Boris Johnson is Mayor of London

Elections 2008
Boris Johnson has won the race to become the next mayor of London - ending Ken Livingstone's eight-year reign at City Hall.
BBC News
Page last updated at 08:27 GMT, Saturday, 3 May 2008 09:27 UK

The Conservative candidate won with 1,168,738 first and second preference votes, compared with Mr Livingstone's 1,028,966 on a record turnout of 45%.

Click here for complete article.

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Boris Wins!
By M@
Londonist
May 2, 2008

So, as a buoyant BJ sucks the glass testicle from Ken's lap, will London find itself in a sticky mess, or stand proud for a new era?

Click here for complete post.

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Johnson snatches Tories' biggest prize
guardian.co.uk, UK - 9 hours ago
Boris Johnson last night notched up the Tories' greatest electoral success since John Major's surprise victory in the 1992 general election when he unseated ...
Johnson snatches Tories' biggest prize Guardian Unlimited
Johnson's speech in full guardian.co.uk
It's the Standard wot won it: newspaper backed Boris throughout ... guardian.co.uk
guardian.co.uk - guardian.co.ukall 1,727 news articles »

Freshly Packed Suitcase Full of Misery at T5

Fresh baggage woes at Terminal 5
Hopes of Heathrow's Terminal 5 operating its first full schedule of flights have been scuppered by a new glitch with the baggage system.
BBC News
Page last updated at 13:19 GMT, Saturday, 5 April 2008 14:19 UK

Airport operator BAA's computer system which sorts bags before they are loaded onto flights malfunctioned and manual sorting had to be carried out.

Click here for complete article.

Graffiti Coming to Tate Modern

I suppose it was only a matter of time. Is this the beginning of the end, a new beginning or the end full stop?

Street art to adorn Tate's walls
A series of giant graffiti-style murals are to be painted on the walls of London's Tate Modern gallery for its summer season.
BBC News
Page last updated at 08:50 GMT, Wednesday, 2 April 2008 09:50 UK

The artworks will be displayed for three months from 23 May ... A Tate spokesman said a protective coating would be placed on the wall to avoid damage when they are removed.

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Harman Compares South London to "Meat Factory"

Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman seems to have taken a cue from Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on surviving in London's urban jungle.

Harman defends wearing stab vest
Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman has defended her decision to wear a stab proof jacket during a police walkabout in her south London constituency.
BBC News
Page last updated at 13:59 GMT, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 14:59 UK
















She said it was like wearing a white hairnet when visiting a meat factory.

Click here for complete article.

British Airways to Cancel More T5 Flights

BA to cancel hundreds more flights from T5
By Kevin Done, Aerospace Correspondent
Financial Times
Published: March 30 2008 17:33 Last updated: March 30 2008 17:33

British Airways expects to cancel hundreds more flights at its global hub at London Heathrow airport this week, as it battles to overcome baggage handling and other operating problems at its showpiece £4.3bn Terminal 5.

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T5 Nightmare Continues

What did go wrong at Terminal 5?
Seventy flights have been cancelled in the last two days as teething problems at Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5 caused chaos. But what actually went wrong?
BBC News
Page last updated at 18:43 GMT, Friday, 28 March 2008

The problems appear to be due to a combination of factors.

Click here for complete article.

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BA promising Terminal 5 fix soon
The Press Association - 1 hour ago
BA has moved to reassure air passengers contemplating a third day of travel chaos at Heathrow's Terminal Five (T5) by revealing that just 37 flights would ...

British Airways boss Willie Walsh refuses to quit after Heathrow chaos
Mirror.co.uk, UK - 1 hour ago
Arch-rivals Virgin Atlantic stuck the boot in, saying BA had been given a wonderful gift with T5 "but they couldn't unwrap it properly". ...

Disruption at T5 enters third day
BBC News, UK - 2 hours ago
Cancelled flights, a temporary suspension in luggage check-in and baggage delays blighted the opening day of T5 on Thursday, leaving many passengers ...

Day 2 At T5 .. And It's Business As Usual
Glasgow Daily Record, UK - 3 hours ago
Scheduled flights from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen were axed as T5 saw a second day of long queues, cancellations and baggage delays. ...

