27/04/05
Traffic-Jam Moves Against Congestion Charge
- Campaigners want to scupper plans for westward shift of payment zone

MOTORISTS are today disrupting traffic in west London in protest at the planned extension of the Congestion Charge.

Campaigners say at least a hundred cars will take part in the traffic snarl protest, which will move very slowly from Holland Park to central London.

Mayor Ken Livingstone aims to extend the current central London Congestion Charge westwards, but has faced opposition from campaigners such as the West London Residents Association, who dub the plan a "crazy scheme".

Local Tory MP Sir Malcolm Rifkind backs the aims of the protestors and hopes to wave the today's convoy on its merry way. "[The Congestion Charge] will go straight down the middle of Earl's Court Road, dividing the community," he said. "Mums dropping children at school will have to pay."

26/04/05
Vote for the Cuddle Party
- Random Huggers Day hopes to cure election fever

PEOPLE suffering under the intense heat of the election campaign will be offered solace in the arms of a team of huggers next week.

"Amid the political rhetoric, there will be groups of people offering a moment of peaceful sanity in London," said Mayella Johnstone, the organiser of Random Huggers Day. "Although some people are reticent to be hugged at first, they soon get the idea and find it really refreshing."

Johnstone and her 30-strong team of trained cuddlers will patrol Covent Garden and the South Bank on the 1st of May on the lookout for victims. At last year's event, 3,000 clinches were dished out, a figure likely to be beaten this time around due to election strife.

25/04/05
Liberation for the Prisoners of Pub TV
- New device launched in time for TV Turn-Off week

ANTI-TV campaigners plan to use a new device to turn off televisions they find in public places.

The new zapper, TV-B-Gone, can turn off all TVs within a 12 metre radius and is the brain child of Mitch Altman, who launched his anti-TV campaign ten years ago in the USA.

Today is the first day of what activists are calling TV-Turnoff Week. The idea is that campaigners find pubs and bars with TVs and disable them temporarily to make people think about their TV use. TVs placed in public are a particular concern of campaigners as people have little choice whether to glance at them or not.

"We're offering people the chance of liberation," said David Burke, the leader of White Dot, the British section of what has now become a world wide movement.

22/04/05
Email Dumbs Us Down
- Message mania causes brain damage, says London university

SEVERE brain strain is the inevitable result of answering emails, a London university has found after conducting scientific tests on over a thousand people.

"This is a very real and widespread phenomenon," said Glenn Wilson one of the team of psychiatrists from from King's College, which investigated the effects of email use over the course of a day.

The team reckons people who make it their daily task to answer loads of emails suffer a loss in their IQ equivalent to 10 per cent. In comparison, smoking dope lowers IQ by just four per cent.

It should be noted that this phenomenon is not said to be caused by the often inane content of so many messages, but rather the constant and undisciplined use of the brain as it is forced to respond to many and varied requests, resulting in tiredness.

21/04/05
Galaxy of Stars at Hitchhiker Premiere
- Freeman praises 'Britishness' of new movie

THE OFFICE's Martin Freeman was among the stars who turned up at Leicester Square last night for the premiere of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Freeman, who played Tim in The Office, stars in the film as Arthur Dent, another likeable character caught up in a bizarre world, though this time his colleagues include talking computers and aliens rather than office twerps.

"I suppose it's quite a British thing. It didn't feel like a big Hollywood film and I mean that in a good way," Freeman said of the movie which is released on the 28th of April.

Written by Douglas Adams, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was originally a radio series, then a book and later a successful TV series, in the 1980s. Other stars at the premiere included Stephen Fry, who does the voice of the computer Guide, Bill Nighy and Sam Rockwell.

20/04/05
London Feels Star Wars Force
- World's first showing for all six films to be at Leicester Square.

LONDON Star Wars fans are to be the first in the world to see all six films in the series back-to-back.

The sixth Star Wars movie - Revenge Of The Sith - makes its premiere on the 19th of May. In the days leading up to what promises to be a star-studded event, the UCI cinema on Leicester Square is screening the first five films in the cycle.

All this means that although the world premiere of Revenge Of The Sith goes ahead at the Cannes film festival early next month, the premiere of the whole series is London-bound.

