London 2018
I saw this sticker at the ViewTube.
London 2018
London 2018 refers to the city’s bid to host the Gay Games in 2018.
A Walk In Hyde Park
I went for a walk this afternoon in Hyde Park.
I had gone to see the awful statue that someone had put in the Serpentine to publicise a new TV channel. But I couldn’t find it. There’s a picture here from the Belfast Telegraph.
But I did take a few pictures.
It turned out that the statue had been removed. Judging by the quality of the statue, I hope it’s been recycled.
I did have a very nice ice cream in the Lido Cafe by the Serpentine. I t might have been a bit expensive, but it was good. And I had it in a tub.
Thinking about the walk later, I reckon it must be nearly forty years since I have been to that part of Hyde Park. We occasionally used to go swimming in the Serpentine with the boys, although, I don’t think I ever ventured in. But C did, as she was a manic swimmer. I don’t have any pictures of that time, but the park has been spruced up a lot since.
They were difficult but happy times!
I Didn’t Think They Used Buses In Hampstead
You can easily make the assumption, that those upmarket people in Hampstead don’t use buses, as why would they travel with their inferiors, when you can drive or use a taxi. So this story from the Ham and High is very surprising. The headline in the paper says it all.
C11 bus driver asks passenger ‘Where’s Hampstead?
For those unfamiliar with the C11, it’s one of a series of single deck buses that meander all over London boroughs to provide local transport and fill-in for the Underground and the major bus routes. They’re almost like rural buses in Central London.
Farage Won’t Use An Oyster Card
This article in the Standard shows a lot about how Nigel Farage thinks.
I have both an Oystercard and a Freedom Pass, both of which track me through London. The only reasons, I have the Oyster, is to use it on the cable car and the river boats and also to give to visiting friends, so they don’t have to queue up to buy a ticket.
So I can be tracked, but then so what? Perhaps Nigel has a few secrets that he doesn’t want revealed. Perhaps, he’s even having relations with someone from Uganda?
The Dalston House
I went to look at the Dalston House Art Installation by Leandro Erlich, this morning.
The idea is basically very simple. a fake house front has been created on the ground and a large mirror at 45° has been placed so that if you say sit in the windows of the house, you can see yourself sitting in the reflection.
It was fascinating and many of those exploring it, seemed to feel they were children again.
One of the best things, was seeing the expression on a three-year-old’s face as he walked towards the mirror, seeing himself sticking out of the wall.
I can see that this simple idea being replicated all over the world.
My mother used to work at Reeves just round the corner and she used to tell a tale about how an enormous German bomb in the Second World War, destoryed a lot of the area. I checked at the library and the whole site, where the Dalston House has been built was a bomb site. They have a copy of the LCC Bomb Damage Book, which is a must-read book, for anybody, who lives or is thinking of living in an area of London that suffered bombing.
And to make everything even better, there is no entry charge to see this unusual work of art.
You just turn up and play! But they do limit the time you spend walking up and down the house to five or six minutes!
Crowds Greet The New Buses For London On Route 24
Yesterday morning, I went to see how the New Buses for London were performing on Route 24 from Hampstead Heath to Pimlico.
I didn’t see any real problems except those caused by the crowds in Trafalgar Square and near Victoria Station.
I also got the impression that some tourists were a bit confused at the new buses.
This post shows though how the New Buses for London are superb ways to see the sights of London. Will the tourist buses suffer, when there are more routes with the new buses?
Especially, if someone does a commentary app for a smart phone, so you get the details on everything you pass.
Foreign Libel Cases Are Still Held In London
Despite the new Defamation Act on which I talked in this post, individuals and companies, who are not ostensibly UK-based, continue to fight libel actions in the UK. Here’s a case reported on the BBC web site.
I can’t say I object to this, as I suspect a few nice fees are trousered by a few lawyers and hopefully, they’ll spend it in the UK to give employment to tailors, builders and a few other trades.
The problem comes, when these sort of cases are pursued against a small individual, like an impoverished blogger, who perhaps has said something like Liberace couldn’t play the piano.
A Multi-Currency Toilet
On my trip this morning I needed a pit-stop and as I had to surface at Green Park station to find of the maps, I used the excellent toilets there.
A Multi-Currency Toilet
Note how the entrance gate sensibly accepts both pounds and euros. They’ve even put the instructions in a selection of languages.
A Multi-LingualToilet
We need to do more things like this, to make London as tourism-friendly as possible.
John Stephen Remembered
This plaque in memory of John Stephen was at the Southern end of Carnaby Street.
John Stephen Remembered
I csan remember some of his fashions from the 1960s, although I never bought anything.
The Spirit Of London
This bus has been around in various guises, but whilst waiting for a 38 to come home, it passed the stop.
This report on the Stagecoach web site, gives details of its refurbishment after an arson attack.
The Anonymous Widower 