Okay so there really isn?t a Guy Fawkes ? Day 2 however I didn?t get to see a bonfire yesterday so today I dragged Andrew to Battersea Park to check out the bonfire and fireworks display there. It was a pain to get into the park but it was worth it.

Firstly the bonfire. We got to the park early this time to find a huge pile of what looked like loading crates sitting in the middle of a field just asking to be lit. Of course some fool tried to throw their sparkler in to try and set it off but the fireman was right on top of it and managed to get it out of the stack of crates before any premature lighting of the bonfire occurred. Finally, at the appointed time, a countdown started in the crowd and seconds later the bonfire had begun. At first the flames were tame but after about 5 minutes of burning the flames had reached their peak and the heat became unbearable. So much for an exciting bonfire ? it was cool to see the flames but I was disappointed they didn?t throw ?Guy? on to it. We took the opportunity to head over to get a good position for the fireworks.

We ended up about 2 metres back from the barriers so closer than we were at Clapham. After some bizarre 20 minute performance by a group of people from Cirque du Soleil involving a crane, angels, kites and a lot of interpretive work (I still can?t work out what they were doing) the best fireworks I?ve seen lit up the sky. It was even better than Clapham?s fireworks ? though I wonder if that had more to do with the fact there were no trees (or obnoxious men) to ruin the experience or if it was the fact it was set to music and lights. The music really added to the atmosphere and was synchronized exactly to the exploding fireworks. Unfortunately my photos don?t really capture how brilliant the show was ? my video footage was a bit better. If you?re in town for the show you do not want to miss it ? just follow the oohs and aahs.

Total steps taken: 20,891

On November 5, 1605 there was a conspiracy by a small group of English Catholic men (13 ? an auspicious number) to blow up Parliament. The plan failed miserably and most were either killed outright or tortured and then executed. Guy (real name Guido) Fawkes was captured and questioned and eventually me the same fate as his co-conspirators: hung, drawn and quartered. Of course ever since that day England has celebrated this attempted treason with bonfires, fireworks and the burning of an effigy, Guy. Interestingly until 1959 it was illegal not to celebrate the date of Guy?s arrest. Any excuse to play with fire.

Rehana invited me to her place with the intention of checking out the Clapham Common Bonfire Night followed by a night out on the town. Sort of. We are still searching for that illusive bar/club that plays good chillin? music. Of course we were running late for the Bonfire Night and there was major traffic on our bus journey in. Just as well we didn?t bother trying to make via the tube station which was of course shut. Still ? our timing was rather perfect as we arrived at the edge of the park just as the fireworks began.

To say there were a lot of people about is an major understatement. Many had simply stopped along the streets and were gazing up into the sky. At first we were going to stay on the outskirts – which to be honest gave us a pretty good view of most of what was going on – but we decided to move further forward just because the green is greener on the other side. Again there were people all over the place – mainly playing with sparklers. What was scary, and downright irresponsible, was the fact that people were actually setting off fireworks in the middle of the crowd. Utter madness. The police/security would eventually come but, of course, they would be too late to catch anyone.

In the end we had an okay view of the fireworks if a bit obscured by the trees and the mood was slightly ruined by two absolute losers who were talking, or should I say bragging and being downright obnoxious and disrespectful, about their most recent conquests. The display lasted a good half hour if not longer. It was amazing. My favourite types are the ones that burst in the sky and then seconds later twinkle like they were stars.

National Walk Day

Although I had enjoyed seeing the insides of all these buildings with the Open House London initiative I decided it was time to say goodbye to Openhouse London 2004. Besides, today was National Walk Day and I had to go and join the ITV organized walks leaving from Russell Square finishing at Trafalgar Square with the Prince?s Trust London at Your Feet Celebration ? a festival showcasing the talents of ?young people whose lives it has helped turn around?. Our walk took us along the path of the Jubilee Walk though the British Museum (this was a bit strange but I must remember to go back and visit) and via Covent Garden and Holburn: a total of 4,217 steps. The aim of the event was to get Londoners to take 2 million steps which apparently is the same as walking the length of the UK. By the time we reached Trafalgar Square it was late afternoon but I still managed to catch part of Big Brovaz performing.

Thames Festival

From Trafalgar Square to South Bank for the Mayor?s Thames Festival my weary feet took me. Music, food, street theatre, craft stalls and funfair rides dotted the banks of the Thames River and whilst most people were in good spirits and were highly energetic ? unfortunately by this time I was dog-tired and though I was trying to motivate myself to hang around for the Night Carnival and the fireworks (put on by the same group who did the Athens Olympic I think) to be honest the thought of catching the tube home with all these people was enough to make me turn for home.

It was a good day for walking though (despite only taking 241 steps in three hours at the Bank of England!) with 20,587 steps taken.

Well, you would have thought that I’d have learnt my lesson from yesterday and I would have turned up nice and early to line up for what was probably the most popular building of the weekend: the Gherkin. Though I had observed the queues yesterday when I was in the Lloyd’s building I was still unprepared for how long it would already be at 10:28. Note that the building opened at 10am.

30 St Mary Axe or the “Gherkin”

To my great disappointment I walked and walked and walked to find the end of the line only to be told (along with 30 other people) that I had reached a point in the line where we were unlikely to reach the front. This with over 6 and a half hours of the opening hours left. It was worse than being at Disneyland! To put it in perspective – if you had walked the length of the queue at a normal pace it would have taken approximately 10 minutes and 1,145 steps.

