diamond geezer

 Wednesday, February 12, 2025

There are seven distinct rolling stocks on the London Underground, ranging from fairly new to creakingly old. My challenge today is to ride all seven of them as quickly as possible.

For extra challenge, can I do it and return to where I started, and for extra challenge, can I ride the lines in a narratively satisfying order? Yes I can, near enough.



S Stock (introduced 2010-2017)
District line: EmbankmentWestminster
About: This is the newest rolling stock on the Underground, unbelievably, given that it started entering service fifteen years ago. In good news for this challenge it runs on four different lines so once I've ridden the District line I have no need to ride the Circle, Hammersmith & City or Metropolitan. Yes technically the Metropolitan uses eight-carriage trains called S8 Stock and the others use seven-carriage stock called S7 (and the seats are a bit different) but fundamentally they're identical. The S stands for 'suburban', apparently.
I boarded: carriage 21344.
The carriage: Bigger than all the other tube carriages because the sub-surface tunnel cross-section is wider. Yellow grabpoles, yellow dangly straps. A few flip-up seats as a sop to wheelchairs and luggage. Fluorescent tube lights behind a silver mesh. Fully walk-through.
The moquette: A nice 'equals' pattern using the colours of the four lines. Noticeably worn on several of the seats.
Floor: Light grey with yellow, green and black speckles.
Peculiarities: A sign which illuminates to alert passengers that this door will not open (because sometimes it pays to have trains longer than your shortest platform). Buttons to open the door that you don't generally need to press. Lights at the foot of the door which go out when the train is ready to depart and you can't open the door any more. Mostly driven by computer.
Fellow passengers: Loud grandparents up from Essex (though probably Hornchurch), he in West Ham jacket, she clutching granddaughter with blonde hair in obligatory ponytail.
Sound: Multiple beeps as the doors close, satisfying clunk, rising whine like a Star Trek transporter bay... brakes on, doors whoosh open, four-note musical phrase (major third descending, twice).



1996 Stock (introduced 1997-2000)
Jubilee line: WestminsterGreen Park
About: The third-newest rolling stock on the Underground, ridiculously, given that it started entering service 28 years ago. Had a 7th carriage added in the mid 2000s. Externally similar to trains on the Northern line.
I boarded: carriage 96478.
The carriage: Not big on numbers of seats. Includes bumrest area either side of the central doors. Grey grabpoles (used to be yellow, as you can see in my photo which is from 2013). Windows are not deep.
The moquette: Blue 'Barman', the nice repeating pattern with the hidden London landmarks.
Floor: Dark grey with speckles (not pictured).
Peculiarities: Red-outlined buttons you don't need to press. Driven by computer since 2011. At several stations hidden on the platform behind a glass screen with numbered doors.
Fellow passengers: Smartly dressed family still moaning that Sophie Ellis-Bextor wasn't the best choice for the BBC1 New Year singalong, musically speaking.
Sound: This is the great one, the unique repeated howl as the train starts up, then the inverse repeating downward whine as it pulls into the platform. All something to do with the auxiliary converters and/or the GTO thyristors, apparently, but an unmistakable audio signature because no other tube train sounds anything like.



2009 Stock (introduced 2009-2012)
Victoria line: Green ParkOxford Circus
About: The second-newest rolling stock on the Underground, which means I've ridden all three of the most recent in my first three journeys. Made in Derby.
I boarded: carriage 14031.
The carriage: 4cm wider than the original trains they replaced. Feels more geometric than your average tube train. Blue grabpoles (but Piccadilly blue rather than Victoria). Tip-up seats and wheelchair spaces included as standard.
The moquette: Wool and nylon, a light/dark blue patterned background with a white chevron and red square pattern.
Floor: Light grey with blue speckles.
Peculiarities: Has dazzling ice-blue headlamps that herald its arrival from far down the tunnel. No buttons on the doors (mainly because no platforms are outdoors). Picture flashes to show doors are about to close. Driven by computer since forever.
Fellow passengers: Three beardy gents in outerwear suitable for winter hillwalking, plus polished brogues.
Sound: Highest pitched of the engine noises, somewhere between a boiling kettle and a starship entering hyperdrive.



1992 Stock (introduced 1993-1995)
Central line: Oxford CircusTottenham Court Road
About: Note how rolling stock isn't always introduced in the year it's named after. Over 30 years old so starting to break down more frequently, not helped by the upgrade project running massively behind schedule. Various pixels missing from destination dot-matrix on front of train. Also used on the Waterloo & City line (formed of four carriages) which is useful because it means I don't have to ride that.
I boarded: carriage 91315.
The carriage: Red grabpoles. Some seats recessed to allow passengers to walk round grabpole. Two door buttons, green for Open and red for Close (again unused). Ventilation grilles (not passenger controlled).
The moquette: Barman again.
Floor: Light grey with white speckles.
Peculiarities: Won't move if someone's leaning on the doors. Remains of poppy still visible as scrappy outline on driver's cab. First rolling stock to implement digital voice announcements.
Fellow passenger: Squat hipster with pink mohawk clutching skateboard.
Sound: Long steady hissy build-up. Can make a right screeching racket mid-tunnel.



1995 Stock (introduced 1998-2000)
Northern line: Tottenham Court RoadLeicester Square
About: Introduced long after the year it's named after. Only six carriages, but still doesn't completely fit into some platforms. Similar to the 1996 stock on the Jubilee line but uses older technology.
I boarded: carriage 52602.
The carriage: Blue grabpoles (used to be yellow, as pictured). Buttons on doors covered over during refurb. Ventilation grilles (not passenger controlled).
The moquette: Barman again.
Floor: Light grey with blue speckles.
Peculiarities: Exterior of train miserably grimy. Graffiti on door. Warning stickers on doors cracked with age. Seen better days, but not even on the drawing board to be replaced.
Fellow passenger: Whoever it was left an empty Krispy Kreme packet on the seat beside me.
Sound: 28 consecutive high-pitched beeps every time the doors are about to shut. Not as noisy as the near-identical 1996 Stock because the engines are older and less powerful.



1973 Stock (introduced 1975-1978)
Piccadilly line: Leicester SquarePiccadilly Circus
About: Will be 50 years old in July, an anniversary TfL is unlikely to celebrate. Should have started to be replaced by now but the introduction of 2024 Stock is running repeatedly late. Second-oldest rolling stock still in public use in the UK.
I boarded: carriage 361 (the numbers were a lot lower in those days).
The carriage: Blue grabpoles, obviously. Includes luggage space as trains were introduced in readiness for Heathrow extension. Contains nowhere near enough luggage space the closer to the airport you get.
The moquette: Barman again (older version pictured).
Floor: Light grey with blue speckles.
Peculiarities: Ventilation grilles with red handles, labelled Open and Close. Vertical maps beside door. Namechecks manufacturers Metro-Scammell in the floor by the doors and renovators Bombardier at the end of the carriage.
Fellow passengers: Airport-bound tourists who unluckily picked a grey chilly week in London.
Sound: Relatively undistinctive.



