 diamond geezer
Sunday, December 30, 2012
dg 2012 index
Ten memorable London jaunts in 2012
 1) The Olympics: Obviously this is top of my list for 2012. A one-off fortnight, seven years in the making, which flew higher than any of us could have imagined. And I was there.
a) the week before [photos]
b) the first week [photos] [photos] [photos]
c) the second week [photos]
2) The Paralympics: Another world-class Games on my doorstep, so I took full advantage and attended even more events than earlier. Inspirational. [photos]
3) Barking and Dagenham: My final Random Borough jaunt deserved a week-long write-up, and B&D came up with the goods [photos]
4) Diamond Jubilee Pageant: I don't think I've ever been quite so wet, or as cold, in the middle of June. But a truly once-in-a-lifetime spectacle [photos]
5) Walking Overground South: Tracing the tangerine orbital through inner south London [photos]
6) Titanic 100: I tracked down the graves of those passengers whose final resting place was London, not the bottom of the Atlantic.
7) Crossing London by bus: From Bluewater to Uxbridge, via only four buses [starts here]
8) Trellick Tower: Thanks to Open House, I finally got to ascend Goldfinger's finest [photos]
9) Parliamentary train: Riding the parliamentary train from Kensington Olympia to Wandsworth Road (while I still could).
10) Diamond Streets: For the Jubilee, I visited every road in London called Diamond something. Been meaning to do that for ages [photos]
Runners up: Barnet, Bus-tops, Dollis Hill House, Belgravia, King's Army Parade, Valentine's Mansion, A Bigger Picture, Crane Park, cycle hire extension, Bow porcelain, Exhibition Road, RAF Northolt, Abbey Creek, Twelvetrees, Trent Park, Honeywood, Granary Square, Listed Loo, Geotrail, London Pleasure Gardens, 2 Willow Road, William Morris Gallery, Mudchute City Farm, DLR 25, Around The Square Mile, Open House, 'A' stock farewell, Chrisp Street clocktower, The Crystal, London Cupcake Tours, Dagenham Sunday Market, Fruit and Wool Exchange, Regent's Canal 200, London Canal Museum, Woolwich Foot Tunnel, Marmite Christmas lights, Natural History Museum, tube week, Roman Road Market, First Tesco, Boring 2012, Overground orbital, Charles Dickens Museum.
Olympics: branding 2012, year begins, carbon neutral, diving test event, risk register, April update, website update, Greenway test, Paralympic athletics test event, Water Chariots (don't), Greenway closure, magenta, Torch Relay, towpath diversion, Pudding Mill Lane closes, HMS Ocean, up the Orbit, we will remember them, aftermath, Water Chariots (bust), Greenway reopening.
Around the Olympic Park: 4 weeks to go [photos], 10 days to go [photos], 1 month after [photos], 10 weeks after [photos].
Stations: Birkbeck, Angel Road, New Blackfriars, New King's Cross, Canary Wharf Crossrail.
Buses: route 47, New Bus for London, route 60, 38 centenary, 24 centenary.
Cablecar: February, May, pre-launch announcement, first flight, regular users, business case, passenger numbers.
Bow Roundabout: proposals, March update, more proposals, flowers, the cycle early-start opens, Cyclists Stop On Red, westbound proposals.
London Loop: section 9, section 12, section 17, section 20, section 23.
Ten favourite Out-of-London destinations
 1) South Coast Downlander: One rail ticket, one bank holiday, ten south coast resorts. Madness, but a lot of fun. [photos]
2) Ongar: Hurrah for the newly-opened Epping Ongar steam railway [photos]
3) Hastings: I went for the Jerwood, but really enjoyed the rest of the resort too [photos]
4) Spaghetti Junction: An unexpected world of canals and towpaths lurks beneath the concrete pillars
5) Tilbury Centenary Day: Celebrations at the cruise terminal, a look inside the old station and a busride round the docks - ace.
6) The Croxley Curve: Despite growing up less than a mile away, I'd never seen trains on this Metropolitan spur before
7) Devil's Dyke: A gorgeous (if windswept) walk along the South Downs to Ditchling Beacon [photos]
8) East Grinstead: Exploring the Sussex commuter town, the former home of Dr Beeching.
9) The Labworth: Lunch at this Art Deco Canvey Island caff was unexpectedly wonderful.
10) Portsmouth: A visit to Charles Dickens' birthplace [part of Dickens bicentenary week]
Runners up: Brighton Pavilion, Gosport, Windsor to Staines, Harry Potter Studios, Sudbury, Long Melford, Fairhaven, Ramsgate, Ebury Way, Ely, Galton Bridge, Shireoaks to Worksop, Cromer.
Ten other favourite posts from 2012:
Dosh, next train indicators, the tube map tube map, stairs, complaints and refunds, Plaistow Airport, stapler graveyard, Regent's Canal 200, independent bookshop map, hello boss.
Half of my ten favourite photos of the year:(or all ten here)
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