It's somehow refreshing to see that the rich & powerful are no more capable of spotting a ruse than the rest of us. In a tale straight out of the niftiest grifter's playbook, businessman Terry Collins was relieved of £1 million by a couple of con artists who convinced him that he was about to buy the Ritz. Property investor Mr. Collins made the acquaintance of a certain Tony Lee back in 2006. Mr......

The fourth in our series of spooky, kooky guided walks is almost upon us. Wander Lonely Streets Part IV takes place on Friday, from 7.30, beginning at the north end of Green Park's Queens Walk (pedestrian route on the East side of the park). This is between the Tube exits and the Ritz. Do drop us a line if you'd like to come along (londonist - at - gmail - dotcom). It's free, and......

Is it just us or was January rubbish? Nice then that February, with its special extra day this year, commences with Brazilian Carnival, yummy pancakes and Chinese New Year... it's like a whole new start for 2008 and lots of it totally FREE! Monday: Get some Monday Love at the Inspiral Lounge, Camden Lock as UK Indymedia host their radical film, talk, and music night. Free entry for all those who still believe in......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 21st January 1976: Concorde’s first commercial service, from London to Bahrain (and Paris to Rio de Janeiro) commences. Tuesday – 22nd January 1876: The Royal Aquarium opens in Westminster. It would be demolished just 26 years later and replaced by the Methodist Central Hall. Wednesday – 23rd January 1571: The Royal Exchange in the City of London is officially opened by Elizabeth I. Over the next few hundred......

Announcing the fourth Londonist guided walk. When: Friday 8 February. What: Piccadilly warriors, sapphic Royalty, bonkers fashion, nazi dogs, naval heroes and lovesick gardeners are amongst the cast on this dysfunctional relationship stroll through St James. Who: Chris Roberts, your genial guide from our previous walks is back. Chris is a veteran tour guide, author of Cross-River Traffic, resurrector of the Penny Dreadful with his One Eye Grey, and all-round top bloke. Where: Meet......

Above-inflation fare rises and teeming queues at the ticket machine as people flock to renew their passes; January 2nd is traditionally not the best day for the rail industry. TfL may be harking about a single fare freeze (whilst downplaying the Travelcard fare increase), but for Londoners today the news in general is less good: two of the capitals busiest transport hubs are closed. Liverpool Street station, shut since December 23rd while engineers were......

Right, so you're either saving up to blow the last of the December salary on one helluva NYE out or you're just stony broke after Christmas/sales shopping. Either way, unless you're happy to simply hibernate for the week here are some ideas for New Year jollity on a budget. New Year's Eve: Follow our top tips and gird your loins for the massive fireworks display along the Thames, focusing on the London Eye and......

27. More Terrors Of The Tube! To continue from our last stop of ghosts pertaining to the London Underground, the spectral girl of Elephant & Castle appears to be a rail relation to the phantom hitchhiker legend, in that several witnesses have described, often whilst sitting in an empty carriage, encountering a young woman who takes a seat but often vanishes between stops. Just like many phantom hitchhiker myths, this particular spook story is......

The name of the band Korpiklaani means 'forest clan' in Finnish, so perhaps it isn't so surprising that the band started their set at Camden Underground an hour or so late. Our theory is that they got lost on the Tube, distracted by the leafy promise in such place-names as Oakwood or Wood Green or Green Park, only to be met with bitter disappointment upon venturing aboveground. What really matters is that Korpiklaani eventually......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 8th October 1965: The Post Office Tower (now known as the BT Tower) in Fitzrovia becomes operational as a major hub for national microwave telecommunications. Today it is the only building in the UK that is legally allowed to be evacuated using its lifts. Tuesday – 9th October 1975: An IRA bomb explodes at a bus stop near Green Park tube station, killing one person and injuring......

