In London, through a glass brilliantly: The writer and faculty member Alain de Botton, right, seen through the School of Life’s storefront window, which features a photo of him, left.
LONDON — The School of Life, which just opened here, is the sort of place that would welcome the news out of Bari, Italy, the other day. A certain Dr. Marina de Tommaso, leading a team of Italian colleagues, recently asked a dozen young men and women to choose 20 attractive pictures and 20 ugly ones from several hundred works of art. The volunteers stared at said images while being zapped with a laser beam that caused them mild pain.
The intensity of their suffering, it turned out, diminished while they gazed at a Leonardo or a Botticelli or at van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” It persisted before Picasso and Fernando Botero.
Beauty makes you feel better, Dr. de Tommaso concluded, notwithstanding that Edvard Munch’s “Scream” muddied the results: some volunteers found it beautiful, others not so much, proving the different scientific point that everyone’s an art critic.
Sophie Howarth is director of the School of Life. She likes to call this storefront school in Bloomsbury “an apothecary of the mind.” Adults enroll in courses on love, politics, family and play. They may take an instructional tour of the M1 motorway or spend an overnight snooping around Heathrow Airport (staying in a Japanese capsule hotel) with the best-selling author Alain de Botton as guide, lecturing about the art of travel.
There are also bibliotherapists on call, dispensing literary advice; consultants to recommend the most agreeable route for a nighttime walk through the London neighborhood of Brixton; and group meals to enhance conversational skills.
One recent afternoon a line formed on the sidewalk outside the school. Dozens of people were waiting for impromptu private therapy sessions, on a leopard-spotted chaise longue, with David Gale, an actor who described himself as a “nonpsychotherapist.” Strangers revealed their secrets to him anyway.
It may all sound like a big metaprank, but the school is perfectly sincere. The ambition is to offer a road map to a fuller life — secular and interior, not religious — toward which end a sense of humor helps. For reticent Britons, disinclined to emote in public, it’s a kind of lubricant.
Whimsy being in short supply these days, every little bit helps, especially here. The $200 million Damien Hirst auction at Sotheby’s in September, when the world financial markets imploded, summed up the local climate. London has become a greedy city.
The school, too, is looking to turn a profit. (Courses cost about $350 each.) But it’s the earnest brainchild of various London writers, artists and friends — Geoff Dyer, the writer, among them. Like Mr. de Botton, he belongs to the faculty, and is scheduled to deliver a lecture ( “sermon” in school speak) this fall on punctuality.
The other day, apropos of the Esalen Institute in California, and the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Colorado, he said the School of Life, by contrast, existed “in a postideological vacuum, in the wake of the thing that Margaret Thatcher said didn’t exist: society.”
“It’s maybe part of the attempt to rebuild a notion of society,” Mr. Dyer continued.
Ms. Howarth, its 33-year-old director, frowned when a visitor wondered aloud if it were instead a kind of twee Learning Annex for those who wouldn’t be caught dead at the Learning Annex. McSweeney’s, the American literary enterprise with an educational component, was the comparison she preferred.
“The alchemy of learning involves making ideas theatrical,” she explained, before a large round table in the school’s basement classroom (“our Wonderworld,” Ms. Howarth called it). The walls were decorated with Lewis Carroll-like scenes by Charlotte Mann, an artist.
“Design is not a trivial part of the enjoyment of how you learn,” Ms. Howarth continued. “There’s a snootiness in the culture sphere around teaching ‘relevance.’ We have spent a lot of time talking to psychotherapists about the questions people really care about, so that we can provide a broader mental apparatus to decide when you wake up in the morning whether to park on the yellow line or to make up with your dad.”
Mr. de Botton sees such instruction as responding to a specifically English problem. On the one hand, he said, there is the exclusionary elitism of ancient higher education. On the other, for English people, “sitting down and talking with strangers about emotional things is taboo, and so we use wit at the school because wit is what the English use when they want to talk about something serious, like the soul.”
Along which lines the school occupies not a formal campus but a modest shop on busy Marchmont Street in Bloomsbury among neighborhood hairdressers, closet-size newsstands and cheap restaurants. The Pasha spa and clinic is nearby, as is a store called Gay’s the Word. The aforementioned chaise beckons from just inside the school’s front window, inviting passers-by to recline with a book purchased from the select few shelves that Ms. Howarth daily organizes by shifting categories. (The other morning the categories included “Things to Learn About Sex” and “For Those Who Worry About Death.”)
The design scheme involves tasteful variations of beige and taupe, along with a few artfully arranged birch trunks. With its bookshelves and a glass cabinet stocked with knickknacks, it looks much more like a curiosity shop than like a school.
Leaning on that old wonder-cabinet idea, the school sells $1.50 postcards of airplanes (an AvAtlantic Boeing 727 on the tarmac at Fort Lauderdale, dated 1992); $10 bottles of “I Love You” Marmite; and posters printed with aphorisms by, among others, Voltaire and Mae West. (“Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.”) The frugal can take Tunnock’s Milk-Chocolate Coated Caramel bars, in shiny gold and red wrappers, free from a glass jar.
“The school is sort of pointless, like art, culture, sport and many of the other good things in life,” is how Mr. Dyer put it. “We English don’t have your excellent American assumption that the purpose of life is to be happy, that the waiters in restaurants should bring us exactly the food we want, promptly and gladly. We have a much more stoic or Soviet attitude. So the school is a way either of making us happier, i.e., more American, or helping us make an accommodation with the shortcoming of our lot.”
London already offers adult evening classes in women’s self-defense, Indian cooking and Hegel. They’re often a good excuse to unwind at the pub afterward. In a way, Mr. Dyer suggested, the school brings the pub’s charm into the classroom.
Charm, like taste, is a matter of opinion, of course. So far the charm of the school seems to be working. More than 1,000 Londoners turned up on opening day, Sept. 6. Spots in Mr. de Botton’s Heathrow holiday and a two-day jaunt to the Isle of Wight with the photographer Martin Parr quickly disappeared. For optimists, the coincidence of the school’s arrival with the banking collapse and Mr. Hirst’s auction hinted at a possible, if slight, turning point in the city’s ethos.
