Another day, another thunderclap of hand-wringing and dire Nostradamus warnings about the 2012 Games. Organisers have been accused of "spending money like water" as costs for the event rise like floodwaters threatening the ageing Thames Barrier. This is the charge made by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, who have pricked their penny-pinching ears up at the well-publicised report by the Public Accounts Committee that the original budget was unrealistic. Costs for key buildings......

Colour us surprised: those original 2012 Olympic costs were totally unrealistic Hounslow residents, consider yourselves warned: a teachers strike this Thursday means the yoof will be on the loose Arrests have been made in a 21-year old murder case Here comes the bat cab! That's, um, a battery-powered cab, not the kind of motor Bruce Wayne would be seen in. Pubs are closing at frightening rate. Do your bit, people - get plastered in......

2012 Games won't benefit locals, claims think tank Take that, Monaco - London now has the world's priciest homes Our Amy's up for three Ivor Novello gongs Lie detector software proves a nice little money-saver for south London council Russian heavyweights to square off at the High Court Which? reveals candidates for London Restaurant of the Year Image courtesy of Orhan* via the Londonist flickr group.......

Police accused of massaging figures. Crime figures, that is. Notice a dodgy smell? Blame our continental cousins LSE to build climate change research centre thanks to generous donation That Lords revamp we mentioned in February now has a shortlist of architects. The oft-mooted tube strike? It's on again, folks. Blackjack the cat missing on the Olympic site. He's got less than a week to reappear. Image courtesy of Simon Crubellier via the Londonist flickr......

Yawn. Londonist is fed up of dour news pieces and negatively-biased research polls foisting bleak forecasts on to the public of an overly expensive and poorly designed 2012 Olympics. Are we heading for the crappest Olympics ever? Is the event going to bankrupt our economy? Who really knows? It’s 4 years away! In this latest survey, carried out by current affairs programme Inside Out, 6 out of 10 Londoners said there was nothing really......

The police have been called in, and a full investigation has been launched this morning, to discover how the personal details of the entire BBC Olympic staff have gone missing from a private office within Television Centre. Details of hotel bookings, addresses, photographs and the passport information of the 437-strong workforce attending the Beijing games, including those of Surrey tennis Queen and Cliff Richard stooge, Sue Barker, were first reported missing from their West......

Um, we’d check before you travel if you’re planning to let the train take the strain over Easter. Miracle pensioner walks unscathed from exploding building.. There are still plans afoot to get that traditional East End sport, baseball on to the agenda in 2012… …which latter is apparently to leave us a stunning legacy. Is Travelodge taking over the known universe?. The Sun sets on Wapping as Murdoch moves to Broxbourne in Herts. St.......

Our environmentally sustainable Mayor is taking on the IOC bigwigs who are demanding VIP fast lanes for a fleet of up to 3000 cars "to take officials, politicians and corporate sponsors to venues" at the 2012 Games. No fool he, cunningly waiting until they'd finished their progress inspection and given a favourable verdict earlier this week. He's not diving headlong into a fight though, preferring to wait until the Beijing Olympics are over this......

Olympic news items are like buses, or decent Boris Johnson policies: you wait for ages then two come along at once. This week we've heard about the package of security measures announced for the Games, while the International Olympic Committee popped by to check up on how we're doing. The announcement in July 2005 of London's Olympic triumph came just hours before the worst terrorist atrocity the city has ever seen, so from the......

Lunchbox Linford won't carry Olympic flame Yellow box rules for Jubilee Line platforms Affordable homes cheek by jowl with hordes of Sloanes Arsenal's earning loadsamoney New mothers urged to bank umbilical blood Art Deco Dream Home image courtesy of onionbagblogger via the Londonist flickr group.......

2008 is Beijing's Olympic year so we're expecting plenty of 2012 related news, rumblings and international comparisons bouncing round the internet. On the last day of January, our Games have already made the headlines 3 times this week: When overall costs trebled at the end of last year, the Lottery stepped in with a mega loan to the Olympics. This week, Tessa Jowell announced it might take 10 years after the event for any......

You might remember the plight of the wonderful Manor Garden Allotments from last year. The green fingered East Enders were eventually evicted and transplanted to a plot of land in Marsh Lane, Leyton after a spirited but unsuccessul fight. Now, however, the ghost of Manor Gardens has been transmuted into art with a reconstruction of the original "community shed" at its heart. Student artist, Thomas Pausz, has constructed the shed as part of his......

Met police reception staff are mighty miffed Shooters get shirty about Olympic venue choice Ken bribes the student vote with 100 days till election While Gordon attempts to inspire the world about 2012 with his unique charm and zest Image of the doomed Flying Duck Enterprises in Greenwich courtesy of Mondoagogo via the Londonist flickr group.......

We're game for these 2012 Olympics and, yesterday, tried to get all excited about the Get Set Roadshow that will be shimmying its way through all 33 Boroughs soon. But then we saw Londonist Flickr Pool contributor, MykReeve's first-hand shot of the thing and were somewhat underwhelmed. Many thanks to MykReeve for being our man on the scene.......

Office shag sees uniformed officer sacked even though he kept in touch with his colleagues by phone and radio whilst he enjoyed his internet date Rumblings in the House over transport security and funding for the Olympics. De Menezes inquest may take months The faithful defrauded But to end on good news, lightbulb amnesty at B&Q! Image courtesy of DICKSDAILY via the Londonist flickr group.......

Most travellers ever on London Underground, 7 December Yesterday was shopping madness Heathrow strike talks have started Olympic strike talk also begins... Catch any Bond this Christmas? Then "For Your Eyes Only" the Imperial War Museum's forthcoming exhibition on the life and work of Ian Fleming and 007 and how any of it was vaguely related to real life war type things is something you may wish to look forward to Image courtesy of......

Trying to end the year on a positive, if unglamorous note: Olympic demolition complete and Games declared on track West Ham United get behind campaign to stop young people killing each other, Home Office campaign criticised for not being strategic enough Winehouse arrested, bailed and declared biggest selling artist of the year while Dad slags off Doherty in the press Look out for Lily blooming in the spring Sobering image of Plaistow Fire Station......

Well, it's certainly less controversial than the logo. The design for the new Olympic Stadium is something of a zoetrope in the aspirational design launch video which follows bits of the stadium as they fly and crawl through London to Stratford, witnessed by a jogging girl with a coldsore. The bits all spin together excitingly to settle into a massive, goldfish bowl. Or sunken, oval cupcake. After the Games, 25,000 temporary Olympic seats will......