Who wrote this?
When people are reaching for the adjective to describe what it is they like about living in London, they invariably end up with 'vibrant', an all-purpose word that is shorthand for so many of this city's attractions.
Not on this blog: we strive to avoid cliches. Still, carry on:
They mean that London vibrates with noise, colour and the cultural scene that is central to this capital's success.
True enough. Pray continue:
They mean theatres, galleries and the major funkapolitan museums of glass and steel, and people emerging – still gently vibrating – from some of the most vibrant nightclubs in the world.
Funkapolitan, eh? I like your style, er, daddy-o...
They mean the cosmopolitan, multilingual, polychromatic vibe emitted by carnivals, festivals and street markets.
Polychromatic vibes too! Who is this wordsmith, this street poet, this urban sage? Yes, it's Boris of course, and the purple prose is from his Foreword to Cultural Metropolis, a 40-page document (pdf) setting out his priorities for culture, published today.
Is he taking the piss? Why, I do believe he is - out of himself in that way he often does when at the interface of his world and that of, you know, grooviness and yoof. Self-parodying his fogey image works well in speeches, but I'm not sure it hits the right note here. Hmmm....