“At the School of Life, we’re not necessarily trying to take the pain out of life,” Ms. Howarth said — she now had that Bari study on beauty in mind, which she said she did welcome — “but rather to ensure that most of us have the resources to act wisely in the face of inevitable challenges and hurdles.”
“By the way,” she added, referring to the books for sale in the store, “we’ve just put up two new shelves.”
The latest category: “For Those Feeling the Credit Crunch.”
The Royal Pavilion was built by the Prince Regent in the early 19th century.
NOT long ago, the English port town of Brighton was considered louche and seedy, a has-been resort with crumbling piers and weathered hotels for so-called dirty weekends. But with cosmopolitan London just an hour away, it was a matter of time before this funky town regained its color. In recent years, chic Londoners have rediscovered Brighton’s lanes and Regency-style buildings, turning it into what’s now called “the gay capital of England." When the weekend rolls around, London’s media and design elites arrive in a caravan of Jaguars, check into boutique hotels and disappear into dance-till-dawn clubs. The scene is reminiscent of Miami Beach, except it is the chilly English Channel at the end of the boardwalk.
Friday
5 p.m.
1) PIER-LESS PROMENADE
Join the crowd in what is practically a mandatory Brighton tradition: the sunset promenade. Troll, drink and play along the pebbled shores that have been keeping Londoners happy and cold for three centuries. The half mile between the wave-swept ruins of the old West Pier to the alive-and-kicking Brighton Pier is one of the most celebrated strolls in the English-speaking world.
6 p.m.
2) PUB HOP
The colorful labyrinth of alleys known as the Lanes District is an ideal spot for people-watching over a pint of ale and plate of local grub. The area around Brighton Place has three memorable pubs. The Druid’s Head (9 Brighton Place; 44-1273-325-490) is in a cozy 16th-century building with enough dark wood to keep potential druids happy. It also serves a juicy plate of roasted pork in cider sauce (£6.95, or $12.70 at $1.83 to the pound). The Sussex, in a yellow Georgian house (33-34 East Street; 44-1273-327-591), serves a hearty steak and ale pie (£6.99). Wash that down with a pint of Old Speckled Hen ale (£2.83). And if you’re hankering for fish and chips, follow the pre-clubbers to the Market Inn (1 Market Street; 44-1273-329-483; www.reallondonpubs.com) whose outdoor tables are ideal for watching Brighton go by.
8 p.m.
3) HOUSE OF ABBA
Pay tribute to rock legends at the Brighton Dome, (29 New Road; 44-1273-709-709; www.brightondome.org), a former horse stable turned concert hall where Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd have performed, and where Abba was introduced to the world at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. Coming concerts include Art Garfunkle (Oct. 6) and the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, performing covers of the Sex Pistols and others (Oct. 19). If you’re lucky enough to be here in May, the Dome hosts the innovative Brighton Festival.
Saturday
10 a.m.
4) ROYAL ROMP
Two centuries have not diminished the hedonism and extravagance of the Royal Pavilion (Pavilion Buildings; 44-1273-290-900; www.royalpavilion.org.uk), a gleaming multidomed Xanadu that was built by the Prince Regent in the early 19th century before he was crowned King George IV. This Indian-inspired palace features gilded palm trees, soaring minarets and riotously-painted chinoiserie. Pay attention to the fantastical dragon chandelier in the dining room, so lifelike that diners reportedly trembled, and the elaborate steam-powered kitchen, a modern marvel of its time. For a decadent, Regency-era brunch, stop by the Queen Adelaide Tearoom, a serene rooftop cafe that serves potted shrimp, a traditional dish of shrimp stewed in mace-flavored butter (£6.95) and spiced English lamb with apple chutney (£7.95).
1 p.m.
5) WORSHIPING ART
For a more modern outlook, stop by Fabrica (40 Duke Street; 44-1273-778-646; www.fabrica.org.uk), a Regency-era church converted into a contemporary art gallery. Four artists are selected every year to transform the vaulted interiors into often outlandish installation pieces. Past works have included a real meadow planted where the pews once stood; and a dense tubular forest of compressed wood. Coming is a 59-foot-long collage of modern war images, "The Incommensurable Banner," by the Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn.
3 p.m.
6) PAGING MISS HAVISHAM
Looking for rare books, dueling pistols or high-tech vibrators? You’ll find them in the twisting alleyways that make up the districts of Lanes and North Laine. Favorite shops include Fidra Jewelers (47 Meeting House Lane; 44-1273-328-348; www.fidra.com), an Aladdin’s cave of Victorian, Edwardian and Art Deco baubles that is replenished often. The Lanes Armoury (26 Meeting House Lane; 44-1273-321-357; www.thelanesarmoury.co.uk) sells weapons of mass desirability, including a Thompson submachine gun (£545). And for those still spinning vinyl, the Record Album (8 Terminus Road; 44-1273-323-853; www.therecordalbum.com) has a trove of rare and quirky albums in mint condition, including the Japanese version of the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” soundtrack (£50).
5 p.m.
7) REMAINS OF THE DAY
It may look like a kitschy tourist trap today, but the Brighton Pier (www.brightonpier.co.uk) endures as one of England’s last great beach piers. Take a stroll along the seemingly endless boardwalk, a foam-topped feast of fish and chips, Victorian beer halls and gut-churning thrill rides. Although many of its attractions are joyously low-rent, it’s hard not to be awed.
8 p.m.
8) DIVINE WINES
You won’t find a lot of fish and chips at the Hotel du Vin Bistro (2-6 Ship Street; 44-1273-718-588; www.hotelduvin.com), one of Brighton’s glittering new restaurants and a favorite with English celebrities. On a recent visit, this congenial, clubby restaurant was packed with stylish Londoners in designer T-shirts and jeans, nibbling on modern Continental dishes like brioche topped with chicken liver and foie gras parfait, and grilled cod with chorizo. Dinner for two, about £80.
