#london

#london

I'd clocked him as I walked up to the restaurant. Well dressed, not Irish. Nice tattoos. What did you talk about? Having quickly established that we are both from the same part of London, we ascertained that we'd had the same driving instructor as teenagers (shoutout to Ollie). We also talked about recent plays we've seen, our tattoos and their meanings, trainspotting (the actual activity) and the fact I've been reading this column religiously since I was seven.

"David Wolanski, co-founder of Chick 'n' Sours, expressed concern about the pressure on independent operators, stating that food inflation and rising wages are squeezing them. He described the situation as an exhausting, never-ending battle to keep the lights on."

While there are plenty of wild swimming spots within an hour's travel of London, it seems like local authorities want more to be done to encourage outdoor recreational swimming closer to home. As it stands, there are just eight safe places to swim in natural bodies of water around London, such as London's Royal Docks and Hampstead Heath. However, none of them are in local rivers amid broader health and safety concerns over water quality.

Despite being England's capital city, many parts of London have rubbish phone signal. Ever tried loading Citymapper while in Covent Garden? Yeah, think again. Now it's been revealed exactly where in the Big Smoke has the worst, and best, phone signal. Consumer advice site Which? has unveiled a new mobile network coverage map, using analysis powered by Opensignal. The analysis measured signal for four major network providers - EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone.

Are you claustrophobic? Look away now. Because a brand-new capsule hotel has just opened in central London. For people who enjoy being confined in small spaces - it's cosy! - the Zedwell Capsule Hotel in Piccadilly Circus has just welcomed its first guests. The 1,000-pod hotel costs £30 per night, and it has taken over the the Pavilion, a Grade II-listed building on Great Windmill Street.

There's just one more match left between England's Red Roses and the Rugby World Cup final 2025. On Saturday evening, the girls will take on France at Ashton Gate to vie for their place at Twickenham next weekend - and there are a whole bunch of places across London that'll be following the action. Watch the game go down at free screenings at Battersea Power Station or Canary Wharf, or at your local rugby club or participating pub.

Violent crime in London has dropped by 13%a fall of nearly 10,000 attacks a yearas the capital records its lowest homicide rate in five years. New figures from the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) have revealed sharp drops across serious offences, including 9,774 fewer violence with injury offences, 30 fewer homicides, 115 fewer gun crime incidents, and notable drops in both residential and business burglaries.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said 15 fire engines were in attendance at the building on Wood Lane. The fire is affecting floors towards the top of the building, which include a restaurant and an area of external decking and ducting, while an unknown number of flats have also potentially been affected. LFB and the Metropolitan Police are working to evacuate nearby buildings as a precaution with a rest centre being set up for those who had to leave their homes.

According to a study put together by Locals Insider, the capital city was ranked the best UK destination to let your hair down one last time before officially tying the knot. In a survey of more than 2,000 people, London came out on top with more than a quarter of respondents naming it the best spot to celebrate a stag do. A further 20.7% of voters agreed that London was also the place to be for hen dos as well.

In the 1970s and 80s, when it was possible to envisage curbing car use in favour of integrated public transport in Britain's towns and cities, my father, Rob Lane, who has died aged 84, was a leading exponent of prioritising public services and pedestrian safety over the car. As a lecturer in transportation studies at the Polytechnic of Central London in the 1960s he wrote

2. The British Museum Home to a vast collection of art and antiquities from around the world, the British Museum is a treasure trove of human history. Highlights include the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, and the Egyptian mummies. 3. The Tower of London Step back in time at the Tower of London, a historic castle that has served as a royal palace, prison, and treasury. Marvel at the Crown Jewels and take a guided tour with one of the Yeoman Warders.

PA Media A bus driver has been taken to hospital after a collision in central London in which several passengers and pedestrians are understood to have been injured. The Met Police, the London Ambulance Service (LAS) and London's Air Ambulance were called to Victoria Street in Westminster at about 08:20 BST, the force said. There are no reported fatalities, the Met added.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today reiterated that one death is one too many and committed to continuing to tackle violence and its complex causes, as early figures show that London recorded the fewest number of homicides across June, July and August since 2018. The Mayor has vowed to continue building on the hard work to tackle violence across the capital and hailed the impact of his London Violence Reduction Unit and the hard work of the Met Police,

Over the years, Bemi Orojuogun, known to her nearly 300,000 followers as "Bus Aunty", has loved exploring London and filming selfie videos in front of the city's landmarks, especially its red buses. At first, her videos were simple clips of her smiling in different parts of London. But one day, everything changed. "It was just a normal day," she says.

Softball for us and for me became my social circle - it's super social, everyone's really friendly with each other.

And from ianVisits: New cooling tech tested to reduce railway signal failures in heatwaves Tickets Alert: Dennis Potter season to show some of his early TV plays Excavations at Tower of London shed light on centuries of life and death Rare Charles Dickens rehearsal sketches go on display in London TfL urges passengers to stop playing music out loud on trains Thousands explore Ashford Depot at their Railway 200 open day Things to do in London tomorrow

Out of the planet's 10 most gorgeous bookshops, the two London entries came in fifth and eighth place. Taking the crown for London was Word on the Water in fifth place overall. This famous bookbarge can be found on a 1920s Dutch barge floating on Regent's Canal near King's Cross. As well as selling keenly prices editions in all sorts of genres, this retailer also puts on live music events every now and again, with jazz musicians playing atop the barge.

The impact of this behaviour is a growing concern for the public, local businesses, and the council. Tyre burnouts leave lasting skid marks on road surfaces, contributing to the visual deterioration of a high-profile retail area and necessitating more frequent resurfacing at a cost to the council and its partners.

Yaqub, a 16-year-old boy, went missing near Tottenham Court Road, Camden at around 5.30pm on Sunday, July 22, prompting an urgent search by the Metropolitan Police.

Clement Ogbonnaya is appealing for 500,000 to complete the purchase of the Queen of the South pub in Tulse Hill to prevent its closure.

The Thames bridges through central London are all lit up at night as part of a long artwork, allowing visitors to either walk or take a boat ride.

"There was a chemical leak in the basement of Guy's hospital. It's just reopened now. One of the engineers accidentally mixed chlorine with sulphuric acid, and it totally exploded."

Holford Square, originally a Victorian garden square, was transformed after WWII into Holford Gardens, featuring a block of flats designed by Berthold Lubetkin.

A high-speed police chase in London was captured on camera as a car was seen driving at double the speed limit and on the wrong side of the road.

The Royal Arcade, London's first commercially built shopping arcade, opened in 1880 and features a French Renaissance design adorned with sculptures representing the four quarters of the world.