Tube scammer got £1m out of scam and is fined £11k. Go figure. Guide dogs not good at spotting 3ft deep sewage holes Royal gay sex blackmailers jailed On the edge of our bar stools for the election results... coming up around 20.30 Drive safely, and take umbrella and sunglasses, if you're daft enough to leave London this weekend Image courtesy of Bloo Phoenix via the Londonist flickr group.......

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......

Whistleblowing teacher gets £70k for unfair dismissal from smeared Saudi school Islington's courting doggy favour Time for eccentric Hackney "moleman" to cough up for repairs T5 scapegoats selected Frisky Epping Forest woodpeckers get aroused and peckish on fragile church roof Image of Chinatown in layers courtesy of Martin...H via the Londonist flickr group.......

More T5 woe: BA postpones long-haul move Still, at least homeless folk are being helped out by the Heathrow chaos Cops to be electronically tagged; just like the crims, then, eh? Strike saga stumbles on - tube workers votes for industrial action Working for Lambeth PCT doesn't sound much fun Image courtesy of [windscreenfly.com]'s Flickrstream via the Londonist flickr group.......

'Martyrdom videos' made by accused jet bombers Ken's clandestine kids cause controversy For those keeping up with the Tube strike ping-pong rally: it's off again Holland Park statue goes up in flames - but is that pic from before or after the blaze? A home in your shell, like: 'Raw space' demand spreads to London Image of An Ordinary Life (isn't that what we all want, really?) courtesy of unusualimage via the Londonist flickr......

The original sort of Iron Men found on Olympic Park Hitler liked naked lady paintings Cut price bespoke tailoring shakes up Savile Row Seems there's another tube strike on its way zzzzzzz Image of Sarkozy & Bruni in Greenwich this week courtesy of Orhan via the Londonist flickr group.......

Those pesky OAPs just keep getting into trouble. This time it's drug smuggling Artists take stand against Shoreditch high rises Tube film upsets train drivers. Well it doesn't take much Bozza waves treehugging card While TfL send Congestion Charge payer 3000 receipts "Urban Chameleon" image courtesy of urban:zoo by [windscreen fly] via the Londonist flickr group.......

Heathrow panic over rucksack man, running onto runway. He removed his shoes first though as per airport protocol. Woman charged over drug mule children with illegal leg loads. Environmentally aware, double-barrelled teen to ski to North Pole. The Royals are checking out their sugar suppliers in Silvertown And, newer, shinier, longer DLR trains are GO (thanks IanVisits!). Image courtesy of rodfdoyle via the Londonist flickr group.......

2012 "Friend-ship" scheme shelved before it sets sail. Is the sun setting on the Square Mile? Grape of wrath: Man slips on squashed fruit and sues M&S for "loss of confidence". We think he's got more chance of turning a profit by sending the video in to You've Been Framed. Stingy NHS won't cough up money for grandmother's sight-saving operation. Costs for parking a plane at Heathrow set to rise. Naturally, passengers will be......

Ken's race advisor Lee Jasper steps down Al fresco boozers in Harrow - you're no longer welcome Tessa Jowell unveils Olympic legacy action plan London is Eighties pop star territory: Whitney Houston to follow Prince and Jacko with comeback gig Al Sugar meets Ann Summers: sex shop boss to enter charity Apprentice Cinematic Spitalfields courtesy of Homemade via the Londonist flickr group.......

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.......

Al Fayed and his Royal Ghouls conspiracy - Macca, Mills and the millions - enough already!! Science Museum specialists to strike over pay... Unsurprising since London's streets may as well be paved with gold Junior suffrage in action as Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets elected (are you registered to vote in May?) Eels attempt to put the Royal back in Festival Hall Image courtesy of Shutterbuguy via the Londonist flickr group.......

Massive Attack to curate Meltdown London flood resilience to be tested East London super-church for KICC turned down Bloomsbury insider archive goes on display at the British Library Camden Market reopens in time for the weekend - London urged to rally round traders Image courtesy of Orhan via the Londonist flickr group.......

What a lovely day! Confused Kew think it's spring. Westminster Council wants to get sandwich boards and placards off the streets - how will we know where the golf sale is? Post-mortem fails to reveal cause of death in headless corpse case: um, it wouldn't be 'missing head', would it? Winehouse can't get into the US, so she's moving in with the Osbournes. Abu Hamza doesn't have a choice. Cab fare home on the......

Transport unions to ballot members on Tube strike action London Councils ace performance and efficiency assessments Scottish property market outperforms London; Crown Estate flogs off an historic house or two. Straight to the heart of Gothamist Towers from London City? Sounds good to us. Yah boo sucks, Heathrow. Stunning image of Lloyds of London courtesy of Homemade via the Londonist flickr group.......

