#730 - Visit the new Wellcome Collection

Timeout said:

This new £30 million venture on the Euston Road explores the connections between medicine and art through experimental exhibitions

Dave did:

Money is scarce at the moment, and my old uni mate visiting for the weekend (and studying neuroscience) we decided that this was the perfect thing to do as it was free and a pretty interesting concept!

So we headed into the exhibition only to find out that no photography was allowed inside! This was to prove ever so slightly frustrating as I got to see some pretty crazy stuff!

First off we entered an exhibition all about the heart, and how it has played a part in society and culture over the lifespan of the human race.

This was a pretty cool exhibition as it explained so many things like:

* An elephants heart is about the same size as my head...and its pretty scary to see one that has been preserved!

* Similarly, a Whales heart is about the same size as a 10 year old kid (and that's an immature Sperm Whales Heart!) And its even scarier to see when preserved!!

* The scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom where they take out people's hearts while they're still alive, ACTUALLY happened in the Aztec era, although how many people suffered this ritual (to please the Aztec gods) is unclear as the Aztecs may have exaggerated to scare their foe's, and their foe's may have exagerrated the numbers to vilify the Aztecs!

* A Whales heart only beats 9 times a minute! And a Shrew's can beat up to 1500 times a minute!

Having worked our way through the Heart exhibition, next stop was a collection called "The Medicine Man", where Wellman's collection of medical treasures was on display. These 'treasures' included a Chinese torture chair (looking like something straight out of a movie set from Saw or Hostel!) which was appropriately placed next to a victorian dentists chair, and a birthing chair (basically a chair with the seat removed, plop and out comes the baby I guess!).

My favourite displays were the masks, where there was a "Scolds Bridle Mask" from Belgium in the 1500's, which convicted women had to wear. According to the description of the mask, women were commonly convicted of "nagging" and by wearing this mask their speech was impeded by a metal spike in the mouth...not altogether plesant, but I'm sure you'll agree that these women were probably the first ever incarnations of Batwoman!




My second favourite display were these (I sneakily took a photo with my phone..couldn't miss this one!):



I love the "Probably British" statement...cause yeah us British with our sinister attitudes were more than likely the nation responsible for such instruments! Incidentally a Japanese sex toybox was placed right next to this one...'probably' Japanese though right??

The final exhibition referred to "Medicine Now", and about medical issues of today (obesity, DNA research, evolution etc.). One of the presentations I found intriguing was a video project where the researcher video'd some school kids in 1994, and asked them to do whatever came to mind for 15 seconds in front of the camera. 10 years later the researcher came back to these same people and showed them these clips, before videoing them again for 15 seconds and asking them to explain how they changed over the 10 years. The videos were then edited side by side and it was really weird seeing the changes between to two selves, as well as their general composure and attitudes.

Another research project was looking to find the most natural face in the world by photographing visitors to the Wellcome Exhibition. In the name of research I dutifully stepped up for a photo...as a result I discovered that no one who has been photographed thus far looks like me, and compared to how I should look in an ideal work (middle image) I'm quite happy with the way I am now!!



All in all it was a pretty decent exhibition with stuff you wouldnt really expect to see on a typical Sunday afternoon (movies of heart operations set to the audio of sermons given by Billy Graham anyone?)

Would recommend for a free afternoon!



34 down...966 Things to go!

#81 - Chill, big-style!

Timeout said:

Big Chill House looks set to be a success. The house has four floors, each independently themed, and a suntrap of a south-facing terrace with its own cocktail bar

Dave did:

Having spent the majority of Friday night in the Bavarian Beerhouse (which I still struggle to understand why its not included in my 1000 things), this weekend was spent trying to recover from it!

What better way then to recover than to head to the Big Chill House next to Kings Cross station (or so suggests Timeout!).

So with my visiting friend in tow, we headed out to the Big Chill for a belated lunch and a beer. The Big Chill House is a very interesting bar it must be said. Stairs and doors seem to lead off to all sorts of different rooms, roof terraces, gardens and "Snug" rooms (they were locked while we were there!).

Anyway, the music was cool, the barmaids were friendly, and for a Sunday afternoon it made for a nice change to the norm!





33 down...967 Things to go!

