Somewhere in London

Spike and Whitey in Regent Street
Spike and Whitey in Regent Street

We have a serious problem.
What, what do you mean?
She absolutely hates Christmas.

Oh darn. That is a problem.
So what do we do? It’s her first Christmas here in London, we don’t want to scare her away.
No, that’s the last thing we want.
But Regent Street needs to be prepared very soon.
I know that too. We need to be creative, we need to try to come up with some ideas.
I guess traditional Christmas lights are out of the question then.
Yes she wouldn’t like it.
OK, what does she like? In general I mean.
Well she likes him.
Ah yes I’ve noticed, but that doesn’t really gets us anywhere does it.
Well maybe we should do something unconventional this year.
What do you mean?
In stead of the normal traditional Christmas ornaments …
Yes.. ?
We’ll use something else.
Uhm, like what?
You know he is doing that animation film that’s out on the 1st of December?
Yes, Flushed Away or something. Pathetic title for a film.
How about using the characters from that film as our theme this year.
You do know that that film is about, erhm toilets and sewers and rats and stuff?
Uhm, yes. But she would absolutely love it.
Right, well I guess we have to go for that then. Anything else we could do?
A bit of firework maybe?
Great idea, yes put that on the list.
And I could give Sir Ian a call.
You could?
Yes, maybe he could switch the lights on on the day itself?
Now, that would be absolutely great. I know she likes him a lot too.
I’ll take care of it all, I hope she will be pleased.

Of course I didn’t know anything about all this. I read that the lights would be switched on in Regent Streets, today at 5.30pm. A time I could never make, as I couldn’t leave work before 5pm. So my idea was just to go and have a walk, and take a few pictures after the lights where switched on. I arrived at 6.15pm surprised that the lights weren’t on yet. In my ignorance I walked into Regent Street. It was completely closed for traffic. What was going on here? I walked towards the crowd. A large spotlight was aimed at a balcony on one of the buildings. Someone stepped out onto the balcony. The crowd started cheering. Was that .. ? Goodness that was Sir Ian McKellen. He switched on the lights. People started to wish each other Merry Xmas (early I admit but hey) The firework went off. And when the smoke slowly cleared I looked at the lights. And decided that Regent Street had to be coolest street in London here in the upcoming christmas time. Cause there he was, Whitey, prominently placed, overlooking the street.

Switching on the christmas lights in London, is slightly different than doing the same thing in ?rhus I have to say. And this was only one street. Streets like Oxford Street (All Saints will sing here) and Covent Garden are still to come. Trafalgar Square will have it’s yearly Norwegian Christmas tree, and half of the Norwegian royal family comes over to switch the lights on somewhere next week I believe.

Christmas in London is quite, uhm, funky.

(A larger Fireworks in Regent Street picture in the photoblog)

The eagerly awaited (by me that is) Flushed Away will have it’s premiere in the UK (and NL) on the 1st of December. In the meantime it is harvesting excellent reviews in the US. Which is no surprise with a starstudded voice cast including Sir Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis (Gollum), Hugh Jackman, Kate Blanchett and, oh, Bill Nighy.

3 thoughts to “Somewhere in London”

  1. I know, I was about as surprised as you. But if every major street in London has to have it’s own event I guess they had to start about now. I admit that it was weird to see people wishing each other Happy Christmas already now, in the beginning of November!

  2. Awesome, glad you liked them. Two years ago, The Incredibles were the Regent Street Christmas lights (which, given the recently opened Apple Store, seemed appropriate). I suspect sponsorship is in there somewhere.

    > “Christmas Lights on already!!??? But?..but it was only Guy Fawkes Night two days ago”

    Regent Street is one of Englands premier retail locations. Christmas is the most important season for retail. Follow the money. It’s no different to any other year.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *