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An affordable dinner in London?
- t
- thomtompkins Jul 26, 2008 06:51 PM
Hello Everyone:
I am flying to London from California on Thursday August 7th and need to find a special place for dinner Saturday night. From the research that I've done pretty much all of the big classics are out because a meal at most of them will run me at least 400- 500 dollars and thats definately out of my budget for this trip.
The exchange rate (1=1.9) s going to kill me so I think most of my meals will be inexpensive Indian or pub/gastro pub meals more or less, and thats ok because I know I can get fed pretty well at some of them.
My challenge: I dont want Asian or Indian for this meal. Italian, French or perfectly crafted classic/new British cuisine would be my first choices. My girl friend wants to wear a pretty dress and I would love a nice room and great service service but it doesnt need to be swank (beggers cant be choosers)
My budget for this meal is 150 pounds. I would appreciate anything that you might suggest.
re: summerUWS2008
Thanks for the response. We are staying just north of Hyde Park and an easy walk to Kensington and Knightsbridge. We can tube, taxi or walk. Whatever works best. I really appreciate the feedback to far.
Caraffini in Lower Sloane Street (about 1 mile south of Harrods) should tick all your boxes. I my experience you can expect Italian charm and courtesy without too much oiliness!
Unless you plan to rack up the drinks bill somewhat then only a handful of places, plus the swisher hotel dining rooms will be beyond £75 a head.
Try "Hereford Road" very good modern british cooking (chef ex-St John), a modern bright room, with good service, and a very strong reputation - you will need to book. It is in Hereford Road (what a surprise) which runs off Bayswater Road which runs along the top of Hyde Park.
You could have a fantastic meal at Wild Honey in Mayfair for £150. We paid a touch less than that for my birthday dinner and had champagne to start, three courses each, white wine, red wine and dessert wine (they have a cool system there where all their wines are available in 250ml carafes). Food is French/new British and service excellent (they have a Michelin star). The room is glamorous without being stuffy.
I second Hereford Road. A shortish and pleasent walk from where you are staying. Super food. We were there just yesterday again (we are regulars). Food was as good as ever. We had: sweetbreads and green bean salad w/cashel blue; braised rabbit and pork belly; butter-milk pudding and rice pudding. No wine. Total bill: low 50s or so for two.
re: D Hound
I appreciate each of these responses. Wild Honey seems to have gotten some mixed reviews and I am curious about that??
My question about Hereford Road: the menu looks exactly like what I am after, however, the web site makes the dining room look very, very plane. Is it nicer than it seems or will we need to tone down our dress a little? The focus needs to be on the food and I appreciate that, but this is going to be a special evening and I am looking for something that offers both food and comfort. Wooden chairs dont say that too me. Have i misread the way it looks or am I expecting too much for my budgeted amount?
And...I am not apposed to getting in a taxi and traveling a short distance from where we are staying.
Keep it coming please.
re: thomtompkins
Did you rule out Wolesley?
re: summerUWS2008
I just checked out the Wolseley and it looks great. We will definately have to go there. Frankly, there are so many attractive options that im a little shell shocked. I live in Los Angeles so I know how overwhelming it can be but its nice to have SO many strong choices very close to where we will be staying. Has anyone gone to Babylon in Kensington? That looks very nice and may be within our budget unless we get carried away.....
I second Hereford Road (on my list) and Wild Honey, which was lovely. Also how about Le Cafe Anglais (though that might be a bit far for you, it's in Whiteleys shopping centre in Bayswater. And I know I keep recommending it on Chowhound, but how about The Wolseley? I think your girlfriend would love it. Last time I was there, two of us spent £90 in total. It looks swanky, but the service is great.
Helen Yuet Ling Pang
re: foodie guide
I've been to both Le Cafe Anglais and Hereford Road, as both are in our neighborhood. Though we thought Le Cafe Anglais was good, we like Hereford Road much better. This of course may well be a matter of personal tastes. If you are on a relatively limited budget, tough, Hereford Road is a little bit more affordable than Le Cafe Anglais.
re: limster
Call me old fashioned, but not i am not interested in either of those two cuisines. I want this meal to be somewhat traditional and familiar so I have to say no to both. Any other choices?
re: thomtompkins
It sounds like you are looking for a place where you can dress 'smartly' as the British say, but not a fancy, fancy place with high prices. That's often tough in London. I've read all the suggestions but can't remember if anyone mentioned Great Queen Street (the restaurant). It's quite nice, has good modern, British cuisine and a lovely dress wouldn't be out of place, although it is not a fancy restaurant.
I am old and American, but I don't think you should rule out a place like Ishbilia. It's very upscale, has delicious food and is in one of the nicest areas of London... Knightsbridge. Some of us have had a delicious lunch there and I'd take any of my family there in an instant.
Also think about the London places like Simpson's and Rules... very old-school, good traditional food etc.
re: zuriga1
Two possibilities that no-one has mentioned so far: Gavins' Bistro de Luxe in (I think) Gloucester Place, or Racine in Old Brompton Road. Both are smart, with very good service, you could dress up and in both the food is delicious and quite traditional French. They should fit into your budget and you could get to either easily. In fact you could walk across the park to Racine (if your girlfriend's heels arent too high).
I still dream of the baba au rhum at Gavins.
re: Jenny Sheridan
that would be galvin bistro de luxe in marylebone (baker st).
good place with solid french food and a decent wine list. michelin bib gourmand, 2008.
i ate there last month and really enjoyed food and service. call today for a reservation.
re: steve h.
No I think Jenny meant the Essex branch - Smithy behind the burners, Stacey FOH, and Nessa the opinionated, yet knowledgeable sommelier.
The two of us just had dinner this evening (Aug. 5) at Hereford Road, and it was a great experience. The menu changes daily, and the food preparation allows the fresh ingredients to shine. There are no heavy sauces or clashing flavors to compete with the food. Think of the seminal cooking by Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley (San Francisco Bay Area). Hereford Road is not quite in the same league; however, the kitchen is on the right track. Best of all, the prices are reasonable, considering the weakness of the U.S. dollar.
We did three starters: A salad of kohl rabi, radish and mint (a bit too heavy on the vinegar), chicken livers with green beans and tarragon (superb -- the livers were perfectly cooked to ensure tenderness), and smoke sprats with beetroot and horseradish. Mains were diver caught plaice (crispy outside while moist inside, providing a nice contrast in texture) and grilled tongue with chard (so flavorful and tender). Dessert was lemon verbena pot (served with two large raspberries and a cookie). The total, without wine, was £59.
Thomtompins... if you read this in time, I highly recommend Hereford Road. It's a neighborhood restaurant that is a great discovery. The service staffing is minimal, but they are attentive and cordial.
Definitely recomment the landau, in Langhams hotel. Its high end but if you book through toptable.co.uk they do 3 courses with a glass of laurent perrier champagne for £27.50per head. Even with a bottle of wine and 12.5% service it will still be under your budget. I have been twice now and it was fantastic both times.
