Finding a job in London

Unemployment is at a record high in the UK (particularly among 18-24 year olds) and no doubt 1,000s in London would be scurrying around job centres and temping agencies. A new job site (for London & UK) does an awesome job of aggregating the vast majority (if not all) the jobs in UK. Adzuna is currently in Alpha, but we're told to expect big things in May. Stay tuned!

Coach and Horses

This is a linking test for Pubs in Clapham. The Coach and Horses Clapham (one of the best pubs in London!)

Cranach At The Royal Academy

The Royal Academy is hosting the new Cranach Paintings Exhibition and the catalogue lists and illustrates 125 exhibits, of which most are paintings, some in matched pairs, 106 in all.Of these, 47 that were shown in Frankfurt are not included in the Academy’s version of the exhibition,and no-one seems to know why-unless they have been stolen or are missing in between exhibitions. Eleven drawings are also absent, so too the sketchbook-cum-album amicorum that gives us the only clear insight into the work and personality of young
Hans Cranach.The whole exhibition has been reduced by two-fifths, the exhibition is gravely impoverished : a number of direct comparisons that its catalogue proposes cannot be made, we are no clearer in the Cranach-not-Cranach debate at any stage of his very long activity and, since no painting is quite certainly dateable before 1502 when he was 30. Also we still have not the slightest idea of how the development of the elder Lucas began, nor what an early work might look like.

Konrad Celtis, celebrated German humanist a decade or so older than Cranach, founder of learned societies from the valley of the Rhine to Kraków, a startlingly erotic poet and a wanderer from princely courts to that of the Holy Roman Emperor, deplored what he saw as Germany’s neglect of the liberal arts and damned it for its “drunkenness, barbarism, cruelty and everything that is bestial and foolish”. These, however, are in large measure what Cranach reflects in his paintings, yet the propaganda associated with the exhibition seeks to rehabilitate him, to rescue him from his long-standing reputation as the master of a factory mass producing replicas and variants of his original ideas, and to promote him as a discreet genius capable of creating a new visual language that fused the traditions of central Europe north of the Alps with those of the Italian Renaissance, a German Zeuxis for German courts as cultivated as those of the dukes of Italy. Cranach, we are told, is to be seen, not only as the Raphael, the Parmigianino, the Correggio of the larger Germany, but as a humanist, a classicist, and a brilliant intellectual who could with ease tread the tightrope between the militant new Protestantism of Luther, his friend, and the traditional Catholicism of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, his most constant patron Cranach profited mightily from both. Every Protestant of means and influence wanted a portrait of Luther, and in his position as court painter in Wittenberg to three successive Saxon Electors, he was so ideally placed to initiate and receive hundreds of commissions that he became, de facto, the official painter of Luther as monk, in disguise as Junker Jörg, as Doctor of Theology, and as plain Luther, husband of an erstwhile nun. For the Cardinal he painted altarpieces and pictures that flattered him as St Jerome. And for the court he turned to erotica.

