Frizz

I couldn’t resist the Tesco’s offer of 30 roses for £5. I know I know, I feel guilty - how much did the pickers get paid and more importantly it means I’ve not gone to the local florist, but they do charge a small fortune on Mother’s Day and I always end up feeling a bit ripped off.  Only the guilt is not good either and when there is only Tesco’s left that will be even worse.

The Doomsday Clock at the University of Chicago was moved 2 minutes closer to midnight in January, so that it now stands at five minutes to midnight. It hasn’t been this close since the 1980’s.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock conveys how close humanity is to catastrophic destruction–the figurative midnight–and monitors the means humankind could use to obliterate itself.

Just thought you’d like to know.

This is from a walk along the riverside at Richmond a few weeks ago, quite amazing and we got wet feet!

I’ve just discovered Dina Rabinovitch’s has written a post about chairing the Neuberger/Segal/Heschel discussion at Jewish Book Week, amusing behind the scenes take and she really did seem incredibly at ease, very Jonathan Freedlandish. Which led me to discover her blog Take Off Your Running Shoes, where she’s documenting life with breast cancer and the in’s and out’s of getting a book published and raising money for cancer research.

Yo! Sushi are doing their half price thing again at Brent Cross and Brunswick - did you know they have redone the whole square - big change.

Searching for information about the dog ban, I’ve found out that Camden Council have caused English Heritage to cancel this years Kenwood concerts.  This seems such a shame, the concerts that I’ve been to in the past have been wonderful.  English Heritage have a petition going if you want to sign it.

Councils are suddenly being run by dog hating fascists. Seriously, suddenly councils are threatening all sorts of bans on dogs; not allowing them on beaches and playing fields, or only being allowed off their leads in restricted areas. And each council can have a different policy? You’d have to laugh if it wasn’t actually happening.

The consultation period for Camden’s Dog Control Order Proposals ends on March 15 - if you want to see what they are proposing (and please download the PDF for details) here is an example and keep in mind that Hampstead Heath, Primrose Hill and at least some of Regents Park all fall within Camden’s boundaries:

It is proposed to designate the following sites and/or types of land in which the Council has an interest where dogs must be excluded:

• All planting and shrubbery in parks and open spaces • All catering areas and areas of food consumption including designated picnic areas in parks and open spaces • All water features, ponds and lakes in parks and open spaces • All monuments in parks and open spaces • All children’s play areas in parks and open spaces • All sports areas in parks and open spaces • All conservation areas in parks and open spaces • All playgrounds and play areas in housing areas • All multi-user games areas in housing areas

It will be an offence for anyone in charge of a dog on land to which the proposed Dog Exclusion Order will apply, to take the dog onto, or permit the dog to enter, or to remain on, such land.

The email address I’ve managed to get is street.environment@camden.gov.uk, so if you think this is slightly extreme please write and let them know.

Anna came back from New York with goodies for me - I have a summer wardrobe without actually going to a shop - I could get used to that.

What happened was I said if you see anything nice from a certain make on sale and have time…  As it was only one make there was limited choice, but still amazingly I love all the stuff and I’m obsessively particular.  We have slightly different tastes, not hugely different, but she’s more low key and I’m going through a bright coloured phase, so I’m really moved, because she bought the clothes with me in mind, which I think is quite hard to do.

Sunday at Jewish Book Week.

A really wonderful session with Julia Neuberger, Lynne Segal and Susannah Heschel discussing the women’s movement and Judaism and so much more. I’d love to be in a classroom with Susannah Heschel even though it would be a challenge and she could (and did) go off into a language that I didn’t understand, a language of tradition that I have never learnt, but it would be expanding.

I was back for the evening sessions. The first was Judith Butler and Udi Aloni - Judith Butler, who D has been raving about since she saw the session was on, lived up to my subsequent high expectations. She’s a theorist and philosopher with a cult following - Bianca Jagger, Helena Kennedy and Lynne Segal were there amongst others.  Her new book Precarious Life deals with US policy since 9/11:

…And though for some, mourning can only be resolved through violence, it seems clear that violence only brings on more loss, and the failure to heed the claim of precarious life only leads, again and again, to the dry grief of an endless political rage…

I missed the beginning of Howard Jacobson and to be honest I found it hard to concentrate with my head still in the previous session, but Peter Florence did a great job and at any other time it would have been fascinating to hear about Jacobson’s childhood and the themes in his new book. And he has that ability to make an audience of 600 feel as if they are part of a small intimate group, a warm and cosy way to end the festival.

Thanks to D and M I have discovered Judith Butler and I’m reading Precarious Life: The Power of Mourning and Violence.