#597 - Have a drink at the Dublin Castle pub

Celebrity Favourite Thing - Suggs (Musician and DJ)Timeout/Suggs said:

When it comes to pubs, I love the Dublin Castle. It's a great live music venue where Madness basically started their career.

Dave did:

Heading to Camden Town Station, I felt ready for a nice cool beer before heading off home for the night. I happened to pass a pub which when called itself "The Dublin Castle". It's not often I have a light bulb moment, but when it comes to remembering the names of pubs obviously I'm an expert as I had one right then!

I was sure there was mention of the Dublin Castle in my 1000 things, and after buying myself a nice cool pint and finding a seat outside the front door I checked. Sure enough Thing #597 was recommended by Suggs of the band Madness (of which the bar had a photo of him on the wall). Unfortunately being early evening, the pub had yet to get particularly busy and so I didn't find any irishmen to talk to, but I did buy myself a pint of Guinness in an attempt to fit in!

Unfortunately I was forced to leave on a sour note, as after letting half a family sit at the same table as me, I found myself surrounded by mothers, fathers, cousins, aunts, sisters, brothers, grandsons, granddaughters, nieces and nephews...all talking over and around me as I attempted to make a few calls and enjoy a quite pint!

Apologies therefore for the disgruntled look I have in this photo, but I wasn't best pleased!!



32 down...968 Things to go!

#201 - Admire the city from Primrose Hill, NW3

Timeout said:

A former hunting ground for Henry VIII, this hill is the north of Regent's Park and was opened to the public in 1842. Anti-aircraft guns were sited on the 207 foot tall summit in 1939.

Dave did:

I was on a work comms event at Alexandra Palace a week or so ago, and the view from up there of the London skyline was amazing - especially compared to that on Cornhill! (See Thing #202!)

Seeing how tall Primrose hill was, I held similar hopes of great views as I had done that day (for some reason Alexandra Palace is not on my 1000 things to do...).

I was certainly not disappointed, although the hill is smoothered in aussies sunbathing which did prove a little distracting!

Once more, another nice little spot that I'd happily spend an afternoon sitting around on enjoying the views withh an ice cool drink!




31 down...969 Things to go!

#452 - Take a wonder on Regents Canal

Timeout said:

Opened in 1820 to provide a link between east and west London, Regents Canal was opened to the public as a scenic path in 1968. Any stretch of the canal is worth a stroll.

Dave did:

After enjoying the delights of Shakespeare at the Open-Air Theatre (albeit one where I didn't quite keep up with all the Shakespearean language!), I headed over for a mid-afternoon stroll along Regents Canal.

It is definitely a very relaxing walk, and one I think more suited to couples than mad, book-abiding singletons like myself! All the same, as much as I wanted to hop onto one of the water taxi canal boats, whenever I headed one way the taxi headed the other and I never found a bus stop!






30 down...970 Things to go!

#548 - Catch the Bard on the Grass

Timeout said:

The Open-Air Theatre in Regents Park is perfect for summery Shakespeare romps.

Dave did:

My favourite Shakespeare play is probably "the Scottish one" or for those who are prepared to risk their luck - MacBeth.

I'm not entirely sure why I enjoy this one the most, except that I like the way that Lady MacBeth is the driving force behind her man's actions at the start of the play...I can definitely relate to that one :o)

Well Regents Park were showing this Shakespearean masterpiece at the Open-Air theatre and I managed to get a ticket in the main stand.

The sun was beating it down, and unfortunately I was right in its path! But the atmosphere was great, and the performance was good if not a bit surreal as the props used gave it a wartime 1940's feel, rather than the pre-Highland Clearances type setting I have in my mind for the play. MacBeth was also covered in blood every 2 scenes (having a shower in between each!). I can't imagine how much blood they must have got through!



29 down...971 Things to go!

#561 - Take sample sips at the Great British Beer Festival

Timeout said:

During this popular event, thousands of visitors get to sample over 700 real ales, foreign beers, lagers, and ciders. Hiccups, belches, and hangovers guaranteed!

Dave did:

Needless to say, I was looking forward to this one! Being a big fan of my ale's (and despite the physical appearance it forces you to accept), the prospect of a showroom full of the world's best beers is one that I cannot miss!