If Cranach is known at all to a wider English public than those few of us who enjoy prowling round provincial German art galleries, it is as a painter of scrawny female nudes, occasionally wisped about in veils, occasionally wearing My Fair Lady hats, pretending to be Venus, Diana, Lucretia and other mythological figures with an excuse for nakedness. As with all pornography, they conform to an artificial ideal of beauty or what is sexually attractive. I doubt if Cranach ever drew a nude woman, but he seems to have known just enough of anatomy to create a creature of erogenous zones, of nipples, breasts, wasp-waists and buttocks topped by the fashionable face and knowing look with which to trigger excitement in the cod-pieces of the barbarous German aristocracy, but though some are exquisitely painted, they are cold little fish with nothing of the warm sensuality of Titian or Correggio. This chill erotic quality spills over into less secular subjects, into the Eves of Eden and even into such figures fully-clothed as Salome with the Baptist’s Head, Lot’s daughters readying him for incest, the virtuous Bathsheba and Judith and, most suspect of all, his St Helena, a harlot with her arm about the cross. As for Cranach’s personification of Charity, the greatest of the Theological Virtues — far from giving the image “a new spiritual meaning” (as the catalogue has it), he has converted this ecclesiastical icon into a provocatively sensual image of fecundity and yet another naked woman with knowing look. Painted in 1534, it anticipates the disturbing qualities ofthe kiss in Bronzino’s Allegory of Venus and Cupid (in the National Gallery), painted a decade or so later. That picture, no matter how unpleasant we may find it, is a masterpiece; Cranach’s is inept provincial smut. Inept is the word too for Cranach’s Golden Age. Given c1530 as its date, Cranach at 60 or so hardly offers us “a prime example of the inventive spirit” claimed by the writer of the catalogue entry. Woven into a steeply rising tapestry of flowers, shrubs and trees are a dozen naked figures, dancing, reclining, whispering sweet nothings over grapes that are the attribute of Bacchus, and splashing each other in a stream: a Golden Age of idleness set safely in a walled garden in which the lion lies with, if not the calf of Isaiah’s prophecy, a pair of fawns. It should be idyllic, but the critical eye sees only a creaking composition of stiff and stilted poses, awkwardly and unconvincingly strung across the foreground plane, a climbing perspective so steep that, instead of a continuous landscape reaching far into the distance, we have a tilted stage and a backdrop of mountains peeping over the clumsy garden wall with which Cranach conceals his inability to construct and control a logical pictorial space when he cannot enlist the help of linear perspective. The fawns and the parent deer are beautiful and obviously based on studies from the life; the landscape elements too suggest immediate observation (and pictorial adjustment), but the figures are a laboured compilation of inflexible workshop templates.

Could Cranach have studied the naked male? Could? Yes, easily in the all male context of the painter’s workshop. But did he? A tiny panel of Hercules lifting Antaeus, of the same period, suggests not, so absurd is the anatomy, but the catalogue entry, without further comment on the matter, instructs us not to ignore “the sexual connotation of this highly intimate embrace (penis to penis) between two completely naked men”. Does the writer know something of workshop behaviour or courtly Saxon patronage that justifies this exhortation? All in all this is an unsatisfactory exhibition: perhaps it worked better in Frankfurt, but at the Academy, savagely cut back, it is hung in such a way that those who know nothing of Cranach’s stylistic development will continue to know nothing. I found myself constantly questioning the estimated dates and the implied authenticity — implied very simply by not raising the matter in extended catalogue entries more concerned with explaining imagery than the ’tis, ’tisn’t question of who painted a particular picture; their opinions on all other matters of Cranach connoisseurship are, perhaps, as worthless. Among the early paintings The Schotten Crucifixion is in very damaged state and extensively repaired, but where it more or less survives it seems technically alien to other paintings of the same supposed period, and in mood, almost a caricature of a Cranach; is it not a feeble copy by a weak hand rather than the earliest surviving authentic work at the age of 30? How could he, in only two years, reach from the cramped simplicities of this composition to the crowded but clear complexities of the two woodcut Crucifixions of 1502 (one not exhibited) and then, within three years or so, produce a painting as large, complex, densely crowded and spectacular as The Martyrdom of St Catherine from Budapest? This undoubted masterpiece is one of the few paintings in the exhibition that we can safely use as a benchmark of Cranach’s quality as draughtsman, painter, inventor of grotesque and violent motifs and characteristic physical types. With an estimated quarter century between them, the fallen soldier on the right is a spectacular precursor of the lifted Antaeus. Another indisputable benchmark is the triptych of The Holy Kinship, signed and dated 1509, a remarkable exercise in linear perspective and didactic purpose, promoting as scripture the legend that St Anne married three times, bearing to each husband a daughter named Mary, the eldest the mother of Christ, the others of, between them, six disciples. The Kinship has little to support it in the New Testament, but, though apocryphal, it had much support in northern Europe; here it is a roman à clef, of Saxon court portraiture and loyalties and one must ask who could have been responsible for so political an underlying programme — a courtly priest or humanist perhaps, but surely not Cranach himself ? And over which altar, and where, might this almost secular triptych have been placed?

