How to be more mindful: Some easy techniques June 17, 2015 You don’t need to set aside hours every day to take up meditation. Few will have missed the mindfulness zeitgeist. Employers from Google and Goldman Sachs to TfL are backing this Buddhist-inspired technique, which essentially promotes “awareness”, or the ability to focus on the present moment, as a way to reduce stress. But if your [...]
Clarendon Works in Notting Hill: Inside W11’s quirkiest brick factory June 11, 2015 Discover the definition of industrial chic in a smart neighbourhood in Notting Hill. For tips on how to modernise industrial architecture in London, look no further than Clarendon Works. This Victorian brick-making factory is an iconic building in Notting Hill, with its cavernous proportions and red brick exterior. It’s also an impressively wide house, [...]
Focus on Balham: Once the butt of jokes, now the SW place to be June 11, 2015 When Peter Sellers said Balham was the “Gateway to the South” he was poking fun at the fact that nothing of note ever happened there. A semi-suburban no man’s land at the bottom of the Northern Line, it was the pinnacle of meh – the kind of place north Londoners probably think about when they [...]
Silicon Roundabout will become Silicon Square in makeover of Tech City’s Old Street roundabout in Shoreditch after TfL plans approved June 10, 2015 It's officially the end of Silicon Roundabout. The Old Street roundabout in Shoreditch which spurred the original nickname for the area now more commonly called Tech City after a rebrand, will be demolished after plans for redeveloping the area were approved by the public. Now the more appropriate name for the spot will be Silicon [...]
Here’s how Boris wants to stop cyclists dying on the roads June 9, 2015 Boris Johnson has pledged to cut London’s serious road casualties by 50 per cent by 2020. Despite the latest figures showing numbers of people killed or seriously injured was down to its lowest levels on record (meeting the Mayor’s previous target six years early) Johnson is keen to push the numbers down further. Read more: How [...]
Beam Park, Dagenham: London’s getting a new station and 2,000 new homes just 20 minutes from the City June 9, 2015 A new railway station will soon be coming to London after the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, revealed ambitious plans for the regeneration of an area in East London which will also add up to 2,000 new homes in the capital. Beam Park in Dagenham is the last site in London up for grabs as [...]
Transport for London commissioner Sir Peter Hendy made almost £500,000 last year June 9, 2015 The Transport for London commissioner who said commuter trains were “s**t” earned £488,000 last year, according to a Transport for London (TfL) spokesman. Sir Peter Hendy's total package for 2013/14 was £488,888 and remained "unchanged" in 2014/15. However, last year it dropped by almost 25 per cent. Of that, just over £155,000 was [...]
If you’re late and can’t get on / Just wait – more trains will come along: The magnus opus that just won Transport for London’s poetry competition June 8, 2015 Transport for London (TfL) has announced the title of the winning poem for its etiquette poetry competition: "Avoid Unnecessary Delays. Don't Hold Open the Doors". Alright, so it's hardly Ode to a Grecian Urn – but it has a certain ring to it……. Back in February, London's transport authority requested poems for a special poster campaign, [...]
London to trial “world-first” traffic technology for cyclists June 5, 2015 Transport for London is undertaking “world-first trials” of new technology that will give cyclists more time on green lights at major junctions. The Department for Transport has given blanket approval for the scheme, which will enable traffic signal timings to be adjusted when there are high numbers of cyclists at key junctions during rush [...]
London’s Garden Bridge faces uncertain future after opposition at London Assembly June 4, 2015 London's proposed Garden Bridge's future may be under threat as it faced opposition at the London Assembly. The bridge, which is designed as a pedestrian crossing with 270 trees and 2,000 shrubs, is to be partly funded by the Treasury and Transport for London (TfL) – each contributing £30m. However, London Assembly members voted 11-3 [...]