Battersea Power Station

Website: http://www.batterseapowerstation.com

Today I went along with ML and VB to Battersea Power Station. This former coal-fired power station has been disused since 1983 and its iconic building has been slowly decaying ever since. Located next to Battersea park its four tall chimney stacks are a famous part of the London skyline. There's an urban regeneration project which plans to transform the site into a huge entertainment complex with cinemas, bars, restaurants etc. Before that happens, however, the site has been opened, by popular demand and for a limited time only, to the public.

We arrived at about 1pm on our bikes and a steward told us where to lock them - a green wire fence that seemed deliberately designed to ensure the bike frame was kept at an unlockable distance from it. Finally, with grunts and heaves and two locks between three bikes, we managed to cram them in securely.

Pausing for a quick look at the dominating architecture we then entered a small white building at the edge of the power station grounds. This was an exhibition about the regeneration project which we wandered around:There had been a regeneration project before funded by the then Alton Towers chairman which aimed to set up an indoor theme park. Unfortunately this ran out of money and left the building with no roof and no western wall.

The current regeneration project involves making an environmentally friendly greenhouse-like complex next to the power station:
The old building would be restored and would house restaurants and cafes etc. Judging from the scale model on display the new building (with a huge chimney roof) will dominate the site. It reminded us of the Millennium dome project.

After the exhibit we had to sign disclaimer forms before we could set off. These made the trip sound incredibly exciting - there was talk of machinery and rough terrain, dirt and dust everywhere, rubble etc. We happily signed away all liability and then set off for the site. We handed in our disclaimer forms at desk outside and were given a free bottle of water. Considering that the whole trip was free as well this made us all very happy.

We now got better views of the power station as we approached it from across the derelict site. Everyone had their cameras out and was snapping away. The people with zoom lenses and fancy cameras would labouriously set up their shots only to have someone else carelessly walk in front of them.

We arrived at the power station and followed the fenced-in route. All the time we were anticipating that we'd get to go inside and climb up and down ladders and gantries, pull levers, press buttons etc. Unfortunately the best we got to do was peer into the empty decaying power station halls from behind a fence at the outer wall. We peered into one hall and saw the chunks of wood and masonry scattered around:We then walked around the back and looked in at another hall. It looked like a sad ruin with its roof ripped off and pigeons living amongst the girders.Both VB and I spent a lot of time taking arty pictures:
One of the reasons Battersea power station is so famous is that it appeared on the cover of the Pink Floyd album Animals. During the photo shoot they tethered a huge inflatable pig to the power station which apparently broke loose and ended up crashing somewhere in Kent. (See here for more information and photos.)

Summary: Good free fun but a little disappointing we couldn't climb around inside.

Buckingham Palace

Website: http://www.royal.gov.uk

Today I went on a tour around the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace. The palace is only open at certain times of the year and have intended to visit it ever since I first moved to London over 5 years ago!

I'd booked my £14 student ticket a few days earlier for a slot at 2pm today. I arrived and had to work hard to navigate the hordes of tourists and find the Buckingham Palace Shop where I could pick up my ticket. I then took my ticket to the Visitor Entrance at 1.45pm in time for my 2pm slot. There were lots of young helpful "wardens" dressed in smart uniforms to help the clueless tourists. We were corralled in a holding area while we waited for the "airport style security area" to empty ahead.
We finally were let through and filed slowly through the metal detectors and bag scanners. After that we snaked through to a tent to pick up our complementary audio guide. I chose the English language one, slung it around my neck, pressed the green PLAY button and set off.

As the stirring introductory music played I stepped up the red carpet and entered the Palace. I usually hate audio guides but have to admit that the one used at Buckingham Palace was really good. It provided options to select what to hear about, the information was interesting and not too lengthy and it always said things like "If you would like to then you might consider moving to the next room..." rather than the usual "Next we have...".

We began by seeing the quadrangle which is a huge open square just behind the front of the Palace. It's used for parades and for greeting heads of state. They enter the vast quadrangle through a small archway at the front and, standing right in front of them, is the formal entrance to the Palace - an imposing multi-columned entranceway.

