My Weekend of Curious Incidences

My bank holiday weekend has been one of both amazing and curious incidences.

Not only did biblical amounts of rain and hailstones rear its ugly head the moment I committed to flyering my neighbourhood for my pub, but a man on a bike taking his grey parrot for a wander along the river provided a strange sight to behold on my leisurely Sunday afternoon.

Casual Sunday afternoon taking the family parrot out for a stroll

Notting Hill Carnival also had its fair share of funny people and colourful sights. Now in its 48th year, Europe's biggest street party failed to disappoint yet again. Norman Jay and David Rodigan were just two of the many DJs to provide entertainment for the masses of red stripe drinking, jerk chicken eating party people. I bumped into many familiar faces this year, and ended up at the 'Gladdy Wax' Soundsystem on Portobello Road, where a man with wild curly hair and a strange t-shirt with eyes printed all over it was violently sketching a scene. (Upon closer inspection, what he had actually achieved was a large black smudge across the page..) The music was loud, the costumes were impressive as always, and the rain managed to hold off despite a few pathetic attempts to ruin the fun.

But the most curious incident of all was the decision to embrace some London culture and take my visiting Aussie pal to see the play adaptation of Mark Haddon's 'Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime'. Performed at the National Theatre on the South Bank, the book has always been a favourite of mine and one that has stuck in my mind ever since the first read. The story is told through the eyes of a fifteen year old boy with Aspergers syndrome, who discovers his neighbour's dog has been murdered. He decides to start his own investigation into the crime, which leads him to discover more than he first anticipated.

I was interested to see how this could be translated onto the stage, and was left with quite a heart-warming sensation. Framed by a white border, the clever use of space was the best I have seen for a long time, where the lead character uses the floor to demonstrate how he feels, what he's learnt and how to navigate through life. The play sticks rigidly to the original novel, and gives the audience an intimate insight into the way his mind works and the affect autism can have on family and friends.

Although completely sold out, you still have a chance to see this fantastic piece of theatre. We queued up at 5.30pm on the day, and got standing tickets for a fiver in time to get a drink and a bite to eat before the performance. Well worth the hassle, I recommend it highly. If you've read the book, GO. If you haven't read the book, definitely go.

Only in London can you find yourself watching a pet parrot making friends with some bikers, going to a great play for a fiver, and marinating yourself with lots of red stripe and reggae, all in the space of one weekend. I love you London. You're my fave.