#642 - Go deco! Hoover Building

Timeout says:
Apart from residents of Perivale, not many Londoners trek out here. But it's well worth the effort to see this piece of architecture - possibly the finest art deco structure in Britain. Built in 1932, the principal building is a low-lying, two-storey white structure with its front divided into 15 bays by massive Egyption style pillars. It also has an outstanding central doorway that is framed by a huge sun-ray design. The rear part of the building was sensitively converted into a Tesco supermarket in 1989, and the palce has been celebrated in song (Elvis Costello's 'Hoover Factory').

Dave did:
On the Oxford tube heading out of London for the weekend, I caught sight of this very impressive building at the roadside. Unfortunately I couldn't get a decent picture with my mobile phone in time so I admit I have relied upon one from Google, but I did see it! (honest!)

121 down...879 Things to go!

#636 - Go deco! Apollo Victoria

Timeout says:
This Grade II-listed building, designed by Ernest Wamsley Lewis and WE Trent, opened in 1930. The exterior has two matching openings with pronounced horizontal baning and deco lettering inset in the concrete. most of the original interior is gone, but there are various maritime motifs and typically deco railings

Dave did:
Heading off to Oxford for the weekend I happened to pass by the Apollo Victoria. I think Timeout's has described everything there is to say about the appearance of this theatre...I guess the only thing needed to complete the picture is to mention Wicked is currently being shown there!

120 down...880 Things to go!

#871 - Walk under the Thames

Timeout says:
Yes, it's a bit dank and smelly, but how often do you get the chance to walk under a river? The Thames foot tunnel at Greenwich is open to the public, connecting Island Gardens at the southerly tip of the Isle of Dogs to Greenwich, near the Cutty Sark. The echoes are impressive, the surroundings rather spooky.

Dave did:
Probably one of my proudest achievements to date - walking under the Thames!

They really should have more tunnels under the Thames for people to cross as its a completely different experience from the bridges over the river.

119 down...881 Things to go!

#499 - Tour the capital's breweries

Timeout says:
For those whose interest lies more in the drinking than the watching, London boasts a handful of bars with their own micro-breweries - a refreshing change from the usual mass-produced lagers. Greenwich Union is the fine flagship of Meantime Brewery.

Dave did:
The weather was fantastic this Sunday and so I decided to head over to Greenwich for the first time in my 3 year history of London travels. I have to say I really did like the place, very homely! Unfortunately the same can't be said for their signage!

Heading up towards the Greenwich Union for one of their own beers I walked into the bar and couldn't find any sign of their Greenwich Meantime beer. So I settled for a Youngs Special (telling myself its not a beer I'd normally drink so therefore it would count).

Half an hour later I leave only to discover that I was in the wrong bloody bar! On approach to the pub you will not that there were two signs on display:



And if you were on the other side of the road you would have seen 2 pubs side by side:



Muggins here had to go and order yet another beer to sort this mess out (and it was far better than Youngs Special!). I highly recommend Meantime Brewery, they have beers of all sorts (fruit, stout, lager, ale, pale ale....) and the bar itself is very bright and airy. A good Sunday afternoon pub!

118 down...882 Things to go!

#397 - Be a nosy neighbour for Open House London

Timeout says:
An annual event held around mid-September that gives architecture lovers free access to more than 500 fascinating buildings all over the capital. An essential experience for the born snooper.

Dave did:
When I entered the Fan Museum I was expecting to pay a £5 entrance fee (...£2.50 per room if you will - see Thing #352). However, it turned out this was Open House London week and so it was free entry! Nice one!

117 down...883 Things to go!

#352 - Visit the Fan Museum

Timeout says:
The world's only museum dedicated to fans. It's a tiny space that holds two rooms and a total collection of 4,000 antique fans, some of which date as far back as the 11th century.

Dave did:
I'm a bit lost for words on what to say about this place. It's a quaint wee tea-shop kinda museum, originally only 2 rooms big (1 being primarily a gift shop!), it was Open House London week and so they had laid on an extra 2 rooms to display their range of fans.

Only a small cabinet was dedicated to electric fans, which was a little disappointing, but I did learn one of two things about the making of fans. Turtle sheets, pearls and cardboard were all explored and used as a frame before it was decided that wood was the best option (how on earth do you turn a turtle shell into a fan anyway?).



