A transatlantic tunnel, hurrah!
posted on May 16, 2008 - View this thread

Death Cab For Cutie. Live, in a Black Cab. One Song ("No Sunlight"). One Take. One Cab.
Also: Daniel Johnston, Bill Callahan, The New Pornographers, The Raveonettes, Okkervil River, Spoon, & The Futureheads.
posted on May 16, 2008 - View this thread

George Plemper's extensive photographic record of south London working-class life from the 70s and early 80s, in particular children at Riverside school Thamesmead, was left hidden away in carrier bags for three decades. Now he's put it on Flicker
posted on May 14, 2008 - View this thread

UK band The Get Out Clause made their newest video by performing in front of 80 of London's approximately 13 million CCTV cameras, and then requesting the footage via the Data Protection Act. The footage was then edited together into this music video.
posted on May 12, 2008 - View this thread

Ebbsfleet? Never heard of it? Not even the new international railway station? A 50m sculpture is hoping to change that... the five short-listed designs have been revealed today.
posted on May 7, 2008 - View this thread

It's Boris. London has elected Boris Johnson as its new mayor.
posted on May 2, 2008 - View this thread

Stop Boris Johnson?
posted on Apr 20, 2008 - View this thread

"Stench of manure engulfs London." When I saw this headline, my first thought was: what, again?

The "Great Stink" of 1858 was a particularly intense manifestation of London's ancient drainage problems. The Thames had always reeked, but that summer, the stench was so horrendous that the windows of Parliament were covered with curtains soaked in cleaning solution so that business could continue.
posted on Apr 20, 2008 - View this thread

Route 79 is a blog by a second generation Indian living in London.
posted on Apr 17, 2008 - View this thread

Paulo in London asks musicians to write him a story on an index card.
posted on Apr 15, 2008 - View this thread

London Cross: "If you walk across a great city such as London in two straight lines, south to north and east to west - a cross-section - what do you find?"
posted on Apr 14, 2008 - View this thread

A Guide To Armageddon: 1, 2, 3 (YouTube) This 1982 documentary morbidly simulates the effects of a nuclear attack on a city the size of London.
posted on Apr 14, 2008 - View this thread

All those passengers delayed amid the chaotic opening of Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5? Some are actually homeless locals wearing "floral shirts, fanny packs and other travel accessories to blend in."
posted on Mar 31, 2008 - View this thread

London's 30 Most Erotic Writers, 50 Crime Writers To Read Before You Die
posted on Mar 1, 2008 - View this thread

Go way back into time with a deliciously analog collection of mastermixes from 1980s-era soul radio from London.
posted on Feb 29, 2008 - View this thread

Wildlife Photographer of the Year
posted on Feb 9, 2008 - View this thread

London farmer Robert Fidler built his dream house, complete with Tudor-style turrets, and lived in it for four years to skirt local planning laws, by hiding it the entire time behind a giant mountain of hay.
posted on Jan 25, 2008 - View this thread

Collage is an online image database from the collections of the City of London Libraries and the Guildhall Art Gallery. Images cover the last five centuries. You can search by key word or browse by theme, artist/engraver, person or place.
posted on Dec 22, 2007 - View this thread

"It is binge drinking. We don't see people who've had just two drinks. People have had 20 shots of vodka." In central London, "Alternative Response Vehicle - or Booze Bus, as it's more commonly known - draw on their reserves of composure, ingenuity and stoicism to treat more than 20 dazed drunks," over the course of a 12-hour shift.
posted on Dec 18, 2007 - View this thread

The first known film of the long-eared jerboa, an endangered Mongolian rodent with legs like a kangaroo, was released today by the owners of London Zoo. Previously
posted on Dec 10, 2007 - View this thread

The brothers Ron and Russ Mael a.k.a. Sparks intend to play their entire back catalogue of albums over 21 nights in May 2008 in London. The 'hugely talented Los Angeles wideacres' have crossed many genres in their career, combining a fine ear and eye for pop culture with fantastic lyrics. They have influenced Morrissey and Franz Ferdinand among many others. A youtube playlist pulled together for anyone who wants to see some great videos, tunes and some bizarre footage.
posted on Dec 7, 2007 - View this thread

God's Waiting Room is a British documentary about the daily struggles of Haji Taslim Funerals, the first European Muslim Funeral Directors, and how they work to honor the requirements of ancient faith while cutting through the red tape of modern death.
posted on Nov 26, 2007 - View this thread

