After almost a year of living under a 'stay local' lockdown, even Samuel Johnson might have become a bit tired of London. But then along comes a lovely easter weekend cycle, with animals as a general theme to make it feel a bit different, proving that there is still a lot to learn about this city.
For a start, forget about all those images of rampant lions and unicorns; the English basically invented camp and baseball caps, and have an unnatural deference to royalty and swans, but they will also riot over the vivisectioning of a small brown dog (known, imaginatively, as the 'Brown Dog Affair'), build memorials for animals who died in war, and maintain farms in the middle of the city, so there's some semblance of equilibrium there.
Dr Johnson overindulged his cat and its still commanding way too much attention, but oysters used to be cheap as chips. Although thinking about the state of England's waterways back in the day, and oysters being bottom feeders, I'm pretty sure there's a negative correlation between the low price and the high chance of food poisoning.
Pigeons still have no redeeming features.
An impressive historical structure does not compensate for the incompatibility of cycling and cobblestones.
And that for every venal politician there is a Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, a David Wynne, and a Dr and Mrs Salter, to remind us of something beautiful ....
I can find no answer to the question of why the Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London charged 'three half pennies' for entry instead of the logical penny and a half, but that can just go on the 'eccentric English' pile.
