Let Them Eat Cake

Happy Birthday to, er, lots of Londoners

It's a year of big birthdays in London - at least that's how it's being marketed judging by the deluge of press bumpf we've received here at LondonTown towers. I remember when birthdays were all about the cake, blowing out candles and presents but now it seems they're the new way of getting some free publicity.

First we had King Henry VIII's celebrations for the anniversary of his coronation - it's 500 years since the man with all the wives was crowned King. Next came Handel with a raft of concerts and events taking place all over town to mark the 250th anniversary of the great composer's death.

The entire West End is also blowing out some candles - 1415 to be precise. Evidently Joe in Marketing at the New West End Company has worked out if you add up all the retailers in Soho and surrounding streets you can work out that it's the West End's 1415th birthday in 2009. This is a bit of a stretch - not only have they bundled a bunch of shops together... the sum of their years doesn't even make a tidy round number.

Shops in and around Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street include landmark stores like Selfridges (100 years old), M & S, Jaeger (both 125) and Hamleys (the daddy of them all at the grand old age of 250). Add them together and you get the arguably arbitrary figure of 1415.

Putting my cynicism aside, just for a moment anyway, I can appreciate that there's some marketing mileage in this. Birthdays are a time for happiness and laughter and we could certainly do with an excuse to celebrate - anything to distract us from the depressing financial / environmental / expenses (delete as applicable) headlines.

To tie in with the birthday theme the New West End Company has come up with a few 'presents' for anyone visiting the area. These range from free blue badge guided walks to cake - well, it is a birthday. The impressive architectural 5 foot by 5 foot sponge confectionary weighing in at more than 200 pounds came in a shape of a miniature West End, complete with a bendy bus cornering Oxford Circus where the cake was cut up into 1,415 pieces.

The Westbury hotel has also joined in, creating a special blend of leaves just for the occasion, to be enjoyed with sarnies, scones, cupcakes and - well, why not - a glass of bubbly.

Shoppers were also treated to a traffic-free day in May along the same lines as the pre-Christmas VIP day. A total of 500,000 shoppers descended on Oxford Street for what was billed as London’s biggest birthday party to enjoy the free entertainment provided by West End stores and latest Hollywood release Night at the Museum 2 (why a sequel had to be made when the first was a flop I don't know).

Marks & Sparks celebrated their 125 years in style - and with a generous giveaway offering two million products for sale at 1p each. Grab them bargains while you can, shoppers! Jaeger's celebrations were of a more cultural kind with an exhibition London College Of Fashion's Fashion Space Gallery.

Meanwhile Sainsbury's is getting in on the act with their 'heritage' recipes to mark 140 years since their first store opened in London's Drury Lane. Their nostalgia food - Jamie's toad in the hole, anyone? - may be just the thing in these volatile times. Woolies may not have made it but at least these long standing stalwarts prove there's life in the high street yet.

Photo Sop

It seems our esteemed London mayor can now officially be accused of being a bit wet! Boris certainly looked the part as he strode into the River Pool in Lewisham – volunteering to help clean up the waters with bin bag in hand, clad in waders and rubber gloves – but he lost his footing in a dip in the riverbed and took a dip himself. Looking the part doesn’t necessarily mean you’re up to the job, does it Boris?

Sounds of the City

The drilling, car horns honking, the repetition of “Big Issue, Sir, Madam, Big Issue”; the hustle and bustle is all around us, but London is also a place of colourful and eclectic, bringing the city to life. To prove it London Sound Survey collects recordings of the din, ambience and voices of the capital, from buskers and market traders to birdsong and church bells. There’s even a growing archive of descriptions documenting what the city sounded like in olden times.

High Maintenance

You wouldn’t think MPs had much room to talk nowadays about funding repairs but apparently some are a bit miffed that Buckingham Palace is not managing its money effectively, accusing the royal household of withholding information. Ah-hem. Pot. Kettle. Black. They have suggested that the Queen make some more cash by throwing open the gates to let the public poke around in January while she’s at Sandringham, but insist they’re “not suggesting we turf out the royal family to let the tourists in”. Riiiight!

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