We went to see this exhibit at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle when we were visiting in early September. It is a stuffed kittiwake suspended amongst wild flower seeds. I really could have spent hours observing this piece. You could really feel the movement even in such a still room. It almost felt like the bird was moving in slow motion and if you stayed long enough or stared hard enough you could follow it’s path through the air.

I was gutted that photography was not allowed so am really pleased the Laing have posted this photo on Flickr. It’s even taken from exactly where I was standing – this angle really gives the best view of the wake the bird left as it travelled through the seeds.

I’ve discovered a great visual blog recently from the magazine Creative Review. The last post I read was about a new publishing venture, White’s Books, set up by David Pearson an ex-Penguin designer. The covers of the first four books released by White Books are fantastic, they can be seen on the CR blog post A Christmas List.

I particularly like the effect and colours of the design for Shakespeare’s Sonnets and Poems. While the cover for Treasure Island reminds me of a wonderful cross between Hokusai’s The Wave and the album artwork from Keane’s Under the Iron Sea.

These are books I would definitely buy for the artwork alone.

It is the latter that I want to blog about today. On September 13th we picked up two bundles of fluff, Jem and Scout. On September 28th they got famous on Daily Kitten. They seem to be settling in well and are getting braver by the day. Jem is the ginger one, she’s neat, inquisitive and sometimes forgets to put her tongue back in her mouth. Scout is the brown one, she likes to watch TV and chase her shadow.

As you might imagine I’ve got loads of photos but for some reason haven’t uploaded them to Flickr yet. I will get on to this and post again.

The Hairy Bakers (BBC2 Mondays 20:30)

The newest series from the Hairy Bikers who are travelling around Britain trying to get the public interested in baking once more. Well I got the bug. After their first show I tried their basic white rolls which came out pretty well if you ask me. And I think Laura’s desperate to try their Victoria Sponge with cinnamon cream!

Never mind that the cooking is fantastic this one is worth tuning in to just for the guys’ antics and sense of humour.

The Secret Millionaire (Channel 4 Tuesdays 21:00)

We got hooked on this programme a while ago. There are two aspects I like about it. One is seeing how normal people are fighting to hold their communities together and improve the chances of the people who live in them. The other is seeing how the millionaires choose to use their money and influence to help them out. For me the best are those of don’t just give a one off payment but set up a support structure for the future.

Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery (BBC4 Wednesdays 21:00)

If you thought you were too squeamish for Don’t Die Young (see below) then I think you’d better give this one a miss. Although fascinating the surgical procedures on show are not for the faint hearted.

The presenter Michael Mosley is an endearing cross between Adam Hart Davis and Kevin McCloud. His enthusiasm is contagious and he really had me feeling that he was right at my level learning about the subject.

Dr Alice Roberts: Don’t Die Young (BBC2 Thursdays 20:30)

Oooh Alice Roberts… she’s too delightful to resist even if you are a bit squeamish. In Don’t Die Young Alice reminds us how to look after our bodies while filling us in on some interesting anatomical facts.

Minger

Originally uploaded by Persian Fire

Laura saw this sign in a shoe shop recently. Clearly the marketing bods at this company are not down with the kids. Who on earth would call their company I-Ming and expect to get taken seriously?!

I’ve just done a little reserch and have found that the company was founded in 1989, well before the term minger was adopted as a slang term by the British youth (1992 according to the Oxford English Dictionary). Although I also found through the OED that the derogatory meaning of the word ming was around as early as the 1920s.