DON PEDRO Your silence most offends me, and to be merry best becomes you; for, out of question, you were born in a merry hour. BEATRICE No, sure, my lord, my mother cried; but then there was a star danced, and under that was I born. Much Ado About Nothing, II.i
As you would expect of a young person at the weekend in a thriving metropolitan city like London, last night I was out with some friends. And then, we got to 11 PM and the little dance started. The dance of “When do I need to leave here so I don’t end up stranded in … Continue reading
Can I tell you a secret? I don’t know how to ride a bike. Somehow I just never learned when I was a kid, and then I managed to quietly avoid it, living in a serenely bike-free universe until…well, until I decided that there was a bike-shaped hole in my life. The main impetus for … Continue reading
I had the great good fortune to see The Mikado last night at the English National Opera. I always delight in seeing the inside of a new theatre as well as the production itself, and this was my first visit to the London Coliseum. Though it is a beautiful theatre I found its foyer and … Continue reading
I don’t know if you’ve ever carved an ice sculpture. Neither had I until last Saturday, when my flatmate dragged me out to the London Ice Sculpture Festival at Canary Wharf. The large ice sculptures around us gave an overarching impression of grace and majesty, like silent statues of dancers. This did not in any … Continue reading
On Tuesday there was a public meeting to discuss some problems in Wapping Woods. There have been instances of mugging and knife crime there lately, so a meeting was called to ‘reassure’ the public. I went, not because I feel unsafe in Wapping, but because I am new to the area and wanted to get … Continue reading
I have frequently commented upon the streak of madness that simmers gently below the surface of English people. You might think, at first appearance, that the English are rational creatures. Polite, thoughtful, reserved: these are all characteristics for which the English are renowned throughout the globe. However, I posit that it is all a ruse, … Continue reading
I went to a céilidh recently. In contemporary terminology, a céilidh is a gathering for people wishing to partake in traditional Scottish dancing (or Irish, if spelled céilí). However, I am told by Wikipedia that the term originally referred to any kind of social gathering, not necessarily involving dancing. There’s a parallel in belly dance … Continue reading
While I was at yet another Women in Technology event last night (this one called “Tech Shouldn’t be a Boys’ Club”, a panel discussion aimed at getting women interested in Entrepreneur First), I was struck again by how many women either don’t think they have the chops to be in technology or (like me) are … Continue reading
In a move that is known technically as Continuous Professional Development, but which I prefer to call Learning About Some New Stuff I Find Quite Interesting, I recently went on a QlikView Developer course. This is to help me move beyond building pretty (and pretty useful) little objects in the user interface which people see … Continue reading
Expat Thanksgiving, as anyone will tell you, is always a little bit of a challenge. There is the sourcing of ingredients like canned pumpkin, cornflour, and cranberries. There is the logistical challenge of making sure you have enough pans to cook all the multitudinous requisite dishes. (I may have created a Gantt chart for this. … Continue reading
In a Merry Hour: Caitlin E McDonald 