Authored by Vince Russell on 15 December 2007 at 01:44PM
Current rating: 3 out of 5 stars!
Filed under: Vince Goes Ape

Vince Kong, London Tourist

Starting the adventure at Big Ben

I've lived in London for over ten years now and have seen most of the tourist attractions it has to offer, so as if introducing them to an old friend, I took Vince Kong along to meet the Queen. She wasn't in sadly.

On a very sunny Saturday in July, accompanied by my sister Rachel, we headed to Big Ben to begin my adventure. Unlike some my other outings, I didn't travel as Vince Kong, so this meant that I had to get changed when I got there and I found best place for this was in the middle of a very large roundabout in the shadow of Big Ben. As I made the transformation into Vince Kong, I managed to catch a few puzzled looks from tourists in the right place at the right time (depending on how you look at it!). I felt like Superman getting ready in a telephone box!

Vince Kong at the palace gates

My first port of call was Horse Guards Parade, so I made my way down through hundreds of tourists, each eager to get a picture of their young posing with da'Kong. Getting to the Old Admiralty Building was a lot of fun, pushing my way through still more tourists, I waited patiently for my turn for a photo with one of the guards, but it seems I was standing in the wrong place, as he shouted very VERY loudly for me to "stand away from the arch!!". I nearly crapped myself!

Vince Kong on Victoria Memorial

After getting a quick photo, we hurried away from the shouty guard and headed on to St James Park. Wandering around the park, we were greeted by tourists and sun bathers, some wanting a photo, others wanting to know what the hell I was doing walking round in a gorilla suit in the height of summer. I had no answer.

Finally, we arrived at Buckingham Palace, a glorious moment (especially given that it was about 100 degrees now!). I think a lot of the tourists thought that I was part of the Buckingham Palace experience, I even managed to get my very own queue of people waiting for a photo/ If only I'd brought some signed portraits, I may have made a few quid!

I did attempt to get a photo with the policeman on duty, but he was (politely) having none of it, so I concluded my trip by climbing around on Victoria Memorial for a bit, then getting changed in a small corner away from public view. Well, I don't want to spoil the illusion do I!