Only 1,000 tickets will be available, costing UKP50 each. The tickets go on sale on the Monday, the 25th of April. The first Star Wars film is to be screened at 7am on the 16th of May.

19/04/05
London Offers Olympic Athletes Financial Package
- UKP20 million on the table, but not if games go to Paris

LONDON looks to have stolen a march on Paris, its chief rival for the 2012 Olympics, by offering to help fund the costs of competing for athletes.

Free flights, accommodation for family members, free pre-game training facilities and free phone calls are among the benefits available to athletes and administrators in the UKP20 million package.

"This is designed to enhance the Olympic sporting and cultural experience for athletes and team officials," said Lord Coe. "We are eliminating the financial burden so that athletes and teams can concentrate on performance and developing their sports."

Paris, the rumoured front-runner in the bidding process, appears to have been left on the back foot by Coe's plan. "It is not our idea to do anything similar," said Philippe Baudillon, boss the Paris bid.

18/04/05
Schools Out to Back Bikes
- New Tv ads bolster Transport for London cycling campaign

SCHOOL KIDS are to be among the prime targets for Transport for London's (TfL) cycling campaign, which is relaunched today.

Not so many years ago, bikes were about the most common method for children to get to school, but busier roads and lifts from parents changed things until recently when a greater take-up of cycling has been delivered.

TfL is also targeting businesses and families in its campaign, which is to be bolstered by a new series of TV ads.

"Cycling is a great way to enjoy the parks and get a fresh view of London, particularly now that facilities are improving and there are many more cyclists around," said Rose Ades of the Cycling Centre of Excellence.

15/04/05
Marathon Races to 25th Anniversary
- 33,000 runners plus 500,000 spectators expected for London's big day out

THE LONDON Marathon celebrates its 25th anniversary this Sunday as 33,000 runners take on the historic 26.2 mile course that moves from Tower Bridge via views of Greenwich to Buckingham Palace.

The first event back in 1981 featured some 7,000 runners, but grew quickly to its current mammoth size. In all those years, nearly a quarter of a million pounds has been raised for charity by competitors through sponsorship.

It's not just a day for the runners, however. About half a million people are once again expected to line the route, creating something of a carnival atmosphere. The most popular places for onlookers have historically been the start and end points, but over the years people have cottoned on to the fact that less crowds equal better views, which translates into finding spot on the Isle of Dogs.

14/04/05
Ban Bullies, Elect Rooney
- Kids make their case for revolutionary change

BULLIES and bad school dinners are top of the issues list for the nation's 9-13 year-olds as far as the General Election goes, a survey by Cartoon Network has revealed.

The man to rid Britain of these twin curses, with 15 per cent of the vote, is Wayne Rooney, the England footballer who has a history of taking on night-club aggressors and who looks like he knows his way around a hearty meal.

Sound logic, which is unfortunately spoiled by the second choice for the ideal Prime Minister of the 1,000 children surveyed - Harry Potter, who notched 13 per cent. He's a fictional character, kids, though no less real than some of the promises from adult politicians, it might be argued.

13/04/05
South Bank Beach Scheme Unveiled
- Sand and outdoor cinema lined up for this summer

THE SOUTH BANK could get a beach this summer if plans get the go-ahead from Lambeth Council.

With the Royal Festival Hall closed for refurbishment from July, local businesses are concerned about a lack of trade, a deficit the beach is designed to plug.

"The idea is to have people enjoying the beach, a bit like similar versions in Paris and Berlin," said a South Bank Centre spokesperson. "From dawn to dusk there would be a water feature, bar and cafe. There will be a barbecue each evening and they will be showing films."

Meanwhile, the fund for the refurbishment of the Festival Hall received a boost with news that Shell are to donate UKP1 million, bringing up to UKP81 million the money raised so far towards a final target of UKP91 million.

12/04/05
Want a Foreign Holiday? Give Us Your Fingerprints
- Government confirms compulsory scheme for new passports

BRITISH passports containing fingerprints will be compulsory from next year, the government has confirmed.

From 2006, all new passport applicants will have to show up at newly built application centres to have their fingers inked and in following years, everyone renewing their passports will be forced to do likewise.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke has reportedly agreed to splash out nearly UKP500 million in tax payers money for the scheme, which includes a massive building programme to increase the number of passport offices from 7 to 70.

