(...and Moscow too, except they haven't got a hope). These are the five cities still in the race for the 2012 Olympic Games, each eagerly seeking fame, glory and crippling long-term debt. I'm delighted to see that the industrial wasteland just up the road from my house is still on the final shortlist for this glittering prize. But the grey-suited men of the International Olympic Committee have held a mirror up to London's Olympic submission and haven't been quite as impressed as I might have hoped. They liked our airports, our hotels and our eco-friendly sustainable Olympic village. They weren't so impressed by public opinion, air pollution or our lack of experience in organising anything similar recently. But there's one common factor that all commentators believe is London's Achilles heel, and that's transport.
London thought it was being very clever sticking the majority of Olympic sports within a small area of EastLondon but the rest at world famous locations around the capital. Wimbledon, Wembley and Horseguards Parade to name but a few - surely these landmark sites were vote winners? Well no, because the IOC scrutineers spotted just how long it will take athletes to travel from the Olympic village to such far-flung outposts, and they're not taken in.
But hang on gentlemen! London's transport may not be perfect but it's by no means obsolete. Millions of us manage to travel around the capital each day without resorting to horse-drawn vehicles or steam locomotives. These ancient Victorian tube lines of ours are just an indication that we invented them first. And let's not forget that the 2012 Olympics will be happening in August when the Underground is half empty anyway. All those poor tennis players who need to get to Wimbledon, they can ride there from Bromley-by-Bow via the District line like the rest of us. As for the world's finest footballers, there's a five year-old engineering marvel called the Jubilee line that can take them from Stratford to Wembley direct. Admittedly it'll be harder to extend the new East London line as far as Weymouth, but surely international yachtsmen are more likely sail there than to hop onto public transport. So, spoilt ungrateful executives of the IOC, step out of your chauffeur-driven limousines and try joining the rest of us in second class for a change. I'll save you all a seat on the DLR in eight years' time, OK?
Silver Jubilee:Southwark Opened: Saturday 20th November 1999 Distance from previous station: 450m Platform: exit to the right of the train You are now entering: the London Borough of Southwark Change here for: mainline services from Waterloo East Photo shows: the vast mid-level concourse, one wall of which is covered by blue glass triangles. Wow, go see. Fact file: Three separate escalators lead down to the platforms from the big blue cavern, each burrowing down between separate arches of the Victorian viaduct above. 5 things I found outside this station: a circular entrance lobby lit by a central glass drum, Waterloo East station (via dedicated exit), Blackfriars Road, a building site dominated by a towering blue crane (any buyers for a new glassy office building?), The Ring public house Nearby: not a lot Not quite nearby enough:Tate Modern, Oxo Tower, Globe Theatre. Local history: Southwark has long been the dark side of London, with the southern banks of the Thames home to brothels, bear-baiting and some bloke called William Shakespeare.
BowRoadupdate: Meanwhile, over at Bow Road on the District line, my local station upgrade continues apace. No less than three new blue walls have been constructed in the last fortnight. There's one at the top of the stairs down to the eastbound platform, another in the corner of the ticket hall and a third around the scaffolding on the pavement in front of the station. Add those to the five existing blue walls along the platforms and one more on the pavement, and some kind of blue wall event horizon seems to have been reached. Perhaps some renovation work is going on behind those blue walls, it's still impossible to tell. Or maybe we've just become some new art installation, displaying an array of modern safety signage on clean blue surfaces, juxtaposed against late Victorian brickwork. Keep an eye on this comments box for further developments.
Silver Jubilee:Waterloo Opened: Saturday 10th March 1906 Jubilee line platforms opened: Saturday 20th November 1999 Distance from previous station: 1.0 km (beneath River Thames) Platform: exit to the right of the train You are now entering: the London Borough of Lambeth Change here for: Bakerloo, Northern and Waterloo & City lines, and mainline services Photo shows: the two very long moving walkways that link the Jubilee line to all other connecting services. Fact file: Waterloo station has 23 escalators, more than any other underground station. The Jubilee platforms are 30m below ground. 5 things I found outside this station: Waterloo mainline station, Waterloo Eurostar station, a giant illuminated elephant's head at the top of an escalator, an IMAX cinema, homeless people. Nearby:The South Bank = Saatchi Gallery + London Aquarium + London Eye + Jubilee Gardens + Royal Festival Hall + Queen Elizabeth Hall + Hayward Gallery + Golden Jubilee Bridges + National Film Theatre + National Theatre Local history:Waterloomainline station (opened 1848) was named after nearby WaterlooBridge (opened by Prince George 18th June 1817), originally due to be called Strand Bridge but renamed to commemorate the Battle ofWaterloo (18th June 1815).
