera.

But this will do instead:

(Thank you, gmh, for the inspiration. *g*)

Yesterday I was in south London, having lunch at the cutely named Dippy Egg. I think it's the first greasy spoon I've been into since I moved here. Anyone not familiar with the term can probably guess what it means, plenty of fuel and none too healthy. Stroopwafel Fiend's lunch was a good example: a sausage and bacon sandwich. My salad tried to run away but couldn't move on account of being weighed down by the large amount of dressing.

SF and me then went to the supermarket to get tea and raspberries for pudding (as you do). On the way, on a non-descript bit of street, I spotted these houses through some railings:

Kennington Lane

Nice and a little Mediterranean. Even the weather seems to agree.

The Science Museum held its first ever late night opening a couple of weeks ago. There was live music, robot races and plenty of opportunity to try out the displays without having to elbow aside small children.

The first thing we visited was an exhibition on the development of technology in post-war Britain. Although the first part seemed to be so much about design that we wished sshi were there. The exhibition really brought home to me how long rationing had gone on for (into the 50's) and how much shortages had influenced design in that period.

Now, I'm not normally given to squee, but...

Goblin Teasmade (1966)

A device that wakes you up in the morning with a cup of tea. Only here. :-D

Brick Lane is generally known for its curries but I was lured down there yesterday afternoon by the promise of offensive cross-stitch. Which turned out to be slightly more than stitching swear words onto canvas. It was in fact Cupcakes, Cocktails and Cross Stitch in a bar. So there were lots of people sitting on benches and on the floor, with pink drinks in mugs, learning how to do cross stitch from the organisers.

short_mort and Victoria

Sad, but it amused me that Psalm 23 and "Bollocks" were being stitched next to each other (both projects were being done on account of their mothers). Although Psalm 23 won the offensive stakes because she had the vastly more difficult task of stitching onto linen.

Cross stitch isn't really my thing, but it was interesting to learn how it was done. And I'm always in for free cupcakes.

Here's one for the Pratchett fans and knitters. The artful knit shop Prick Your Finger, who made the previously featured cable knit sweater, had something cool in their window:

Hedgehog by Rosemary Haddon

I'll be keeping an eye on their blog because they're trying to make this beastie remote-controlled. Yes!