There were tears before bedtime yesterday when a Facebook "splashmob" got a little out of hand and resulted in 9 people being arrested. The ES pictures show a jolly group of plastic bazooka armed lovelies frolicking in the evening sun enjoying a refreshing water fight but the BBC reports that the “high spirited” aquatic combat scared horses, unseating some small children riding nearby, so the rozzers were sent in to break up the fun. There’s......

This weekend column is brought to you by the founders of Niceties Tokens, Liz and Pete of Team Nice. 40. Altruism? For a couple of years now, I have given up quite a large chunk of my spare time to do nice things for free, and so have so many other people too. It seems so strange to me that we would all do this – after all for what purpose? What do we......

This weekend column is brought to you by the founders of Niceties Tokens, Liz and Pete of Team Nice. 37. Fashionably Nice – Ties It’s official, to be nice is on trend. A fashion designer friend of mine told me of an article she had seen on WGSN (a paid subscription service for the fashion industry that forecasts future trends), forecasting that fashion would get a bit more wholesome and nice. It used inspiration......

The Book Club is dead! Long live The School for Gifted Children! Robin Ince's Book Club, for the unacquainted, was a delightfully ramshackle evening of intellectual mirth and experimentation, which was given a grand farewell in December at the British Museum. Tonight The School for Gifted Children kickstarts the glorious sounding N20 Comedy Festival for show, stories, songs and outright lies in the dinky Studio 68 at Battersea Arts Centre. Robin Ince is in......

Artist Phil Corbett's 'Erotic Terrors of the Deep' opens next week at Brick Lane's Bodhi Gallery. Yes, get excited but not in that kind of way. According to Phil, "the show isn't really that erotic, I was just being provocative to get people in, because, as we all know, sex sells." The exhibition will document "the extremely sexy denizens of the deep that live out their naughty lives deep under the sea, away from......

One of the most thrilling aspects of live comedy is surely its intimacy. When you watch a big act in a small room, a charming comic can make you believe that they are there just for you, as if the jokes they tell were being told exclusively for your pleasure. There's a new club in town that is trying to go one step further. Anthology is a night in Portabello Green W10 which does......

There have been big changes at Londonist this year - we've had new staff, a new commenting system and a brand new tagging system installed so we had a lot to celebrate at the Christmas party. And as we're not keen on making trouble for ourselves, only for other people, we thought we would go to a party already arranged for us; last night a hearty party of Londonistas headed off to the Barbican......

Remember the pigeon feeding turf wars of 2006? Well, the Pigeon Action Group are back in the news. A candlelit vigil was held at midday today on Trafalgar Square's north terrace (in daylight?) to highlight the plight of the poor starving birds. Westminster City Council closed the loophole that had allowed certain pigeon protestors to feed the birds on a daily basis back in September to make the public square more hygenic and pleasant.......

Will London see snow this Christmas? With the big day just over a week away, we’re into that sweet spot of UK weather prediction somewhere between educated guess and wild speculation. What better time, then, to round up some of forecasters’ mulled wine-fuelled stabs in the dark? Unfortunately for those who like a bit of the white stuff on Christmas (insert Winehouse joke here), meteorologists seem to be in a pessimistic mood this year,......

While most will undoubtedly be snuggling up on the sofa, warmed chocolate cupped in one palm, tv remote in the other, the residents of East Barnet will be endeavouring upon a very different xmas eve: as was the tradition back in 1932, those with a ghoulish disposition will be flocking to Church Hill Road, near Oak Hill Park, in the hope to catch a glimpse of the former Sir Geoffrey de Mandeville, a headless......

To be honest the rain and coldness is kind of making us not want to go to gigs at the moment, preferring instead to wrap ourselves up warmly at home. But if we did, this is what we'd be bouncing at. Monday: The biggie tomorrow is of course Led Zep at the O2, but you've more chance of meeting Santa than getting tickets for that. So instead, forget the dinosaurs and try something new......

What we learned this weekend whilst you were enjoying all the fun of the fair: Weird statistic of the week: Emmas from Sutton and Evas from Kingston should not be allowed behind the wheel. How on earth do they get these stats? Two arrests have been made following Saturday’s night bus murder. Londonist would so like to like night buses, but it is hard. Find out what north-of-the-borderers make of us. Mummy gets a......

It's very easy to get caught up in this city for all of it's music, clubs and big shiny loud stuff. Well, as much as we remain a fan of all that is big and shiny, Londonist occasionally needs some down time. Preferably with trees and tweety birds. And there's nothing more relaxing than a walk through the countryside. This is why The Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre is perfect. It's a short skip and......

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.......

OK, so maybe not kills, although it might, but it is bad for you. Details to follow. A new report shows that shopping in an area with a high volume of traffic has a worse affect on your lungs than walking around a park. For a moment this looks like one of those no shit Sherlock stories; however, the study is specifically related to people with asthma and the effect that diesel engines have......