1972 Stock (introduced 1972-1975)
Bakerloo line: Piccadilly CircusCharing Cross
About: Based on the 1967 Stock on the Victoria line. Started out on the Northern line but moved to the Bakerloo when the 1995 Stock was introduced. Now 53 years old and the oldest rolling stock in regular passenger service in the United Kingdom. Almost like riding a heritage train. Pencilled in to be replaced after the new Piccadilly rolling stock's been introduced but as yet unfunded so almost certain to reach its 60th birthday.
I boarded: carriage 4367.
The carriage: Seen better days. Tube map at end of the carriage eroded and unreadable. 'Seabase' scrawled in the dirt on the exterior and 'DIGS' scrawled under the door. Graffiti tags on surfaces inside the carriage. Scratched windows. Brown grabpoles, obviously.
The moquette: Barman again, but brown.
Floor: Brown with light speckles. They might have overdone the brown overall.
Peculiarities: Some of the last forward-facing seats on the Underground. Proper cushions. Dinky little sausage-shaped seat dividers (not arm rests). Fake leather used above longitudinal seats. Proper large windows. Round vents like tea strainers. Ventilation toggle labelled Open Closed and Open. Flying-saucer shaped vents in the ceiling. Character.
Fellow passenger: That's not somewhere I'd have put a piercing, it must make eating harder.
Sound: The doors close with an irregular series of loud clunks. The train moves off with a constant wheeze and a sequence of analogue rattles from somewhere below. Occasional squeaks. Unmistakeably old school.
Conclusion: A ride on the Bakerloo line should be a grim experience but I actually rather like it, the old trains have an real authenticity, and maybe I only think that because I don't ride them regularly or at peak times but I shall miss them when they're gone... which isn't looking likely any time soon.

I didn't quite end up where I started but Embankment and Charing Cross are about as close as two tube stations can be (and yes, I could have stayed on one more stop). It took 32 minutes overall, of which only 10 minutes was spent travelling. Started with the new trains, ended with the old trains, and my word you could see the degradation in rolling stock as the journey progressed. The resilience of the Underground network is not what it could be.

 Tuesday, February 11, 2025

45
45 Squared
6) CYGNET SQUARE, SE2
Borough of Bexley, 75m×60m

Here's a new square in the heart of Thamesmead, very much a second attempt to get things right. When the new town was built at the end of the 1960s this was Tavy Bridge, a broad concrete walkway leading from acres of concrete housing to the banks of Southmere lake past an elevated parade of shops boasting a butchers and a VG supermarket. Initially it looked fabulously futuristic but decayed somewhat later, no longer a beautiful thing but a mostly-shuttered facade facing a glum de-roofed car park.



Thus when wholesale renovation of the estate began in 2013 this was precisely where demolition started, courtesy of the Peabody Trust, and many a droog would have been happy to set the wrecking ball in motion.



The new waterside space opened in 2021 and is called Cygnet Square. I didn't see any cygnets on my visit but it's the wrong time of year, nor would Duck Square or Seagull Square have quite the same ring. The focal point is now a large piazza surrounded by newbuild flats with a large blocky community hub in pride of place and a stepped terrace down to the edge of the lake. It's a more pleasant place to linger but also lacking somewhat in character, indeed a lot of New London now looks much like this and were it not for the lake you could be anywhere. I also suspect there's just as much concrete in the blocks of flats as there was before but now covered by brick-effect panels as is the modern way.



The original plan was for a substantial water feature at the heart of the square - two large shallow pools with a walkway slicing inbetween. Unfortunately between the artist's impression and the start of construction this was scaled down to a single, much smaller pool, and in the end there was no money even for that and they paved the whole thing over. You can still see where that smaller pool would have been because the nicer herringbone pattern stops and has been infilled with cheaper slabs. A few long wooden benches face the non-existent water feature and perhaps they're a nice place to sit in the summer but in February they look pointless and forlorn.



The only reason to visit, unless you live here or are walking past with a dog, is the aforementioned large blocky community hub. This is called The Nest and is fundamentally Thamesmead's new library, a big step-up from the former portakabin on Binsey Walk. The interior is light and airy with timber beams, a large waterfront window and something glass and dangly hanging from the ceiling. When I popped in a number of residents were taking advantage of the children's shelves and also various siderooms, one of which is a busy IT suite for anyone who won't or can't work from home. I confess I was expecting a cafe given there's bugger all else nearby, but maybe developers only put those in when they're trying to kickstart a new development not support an existing one.



A shop or two would help to bring Cygnet Square to life but there are none, only hoardings inviting businesses to email Annabel to express an interest in a Class E opportunity. One prime site is occupied by the Thamesmead Arts and Culture Office, or TACO! for short, although that's closed until 20th February for 'essential works' so it's hard to tell how throbbing it normally is. An ecstatic bar takeover with karaoke and cocktails is due at the end of next week. Round the corner the Cygnet Square Playspace boasts three swings, a slide and some clamberables, all surrounded by privately-overseen car parking spaces with the ever-present threat of a £100 fine. If you decide to visit the monthly market that fills the square with meaty smells and the library with crafty workshops, best use active transport.



Construction continues further up the lakeside along what used to be Binsey Walk, where the former lowrise stepped concrete flats are being replaced by stacky towers in various stages of development. In exciting news the promenade once made famous by the film A Clockwork Orange has reopened, although only as a narrow alley watched over by a roost of builders and hoisted joists so a shadow of its former self. Its hoardings now double up as the Thamesmead Art Wall, which in its current state is a string of scrappy graffiti well worth respraying over. Alas it seems Cygnet Square is essentially a replacement disappointment, as if Peabody are densifying without yet getting the placemaking right, but folk from Thamesmead are well used to schlepping long distances to get anywhere so plus ça change.


45
45 Squared
7) SHAKESPEARE SQUARE, IG6
Borough of Redbridge, 75m×60m

Shakespeare Square is the same size but utterly different, the recreational centrepiece of a postwar council estate of little importance. It lurks on the very edge of the capital within the Grange Hill/Fairlop sector of the Hainault Loop, a slope of grass surrounded by terraced blocks of three-storey flats with shared stairwells. Ilford council built it in 1950 as a final extension to suburbia, then in 1960 Chigwell council developed the woodland on the other side of the boundary and nobody has ever linked the two with even a single alleyway. The local roads were all given names with a 16th century connection, hence Shakespeare Square links to Tudor Crescent, Hathaway Close and Wolsey Gardens. I'm going to suggest that you'd have to live locally or have relatives here to ever have visited, i.e. you can freely ignore everything in the next couple of paragraphs.



It's very postwar, an island of flats amid a sea of houseproud avenues. It's also generously sparse, with patches of green tucked all over as well as a central green lawn with well-established clumps of shrubbery. Four very thin paths lead diagonally to the centre of the square, like the straps on a folded parachute, and in the middle is a terribly municipal patch of playground. What you get as a Redbridge child is a climbing frame with rope bridge and slide, two sets of swings designed for younger and older, plus a patch of rubbery surface where I suspect a roundabout once spun. Even on a frosty day it still attracts dads with a small toddler to entertain. As for older kids sorry, the occasional trees make a kickabout impractical, plus if you get any closer to the flats it's No Ball Games By Order Of The Housing Manager.



