#689 - Ride a Routie

Timeout says:
Remember when you could risk life and limb by jumping on and off buses while they were still moving? (Dave - Not really!) Rememver the shenanigans of trying to dodge the conductor? Well, you should do. It was only in December 2005 that the last of the regular Routemaster buses, the 159, rolled into Streatham Garage for the last time. Transport for London announced soon after the being voted as the nation's most popular icons in 2006, that the bus would live on along two 'heritage' routes.

Dave did:
Can't say I've actually been on one of these apart from the Glasgow Transport Museum as a kid. Was as much fun as a bus can be on a rainy day in London...


Routemaster


Me on Routemaster!

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#626 - Check out modern architecture at the National Gallery

Celebrity Favourite Thing - Roxy Beaujolais (Restauranteur)

Timeout/Roxy says:
I love looking at modern architecture, for example the new portico of the National Gallery. There's now an excellent view as you walk down the steps

Dave did:

Yup. Admired!






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#481 - Visit Trafalgar Square

Celebrity Favourite Thing - Ken Livingstone (Mayor of London)

Timeout/Ken says:
No matter how many times I go there I still cannot get over how much Trafalgar Square has improved since we ended its previous incarnation as a traffic-choked roundabout. The central staircase leading up to the north terrace and the National Gallery really opens it up

Dave did:

What can I say? I came, I saw, I took a pretty photo (with my mobile, hence the crappy quality!) I'd be interested to see what Ken meant by the pedestrianisation of the Square, I can't imagine how it used to be?!

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#166 - Get on Location: Trafalgar Square

Timeout says:
Anyone wo managed to dig out Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo's 'It Happened Here' (1963) can see what Nazi-occupied Britain might have looked like in 1944: swastikas adorning Nelson's column, and the SS visit St. Pauls

Dave did:
No German war memorabilia here, but a beautiful site!



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#571 - Ponder the fourth plinth

Timeout says:
Nowhere in London gives a better sense of Britain's long-departed imperial pomp than Trafalgar Square, dominated by the 185-foot column of Lord Nelson and three plinth-bourne statues of 19th century luminaries. Screw them; it's the fourth plinth, on the north-west corner that's the interesting one. It was designed and built by Sir Charles Barry to display a statue of a horse, but no one stumped up the cash. It was then empty for 158 years until 1998 when some bright spark decided to plonk some modern art on it. This led to the idea of the Fourth Plinth Project, where the space is home to an ongoing series of temporary works of art from leading national and international artists

Dave did:
Very interesting concept, and one I must approve of as it doesn't deter from the history of the square, but definitely adds to its interest...

Thomas Schütte's "Model for a Hotel 2007" was on display on my visit.



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#37 - Stay late in the museum

Timeout says:
If your social schedule is getting in the way of cultural pursuits, combine both by attending an evening event at a museum or gallery. The framework is pretty well established - late opening of the current blockbuster show with extra entertainment - but the contents can be impressively unexpected

Dave did:
OK hands up, I didn't necessarily go to the designated late night opening at the National Portrait Gallery, but I was there when it was pitch black outside!

There was a Pop Art exhbition in town while I was visiting, but given that you had to pay a fee to view it I decided to stick to the free exhbitions which were equally impressive.

One exhibition was of the Tudor and Elizabethan era's. Did you know when Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon, she had actually been married to Henry's brother previously? (Her first husband died after a few months...and she married his brother Henry 9 years or so later!). Pretty ironic really when a later wife of Henry's was beheaded after being accused of incestry!



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#42 - Spin the globe at Stanfords

Timeout says:
With three floors stacked full of travel guides, travel writing, road and wlal maps (some imported), as well as illustrated books covering all continents, atlases, globes, magazines, and accessories, the flagship branch of Stanfords is a vital stop for anyone planning that big trip.

Dave did:
Trust my luck to miss a personal visit by the travel guru himself, Mr Michael Palin, by 2 sodding days!