That said, having lived in London for nearly 2 years, clearly I did miss this annual event at least once!!

Preparation for this Thing got off to a good start as I fed myself two pints of beer at Kings Cross with some workmates prior to heading over to the Earls Court Exhibition Centre...

...2 hours later and a after picking up two rather disgruntled friends I was meant to meet an hour earlier, we marched into the exhibition!

This festival was pure heaven! As you walked into the showroom floor we were met by a large bar. But this was a bar without any beer behind it!?! Before we had a chance to rip up our tickets and storm back out, we found a sign which explained that we had to buy a beer glass from this bar and then go around the different stalls and get the glass filled up with all the different beers on offer.



Armed with our empty pint glasses, we quickly found a stall to fill them up with, and then headed over to the Tombola stand. I loved this stall the most, as in true beer-thinking style, every ticket was a winner!! GENIUS! And every prize was beer related! Absolute GENIUS I tell you!

...I'm thinking that perhaps two paragraphs into this I'm beginning to reveal a bit too much of my alcoholic side here, but hey I was only throwing myself 100% behind the Thing as I have done for the last 27!

The results of the Tombolla were as follows:



Dave - Peddler's Pride beer tab sign, pint glass, and dart pilots (if anyone would like some pilots for their darts I've got 4...otherwise absolutely useless if you dont have the actual darts to put them on!)

Joe - Frolicking Farmer's beer tab sign and Beer Guide book

Rolf - A broach (Unsurprisingly I've forgotten what else he ended up with!)

...Well anyone who read my earlier post of our visit to the Gordon's wine bar shouldn't be too shocked at Rolf's reward...I did warn you about him!

The rest of the night was a bit of a blur really! I bought some classic beer mats (10p a mat is pretty good value if you ask me!), a steel tankard that I am very proud of, and a T-Shirt! I remember having a few different drinks, but they all seemed to be from different counties in England as most of the stands were labelled English. Being a Scotsman and therefore not a proud Englishman, I can openly admit that English beer is not the greatest in the world and so I was desperately searching out the worldly beer stands! In true British fashion though, all the European beers were grouped together on one long table, and the barstaff were suitably rude and abrupt!

At the Badger stall I had a brief chat with the barman and asked how I could get one of his T-Shirt (having noticed a sign saying "Win a T-Shirt"). The guy explained how I had to fill out a form to evaluate their beer, which I duly did, and then he decided to hold a sudden raffle draw and presented me with a free T-Shirt...the beer was awful but I vaguely recall writing in big capital's "GREAT BEER!"

One of the last things I did resulted in me waking up the next morning (late for work I might add!) with this on my shoulder...



Yes that's right, I got a tattoo!....and not any old tattoo, a tatt of the CAMRA Society logo! Fortunately a quick look through my photos I worked out that it was a HENNA tattoo and so would only be with me for another 2 weeks (Thank Goodness!).



Being an ale fan I had heard of the CAMRA society before. CAMRA stands for the CAMpagne for Real Ale Society, and the festival was being run by CAMRA volunteers. So when I came across the CAMRA stand offering a free membership to the society for 3 months, I just had to sign up! I met a very cheerful chap at the desk who turned out to be the director of CAMRA, but it wasn't until later that he found out exactly what kind of nutter he had just welcomed to his ranks...

It was Joe's idea really - he thought it would be a comical idea to buy me a tattoo (always the ginea pig me!), and when searching for a beer related design, the most accessible icon to hand was the CAMRA logo that was printed on our beer glasses!

Seconds after having the tatt drawn I was over at the CAMRA tent again showing off my loyalty to the slightly bemused/slightly scared director!



Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the festival. We only managed to get there for the last 2 hours or so, but I think any longer would have seen me stumbling out of the place! But where else would you find signs like these:



...and beers the size of these....



Out of all the things I've done thus far I think I'd rate this and the Innocent Summer Fete as the two best that everyone MUST experience at least once!



28 down...972 Things to go!

#58 - Take it easy in a Green Park deckchair

Timeout said:

Worth every penny of the £2 fee, these green and white icons are enticingly laid out in spring and summer

Dave did:

Just a short walk up from St. James's Park, we intially struggled to find any deckchairs in Green Park, although there were disturbingly plenty of men lying around in thong underwear!!!

