THE DISH FROM LONDON

I’ll be in London all this week, so don’t worry that I’ve started to post items at even odder times than usual. As I write, I’m looking out at a vista of small, brown-brick houses covered in a light but persistent drizzle. Maybe it’s going away from a country and returning every now and again that helps confirm the deeper truth of certain cultural stereotypes. But some things never seem to change. The papers are full of complaints about everything, from the health service to the trains, the British team just got knocked out of the Davis Cup, and the royal family is plastered all over the media. One thing is striking though. From the frivolity of the television to the general triviality of public life here (they’re excited about a Warhol and a Mario Testino exhibit), there is a completely different feel here than the one in the United States. The deep cultural shift of September 11 hasn’t impacted in anything like the same way. The culture still seems jammed with the idiocy of celebrity, sex-scandals, petty politics and irony, irony, irony. Tina, get back here. They’d still love you.