Day Out

Going out in London is pretty rough, isn't it? I have lived on the Fulham Road for 12 years. What first attracted me to the place was all the little shops. It had a Cardiffy sort of feel, which is where I come from, but now it's all estate agents. The traffic in London is an absolute joke - you have to have a mental condition to drive. If they had a good public transport system, a day out in London would be paradise.

Since there isn't one, you have to avoid all that. Going to parks is lovely. I've got three plays in my head at the moment - my Dylan Thomas and Truman Capote one-man shows and Under Milk Wood. I spend the morning just walking through Hyde Park reciting my lines or walking round side-streets with my Walkman, protecting my ears from the foul language of children. I love living for the moment without plans or expectations. Not knowing what is round the corner, particularly on the Fulham Road.

If I'm going into town I will cycle to Green Park and then walk along Picadilly. If you go to Jermyn Street at 12.45pm you can watch all the gents going to their clubs. For lunch though I go to Oriel, Sloane Square (071-730 2804) or La Brasserie, Brompton Road (071-584 1668). I go round with A L Kennedy, the novelist, making up silly things and just letting life happen. I've got rid of the Welsh work ethic that pictures in the afternoon are decadent and often go to either the ABC Fulham Road or the Cannon Chelsea when there are only three people in the audience. I take a huge packet of pop corn so I can hardly see the screen.

The two other things I like doing is having my hair cut and going into churches. I think St Martin's-in-the-Field, St James's and the Brompton Oratory are beautiful. I'd end the day at a concert, opera or play. Actors love it when you go backstage and I rather like going to Jo Allen's (071-436 5131) for a meal with the luvvies after the show.

Bob Kingdom (pictured above as Truman Capote) is currently in 'Under Milk Wood', Shaw Theatre, London NW1 (071-388 1394)