Just inside the formal entrance is the Entrance Hall which is a large impressive room with rich red carpets, immense columns and gold decoration everywhere. From here we climbed a staircase with an intricate bronze balustrade which was made a long time ago and, in modern day money, would cost £210,000 (that's just for the balustrade alone!).

We then entered the Guards Room and the Throne Room. All the interiors were designed by architect John Nash and he must have been good. The rooms are supposed to impress visiting heads of state and diplomats and they certainly meet that goal. Everywhere is rich wallpaper, carpets, silk, golden designs, complex mouldings, vast chandeliers etc etc. The Throne Room held the coronation thrones of the Queen and Prince Philip as well as a few coronation thrones from previous monarchs. During my visit I discovered that asking questions to the older "wardens" got a better answer to my question than asking the younger ones.

Next stop was the Picture Gallery - a narrow 50ft long room with huge paintings hanging on the walls. This led to another narrow room with curved, etched skylights in the roof. Apparently there was a small fire recently that led to three of these skylights being smashed. Although they could have been replaced by modern glass makers the original workers were thoughful enough to have made 4 spare windows. These were found in the Palace carefully crated up in a store room. They were installed after waiting 100 years.

We passed a display of photos of the Queen with visiting heads of state and were then led to the Ball Room. This was one of the most impressive rooms and is where the Queen hosts state dinners for visiting heads of state. It's apparently one of the largest rooms in London and luckily had a seating area where the tourists could rest. I took a seat there amongst the prostrate visitors. It was like sitting in a battle-field hospital surrounded by the dead and the dying.

In the center of the room is a huge U-shaped table that can seat around 200 people. The Queen sits at the centre of the U with her guests on either arm ahead of her. The chinaware and silverware are layed out days in advanced and carefully measured onto the tablecloth - to ensure they're all in a perfect line when you look down the table. Each place has a number of different glasses - for red wine, white wine, port, champagne etc. I've eaten in places where they put a lot of time into the presentation I've noticed that the food is always a bit of a let down. I hope the food they serve up in the state banquets is tasty! Next was a little video display about the behind-the-scenes preparation for the banquets. All the plates etc are washed by hand because they're too valuable to entrust to a dishwashing machine.

The next few rooms all overlook the gardens at the rear of the Palace. They were differently themed and contained a variety of very fancy furniture. There was a table which once belonged to Napolean and is made of one huge disc of porclein which, by firing and gilding, was decorated with very intricate artwork that took 6 years to complete! One of the most valuable pieces in the collection was a writing desk which had layer-upon-layer of inlayed wood.

We then travelled downstairs again and into a long corridor with marble statues on display. By far the most impressive was a huge 2 metre tall statue of the gods Mars and Venus sculpted from a single block of marble.

The tour finally finished at the rear of the Palace, exiting onto the Garden Terrace. Here we returned our audio guides and were allowed to take photos once again. Immediately all the tourists whipped out their cameras and began snapping the rear-end of the Palace:
The tourists also got to visit a gift shop which they thrived in:I should admit that I bought some chocolates there too... There was a nice walk out through the gardens:
Summary: An impressive place to visit. The rooms, the decoration and the expensive furniture are all well worth seeing.

The list (number four)

Here's an updated list with a few more items crossed-out and one added:

• 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
• Go to the the Jazz Cafe in Camden
• Go to some jazz club I've heard about in Soho
• Eat a meal in one of the touristy Leicester square steak houses
• Tour around Battersea power station.
  

London Central Mosque

Website: http://www.iccuk.org

After a break from being a local tourist I got back into it today by visiting the London Central Mosque. The mosque is on the edge of Regent's park and I've cycled past it fairly often. It's an impressive building with a huge golden dome and a tall tower (called a minaret) to call people to prayer. Before I set off I did a little research into the mosque I was about to visit. There was talk of head scarves for women, removing shoes, stark architecture and there being not much to do. Nevertheless, there was also talk of welcoming security guards and friendly people.