11 p.m.
9) DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY
A necklace of clubs dot the shoreline, and no one bats an eye when men in sequined dresses or women in business suits cuddle on the dance floor. The reigning hot spot is currently is Concorde2 (2 Madeira Drive, 44-1273-673-311, www.concorde2.co.uk) an old Victorian tearoom where up-and-comers and acts like Amy Winehouse (who recorded here) and the Foo Fighters play. Don’t be surprised if everyone takes a midnight swim in the sea, just 100 yards away. Other spots include Digital Brighton (187-193 Kings Road Arches; 44-1273-227-767; www.yourfutureisdigital.com ) for electronic music, and the Brighton Coalition (171-181 Kings Road Arches; 44-1273-726-858; www.drinkinbrighton.co.uk/brightoncoalition), a new club that plays Latin, techno and remix pop until dawn.
Sunday
Noon
10) PRESSED FOR SUCCESS
Brighton’s clubbers and cognoscenti rejuvenate at the Redroaster Coffee House (1d St. James’s Street; 44-1273-686-668) a Valhalla of caffeine where the croissants are fresh-baked and the coffee comes out of burlap sacks. Plop down on a sofa and order a pot of French pressed coffee (starting at £2.30 a pot). Everything is roasted and ground on the spot. Who says England is a nation of tea drinkers?
1 p.m.
11) COASTAL RAILS
Chug down memory lane. Volk’s Electric Railway (www.volkselectricrailway.co.uk) has been in operation since 1883, making it one of the oldest continuously running trains in the world. If the weather is good, grab an outside seat while this wooden Victorian contraption makes its way along Brighton beach, past bohemian Kemp Town, the sculptural Peter Pan’s playground, and a nudist stretch tucked behind a mound of pebbles. Does Brighton really have anything left to hide?
THE BASICS
The nearest major airport is London Gatwick. Flights started at $628 from Kennedy Airport this month, according to a recent online search. From Gatwick, the Southern Railway (44-8451-27-2920; www.southernrailway.com) has roughly half-hour connections to Brighton (£ 20 round trip, $36.60 at $1.83 to the pound). From Heathrow Airport, take the tube to Victoria Station in Central London and catch the hour-long Southern Railway train (about £30 round trip).
Celebrities and well-heeled Londoners stay at the Hotel du Vin (2-6 Ship Street; 44-1273-718-588, www.hotelduvin.com), a 37-room hotel in the Lanes District near the beach. Housed in a mock Tudor building from 1934, it features enormous bathrooms, a lively bar and an excellent brasserie. Doubles from £170.
The Grand Brighton (97-99 Kings Road; 44-1273-224-300; www.devere-hotels.com) is the Queen Mother of beachfront hotels. Fans of the film “Quadrophenia” will recognize it as the place where Sting played a busboy. Doubles from £100 with breakfast.
The Twenty One (21 Charlotte Street; 44-1273-686-450; www.thetwentyone.co.uk), a seven-room bed-and-breakfast in the central district of Kemp Town, is run by a stylish couple who are a font of local knowledge. Doubles from £85 with breakfast.
前進英國省錢大作戰 - Less $$ can be more
朋友們，我們談點「前進英國省錢大作戰」。既然，我們稱這番「
省錢方面，每人的經驗和所知道的，都可能很局部或容易他人，
先談「目的-目標」 。我想，我們「前進英國」的目的，最需要先想清楚：我這趟遠行，
目的決定之後，我們要利用現在方便的資訊計畫，
在「戰略」層面上，譬如說，環島旅行，
對於喜歡讀書或收集古董等朋友，到英國當然不可入寶山空回，
由於學習英文要花一輩子的功夫，我們應該將這當成戰略，
在「戰術」方面，應該採取厚臉皮，凡事多問人，多向人請教，
平常學校餐廳有折扣，我們應該多利用，這樣既可以真正了解「
置衣方面，如果你選用他們的一般產品，可能是物美價廉，
我認為凡到一新地方，都要享受當地人的理容服務，這，在英國，
總之，我對"Less $$ can be more"的看法很簡單，即，就「目的-目標」而言，
--
鍾 漢清
Hanching Chung (or HC/ hc)
| 鄭登貴 | Cheng, Teng-Kuei |
| 職稱 Title | 講座教授 Regius professor |
| 學歷 Education | 英國劍橋大學 動物生理學研究所 博士 Ph.D., Cambridge Univ. (UK ) |
| Cream Tea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cream tea, composed of scones, clotted cream and raspberry jam. | |
| Origin information | |
| Alternate name(s) : | Devonshire tea Cornish cream tea |
| Country of origin : | England |
| Region or state : | South West England |
| Dish information | |
| Main ingredient(s) : | Tea Scones Clotted cream Strawberry jam |
| Variations : | Multiple |
A Cream tea, Devonshire tea or Cornish cream tea[1] is tea taken with a combination of scones, clotted cream, and jam.
Cream teas are offered for sale in tea rooms throughout England (especially the South West) and rest of the Commonwealth, or wherever someone wants to give an impression of English influence.
In the United States it is promoted as a typically English afternoon snack.
The name "Devonshire tea"[2] comes from the county of Devon in England, where it is a local speciality. The exact origin of "cream tea" is disputed, although there is evidence to suggest that the tradition of eating bread with cream and jam already existed at Tavistock Abbey in Devon in the 11th century[3].
There are regional variations within England as to how a cream tea should preferably be eaten. The Devonshire (or Devon) method is to split the scone in two, cover each half with clotted cream, and then add strawberry jam on top. Traditionally it is important that the scones be warm (ideally, freshly baked), the cream be clotted (not whipped), and the jam be strawberry (although raspberry jam is rarely used as an alternative). Butter should never be included, and the tea should be served with milk.[4][5]
In Cornwall, the cream tea was traditionally served with a "Cornish split", a type of sweet white bread roll, rather than a scone.[6]. The warm roll (or scone) should first be buttered, then spread with strawberry jam, and finally topped with a spoonful of Cornish clotted cream.[5]
Another variation to a cream tea is called "Thunder and Lightning" which consists of a round of bread, topped with clotted cream and golden syrup, honey or treacle.[1]. This variation is not commonly found in parts of England outside Cornwall.
