Encounters with a giant ice cream

As you'll know if you live in the UK, the recent weather has been extremely warm (in London terms, that generally means above room temperature). So how better to enjoy the heat than eat something that'll make you feel cold?

Come on. You know it makes sense.

Somehow.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I went down to Regent Street for the last of the 'Summer Streets' events, where the whole street is pedestrianised and humans drift across the road like dodgem cars. Now everyone was drifting around like fat dodgem cars, due to a well-timed promotion by Magnum.

Aside from being a hipster-worthy alternative to a safety island, the giant ice cream (which I believe was fake, otherwise there would a small menagerie of children hysterically clinging to its surface) also invited people to have a magnum dipped right in front of them!

That's so cool. It's like those fresh food stores abroad where you can see your live chicken being killed and diced right in front of you.

If you look to the right of the giant lolly stick, there's a seriously long queue of people. And I didn't join in. I generally get crushed by humans who fail to notice me, due to my diminutive size.

So I'll just leave you with another picture of satisfied humans, gold Magnum balloons and 2 clouds in the sky which look like potential UFOs.

Laters,

Elf Dryadalis

Summer Streets at Regent Street

Hello there! In case you're wondering what to do now that the weather's so nice, why not take advantage of the temporary pedestrianisation of Regent Street? I often go there, since there's a toyshop there (I do like to catch up with my family every so often), but it's usually full of cars and buses. Every weekend in July, elves and humans not in cars can walk around in Regent Street without worrying about being flattened by buses, since stores have been set up in the road itself!

There are flowers in the road too. Look, here's an 'R' for 'Regent Street'! I'm glad they didn't try and spell out the whole street name, though, or it would have been most uncomfortable for hayfever sufferers!

The street is very long, so I've taken a minute to sit down on a haystack (found also in the middle of the road. Naturally.) and a Regent Street Guide, which is given away free at information points. The guide itself would make an excellent souvenir!

There are lots of events too. The Big Dance was here last week, operating from an old-style Routemaster bus. The dancing itself, however, took place in a little fenced-off area just in front of the bus, presumably so that any passing ticket inspectors wouldn't have a fit.

Oh, there was one car on the road, but thankfully it was stationary. It sells ice cream - it was there last week, and today I went too and it was still selling ice cream so it's probably there every weekend in July. It's right outside Liberty, the department store which has a very old-style shopfront just off Regent Street, and is most famous for selling fabrics and luxury goods.

Icebar London had two dogs to drum up attention. This picture is a bit blurry because I was trembling rather a lot. The dog behind me was absolutely massive, and probably counts the direwolf as a close relation.

Those brave humans behind me were happy to stroke him, but I'm fine. Really. No, you go ahead and stroke him too. I'll just stay here.

Phew. And I'm just off to Godiva to get some ice cream to help calm my nerves. Nothing like chocolate ice cream to calm the nerves.........at least that's my excuse.

See you around,

Elf Dryadalis

p.s. I'm now also on Twitter. What do you call a tweeting elf? A Tweetelf? A Twelfer? Follow me, if you like, at @ElfDryadalis !

Hamleys: The perfect place for toys!

I'd like a new toy to play with, but I'm quite fussy: my new companion has to be, like Goldilocks' porridge, just right! So I've come to Hamleys on Regent Street in London, to check out their range.

Outside the store are staff demonstrating toys - can you see the bubble between the two downstrokes on the 'H' in the picture above? That came from a bubble machine! I'm looking for cuddly toys, though.

Wheehee! And here we go! There are multiple floors in this shop, but the soft toys are on the ground floor. On higher floors are mechanised toys, sweets, and even a section on Lord of the Rings, which is my favourite movie.

Here I am trying to blend in with some Hello Kitty toys. They're wearing costumes based on the guards outside Buckingham Palace. The shop is very crowded, with children, parents and more staff demonstrating toys - be very careful not to get bumped!

I thought the Hello Kitty toys looked very imposing and guard-like, until I found this bear! Luckily, he was friendly and let me sit on his shoulder.

Bears do seem to be quite friendly in this store, don't they? This bear is £200! I like her but I'm not sure I could take her home with me - would she need a separate ticket on the train?

There is quite a big price range in Hamleys. Some are pocket money toys, selling at around £10 and under, whereas others are probably for collectors. The lady bear behind me, wearing a crown, is £140, so I don't think that a child or elfling would be allowed to play with her.

Oh, I found one! Please can I have this sheep? Pretty please?

Can you spot me? I'm hiding among all these toys - they're my size as well. I can't find any elves though. I did ask the hamster below me but she didn't say anything. Maybe she's shy.

Well, that's my visit to Hamleys for now! I'm going to have a nap now, because shopping for toys can be quite exhausting!

Best,

Elf Dryadalis

p.s. if you're wondering about the sheep, she came home with me! I'm going to call her Minty, and hope she'll make a guest appearance on my blog soon.

A bus stop made out of Lego!

As anyone knows, London is famous for its red buses. But did you know that there's a well known bus stop as well?

This one, on Regent Street, near the toy shop Hamleys, looks normal, doesn't it? But look more closely in the picture below:

It's made entirely out of Lego! The sign beneath the bus logo says, 'Conduit Street: Hamley's Toy Store'. It's called Conduit Street because this streets adjoins Regent Street, and there are lots of bus stops along Regent Street. The bus numbers are all real!

I'll just check the bus timetable. Ah. I've got ages so I'll just sit down for a rest.

Even the sides of the bus shelter are made of Lego!

Oh, and the benches too. Here I am sitting comfortably. I like the fact that the benches are red, to match the buses!

'Next bus just a brick away', reads the sign. This sign is usually electronic and gives the number of the buses approaching, and how far away they are in minutes. I like this analogue version. It adds an air of mystery!

And if I want to double-check my route, I can just look on the maps behind me - also built out of Lego, of course! The top line tells me that two underground stations, Oxford Circus, and Piccadilly Circus, are close by.

This bus stop was created to celebrate the 'Year of the Bus' by Transport for London, since it's been 60 years since the famous 'Routemaster' bus first rolled out onto London's streets.

If you want to take a look at this bus stop, you must hurry very quickly! It's only here until the 15th July 2014.

See you later,

Elf Dryadalis