LinkedIn offers me the chance to have my posts rewritten using AI. There is a promise of enhanced engagement. Inspection shows the deal to be £0 for a one month trial. Don't know how much after that. This might sound arrogant, but I think I will take my chances.
.........
I write this item on the eve of the US Presidential Election, and will not change it whatever the outcome. I do not always agree with Lionel Shriver's views, but she writes incisively.
Shriver points out the dilemma of Never Trumpers when faced with the alternative of an empty vessel, a candidate who is in way over her head. You have to understand that Shriver is seriously anti 'progressives', so assess what she says with this in mind, but her objections to Kamala Harris include:
- No effective plan for controlling borders and preventing major cities from being overwhelmed with low-skilled migrants
- Excessive support for costly green energy
- Advocacy for slave trade reparations
- Support for sex 're-assignment' for children
Shriver, as a Never Trumper herself, recognises the charge that neutrality would equal cowardice. I wonder how many conservative Americans are suffering the dilemma of where to place their vote. If Harris wins, then I suspect it will be largely based on people detesting the Donald more than liking his policies.
.........
One of the joys of a more flexible lifestyle is being able to go to the cinema in the daytime during the week. So what better than the Everyman 2 for 1 on Mondays offer. But, and be still my beating heart, if you are 'older' you can order a Silver Screen ticket. My imagination flew on what might be provided. Perhaps you would be helped to your seat? Or there would be a free return for the same film, as you are likely to fall asleep in the middle of the performance? Or perhaps even extra facilities by way of portaloos might be stationed in the lobby to allow for multiple attacks of incontinence.
The add-on was simpler. A free tea or coffee and a free slice of cake. Nice.
And you sub-60 things should not get complacent? You are entitled to the offer from age 55. No longer the 50s are the new 40s...
.........
On Kingsland Road, Dalston. If you know it, you will know that it is busy and buzzy, seriously multi-ethnic (don't worry Kemi, they were mostly speaking English), and 'edgy', which I put in speech marks as the term is usually used by folk from Primrose Hill who would feel slightly intimidated by the full-on vibe but are afraid of being considered racist.
The most sensitive people might apprehend a mugging or an aggressive shoplifting raid or something similarly destabilising, In fact this month I witnessed an aggressive shoplifting raid in a small branch of Boots. Two people burst in, wearing hoods with scarves obscuring faces, and carrying sacks. Over a minute or so they shovelled goods off the shelves into their sacks, before the manager ran down (branch presumably too small to justify a security guard), opened the entrance door, and told them to get out...which they did. What a chap.
For a moment I had contemplated challenging the one who could not get out without passing me, but self-preservation ruled, so it was flight not fight.
The staff were amazingly calm and resigned - of course the occurrence is common, but this was first time for me in situ. There was a call to the police , but I suppose no more than a formality.
And the damage? I inspected the shelves affected, and saw that they had contained toothbrushes, toothpastes, and cosmetics (sorry Boots, nothing flash). What was that all about? I felt the absurdity of the Monty Python fish-slapping contest.
But I failed to tell you the location of the store. Not edgy Kingsland Road...but respectable Belsize Park, north London home of the mobility scooter. Never judge on where is safe or unsafe in our glorious capital city.
.........
Postcard from Florence
Some years ago I had a spell of guitar lessons. My teacher also wrote and performed songs. When he got himself into a relationship that stuck, he found it difficult to write songs....because he was happy, and his writing had come out of unhappy times. Thus I wonder in travel writing if it can only be made interesting when there are setbacks eg my 50 Euro fine in France - see October Late Life Crisis.
Which is a way of saying that the Florence trip was extremely enjoyable but almost entirely incident-free.
Travel
How lovely to use an airport where you arrive and virtually jump on the plane. I am referring to London City, which has an early morning flight direct to Florence's own airport, avoiding the ghastly Pisa. Second flight out at 7.05, barely 30 minutes to airport at 5am in a cab from North London, and no sign of folk in the lounge who have already got three pints of lager down them (even though the first flight out was to Ibiza).
Urban environment
For a tourist place like Florence, the visitor's lens is necessarily limited to the 'Old City', so take my comments in context.