If you like red wine try the harewood estate cab merlot - at £36 its outstanding.
re: bellmeister
I have returned from London everyone and want to thank all of you for your recommendations. For our "big" night out we went to Covent Garden and had dinner at "The Forge". Its was just fantastic and I felt for the quality of the food, it was well worth the price. About the same as I would have paid for a similar quality dinner here in Los Angeles. Very nice staff, cool room and an affordable wine list that complimented the mostly french menu. I would whole heartedly recommend it to anyone wanting something special. Thanks again.
re: thomtompkins
Has anyone else tried "The Forge". I don't believe I have read any reviews of it nor comments on the board - is it somewhere I have missed?
It would be interesting to see how it compares to the ones we recomened to the OP.
re: bellmeister
I ate at The Landau last night. We booked through toptable and had the 3 course meal, as the bellmeister suggested. For what we paid, it was an amazing bargain in central london. The dishes ranged from good to very good (though not amazing), and getting a glass of champagne was a nice touch. About half the customers had on suits, but I was wearing a nice button down and jeans, and didn't feel too out of place .
My date and I had wildly different opinions on the service. She loved it, and while I thought it was impeccable and the staff experienced, it was too froofy for my taste. For instance, we ordered the ravioli appetizer, and were brought one ravioli each! But then they made a big show of pouring mushroom soup over the lonely ravioli, and then another waiter drizzled 'almond essence' into the soup. Took 3 waiters to bring and create what turned out to be mushroom soup with a single ravioli in it. Give me a break - just call it soup and have one waiter bring it!
re: bcnstony
glad you enjoyed it bcnstony, i agree it is a bit froofy, certainly wouldnt want to eat there every week, but its nice for a special occasion. As you say it is incedible value for central London.


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Chris Phillips' future with the Ottawa Senators looks like it will be settled one way or the other within the next 24 hours.
Phillips has a contract offer from Ottawa, but it's at less money than the $3.5 million he's currently making. Is he prepared to take the financial haircut required to stay with the only NHL team he's ever played on, or is the financial discrepancy so great he's prepared to uproot his family, waive his no trade and audition for free agency and a bigger payday on July 1st? Phillips and his agent J.P. Barry will confer on Friday night and Saturday and let the Sens know of their intentions.
The Brad Richards watch continues but there are so many moving parts here you would have to think this one will go down to the wire on Monday. Richards' concussion, while improving, is clearly a factor. And if the Stars beat Nashville on Saturday, what then? They're right in the playoff mix. The acquisition price will be high for a rental; will Richards consider signing a long term deal with a team or will he even waive his no trade clause? There couldn't be a more complex and convoluted scenario for any trade possibility than this one.
Nashville's activity on Friday, putting Wade Belak on waivers and trading Alexander Sulzer to Florida, suggests the Predators are clearing the decks for a move. Most everyone thinks their primary target is Edmonton defenceman Ladislav Smid, who appears to be the odds-on favorite as the next Oiler to be moved.
Edmonton, of course, is also continuing to listen hard to offers for Ales Hemsky and Los Angeles continues to be the most aggressive suitor. The Kings putting Marco Sturm on waivers on Friday opens up lots of budget space if necessary, but everyone seems to be just guessing on what the potential Oiler yield would be on a deal with the Kings. L.A. has also been in on Brad Richards and David Booth, amongst others.
Toronto's primary need remains a defenceman, more than a forward, and many wonder if the Leafs or Colorado will find common ground at the last minute on Monday for defenceman Jean-Michael Liles. Florida centre Stephen Weiss, assuming he would waive his no trade, is a player of some interest for the Leafs, but as I said, defence is the priority and a Weiss acquisition now would limit Toronto's free-agency efforts in the off season so he may be a long shot, at best.


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Posts Tagged 'Politics'
The core of democracy is not elections, it is freedom of the press
The relentless attacks by this government on our press is a far more serious danger to our country than people realise. These attacks include:
Repeated references to the Hate media and right wing shock jocks, attempting to delegitimise reasonably argued criticism in opinion pieces in newspapers.
Julia Gillard's "News Ltd has questions to answer", referring to British phone hacking investigation, unrelated to Australia.
Ms Gillard's personal allegedly demanding phone calls to media management (chairman and CEO of News Limited, John Hartigan) relating to coverage of her past affair and legal dealings with an allegedly criminal Union Official.
Claims that Murdoch owns 70% of media when they own only 32% of titles, it is people who chose to buy one of their papers 60% of the times.
Now the unnecessary and dangerous Media Inquiry chaired by Ray Finkelstein, QC, flirting with regulation, licensing and fit-and-proper-person test for proprietors – decided by whom, on what criteria.
The ex-judge Finkelstein sending a letter to editors, impudently asking them to explain to what extent "you subscribe to the view that the press has social responsibilities.
Why is this frightening? Because this is the road toward authoritarian non-democratic state. You say – c'mon that's being over-dramatic. But you don't have to have absence of elections or people being shot in the square to be deprived of democracy. You only need to be mislead into voting for the wrong party, for example by government propaganda or by undue influence by a political party over the media. Intimidation of opposition parties, legal restriction of opposition parties, prosecution of opponents for trumped up charged during election time – all these are the tools of non-democratic governments. But unless you really have totalitarian regime with tanks in the streets, all of these can thrive only if they are hidden from the bulk of the population by compliant media.
The core of democracy is not elections, it is freedom of the press.
Under the communists in Czechoslovakia, we had multiple parties and elections, but no free press – it was government controlled and was very "socially responsible". We did not have democracy.
Murdoch negative press on Labor is in agreement with Gillard's own assessment Labor 'lost it's way".
There is no problem with Murdoch press. It is dominant because more people chose to read the 35% of the titles it owns. There have been an unprecedented series of Governmental failures by Labor and thus the Murdoch press media has reported an unprecedented number of negative reports about Labor. Where is the problem. In fact, the Murdoch media's predominant criticism of the government over the past 4 years is in agreement with Labor government's own assessment that it had lost it's way when Gillard knifed their first term Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. What is wrong with that. The country's worst government ever gets predominantly bad press. Where is the problem?
As the Government's People Smuggler Policy fails, Labor's hypocrisy is breathtaking
There were just four people in immigration detention when the Howard Government was voted out of office in 2007. One of the first things Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard did was to weaken the Howard government's border protection scheme and precipitate the current and increasing flow of people smugglers' vessels.
The Rudd/Gillard Government was warned three months after it came to power that closing Nauru detention centre would cause a jump in people smuggling to Australia. More than 12,000 people have arrived by boat since then – and more than 400 are estimated to have died.
Even drawing the longest bow, it's obvious who is responsible for regenerating the people smuggling business and the loss of life. And it's not Tony Abbott.
THE arrival of two more boatloads of asylum-seekers at Christmas Island has turned an already fiery political debate over offshore processing into a conflagration of blame.
Dennis Shanahan in the Australian writes: "Julia Gillard is in no doubt that Tony Abbott is to blame for the arrival of the latest boats and will be to blame for every extra arrival. Hold on ….. wasn't it Gillard and Rudd who changed John Howard's policy that opened the door for people smugglers?"
Read the full opinion piece here: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/political-stakes-rise-between-gillard-and-abbott-in-asylum-seeker-debate/story-e6frg6zo-1226144580195
As two new boats arrive, Labor calls Tony Abbott a friend to people-smugglers
Julia Gillard attacks the Coalition for opposing its Malaysia Solution following the arrival of two new asylum-seeker boats.