When the Jubilee line was opened 25 years ago, it was always intended that it would be extended further. The line was meant to head east from Charing Cross to an enlarged station at Aldwych, then on to new stations at Ludgate Circus and Fenchurch Street (still the only mainline London terminal with no tube connection). From here the railway would have headed down to New Cross and Lewisham, or eastwards through the decaying London Docks to Silvertown and Thamesmead, or both. (Look, maps) But the money ran out before any of that could happen, and it took the promise of hard cash from the developers of Canary Wharf to kickstart the extension plans again. In 1990 new plans were put forward to extend the Jubilee line from Green Park to Stratford, severing the ten-year-old connection to Charing Cross. The chosen route linked central London to Docklands by heading south of the Thames into areas previously poorly served by underground services. (Look, moremaps. Look, a seriously in-depth history of the whole story)
Construction of the Jubilee line extension began in 1993. The extension was 10 miles long, serving eleven stations (three of them completely new). It would cost more than £3 billion to build and was a bold step into the future. All stations would be fully accessible with lifts to street level. All stations would have platform-edge doors (they improve airflow as well as safety). All stations would be enormous enough to cope with increased passenger traffic over the next five decades. And, most importantly of all as it turned out, all stations would be designed independently by different architects. And wow aren't they fantastic? It's almost worth taking a trip down the line stopping off at every station just to admire the stunningly impressive use of concrete. Which is what I'll be doing on here each day for the rest of the month. Prepare to stand in awe.
Jubilee line extension opening (1999) Friday 14th May: North Greenwich to Stratford opened (by John Prescott) Friday 17th September: Bermondsey to North Greenwich opened Friday 24th September: Waterloo to Bermondsey opened (but not Southwark or London Bridge) Thursday 7th October: London Bridge opened Saturday 20th November: Green Park to Waterloo (but not Westminster) plus Southwark opened, Charing Cross closed Wednesday 22nd December: Westminster opened, just in time before... Friday 31st December: Millennium Dome opened. If nothing else, it got the Jubilee line extension built.
Silver Jubilee:Westminster Opened: Thursday 24th December 1868 Jubilee line platforms opened: Tuesday 22nd December 1999 (the newest platforms on the Underground network) Distance from previous station: 1.3 km Platform (eastbound): exit to the left of the train Platform (westbound): exit to the right of the train Change here for: District and Circle lines Station originally called: Westminster Bridge Fact file: Rebuilding Westminster station to accommodate the Jubilee line was an engineering nightmare, restricted by the close proximity of the Houses of Parliament and the River Thames. Great care had to be taken to prevent Big Ben from toppling (the solution involved meticulous injections of liquid cement and 'compensation grouting'). The District line platforms had to be lowered by half a metre, beneath those went the eastbound Jubilee tunnel, and beneath that the westbound tunnel. A deep narrow cavern was excavated 32 metres downwards beneath Portcullis House, filled with interlocking escalators, concrete struts and concourses. It's quite magnificent, like a giant grey game of snakes and ladders. This is my station: I descend three levels down from the District line into the bowels of the earth every morning, but ascend back only two levels in the evening. And yes, I never fail to be impressed by the stunning architecture as I pass through. 5 things I found outside this station:Big Ben (OK, St Stephen's Tower), the Houses of Parliament, Portcullis House, the River Thames, tight security. Nearby:Westminster Abbey, Westminster Hall, Whitehall, the Cenotaph, democracy (apparently). Local history: No no no, national history.
