Put more Potters on podiums

And I’ve been banging on about statues long before it all caught fire… and no, you can’t destroy them like that. I’ve tried.

So, I’m delighted to flag up a cultural trail of statues in Leicester Square in London with some heroes we recognise.

Like Harry Potter on his broomstick, playing quidditch.

Which means you don’t have to go to Universal Orlando to see that. But do. No, really, do!

Scenes in the Square marks 100 years of cinema and we’re happy to mark their tribute with some director’s notes.

What’s Up, Doc?

Bugs Bunny: I’ll tell you what’s up…. my group are off to Warner Btos Studio Tour in Hollywood and my only tour is of my bathroom in my sumptuous Kimpton La Peer Hotel in West Hollywood room.

And yes there were carrots. Twenty-four hours later I whimpered ‘That’s all folks’.

Here’s another fine mess

Laurel and Hardy: And we had another casualty on our hands, Mrs M in bed sick and leaving me to look after the kids on the hottest day of the year.

In England’s Lake District.

If you’re caught in the same position then head for the Laurel and Hardy Museum in Ulverston, Stan”s home town.

That man Batman

Batman: And because they like to keep it simple for us… Gotham City is supposed to be New York City.

Which is why though the inference is that it is New Jersey they have a Statue of Freedom and a Twin Towers.

What we do know is that writer Bill Finger found the name from flicking through a directory and falling upon Gotham Jewellers.

The name had existed before though, coined by Washington Irving in his satirical New York periodical Salmagundi in 1807.

And adopting the name of the village in Nottinghamshire, England which was said to have occupied by fools.

Bam, Kerpow to you!

Nanny’s London

Mary Poppins: There is, of course, no confusion about where Mary Poppins flies over the skies with her brolly.

You’ll recognise St Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, and the Bank of England.

Although they were actually backdrops and it is actually Walt Disney Studios in California. Never!

Next we’ll be telling you Dick Van Dyck is a real Londoner!

These days, of course, there is little need for chim-chim-a-nee chimney sweeps anyway..

Yes, as we said, Scenes in the Square is a delight, and I cannot wait to get back down to London to visit these guys.

Also Wonder Woman, Mr Bean, Paddington Bear and Gene Kelly from Singin’ In The Rain.

And you know how much I love me statues but not, of course, Lord Whatshisname ones but these inspiring figures… human and animal