Can this tin opener Finnish the job?

My trusty tin opener had given me many years of service in its time, but as you may recall, it met its maker a few months back when the huge circumference of a tinned Fray Bentos pie proved too much for its ageing parts. Most tins these days have ring-pull lids, so my efforts for this blog have not been too hampered by its loss, but nevertheless the search for a replacement started soon afterwards.

Searching on eBay had me considering all sorts of devices, some as practical, long-term contenders, and others as more fun, whimsical purchases (isn't that what eBay is for, after all?). As a tin cannoisseur, I feel that having a collection of tin openers would be no bad thing. Falling rather more into the category of whimsy was this little number - "The '57' pocket can opener", produced "with the compliments of H.J.Heinz Co. Ltd." I'm not entirely sure when it dates from, but it proclaims itself to be "sturdy", "easy to use" and "perfect for picnics", which intrigued me greatly. What use would a tin opener ever have had at a picnic?

How to be an impoverished artist

Sit shivering in your cold, drafty studio
Buy tin of soup
Heat contents
Eat
Rinse out tin
Use as a pot to clean your brushes in

Channel your inner Andy Warhol (doesn't matter if it's a different brand of soup)
Paint some pictures
Sell one for more than it is actually worth, but still less than you would like to make ends meet
Repeat

 (picture taken at an 'Open Studios' event at Bow Road Studios, London E3)

Surely this should be in Tower Hamlets...?

A couple of weeks back it was reported on the excellent Londonist website that the City of London will soon be gaining another high-rise office block. This wouldn't be particularly news-worthy anywhere, let alone on this blog, were it not for the current fad for giving new London buildings a nickname based on their shape. We already have the Gherkin, the Cheesegrater and the Walkie-Talkie, and this new building will give us the "Can of Ham".

Although officially to be known as 60-70 St Mary Axe, the designs by Foggo Architects do indeed bear an uncanny (sorry) resemblance to a tin of ham standing on its end, which as Londonist points out is perhaps a little unfortunate given its proximity to the Bevis Marks Synagogue just across the street. But luckily the nearest tube station will be Aldgate - on the Hammersmith and City Line (sorry again).