Wax, AFL, Streakers & Lords in London

Weekend in London

21 - 22 October 2006

We left for London on an early bus, leaving Bristol at 7am, arriving at London around 9am.

On what was forecast to be a wet, cold and miserable weekend for London, we survived the weather and it only rained heavily on the Sunday.

Madame Tussauds, the Wax Museum

Upon arriving at the Victoria Bus Station, we headed straight for the Tube, and existed at Baker Street station. Madame Tussauds, the wax museum was right next door. We had bought tickets at the bus station, so we fast tracked into the museum within about 2 minutes. By that time the lineup behind us had grown by another 30 or so people.

When Jacko was white, not sure which nose he has on though


The two Brads...





Beatles





Robbie Williams



Im stuck for words!

Inside the Museum is set up with numerous wax statues on display which you can photograph. Some were done quite well, but some others were shockers. All the A-List Celebrities were there, Royal family members, numerous football players, and David Beckham is the only one to have 2 wax statues of him in the Museum.

The Museum also has a chamber of horrors and a walkthrough of a dungeon like basement with live actors running around scaring you in the dark! There was showground style ride in a black cab, highlighting the history of London, including the Great Fire, the War, etc., and at the end, an animated movie about how to act like a star. Designed for the kids I think?

Little Johnny





Horrors Underground...

There was a Pirates of the Carribean section, (with Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley) and the Pommy Big Brother diary room.

After the Museum we stopped at a nearby Café for a light Lunch and drink, then back on the Tube to head to the Oval.

AFL in London

We organised to catch up with Louise (whom I went to University with years ago), Adrian and his daughters prior to heading to the Oval. We had a warm up Pint at the local Pub, where the ICC Champions Trophy match of Australia vs England was playing. This was great as everytime the Poms lost a wicket, a huge cheer went up in the Pub, and this cheer was huge, because just about every Aussie in London was at the Pub like us!

It almost felt like the game was being played in Australia, except for the weather!

We headed into the ground shortly after and found our seats. The game featured was Geelong vs Port Adelaide, but all 16 clubs were represented by many supporters sporting their team colours, with various guernsey, beanies of the all clubs being worn.

The crowd would’ve been at least 60 – 70% Australian, and we even had other people from Adelaide sitting behind us.

AFL at the Oval - A fight starting out


Streaker A'hoy


Running...


Caught!

We were going for Geelong, as no-one likes Port, and the final result was a well earned victory for Geelong, but the best entertainment of the day was a toss up between the 2 fights during the 2nd and 4th quarters and the two (yes 2) different streakers during the match.

I hope no-one is offended by a bit of nudity, but rest assured he will need to save his pennies as the fine is about 1000 pounds (2400 Aussie dollars) for streaking.

At the end of the game, we were all allowed onto the oval for a kick of the footy and it was a great afternoon, with the rain holding off until after we left the ground.

That night we went into London Central, near the Piccadilly Circus Tube Station, where we had dinner at a steakhouse. We then said goodbye to Lou, Ady and the kids, then took the Tube back to our Hotel for the night, the Beaver Hotel. Great named hotel, but fairly rundown and definitely a budget place to stay in London with no frills whatsoever.

Beaver Hotel


Typical London Suburban Street

Sunday

Sunday morning we enjoyed a full English breakfast at the Hotel then packed up and walked back to the Tube Station. We headed to Camden Markets to pick up some souvenirs and some general shopping through the large number of markets and shops.

As the rain started to set in we headed back to the Tube and head towards Regent Street, where Hamleys is situated. It was the largest toy store in the world, until it was recently overtaken by another store in America.

After forcing through the crowds and the endless number of kids in the store, we then headed back to the Tube and headed to the St John Station and walked the next 10 minutes in the pouring rain to get to Lords Cricket Ground.

Lords

Lords Cricket Ground is owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club, and remains the guardian of both the Laws and the Spirit of Cricket. The MCC sides (which play around 500 games a year) perform a key role in promoting cricket - both in Britain and elsewhere.

It is also the setting for the state-of-the-art MCC Indoor School, the unrivalled MCC Library and the world-famous MCC Museum - where exhibits include the Wisden Trophy and, of course, the Ashes urn.


The Lords Tour included a guided tour of the Oval Grounds, including the famous Long Room, the Committee Room, the Long Room Bar, and the visitors changing rooms. No photos were allowed inside these rooms, however as the tour went on into the Stands there was plenty of photo opportunities. We then went into the new Media Centre, which looks like an alien space ship amongst the surrounding classical style stands. Inside it has been painted sky blue (so to reduce the colour clashes of balls, etc for the players) and is a great viewing spot of the ground. A free bar for the journalists during all matches so you know that during the cricket they are all just praying for rain so they can hit the suds at the bar!

You cant tell from this photo, but it is pouring with rain!


The Ashes


Various Cricket History on Display


The Ashes


Lords Cricket Ground, Media Centre in background


Inside the Media Centre

I think becoming a cricket commentator is sounding better and better…

Downstairs at ground level we were able to walk up to the edge of the hallowed turf, but no walking was allowed on the grass, so no use of feet then hands it is!

The fall across the ground is also highly visible at ground level, with it falling around 7 feet (I think) over the width of the oval.

Upon our visit the ashes Urn was in Australia for only the 2nd time in 100 years (what are the odds of that!), but a replica was in its place, of which only the experts could distinguish between the two.

The museum had some great items on display, superb photos, and a global emphasis on cricket history from all countries involved in the sport. Plenty of Aussie photos as we keep winning everything too!

The long room contained numerous paintings of how the game was originally played hundreds of years ago, along with portraits of famous players, including WG Grace, Sir Donald Bradman, and Shane Warne (the last two are displayed in the Bar – typical Aussies I guess)

At Lords...


The Hallowed Turf.

At the end of the Tour there was not enough time for a Pint at the Lords Tavern, but there will always be next time I am sure!

We then headed back to Victoria Station to catch our bus home, which took around 3 hrs in the traffic. Not to help the long ride home, was a guy next to us who prayed out loud the whole way home, as he read from his book in another language – Arabic I am guessing it was… you do indeed get all sorts on buses. Best to fly we say!