flash mob

I've heard of these things, read about them - where a group of people come together at a prearranged location and either just stand around, or take directions from their mobiles or disrupt a particular environment; have a mass pillow fight or simultaneously open umbrellas. I always thought it sounded great. I always liked the idea. A buzz going round the internet, emails being forwarded as locations and times are announced. All very secret and quickfire. A uniquely beginning-of-the-century kind of phenomenon. A real internet-has-arrived kind of thing.
So I'm of course intrigued when the web address for a flash mob happening comes my way via Artkrush or Flavourpill, I can't remember which. A fashion catwalk event down Carnaby Street at 6.30pm, Thursday night.
I make a detour there on the way to Gimpel Fils. I get there a little after 6.30. There's maybe six people dressed up, having their photos taken by about two or three press and a bunch of passing mobile phones.
It all seems rather small and unexciting. I'm quite disappointed.
I head off to Gimpel, thinking, ah well.
A few days later I am visiting people in Burton in the Midlands and chance to look at a copy of their local paper. There's a big picture of the flash mob from a couple of days earlier and a bit of a write up, about that crazy place London, full of crazy people having lots of fun doing flash mob stuff.
It looks so good in the article I wish I could have been there.
flash pics