Eventually we did find the deckchairs all laid out at the top of the Park next to the tube station, and there were two empty chairs just begging us to have a seat!

Without more ado, we immediately allowed our feet a rest in the early evening sun with a cup of sprite to tide us by!

Other than a young lady having a teary-eyed crisis over her mobile phone (sounded to me like she'd just lost some of her flat's deposit...hey we're in a public park its hard NOT to eavesdrop!), chilling out in the park was bliss!




27 down...973 Things to go!

#216 - Look out over Buckingham Palace from the bridge in St James's Park

Timeout said:

Look out over Buckingham Palace from the bridge in St James's Park

Dave did:

Well I did pretty much what the Thing asked for! I'd never been to St. James's Park park before, but it was very beautiful. What's more there was a live band at the bandstand nearby playing my favourite movie soundtrack ever - Gladiator!



26 down...974 Things to go!

#858 - Tour the State Apartments at Buckingham Palace

Timeout said:

It's 15 years since the Queen started to open her home to the great unwashed during the summer months, and its really worth it just to see Lizzie's bling!

Dave did:

Lets get one thing straight - I'm not much of a royalist.

I don't really see their purpose in today's world other than continuing a legacy thats nice to have. I'm not bitter about their ongoing reign, but neither am I in awe of their day to day activities.

That said, having studied in the same year as Wills (and crossed paths with him on several occassions through my 4 years in St.A), I should say I find the guy very personable, and should he become King then I would feel that little bit more proud about the monarchy than I do now.

Anyway, I just thought I should make my position on that clear before continuing the story on how I ticked this Thing off my list.

So it was the day after the Innocent Village Fete, and its fair to say myself and Joe (my companion over this weekend's Things) were pretty shattered from the start! But the tickets were booked, and we had a date with the Queen...or at least her residences!

First stop was at the Royal Art Collection, where we got to view some nice paintings from Italy in the 17th century (Rennaissance and Baroque) which are owned by the royal family - having been passed down the generations. It was a nice experience, and I especially liked the work depicting the myth of Venus and Cupid's love affair.

Similarly I felt pretty pleased with myself for getting to see a drawing by Leonardo Da Vinci titled "Neptune". It was a sketch of a painting he made for a friend that never survived (or has never been found). It looked unbelievable, and I could only imagine what the final thing looked like!

I should probably point out now that unfortunately we were not permitted to take any photo's of the interiors of the Royal buildings, and only allowed to take memorable shots when in open air. So you'll just have to make do with the following as proof of my being there:





After wandering around the galleries plugged into the free audio guide system for around 40 minutes, we felt it was time to move on.

Next Stop: The Royal Mews (a.k.a. The Stables!)

Because the stables where the royal carriages and horses were in the open air, we were allowed to take more photos here than in the gallery, and so I made full use of this! We got to view all four of the queens royal carriages (off the top of my head there was the Scottish Royal Coach, the Australian Royal Coach, the Crystal Coach,and the Irish Royal Coach). Time for a game of spot the difference I think...






There was also a display of how the horses and carriage worked together. Unfortunately this photo does not so justice to the size of the horses of the carriage, they were both huge! At least 12 feet tall if not more!




Finally (forgive me if thus far its sounded like a list...but as I warned at the start, I'm not particularly interested in royalty or its possessions!), we made it to the State Apartments at Buckingham Palace. These rooms are only opened for a limited time during the summer, and this year there was an extra special exhibition within the Palace to celebrate the Diamond (60) year wedding anniversary of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.

The Palace was definitely something I was glad I saw. In some ways it reminded me of some halls at St. Andrews University. But whereas St. Andrews has a more wooden finish to its decor, the Palace was more extravegant (i.e. Gold and antique decorations). The Audio tour guide was brilliant and really gave an insight into each room, explaining how Nash was commissioned to design certain rooms over 200 years ago that still stand today and impress just as much as they were originally built.

At the end of the tour we were allowed to wander through the North side of the Buckingham Palace gardens (where those awarded OBE's and the like meet up after the ceremony). And at last I was allowed to take some sort of photo evidence of the day! This me at the rear of Buckingham Palace (indeed how many people can say they've done that??)