The most controversial thing to happen in Shakespeare Square of late is the building of a five-storey block of flats in the southern corner. In 2020 Redbridge council identified five small scraps of land that might be suitable for housing infill on the basis that people need homes more than they need grass, and subsequently chose to replace the largest scrap with 24 affordable flats. Residents had mixed views ("We do not want council property being rammed in like sardines." "I do not want to be more overlooked than I am now. "Where will we park our cars? Where will we dry our washing? Where will the bins be kept?") but the flats were built anyway, a small modern eruption 70 years out of place. It barely scrapes the surface of London's housing crisis but given the impracticality of one resident's opinion ("Destroy the estate and build a new one") it's the best Redbridge council can do.

 Monday, February 10, 2025

O purple train
(a poem on the occasion of the Elizabeth line's 1000th day)


O purple train, we bless your golden genesis,
A thousand days of rapid transit woven under London,
A silver needle stitching together west and east,
Berkshire to Bexley, Heathrow to Essex.



O purple train, how did we ever cope without?
Crammed into peak hour tube trains, jackets touching, hanging tight,
Dawdling across the capital in actual slow coaches,
Your capacious carriages set us free.

O purple train, how slowly you arrived,
Long-mooted plans eventually funded and tortuously constructed,
Cursed by years of engineering problems and intractable signalling issues,
All that delay now instantly forgotten.

O purple train, what architecture you delivered!
Deep concrete caverns and swooshing curvaceous passageways,
Sleek tubular platforms brightly toplit into the far distance,
Uplifting the soul daily as we pass.



O purple train, how deep thy platforms,
Honestly it takes forever to make your way down to some of them,
The stations with two flights of escalators are the worst,
Liverpool Street I am especially looking at you.

O purple train, busiest railway line in the country,
More passengers than all the trains in Wales and Scotland put together,
Bringer of inevitable death to the Heathrow Express,
Although somehow it still lingers on.

O train in that delightful shade of purple,
Softer than Metropolitan magenta, cooler than Mildmay blue,
A gorgeous stripy moquette to rest your bum on, very marketable too,
Cushions, socks and £120 lambswool throw.



O purple train, Boris's toadying tribute,
Should've been Crossrail but nominally gifted to Her Late Majesty,
One of the last public things she did was pop down and open it,
Never took a ride though.

O purple train, how frequently you seize up,
A little disruption out west and you fall apart,
No service between Paddington and Heathrow/Reading due to late finish of engineering works, London Underground will accept tickets, no service between Stratford and Shenfield due to planned engineering work, replacement buses operate, good service on the rest of the line,
Every chuffing weekend.

O purple train, a gift to the suitcased,
Direct route from the West End to your flight, no need to think too hard,
You're paying a premium for the privilege but thanks,
It eases the Piccadilly for the rest of us.



O purple train, bringer of cultural life,
No hipster knew where Hanwell was nor ever ventured to Abbey Wood,
Now even Woolwich looks attractive and Whitechapel has essentially ignited,
Though Iver still isn't packing them in.

O purple train, connected to the wider world,
Delivering shoppers, bankers, cleaners, tourists and the office-bound,
All glued to their phones as 4G fizzes through the tunnels,
It was quieter before everyone could make calls.

O purple snake, thy trains so long,
Alight at the wrong end and it can take ages to reach the right exit,
Not forgetting the evil arrows that point you down diversionary corridors,
Especially at Tottenham Court Road.



O purple train, bringer of economic fortune,
Wielding your magic wand to bless the communities you touch,
Boosting job growth but turbocharging house prices further out of reach,
So swings and roundabouts overall.

O purple train, thou futuristic conveyance,
See what brilliance happens when you think big and dig deep,
But it'd never get built now; too expensive, too risky, too southern.
There will never be a Crossrail 2.

O purple train, through stations deep,
Cathedral halls of glass and light where footsteps merge in seamless dance,
Clockwork in your rhythm you carry the weary and the wide-eyed,
A thousand days of pulsing life.

 Sunday, February 09, 2025

Over the years I've blogged about numerous contrived campaigns to encourage usage of the Dangleway, including the Valentine's Experience, The Snowman and the Snowdog, Sky High Dining, the Lady Penelope Afternoon Tea, the Teddy Workshop and the Spooky Scavenger Hunt. Now it's Chatty Cabins.


TfL encourages people to spark up new conversations on the IFS Cloud Cable Car as part of TfL’s 25th anniversary celebrations
Several of the cabins on the IFS Cloud Cable Car have been wrapped as 'Chatty Cabins' to encourage Londoners and visitors to spark new conversations about what they love about London
Chatty Cabins is a mental health initiative to help combat loneliness, thus arguably an excellent concept. You turn up at a pre-booked time and get paired with other attendees, then head aloft on a free 20 minute round-trip and engage in conversation. A series of discussion topics will be provided in case you're too shy to decide what to discuss, or you could just look out the window and point at things as you get to know your random companion(s). A hot drink will be provided.

There are downsides:
The Chatty Cabins experience is only available on Tuesday and Thursday mornings between 10am and noon.
The offer ends on Thursday 13 March, also the February half-term is excluded, so in fact there are only 8 days you can do this.
Because it's a round-trip you end up back where you started so it's not a free means of crossing the river.

Also you don't know who you might get paired up with, only that you'll be trapped with them in a glass cabin for 20 minutes, so if you're lucky it'll be brilliant but if you're unlucky it could be purgatorial. To be fair this is exactly the same as turning up at the Dangleway on a Sunday afternoon and being ushered into a cabin with total strangers, except in that case there's no imperative for anyone to strike up a conversation.
"TfL is committed to fostering inclusion and creating a sense of belonging for all Londoners and these 'Chatty Cabins' on the Cable Car offer a chance to celebrate what makes London special and bring people together as we mark our 25th anniversary year."
Trish Ashton, TfL's Director of Rail and Sponsored Services
TfL aren't really doing this to celebrate their 25th anniversary, it's just that throughout 2025 they can bolt "as we mark our 25th anniversary year" into any press release and it pads out the content a bit. Also there really is a Director of Rail and Sponsored Services, i.e. non-purple trains and all the travel modes part-paid for by banks, software companies and pseudo-taxis, I haven't made that up.

Intriguingly 'each Chatty Cabin ticket can be used by up to three people', so if you're feeling socially reticent you can bring comforting backup, although I'd argue that if you have friends willing to accompany you you're not truly lonely.
This initiative builds on the Mayor's Strategy for Social Inclusion and the Reconceptualising Loneliness in London report published in 2022, which estimates 700,000 Londoners feel lonely 'always' or 'most of the time'. Loneliness disproportionately affects young, low-income, LGBTQ+, single parents, deaf or disabled, or ethnic minority Londoners.
Eight mornings on the Dangleway isn't going to touch the sides of London's loneliness problem, it's a token drop in the ocean. But if you feel excluded from conversation these days perhaps booking a free trip might briefly ease your isolation. Just don't expect to find me sitting opposite because as an introvert I'd much rather ride the cablecar alone enjoying the view without distraction, just like anyone normally can on a Tuesday or Thursday morning.

