Watch the world's longest running show

In its 58th year, and having seen over 23,000 performances, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap has been at the St Martin's Theatre for the last 34 years, which means it has been in the same theatre fore more than half of its record breaking run.


The show has had 382 actors and actresses appearing, 116 miles of shirts have been ironed and over 415 tons of ice cream sold. In November 2002 the show marked its 50th anniversary with a Royal Gala Performance for the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.

It first entered the record books in April 1958 when it became the longest running show of any kind in British Theatre. And the show itself isn't the only record breaker. Some cast members are in the Guinness Book of Records, with David Raven having earned the title of 'Most Durable Actor' for his 4575 performances as Major Metcalf, and the late Nancy Seabrooke also earning a place for her 15 years as an understudy.

For more, see https://www.the-mousetrap.co.uk/

Drink at the Approach Tavern

The Approach Tavern, at 47 Approach Road, Bethnal Green, is a pub that your author passes most evenings on his bike ride home. It was a good spot for a drink last night and the pub turns out to be a drinking hole for journalists from the East London Advertiser, Tower Hamlets' local newspaper.


It is a great little pub with ales from Fullers and a range of food and even an art gallery upstairs. Whilst the pub is open normal pub hours, the art gallery is limited to Wednesday to Sunday from 12 noon until 6pm.

Just around the corner from the London Chest Hospital, it's a good spot on a beautiful little street, and though there are many fantastic pubs in this area, you could do a lot worse. It's nice and big so you certainly won't struggle for a seat.

For more, see http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub343.php

Ride the East London Line

Good news all! London has a new railway line at last. The first train on the £1 billion East London Line ran yesterday at 12:06 from Dalston Junction to New Cross Gate according to Londonist.


TFL tells us that the line will run from Dalston Junction to New Cross and New Cross Gate from yesterday with a limited preview service Monday - Fridays from 7am until 8pm every seven to eight minutes.

The full line will open on 23rd May, with trains every 15 minutes on each of the three branches, meaning trains every five minutes between Dalston Junction and Surrey Quays and trains every seven to eight minutes between Surrey Quays and Sydenham. In May 2011, trains will become even more frequent.

It's good news, as your author has missed the line since it closed in 2007, even though it was always a bit scruffy and was only really good for getting to pubs in Wapping. For more, see here, here here or here

See the Stomp musical

Your author cashed in a recent raffle win to see Stomp at the Ambassador's Theatre last night, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Already in its 8th season in London, the Stomp Musical grew out of Brighton's STOMP, a combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy, which was created in Brighton in the summer of 1991.


Following a ten year collaboration between creators Steve McNicholas and Luke Cresswell, they produced, financed and directed the original STOMP themselves, beginning at London’s Bloomsbury Theatre and at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh, as part of the Edinburgh Fringe. The show has since won many awards, and combines percussion, dance and some visual comedy using everything from cigarette lighters, to newspapers, dustbins and barrels in a great show.

Readers of your author's age group will probably remember it from many episodes of Blue Peter, but don't let that put you off, as it's very good. Your author understands from an insider that you're best to avoid the matinees, however, as hangovers can sometimes affect performance. Considering how hard the cast work it is completely understandable.

For more, see http://www.stomplondon.com/

_{^Picture by scragz^}

Visit All Hallows by the Tower

Your author was outside All Hallows by the Tower, the oldest church in the City of London, yesterday supporting runners in the marathon, and is always captivated by this pretty little church.


Founded in 675 AD by the Abbey of Barking, only one arch remains from the original Saxon church, but beneath it a Roman pavement, discovered in 1926, shows just how long this site has been in use. The church is a rarity in that it survived both the Great Fire of London, which Samuel Peyps reported on from the church tower, and the Second World War, though a 1940 bomb gutted most of the church and only the tower and the walls remained.

The church has also seen its fair share of gruesome ritual as it was here that many beheaded bodies were brought following their execution on Tower Hill, with many of the heads being displayed on Traitors Gate. Some of those who visited after death include Thomas More, Bishop John Fisher and Archbishop Laud.