Picture: Kym Smith, Source: The Australian
JULIA Gillard has blamed Tony Abbott for the arrival of two new asylum-seeker boats, saying his refusal to back her Malaysian Solution made him responsible for the unauthorised vessels and all others that would follow.
With Australia's border protection system still in limbo, the Prime Minister today urged Mr Abbott to rethink his position and support the government amendments to put offshore processing beyond doubt.
Read more from The Australian here: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/two-new-asylum-seeker-vessels-test-labors-troubled-boats-policy/story-fn9hm1gu-1226144422313
LABOR'S Poison Pills in the Carbon Tax
Prior to the 2010 Federal Election, Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan publicly and strenuously denied that the Labor Government would be bringing in a carbon tax: a tax that the majority of Australians oppose and didn't vote for. Gillard and Swan have broken their promises to the Australian people. Unless a new election is called and this Government is defeated before July 2012 – Australia will have a carbon tax. Australians have never witnessed such defiant and brazen actions by a Government, and they're concerned and angry.
The Carbon (Dioxide) Tax won't do anything to change the climate, stop floods, droughts or sea levels rising. But it will make Australia less competitive internationally, hurt business and cost jobs – while doing almost nothing to reduce global greenhouse gases. The tax is not a 'market based solution' as Combet and Gillard often call it. It's a tax that puts our economy under pressure. And it will do nothing to change the temperature of the planet or change the climate.
There are 19 pieces of legislation with 963 pages (1100 including addendums) – that will push costs up throughout Australia. Australians now have 5 days to make representations opposing the carbon tax.
The Gillard/Greens Government is putting Australian jobs at risk. It's unbelievable that Labor back benchers, who stand to be wiped out at the next Federal election, support the inevidable increase in the cost of living, making Australian manufacturing less competitive and giving international competitors an advantage.
We are still waiting for Julia Gillard to name the 500 biggest 'polluters' – companies that are the biggest employers of Australians.
Is 2UE's Michael Smith a Casualty of the Government's Media Threats?
BROADCASTER Michael Smith has taken Fairfax Radio to court, accusing radio station 2UE of planning to sack him for his political beliefs.
Smith was suspended by the Sydney station earlier this month after he tried to air an interview with a former union official claiming allegedly fraudulent conduct by a former boyfriend of Julia Gillard.
It's understood he will contest his expected dismissal under the Fair Work Act, alleging he has been victimised over his political beliefs.
Read more here: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/radio-host-michael-smith-challenges-dismissal-claiming-political-victimisation/story-e6frg996-1226142798163
Sign a petition in support of Michael Smith:
Please make the time to phone 2UE General Manager Tim McDermott on 02 9930 9490 and send him an email at firstname.lastname@example.com to tell him that this is unacceptable. 2UE must realise that they answer to their listeners!
'Our' ABC finally asks: Why are we so out of touch with Australians?
Richard Glover asks in today's opinion piece (my added [] ):
Can someone explain to me why [the vast majority of] people hate Julia Gillard with such intensity? What exactly has she done?
Mr Glover asks a valid question for anyone who has just returned from a space voyage, or, of course, anyone working at 'our' ABC. To give Mr Glover credit, (and I used to like his show), he is at least acknowledging, in his signature ironic flippant way, Australians' judgment on this government and wondering why his own judgment is so different.
So lets help out Richard to understand.
1. She incorrectly guessed the attitude of the High Court. When the Malaysian "solution" emerged, many said it was immoral but few predicted it would be illegal.
Wrong. DFAT advised against it on legal grounds and she ignored them, UNHCR knew it was not complying with our treaty obligations (Lateline 1st Sept 2011), as their Richard Towle indicated to Tony Jones. Ms Gillard attacked personally one of the judges to divert blame and finally most Australians knew, as you concede …that it was immoral. Now if you don't know why Australians might have contempt for a PM who makes immoral policies, against all advice and against her own party platform, then that's another matter entirely.
2. "she's allowed Bob Brown to determine the government's policy, in particular the introduction of a carbon tax"
Wrong. Ms Gillard herself admitted she could have formed government without being forced into a carbon tax. She also need not have caved in to the Greens at all – they had nowhere else to go – you think they would have supported Tony Abbott? Finally she gave her word, she could have insisted deferring it until after an election or have a plebiscite. There is no excuse for breaking this key election promise and 75% of Australians know this and have responded accordingly.
3. "carbon tax might also prove good policy…."
Wrong. You think it will change the climate one bit? You think it will shame other countries into damaging their economies? You think it is called for in the first place with new peer reviewed studies steadily discrediting the alarmist science interpretations? You think the biggest and only industry-wide tax in the world will bring us export advantage? You thing abating 75% of our CO2 by spending $560 billion on Nigerian or other 3rd world offsets will benefit our children one bit? You think 'Clean Energy Future' is anything other than a rent-seeking mindless slogan? And finally, you think a tax and subsidies rather than genuine commercial advantage will bring in a new industrial revolution?
4. it [carbon tax] was the joint policy of both parties
Wrong. Coalition agreed to Carbon Trading subject to a global trading agreement at Copenhagen. Since then it is clear to all except green fanatics and the army or rent-seekers that the big emitters are happy to pretend to believe, so they can sell offsets and green technology to the starry eyed Europeans, but won't damage their own economies with serious carbon price.
5. Of course she looks daft when she defends Thomson… she should tell him to resign, people say
Wrong. No she does not look daft, on Craig Thomson she looks dishonest, immoral, someone who places her political skin above morality, above her own party's interests and those of Australians she is supposed to represent. She had to be forced to remove him from the finance committee – immoral. She could acknowledge that if he did the deeds, they would be immoral and she could distance herself from him – but as she is immoral herself, she does not. Australians don't like immoral public figures – bad example for their children.
6. Successful politicians lead from the front but not by such a distance that they find themselves separated from the pack.
Getting warm but still wrong. Gillard is not too far ahead, not too far behind, she nowhere. She is not a leader, she is just an incompetent, incompetent and incompetent self-serving manager. Every company has them – middle managers promoted above their competence who spend their whole time in office politics rather than working, self-promoting while shafting good productive people, just to survive. She is on planet Gillard, a world of perpetual spin, lies, union corruption and thuggery and intrigue, where policies only exist to pay off allies and projects only exist to serve Ms Gillard. Australians are there only to serve her ambitions, just like unionists are there only to provide money and power for (many) union leaders. Update: Oh, and Kevin Rudd, lest we forget, was the pioneer of this type of incompetence.
7. While arguments can be had over "push" and "pull" factors, the new policy seemed to attract more arrivals.
Wrong. Spin can be had over push factors but not real argument, as you virtually concede yourself. There is clear evidence from numbers of arrivals and people smugglers themselves that they know and respond to our refugee policies. Gillard and her immigration department have publicly announced this – 600 per month if we don't have an off shore policy. Which part of this do you want to 'argue'?
8. People despise her so personally and splenetically when so many of her actions have been a response to events outside her control.
Oh, so wrong. They are all self-inflicted wounds, be she arrogantly denies what we can all see. The hung parliament, Thomson, boats, High Court – they could all have been handled infinitely better by someone competent.
But Richard, you forgot to mention some other tiny details – I know the're easy to slip one's mind, like knifing Rudd in the first term and these few policy, management, waste and integrity debacles, that need a spreadsheet to keep track of:
Latest ABC spin? Lets have some affectionate fun with the PM.
