Wednesday 30 March 2016

Goat Race - Spitalfields City Farm, Easter 2016


So the goat race happened at the Spitalfields City Farm and it was all that we could have hoped for! 

2 goats, 1200 hipsters, a whole lot of fun!

Here's what we found out...

1) Cockerels can be incredibly photogenic

 


2) Someone is championing equal rights among goats (phew!)

 

3) Goat snacks are remarkably aesthetic


4) Cows will eat palm trees if allowed


5) If the job of goat-themed fun day commentator didn't exist we have no idea what this man would be doing for a living!


And now for the Shoat (young pig) Race - we were treated to the pre-goat appetiser of male pigs in drag racing one another, every bit as phenomenal as it sounds! Here's the evidence...





And finally, the day's main event; a goat representing Oxford and one representing Cambridge went head to head for the title of greatest goat - every bit as tense as the boat race which was taking place across town! It was a very close race indeed!




No animals were harmed or mistreated in any way, we were reassured that this was actually something that the goats did every day of the year regardless of whether they had spectators or not. All money raised went into the farm's fund to feed the animals.

A great afternoon of nonsense! We hope to see you there next year!

All opinions are my own



Wednesday 23 March 2016

Day Trip from London: #1 St Albans


I love London, obviously, but at times it can all get a bit too much! It's busy, noisy and polluted, plus for international visitors all of its pros can also be cons - as a vast, cosmopolitan sprawl it's actually not very respresentative of most of the country, and for those wanting to immerse themselves in an authentic and quintessentially English experience this is not really the place to achieve it! However, it's no problem as the capital can be effectively used as a launching pad to reach a wealth of stunning destinations easily explorable on a daytrip or weekend away!

Introducing: St Albans - the best historic town you've never heard of! 

 

  

 

Where is it? 

 About 30 mins train ride north of central London in the county of Hertfordshire.

Why visit? 

St Albans is an absolute gem! History buffs are treated to both Roman and Tudor ruins as well as the impressive central cathedral - one of the largest in Europe. There's also culture aplenty with many theatres around town holding regular concerts and productions. 
St Albans presents us with a happy blend of both typical rural and townie English life. It boasts a bustling town centre full of traditional English pubs alongside more modern, international eateries, and a lively market which has been around since the 9th century! And all of this is just a short stroll from rolling fields full of delightfully, inquisitive sheep and the joyful trickle of the River Ver, a prime spot for catching a glimpse of the illusive kingfisher!

 

Highlights

 

St Albans Cathedral



Built on the grave of Alban, the first British martyr of christianity, the cathedral has been a place of pilgrimage for over 1700 years! The building itself is a must see if you visit the town - extremely impressive, and bears evidence of Saxon, Norman, Medieval, Victorian and modern architectural additions and modifications. You will also witness paintings of oustanding national importance, which were painted in the 13th century and only rediscovered in 1862. Tip: definitely take a free guided tour to give yourself some historical context for this amazing building.

 

Sopwell Nunnery 

 

 
If you want a leisurely stroll around some absolutely stunning Tudor ruins away from the gawking crowds then I can't recommend Sopwell Nunnery enough! The shell that is seen today isn't actually that of the Benedictine Abbey from which it take its name at all - it's actually the ruins of Lee Hall, named after Sir Richard Lee - a commander of Henry VIII, who tore down the original building during the dissolution of the monastries. 
I couldn't believe that not only was such an incredible piece of history so easily accessible, it's just there, plonked between some allotments and a housing estate, but we had full run of the place to ourselves - save for the odd, token dog-walker! Incredible! 
Nature bonus: we managed to spot a kingfisher at the River Ver Trail a few yards from this site! 


 

 Roman Theatre & Walls

 

  
The city of Verulamium was established at the site of modern day St Albans, and was the second largest town of Roman Britain. Traces of this period are still visible today;  the ruined walls and theatre are definitely worth a look! You'll need to pay to explore the theatre, but a discount is possible if you combine your ticket with a visit to the Verulamium museum - another must see! 
The walls are found within the beautifully maintained Verulamium Park just west of the town centre.

 

Verulamium Museum

 

The place in St Albans to learn about the town's Roman history - you'll discover a wealth of artifacts displayed alongside easily digestible information and leave feeling enriched by all that Romany cultural goodness! Plus the chance to create your own mosaic!


 Tea at Abigail's

 


Don't let all of that dashing about between historic sites prevent you from enjoying a mid morning or late afternoon repose at Abigail's Tea Room. This cosy little traditional cafe is situated at the chic Victorian arcade just of the High Street, and has friendly staff, and a snuggly atmoshpere.