For on all aspects of the church, see http://www.ahbtt.org.uk/

Find the spot where Dick Whittington turned back

In the tale of Dick Whittington, based on the tale of Sir Richard Whittington, medieval merchant and politician, Gloucestershire's own Dick sets out from his home in the Forest of Dean to make his fortune in London, accompanied by his cat.


When he gets to London, having been told the streets are paved with gold, he struggles and is tempted to return home. But on his way back out of London, whilst climbing Highgate Hill, he hears Bow Bells, apparently ringing with a rhyme which goes

Turn again, Whittington,
Once Lord Mayor of London!
Turn again, Whittington,
Twice Lord Mayor of London!
Turn again, Whittington,
Thrice Lord Mayor of London!

He believes the bells are talking to him and turns around. Now, outside the hospital which bears his name is a statue of his cat turning, to commemorate this change of heart.

For more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Whittington

_{^Picture by << graham >>^}

Dangle your feet in the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain

Your author usually reacts strongly against anything with Princess Diana branding, which is probably why last Sunday was the first time he'd been to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.


Designed by Kathryn Gustafson, the American landscape artist, and opened in 2004 at a cost £3.6 million, it is made up of 545 individual pieces of Cornish granite cut by S. McConnell & Sons in Kilkeel, Northern Ireland, and takes the form of babbling brooks flowing in a oval across steps, rills and curves, and collecting in a tranquil pool at the bottom beside the Serpentine.

The fat security guard who is constantly on hand to disrupt the peace by telling everyone and anyone that you're only allowed to put your feet in, and it is forbidden to walk in the fountain, is a particular downer and the whole thing begs the question why we can't just build nice things anyway and we have to wait for a Princess to die, but it is pleasant nonetheless.

For more, see http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde_park/diana_memorial.cfm

Attend the revived St George's Day Pageant in the City of London

Today is St George's Day, and to celebrate the City of London is reviving a tradition not seen in our city since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, with St George himself parading through the streets of the Square Mile for the first time since 1585.


St George will be mounted on horseback, escorted by the Band of The Parachute Regiment, the Regimental Colour party, Pegasus the Regimental Mascot and soldiers and armoured combat vehicles.

The event has been recreated to support The Parachute Regiment and raise funds for The Parachute Regiment Charity and the Gauntlet Trust. Marchers group together at the Honourable Artillery Company just after 11am, then form up in Coleman St shortly afterwards, passing through Paternoster Square and past St Paul's before returning to Coleman Street for finish at around 12.30pm.

For more, see http://www.stgeorgespageant.org/

_{^Picture from Wikipedia under Wikimedia Commons ^}

See the deer in Victoria Park

Believe it or not, alongside the canals, ponds, cafes, tennis courts and sports grounds, there are actually deer in Victoria Park, for the moment at least. For now, they live in a little pen near the model boating lake in East London's best park, in a little pen where you can peer in on them.


Sure, they're not the happiest looking deer. They look slightly annoyed and they're certainly not much like those head-held-high herds of snooty Richmond Park deer. They're more like the ones who live beside Alexandra Palace. Rather pissed off looking. They're still nice though.

Probably for the best, however, that the new Victoria Park 'Masterplan' has decided that the existing small herd of three female deer will probably be relocated to a larger herd away from Victoria Park, and the deer shelter demolished to return the site to an informal meadow. Still sad, though. Your author likes the deer.

For more on the 'Masterplan', see http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgsl/451-500/461_parks/victoria_park/victoria_park_project.aspx#masterplan

Drink in the Grapes

Originally a dockers pub, in the days when your author's grandfather often pitched up in the area with the Merchant Navy, the Grapes, in Narrow Street, Limehouse, was probably built as early as 1720 and is still well regarded amongst pub fans.


In recent years the regeneration of the surrounding area has opened the pub up to an altogether different crowd, but this is proof, if it were needed, that Docklands does have some decent pubs.

The pub previously sold beer from the neighbouring Taylor and Walker Brewery, and survived the extensive bombing of the docklands, and nearby Limehouse Basin in the Second World War.

