Mirage

Spotted yesterday in Ikea Milton Keynes. Their room dressers have taste.

London Conversation

Simultaneously inspiring and exhausting, it was well worth braving the gale force winds (actually, London didn't fare too badly, though the rail shutdown at 11pm meant we made it home by the skin of our teeth) to attend Day 2 of The Rest Is Noise at the Southbank Centre. A little like convention day at Beatleweek, there was barely time to eat or catch our breath, as competing allegiances made planning our day a difficult task (a 'good' downside, if there was one, to a very packed schedule).

For a change, our usual tendencies were set aside, and a conversation with Gail Zappa in the QEH won out over a Beatles-centric panel discussion on the 6th floor. A strident and formidable presence, we learned much about Gail's London-based past pre-Frank, how she came to arrive in LA via New York and her battles with sycophant fans of her late husband. The closing Q&A prompted Gail to recommend Hot Rats as a primer for Zappa pre-schoolers. We took note.