When are London's National Trust houses reopening for 2025?

13 Feb: Eastbury Manor House
14 Feb: Sutton House (prebooking required)
15 Feb: Ham House
20 Feb: Rainham Hall (prebooking recommended)
1 Mar: 2 Willow Road (prebooking required)
2 Mar: Fenton House (prebooking required)
5 Mar: Carlyle's House (prebooking required)
8 Mar: Osterley House
tbc: Red House, 575 Wandsworth Road (prebooking required)

When are London's English Heritage houses reopening for 2025?

already open: Apsley House, Kenwood, Eltham Palace, Down House
tbc: Rangers House, Chiswick House, Marble Hill

The major roadworks at the Bow Roundabout, which were supposed to have finished by now, have not finished. We had high hopes because the yellow signs on the approach to the junction used to say 'Improvement Works Bow Road Roundabout 30 Sep - 04 Feb', but with a few days to go they were replaced with new signs displaying a later date.



It's a bit naughty to pretend the roadworks started in January when in fact they started on 7th October, and it's a bit unfortunate that the new end date is 8th March because that suggests a five month duration rather than the proposed four. Expect another four weeks of coned-off carriageways, long queues of traffic and displaced buses, alas.



In good news all the drilling and reshaping is now complete. The roundabout now has a subtly different outline, on one side three lanes wide, all fully kerbed and tarmacked. As far as I can see just one patch of pavement remains unsurfaced, on the inside of the roundabout facing McDonald's, where the last of the utility hatches has been surrounded by tactile paving. It's been fascinating watching this transform from 'brick-lined hole in the ground' to 'lots of orange pipes thrust into the earth so the traffic light cables can communicate' to 'hidden vault covered by inspection cover'. These roadworks have provided considerable employment for companies specialising in temporary and permanent traffic light systems, should that be a career avenue you've never previously considered.



That is quite a shanty town growing under the flyover, now comprising a green tent and a substantial split-level wooden lean-to plus occasional tables, but I don't think it's where the contractors spend the night.

In further good news the ridiculous fiasco whereby Thames Water coned off Bus Stop M lasted only two days. They didn't fix the splashpool in the bus stop bypass so passing bikes are still diverting onto the bus stop island to avoid sending rainwater everywhere, but it's better than swiping another lane of traffic for a cycle diversion nobody'll use. I hope someone returns to sort the drains out properly because no Cycle Superhighway should include a permanent puddle.

Previous updates: #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13

 Saturday, February 08, 2025

The cultural line-up on the East Bank continues to expand.



UAL opened their College of Fashion in September 2023, bringing uniquely-dressed students to the flanks of the Olympic Park in great numbers. Now this week Sadler's Wells East has opened its doors, a brand new dance-focused venue, and as the sign above the entrance says You Are Welcome.



Thus far unless you've got a ticket you're only welcome to the foyer, bar and restaurant. It's a big foyer because it's designed to double-up as an events space so you might well see a dance performance break out as you wander through. The atrium by the information desk is also high enough to accommodate two large tapestries by Eva Rothschild, each a splendid dangling rectangle resembling a jazzy beachtowel, specially commissioned and woven in Chichester.



The restaurant's called Park Kitchen and Bar and is smart without being unapproachable. They do toasties, light bites and signature flat breads, plus a limited range of mains which currently extends to Loaded squash fondant, Picanha steak, Burger or Market fish. If you choose to judge the pretentiousness of a venue by its currency format, all the prices here are whole numbers with no pound sign. Meanwhile round the corner is a bar called The Well, essentially optimised for the service of interval drinks but they do offer a slice of vegan cake or caramel brioche during the day.



The Mayor turned up on opening night (which was Thursday) and enjoyed Vicki Igbokwe-Ozaagu's Our Mighty Groove, a proven crowdpleaser which involves removing the seats during the interval and encouraging the audience to join in with the second half. The upcoming programme is diverse and cosmopolitan including an adult version of Snow White, a bharatanatyam narrative and three nights when the focus is a skate ramp.



You'll probably approach via Westfield past the Aquatics Centre but I'm pleased to see the Carpenters Land Bridge has finally been de-barriered so there's a new way in up the John Lewis end. This lands between UAL and the V&A, the latter due to open its museum floors in spring 2026, with the new BBC Music Studios completing the line-up later in the year. Given all this could have ended up as more offices or more flats, the opening of Sadler's Wells East is undoubtedly a win.

Seasoned viewers of The Apprentice were surprised this week when the losing team were sent to an unfamiliar cafe. Last week they ended up in the Bridge Cafe in Acton, as per usual, which would normally have meant this week was La Cabaña on the Park Royal trading estate. Instead the disgraced candidates were sent somewhere called Lisa's Cafe to enjoy a mug of tea while they picked their colleagues apart.



This unexpected eaterie obviously sent dozens of viewers to Google to determine where on earth it was (aha, near Uxbridge), and yesterday I caught the U2 bus to Hercies Road to see it for myself. And it wasn't there any more.

To help you get your bearings this is just around the corner from Hillingdon tube station. It's also just off the A40 which makes sense because the Apprentice boardroom scenes are filmed in Park Royal just off the same road, although eight miles away so it's an unusual choice.



I double-checked the address and spotted what had happened - Lisa's Cafe had changed hands. It was now called Sandy's Cafe and looked very different because it had net curtains across the window rather than being able to see in. The door was also steamed up so the chalkboard on the pavement saying "We are open" was crucial to enticing customers inside.

Some online digging on Streetview and Instagram confirms that this was still Lisa's Cafe last summer when The Apprentice was filming, but reopened as Sandy's Cafe at the start of January. The new owner is Jade, not Lisa, and Sandy was her late mother-in-law so the cafe's named in her honour. The net curtains went up a few weeks ago.
Welcome to Sandys cafe 🍽️
Pop by and see what’s on our menu….
we offer breakfast, homemade food, sandwiches, omelettes, jacket potatoes 🥔 cake 🍰, tea, coffee and much more!!
#cafe #food #coffee #tea #hillingdon #foodie
The interior looks nice and friendly online but it didn't from the street, and I wasn't 100% sure if the hi-vis workman who popped out for a fag was enjoying a fry-up or midway through a job. So I'm afraid I didn't go in to sample the new Apprentice cafe, indeed you can't truly sample the new Apprentice cafe because it's under new management so isn't the same business the candidates experienced. Don't let me stop you going though. And good luck Jade, because you've probably got more entrepreneurial spirit than all the egotistical chancers who came here to dissect their failings over a cuppa.

 Friday, February 07, 2025

You know what TfL's We Can't Be Arsed To Print That Any More department has started printing again?

First and last trains.

They started omitting them recently on station posters, instead exhorting passengers to scan a QR code and use the TfL website instead. They also suggested using the TfL Go app even though the TfL Go app doesn't show first and last trains. Unsurprisingly passengers weren't impressed, especially on the outer reaches of the Metropolitan line where trains are irregular and less frequent.



