Wombles band spotted around London
The Wombles have been popping up all over London, from Wimbledon town centre to the London Eye and Abbey Road.
As they prepare for their Glastonbury performance and their albums being re-released on CD, the Wombles band delighted passers-by with their surprise appearances for photoshoots on 8 June. And thanks to Twitter, we can follow some of their movements…
Wimbledon
They were first spotted around 12 noon in front of Wimbledon railway station by Adrian Higgins and Harrison Feltham, who posted photos of the line-up: Madame Cholet (with bass guitar), Uncle Bulgaria (with violin), Orinoco (the lead singer), Wellington (with guitar) and Bungo (with drumsticks).
Charlotte Collins tweeted: “Just had the Wombles walk past my office, fitting into the Stereotypes of Wimbledon already… I wanted to hug them. Brilliant.”
A few minutes later, Lydia Bullen said: “I literally just saw The Wombles in Wimbledon!!” Her picture showed the band being filmed walking down Wimbledon’s main high street, closely followed by someone holding a boom microphone.
TV presenter Jenni Crane added: “I can’t believe I just saw Uncle Bulgaria and his gang, the Wombles in… Only blooming Wimbledon.”
South Bank
By 3.15 pm, the Wombles had made their way to the South Bank, where Fiona McLean tweeted: “There are a load of Wombles milling around the London Eye!”
Rocky J posted a photo of the band riding ‘Boris Bikes’, Transport for London’s cycles for hire. YouTube user MultiCreateanaccount posted a video (see below) of Bungo and Uncle Bulgaria entertaining a class of excited schoolchildren by running up and down past them, while Wellington, Orinoco and Madame Cholet ride around on their bikes.
Then Andy May reported: “Wombles on Westminster Bridge! Long way from Wimbledon!”
Wardour Street
At 5.15 pm, Martyn August said: “There are Wombles on Wardour Street!” And Beth Heath Netherton added: “The Wombles have taken over Chappells of Bond St” (a famous music store, now in Wardour Street). YouTube user tabbycat235 posted a short video of the band jamming - see below.
They were on the move again by 6.00 pm as Miss Beauttie spotted them: “On my way to Kettners and have just passed a waving Womble in a taxi that is not in Wimbledon!”
Abbey Road
Even at 8.00 pm, the ‘Fab Fur’ were still hard at work, as Tom Barnard reported the latest sighting: “Just as I thought today couldn’t get any more surreal, I had to stop at Abbey Rd zebra crossing to let four Wombles (with guitars) cross.”
Abbey Road Studios added: “Underground, overground, wombling free… and on our zebra crossing. Uncle Bulgaria is looking particularly spritely - if you peer closely you can see him doing a little leap!”
Mike Batt summed up the band’s busy day out: “Heehee. Wombles spent a day in London and got papped and clapped everywhere they went.”
