Alec John Moore

dv1, are you suggesting we should believe what we read in the Daily Mail?

I don't have any vested interest in this topic since I don't work in the arts or ents. I just want to point out that the two aren't mutually exclusive - physical and virtual space for arts activity. That's a bit obvious perhaps but arts activity has the potential to enrich our lives immensely and the focus that can come from a well conceived and run arts "centre" can enhance that potential. Pop up - from what I know of it - is great but that's not an arts centre where people can get go to with the expectation of engaging in a range of cultural activities.

I was at a conference the other week where the keynote speaker was the International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell. He countered the criticism from the media and some in Whitehall that the coalition governement is coming under for ring fencing DFID's budget and maintaining Labour's commitment to spending 0.7% of GNI on overseas aid by taking the moral high ground and allying it to the national interest. Simply, it is wrong that 8.8 million children die before the age of five each year to quote his speech to Oxfam in June this year. It is also in the national interest, in his view, to prevent the rise of radical elements in fragile states by facilitating the economic and social development of those countries. Only a small proportion of DFID's budget goes to international development charities but I wondered what forumites think about Andrew Mitchell's moral and practical stance and whether it is acceptable in these straitened times for UK taxpayers' money to go to developing countries and how do you make decisions about which charity/ies to support with your disposable income.

A very lifelike - in a Madame Tussauds kind of way - mannequin controlled by someone in the wings so not exactly capable of independent thought or action. Edited to muse: "Of course, on the internet the absence of tone of voice and body language mean that the subtleties that suggest a gently ironic response may not be conveyed effectively or at all in some cases." *Thinks* "Some posters use descriptive asides, internet acronyms and smileys to indicate tone of voice and contextualising actions but I tend to find that a bit awkward." Edited to add: Was thinking but didn't say that, in relation to the OP, I was thinking that as the lifelike robot in the play, it is merely an extension of the human. In this case it's in actions but re the questions of robots being capable of ethical decisions, well they are too complex to be programmed in a simple logcial way and even then they would be extensions or expressions of human ethical decision making processes but just more limited. Edited to say: *Thinks* "If this was a work email I'd be signing off: 'Hope that helps.'"

Citizen Kane - Not Rupert Murdoch

Withnail and I - Our mistaken holiday

Radio 4, looking forward to the next series of Bleak Expectations

Seven Samurai The Magnificent Seven

Edited to remove gobbledegook.

I like the notion that objects are every colour of the rainbow except the colour they appear to be. This is because they reflect the colour we see and absorb the rest of the spectrum. So the pills mentioned above are all the colours of the rainbow, except the healing colour.

Sue has asked some fundamental questions that apply to any public endeavour. As BB points out, they apply equally to a building based initiative or a web based one. The thing is, you are more likely to succeed in getting the web based version up and running. I also really like the idea of shared information or user driven content to use the web3 jargon (I think). Maybe it could start off as a new culture vulture thread on this forum to see what the interest is. maybe a few of the people referred to in Sue's OP could moderate it, research and post info on arts events while others could oomment on them. The moderators could filter the section and redirect those that are not within the "cultural policy" of the section. Just a thought.

Re BB's comments about arts funding, that's partly why I was suggesting a virtual space where you could scope out current activities and gauge the scale and type of interest as well as gather ideas for the kind of "project" it might become. Whatever kind of funding might be sought, there will always be a need to make the case for support and a virtual presence would help gather the information to make that case. Finding the running costs for a building is always a major, ongoing concern.

Sebastian Faulks's Birdsong is very moving in relation to WWI. Some of the main characters are tunnellers as I recall. I did see the part in the TV documentary where the daughter saw the footage of her dad, very moving. I thought the images were remarkably clear and detailed and it takes a thoughtful commentator like Fergal Keane to make the connections that show we are less removed from it than we might think.

That's a compelling analysis, most of which I am familiar with. I wonder what role class and education have had in establishing and keeping the WWI poets in the public consciousness down the decades. But, I didn't mean to redirect the thread from its focus on the TV programme.

I suppose you can think of an arts centre as a one stop culture shop. Just from reading some of the threads on EDF and from knowing the area a bit there seems to be a lot going on and a particular interest in live music. What's not clear is just what is going on, where and when. There's lots of sources of information but an arts centre is somewhere you can go with the expectation and knowledge of getting a culture fix. I wonder what people think of a virtual arts centre for ED that will at least collate information about what is going on where and when. This happens already in a way with the Dulwich Festival but there's stuff going on all year and from reading the thread about ED needing a live music venue, it seems that there are gaps in the collective knowledge about the cultural life of ED. Of course, the key thing that an arts centre/venue has is an identity formed by its artistic direction/policy. This is not necessarily something you would get from an objective collation of information about what's already going on. It is something that you could do by creatively selecting and linking music, visual art, performance etc events that a variety of independent venues are already organising. It could be a start.

I wasn't able to watch all of it but I generally like Fergal Keane's take on things. Aerial photography is fascinating and I liked the way he linked the two technological developments that makes it possible. It is also fascinating how WWI continues to hold us in its thrall. There was also an item on BH this morning on war poetry and how we always remember the poems of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon but who can name a poet from WWII or from more recent conflicts?

And I have to agree with you, bloonoo.

Silk production involves killing the larvae of the moth, Bombyx mori, before it reaches maturity and eats throgh the cocoon.

Hi PeckhamRose, you might find Meat Free Mondays gives you some food for thought on why eating less meat would be a good idea for you and it may even give you some ideas for food! http://www.meatfreemondays.co.uk/why-have-meat-free-monday.html Felicity Lawrence is also very good in my view on the complex set of reasons for why we should consider more carefully what we eat: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Not-Label-What-Really-Plate/dp/0141015667/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288955597&sr=1-2 And, if a good measure of the popularity of your cook book is the number of food-stained pages it has after a few months' use then our copy of linda's Kitchen would win - oven gloves down. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/0316877352/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1288955827&sr=1-1&condition=used Don't mean to steer the thread away from animal loving/welfare, just trying to put it in a wider context.

"But", is it acceptable, pedantically speaking, to start a sentence with that word?

Took me an hour and ten on the 12 from bottom of Barry Road to Oxford Circus leaving about ten past eight this morning. It suited me fine since I had a book, got a seat and was going to a conference so no stress.

Hi untamed, sorry I didn't get back before the thread ran away with itself. It's more about impression than science - you know that from your work as a stylist. And, if the photos are anything to go by then you know what you are doing there. I can see what you are saying about "prestigious" but I wonder if you could communicate that in another way. Could you refer to the well known salons you've worked in as a stylist? The insurance point can be made in a small print section at the bottom of the flyer. I don't accept the point that I think someone made further up the thread that was questioning why you would be working in this way if you were so prestigious. Many people in ED work from home and they may well be your market for your service. If your flier can drive people to your website then that could easily result in more bookings. Hope that helps and good luck. Alec

Hi If you want to be able to settle down and read a book/listen to your ipod, and if you time it right, hopping on a 176 would take you most of the way - to Tottenham Court Road, in fact. Otherwise, bus hop to Elephant and get on the Bakerloo line to Oxford Circus - 6 stops. Alec

This is what brings out the pedant in me. Typos in "background" and "website". Better to have the text in sentence case, i.e. upper and lower rather than all caps. I'm sure there must be a market for your service.

Afternoon m'lady. Have a look at this earlier thread on the same topic. http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,558097,page=1 As a matter of interest, did you get your bag recently? They seem to be a bona fide company in that they are registered at Companies House but from what I remember of the info on the bag they don't make direct claims to doing charitable work. Somewhat deceptive nonetheless. Alec