I arrived at the mosque at about 3pm. Outside stood a family dressed very smartly. I stood there a moment, assessing the situation, trying to decide if I was about to crash a wedding. Finally, deciding it was OK, I walked in through the main gate, past the "No photography around the Mosque" sign, and to the security enquires desk. I meekly asked a man on duty there if I could look around and what there was to see and he gave me a helpful orientation. The main parts were the prayer hall, library (which holds around 20,000 books but was closed today) and bookshop. I later discovered a downstairs restaurant and some offices.

I left the desk and walked across the wide open square towards the main building. Inside there were lots of people milling about so I paused and, trying to look like I belonged, surveyed the area. Yes... there was the bookshop... Ah... that must be the prayer hall. I carefully watched a man pass the "no shoes" line and remove his shoes. I then did the same.

After putting my shoes in a rack I entered the cavernous prayer hall. This is aligned with Mecca and can hold 5,000 people. It's left and right walls have a few thin bookshelves on (presumably holding Qur'ans) and the centre of the ceiling lifts up into a huge dome. This is the same golden dome visible from outside and is deep blue on the inside with dazzling geometric tiling at the base. From the centre of the dome hangs a massive chandelier.

Dotted around the soft carpet were about 30 people praying and bowing towards Mecca. A few sat on chairs near the sides of the room. A few were lying on the ground. I sat on a chair at the left wall and listened to a nearby man quietly muttering from the Qur'an. There was a man lying on the floor near me who looked asleep.

After around 5 minutes of soaking up the quiet atmosphere I got up quietly and tiptoed back to the entrance again. On the way I read a poster about "Mosque etiquette" which was very interesting. For example women are not allowed to wear perfume in the mosque (to avoid arousing sexual excitement) but men are encouraged to wear scent. One should not enter the prayer hall with bad breath. There are also various Arabic phrases one is supposed to say when entering or leaving a prayer hall.

I left the hall and decided to explore downstairs. I put my shoes on and went down the stairs to a strange bathroom/shower-room/changing-room area. The men down here were not wearing shoes and there were various signs about not wearing shoes. I hastily took mine off, stowed them on a rack and went in to investigate. I later learned this was a wudu and a place where Muslims were supposed to wash themselves in an act of ablution (called wudu) before going up to pray. Near the room's entrance was a washing area where the user sits on a stone seat and water sprays from a tap in front of them. There are lots of these stone seats arranged in a line and the water pours into a gutter running in front of all the seats.

I left the wash room and decided to explore a bit more. To do so I put on my shoes by the wall. When I looked up there was an aged Muslim man with a long white beard looking despairingly at me. He told me I shouldn't wear my shoes in this part of the building. I apologised and said I was just leaving. As I walked towards the exit he said "No, no! You shouldn't say you're leaving and then walk with your shoes to go. You should take off your shoes first! People pray here." I apologised again and scuttled, shoeless, out the door. I was surprised to think that, at busy periods presumably, people pray in all available space including the stairwells.

I found myself now in front of a busy restaurant. I had a quick look around and then left the building by a side door. I walked up the stairs to ground-level and then back around the building to the main square again. I re-entered the main building and looked a notice board including "A Muslim shopper's guide" booklet by the Food Standards Agency and a poorly spelled notice about people misusing the mosque car park.

I left and tried, not very successfully, to take a few photos (through the trees) from outside the gates:Summary: Not that much to do as a tourist but interesting nonetheless.

The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising

Website: http://www.museumofbrands.com
Location: 2 Colville Mews, off Lonsdale Road, Notting Hill.
Today I visited the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising. This small museum is hidden away on a back-street mews in Notting Hill. I arrived by bike and was glad I'll looked up the directions earlier and that there were lots of signs pointing out which cobbled alley to go down.

The cheery ticket vendor asked how I found out about the museum and, when I replied "From Wikipedia", she looked astonished. She gave me my cheap £3.50 student ticket and off I went. The whole museum is an extensive collection of packaging, posters, toys, games, souvenirs and other "everyday items" that provide a window on life in the past.
First stop was the Victorians. At first I wasn't too impressed because, although there was an enormous amount of stuff on display, it was hard to find any information tags explaining what it was. Slowly I began to find the information pieces dotted throughout the display, camouflaged against the brightly coloured items. There were souvenirs from Queen Victoria's jubilee, toys etc.

