Giant-Size Spider-Man was a short-lived comic book series during Marvel Comics’ mid-1970s craze for bigger issues with more pages that also included the immortal title Giant-Size Man-Thing. Diary never thought it would have cause to mention either one here… but then a truly giant-size Spider-Man swung his way into our inbox.
And when he takes off his mask, he doesn’t have to be Peter Parker. He could be Albert Einstein. Or… Beyoncé? It’s all part of the tech behind the world’s tallest moving statue – aptly named The Giant – which promises to be “the most exciting visitor attraction concept of the 21st century”.
Standing more than 10 storeys high and a decade in the making, The Giant features LED pixels that give it the ability to instantly take the form of anyone from history (or fiction, we guess), with the three icons above joining Amelia Earhart and Lionel Messi in the list of examples. Something for everyone then. Every hour it transforms into a different famous person and talks about them.
The Giant Company has engaged CBRE to identify potential sites around the world, and they are hoping to have 21 identity-changing statues installed by the end of 2021. If you have a friendly neighbourhood that’s just perfect for Spidey, do get in touch.
Meet me at Greggs
Good news this week for anyone fearing that when they return to the office there will be nowhere left to go for lunch. That Tibetan place you love may have gone, the artisan coffee shop where you put together your deconstructed latte may be a thing of the past… but there’s always a vegan sausage roll…
Yes, Greggs is coming for the City as part of its bold expansion plans. It somehow managed to open 28 new locations in 2020, a year in which Diary struggled to open the blinds. And this year it has eyes on 100 more sites, spying heretofore unavailable opportunities in central London.
We are heartily looking forward to taking important meetings at a branch in the Square Mile. Will the new business buzz phrase be “Meet me at Greggs”?
Extreme Makeover: the Downing Street edition
Some things are better left to the Americans. ITV News exclusively revealed photos this week of the government’s new Downing Street studio for “White House-style press briefings” – a facility in which they have somehow managed to spend £2.6m on some wood panelling and a job lot of Dulux paint in a shade that can only be named “Tory blue”.
In lockdown, it seems, even Boris Johnson has turned his thoughts to home renovation. Highlights include four British flags (because any more than that would be gauche) and a rostrum on which the words “Downing Street” are obscured by the royal coat of arms plonked in the middle.
“See government has taken this opportunity to showcase UK design talent and craftsmanship then?” quipped Patricia Brown on Twitter. “Looks like a Radisson Edwardian basement conference room, c. 1998.”
A nostalgic Simon Ricketts responded: “Memories! I expect nothing less than a bowl of boiled sweets and their wrappers, unopenable mini-bottle of fizzy water on branded paper doily and a free branded pen (not working).”
A hat tip to David Taylor for the exquisite irony of “Building beautiful.”
And Meg Kaufman tackled the elephant in the (hideous) room: “I don’t want to set hares running, but isn’t it kind of… Trump-y?”
But leave it to comedian David Baddiel to spot the only thing about this whole foolish enterprise that is truly symbolic of Britain: the Henry vacuum cleaner accidentally left in shot.
The third Circle of hell
Back in 2018, Diary reported on a new Channel 4 series named The Circle, featuring players holed up alone in build-to-rent apartments, communicating solely through social media. It seemed such an outlandish idea at the time – who knew then how much it would catch on? Anyway, it is back for series three, and leading North West managing agent Qube’s Adelphi Wharf scheme has again been used as the filming location by Studio Lambert North.
Dave Seed, managing director at Qube, told Diary: “It has been a great experience as always, and we love seeing the apartments transformed each time they come in to build the set.” Perhaps Downing Street should have got SLN in.
The Circle returned to screens on 16 March, and is available on catch-up. As we gradually exit lockdown, for at least a few more weeks viewers can enjoy it as an immersive experience.
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