Within 10 years it's estimated that two-billion people will be studying English, and about half the world, that's some three-billion people will be speaking it. Not much of an incentive there for native English-speakers to learn other people's languages or is there?
Carol Allen's thoughts from London.
Richard Wright, the keyboardist whose somber, monumental sounds were at the core of Pink Floyd’s art-rock that has sold millions and millions of albums, died Monday in London, where he had lived. He was 65.
Pink Floyd’s original lineup, shown in 1967, included, from left, Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Syd Barrett and Richard Wright.
Mr. Wright performing with Pink Floyd at Live 8 London.
The cause was cancer, said his publicist, Claire Singers.
Mr. Wright was a founding member of Pink Floyd, and his spacious, somber, enveloping keyboards, backing vocals and eerie effects were an essential part of its musical identity.
Though Syd Barrett and then Roger Waters wrote most of Pink Floyd’s songs, Mr. Wright shares credit on the improvisatory psychedelic studio works the band composed collectively, and he sang a few lead vocals, including on “Astronomy Domine” from the band’s debut album, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.”
Mr. Wright was the sole songwriter on “The Great Gig in the Sky,” a hymnlike track with a soaring, wordless female vocal at the center of “The Dark Side of the Moon,” the blockbuster 1973 Pink Floyd album that has sold some 40 million copies.
David Gilmour, Pink Floyd’s guitarist and singer, said in a statement on Monday: “In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick’s enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognized Pink Floyd sound.”
Mr. Wright was born in London in 1943 and taught himself to play keyboards, developing an early interest in jazz. He attended a school for haberdashers then studied architecture at the Regent Street Polytechnic College.
With fellow students at Regent Street — Mr. Waters on guitar or bass and Nick Mason on drums — he started a group, at first playing American rhythm-and-blues songs. Mr. Barrett joined them in 1965, reshaping the music and naming the band The Pink Floyd Sound, after the American bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
Mr. Barrett’s whimsical, asymmetrical songs and the band’s fondness for experimental sounds placed it at the center of London’s underground psychedelic movement in the mid-1960s. “Music was our drug,” Mr. Wright once told an interviewer.
“The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” was released in 1967 and yielded pop hits in England, but LSD use and mental illness made Mr. Barrett so unstable that he left Pink Floyd in 1968. He recorded two solo albums; Mr. Wright and Mr. Gilmour produced the second one, “Barrett,” in 1970. Mr. Barrett died in 2006, at the age of 60.
Pink Floyd’s late-1960s and early-’70s albums mingled pop songs with extended pieces, like the 23-minute “Echoes,” which begins with single notes from Mr. Wright’s keyboard, on 1971’s “Meddle.”
On the 1969 album, “Ummagumma,” which includes solo studio recordings by each band member, Mr. Wright’s four-part “Sisyphus” encompasses a majestic dirge with tympani, a piano piece that moves from rippling impressionism to crashing free jazz, a clattery interlude for keyboards and percussion, and a mostly elegiac improvisation with organ, guitar, tape effects and birdcalls.
With “The Dark Side of the Moon,” Pink Floyd reined in its improvisation, came up with a concept album about workaday pressures and insanity and established itself as an arena-rock staple. The album stayed in the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 741 weeks. Pink Floyd continued to thrive through the 1970s, and Mr. Wright released his first solo project, “Wet Dream,” in 1978. Pink Floyd’s 1979 album, “The Wall,” eventually sold 23 million copies in the United States.
But there were conflicts within the band. Mr. Waters, who had increasingly taken control of Pink Floyd, reportedly threatened not to release “The Wall” unless Mr. Wright resigned his full membership in the band. Mr. Wright quit, only to tour with Pink Floyd in 1980-81 as a salaried sideman. He does not appear on the band’s 1983 album, “The Final Cut.”
After that album, Mr. Waters left Pink Floyd for a solo career, declaring the band a “spent force creatively.” Amid lawsuits, Mr. Gilmour and Mr. Mason regrouped under the Pink Floyd name; Mr. Wright rejoined them for the 1987 album “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” and “The Division Bell” in 1994.
He made another solo album, “Broken China,” in 1996, with Sinead O’Connor among the guest performers.
Mr. Wright, who was married three times, is survived by three children, Benjamin, Gala and Jamie; and one grandchild.
In interviews in 1996, Mr. Wright said he had not spoken to Mr. Waters for 14 years. Mr. Wright played keyboards on Mr. Gilmour’s 2006 album, “On an Island,” and went on tour with Mr. Gilmour’s band.
Pink Floyd’s 1970s lineup reunited briefly at the Live 8 London concert in Hyde Park on July 2, 2005, performing four songs before sharing a hug.