my diary, day 10000: Tuesday 18th May 2004 (age 39, London, 310 words)
"Bloody hell, I've made it to ten thousand days of writing a diary, + there's not one day missing." (yes, I know I already told you that, but I needed to tell my diary too) "Storm up escalators at Green Park but get overtaken near top." (I'd never have written that normally, I was just performing for a slightly wider-than-usual audience)<delete morning of work stuff>(I have five full days of identical meetings this week, and it's getting repetitive) "Lunch is served, exactly the same selection of sandwiches as yesterday." (our catering contractors have the cheek to call a bowl of plain ready salted crisps a 'potato chip medley') "Discuss football play-offs with visitors." (I reckon I fooled them all into thinking I knew exactly what I was talking about)<delete longer-than-usual afternoon of work stuff>(sometimes when you get out of an all-day meeting, there's still a day's work to do) "Eventually escape just before 8 after 11½ hours." (sigh, but at least the tube was empty) "Home for pie and TV." (I preferred Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares to Bad Girls) "London through to 2012 Olympic shortlist." (suddenly I have this nagging suspicion that our 'obsolete' rail network is going to lose it) "10000 may be dead impressive, but alas today's been typically dull." (and therefore perfectly typical)
my diary, day 9000: Wednesday 22nd August 2001 (age 36, Ipswich, 223 words)
"Today I'm packing." (you nearly missed my entire spell living in East Anglia, because here I am preparing to move all my worldly goods down to London four days later) "Time to fill 8 more binbags... well done!" (I'm an abject hoarder, so this pre-move clear-out was an unexpected success) "Hmmm, 4 boxes of Record Mirrors, complete set 1984-91, but not looked at in 10 years. Go on, chuck 'em, bar a small sample. Sigh, after all that effort in collecting and moving them." (the abject hoarder in me still can't believe I ever threw this complete set of back issues away. I could have flogged them all instead if only I'd thought of it. But hey, life's too short) "Later <insert Blue Witch> rings about <insert details of egg-related project> and <insert name of breakfast television programme>." (don't worry, my lips are sealed) "London? It'll be fine." (and so it was)
my diary, day 8000: Thursday 26th November 1998 (age 33, Bedford, 612 words) <delete work stuff>(got up, went to work all day, came home) "Ipswich interview letter has arrived in the post, interviews next week!" (we've hit a major turning point in my life today, though I didn't know I was going to get the job at the time) "Ring <insert name of my ex> who suddenly realises I might be serious about moving in. Am I sure I want to go ahead?" (I was, but I've never considered doing that again with anyone else since) "Next call from <insert name of brother> saying <insert name of brother's wife> had her 20 week scan today, the baby's ok and it's a boy. Would I like to be godfather?" (too right I would, and <insert name-to-be of embryo> is now a right little character) "Rang <insert name of my ex> again later, just back from meal out with workmate." (or, far more likely as it turned out, just back from shagging someone else. But I didn't realise that at the time)
my diary, day 7000: Friday 1st March 1996 (age 30, Bedford, 669 words)
"I fell asleep for the last 10 minutes of leap day and woke up 30 seconds into March." (Newsnight Late Review must have been boring that week)<delete work stuff>(trust me, you're not missing any interesting work stuff here) "After work, straight out to Sainsburys in the drizzle." (that was the limit of my Friday night social life in those days, but that's Bedford for you) "TV: TFI Friday, A Song for Europe (8 songs whittled down to 4), Brookside (Mike & Lindsey arrested in Thailand for drug smuggling), The Fast Show, Red Dwarf, Fist Of Fun, Reeves & Mortimer." (blimey, an absolutely classic comedy line-up) "Zzzz at midnight." (you're probably asleep by now too, aren't you?)
my diary, day 6000: Saturday 5th June 1993 (age 28, Bedford, 801 words)
Today is cousin <insert name of cousin>'s wedding, so I've got to get back to Watford. (that's much better, we've actually hit an interesting day for once) "Bung suit in bag and head to station. <delete dull details of journey>. Hi to Mum, who insists on re-ironing my shirt." (hi to my Mum again. This'll be the first time she's read my diary, I trust. Hope it goes down well) "<insert name of cousin> is on crutches because he broke his leg recently (weddings are supposed to be memorable, aren't they?) "Hey it's <insert name of last surviving grandmother> smiling in a borrowed wheelchair." (she wouldn't make my brother's wedding three months later, and died within the year, sniff) "Groan, we're on video. Amazing how cameras and videos take over." (nobody arranges weddings any more, they stage them) "Out of church, cue photos, confetti and more photos. <insert name of brother> suddenly discovers there's no film in his camera - he's gutted." (maybe just as well, I was never convinced that cream suit suited me) "Oh great, it's prawns." (the wedding reception staple, followed inexorably by chicken) "Try to stay awake until the speeches, but <insert name of groom> does very well. Very." (a real rarity that, the wedding speech that's memorable for all the right reasons) "After the reception hang around waiting for the evening to start. Sit in the corner of the garden playing blow football with aphids." (please don't complain to the RSPCA, they'd have died anyway) "Oh god, it's a band not a disco. The ballroom clears." (when will people learn? It's not a proper wedding without Oops Upside Your Head) "Over comes <insert name of overly keen Auntie> and demands that me and <insert name of equally jaded female cousin> dance. With menaces." (so we did, sort of, very eventually, then went back and sat and watched from a safe distance for the rest of the evening)(family weddings, don't you just love them?)
