It was 9.30pm on Saturday night. It was dark, cold and there was rain and wind. One lonely Londonist contributor stood outside Covent Garden tube station, waiting for a delayed friend. Thank you Piccadilly line for not stopping at Kings Cross this weekend.
No, really, thank you. If it wasn't for the engineering work that caused the line not to stop there, we wouldn't have been subjected to half an hour of the best busking London has to offer, and the nicest Saturday night crowd ever, many of which came up to cuddle the dog, shake hands with the man and give up lots of loose change for the pleasure of their music.
One man. Some sheets of cardboard on the ground. A hat for coins. A kazoo. A damp dog in a doggy jacket. A three-song song cycle of The Addams Family theme tune, How Much is That Doggy in the Window and The Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss.
Even better than the impromptu singalong to dirty Irish pub songs on the Northern Line at about 2.30am on New Year's Eve. Our carriage had an opera singer, but we didn't have a dog that could sing along to classics remixed for the kazoo. If only every tube station had one...
Image 100_0048 courtesy of Hey, Mippy, showing the dog from the Animals In War sculpture on Park Lane.
