More from Spoon & Tamago
Discover new artists, take home some new art and do it all for a good cause. The CAT POWER 2025 exhibition is back at Galerie LE MONDE in Harajuku, Tokyo—marking the return of its annual cat‑themed charity show, now in its 10th edition. illustration by Rina Yoshioka, who creates showa-era inspired imagery CAT POWER is […] Related posts: Illustrated Tokyo Storefronts by Mateusz Urbanowicz Bakers, Knitters and Illustrators are Remixing the 2025 Osaka Expo Logo New Imaginary Magazine Covers for the Tokyoiter
Imagine sitting on your toilet and getting a personalized health report sent straight to your phone. No clinic visit, no awkward conversations. Just data, insight, and… well, your poop. This isn’t science fiction anymore. Toilets in Japan have long been known for their innovation: heated seats, bidet functions, even calming sounds to mask noise. But […] Related posts: TOTO Launches Toilet Soccer Goalie TOTO’s Toilet Motorcycle Will Travel Japan Entirely on Biogas Narita Airport’s New Toilet Gallery is a Museum for Bathrooms
Originally composed as the main theme for Takeshi Kitano’s 1999 film Kikujiro, Joe Hisaishi’s timeless piece “Summer” has long been cherished in Japan as the soundtrack of nostalgic summer memories. Now, this beloved masterpiece is reimagined as a short film. Set in a high school in the Japanese countryside that’s slated to close next spring, […] Related posts: Japan Society Presents a Festival of New Japanese Film In the summer time our genitals become itchy Miss Hokusai: an animated film that tells the story of an artist lost in her father’s shadow
Tokyo-based artist Haneno Suzuki has a way of turning something everyday as paper into something completely unexpected in her solo exhibition “Playful Lines“, currently on view at (Place) by Method in Shibuya. Running from July 4th to 19th, 2025, the show invites visitors to explore a surprising world where paper becomes architectural and organic at […] Related posts: PAP Coffee in Harajuku is a Haven for Coffee and Paper Lovers Airvase: a free-sculpting paper vase Void and Solid: Katsumi Hayakawa Explores Architectural Density With Floating Paper City
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Rat on clock was discovered in 2019.
East Midlands quiz Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Derbyshire A) Bigsofa B) Rugbolt C) Nicercub D) Localmatch E) Glancearea F) Typeamaze G) Ringereach H) Yearntasted I) Gossipvalue J) Glazesurgery K) Cookproperly L) Dollarsweight M) Babywrapjacket Nottinghamshire N) Tiepigs O) Jobbribe P) Freshboat Q) Heavyhive R) Saganbulk S) Hispasture T) Openercost U) Simplymick V) Kanyespanwade W) Aboutmodelcar X) Directionhealthy Y) Schwarzenegger Z) Dividetimbertrees (answer in the comments box, and please no more than one guess each)
London's first holocaust memorial.
On 5th August 2024 London woke to the news that Banksy had painted a goat on a wall in Kew. Over the next eight days an entire menagerie emerged across the capital, and it filled the August silly season gap brilliantly. [original bloggage] Two of the animals vanished almost immediately, but I wondered how many of the remaining seven were still visible one year later. Monday 5th: Goat (Kew Green) And straight away it's a no. The goat had been painted on a wall facing the south end of Kew Bridge, part of the former Caxton Name Plate Manufacturing Company building. It was promptly covered by protective plastic but more recently the entire building's been covered with scaffolding so you can see nothing. And this is because it turns out Banksy painted his goat on a building with planning permission for a roof extension, and four new sash windows were proposed on this formerly blank wall. More pertinently the owners removed the goat in its entirety on 7th February, indeed there are fairly startling photos of workmen on a raised platform hacking out a huge chunk of the wall, so all the scaffolding's really shielding is a hole. Don't expect to see the goat again, it's proved a nice little earner. Tuesday 6th: Elephants (Chelsea) In good news this one's in better shape that last time I saw it. These two elephants appeared on an end terrace along Edith Grove in Chelsea, painted on two blanked out windows. Alas within a couple of days someone came along with a ladder and stuck lacy stripes over one of them, presumably thinking they were improving it, but thankfully that's since been carefully removed. The elephants are also the only surviving artwork not to have been screened over, thus now the least toyed-with. Wednesday 7th: Monkeys (Spitalfields) Imagine three monkeys dangling from the Overground viaduct crossing Brick Lane. You'll have to imagine because on 5th December contractors working for TfL arrived with a boom lift and jetwashed the lot of them. When pushed TfL said "unauthorised art can attract more graffiti, which encourages trespassing and anti-social activity that poses a danger to the operational railway and customers. This piece therefore had to be removed to prevent possible disruption", which on a street defined by colourful graffiti is plainly bolx. But if you look carefully the three monkeys are still there in vague outline, so they didn't do a very good job. Thursday 8th: Wolf (Peckham) Friday 9th: Pelicans (Walthamstow) I first saw this when it was fresh, two pelicans necking fish from Bonners chippy just north of Walthamstow High Street. It took a while to be shielded by plastic because the family were on their six week summer break when Banksy came and painted it. They're abroad again at present, returning Thursday 4th September, but the artwork's still safely in place and possibly the greatest of the bunch. If you come for a gander in the autumn be aware that a small bag of chips now costs £4.20 because art doesn't come cheap. Saturday 10th: Cat (Cricklewood) Sunday 11th: Piranhas (Ludgate Hill) This was my favourite, not least because I arrived so early that the social media rush hadn't yet arrived. I thus had the sentry box on Ludgate Hill entirely to myself, nipping in and out to admire the painted piranhas from both sides. The crowds came soon after, then a ring of protective barriers so nobody could get up close, than the City of London took steps to protect their property by removing the entire box and placing it off limits outside the Guildhall. It's still there but now shifted inside to an entrance corridor where presumably you can brush past it midweek, but I turned up on Sunday when the City sleeps so could only peer through the window. In good news this aquarium will be heading to the new London Museum when that opens next year. Monday 12th: Rhino (Charlton) This one's in a horrible location on an industrial estate near the Thames Barrier, accessed by dodging tipper trucks on a mucky street whose pavements are blocked by parked cars and vans. The first time I saw it an employee of RMS Skips was halfway through covering it with plastic sheeting and I'm pleasantly surprised to see that's still here, as is the artwork behind it. It's also still drawing Banksy fans because just before I arrived a driver wound down his window for an admiring glance, and just after I left another couple blocked the street in their Mondeo to take a shot too. Best drive rather than walk. Tuesday 13th: Gorilla (London Zoo) Banksy's final artwork was daubed on a shutter at the entrance to London Zoo. They soon decided it couldn't remain in situ because queues need to flow freely at the height of the summer holidays, so a replacement shutter was sourced and the original whisked inside the zoo. The first replacement included a replica of Gorilla & Friends, plus a sign alongside confirming it wasn't the original, so visitors still got to experience the magic. But I see they've now suspended the pretence because I turned up before 10am yesterday when the shutters were down and can confirm all three are now blank white. A clickable menagerie Goat (Kew): chunk of wall removed Elephants (Chelsea): in situ, undefiled Monkeys (Brick Lane): jetblasted to hell Wolf (Peckham): stolen within hours Pelicans (Walthamstow): in situ, behind perspex Cat (Cricklewood): removed within hours Piranhas (Ludgate): shifted inside Guildhall Rhino (Charlton): in situ, behind perspex Gorilla (London Zoo): shifted inside the zoo
Fringe shows, guided walks and a taco festival.