This lazy exhibition asks and answers too few questions about a prolific painter whose signatures often signify nothing. Do the very slight Italian influences in the early work suggest an unreceptive response to an Italian Wanderjahr? In the autumn of 1508 Cranach was briefly in the Netherlands on a diplomatic errand, and the influence of Quentin Matsys is evident in The Holy Kinship and some slight softening of outlines and contours in some smaller pictures. Otherwise he remained resolutely within the German tradition, affected only by Dürer from his own generation. To measure the man we must remove him from the German context and compare him with such other contemporaries as Titian, Raphael, Correggio and Parmigianino, in a land where a real Renaissance was taking place — then we see how small he was, how parochial and primitive.

Cranach is at the Royal Academy ( 020 7300 8000 ) until 8 June. Daily 10am-6pm (Friday until 10pm).
Admission £8, concs available. www.royalacademy.org.uk

Writing Reviews-What Best To Include

When I write reviews for anything I do have a few general rules. I try to write as objectively as much as possible and perhaps depending on the publication make comments relative to personal preferences in moderation endeavouring to be exact and as fair as possible. I always try look for something positive or good as unless everything is so bad will I be severe and criticise.
I think the following are things that needed to be taken into account when writing a good review.When writing reviews of eating places these are few of the rules that I follow in a required flexible manner:
1. Comment on the appearance and cleanliness of the exterior and interior of the restaurant. (Though avoid making negative comments for things that are beyond their control like broken pavements and parking spaces). Make note of the posters being displayed and the messages conveyed by them. Comments whether they are eye-catching and blend in with the theme of the restaurant or are conceptually conveying the message.
2. Make note of queuing time and the manner by which you were greeted by the member of staff serving you. Try to remember the exact greetings said. Make note also whether the member of staff asked for apology in case there was delay in serving you.
3. Comment on the presentability of the members of staff e.g. were they neat and dressed properly, were they wearing name badges? Observed whether their manner of greetings was perfunctorily or genuinely delivered. Were they smiling?
4. Take note of the length of time taken when serving your order. Good customer service should also include satisfaction check back. This should be included in a review.
5. Most importantly, comment on the quality of the food. Were they served in an appropriate temperature, did they taste good? Were they as described in the menu?
6. The cleanliness of cutlery and utensils must also be observed. Were they clean and presentable?
7. Visit the rest room. Observed the smell and its cleanliness. Appliances should be in good working condition, supply of soap and tissues should be adequatebecause I think you will if the restrooms are in good condition the cooking will be well kept.
8. Observed whether music was being played and whether it was appropriate relative to the time of day. Make note also of the general temperature inside the restaurant-very important for serving wine.
9. In paying for your order, note the friendliness of cashier, i.e. did he thanked you for your payment, did he confirmed the exact amount (if paying cash), was his greetings genuine.
10. If you are commissioned to do the review by a mystery shopping company, make it sure to keep the receipt and note the shops adjacent to the restaurant as proof that you visited it plus the level of trade during your visit, give an approximate number of customers present.

Tipping In RestaurantsAnd Other Places

Whenever I eat especially on a special occasion or go somewhere expensive I am always confronted by two thoughts the restaurant table is "What should I eat?," and "What should I tip?" Our perception of service each time we dine out as it not only affects our experience; it also affects the experience of our waiting staff both for that day, and for the days to come. The subject of tipping is still as hot as a sizzling kebab platter, but it can still be boiled down to a few basic questions and answers.

Why should I tip?

With a few exceptions, the staff that serve you at a restaurant not only need, but deserve, the tip if you think they have done a good job. and looked after you well.Some people will argue that the term for tipping is "gratuity," implying that the tip is optional- well again depends on what type of wages they may be on and how big your party is and whether they are boisterous or rowdy-because that can create more work for the waiting staff and obviously what type of establishment it is.If it is a cheap one then the diner may not consider tipping to be that important.


Ethics aside, consider that the staff at the restaurant not only cooks and serves your food, but processes your bill, cleans everything from the tables to the bathroom, maintains health standards, and provides "on call" customer service to unpredictable patrons and you can probably agree that the wait staff deserves a little extra for the time and effort they put in to providing your dining experience because unlike office based customer service staff you have direct contact with your waiter or waitress-and its all about personal service and attention tempered by objectivity.