It is thought the passport offices are likely to become identity card centres, which is a blow to campaigners against identity cards who believed they had seen off their 1984-style fears at least until into the next parliament.

11/04/05
Tories Boast Hope-List
- Howard pumps five-angle pledge for Britain

MICHAEL HOWARD today unveiled a political manifesto for the Conservative party - the first of any political party to do so.

In the 29-page brochure, Conservatives touted five promises for the British people: "More police, cleaner hospitals, lower taxes, school discipline and controlled immigration."

He insisted that the policies were more "in tune with the longings of British people". People who, said Howard, "often feel forgotten and ignored."

A vote for the Labour party, according to Howard, is "a vote for higher taxes, more immigration and softer sentences for murderers and rapists."

Still, Tony Blair dismissed the manifesto as a "fraudulent prospectus", and pointed to Labour's upcoming manifesto launch, on Wednesday, where Labour is said to tackle education.

11/04/05
Stones Roll Into New Wembley
- 2006 appearance could be legendary group's last

THE Rolling Stones are to be the first rock act to play at the new Wembley Stadium, it has been revealed.

The concert is pencilled in for the summer of 2006, not long after the 80,000 capacity stadium's opening and right at the end of the Stones' world tour which begins in Boston, USA, this summer.

Like plenty of other Stones' world tours, this one is being billed as the group's last. If that prophecy comes true - and the band do feature two 60-plus year-olds - the Wembley gig would be a neat way to end a legendary live career which began in London 43 years ago.

08/04/05
The Royal Confession
- Camilla and Charles to acknowledge their sins at the royal wedding tomorrow

DRAMA unfolds in tomorrows wedding, in the form of a 17th century prayer.

"We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness," is part of the statement that is to be said by Charles and Camilla during their blessing ceremony at St. George's Chapel.

The wedding has already had its host of drama, including a date-swap which caused planning chaos and the rescheduling of about 800 guests.

The blessing at St. George's Chapel will be preceded by a civil ceremony in Windsor Guildhall, with Joan Rivers, Sting, and Timothy West among the guests. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will attend the blessing, but have refused to attend the civil ceremony, on grounds of conflict with the Church of England.

07/04/05
Parliament's Last Push
- MP's duke it out as election closure

THE LAST push in reforms comes underway today as Parliament scurries to finish before closure, on Monday.

A whopping 11 of the 27 Bills are predicted to be lost, according to Commons leader Peter Hain, including the controversial ID cards scheme. The Gambling Bill is also expected to be scrapped, unless major changes are made: MP's have toyed with foregoing the original eight planned casinos for one large 'super-casino'.

At the other end of the list, the controversial Mental Capacity Bill, which includes legislation on euthanasia, was pushed through on Tuesday night.

With the rush of the royal wedding and the election, Hain admitted that pushing through even 16 of the remaining Bills would be a "considerable achievement."

5/04/05
Set for May vote
- Blair announces general election


TONY BLAIR announced the 5th May general election from the steps of Downing Street, late this morning. The announcement came after a string of meetings, including a formal plea for the Queen to dissolve parlaiment.

Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, along with Labours, have pre-empted the election decision by nationwide tours, over the last month. Some polls suggest that Labour's lead has diminished to about 5% from the Tories, although the Lib Dems are still lagging steadily behind.

Parlaiment is scheduled to be dissolved on Monday, although much of the work is expected to finish on Thursday.

Campaigning will be suspended for Prince Charles' wedding, on Saturday.

4/04/05
London mourns the death of John Paul II
- The capital pays tribute to the pope


WESTMINSTER Cathedral's doors were open all night on Saturday, mourning the death of Pope John Paul II, who died Saturday night after two months of poor health.

Books of Condolence were filled with Londoners' signatures, and mourners filtered in all weekend, celebrating a Mass of Requiem on Sunday mourning. Cardinal Cormac Murphy O Connor, leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England, paid his tribute to the Pope from the cathedral steps. "He was one of the greatest leaders of our modern world - he was an extraordinary man," he said.

Also in London, Prime Minister Tony Blair offered his condolences to the Roman Catholic Church and its worshippers. "He was an inspiration, a man of extraordinary faith, dignity and courage," he said.

