The Sherlock Holmes Museum

Website: http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk

I regularly pass The Sherlock Holmes Museum on the bus and today decided to pay it a visit. Located at "221b Baker Street" (but actually located at number 239 Baker Street) this museum is a busy tourist hotspot. Unfortunately, as you'll read, I was fairly disappointed with what I found...

Museum tickets are sold at the back of the ground floor shop. Available to buy are all sorts of tacky things - deer stalker hats, pipes, Victorian sweets, music boxes, London guide books, etc. I avoided these "temptations" and bought my £6 ticket/information leaflet.

The museum entrance is next door to the shop. A Victorian policeman (i.e. a young man in costume) stands by the entrance to check tickets and pose for photos. After he gave me the nod to continue I began climbing the stairs of the house, unsure what to expect. Would there be informative displays all about Arthur Conan Doyle? Perhaps a "History of Sherlock Holmes" display? How big would the museum be? I turned the corner on the stairs and glimpsed a woman dressed as a Victorian maid. Aha! So there'd be character-based re-tellings of famous Sherlock Holmes stories! Or perhaps even re-enactments? There'd surely be one famous character per room of the house! Of course. This was going to be great...

Then I arrived in the first room - Sherlock Holmes' bedroom:There were a few old pieces of furniture, a few old pictures on the wall, a pair of handcuffs on the bed... Hmmm... In hope of some information I copied the other four tourists in the room and vigorously read my information booklet. I decided I was a "Category b" visitor:

b) You know a great deal about Sherlock Holmes! You've read most of the stories, you've seen all his films on TV and you are an admirer of the famous detective. You'd like to visit his rooms to see if they are quite as you imagined.

I realised I'd pictured Sherlock Holmes' house to be a lot bigger.

In hope of finding a more museum-like experience I went next door into the study. It was just me and the Victorian maid. "Great!" I thought. "Now it's time for some history of Sherlock Holmes."
"Hi," she said.
"Hi... So this is the study is it?" I asked.
"Yes."
Hmmm... Maybe she needed some encouragement. Perhaps if I asked her some questions...
"You can take photos," she said suddenly.
"Oh... Erm. OK." Was that an order?
I snapped an obligatory photo of the room:
"Doctor Watson will be back in 20 minutes," she said.
"So there is a Doctor Watson? Is there a Sherlock Holmes?" I asked.
"Yes. But it's his day off."
"Oh..." I guess he doesn't do Sundays. "Are you supposed to be a character?" I asked.
"No."
Oh...
"I just do tea-breaks."
Oh... Well that's that.

I left the study and climbed the stairs once more. The second floor had Watson's room and Mrs Hudson's room. The rooms on the third floor contained life-sized wax figures from Sherlock Holmes stories. There was a variety of murderers and blackmailers on show and it was sometimes hard to tell the wax figures from the slowly moving tourists. Over in the corner stood Watson and Holmes:
The second and third floors were good fun since, as well as the wax figures, there were props and snippets from stories dotted around the rooms. It was fun to read these and remember the cases that Sherlock Holmes had solved. It was also interesting to discover that Sherlock Holmes receives enormous numbers of letters from around the world. Some of these letters were on display - including one from a young girl requesting help with the mystery of where her cat goes every night.

The museum layout leads you finally into a small cramped toilet room at the top of the house - a fitting anticlimax. By the time I returned downstairs to the study I was hoping Doctor Watson would be there. There was no sign of him and instead I found three women talking to the Victorian maid. She was telling them she was a film student who lived in the East End - how authentic.

Weighing up whether or not I should wait for Watson I decided to cut my loses and leave.

Summary: It looks fun and authentic on the outside but there's not much content. Not worth a visit even if you're a die-hard fan.

Leicester Square Cinema

Website: http://www.odeon.co.uk

Last night, along with 15 of my work mates, I went to see a film at the Odeon, Leicester Square. It was the opening night of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and the outside of the huge cinema was decorated with Indiana Jones posters topped by a huge 20ft tall "INDY" sign.

This was my first trip to the Odeon Leicester Square - the biggest cinema in the UK - and, upon arriving, I knew it would be a huge event. The film was sold out so hundreds of people were piling in through the main doors - the queue for popcorn and ice cream lasted at least 15 minutes. The cinema auditorium itself has two-tiered seating and, unfortunately, we were sitting at the back of the top tier. We were so high up and far away that the massive screen looked the size of a TV.