A great little historic town with much to offer - easily explorable within a day and just a stones throw away from central London! 

All opinions are my own.


Monday 14 March 2016

Matt Leblanc Skuds Around Town for Top Gear Shoot & Causes Outrage!

Pic: Londinium Now

Former Friends star Matt Leblanc, and stunt driver Ken Block, tore it up around Westminster yesterday for a Top Gear shoot featuring Block's Hoonicorn car, a "batsh*t retro-modern all-wheel drive Gymkhana seven ford mustang", leading to a public outcry! Some claim it was disrespectful to WWI and II dead that the new host should be seen to performing wheel spins next to The Cenotaph!

 

What is the Cenotaph?

 

The Cenotaph was originally erected as a temporary structure for a peace parade following WWI but eventually became the UK's primary national war memorial. It is situtated on Whitehall in London and is the site of the annual Remembrance Sunday service, held on the closest Sunday to 11 November each year, a ceremony which commemorates the contribution of British and Commwealth service people made during the two world wars.

 Pic: Wikipedia

 

What now?

 

After viewing images of the day's events in the national papers today fellow Top Gear Host Chris Evans has "unreservedly" apologised on BBC Radio 2 for what the images "seem to portray" which he has described as "entirely disrespectful". 
Leblanc is yet to comment.

Urban Art #11

South Bank (beneath Blackfriars Railway Bridge), Southwark, 2016

Saturday 12 March 2016

5 Things We Learnt At The Horniman Museum & Gardens

 

1) The kookaburra isn't so highly respected in all circles!

 

 

2) Regardless of species, disembodied heads always make for a creepy display

 


 

3) Lions should be treated softly

 

 

4) Forest Hill offers one of the best views of the city

 

 

5) A stuffed Walrus will always make a striking focal point! 

 




Definitely go and check out the Horniman (no sniggering!) Museum and Gardens in Forest Hill if you have a spare Saturday. The permanent collection is free and offers a wealth of interesting artifacts and curiosities from around the globe!

All opinions are my own.

Friday 11 March 2016

Goat Race at Spitalfields City Farm!

Pic: Spitalfields City Farm

Goat Race! Enough said! 

Be there on Sunday 27th March 2016, 1-6pm for the 8th annual event in which goats representing Oxford and Cambridge go head to head (race starts some time between 2-5pm); book tickets well in advance as places sell out quickly!

There'll also be booze, bands and betting! Stampeding farm animals couldn't keep us away!

Thursday 10 March 2016

Woman in Black: Then & Now!



 Pic: thewomaninblack.com 

An elderly lawyer is obsessed with the notion of a family curse, which he believes was cast over him decades earlier by a malevolent apparition. After years of torment he enlists the help of a sceptical young actor to help him finally exorcise his soul!

The Woman in Black is a long running play, adapted by Stephen Mallatratt from the book of the same name by Susan Hill, and has been hosted by The Fortune Theatre in London's West End since 2005.

