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News Feature
August 1999
Three Years High and Rising
- LondonNet starts birthday celebrations
IN celebration of our third
birthday at the end of August here are the inaugural LondonNet
Awards, a virtual ceremony destined to achieve a standing of
immense prestige all across the known universe and Cockfosters.
The past three years have witnessed
huge changes in our city, from a switch in occupancy at No. 10
Downing Street and the death of a princess to the surprise return
to fame of those cuddly little Wombles from Wimbledon Common.
With the aid of a range of stimulants (all cleared by the International
Olympic Committee; we don't even know what nandroline is) we've
deliberated long and hard into the night to come up with the
definitive list of London
heroes and villains since 1996.
LondonNet
Hero
- Doreen Lawrence. Took on the police and political establishment
in her - and our - fight for justice over the murder by racist
scum of her son Stephen.
LondonNet
Zero
- Mike O'Brien. Home Office minister in charge of both
the ridiculous, draconian new (anti) immigration laws and the
passport office debacle where thousands were left without travel
documents.
Biggest
News Story
- The Death of Diana, Princess of Wales. LondonNet alone
received tens of thousands of grief stricken e-mails from around
the world when that Mercedes crashed two years ago. Distant runners-up,
at least on the basis of e-mail traffic and Talkback response,
were the stories on Louise Woodward and General Pinochet.
Most Over-Hyped
News Story
- London Mayor. Ken Livingstone and Jeffrey Archer have
done their best to add some spice to the race to become London's
first elected mayor but, perhaps because of the paltry powers
the new leader will command, we find the story to be a merciless
killer of click-throughs to out news pages.
Sexiest
Londoner, Female
- The new Voice of the Underground. "The next station
is..." in your arms, oh angel of the deep.
Sexiest
Londoner, Male
- Grant Mitchell. Somehow the muscle-bound soap star is
favoured by armies of both salivating suburban housewives and
Soho scene gays.
Best Established
Tourist Spot
- Soho, but this could change if the current pilot scheme
to pedestrianise the whole area is made permanent. Note to city
planners: we don't need another Covent Garden, thanks.
Best Future
Tourist Spot
- The three big millennium projects - Dome, Southbank
Big Wheel and Bankside Walkway Bridge - can share the prize.
Best Hotel - The
Columbia
takes the award in the budget category; we've had nothing but
praise from thousands of visitors who've booked there via LondonNet.
In the upmarket section, the gong goes to The
Howard,
whose views over the Thames are the best in town, though The
Gore
runs it close on pure charm.
Guide
to London
Best Film (with a London element)
- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, with Shakespeare
in Love and Sliding Doors close behind.
Worst Film (with a London element)
- Notting Hill. Black Londoners are right to complain
that the movie portrays the area as all-white, but whites have
a legitimate beef too; the man chosen to represent them is Hugh
Grant.
LondonNet
Cinema and Movie Guide
London Themes: Movie London
Best Plays - Chicago gets
the musical award despite late competition from MammaMia!, while
Art, blank canvas and all, draws the drama prize.
Worst Play - That one which seems
to be on everywhere called In Its Thirteenth Great Year.
LondonNet
Theatre Guide
Most Impressive
Sporting Achievement - Arsenal's 'Dennis Bergkamp' Double
in 1998, closely followed by Mark Goldberg's superhuman effort
to destroy Crystal Palace single-handed.
Potentially
Saddest Sporting Figure - Linford Christie, London's most individually
successful sportsman of all time, getting stuck in drug allegations.
Sport
Headlines
Don't agree
with a word we say? Bombard us with your views or create entirely
new award categories on LondonNet News Talkback.
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