Who am I tipping?

Who your tip actually goes to depends on the restaurant. While it's true that in some restaurants, the tip goes entirely to the waiter, it is more often the case that the tip is pooled with the rest of the tips for the day, and split among the wait staff, hosts, and even chefs. This means that while you may want to reward a particular excellent waiter, they may not see as much of that tip as you'd hope; it also means that a low tip may be punishing the entire wait staff for one person's poor service. In addition, some restaurants deduct operational costs for credit card processing charges from tips. In short: you are more likely tipping the staff of the restaurant, not just your particular waiter or waitress.

What should I tip?

For some, tipping is automatic; others use a tipping calculator. There are, of course, other special exceptions that require consideration as well. The basic rule of thumb is to tip 15 to 20% of your bill to your wait staff. But wait - is that pre-vat or the full bill?

The argument to tip based on the sub-total is that the taxes don't go to the restaurant or wait staff; they go to the government. Why pay the waiter on what the government charges? Logically, this makes sense. Consider, however, that most waiters expect a tip based on the full bill, and the difference between pre-vat and post-vat is only a matter 17.5%. Also consider that waiters have to pay taxes on their tips, however meager they may be. Why short a few extra pence in the wallet to someone who worked hard to provide you a good meal?

When should I not tip?

There are always going to be a few exceptions to the average meal in the restaurant, when tips come into question. Keeping in mind the above facts, consider why a tip may not be appropriate in these circumstances. Was the food cooked poorly? In this case, a complaint to the manager may be more efficient to punish the offender, if the remainder of your restaurant experience was at least average. Was the waiter unavailable? Consider any circumstances, such as a busy night or under-staffing, before passing that judgment off on the tip. But if multiple things were wrong with your dining experience - or the wait staff was plain unavailable, rude, or worse, unhelpful - then consider leaving a minimal tip of about 10%. You should only withhold the tip if the dining experience was truly unacceptable.

So the next time you leave a restaurant table, think twice about that important tip question also remember, the best way to thank anyone - outside of a tip - is a heartfelt thank you spoken directly to your wait staff.

How To Wine And Dine With Your Boss

Dining with your boss or work colleagues can be an absolute nightmare if you don't know how you will present yourself. On such an important matter at times it is best to feel comfortable with some social etiquette .
Whether this is the awful Christmas party or a celebratory meal for an excellent performance, pausing to think about the evening and considering these few hints will give you the confidence to perform well.
1. It will always be work
Just because you are out of office hours, don't get lulled into a false sense of security you are technically at work. Think of the problems the social networking pages are presenting for employees who have happily confessed to all sorts of misdemeanours, only to find a letter terminating their employment. This is because most contracts of employment still have the clause about bringing the company into disrepute. Therefore, getting completely hammered and throwing up on your boss's shoes is probably not the best way forward to enhance your career prospects it could jeopordise any future promotional prospects in the company. Don't forget, moderation in drink and behaviour will see you through in the long run.
2. Remember not to try and outsmart the boss
It is always great to be the centre of attention and being able to make people laugh is a real asset. Of course there are some people you just don't want to outshine. If the boss asks you a question answer in a thoughtful fashion,depending on what the question may be.
I was once at an evening social event, and we were all getting on so well with one another, until one employee just could not resist in trying to outdoing the boss in funny stories. Without realising, they soon developed a competition as to who had done the most outrageous things . Everyone else fell silent as this verbal jousting continued as it became quite uncomfortable to watch. There was a definite impact at work as the boss was clearly put out by this and this affected his relationship with the individual.
Be funny and witty but don't try to steal the whole show give the boss a chance to show off after all it is his company.
3. Bringing your spouse/partner
You will have gone home at least some evenings and moaned and complained to your beloved about your boss or your colleagues, and you may have possibly have exaggerated slightly! You just switch off as you have to work with these people but you partner will be feeling quite cross on your behalf that someone has treated you badly.
Unless you give him clear instructions as to who is who, and what he can properly know about company secrets and, more specifically he can't (evidence that you can't keep company secrets is never helpful) he will be a ticking time bomb waiting to explode your career prospects all around like party poppers.
4. What to wear and what not to wear
This is quite possibly a issue for females only, but usually at work you tend to dress in a professional way no low cut tops and not much leg on show.
The problem with business dining is that you feel this is an opportunity to unleash the real you and that may be very tempting- big hair, big eyes, low cut dresses and legs that go on and on and on. Great. Yes, most definitely everyone will be talking about you the next day and your clients and your boss will see you in a different light, but all your credibility will be sliding down the drain, along with your career.
This doesn't mean you cannot dress sexily but in moderation , less is more. If you have your legs on show, keep your bosoms under control and vice versa.
5. What to eat
You may love spaghetti bolognaise but sucking the long strands of pasta through your teeth, while splattering your neighbours with drops of a detergent resistant tomato sauce, will not be the impression you are seeking to create. Remember at very formal functions use the cutlery from outwards gravitating inwards-I learnt that little trick at university and it has never failed me.
Think of the dining scene involving snails in Pretty Woman just order food that is easy to eat. If there is set menu then you can relax because you will not have worry about choice.Most company functions these days either go for buffets or a set menu.
6. Pay your way
This can always be tricky don't assume that the company credit card is picking up the entire.If drinking alcohol then be sure to ask who is paying so there is no misunderstanding.
Also, if you just assume the company is paying, and leave before the end of the night, your work colleagues will end up picking up your share.
Likewise, when you are settling tabs, please don't quibble about the last 27pence, or say loudly, "but I only had a small coke to drink", when in fact you have a good share of several bottles of wine.
Hopefully, your business dining will now run at least a little smoother than before and you will gain a reputation as being good company and an asset to firm for which you work.

