please empty your brain below

And yet, you failed to tweet about it? Tsk, fail.
I once sat next to Arthur Smith on the Victoria line. To confirm my identification, he was reading a Radio 4 script.
True story: About 10 years ago I was standing in a tube carriage and noticed Bernard Ingham sitting nearby (you'd think he could afford a cab....but I digress). We pulled into a station, Sir Bernard got up to leave, and his seat was taken by Simon Amstell.
Two celebrities you don't often hear mentioned in the same breath.
It's when a celebrity or other well known person mistakes you for someone they know and they make a bee line for you....its happened to me many times and I find it variously terrifying, embarrassing, shaming, hilarious....but not quite annoying ...yet!!!
I had that Diamond Geezer bloke off the net in the back of the cab once...
Saw Richard Briers on a Richmond Branch District Line train a couple of years ago. He was charming and not in the least perturbed as we waited (perhaps Ravenscourt Park, maybe Turnham Green) for the driver to come and reset the emergency stop thingy that my son had just pressed from the comfort of his pushchair.
We have all sorts of slebs to walk past on the way to the office, thanks to being very near to aforementioned theatre...

This summer I bumped into Eddie Redmayne crossing the road, just as me and my friend were discussing her previous encounter with him in Borough Market. He heard us! Suffice to say we weren't as brazen as these cheeky schoolboys: http://bit.ly/Q0WMoq (scroll down to 'A bumpy ride on the Tube for Eddie').

On the plus side, I now know where he lives, what car he drives and his favourite restaurant in the area. It's just a shame I'm not a fan and nobody I share this anecdote with knows who he is...
Other sleb spots in my postcode over the past year: Dominic West in the Jerwood Space; Francis Maude in a nearby Italian restuarant; and Jane Asher too just the week before. Scott Bakula outside the Menier was also great and worth a few cool points : )

And my biggest sleb spot of recent times? On my way home one evening, I stopped to watch a shaggy-haired, bearded, skinny bloke in a tweed suit pushing a large cupboard across Southwark St, followed by a camera man whom I tried to avoid. Puzzled, I thought nothing more of it, until 3 weeks later when my jaw dropped at recognising Jarvis Cocker in the latest TV ident for Radio 6. The whole ident was filmed in the car park next to the Menier...
Glad to hear you respected urban solitude.
Swirlythingy, that is awesome and makes me miss London even more.

Bit sad about the 'seat reserved' stickers though; could really ruin someone's day when they need a seat and see the sticker's been replaced - it's difficult enough getting people to give you their attention and their seat with the right stickers.
@s Oh, so THAT'S what those cameras were all about! I saw them too, but - like you - thought nothing more of it.
I saw Russell Howard not long ago, somewhere up in London. Actually I hadn't really registered him until he smiled, which was probably good anticipation of the probability I would recognise him once he did.
I bumped into David Cameron with his family and security men coming through a kissing gate on the Ridgeway Path. I think he was heading for the Plough in Cadsden, the pub where he later left his daughter ... He stood back and let me through first.
Famous past regular users of public transport include, I think, Enoch Powell and Alan Bennett. Presumably Ken Livingstone can still be seen these days, and of course Boris!
Well, if there’s some kind of competition going on here, I can claim Prince Philip. He smiled (yes!)and waved to me in 1955 from a chauffeur-driven Rolls as he and the Queen headed home from Epsom racecourse along a country lane. I knew he was returning my wave because I was the only person there. No heavy police escort in those days, but the royal standard fluttering on the limo’s bonnet identified the occupants for me.
I have a photo on my desk of me walking alongside Prince Philip at the East of England Show in the late '60s - no heavy security then - we just chatted as we sauntered along!
I once saw, er, you know, whatsisname, at - erm, er - that tube station, er, well, I'm getting old now you know and I can't always recognise them or, if I do, I can't remember their name. Or why they are famous. If they are. So, what the hell, really, innit?

I wonder if they could ever wonder who I am? Best of luck and if they find out but then how would they ever let me know?
I'm disappointed there's no comment here from Jack Whitehall, about how he loves your blog and always reads it. I've seen various famous people in London over the years, but never on public transport though.
@Bob Lindsay-Smith

I have seen Alan Bennett, Ken Livingstone (more than once) and Boris on tube trains.

I missed out on Enoch though.
I'm terrible at remembering faces, even famous ones, so have no idea how many celebrities I may have bumped into without realizing. When I lived in London I used to go to fringe theatre performances with a friend who was far more aware, who would whisper "That was Alan Rickman in the bar at the interval!" or "Don't you realize we're sitting right behind Charles Dance?" Sadly, no, I never did. I'm sure they appreciated my obliviousness, though.
I've seen Edwina Currie and Sir Leon Brittan on the tube as well as Bob Crow! I sat across a train carriage from Peter Mandelson when he still had that dubious tache and have shared a First Class carriage with Clare Short. I nearly walked into Ken Livingstone in the LT Museum just to the side of the Borismaster mock up. That struck me as mildly ironic. I've also seen Denis Skinner, Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander in and around Westminster. Oh and Micheal Foot on the 24 bus many years ago.

Not so good on "celebrities" but a long while back walked past Terry Wogan and Willie Rushton in different parts of town.










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