25 down...975 Things to go!

#596 - Walk around the Inner Circle in Regent's Park

Celebrity Favourite Thing - Suggs (Musician and DJ)Timeout/Suggs said:

One of the places that I really love in London is the Inner Circle in Regent's Park. It has a wonderful rose garden!

Dave did:

Having had an unbelievably great time at the Innocent Village Fete, I somehow managed to persuade my party to struggle on down to Regent Park's Inner Circle (the festival was being held in Regent's park, so I didn't see it as that much of a struggle!)

So in the summer evening we had a quick tour around the inner circle and were pleasantly surprised to find all sorts of weird sculptures, gardens and a lake with rowing boats. It was a brief walk through but I'll definitely be back to enjoy it more when I return for the Open Theatre next weekend (another Thing to be ticked off).





24 down...976 Things to go!

#593 - Dip into Hummus Bros.

Timeout says:

A small, stylish Soho fast food cafe that doesn't take life too seriously - and is seriously dedicated to houmous. An excellent operation; may it continue to grow.

Dave did:

I LOVE Houmous!

I absolutely ADORE Houmous!

I adore it so much I always give it a capital H when I write it out!

Of course I didn't always like houmous, or should I say, I never REALISED I liked houmous until recently when I was working out in Israel last summer. Out there I became renowned for my side plate at lunch holding a mountain of houmous on it...and me just taking a few mouthfuls out of it (it was more the excitement of seeing it there and being allowed to take all I wanted that made me build my Mount Houmous each day).

Anyway, back to the Thing! I have actually visited the Hummus Bros. cafe in Soho before on a works leaving party, where (surprise, surprise) an Israeli colleague was finally returning home after working with us for 5 months. Unfortunately we got there and found out that:

a) They don't serve alcohol

b) They don't serve anything other than variations of Houmous!

As a result, we snuck in our own bottle of vodka, and with only chickpeas to line out stomachs got very very drunk, very very quickly!

However, on this occassion I didn't actually go near Soho to experience Hummus Bros. delights this time around.

Once again the Innocent Village Fete provided me with an opportunity to tick off Thing #593 whilst completing Thing #320! The Innocent Fete was quickly becoming my 1000 Things haven!!

So I ordered my houmous with Guacamole and picked up my "Give Chickpeas a chance" pin badge and sat down for the obligatory photo...




23 down...977 Things to go!

#94 - Rediscover your knitting needles

Timeout said:

Knitting is fashionable again, which means it's never been easier to make this pastime a social event.

Dave did:

We've checked into the Innocent Village Fete, and just picked up our little guidebooks explaining what is where and when certain shows are going to start etc. and the first thing I find inside this book of wonders is a page titled 'The Big Knit':

The Innocent Village Fete Said:
It's time for us to start politely asking you if you wouldn't mind knitting a few little woolly hats for our smoothie bottles...Stay strong, keep knitting.

After reading that, how can I refuse such a golden opportunity to make a woolly hat AND tick off Thing #94, all whilst still in the middle of ticking off Thing #320!!

So eventually I persuade my friends to follow me over to the Big Knit tent, and I pick up my knitting kit (2 red needles, a sky blue ball of wool, and a cream white ball of wool...who would have known it was that simple??). We are then directed to another knitting tent further down the park where I'm promised someone can help teach me how to start knitting.

Having made my way over to this new tent full of women of various ages (I'm very relieved to see the girls in their 20's are in equal number to the ladies in their 50's!), and march straight up to the main table.

Dave: "I need someone to help me learn to knit please"

Helpful Knitting Lady: "Oh ok, have you ever knitted before?"

Dave: "Well, not since I was about 7 years old when I got a knitting kit from an supermarket Santa Claus"

Helpful Knitting Lady (looking slightly bemused): "Ok, well there are a few girls around helping everyone out, so if you grab one of them they'll show you what to do."


Now I'll freely admit that by this stage I was beginning to get a little sheepish, and just wanted to get this over and done...dare I say I felt a little out of my depth! I went over and found a bale of hay to sit down on (hey, you gotta get your priorities right!) and then gloomily looked around with a rather pathetic look of innocence on my face, hoping someone would come over and help me hold two red needles.