One of the triggers was a desire to save money, apparently about £30K a year, because it's easier to slap up a generic poster than to check all the correct departure times and make a bespoke poster. Another trigger was the introduction of new timetables on seven Underground lines last month. First and last train times don't usually change but they did this time on the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines, so this sudden disappearance was especially unhelpful. I blogged all about this last week.

I'm not in the habit of checking the outer reaches of the Metropolitan line myself so originally had to rely on evidence provided by others. A Redditor called AdamLukePaul posted a photo showing the new poster at Chorleywood station, so it was definitely there, and also definitely at Amersham and also definitely at Chalfont & Latimer.



But others amongst you who live out that way saw different evidence ("Amersham still has the old poster", "Chorleywood has a poster with full train times", "Rickmansworth has the proper posters") so what was going on? I've been out to have a look.

Firstly, as far as I can tell there are no remaining timetable-less posters north of Harrow on the Hill. There definitely were but they've either been removed or replaced. Here for example is the new poster at Chorleywood, one of two, which shows all tube and Chiltern times along with first and last trains.



The poster on the opposite platform is looking very worn with a folded corner and a soggy stripe all down the right hand side, but the date in the corner is 13.1.25 so it's not been up long. Indeed I'm pretty sure it wasn't up on 13.1.25, the emptier poster was, and this one's been printed since to replace it.



The situation at Chalfont & Latimer is even more cut and dried. There are now three posters with full timetables, one on each platform, and if you look carefully you can see the old QR code underneath! The accursed posters all went up, someone's since given the order to replace them and the new posters have been slotted in on top.



A special round of applause to the muppet who put a northbound timetable on platform 3, the shuttle bay that's been disused since 2010, because the only passengers potentially hanging around must be waiting for a southbound train.



Meanwhile several stations now have a poster that combines a timetable with an exhortation to scan a QR code, i.e. the best of both worlds. Watford's got one, also Pinner and also Northwood, as seen here.



But it's not that simple. At a large number of outer Metropolitan line stations the posters are now out of date. The posters at Croxley both say 8.4.24-29.9.24 in the bottom right hand corner, for example, i.e. this is last year's pre-leaf-fall timetable. The same is true at Rickmansworth and all across Harrow-on-the-Hill.



Meanwhile the timetable at Northwood Hills is dated 21.5.23, and Moor Park manages to have a 21.5.23 on one platform and 8.4.24-29.9.24 on the other. What I'm guessing happened here is that the nasty new posters have been taken down but no replacement has yet been printed so what you're seeing is the timetable that used to be underneath.

The outer Metropolitan line is thus a mess of inconsistencies, but that's much better than erasing all the train times and expecting people to look them up on their phones.

Just don't expect to see such withdrawals elsewhere on the tube network. New posters without first/last trains remain in situ on the Central line, Jubilee line, Circle line, District line, Hammersmith & City line and the inner reaches of the Metropolitan line, with no sign of being replaced. Meanwhile don't be surprised to see old posters listing first and last trains displayed on other lines - no point in replacing them if the timetable hasn't changed.

And just to muddy the waters further, at several stations not all of the timetable posters were replaced with the new QR code version. For example at Bow Road the frame outside the entrance now contains one of the less detailed posters dated 13.1.25, whereas those on the platforms are old posters dated 11.9.22... so although they show first and last train times they're now out of date.



One unfortunate area with no reprieve is the arc of stations served by the Hainault shuttle on the Central line. These have some of the least frequent services on the network, only every 20 minutes, and used to have a timetable poster so locals could learn when best to turn up. But this time last year they too were replaced by pig-lazy QR code atrocities and these alas are still in place. Below is the poster at Roding Valley where passengers have been disregarded for the last twelve months, and exactly the same rubbish appears on the platforms at Chigwell, Grange Hill and Hainault.



A possible reason for this is that the Central line timetable has been in freefall of late as insufficient rolling stock has meant a significant reduction in service. But the shuttle has generally been protected so it does feel particular two-fingered to print a bland overview with acres of blank space which just says "A Woodford-Hainault shuttle is running all day" without mentioning the 20 minute frequency, when it starts or when it stops.

It's not all dreadful. Here's the new poster for the Waterloo & City line which displays all you need to know really quite simply. But you'll notice it does include the first and last train times, they haven't jettisoned those for no good reason unlike at the many dozens of stations where they have.



To summarise
Over the last few months many timetable posters have been replaced by dumbed-down versions without first and last train times.
Someone has since made the decision to remove the new posters from the outer reaches of the Metropolitan line.
Some of these stations now have updated full timetables and some now show old timetables.
It all looks a bit hasty and uncoordinated to be honest.
Uninformative posters remain on other lines.

It's a partial victory for common sense over blinkered efficiency.
But don't put your phone away just yet.

 Thursday, February 06, 2025

Yesterday was the accursed day when I renewed my passport.

Accursed because I can't believe ten years has come round again. A passport is a marker on one's life, a literal snapshot. I keep them all, and I see I've only had four before which makes renewal a distinctly rare occurrence. My first individual passport was issued on 27 May 1977 at the Peterborough office, required because I was about to go on a school trip to Germany, and extended five years later because I was no longer a minor. After a gap of seven years when I didn't go abroad my second passport was issued on 26 January 1995 to ensure I could join the rest of the family in the Canaries. My third passport was issued on 14 December 2004 because I was now a jetsetter and couldn't afford a hiatus, and my fourth was issued ten years ago on 13 January 2015. Just the four, and I now need a fifth.

Accursed because it's not expired but I can't use it. It used to be the case that they gave you a couple of extra months so my current passport officially still has five weeks to go. I remember thinking when I got it "blimey I'm still in my 40s but this won't expire until I'm in my 60s", such was the way the dates fell. But the rules have changed, not least because of Brexit, so it is in fact now doubly unusable. For a start these days only the first ten years officially count, so technically it expired three weeks ago. And secondly "your passport should be valid for at least 3 months after the date you intend to leave the EU" and I'm well past that limit so I couldn't even have gone anywhere for Christmas. A passport that's technically valid but can't be used is already obsolete.

Accursed because I've not actually used it recently. My current passport got a lot of use in the first half of its life with six trips to six different European countries, but since 2020 I've not used it for border crossing at all, only as occasional proof of ID. In part I blame lockdown for wiping out a couple of years, but mostly I blame inertia brought about by increased friction at passport control making me think "nah, I can't be bothered". A day trip to Paris is somehow less worthwhile when you need to spend an extra hour of it in a queue. My two previous passports were also used for six foreign jaunts each, and I need to make sure I actually do something with my next one rather than it sitting expensively in a drawer.

Accursed because it's going to be a different colour. Since 1995 I've had a burgundy passport which says United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the front alongside European Something (Community for the 1995 issue and Union for the subsequent two). But my next passport is going to be dark blue instead because we voted to leave the EU and then did, supposedly one of the prime benefits being the chance to revert to the previous colour. I have one such passport, a very-dark blue number with a solid hardback cover and little windows in the front for my name and number, back when we still wrote British Passport on the front. To be frank I don't really care what colour it is, more what I can do with it, and alas my new blue passport won't be quite so swift at crossing borders as my current one.

