the Museum of Czech Literature anyone?

We would have liked to visit the Museum of Czech Literature in the Strahov Monastery in Prague, but unfortunately this did not seem to exist. It looked as though it may recently have closed, although nobody we asked knew anything about it. The French Institute in Prague is highly recommended in many guides for its caf?. However, while the institute is open, it's caf? and library appear to be closed for renovations. I have no idea how long this will take - but when we were there in early July it appeared not to be opening for some time.

Boots the Chemist

Britain's favourite chemist is now making inroads into the Japanese market. Its first branch in Japan opened in Tokyo in August, and since then expansion has been proceeding apace. The third and largest branch to date opened on the exclusive Ginza crossing in October. So far, the cool, modern Boots style - a million miles away from that of Japan's traditional pharmacies - is proving phenomenally popular, although UK ex-pats will be disappointed that Boots' own-brand medicines are not on sale because of stringent Japanese drugs laws.

Meanwhile, The Girls Were Playing

The Boston-based artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons has put together a new installation for the List Visual Arts Center at MIT. Using video, sound recordings, embroidered silk, cast-glass objects and other materials, she's created 'Meanwhile, The Girls Were Playing', a piece that explores issues of memory, domestic labour, race and femininity from the perspective of an artist who emigrated to the US from Cuba in 1990.