平克·佛洛伊德（Pink Floyd）是一支英國搖滾樂隊，成立於1965年。風格偏電子和迷幻搖滾， 他們不斷的演化成一支先鋒搖滾樂隊。他們哲學化的歌詞、聲音實驗、不斷創新的CD封面藝術和精心設計的現場表演都聞名於世。作為樂隊最成功和最具影響力的 一件事情是，他們的專輯在全世界範圍售出有2.5億張，全美國範圍有7千3百萬張。 平克·佛洛伊德于60年代晚期在Syd Barrett的帶領下在迷幻搖滾方面已經比較成功，但是Syd Barrett的古怪行為迫使他的同伴們不得不用吉他手兼歌手David Gilmour來替換了他。在Syd Barrett離開之後歌手兼貝司手Roger Waters逐漸成為了樂隊的領導者和主創者。在Roger Waters的領導下樂隊錄製了數張唱片，並且以1973年的《月之暗面》、1975年的《願你在此》、1977年的《動物》和1979年的《迷牆》取得了世界性的成功。1985年Roger Waters宣布平克·佛洛伊德解散，但是樂隊其他的成員在Gilmour的帶領下繼續用原本樂隊的名字錄音、巡迴演出，同時也享受著巨大的商業成功。最終和Roger Waters達成協議繼續使用平克·佛洛伊德這個名字。
目錄[隱藏] |
樂隊初期的靈魂人物是熙德·巴瑞特。他于1965年同理察·賴特，羅傑·沃特斯和尼克·梅森創立了樂隊並奠定了此後的樂風。當時他們推崇兩位布魯斯樂手平克·安德森和佛洛伊德·康塞爾，於是將兩人的姓名各取一部作為樂隊的名字。1967年平克·佛洛伊德推出了第一張專輯，名為《破曉的笛手》，獲得了很大成功，這被認為是英國第一張迷幻搖滾專輯。1968年吉他手大衛·吉默加入樂隊。但與此同時巴瑞特卻受到精神疾病和藥物的影響而逐漸退出樂隊。羅傑·沃特斯承擔接替巴瑞特作為創作人的角色。
在推出了幾張不很出名的專輯後，平克·佛洛伊德于1973年推出了《月之暗面》。 這張專輯獲得極其巨大的成功，成為搖滾樂史上的一個裡程碑，專輯在美國排行榜上連續上榜591周，總計上榜741周，為有史以來占據Billboard最 高週數之專輯。總計全球銷量至今已超過4000萬張，為人類音樂史上前五暢銷之唱片。《月之暗面》是一張概念性專輯，唱片中的曲目都圍繞著現代生活中的壓力這個主題。相當的曲目也涉及到了精神疾病的內容。
1975年他們又出了一張新的專輯《Wish you were here》。此唱片獻給已經離隊的巴瑞特。此唱片和1977年發行的《動物》同樣獲得了英美排行第一的好成績。同時沃特斯的曲風也繼續貫徹樂隊。
1979年，平克·佛洛伊德發行了《迷牆》。這是一張搖滾歌劇性質的雙唱片，總長一個半小時，大部分由沃特斯撰寫。唱片講述了一個英國歌手從孩童起的成長過程，被認為帶有沃特斯的自傳的影子。主人公父親陣亡于二戰，從小失去父親的主人公在嚴酷刻板，摧殘個性的教育制度下成長，逐漸個人同外界築起一座阻隔交流的高牆。最後在《審判》曲目中，高牆被推倒，結束曲《牆外》表現主人公重新回到社會後的迷茫和無助。
《迷牆》造就了平克·佛洛伊德的頂峰。成了西方文化的一個經典作品。專輯本身被改編成電影，由阿倫·派克執導，鮑勃·戈爾多夫主演。
但隨著樂隊的成功，隊員之間的不和也開始顯現，由於沃特斯越來越成為樂隊的主宰，他同吉默的關係也逐漸惡化。
1983年，在樂隊推出了《The final cut》後，平克·佛洛伊德的成員開始各自出專輯。樂隊事實上處於解散狀態。1987年吉默和梅森重組樂隊，但沃特斯並未參加。此後吉默，賴特和梅森繼續以平克·佛洛伊德的名義演出和錄製唱片。他們的最後一張唱片是1994年的《The Division Bell》，商業上仍然獲得很大成功，再次獲得英美排行榜雙料榜首的成績。
2005年7月2日，經過20年的分裂後，平克·佛洛伊德的所有成員－包括沃特斯，決定捐棄前嫌，于現場八方倫敦演唱會上同台演出。他們共演唱了四首歌：Breathe/Breathe Reprise、Money、Wish You Were Here和Comfortably Numb。
Artist: Pink Floyd
Song: Wish You Were Here
So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue skys from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade
Your heros for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found?
The same old fears.
Wish you were here.
英ロックバンド、ピンク・フロイド（Pink Floyd）の創設メンバーでキーボードのリチャード・ライト（Richard Wright）さん（右、1998年6月9日撮影）。(c)AFP/PATRICK HERTZOGTA[ src="http://www2.afpbb.com/image/spacer.gif" />
【9月16日 AFP】英ロックバンド、ピンク・フロイド（Pink Floyd）の創設メンバーでキーボード担当のリチャード・ライト（Richard Wright）さんが15日、死去した。65歳。2008年9月16日11時22分
リチャード・ライトさん（右）と「ピンク・フロイド」のメンバー、デビッド・ギルモアさん（左）、ニック・メイスンさん（中央）＝８８年撮影、ＡＰ
英ロックバンド「ピンク・フロイド」の発足メンバーのリチャード・ライト氏が、英メディアによると、１５日、英国の自宅で死去。６５歳。晩年はがんを患っていた。
６０年代にシド・バレット、ロジャー・ウォーターズ、ニック・メイスンと「ピンク・フロイド・サウンド」（後のピンク・フロイド）を結成しデビューし た。キーボードプレーヤーとして活躍。７３年発表のアルバム「ダーク・サイド・オブ・ザ・ムーン（狂気）」で世界のロック界で不動の地位を確立した。一 時、グループから離脱した時期もあったが、８７年再加入した。（時事）
最新的索德斯科大学生活（Sodexho University Lifestyle）年度调查发现，75%的大学本科生认为，读书能提高就业前景。60%的人则表示，获得更高的工资是他们学习的动力。
四年前，在2004年的调查结果却显示了一个不同的局面：当年只有36%的学生将读书与未来赚更多的钱联系在一起。
2006年9月，英国大学开始实施收费。如今，63%的学生毕业后通常会负债一万英镑，近20%的学生则会面临两万英镑的学费债务。
特别效用
调查说，这些债务迫使大学生更多考虑在毕业后赚钱，以便偿还债务，客观上增添了学习的动力，比家长和老师的谆谆教导管用多了。
英国布拉德福德大学（University of Bradford）管理系副主任萨莉·巴罗斯（Sally Burrows）说，以前社交被认为是大学生活的很大一部分，现在则被刻苦学习替代了。
“他们社交更少了、饮酒也减少了，很少逃课，而是更担心学习成绩，因为这关系到他们今后能否在竞争激烈的就业市场上获得成功。”
本次调查针对两万名本科生进行。调查说，2006年，44%的本科生通常会在某个社交日中花费五个小时以上，如今这一比例下降至14%。
此外，表示从不喝酒的学生也从21%上升至23%。《衛報》的一片文章說，由於油價上漲，促使塑料產品的回收擴大。 文章說，隨著威爾士一家新工廠得到批准上馬，英國將可能把它的塑料回收能力提高百分之50。 文章說定於明年10月開工的這家工廠可以回收大約5萬噸的塑料瓶和奶瓶等製品，並把它們製造成可以用來包裝食品的塑料包裝。 該報道說，目前在英國回收塑料產業正在擴大，尤其是最近的油價高企，更促進了塑料產品的回收量。
· UK capacity to rise by half as Welsh plant is approved
· Firm says buyers already lined up for 60% of output
Britain's plastic bottle recycling capacity will rise by 50% as a new £12m plant gets the go-ahead. Closed Loop Recycling, which claims its Dagenham recycling facility is the first in the world to take both milk bottles and clear drink bottles and turn them back into plastic suitable to package food, has won approval for a second and bigger site in Wales.
