This Week In London’s History

• Monday – 12th May 1967: Pink Floyd stage their ‘Games for May’ concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank. The concert is notable for being the first ever live performance to use a quadraphonic sound system. Unfortunately, the use of bubbles and daffodils during the performance stain the carpets and seats, resulting in the band being banned from the venue.
  
• Tuesday – 13th May 1966: Alison Elizabeth Margaret Goldfrap is (probably) born in Enfield, North London. She would become better known by adding an extra ‘p’ to the end of her surname, and fronting an electronica band of the same name.
  
• Wednesday – 14th May 1842: The first fully illustrated weekly newspaper, the Illustrated London News is launched, costing sixpence.
  
• Thursday – 15th May 1981: Zara Phillips, the daughter of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, is born in a private wing of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.
  
• Friday – 16th May 1968: A gas explosion causes the collapse of an entire corner of a newly constructed high-rise block of flats in Newham, East London, killing five residents.

Random London Fact Of The Week
The Northern Line’s well-established nickname, ‘The Misery Line’, should come as no surprise to those of us that have to regularly endure its daily idiosyncrasies.

However, not everyone harbours a deep resentment of this tube line. In fact, one-time London architect Mike Kelly had such fondness for the Northern Line carriages that he acquired an old carriage from the line’s ‘1959 stock’ (car number DM 1304, apparently) and installed it as an unusual feature in the back garden of his house in Herefordshire.

Mr. Kelly was not the only person with a fondness for these tube carriages – amongst enthusiasts, there is considerable affection for the 1959 stock. Although seemingly out-of-date by today’s standards, many of these carriages had a very long lifetime, some remaining in service until 2000 – contributing significantly to London Underground’s perceived decrepitude.

London’s Weather This Week
Hooray – more sunshine this week! However, there is the threat of rain as the weekend approaches, so make the most of the good weather while it lasts.

Picture of 1959 tube stock taken from Steve Thoroughgood’s Flickr photostream.