London news
2012 Olympic mascots
May 21st
You’ve heard about the 2012 mascots on Smoke Radio news, now check out the pictures!
The mascots will represent the London games and will be all over the capital in the summer of 2012.
We reckon Wenlock and Mandeville are dead cute … what do you think?!
Wenlock – Source: lbc.co.uk
Mandeville – Source: lbc.co.uk
Police cuts in London
Feb 10th
Funding for the Metropolitan Police is to be cut in 2010-2011.
London mayor Boris Johnson has announced that just 16 million pounds of council tax money will be spent on policing the capital, 2.48% less than last year. The number of police officers will also be reduced by 455 in the coming three years. This seems to contradict the current advert below that is currently running on our television screens informing us that there will be more police officers on the streets.
Although the mayor is claiming the cuts won’t have a detrimental consequences for our city, it is hard to see how such a cut cannot have a negative influence. As students we are famed for not leaving clubs and pubs until the early hours and we want to feel safe when doing so. How do you think the cuts will affect London? Let us know!
St. Luke’s abseil in Harrow
Feb 8th
Fancy abseiling down a hospital for charity?! Then read on …
St. Luke’s Hospice in Harrow are doing a charity abseil down Northwick Park hospital this weekend and are looking for people to get involved. So for those thrill seekers living around the Harrow campus, this is for you!
St. Luke’s provide a free of charge care service for those suffering with a terminal illness who are nearing the end of their life. The hospice not only provides care and support for the patient, but also emotional support for the family and friend, taking away the huge burden of caring for a terminally ill family member.
The hospice is not part of the NHS and relies solely on charitable donations.
If you might be interested you can find the application form here or log onto the St. Luke’s website for more information about what they do and how you can help and get involved.
I-D cards hit London
Jan 25th
I-D cards will be available for all young people aged 16-24 in London from 8 February.
source: bbc.co.uk/news
The national I-D cards which are already being tried out in Manchester will be available for young people next month but everyone else will have to wait until 2012. The card will cost £30 and could be used as proof of age when buying alcohol, cigarettes and when going into a club. It would also replace a passport when traveling around Europe.
Although there has been much controversy around the introduction of the I-D card and the ‘Big Brother’ society it creates, it is a lot more convenient than carrying around a passport which currently costs £77 to replace should you lose it. And, let’s face it, students losing their passports on a night out isn’t unheard of.
However, many MPs are still claiming the whole scheme is ‘pointless.’
Shoppers descend on traffic free West End
Dec 7th
Source: Daily Mail
Around two million shoppers hit Oxford Street, Regent Street and everywhere in between at the weekend as the roads were closed off to traffic.
Eager to get as many Christmas presents as possible, shoppers took advantage of the empty roads and filled them. Approximately three miles of London’s West End was closed off to all traffic between the hours of 12 and 9.
Shops in Oxford Street and Regent Street had to call in extra staff to deal with the influx of customers. It was not just the shops that provided shoppers with what they were looking for. Live street entertainment provided a much needed relief for those that wanted to escape the busy shops.
Billed the busiest shopping day in London, big stores were competing for trade with top names like Debenhams, John Lewis Selfridges, House of Fraser and student friendly Primark offering discounts to tempt shoppers.
The day was called Very Important Pedestrian day (VIP) and the tills were ringing. Some of the best sellers on the day included Jasper Conran handbags from Debenhams and Selfridges outperformed on sales in comparison with last year.
Source: purseblog.com
The credit crunch had no impact on how much shoppers were spending, designer goods such as Mulberry and Louis Vuitton were among the most popular choices.
The amount of money that passed through the tills on Saturday is estimated at around £200 million.
Online Shopping
Today is also the busiest day for online Christmas shopping. Although figures have not yet been released, shoppers spent £370 million at the click of a button last year. The peak for online shopping today came at 1:43 pm. At this time a staggering £1.4 million was spent.
Although many people choose to shop online, it is not as popular as walking down the high street!
What do you prefer? Do you do your Christmas shopping online or do you prefer to look at things before you buy?
More disruption on the Jubilee Line
Dec 7th
Source: ktransit.com
The Jubilee Line could be closed for a maximum of 28 weeks longer than expected next year in order to complete the necessary improvement works. Tube Lines that run the engineering works announced the extension today.