More than two million people are expected to flock to the Vatican for the funeral, and although hostels and hotels are already full, makeshift camps are being set up in parks and sports grounds. The funeral is expected later this week, either Thursday or Friday, but the date and time will likely not be announced until late Monday afternoon.

1/04/05
Charles gives press the word
- Swiss ski trip brings out the mouth of royals

Prince Charles, Harry and William gave a quiet earful to the press, yesterday, at a customary photocall during on their annual spring ski trip to Switzerland. Usually used as a concession to have peace from the press on the slopes, Charles was caught on tape muttering about the photographers and BBC Reporter Nicholas Witchell.

After being asked by Witchell about next Friday's wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles, Charles was gave a short answer and then was heard saying to his sons: "Bloody people. I can't bear that man. He is so awful, he really is."

Witchell, who took up post as the BBC's royal correspondent in 1997, said that although he was "generally accustomed" to what he called "ignoble mud-slinging" from the royals whom he covers, he said he was particularly incensed in this particular incident by what he labeled "Charles's egregious disregard for decorum, chivalry and the common laws by which gentlemen are governed". Witchell claims these charges spurred his consequent challenge of Prince Charles to a duel.

The prince has accepted Witchell's challenge, although in a statement earlier today he claimed to be "taken aback" and "humoured" by what he called "Witchell's quaint, antiquated little proposal". Witchell struck back in rebuttal, calling Charles a "dastardly yellowbellied rogue" and, in an unconvential move, appointed American hip-hop star Fifty Cent to be his second in the impending duel.

The challenge is not the first in Witchell's career. In 1999, after inquiring as to the queen's actual age during her annual Trooping the Colour Parade and recieving no response, he removed his driving gloves and mounted a park bench at Buckingham Palace, calling Her Royal Highness "an impertinent wretch," and arguing for a duel. He was later removed by palace guards. Then, in 2002, while waiting for a comment from Prince William at his rugby match, Witchell was seen in cape and costume mask, arguing for the "timely application of gentlemanly conflict resolution."

Betting offices are offering three to one odds on Charlies, considering his stature over the five foot three Witchell, although many consider Witchell to be a dark horse.

April fools, dear readers, from your friends at LondonNet...

31/03/05
School Kids' Food for the Eyes
- Art panel target next generation

THEY'RE about to have their beloved twizzlers and chips taken away, but if the nation's kids thought that was it for moral instruction for a while they are mistaken - leading arts managers are hoping to force school children into art galleries.

The plan to make kids troop through galleries on school trips is just one of several likely 'manifesto' points dreamed up by a panel of the great and the good of the art world in time for the general election, set for next month.

"There's always been this emphasis on the three Rs," said Bill Woodrow, an artist who has had his work displayed on the spare plinth on Trafalgar Square. "But there should be four and the last one is art. It's never had that recognition."

Other big names on the arts panel include Sandy Nairne, director of the National Portrait Gallery, Alice Rawsthorn, director of the Design Museum and Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate.

Other measures likely to be lobbied for by the panel are extended opening hours for galleries and more investment in regional galleries.

30/03/05
Monorail Planned for Oxford Street
- Train envisaged to run above shoppers

A MILE-LONG monorail is the latest scheme brought forward to try to improve Oxford Street, central London's major shopping area, but also one its most congested.

"The thing that will change Oxford Street is the monorail," said Ian Wilder of Westminster Council, one of the proponents of the plan. "The monorail is a lot cheaper than a tram. It doesn't rule out doing other things and having vehicles underneath such as taxis."

Like the previous tram plan mentioned by Wilder, the monorail would run the length of Oxford Street, relieving pedestrian congestion. Unlike the tram, monorail's 15 metre height would, say its supporters, leave more opportunities for redesigning the street.

The monorail plan is backed by famous architect Lord Rogers, an adviser to the mayor of London Ken Livingstone. "It would leave a wonderful public space below," said Rogers.

29/03/05
Late Tubes Fly Into Trouble
- Mayor's plan opposed by airport duo

AIRPORT-BASED companies likely to be adversely affected by mayor Ken Livingstone's scheme to run Tube trains later on weekends have put on record their objections.