I saw The Woman in Black for the first time when I was about fourteen years old on a class trip, it left a lasting impression and I've wanted to see it again ever since! Back then I didn't know that I would live almost the same amount of life again before finally getting around to it! 
In light of this I thought that it would make an interesting experiment to compare the two experiences, and let you know whether or not, in my own opinion, it has truly stood the test of time. Would it shock me, and the rest of the audience, now as it had then. On that first occassion everyone had been screaming; I hadn't realised that a play could be that scary! I had gone in brave and bold to come out pale and shaken.
This time around it was like I was seeing it again as a fourteen year old boy; the intensity of the performance and the genuine fear that I had felt had been locked up inside some deep, dark part of my brain for all this time. Occasionally these vivid memories have broken free and I've relived this incredible play in both fondness and fear; I remembered it as being completely terrifying. It had kept me awake at night for days afterwards... partly due to the fact that I genuinely believed in ghosts back then! So, was I now simply scared by the memory of being scared and how it had effected me as a youngster, or was the play itself really all I remember it as being cracked up to be? This was the big question!
I was full of nervous excitement and apprehension whilst waiting for it to begin. In many ways, like our protagonist, I had some spirits to exorcise... it was time for me to finally face up to The Woman in Black!
In many ways I think it was almost inevitable that it would fall a little short; I'm a much different person now than I was then- obviously! It was scary, but it wasn't fourteen year old pulling his hood up to protect him from the ghosties scary - of course! Let's delve a little deeper...
The performances cannot be faulted, the actors really do a spectacular job with minimal props and fairly limited space - I remember thinking it then, and I thought it this time too. The performers have changed between time, of course, but the quality of the performance hasn't! They do everything within their power to bring you into the scene through the sheer richness of dialogue and delivery; it's a very minimalist production with lots of simmering monologues. Through their words you can almost begin to see the misty marshes of the story come to life before you, and coupled with some great sound design everything becomes very real, very fast! There is a tireless, brooding intensity to this show; a slow creeping fear begins to boil in your gut as our characters transport us through mere language and gesture to the spooky, provincial backwater of Crythin Gifford (such a slipperily brilliant and evil sounding name!), a fictional market town on the east coast.
I did feel however that some of the jumps missed their mark in comparison to back then...but why? I wondered whether it was an issue with the audience rather than the play. Have we changed that much during the last decade or so? I think the answer must be a yes, but how so? I have of course - I've grown up, but that's not what I mean; there were teens in the audience as well, and they weren't jumping as I had expected them to. Do classic scare tactics no longer work on us as well?
Some think that we've collectively become something of a bunch of dismissive, desensitised, indifferent millennial douchebags who simply tut and shrug our way through life, and have become more used to using emojis than emotions. Could this really be the case? It's certainly a different world now to then... A member of staff told a group of schoolkids that there was to be no photography throughout the performance and it dawned on me that I didn't even have a cameraphone at fourteen! Have 21st century folk become immune to theatre-style shocks? I'm not sure, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it - the teens behind us certainly didn't seem as consistantly and vocally frightened as we had been! Maybe they were a little older, or a little braver, or maybe teens these days are just a little different, full stop.
That said; believe me when I say that there was still plenty of screaming! And a lot of the jumps were still right on the money! I kept looking at my girlfriend to see where she was on the scare-o-meter; often quite high!
I think that my position in the theatre last time compared to this time however played a huge part in my overall engagement and surely that of those around me too. I thought I'd go for the dress circle this time around for a greater overview of the whole stage - which we definitely got! Whereas, the teenage me had been sat at stage level, fully emersed in the action. Without giving too much away, a ground level seat gives a much more interactive experience in hindsight.
The dress circle position was not ideal for a few reasons; firstly I found my legs very squashed in the front row (maybe further back would have been better), and I was conscious of this throughout... Secondly, I just found it far too bright in the upper level; there were distracting exit lights on either side which prevented the scene from ever going completely black which meant that movement could be seen on stage at times when it should not have been visible. This meant that some of the magic of the scene changes were spoilt for me, which was a shame. Finally, I think going for the overview in the dress cricle itself was actually not the best idea; being right down amongst the action for the first viewing had meant that sudden ghostly appearances were that more instant, and had a greater impact.
So, what's the verdict?
Well, I would still definitely, and wholeheartedly, recommend this show to anyone and everyone, and especially as your introduction to the West End experience! My top tip however would be to get yourself a seat right down on the ground level in the middle of the action to experience the frights at their best. The performances are incredible, the story compelling and the use of props a joy to behold! It didn't quite live up to the hype I had built up for it over all these years but maybe that should have been obvious. Its not pre-internet era, ghost-believing teen scary but its pretty damn close! 
An incredibly well acted, chilling experience with one or two big jumps!

Pic: Londinium Now - shouldn't really have taken this, whoops!

Have you been to see The Woman In Black recently or back in the day? What are your memories of seeing it as a youngster? I'd love to hear what you have to say!

All opinions are my own.

A lawyer obsessed with a curse that he believes has been cast over him and his family by the spectre of a Woman in Black, engages a sceptical young actor to help him tell his terrifying story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul. - See more at: http://thewomaninblack.com/the-show#sthash.UQq6dVki.dpuf
A lawyer obsessed with a curse that he believes has been cast over him and his family by the spectre of a Woman in Black, engages a sceptical young actor to help him tell his terrifying story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul. - See more at: http://thewomaninblack.com/the-show#sthash.UQq6dVki.dpuf

Wednesday 9 March 2016

Top 5 Unlikely and Unusual Animals That Can Be Easily Spotted In London

5) Okapi

 