The best fan on show in my humble opinion was a nice white thing from the 19th century which had the Royal Opera House's seating plan printed across it. Very functional and forward thinking if you ask me! Then again you'd be screwed if you then took it to the Royal Albert Hall!

116 down...884 Things to go!

#666 - Get to know the goths

Timeout says:
Garlic & Shots is genius. The concept is straightforward: it serves just about anything, so long as it comes with garlic. Skip the food and head over to the bar to try the 'blood shot' - a tomato, garlic and chilli vodka shot. OK, it might pong a bit inside, but there's always the very nice yard out the back.

Dave did:
One of my oldest friends announced her impending visit to London and I was asked to find a suitable pub for a drink. If ever there was an opportunity to cross off another of my Things this was it!

And so it was that we found ourselves walking down Old Compton street towards 'Garlic and Shots'. True to its word, as we entered the dark and dingy bar, a staff member was sitting on a table at the site peeling garlic cloves whilst some diners tucked into a garlic dip.

The barman had the audacity to treat US like the weird ones, giving us an awkward look as if visitors should not ask him questions until after sunset (we only asked what beers he served!). Eventually we got hold for 2 beers and headed out the back for some fresh air (although I can't smell myself - another story - Lou did note that it ponged a bit too much for her liking).

Disappointingly the beers were not complimented by any garlic, and so Lou ventured back to the bar for another round. To my horror she returned with another 2 beers....and the blood shot!

As timeout describes, the blood shot is just a 35ml shot, but crammed full of vodka, tomato juice, tequilla and chilli. Of course Lou only got one blood shot, and she purchased it with only one taster in mind - me!



It initially tastes like a bloody mary, but then once the tomato juice part is out the way, you look down the 'nozzel' of the shot glass and realise that the barman has actually crammed a WHOLE chilli into the base of the glass AND some black pepper for good measure!



Fire-breathing-dragon doesn't cover it...unfortunately Lou took most of the reaction shots which I have yet to get a hold of, but needless to say it wasn't a pleasant aftertaste (and the free bout of hiccups didn't help either - a strange reaction I have to eating chilli's)

115 down...885 Things to go!

#341 - Go to the Proms

Timeout says:
Grab some tickets for the hilariously over-the-top Last Night, when normally well-behaved grown-ups act like schoolchildren, throwing paper darts and parping klaxons at inappropriate moments!

Dave did:
Not quite the proper Proms scene, but I did grab a last minute ticket for the Proms in the Park in Hyde Park, where as it happens a good friend of mine was singing in the choir for the grand finale!

I'm not much of an opera person, but I'm always up for something different and I have a thing for any operatic music by John Williams and the sort!

Well I was not disappointed on this occasion as we bore witness to Bjorn Again, Terry Wogan, a Z-list celeb conductor, Sharleen Spriteri (from Texas...the band, not the state!), and the BBC Sympharmoic Orchestra (or something as fancy sounding as that).

We kicked off with some golden oldies from Bjorn Again, who did not disappoint the females in the audience with all the big hits. I was caught on several occasions mouthing the words and so I took to gulping down my plastic-bottled Rose wine every few minutes! While the music was good, I was trying to get over the fact that I found 'Frida' pretty hot! As a reliable friend later told me, this was very wrong indeed! But just look at them...wouldn't you be fascinated by those robes and super extended legs?



Best bit of the show though, was when we confirmed that there was no miming in this act as the music suddenly cut out and the two fine ladies were left to sing the remainder of their song without any prompts...hats off to them as I'm sure the Spice Girls couldn't do that 10 years on!

Anyway, I digress! To calm my raging hormones...or to better put it - kill them dead...I had the lovely view of some oldies dancing in front of my line of vision with the main stage...



Before coming to this evening, I was well aware of the fact that the Proms in the Park is absolutely pro-Great Britain, and so I joked that I would bring along a Scottish saltire to rebel against this patriotism! Well thank goodness I didn't as right in front of me was the crazed women swatting British flags all over the place and 'dancing' like a maniac throughout the night.



As the night drew on, the real heros of opera started to make an appearance. And the man himself (supported with full-on military bugle horns) Terry Wogan came on stage to guide the night's main events.



I'm a big fan of Terry from his Eurovision antics, but I'm afraid the old man is starting to show is age and visibly struggled to stall for time as the BBC techies got their act together! Nevermind Terry...Eurovision will always be there to top up the pension!

