This weekend column is brought to you by the founders of Niceties Tokens, Liz and Pete of Team Nice. 42. Listening Got on my train last night, listening to my iPod and reading a book. From out of nowhere a man comes up to me and starts saying something to me. I take an earphone out and to my utter horror he says: “Can you turn that music down?” Oooh, he had a bit......

Dusting off the snow from last year, every day this month the Londonist team will be pointing you in the direction of a Christmas present that (with a bit of luck) you won't already have on your list. Climb up onto our collective lap and we'll see what we can move from our sack to your stockings.. Even seasoned Londoners like learning more about their home city. We're proof - we put our own......

O2, it seems, are cornering the market in progressive mobile gadegtry, already having the monopoly on the shiny smart iPhone and now the pilot phase OyPhone. Sorry, "Oyster Wallet" is the much more sensible and meaningless name for TfL's latest technology wheeze which puts your travelcard in your mobile phone and today, 500 Oyster users begin trialling the Nokia 6131 handsets with Oyster embedded. Barclaycard are also in on the trial, charging up the......

After a brief hiatus, we’re back with lots of fun things to do this week from the comfort of your own home. Get cozy on the couch with a cup of tea, because there are lots of things to watch this week. On TV, Londonist likes: Tuesday, 16 October Britain's Biggest Storm (ITV1, 21:00-22:30) If your interest was piqued by this week’s Monday Miscellanea, you’ll want to catch this documentary on the 20th anniversary......

Unless you're hiding under a stone in deepest darkest Kent, you'll know about the astonishing 'invasion' of the Terracotta Army, with the British Museum opening their flagship exhibition a few weeks ago. We wrote about their arrival on these very pages for you, so you've really got no excuse. Such is the clamour to see the soldiers that they will stay for a full six months. Getting them here is clearly quite a coup,......

The second of our interviews with the Tory candidates for London Mayor. Previously, Andrew Boff. Victoria Borwick is a born and bred London lass whose Mayoral campaign carries the tagline 'A red head not Red Ken'. She has 25 years of management experience and is currently a councillor for Kensington and Chelsea. She has four children, doesn't like tinny techno and knows a thing or two about Cleopatra's Needle. But does she have the......

If you’ve ever boarded a Tube train after it has reached the end of its line and is preparing to make the return journey, you will have had the experience of wading knee-deep in London’s best cat tray liners – the freesheets. Folded neatly on every seat, splayed across every square inch of floor space and perched haphazardly on every ledge are those peons of journalistic greatness, the Metro, thelondonpaper and London Lite. Together......

"What do you do to start something? You take it, you turn it around, then you take it, you take it somewhere..." Two girls and a boy, a drum kit, two microphones, a single blue cheerleader pom-pom, several bottles of water, a few chairs, an iPod with four songs and a sheet of paper with 33 instructions taped to the floor. That's all they had for Take It Home, part of the BAC Burst......

It's not often we get invited to lavish, invitation-only launch parties. So we couldn't say no when we received a summons to No.5 Cavendish Square. "All About YOU is the party supreme to celebrate your weekend in sophisticated and stylish glamour." Everyone wants to celebrate the weekend. So that is why we were all dressed up and ready to go with a lipgloss in the purse and Fergie singing Glamorous in the iPod. The......

Eurovision has become synonymous with daft songs with ridiculous lyrics and performers. These days the whole shebang is (just a little) more slick and sophisticated, but there are some bonkers entrants. From next Saturday on, we'll be previewing this year's sparkling selection of songs, 2 sets every week until May 10th. But first, what about the songs that didn't make it? Slovenia had the hilariously named Steffy & Donald Trumpet playing a sort-of Eastern......

We love freecycle. We've waxed lyrical about it before.. Since then we have received a book and are still waiting to hear back from a woman about some dinosaur stickers. While browsing through lists of beds and curtains and the implausible amount of doors that always seem to come up, we came across a chap called Matthew Smith who takes broken iPods, fixes them, and gives them back out to the freecycle community for......

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor......

If you've been down to Piccadilly Circus this week you might have noticed that the famous Coke advertising board has changed. Instead of being soley Coke, it's focusing on a joint promotion with iTunes which we love the sound of: Send a text message with the word specified on the day of entry on the illuminated “Coke + iTunes” sign located at Piccadilly Circus, London to the short code 85100 and you could win......

There's a chill in the air and the nights are getting longer but though it is tempting to stay indoors, with pipe and slippers (perhaps a slumbering medium-sized dog and roaring log fire too), to wait patiently until spring brings back some colour to the trees... you really mustn't. No, really: don't. Put on a sensible coat and start crawling with us... Today and tomorrow The Radox Experience the Elements event in Russell Square......

Note: 'Fingerfucked by the Prime Minister' is now our favourite song. Of course the Times London Film Festival is yet to start and there's a kabillion and one screenings ahead of us but Joachim Trier's Reprise is going to be hard to top for sheer freshness and warmth. Simply put it's a brilliant piece of film making. A group of friends whose lives revolve around literature and music unravel a charming punkrock story through......

