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With a shock General Election result, stuttering Brexit process and Donald Trump and King Jong-un at loggerheads, 2017 hasn't been short of big news stories.

But among more pressing global concerns, London has seen its fair share of the bizarre and the wonderful.

The Standard has put together a mix of the best quirky stories in the capital this year.

They include raves on the Tube, goldfish caught up in police chases and thousands of dumped 2p coins.

In one of London’s stranger social experiments, the reactions of passers-by were filmed after 15,000 2p coins were dumped on a towpath.

The stunt, which put to use a mound of coins left over from an art installation, was dreamt up by AirBnB host Jamahl McMurran and his guest Lana Mesic.

The pair bagged up the cons and hauled them down to the towpath on the Regent's Canal before setting up a camera in Mr McMurran's flat overlooking the area.

And it took four hours before two men turned up and swiped the £300 pile.

Mr McMurran, who works for investment firm Seedcamp, told the Standard he was “gutted” when the coins were taken so soon, but still thought the experiment had been “incredible”.

Before the theft, Mr McMurran and Ms Mesic caught on film a cyclist standing in the mound before picking a handful of coins up and tossing them over his head, and children playing in the pile.

Hundreds of people marvelled as the sky over England appeared to glow orange in a strange phenomenon caused by Storm Ophelia.

Stunning images of the so-called "red sun" were shared by people across the country after the former hurricane pulled in tropical air, dust and debris from southern Europe and Africa.

It was caused by warm air containing Saharan dust being pushed north from Africa.

As it moved northwards, the air also picked up a lot of dust and debris resulting from forest fires in Portugal and Spain.

According to experts, dust particles scatter the sky's shorter wave-length blue light, instead allowing red light, which has a longer wavelength, to shine through.

Thames authorities were called to Chelsea Harbour after stunned residents spotted a “crocodile” bobbing among the luxury houseboats.

Dr Chris Davies, a bonds specialist, spotted the rogue reptile drifting in the water while walking his dog.

He told the Standard: “It looked like the real deal. I know six pythons have been found in Battersea Park this year so I thought maybe this was a dumped pet.”

But harbour master Colin Bullock, who was called in to deal with the mystery sighting, said: “It was just a pond ornament, that was it.

“It was quite obviously a plastic item and I just got a net.”

Redditor Andrew Last photographed this fine display of Britishness at Ed Sheeran’s sold out gig at The O2 arena earlier this year.

The queue to enter the 20,000 capacity venue snaked in an orderly 'S’ formation, without the need for barriers or policing.

“I was at The O2 yesterday seeing Ed Sheeran, and the queue in the picture was for the standing ticket holders,” Mr Last told the Standard.

“People were obeying the invisible lines perfectly for the couple of minutes I was watching before I snapped the picture.”

When the doors did finally open, people didn’t rush to get the best standing spot. Instead, according to Mr Last, they shuffled in, single file, in an organised fashion.

Police were called to break-up a “fully-fledged rave” on board a packed Tube train, which feature flashing lights, a sound system and an MC.

Video uploaded to YouTube showed laughing revellers dancing to booming drum 'n' bass in the Bakerloo line carriage.

Award-winning MC Harry Shotta, who later hailed it one of his best ever gigs, told the passengers: “Real live drum ‘n’ bass on the Underground right now.”

He told the Standard that the rave began at Elephant and Castle station, with him and members of YouTube pranksters Trollstation, jumping on board with their equipment.

He added: "The first two girls who got on started dancing immediately to the music. They couldn't believe what was going on. It went from there.”

The unusual scenes went on for 25 minutes before officers brought the fun to a halt as the train reached Paddington.

A five-year-old girl had her make-shift lemonade stand shut down by east London council officers who slapped her and her father with a £150 fine.

Andre Spicer said his daughter burst into tears and told him “I’ve done a bad thing” after enforcement officers read out a lengthy legal letter before issuing him the notice.

The pair were given the fine for "trading without a permit" after they set up the stall near their home in Mile End to refresh festival goers heading to Lovebox in Victoria Park.

Mr Spicer, a professor at City University, said: “It’s not like she was trying to make a massive profit, this is just a five-year-old kid trying to sell lemonade. She sobbed all the way home.”

After it was contacted by the Standard, Tower Hamlets Council promised to cancel the fine "immediately" and said it would apologise.

