Some Whisper, Some Roar

I am on a course in central London, and I have to note, before I forget, the awesome power of the hand drier in the toilets. In my experience there are some that are barely worth the effort or wiring them up - mild warm zephyrs that only really work if your hands are already dry. Others are a bit better, and will dry your hands to a sort of warm dampness after a minute or so of hand rubbing and shaking.

These are something else. They sound (and feel) like a jet engine starting up. Flesh ripples in the blast and water droplets fly off the hands. The arms ache after a few seconds of straining against the blast. I must get a video.

Always Christmas, Never Winter

I think the first Christmas product I saw in 2006 was in August in the local Tesco's - a Santa selection chocolate box. It was a bit on an anomaly and it wasn't until October that the merchandise began to arrive big time.

This year more than ever it seems strange. With moths still flying around and the weather warm enough to be walking around in T shirts it seems stranger than ever to see the increasingly false jollity of Santa.