Oxfam Walk, Stourbridge Common These Boots Are Made For Walkin, according to Nancy Sinatra. Although sometimes, Wikipedia tells us, some people - who are quite obviously dangers to society and themselves - mistakenly include the letter g at the end of walking, which is quite obviously a rookie mistake to make.
 | | Oxfam Walk, Cambridge |
You can actually be arrested in three American states for mistyping Elvis' (You're The) Devil In Disguise. Baz Kinrobins, a karaoke host in North Carolina, served a two month community service sentence for excluding the brackets from his song selection book. But do not fear, there will be none of those idiots around on Sunday 20th May, when the 40th (count them!) Oxfam Walk in Cambridge commences, nope, just good old fashioned walking, sponsoring and seating, all g's perfectly placed at the end of their words. For those who find lifting a freshly glazed Krispy Kreme donut to their mouths a bit of a chore there are little four mile walks, but there are five others ranging up to 26 miles for the really annoying fit people who will probably be wearing Lycra or something equally 1980's. The Oxfam Walk in Cambridge starts and finishes at Stourbridge Common on Sunday 20th May, 2007. You can sign up on the day, but if you'd like more info beforehand visit www.oxfam.org.uk/walk or call 0870 905 9060 Inside Out Outside In, Haddenham Galleries I used to live near a pub called the Outside Inn (get it?) in Rubery Great Park. It was on a grotesque new retail area (there is nothing Great about it) alongside a Virgin Cinema, Hollywood Bowl and Safeways. I still to this day contest the fact that there was ever a safe way through Great Park, that the bowling alley had anything at all Hollywood about it and that the cinema was ever virginal, in any sense of the word.
 | | Inside Out Outside In, Haddenham |
The pub however, took its pun-errific name a little too literally and plonked a giant prosthetic tree in the middle of its restaurant area. It stood there for many years until Great Grandpa Osborne had consumed a veritable meal of mussels soaked in Uncle Vladimir's Very Vodka Vodka washed down with a couple of pints of Uncle Vladimir's Very Vodka Vodka garnished with a bit of parsley. Needless to say, while on his way to the restrooms the confusion of being presented with a tree while inside a restaurant was too much for Gramps, and the faux plastic roots were duly hydrated. The tree no longer stands, and the pub's name has changed to the less imaginative and sadly misleading "The Great Park". But, the revolution beings in Haddenham, where artists have created works which encourage us to put plants, ceramics and pots in our houses, and furnishings and sculptures in our gardens. Brilliant! Inside Out Outside In is running until May 28th, 2007 at the Haddenham galleries near Ely, entrance is free. Go to www.haddenhamgallery.co.uk or call 01353 749188 for more info. Living History Day, Peterborough I once played Christopher Columbus in a living history show. Well, not so much a living history show as a small presentation. Well, not so much a small presentation as a personal experiment. And I wasn't really dressed as Mr Columbus, I was a pirate and I ruled the waves with a steel fist and by striking fear into any fool who would near me and I had a parrot called Eric.
 | | Living History, Peterborough |
But enough about me, and Eric (he's now retired and enjoying life somewhere in the Algarve). Saturday sees Cathedral Square and the Cathedral Precincts in Peterborough come alive with history. Kicking off at 10.15am there will be the chance to meet a Viking, monks, see battles and experience a Roman Slave Market. Peterborough has never seen so many old things wondering around its streets, don't miss out. Living History Day is free to everyone on Saturday 19th May, 2007 and runs from 10am until 4pm at Cathedral Square. Call 01733 331388 fore more info. | 
