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November
Failing to Save the World 10th November 2006
Blackout lacks the X-Factor
This popped into my inbox 9 times on Friday morning, sent by various helpful friends.

“You are invited to take part in the largest demonstration of People
Power that London has ever seen on Saturday 4th November 2006,by
turning off all your lights, and switching off all your non-essential
electrical equipment at Sunset.”

And at first it seemed a magical idea. Especially for fireworks night. Imagine, darkened windows looking onto streets full of cheerful red-cheeked families, the whiff of gunpowder in the air, and the televisions and radios silent, so that the only sound is bangs, the laughter of children, and the occasional traditional bonfire-night mugging. And we’d all be doing the environment a favour while we were at it.

But then I realised a little problem with that key word ‘non-essential’. I’m going to a very exclusive fireworks party this year, held by a friend whose garden backs onto Ravenscourt Park, so we can watch the fireworks while nattering to the Notting Hill glitterati she hangs out with.

So, I‘m supposed to be switching off my non-essentials at 4.30, but at just that time, I shall be approximately halfway through the preening process necessary for a party which begins at 7 o’clock, and which it’s just possible Colin Firth will turn up at.

Under these circumstances, I’m afraid that essential items included lights, hot water, hair-dryer, GHD’s, eyelash-curlers, Radio 4 (in case he asked me about current affairs, and I needed a quickfire quip about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the tip of my tongue. Or at least to be able to remember his name without copy-pasting from google), but most importantly there is no way I can turn up at a sophisticated society party without having watched exactly as much of X-Factor as all the other guests. It’s social death in London this year if you can’t be exactly ironic enough about the McDonald brothers.

