#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!

#62 - Reflect on a crime of passion over a pint

Timeout says:
Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, shot David Blakely here on Easter Day in 1955, and two weathered bullet holes on the front wall outside mark the event. Today, the Magdala is a sedate spot; light pours in through the oversized, partly stained-glass windows, and chirpy young bar staff pull pints of London Pride and Greene King IPA

Dave did:

"Hang on" said John, "you should go and have a pint at a crime scene tonight!"

"Uh...okay John, are we about to witness a crime?"


Bearing in mind I had known John for all of 10 minutes over a game of London Skittles (not your normal every day kind of situation) I don't think this was such an unreasonable question!

"No, no, in you 1000 Things, the Magdala here, its just down the road, you can complete another of your things while your here tonight!"



And indeed he was right! In fact I had passed this crime scene on the way to the game of Skittles and had not even noticed it or registered its importance!

So on our way back home, I insisted Ian join me for a quick drink before the bar closed for the night. A quick glass of coke later (on a school night 2 pints was enough for me!) we made our way out the door in hunt of the infamous bullet holes.



I was tempted to pull a legendary death scene pose, but thought the better of it as the bullet holes still look quick fresh!

110 down...890 Things to go!

#45 - Play London Skittles

Timeout says:
Try to knock down nine pins with a 10lb 'cheese' (more of a wedge than a ball) in as few throws as possible. A rare 'floorer' is the apogee, when all the pins are downed with one throw. Three floorers on the trot will earn you a place in London skittles history (17 were recorded in 1934, but the feat hasn't been managed since 1960). Sadly, this historic London game is nearing extinction, but there is an alley at the Freemasons Arms. Play it to save it!

Dave did:

To: enquiries@londonskittles.co.uk
Subject: Skittles Enquiries

Hello,

I read about London Skittles in my Timeout 1000 Things to do in London. I am
currently trying to complete all 1000 things (see www.timeoutinlondon.co.uk)
and I was wondering if me and a friend could come and visit the Freemason
Arms this Tuesday night to try a game?

Thanks,

David


From: enquiries@londonskittles.co.uk
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2008 9:25 PM
To: timeoutinlondon@gmail.com
Subject: RE: Skittles Enquiries

Hi David,

Yes, no problem. We start at about 8pm and play in order of arrival. You "stick" a game first (put the pins up for the players of that game), then you get to play. There's no charge for your first three visits. In the event that you decide to abandon the other 999 things and stick to skittles, the annual membership is £6 and games are 50p.

Regards,
Paul

Paul Robinson
Hampstead Lawn Billiard and Skittle Club


And so it was I found myself running out the office at 7pm to high tail it over to the north end of London. Fortunately I was not going to be flying solo for the evening as my old schoolfriend Ian agreed to come along.

We arrived at the Freemasons Arms to a very subdued and proper gastro-pub. A quick scout around confirmed that we may have found the wrong Freemasons Arms! But I had the quick-thinking to ask a member of the bar staff if they happened to play London skittles in the building, and fortunately they did...it was just downstairs and around the corner from the toilets!

I distinctly recall Ian suggesting it felt like we were heading for a bare knuckles underground boxing match...and the loud thumps and wooden grinds did not help dampen the though!

I peeped our heads around into a moderately sized room, with half the floor missing in the middle creating a gully that led to a diamond shaped platform where 9 pins stood in a diamond formation. Around this set were 3 proud members of the Hampstead Lawn Billiard and Skittle Club (they don't know why its a Lawn Billiard club...they only ever play skittles!)

We were quickly introduced to Steve, Tom and Paul, my contact from the earlier email exchange.

I had tried my best to read up a bit about the game before I had arrived (see www.londonskittles.co.uk) and understood that the game consisted of 9 skittles setup at one end of the room, and then the player was expected to throw a 'cheese' and knock down as many skittles as possible. Knocking all 9 skittles in 3 throws is considered the equivalent of a par in golf, knock them down in less than 3 throws is great, anything more you either score a 4 (if cleared in 4 throws) or a maximum of 5 (5 throws or more required to clear). With me so far? Me neither! When I originally read this my first thoughts were a) Thats alotta stinky cheese and b) Its gonna be very messy!

It's surprising how quickly you pick it the rules though (and rest assured the 'cheese' is actually a very dense circular plate of wood...denser than water I am reliably told!). Our entrance was welcomed with a rare event in London Skittles as one of these cheeses was broken in half after a throw!

A game consists of 7 frames (I think) and you play against 1 other player in turns. My first game was pretty solid, starting with a few 4's and 5's, and ending with a 3! I'm sorry to say my second game (after a few intervening ale's) was not so good and my 'technique' went out the window with a full set of 5's!


During play we discussed how I came across the club, and I explained about my 1000 Things. Luckily I had the book with me and the guys were ecstatic to find out they were #45...in the top 50! They did, however, object to Timeout's reference to the game heading for extinction...


All in all it was a brilliant night out, undoubtedly something a bit different, and hats off to Tom, Paul and Steve who were more than willing to teach us the game and let us play a few games with them. I would definitely place this in my top 5 things done so far!



109 down...891 Things to go!

#513 - Assess London's city squares: Lincoln's Inn Fields

Timeout says:
This 17th-century square, laid out by Inigo Jones, is now a favourite spot for lunching lawyers from the Inns of Court. Sir John Soane's Museum faces on to the square

Dave did:
Well I didn't see anyone resembling a lawyer (no funny wigs anyway!). Curiously there were plenty of stretch limo's about (white and pink ones..??), and there was a kids exercise class in the centre of the park.

My overall assessment? A reasonable get away from the hectic city life, but the buzz of the corporate life is only a 2 minute walk away...

108 down...892 Things to go!