Battersea Park Zoo

On a recent visit to Battersea Park Zoo, we decided we’d buy an annual family ticket. However we soon changed our minds when we discovered the annual zoo ticket price was £240.00 – around 10 times the family entrance fee. This prompted me to do a bit of research into what other similar places charged for annual entrance, and the results were quite amazing.

Annual Entry Fees 2010

Not only was Battersea Park Zoo the highest I found, they were highest by a considerable margin. London Zoo was the only one that came close for an annual membership, but as their daily admission charge is about double that of Battersea Park Zoo, it still comes out as excellent value.

One of the venues in the table above said that their pricing was based on a number of factors including competition, a wish to attract local people who would benefit the most, balance the admission fees with the increase in income from secondary onsite sources and that research had shown that a typical member would visit 2 and a half times.

Many London attractions use their cafe, restuarants and shops to provide revenue. The National History Museum subsidies its activities to the tune of £2.7million. When the competition is fierce it’s a classic marketing technique.

Research has shown a correlation between admission price and visitor numbers so I would be interested to add this data to the venues in my table.

Battersea High Street transformed for the Big Lunch

Battersea High Street was transformed for this years ‘Big Lunch’ street party. We saw bouncy castles, wine tasting, local beer tasting, face painting, chalk drawings on the street, salsa dancing, and delicious barbeques and picnic lunches.

Every trader in Battersea High Street participated (with the exception of bookmakers William Hill) and the layout was double the length of last years.

It was inspiring to see all the hard work that had gone into it, and I expect to see many more street parties springing up next year.

When I'm Boss - page 1

When I’m boss I’m going to make my family obey me and tidy my room. I will make my class listen to me make a throne and take me to mcdonalds

When I'm Boss - page 2

to have every meal [,] let me have a birthday every satarday and get to stay up as long as I want to. get me the whole football kit and make dad go to sleep at 6 oc[lock].

Looking up

I’ve just been pushed out of a window at Battersea Arts Centre.

ICANN Brussels

Jargon overheard at the ICANN conference in Brussels:

Push-back: I’m going to push-back on your suggestion, I don’t think it’ll stand up to scrutiny.

On-boarding: We’re not seeing much on-boarding of that new feature so it might get dropped.

Northcote Road Festival 2010

The Northcote Road Festival took place on Sunday and looked to be very successful. There were a lot of people, but as the road was closed for the day it didn’t cause any problems. There was the usual street market, plus fairground rides, two stages for music and entertainment and lots of stalls for local businesses and charities.

The kids enjoyed the bouncy castle and Jeanette and I were checking out the Battersea face painters.

Battersea Park Zoo Bar-b-que

Monday was the Friends of Battersea Zoo Barbecue. Although the weather wasn’t great, there was a big turn out, and hopefully much cash was raised for the Friends. Apart from a raffle, silent auction and drinks being on sale for charity, there was a face painter for the kids.

Battersea Park Zoo is one of only 3 zoos in London and is perfect for kids. Its small enough for little ones to walk around without getting tired, and there a large play area for children. This has expanded recently and now includes a real fire engine.