“My duck confit definitely was a thing of beauty, a big alpha-duck leg, its skin crisp as Cellophane, the flesh poking out tiny, steaming fibrous fingers, the whole thing dotted with fat puy lentils and served on a creamy mash that curled round the leg like a persistent seducer.”
No… this is not an excerpt from my latest restaurant review. As I sat outside a Chiswick pavement cafe, watching the world go by and eating a plate of pasta that did not try to roger my leg or seduce me, I decided to see how real restaurant reviewers tackle their subject. I read a selection from various Sunday papers. The one above, written by John Walsh in The Independent yesterday – engaged me more than the others I read. I must ask for an alpha-duck breast or leg when I am next in a Chiswick bistro or gastrocaff. I may never eat mash again without thinking about seduction. This could be a handicap.
DOES THIS PHOTO OFFEND…. COULD THIS PHOTO BE OFFENSIVE FROM NEXT WEEK?
Well of course a picture of former Home Secretary David Blunkett is not offensive – but he is the man behind a law that comes into operation next week; a law which is not one of our proudest moments in legislative drafting and one certainly likely to be offensive to the many in this country who enjoy consensual kinky sex, Le Vice Anglais or a bit of rum, sodomy and the lash. I don’t actually care that much what people get up to in bed or in private provided their activities are consensual – but this government does and is about to intrude into your thoughts, rather than physical actions, in a particularly worrying way if you happen to be in possession of certain types of image. Shoddy drafting, misconcieved protectionism and a potential nightmare of interpretation for the courts. Par for the course?
My attention was drawn to the debate on a casual visit to Geeklawyer’s blog t’other night when one of the posters, in response to Geeklawyer’s intentionally provocative remarks posted as follows – rather well written, I thought!: “Also, if I were not so busy rubbing my firm young body (presently covered in oil) and nubile titties (also obviously covered in oil) against those of my similarly physiqued friends, I would be in your house all laced up spanking your very naughty misogynist bottom, HARD! Oh geeky I wouldn’t stop spanking until your cheeks were all flushed with remorse.”
I happened to ask the poster of this excellent response to GL if she had heard of Max Mosley. Another poster, Ms Hansen, picking up on the reference, asked for thoughts / comment on the new legislation about possession of offensive images. Her post is well worth a read – Helga Hansen “Giving kinky the boot”
Moving away from sex to other matters…. and inject some gravity into the proceedings. Here is a story from The Financial Times – a newspaper of gravitas.
Taiwan mislays $30m in foreign aid: “Taiwan’s government said on Friday that it had lost track of $30m in foreign aid after it handed the money to two men it barely knew hoping they could help establish diplomatic ties with Papua New Guinea. The case offers a rare glimpse on how Taiwan, struggling to maintain its few diplomatic allies in the face of China’s rising influence, conducts money diplomacy.”
WTF do they drink in Taiwan?
AND so it came to pass, this May Bank holiday, that I found myself on Friday night and yesterday late afternoon at a new establishment frequented by topers, binge drinkers and, it has to be said, some perfectly normal and sensible residents of Chiswick – The Duke of Sussex.
A very good friend, noting my absence from the Bollo (I have been working – and it seemed appropriate to moderate the juice consumption.) telephoned me yesterday afternoon to see if I fancied a quick one. With this particular friend, who interleaves the consumption of 12-14 pints of Guinness with coffees over a long session, the idea of a quick one is at best an oxymoron and at worst, misrepresentation. I agreed immediately – arriving, as requested, at 5.00. My friend arrived at 5.15, giving the appearance of a man who was in rude health. It soon became apparent, after he downed three quick pints of Guinness, that he had been at it with another friend of mine at The Bollo since 2.00. Before you could say Ali Baba and The Forty Pissartists, this other good friend of mine, face florid from giving a masterclass in drinking to the customers of The Bollo, arrived. I was well behind the curve, and had to leave them to it. It was good to see them. It was good to be ‘missed’. The fact they could barely see me was neither here nor there. The truth of the matter is, of course, that I had a later engagement and arriving for that ‘ROA’ or ‘roaring on arrival’ would have been a solecism. A very big solecism!.
***
My thanks to Nick Holmes of Binary Law for his kind words and, very much more importantly – for promoting UK Law Blogs and Blawgs!
Charon,
Whole you were out enjoying yourself, you, John Bolch and I have been outed as the Triumverate by Lawminx.
http://www.familylore.co.uk/2008/05/fie-lex.html
http://nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/2008/05/world-famous-round-here-2/
She knows too much…
LawMinx is all seeing…. Yes… Nick’s article was supportive of what UK blawgers are trying to do…. Nick is also an enthusiast for blogs and Infolaw and Binary Law get the word out.
See, I KNEW you three were out on a Bender this afternoon ……..!
Charon,
Thank you very much for the link. I was wondering why I was getting so much traffic through my blog via yours!
I shall be keeping an eye open for just how far this bill progresses before coming law.
Cheers 🙂