Boris Johnson, poet.
posted on Nov 9, 2007 - View this thread

Jason Lewis has become the first man to circumnavigate the Earth using human power alone. It only took him 13 years: he set off from London in July, 1994 and ended his expedition in October, 2007, having travelled 46,505 miles (on foot and by pedal boat, roller blades, kayak, and bicycle). [via QI]
posted on Oct 12, 2007 - View this thread

Some pretty cool aerial photos of London at night from photographer Jason Hawkes.
posted on Oct 11, 2007 - View this thread

The London Transport Museum's Poster Collection is now online. 5,000 posters and 700 original poster artworks, ranging from No need to ask a p'liceman!, the 1908 poster introducing the new underground map, to a stunning image by Man Ray, via Hans Unger's simple, beautiful Country Churches: How To Get There.
posted on Sep 28, 2007 - View this thread

The first OzBus left London last night. A latter day Magic Bus, the new service will cover 15 000 miles in 12 weeks and cross 20 countries before reaching it's destination. Follow one pasenger's journey here.
posted on Sep 17, 2007 - View this thread

Aerial building heat loss maps. Haringey Council has contracted with Hot Mapping and Horton Levi to put a searchable heat loss map online for every building in the London Borough of Haringey. The thermal images were collected using overflights with a military style imager. The council's hope is that residents with hot buildings will take steps to reduce the amount of energy being leaked to the environment.
posted on Sep 15, 2007 - View this thread

London prides itself on having the most highly trained cab drivers in the world. Black cab drivers (as opposed to their unlicensed minicab counterparts) must pass a gruelling test of local geography known as The Knowledge. Applicants take several years to master over 300 "runs" through London, and are often seen scouring the streets on mopeds with maps on clipboards as they prepare. Knowledge Boys (and Girls), as trainees are known, practise calling over the runs with "callover" partners (Forward, Orchard Street. Right Oxford Street. Comply Marble Arch...). Passing The Knowledge requires appearing before the Public Carriage Office multiple times before obtaining a license, and has been scientifically proven to grow the cabbies' brains, findings which could help those whose memories have been damaged by stroke or trauma. The Knowledge even forms the basis of a dystopian future religion in Will Self's The Book of Dave. Naturally, London's cabbies were incensed when the Immigration Minister recently referred to them as "low-skilled".
posted on Sep 5, 2007 - View this thread

The Grand Tour. Until August 31st, the National Gallery in England is putting reproductions of famous paintings on the streets of London, with MP3 audio guides and maps available for download. The reaction has been good.
posted on Aug 5, 2007 - View this thread

Examples of challenges faced: "Negotiating Hyde Park corner by bicycle. Outcome: survival." This and more from Boris Johnson's London Mayoral candidacy application [PDF] to the Conservative Party. thelondonpaper is not impressed that he submitted a handwritten form.
posted on Jul 31, 2007 - View this thread

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is a masterpiece of exotic design and workmanship that rises above the grey commuterland of north-west London. Made out of 5,000 tonnes of Italian marble and Bulgarian limestone and hand-carved, Europe's first traditional Hindu temple represents the ancient Indian traditions, arts and philosophies. It may not be the largest traditional temple outside India, but it certainly is the most beautiful. Deities and motifs spring from the walls, ceilings and windows, representing the faith and beliefs of a people that date back over 8,500 years.
posted on Jul 21, 2007 - View this thread

"Even the greatest cities have further greatness in them. I will stand for a greater London and for putting the smile back on London's face." Boris Johnson announces his candidacy for Mayor of London, though he is yet to be endorsed by the Conservative Party. Though decidedly right wing in his views (this clip, perhaps more than any other summarises his view on Europe, for example) his very English brand of buffoonery lends him unique appeal (though not universally).
posted on Jul 16, 2007 - View this thread

Some commuters are nervous about London Underground drivers filming journeys on their camera phones and posting them on YouTube. YouTube links all. BBC Story.
posted on Jul 13, 2007 - View this thread

The car is on fire, and there's no driver at the wheel
posted on Jun 30, 2007 - View this thread