 Pic: Zoochat.com
 
Ok so this one is a bit of a cheat; there aren't now, and have never been, herds of okapi roaming the streets of London. However, it's still an incredible animal and completely possible to easily view in our great city - albeit at the Zoo! 
So, it looks kind of weird, sure; a strange mix between a zebra, a giraffe and a donkey, indeed the okapi is most closely related to the giraffe, and together they are the only living members of the giraffidae family which is pretty cool, but why does it deserve a place on this list when London Zoo is full of so many awesome animals? Well, mainly due to its former status as a cryptid! This strange beast, endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, had been described for centuries by both the Ancient Egyptians and central African tribes but was rejected by Western science as a myth. It was dubbed "the African unicorn" and was seen as little more than a fantastical hybrid belonging firmly to the realm of legends. 
This changed in 1901 when the British governor of Uganda, Sir Harry Johnston, after whom the animal was finally named okapia johnstoni, acquired skins, a skull and finally a live specimen.
It wasn't until 2008 that the first full photographs of a wild okapi were snapped! These pictures are available to view on the London Zoo website.
So, how had it remained hidden for so long? Mainly because okapi are stealthy, solitary animals, which inhabit the deepest, most remote parts of the Congolese rainforest, and rarely venture into gallery forests or areas disturbed by human habitation. 
They are now classified as endangered due to threats such as logging and hunting for bushmeat, and are fully protected under Congolese law, making the London Zoo examples even more precious. 
So, definitely go and check out these mysterious, and persisting icons of cryptozoology at the Regent's Park Zoo, there was even a baby born there in 2013 - a real rarity! Loving these stripey fellas!

 Pic: Londinium Now - A stuffed example at the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill


4) Pelicans

 

 Pic: BBC

Now onto the weird and truly wild unlikely critters which really do freely roam the capital...
It's mindblowing to think that the pelicans at St James' Park were originally given as a gift to King James II by the Russian Ambassador in 1664. They aren't the same ones that you can see in the park today of course! but during this 400 year period over 40 pelicans have made London their home. Occassionally fresh blood is brought in to maintain a healthy population; the newest of which arrived in 2013, as a gift from the City of Prague. There are actually eight types of pelican in the world, the ones in St James' Park being Great White pelicans which can be found throughout Eurasia and in patchy locations in Africa, south of the Sahara.
The pelicans really are a city staple, and incredibly easy to spot; usually they'll be lounging on Pelican Rock on the park's lake or somewhere near Duck Island Cottage. 
A pelican's diet normally consists of fish, as well as amphibians, turtles, and crustaceans which they gulp down whole using those incredible bills. However, occassionally they'll decide to snack on their fellow bird bros as well. Just check out exhibit A; video evidence, taken in St James' Park itself, featuring a pelican going all National Geographic of an unexpecting pigeon, in front of horrified children no less! Gruesome!

 
Vid: Solidworksmagic 


Pelicans are clearly awesome, if a little brutish, but they only feature at number four on this list due to the fact that most people already know about them; let's crank it up a notch...

3) Terrapins & Turtles 

 

 
Pic: Hackney Gazette


I have never witnessed these critters myself, so maybe they shouldn't be included on a list of animals easily spotted in our fair city? You decide!
Reports of them are widespread, and it does seem that oweing to the fact that I live right next to Regent's Canal, supposedly their number one haunt, it is simply a statistical inevitability that I will spot them in due course, or at least that is if pictorial and anecdotal evidence is anything to go by! 
Evidence such as this awesome little number published on Reddit, which appears to depict a terrapin riding on a dead fox! 

Pic: Bloxie

And this video which allegedly captures the moment a spot of night fishing produced a snapping turtle from the canal's murky depths.

 Vid: Tonymorris1991

And, in true British tabloid fashion the Daily Mail managed to brew up a mild scare piece about them after a baby terrapin was netted in 2013.
The BBC have also reported on them, as have the Express, the Guardian, the Canal & River Trust, and many others. In fact a quick google search of "turtles regents canal london" will produce about 19,600 results, as of 2016; they are definitely here, and due to rising temperatures, probably here to stay. 
All criticism of tabloid journalism aside, this is of course a major problem for native wildlife. A sustained population of these aquatic North American reptiles will chomp their way through our domestic fauna and flora, including fish, frogs and ducklings. This possibly makes them the sole entry it'd be preferable not to have had to feature on this list at all! 
So, where exactly did they come from in the first place? Well, similar to the origins of the Sydenham Beast and other British big cats, as featured in my Top 5 London Monsters article, it is possible, if not highly probable, that they are the result of domestic animals being released into the wild. 
Believe it or not some actually think that the 1980s-90s popularity of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Britain is to blame! This is due to the fact that many kids wanted to keep turtles as pets, or more specifically the red-eared slider terrapin with their distinctive coloured "eye masks", which the characters were based on. After the cute, baby terrapins inevitably grew too big for the fish tanks they were being housed in many were set free in lakes and rivers. Of course for the most part the UK climate is too chilly for turtles and terrapins to survive in our waterways. However, as summers grow longer and hotter, and winters more mild who knows what the future holds... The recent discovery of  hatchling in the Regent's Canal is certainly a worry as it could prove that the cold-blooded pests are indeed breeding in the wild.
Please do let me know if you manage to spot them, snap a picture if you can, and then get in touch with the RSPCA or the Canal & River Trust!