Still, I found a few interesting finds "Your daily countdown to the end of Bush's Presidency" being one...another, more worryingly, seemed to tempt my fate a little given the circumstances in which I came to find it:



Nevertheless I got to spin a globe!



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#6 - Pop in to the Photographers' Gallery

Timeout says:
This marvellous little gallery hold exhibits of still photography, film and installations. Its compact size means it isn't as daunting as larger exhibition spaces

Dave did:
Well I think we all know now how much I love photography as a past time, and so this visit was a must for me today!

Upon entering the gallery, I loved how I was immediately confronted with a "No Photography Allowed" sign...oh the irony...if only I were allowed to take a photo of the scene (!)

The gallery itself really only consisted of a single room where there was a coffee bar and a large long table for people to sit, have a coffee, read some magazines and gaze up at the wall filled with framed photographs. Today's exhibition was all about Insomnia.

It wasn't my type of photography if I'm honest. If there's one thing I hate in photography, its taking photos of people...and this exhibition was full of it!

Fortunately I found a gallery shop on the upper floor where a wider variety of prints could be found (the cheapest on sale was around the £300 mark). But what I did find was the work of one Veronica Bailey. Her imagery was fantastic, creating what I would term abstract art out of envelopes received in the post (www.veronicabailey.co.uk)...example below:



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#361 - Pick a Bead

Timeout says:
Beads come in every colour, size and material imaginable at the Bead Shop. They're laid out like archaeological discoveries on sectioned tables, while the wall-mounted pigeonholes give the place the feel of an old-fashioned sweet shop

Dave did:
Dare I admit that I used to do alot of bead artistry when I was a young nipper! Oh you may scoff, but I designed a load of Nintendo characters with glass bead artistry, and the were ACE!

So coming across this entry in my 1000 Things was quite a weird experience to return to! Not only did the Bead Shop turn out to be placed in a very quiet, very intimidating backstreet around Leceister Square (I never knew such a place existed), but as I approached I realised that this was perhaps more of a feminine past-time...



Fear not, for one aged old man held up the fort for all mankind! And so I marched in exhibiting the air of confidence that only a former beadster could muster (you cant show any weakness in this industry!).

Unfortunately once in the shop I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do next...basically I needed a photo as proof of my experience, but the atmosphere could be cut with a knife, and as quiet as a library with people concentrating so hard on their selection of beads.

So I humbly picked up my bead basket (complete with small plastic bags and a pen to write the price of each bead on), and started picking up some beads wondering what the hell I was going to do with them when I got home (take a photo most likely!)

All I can say is that the look I got served with at the cashier's desk said it all...I mean whats wrong with buying 10 individual beads at a price of £1.20? They looked nice to me!

...And yes before you ask, I did go home and take a photo of my purchase!



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#102 - Spend some time at the Royal Academy of Arts Restaurant

Celebrity Favourite Thing - Jacqueline Wilson (Children's author)

Timeout/Jacqueline says:
If I'm meeting someone in London, I often choose the Royal Academy of Arts restaurant where there's lots of choice and no one minds if you sit talking for a long time

Dave did:
It's December and London has started to attract the showers and thunderstorms associated with winter. So what better way to pass a rainy day than to jump into a cafe where according to Jacqueline no one cares if you waste their hospitality!

Setting myself up with a sprite and a flapjack, I settled down at a table to read my book. After a while though I started people-watching and seeing who was around...what if Jacqueline Wilson was actually in today?

Well there was one elderly lady who could have been mistaken for her...but I didn't have the nerve to go up and ask her. Instead I took a sneaky over the shoulder photo of her for future comparison on here...


Lady in the restaurant


The original Jacqueline Wilson

Ah well, we'll never know for sure! Still, I highly recommend this spot for some R&R, it was very peaceful and not overly busy or pricey!


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#940 - Make a call from London's first Red Phone Box

Timeout says:
Take two steps off Picadilly and swing open the doorw of telephonic history. This sheltered red kiosk is a Grade II-listed building - not just the first ever vermillion-red telephone box in the whole world, but its wooden prototype. Dial H for History!

