Now you see me....

This blog is moving: please update your bookmarks to http://londonlines.wordpress.com

I've finally had enough of Blogger: the lack of polish, updates and Google's fumbled acquisition and enforced user migration. London Lines is now on Wordpress and although it may take a few days to get it finalised you can view all the old posts and bookmark it now at the above address.

Science Museum

Appropriate that I should start with the Science Museum; after all this is one of the first museums I visited in London nearly 20 years ago and which probably has the greatest longevity given my pent-up scientific interest.

Such a shame then that high expectations weren't met. I went along just before Christmas and found section after section closed, even parts of the new Wellcome Wing, the rest of which has started to look decidedly grubby despite (or perhaps because of) its ultra-modern futuristic design.

Perhaps the greatest disappointment was that it's becoming very difficult to actually learn anything there and I don't believe that's because of my own knowledge. Exhibits seem to fall into one of two camps:

1. modern interrogative exhibits, provoking questions of genetics, medical ethics, evolution such as in the afore-mentioned Wellcome Wing but without any real narrative. Absolutely perfect for school parties as an aide to discussion and teacher-led visits; pretty pointless and frustrating for anyone else.
2. display cases that simply label mathematical instruments or models of ships without providing any story.

These combined with a Communications gallery that stops with the introduction of the pager and an Optics gallery that's closed altogether made for this to be my last visit for a while. I even paid for the exhibition on the development of video gaming, 'antique' computing being a bit of a sideline interest. This was no more than a token nod to the history, technology and culture of gaming though - primarily an excuse for kids to play on old consoles and give me a headache as I wandered through looking for some intellectual stimulation. Even the pachinko machine was for display purposes only... still I'm denied a play on one of those things.

Shhhhhhh

I realise I haven't been particularly active on the London blogging front; I have, however, been considerably more active in taking advantage of the capital's museums and galleries recently.

So to make amends for the former and to document the latter I'll be posting a few photos and comments here over the next few weeks from my visits. Watch this space. And keep your voice down.

Diplomacy by design

If you had to guess which country had the most stylish building as its embassy, who would it be? The French, the Italians, the Americans?


Actually no suprise that, in my opinion, it goes to the Danes. With a slate black facade, pod-shaped windows and a subtle splash of greenery this really is an architectural revelation on Sloane Street opposite the private gardens.

If you've seen a more impressive or distinctive candidate on the streets of London, let me know....

Pottering down the Thames

The teaser trailer for the next Harry Potter film was released yesterday: with some trepidation in fear of disappointment I waited for the download.

Any anxiety was quickly put to one side with scenes of broomsticks chasing down the Thames, past Canary Wharf and Parliament. Not sure whether it'll trump the opening scene from 'The World is not Enough' but it can't be a bad addition to the film.

Up the drain

Ended up on the Waterloo & City line the other day: that most maligned of lines, shuttling sardined suits from their suburban commutes to the city via a 5 minute long sewer.

In the olden days you arrived at your destination with back and legs aching and bones shattered thanks to the clickety clack of the rickety track... assuming you hadn't fallen on the Metro-covered floor from the sharp bends.

No more. The recent upgrade means the ride is now as smooth as a, well, ride on the Jubilee Line extension. If memory serves I probably wouldn't have had the same glow had I joined the sardines at rush hour.

London Lines

I have a thing about colours combined with geometric shapes - the harlequin effect if you like, from Paul Smith stripes to public artwork under railway bridges on Southwark Street. This piece by Ian Davenport has only been here a couple of months and looks absolutely fabulous. Enjoy...

Outfoxed

Two weeks ago the top story in the greatest city in the world was one of the highest profile anti-terrorism swoops in British history. Two weeks later the top story seems to be about the menace of the urban fox in Croydon: it either shows just how quickly life returns to normality & banality (and the failure of the terrorist cause) or that we need something to fear and get worked up about.


Since moving to London 7 years ago (is it 7 years?!) the often-spotted urban fox has never caused much alarm... the occasional shock as it scampers across the road or as you get caught in the glare of each other's headlights. This photo was taken just a few days ago: the house is reasonably close to a railway line which seems to act as home, highway and good scavenging ground.

They've never been particularly pestly but I can't exactly see them as being the urban dweller's friend: unbelievable that some comments on the site above actually admit to feeding the blighters. Still, they're probably the ones who make the pilgrimage to Trafalgar Square to feed the ratty, disease-ridden pigeons.

London Bomb Attack Terror Shocker

Heathrow grinds to a halt as a new threat is unveiled and more dawn raids on houses in London, Birmingham and High Wycombe. (Is it just me or does High Wycombe sound like the new Tora Bora?)