SEEING RED IN STYLE
Mirror.co.uk, UK - 3 hours ago
In fact the staff at T5 were faultless - impossibly patient, relentlessly cheerful and endearingly helpful. All in all, it was a very British day out - 18 ...

COMPO TO COST DEAR
Mirror.co.uk, UK - 3 hours ago
The T5 debacle will cost BA millions - but it may try to get some of the cash back from the British Airports Authority, which technically runs the building. ...

ERRORS PILED UP ALL DAY
Mirror.co.uk, UK - 3 hours ago
When they finally got into T5, a programming error meant staff could not log into the baggage handling computer. Passengers arrived to find check-ins ...

Tube Strike: Here We (Don't) Go Again

Three day Tube strike announced
A 72-hour strike on the London Underground is planned by rail unions in a row over safety.
BBC News
Last Updated: Friday, 28 March 2008, 12:18 GMT

A strike from 1830 GMT on 6 April to 9 April is planned by the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union and Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA).

Click here for complete article.

T5: Big and British = Cock Up?

Baggage halted at new £4.3bn T5
Flights from Heathrow's new £4.3bn Terminal 5 are departing with hand baggage only after luggage check-in was suspended due to technical problems.
BBC News
Last Updated: Thursday, 27 March 2008, 19:43 GMT

British Airways, which has sole use of T5, announced check-in of all hold luggage was suspended until Friday. The airline has already cancelled 34 flights because of baggage system problems and passengers have had to wait up to four hours for luggage.

Click here for complete article.

T5 Opens - No Fingerprints

Heathrow's T5 open to passengers
Heathrow's new Terminal 5 has opened to the public as British Airways begins operating from the building.
BBC News
Last Updated: Thursday, 27 March 2008, 07:59 GMT

A BA flight from Hong Kong was the first to arrive at the £4.3bn facility. The first departure was at 0620 GMT, when a service left for Paris.

Click here for complete article.

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'Hassle Heathrow' new terminal opens
CNN International - 44 minutes ago
With 60 aircraft stands actually attached to two new buildings, "T5" can handle dozens of planes at the same time -- including the new Airbus A380 ...

Terminal 5 opens its doors
Guardian, UK - 7 minutes ago
Travellers on the first arrival at T5, flight BA026 from Hong Kong, reported no major problems with baggage or long queues at immigration - two of the ...

Heathrow's T5 Adds Passengers, Fails to Stop Delays (Update1)
Bloomberg - 1 minute ago``T5 was actually designed in the early 1990s and so is already out of date,'' Steve Ridgway, Virgin's chief executive officer, said in an e-mailed response ...

BAA axes T5 fingerprinting plan
Guardian, UK - 4 hours ago
Airport operator BAA will not be taking fingerprints of passengers using Heathrow's £4.3 billion Terminal 5 (T5) following doubts over the legality of such ...

Flash mob demo expected as T5 opens The Press Association
Heathrow T5 opens amid tight security Reuters UK
Protests planned as T5 opens for business ITN
TeleText - MSNBCall 321 news articles »

Yahoo! for Switzerland - Boo Hoo for London

Yahoo Will Move European Headquarters to Switzerland (Update1)
Bloomberg - Mar 13, 2008
... will move its European headquarters from London to the shores of Lake Geneva within 18 months, the Associated Press reported today. Yahoo fell 95 cents ...YHOO

Yahoo Will Move European Headquarters to Switzerland (Update2)
Bloomberg - Mar 13, 2008
Jonathan Thaw March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Yahoo! Inc., owner of the most visited US Web site, will move its European headquarters to Switzerland from London. ...YHOO

Yahoo Relocating European HQ From UK To Switzerland
TechCrunch, CA - Mar 13, 2008
Yahoo has announced that it will relocate its European head office from the United Kingdom to Switzerland. Yahoo plans to make the move to the shores of ...YHOO

Yahoo! to quit UK for Geneva
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - Mar 14, 2008
By Jonathan Russell The UK technology industry is to suffer a major setback with the move of Yahoo!’s European headquarters from London to Geneva. ...YHOO

Yahoo set to quit London offices for Geneva
Financial Times, UK - Mar 14, 2008
By Maija Palmer and Ben Fenton in London Yahoo, the internet company, is planning to move its European headquarters from London to Switzerland, ...YHOO

