Nelson's Column
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July
Red Ken versus Blonde Boris 13th July 2007
The best ever Mayoral elections
Hartlepool elected a monkey, and Middlesbrough chose Robocop, but there may never yet have been a mayoral election quite as entertaining as the one that is about to happen in our fair city. In their search for a C-list political celebrity to match our Ken, they’ve tried a few on for size – Greg Dyke, Mike ‘Smashie’ Read and good old Steven Norris – but have finally selected everyone’s favourite cartoon toff Boris Johnson.

Since the two candidates to control London’s £4.7 billion annual budget have been selected on their ability to come up with lively quips on Have I Got News For You, we might have a mayoral debate worth watching. They could get Angus Deayton to chair it (though given their reputations, it might be a mistake to put him and Boris in the same room as the Green Party’s lovely Mayoral candidate Sian Berry).

Based on their pasts, it seems quite likely that one or both of the candidates will have to drop out of the race, after some fabulous scandal involving Jewish reporters, bicycles, Liverpudlians, sex, and newts, but if they do both make it to the last day, we may have a real contest on our hands for the very first time.

A straw poll of my London friends reveals that Boris is considerably more lovable – and disturbingly, some of my Sloanier acquaintance even think he’s quite sexy – but that nobody would trust him to organise anything more complicated than a jug of Pimm’s, or possibly some kind of punting trip. On the other hand, everyone agrees that Ken has a horrible voice, which we’re all tired of hearing, and that if Boris did make a total cock-up of the city, he’d do it in an incredibly amusing way. As you can see, politics is debated at the highest possible level chez Nelson.

And we’re also all agreed that there is more to Johnson than his cheery chubbiness. It can’t have escaped Ken’s notice that on top of that cuddly body sits a head that is almost precisely the same shape as London’s City Hall – surely a good omen for Cameron’s comedy candidate.
What a Mob!
St Paul’s Cathedral is well-versed in the art of spectacles but even Charles and Diana’s wedding would be hard-pushed to beat the latest ‘flash mob’ event. This craze of taking part in bonkers group activities has officially hit London and the stunt in question involved clubbers bopping on the church’s steps, each to their very own MP3 soundtrack.
London is…glued to a screen
London is home to more square-eyed, friend-searching obsessives than the rest of the world. Hooray! The Facebook phenomenon has taken the city by storm with over 800,000 members on the London network, beating nearest rival Toronto’s measly 700,000 or so and growing day by day. It seems we can be proud of ourselves. Let’s celebrate by creating a group called ‘We all really need to get out more!’
The Stage is Set
Move over Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre – there’s a new kid on the block hoping to steal the limelight for the summer showing of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. This whimsical play has become a signature piece in the Regent’s Park repertoire but the Oxford Shakespeare Company is staging a production during August to rival the old-hands. It’ll be the first time Kensington Palace is used as an open air theatre too…oh, the decisions!
October 2009
26th October
Posties Strike a Chord
26th October
Frieze Still Pleases
September 2009
26th September
A River Runs Through It
23rd September
Blogging is Best
August 2009
26th August
When Saturday comes
22nd August
Bring on the Bikes
July 2009
27th July
Against the Clock
20th July
View for a thrill
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
18th February
New Photography Laws
12th February
Glitz and the Pitts
January 2009
27th January
Setting the Standard
21st January
Too Much for Posh Nosh?
December 2008
23rd December
January is on the Horizon
20th December
Merry Christmas
November 2008
26th November
All The World's A Stage
20th November
Surviving the Crunch
October 2008
24th October
Boris v Jingjing
17th October
Soaps in Pole Position
September 2008
August 2008
May 2008
April 2008
23rd April
By George
11th April
Back to the 80s
February 2008
20th February
Dark, Satanic Turnmills
6th February
A Diamond in the Drink
January 2008
21st January
People Wanted for Plinth
14th January
Boo! Hiss!
December 2007
28th December
Tate That - A Hirst for Art
20th December
Christmas Shopping
November 2007
27th November
Mind the Gap
26th November
London On A Tray
October 2007
26th October
Leaving the Station
14th October
The Sky's the Limit
September 2007
August 2007
24th August
Heathrow under Siege
17th August
Gormless
10th August
Losing Face
June 2007
March 2007
23rd March
So, Another Magazine
16th March
Avoiding iContact
February 2007
December 2006
September 2006
May 2006
26th May
Curvaceous Border
12th May
Vegging Out
February 2006
January 2006
20th January
February Sales
20th January
Moby Sick
13th January
Glass Half Full
3rd January
Three Cheers for the Tube Station Workers
December 2005
22nd December
January Bites
16th December
A Remarkable Year
September 2005
July 2005
29th July
Moving On From 7/7
22nd July
Get loaded in the park
15th July
Victoire!!
June 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
30th December
Party Pooper
23rd December
The Second Battle of Trafalgar
16th December
Sadie's Year
November 2004
28th November
Ripper-Watch
21st November
Kinky Boots
14th November
Smoked out
October 2004
22nd October
Yuppie Meal
15th October
Fines of Fury
8th October
No Twist in the Turner
September 2004
17th September
Battleships, bloodsports and Batman
10th September
Clique Week
3rd September
Return of the Bard
August 2004
 
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