Taking advantage of the great weather yesterday, we spent a few hours soaking up the atmosphere around the London Marathon. One reason for going was that Nicola’s sister Judith is a keen runner, but I was also hoping to spot my pal
Entries Tagged as 'London'
Happy new commute!
January 2nd, 2005 · No Comments · Consumer, London, Travel
Another new year, another rail price hike. Price rises at twice the rate of inflation are bad enough, but the BBC table doesn’t give the full story. I bought a one-day Travelcard today (for non-London readers, a ticket giving unlimited travel on all Greater London public transport for a day) which cost me £6. Now, [...]
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London elections
May 28th, 2004 · No Comments · Local, London, Politics
Next month sees a flurry of electoral activity for London residents. The rest of you will have to entertain yourselves with the European Parliament elections, but down here, we also have to vote for members of the London Assembly and the London Mayor. Having voted Labour since turning eighteen, I did the same in 1997, [...]
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Opera: accessibility vs snobbery
April 15th, 2004 · No Comments · Art/Culture, London, Music
I hate it when someone dismisses a whole cultural genre or style out of hand, but I have to be honest here. I just do not like opera. I’ve tried my best, listening to examples of Mozart, Verdi and Wagner, but the result is always the same… “Hey, that’s really great music. Mmmm, yeah… I [...]
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The Easter break, in pictures
April 14th, 2004 · No Comments · Art/Culture, History, Local, London
Forcing my reluctant brain back into work after the Easter break. Can’t think of much to write about, so here’s a few pictures of what we managed to do over the four-day holiday… FRIDAY Thanks to the 2-for-1 offer currently running in collaboration with National Rail, we headed up to Whitehall to explore the Cabinet [...]
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The end of the summer
October 1st, 2003 · No Comments · Consumer, Drivel, London, Music
It’s been a good summer. For a start, there was this… I like the Proms. I’ll admit that it’s a flawed system, limited geographically to London and stylistically to a fairly traditional idea of what “classical” music is. But it’s fun. And, unless you insist on having a plush seat when you go to a [...]
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(Not) down in the Tube station at midnight
June 10th, 2003 · No Comments · Local, London, Travel
London is a vibrant, exciting capital city, with a 24-hour party vibe. Well, that’s the marketing angle, but even in the reality occupied by those of us who don’t need ludicrous “urban designer wear” there’s a few things you can do in London well into the night. The difficulty is how to get home again… [...]
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Flaming Lips live in London
January 23rd, 2003 · No Comments · London, Music
Last night (oh wait… it’s past midnight… the night before last) I saw the Flaming Lips at the Forum in London. They’re one of my favourite bands, this was probably the fourth or fifth time I’ve seen them and they just keep on getting better and better. The setlist (still deservedly heavy on songs from [...]
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BBC Proms
August 31st, 2002 · No Comments · London, Music
It’s Proms season at the moment, and I’ve been making the effort to get to the Albert Hall on several evenings. I mean, at 4 quid for a standing (or sprawling on the floor) ticket, you can’t complain, can you? As well as going to hear pieces by composers I know I like (Stravinsky and [...]
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