The ever-predictable and excitable Evening Standard came up with a typically reassuring and measured front page yesterday. Don't get me wrong: I'm not belittling anything about the operation, the threat or the measures at Heathrow but every single time it's such a fear-ridden, doom-laden, paranoia-spreading media opportunity: an almost American style response.

That said, when I was in New York the other week there wasn't the element of suspicion, of panic, of drama I was dreading. Yes, security was tighter than when I was there 6 years ago but I found New Yorkers, well, fairly relaxed and reflective. I didn't get a chance to check whether this Que Será, Será had extended to the media or to middle America but I have my doubts.

As for the UK watch this space for more attacks on the British public in the skies, on the tube and in the Palace of Westminster. When is the terror holding without trial legislation up for renewal?...

One final, related point: work has been on-the-ball in its internal communications advising of any specific threat to company operations and what the latest travel restrictions are. This morning a communicae said that 'the national security situation remains fluid at the moment'; an unfortunate turn of phrase I thought.

Blogger from America

I'm off to visit the second greatest city in the world (although beloved HK is a strong contender) tomorrow so no updates here for a little while. However, slack time and wifi hotspots permitting, there may be one or two here.

Shame

Probably only right after the last post to make mention of yesterday's announcement that no one would be charged with the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes in the wake of last year's tube and bus bombings.

When I originally blogged the incident I was almost in awe of the response, how un-British, safe in the assumption that this really was a thwarted attempt at a suicide bombing. The truth slowly emerged... even making it to the desk of the Met Police Commissioner... eventually.

Maybe it's right that no one person has been singled out for blame however hard this may be on the de Menezes family, maybe not. What a monumental and tragic cock-up though: how does such a break down in operational procedures and communication happen? In the heat of the moment, in the aftermath of a terror attack I suppose. But not only is that no excuse, how very un-British.

Silence on Oxford Street

It didn't actually feel strange travelling into or being in central London today, one year on. Hope that's a good, positive state of mind.

In fact you wouldn't have known that it was anything other than an ordinary day unless you'd been near one of the memorial sites or until midday when a seemingly universally respected two minute silence started.

Starbucks baristas left their coffee machines, passing pedestrians stopped in their tracks and the traffic down Oxford Street ground to a halt. It was as though someone had pulled the plug on London and things just stopped.

A growl of diesel engines and a smattering of polite applause signalled the end and life simply returned to normal.

Radio 2.0

A little Podcasting 101 for those of you who have only just got to grips with blogging...

Podcasting has been called the hottest thing in radio, a revolution, the future: basically think of a podcast as a radio show that has been recorded onto an electronic file, just like a music mp3 file.

As with all radio shows you may have an episode every day, every week or every month. The clever bit is the way this content reaches you: you don't have to look up the time of the show in the Radio Times, then stop what you're doing or where you're going to catch the show. No, just 'subscribe' to the show from your computer and when there's a new episode it's downloaded automatically. If you happen to have something like an iPod connected to your computer (hence the 'pod' bit), it'll be transferred to that for you to listen to at your leisure.

(By the way, the podcast links will try to open iTunes as the method for subscribing and listening to the relevant podcasts. Although there are other applications to do this, and most podcasts have their own webpages, in my view this is the easiest way to get at them.)

What has this got to do with London Lines?

Well I've been looking for a really good London podcast, an audio version of Time Out (why haven't they done this yet?), the Evening Standard and BBC London News all rolled into one. The closest I can find are The Definitive London Podcast but it seems to have only been definitive until Episode 18 in January and PodLondon also coming to an end in January - that old blogging and now podcasting curse of waning interest or money after an initial flurry.

I've half thought of doing my own London Lines podcast: this is the broadcasting revolution that anyone with a Mac (or, I grudgingly suppose a PC) can take advantage of after all. Not sure I have the time or the world is ready for my silky smooth Late Night Love Affair tones. Until I find that definitive (and current) London podcast, or until I do my own, here's a few others I'm subscribed to:

• London What's On: almost there, focusing on the Time Out aspect
• Discover London: a bit more official and formal, but promising from Ken and the glass testicle gang;
  
• London Walks: haven't tried one of these yet but an inspired use for your iPod and a Sunday afternoon;
• Virgin Atlantic London: limited set of episodes but good for travelling outsiders wanting to become insiders;
• The London Village Show: only just found this tonight: will get back to you....

If you find any other London ones, drop a note on the comments. I'll try and do a piece on non-London podcasts piece with some favourites on paulcampy.com soon.

Crossroads

With paulcampy.com up and running I'm not sure what to do with my myriad of blogging options set against my seemingly minimal blogging opportunities.

Shall I keep an rather infrequently updated London Lines (et al) or roll things into one single unthemed blog?

Answers on the back of a £50 note.