Thames walk

Apparently, as I discovered recently, the Thames walk is just as interesting during the day as it is at night. If you walk past the London eye (and manage to stay out of the restaurants lining the path) you will discover that the walkway is littered with 'statues.' These people, who form an array from the pretty to the simply bizarre, will stand completely stock still, until they hear the clinking of change in their bucket, at which point they will perform for the (easily amused) passers-by. While not necessarily astounding, it is pretty amusing, and even if you're not willing to shell out the change, there will always be someone (usually with children in tow) who is willing to pay. It's a fairly cheap way to amuse yourself, and if you're willing to walk a way past the statues, there's a skateboarding park (which is free amusement, because, eventually, somebody's gonna fall over), and a small used book market under the bridge.



This guy (when you pay him) will wave his arms (and bat) around and pull your hair if you get close enough, as well as posing for pictures. Not sure why he's got the bat, other than it matches his outfit.

There are several statues in such silverized garb, and I'll admit, I only took a picture of this one because I thought the dress and parasol looked pretty, as wel as the fact that the view across the bridge is quite nice.

Here you see one of the headless wonders. If you saw it in person, you'd observe the glasses hanging in 'mid-air' (i.e. attached to a wire). Most adults can tell that the robe bit is high enough to hide your average-sized head, but children find him quite amusing. And if you drop a coin in his bucket, he'll wave his hands around in a way that I'm sure is intended to be mystifying.

I mostly took a picture of this guy because I have a soft spot for wizards. I'm not sure exactly what he usually does, but immediatey after I took this photo he started waving his stick around and (playfully) trying to bop people with it. I hope it was playfully, anyway. I stayed out of hitting range nonetheless.

This is a giant iguana pedalling a bicycle. He will pedal and shake hands with you (if you've got change). If you look closely at this photo, you can see that he's shaking the little girl's hand, which I'm sure is quite an honor for her. I mean, not everyone can say that they've shaken hands with a giant iguana.