2) Rose-Ringed Parakeet

 

 
Pic: civilianglobal.com


These exotic little green parrots, native to South Asia and a broad belt just below the Sahara, are a truly unexpected addition to the London flora and fauna, and there are some really cool theories as to their backstory which have become part of London lore. Ideas behind their introduction range from them being escapees from a damaged aviary during the 1987 hurricane, to them being the descendents of a pair released by Jimi Hendrix in Carnaby Street in the 1960s. As a film fan my favourite theory, and the one that I actually heard first, was that the original flock escaped from Isleworth Studios, a branch of Ealing Studios, during the filming of The African Queen starring Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in 1951.
However they managed their great escape they seem to be here to stay, and doing extremely well! There are established populations to be seen in and around Crystal Palace Park, Battersea Park, Richmond Park, Wimbledon Common, Greenwich Park, and Hampstead Heath. I've also seen them screeching through the trees in the borough of Bromley on many occassions, where they land on the side of my brother's building and peck at the ventilation grilles.
Basically if you want to witness these cheeky little green invaders then keep your eyes skinned the next time you are wondering through one of the capital's many leafy areas and the chances are you may just catch a glimpse.
But what is the environmental impact on having such an alien species establish itself here in London? Well, very little apparently; the RSPCB don't seem particularly concerned and actually state on their website that they are against the culling of these beaky little bros. They do however stress that it is important to keep their rapidly expanding numbers closely monitored to ensure that there is no long term negative impact on native bird species. For example woodpeckers make use of the same nesting holes and could potentially suffer from the competition. For now however there doesn't seem to be any real government effort to push the newcomers away, and the RSPCB state that all wild birds, their nests and eggs, are protected by law, includes the non-native parakeets.
These feathery fellas are really awesome, colourful additions to our city and I hope you manage to spot them!
It's worth noting that feral populations have established themselves in many other cities across Europe, including in Paris; I used to see them regularly in the suburb of Antony. Check out the photo I snapped there last year whilst out strolling.

Pic: Londinium Now

1) Red Deer & Fallow Deer

 

 Pic: BBC - Yes, those are council blocks in the background!

Finally, my top pic for the most unlikely and unusual animals that can be easily spotted in London are the deer; both red and fallow deer.
It's easy to forgot that we have some absolutely massive parks in and around our even more massive city; for example, Epping Forest in the north east is a truly immense 21.5 square miles (34 square km), and the Royal Park of Richmond in the west which is a more managable but still impressively large 3.69 square miles (5.94 square km) - both of which are full of wild deer!
It's staggering (pun intended) that such large animals, the red deer is in fact our largest native land-mammal, can be found happily living in such close proximity to people within the confines of the 32nd most populous urban centre on the planet! They really aren't shy either, arguably they're the most easily spotted animal on this list. In the East End they've even been known to wander out into residential neighbourhoods for a late night binge of manicured council lawn (see pics below)!
Fun fact: there are actually more than 2 million wild deer in the UK, which means that the deer population is only about a million short of matching the number of Welsh people!
In London you'll see both red and fallow deer; the red, which are chunky and rust coloured are a species native to Britain whereas the fallow, more willowy and spotted like bambi, were introduced from western eurasia.

 Pic: Daily Mail

For deer watching at its best definitely head out to Richmond Park, which was actually established as a deer hunting ground in the 17th century by Charles I, here you'll get a bit of peace and quite to reflect on just how incredible these animals truly are! The countryside there is tranquil and beautiful, full of birdlife (the odd parakeet swooping overhead if you're lucky) and herds of wild deer roaming well with camera range. You could almost feel yourself being transported back to the medieval era of the hunt if it weren't for the fact that the grand spires and skyscrapers of the modern city were clearly visible just beyond the trees. 
Grasp the opportunity by the antlers and take the occassion to go and see these ordinarily secretive, evasive creatures in a setting that doesn't entail tramping for half a day through the back of beyond just to catch half a glimpse in the very distance; you'll definitely thank me for it!

 Pic: Daily Mail

Have you witnessed any of the animals in this list during your trip to London? Are there any other critters that you feel should have made it into the article? I'd love to hear from you and see your pictures!