We think everybody who attended Saturday's sun-soaked Tour de France Prologue would agree that, on the whole, it was a well-organised, popular success. However, with the shadow of the Olympics hanging over every large scale sporting happening in London between now and 2012 our experiences at the race lead us to believe that there are still a few important tweaks that could be made for events like this in the lead up to the......

As the buzz surrounding the weekend's Tour de France action in London builds steadily, more and more people are asking where will be the best places to watch, especially during the Prologue individual time trial on Saturday afternoon. Unlike the annual Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, where the best vantage points are well established, there's no obvious form to go on for this one-off cycling spectacular in terms of where to set out your viewing stall......

This weekend column is brought to you by the founders of Niceties Tokens, Liz and Pete of Team Nice. 6. Dizzy Lizzy Previously: It's easy for us all to look away, but if you were sitting on a bus and someone directly asked you, very politely, if they could sit down because they were about to pass out, would anyone (who was able) refuse? For research purposes only, I'll test this out… This was......

Only a fortnight to go now before central London is engulfed by the two-wheeled juggernaut of the world's most celebrated race. "Le Grand Depart" is the title given to the weekend of sport and festivities from 6th - 8th July that marks the first visit to the UK capital of the Tour de France, a cycling contest in the same way that a royal wedding is a quiet ceremony in a local family church.......

Ahhh, it's finally summer (try and ignore the rain for a moment). Summer in London means many things: picnics in Green Park, staying out late on a school night and students all over the capital stressing out about their exams and final year exhibitions. Enter Free Range 2007. A show of some of the most prestigious universities' design work, all in the heart of Brick Lane: The Old Truman Brewery. Londonist caught up with......

We are getting reports that Holborn has been plunged into darkness. Apart from the sunshine. What we mean is that there seems to be a power failure of some kind: Part of central london is in the dark. My uni in holborn is closed, holborn station is shut, there are no traffic lights, alarms are going off, there is looting (perhaps not). Can't find any links on the net though... The Greens were right -......

1940 St. Paul's is hit by bombs. One myth of the Battle of Britain was that St Paul's Cathedral remained untouched (Churchill had insisted on it). However, the cathedral was hit on this day in 1940 (and again on April 17th 1941) and the Choir Stalls and Altar were badly damaged. On September 12th 1940, a time-delayed bomb which had struck the Cathedral was successfully defused and removed by a Bomb Disposal detachment of......

Ken Livingstone has won his suspension appeal. Two soldiers who serve in the same Army regiment as Prince Harry, have been charged with raping a 17-year-old girl in Green Park on Saturday. A female passenger who grabbed a male flight attendant's buttocks over the Atlantic has been arrested and charged with sexual assault on her arrival in London. Police are certain the attack was not related to terrorism. The 'saviour of Topshop', Jane Shepherdson,......

Spring does seem to be wheezing and clawing its way to the capital. After a pretty dismal start to the day, it finally turned out nice again, and Londonist got our first-nostril-full of BBQ during our afternoon stroll. And that stroll took us past Buck Pal, where we spotted this host of golden daffodils. In fact, the whole of Green Park has shifted to a longer-wavelength yellow as a vernal influorescence carpets the banks......

This day in London’s History 1542: Tower Hill. Kathryn Howard, or Cat Tudor to her friends, has an unfortunate encounter with an axe. After the execution, Henry VIII was heard to whisper unto Thomas Cranmer: ‘Well, that’ll save me a Guinea down at Thorntons. Christ’s beard, they don’t half mark-up their prices for Valentine’s Day’. London fact of the week If you walk down the long, musty passage between the Jubilee and Piccadilly Line......

Daddy referred to my mother's reproductive organs as "her little flower" There are many reasons we like strolling down Bermondsey Street. There's the smell of freshly baked bread from the bakery, the out of place Mexican vision of the Fashion & Textile museum, the local notices, the hellos from the girls at United Nude, the ultra hip women and the blokes who look like Nathan Barley... most of all though we like the free......