Mermaids have a long history and are guaranteed to set imaginations flowing, even if their most famous recent portrayals have been via Disney and Starbucks. So we were excited, back in May, to hear about the Poems Underwater project. 

A collaboration set up by Kirsten Tambling and Laura Seymour, the project, Kirsten told us, aimed to: "start some conversations about the mermaid figure and some of the things they might represent...one of the things we've noticed is that their symbolic significance is pretty much limitless."

We are pleased to say they have now certainly achieved that with Lines Underwater. Grown out of the initial collection of poetry is an anthology featuring contributions from over 40 people, which you can buy on their website. 

This review contains spoilers, for both Kick-Ass and Kick-Ass 2, so here's the spoiler-free summary: it's a hell of a ride. If you go into the cinema knowing no more about this film than what's in the trailer, it's likely you're going to spend the next 2 hours laughing, gasping and cheering and come out with a grin on your face. I certainly did - having seen it with a group of friends, the first words out of my mouth when we left the cinema were, "how awesome was that?!" The problems come if you start to think about it too much (or as some would argue, at all). 

I think I am not alone when I say that: When I think of the zoo I think of the buttock-clenchingly embarrassing time my sister and I bought my dad CDs for his birthday. We scoured HMV for Harvey Andrews, Led Zeppelin (who's he?) and Tom Paxton. That birthday was a day of discovery. Led Zepp was a band, my dad had super eclectic taste in music and an adult had recorded, on an adult album, the song Going to the Zoo.

Last Friday I was going to the zoo (zoo, zoo) for the last Zoo Lates on this year at London Zoo. Oh I had read so much about this event 'you will be greeted by an anteater!' I was told (by the press, who I planned to hold responsible for my actions if I was not greeted by an anteater), 'You can watch them feed the pygmy hippos - and the hippos demand the food is put directly in their mouth!'  I was told by Squeamish Louise, who seems to have had more influence than I'd like on my after school activities as it were.  'I didn't see the lions last time' said my friend Eileen.