It's that time of year again. Time for Christmas shopping, panto and end-of-year pub quizzes. Ah, December. In their last film pub quiz spectacular or the year, the You're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat team has pulled out all the stops, and you'd best brush up on your film trivia. If you've not been to one of these amazingly fun nights before, and have an otherwise boring Wednesday night lying in front of you,......

Regular readers, occasional visitors, the people we work with and those who end up here because of an unlikely Google search may not be aware of the team behind the scene. But we're there, at the 21st century version of the coalface, at our keyboards, on our laptops, putting Londonist together with pleasure. Seeing, doing, thinking, shopping, travelling, Photoshopping, researching and making up stuff about London is a great deal of fun and we've......

Londonist imagines that saying "mind the gap, "stand clear of the closing doors" and endless variations on "The next station is...." for a living can get a little wearisome. Professional voice-over artist Emma Clarke does just that. Hence, she decided to spice up her days by making a few spoof announcements and posting them onto her website, including one that went: "We would like to remind our American tourist friends that you are almost......

We love it when London gets all Christmas-y and a big part of that is the sudden belief that all of us can ice skate once December hits. We gave you a big round-up of the main ice skating rinks last week but there's just been a further addition to the fun with the launch of Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland. For five weeks from December 1, the area of Hyde Park between the Serpentine......

Harumph. Last night saw a wee splash of rain and a whole load of inconvenience in London. And this rather disgruntled Londonista was caught up in it. It’s not that we are spoiled brats and can’t cope without our PCs and tellies for an evening. By all accounts a snuggly, fire-lit night in, cooking pancakes over candles and making conversation with each other, never did anyone any harm – why the thrice weekly power cut......

This weekend column is brought to you by the founders of Niceties Tokens, Liz and Pete of Team Nice. 25. Fancy that Last night was the third niceties tokens party. Our one-year birthday. It was a really fun night, and because Team Nice teamed up with Bring Stuff (meet ups and social events with a fancy dress theme) guests where requested to bring hats and wigs to wear and share. The atmosphere in the......

We've seen you racing down Rainbow Road in the queue at Sainsbury's. We've also noticed you desperately arranging tetrominoes on the tube and catching Pokémon at the bus stop, so we know you're just as addicted to playing Nintendo DS as we are. For over a year now, DS:London has been organising frequent pub meetups where fans of the handheld console can gather for competition and conversation over pints. If you've been playing alone,......

Rapha makes clothing for serious cyclists - the couriers, the racers, the hardcore fundraisers pedalling over the Andes. They are also organising one of the most unusual events we've had the privilege of hearing about: this Saturday is the second Rapha Roller Race Culture Clash which is "a four-way clash between teams of bicycle couriers, cycle journalists, media folk and a ‘dark horse’ Dutch team made up of unnamed riders." And before you try......

Blues skies aside, winter is upon us - the halcyon days of summer a distant memory; thermals and visible breath a present reality. Therefore what better way to raise darkened spirits during these darkened days than going to the comedy and loosing yourself in laughter? We at Londonist certainly think this is a great plan (we’ve been on a not-so-secret comedy revival mission for years), and good news for us, Stewart Lee is playing at......

Unless there were leaves on the line, not enough station staff, delays at Paris holding everything up or industrial action on either side of the Channel, the first Eurostar train should be pulling into its new station at St Pancras this morning. We've had a sneak preview of what it's like and have been terribly excited about it so far, and at last, today, we get to see it in its full glory. We......

You can get packed into a club playing bad techno any weekend, but it’s not often that you get to party like it’s 1859. Saturday’s White Mischief, themed “From The Earth To The Moon”, was an evening envisioning the future as the Victorians imagined it (well before George Orwell came along and scared the crap out of us). The crowd was split between those in standard club dress and those who went all out......

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did......

Finding a musical to truly like can be difficult these days. Musicals can be a bit pointless and ridiculous (hello We Will Rock You!) and often most fun if you’re a) drunk or b) intending to get drunk afterwards and thus not paying attention. However, we have finally come across not one but two musicals, currently playing in London, which are certainly worth our time. First up: Hairspray, the musical based on the 1988......

As reported last week, Monday should see you going crazy to hear that one good song (are there others) by Peter Bjorn and John at the forum. More importantly make sure you get there in time to see support act Those Dancing Days. We caught them at Water Rats on Saturday and are pleased to report they combine cuteness and moodiness with alarming grace. The much loved Beirut play an instore at Rough Trade......

Londonist got the big scoop of the week with what may be the first images of notorious street artist Banksy in action. They also got on a runaway train without an operator provoking a response from the transport authorities. Elsewhere, London's answer to Central Station is about to open for business, and Londonist got a sneak preview. Meanwhile, spooky goings-on beneath London Bridge, where a cache of skeletons provided an apt story for Hallowe'en.......