Bank of England

Conveniently the Bank of England was nearby and I joined that line at nearly 11am (another one of those queues that took forever to move due to the fact that guided tours were being given). Apparently, this was the first time since 9/11 that the interiors had been open to the mass public. I found myself constantly weighing up the pros and cons of leaving the queue – on the one hand I was hopeful that all my hours of standing would be rewarded by a sudden surge in the queue that would deliver me to the door and on the other hand I was thinking of cutting my losses – the usual thing that goes through one’
s mind while in line. With a sigh I decided to stick it out and I’m glad I did. Queuing of course is a well-known trait of the British and I saw this as a good a time as any to join them. I had good company (I met a lovely quartet – one couple whose name I can recall only because of their name association with the Brady Bunch – Mike and Carol – who kindly purchased a souvenir guide book for me. The other couple kept us sustained with their barley sugar sweets but unfortunately I cannot recall their names!) and there was plenty of entertainment surrounding us including a gorilla marathon and a security threat in the form of an ominously abandoned van. Thankfully nothing blew up today though one of the gorilla runners did get hit by a bus. Ouch! Time in line: 3 hours. Steps: 241. *Gulp*

The tour itself took a good half and hour (approximately 800 steps) and was quite informative. The building is full of history and would take too much time to describe here but the features I found more interesting included the beautifully (massive) mosaic floor laid by Boris Anrep and the Garden Court: preserved by an Act of Parliament the garden, formally the graveyard of St Christopher-le-Stocks, sits in the centre of the Bank and four money (mulberry) trees are planted by the pathway as reminders of the origins of paper money (the earliest form of government paper currency was printed on mulberry bark). I ended my tour by lifting the gold bar that sits in the Bank of England museum – its probably the closest I’ll ever get to that much gold!

For one weekend in September every year over 500 buildings in London open their doors to the community providing Joe Public an unparalleled opportunity to view the inner mysteries of buildings that are otherwise simply passed by every day. With over 350,000 visitors during 2003?s event it is now one of London?s worst kept secrets. A secret is still a secret and I found out about the event by chance from my current manager just this week. So on last night, armed with the ever helpful Openhouse London website, I set about planning my weekend.

Some of the more interesting and popular venues had apparently been pre-booked back in March (see what I mean about worst kept secrets) however, I still managed to find a building or two that caught my interest. This was my proposed schedule:

Saturday
– Lloyd?s of London (City of London)
– Plantation Place (City of London)
– More London ? Ernst and Young HQ (Southwark)
– BBC Television Centre (Hammersmith and Fulham)
– The Ark (Hammersmith and Fulham)

Sunday
– 30 St Mary Axe, a building affectionately known as the (erotic) ?Gherkin? (City of London)
– Old Turkish Baths (City of London)

For some reason I didn?t think the above was overly ambitious convincing myself that I would need an hour tops (allowing for lines and touring) at each venue and therefore I could afford to have a lazy Saturday morning before heading out. Boy was I wrong.

Lloyd?s of London. Lloyd?s of London is a magnificent piece of architecture designed by Lord Richard Rogers (I?ll let the picture of the miniature model speak for itself) and it was actually one of the first buildings I noticed when I first visited London back in February 2003. I knew that there would be some sort of queue for this building but I didn?t expect that it would snake all the way around the block. Turning corner after corner to see the queue stretch out beyond what the eye could see nearly convinced me to seek alternative buildings but I figured that since I was already at the building there was no harm in standing in line for a little while ? it took over an hour to get into the building (for your interest it was only 184 steps). Once inside I felt a little bit unsettled. The ground floor is a vast room where most of Lloyd?s underwriting business is carried out. To see it empty when ordinarily it would be filled to capacity with the hustle and bustle of deals being made was quite eerie. It is an inspiring building and was well worth the wait. One of the best views was from the external glass lifts which provided an eagle eye view over the ?Gherkin?.

“Plantation Place. This was my favourite building (actually two buildings joined together) of the weekend. Not only were there no lines to get in (yay!) but access to the 10th floor balcony provided an opportunity to view the London skyline unhindered by glass.

According to the architect Arup Associates the building takes up nearly an entire block (in this case 1.02 hectares) so its not a small development by any stretch of the imagination. With sustainability in mind the buildings have been designed to ensure the most efficient use of energy, light and water.

By the time I had finished with Lloyd?s and Plantation Place it was actually getting on to mid-afternoon but I was still hoping that I could get in a quick visit to the EY HQ before heading out to Hammersmith and Fulham.

More London ? Ernst and Young HQ. Unfortunately I didn?t count on having to wait so long in the EY HQ queue. I don?t think it was quite an hour but it was surprisingly a long wait considering that there were only 20 people in front of me (in contrast with the 150 or so in front of me at Lloyd?s) and we only had to move about 20 metres. It turns out that the reason for the queues was that guided tours were being given of the building and there were only two tour guides! Located just down the river from City Hall the building?s location is perfect with panoramic views over the River Thames and surrounding areas. The building is quite distinctive with its two glass and steel wings joined by a series of walkways and interestingly each floor is colour coded with over 300 works of art are installed throughout the building.

Following the latest trends in new building most floors were built with meeting rooms in the middle and open plan offices around the outside to maximize light. During the tour we were taken to an actual working floor (no photos allowed of course) and were surprised to hear that executives worked out amongst the slaves, er, I mean the general working staff. No plush comfy offices for them.

Unfortunately that took me pretty much up to the end of building opening hours and I could not fit in a visit to Hammersmith for the BBC Television Centre and The Ark. Maybe if I?m around next year I could try again ?

Steps taken today: 15,637