Thursday, September 28, 2006, 12:52 AM
I guess any parent can identify with this - any photo of one's own child feels like a classic. You can sit watching a baby for hours, watching its face work its way through several thousand equally captivating expressions. You want to bottle and store each and every one.
In any case, Mayke is entirely responsible for this particular shot, taken when I was on my way down to a trade fair in Cologne. She seems to be practising for the 'la la la la not listening' routine. I mean Ruby of course, not Mayke.
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Tuesday, September 26, 2006, 03:08 PM
You are looking at a picture of our 2 hour-old daughter, Ruby Matilda Rolls, brought into the world today in Hamburg at a weight of 3.94 kilos. I don't feel that words can do this event justice - language is a bit limiting sometimes. But she opened her eyes, sniffed, and then smiled at me, so I am head over heels in love. Mayke is fine, but has endured quite an epic, gruelling experience, and she is now on the road to recovery.
It all makes sense now. That's all I can say.
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Friday, September 22, 2006, 02:11 AM
I've heard it said that travel broadens the mind. But I guess that the creators of this saying weren't thinking of the people on the receiving end of the travel - the locals. Nevertheless, these US lovelies brightened up a cross-city tube journey with a long chat about favourite ice cream flavours. Chocolate with fudgy bits won, I believe.
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Thursday, September 21, 2006, 01:14 AM
I was fortunate enough to attend the MOBO awards this evening - a true paradise for people-spotters. For those on the lookout for effortless cool, look elsewhere, as more label couture, hairspray and rehearsed hand-gestures have gone into this event than you could possibly imagine. The most entertaining bit about the MOBO awards (Music Of Black Origin) is to watch the white people as they circulate - each one (myself included, probably) seemed tensely aware of the fact that they needed to justify why they were there. You were either a cool suit or a sad suit. I now understand why Mr Hilfiger is a rich man.Tragically, the big stars from the US such as Beyonce, Jay-Z and the Black Eyed Peas were unable to attend to collect their awards, and you would be forgiven for suspecting that these US artists were entirely unaware of what a MOBO is - they couldn't even manage a video link-up. Never mind, we were treated to Ashlene off Big Brother, flashing her two big career opportunities, and Corinne Bailey Rae picked up a couple of Mobos for her hit single Put Your Records On. Then, to crown the evening, soul legend Sam Moore came on and performed his classic song 'Soul Man' - and, as if daring to cock up a flaw-free performance, one of the presenters closed the show by shouting out "give a big hand to Sam Cooke".
Music historians will know that Sam Cooke has been dead for 42 years.
By the way, please can someone write Corinne Bailey-Rae a new single? She needs another hit more badly than Pete Doherty...
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Monday, September 18, 2006, 11:35 PM
I spotted this rather interesting-looking aircraft at Lubeck airport. It's the kind of child's ride that I'd normally walk right past, but my scheduled flight was late, so I had the time to check out alternative forms of transport. This was the only one I could see.
There was a time when such a helicopter ride would be in camouflage green, bedecked in the stars and stripes, and kitted out with the latest guns and heat-seeking missiles. It could be a sign of the times, or just be something about peace-loving Germany, but this particular chopper is acting behalf of the UN.
The missiles have been removed, and a subtle rebadging has occurred, in order to prepare any 6-year-old child for a tour of duty in Darfur, Rwanda or Kosovo. The 'fire guns' button flashes as wildly as it did before, except now the button is labelled 'observe and report'. Meanwhile, the special 'turbo destroy' mode has been restickered to become 'circumspect mode'. You get extra points for staying in the air and not getting involved. Should you kill any baddies, the ride will be disabled, and security will be called. Price per ride: One Euro, payable by the taxpayer
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