The Dudley Diplomat

This is the brand name I noticed on a toilet tank. That a toilet could be called a 'diplomat' is funny. Do you think it means that the next level up in the series is named 'monarch' or 'aristocrat' ? And the the basic level called the 'commoner' or plain 'civil servant' ? And what of the advertising for the whole range? We will see the whole line up? I hope so.

And if it is funny that the nomenclature is amusing, its provenance adds to the fun. Please don't think I am being Dudleyist here, but I could better envisage the diplomat as originating from Westminster or Oxford more comfortably than from Dudley. But perhaps that was the whole point, that this particular make of toilet helps us reassess the diplomatic corps.

A Romance on Three Legs

A lovely book about the brilliant and eccentric pianist, Glenn Gould, and his obsessive search for the perfect piano and how to get a sound out of it as good as the sound in his head. 

So many things that are perfect in our heads are so imperfect in life that we give up on seeking what is right and best for us. Gould didn't. 

Coley Porter Bell Blog

A plug for the Coley Porter Bell blog that went live today. It is worth a look, here.

Glaspaleis

Heerlen, where I have been visiting a lot recently, isn't the most inspiring or beautiful town I have visited. That said, the centre does have some nice bits and one wonderful building, the Glaspaleis.  Even my trusty blackberry camera couldn't destroy its looks, though next time I am taking my 'real' camera and try to do it justice. 

The Glaspaleis ('The Glass Palace') is an example of early modernist architecture. Designed by Fritz Peutz and commissioned by Peter Schunck, it was completed in 1935, to be used as a department store. As well as the architecture being leading edge for its time, the lack of back room storage, meaning that the stock would essentially be on display as well, was new. The intent was to give the atmosphere of a market. It is now used as a library, an art house cinema, an art gallery and architectural centre. It is lovely inside. 

In 1999 it was put on the list of the 1000 most important buildings of the 20th century by The International Union of Architects. For more information, click here. 

Baby Dump

Spotted in Heerlen, Holland.

Are You Happy?

Was the last question asked of Gerry Moira, snr advertising creative, in a Campaign questionnaire. I thought this was a moment of profundity in what is usually a trade magazine full of banality. Here is his answer:

"When Nigella Lawson lost her sister and then husband to cancer, she spoke of having to "choose happiness". I had the same ineluctable decision when my wife died tragically young from the same condition. Blissful happiness is reserved for the idiots and the innocents of this world. The rest of us have to work very hard at it, every minute, every day."