'Peter the Great' by Mihail Chemiakin

A gift from the Russian People.

Monday May 13, 2013.

It was during one of my Greenwich walks that I stumbled across this rather odd, and creepy looking, statue of Peter the Great. 

I had started at the Thames Barrier before heading westward, to see HMS Ocean, which was moored at the Old Royal Naval College. After taking a few photos I continued on my journey towards Tower Bridge, happy that I had got the photos I had hoped for. 

But, as I turned the corner, on to Glaisher Street, I noticed this rather peculiar, odd and creepy statue. So, once again, I took some photos.

Commonwealth Day, 2013

Celebrating the Commonwealth.

On the morning of Monday March 11, 2013, my eldest daughter, Alysha, had the honour of performing a dance at Westminster Abbey, in front of Royalty, for Commonwealth Day.

As I wasn't permitted inside, I spent the morning soaking up the atmosphere, and plenty of coffee, as the temperature was hovering just above freezing. Suffice to say that I while I struggled to keep warm, my daughter was inside Westminster Abbey, dancing in front of royalty, dignitaries and celebrities.

A Duck Tour for Erin's 1st birthday

Erin and Emma waiting to take our first Duck Tour.

Saturday November 10, 2012

For Christmas 2011, Emma and I were bought tickets for the London Duck Tours Amazing Amphibious Adventure. And, since the tickets were shortly to expire, we had booked our places on the 11:30 Tour. So, we were up bright and early to catch the 09:30 train to Baker Street, changing to the Jubilee line at Finchley Road. We exited at Westminster, where we then walked across Westminster Bridge and found a place on York Road to get a bacon sandwich and coffee. We then went into the Duck Tours Booking Office, where we left Erin’s buggy, before heading across the road to the Duck Stop on Chicheley Street. Exactly on time our ‘Duck’ began its Tour, with Sam at the wheel and Ali as our Tour Guide.

Leaving Chicheley Street we turned right onto York Road, where Ali pointed out the abundance of cast-iron and steel lampposts on London’s streets, so unless we wanted to stop at St. Thomas’ Hospital we should keep our hands and heads inside the ‘Duck’ at all times. We were then instructed in the rules of the Duck Tour:

If you see another Duck Tour vehicle, you MUST flap your arms and make noises like a duck.

End of the rules.

We then crossed Westminster Bridge, all the time waving at the ‘tourists’ who were bemused by our WWII bright yellow and blue ‘Duck’ on wheels, but who still smiled and took photos. A quick trip around Parliament Square and we headed up Whitehall, passed Downing Street and Horse Guards and up to Trafalgar Square, where we were told some quite interesting facts (some of which were new, even to me) about Nelson and his Column. From here we were drove onto Cockspur Street and then Pall Mall, where we passed many Gentlemen’s Clubs and St. James’ Palace and the Club where John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich ‘invented’ the sandwich. (Although for centuries people had placed meats between slices of bread and called them simply, “bread and meat” or “bread and cheese”.) From here we turned left onto Piccadilly, passing the Ritz Hotel and Green Park. At this point Ali gave us two different stories as to why Green Park is so green;

1. King Charles II and his wife were out walking in Upper St. James’ Park (as it was known), when she said to the King, “You should pick the most beautiful flower in this park and it give to the most beautiful woman you know.” So, King Charles II looked around and found the most beautiful flower he could and gave it to a passing maid. The Queen was so incensed by this that, on her arrival back at the Palace, she demanded the gardeners remove all the flowers and flowerbeds and never plant another flower in the park… Ever! And, to this day, there are still no formal flowerbeds in Green Park.

2. The Green Park was originally a swampy burial ground for the lepers from nearby St. James’s Hospital and, with so much leprosy in such a small place, the gardeners refused to plant flowers for fear of catching the disease.

I prefer story number one.

Destination Star Trek London, 2012: Day 2

Saturday October 20, 2012

DAY 2

Unlike the black suit and blue shirt that I had worn the day before, today I wore my Star Trek Dress Uniform. Not many people noticed, or maybe recognised it, on the train to North Greenwich, but they did when Len and myself walked to the Emirates Air Line Cable Car. You could hear the excited chatter and the click and flash of cameras. As we disembarked the cable car, we spotted a few other uniforms from various alien races, but not too many. It wasn't until we entered the ExCeL Centre itself that we became aware of how many people were in a costume of some kind or another. Some of the costumes were home-made or cheap imitations. Others were of far better quality and some actually fit the person wearing them. And others were out of this World. There were Humans, Bajorans, Andorians, Klingons, Vorta, Romulans, Trill, Omnipotent Beings (such as Q), Mugato, Borg, Ferengi and every style of Starfleet uniform from the TV Series through the films. The only species that I failed to see were Cardassians and Jem'hadar.

