Lee Jackson of Victorianlondon.org fame recently got in touch about an old web site he'd unearthed. Half a decade ago, Lee recorded random voices from the South Bank and built a page for them. It's a bit like The Man Who Fell Asleep's Overheard on the Underground Column for Time Out, but more hypnotic. Lee picks up the tale...
I tried the same thing again on the north bank of the Thames, but didn't get such odd conversation ... then I probably got more serious about victorianlondon.org and gave up on the idea. I kept the file and, genuinely quite at random, came across it today, one day short of five years after its creation - spooky.
Which makes us wonder, where in London would you get the most surreal snippets? Someone could forge a sociology doctorate out of mapping London's conversational topography.
While you're at it, check out Lee's blog, the Cat's Meat Shop.