The Deeside plant, in Flintshire, which is set to open in October next year, will recycle 50,000 tonnes of water, milk and other soft drink bottles that might otherwise have gone to landfill or been exported, turning them back into plastic suitable to make new bottles.
The project is funded with cash from the private equity firm Foresight Group, a bank loan from Allied Irish Bank and about £1m in public-sector funding from the Welsh Assembly. The company is already working on plans for a third plant, which could be up and running by the end of 2010 and wants up to five facilities in the next five years.
Closed Loop has already got buyers for more than 60% of the plastic it will produce from the Welsh plant including major brands such as Coca-Cola, Britvic and the milk bottle manufacturers Nampak and Logoplaste.
All the 35,000 tonnes of plastic recyclate that will be produced annually by its first plant in Dagenham has already been sold to companies including Marks & Spencer and the packaging manufacturer Solo Cup. That plant, which officially opened in June, is already recycling plastic but does not expect to produce food-grade material for about a month.
Plastics recycling in the UK is booming. The number of bottles collected by local authorities has shot up nearly 70% in the past year giving processing businesses increased security of supply.
The industry has also been boosted by high oil prices, which have pushed up the value of plastic recyclate and virgin resin by about 10% in the past year. Virgin resin is now worth about £950 a tonne and recyclate only 5% less.
Much of the UK's waste plastic, however, is still shipped to plants in the far east for recycling, significantly enlarging the carbon footprint of the process.
Chris Dow, managing director of Closed Loop, said: "This is a sector that people want to invest in because it is growing. The consumer is asking the retailer, 'Are you using recycled material in that?' and the rising price of oil is a good thing for the recycling industry."
However, Dow said that despite rising demand, there were still a number of UK local authorities that did not collect plastic bottles, which is one of the easiest sources of plastic to recycle.
"Councils collecting at the kerbside are getting a big contribution that can reduce council taxes," Dow said. "Not collecting plastic is tantamount to neglect."
Marcus Gover, director of market development at the government-backed Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), welcomed Closed Loop's new facility in Wales. He said: "The more capacity we have to recycle plastics, the better because each tonne of plastic recycled can save as much as 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent."
He said that if all 13bn plastic bottles used every year in the UK were recycled it would save a total of about 785,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, the same as taking 250,000 cars off the road.
Gover added that it was particularly good to be able to turn waste bottles back into new bottles. "As far as WRAP is concerned, this closed-loop recycling is the holy grail of plastic bottle recycling," he said.
The Welsh plant will be supplied by the waste recovery firm Veolia Environmental Services, which will source plastic bottles from dozens of local authorities in Wales and the north-west of England.
尚有20萬人次預定了XL出遊計劃
英國旅行社XL破產後，近9萬遊客滯留海外，英國民航管理局正在設法安排他們回國。
此前，英國第三大旅行社XL宣布破產，導致其旗下21架客機停飛。
英國民航管理局正在租用英航等其它航空公司的飛機安排滯留國外的游客回國。
民航管理局同時設法把他們送上其它飛往英國有空位的航班。
維珍航空公司也向滯留在美國佛羅裡達和加勒比海地區的XL旅行社遊客提供廉價單程回國機票。
受燃料價格高漲和經濟下滑等因素的影響，XL旅行社資金周轉不靈，12日凌晨突然宣佈破產倒閉。
該公司一千多名員工已經下崗。
民航管理局稱，在破產前，尚有20萬人次預定了XL出遊計劃。
XL旅行集團總裁懷亞特對於公司破產"悲痛欲絕"，他說"我個人與公司董事們已盡一切力量尋找新的資金，但無力回天。"
XL Leisure Group Plc, XL Airways UK Limited, Excel Aviation Limited, Explorer House Limited, Aspire Holidays Limited, Freedom Flights Limited, Freedom Flights (Aviation) Limited, The Really Great Holiday Company plc, Medlife Hotels Limited, Travel City Flights Limited, Kosmar Villa Holidays plc – All in Administration (the Companies)
On 12 September 2008, Alastair Beveridge, Nick Cropper, Simon Appell and Stuart Mackellar were appointed as Joint Administrators of the Companies by the Court.
The Companies entered into Administration having suffered as a result of volatile fuel prices, the economic downturn, and were unable to obtain further funding.
The Joint Administrators cannot continue trading the business and therefore all flights operated by the Companies have been immediately cancelled and the aircraft grounded. Going forward, the Joint Administrators are unlikely to be able to trade the business or operate the aircraft.