Accursed because it's a record of inexorable ageing. My first photo shows me as an angelic 11 year-old with a badly-cut fringe wearing a polo-neck jumper and a zip up jacket. A few pages later I appear as a spotty sixth-former with hair down over my ears and a gauche brown tie, thankfully in black and white. The third photo is me from half a lifetime ago, now with a hairstyle I'd chosen for myself and a marginally more stylish set of clothes. The fourth photo is me at 40 and definitely my favourite, indeed I'd like to go back and tell myself how shaggable I still was and not to waste the opportunity. As for my current passport photo, on the day it was taken I wrote in my diary "illusions of youth shattered" but my god I look so young, having had no idea of what the next ten years would bring. A life in five portraits, and now I have a sixth.

Accursed because I had to obtain a new photo. I knew whatever I ended up with would follow me around for a decade so I spent a while at home picking a decent shirt and checking in the mirror. I'm sure I didn't have to worry about an errant eyebrow last time round. I reminded myself that however things turned out the resulting photo wouldn't resemble what I think I look like because I only ever see me in the mirror and the photo would be the right way round. It peeves me slightly that I think I look better in reflection than in real life, but it's important to ignore this because it could fundamentally weaken my self-confidence. Instead I stared at what I look like now and confirmed, with some degree of relief, that the photo representing my seventh decade wouldn't be a depiction of excessive decay.

Accursed because I had to leave the house and find a kiosk. Technically I could have tried taking a photo with my phone but the best way to get a compliant photo is still to visit one of the magic machines specially designed for the purpose. Last time round I found one at the back of Boots the chemist but this time I searched online in the hope of finding somewhere quieter. The last thing you want when you're composing yourself for posterity is an audience of judgemental passers-by. Thankfully a website with a map exists and being London there were surprisingly many of the things, indeed hundreds, so I located one not too far away and duly turned up. Annoyingly it was broken so I had to move on to my reserve option instead, but this proved pretty much perfect tucked away in an empty passage by a fire exit.



Accursed because technology's always moved on since last time you used one. Last time there were buttons to press, this time it was all touchscreen. Last time it wanted cash so I'd brought coins just in case but obviously these days it's card only. Last time there was a swivelling stool you had to adjust to get the height right and it never felt like you had, but thankfully this time the camera itself went up and down instead. Last time it was hard to be sure my eyes were in the right place, but this machine was brilliant with a red oval on the videoscreen to align with my face with so I almost couldn't go wrong. Indeed we got to the dreaded "we are now going to take your photo" moment a lot quicker than I'd been expecting.

Accursed because it's still incredibly easy to take an invalid photo. No smile for starters, and for goodness sake don't open your mouth. Forgetting to take your glasses off must invalidate hundreds of photos daily, ditto accidentally blinking. Also you only get three chances, even though it's now a fully digital system, and if you don't like the third one you can't go back to the first or second. I looked at my first impression and thought "oh god really look at me I look so miserable and asymmetrical and that crease wasn't there ten years ago and my hair could have done with a final tweak and I don't like it but hey at least I've still got hair and I'm not the grey wizened creature I'll be next time and I suppose it'll do and who's going to see it anyway?", and I touched the screen and accepted.

Accursed because it costs £10 for a strip of photos these days. Ten years ago it had only been a fiver and I know this machine was more technically complex and inflation moves on but that still felt like quite a hike.

Accursed because you have to stand around outside the kiosk like a lemon while your photos develop and I've always hated that bit. Except these days the finished strip is deposited in the tray almost instantaneously - hurrah for new technology - and what's more it isn't damp and sticky so you can't accidentally ruin it with your fingers. Best of all you don't need the actual printed photos to make a passport application, all you need is the three-part alphanumeric code printed across the top of the sheet. It's unique to you which means the kiosk company can share your digital photo with the Passport Office automatically on demand. That is systematically brilliant, or alternatively an appalling violation of privacy as the government files away your submitted image in some eternal surveillance database.

Accursed because you then have to apply for the passport and fork out £88.50 for the privilege. It is great that you can renew on your computer rather than having to queue at the post office, but that innovation's been around for a while so this was my second time jumping through hoops on screen. I typed in all the necessary numbers and made all the relevant declarations, momentarily amazed as my photo appeared on the page mid-application. But given I was the one doing all the work it did seem quite steep charging quite so much, indeed adding in the price of the photos the cost is pretty much £100, and all just to validate my existence to permit foreign travel.

Accursed because you then have to return your existing passport by post before they'll start work on your new one. This is the one part of the procedure they can't automate, mainly because they can't trust you to cut the corner off your own passport, they need to do it themselves. This is also the moment you rediscover how much postage costs these days, and extra if you want to send it back securely, all of which takes the total cost over the £100 mark. Then you face three weeks without a passport anxiously hoping the new one comes back and isn't stolen by evil miscreants somewhere along the line, a passport in transit being the ultimate in identity theft.

I should get my new passport back by the end of the month, three weeks being the current processing time, and when it finally arrives I have to remember to sign it else the first gendarme to inspect it may dismiss me. I know I shall also look at the cover and sigh, and stare at the photo and sigh, and look at the expiry date in 2035 and assume it's a heck of a long way in the future with many happy foreign travels to come between now and then. But 2035 will soon come round and I'll look back at the photo with wistful nostalgia and I'll sigh again, not just because I used to look like that but because it's time to go through the entire accursed renewal procedure one more time.

 Wednesday, February 05, 2025

I'm a firm believer that if you wait long enough a lot of expensive places can eventually be visited for free. So it is with the London Wetland Centre, indeed all WWT reserves, which are offering free entry this week to celebrate World Wetlands Day. I last visited in 2006 when admission was also free, saving £6.75, and this year I've saved considerably more by flashing a barcode in a complimentary email.

Venue: London Wetland Centre
Location: Queen Elizabeth's Walk, Barnes, SW13 9SA [map]
Open: 10am - 5.30pm (closes 4.30pm in Winter)
Admission: £16.50
5-word summary: reclaimed reservoirs, now waterfowl airport
Website: wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/london
Time to set aside: at least an afternoon

What do you do with four unwanted Victorian reservoirs? You grab a lottery handout and transform them into one hundred acres of reclaimed wetland habitat, that's what. And then you wait for the waterfowl to arrive.



The site at Barn Elms lies within the great Boat-Race curve of the Thames, facing Fulham across the river and accessed via Barnes. Entry is across a footbridge over a gratuitous lake, just to set the scene, past a bronze statue of Sir Peter Scott in wellies making observational notes on two Bewick's Swans. I don't think the guano smearing his hair was part of the sculptor's original vision but it did feel appropriate. Then it's into the Visitor Centre to pay up (or not, as applicable), and then you're out into the main courtyard ready to spot birds. Leave the gift shop to the end, it is indeed an integral part of the exit procedure.