The entire place was considerably busier than the previous day, by at least a couple of hundred people, so I was glad that I had taken the opportunity to have my Captain's photos taken on the Friday. As we meandered through the crowds, I was asked to pose for the odd photo by various people in varying uniforms. Len suggested that if this was going to happen all day, I should charge. I saw a Klingon Warrior walking around and so asked for a photo with him, which he happily stood for. As the queues to the Autograph & Photo Sales Area died down, I went and purchased two tickets for the Bridge Photo Shoot. When these were bought we went to look at some of the canvas paintings and limited edition prints. Many of them were autographed and limited to editions of 500 or less. None of them however had a price on them, but signs did tell you to ask for prices. I suggested that if you had to ask the price, then you couldn't afford it. This didn't deter Len from asking the price of a glossy print of all five captain's, with their starships and autographs. The salesman answered £2995.00, without the frame. I was quite surprised that I wasn't picking Len up off the floor, at this point. I had seen a nice canvas of five of the most famous Klingons, with their ships and autographs, which I was informed was £345.00. He then informed us that he accepted all major credit cards. It was at this point that we hit the Klingon Zone for a drink.

After our drink we both headed over to the Bridge Shoot Area and joined the queue. Although the queue was quite long, time flew because striking up a conversation was simple as everyone had something in common. Conversations ranged from best episode from any series to best film to best hero to best villain. A young Starfleet Admiral, in a uniform from Star Trek Deep Space Nine, asked to have his photo taken with me, which I of course obliged. Then we were near the front of the queue and my date with destiny. Unlike the photo shoot with William Shatner or Avery Brooks, you were given time to get comfortable and work out your pose. I opted for sitting in the Captain's chair with a small smile, as if to say, 'It doesn't get better than this!' Len opted for a more laid back shot of himself in the chair, which looks really cool. (This was the second USS Enterprise bridge that I have now had my photo taken on. The other was at Star Trek Adventure Hyde Park in 2003, when I got to sit on the bridge of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D).

With our photographs in our hands, Len was concerned that we had no way of keeping them from getting damaged. We could have bought a plastic sleeve for £1.00 but I decided that we needed proper frames to display this moment of history. So, two Destination Star Trek London frames were purchased. I had purchased two identical frames the day before to hold my captain's photos. Another wander around and another photo was requested. This time from a Starfleet officer, with green hair, in an Original series dress.

There was a Stormtrooper, from the Star Wars franchise, seen wandering around, but we avoided him like the plague. However, seeing a character from 'Galaxy Quest' was great.

Hopefully some of these photographs will appear on the Internet at some point, so that I can see them for myself. I was then asked to pose with a Bajoran Cleric and Seven-of-nine. This time I managed to get a photo of the three of us when a passerby offered to take the photographs for all of us.

After this we wandered over to the Main Stage, where a Star Trek Auction was going on. We watched from the side as various prints, memorabilia and props went under the hammer. Some went for surprising little, while others saw them raise thousands. We then went around the various Autograph Areas, so that I could try and get some more photographs of the people that I had grown up watching on TV and in the Cinema, Then, with time getting on, we decided to have one last look around before having one last drink in the Federation Zone. Unfortunately, we didn't drink our last drinks in the Federation Zone for reasons that I shall now explain;

THE FEDERATION ZONE: The Federation Zone consisted of a small bar selling tea, coffee, soft drinks, beer, pasties and pies, crisps and Romulan Ale. The seating area was made up of small round tables with chairs and looked like a relaxation zone, made even more clear by the six or seven Starfleet women in uniforms of the Sciences division giving out free 10-minute massages. There was also a massive set of 'Holodeck' doors and a 'Transporter' wall to have photographs taken against. The entire area was clean and reeked of Federation goodness. Yuk!

THE KLINGON ZONE: The Klingon Zone consisted of a small bar selling tea, coffee, soft drinks, beer, pasties and pies, crisps and Klingon Bloodwine. The seating area was made up of long wooden benches and tables covered in bearskins. The centrepiece of the area was nine-foot tall Klingon Warrior Statue, while around the sides was a Klingon Gong for "hitting not tickling", as one of the resident Klingons pointed out to a young Starfleet Cadet, who proceeded to make the gong ring out louder than a Klingon Targ at breakfast. There was also a Throne to have your photograph taken on. Basically, this was the place to be. Qapla!

So, we bought our drinks at the Federation Zone and took them to the Klingon Zone. Perfect! Soaking up the atmosphere, we sipped our drinks and talked about the last few days. We both agreed that this had been an experience that we both happy to have been a part of.

Until next time...

Live long and prosper.

