The city that......

Ahh, The City that Never Sleeps - New York, New York

The City that works - Chicago

But here, we have "The City by the Bay" - which is really obvious and doesn't do it justice - we really need a better name and, to be honest, to import some things to make it more, well, interesting.

So I have been thinking of both - and have some alternatives which I can put up for nomination.

The City that Always Eats - there are more restaurant tables here than residents - so the urban myth goes. Despite having a higher calorie intake than an Eskimo on an a Seal hunt, they never put on any weight - but they do jog a lot - and ride bikes and work out - and this all gives you something to look at on the walk to work in the morning.

The City of Dogs - the woof woof type - There are towns and Cities on the East Coast of the UK where scientists have isolated the Ugly Gene - a product of 25 generations of interbreeding which has resulted in a population with over sized ears and a surplus of fingers and toes - but here there seems to be more canines than people - and they are all in such good condition, sleek and slim - in Castro there is even a great gay doggie Couture outlet called Best of Breed where you can accessorise your best friend.

The Pretty City -well it is and you can't really argue with that - almost Mediterranean, with pastel colored housing and a pleasant climate with just a hint of seasoning (not too much winter weather - just a chill to let you know that it's November). And the sunsets from the Apartment are truly wonderful - see above. Really, though, to qualify properly as Mediterranean, San Francisco needs to be dirtier.



The City that Always Sweeps - this could be it - every morning, bands of 'wombles' sweep and wash down the sidewalks outside their burrows - it really is very nice and there is not a fag end in sight - OK maybe the occasional fag end but never a cigarette end, catch my drift. It seems a very sensible and logical thing to make the business proprietors responsible for their patch of the sidewalk. And of course in the City that always Sweeps - you can get anything cleaned - see what I mean:
I dropped by - but they don't spring clean Nobs, they just clean Nob Springs - and as I always keep mine scrupulously hygienic - I had no need. But if you know anyone that needs their Nob Spring cleaning - then drop it in before 9am and you can pick it up at 4.

But there is still something missing and it's taken me 6 months to work out what it is - no blue you see. No blue plaques.

In London, where my old boss and friend is spending a year, you can wander aimlessly for hours 'collecting' the English Heritage Blue plaques on the buildings - strictly limited, you have to be over 100 years old or been dead for 20 years (not much fun) - have lived in the house for a significant period be a person recognisable to a "well informed passer by" or "internationally significant" - And - only one plaque per person.

So, if you are in London - go blue plaque hunting- In SF, drop your nob off and watch the sunset - aaah, pretty (sunset not nob).