For Hillary Clinton versus Barack Obama read Punch versus Judy

The street entertainers performing in Covent Garden today may not realise it, but they are following in a long line of performers as listeners to the Walk Talk Tour Museums, Galleries & Performing Arts mp3 guided tour will discover. Samuel Pepys recorded the first performance of Punch and Judy show in England was here, under the portico of St Paul's Church, in May, 1662.

The puppets that Pepys recorded seeing in the seventeenth century would have been string puppets. The descendants of those puppets today are hand puppets. Punch's character has evolved, too. The attention grabbing pronouncements of old that characterised his seventeenth and early eighteenth century performances has been replaced by a new found aggression.

Punch most definitely has anger management issues that he needs to address. In the typical story he is left at home with his baby. He thumps the baby over the head with a stick to try and make it stop crying. His wife returns home. The two quarrel and Punch ends up killing his wife. Punch's catch phrase - uttered after he has killed Judy - is "That's the way to do it." He is imprisoned for his wife's murder. I will not talk anymore about the typical storyline as I do not wish to spoil it for anyone.

The race for the Democratic Nomination in the United States increasingly seems to resemble a fight between the children's puppets. The contest has become increasingly bitter. The Clintons have been accused of playing the race card by appealing to white conservative voters. Both of the adversaries are sapping their energy and draining their coffers, while John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, can set his sights on the election to come.

Visitors to Covent Garden can learn about a tussle of a different kind that went on for the Covent Garden Market in the 1970s with the Museum, Galleries & Performing Arts podcast guided tour.

Do It Yourself tourists can discover how the Covent Garden got its name with the Museum, Galleries & Performing Arts downloadable travel guide. Listeners to the iPod travel guide will hear about the seventeenth century development of Covent Garden and the subsequent slide, then rebirth of the area. To find out more about the Museum, Galleries & Performing Arts Walk Talk Tour please click here. To hear an audio sample from the city guide please click here.

The five Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tours of London are also available in French, German and Spanish.