When we finally got our seats the room darkened, the trailers began and I realised the audience sat submerged beneath a cloud of dank popcorn fumes. Since it was the opening night the audience of hundreds (perhaps thousands) of Indy fans were buoyant. They cheered at the trailers, cheered at the film's opening logos, cheered at the first appearance of Harrison Ford, cheered when Harrison Ford first put on his hat etc etc. At last the audience stopped cheering and the film began proper.

It was a good film. But... the screen looked as big as a TV, the audience felt like freighted cattle and the ticket price was extremely high - around £15 per person.

Summary: Might go back and try the VIP area I've heard rumours about but otherwise a bit too expensive to be worth going again.

Lord's Cricket Ground

Website: http://www.lords.org

Today I visited Lord's - famously known as "The Home of Cricket". There are 3 tours daily around the ground and, arriving at the imposing gates, I began to think I might be the only one on mine. A helpful security guard directed me through the deserted car park to the cricket museum where the tour was due to begin at 2pm. I bought my ticket from a chirpy middle-aged man and then began to study the museum's displays waiting for the tour to start.

Perhaps this is the right point to declare that I know very little about cricket. This state of ignorance has been only slightly improved by my tour around this world-famous cricket ground - the tour was definitely pitched at a level for cricket fans. It's my fault of course - what did I expect!?

Anyway, at 2pm, after a few minutes spent desperately trying to learn the entire history of cricket, the tour began. We were led outside by a friendly middle-aged man tour guide in a green blazer. He gathered us around and warned us repeatedly about not taking photos in the pavilion. The tough stuff over, he relaxed and asked us all where we were from. "Anyone from India?" About three quarters of the tour put up their hands. "Anyone from Australia?" Four people raised their hands. "That doesn't leave many left. Anyone from England?" The remaining three of us meekly raised our hands.

The tour seemed great if you knew a lot about cricket. For myself, I just went along for the ride, nodding in the right places. We were led into the grand pavilion building - the oldest building on the site. Up the ornate stairs with old portraits hanging on the walls we arrived in "The Long Room" (It's 90ft in length). From the way the guide spoke about it I gathered this was a pretty famous place but he didn't elaborate on why it was famous and I was too scared of being exposed as a cricket impostor to ask. We sat outside to listen to the guide but had to retreat when the wind suddenly blew the sprinkler's water all over us!

We dried off inside the "Committee Room" where many big decisions in the history of cricket were made. The guide's commentary was strongly peppered with phrases I didn't understand and cricketers names I'd never heard of. Despite this, I got the general drift of what was going on and the rest of the group certainly seemed to enjoy it. The Committee Room has the largest sash window in Europe and both rooms have excellent views of the cricket pitch.

We then climbed the stairs to visit the Home and Visitor dressing rooms. These were spacious and there was a stale aroma of sweat in the air. Both had (what seemed to be) pretty famous balconies which the people on the tour were keen to stand on. On the honours boards the achievements of great cricketers were recorded and I was proud that I could recognise a few names in the lists - Graham Gooch, Ian Botham etc.

We then came out of the pavilion and visited the "Real Tennis" court. This is an old fashioned game from the 13th century but is still played by a few people today. There's only 40 courts in the world and the rules made it sound pretty complicated.

We left the tennis court and returned to the cricket museum. One interesting piece was a stuffed sparrow which had been killed by a cricket ball bowled at Lord's. We were taken upstairs to see the Ashes urn. Not knowing anything about this apart from the name I was imagining a huge trophy and was surprised to see the actual urn on display. It's only about 3 or 4 inches high and used to be a perfume bottle. Apparently it's symbolic you see...

After the museum we wandered over to the stands where - at last! - we were allowed to take photographs. Immediately the tourists (including myself) grabbed their cameras and began snapping away. One man hopefully gave me his phone. The idea was I'd take a photo of him but with my first attempt I managed to put the camera on "stand by" mode. He reactivated it, returned it to me and then, trying to take the photo again, I pressed the "voice activation" button. He offered to fix the phone but I was insistent "No, no. I've got it now!" The fact that I then pressed the "off" button instead of the "take picture" button was the last straw. He took it off me, turned it back on and left in search of a more technically able assistant.