The pay-off for trains that run later at night is to be trains that run later the next morning, which means a shift from 5.30am to 6.30am on Saturday and 7am to 8am on Sunday.

Some 60,000 people are reckoned to use the Tube early on Saturday and Sunday mornings, most of them to get to work and many of those to get to work at Heathrow airport.

British Airways called the plan "unfortunate," while the British Airport Authority said it was concerned about the "impact on both passengers and staff."

Such heavyweight opposition could derail the late-running idea during its present consultation period, though there may be a compromise hatched with the Piccadilly line, which serves Heathrow, having different opening hours to other lines.

24/03/05
MI5 Seeks Babysitters
- Managers of young spooks wanted at secret service

MI5 is on the look out for managers to control the battalions of new spies recruited last year.

The "varied and stimulating" jobs have been advertised in national newspapers and on the internet under the slogan "see all of your best work go unnoticed."

Last year Britain's secret service began recruitment of at least a thousand new spooks, most of whom are believed to be young university graduates.It is felt these young whipper-snappers need the firm hand of control, possibly a bit like M and Q in James Bond.

A warning for readers thinking of applying for one of the management jobs at MI5 - don't go blabbing. "Please do not even discuss your application with anyone other than your partner and/or immediate family," as MI5 puts it.

23/03/05
Tube Network Goes Mobile
- Phone transmitters to be installed in stations first

TUBE travellers will be able to use mobile phones on the London Underground network within three years, mayor Ken Livingstone has announced.

"We know that many Londoners would like the convenience of being able to use their mobile phones at Tube stations throughout the Underground network," Livingstone said.

The first step in Livingstone's plan is to have transmitters in station concourses by 2008, with connections to tunnels and trains arriving at an unspecified later date.

Some politicians fear mobile phones could be used by terrorists to set off bombs by remote control, but London Underground denied the security risk would be increased.

"We have robust procedures in place for dealing with unattended items on trains and stations," said a London Underground spokesperson.

22/03/05
Government Admits Camilla Will Be Queen
- Government Admits Camilla Will Be Queen

CAMILLA Parker Bowles is to assume the title 'Queen' after she marries Prince Charles and after he has become King, the government has confirmed. Previously, the royal family has said Camilla would go under the name 'Princess Consort', but the vagaries of constitutional legal precedent appears to make this unlikely.

"The royals knew she would become Queen, but they wanted people to think she wouldn't. Now the truth is out," said Andrew Mackinlay, the Labour MP whose question in parliament drew the government into admitting the labelling rules.

It seems it would require changes in the law of all 17 countries over which the British royal family holds constitutional monarchy status for her to be able to reject the title 'Queen', an eventuality deemed extremely unlikely. Although polls suggest the public is broadly in favour of Charles marrying Camilla, the royal family is thought to be worried that making Charles's long-time lover Queen would prove unpopular.

Meltdown Made for Patti Smith
- Singer favours festival that will challenge 'material times'

PATTI SMITH is the artistic director of this year's Meltdown Festival, held on London's South Bank in June.

In recent years, Meltdown has carried the artistic director signature of leading rockers such as Nick Cave, David Bowie and Morrissey, each charged with bringing together performers and artists from a range of disciplines, from music and poetry to art and movies.

In those terms, Smith appears a good bet. "I never think in terms of labels," said the singer best known for the legendary album Horse. "I just see rock as a raw art form that belongs to the people, but has possibilities of merging with poetry, politics, the spiritual and the revolutionary."

18/03/05
Come Together for Abbey Road Festival - Famous studio opens its doors for the first time for film treats

ABBEY ROAD studios, most famous as the place where The Beatles made their album of the same name, opens its doors for visitors for the first time ever this weekend.

The reason for the opening up is the Abbey Road Film Festival which runs from this Saturday, the 19th of March until the 3rd of April. Over 150 films have had their music scored at the famous studios and selections from that prodigious list form the programme for the festival.

First up is Raiders of the Lost Ark, which was the first movie scored at Abbey Road in 1981. Other highlights include screenings of all three Lord of the Rings films, The Talented Mr Ripley and A Hard days Night, which brings us back to The Beatles.

Click here for more info...

