After the great fish and chips we sampled more of Biggar's delights. For a small place there's an awful lot going on. There are six museums, so we tried Gladstone Court first. It's a lovely little place - a recreation of a Victorian shopping street made from bits and pieces reclaimed from Biggar's actual high street. It's educational (great for schools) and full of local interest but also lovely to wander round no matter how old you are or where you're from. There's an old photographic studio, a bank, library, print shop, school, a bootmakers and lots more - see pictures. The nice thing about it is Biggar's modern-day high street is very well-preserved. It pretty much has one of every sort of shop you need and they're all family businesses handed down from generation to generation, so it feels like the right place to have a little treasure like this.

After all that debate a while ago on where to find the best chippies here's a short field report on the UK's best fish and chips of 2007. It's official. They're at the Townhead Cafe in Biggar in South Lanarkshire and were very good indeed. You get a huge portion, the fish was light as a feather and there was something almost architectural about that batter.

Thanks for all the London tips. There are some brilliant things in there including the location of Sunshine Desserts from Reggie Perrin. Not sure if this is one of those things that everyone knew except me, but 1960s curio The London Nobody Knows is on YouTube. Part one is above and here are parts two and three. I only found this after I'd bought the DVD although all is not lost as it's (a) better quality and (b) paired with charming piece of 1960s whimsy Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (opening credits).

It's a funny thing, but every Thursday I go into some sort of blogging meltdown and think I'll never post again. Every Thursday. Then by Friday it's fine. Saturday I'm full of vim and vigour. Sunday is the most productive day of the week. Then Monday the decline starts again until it reaches its nadir on Thursdays. The readerships runs opposite to this, peaking towards the end of the week. Down at weekends. Oh, the pressure. So I just thought I'd mention it for once, instead of sitting at home fretting and also to squeeze some kind of post out on Thursdays. Just so you know, it's hard work sometimes. Not just dripping off the tongue. Blood, sweat and tears, it is.

We're off to that London in a few weeks for a big family holiday. Considering we'll have two kids (aged 2 and 7) and a car (not that we're planning to use it much) what should we do? Where should we go? What should we eat? There are a few things on the list already - The Horniman Museum, The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising, The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef and possibly Psycho Buildings if that's good for kids. I've got a couple of things to check out for Nothing To See Here but would really love to know about anything fantastic/good value/weird and/or wonderful. All wisdom gratefully received as always.

There's a wee piece on Voltaire & Rousseau, my favourite bookshop on Nothing To See Here. I spent a lot of time in there as an English student, sometimes buying great works of literature, sometimes buying dusty old books because I liked the cover. It also gets the credit for introducing me to M. Sasek after finding This is London there for 50p.

Spotted on Kings Park Avenue today, some urban topiary. Not a common sight in Glasgow. Up to that point I'd been looking at all the gardens in the street that are paved over. Always a sad sight. But then this little fella appeared. Excellent.

Not that I have a thing about public baths or anything but these photos of disused swimming pools at Polar Inertia are swell. More info at Gigi Cifali.

Spotted recently in Marks and Spencer's cafe, these lovely displays made from fragments of their old packaging. Obviously this one was best because it's mostly biscuits and buttons.

The Orange balloon race is causing quite a debate. Firstly, I think it's a great idea. I've never seen anything quite like it and didn't think for a minute that balloons would really drift across the interweb but they do. On the other hand, it gets annoying pretty quickly, you need a lot of time on your hands to play the game and the website is a total nightmare (anytime I've tried to do anything that wasn't either getting a balloon or adding a site it's been impossible). Still, fair play to Orange and Poke for trying something different and pulling it off.

On a side note, I'm surprised by the sense of outrage it has provoked, although I did hate that never ending webpage with a passion that was surprising. I've had a few comments about it being out of character for I like, which I understand but don't agree with. Plenty of things get free publicity here. I'll advertise anything for nothing if I like it. Secondly it's not totally about advertising. I mean, it is in a way, but I joined in because I was intrigued and taking part would let me see how it works (although I've got no idea how it works). I work with the web and am always interested to see what people are doing with it.

Any thoughts? If you're reading this through RSS wondering what's going on do have a look. I don't think I like will stay the course for the whole race but it's been an interesting ride so far. Picture from davidthedesigner who hates it. Sorry David. It's only a bit of fun.

"Bees invade Mark Poulton's Punch and Judy booth" by Paul Russell who consistently takes great seaside photos.

Summery postcards, get your summery postcards here. Only available online now that Hitherto is no more.

I was at the Glasgow School of Art degree show today and same as last year, didn't make it past the Visual Communication stuff. Which is no bad thing because it's very good. James Houston's Big Ideas: Don't get any Radiohead remix using old computer equipment is part of it. No wonder it's been right round the internet. Seeing it on a big screen really shows off the colours and the composition - it's a beautiful film as well as a really clever idea. He also did A Cultural Guide to the United Kingdom which has a totally different style but is also brilliant. It's incredibly elegant and flows beautifully, but it's really fun. And it does what it sets out to do (present the diverse culture of the UK) in a very effective way. interesting2008 attendees will be able to see him speak tomorrow. For everyone else check out his website. The degree show finishes tomorrow (Saturday) so get in quick. There are some photos of the degree show on Flickr. Lots of other goodies there.

The keen-eyed amongst you will notice that there's a little balloon bobbing around on the bottom right hand corner of the screen. It's getting ready for the world's first internet balloon race which starts on 23 June. You can sign up for a balloon or add your site at www.playballoonacy.com. The balloon on the site means I like is part of the course (or something) Not sure I really understand how it's all going to work but it sounds intriguing. Provided it doesn't involve any effort I'm game. It's all something to do with Orange. More info on the website.

Out now Carry On and Hammer Horror commemorative stamps from the Royal Mail. Better pictures on The Guardian website. They're miniature versions of the original film posters and look absolutely great, even when they're tiny.