my diary, day 5000: Sunday 9th September 1990 (age 25, Windsor, 480 words)
"The day dawns with me thankfully still asleep." (my flatmates had got home late and loud the previous night) "Went down the road for my Sunday Correspondent." (only lasted a year, that paper) "Read paper while my steak+kidney defrosts." (Sundays can be a real challenge to fill when you're a diarist. Often you're forced to chronicle the criminally mundane) "<insert name of landlady> rang during the Top 40 saying please can she have my rent in cash from now on please." (first hint that she was in serious financial trouble, and I was asked to move out a few months later) "Shame that The Joker beat Groove Is In The Heart to number 1." (the only time two records tied for the number 1 position, but Steve Miller nudged Deee-Lite out on some archane technicality)
my diary, day 4000: Monday 14th December 1987 (age 22, Windsor, 696 words) <delete work stuff>(sorry, we've hit another desperately dull day here. How did I ever write nigh 700 words about such banalities?) "At lunch an expedition into Windsor town centre. First stop ye olde watchmaker, I don't like paying £2.50 just to get my battery changed." (they're a complete con aren't they, watch batteries?) "Second stop Top Print, the printing of the annual Christmas card is imminent." (I've been making my own Christmas cards for the last 20 years, even though it would be so much easier to buy 40 folded cardboard robins instead)<delete more work stuff>(three-quarters of today's diary is work-related) "Brookside: Growler brings home his school report." (what is it with Phil Redmond and crap nicknames?)
my diary, day 3000: Tuesday 19th March 1985 (age 20, just back from uni, 302 words)
"My Giro account's down to £125, and they haven't taken the hideously huge electricity bill out yet." (that's Girobank, not dole payments, ok? And nowadays I doubt there are any student accounts even as much as £125 in credit) "Along comes the new chart: Dead Or Alive slump to 6 making way for the two Phils." (that's Collins and Bailey, and how disappointing to swap a perfect Number 1 for that dirge) "Nigel Lawson's 2nd budget presents compulsory non-employment for under 18s, petrol up 4p (now over £2), road tax ↑10 to £100. Pah!" (I wasn't impressed, but petrol was still less than 50p a litre in those days) "TV: Whistle Test, James Burke in 'The Day The Universe Changed' and Brookside (Heather buys a new car)." (sorry that was dull, but you narrowly missed all the juicy university stuff from the end of term a couple of days earlier)
my diary, day 2000: Wednesday 23rd June 1982 (age 17, Watford, 266 words)
"Back to school." (having done the second of my maths A-Level papers the previous day) "It's still all wet + cloudy + nasty + horrible + not like summer at all." (when in doubt, fill space by writing about the weather) "Geography: <insert name of teacher> accidentally read out some of the questions from our exam next week." (it was only a school exam but, looking back, I wonder how 'accidental' that was) "There is no Games so home I go." (you can't begin to imagine how pleased I was that my afternoon of school sport was cancelled) "Steve Wright manages to be very funny as usual." (look, we all grow up, let me off) "TV: totally repeats or the World Cup." (I bet I went and listened to Kid Jensen on Radio 1 instead)
my diary, day 1000: Thursday 27th September 1979 (age 14, Watford, 62 words)
"Geography: Rivers + estuaries. Collect books in." (to think, they say schooldays are the best days of your life) "Latin: Sit down for unseen test. Fire drill. <insert name of teacher> angry." (yes, we did Latin at my school, and what a useful O-Level it's been. And yes, we did all stand out on the playing field during the fire drill swapping answers) "French: <insert name of ancient teacher who also taught my Dad> is angry about shouting, makes us stay in." (kids eh?) "Cross Country: time 31 min 39 sec." (trust me, that sounds much better than saying 'came last again') "Citizen Smith on TV, they hijack a lift." (it's true apparently, down at Tooting Town Hall in an episode called 'Only Fools and Horses')
my diary, day 1: Saturday 1st January 1977 (age 11, Watford, 35 words)
"Up at 12 for 1977." (look, I was obsessively numerate even in the very first line) "Went to St Albans to sing Evensong." (yes I was a right little cherub in those days, with a singing voice as fine then as it is average now) "I was in Group B." (I hadn't quite got the hang of writing interesting stuff yet, had I?) "<insert name of choirmaster> drove us home but went mad at the Noke." (by which I mean he filled up with petrol beside a well known hotel outside St Albans, then drove out of the garage the wrong way down a dual carriageway. I told my Mum this later, and rarely she has been more mortified) "Choir party. Got given two uninteresting Tempo pens." (selfish ungrateful brat)
I wonder how many of you have ever kept a diary. A secret place to write down your thoughts and inner musings or just somewhere to record what you did each day. You probably started on 1st January, tried really hard for a week, got a bit bored, missed a day out, then gave up before February started. Or maybe you lasted a bit longer. If you're the sort of person who can write a daily blog, you're probably the sort of person who can keep a diary.