The next room was the Edwardians (1901-1910). This time saw the introduction of the Gillette safety razor, milk chocolate and the postage stamp booklet. Piece by piece throughout the museum I was able to track the development and introduction of these kind of things that now make up modern day living...

The next stretch of the museum was done by decade from the 1910s to the 2000s. By far the most interesting and amusing items were the postcards from different periods. These cheap postcards became very popular in the 1900s (when they were allowed to have a picture on the front). The numerous examples on display indicated the fashions of the time and the domestic issues.

A few examples:

The "Harem skirt" in the 1910s:
Food rationing in World War I with high prices of eggs:
In the 1920s wireless became popular:
The BBC was set up in 1922 and radio became immensely popular in the 1920s. Things which feel like they've been around forever were being set up and founded at every step through the museum.

It was funny to see adverts from the 1930s for Monopoly - "The Rage of America":In World War II there were lots of war-related pieces. There were jigsaws of battle scenes and military leaders, board games about moving around in the blackout, ash-trays with Hitler drawn on (so you could stub your cigarette out on him). The postcards kept their topical take on things:
The coronation of Elizabeth II in 1952 led to a lot of souvenir plates etc. Many families apparently bought their first TV set to watch the coronation ceremony.

The space race started in the 1950s and the children's games often had a space-related theme. There were board games taking you around the solar system, games about satellites, aliens as well as Dan Dare:
I'd heard of Dan Dare because my Dad used to play with Dan Dare guns and games.

There was an explosion of breakfast cereals in the 1950s and 60s - even Noddy got involved:
(I think "Ricicles are twicicles as nicicles" counts as my favourite advertising slogan in the whole museum). As TV became more and more popular (apparently driven by the popularity of Coronation Street), the TV stars appeared in more and more advertisments. "So and so says..." was on all the posters - selling products from sausages to chocolate bars.

The 1960s saw the introduction of yoghurt into the British diet. The 1960s and 70s also saw TV-tie-in board games too:
I realised sadly that no-one plays board games anymore (apart from a few stock favourites like Monopoly and Scrabble). It seems there was a wealth of entertainment for bored evenings that people in the past enjoyed. Now people just watch films and play computer games. I would bet they've lost their ability to imagine. For example the 1950s board game that took you around the solar system requires you to imagine going to each place and fighting the aliens there. Now on a computer game you can actually do it! Is that better or worse?

Anyway, once it got into the 1980s I began to recognise toys that I'd played with... remember Roland Rat anyone? It suddenly got a lot less interesting when you were looking at things from your own lifetime. I finished up in the partially complete 2000s section.

The final part of the museum was a section on "Brands" and then on "Advertising". Unfortunatly these were either large collections of products by one brand with no extra information OR a very detailed corporate information section about a company that was major sponsor for the museum. I skipped these because I felt I was just being advertised at...

Finally the circuit of the museum finished at the ticket desk with a little cafe and a TV showing "a history of television advertising". I watched a few amusing adverts - the best ones were advertising cigarettes.

Concluding observation: The information pieces often had the annoying habit of saying things unrelated to the items in the case. They'd say something really interesting and you'd look at everything in the case to see an example of it but... there was nothing there that illustrated the interesting point.

Summary: Took a while to get going but a very interesting, accessible trip. The things on display gave a real feel for what life was like back then...

Fancy hotels

Today I did something a bit unusual. I set myself the task of sneaking into a number of "fancy hotels" in London. To accomplish this I made a list of hotels to visit, dressed up in my smartest suit, charged my camera and set out.














1. Claridges
Website: http://www.claridges.co.uk

First stop was Claridges. I'd walked past this hotel a few times and it certainly looks very posh - the doormen wear top hats etc etc. I arrived at the street, looked across at the hotel, took a deep breath and walked towards the doors.

