Inhaling gin is a social object - discuss

Douglas Adams understood the many theraputic (and quintessentially English) benefits of a good Gin and Tonic. But his mantle has now passed to Bompass & Parr, previously best known for their fantastic jellymongers work.



I first came acros Bompass & Parr via my mate Nik Ramage, who (as far as I know has made the world's first, and best) jelly-wobbling machine. The jelly community is strong...



Anyway, I was lucky enough to be invited along to Bompass & Parr's Alcoholic Architecture installation on Friday night. And very entertaining it was too. The long and the short of it is that they've totally infused a basement room just off Carnaby St with Hendricks gin and tonic. After donning a protective suit (to keep your clothes gin-free) you're ushered into a room which is heavy with a sweet and sticky gin mist. And you simply breathe. Deeply.

It reminded me a slightly alcoholic version of Gormley's Blind Light installation. You can see about 6ft in front of your nose - occasionally making out the giant lime in the corner. Or the 6-foot decorative straw. Everyone's wearing head-to-toe white boiler suits. And everyone's asking everyone else if they feel a bit pissed yet.

Great fun. Hats off to Bompas & Parr for some fine entertainment.

More reviews on The Londonist and Around Britain with a Paunch, and some great pics on Flickr taken by Qype/Chris Osborn.

Spinvox Rocks

I've been using Spinvox on my iPhone for a few months now, and thought it worth a quick post. I'd always ignored Spinvox when it was shipped on my old Nokia's (on 3). Not quite sure why - but I've since learned how useful it is, after testing it prompted (in part at least) by this post from Mr Whatley.

(Pic by Imeldanz on Flickr)

It's a brilliantly simple tool: instead of you having to listen to a voicemail, Spinvox converts that voicemail to text, and then (err) texts it to you... It's a total godsend if you're in an important meeting and you're not sure whether the call coming in is more or less important than that meeting. A quick glance at the screen once it arrives answers that question. Nice.

Various friends and family have tried to trick the technology, and only barely succeeded. I'm now a fan - a bit like Sky+. Before you use it you don't know how useful it is. After you use it, you don't want to go back to your old ways.