Beware the pornographic perils of Bluetooth Chelsea Barracks sold for incredible £959 million - expect imminent Sloane explosion as 2000 luxury apartments move in Afghanistan soldiers' exhibition up for award at National Army Museum Home time warning - trains between London and Milton Keynes are suspended Happy birthday Thames Barrier, 25 today! Image courtesy of Simon Crubellier via the Londonist flickr group.......

Crippled clipper to get cash injection However, local boroughs are still passing round the begging bowl - and does anybody have a spare £250 million stuck behind the sofa to help out West End theatres? Caterwauling Kate's karaoke marathons not entirely popular with new neighbours Department for Transport rapped on the knuckles over Metronet's "spectacular failure" Girl and pa lash themselves to Japanese embassy in anti-whaling protest. Image courtesy of onionbagblogger via the Londonist......

From the government department for investigating blatantly obvious things - a public consultation into whether learning English helps immigrants feel more at home. Spend the money on the courses, you twonks. BBC names rising music stars for 2008. Don't get too excited. Watch out for our Listen Up! posts instead. Market "intelligence" firms gathering data on public health predict that residents of deprived boroughs, Tower Hamlets, Southwark and City & Hackney are likely to......

Well, the first day back at work for many of us, and we've all probably not been the most productive ever. So in spite of our shambolic return to regular posting, here's a quick recap of all the stories we would have covered if we didn't just want to crawl back into bed. A week too late for a white Xmas, snow is expected to fall in London tomorrow! That would be all types......

There are plans afootie to make clubs pay for match policing…. …the funds reaped from which will no doubt be a help when the police do really silly things like stealing someone’s wheelchair. Either the BNP is going soft, or ballet is showing its harder side - an unlikely liaison is announced. There are doubts about a lot of Russian things at the mo – the latest being a will they/won’t they situation over......

Straight out of Steptoe and Son - bogus bin men bag bonuses. Straight out of a Whitehall farce - illegal immigrant home office worker to be deported. Straight out of a Bond movie - driverless people shuttles at Heathrow. Straight out of real life - the bit-too-much-booze bus. Straight out of a Dickensian novel - immigrant detention at Heathrow is getting worse. Reminds-us-of-the-end-of-the-world piccie courtesy of paniek’s flickr photo stream.......

Fancy getting sporty next summer? Two day athletics beano planned. Thames Gateway staff turnaround. Don't suppose it will be the last. Peckham's Universal Church of the Kingdom of God is praying for a financial revelation. Daffy immigration rules hit football. 2012 budget in the news again: this time it's security issues. Image taken in St James' Park yesterday courtesy of daveograve@ via the Londonist flickr group.......

Olympic budget continues to be a source of confusion if not merriment. The RMT plays about with figures: fly to the Caribbean or train it from London to Scotland – you tell us which is cheaper?! Kilburn’s Tricycle Theatre sees a charity screening of a film in aid of 7/7 memorial fund. The Met has appointed a new counter terrorism chief. 2012 building piccie courtesy of diamond geezer’s flickr photo stream.......

The Brixton Academy rocks, but Brixton doesn’t. The buzz of yet another film premiere. Bad weather forecast for tomorrow’s climate march. TPT BMW AWOL Now immigration is an issue in footie too. Aren't tourists fun? Piccie courtesy of Adam Tinworth’s flickr photo stream.......

Euston is chosen as the site for a shiny new medical research centre. Heads involved in the Menezes case have started to roll. The results of the mayor’s latest jolly - freebies for Indian businessmen. Hospitals in South London not as clean as they should be. This time it’s dirty instruments. Where there’s a will, there’s not always a way. The government likes the Tate. The mayor’s equality dude is under investigation. Londonist is......

There’s some serious pessimism going on at the Olympic ticket sales office. You can build a new town, but how do you create a community? Thames Gateway in the news again. Not all community council or residents’ group meetings have to be boring. Wintry vista courtesy of Morphina_org's Flickrstream.......

Reginald Perrin rides again. A canoeist who vanished 5 years ago has surfaced alive and well. Car free London = care free. And popular apparently. Sporty Londonist readers should check out the London Sports Awards. Dial-a-parking-space out of order. Temporarily. Celebrities are worried about Camden Market. The internet is a wonderful thing, but apparently not for matters of the heart. Rail IS getting exciting. Now they are planning trains from Heathrow to Paris. Singers......

Queen Liz officially re-opens St Pancras station Having nabbed a flash foreign manager, Spurs continue to ape Arsenal with new stadium plans Meanwhile, Gunners fans are accused of abusing shrinking violet Sir Alex Ferguson Smithfields Market to be butchered in redevelopment? Londonist hopes it can be saved Image courtesy of buckaroo kid via the Londonist flickr group.......