Designing 007 and A Day in the City

I went to see some former colleagues today who've moved into new offices in 30 St. Mary Axe, a.k.a. the Gherkin. It was good to catch up with current developments in the team and I did the obvious joke, "who's got the corner office?" I'd worked with them two years ago, but with all that's happened since then, it feels half a lifetime ago. After much gossip, we parted and I continued on to The Barbican to see the James Bond exhibition.

Designing 007 at The Barbican

I couldn't take any photos in the exhibition itself, but I took one of the Aston Martin outside the front entrance:

Even if you're not a Bond fan, I'd recommend the exhibition, certainly to those who are interested in films generally. The sheer quantity of things on display is astounding: gadgets (Oddjob's hat!, Scaramanga's golden gun), costumes (a LOT of tuxedos and amazing outfits for the ladies), plus lots of film clips, original storyboards and models used for both planning and filming.

Afterwards, I took a walk through London from the Barbican to The V&A, through Holborn, Picadilly and Knightsbridge:


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These are the ornaments in Chinatown.

At the V&A, they have these giant "tops" which people sit in and roll around.

It seems to be addictive as I've never seen any unused.

Olympic Fever/Farce

Yes, folks, I went to the Olympics. A former colleague of mine asked me if I wanted to meet up with him and his family to watch the Triathlon in Hyde Park. When I got there, I couldn't contact him directly, so I just joined a flood of people heading for a cordoned off area called the BT Live area.

I got searched and had to surrender a pen-knife and multi-tool which I always carry. The security was absolutely abysmal (what Schneier has called "security theatre") because the person completely forgot to search the coat and bag I was carrying. I even got frisked while carrying it. Also, no drinks and food were allowed in, which meant that food and drink were to be bought inside (£5 a pint!), so you can see who the security was meant for.

The area itself was covered in wood chippings, just in case it rained, and it was just giant TV screens. Everyone parked themselves in front of the big one:

but around the corner on the left was another screen which had tables and chairs, so I sat there for a while. There was also a better bar, and while I bought an orange juice, I asked the barman about a band that were forlornly playing in the corner.

He said that they were a band of a mate of his brother's (or maybe a brother of his mate's). They are called Jaimie Thorn and the Mystery Pacific and what a damned good band they were! I'm not saying that they were worth the price of admission, but WOW! Sort of Alt-country, like Calexico. At least some good came out of the debacle.

Afterwards, I walked down to the V&A museum to sit in the courtyard and relax:

Kids paddling in the pool, everyone mellow. A total contrast to the crap earlier.

I went around the Japanese room afterwards and saw these:

They are called "Netsuke". The Japanese at the time had no pockets in their Kimono's and so used pouches or lacquered boxes tied with cord that were then looped through a belt. To prevent the cord slipping, these toggles were then used and became very decorative. Each one of these is about the size of my thumb, so you can appreciate the skill!