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October
Leaving the Station 26th October 2007
A space to be filled in Waterloo
In a couple of weeks' time, the first Eurostar train will pull into the gloriously restored St. Pancras Station. It’s a new route which shaves 20 minutes or so off the trip to Paris (or Brussels, if you’re that way inclined, though I don’t know anybody who ever has been) and the building is one of the absolute gems of London’s Victorian architectural heritage. St. Pancras is the only station in the Capital that could ever match up to the grandeur of Paris’ glorious Gare du Nord at the other end, and it’s quite right that this is the first view that foreign visitors should have of the city (though immediately descending to the rat-tastic labyrinth of King’s Cross Tube might be a bit of a shock after such an immaculate first impression).

It does, however, beg the question of what on Earth we’re going to do with the old Eurostar terminal at Waterloo. The building cost £130 million and won both the RIBA Sterling Prize and the Mies van der Rohe Award when it opened. Just 13 years on, it’s to be closed down, unless some viable use can be found for it. There were some vague mutterings about turning it into a shopping centre, until it was quite rightly pointed out that there would be a limited demand amongst retailers for spots at the wrong end of a 400 metre-long boomerang-shaped glass corridor. Hiking stores might be able to get customers in, but I can’t imagine the average British shopper trudging all the way up there.

The answer lies in one of the other unfortunate consequences of the new St. Pancras. The frantic gentrification of Soho and Shoreditch made King’s Cross the last genuinely sordid neighbourhood in Central London. Massage parlours, mad tramps and massive warehouse raves gave it a grimy feel that’s hard to find anywhere else. All of this atmosphere is in the process of being driven away. The half-a-dozen nightclubs that occupy King’s Cross Goods Yard are being closed, and zero tolerance policing is cleaning up the streets.

Meanwhile, Waterloo, for all its incredible theatres, concert halls and cinemas, always has a slightly soulless, central-planning feel to it. It’s like a Thames-side Milton Keynes – lots of exciting concrete shapes, but the people look a bit lost.

So to kill two birds with one stone, let’s turn one end of that Eurostar terminal into a massive nightclub, a great snaking three-room extravaganza, with those clear roof panels so you can see the sun rise. And at the top end, we can have a really top-class homeless shelter for all the victims of the King’s Cross gentrification, giving those hookers and hobos somewhere to rest their heads after a long day’s work adding spice to the Southbank’s excessively spotless streets.
Smokin’
Halle Berry must have wondered if it was a stunt show just for her as swathes of black smoke billowed across Leicester Square on the night of the premiere of her new film ‘Things We Lost In The Fire’. It must have also seemed a bit too close to (her Malibu) home, where fires have been raging. The (just off) Leicester Square fire was actually the result of the kitchen of restaurant Apogee going bang but the old adage must still ring true for Halle and co – all publicity is good publicity!
1966 was a good year…
Whether you were at home, down the pub or trying to hide under your duvet and pretend it wasn’t happening, you couldn’t have escaped the BIG sporting weekend (footie, rugby and that Hamilton bloke driving very fast!) It’s lucky us Brits are a resilient lot (or used to decades of losing) – the fact that we crashed and burned in all three events didn’t seem to faze us, we just carried on drinking – London was heaving with pint-swigging ‘we’ve done quite well’ fans.
A Track through London
The idea might seem like a bit of a dream at the moment but thoughts of a London Grand Prix have once again resurfaced, thanks to Formula One veteran Bernie Ecclestone. I can imagine tourists snapping the not-so-hairpin turn at Oxford Circus (well, people pose proudly at the one in Monte Carlo) and remembering the straight between Top Shop and Selfridges as the place where Hamilton sped to victory – oh, maybe it is just a dream.
October 2009
26th October
Posties Strike a Chord
26th October
Frieze Still Pleases
September 2009
26th September
A River Runs Through It
23rd September
Blogging is Best
August 2009
26th August
When Saturday comes
22nd August
Bring on the Bikes
July 2009
27th July
Against the Clock
20th July
View for a thrill
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
18th February
New Photography Laws
12th February
Glitz and the Pitts
January 2009
27th January
Setting the Standard
21st January
Too Much for Posh Nosh?
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
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
23rd April
By George
11th April
Back to the 80s
March 2008
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
August 2007
24th August
Heathrow under Siege
17th August
Gormless
10th August
Losing Face
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
23rd March
So, Another Magazine
16th March
Avoiding iContact
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
26th May
Curvaceous Border
12th May
Vegging Out
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
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
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
29th July
Moving On From 7/7
22nd July
Get loaded in the park
15th July
Victoire!!
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
30th December
Party Pooper
23rd December
The Second Battle of Trafalgar
16th December
Sadie's Year
November 2004
28th November
Ripper-Watch
21st November
Kinky Boots
14th November
Smoked out
October 2004
22nd October
Yuppie Meal
15th October
Fines of Fury
8th October
No Twist in the Turner
September 2004
17th September
Battleships, bloodsports and Batman
10th September
Clique Week
3rd September
Return of the Bard
August 2004
July 2004
 
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