First of the main acts was Sue Perkins, who came on stage to lead the orchestra as part of her duties for winning the Z-list celebrity reality show 'Maestro'. Her performance was good at best, but the majority of the crowd were not impressed given that most felt the show trivalised the duty of a conductor - its really a hard sell to make a reality programme about an individual who waves a stick around in the air at a 100+ band...!



Terry was left with the best line of the night as the main conductor for the evening returned to the stage, only for Wogan to comment "not to worry John...you've got nothing to follow on from!"....nice!


As the night came to a close, my friend Suzie headed up on stage to sing as part of the choir who would lead the national anthem, amongst other 'popular classical hits'.



She's the one in green by the way!

Unfortunately her part was cut short as the show overran with its link up with the Royal Albert Hall...this is where things got really interesting as we saw all the posh folk in proper opera attire bopping up and down to the cockles and lockles (or whatever it is) song! Hilarious to watch!



All in all it was a very pleasant evening out, although I had hoped for some big operatic pieces which never really came. The closest we got to it was the BBC orchestra playing the Star Trek main anthem and a collage of Bond theme tunes. Not a John Williams piece in earshot!

114 down...886 Things to go!

#215 - Visit Little Ben

Timeout says:
Given to London by the French at a time of fine cross-channel relations in 1892, Little Ben is a little (not that little, at 30 feet tall) brother to our grandest timepiece, Big Ben. Unlike its Westminster sibling, Little Ben sits rather sadly on a traffice island on Victoria Street.

Dave did:
Much as Timeout says above, it is a bit of a sad sight to see this rather unique treasure just sitting amidst the hussle and bussle of commuters, buses and cars outside Victoria station. No one seems to stop and take any notice of this rather peculiar clock sitting in the middle of the road, and everyone I've spoken to since has never heard of it!

Shame!

113 down...887 Things to go!

#800 - Watch a dragon boat race

Timeout says:
Dragon boat racing is an unusual, sociable sport! A 20-seat boat with an ornately carved head can often be seen racing in lung-bursting 500-metre races, and occasionally longer distances such as the 22-mile Great River Race. Forget the Oxbridge boat race - real fun on the river comes in the shape of a dragon!

Dave did:
Now this 'Thing' has been on my radar for a while now. Not that long ago I had an opportunity at work to join in a Dragon boat race, but unfortunately spaces were quickly occupied and I fell onto the waiting list! I'm still waiting for my shot!


In the meantime though, I took the opportunity last weekend to check out how a Dragon boat actually works in the Great River Race on the Thames...and its actually quite scary and funny at the same time!

As I saw all these nice traditional rowing boats, and olympic style pencil thin boats...up ahead I spotted this thing with hundreds of short little legs peddling like mad up the river! It honestly looked like the 7 dwarfs and their brothers had got themselves into a fight with nature that they were desperately losing as they battled their way down the river!

Still cant wait for my chance to have a go (although I'll stick to the 500m races!)

112 down...888 Things to go!

#381 - Watch the Great River Race

Timeout says:
A bit like the Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race but more fun, this annual race sees more than 260 'traditional' boats, from Chinese dragon boats and Hawaiian war canoes to Viking Longboats compete over a 22-mile course to become the UK Traditional Boat Champions

Dave did:
Three years in London, an at least a year of it spent right next to the River Thames...and I've never once seen a boat race! Some people would say thats ridiculous, others would say its a proud achievement! For me its more of an embarrassment as it highlights how much I sleep in during the weekends more than anything else!

So when I noticed the Great River Race being advertised for last weekend I made a point of heading towards Waterloo to watch the occassion.

The official website reliably informed me that the boats would start passing the London Eye at around 4pm (thus allowing for a suitable lie-in once again!). Well 4.45 rolled by and not even a piece of driftwood passed me by!

But then at 4.50pm I finally see a speck on the horizon...and yes by 4.55pm that speck turned out to the be leaders of the pack, a pack that was very far behind!





Given the very traditional and bulky look of the boat, I was amazed at how big a gap these guys had over the opposition. It was a full 10 minutes before the next boat showed up, and trust it to be the Irish (with beer bellies in tow)!



...but then it was another 20 minutes before the rest started floating underneath my bridge!



By all accounts it looked like a dominant display by the top two in not-all-too-impressive floating contraptions compared to those behind them. Still it looked pretty tight in the midpack with some good battles between dragon boats and viking ships!

111 down...889 Things to go!