Dave did:
Given how iconic the red telephone box is, I'm quite surprised how much of an unassuming presence this original has. Of course it isn't helped when its hidden inside the grand Royal Academy of Arts archway entrace, and behind its wrought iron gates no less!

So it was no wonder I walked straight past it initially, and it took some serious investigation to uncover it!

No one was giving it a second glance, and there was me running over as quick as you like to make sure no one beat me to making a call in this legendary time machine (oh sorry, thats the blue one isn't it?). Imagine my disgust when picking up the handset in one hand whilst digging out some loose change to call my dear mother, that the digital screen reads out "This phone has been decommissioned". Typical!



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#19 - Beadle about Burlington Arcade

Timeout says:
Long before Londoners were browsing high spec concept shops, superstores and suburban malls, the city's consummate consumers flocked to the select tailes, corsetieres and jewellers around Piccadilly. It was here that the city's first shopping centres were built, in the form of genteel and architecturally elegant arcades. Opended in 1819, skylit Burlington Arcade is the most famous of these arcades, and the most traditional.

Dave did:
Today was all about not spending any money, so I came, I saw, I walked away very very fast.





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#860 - Sit between Churchill and Roosevelt

Timeout says:
The wartime big-hitters are preserved in jocular conversation on a sturdy bench in Bond Street

Dave did:
Just imagine if you will...Churchill, Roosevelt, and Cameron...I'm no conservative, but if I were to lend my namesakes familiarity the following picture would be priceless:



Of course, having a photographer with a steady hand would also help in the bidding war, but you can't have everything when your the unknown Mr. Cameron!

I will say this though, after sticking these two greats on a park bench, its a bit of a tight squeeze to fit yours truly's backside in between them, and once you do Winston was getting a bit too close and personal if you know what I mean!!


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#889 - Visit the Animals in War Memorial

Timeout says:
One of the silliest of London's thousands of statues, plaques, and memorials, the Animals in War Memorial sits on the edge of Hyde Park and commemorates the horses, dogs, elephants, pigeons and glow worms that saved the world from destruction in two world wars. As if this wasn't surreal enough, it was partly inspired by a book by bonkbusteress Jilly Cooper.

Dave did:
Ever seen a camel in London? If not then I suggest you go and check out this memorial...which really cannot be described any better than 'surreal'!

I really don't know what to say about this without coming across as disrespectful (which I don't mean to be). But it did strike me as something that would hold more appeal to a group of 9 year old girls than any sensible adult, although obviously animal right protesters would claim differently (but then when was the last time you saw animal right protesters campaigning against the use of animals in any dangerous profession? Not me). The engraving "They Had No Choice" also brought a wry smile to my face....yes I am going to hell when I die!






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#952 - Take a Tour round the Pet Cemetery in Hyde Park

Timeout says:
Like something straight out of a Stephen King novel, the macabre Hyde Park Pet Cemetery is hidden bhind railings at Victoria Gat. It appeared in the 1880's, when Cherry, a Maltese terrier was buried here. By 1893 there were 33 gravestones for departed cats and dogs, with the last burial coming in 1967. George Orwell described it as 'perhaps the most horrible spectacle in Britain'.

Dave did:
Progress has admittedly been slow of late, but I came into this weekend fully prepared to make up for that! Having plotted out my route around London to conquer as many Things as possible, I headed out to West London and Hyde Park.

Unfortunately things did not get off to the greatest of starts as first I was to find there was nothing to be watching at Speakers Corner (obviously free speech takes a back seat in December!), and then I spent an hour wondering around the far reaches of Hyde Park searching for a Pet Cemetery!!

Eventually after alot of web surfing on the mobile, peering through people's back gardens, and walking around in circles, I spotted lots of little headstones through some iron gates! But once again my luck was not with me this morning as the entrance was locked and looked pretty unwelcoming:



So back I went to the iron gates, and some closer inspection of the headstones revealed that poor Muffin died at the grand old age of 15 years...and is remembered in loving memory...



Perhaps London does have alot to offer, its just getting the authorisation thats the hassle!

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