SparkyCentral

September 20th, 2005

How disappointing

Last year’s London Design Festival opening reception was a grand affair. In the British Museum, rubbing shoulders with untold artifacts stolen from all around the world, great canapés, bumping into all sorts of friends…

This year we were in the National Gallery, surrounded by gloomy and depressing paintings. There was nobody there of any interest, apart from some freaky Bride of Wildenstein look-a-like (Plastic surgery – don’t do it kids). The canapés consisted of endless miniscule lumps of over-cooked puff pastry with various different things added, none of which distracted from the over-cooked puff pastry. BN1 was necking the champagne at a furious rate, so we left before he lost it and attacked Van Gogh’s Sunflowers with a puff pastry missile.

This year’s guest of honour was the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who—unlike Prescott last year—sounded like he had thought about his speech before he turned up. He mingled too:

Even Tom Dixon’s bench made of elastic bands was particularly unimpressive. Sitting on it produced a distinct feeling of being precariously suspended, and fear of breaking my arse on Trafalgar Square had me standing up before you could say ‘boing’.

Roll on next year.

Categories: Fun, Day-job, Design