Anish Kapoor - Turning the world upside down



Anish Kapoor's exhibition Turning the World Upside-down is an amazing art experience, and set in Kensington Gardens, it's the perfect weekend outing.  

Listen to the report my colleague Mladen Petkov and I did on this unique exhibit.

Are bloggers anti-social geeks?

Andrew Marr recently claimed that bloggers are nothing but anti-social geeks. He also said they are "inadequate, pimpled and single loners who rant about the world from the safety of their mothers' basements".

To prove Mr. Marr wrong I spoke to devoted blogger Sienna Lewis. Sienna writes a dating blog and has even based a book on her blog called Intimate adventures of an office girl. She is shortly coming out with a sequel.

What does Sienna think about Andrew Marr's quite odd remark?



FA could do more to battle discrimination in football

Kick It Out, a UK charity that strives to battle inequality and racism in football, believes government bodies could do more.

Kevin Coleman, Grass Root Development Officer, says the Football Association (FA) could do more to reduce discrimination in football as a governing body.

He says that “the FA is made up by 65-year old white men” and that its structure should change to become more diverse.

In the 80’s and 90’s English football was synonymous with hooliganism and racism. It has now drifted towards homophobia, and discrimination of Asian rather than black players.

Whether the discrimination is related to racism, religion, sexual orientation or disability, Kick it Out is dedicated to raise awareness through campaigns and events all over the country.

As Mr. Coleman suggests, it does seem hopeful that with continuous co-operation with governing organisations and advisory boards as well as a restructure of FA, the mission to combat discrimination within the UK’s biggest national sport will be successful.

Chilling suspense and moving romance in Argentinian masterpiece

The secret is in their eyes was- 2010 year's Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film. The movie is directed by Juan Jose Campanella, and based on Eduardo Sacheri's novel La Pregunta de Sus Ojos (The Question in Their Eyes).

Retired legal counsellor (impressively portrayed by Ricardo Darin) is writing a novel hoping to find closure for an unresolved rape and murder case 25 years earlier.

We are taken back to the 70’s and the chilling hunt of a psychopath, leading us onto a dark journey driven by the quest of taking justice too far.

A central part of the drama is also unfulfilled love and Campanella uses the twin genres of the thriller in an excellent and intelligent way.

This is a well written, gripping, emotionally absorbing and beautifully made masterpiece.

The UK law of defamation threatens democratic rights

The fear of being sued for defamation can have a very negative effect on free speech.

The complexity of the law, the often very long duration of a defamation court cases, and the often huge costs involved, creates a situation where the majority of people avoid defamation trials.
This all migh lead to journalists becoming overcautious, which in turn leads to less investigative journalism and more self-censorship of powerful and influential people.

The risk of today's defamation law is that some corporations now use the threat of a legal action to restrict the actions of groups or individuals campaigning against their activities.
The responsibility of media to report to the public in a professional way, is crucial.  And it's obviously important to avoid that unfounded claims damage a person’s, or an organisation’s reputation.

However, it's at the same time crucial for the law to balance the protections of human rights, such as privacy, with the rights of freedom of expression - a critical element of a democratic society.

Openess is crucial

Instead of potecting people, the law prevents a constructive dialogue and debate to find the truth.

Published statements, including libellous ones, are as they should, open and available to be criticised, scrutinized and defended.

The most effective back-lash for telling lies is most likely loss of credibility.

The defamation law on the other hand, with its reliance on complex and costly court actions, does not encourage an open and democratic society.

Don’t go to Oxford Street



Oxford Street - the insanely busy and absolutely packed strip between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road would drive any normal human being mad. Still, it attracts over 200 million visitors each year.

Each big city has a tourist attraction or a famous area that seems to attract hoards of tourists; Time Square in New York City, or Fontana di Trevi in Rome.

The interesting thing with many of these places is that many don’t reflect over why they even go there. They visit simply because that’s what other people do.

After living three years in London, one of the places I try as hard as possible to avoid is Oxford Street.


You will not be able to walk faster than 0.1 mile per hour and you're constantly pushed around by overly excited shoppers from all around the world, not only there to bargain but to photograph each other outside every single shop.

Global brands such as H&M, GAP and Top Shop cash in hundreds of thousands of pounds daily and would probably call this paradise on earth. Do not fall into their trap, and do not follow the streams of tourists.


Outsmart the crowds

Amazing and fashionable shopping is right around the corner, whether you choose stylish Bond Street for high-end labels, or Regent Street for pretty much everything.

Here, your shoes will not be stepped off your feet; you will not spend 1,5 hour queuing up to pay, and you will come home remaining a sane person still believing in mankind.

The New York expression “bridge-and-tunnel”, describing suburban people coming in to the city, is the perfect expression for the only non-tourists going here.

Local Londoners tend to stay clear of Oxford Street, and so should you.

Fascinating Houses of Parliament makes Swedish Riksdag look bleak

Compared to the Swedish, modern (some might even say boring) Riksdag, the British Parliament comes across as a truly fascinating institution. 

The Brits are very proud of their history and traditions (and rightly so), and this is symbolised in many ways in their parliament traditions.

On the annual opening of the parliament, for example, I was amazed to learn that the Queen is wearing a crown and full decorations as she reads the legislature written by the Prime Minister.

Another example of century old traditions is that the red lines on the floor that run in front of the seats of the MPs are meant to be exactly two sword lengths apart. The MPs are still not allowed to cross these lines.

There is a tradition of openness and directness and the daily debates are loud and lively.

When members of the House of Commons don’t agree with the opponants, they simply shout “rubbish” off the top of their lungs.  

Spicing up the Riksdag

Maybe we Swedes could learn from the Brits to spice up and make our own parliament more interesting and show off our history.

Just imagine King Carl XVI Gustav swap his dark suit for a crown and a mink trimmed cloak at the next opening of the Riksdag.