Ambition is a fine thing. As people age we hear of those mentioning their Bucket List. Books such as 1,000 places to see/ books to read/ recordings to hear before you die simply tap into this neurosis that we must do as much as we can before the flame burns out at the end of the candle of our lives.
I don’t have a bucket list. Most days I am happy to get to bed, exhausted after a day of just doing what I did in that day. That’s not to say I do not have regrets. I do, and many of them, but they mostly have to do with relationships and not with places/ books/ recordings I wish I had visited/ read/ listened to.
Having turned 60 earlier this month, and now in the proud possession of a 60+ London Oystercard, I decided to embark on a project I had long thought of doing, which is to visit every property on the Monopoly board.
I loved playing Monopoly with my sisters when we were all still living at home, in Kuala Lumpur, and I loved playing it with the children when they were growing up. I have not fallen out of love with London yet, so here is my project for the next six months.
I do not recall if I had a favourite playing piece, but know that the one piece I avoided was the iron. I still detest doing the ironing. Curiously, I did not like the shoe either as it was not a woman’s shoe. The top hat would have been my choice, followed by the ship.
HISTORY OF MONOPOLY
Monopoly was not always in the form as we know and love it. Here is a short history of its origins and a short biography about its inventor Lizzie Magie.
The 22 streets and 4 train stations on the London Monopoly board were selected during a walk in 1935 by Victor Watson and his secretary Marjorie Phillips. Mr Watson was the head of Waddingtons, the Leeds-based printing firm, which had bought the exclusive rights to the game
BACKGROUND READING
The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World’s Favorite Board Game by Mary Pilon, published by Bloomsbury, ISBN 978-1608199631. The Guardian synopsis here.
No Free Parking: The Curious History of London’s Monopoly Streets by Nicholas Boys Smith, published by John Blake Publishing, ISBN 978-1789465389.
FIRST STOP: STANFORDS BOOKSHOP
I have been visiting Stanfords Travel Bookshop since my university days. It has now vacated its original location (Long Acre) and moved to a side street nearby (7 Mercer Walk, London WC2H 9FA). This is the only bookshop you will need for any travel guide and map, as well as anything pertaining to the country/ region you intend to visit.
Part of the London travel section at Stanfords in Covent Garden
This is the map I will be using for my Project Monopoly: London city map 1:10,000 by Freytag & Berndt, ISBN 978-3707924268
Having set up the project on my blog, I am waiting for a suitable day to start travelling. The first location on the board, Old Kent Road, is also the furthest away from my starting point (London NW3) so it would be good to complete that first. In the meantime I need to write up the recipe for Basque Cheesecake, eaten with chilled seasonal berries. The weather in London is at a record high at the moment and we all need to cool down.