All passengers who have yet to commence their travel should make alternative arrangements as detailed below.
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| 剑桥大学是英国著名的大学 |
英国政府认为，顶尖大学大多是私校学生的天下，穷人家的孩子入学机会很低，这样妨碍到社会阶级的流动性。
因此，英国政府施压，要求顶尖大学多多招收国立学校的学生，或给予贫穷学生更多的入学优惠。
但是，剑桥大学校长艾利森·理查德教授（Prof. Alison Richard）表示，大学的角色是提供教育，领导学术研究，而不是“促进社会正义的引擎”。
理查德教授表示，剑桥会招收最优秀的学生，不管他们来自哪些家庭和社会背景。
“核心任务”
即便如此，上周公布的统计数据显示，剑桥大学招收的公立学校学生比例增加了4%。
今年，剑桥大学新生当中，有59%来自公立学校，这是1981年以来比例最高的一次。
理查德教授在解释她的立场时说，“剑桥大学不反对促进社会阶层流动性，但是，这不是我们的核心任务。”
“我们的核心任务是在研究导向的环境里提供卓越的教育。”
“作为负责教育、研究和训练的机构，剑桥大学存在的意义不是为工商业界提供服务，或提供所需的技术，也不是促进社会正义的引擎。”
扩大社会参与性
不过，英国儿童、学校和家庭部（Department for Children, Schools and Families, DCSF）大臣埃德·鲍尔斯（Ed Balls）在一次新学校开幕式上却呼吁高等教育机构扩大社会参与性。
他说，“所有家庭背景的孩子都需要了解大学，而不是恐惧大学。”
“他们需要感觉到大学是为了他们而存在的，因此我们要确保孩子能发挥他们的潜能，一展所长。” |  |
| Facebook等社交网站已经成为孩子生活的一部分 |
这种势头已经不可阻挡。一些家长和老师担心小孩子沉迷这些社交和分享网站，但也有家长和老师鼓励孩子接触新科技。
不论如何，Facebook、MySpace、YouTube和Wikipedia等新一代所谓的“Web 2.0”网络应用工具的确让教育界意见分歧。
意见不一
最新的调查显示，有一半的老师认为，Facebook、MySpace、YouTube和Wikipedia等“Web 2.0”网络应用模式是很有价值的教育工具。
但有另外一半的老师认为，“Web 2.0”网络应用没有教育意义，只会分散学生的注意力。
为何老师对“Web 2.0”网络应用工具存在分歧意见？部分原因可能在于老师自己都没有完全了解它的优势。
由英国ntl: Telewest Business公司委托进行的研究调查发现，有20%的老师表示，他们没有这方面的足够知识或训练，不能将“Web 2.0”网络应用整合到课程内容中。
另外一个原因在于对个人隐私的担忧：将近四分之一的老师担心学生在网上泄露太多的个人资料。
家长鼓励
不过，掌握新科技的父母却非常认同这些新的社交分享互动网站的教育价值。有三分之二的父母认为，新的网络技术能鼓励孩子的创造力，培养他们的沟通能力。
可是，不论支持与否，争议双方都承认一个事实，那就是这些新一代的网络应用技术和网站已经成为现在的孩子生活的一部分。
调查显示，有54%的13至18岁的孩子利用课余时间上YouTube；有一半的人上社交网站；47%的人使用Wikipedia。
在各种网络应用工具中，44%的孩子认为Wikipedia最有教育价值；35%的孩子认为即时信息（instant messaging）最有教育价值；34%的孩子认为YouTube最有教育价值。 | | |
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| 到学校参观的威廉王子“与民同乐”可以，但要想当孩子们的教练，则要通过严格的CRB甄别 |
我的邻居Mark和儿子Josh父子俩酷爱足球，确切的说是老子爱足球，希望儿子也有同样的热情。Mark早年曾是英国一家乙级足球俱乐部的守门员，不幸受伤中断了职业球员生涯，希望儿子能有出息也是情理之中的事，每周两次陪儿子到儿童俱乐部踢球风雨无阻。
一天，Mark气冲冲的嚷道：“这简直是丑闻。”原来，Josh所在俱乐部的教练离职，一位家长自告奋勇接掌帅印。暑假结束前总结，把“进步最突出球员奖”（The most improved player of the year）授予了自己的儿子。
想当孩子王？你安的什么心?
