A model of the Taj Mahal made from toast found on a street corner in Peckham has got people scratching their loaves. Tom McKenzie tweeted an image after finding this wonder of the bread world in all its flattened finery at the end of his street near Queens Road Peckham station. And there seems to be a trend for strange things popping up in London this month, as these five found follies aptly demonstrate:
The Framed Street Signs of Teddington
Who would have thought that west London’s Teddington required prettifying? The Phantom Framer has been claiming responsibility on Twitter for golden picture frames placed around the area's street signs and road names. Rules of the playground and reminders to clean up your dog’s poo are not safe from this self-styled Gilding Super Hero who says they are framing "the mundane to beautify Teddington". The Phantom Framer promises to show his or her latest ‘hit’ live on Snapchat tonight (21 April), at 10.30pm.
London’s least convincing hippo
"The deadliest animal in Africa has been spotted swimming through Bushy Park’s boating pond," gasped the Twickenham and Richmond Times on 16 April. When asking a ‘park spokesman’ about this sighting of one of the world’s deadliest animals said spokesman probably stopped sweeping, sighed and muttered that they've "had no reports of a hippo in the park... it’s probably remote-controlled".
Jeremy Bentham out of his box
The stuffed and mounted utilitarian and founder of University College London, Jeremy Bentham is usually to be found in his TARDIS-like wooden box at the entrance of the college's main campus building in Bloomsbury. For a brief time last week however, Jezza was allowed to get some fresh air. His real head didn't accompany the rest of his body — that's safely stashed away in a safe following the incident, confirmed to Londonist by Jeremy's keeper, in which his bonce was used as a football by some drunk students from King's College.
Flaming Holes!
For two days manholes were spewing fire after a gas leak caught an underground fire on Kingsway on 1 April. "This has been a complicated and difficult incident to manage,” said London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Dominic Ellis with true professional understatement. "I'm standing behind a manhole cover belching out smoke, it's probably not the safest place to stand," said volunteer Ian Cooper, a Plymouth Brethren's Rapid Relief member serving food and drinks at the scene.
Sylvester Stallone’s on Fire!
A billboard with an image of Sly Stallone in Ladywell caught fire on 16 April. Seth Barton tweeted "Fire in Ladywell. Billboard goes up in flames, but Stallone's loaf is just about OK," which the Evening Standard thought was rhyming slang and then reported that "Sylvester Stallone's head" was safe from the fire. Stallone was actually holding a loaf of bread in the advert.