For more, and a proper review, see http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub184.php

Go climbing at Mile End Climbing Wall

Situated in an old pipe engineering works in Mile End Park, Mile End Climbing Wall was established in the 1980s and now offers 16,000 sq. ft of climbing surface, which is presumably a lot.


The climbing wall is open daily, and until 9.30pm, Monday-Thursday and offers a range of different climbing experiences, from a £12 taster 'first climb' session to annual unlimited membership for £300.

The climbing centre also offers extensive "bouldering" at all levels, alongside top-roped and lead climbing and more advanced training areas, in the form of "The Board Room", and famous "Monkey House", though no real monkeys were available at time of going to press.

For more information, see http://www.mileendwall.org.uk/

Make a wish with the Isis Sculpture

Unveiled in September 2009, the Isis Sculpture in Hyde Park is part of a fundraising effort towards a £1.8m children’s education centre, called The Look Out. The sculpture was designed by artist Simon Gudgeon, and shows Isis, the Egyptian goddess of motherhood, who sometimes appeared as a bird. It was the first new sculpture of its type in the park for around 50 years.


The Sculpture weighs 633kg, is made of bronze, and sits beside the Princess Diana memorial fountain. Donations are invited to make a wish at the base and the Royal Parks are also selling plaques in a formation around the base of the sculpture to raise cash to replace older educational facilities on site. The current classrooms attract around 1,000 people a year, but are in need of an upgrade.

For more on the Look Out, see http://www.royalparksfoundation.org/support/foundation/foundation_lookout.cfm

Enjoy the rides at Carter's Steam Fair

A reader has been in touch to recommend everyone heads along to the Carters Steam Fair in Ravenscourt Park today.


Carters Steam Fair travels around London and the South East for seven months of the year, and is the result of John Carter's work collecting old of fair equipment which had become unfashionable or derelict. The funfair has been collected over thirty years, and though John Carter sadly died ten years ago, it continues to tour London and the South East for seven months of the year, transported in historic vehicles from site to site.

The highlight this year's funfair is James Messham's Wall Of Death, which the reader who contacted your author particularly recommended, so head along to Ravenscourt Park today if you want to enjoy the rides, or watch out for the fair over the summer at various festivals and events. If you really enjoy it the Wall Of Death is even adverstising for staff.

For more information, see http://www.carterssteamfair.co.uk/

_{^Picture and suggestion by Louise Ireland^}

Walk through Woolwich Foot Tunnel

It's been scheduled for weekday closure for 'improvement works' from 6.30am to 8pm starting on Monday, so if you've ever fancied a wander through Woolwich Foot Tunnel, you should probably seize your moment this weekend.


The construction of the 504m tunnel was designed to help those living in South London who worked in the docks and the tunnel owes much to the efforts of working-class politician Will Crooks who had worked in the docks and chaired the London County Council's Bridges Committee, who were responsible for the tunnel. Crooks would later serve as MP for Woolwich.

The tunnel was designed by Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice and built by Walter Scott & Middleton and opened on Saturday 26th October 1912. Now made partly redundant by the Woolwich Free Ferry and the new DLR extension, it is still the only way to cross the river here for free at night time, and that is possibly why installation of new CCTV and communication facilities, as well as reduction in leakage and new lifts, are so important. Improvements are scheduled to be completed by March 2011.

For more, see http://www.greenwich.gov.uk/Greenwich/Travel/foot-tunnels.htm

_{^Picture by Jon's pics^}

Watch a show at Fairfield Halls

Built in 1962, Fairfield Halls in Croydon are an arts centre, concert hall and art gallery frequently used for BBC recordings.


Over the years the Fairfield Halls have played host to many bands, including The Beatles, The Who, Morrissey, Status Quo, Shakin' Stevens, Coolio, Bucks Fizz, McFly, so as we can see, not all good...

Fairfield Halls is planning a redevelopment and early this year, architects Keith Williams were appointed by the board to upgrade the buildings. Croydon council has promised investments of up to £1 million for the venue before the end of the year.

For more, and a list of upcoming shows, see http://www.fairfield.co.uk/.

_{^Picture by Ewan Munro^}