Wednesday 28th April 2010 New line opens in London
The new East London Line, forming part of the London Overground
network, has been officially opened. Initially, a "preview" service of
eight trains an hour will run between New Cross Gate and Dalston
Junction. The trains will operate from Monday to Friday and between
0700 BST and 2000 BST. Full evening and weekend services will then
begin on 23 May, when there will 12 trains each hour. The trains will
call Whitechapel station and Shoreditch High Street, a flagship Zone 1
station.

London Mayor Boris Johnson was on hand to officially opened the route.
He said: "This new railway will bring jobs and opportunities to
communities up and down the line, massively improving access for
hundreds of thousands of people. This type of investment is essential
if London, throwing off the shackles of recession, is to emerge with
the ability to grow, prosper, and secure its position at the summit of
world cities, to the benefit of all Londoners." London

Friday 23rd April 2010 Kings Cross tube station closed by burnt toast
Staff at one of London’s busiest Underground stations have been told
to take more care after Kings Cross tube station was closed twice
after burning toast in the staff room set of fire alerts. The alerts,
on 13 March and 7 April, caused firefighters to be scrambled to the
station.

A Transport for London spokesman said: "King's Cross St Pancras
station was closed for approximately twenty minutes due to a fire
alert at the station. The fire alert was caused by smoke from a
toaster in the staff area of the station. London Underground has
extensive heat and smoke detection systems, fire alarms and auto
sprinkler systems and both incidents were dealt with quickly. Staff
have been reminded to take care when using the cooking facilities and
we would like to apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused." London

Thursday 25th March 2010 Stuffed tiger seized by Met
The Metropolitan Police WIldlife Crime Unit (WCU) have seized a
stuffed adult tiger from a central London studio and arrested a
47-year-old man. The tiger reputedly once appeared in a photo shoot
with the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen. The police swoop
came because an attempt to sell the tiger was made and police
suspected the sale did not comply with Article Eight of the Convention
of the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).

Det Sgt Ian Knox, of the WCU, said: "In order to discourage the trade
in rare animals and related items, it is crucial that regulations
surrounding their sale are strictly enforced. Where an item is
suspected of breaching the CITES regulations designed to protect our
planet's most endangered flora and fauna, we will take the appropriate
action to establish its origin and, when necessary, seize it as
evidence. Anyone who wishes to trade in endangered species can find
the information they need to do so lawfully on the Defra website." London

Monday 15th March 2010 Wembley Way built by Germans
German POWs were responsible for the building of Wembley Way, this is
the shocking truth of one of England’s most iconic thoroughfares
according to investigations by the BBC. Over three years after the end
of World War Two German Prisoners of War were still held in camps
inside England. The combination of this free source of labour and the
great need to redevelop Britain’s shattered infrastructure proved
irresistible to the Ministry of Labour and the POWs were put to work
in a variety of ways.

One of the tasks completed by the squads of captured German soldiers
was the construction of the approach road to London’s new flagship
stadium at Wembley. Despite the efforts of these Germans, their nation
itself wasn’t invited to the Olympic Games held at the newly built
Wembley Stadium in 1948. London

Tuesday 16th February 2010 Smelly London water sparks complaints
300 residents of Walthamstow in north-east London have complained to
their local water authority of smelly water since the start of
February. The complaints have led Thames Water to suspend supplies
coming from the River Lea while they investigate the problem. Water is
instead being extracted from the Thames to maintain sufficient volume.

Bob Collington, Director of Operational Management for Thames Water,
said: "Early indications suggest the problem could be due to a change
in environmental conditions in the River Lee, which is the normal
source of water for our Walthamstow works. We've spoken to the Health
Protection Agency for the area and our drinking water regulator, the
Drinking Water Inspectorate, and we can confirm that they are happy
with the steps we're taking.” London

Monday 15th February 2010 Refurbishment for Albert Bridge
A major route across the River Thames in London will be closed as work
starts to repair the famous Albert Bridge. The Grade II listed
structure will be closed to traffic for around 18 months and traffic
diverted across the Chelsea and Battersea bridges. The work is needed
as the bridge, originally built in 1850 and named after Queen
Victoria’s consort Prince Albert, is showing signs of age and can’t
cope with the demands of modern traffic levels.

Kensington and Chelsea councillor Nicholas Paget-Brown told the press:
"I appreciate that there will be disruption while the work is carried
out, but by returning Albert Bridge to its former glory residents and
visitors to the area will be able to rest assured that they will have
a bridge fit for the future. We have been working with Transport for
London and Wandsworth Council for some time to organise this project." London

Monday 8th February 2010 Charity runners go up the Gherkin
More than 250 fit fund-raisers ran up 1,037 steps inside London’s
Gherkin to raise money for the NSPCC. The group climbed the 591 foot
30 St Mary Axe building to the voices of London’s Gay Men’s Chorus on
Sunday in an event that raised £125,000 for the NSPCC’s Child’s Voice
Appeal.

Colman Cawe, of the NSPCC, said: "I'm extremely proud of how
successful this event has been. Its popularity has been greatly down
to the exclusive access we can provide to the Gherkin, which is thanks
to the NSPCC London Business Group. I'd also like to thank everyone
who will be taking part on the day; the money raised will be going
towards our Child's Voice Appeal, which exists to maintain and grow
the NSPCC's helplines." London

Monday 1st February 2010 London councils handed out 30 years of illegal parking tickets
A BBC-led investigation into parking in London has revealed that five
London councils may have to pay back parking fines going back decades.
The investigation, carried out by BBC London, discovered that
diplomatic parking bays in Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea,
Islington, and Camden were not legally installed.

The bays are not standard parking bays therefore the councils should
apply to the secretary of state for transport before establishing the
necessary street and road sings for diplomatic parking bays. Many
diplomatic bays went into operation without that permission and this
means they themselves are illegal and are classed as “illegal
obstructions of the highway”. This means that millions of motorists
caught parking in them and subsequently fined may well be due a
refund. London

Thursday 28th January 2010 Dinosaurs in Oxford Street
Giant robotic dinosaurs are now the stars in one of London’s best
known and busiest thoroughfares, Oxford Street. Tyrannosaurus Rex and
Velociraptors now feature in a big display of the pre-historic
reptiles on a site slated for redevelopment, just outside the famous
Selfridges department store. A Diplodocus, longer than three London
double-decker buses, is also on view at the exhibition designed to
educate adults and children.

A mock Jurassic forest, complete with a watering hole, has been formed
for the animatronic reptiles by organisers Progressive events. The
exhibition will run until 30 April on the site operated by developer
Land Securities. The firm have won planning permission to build a mix
of commercial and residential properties on the site. London

Friday 15th January 2010 Downing Street sign for sale
Downing Street is the most powerful address in British Politics. Not
only is number 10 Downing Street the official address of the Prime
Minister, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer lives just next door in
number 11. Now, a 19th century cast iron Downing Street sign is going
to auction at Bonhams as apart of their ‘Gentleman’s Library’ sale.

Speaking for Bonhams, Andrew Currie said: "It's very rare for a sign
like this to come on the market, there aren't many things like this
around. We are expecting interest from a lot of people keen on
collecting political memorabilia. It is of course the perfect time for
it to come on sale with the General Election due to be held in the
next few months." London