It’s all a bit of a shame, really, because I think the blackout is essentially an excellent idea. They just need to plan a bit more carefully next time and have it during some tacky non-event like Celebrity Love Island.
Top of the Pots
Arbutus - a mid-priced London eatery – has been named the UK’s best new restaurant. The Remy Martin Restaurant Awards 2007 paid tribute to Soho’s latest French restaurant which offers gourmet food at low prices. Galvin at Windows, Borough Market, and Yakitoria, were among the other London establishments to receive recognition.
Guys and Dons
Miami Vice star and shoulder-padded 80s icon, Don Johnson, is set to appear in London’s West End production of ‘Guys and Dolls’. Taking over the role of Nathan Detroit, Johnson follows in the feather-light footsteps of fellow 80s Hollywood legend, Patrick “Swivel Hips” Swayze.
Capital Gets Trashed
London recycles only 18% of its waste making it the worst place in the country for rubbish reprocessing. The absence of a single city-wide waste authority has been blamed for the capital’s poor performance, which highlighted Newham council as have the lowest rate of recycling, at 6.23%.
2009
2008
23rd December
January is on the Horizon
20th December
Merry Christmas
26th November
All The World's A Stage
20th November
Surviving the Crunch
24th October
Boris v Jingjing
17th October
Soaps in Pole Position
23rd September
Chips too Chavvy for Chelsea
16th September
The London Restaurant Awards
26th August
No Smoking, No Ducks, No Barbecues
20th August
The Olympics
24th July
Sandwiched Out
17th July
The Show Ain't Over 'Til the Fat Lady's on Page 3
26th June
Love All at Wimbledon
16th June
Miller Puts the Heat on Tennant
27th May
Booze Banned on Buses
20th May
Same Again?
23rd April
By George
11th April
Back to the 80s
28th March
How do You Solve A Problem Like Medea?
20th March
Flight Fantastic
20th February
Dark, Satanic Turnmills
6th February
A Diamond in the Drink
21st January
People Wanted for Plinth
14th January
Boo! Hiss!
2007
28th December
Tate That - A Hirst for Art
20th December
Christmas Shopping
27th November
Mind the Gap
26th November
London On A Tray
26th October
Leaving the Station
14th October
The Sky's the Limit
26th September
The Play Within A Play
19th September
Fashion, Frocks and Celeb Shocks
12th September
Saying Tanks for the Mammaries
24th August
Heathrow under Siege
17th August
Gormless
10th August
Losing Face
24th July
Are We Reaching Boiling Point Yet This Summer?
13th July
Red Ken versus Blonde Boris
22nd June
Last Orders at the Fag Machine
11th June
London the Musical
21st May
What Lurks Beneath
10th May
The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of
27th April
London’s Walk on the Wild Side
20th April
Stand Behind the Yellow Line
13th April
Like Water for Chocolate
23rd March
So, Another Magazine
16th March
Avoiding iContact
23rd February
Sex and Art...
16th February
C-Charge Protest Fails to Bring Down Government
9th February
Live Earth London
26th January
A Vote for Shilpa is a Vote for Britain
18th January
Carriage on up the West End
2006
29th December
Food for Thought
22nd December
A Poisonous Marketing Campaign
15th December
In for a Penny, In for Five Pounds
17th November
Big Department Stores Leave Santa Out in the Cold
10th November
Failing to Save the World
27th October
Frozen Prawns and Melting Icecaps
20th October
Predatory Pelicans and Happy Woodland Folk
13th October
Hope at last for east end of Oxford Street
16th September
Lite the Blue Paper and Stand Well Back
9th September
Of Poles and Twiglets
25th August
Free Fares For the Fat and the Fashionable
11th August
London Friendly
4th August
Archway To Organic Heaven
21st July
London - Celebrity Frat House
7th July
Out of the Galleries into the Streets
23rd June
Mayors, Nightmares and Marias
16th June
Downright Rude in Paris and London
9th June
Enter the Inferno
26th May
Curvaceous Border
12th May
Vegging Out
21st April
The Camden Crawl
17th April
Down the Pan
13th April
I Want to Break Free
9th April
Big Brother seems to have been left in a bar somewhere
7th April
Don't Box Me In
24th March
Political Correctness Reaches New Heights
24th February
A Stadium's Tale: Cup Final Goes West
17th February
Modern Musicals are Rubbish
10th February
The City-Side Alliance
20th January
February Sales
20th January
Moby Sick
13th January
Glass Half Full
3rd January
Three Cheers for the Tube Station Workers
2005
22nd December
January Bites
16th December
A Remarkable Year
25th November
And a Partridge in a JCB
11th November
Driving Miss Sadie
4th November
Spam, Spam, Spammity-Spam, Shakespeare, Zorro, Chico and Rasputin
28th October
Trick or Treat?
21st October
We Don't Mind a Little Delay...
14th October
Final Resting Place for Young British Artists
16th September
Just a small urn for me, please barman
9th September
DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!
2nd September
The Free Tenor
30th August
Samba Rhythms Breaking Out All Over The Stadium
20th August
Getting Behind the Iron Farce
10th August
Mystery Play is No Sell Out
29th July
Moving On From 7/7
22nd July
Get loaded in the park
15th July
Victoire!!
24th June
New Balls, Please
17th June
The End of an Unsightly Era
10th June
The Hooded Law
31st May
Widespread Diso-’Beeb’-ience
20th May
Pass the Pepper Spray
20th May
Black Theatre Breakthrough
27th April
Five More Years
20th April
Dancing with Idiots
12th April
A Youthful Look at the Theatre
30th March
Musical Communion
23rd March
Big Guns Back in Town
10th March
Celebs in the City
28th February
There's no business like showbusiness!
22nd February
Ken You Believe It?
10th February
Make Poverty History
28th January
Loving It!
21st January
The Great West End Ticketing Scandal
14th January
The Triumph of the Ordinary
2004
30th December
Party Pooper
23rd December
The Second Battle of Trafalgar
16th December
Sadie's Year
28th November
Ripper-Watch
21st November
Kinky Boots
14th November
Smoked out
22nd October
Yuppie Meal
15th October
Fines of Fury
8th October
No Twist in the Turner
17th September
Battleships, bloodsports and Batman
10th September
Clique Week
3rd September
Return of the Bard
20th August
Politics Takes Centre Stage
13th August
Crisis in Theatreland
6th August
Journey's End
23rd July
Healing Waters
16th July
Mandela Statue in Doubt
9th July
From Art to Ashes
2nd July
One Hurdle Nearer to Gold
 
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