Pictures to follow from this most English of events. But I can confirm that the editor-in-chief of the Guiness Book of Records has handed over the world record certificate to Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones.
New York set a target of 1789 to beat.
And London trounced them with at least 4382 coconut bashers (some registration forms still to be counted) following the conductor's baton and the example of the West End Spamalot cast during a singalong version of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". (News reports the next morning have updated the size of the orchestra to 5567.)
Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, popped on stage to offer some words of encouragement, commenting that London beat New York to host the 2012 Olympic Games, and we'd beaten them to the congestion charge (New York have just announced they are introducing one).
After the practice session, Terry Jones thanked the assembled musicians:
"On behalf of all the members of the Python team, I'd like to congratulate you on your grasp of coconuts."
It was a very English pursuit, with thousands of people gathered, not all students dressed up as knights - many were dressed like they'd come straight from the office.
I asked the guy beside me why he was there. His reply? Simple.
"Why not, I suppose? It's the only way I'll ever get into the Guiness Book of Records, even if my name isn't listed."
I'd agree. Happy St George's Day.
No comments:
Post a Comment