The ABC is making fun of a Labor politician and this government? A satirical program on someone other than from the right? Quick where is the Emergency Stop button? And for God's sake someone call Tony Jones to re-run Mark Riley's Tony Abbott "shit happens" segment before anyone notices.
Or…has the ABC had a change of heart and started complying with their charter for balanced content? Poking fun at an incompetent Labor PM?
Yes, maybe the ABC did make a hard hitting satirical criticism of her policies and bravely ignored angry calls from the PM to try to suppress it.
This may be a bit of harmless fun at Ms Gillard's expense, but I have to cynically wonder if it is not also a more sophisticated type of spin, the latest seal-deprecating funny Julia.
Most Australians by now can't stand Julia Gillard; they have stopped listening to her. So how to make people take notice of her again? I know. Lets go for pathos, for self-deprecating humour by a stand in comedian. Lets show her human vulnerable soft side. A well meaning victim of the Greens and independents.
After all, it's difficult to remain angry at someone you are laughing at.
So lets look at the reviewer's response:
"The show poked affectionate fun at the PM, who came across as conscientious and well-meaning."
Wow. Affectionate, conscientious and well meaning – all in the same sentence with the PM.
And the comments on that review?
"Even though I am no Labor fan this program actually made me feel sorry for Julia."
"The cameo by Craig McLachlan captured the heart of this program. This is Neighbours goes to Canberra."
"…she is our Prime Minister and should not be portrayed like this as it is very disrespectfull to her and the position"
"best bit of show, julia drinking out of a cup with Keven 07 on front side. She spits drink back grumbeling BITTER."
"To everyone who thinks Julia is the first "victim" of political satire "
"I really like Julia – so was ready to be outraged and hate this – but was pleasantly surprised. It was very well done and I thought it successfully make fun of politics without necessarily disrespecting the players."
Yep, this is a softening of Julia Gillard's image by portraying her as 'well meaning' and getting us to 'affectionately' laugh with her at the expense of other people.
By all means lets have a laugh. But lets first get rid of this most incompetent government in our history and only then we can all have a laugh about it. I don't believe there is one well meaning or affectionate bone in Ms Gillard's body. She has shown willingness to attack everybody, blame anyone, destroy her own Labor party, our economy, and stubbornly defy majority people's wishes for her own political survival.
I don't believe she deserves even the honor of being lampooned. It will be interesting to see what happens to her personal approval rating.
Remember all the members of this worst Government in our history
We tend to vote for a Prime Minister and then only see her and her Ministers in the news. So you could be forgiven for thinking that this God awful government is made up of just Julia Gillard, Craig Thomson, Chris Bowen and Anthony Albanese, kept on life support by a clutch of independents.
But there are many more responsible. In fact there are 72 in the House of Representatives and 31 in the Senate. I though it important to list them all for us all to remember the members of the the worst government in our history.
In fact here is a pdf list of Labor Ministers that have made up this disastrous Labor government. People whose ineptitude, arrogance and waste will be legendary for time immemorial. People who damaged Australian industries for no reason, sneered at angry Australian voters as of no consequence and made Australia's foreign policy a laughing stock in our neighborhood. A party whose implosion shook the very foundations of our democracy, testing our citizen's right to respected peaceful protest, the resolve of our freedom of the press and our (High Court's) separation of powers.
These are the people you entrusted to look after Australia first and themselves second.
People who betrayed you so completely.
Remember their faces and names.
And below are the names of all the other Labor parliamentarians including backbenchers.
Print it here and take it to your next election booth. If they are on the list, never vote for them again.
Why? Surely there are good men in this party.
Labor Underbelly: How far can Labor sink?
Our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard is now down to the "I don't remember' defense, as she claims both she and her then chief of staff Mr Hubbard do not remember the call by him to the industrial registrar about Thomson in early 2009 – before [or even after] the fraud allegations were made public … because it was 'unremarkable'. Right, a call about an impeding [or just revealed] public revelation of fraud allegations against a sitting Labor MP, was 'unremarkable'? We are to believe this? If so, then, is corruption in Labor MPs a typical daily unremarkable occurrence? Or just the misuse of Union funds? Are we complete idiots?
And now, "..police have confirmed a shovel was placed outside the Melbourne home of Health Services Union national secretary Kathy Jackson".
Julia Gillard 'young and naive' when involved in $1 Million Union fraud case in 2007
Why on earth is Julia Gillard committing political suicide by unconditional support for Craig Thomson? Why would she not distance herself from this corruption? She behaves as someone beholden to factors unknown to us.
Writes Andrew Bolt: This is not the first time Julia Gillard has been embarrassed by a unionist allegedly misusing union funds. From 2007:
JULIA Gillard has revealed she fell in love with a former union official and fraudster who broke her heart and threatened to destroy her political career.
Ms Gillard, 46, who is poised to become Deputy Prime Minister if Labor wins office in two weeks, yesterday confirmed she was a union lawyer when she met the conman. As a solicitor acting on instructions, she set up an association later used by her then lover, Bruce Morton Wilson, to defraud the Australian Workers Union.
But she has strenuously denied ever knowing how the association bank accounts were used. "These matters happened between 12 and 15 years ago," Ms Gillard told the Sunday Herald Sun yesterday. "I was young and naive. I was in a relationship which I ended and obviously it was all very distressing. "I am by no means the first person to find out that someone close turns out to be different to what you had believed them to be. It's an ordinary human error. "I was obviously hurt when I was later falsely accused publicly of wrongdoing. I didn't do anything wrong and to have false allegations in the media was distressing…."
A lawyer in her early 30s with the Melbourne Labor firm, Slater & Gordon at the time of the fraud, Ms Gillard acted for the AWU. She met Wilson, who was then the West Australian AWU secretary, while representing the union in the Industrial Relations Commission. Wilson later moved to Melbourne, to become Victorian secretary… Now hundreds of pages of new documents have been leaked, detailing the extent of Wilson's fraud. The con, used by Wilson to cream off possibly more than a million dollars of union funds, was simple and backed by standover tactics.
Mr Bolt does not link to some more detailed research of the issue of Ms Gillard's lack of judgment by an ex-policeman at www.kangaroocourtofaustralia.com:
"Julia Gillard had criminal allegations made against her in 1995 when she was accused of helping her boyfriend steal over $1,000,000 from the Australian Workers Union (AWU) and helping him spend the money on such things as her personal home renovations and dresses.
Julia Gillard has never denied helping him rip off the $1,000,000 plus dollars, what she has done is denied doing it knowingly. Her part was helping set up an account called the "AWU Members Welfare Association No 1 Account" and possibly other accounts that the money was laundered through when she was a lawyer working for Slater and Gordon who were the solicitors representing the Australian Workers Union.
The allegations against Julia Gillard were initially raised in the Victorian Parliament in 1995″.
There are links to issues raised in the Victorian Parliament as to her judgment and questions of her professional conduct at the time, such as her relationship as a lawyer with a client. I disagree with the title of the blog, and I stress again that there is no evidence or indeed even any allegation of any illegal activity by Ms Julia Gillard.
