Celebrities and "leading figures from the worlds of culture, tourism and the media" are flocking to support the plans to install a beach by the London Eye this summer, the Standard gushes. Of course, you heard it here first, but now that the likes of Michael Winner and Peter Stringfellow have thrown their weights behind the project, it's an absolute inevitability.
The "outside cinema" aspect of these plans is absolutely brilliant; Londonist has very fond memories of watching Koyaanisqatsi and Metropolis projected onto the flytower of the National Theatre, a little further downriver. The beach also sounds like a lot of fun.
On the subject of beach volleyball, last year's Olympics has, shall we say, whetted our appetite. Just as long as Michael Winner is kept far, far away from the pitch.
Others feel the same way:
A spokesman for Visit London said: "It will be brilliant for tourists, and good fun for Londoners too."
So, everyone benefits. However, there is one tiny concern:
"Statistics compiled by the Environment Agency show that more than 12 million cubic metres of raw sewage were discharged into the river from five overloaded pumping stations between April and August."
"The most notable occasion was on August 3, when freak storms led to the discharge of 886,000 cubic metres, killing thousands of fish."
So let's hope Thames Water clears up that rather embarrassing problem before we get the trunks out, eh? And don't go just after it rains.