I started writing a diary on January 1st 1977. It was a Puffin Club diary I'd got for Christmas, only three inches by four, with a red cover and a tiny biro stuffed down the spine. I duly filled in the Personal Particulars at the front and started to chronicle my life. I wrote in code so that nobody else in my family would be able to read what I'd written (well not easily anyway, I hope). There were only ten short lines to fill in each day so I recorded a few edited highlights and little more. Many of my early comments are now too cryptic for me to unravel, but it's fascinating to look back to my first year at secondary school, to remember what my life used to be like and to watch myself developing.
I started writing a diary on January 1st 1977, and I carried on. It survived into February 1977 without me slipping up, I logged religiously through the summer and my next Puffin diary arrived the following Christmas. I moved up to a small Letts in 1980, then a bigger volume in 1981 so I could write about things in a little more detail rather than just listing them. It still wasn't an enormous diary so most of my university days aren't recorded in quite as much detail as I might like. I upsized again in 1986, reaching a point where I probably spent far too long writing about unnecessary minutiae just to fill the space. Odd how you only really have time to write a regular diary when your life isn't quite full enough to be worth regularly writing about.
I started writing a diary on January 1st 1977, and I never stopped. I still write my diary every night before I go to bed (you can tell I'm single can't you?), except if I'm knackered or busy when I write it up the following day. I've never missed a day out either. There's not one gap, not one day's memories blanked, not one day where I thought "Ah stuff it, I can't be bothered to write about today." Which is bloody impressive actually. I can look back at any day in the last 27½ years and see what I was doing, what I was thinking, and probably what I had for lunch. It's more factual than emotional, more descriptive than confessional, but that's just a reflection of my personality. And it's all for personal consumption only. I have no eye on publication or posterity, so there are a few frank and honest chunks I hope nobody else ever reads.
I started writing a diary on January 1st 1977, and today is the 10000th day I shall write an entry. Ten thousand entries, that's a hell of a lot of writing. By my calculations that's about five million words, which is six times as long as the Bible (and to me at least six hundred times as interesting). It's taken approximately six months to write too, which is a bit scary. And I guess it's been good practice for daily blogging, even if a blog presents a different, less personal, more guarded face to the world.
To celebrate my "ten-thousand days" milestone, I thought I'd share some choice extracts from my diary with you. Just a few snapshots you understand, edited highlights for a wider-than-intended audience. Plus I'll chuck in a running commentary to explain a little of what was going on at the time. You can read Day 1, Day 1000 and Day 2000 today, and every thousandth day thereafter over the next couple of days. Samuel Pepys it ain't.
A comprehensive history of Charing Cross underground station
It's surprisingly complicated this, so do follow closely. There are four separate station locations round Charing Cross, which I'll label ♥(down by the river), ♣(outside the mainline station), ♠(beneath Trafalgar Square) and ♦(up Aldwych). If you click here and scroll down to 'Bakerloo line' you can follow all this on a map. For a detailed underground plan of Charing Cross station today, click here. For further explanation of the whole renaming mess, click here. And if you can't cope with what follows don't worry, because I promise I'm taking a three-day break from the Jubilee line tomorrow.