17/03/05
Queen Mother Memorial for The Mall - Brown supplies cash for statue

THE MALL is to get a new monument, Chancellor Gordon Brown announced in his budget yesterday.

The monument will be in the form of a statue of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who died three years ago, aged 101. "It is right to honour the life and service of the Queen Mother with a permanent memorial to her," Brown told Parliament yesterday. The Chancellor is to supply the necessary UKP2 million for the statue from public funds.

The Queen Mother was one of the most popular royal personages of all time and, for many, represented the kind of reserved determination associated with a certain kind of Britishness.

Huge crowds turned up for her funeral and it is expected many will visit the statue which is likely to be designed and built within the next two years.

16/03/05
Official Papers Show Diana's Car Was Switched
- Conspiracy theories boosted by memo

NEWLY released government papers have confirmed that Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed switched cars at the last minute before their fatal crash in 1997.

The car-switch theory has been one put up by some conspiracy theorists, who feel the first car may have been deliberately put out of action and the second car tampered with, causing the high speed crash in a Paris road tunnel.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, a memo addressed to Prime Minister Tony Blair, sent within hours of Diana's death, has been released, though its author remains a mystery.

The memo reads: "The Princess and Dodi Al Fayed arrived at the Paris Ritz yesterday afternoon. When they left the hotel late last night they were surrounded by a number of journalists. They tried to leave quickly but the first hire car failed to start. The second car then left the hotel at speed."

To confuse the issue, a later memo sent by then British ambassador to France Sir Michael Jay, says Diana and Dodi switched cars to avoid the press, not through any breakdown.

There is an ongoing official investigation into Diana's death led by the former chief of the Metropolitan Police.

15/03/05
Black Cabs to Get TVs
- News, comedy, sport and music promised for passengers

LONDON'S black cabs will feature TVs from next month after a new company called Cabvision agreed to pay each driver UKP750 a year for the privilege of installing its equipment.

Passengers will be able to choose from news, comedy, sport and music channels, with adverts providing revenue for Cabvision.

From April, Cabvision plans to install its TVs in 1,000 black cabs in its first year of operation and hopes to have done the same for a further 3,000 within three years.

Alternatively, passengers will still be able to ignore the TVs and enjoy the traditional well-informed political views of cab drivers.

14/03/05
Peter Pan Given New Life By Hospital
- Great Ormond Street chooses award-winning author to write sequel

GREAT ORMOND STREET Hospital, recently in the news for its financial problems, has chosen award-winning children's author Geraldine McCaughrean as its future money-spinner.

McCaughrean is to write the official sequel to Peter Pan, the rights to which were left to the famous children's hospital by its author JM Barrie. Over the years since Barrie's death in 1937, Great Ormond Street (GOS) has earned millions of pounds for its pioneering work on a range of children's medical conditions.

However, a large chunk of that money has come in the way of earnings from the many films made on the Peter Pan theme and most of those films have been made in the US, under whose laws GOS's rights will run out in 2023. GOS hopes the sequel will replace the future lost revenue from the lost boys' story. McCaughrean, winner of the Whitbread Award with Not the End of the World, won a competition to write the new story in the face of stiff competition from a hundred other authors.

"I want the Peter Pan story to have a theme of exploration," said McCaughrean. "I haven't got much further than that yet, but I have given myself until the end of the year to finish it."

In the sample shown to judges, the first line of the sequel is, "I am not going to bed."

11/03/05
St. Patrick's Parade Goes Straight to Trafalgar Square
- Plenty of other London venues ensure it has no monopoly on the festivities

TRAFALGAR SQUARE hosts the main St. Patrick's Day celebrations in London this year.

On Sunday the 13th, the square marks the end point of the St. Patrick's Day parade, featuring bands and floats that kick off their march from Hyde Park Corner and move through Piccadilly and Regent Street.

"I want to see London's St Patrick Day celebrations to grow each year to stand alongside those seen in cities like New York, Boston and Chicago," said London Mayor Ken Livingstone, who has come under much flak for his promotion of the Irish event.

Critics point to the relative neglect of English patron saint, St. George's Day, but the Mayor has moved some way to accommodate such concerns and can point, in any case, to the 400,000 people of Irish descent who live in London.

