World peace is a slippery monkey to catch, isn’t it? Perhaps the best way to stop people fighting each other is to threaten to kill them all. Parents use this approach with quarreling kids in the back of the car. Indeed, the global pandemic which, for a short while, threatened to wipe everyone off the planet did reduce international conflict in many regions. But apparently this was offset by the number of people in lockdown that murderised each other. Net result, zero. The Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park, London was erected in 1985 by followers of the Nipponzan Myohoji sect. Not by Queen Victoria, as some people wrongly believe, who was still busy on the Lloyd’s Building. Hidden inside the structure is a giant robot called Gort. Legend has it that when the right time comes, Gort will step out and destroy us all unless we stop arguing and help old ladies across the road. In the meantime, it is a lovely place to visit on your bicycle.