1870: A District line station opens on the Embankment to the south of Charing Cross mainline station, and is named Charing Cross♥. 1906: A Bakerloo line station opens beneath Charing Cross♥ District line station, but is called Embankment♥ instead. Another Bakerloo line station opens 350 metres northwest at Trafalgar Square♠. 1907: The Northern line opens, terminating just north of the mainline station at a station called Charing Cross♣. Meanwhile the Piccadilly line opens a branch from Holborn to Strand♦. 1914: The Northern line is extended 250 metres southwards from Charing Cross♣ to join the Bakerloo line at Embankment♥ station, which is renamed Charing Cross (Embankment)♥. Meanwhile Charing Cross♣ is renamed Charing Cross (Strand)♣. 1915:Charing Cross (Embankment) is renamed Charing Cross♥, and Charing Cross (Strand) is renamed Strand♣. Meanwhile the old Strand station is renamed Aldwych♦.
(deep breath, here comes the Jubilee line) 1973:Strand♣ station on the Northern line is closed to prepare for the arrival of the new Fleet Jubilee line. 1974:Charing Cross♥ station is renamed Charing Cross Embankment♥. 1976:Charing Cross Embankment♥ is renamed Embankment♥ (and so it remains). 1979: The Jubilee line opens. It terminates at a newly-enlarged Charing Cross♠♣ station, linking the old Bakerloo♠ and Northern♣ line stations. The Bakerloo line platforms are renamed Charing Cross (for Trafalgar Square)♠. The Jubilee line tunnels continue almost as far as Aldwych♦, because this is expected to be the next station when the line is extended further... 1994: ...but no, Aldwych♦ station is closed instead (read about the now-disused station here and here). 1999: The Jubilee line extension from Green Park to Stratford is opened, and the 20 year-old tunnels from Green Park to Charing Cross♠♣ are closed (see photos here). 2004:Charing Cross♠♣ station still feels like two stations joined by a very long subway, so if you want to save yourself a long walk you should change between the Bakerloo♠ and Northern♣ lines at Embankment♥ instead.
Silver Jubilee:Charing Cross Opened: Saturday 10th March 1906 Jubilee line platforms opened: Tuesday 1st May 1979 Jubilee line platforms closed: Friday 19th November 1999 Distance from previous station: 1.1 km Change here for: Bakerloo and Northern lines Station originally called: This is complicated, see above. Fact file: London's most recently abandoned tube station. This photo shows the wall built five years ago at the bottom of the main escalators to block off the Jubilee platforms from the rest of the station. 12 things I found outside this station: Charing Cross mainline station, an Eleanor Cross, the Strand, a vast shabby white-tiled 70s subway, TrafalgarSquare, not many pigeons, Sir Henry Havelock on a plinth, St Martin-in-the-Fields church, the South African embassy, a group of scary Morris dancers, a memorial to Oscar Wilde, the point from which all 'distances from London' are measured. Nearby:Nelson's Column, the National Gallery, Admiralty Arch, The Mall, Whitehall, Embankment station. Local history: King Edward I erected a monument here in 1293 to mark the last resting place of his wife's funeral cortege. Cromwell pulled down the original Eleanor Cross in 1647, so the present stone spire in the station forecourt is a Victorian replacement. Of Edward's 12 original crosses along the route from Lincoln to London, only those at Geddington, Hardingstone and WalthamCross survive.
1 [→] Bright Eyes (Art Garfunkel): The best selling single of 1979, and probably the only number one ever written about rabbits. This song may have sounded cute and fluffy, but it was in fact as dark and downbeat as the Watership Down cartoon it accompanied. "Is it a kind of dream, floating out on the tide? Following the river of death downstream?" 2 [→] Pop Muzik (M): It doesn't get more seminal than this. Robin Scott's tiMeless Magnificent Masterpiece was a nugget of purest pop. On a related theme, may I recommend the fine New York London Paris Munich blog, where everybody talks about pop muzik. "Radio, video. Boogie with a suitcase. You're livin' in a disco. Forget about the rat race." 3 [→] Hooray Hooray It's A Holi-Holiday (Boney M): The last of 9 consecutive top ten hits for a group who would have stormed Eurovision if only they'd ever entered. You'll be humming this tune all day now, sorry. "There's a place I know where we should go - heydiheydihoh. Won't you take me there your lady fair - heydiheydihoh." 