London in June: lots to see and seas of folks.

Good day everyone – from London!

I don’t think I’ve ever been in London in summer. Fall, winter, spring – many times, but never summer, for some strange reason.

And so I was unaware, perhaps naively, that in summer London is at its most touristy. Along the bank of the river Thames (my favorite route for a stroll – easy to locate, easy to navigate, and you get to see plenty) we found ourselves having to shuffle our way through heaving crowds. The line – queue! – for the London Eye was just bonkers long (reminding me of the absurdly long lines for passport control at JFK!). Then there were all the street shows, musicians and cyclists, and yet more lines – for ice cream.

london-summer1London aye? Nay, thanks

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london-summer9I couldn’t quite work out which laws of physics this ingenious dreadlocked gentleman was relying on. I don’t think anyone could

And talking of laws of physics – particularly of gravity, or a lack thereof – we came upon this golden bonnie Prince Charles. Everyone was examining him closely looking for some nano-thread suspending him or a hidden magnet or some other such ruse. But there seemed to be nothing. Might any of you reading this know how such ‘magic’ works? If so – in the comments please!

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And here are some pics of various other bits and bobs we saw on our stroll about the city:

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london-summer18By the shard it’s hard, by the inch it’s a cinch

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A few observations worthy of note:

  • We took in a ceremonial parade along The Mall from Buckingham Palace – I believe it was for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – and also a change of the guard. We need to get a spot nearer the action next time – it really is a spectacular event;
  • In Hyde Park there was a mass rally to end hunger in the world at which Bill Gates was speaking;
  • And at Wellington Arch, to a cacophony of screams and whistles of onlookers, a group of stark naked male cyclists passed by…

It has to be said that summer weekends in London – there’s never a dull moment!

I’ll have to stop here. Time to get back on the road…

All the photos are here.

Toodle-oo!

READ COMMENTS 6
Comments 6 Leave a note

    obi-wan (@obiwan666)

    The Golden Man sits on a Platform. The Left arm and the Pole are Part of the Construction. Under the Carpet is the rest of the Construction. It is Welded and covered so that it’s look like it is. It is a Physical Trick.
    ObiWan666

    Sagar Bedmutha (@SagarBedmutha)

    Regarding the Golden bonnie Prince Charles:
    The vertical pole is fixed to the ground and same is extended via the Hand. The person’s hand shown is not his actual hand. His actual hand is hidden in his coat. And he is sitting on the platform that is fixed via hand, to the pole.

    Carl Windsor (@tangallio)

    London Eye looks like tourist hell.

    Regarding the magic I would hazard a guess that his arm (if it is real even) never leaves the post as his jacket is hiding a support strut for the seat he is sat on. The rug is a giveaway and it hides U shaped legs which spread the weight. You can see them in the second from last picture. He is leaning back slightly to put the center of gravity over the middle of the legs.

    Tangallio

    Tom

    “And talking of laws of physics”
    – it’s a metal construction he hangs on…there is a stable metal platform below his carpet which is connected through his stick and sleeve to the kind of harness below his coat :) Could not figure this out either until I saw “disassembly” of the similar guy in Prague :)

    Jindroush

    The magic: Metal stand plate under the rug, the stick, metal rod in left sleeve and under-the-buttocks seat, welded together.

    Paul

    I have figured out the mysticism of the golden floating man, but prefer to not post it in a public forum. I don’t want to spoil the party for anyone, as it is truly an enjoyable illusion. My email should appear somewhere with this post. Feel free to contact me.

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