This I can’t fathom.  The new King Lear at the RSC has been on for two months but it has only just been reviewed.  Michael Billington writes in The Guardian that:

“It is no exaggeration to say that this King Lear is long-awaited. Critics, in fact, have been waiting impatiently for nine weeks to get a glimpse of a production that has been playing to a paying public. But, however absurd the delay, I can report that Ian McKellen is a majestic, moving Lear and that Trevor Nunn’s production, while nothing like as radical as Brook’s or Hytner’s, is largely satisfying.”

Er, why did he have to wait to be asked?  Couldn’t he have bought a ticket two months ago?  Or am I missing something? 

The Evening Standard reported this week that, not content with the imminent loss of World Heritage Status for Westminster and the Tower of London, the Mayor is now gunning for all of London’s historic views.   The debate on the blog seems to be moving my way however.  Apart from some truly astonishing logic (Tory party now forward looking ergo you must be in favour of any kind of development) most people now acknowledge there should be a buffer, albeit there is debate on its extent.  The bit I can’t shift are those that say skyscrapers are essential for the economy.  Er, no.  I had  chat with a prominent London developer last week who told me off the record that skyscrapers are indeed ego projects.  The City’s businesses don’t want them.  What they want are “plates” - big floors of 20,000 square feet, the ultimate open office plan.  Skyscrapers are uneconomic.  Indeed, he doubts the Shard will ever get built.  Anyway I am getting sucked into attacking the Shard, when, again, I love the design, I just don’t want it to ruin an iconic view.

An important piece by Simon Jenkins in today’s Guardian, bringing attention to the plight of Dumfries House, due to be sold and its contents dispersed.  Odd that the new SNP administration is not trying to save this important part of Scotland’s heritage.

While in Brighton, I visited the Jubilee Library, which is incredible.  It won the Prime Minister’s Better Building Award in 2005, and it is a wonderful building.  Its third floor is a concrete platform supported on huge pillars which rise form the ground floor. 

The next day, I went to the Ideas Store in Tower Hamlets - otherwise known as one of its libraries.  They have been re-branded, amidst some controversy.  But the transformation has been dramatic, with visits doubling in four years and the place abuzz with teenagers and young people, while still maintaining oases of library calm throughout the building.  Zoinil Abidin, the manager of the Store, and  a Clore Fellow, is evangelical, and one of the most inspiring people I have met.  For those that have concerns, I can assure them that there were plenty of books, cleverly displayed as one would display them in a book store, with recommended and “recently borrowed” sections to help encourage people to take books out. 

Brighton and Tower Hamlets are two areas showing how you can transform libraries and make them relevant for the digital age.

One of my favourite cities, not least because it is now under Conservative control.  I was hugely impressed by the enthusiasm for Brighton of the Leader and the chairman of the culture committee.  They care passionately about the City and will do well by it.  Interestingly, the new Conservative council has moved culture from being a sub-committee to a full committee, which bodes well.

I had a chance to see the Brighton Museum and Gallery and the Pavilion, which are first rate.  The Pavilion has been beautifully restored.  It was built by the Prince Regent as a “palace away from Palace”, but Queen Victoria stripped it and many of its fixtures are now in Buckingham Palace.  Thise that could not be got back have been replaced by very well-crafted copies.  I also went to the Jubilee Library (see above) and the Phoenix Arts Centre.  The Phoenix is impressive, housing 100 artists in a co-operative in a disused 1960s office block, and contributing hugely to Brighton’s vibrant culture.

I managed to get down and visit the Cutty Sark yesterday.  Any one who saw the television pictures of the smouldering ship will fear the worst.  Thankfully, although things are bad, they are not that bad.  The ship was undergoing a major restoration (apparently it was so corroded it was about 18 months away from total collapse).  That meant that the masts, rigging and all of the interior had been stripped out.  The fire means a delay, of up to a year; the cost of clearing up; the loss of income from a delayed re-opening; and re-design caused by some of the fire damage.  It will cost around £5-6 million (with insurance picking up the rest).  While daunting, it is do-able.  And the silver lining, if there was one, was to remind us all how much the ship is loved not just here but around the world.