Gun crime on the streets of London? It's not new. Here's a tale of robbery, murder, revolution, and Churchill in a topper. First, the Tottenham Outrage, a factory robbery resulting in two murders, 27 injuries, and a bizarre chase. The villains are Latvian anarchists, a group who are trying to finance their revolutionary aims through crime. The next year, a plan to tunnel into a jewelers is botched, and attempted burglary becomes the Houndsditch Murders . The police investigate, and on locating the gang, The Siege of Sidney Street begins. The army is called in, and the Home Secretary pops by and assumes control. After much shooting, a fire breaks out, and two men burn to death. But neither of them is the mysterious gang leader, Peter the Painter, and the five later tried are all acquitted. Churchill, however, is guilty of showing off a bit.
posted on Jun 18, 2007 - View this thread

Mick Jagger joins his little brother Chris onstage in a pub. It's safe to say the 40-odd people in attendance at the The Bull's Head pub in southwest London were more than a little surprised to see the pair performing "Dead Flowers."
posted on Jun 9, 2007 - View this thread

The British Olympic Committee unveiled the logo and branding for London 2012 today, at a cost of £400,000 (USD796,000). Reaction has been swift - a petition to change the logo or go back to the old one has already reached 10,000 signatures.
posted on Jun 4, 2007 - View this thread

The Cutty Sark burns. Nineteenth century tea clipper, preserved as a museum-ship in Greenwich since the fifties, is currently ablaze.
posted on May 20, 2007 - View this thread

Albion Drive: a saga of modern Britain. Straightforward, thought-provoking piece in the Observer about the effect of rising house prices on ordinary folk in a street in London.
posted on May 14, 2007 - View this thread

Planed - a new work by Gilbert & George, available for download until 11:35pm on the 10th of May.
posted on May 8, 2007 - View this thread

Youtube user davebones goes to London demos, protests and gatherings. His videos demonstrate the complexity of issues, calling into question the credibility of television news which tends to portray the same events in black and white terms. While his blog sets a clear agenda, his commentary-free videos are accessible to people regardless of their viewpoint.
posted on Mar 31, 2007 - View this thread

London calling to the faraway towns. James Harding of the London Times thinks that London is fast eclipsing New York as the world's favourite city. At least for business. He's only echoing earlier comment, but is he right? It’s hard to say which personality, New Yorker or Londoner, is preferable — the ballsy versus the stoic, the gruff versus the curmudgeonly, the sharp-tongued versus the quick-witted. But the real difference between the two is this: New Yorkers come from the five boroughs; Londoners from the five continents. They are Poles, Pakistanis, Brazilians, Americans, Nigerians and more. There are, it is said, 300 languages spoken in London.
posted on Mar 13, 2007 - View this thread

An Interactive Map of Charles Dickens' London. After you have had a chance to peruse the map, see then and now pictures or take a quiz about Dickens' London. If you want to see it with your own eyes, take a walking tour. Or if you are daring enough, you can try to virtually survive Dickens' London.
posted on Feb 14, 2007 - View this thread

Hammersmith Palais, legendary venue immortalised in song, faces demolition. More at NME and BBC.
posted on Feb 3, 2007 - View this thread

Eel Pie Island: the early 1960s incubator and catalyst of the burgeoning R & B scene in Twickenham and Richmond, The young musicians who played there included members of The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, Long John Baldry, the Small Faces, to name but a few. BBC Radio documentary on Radio 4 (30 minutes). Plus, from about 1964 (?): pre-Wheels on Fire Brian Augur and the Trinity with three-quarters of Steampacket (Long John Baldry, the delicious Julie Driscoll, and Rod "the Mod" Stewart) I guess what with Augur on keyboard, the Steampacket didn't need their pianist, Elton John. youtuber
posted on Feb 1, 2007 - View this thread

Ghosts of the London Underground - a documentary. More here.
posted on Jan 31, 2007 - View this thread

Wow. And I thought California property was expensive. Lordy.
posted on Jan 23, 2007 - View this thread

Metro-land: Railways Around Amersham & The Metropolitan Line. 'The name "Metro-land" was created in 1915 by the publicity department of the Metropolitan Railway. "Metro-Land" became the name of the annual publication of the railway's booklet which described the area the railways served through north west London, into Middlesex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. The Railway set up a separate company to develop housing and shops along the Metropolitan's line. Much of the area was extensively developed between the World Wars and created a distinctive atmosphere...'

A guide to the Metropolitan Line (prefaced by John Betjeman's poem 'Metro-Land') is here. The London Transport Museum website has an article on London Underground and 'Metro-Land'.
posted on Jan 13, 2007 - View this thread

Sadly, you will never be important enough to be invited to 10 Downing Street. So take a virtual tour instead.
posted on Jan 3, 2007 - View this thread