The author of this research nevertheless asks a number of interesting questions. Questions regarding her morals and judgment, which she defends with an argument that beggars belief: "I was young and naive …" what, in her early 30's working as a lawyer for the assertive litigation firm Slater & Gordon? And did she as a lawyer have a sexual affair with a client? If she did, is this professional conduct? If so, would she have left the law firm of her own accord? Who else might have been involved and to whom might she be indebted?
UPDATE: Michael Smith of 2UE and Andrew Bolt appear to run with the kangaroocourtofaustralia.
UPDATE2: Original picture trimmed to remove a teddy bear in her lap, which some people took an objection to. I suspect it's in the eye of the beholder, but no point in distracting from the message.


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A Jamaican accent and anguish over the death of a friend may have spared a convicted Broward County murderer from a lethal injection.
The Supreme Court of Florida has vacated a death-penalty sentence for Ralston Jay Davis Jr., who instead will serve life in prison for the shooting deaths of Myosha Proby, Ravindra Basdeo and Carlos Jones.
The high court ruled that Davis, 28, of Sunrise, did not act in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner when he ordered Proby, 28, to her knees and fired 23 bullets from an AR-15 assault rifle into her body. It also found several mitigating factors that the justices said rendered Davis death sentence too severe, including his role in a fatal stabbing at Piper High School.
Davis, who unsuccessfully waged an insanity defense in his 2009 trial, is a Piper High graduate who used to run with the Wood Boys, a gang that assembled in the Driftwood Apartments complex near Fort Lauderdale. Davis was with Courtney Carroll a Piper running back and fellow Wood Boy in 2002 when another student stabbed Carroll in the chest with a screwdriver during an after-school fight. Davis tried to perform CPR, but Carroll died in his lap.
Dr. (Michael) Brannon testified during the penalty phase that this incident likely contributed to Davis mental deterioration in the period leading up to the capital offenses, the judges wrote in their July 3 opinion. The record demonstrates that this case is not among the most aggravated and least mitigated of first-degree murders. On that basis, we vacate the sentence of death.
Although Courtneys stabbing happened three years before Davis went on the killing spree that claimed the lives of Proby, Basdeo and Jones, Davis testified in the trial of his friends killer just weeks before his Dec. 2, 2005, rampage. Court documents show that Davis was upset that he wasnt a stronger witness against Kern OSullivan, who served six years of probation in exchange for a manslaughter plea.
In taking Davis off Death Row, the Supreme Court also considered his mental condition at the time of the shootings, concluding that he was suffering from a temporary psychotic episode.
During trial, prosecutors argued that Davis psychosis was drug-induced, while defense attorneys maintained that Davis did not abuse drugs. They battled over a video statement Davis made to his parents in a Broward Sheriffs Office interrogation room. The Davises interspersed their native Jamaican Patois into the conversation, which led to confusion over several portions of a transcript.
On a state-prepared transcript provided to jurors, Davis is quoted talking with his parents about Taser deaths in cocaine users: You know what? You may be right. Thats why they did that cause I have cocaine in my system. Thats why they tase me three times I mean, I shake it off, like this.
But Davis attorneys said their clients accent was misunderstood and he never admitted to using drugs.
A defense transcript reads somewhat differently: You know what? They may be right. Thats why them dead off cause they have cocaine in their system. Thats why they tase me three times I mean, I shake it off, like this.
The Supreme Court noted that Broward Circuit Judge Jeffrey Levenson erred in allowing the transcript into evidence during Davis trial but that it did not affect the jurys guilty verdict.
Paul Petillo, a Palm Beach County assistant public defender who represented Davis appeal, said the courts ruling validated several of the arguments he made in his motions.
Of course, the states view was that the psychotic episode was drug-induced, Petillo said. But it was my position in the brief that the state misinterpreted my clients Jamaican English dead off is a well-known Jamaican expression, but it is wholly unfamiliar to American ears.
Davis, who turns 29 next month, is serving his sentence at the maximum-security Florida State Prison in Raiford. His parents, who ran a Fort Lauderdale ministry, said they had no idea what caused their son to snap, but his mother testified at trial that Davis suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of caregivers while growing up.
In the days before the slayings, Davis unusual behavior drew suspicions of drug use from his parents and prompted his dad to kick him out of the family home.
Davis had known Proby only a short time, describing her as his big sister, when he stormed into her Lauderhill apartment and shot her, execution-style, while a mutual friend cowered nearby.
Big sister she betray me, so I murdered her, Davis said to his parents on the police videotape. I was just on a mission, just taking care of business.
From Probys apartment, he drove to an Exxon station by the Swap Shop, where he also executed Basdeo, 29, a stranger Davis thought had disrespected God by passing Davis in traffic. He tapped Basdeos car window, ordered Basdeo to open his mouth, and fired a single bullet from his semiautomatic rifle.
Jones, 26, had just bought snacks to take to the drive-in theater when Davis forced him to the ground and shot him multiple times.
A Broward jury in 2009 convicted Davis of first-degree murder in all three cases. In 2010 the judge took the jurys recommendation to sentence Davis to death for the murder of Proby and to life in prison for the murders of Basdeo and Jones.


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Centenarian celebrates birthday at Whispering Pines in Pine River
Isabelle Busby reached a true milestone on Feb. 8 when she and her family celebrated a century of life.
Busby rang in this special occasion with generations of family who had come to the Whispering Pines Good Samaritan home in Pine River to honor her. In such a big family and crowd, it became apparent that it can be difficult to get to know everyone.
"It's marvelous (to see all the family). I wish I knew more of them, but I know some of them," Busby said.
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Ceylon Ice Tea Jug by Bodum® 1.5 Liter
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Enjoy some good one-liners and bits from your favorite late-night comedians.
"It turns out the Pakistan police pulled Osama bin Laden over for speeding. Pulled him over and wrote the guy a ticket. So listen. I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense about Pakistan being lenient on Osama bin Laden, OK?" –David Letterman
"Osama bin Laden once got a speeding ticket in Pakistan. This guy had no respect for the law! When SEAL Team 6 broke into the house, he said to them, 'Is this about that speeding ticket?'" –David Letterman
"According to a report from Pakistan, Osama bin Laden wore a big cowboy hat when he walked around his compound to shield him from being seen by U.S. drones. That's a good strategy. The Lone Ranger wears a cowboy hat, and nobody has seen him anywhere." –Jay Leno
"Pakistan now says Osama bin Laden was able to be avoided by wearing a cowboy hat. A Pakistani authority said, 'I guess he just got lost in a sea of other Muslims wearing a cowboy hat.'" –Conan O'Brien


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Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Enough Said, Playing a Masseuse, and Remembering James Gandolfini
"Good people do really bad things sometimes and they don't mean to. So, you know, people are flawed."
Skip to content, or skip to search.
Skip to content, or skip to search.
"Good people do really bad things sometimes and they don't mean to. So, you know, people are flawed."
"You know, Reeves comes prepared, he knows his lines, he knows what he's doing."
Featuring Gravity, 12 Years a Slave, and Dallas Buyers Club.
And the buzz continues.
"American Horror Story was like, 'We already own her.'"
"I have to wait until January like everybody else ... because I live in America now."
"I always thought someone could make a wonderful set of jewelry based on those," he says of the gynecological tools from Dead Ringers.