The doormen were welcoming a taxi. Would they stop me? I reached the revolving door, pushed it and was inside. So far so good... but... don't stop. Any real guest wouldn't hang around the lobby - they'd go straight up to their room. So I kept walking, taking a quick glance around at the marble lobby, the reception desk, the concierges in smart uniforms. I kept walking past it all hoping I'd find some stairs or some lifts. There! A flight of stairs was ahead and I confidently walked up it.

I stopped at the first landing. There was no one around - just the sound of some distant maids cleaning rooms. I did it! I was inside! So... erm... What next? I wandered the corridors looking for anything to do. I saw a few maids - one of which said "Good morning Sir". Ha.

I climbed to the top floor - always on the move in an attempt to avoid suspicion. I saw a few other guests - including one woman in a dressing gown who'd been woken by a maid entering her room!

Erm... What to do... I finally descended to the lobby once more, stopping briefly for a sit down on a sumptuous sofa to survey the scene:Finally, after 10 minutes snooping, I left by a side exit.


















2. Connaughts
Website: http://www.the-connaught.co.uk

A short walk away was Connaughts - a 5-star hotel I hadn't heard about until this morning. It was a much quieter affair - there were none of the distractions that the Claridges doormen had. The street was empty except for the one doorman and me. Yep, I'd have to just... "Good afternoon Sir," said the doorman. "Afternoon," I replied with a nod. Then I was in. Here the lobby was a lot smaller - the reception desk on the left was busy and the information desk on the right was busy so I breezed between the two, up the stairs and past some rich looking Americans.

This was a much more swanky than Claridges - the staircases were lined with portraits and hunting paintings:
As I walked through the corridors - passing newspapers, linen trolleys and "Do Not Disturb" signs - I began to wonder why I was doing this. Obviously it was to see what these fancy hotels are like. I carefully tried to take it all in. The carpets were plush and the walls were decorated with different types of wood. I sat on a sofa and thought through what to do. I decided that perhaps the Connaught wasn't all that great to a visitor like me so I should push on to the Dorchester - now that's a hotel I could really get stuck into.

I left by the main entrance, was wished a pleasant afternoon by the inside doorman and saw a mildly puzzled look on the outside doorman - I'd been in and out of the hotel in about 10 minutes.


















3. The Dorchester
Website: http://www.thedorchester.com

The Dorchester is where movie stars stay. It's where royalty have parties. It's on Park Lane and it's where I was going next. This one was fun.

Walking along the side of the building I saw a sign that said "CCTV in use for your safety" - gulp! Arriving at the front it looked so famous, posh and imposing that I almost chickened-out.

I took a deep breath, walked proudly past some autograph hunters (I guess someone famous must have been staying there), past a doorman and swirled through the revolving door and into the lobby. A quick glance round to figure out where to go... Onwards! I walked forwards into a seating area dotted with elderly guests. There was a bar on my right and what looked like a restaurant straight on. Is it a dead end? Where are the stairs and the lifts!?

Aha! There's some stairs on the left... I confidently strolled towards the stairs labelled "Park Suite" and began to feel uneasy. Where would they lead? They ended after one flight and opened onto a landing leading to two meeting rooms. It was a dead end. Hmmm... What to do? Going straight back down to the lobby might arouse suspicion. Are there any cameras looking at me? No.

After a lengthy pause I returned downstairs to the lobby, slowly walked across it, spotted some lifts and called one. I went up to the 6th floor and wandered the corridors. Again there wasn't anything new - just newspapers and cleaning maids - but the stair cases allowed some good views of the nearby buildings:

There was a staircase at the back of the hotel that I followed down, aiming to get back to the ground floor and approach the lobby through the hotel...

I arrived at the ground floor and exited into a different, completely empty lobby. I explored the direction I needed to go and, passing through two antechambers, found an enormous ballroom. It was empty except for me and I just strolled around it waiting to get caught. I looked at a few of the exit doors but from the sounds I could hear these led into the kitchens.

There was no through-route here back to the front so I got back to the stairs and decided to try the Lower Ground floor. Here I came across a store room full of old broken chairs and then, trying another route, a store room for food with an open cupboard filled with SunPat peanut butter.

