Wednesday 7th January  10:08 am Good Morning

on today on tomorrow other dates...

Nelson's Column October Hope at last for east end of Oxford Street 13th October 2006 Bye bye discount sportswear, hello flagship stores Westminster Council be praised! Negotiations on the redevelopment of the eastern stretch of Oxford Street are at last underway. Yes, that abominable hotchpotch of shops in the grim shadow of Centre Point that categorically refutes Oxford Street’s claim to title of "best shopping street in the world" is heading for extinction. Oxford Street flaunts a surfeit of fame, but the stroll from Tottenham Court Road to Oxford Circus doesn’t hint at an ounce of quality. As you wade past rundown shops pushing bargain basement sports kit, tacky mementos, ugly luggage and innumerable mobile phones, you can hardly believe that you’re walking along the quintessence of 21st century consumerism. Rather than fulfilling all my retail fantasies, opiating my rebellious streak, leaving me light of pocket and laden with pretty bags - a trip down this end of Oxford Street is as torturous as listening to Peter Andre and Jordan’s latest duet. However, if I come from Marble Arch things are quite the opposite. I spend a Sultan’s inheritance, can’t move for pretty bags and leave already dreaming about my next splurge. I am, in fact, so at ease in Selfridges it’s almost foetal, cuddling a handbag, sucking my thumb. The difference either side of Oxford Circus is just so blatant you’d think it was a conspiracy. Maybe the west side only looks so damn good because she’s sat next to her ugly friend? West Oxford Street is the capital of high streets – inoffensive, predictable and not too pricey. And that’s why people like it. So once the compulsory purchase orders are discharged, the bulldozers flatten and the area is transformed, the large chains will almost certainly push out the independent retailers. It would be a shame, if I cared about buying three pairs of ill-fitting tracky bottoms for £20 (although the massive new Primark will sort that problem out). Given the current state of affairs, I am practically salivating at the prospect of a whole row of spanking new flagship stores. East will match west and there will at least be no nasty surprises for the uninitiated visitor. So congratulations for finally sorting it out. All we have to worry about now are planning wrangles and traffic havoc whilst the work is done. For the time being I’m happy to wait, neatly curled round a bubbling champagne flute in the Selfridges bar. Capital Gains The majority of “Londoners” don’t actually come from the city. 58% of the capital’s inhabitants were born elsewhere and as many as a fifth see themselves as temporary residents who will be gone in less than five years’ time. 41%, however, are happy to call London their permanent home and will never move away. Bus-tastic Londoners love buses. Fact. Unlike everywhere else in the country where figures dropped by 1.2%, the total number of bus journeys in London grew by 2% in the last year. Numbers might, however, drop next summer when a new, improved river ferry commuter service sets sail along the river Thames. Funded by the company who have bought the Millennium Dome, the service will run early in the morning to late at night every 10 to 15 minutes to and from the Dome. Hose Improvements Old hoses chucked in the bin by the London Fire Brigade are being used by a London-based designer to produce exclusive, eco-friendly furniture. 50% of the profits made from the range of designer chairs produced by Bio Services will be given back to the fire brigade for charity donations. December 2008 23rd December January is on the Horizon 20th December Merry Christmas November 2008 26th November All The World's A Stage 20th November Surviving the Crunch October 2008 24th October Boris v Jingjing 17th October Soaps in Pole Position September 2008 23rd September Chips too Chavvy for Chelsea 16th September The London Restaurant Awards August 2008 26th August No Smoking, No Ducks, No Barbecues 20th August The Olympics July 2008 24th July Sandwiched Out 17th July The Show Ain't Over 'Til the Fat Lady's on Page 3 June 2008 26th June Love All at Wimbledon 16th June Miller Puts the Heat on Tennant May 2008 27th May Booze Banned on Buses 20th May Same Again? April 2008 23rd April By George 11th April Back to the 80s March 2008 28th March How do You Solve A Problem Like Medea? 20th March Flight Fantastic February 2008 20th February Dark, Satanic Turnmills 6th February A Diamond in the Drink January 2008 21st January People Wanted for Plinth 14th January Boo! Hiss! December 2007 28th December Tate That - A Hirst for Art 20th December Christmas Shopping November 2007 27th November Mind the Gap 26th November London On A Tray October 2007 26th October Leaving the Station 14th October The Sky's the Limit September 2007 26th September The Play Within A Play 19th September Fashion, Frocks and Celeb Shocks 12th September Saying Tanks for the Mammaries August 2007 24th August Heathrow under Siege 17th August Gormless 10th August Losing Face July 2007 24th July Are We Reaching Boiling Point Yet This Summer? 13th July Red Ken versus Blonde Boris June 2007 22nd June Last Orders at the Fag Machine 11th June London the Musical May 2007 21st May What Lurks Beneath 10th May The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of April 2007 27th April London’s Walk on the Wild Side 20th April Stand Behind the Yellow Line 13th April Like Water for Chocolate March 2007 23rd March So, Another Magazine 16th March Avoiding iContact February 2007 23rd February Sex and Art... 16th February C-Charge Protest Fails to Bring Down Government 9th February Live Earth London January 2007 26th January A Vote for Shilpa is a Vote for Britain 18th January Carriage on up the West End December 2006 29th December Food for Thought 22nd December A Poisonous Marketing Campaign 15th December In for a Penny, In for Five Pounds November 2006 17th November Big Department Stores Leave Santa Out in the Cold 10th November Failing to Save the World October 2006 27th October Frozen Prawns and Melting Icecaps 20th October Predatory Pelicans and Happy Woodland Folk 13th October Hope at last for east end of Oxford Street September 2006 16th September Lite the Blue Paper and Stand Well Back 9th September Of Poles and Twiglets August 2006 25th August Free Fares For the Fat and the Fashionable 11th August London Friendly 4th August Archway To Organic Heaven July 2006 21st July London - Celebrity Frat House 7th July Out of the Galleries into the Streets June 2006 23rd June Mayors, Nightmares and Marias 16th June Downright Rude in Paris and London 9th June Enter the Inferno May 2006 26th May Curvaceous Border 12th May Vegging Out April 2006 21st April The Camden Crawl 17th April Down the Pan 13th April I Want to Break Free 9th April Big Brother seems to have been left in a bar somewhere 7th April Don't Box Me In March 2006 24th March Political Correctness Reaches New Heights February 2006 24th February A Stadium's Tale: Cup Final Goes West 17th February Modern Musicals are Rubbish 10th February The City-Side Alliance January 2006 20th January February Sales 20th January Moby Sick 13th January Glass Half Full 3rd January Three Cheers for the Tube Station Workers December 2005 22nd December January Bites 16th December A Remarkable Year November 2005 25th November And a Partridge in a JCB 11th November Driving Miss Sadie 4th November Spam, Spam, Spammity-Spam, Shakespeare, Zorro, Chico and Rasputin October 2005 28th October Trick or Treat? 21st October We Don't Mind a Little Delay... 14th October Final Resting Place for Young British Artists September 2005 16th September Just a small urn for me, please barman 9th September DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!