Serving straight-up starlet at Toronto Film Fest.
She has been courting the Toronto Film Festival press on behalf of a professor and her filmmaking mentor, who were arrested in Egypt.
Bill Condon's biopic opened this year's Toronto Film Festival.
Including August: Osage County, Gravity, and Dallas Buyers Club.
Just point out that he seems sorta out of shape. (It worked for us.)
"It's an impossible film just to kind of sum up in a sound bite, really."
"Ryan would send me pictures of guys standing up on motorcycles ... doing handstands. He was like, 'I wanna learn how to do this.'"
Silver Linings Playbook, Place Beyond the Pines ...
After ten years of being semi-homeless, she's working full-time.
"In these movies I always see these women looking at this guy, 'Does he love me?' And from the second they get married it is so f-cking boring."
Stillman is back with his first movie in thirteen years.
Michael Fassbender has arrived, and we'll have a very crowded Best Actor race at next year's Oscars ...
Congratulations, Matthew McConaughey and 'Killer Joe,' for what we'll call the "fried chicken moment."


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Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times After several elimination rounds Mallory Scott, Gabriella Rodriguez, Clancy Carter and Kasey Torres turn to listen to announcer John Flint during the 23rd annual Standard-Times Spelling Bee.
Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times Kathleen Helmers, a student at the Potter's Hand Christian School, makes her way into the common room at the museum for the 23rd annual Standard-Times Spelling Bee.
Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times John Flint reads a word for Mallory Scott, an Irion County Middle School eighth-grader who won second at this year's spelling bee.
Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times Clancy Carter, who won this year's spelling bee, claps for fellow speller Kasey Torres, right. Toward final rounds Torres, a first-grader at Cornerstone Christian School who won third place, wound join in the crowd in applause for himself.
Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times Irion County Middle School eighth grader Mallory Scott, who finished second, took the stand to start round four of this year's Standard-Times Spelling Bee.
Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times Standard-Times marketing director Del Velasquez speaks briefly to judges Carol Ann Bonds and Ty Meighan.
Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times Roses that were later given to a speller at Saturday's spelling bee. Twenty-eight students competed.
Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times Cornerstone Christian School first-grader Kasey Torres lowers the podium at this year's spelling bee. Kasey was in line after Wall eighth-grader Clancy Carter, who won this year's bee.
Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times Nelson Torres records portions of Saturday's spelling bee from his seat. His son, Kasey Torres, was the youngest speller and took home third place.
Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times Wall Middle School's Clancy Carter, who won this year's spelling bee, thoughtfully writes out a word on his hand before answering.
Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times Santa Rita Elementary School's Grace Roehrig pauses to contemplate the word "bequeath" during the practice round of the 23rd annual Standard-Times Spelling Bee. Organizers said this Saturday's bee went more rounds than any before.
Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times Isaiah Trejo practices spelling "daffodil" on his palm at Saturday's 23rd annual Standard-Times Spelling Bee. Trejo is a third-grader at Belaire Elementary School.
Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times Bill Thompson and Amy Gallant watch Saturday's spelling bee from the second floor of the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts.
Jennifer Rios/Standard-Times Savanna Razani, a fourth-grade student at Trinity Lutheran School, munches a chocolate cupcake in the comfort room upstairs at the museum. Students who missed a word were offered bananas, apples, juice and cupcakes. Savanna missed "philanthropy."


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Ask any Finnish football fan how to improve the game here, and the chances are they will at some point mention young players. You may well be told that they need to be given more playing time at earlier ages, to have better and more professional coaches and that they could, if the conditions are right, form a new wave of young talent.
It is an understandable viewpoint. People put their hopes and dreams into younger players, they act as an indicator of the possible brighter tomorrow no matter how grim the current situation is at senior level. But what if the system is more broken than that? What if the legions of Finnish players languishing in foreign clubs' reserve sides indicate a fundamental problem in the youth football system?
This has been nagging at me for a few weeks now, but my thoughts were crystallised when I got a new perspective from a fairly unlikely source: an opera singer.
Cristina Andersson isn't just an opera singer. She's also a business coach and a successful entrepreneur in her own right. She's written several books, and has the ear of a fair number of Finland's most influential movers and shakers. A few weeks ago she asked how she might approach a task she hadn't attempted before: giving a pep talk to parents at a junior football club.
It's always difficult to manage parents' expectations of their offspring's involvement in football. Over the last few years I've spoken to coaches that curse and swear about parental interference, that ban Mums and Dads from talking during games, I even met one English academy head who claimed that, in an ideal world, he would recruit only orphans.
Cristina's question focused on her immediate task. A club had asked her to intervene in this dynamic to convince parents of the importance of coaching, and to ensure that players remained committed and fewer complaints came from the frustrated fathers.
This is a delicate issue in Finland, given that junior clubs are almost entirely parent-funded. Even the biggest and most productive junior organisations in Finland charge their players to play, and the costs easily run into thousands of euros a year. This came as a bit of a surprise to Cristina, who has a knack of articulating problems succinctly in business-focused language.
"So the parents are the customers," was her verdict, after I'd outlined the structure.
That's it, really. Coaches are paid by parents and therefore have to keep them happy. Otherwise the money stops flowing and the system breaks down. Being British, I had previously seen this problem in class terms, viewing the potential financial barriers of entry to working class players as a manifestation of social exclusion, but Cristina's language is perhaps a better way to describe the issue.
That dynamic allows young players to treat football as a hobby for far longer than in other European countries. The power relations at play were obvious in 2010 when Johannes Westö, a skillful 19-year-old winger in HJK's championship-winning side, who seemed on the brink of a breakthrough to the big time, decided to take a year out before going to Helsinki University to study philosophy.
Everybody agreed that this was an excellent decision, the best course of action for the player concerned. Nobody stopped to ask how it was possible for somebody to reach such a high level of competition–to become an integral part of the best club side in the country–without ever really deciding to make football his profession. He had always played as a hobby, had presumably paid for the privilege until he got his first professional contract, and had little if any obligation to the coaches and club that had trained him.
This year he returned to football, playing for Someron Voima in the fourth tier of Finland's pyramid.
In many ways it is a very healthy system, one that gives young players lots of options and produces well-balanced individuals, but it is worth pointing out to Finnish readers that this model is incredibly rare.
In most countries professional clubs run junior sections as a training programme to produce footballers, which means that the 'customer' is the professional game itself. The club funds the junior setup and is totally free to discard any player when a better or more committed prospect comes along.
There usually exists below that a network of highly competitive junior clubs, but they are not part of the professional game and their costs are kept low to ensure they are not a huge burden on parents or sponsors. Finland is currently trying to create a system of elite coaching based on parental contributions, and in doing so risks amalgamating the worst of all possible worlds.
As costs rise the pool of potential players reduces, making successful talent identification more difficult. The city of Helsinki's Nuoret Helsingissä (Young people in Helsinki) report found that in 2011 fully 28 percent of 14-18-year-olds in the capital from well-off families had given up a hobby. The figure for those from less wealthy families was 46%.
This is not a problem that will be evident to clubs until much later. So long as somebody fills the expensive spots, the financial model will work, even if the standard of play and training is not as high as it would otherwise have been. It is also worth remembering that pride will prevent many children and parents from saying directly 'we cannot afford this'–they are more likely to offer another excuse if and when the club asks.