St. Patrick's Day itself is on the 17th of March and events are scheduled to go ahead all the way from Saturday the 12th through to that date, with sound stages at both Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden featuring a variety of Irish singers and dancers.

Click here for more info...

10/03/05
Midnight Hour for New Gameboy
- DS launches tonight, ahead of rival from Sony

GAME fans will be queuing up outside shops in London tonight, ready for the midnight UK launch of the Nintendo DS, the latest in the Gameboy series of handhelds.

"We know that customers want it as soon as it's released - and that means the minute, not the day," said Robert Quinn, of Game, the biggest chain of computer game stores in the UK. "We're working round the clock so that our customers will be the first to play the DS."

In fact, quite a few DS's have sneaked their way into London well before today, thanks to the product's 2004 launch in Japan and the blessings of shopping over the internet.

The main selling point for the DS is its dual screen (hence the name), one of which is a touch screen allowing for the development of a different kind of gaming.

But Nintendo, until now massively dominant in the handheld gaming market, faces a fierce competitor in the shape of Sony's PlayStation Portable, or PSP, a more powerful console which is due out in the UK in the next few months.

In Japan, where both machines were unleashed last autumn, the PSP has so far outsold the DS, despite retailing for nearly double the price. In the UK, those prices are about UKP100 for the DS and and a predicted UKP170 for the PSP.

09/03/05
Travolta Drops Diana Hint
- Star plans to reveal all in forthcoming book

DID HE or didn't he? That's the question on everyone's lips after John Travolta dropped hints about his relationship with Princess Diana.

Travolta, in London for the premiere of Be Cool, was talking about his forthcoming autobiography when he said: "It will include a lot of things I've never discussed with anybody. I guess for readers in England the most interesting thing is going to be the stuff about Princess Diana."

That Travolta and Diana enjoyed a strong friendship is common knowledge, but the full extent of that friendship is still unclear.

Be Cool is the sequel Get Shorty and goes on general release on the 1st of April.

08/03/05
Five Years High and Rising
- Champagne reception for London Eye birthday

SOME 18 million visitors after its launch in 2000, the London Eye celebrates its fifth birthday today.

Now one of London's most famous tourist attractions, the Eye was originally planned as a temporary ride and would be closing for business this year if officialdom hadn't seen sense and guaranteed its existence until at least 2027.

To commemorate the occasion, visitors today are being offered a glass of champagne (or orange juice), marking "the beginning of a new phase for the London Eye which will grace the capital's skyline for years to come," as a London Eye spokesperson puts it.

Click here for info & tickets...

07/03/05
Londoners 'Want 4x4 Tax'
- Survey reveals strong support for punitive charge

THE IDEA of slapping a big Congestion Charge on 4x4 cars is backed by 80 per cent of Londoners, according to a poll taken by campaign group the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s.

When London Mayor Ken Livingstone canvassed the same idea last year, transport administrators said its implementation would probably cost more than it brought in and the scheme was quietly dropped.

But the Alliance, backed by Greenpeace, wants to put the charge at UKP20, which might change the sums. "A UKP20 charge would make the cost of driving inefficient vehicles reflect the damage they do," said Mark Strutt of Greenpeace. "London is one of the most progressive cities in the world, so let's lead the world by driving gas-guzzlers off our streets."

The Alliance's poll involved 5,000 Londoners and reflects similar findings in ad-hoc surveys taken by some of London's radio stations. It comes as the Mayor consults the public over his plans to increase the general Congestion Charge from UKP5 to UKP8.

Supporters of 4x4s point out that off-roaders represent only 3.5 per cent of London's traffic and are therefore not a major threat to the environment.

04/03/05
Tulips From Hampton, Ma'am
- Mothers Day floral tribute at the Palace

20,000 tulips are the stars of Florimania!, which takes place at Hampton Court this weekend.

Timed to coincide with Mothering Sunday, Florimania! features what Hampton Court Palace officials call a "fabulous floral feast of the senses."

The main display is in the Queen's Apartments and is grouped around 40 arrangements inspired by 17th-century horticultural horticultural design styles. Making up the invasion of tulips will be almost all of the 120 varieties of the famous Dutch spring-time flower.

As well as the floral eye-feast, visitors will be able to make their own posies and also learn flower arranging techniques from top florists, all as part of the usual entry fee to Hampton Court Palace.

