Londonist @ Museum of London

Last week was Museums At Night, a national event which saw museums and cultural venues opening late for special events. I was lucky enough to be able to help out at Londonist's activity at The Museum of London.

The event focused on London as a digital city, with various activities going on along this theme. We had an activity where visitors could plot their journey to the museum onto a giant map of London, using string, stickers and anything else we had to hand. The stickers were used to create emoticons for people to share their feelings about their journeys.

This map was one of the final results. Were you there? Can you see your contribution?

See more photos here.

Feeding the lions at London Zoo

Dinner now please thanks

 Recently, London Zoo introduced a whole host of new animal experiences, to allow the public to get up close and personal with some of their beautiful creatures. Naturally, I was drawn to the chance to feed Lucifer, the male lion. A combination of my birthday money and a rumour I'd heard that Lucy-Lou (as the keepers call him) was moving to another zoo spurred me on to book immediately.

Originally I was booked in for last Sunday, but Lucifer was under the weather. Despite repeated attempts by the keepers to call him over, offering him food and trying all the usual tricks, he just would not come over to be fed, so I had to rebook for this weekend.

On arriving at the zoo we headed straight over to the lion enclosure, where we were met by big cat keeper Tony. I put some gloves on and he showed me how to feed Lucifer through the fence, using tongs, and staying a good distance away from the wire, which looked flimsier that it ever had before. I fed him diced horse meat a piece at a time.

 The only time he really stopped eating was when my mum was taking photos. He obviously felt like he was having a bad hair day as he took a few seconds to stop and roar at her, in a no-photos-please kind of way.

There I was, thinking that we'd bonded for life - he's always been my favourite animal at London Zoo and it's a shame to see him move to pastures new - but no, once he'd had his breakfast his simply stalked off, with not so much as a thank you. RUDE.

Roaring with happiness after a good feed.

Big Red Bus Pizzeria, Deptford

One of my birthday present from The Boy was a trip to The Big Red Bus Pizzeria in Deptford. It had been on my hitlist since I'd heard about it a year ago, not being one to turn down anything quirky, and I was excited to finally be going (although the excitement was partly due to riding the DLR on the way there - although The Boy wouldn't let me sit in the driver's seat. Londoners, you know what I mean.

On a quite Tuesday evening, we got the choice of where to sit, and opted for the top deck of a double decker bus, the focal point of the restaurant (covered courtyard seating also available) where the original bus seats have now been converted into four-seater tables.

While getting used to our surroundings, we placed orders for our drinks, and when they arrived some time later, we had to send them back, as both orders were wrong. When it finally arrived correctly, my cocktail was lovely, but even better was the cheesy honey garlic bread.

"Cheesy honey?", I hear you ask. Our thoughts precisely when we read the menu, which is why  we gave it a go. And God does it work. Try it. Try it at home. I know I will.

So: rubbish drinks service. Excellent starter. It was all to play for with the main course, the pizza. As it turned out, it was...disappointing. Edible, but burnt, and nowhere near the quality to be expected from a place calling itself a pizzeria.

Ripley's Believe It Or Not in photos

One of my birthday presents from The Boy was a trip to Ripley's Believe It Or Not, the self styled "odditorium" in Piccadilly Circus. The museum is often scorned by...well, everyone, so I've kept my desire to visit it under the radar. I won't reveal too much about the experience, for anyone who hasn't been yet, but here are a few photos of my favourite exhibits:

Yep, that's a knitted Ferrari. Knitted from no less than 12 MILES of yarn. Wooltastic.

I've always wanted a chair big enough to double up as a bed.

The Boy in the giant chair, excited about dinosaurs #geek

That'd be a portrait made from butterflies. REAL (DEAD) ONES.

It's not a place for people with a short complex.

Tiger cubs at London Zoo

So, yesterday was my birthday, and, like anyone with taste, I decided to spend it at London Zoo. I'd had a tip-off from someone in the know that they were holding a special lions weekend, to raise money for the new lion enclosure being built, so was lucky enough to catch a lion talk.

Lucifer, my favourite animal in the zoo!

I also, finally, saw the three tiger cubs born a couple of months ago. After sitting tight in Tiger Territory for close to two hours, they finally came out ten minutes before the zoo closed. Enough time for a sneaky peek!

Melati and "Trouble"