London for the Olympics!

When our vacation is over we will have more free time to add to this blog (I'm not kidding!)  I am taking a few minutes to do this now because I have to let my bike computer recharge, but as soon as it is topped up I am heading out. So this'll just be some photos and captions.

The cabs in London are awesome, they have so much legroom that you can just toss all your luggage in there and climb in with it. I asked the driver if London cabbies still have to learn "The Knowledge" and he said "oh, yes sir, 'course sir," but I am skeptical: my friend Andrew says standards have slipped greatly.

These must save a dozen lives a year. They've certainly saved mine.

I knew about Zebra Crossings, but the Humped Pelican Crossing is a new one on me. My friends Emily and Lew say there are also Toucan crossings.

This is a working replica of H1, the Harrison timepiece that was the first really accurate clock in the world, a huge step towards being able to determine longitude at sea. Although we see it here in its normal orientation, it can run when tilted at any angle, and the pendulums (which are driven by springs rather than gravity) are coupled so that a disturbance to one is countered by an opposite disturbance to the other.  I went out to Greenwich just to see it.

A shop in Soho.

This pedicab driver pulled over to ask about the gearing on my folding bike, and we got into a long chat. I commented on what a great mood everyone in London seems to be in, and, like every Londoner we've spoken with, he agreed completely but emphasized "it's not usually like this. Not at all." And then, while we were talking, a woman (perhaps a bit tipsy) walked up and started talking away at us, and almost as soon as we were shed of her, this crazy French guy came up and started enthusing about reggae to the pedicab driver, who said "I don't know anything about reggae! I'm strictly a jazz man." I eventually snapped this photo, and when I turned to the pedicab driver he started laughing uproariously and said "really, it is not usually like this. I tell you!"

There are lots of artworks and statues and so on, all over the place. I was amused to see, in Hyde Park, a large chessboard on which all the pieces were white. Upon inspection, it is an artwork by Yoko Ono, entitled "Play It By Trust."

The Grand Hall (or whatever they call it) at the British Museum of Natural History. The hall is great, and so is the museum. I saw an exhibit of animal muscles/nerves/circulation...you know that one where they took real human cadavers, used a chemical method to replace tissues with plastics, and opened them up in various ways? This was like that, but with animals: ostrich, hare, sheep, elephant, bull, etc. Excellent. 

There's a promenade along the Thames that has attraction after attraction: rides, skate park, cafes, etc.  This is a park with interactive machines; these kids are collaborating to make the dog catch the bone as it falls. 

Cheese pie with gravy and mushy minty peas.  "Mushy" is desirable: I've seen many menus where mushy peas cost more than regular peas.

Here's one of the mini-memorials you find all over the place. This one is for Plimsoll, the creator of the Plimsoll Mark (look it up).

This trash can has slots for newspapers, plastics, cigarette butts, and....gum.

Perhaps the people with the bikes are waiting to go to Barking.  There is also a Tooting. I wonder what they would say at the information desk if I said "I'd like to go from Tooting to Barking."

Mostly we've used the "Javelin Train" to go to and from Olympic Park, but this day it was more convenient to take the Tube, which goes near the park but also serves a big residential area. And it was packed, absolutely packed. I asked "is it always like this, or is it the Olympics?", and was told "oh, no, this is less crowded than usual." I thought the guy was joking, but a woman said "he's right, usually there's a queue to get on the train and the train is at least this crowded. This is better than usual. But you know, it's not bad, there's a train every three minutes and the ride isn't that long." 

And here's Olympic Park. On the left side of the picture the people are filing out, on the right we are heading in. Security, organization, and crowd control have been absolutely fantastic. The only significant waits have been heading home at night, when the stadium plus adjacent venues (cycling, wrestling, etc.) let out at the same time: coping with 120,000 people...it's amazing it can be done at all.

I (Phil) am not actually fat, I swear to you! It's some kind of trick of the light.

Here's everyone taking photos of Usain Bolt. 

Here are police in a phalanx in case things get out of hand as people leave the stadium. In fact the crowds have been extremely patient and pleasant.  At one point, as perhaps 2000 people were waiting packed together in three pens for the next trains to arrive, a "games-maker" (paid or volunteer helper) was trying to keep people entertained by telling jokes and bantering with a bullhorn. Someone from the crowd yelled "I've got one, I've got one: 'What do you call a gamesmaker with no sense of humor?  A policeman!'"  So a bobby took the bullhorn and told a joke. (What do you call a deer with no eyes?.... No idear.")

Here's the world-record-setting 4x100m women's relay team on their victory lap. Check out the guy with the Segway with the TV camera. The athlete walking away is a pole vaulter who had just come over to get some advice from his coach before going for another try.