Dedication, and a pair of coconuts, is all you need.

On Monday as part of the St. Georges Day celebrations in London a record attempt was made at the world's largest coconut orchestra. Yep, as daft as it sounds but when you realise it is organised by the people of Spamalot, the Monty Python stage adaptation, it sort of makes sense. If you're one of the cynics who thinks the record was made up for the event, you're wrong; apparently over 1,000 people set the record in New York.

So it was a short walk after work and I was there in time to register and collect my musical instruments.

Two guys were having difficulty stopping the inflatable foot from blowing away. Its unlikely that this'll be a permanent attraction in the square.


The crowd was already gathering, to help get them into the swing of things the screen was showing old comedy clips from the nearby British Film Archives.

Some people had come dressed for the occasion, or perhaps they were just lost.

Even before the record attempt, the coconuts were being put to good use and in a very Monty Python way too. Whenever horses or camels were on screen we'd all provide the sound effects.

This is the cast of Spamalot who taught us the basics of coconut playing. It went along the lines of "grab the left nut in the left hand, the right nut in the right hand and bang them together. Just not too hard". We also learnt various horse pacing from trot through canter to gallop.

Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam were there to show their support. Ken Livingstone (not part of the Monty Python crew but just as funny sometimes) was only there for the photo opportunity then left.

After a rendition of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" it was confirmed by the people at Guiness that we had sat a world record. Papers the next day had inflated the figure by 25% so I'm unsure how they counted it; through registration forms I'd think.

To round the events off there was then an evening showing of Monty Python's Holy Grail with sound effects provided by the new record holders of course!

Certainly a different event for the square but a fun one nonetheless, and I can finally say that I'm in the Guiness Book of Records, if not in name.