But consider this: a year playing football for one provincial, 10-year-old girls' team I am aware of will cost 2,000 euros next year. In 2011 the median Finnish salary was 2,776 euros, which after tax, pension and social security contributions is likely to give net pay of around 2,000 euros. Can families spare a whole month's wages for one child's hobby?
With a wave of redundancies hitting Finland this year, it is unlikely parents will have more spare cash to spend on their children's pastimes in the near future. Sporting activities can easily be cut when pressure shows in household budgets.
So helping players to remain active in clubs, and reducing or removing cost as a barrier to entry in competitive sports, should be a top priority for Finnish sport. The challenge for Finnish football clubs is to fund youth development to ensure higher standards, a wider pool of available players and a more successful national team. If they can manage that, they can create a more professional, committed and competitive Finnish game.
They can transform Finnish football coaches from service providers to young people looking for a hobby, who perhaps treat the game as a nice pastime rather than a potential career, into educators of a new generation of professional Finnish footballers. In Cristina Andersson's terms, they need to change their customer base from parents and young people to professional clubs in Finland and abroad. It is not going to be easy, but the first club that manages it will have a huge advantage over their peers.


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EXCLUSIVE: Josh Groban Interview
Josh Groban is no slacker. Having sold more than 25 million albums worldwide since his debut in 2001, the 29-year-old multi-platinum recording artist and L.A. native has been nominated for numerous awards, including an American Music Award, a World Music Award, a Juno Award, two Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for "Believe" from the 2005 film "Polar Express." His long-awaited fifth studio album, "Illuminations," is the fruit of a collaboration with friend and famed rock producer Rick Rubin, and it's due out November 15th on Reprise Records. Josh took a few minutes out to chat with momlogic about the making of his new release, and why his mom totally rocks.
momlogic: You worked with Rick Rubin on this record -- a guy who has produced heavy bands like Metallica and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. How did you join forces?
Josh Groban: I was having lunch with our mutual friend, Guy Oseary, and he asked if I knew Rick. He said he was a cool guy and that I should meet him at some point. I didn't know if he'd even be interested in having a meeting; I'd just assumed he was Mr. Rock Guy. I guess I didn't give him the credit in my own mind of thinking that he would be into my music. So when I met with him it was immediately erased, and it was amazing to me to see how open he was to what I do and that he had so many opinions about how he'd want to work with an artist like myself. I was shocked and thrilled! I said, "OK, here we go, leaving the comfort nest." After having the biggest record in 2007 with David Foster, it would've made more sense not to fix it if it wasn't broke, you know?
ml: He didn't want a one-time stand, he wanted to commit!
JG: He did! He wanted to go there with me. If anything, the success gives me the comfort zone to really explore. For me, there's nothing like a huge amount of success that makes me want to do something completely different.
ml: What was the overarching inspiration behind "Illuminations"?
JG: Rick and I had some pretty lofty goals as far as how we would figure a formula of the two of us in one room together. He was interested in making a classic kind of record and I was interested in his ear and how he records music, so together we came in the middle and were able to get out of each other exactly what we wanted. And it didn't seem like such an odd-couple collaboration after all.
ml: I'm sitting here listening to the record, and he's always had a very clean sensibility. He's got this really great way of bringing out subtleties, whether with Metallica or The Beastie Boys ....
JG: Exactly! It's those subtleties and the cleanliness of the sound that can lend itself ... it's a genre-less pursuit. It can lend itself to heavy metal, folk, country, and in this case, in more of a classic way.
ml: You wrote "The Wandering Kind" when you were 12! Did you always know you'd make music for a living?
JG: I knew I loved playing piano and expressing myself through playing piano after school, so that kind of became my outlet. I started playing that song out of nowhere. I played my whole life and I don't know where it came from. I kept trying to make a proper song out of it on this record, but I told Rick it was too wandering, it goes all over the place, I can't find a discernable chorus in it. So we made it an instrumental. We got in a room full of musicians, and the track that's on there is take five. We got it out in about 45 minutes. It was definitely a full-circle moment. Definitely an emotional way to start the record.
ml: I read somewhere that when you first sang in public, your mom was there and visibly so moved. Does she inspire you?
JG: My mom is an extraordinary woman and she's been my biggest fan. I think that from the first moment I ever sang in junior high school and she was in the audience, I surprised her and didn't tell her what I was going to do. I was kind of having a hard time at school at that moment. I sang and she was crying and I just kind of felt like OK, so it's music for me. She's a really good meter for me. She's a brilliant person and a real music lover, so she's a wonderful sounding board for me.
ml: Have you ever written a song about her?
JG: I think that any song about inspiration -- "You Raise Me Up," for instance -- I think there's a whole group of situations and people that flood my brain when I sing a song like that, and she's definitely one of them.
ml: Speaking of moms, "Au Jardin Des Sans Pourquoi" was the only song your friend Rufus Wainwright wrote with his late mom Kate McGarrigle. How did it feel to take that on?
JG: I had written the melody and spoke to Rufus about collaborating. He said, "Would you mind if I wrote this with my mom?" And I was like, "Oh my God! I'd be honored!" I was a huge Kate McGarrigle fan -- the whole family is so talented. They wrote this very interesting, poetic, gorgeous lyric and I didn't realize until shortly after they wrote it that she was really not well. It wasn't far after they sent me the lyrics that she passed away. Having the song on the record is a great tribute. It's the only song that Rufus and his mom had ever written together, so it's unbelievably humbling and I'm very, very proud to have it on the CD as a tribute to her.
ml: You've sung in French, Italian and even Portuguese. Other than English, what's your favorite language to sing in, and why?
JG: Each kind of provides its own mystery and intrigue as far as just how it affects a song and how a song affects it. I think Italian is always a language that is vowel-oriented and everything is so open; it's a great language for a classical voice because the vowels don't change much. In French, there are a lot of ways to sing each vowel, so it's a little bit more complicated. My new favorite to sing is Portuguese -- I had such a wonderful time singing in that language. It's so musical and such a gorgeous language that I'd love to do a Brazilian record one day.
ml: Sounds like an excuse to spend some time in Brazil, at any rate!
JG: That wouldn't be bad at all!
ml: You're doing more and more acting -- you rocked the Emmys and "Glee"! And you're doing a movie next year?
JG: I did a Steve Carrell movie coming out next year that I had so much fun being a part of. It's something that I'm falling back into. I did a lot of acting when I was younger -- I did musical theater and was in an improv troupe. I really thought acting was going to be my main thing and singing was going to be the tool to use with the acting. Life is funny. The fact that it's a muscle that's being flexed again is not bad news. I'm really excited about doing more.
ml: Having sold as many records as you have, what's the next challenge you're looking forward to?
JG: Success is wonderful, but it can also be an amazing reason for a pigeonhole. I think for me, just wanting to keep the fire burning, keep myself scared and keep myself wanting to do other things, it makes it that much more nerve-wracking, but I think in the end, it gives you more of a nuanced career. I'd also like to do theater one day and do more acting, maybe become a professional tennis player .... But we'll see!
Want to hear some of "Illuminations?" Check it out!
