The London Traveler

Whether you’re attending a private New Year’s party or heading for the big event in Trafalgar Square, getting home from your New Year celebrations is going to be easy.
From 23.45 to 04.00 on New Year’s Day, public transport in London will be free. All tube, bus, DLR and tram services will be free together with some national rail services (ie overground), these being;

Liverpool Street to Shenfield,
Liverpool Street to Enfield
Paddington to Slough
Paddington to Hayes and Harlington
Victoria to East Croydon
Victoria to Orpington
Charing Cross to Beckenham Junction via Lewisham
Charing Cross to Dartford via Sidcup, Bexleyheath or Greenwich

There’s going to be a great fireworks …read more

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Muswell Hill is not noted as the home of metropolitan cool, but I couldn’t resist this story from Currybet.net.
I’m sure you all have friends who have done parachute jumps or abseiled down tall buildings for charity. (My mate Mark abseiled down the side of the Baltic in Gateshead once – I hope he was wearing his brown trousers.) But how many of you have a teddy bear who is brave enough to do it?
Here’s the link.

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I wonder if the London Sales have lost their cachet.
Everywhere in England, from the High Street to the great out of town hypermarkets, bright red stickers proclaim up to 90 percent off. In this recession, many retailers are slashing their stock, trying to get enough cash through the tills in the next few days to pay the rent bill.
Go down Oxford Street and you’ll see many of the same stores you can visit anywhere else. There’s nothing so special about that.
But that’s only one side of the story. In fact, London’s big department stores still provide the best shopping you …read more

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Take time to read the message on this lovely papercut. The photo comes from Cory Doctorow on flickr.
And in the spririt of Christmas, here’s a link to some reading you might find fills the space between the roast turkey and the gluhwein – the original Dickens Christmas Carol, and a rather amusing poem that tells the story of Mrs Scrooge, by Carol Ann Duffy in the Guardian.
Have a great Christmas!

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London’s neighbourhoods are not always clear cut. Clerkenwell straggles, like a rather randomly assorted charm bracelet, from Clerkenwell Green with its pristine classicism and village feel, to the decidedly urban Exmouth Market. Some of its most interesting corners are well off the main drag – streets running down towards Farringdon, for instance. Come to think of it, where Clerkenwell ends and Farringdon begins is difficult to work out…
Clerkenwell has come up in the world since I first knew it. Then, it was still the kind of place you’d find genteel businesses that made no money at all; bookbinders, art framers, …read more

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You’ll know when you’ve found New Tayyabs by the queue. Getting into this restaurant is like getting into Harrods sale – you want to be there good and early, though you don’t need to bring a sleeping bag.
This is not one of those chi-chi Indian restaurants that’s been redesigned by a minimalist architect, with bijou little dishes featuring light spicing and gold leaf. No, it’s a rough and ready curry shop, with robust dishes – seekh kebab, tandoori chicken, lamb chops, saag bhaji. Robust cooking and lots of it, too – good size portions, great for sharing.
I always like the …read more

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Every time I went to Oxford Street, somewhere along it I would see a little man, with a banner in his hand, shuffling along the pavement.
He never seemed to say anything, never seemed to be with anyone, wasn’t part of a demonstration or a cult. He didn’t grab people to tell them their sins or try to convert them. He didn’t preach. He just seemed to be an oddity – one of those oddities for which London has always been famous.
The message on his board was strange, too. It said: “Less passion from less protein”, and then under that was …read more

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Finding a purely vegetarian place in central London can be a bit tricky. Come to that, it’s also difficult to find a budget eating place of any quality. Govinda’s solves both problems.
Old Soho hounds will probably know it well. Govinda’s serves good, cheap Indian vegetarian food, with a number of vegan options. I particularly like the thali, a selection of different dal (lentil or split pea) and vegetable dishes with rice.
Devotees of the curry house may find this food a little bland, since Govinda’s doesn’t use onions or garlic, in line with the dictates of Ayurvedic medicine. It’s also generally …read more

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If you know Stoke Newington and Dalston you’ll know they’re not short of Turkish supermarkets and bakeries. If you want a quick borek for breakfast or some rahat lokum (Turkish delight) for after dinner, your every wish can be supplied.
But the greatest selection of Turkish comestibles comes from the great grandaddy of Turkish supermarkets, the Turkish Food Centre in Ridley Road, Dalston. It has Greek food as well as Turkish and Cypriot specialities.
Not just feta, but eleven or twelve different kinds of feta.  Not just olives, but olive mixes with different herbs and spices. Not just pita, but all kinds …read more

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Transport for London (TfL) has now announced the two winners of the competition to design the new Routemaster. One is a joint venture between Aston Martin (who obviously think the credit crunch make buses a better bet than luxury cars!) and Foster + Partners, and the other was designed by Capoco, a firm which designs buses, coaches and trucks.
I suspect a lot of people will be disappointed. Neither of these creations actually looks like the much-loved RM. In particular, the radiator of the Capoco design looks very squashed – not the friendly ‘face’ of the traditional bus, but a pudgy …read more

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