Well what an interesting night, and not just because I fell asleep on the train home and ended up in an old people’s home in Gillingham at three o’clock this morning. No, interesting because Time Out readers came in their droves to our quiz and proved our platform to be correct - that is, they are clued-up bright and generally the best people in London - by displaying an astounding amount of knowledge about our fair city.
This wasn’t any old quiz but a fiendishly tough one devised and delivered by Marcus Berkmann, the master of the form and author of the rightly lauded ‘Prince of Wales Quiz Book’. Thanks to everyone that came but since you had a free drink, I am informed by the electoral commission that it would be a criminal offence if I then asked you to vote for me. So don’t, ah, vote for me (if you get my drift).
And there’s a report from the Word magazine’s admirable team who are still deluding themselves they came joint third. In reality, they fell at the final tiebreaker hurdle and missed out on a slap-up meal for six at the Wagamama of their choice.
An early start for the campaign at City Hall this morning and an even earlier start for the security men working for developers More London who own the ground City Hall is built on. You, like me, might have thought the area around City Hall was free public space but as was made clear to me after been taken to the ‘manager’s office’ by security this not the case and the Time Out team were not welcome. At every turn this campaign seems to be revealing new and uncomfortable facts about London democracy but not being allowed to take pictures outside City Hall seems more appropriate to Moscow or Beijing than London.
We took the pictures anyway as we unveiled our ‘wind up a politician’ Mayor of London street race featuring several wind-up toy cars with the candidates faces on. Johnson went off the tracks relatively early in proceedings, Paddick actually went backwards and Berry and Livingstone crashed into each other, leaving the Hodges wind-up toy free to win – an omen?
Get down to City Hall tomorrow morning at 8am to witness a truly historic event. The first ever wind-up toy race for London Mayor will take place in the shadow of the seat of the power while all around us Londoners make their way to work. So, set your alarm half an hour early and come join in the fun.
Event: Wind up toy race
Time: 8am
Place: City Hall
Nearest tube: London Bridge
It might have been the large brandy I took to keep out the cold but as I stepped on stage at the Carling Academy last night - half way through Time Out’s On The Up gig - I felt a definite rush of enthusiasm from a large and vociferous crowd that had come to see three new bands rather than a bloke with a ‘vote for me’ sticker. There was cheering and clapping even, especially when I brought up our key manifesto commitment to keep London’s venues open. Other candidates talk about London’s vital financial sector but Time Out readers know that London’s cultural endeavours are just as important.
Click on the thumbnails and up pops a larger version of me in full flow or watch my, erm, flattering video below.
Tonight our campaign gets significantly louder as I have to shout to be heard above three sensational bands at Time Out’s On the Up gig at Bar Academy (16 Parkfield St, N1 Centre. Nearest tube Angel). Time Out campaign staff will be there to take any donations you are able to make and any ideas you have for our ‘peoples’ manifesto. I’ll be the tall bloke on stage at 8.30 going ‘vote for me’.
The Time Out Mayor of London cake challenge took to the streets of the capital today and a large crowd gathered at Oxford Circus as we offered them the opportunity to vote with their mouths.
The choices of cake flavour were as follows: Brian Paddick Orange sponge, Ken Livingstone nut cake, Boris Johnson toffee cake and me, Michael Hodges, your Time Out candidate for Mayor of London, chocolate cake. And would you believe it, the overwhelmingly favourite flavour amongst Londoners was the chocolate cake.
Proof then that there is a groundswell behind our campaign and London is ready for change. We also signed up new supporters and filled several buckets with loose change. Consequently our Blue Peter-style donation thermometer is edging up towards the magic £10,000 mark that will put our campaign on the official voting register in May (which is why every pound pledged matters). Thanks to all that came and remember you, the people of London, are writing our manifesto.
Which candidate would you most like to eat? Taste them all when Time Out’s Michael Hodges launches a cake assault at 1pm, outside Topshop, Oxford St, W1.
Well, the first public appearance of my campaign was at Speaker’s Corner this afternoon – and no fighting, drunkenness or bad feeling resulted. Instead 47 Londoners and a Jordanian television crew came together in a generally encouraging mood, someone even cheered, and all were keen to support our bid for power in London.
This may not be many people given the population of our city but every mass movement must start somewhere and with someone and today it started at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park. Thanks for turning up – there’s more to come.
The biggest cheer, by the way, came for our campaign slogan, ‘Saving London from politicians’
Michael Hodges will be meeting Londoners and talking about his campaign from 1pm on Thursday February 21, at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park. Come along, hear what he has to say – and feel free to argue.
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