What lies ahead is a complex of lakes, lagoons and reedbeds very approximately square in shape. The important thing is you can't walk all the way round the edge because the northern quadrant is kept people-free, so the two options are to walk left as far as you can go or right as far as you can go, then come back and do the other one. Before you head off check the screen with a list of daily sightings (oooh) and then look for the stairs leading to The Observatory. This is a balconied space behind a huge glass wall with a great view across the site and offers the chance to spot birds on the nearest lake. Almost all of the waterside is reed-edged so you need to take your observation opportunities when you can and this is the only elevated warm one.



Turn left for the West route which is the less developed arm. First up is the otter enclosure which is the only part of the wetlands that feels like a zoo. The two Asian short-clawed otters don't emerge from their holt that often, at least not at this time of year, but the keepers entice them out with fishy chunks at feeding time twice a day. Bob the heron knows when feeding time is because he flies down and waits in case there are leftovers, and will happily stand by the waterfall in front of an audience of 50 onlookers throughout the keeper's long spiel. These are admittedly the world's smallest otters so don't expect a sensational aquatic act, but they did eventually emerge yesterday and do some cute things with straw... and Bob flew off sadly unsatisfied.



Onwards through the Wetlands of the World, a chain of small ponds with occasional scenery and whatever ducks from whatever jurisdiction have chosen to land in that section. You get a much better close-up view here than trying to identify black blobs out on the lagoon, plus it's a considerably more abundant selection than a handful of bread attracts in your local park. I used the railside notice to confirm that the very flappy thing with a blue beak was a white-headed duck, needed no assistance to tick off mallards and moorhens and was excited to count three cranes behind the rushes.



For the serious visitor the site's true highlights are the hides, six in total, each with a different waterside aspect. If you're not familiar these are shielded spaces with slotty windows allowing birds to be seen without seeing you. If you are familiar you'll know they have seats or perches allowing lengthy periods of observation, and ledges where you can rest your extremely large lens and watch the action. I always feel underdressed when I turn up with my tiny 8×21 binoculars sourced by redeeming Orange reward points rather than the optical Alpenhorns that proper birders bring, but equally I wouldn't know what I was looking at anyway.



All the chatter in the Headley hide regarded the recent appearance of a bittern, an elusive winter visitor from Western Europe. Normally you only hear them booming, assuming you notice anything at all, but in this case it had been seen moseying along the edge of a distant reedbed and then disappeared within. I duly hung around, watched and waited, my eyes pinned on a dark brown strip across the lagoon. I have some degree of patience so lasted ten minutes before deciding that perhaps it wasn't coming out again, or had already flown off somewhere else, so it really wasn't worth wasting my day on the offchance of a rare reappearance. A proper birdwatcher can hold out much longer, ideally aided by a thermos and sandwiches, while taking great pleasure in more ordinary sightings inbetween. In this case alas once bittern, twice shy.



The South route has more of a child-visitor-focus, including a pond zone, a sound garden and an adventure playground. It's well done and also partly educational, including for example a plughole you can walk through to discover what not to flush. More active kids will appreciate the Wild Walk, a chain of planks which hugs the edge of the Fritillary Meadow and threatens a muddy denouement should you fall. At the far end is a proper rope bridge, which in the absence of small children was being enjoyed by adults and even grey-haired visitors instead. It felt perfectly fine as I strode on, then started wobbling and bouncing unnervingly as I approached the middle, and that was without anyone else stomping along to make things worse.



I enjoyed the more far-flung paths, still thankfully the right side of muddy, which weave between reeds around outer ponds. Plenty of additional points of interest have been slotted in including a bat roost and a sand martin bank you can step behind, not that anything's nesting there at this time of year. I smiled the first time I saw a 'Geese only beyond this point' sign, although by the tenth time with the fourth different animal the joke had lost its shine. I also spotted lots of catkins plus my first crocuses of the year in the Slate Garden, which were encouraging signs that spring is on its way. They'd never have allowed punters in for free if it weren't winter, obviously, but perhaps peak season should really be when migration is in full swing.



I saved the tallest hide for last, the Peacock Tower, which boasts views of lake, scrape, lagoon or marsh depending which way you look. Climbing to the second floor offers the best panorama, be that of water, birds or the west London skyline, and yes there's a lift should your twitching needs require step-free access. Here was the greatest concentration of serious observers, notebooks at hand, occasionally muttering "widgeon, shoveler, two teal" to a neighbour before raising their glasses again. I can see the value of annual WWT membership if waterfowl are your thing, especially at just £4.50 a month, but I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to have free rein for just one day. At time of writing £0 tickets for today and tomorrow are still available and who's to say what flapping wonders you might see.


click for Older Posts >>


click to return to the main page


...or read more in my monthly archives
Jan25  Feb25
Jan24  Feb24  Mar24  Apr24  May24  Jun24  Jul24  Aug24  Sep24  Oct24  Nov24  Dec24
Jan23  Feb23  Mar23  Apr23  May23  Jun23  Jul23  Aug23  Sep23  Oct23  Nov23  Dec23
Jan22  Feb22  Mar22  Apr22  May22  Jun22  Jul22  Aug22  Sep22  Oct22  Nov22  Dec22
Jan21  Feb21  Mar21  Apr21  May21  Jun21  Jul21  Aug21  Sep21  Oct21  Nov21  Dec21
Jan20  Feb20  Mar20  Apr20  May20  Jun20  Jul20  Aug20  Sep20  Oct20  Nov20  Dec20
Jan19  Feb19  Mar19  Apr19  May19  Jun19  Jul19  Aug19  Sep19  Oct19  Nov19  Dec19
Jan18  Feb18  Mar18  Apr18  May18  Jun18  Jul18  Aug18  Sep18  Oct18  Nov18  Dec18
Jan17  Feb17  Mar17  Apr17  May17  Jun17  Jul17  Aug17  Sep17  Oct17  Nov17  Dec17
Jan16  Feb16  Mar16  Apr16  May16  Jun16  Jul16  Aug16  Sep16  Oct16  Nov16  Dec16
Jan15  Feb15  Mar15  Apr15  May15  Jun15  Jul15  Aug15  Sep15  Oct15  Nov15  Dec15
Jan14  Feb14  Mar14  Apr14  May14  Jun14  Jul14  Aug14  Sep14  Oct14  Nov14  Dec14
Jan13  Feb13  Mar13  Apr13  May13  Jun13  Jul13  Aug13  Sep13  Oct13  Nov13  Dec13
Jan12  Feb12  Mar12  Apr12  May12  Jun12  Jul12  Aug12  Sep12  Oct12  Nov12  Dec12
Jan11  Feb11  Mar11  Apr11  May11  Jun11  Jul11  Aug11  Sep11  Oct11  Nov11  Dec11
Jan10  Feb10  Mar10  Apr10  May10  Jun10  Jul10  Aug10  Sep10  Oct10  Nov10  Dec10 
Jan09  Feb09  Mar09  Apr09  May09  Jun09  Jul09  Aug09  Sep09  Oct09  Nov09  Dec09
Jan08  Feb08  Mar08  Apr08  May08  Jun08  Jul08  Aug08  Sep08  Oct08  Nov08  Dec08
Jan07  Feb07  Mar07  Apr07  May07  Jun07  Jul07  Aug07  Sep07  Oct07  Nov07  Dec07
Jan06  Feb06  Mar06  Apr06  May06  Jun06  Jul06  Aug06  Sep06  Oct06  Nov06  Dec06
Jan05  Feb05  Mar05  Apr05  May05  Jun05  Jul05  Aug05  Sep05  Oct05  Nov05  Dec05
Jan04  Feb04  Mar04  Apr04  May04  Jun04  Jul04  Aug04  Sep04  Oct04  Nov04  Dec04
Jan03  Feb03  Mar03  Apr03  May03  Jun03  Jul03  Aug03  Sep03  Oct03  Nov03  Dec03
 Jan02  Feb02  Mar02  Apr02  May02  Jun02  Jul02 Aug02  Sep02  Oct02  Nov02  Dec02 