Candid & exclusive interview with Josh Groban! He speaks to ARTISTdirect about "Illuminations", Glee, & Slipknot! http://bit.ly/aSP2Cm
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Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum
East Cliff
01202 451858
24 hour answer-phone
01202 451800
01202 451851
This Grade II* seaside villa is the former home of Sir Merton and Lady Annie Russell-Cotes, who designed it to house their art collection and objects from their world travels. It was gifted to the borough in 1908 and opened as a museum in 1922. A modern extension has since been added following a Heritage Lottery Fund refurbishment providing temporary gallery space as well as a shop and cafe.
Venue Type:
Museum, Gallery, Historic house or home
Tue-Sun 1000-1700
Bank Holiday Mon 1000-1700
Closed: Mon
Good Friday and Christmas Day.
Seasonal Charging Applies
- Museums Association
One of the last Victorian houses built, East Cliff Hall incorporates an eclectic mix of Scottish, Italian and Moorish styles creating a unique atmosphere. The collection includes Victorian art and sculpture; artefacts from the Russell-Cotes' extensive world travels, including a dedicated Japanese gallery; a gallery devoted to the actor Henry Irving; an Edwin Longsden Long gallery; and changing temporary exhibitions showcasing modern art and items from the museum's store. Items not on display can be viewed by prior arrangement.
Collection details
Architecture, Costume and Textiles, Decorative and Applied Art, Fine Art, Maritime, Personalities, Social History, World Cultures, Performing Arts
Key artists and exhibits
- Japanese Art
- Henry Irving
- Rossetti
- Venus Verticordia
- Victorian Art
The De Morgans and the Sea
- 1 April — 28 September 2014 *on now
Ships, sea monsters, seahorses, sirens and sea maidens are all to be discovered at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum in the beautiful 'The De Morgans and the Sea' exhibition by renowned artists Evelyn De Morgan and her husband, William.
The wonderful collection, normally housed at The De Morgan Centre in London, predominantly showcases the stunning work of Evelyn and includes her paintings of mythological subjects such as Ariadne and her depictions of Hans Christian Anderson's much adored little mermaid. This exhibition focuses on the sea, which was a major source of inspiration for Evelyn's paintings and William's Arts and Crafts ceramics.
Sue Hayward, Heritage Manager, said: "We held a major retrospective of Evelyn De Morgan's work in 1996-7, which proved to be so incredibly popular it was extended by 6 weeks. So we are delighted to be working with the De Morgan Centre once again, this time on an exhibition that showcases the talent of both Evelyn and her husband, the arts and crafts potter William. Each was a creative phenomenon and each broke the mould. We've chosen to focus on the theme of the sea, as this was a major source of inspiration for both artists– from stunning medieval galleons, to giant fish and mythological sea monsters –where better to celebrate the sea than in Bournemouth?"
Suitable for
- Any age
- About
- | Collections
- | Exhibitions
- | Map


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Woodworker's Journal
Rickstrew considers herself fortunate to have had a father that helped her clear both the hurdles of tool education and confidence at an early age. Growing up on a ranch in western Colorado, she shadowed her dad to tackle projects ranging from fence repair to roofing and remodeling. "He never thought twice that a girl shouldn't be learning these things," she recalls.
When she bought her first house in the mid '90s, that tool background and confidence enabled her to personalize it by doing many improvement projects instead of hiring them done. Then, the housing boom of the early 2000s had other women aspiring to do likewise but lacking the direction and "hardware" to make the process easier. That's when Rickstrew teamed up with Mary Tatum, a longtime friend with a background in computer programming, to launch a website dedicated to women and tools.
While the fledgling Tomboy Tools started modestly, their website included an online tool store and a forum for women to come together and talk tools and DIY. The site offered educational information about the applications, features and benefits of Tomboy's tool line, as well as some projects. But of probably greater importance, it provided a communication link between women who shared their project stories and worked together to arrive at solutions. "They became our guides," says Janet.
The novelty of Tomboy Tools' approach developed enough buzz that the company was profiled by "NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw" in 2002, "and after that airing we were just inundated with interest from women literally around the world." It was time to take Tomboy Tools to the next level; both Rickstrew and Tatum quit their previous jobs and invested energy and resources full-time into the new business.
But broader expansion and growth would require a deeper penetration into the market than the two women could manage alone. What they needed were Tomboy Tools consultants — dedicated tool users willing to go into women's homes to share their knowledge and offer better tools to make projects easier. Rather than doing that in a conventional students-and-teacher environment, however, Rickstrew and Tatum took a more festive approach: bring tool education into homes in a supportive, party-style atmosphere. Give participants a chance to learn by doing and sharing, and keep the whole experience fun. And that direct sales approach has proven to be successful for more than a decade now.
The typical Tomboy Tools party includes "Tool School," where participants learn about the various features, benefits and practical applications of Tomboy Tools. Then, the consultant may lead a hands-on project, which can range from plumbing and tiling to power tool use, upholstery or jewelry-making, to name just a few. The party provides a fun and engaging environment to show women "that it's really not that hard and that they ARE capable," Rickstrew asserts. Then, we provide tools that are comfortable, ergonomic and better fitting for women. The combination of the two work well together."
Tomboy Tools consultants own their home-based "Tool Party" businesses, which can be done part-time or full-time. The network has grown to more than 500 consultants nationwide. Women, men and husband and wife teams all are Tomboy Tools consultants.
Not all of the products offered at the parties are custom-designed by Tomboy. Many are existing models from various manufacturers, but all are carefully selected for Tomboy's product line. "Most tools out on the retail shelves aren't for women, but Tomboy Tools are," Janet says. Other tools are unique to Tomboy.
Among these are an ergonomic paint roller Janet helped design that makes better use of large
muscle groups and a neutral hand position, plus tool bags, tool belts
and a tiling bag. A sharpener for the company's bypass pruners is being
developed now, and more tools with an ergonomic advantage for women are
forthcoming. Tomboy's first tools were blue, but the company switched to bright pink because their clientele liked the color.
The evolution and popularity of lithium-ion batteries has been particularly beneficial in providing tools that are lighter and more manageable, which inspires confidence for new tool users. "We take away the intimidation factor by offering a lighter-duty 8-volt impact drill and our new 6-in-1 power tool that is 7.2 volts." A magnetic hammer that enables users to start a nail with just one hand and a tape measure that reads in fractions instead of hash marks are also very popular with clients.
Rickstrew is pleased to see that more women are getting involved in DIY these days, due in part to post-recession money saving efforts and the rise of DIY programming for women over the past five years or so. The Girl Scouts now offer a "Home Improvement" badge, plus summer programs for girls to learn about tools and projects. Tomboy has also recently partnered with Paige Hemmis from ABC's "Extreme Home Makeover, Home Edition" to help promote education and inspire more women to get involved.
For Janet, these trends, borne both by necessity and by empowerment, are encouraging. And they support her conviction that the mission of Tomboy Tools is on the right track. "The most rewarding aspect for me is inspiring those who may never have thought they were capable of doing a project or who had this fear of power tools. (Once) you get the tools in their hands you can just see the excitement and confidence building. It's a really neat experience."
To learn more about Tomboy Tools, click here.


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"During post production Visual Effects augments the practical 'fire' lit by SPFX on the day of shooting. The orange area indicates the fire beyond which is to be done in Post by Visual Effects."
-Alfred Sole, Production Designer
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