A stolen goldfish miraculously survived a police chase and ensuing crash while in an unsecured glass filled with water, loose on the floor of the boot of a car.

After police officers chased the “suspicious” car at speed through Chessington they were stunned to discover the stolen fish among other items believed to have been stolen in a burglary.

Kingston Police spokesman Seb Ellis told the Standard: “We discovered a goldfish, in a pint glass, just sitting there chilling and casually staring at us.

“We couldn’t understand how even after the fast driving and the crash the pint glass was still upright!”

“Officers at the scene affectionately named the fish as Peter.”

Peter the goldfish was taken back home and returned to his tank.

A tourist at the Tower of London was slammed after allegedly tossing her glove towards a Queen’s Guard soldier in a bid to get him to move.

Video footage posted online by a fellow tourist captures the “stand-off” between the woman and a London Beefeater after the soldier refused to pick up her glove.

The female holidaymaker was caught on camera being given a dressing down as the Beefeater demanded: “Did you just throw your glove over?"

He added: “Why did you do that? The Army’s here to protect the crown jewels, they’re not here for the public to make fun of.

“He’s a soldier, he serves his country, he deserves to be treated with a little respect.

“Throwing your gloves at him isn’t going to work is it really?”

A cheeky fox got a free ride on a London tour bus, much to the surprise of sightseers who discovered it sitting on the top deck.

The four-legged tourist is believed to have boarded the double-decker in a depot before riding it all the way to Park Lane - taking in some of the capital’s famous landmarks on the way.

After it was discovered skulking around at the back of the bus passengers were asked to get off, the vehicle was shut and locked and the RSPCA called.

Hazel McGuire, head of marketing for Big Bus in London, said: “We hope he enjoyed his Big Bus experience and thank him for introducing our London visitors to the wilder side of life in the city; however inadvertently.”

A campaign was launched to protect metal fences in south London made from Second World War stretchers once used to carry thousands of wounded civilians in the Blitz.

Local historians claim hundreds of thousands of Londoners walk past the so-called ‘stretcher fences’ every day completely oblivious to their “fascinating history”.

They can be found on estates in Peckham, Brixton, Deptford, Oval and East London.

Conservation manager Rosie Shaw told the Standard: "A lot of them badly need some conservation or councils will have to replace them.

“I think it would be wonderful if more people knew about them and could engage with them. Anyone who we tell gets really excited and it’s a really fascinating social part of our history."

A florist in a trendy corner of east London started selling sticks for up to £18 – despite being located yards away from a park.

A photo of a selection of sticks and empty jam jars on sale at Botanique in Stoke Newington sparked a flurry of jokes when it was shared by broadcaster Jeremy Vine on Twitter.

The image was originally taken by food writer Debora Robertson who tweeted: “There is a new shop in Stoke Newington selling sticks because of course there is.”

One customer told the Standard: "They vary in price from £12 to £18 and they are decorative.”

Alice Howard from Botanique said the sticks were worth the money.

She said: "These aren't just any sticks. Even our shop dogs Goose and Bertie know not to touch them.

"They look quite nice displayed on a wall if you're into that kind of thing, I have a fair few at home.”

Scores of customers slammed a London food festival which promised unlimited cheese and mulled wine, complaining it was "diabolical”.

The Giant Cheeseboard, hosted in Studio 338 in Greenwich, charged food fans £30 for entry to a six-hour slot of “cheesy heaven” and free mulled wine.

But disappointed gourmet enthusiasts flooded social media with disastrous reviews claiming the organisers run out of cheese and the wine was “limited to two glasses”.

One said: “I have never been to an event where there were so many unhappy people,” while another called it the “worst event ever” adding: “Not just bad cheese. Terrible organisation.”

The organisers hit back, rejecting claims the cheese was supermarket-bought and saying there was unlimited cheese on offer.

Bemused Peckham residents spotted a pheasant wandering around in the heart of the bustling south London neighbourhood.

The colourful game bird – normally found in open countryside – appeared to take up residence in the neighbourhood, quickly becoming a cult figure.

Many confused residents took to Twitter and local message boards to share pictures.

One Twitter user called Rebecca Williams posted an image of the pheasant with the caption: “Pheasant chilling at the top of Rye Lane. As they do.”

Another person tweeted: “You're looking rather dashing this morning, Peckham Pheasant”.

The bird is believed to have made its way from the outskirts of London while hunting for food, having survived the shooting season.