London Underground Costume Party Quiz

Answer: Barking

The word 'barking' is a slang word for 'mad' - usually a British slang word. Sometimes the phrase "She's three stops past Barking" is used, meaning someone is extra 'loopy'! Dagenham station is the third station after Barking, and consequently, the phrase "barking mad" has evolved over time to "she's Dagenham!" Barking is part of the London Suburb of Barking and Dagenham.

The phrase 'barking mad' is generally claimed to hail from the Medieval Asylum for the Mentally Insane which was at one time attached to 'Barking Abbey', a church and nunnery founded by Eorcenwald, Bishop of London, in 666, in Barking. However, it has also been argued that the phrase didn't appear until the twentieth century, and that it is used when comparing 'mentally insane' people to mad dogs.

Answer: Barbican

The Barbican area is home to one of the largest performing arts areas in Europe. The Barbican Centre, which houses thousands of concerts, theater performances, art exhibitions and films, was opened in 1982. It's a fantastic place to go, and has one of the best libraries I've been to.

The traditional 'Barbie' is known for her style, perfect figure, and enviable long, blonde hair. This image is only slightly marred by the fact that apparently, this pink princess was modeled on a German comic strip character named 'Lilli' who was a prostitute. 'Lilli' later became an 'adult only' toy, and sold in 'adult only' stores. In the mid twentieth century, the rights to 'Lilli' were bought by 'Mattel', and became the children's doll we know today. Barbie's boyfriend is named 'Ken'.

I have a friend who writes a blog, and she talks of the day 'Barbie' arrived in her house: "Christmas day saw the arrival of our third child, Barbie. She's proving to be the most expensive of our children. Barbie is everything that [my daughter] yearns and aspires to be. Why oh why can't Barbie be a lawyer? Struggling with her weight? Flat chested? Have a girlfriend? Anything but this insipid blonde bombshell, who admittedly has everything in life including the car, and who says (and I quote) 'Let's see what we can do to be glamorous.' I'll never compete."

Answer: King's Cross

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular singers in the Twentieth Century. Born in Mississippi in 1935, he tragically died in 1977. The then president, Jimmy Carter, read out an eulogy to Elvis, saying that he had "permanently changed the face of American popular culture". Elvis is commonly called "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", or just simply "The King".

King's Cross station opened in 1852, and is one of London's largest and busiest stations, with both underground and overground trains. It was built on the site of a smallpox hospital. Many believe that it is haunted by the ghost of Queen Boudica, as it is thought that she is buried underneath one of the platforms.

King's Cross station has now been made famous worldwide by author J K Rowling, who sites a secret platform at King's Cross - Platform 9 3/4 - visible only to those who belong to the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

Answer: Baker Street

One of the world's most famous addresses has to be 221b Baker Street, London. It was the address of Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle has said that he was inspired to create the character of Holmes by someone he worked for at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Dr Joseph Bell was said to be very similar to the character of Holmes, in that he took great note of tiny details that others overlooked, which enabled him to come to much larger conclusions, and solve mysteries that many could not.

Baker Street Station is situated at the junction of Marylebone Road and Baker Street. Marylebone Road is a bustling and busy street, and has many attractions. This is one of the stations you would need to travel to to visit Madame Tussaud's wax museum and Regent's Park.

If you are visiting London, you can visit 'The Sherlock Holmes Museum' in Baker Street, although 221b does not and never has existed as an actual address.

Answer: High Barnet

High Barnet tube station is located in the London Borough of Barnet. "Barnet" is of course Cockney slang for "hair", after the once famous Barnet Fair, which dated back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

You may remember the children's nursery rhyme "The Grand Old Duke of York":
"Oh the Grand Old Duke of York,
He had 10,000 men,
He marched them up to the top of the hill
Then he marched them down again"
Barnet Hill in Barnet is said to be the hill that is sung about in this song!

Answer: Seven Sisters

The station "Seven Sisters" is the only station of the four possible answers that exists on the London Underground. "Seven Sisters" is in the London Borough of Haringey. The name originated from a group of seven elm trees that were planted on Page Green - a parkland area in what is now known as "Seven Sisters".

The seven Elms were planted around a single walnut tree, and from 1732 it became known as "Seven Sisters". The original group of trees no longer exists, but was replaced in 1997 with hornbeam trees in a nearby spot.

Answer: Holloway Road

Holloway Prison opened in 1852, and housed both male and female inmates. In 1903 it became a female only prison, due to an ever-increasing need to find a place for female prisoners. Two of its most famous inmates were playwright Oscar Wilde, and Myra Hindley, one of the Moors Murderers.

Although prison uniforms in the United States are now usually a bright colored jumpsuit (the intention being that if a prisoner escaped they would be more noticeable), they used to consist of black and white striped garments. In the early twentieth Century, the black and white outfits were gradually phased out, but they still remain the stereotypical image of a convict.

Answer: Wimbledon

"The Wombles" are fictional characters that were created by Elisabeth Beresford in 1968. They are furry creatures, with long pointy noses, that live in burrows on Wimbledon Common in London. The stories became very popular, and were made into a children's television series by the BBC in the mid-1970s. In the late 1990s, the British network ITV bought the series.

The stories were about the Wombles themselves, who collect rubbish from the common, and recycle it in clever ways. Anyone who watched "The Wombles" will be sure to remember Great Uncle Bulgaria, who was the leader of the Wombles, and apparently based on the author's father-in-law.

Elisabeth Beresford apparently came up with the idea for "The Wombles" after taking a walk on Wimbledon Common one day with her young children. She said that one of them called it 'Wombledom Common', and after that she immediately started thinking of ideas for her story.

Wimbledon is of course known the world over for its tennis tournament, although it is Southfields Station that is the nearest to the courts.

Answer: Sloane Square

The term 'Sloane Ranger' is given primarily to a woman (although it can also refer to a man) who is upper, or upper-middle class, very confident, has a liking for all things 'country', and has similar ideals to other 'Sloanes'. They are usually traditionalists. who are into country sports, and are very patriotic. Princess Diana was considered to be the ideal 'Sloane Ranger', and other notable examples are Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, Jemima Khan, and Lady Victoria Hervey.

Male 'Sloanes' are also called 'Hooray Henrys', or sometimes 'Chinless Wonders' (a phrase used by novelist Jilly Cooper amomg others).

Two journalists - Anne Barr and Peter York - coined the phrase 'Sloane Rangers', primarily from the area Sloane Square, where, stereotypically, 'Sloane Rangers' hang out. This is primarily around Sloane Square itself, the King's Road, Fulham Road, and Kensington High Street. Another characteristic of 'Sloane Rangers' are a shortening of words, so the latter street would be called "Ken Hi". A reservation at the Four Seasons Hotel would be "A res at the F". Wonderful!

Answer: Wapping

The word 'whopping' is commonly used as a slang word to describe something very large indeed, particularly in the bosom region. The tube station, Wapping, is pronounced the same as 'whopping', and hence the pun.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch moved his company News International from Fleet Street to the area of Wapping in 1986, due to the high prices charged for office accommodation in Fleet Street, the traditional London home of the press. This action, and the employment changes that went with it, was very unpopular with the then-powerful newspaper trade unions, and the efforts they made to disrupt the move became known as 'The Battle of Wapping'. The newspapers are now printed in Broxbourne, Lanarkshire and Liverpool.

Wapping is also the home of 'Execution Dock', which is located on the river Thames. For four hundred years (until the 1830s) pirates and smugglers were hung here, after being sentenced to death by the Admiralty Courts.