Table talk
Well, I do declare!
It may have a name like a West End show, but a recent trip to the opening of Tony Allan's latest restaurant, Fish!, in south London, also raised some interesting design issues. The exclamation mark seems to be all-important to the overall concept. Helpful signposts show the customers where the Entrance! and Exit! are, which doors are for Staff Only! and where you can find the Toilet! I know signs are important, but there's no need to shout.
How much do you love your chips?
The humble chip, long associated with heart disease and obesity, has now been branded a relationship-wrecker too. According to research by Whitbread, chips cause more rows among couples in restaurants than anything else. Pinching chips from your partner's plate after refusing to order two portions is the number one reason a meal turns sour. And women are the worst culprits. Chip theft is even considered a more heinous crime than loud and messy eating habits or catching your partner eyeing up other diners.
No service charge - just beauty tips
Aspects of the modern-day penchant for the physically perfect human being are evident even in an early 1900s tale from the recently reprinted diaries of John Fothergill, innkeeper of the renowned Spreadeagle near Oxford. Faced with 39 guests who were "almost all ill-shaped, ugly or ill-dressed", Fothergill decided to charge 6d "face money" for each of the worst cases. For the first time in history, seven people - without knowing it - left an inn having paid 6d each for not being beautiful.
Hidden depths of Hawaii
Tourists who want more than a cruise on the ocean surface are to be catered for by US firm Cala, which has drawn up plans for the first undersea resort hotel off the coast of Maui in Hawaii. The undersea bubble rooms will allow guests to relax while passing fish glide by to the haunting sounds of dolphin calls and mood music such as Beethoven's Sixth Symphony. The inspiring final movement of LVB's Pastoral may well have greater longevity than this submersible hotel concept.
"We wanted prominent books - not boobs"
Female librarians and curators at the British Library have been getting in a fluster over a piece of art adorning one of the walls of their staff canteen. They claim the bas-relief sculpture of a naked woman with prominent breasts is sexist, offensive and puts them off their food. The artist, Dhruva Mistry, says they are probably just jealous of such a well-endowed woman. Predictably absent have been complaints from the male sector of the workforce.