Well the Helpful Knitting Lady seemed to pick up on this act, and so came over a few minutes later with a beginners guide to knitting booklet, and sat herself down beside me.

After about 10 minutes we were off and running, and I had managed to get through my first few rows (and only dropping a couple of stitches!)



I actually found the whole knitting experience pretty therapeutic, and after about 30 minutes I decided to pack up my knitting needles and look to continue it on a rainy day...


...when I got home around 11pm I found myself sitting down watching the F1 Qualifying with my knitting needles out...oh dear!


22 down...978 Things to go!

#320 - Do Fruitstock

Timeout said:

Officially London's nicest festival, Fruitstock takes place every August in Regent's Park and organised by the people behind Innocent Smoothies. The festival features live music, DJ's, farmers market, cake stand, yoga lessons, poetry slam, reading areas, and knitting corners!

Dave did:

Same location, same time of year...just a different name! Fruitstock is, alas, no more! In its place however, Innocent have brought in the Innocent Village Fete (pronounced FA-IT as I was made very aware of...not Feh-t as I first believed!)

Well I cannot recommend this festival highly enough, the whole day was just amazing and so much fun! I started off by meeting up with some friends and then heading in, pausing for the obligatory photo shot obviously:



Once in, we headed straight for the 'Agility Dogs' show (we missed the Duck Herding...GUTTED!). Some dogs were fast, some were slow, some didn't even pay attention to the obstacles laid out in front of them, but overall is was a good laugh!



After that induction we ended up wandering around all over the place, we were at the live music tent, then over to the bandstand for dancing lessons, then next door to the knitting tent (see Thing #94), and then some feret racing before ending the night with Gino Washington (apparently the next best thing to James Brown back in the 60's!).


I definitely recommend this to anyone. For £5 (where all profit after costs go straight to charity) it is exactly like a music festival just without the huge names! The atmosphere is brilliant and there's so many weird and wonderful things to try out that people are more than happy to help you to learn and understand!



21 down....979 Things to go!

#848 - Find a Busker when you want one

Timeout said:

Find them at Carling-associated 'licensed busking' spots in various tube stations

Dave did:

Heading out for another day of 1000 Things, and as I get off the tube station at Regents Park I can hear the sounds of home in the near distance - a Piper (bagpiper!) busking away down the tunnels of the underground.

Obviously Thing #848 immediately springs to mind, and so I stop and drag out my cumbersome Digital SLR for a quick shot with the busker himself (dropping £3 into his bag in a polite gesture of thanks).

Good start to the day!





20 down...980 Things to go!

#754 - Pop a Coin in the Capitals Best Jukeboxes

Bradley's Spanish Bar

Timeout said:

Probably London's best Vinyl juke

Dave did:

After an afternoon spent out at Alexandra Palace for a works event (a lovely part of London if I do say so myself!) I had arranged to meet some of my friends out by Whitechapel in East London.

...Unfortunately once I got there, I found out they had decided to move on to Picadilly Circus (i.e. central London!!). Usually at times like these I give up and just head home, but something made me decide to stick with our arrangement and head into town instead.

Back in Picadilly Circus, I find them all outside a pub called the Argylle Arms, but alas I cant find it in my 1000 Things! But I grab a pint of beer and ready myself for a night of good decent chat. Lo and behold they suddenly announce their moving again to some "Spanish pub"!

Well I give up once more and decide just to taxi my pint on to the next pub! But alas, this time we find out way to a pub that IS on my 1000 Things, being the beholder of one of London's best juke boxes!

I pop my £1 in and get 3 songs of my choice. Ian (my friend) and I decide on an unknown song called "Danny" (Ian's ode to Danny Wallace and his terrific book - The Yes Man), The Who's My Generation, and finally White Stripes - 7 Nation Army!

So we stand there in the cramped pub, listen to our three songs and proudly step out onto the street in the full knowledge that I have only 981 Things left!




(Apologies for the poor photo quality...I think Ian was ever so slightly intoxicated, and ever so slightly excited that he was there to see me complete one of my Things!)


19 down...981 Things to go!