Destination Star Trek London, 2012: Day 1

Friday October 19, 2012

THE JOURNEY

Len and myself travelled to North Greenwich via the Metropolitan Line, then Jubilee Line, arriving at just after 11 o'clock. We then took a short stroll around the O2 Arena as, on our last visit, we had not had a chance to take a proper look around. We then headed for the Emirates Air Line cable car, to continue our journey to the ExCeL Centre. 

On arriving we headed to the Airline Cafe Diner & Sports Bar, as I was feeling peckish. Len had already eaten but had a coffee while I had a latte and a sausage, bacon and egg baguette. The prices were very reasonable, providing you didn't want an alcoholic drink as they were very expensive. A standard 275ml bottle of beer was £5.50. A bottle of Cobra was £12.95 and a bottle of House Champagne was £70.00! Hence the name Airline Cafe Diner & Sports Bar, because their prices are Sky High. 

When we had finished we then headed to the Fox Bar, for a quick drink, before heading into the ExCeL Centre. With our 'three-day pass' around our neck, all we had to do was collect our 'Goodie Bag' and wait for the doors to open. We then headed into a room the size of three football pitches, where we waited to be let into the the main exhibition area. At exactly 2 O'clock the doors opened and slowly the queues began to move. 15 minutes later and we were in.

DAY ONE

As we entered the exhibition area, to our left was the Photo Shoot B Area and the Klingon Zone. Then you came to the Autograph & Photo Sales Area and then Talk Stage B. The Bridge Photo Shoot Area was next followed by Stage C and Autograph Area A, where the five Captains were situated. Next to this was Photo Shoot Area A and Photo Shoot Area B. Next to this was the Federation Zone and finally the Main Stage. In the middle were Autograph Areas B & C, The Museum, the Stunt Arena, Press Office and various stalls selling merchandise. 

After a quick scout around I headed to Photo Shoot Area A to get my photograph taken with Mr William Shatner, while Len went for a wander and ended up at Stage C where he listened to Paul Olsen give a talk about his 8 month task of airbrushing the Enterprise for Star Trek The Motion Picture, and how he then developed a photo-composition process that produced computer-like graphics 20 years before computers were up to the job. Meanwhile, as I waited for my moment with Star Trek's most famous Captain, we were all informed that you could not touch or shake hands with Mr Shatner. You could speak to him but you had to leave the area as soon as your photograph had been taken. The speed with which we were all rushed through was incredible. Between 15 and 20 photos a minute. Soon enough it was my turn. Mr Shatner was sat on a stall and barely met my gaze as I took my position. There was a flash and it was over. I offered my thanks, but received no reply as I left to collect my photograph. It had all happened so quickly that I wasn't sure if it had really happened or not. The evidence in my hands said that it had, so I wandered off to find Len. I found him near Stage C and suggested a beer. Since my next photo opportunity was at Photo Shoot Area B, we headed to the Klingon Zone.

After a quick drink, I headed off to get my photograph taken with Mr Avery Brooks, while Len went for another wander. Unlike William Shatner, Mr Brooks greeted you with a firm handshake, asked your name and really made the experience a pleasure. After the photo had been taken, I said "Thank you, Mr Brooks." to which he replied, "Avery. Avery." What a great guy.

With my two planned photographs taken, I went to find Len so that we could both have a proper look around. As we walked, we were surrounded by many alien races and a myriad of different Starfleet uniforms. In the B & C Autograph Areas we got to see many of the stars from all the Star Trek TV Series and Movies; JG Hertzler, Daniel Stewart, Bobby Clark, Denise Crosby,Walter Koenig, Cirroc Lofton, David Warner, Robin Curtis, Marc Alaimo, Andrew Robinson, Chase Masterson and many others.

Kate Mulgrew played Captain Janeway. This captain got her crew stranded (and decimated) in the Delta Quadrant, before making a seven-year journey home, where she was made an Admiral. Meanwhile, Harry Kim remained an ensign, never once getting promoted.

I tried to get some photos of them all, but it was difficult with all of the autograph hunters in the way. Still, there was always tomorrow. We rounded out the rest of the afternoon with a few more drinks in the Klingon Zone, before heading off for home.

HOMEWARD BOUND

We took the cable car back across the River Thames to North Greenwich, where we boarded a Jubilee Line train. The train was packed with commuters heading home, so we alighted at London Bridge. By now the rain was starting to come down hard so we headed for Bankside and The Anchor pub, as all the other pubs around Borough Market were rammed. 

After a pint we headed along Bankside to The Founders Arms, where we took shelter from the drizzle, before heading to Doggett's Riverside Bar. Deciding that the trains would be less busy, now, we headed to Westminster and caught a train to Baker Street and then took a Metropolitan line train home.