He did warn us

Mind the Map

The Guardian looks at the new London Transport Museum exhibit of transport artwork.

James May in your pocket

I would have thought Richard Hammond more suited, given the size.

Thanks to the digital revolution, you can now carry around a tiny Captain Slow on your smart phone.

Why anyone would wish to do so remains a mystery.

Future London

Yanko Design (The DREADCO of the design world) imagines the future skyline of London with a sweeping plan that totally ignores the city's current architecture, history, culture or any human needs in favour of a "green", "utopitan" scheme that's one economic downturn away from becoming Blade Runner with Cockneys.

Coping with a Tube strike

With Londoners facing the threat of a Tube strike, we present these tips from an earlier crisis.

Hobby horse nation

In The Abolition of Britain, Peter Hitchens charted how Britain went from being the nation of Sir Winston Churchill to that of Princess Diana; a once-serious country that put up statues to heroes in Trafalgar Square that  is now dominated by a decadent uberclass that erects ephemeral monuments to toys instead.

We present the symbol of an age.

London by Gondola

An 1899 look at what London would be like if the capitol was rebuilt along the lines of Venice.

Aside from everyone in the Underground drowning, all the electrical and telephone cables shorting out and the sewage having nowhere to go, it's really quite charming.

Rubbish

Presenting the new London rubbish bins that will cost the taxpayers only £1,100 a pop.  They have wifi, they have an LCD screen begging to be vandalised and they're bomb proof.  The one thing they can't do is accept rubbish unless it's the size of an envelope to get through that ludicrous little slot.

My head hurts.

London 1973

Retronaut has a fascinating collection of photos of the West End in 1973.

Probably because I was 15 then, this is the London that lives most strongly in my memory.

Blue plaque

Honouring the great

How things have changed

On Sunday, I mentioned that in some ways we are losing the Jihadist War.  A perfect illustration of this is this photo from the Jihadist protest in London that took place on September 11th.

Imagine that it's 1943 and a hundred belligerent Germans show up outside the American embassy with placards declaring that "Nazism will dominate the world".  Wouldn't you suspect that something had gone seriously wrong somewhere?

Postal underground

This is amazing.  Someone managed to find a way into the abandoned Post Office railway under London and took a raft of photos.

That's what I love about the Capital.  There are so many railway tunnels, bunkers, service ducts, sewers, underground rivers and whatnot down there that in the event of nuclear war we're guaranteed to spawn a race of telepathic mutants to hold off the apes when they take over.

A peaceful demonstration–aside from rioting and pillaging

Mr Edward "Ed" Milliband, having gone off the deep end, thinks that subjecting Britain to a fatal game of Beggar Your Neighbour is the equivalent to the US civil rights movement.  You know, the movement that didn't turn cities into battle zones while screaming cries of "Smash the state!".

I never ceased to be amazed by the brass of the MSM.  If a peaceful conservative demonstration is cursed by one looney with a rude sign about the tree of liberty and the blood of tyrants, we get barrels of ink spilled about the "culture of violence".   If thousands of barbarians riot, smash, pillage, and burn in the centre of London, we're admonished not to think that the day was other than a "family affair" marred by a "few".

Few in this context is a small army.

"Family affair"

On the bright side, if this load of parasites gets their way, we'll see very few such demonstrations in the future–not because the Left will be satiated, but because Britain will be so broke that even the basic infrastructure will collapse.  Demos will then be confined to those who live (or, at least, hide) in the ruins of what was once Westminster.

Secret command centre: London

Wired takes a look inside the secret crisis command centre deep under London where Mr David Cameron will spend the Apocalypse vacillating while Mr. Clegg chunters on about proportional representation for the survivors.

Why not?

Actually, I found it a bit disappointing.  You would have thought that they would at least have got Ken Adams in to consult on the design.

Hothouse London

Imagine the joy of living in a polycarbonate bubble in the centre of London.  Gaze upon the Palace of Westminster, enjoy the vistas of the Thames, glory in nature's splendor, and discover first hand when the sun comes out why people don't live in glass houses.

We leave your relations with the local pigeons and their effect on your bubble for another day.

Poor judgment

Two drunks assaulted three soldier in dress uniform who were walking through central London.  The three turned out to be a Royal Marine and a British Army Captain who are holders of the George Cross, and an SAS man who'd won the VC.

It was not a wise move.

Colon studies

Serious scholars.

James Lileks looks at the recent "student" riots in London and coins a phrase that I intend to use often:

I suspect they're mostly engaged in Colon Studies, meaning, every one of their college textbooks has a colon in the title. "Shearing the Flock: Mercantilism and Class Inequality in 19th Century New Zealand" or "Singing For Her Supper: Transgendered Nightclub Singers in Weimar Berlin.

I know the type.

Update: The rioters are thugs and criminals.  Their teachers are worse.

Spend a penny

It used to be the proud boast of Central London that you were never more than five minutes from a public convenience.  By the 1980s, this was still true–provided you ran like hell.  Now there's no point in running unless you've got ten bob in your pocket.

You'd think this would be covered under the so-called Human Rights Act.

The fourth plinth follies

The plinths at Trafalgar square were meant to honour the memory of great men who built and defended the British Empire. A fourth plinth was erected and left empty for future generations to fill. Instead of honouring the heroes of the last century, modern Britain uses the plinth to honour nasty jokes like blue chickens and brick sponge cakes.

It's a wonder that Lord Nelson doesn't shinny down his column and storm off in disgust.

K99

London's new ice cream van for dogs.

Carl the Cattle Dog declares it brilliant.