jack of diamonds
Life viewed from London E3

» email me
» follow me on twitter
» follow the blog on Twitter
» follow the blog on RSS

» my flickr photostream

twenty blogs
our bow
arseblog
ian visits
londonist
broken tv
blue witch
on london
the great wen
edith's streets
spitalfields life
linkmachinego
round the island
wanstead meteo
christopher fowler
the greenwich wire
bus and train user
ruth's coastal walk
round the rails we go
london reconnections
from the murky depths

quick reference features
Things to do in Outer London
Things to do outside London
London's waymarked walks
Inner London toilet map
20 years of blog series
The DG Tour of Britain
London's most...

read the archive
Feb25  Jan25
Dec24  Nov24  Oct24  Sep24
Aug24  Jul24  Jun24  May24
Apr24  Mar24  Feb24  Jan24
Dec23  Nov23  Oct23  Sep23
Aug23  Jul23  Jun23  May23
Apr23  Mar23  Feb23  Jan23
Dec22  Nov22  Oct22  Sep22
Aug22  Jul22  Jun22  May22
Apr22  Mar22  Feb22  Jan22
Dec21  Nov21  Oct21  Sep21
Aug21  Jul21  Jun21  May21
Apr21  Mar21  Feb21  Jan21
Dec20  Nov20  Oct20  Sep20
Aug20  Jul20  Jun20  May20
Apr20  Mar20  Feb20  Jan20
Dec19  Nov19  Oct19  Sep19
Aug19  Jul19  Jun19  May19
Apr19  Mar19  Feb19  Jan19
Dec18  Nov18  Oct18  Sep18
Aug18  Jul18  Jun18  May18
Apr18  Mar18  Feb18  Jan18
Dec17  Nov17  Oct17  Sep17
Aug17  Jul17  Jun17  May17
Apr17  Mar17  Feb17  Jan17
Dec16  Nov16  Oct16  Sep16
Aug16  Jul16  Jun16  May16
Apr16  Mar16  Feb16  Jan16
Dec15  Nov15  Oct15  Sep15
Aug15  Jul15  Jun15  May15
Apr15  Mar15  Feb15  Jan15
Dec14  Nov14  Oct14  Sep14
Aug14  Jul14  Jun14  May14
Apr14  Mar14  Feb14  Jan14
Dec13  Nov13  Oct13  Sep13
Aug13  Jul13  Jun13  May13
Apr13  Mar13  Feb13  Jan13
Dec12  Nov12  Oct12  Sep12
Aug12  Jul12  Jun12  May12
Apr12  Mar12  Feb12  Jan12
Dec11  Nov11  Oct11  Sep11
Aug11  Jul11  Jun11  May11
Apr11  Mar11  Feb11  Jan11
Dec10  Nov10  Oct10  Sep10
Aug10  Jul10  Jun10  May10
Apr10  Mar10  Feb10  Jan10
Dec09  Nov09  Oct09  Sep09
Aug09  Jul09  Jun09  May09
Apr09  Mar09  Feb09  Jan09
Dec08  Nov08  Oct08  Sep08
Aug08  Jul08  Jun08  May08
Apr08  Mar08  Feb08  Jan08
Dec07  Nov07  Oct07  Sep07
Aug07  Jul07  Jun07  May07
Apr07  Mar07  Feb07  Jan07
Dec06  Nov06  Oct06  Sep06
Aug06  Jul06  Jun06  May06
Apr06  Mar06  Feb06  Jan06
Dec05  Nov05  Oct05  Sep05
Aug05  Jul05  Jun05  May05
Apr05  Mar05  Feb05  Jan05
Dec04  Nov04  Oct04  Sep04
Aug04  Jul04  Jun04  May04
Apr04  Mar04  Feb04  Jan04
Dec03  Nov03  Oct03  Sep03
Aug03  Jul03  Jun03  May03
Apr03  Mar03  Feb03  Jan03
Dec02  Nov02  Oct02  Sep02
back to main page

the diamond geezer index
2024 2023 2022
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

my special London features
a-z of london museums
E3 - local history month
greenwich meridian (N)
greenwich meridian (S)
the real eastenders
london's lost rivers
olympic park 2007
great british roads
oranges & lemons
random boroughs
bow road station
high street 2012
river westbourne
trafalgar square
capital numbers
east london line
lea valley walk
olympics 2005
regent's canal
square routes
silver jubilee
unlost rivers
cube routes
Herbert Dip
metro-land
capital ring
river fleet
piccadilly
bakerloo

ten of my favourite posts
the seven ages of blog
my new Z470xi mobile
five equations of blog
the dome of doom
chemical attraction
quality & risk
london 2102
single life
boredom
april fool

ten sets of lovely photos
my "most interesting" photos
london 2012 olympic zone
harris and the hebrides
betjeman's metro-land
marking the meridian
tracing the river fleet
london's lost rivers
inside the gherkin
seven sisters
iceland

just surfed in?
here's where to find...
diamond geezers
flash mob #1  #2  #3  #4
ben schott's miscellany
london underground
watch with mother
cigarette warnings
digital time delay
wheelie suitcases
war of the worlds
transit of venus
top of the pops
old buckenham
ladybird books
acorn antiques
digital watches
outer hebrides
olympics 2012
school dinners
pet shop boys
west wycombe
bletchley park
george orwell
big breakfast
clapton pond
san francisco
thunderbirds
routemaster
children's tv
east enders
trunk roads
amsterdam
little britain
credit cards
jury service
big brother
jubilee line
number 1s
titan arum
typewriters
doctor who
coronation
comments
blue peter
matchgirls
hurricanes
buzzwords
brookside
monopoly
peter pan
starbucks
feng shui
leap year
manbags
bbc three
vision on
piccadilly
meridian
concorde
wembley
islington
ID cards
bedtime
freeview
beckton
blogads
eclipses
letraset
arsenal
sitcoms
gherkin
calories
everest
muffins
sudoku
camilla
london
ceefax
robbie
becks
dome
BBC2
paris
lotto
118
itv