How To Order Wine In A Restaurant

Selecting wine to go with your meal in a restaurant need not be a daunting experience. In fact, servers in elegant restaurants are often very knowledgeable when it comes to wine and can make some good recommendations. Even so, it's a good idea to learn which wines go well with particular foods to enjoy the dining experience more fully.
A few general rules, and they are general because they have exceptions, are that red wines are good with vegetables and red meats and white wines are good with fish, poultry and salads. So red goes with red things and white goes with white things-easy to remember. These are general rules because for example the French vegetable dish ratatouille is made with white wine and a prosciutto salad is ideal with a red wine.
When eating foods that have mild flavours such as baked trout, quiche and risotto, delicate wines are the best choice. My list of favourite light wines includes Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Champagne. People's preferences often differ here. For example, I prefer dry wines with main dishes but some people prefer semi-sweet to sweet wines. It's simply a matter of taste.
When eating spicy and strong-flavoured dishes, it's important to choose a full-flavoured wine which will not be dominated by the dish. For dishes such as curry chicken, pepper steak and red hot chicken wings, delicate wines are out. Instead, choose wines that can compliment such dishes. Examples include Chablis, Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.
With salads, I recommend Sauvignon Blanc, especially if the salad has a light dressing. For pasta and pizza, I prefer Chianti, an excellent Italian wine, but many other wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz are also popular. For fish and chicken, Sauvignonlanc is an excellent choice, but if the fish and chicken are in a spicy sauce, smoked, barbecued and strong-flavoured, I prefer a full-flavoured wine such as Chablis. With strong-flavoured cheeses such as stilton or Danish blue, port is a great wine. Amazingly, the sweetness of the port and the strong aroma and flavour of a stilton and Danish blue complement each other extremely well. With foie gras, I recommend Champagne but many people prefer red wines such as Shiraz and Merlot. With desserts, I quite like the Hungarian Tokaj wine which King Louis XIV reputedly called "le roi des vins" and "le vin des rois" which means the king of wines and the wine of kings. Other excellent choices, though, include port and ice wine. Cabernet sauvignon is a popular choice for dark chocolate.
Many rules can be given for selecting which wines to match with particular dishes in a restaurant. The truth, though, is that people's tastes differ. Fortunately, it isn't necessary to be familiar with a vast number of wines to select an appropriate wine for a dish. The reason is that many wines are good with a great number of dishes and if you have a favourite wine, you may choose to order it with most dishes. The only way to truly learn which wines you prefer with particular dishes is to experiment and discover for yourself.