Mick's Monopoly challenge

  Hot tap rant/accolade ...    The big selling point of instant hot water taps is they are economical because you don't have to keep boiling the kettle. What they fail to mention is if your tap is leaking it's not just a matter of changing a washer. You have to shell out over £200 for a new tap, decidedly not economical.     Even so, I love my second hot tap just as much as the first one. And the beverage station I set up for social distancing (and not because I'm a bad host) means guests can still serve themselves - as can members of the building trades. When there are workmen about I usually go hide in the pub and avoid those "Is it ok if? ....." questions which invariably mean cutting corners you later regret agreeing to. Laurie Cunningham statue       En route to my fifth covid jab (at Leyton Orient's ground) I happened upon this rather nice tribute in Coronation Gardens.      Laurie Cunningham played for Orient and West Bromwic...

  Monday, June 28, 2021   I’m having a two-night break in Salisbury, staying at the Kings Head Inn, a Wetherspoons hotel.         Salisbury Cathedral's spire, at 203 metres, is the tallest in the UK - as any GRU agent will tell you. Of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta, the one in Salisbury Cathedral is the best preserved. Two are in The British Library (see Euston Road ) and one in Lincoln Castle.  The Magna Carta (1215) was the first legislation in the world to put in writing the ruler and their government was not above the law.          Apart from the odd bishop, perhaps the most famous people from Salisbury are actor Michael Crawford, comedian David Mitchell and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich. 

  SPOTTED IN MAYFAIR .....                              .... the second most expensive number plate in the UK.       I don't know how much it is worth but A1, on a black mini, is valued at £5 million pounds. Of course, stealing these cars would be pointless as the plates are worthless unless registered by the owner. Whoever registered B1 on this 2014 Smart car has paid their road tax but have failed to inform the DVLA of the change the colour - it was originally black and (without the plate) now worth around £1000.     FREE TOURS BY FOOT   I just discovered this and have taken the Mayfair and Rock & Roll walks. They were both very good - and I should know. As a result watch out for some updates on my Mayfair, Pall Mall and Soho efforts. The walks last around two hours,  are free and you are invited to leave a donation. T hey do lots of other cities and you need to ...

     The Palm Sunday Parade is an unexpected bonus for the good people of Wanstead enjoying a Wetherspoons breakfast in The George .      Bottomless coffee, bacon sandwich, the Sunday Times and a donkey sighting - does life get any better than this?      The donkey is called Bandit.           

    May 24, 2022     The Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) finally opened today - several years late and a few quid over budget*.       Of course, I had to try it out. But I didn’t join those who queued at first light singing  Purple Train .         *Four billion pounds over. But, as Pete points out, that’s only 20% over budget which is not unusual for a project such as this, e.g. Wembley Stadium 200% over; 2012 Olympics 225% over.       Canary Wharf Elizabeth Line station …                         Today                                                                   2015     I travelled as far as Heathrow in the west; and Abbey Wood in the east where nearly all the p...

      I live east of Monopolyland - in Wanstead on the Central Line. Apart from Whitechapel Road and Water Works I did fritter away some time in my own patch during covid, starting with Bow Road, not to be confused with orange property Bow Street .... November 25, 2020      Whilst continuing to check out the London Mural Festival I found myself in Bow Road and happened upon plenty to comment about. Then I got a bit carried away. Are you sitting comfortably?      The  only real claim to fame for Bow Church is that in 1795 its rector Samuel Henshaw took out the first patent on a design for a corkscrew. One wonders how they extracted their Duke of Yorks from their Aristotles before then.        Fun fact: Cork enthusiasts are helixophiles.            ......  the reason I came to Bow Road was to tick off this fine mural. It looks like the street artist only realised he’d made the...