Oh dear. I finally retraced my steps and used the 2nd floor to come back towards the lobby. Here I descended to the Mezzanine level, took a quick side step to use some executive toilet, and then back down to the lobby. I sat on one of the plush chairs and examined my watch as if I was waiting for someone. Finally, although the concierges didn't think I looked suspicious, I left. Outside, free once again, I walked past the expensive international cars and on towards the Hilton.


















4. The Hilton Hyde Park
Website: http://www.hilton.co.uk/hydepark

I was now getting expert at sneaking into these hotels so I breezed straight into the Hilton. This was the tallest hotel on my list (it has 28 floors) so I was especially interested in seeing some good views. The lobby was filled with over-dressed women wearing extravagant hats - they were there for a wedding party.

I got in the lift with about 4 other people, pressed floor 25 and stood back. The doors closed, and two women in the lift started fretting about which floor to go to. They asked me what my room number was! I said "Err... erm... 2514". It was the closest I'd got to being discovered.

It turns out that I couldn't find the stairs on floor 25. As I waited for the lift to go up to floor 28 I saw there were stairs but they were hidden away out of sight. I got the lift anyway and went up to the Windows Bar and Restaurant.

It turns out that there was a marriage party (for Pirthipal and Amrita) being hosted at the hotel and the bride and groom were having photos taken up in the bar - great views of London all round. To justify my stay in the bar I bought an expensive lemonade. The views around were impressive - you could even see in to the back gardens of Buckingham Palace.After my lemonade I explored a little bit back down near the lobby - including an huge, empty, unlocked events room - and saw the marriage party decorations. Then I left.

5. The Ritz
Website: http://www.theritzlondon.com

I'd saved the Ritz for last because I knew it would be the most difficult hotel to waltz into. I was right. Earlier in the morning I'd studied a picture of the lobby so knew where the stairs were. I entered through the revolving doors, avoiding looking at the imposing bouncer ahead of me and strolled casually to the left towards the stairs.

"Excuse me Sir," he called out. I sheepishly looked around. "Can I help you?" he asked.

Earlier in the day I'd decided I couldn't stand lying about having a room and then being found out. I'd decided to stick to the truth...

"I was just going to have a look around..." I told him.

He was obviously very experienced with this kind of thing. Without missing a beat he replied: "That's fine here in the lobby but up the stairs is for guests only and through these doors formal dress is required - jacket, shirt and tie. If you speak to reception they'll be very happy to give you any information you require."

For appearances only I backtracked into the reception office but then left, defeated, out to the street.

Summary: Surprisingly exhilarating considering I wasn't breaking the law...

IMAX Waterloo

Website: http://www.bfi.org.uk/imax

Today ABJ and I visited the BFI IMAX near Waterloo station. Situated at the centre of a huge roundabout this IMAX boasts the largest screen in the UK. To access it there are pedestrian tunnels running under the road and I've often walked past it on my way elsewhere. Overhanging vines give it a futuristic look as if civilisation has crumbled and the planet is being reclaimed by Nature:
We were there for the 4.45pm showing of Kung Fu Panda. I think there might be only one screen but... what a screen. As we sat munching our popcorn and slurping our sprite the spotlights whizzed around and focussed on a cinema usher standing nervously in the far right corner. He gave us a timid welcome and introduction. He delivered "Welcome to the BFI IMAX - the biggest screen in the UK!" with all the enthusiasm of a limpet.
The introduction finished and the usher nervously waited for the spotlight to turn off. When it did we were then treated to a thorough automated introduction to just how big the screen was, just how crystal clear the image was, just how amazing the sound system was etc etc. This was all delivered by a booming American voice.

At last the film began and... well... what can I say? An animated kids film about kung fu fighting animals... It was not exactly Tolstoy but it did have a few though-provoking lessons from the wise old master Oogway:

1. There are no accidents.
2. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift - that's why they call it the present.
3. Let go of the illusion of control...

Summary: The ticket prices were in proportion to the screen size.