我本想问Mark，以他之见哪个孩子该获此殊荣，但话到嘴边却改了口：“你是真正的专业出身，你当教练肯定是众望所归。为什么不呢？”
“让我过CRB？还是免了吧。在那帮人眼里，你想帮忙，组织孩子们玩？你安的什么心？另有企图吧？把你当犯人审，我受不了那个。”
CRB，是“犯罪纪录局”（Criminal Records Bureau）的缩写。自2002年在Soham小镇发生了两名女童被所在小学的一名校工杀害的案子后，政府规定，所有的儿童工作者，包括志愿者，只要与儿童有任何形式的关联，都必须通过CRB的甄别鉴定。
换句话说，没有CRB的pass，任何人跟孩子扎堆儿都可以被怀疑是图谋不轨。Mark的不愿参与情有可原，数以万计的“孩子王”（儿童活动组织者）的位置空缺也就不难理解了。
是个人都有恋童癖？
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| 为拍一张学生就餐的照片，校长要征求家长同意，完成必要的程序。 |
保护孩子们的安全是头等大事，做家长的我举双手赞成；而近乎妄想狂的集体歇斯底里，同样让我担忧。
我 女儿所在的小学，是当年向垃圾食品宣战的明星大厨吉米•奥利维尔（Jamie Oliver）发动“学校厨房革命”的根据地之一。我曾为此做过一个特别的专题节目。在联系采访时，我提出要拍几张学生就餐的照片供BBC中文网发稿时 用。校长Hunter夫人说，别的她都可以做主，唯独这个要求不能由她拍板，而要由家长说了算。
学校给每一位学生家长发了信，告诉他们我的要求。不同意学生在照片里出现的家长要回信声明。有多少家长提出反对我不得而知，但完成这个“必要的程序”前后折腾了两个星期。
我的经历与贝蒂•罗宾逊（Betty Robinson）相比，就是小巫见大巫了。贝蒂练习摄影，对着一个空的儿童戏水池拍照，被工作人员拦住。阻止贝蒂拍照，是怕她有恋童癖（paedophile）。对着一个空水池，你拍个什么劲儿？工作人员的警惕性很高。
可贝蒂已经82岁了！“这太荒唐了，这是官僚主义发疯了。我一个老太婆，哪来的恋童癖”？贝蒂喃喃的抱怨。
过分的保护夺去了孩子们应有的童年快乐
|  这太荒唐了，这是官僚主义发疯了。我一个老太婆，哪来的恋童癖？ |
我在像我女儿这么大的时候，夏天的夜晚，都是在跟着大院里的大孩子们疯玩中度过的。妈妈们满院子扯着嗓门喊我们回家睡觉，我们则躲在灌木丛中装听不见。
而我的女儿，不要说晚上，大白天我也不许她独自在外面玩。怕什么？ 我也说不清楚，总之，大凡“负责任”的家长们都会像我这么做的。
我的童年，不知童车为何物。大人下班回来，软磨硬泡要过自行车过把瘾。人小车大，腿够不着横梁，就把一只脚从车的三角框架中伸到另一边，一拐一拐的登半圈， 居然也有风驰电掣的感觉，也敢上大街走一回。
我女儿三岁就有了自己的童车。五岁时又换了一辆大一号的。可到现在快八岁了，出门时仍然只敢让她骑没有前轱辘的特制车，用一根拖柄挂在我的自行车后。什么时候“放单飞”？我不知道，我只知道我算是已经很勇敢的家长了。
英 国的自行车爱好者组织“骑遍英格兰”（Cycling England）发表的一份调查报告说，大多数家长在他们10岁左右的时候就已经骑车上路了，但他们中很少人允许自己的孩子这么做。不让孩子们骑车上街的 主要理由是担心安全，但只有3%的受访者说，他们知道认识的人中有人出过事故。
领奖的道路很危险
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| 让孩子骑车上路在许多家长眼里“太危险” |
刚 看到一则报道，不知该觉得可笑还是可悲。英国商界的有识之士意识到，这种“棉花套孩子”（cotton-wool kids）文化下成长的一代，将来根本无法同像中国、印度这样的国家一争高低。于是，出资与学校联手，搞了一个“Go4It”勇敢奖，旨在鼓励“理性的冒 险”（sensible risk-taking） 和学生之间的对抗竞争。
去年的颁奖典礼上，获胜的其中一所小学缺席，原因居然是当地教育局认为，前来伦敦领奖的旅途对学生构成的危险过大。
慈善组织儿童社会（Children's Society）历时两年的调查得出这样一组数字。一个九岁女孩被允许离开家玩耍的活动范围在1970年平均是840米，到1997年减少到280米。而今天，是以自家花园的栅栏为界限的。
孩子们终有一天要跨越花园的栅栏走上社会的。过分的保护实际上留给孩子们的是更大的危险。
英國五千"獄官"數據不翼而飛 2008/9/5
讀Essex大學的校友通信Square 1 內容相當豐富，包括母校在 Research Excellence 全英國大學第十名---這是什麼意思？
2007可能沒收到
2006 可能在找新併入的校園和戲劇區等
2005/9/25
我昨天心境低沉，到台大農場看「Square 1」解憂---它是英國Essex大學的校友年錄；「Square 1」是「第一廣場」，有一永動多水桶噴泉，周圍是郵局、學生電台、學生大會辦事處，是重要的社交場所（就像各學院的common room）。刊中有英國女王給學校的獎，大意是國際學生招生成績不凡（對辦學財務有助益）。
我從第一期起，就收到Essex大學校友通信，昨日的，是第17期（近幾年改成全採色印刷。這學校在Wivenhoe Park，創校才40年-- 當年我的老師多從牛津大學和帝國理工「轉進」新大學，想實踐其教育理想。我的同學只有二位，一位是香港人，一位是牛津大學畢業生，他來拜師的）。幾年前，我去The Times看英國百校排行，它是第30名。我1977-78時，社會學系有名（後來我讀該系編的OUP的社會學簡明辭典，非常喜歡），現在，似乎是政治系當道……..）
我以前的數學（理）學院（School of Mathematical Studies 包括電腦科學、流體力學…….），現在似乎改為 School of Mathematical Science。我系以前的統計組也是世界級的，有G. Barnard等名師，美國威斯康辛大學的英國人大師G. E. P. Box和我國的刁院士等，似乎都曾到我系作客（他們的書中如此感謝）……我系近來發行「Square 2」（我從未收過），竟然有簡體字版，可見東方來的學生不少。其實，許多數學領域的高手是印度人，他們的數學統計等刊物都世界級。20幾年來人事已面目全非（他們有一新的離散數學組…….）
我們受到的face to face 的tutorials，最寶貴。我的英國光頭老師CBW，喜歡叫我Ching，他兼院長。有一回他從「Square 2」走上「Square 1」時心思重重，我笑問他怎麼一回事？ 他說在苦思等一下的初等微積分的某定理要如何表達…….（我是第一次領教他的教學方式：不用課本，每周要我們做他的三題習題的，希望我們以後所有書都燒毀之後，可以從FIRST PRINCIPLES自己寫那門學問的…….）
我從網路在進Square 1，沒想到它比印刷的內容更少，真不可思議。他們前幾年都會提醒校友在立遺囑時，如何送學校東西。今年比較進步，懂得台灣的許多大學般的「認同信用卡」。我到演講區去看一演講：英國1920s 的 「（傑克）Bata製鞋王國廠區考」。South End有我一次到英國人家度聖誕節的美好記憶。……人生這樣有限，世界時空如此…….
