Electric Badgerland

Ugh, I'm curled up on the sofa this evening with the lurgy, watching The Producers (the original one, can't abide remakes or indeed musicals) and eating Dairy Milk to make me feel better. I thought, therefore, that I'd cast my mind back to Thursday when I did more vaguely interesting things than are normally predicted for a weekday. It will make for better reading than the current state of my sinuses, at any rate.

Having been tipped off by the Urban Junkies mailing list (this and Daily Candy brighten up my mornings no end) I went for a lunchtime wander to the plaza outside The Economist's building on St James' Street to check out a temporary exhibition of sculptures by Laura Ford, called Rag and Bone. These are statues of woodland animals in the guise of poor, homeless or displaced people. They have lovely faces and are ever so touching, and are incredibly detailed. There is a badger scrabbling for scraps in a bin:

A fox, huddled on the floor in a blanket:

And a beshawled hedgehog, pushing all her worldly possessions along on a trolley:

Like the awful, unfeeling humans/westerners/bourgeoisie we are, having taken photos the need to go shopping and get lunch and dash back to work took over, but the point was made.

After work, I met up with the girls for drinks in the terribly decadent Electric Birdcage, a wildly pretentious bar on Haymarket down in tourist central. No scruffy animals allowed in here. I was most taken with the turquoise-lit sign:

And even more with the wall of wicker birdcages inside, not that I'd countenance keeping a bird in one (it was very dark in there so the photo is poor):

The dim sum was passable, the music was schizophrenic (Eminem to the kind of "cool" beats you get in any hip bar to Rick Astley) but the company of the lovely Lotta and Anna was, of course, wonderful and the mojito made with fresh coriander leaves instead of mint was inspired. One to try at home, for sure - I doubt I'll revisit the bar.

And all on a school night, naughty naughty.

Pleasingly, the spinning supplies that I have been ordering over the last couple of weeks have started to trickle through my door this morning, including a spindle from Butterfly Girl Designs and gorgeous batts from Copperpot Woolies. Hopefully tomorrow I will get a chance to practise a little, but until then, had better attempt to sleep off the rhinovirus. Goodnight!