Yahoo abandons Blighty
Inquirer, UK - Mar 14, 2008
By Nick Farrell: Friday, 14 March 2008, 8:24 AM INTERWEB search outfit Yahoo has had a gutful of London and is shipping its entire European HQ to ...YHOO

New York Times Discover Hackney

This article is perhaps best filedeunder "Oh so 2 years ago" or "Yawnsville" but here ya go:

New Home for Arts Refugees
By JOSHUA DAVID STEIN
New York Times
Published: March 9, 2008

But in the past few years, a new kind of refugee has landed on Hackney’s teeming streets. Artists, designers and young bohemians in ever-skinnier jeans are getting priced out of nearby Shoreditch, and opening bars, clubs and galleries in this gritty immigrant enclave. But since Hackney is already densely and vibrantly packed, these new establishments are often hidden below, above and even within existing storefronts.

Click here for complete article.

London 2012 Won't Go Down with the Ship

London 2012 to shelve ship idea
Plans to promote the 2012 Olympics using a ship sailing around the world advertising Britain's "cultural riches" have been ditched, the BBC has learned.
James Pearce BBC Sports News Correspondent
BBC News
Last Updated: Tuesday, 11 March 2008, 17:21 GMT

London's bid book claimed the ship would: "... carry a cargo emblematic of the UK's cultural riches.

Click here for complete article.

London Short Film: All Eyes on Banksy

All Eyes on Banksy, Photography by Chris Osburn © 2008

Works by iconic - and iconoclastic - graffiti artist Banksy are on view at Andipa Gallery in London. Here's da scoop from me to you!

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Preview: Banksy Exhibition at Andipa Gallery
By Chris Osburn
Londonist
February 27, 2008

Not only the world’s most famous graffiti stencil artist, England’s own beloved Banksy is also one heck of a studio artist. Don’t believe us (or any of the hype surrounding Banksy)? See for yourself at Andipa Gallery, where – starting this Friday – many of Banksy’s works is to be on view.

Click here for complete post.

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Banksy Exhibition at Andipa Gallery, London
by Chris Osburn
Juxtapoz
February 27, 2008











... the bulk of exhibition is comprised of studio pieces which are very much available for purchase, if you've got the funds. For instance, an exceptional acrylic on canvas painting titled Sharks has a price tag of around £40,000 (yep, that's roughly $80,000).

Click here for complete post.

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Time Out likes Londonist

Check it: Time Out listed Londonist (for which I am the Food & Drink editor) as one of London's 50 best websites. Nice. The rest of the list is pretty cool. However, they seem to have overlooked one particular blog ... hmmmm ...

50 best London websites
The internet is a global phenomenon, defying geography and scoffing at national boundaries. So it might seem odd to peer solely at the capital through our browser windows, but, trust us, the city looks sensational viewed on the small screen. Clearly, this very site is the font of indispensable London knowledge – but here we present 50 other corkers, all of them useful and entertaining, all of them devoted entirely to the Big Smoke. Go on, log on to London!
Time Out
February 21, 2008

‘A website about London and everything that happens in it’, Londonist is a lively and eclectic ongoing conversation about the capital, put together with real passion and insight.

Click here for complete article.

Sickboy Interview for Whitehot Magazine

Sickboy Interview
Words and photography by Chris Osburn
whitehot magazine of contemporary art
February 2008










Being a frustrated teenager, I needed an outlet other than drug experimentation, and graffiti was a very enticing world. Manchester at the time had a strong scene with Hulme and a lot of tagging going on. It just seemed a little edgier than art class.

Click here for complete interview.

Jef Aerosol: "Spray it Loud" at Islington Arts Factory (Juxtapoz)

Jef Aerosol's "Spray it Loud" at Islington Arts Factory, London
by Chris Osburn
Juxtapoz
Wednesday, 13 February 2008












[Jef Aerosol's Spray it Loud] features many of Jef's most recognizable stencils of pop culture icons and rock 'n' roll legends such as Nick Drake, Ian Curtis and Neil Young. However, Jef also utilizes his talents to draw our attention to society's less celebrated: an elderly beggar, a homeless mother and child, a runaway child huddled in a corner.

Click here for complete post.