4 [→] Does Your Mother Know (Abba): And now the real Euro supergroup, back when Sweden ruled the airwaves. This was the band's first hit to feature Benny and Björn on vocals, both here showing commendable emotional restraint. "You're so hot, teasing me. So you're blue but I can't take a chance on a chick like you. That's something I couldn't do." 5 [↑1] Reunited (Peaches& Herb): If you're going to do a ballad, do it like this. Westlife, listen and learn. Nowadays the band's name would be better suited to a range of organic shampoos. "There's one perfect fit. And, sugar, this one is it. We both are so excited 'cause we're reunited, hey hey." 6 [↑3] Knock On Wood (Amii Stewart): A belting disco stormer from the east coast diva, rightly selling 8 million copies worldwide. You can hear the drumbeats even now, can't you? "'Cause your love is better than any love I know. It's like thunder and lightning, the way you love me is frightening." 7 [↑13] Dance Away (RoxyMusic): The classic classy comeback single from the King of Smooth, Bryan Ferry. He'll be 60 next year, you know. Anybody feeling old yet? "Until tonight and you pass by, hand in hand with another guy. You´re dressed to kill and guess who´s dying?." 8 [↑13] Parisienne Walkways (Gary Moore): One of those tracks that everyone who learnt to play guitar in the 70s learnt to play. Gary's bluesy strumming was backed here by a handful of lyrics from Phil Lynott. I remember Paris in '49. The Champs Elysées, Saint Michel and old Beaujolais wine." 9 [↑2] One Way Ticket (Eruption): A cover version of a Neil Sedaka B side from the same producer who brought us Boney M. Eruption's only other hit was another cover, the much more memorable 'I Can't Stand The Rain'. "Choo choo train a-trackin’ down the track. Gotta travel on, ain’t never comin’ back. Ooh ooh, got a one way ticket to the blues." 10 [new entry] Sunday Girl (Blondie): The fourth track to be lifted from the 'Parallel Lines' album, back when four releases really wasn't the done thing, and straight into the top ten too, which was quite an achievement in those days. Debbie Harry sang the final verse and chorus in French, and a million teenage boys melted. "I know a girl from a lonely street. Cold as ice cream, but still as sweet. Dry your eyes, Sunday girl."
Silver Jubilee:Green Park Opened: Saturday 15th December 1906 Jubilee line platforms opened: Tuesday 1st May 1979 Distance from previous station: 1.5 km Platform: exit to the right of the train Change here for: Piccadilly and Victoria lines (actually, don't change here for the Piccadilly line because you have to walk for ages down a really long passage) Station originally called: Dover Street Fact file: All the tiling on the platforms is orange, not Green. For a stunningly detailed description of the station, try here (a great site for partially-sighted travellers). This is my station: I commute to Green Park station every morning, and I have this station sussed. I was the first person up the Jubilee line escalators on four days out of five last week. Hundreds of commuters behind me, and no running thankyou. I am the Green Park champion, I am. 5 things I find outside this station: the grinning lady who blocks the station exit trying to hand out free magazines, Piccadilly, the smiley bloke who sells me my Evening Standard, the Benjy's where I often buy lunch, a surprisingly high proportion of posh men wearing bow ties and dinner jackets. Nearby:Green Park, my office, the Ritz, Langan's Brasserie, Buckingham Palace. Local history: I'll save that, if you don't mind, for later in the year...
(while I'm doing a whole month about 25 years ago, I thought I'd better do this...)
the Top 25 of 25 years ago(Tuesday 15th May 1979)
11 [↓4] Banana Splits (Dickies): Yes, really. A brash punk cover of the surreal kids TV theme, featuring Chuck Wagon on bass. "Four banana three banana two banana one, all bananas playing in the bright warm sun. Flipping like a pancake popping like a cork, Fleagle Bingo Drooper and Snork." 12 [↑6] Roxanne (Police): Ex-teacher Gordon's very first hit explored prostitution, and is ten times better than any of the tantric new age crap he comes out with these days. "You don't have to put on the red light. Those days are over." 13 [↓3] The Logical Song (Supertramp): Is it just me, or were lyrics deeper in those days? And tunes catchier? "I know it sounds absurd, but please tell me who I am." 14 [↓6] Goodnight Tonight (Wings): Wings' last big hit before Sir Paul went solo. OK, I take it all back about lyrics being better in those days. "Don't say it. Don't say it. Say anything but don't say goodnight tonight." 15 [↓10] Some Girls (Racey): Some songs do, but some songs don't. Lyrical argument now completely destroyed, sorry. "I find your company to be, something completely new to me. Now that I know you socially, obviously I'll fall heavily." 16 [↓3] Love You Inside Out (Bee Gees): Reached number one in America, but we were less enamoured with this Brothers Gibb plodder. "You're the reason for my laughter and my sorrow. Blow out the candle I will burn again tomorrow." 