Blame it on the weather

The UK economy shrank by 0.5 percent last quarter, a sudden and unexpected contraction. The government attributed the poor result to the weather before Christmas. Snow certainly did stop construction and keep people away from the shops but even without it growth would have been flat.

It seems to have taken many commentators by surprise, except those who had been predicting exactly this result as the consequence of government policy to restrict spending. What's more, the VAT rise has only just been brought in, with another tax rise (one percentage point on National Insurance) to come, and most of the spending cuts haven't been put in place yet.

It doesn't look good, frankly. The government claims that the private sector will start to expand as the public sector shrinks, but I don't think many people believe it.

Eurostar Christmas queue

In the days leading up to Christmas, many Eurostar trains were cancelled or reduced to slow speeds, resulting in massive delays to scheduled services. They offered full refunds in an attempt to keep the crowding down but nonetheless thousands of travellers showed up trying to get a seat. The queue ran outside the station in the freezing cold for days on end, and at one point it was one kilometre long, running all the way up past the British Library. An intrepid traveller filmed the queue.

Protest

We went to the big anti-fees/cuts protest in central London yesterday. It was a really nice day, with the sun shining giving us a nice view of the buildings as we stood on Whitehall. The protest was very good-natured, with lots of students chanting the usual stuff and plenty of staff members around as well. The Student Union estimates 50,000, which looked about right. There clearly weren't enough police, and self-critical comments appeared in the newspapers today. However, we were speculating that they may have deliberately under-staffed the protest in an implicit protest of their own to the government, which is cutting back police numbers severely.

At the end of the march, a group of students occupied the forecourt of the Conservative Party building, eventually smashing some front windows and entering the building. The pictures look dramatic, and now we will have the usual 'ratbag' student complaints. But still, you have to wonder if it won't have a beneficial impact in the end, revealing an anger towards the government that hasn't been in evidence at all so far. I suspect that this protest will mark the beginning of public opposition to the coalition government, and come to define the tone of that opposition, especially felt by the middle class which has benefitted from state funding in many ways, including higher education. Students usually lead the way ideologically, even if they're politically weak, so I think we can expect more from this point forward. The best coverage is, of course, in Le Monde

Ernesto Neto

Went to see the Neto installation at the Hayward Gallery yesterday. Lots of fun, organic shapes and stretched tulle everywhere.

Memorabilia

The English produce hilarious memorabilia. I have already put in my order for the Coalition government commemorative tankard (pictured). Sadly, I cannot afford the 175 pounds necessary to purchase a Margaret Thatcher candle snuffer. Although, clearly, it's worth it.

Election highlights

Gordon Brown is no longer Prime Minister. So, sadly, we will no longer see him deftly charm the public like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fcQ5VPWt3I

Ham

The ultra-rich enclave of Ham, a few miles north of Surbiton, never fails to deliver surprises. Inside a small area of square mile or so, one finds a concentration of elaborate but tightly packed mansions, which suggests that they prefer to live as close together as possible, rather than opting for an even larger pile in the surrounding areas, where they would be forced to live amongst the awful middle classes. In the midst of the mansions is the Polo club, which holds matches every Sunday (it's on the 'to do' list...).

And if you sit on the top deck of the bus you can occasionally see over the large walls and hedges into the private world of the aristocracy. Yesterday, there was evidence of Edward Scissorhands having been let loose in Ham. One backyard boasted three large topiary elephants - a father, mother and, yes, a baby, perfectly formed in lush green. The tallest one must have been 2-3 metres high. What's more, they looked well-established, and not placed for a birthday party or other special occasion. I'm sure they make quite the talking point at apres-polo functions.