Camden Market Update

Probe begins at market fire site
The Press Association - Feb 12, 2008
Investigators are hoping to get access to part of London's Camden Market which has been ravaged by fire. The London Fire Brigade's investigation team began ...

Cash help for Camden Market traders
The Press Association - Feb 12, 2008
An emergency financial package will be offered to stallholders in a bid to get Camden Market "back up and running" after Saturday's devastating fire, ...

Cash plan to aid fire-hit market
BBC News, UK - Feb 12, 2008
"That is why I am announcing this recovery package and my commitment to work with [other agencies] and the Camden Market Traders to design the most ...

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From the Camden Council Website

The area affected is the relatively small area known as Canal Street market
Download: Map of the affected areas (PDF 118KB)

The police cordon restricts pedestrian access in the area bounded by:
Chalk Farm Road at the Camden Lock Bridge,
Chalk Farm Road at junction with Hawley Street (north of the incident)
Castlehaven Road by the community centre.
Download: Map of the affected areas (PDF 118KB)

Camden Market Fire

Crews tackle London market fire
BBC News, UK - 37 minutes ago
A number of people are reportedly trapped in a serious blaze at London's famous Camden Market, according to the London Fire Brigade. ...
Major fire consumes famous market The Press Association
Camden Market goes up in flames ITN
all 12 news articles »

Major fire consumes famous market
The Press Association - 33 minutes ago
Firefighters are tackling a blaze at London's famous Camden Market. A spokesman for London Fire Brigade confirmed it was a "major fire" and said eight fire ...

Breaking News: Camden Market on Fire
58 minutes ago by M@
A major fire has broken out in Camden Town. Part of the Canal Market caught fire around 7pm. As dense black smoke bellowed out from beneath shutters at least four fire engines and a surveillance helicopter rushed to the scene. ...
Londonist - http://londonist.com/

Fears for lives as major fire breaks out in Camden
Times Online, UK - 33 minutes ago
More than 100 firefighters are this evening tackling a major fire at Camden Market in London. The fire was still spreading at about 8.30pm and London Fire ...

Major fire consumes famous market
Metro, UK - 58 minutes ago
A spokesman for London Fire Brigade confirmed it was a "major fire" and said eight fire engines were in attendance following a 999 call. ...Children ‘should be banned from TV’ Metro
all 7 news articles »

London bus driver goes crazy: Real life version of "Speed"

WALTHAM FOREST: We prayed for our lives on ‘hell ride’
By jonathan moyes
Guardian
7:34am Saturday 9th February 2008

TERRIFIED pedestrians ran for their lives and panicking passengers were flung from their seats during "the bus ride from hell".

Click here for complete article.

Bonhams Urban Art Auction News (Banksy/Graffiti)

Kate Moss Banksy print fetches £96k
Times Online, UK - Feb 6, 2008
The auction signalled another step towards the mainstream for the genre, with 75 pieces of "urban art" in the catalogue. Spray-paint and stencils featured ...Banksy's Chimpanzee Picture Sells for 228000 Pounds (Update1) Bloomberg First auction of 'street art' kicks off in London all 11 news articles »

Urban art enters mainstream
Financial Times, UK - Feb 6, 2008
But now urban art, as practised by its young champions Banksy and Adam Neate, has officially entered the artistic mainstream, with its own auction at ...

Art bucks recession fear
Guardian Unlimited, UK - Feb 6, 2008
Over at Bonhams auction house last night the world's first sale of urban art saw a Banksy screenprint of Kate Moss, a pastiche of Andy Warhol's portrait of ...

First auction of 'street art' kicks off in London
AFP - Feb 6, 2008
Bonhams is planning more auctions of urban art in the future, he added. Last month, a wall painted on by Banksy, depicting a classical-looking artist in ...How Banksy made graffiti popular with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Times Online all 6 news articles »

'I made £20k in three minutes'
BBC News, UK - Feb 6, 2008
We sold it at Bonhams in the world's first urban art auction because we need the money to pay off a debt. We're both practical about it because we've got no ...

Banksy's portrait of Kate Moss sells for US$191000
PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung), Austria - Feb 6, 2008
«By definition (urban art) is an ephemeral art form, often disappearing as fast as it appears,» Gareth Williams, senior picture specialist at Bonhams. ...