The line that stretches from Stanmore to Stratford has been closed during the weekends since 2007 and the upgrade work has already taken longer than first expected.
Millions of passengers will now face more disruption and be forced to use other lines and replacement bus services when commuting. A spokesperson from Tube Lines said that the closures were unavoidable but the end result would be a huge benefit to passengers.
London Underground is not happy with the extension and London Mayor Boris Johnson has written a formal letter to Tube Lines asking for a response to the latest news.
Fire in South London
Nov 26th
A fire has caused havoc in Peckham in South East London.
The fire broke out at a construction site this morning and quickly spread to the neighbouring houses and a local pub, though the cause of the fire is currently unknown.
310 people have been forced to leave their homes for safety reasons. Although nobody was killed, ten people are being treated in hospital for minor injuries. Two of the casualties were policemen who were at the scene. They are being treated for the effects on smoke inhalation.
Local people are currently being housed at a local rest centre where people have been donating clothing, food and toys. The local council are hoping that many of the residents will be able to return to their homes by Thursday evening.
Do you live in the South London area? Have you been affected by the fire? Get in touch with Smoke Radio and let us know your story.
Heathrow’s terminal two closes today
Nov 23rd
Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport is to close today after 54 years.
The terminal, which has seen 316 million passengers pass through it since it opened will make way for a £1 billion replacement. Work is expected to start on the new terminal in 2010. BAA Chief Executive Colin Matthews said that both the closure and redevelopment is “an important moment in Heathrow’s history.”
The new terminal aims to provide a more enjoyable experience for passengers with a much lesser impact on the environment. 7.5 million passengers used the terminal last year.
The new development is expected to be ready in 2014.
Thousands turn out for the Lord Mayor’s Show…and get wet.
Nov 16th
Thousands of people poured out onto the streets of the City of London on Saturday morning for the Lord Mayor’s Show.
The Lord Mayor's carriage. Source: UK Student Life
The show, now in its 682nd year was not largely affected by the typical November weather. Heavy rain showers swept across London but this did not put a dampener on the occasion. The annual parade that set off from Mansion House stretched for over three miles. The pavements, as well as the grandstands outside of St. Pauls Cathederal were full of people from all over the world who wanted to get a glimpse of the Lord Mayor’s golden carriage. Looking down the streets and across the grandstands there were numerous umbrellas, many people were also wearing ponchos in an attempt to stay dry. The procession was also broadcast live on the BBC.
Businesses from around the Capital took part in the parade. A fly-past from the RAF was scheduled at 11:00 but the adverse weather conditions meant that it could not happen. All in all the parade from start to finish lasted an hour but the long route around the City meant that the show altogether lasted around three hours.
The evening was set aside for a fireworks display from a boat on the River Thames. Unfortunately the high winds meant that these, like the fly-past were also cancelled, much to the disappointment of many. Traffic around the City was also completely cut off with roads closed to make way for the procession and the Tubes were busier than normal so if you experienced delays and busy tubes, particularly on the Central, District and Circle lines you now know why.
The Lord Mayor, Alderman Nick Anstee was elected on 29 September 2009.
R.I.P London Lite but there are not enough Standards.
Nov 13th
The London Paper and London Lite have ceased publication but The Evening Standard continues. Source: Flickr
The final edition of London Lite has been published and distributed throughout the streets of the Capital tonight.
The free newspaper was launched in 2006 to compete with The London Paper. This title has since folded and the Lite was left to compete with The Evening Standard which became free in September. In terms of circulation, in September the Lite got into the hands of around 400,000 people every day, the Standard now reaches 600,000.
The disappearance of London Lite now means that the only free newspaper handed out in the Capital during the evening is The Evening Standard. However it has been claimed today that after scrapping the 50 pence charge, the Standard is now much harder to get hold of, particularly in the suburbs.
Copies of The Evening Standard run out very quickly in Central London but many newsagents further out in places like Harrow and Palmers Green are losing customers because they no longer have the Standard on their shelves. People who live in the suburbs are also angered that they cannot read the paper they use to read every evening without venturing into Central London.
So now the Lite has folded, do you think that The Evening Standard will continue to thrive, or are more people getting their news from other sources such as news corporation websites and blogs? Smoke Radio would like to know.