The centre is ruled by a ZTL (Zona Trasporto Limitato), which severely restricts motorised vehicle use. Plenty bicycles, but ridden by people in ordinary clothes - not a whiff of lycra with concomitant desire to press towards 30mph and do an Animal Farm-style takeover of the streets.
Thus there was shared space, where everyone naturally was careful of the rights of others and there was no need for gauche road markings and patronising signage along the lines of 'This space is inclusive and we must respect the diversity of its users'.
Every 'sight' is easily walkable, and even the first-time visitor should be able to get a grip of the centre within 48 hours - towers of churches, including the massive Duomo, plus that of the Palazzo Vecchio, provide ready reference points.
Culture
Well, just go to the guidebooks. Uffizi booked ahead, and the Accademia on 24 hours notice, but for others eg the Bargello, you could just walk in. Remember again though time of year - at other times it would be embarrassing to rock up and find that you should have booked online weeks in advance.
The artists: so many, and with so much work. Michelangelo; Da Vinci; Botticelli; Donatello etc etc. I have formed an attachment to the mult-talented Brunelleschi. Naive point, but if you have limited appetite for Renaissance art and sculpture, do not come here. Even the devotee can look up and think, oh my God, another Annunciation.
A further factor: we were averaging 15,000 steps a day, which at strolling streets/shuffling round inside pace is in my assessment more tiring than brisk walking. So with this, plus not wanting to overkill and then totally zone out, you have to pace yourself. By 4pm of a day I was done, and was happy to retire to a bar for a glass of red, reading, and people-watching.
Shopping
I am advised that Florence offers many opportunities for the window and browsing types of shopping activity. I was certainly in attendance for the former when en route to a destination, but otherwise my contribution was limited. However, I can pass on useful information that fashion items can be procured at prices decently lower than in the UK, though probably not with the same differential as found in Spain
Eating out
One should start with the 'food court' at the Mercato Centrale. Just fabulous, and it became a favoured lunchtime spot. There was a modicum of bravery in attempting Lampredotto, the Florentine version of tripe, but otherwise you could not do better for some form of grilled meat (or even fish, despite the local obsession with T bone steaks).
Head to a restaurant in the central tourist quarter and you get....dominant presence of tourists. The options are better in Oltrarno, just south of the Arno, and in Santa Croce on the eastern edge. Thus:
Recommendations
Osteria Cinghiale Bianco (Oltrarno): Ok, tourists come, but plenty locals too. Honest, unfussy food, and where you feel you are being served by staff who have been there forever.
Il Santo Bevitore (Oltrarno): Again the tourist/locals mix, but a wider variety of offering, though with some dishes from 'the land' - example of pigeon with one leg complete with claw sticking up to remind you of the provenance of the meat.
Ristorante Gastone (Santa Croce): Fish and seafood! Chanced upon, and I doubt if you would find it in a standard restaurant list. At the end of the meal the waitress happily reverted to Italian in order to explain that it was a neighbourhood restaurant - evidenced by clientele including a family party, and so tourists were a rare sight. However, staff were very welcoming and Gastone is a must for me if there is ever to be another visit to the City.
An exciting landing
I said that the trip was almost entirely incident free. So to the return journey. First a note on time between announcement of boarding and closing of flight. 15 minutes. Surprised? So were we. The reason is that London City closes at 1pm on Saturdays. A quick getaway is essential.
Off we go. There is Storm Bert. But surely that's only hitting oop North. Nope. Windy around London. City Airport requires total precision - no room for deviation where you are landing between two big chunks of water.
Whispers of Stansted. But with some bumping around our pilot got us down safely...and then touchingly stood by the exit door to receive thanks as we disembarked. Good outcome, though not fun for a nervous traveller.
.........
Back to late November gloom, a floundering Labour Government, and the unpredictability of life under Trump.
But my own concern (regulars will clock the context but otherwise go to the end of August's Late Life Crisis) is over the Teddy Bears' Picnic, and specifically what the bears might do to you if you were to go down to the woods without being in disguise. I am surprised that a rendition is not preceded by a trigger warning.
.........
The author is a writer, speaker, historian, occasional tour guide, and former Managing Partner of a City law firm.