Daily Archives: 17th June 2011

5 minutes in London’s west end: who says we’re not religious?

5 minutes in London’s west end: who says we’re not religious?

On Thursday lunchtime, I was speaking at a little gathering near Tottenham Court Rd – and was struck by the in-your-faceness of billboards for Derren Brown’s show, heralding “the wonders of the occult”. So I just got my phone out and started snapping. In the few minutes it took to walk to the tube, I encountered several evidences of the city’s multi-hued spirituality. (more…)

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Friday Fun 6: Interpreting Civil Service Speak

Friday Fun 6: Interpreting Civil Service Speak

One of the acute difficulties of British etiquette is the profound problem of meaning – there can be a huge disparity between the literal/surface meaning of words and the actual intended meaning as all visitors to these shores find to their confusion and even peril. For those wanting a general introduction to the phenomenon, you can do a lot worse than checking this excellent EU translation guide. (more…)

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