Florimania! runs from the 4th to the 7th of March.

Click here to buy tickets...

03/03/05
New Plans for Ally Pally
- Live venue and shops key parts of UKP30 million scheme

ALEXANDRA Palace is set for a UKP30 million refurbishment, with the aim being to turn it into one of London's leading entertainment venues.

"This is a once in a generation opportunity to ensure it is a landmark that continues to attract Londoners in large number and to make it a place that everyone in the capital can be proud of," said Keith Holder, one of the management team running the Palace and surrounding park.


There have been plenty of plans for the Palace, which sits in a great hill top position in north London, which have not come to fruition, but it is believed this new scheme is more realistic than some. As well as installing facitlites to turn the Ally Pally into a modern live venue, part of the complex will become a retail area.

02/03/05
Queen Gives Music a Medal

- Award announced on day Her Majesty asks Clapton what he does for a living

THE QUEEN is to sponsor a new award for musical achievement. Known as the Queen's Medal for Music, the award judges' committee will be chaired by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.

News of the award came yesterday when Her Majesty hosted a music event at Buckingham Palace which featured a host of established and up and coming musicians including Jamie Cullum, Humphrey Lyttleton and Bryn Terfel.

Also on duty was Eric Clapton, whose conversation with his sovereign perhaps explains why Maxwell Davies and not the Queen herself will be in charge of the Medal.

"What do you do?" the Queen reportedly inquired of Clapton, following it up with, "Have you been playing a long time?" Old Slowhand straight-batted back with: "It must be 45 years now."

The Queen's Medal for Music will be awarded annually on music patron saint, St Cecilia's Day, the 22nd of November.

1/03/05
Royal Defenders Under Aerial Attack
- Oliver Crowell and pals threaten Tower ravens

SOUTH LONDON republican crows are being shot dead by royal raven-keepers in a desperate bid to save the monarchy.

The ravens live in the Tower of London and legend has it that if they leave, the royal family will be no more. But the ravens have recently come under increasing attack from huge flocks of crows who swoop across the nearby Thames at feeding time to steal the meat of the royal mascots, whose pampered existence leaves them ill-prepared for such battles.

"The crows are scavengers and they will eat and compete for food with the ravens which is stressful for them," said a spokesperson for the Historic Royal Palaces. "There are about 200 which fly in every morning. If we don't keep them at a certain level there is concern about the multiplication of numbers."

Raven-keepers have resorted to the typical tactics of those in power - brute force, this time in the shape of guns which are brought out on a weekly basis to take out crows, with particular attention paid to the rebel leaders known as alpha-birds.

"There are more and more crows coming," said the Historic Royal Palaces spokesperson. "Every Sunday morning, the raven master goes out at 6am with a .22 air rifle. The most he has ever got in one day is 12."

At the moment it is legal to defend domestic birds from attack by wild birds, but there are rumours the Department for the Environment is looking at changing the law to stop any birds being shot.

28/02/05
US Mag: Best Restaurants in the World Are in London

- Diversity and quality praised in Gourmet

LONDON has the best restaurants in the world, according to the foremost food magazine in the US.

"We were blown away," said John Willoughby, editor of Gourmet. "What London has that other cities don't right now is high-quality food at all levels. The kind of diversity and gastronomies that you can lay your hands on in London is happening very quickly and very impressively."

The magazine reports that the range and quality on offer in London is more impressive than in its main competitors, New York and Paris. Such was Gourmet's level of appreciation that it has devoted a whole issue to eating out in London.

"I worked in Paris for three years and was teased about fish and chips," said Gordon Ramsay, one of London's big-name restaurateurs. "A lot of people have worked hard to change things in the last ten years."

25/02/05
Sex Museum for Soho
- Trocadero to house new carnal pleasure palace

WHAT might be called a second natural history museum is to open in London, but in contrast to the animal-centred exhibition halls of South Kensington, the new venue is to concentrate entirely on the sexual behaviour of homo sapien.

The sex museum will be erected in the Trocadero Centre following the granting of planning permission by Westminster Council, the local authority in charge of the Soho area, which has long been associated with the wider sex industry.

Little flesh has so far been put on the scheme, at least