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June
Let Them Eat Cake 18th June 2009
Happy Birthday to, er, lots of Londoners
It's a year of big birthdays in London - at least that's how it's being marketed judging by the deluge of press bumpf we've received here at LondonTown towers. I remember when birthdays were all about the cake, blowing out candles and presents but now it seems they're the new way of getting some free publicity.

First we had King Henry VIII's celebrations for the anniversary of his coronation - it's 500 years since the man with all the wives was crowned King. Next came Handel with a raft of concerts and events taking place all over town to mark the 250th anniversary of the great composer's death.

The entire West End is also blowing out some candles - 1415 to be precise. Evidently Joe in Marketing at the New West End Company has worked out if you add up all the retailers in Soho and surrounding streets you can work out that it's the West End's 1415th birthday in 2009. This is a bit of a stretch - not only have they bundled a bunch of shops together... the sum of their years doesn't even make a tidy round number.

Shops in and around Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street include landmark stores like Selfridges (100 years old), M & S, Jaeger (both 125) and Hamleys (the daddy of them all at the grand old age of 250). Add them together and you get the arguably arbitrary figure of 1415.

Putting my cynicism aside, just for a moment anyway, I can appreciate that there's some marketing mileage in this. Birthdays are a time for happiness and laughter and we could certainly do with an excuse to celebrate - anything to distract us from the depressing financial / environmental / expenses (delete as applicable) headlines.

To tie in with the birthday theme the New West End Company has come up with a few 'presents' for anyone visiting the area. These range from free blue badge guided walks to cake - well, it is a birthday. The impressive architectural 5 foot by 5 foot sponge confectionary weighing in at more than 200 pounds came in a shape of a miniature West End, complete with a bendy bus cornering Oxford Circus where the cake was cut up into 1,415 pieces.

The Westbury hotel has also joined in, creating a special blend of leaves just for the occasion, to be enjoyed with sarnies, scones, cupcakes and - well, why not - a glass of bubbly.

Shoppers were also treated to a traffic-free day in May along the same lines as the pre-Christmas VIP day. A total of 500,000 shoppers descended on Oxford Street for what was billed as London’s biggest birthday party to enjoy the free entertainment provided by West End stores and latest Hollywood release Night at the Museum 2 (why a sequel had to be made when the first was a flop I don't know).

Marks & Sparks celebrated their 125 years in style - and with a generous giveaway offering two million products for sale at 1p each. Grab them bargains while you can, shoppers! Jaeger's celebrations were of a more cultural kind with an exhibition London College Of Fashion's Fashion Space Gallery.

Meanwhile Sainsbury's is getting in on the act with their 'heritage' recipes to mark 140 years since their first store opened in London's Drury Lane. Their nostalgia food - Jamie's toad in the hole, anyone? - may be just the thing in these volatile times. Woolies may not have made it but at least these long standing stalwarts prove there's life in the high street yet.
Photo Sop
It seems our esteemed London mayor can now officially be accused of being a bit wet! Boris certainly looked the part as he strode into the River Pool in Lewisham – volunteering to help clean up the waters with bin bag in hand, clad in waders and rubber gloves – but he lost his footing in a dip in the riverbed and took a dip himself. Looking the part doesn’t necessarily mean you’re up to the job, does it Boris?
Sounds of the City
The drilling, car horns honking, the repetition of “Big Issue, Sir, Madam, Big Issue”; the hustle and bustle is all around us, but London is also a place of colourful and eclectic, bringing the city to life. To prove it London Sound Survey collects recordings of the din, ambience and voices of the capital, from buskers and market traders to birdsong and church bells. There’s even a growing archive of descriptions documenting what the city sounded like in olden times.
High Maintenance
You wouldn’t think MPs had much room to talk nowadays about funding repairs but apparently some are a bit miffed that Buckingham Palace is not managing its money effectively, accusing the royal household of withholding information. Ah-hem. Pot. Kettle. Black. They have suggested that the Queen make some more cash by throwing open the gates to let the public poke around in January while she’s at Sandringham, but insist they’re “not suggesting we turf out the royal family to let the tourists in”. Riiiight!
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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