The weather was beautifully sunny and the pitch was bright green - it's obviously very well maintained:
The tour then moved to its final stop at the "Investec Media Centre" - a giant futuristic-looking white pod:
This was finished in 1999 to bring the ground's media-handling abilities into the 21st century. Emerging into it from the steps outside was like stepping aboard an aircraft - all white plastic and glass. The guide was a bit rushed for time and shooed us back down the stairs to finish up in the shop. Around the ground were a lot of cricketing statues such as:Summary: Great if you're into cricket, cryptic if you're not.

Camley Street Natural Park

Today we take a trip to Camley Street Natural Park. Located on Camley Street in the middle of the industrial sprawl behind St Pancras station this is a hidden gem I came across a few months ago.

The park sits unassumingly on the bank of Regent's Canal amongst train tracks, derelict land and gasometers. Today - with wonderfully sunny weather - I took ABJ to explore it. It's free to enter and, sneaking off down a path, our first impression was one thing: GREEN. The park is a breath of fresh air (literally!) from the streets of London. There are meadows of grass, flowers, trees, animals and insects which are criss-crossed with secluded paths. We followed a few of these and were led away into the undergrowth.

There's a few "Willow Domes" laid out around the park - living, still growing shelters where you can rest your feet:

We were the only ones on the paths we followed and felt a million miles away from the bustling London metropolis. There was a pond, some rabbits and a laid-back seating area. On our exploration we even got to see some local wildlife: two amorous ladybirds and a baby rat:
We couldn't linger as long as we'd have liked as we had to leave to meet ABJ's mother. As we left we passed the thorough-looking activity centres/visitor info huts. I'm fairly sure there's nature trails threaded through the park which, if you get an information guide from the huts, you can follow.

Summary: Well worth a visit to get away from the city atmosphere. There's fun activities for all the family too!

Things for non-local tourists

Here's a few things for real tourists that come to London and want a fun activity that's off the beaten track:

Primrose Hill
Situated just north of Regent's Park this small hill offers amazing views across all of London. Climb up it on a sunny day and sit and watch the clouds roll by.

Critical Mass
Website: http://www.criticalmasslondon.org.uk

Get a bike. Quick! On the last Friday of every month, at 6.30pm under the south side of Waterloo bridge, cyclists from all over London meet and participate in "Critical Mass". The number of cyclists range from under 50 to over 400 depending on the weather and time of year and they have just one goal - to take over the roads! Cycling together as a huge mass of people allows them to fill the roads and take them for themselves. It's a fun time and lasts a few hours until people get tired and head home. Expect slogans like "Two wheels good, four wheels bad" and "More bikes! Less cars!".

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (Hindu temple)
Website: http://www.mandir.org

This impressive Hindu temple seems out of place in Neasden but is well worth a visit. Its intricate building was carved by 1,500 craftsmen. It's free to look around and there's an exhibit called "Understanding Hinduism" which helps the uninformed like me.

The list (number two)

I've done a few things from the first list and added a few more to it:

• Tour round Buckingham Palace
• Go up the BT Tower for the view
  
• Cycle around Richmond park
• Sneak into the fancy hotels - Hilton, Savoy etc
• Go to all the museums in London
• Go to all the major art museums in London
  
• Have a drink in the ice-bar off Regent Street
• Do the sing-along sound of music at the Prince Charles cinema
  
• Watch a film at the Electric cinema in Notting Hill
• Watch a film at a Leicester Square cinema
• Watch an IMAX film near Waterloo
• Go to a casino
• Explore the new O2 centre at the Millennium Dome
• Tour round the BBC TV centre and BBC Broadcasting House
• Watch a live, well-attended debate in Parliament (e.g. Prime Ministers questions)
• Go out for an artsy night out in the east-end.
• Shop at Petticoat Lane market
• Go on the rides at the London dungeons
• Sit in on a Sotheby's auction
• Eat at a traditional pie 'n' mash shop
• Tour round Lord's cricket ground
• Tour round Wembley stadium
• Go to the London wetland centre
• Visit Chelsea Physic Garden
• Get into London fashion week
• Tour around City Hall
• Tour around Tower Bridge
• Go to the tennis at Wimbledon
• See some plays
• Ride home in a rickshaw
• Eat at some famous restaurants
• Visit the hidden-away nature reserve behind St. Pancras station
• Visit a big mosque, big synagogue, other big places of worship
  
• Use an "isolation tank" near London Bridge
• Get a free Hare Krishna vegetarian meal