The North London vs. South London divide exists. Really, it does: it is a marketing tool. It is a dangling carrot. It is the latest way to get Londoners running in this year's Nike 10km Run London event. Last year, Londonist was encouraged to join for far more individual and introspective reasons but this year, we're doing it to settle, once and for all which side of the river is the better London. While......

Anyone over the age of five still watching Doctor Who? We do of course, but only out of a morbid sense of curiosity to see exactly how bad it can get. The one light at the end of the time tunnel was the upcoming death of Rose. We were hoping she was going to get slowly beaten to death by a Cyberman using Mickey as a club or suffocated in her mum's cleavage, but......

Formed out of members of Art of Noise & The Auteurs, we first came across Infantjoy while wallowing in 'OMG SARAH NIXEY IS BACK!!!111!!' induced glee a few months ago. Guest starring on their working of 'Silent Night', we were intrigued by this duo who seemed to produce mesmerizing, elegant instrumental music. Almost cinematic sounding, their concept album Where The Night Goes is based on the idea that 'each track takes place at a......

Londonist gets invitations to all sorts of things, in all sorts of places. Last night's outing was to hear a series of oral histories from those who experienced the 1956 Revolution in Hungary at the Hungarian Cultural Centre, Covent Garden. It got us thinking... what other cultural centres can be found in London? For such a big place filled with so many international people, languages, cuisine and arts, there must be loads of places......

There are few things that Londonist Nick loves more than his iPod Video (of course, other mp3 players are available!). Isn't it great to have all your music in one place, to listen to whenever you like? Isn't it great to watch the A-Team on the Tube? Isn't it great to download podcasts of your favourite radio shows and listen to them when YOU want? Doesn't it make CDs look crap in comparison? Hold......

Earlier this week kissy couples were wading through roses and red tissue paper deeper than an east coast snow dump and singles shook a tiny, lonely fist (no ring!) at it all. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - Valentine's season is in the can, finally. Austinist is already pulsing with SX energy and posting on the People's Choice Award nominees and the short films that will be playing while......

The Labour peer Lord Tom Pendry is calling for the government to introduce a code of practice to ensure the 2012 Olympics are are "not marred by betting irregularities". The mix of local councils, the London Assembly and central government quangos that consitutue London's governance is "too confusing" says a new report. Transport for London has announced an increase in taxi fares. A petition to make London's train stations safer by introducing extra Transport Police,......

Some of us might recall, with wistful nostalgia, the ‘halcyon days of email’. In those days of yore, email was as harmless as gossiping on the phone, as novel as watching TV on an iPod, and as reliable as the Northern Line. Importantly, it was also something you could spend a lot of time doing in the office, whilst still giving the vague impression of ‘working’. However, at the end of 2000 the age......

CCTV footage has been released of the 31-year-old man who was murdered in Willesden last week shortly after exiting Kensal Green Tube. Ms Dynamite-ee-ee has pleaded guilty to charges relating to the paddy she had oustide a club last week. Not surprising really as the whole thing was caught on CCTV. A woman has been arrested in west London in connection with the Roberto 'God's Banker' Calvi murder trial. Ken gives Russia a Routemaster. Russia......

Opinions at Londonist are divided about "street artist" Banksy. Many contributors here have a very high opinion of the man and his work. This Londonista does not. However, considering the views of my colleagues and the fact that the publisher of this website is behind Streetsy.com, so we know what he likes, I'll tread as delicately as possible. Here's the short version for everyone who thinks that Banksy is, without question, fab and cool......

Looking for a new job? Fan of thumb-based mayhem, violence and controversy? Us too. And most of the rest of London. So the news that Rockstar Games are to open a new development studio right here in the Big Smoke will cause a flurry of CV writing amongst the hoards of would-be game designers in the capital. Rockstar, of course, are the software house behind the hugely successful, achingly violent Grand Theft Auto series......

- In an interview with Something Jewish.com Ken claims that the whole 'Nazi jibe furore' was "quite clearly orchestrated". Is it just us or is he getting more and more paranoid? - Romeo, formerly of the So Solid Crew, is cleared of slashing a man's face in a car park in Chinatown. - Ken has withdrawn the Tube Tips For Women leaflet becasue it's "sexist and patronising". - Britain's first gay wedding exhibition is to......

Just to let everyone who's coming to the party tonight, this is your last chance to get your name in for the Great Londonist Birthday Raffle Extravaganza (to give it its official name). If you want to be in with a chance of winning the iPod Shuffle and armloads of other treats then we need to receive an email from you addresssed to Londonist@gmail.com, with 'Londonist Raffle' in the subject field...before 5 o clock......

Just one more plug for our first birthday party, which is happening this Thursday at the Offside Bar on City Road, Islington. You should have this engrained into your memory by now, but just in case you haven't: the festivities kick off at 8pm until late, and it's free to get in (just let them know you're there for the Londonist party). We'll have DJs all night as well as images from the London......

Just a quick reminder that the Londonist First Birthday Party will be happening just one week from today in the fabulous surroundings of the Offside Bar in Islington. It's absolutely free to get in (just tell the big bloke on the door you're there for the Londonist party) and there'll be DJs all night as well as additional treats like images from the London photoblogging community displayed on the big screens and the now......