whale

there is a whale swimming up the River Thames at the moment!

it passed the London Eye about an hour ago...

(cannot seem to find online proof of this, but it was just on Radio 4 news)

14.34 p.m. -- Katharine found a news link from Reuters.

And here is a CD review from The Independent by Simon Price on Fiona Apple's Extraordinary:

'There is a legion of quirky, eccentric female singer-songwriters roaming the earth at present. Many of them are very good. A line, however, must be drawn and Fiona Apple is unequivocally on the wrong side of it. Her third album (her first won a Grammy) fails to deliver on the accompanying promises that she is an "uncompromising", "edgy" and "groudbreaking" artist. Rather than residing in Joanna Newsom/Regina Spektor territory, she belongs in the safer Sheryl Crowe/Jewel neighborhood. Worse still, she fails to engage the listener, with navel-gazing lyrical self-pity which makes you want to eat your own eyes.'

Vexed writing tone is marvelous.