17 [↑7] Jimmy Jimmy (Undertones): Fab Feargal's first top twenty hit, on lime green vinyl. The B side was 'Mars Bar', a tribute to the band's favourite chocolate. "Now little Jimmy's gone, he disappeared one day. But no one saw the ambulance, that took little Jim away." 18 [↓6] Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) (Jacksons): An all-time classic floor filler, in just the same way that nothing in this week's chart is. "Let's dance, let's shout. Shake your body down to the ground." 19 [↓4] Boys Keep Swinging (David Bowie): Mr Bowie lists all the benefits of having a Y chromosome, and even girls couldn't resist singing along. Perfect. "When you're a boy you can wear a uniform. When you're a boy other boys check you out. You get a girl. These are your favourite things when you're a boy." 20 [↓3] I Don't Wanna Lose You (Kandidate): Slow male harmony ballad, of the kind I detest with all my breath. "Cos your love has done so much for me. My love for you keeps going on and on." 21 [↓2] Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet (Gonzalez): Another all-time classic floor filler, although it only reached number 15. Pat and Mick's criminal cover version assaulted the top ten ten years later. "I haven't stopped dancing yet since we met on our first date. I haven't stopped loving less." 22 [↓8] Hallelujah (Milk and Honey): Israel's second Eurovision winner (one year after their first), and bland has rarely been catchier. That's Israel, the well known European country. "With a simple word, a single word, we bless the sky, the tree, the bird. And we fill our heart with joy." 23 [↑2] Nice Legs Shame About The Face (Monks): A sexist novelty hit from Hudson Ford, formerly of the Strawbs. Drunken blokes still use this insult as their own, and probably still think it's funny. "So I had a drink with my friends up at the bar. I asked them what they thought of her, they fell about the place." 24 [↑6] Boogie Wonderland (Earth Wind and Fire): We're at the height of disco here, and it shows. "Midnight creeps so slowly into hearts of men who need more than they get. I find romance when I start to dance." 25 [↑9] The Number One Song In Heaven (Sparks): The legendary Mael Brothers were trying to emulate Donna Summer's I Feel Love, but they only made the number fourteen song in Britain. "If you should die before you wake. If you should die while crossing the street. The song that you'll hear, I guarantee." (and, peaking this week way down at number 42, an obscure track called "Are You Ready For Love?" by Elton John)
Silver Jubilee:Bond Street Opened: Monday 24th September 1900 Jubilee line platforms opened: Tuesday 1st May 1979 Distance from previous station: 1.7 km Platform: exit to the right of the train Change here for: Central line You'd be quicker changing here: From here to Stratford by Jubilee line takes 30 minutes. From here to Stratford by Central line takes 20 minutes. Fact file: There is no nearby road called Bond Street - instead this station is named after New Bond Street and Old Bond Street. Click to view a 3D subterranean artist's impression of the rebuilt Bond Street station (back in the mid 70s when the Jubilee line was due to be called the Fleet line). 5 things I found outside the station: bustling Oxford Street, the West One shopping centre, bureaux de change, loads of people, this view. Nearby: Selfridges, the site of my great grandfather's tailor's shop in South Molton Street, the American Embassy (now hiding behind grim concrete barriers). Local history: Bond Street is named after Sir Thomas Bond, a wily 17th century property speculator and close friend of King Charles II. Bond laid out the fine streets round these parts, and would no doubt be delighted that the street named after him is now synonymous with rich snobs luxury. Full history here.
New York London Paris Madrid...
Silver Jubilee: Southwark
Opened: Saturday 20th November 1999
Bow Road update: Meanwhile, over at Bow Road on the District line, my local station upgrade continues apace. No less than three new blue walls have been constructed in the last fortnight. There's one at the top of the stairs down to the eastbound platform, another in the corner of the ticket hall and a third around the scaffolding on the pavement in front of the station. Add those to the five existing blue walls along the platforms and one more on the pavement, and some kind of blue wall event horizon seems to have been reached. Perhaps some renovation work is going on behind those blue walls, it's still impossible to tell. Or maybe we've just become some new art installation, displaying an array of modern safety signage on clean blue surfaces, juxtaposed against late Victorian brickwork. Keep an eye on this comments box for further developments.
Opened: Saturday 10th March 1906
Opened: Thursday 24th December 1868
my diary, day 10000: Tuesday 18th May 2004 (age 39, London, 310 words)
Opened: Saturday 10th March 1906
Opened: Saturday 15th December 1906
Opened: Monday 24th September 1900
