Wednesday 7th January  9:25 am Good Morning

on today on tomorrow other dates...

Nelson's Column December Food for Thought 29th December 2006 West London eatery falsely labels food organic Naughty, naughty. Understated celeb eatery, Julie's, in Holland Park has been caught with its ethical trousers round its ankles, passing off common-or-garden sausages, chicken and lamb as organic. After a £7,500 fine (not to mention the adverse publicity) it’s unlikely they’ll be making the same mistake again. I can almost hear the outraged clucking of the west London set, indignant that they might have been fed an additive-ridden banger. Kensington and Chelsea Council said that the incident had led to a "betrayal of lifestyle" for consumers. Frankly the tale of someone losing their Oystercard inspires more sympathy. The thought of some waif (who really ought to be on a California-beach diet) and her banker boyfriend tucking blindly into a slab of battery meat - believing it has been reared with the same care as a cute kitten - makes me crack a smile, perhaps even giggle a bit. But then again aren’t the lifestyle choices of well-heeled restaurant patrons in West London as important as anybody else’s? Yet for the more cynically-minded amongst us, it just gets the brain ticking – where else am I getting diddled? Heard the one about the kebab shop serving up late-night meat snacks made from Trafalgar Square’s pigeons? Seen the headlines? ‘Fake designer goods seized on Bond Street’. ‘Shoreditch bar swaps Smirnoff for paint stripper’. And what about all the halal and kosher butchers – was that lamb really slaughtered by a bona fide rabbi? Has that cow been given a proper blessing? Sorting through the plump apples outside the organic grocers I get the same feeling I do when I stumble across Page Three of the Sun - these are all supposed to be natural but they’re so damn plump and perfectly formed. Suspicious, to say the least! So far removed are we from our food these days that we have to take people’s promises at face value. I can’t take a chemistry set down to the grocers to check for traces of pesticides, let alone examine a coffee bean for evidence of an ethical supply chain. The only way to know exactly where your food is coming from is to grow it yourself. And a small-holding off the north end of Portobello Road isn’t that practical is it? Although I hear David Cameron is thinking of installing one on his roof. At the end of the day, it’s unlikely that Julie’s were purposefully trying to fleece customers to cut costs. Chances are the usual organic supplier was out of stock that week and they just couldn’t be bothered to reprint the menus. But examples sometimes have to be made. Restaurants across the capital will now be more careful about how they’re labelling their food in future and maybe us diners will be asking more questions. Exhibition 7/7 Controversial artists Gilbert and George have produced a series of six artworks based on the 7/7 London terrorist attacks. 'Bomb, Bombs, Bomber, Bombers, Bombing and Terror' will form part of a retrospective of the artists’ work at the Tate Modern, opening on 15th February. Diana Tribute Concert Wembley Stadium is to host a concert commemorating the 10th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. Princes William and Harry will attend the ‘Concert for Diana’, scheduled for the 1st July 2007. The line-up is set to include Sir Elton John, Bryan Ferry and Duran Duran. Positive Thinking London students will be the first in the country to be given the chance to study the art of happiness. The University of East London’s new Positive Psychology degree course, starting in February 2007, follows on from the results of a study showing that the happier you are the longer you live. December 2008 23rd December January is on the Horizon 20th December Merry Christmas November 2008 26th November All The World's A Stage 20th November Surviving the Crunch October 2008 24th October Boris v Jingjing 17th October Soaps in Pole Position September 2008 23rd September Chips too Chavvy for Chelsea 16th September The London Restaurant Awards August 2008 26th August No Smoking, No Ducks, No Barbecues 20th August The Olympics July 2008 24th July Sandwiched Out 17th July The Show Ain't Over 'Til the Fat Lady's on Page 3 June 2008 26th June Love All at Wimbledon 16th June Miller Puts the Heat on Tennant May 2008 27th May Booze Banned on Buses 20th May Same Again? April 2008 23rd April By George 11th April Back to the 80s March 2008 28th March How do You Solve A Problem Like Medea? 20th March Flight Fantastic February 2008 20th February Dark, Satanic Turnmills 6th February A Diamond in the Drink January 2008 21st January People Wanted for Plinth 14th January Boo! Hiss! December 2007 28th December Tate That - A Hirst for Art 20th December Christmas Shopping November 2007 27th November Mind the Gap 26th November London On A Tray October 2007 26th October Leaving the Station 14th October The Sky's the Limit September 2007 26th September The Play Within A Play 19th September Fashion, Frocks and Celeb Shocks 12th September Saying Tanks for the Mammaries August 2007 24th August Heathrow under Siege 17th August Gormless 10th August Losing Face July 2007 24th July Are We Reaching Boiling Point Yet This Summer? 13th July Red Ken versus Blonde Boris June 2007 22nd June Last Orders at the Fag Machine 11th June London the Musical May 2007 21st May What Lurks Beneath 10th May The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of April 2007 27th April London’s Walk on the Wild Side 20th April Stand Behind the Yellow Line 13th April Like Water for Chocolate March 2007 23rd March So, Another Magazine 16th March Avoiding iContact February 2007 23rd February Sex and Art... 16th February C-Charge Protest Fails to Bring Down Government 9th February Live Earth London January 2007 26th January A Vote for Shilpa is a Vote for Britain 18th January Carriage on up the West End December 2006 29th December Food for Thought 22nd December A Poisonous Marketing Campaign 15th December In for a Penny, In for Five Pounds November 2006 17th November Big Department Stores Leave Santa Out in the Cold 10th November Failing to Save the World October 2006 27th October Frozen Prawns and Melting Icecaps 20th October Predatory Pelicans and Happy Woodland Folk 13th October Hope at last for east end of Oxford Street September 2006 16th September Lite the Blue Paper and Stand Well Back 9th September Of Poles and Twiglets August 2006 25th August Free Fares For the Fat and the Fashionable 11th August London Friendly 4th August Archway To Organic Heaven July 2006 21st July London - Celebrity Frat House 7th July Out of the Galleries into the Streets June 2006 23rd June Mayors, Nightmares and Marias 16th June Downright Rude in Paris and London 9th June Enter the Inferno May 2006 26th May Curvaceous Border 12th May Vegging Out April 2006 21st April The Camden Crawl 17th April Down the Pan 13th April I Want to Break Free 9th April Big Brother seems to have been left in a bar somewhere 7th April Don't Box Me In March 2006 24th March Political Correctness Reaches New Heights February 2006 24th February A Stadium's Tale: Cup Final Goes West 17th February Modern Musicals are Rubbish 10th February The City-Side Alliance January 2006 20th January February Sales 20th January Moby Sick 13th January Glass Half Full 3rd January Three Cheers for the Tube Station Workers December 2005 22nd December January Bites 16th December A Remarkable Year November 2005 25th November And a Partridge in a JCB 11th November Driving Miss Sadie 4th November Spam, Spam, Spammity-Spam, Shakespeare, Zorro, Chico and Rasputin October 2005 28th October Trick or Treat? 21st October We Don't Mind a Little Delay... 14th October Final Resting Place for Young British Artists September 2005 16th September Just a small urn for me, please barman 9th September DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!