We’ve just recently come across Unchained, a super cool and incredibly handy lil London-based website 'designed to help people find the very best Unchained shops’ in the London. By 'unchained' they mean businesses owned and run 'by real people with a passion for what they sell,' and let’s face it: those types of businesses are sadly becoming fewer and farther between at too rapid a rate. Here’s our interview with Dave Birss and Lea......

60. More Than Just A Haunting... In the borough of Lewisham sits Brockley Road. Not exactly known for its supernatural relations or unnerving apparitions, but let me share with you a campfire story to chill even the warmest of hearts... It happened during the 1800s and the experience was written up and posted to a magazine known as the Review Of Reviews edited by a Mr W.T. Stead who would unfortunately perish aboard the......

eat like a girl calls all London food bloggers. Qype gets meaty. ontoLondon laments the loss of Bubba’s. A Slice of Cherry Pie discovers pea shoots. Edible London complains effectively. Photography by notlooking via the Londonist pool on Flickr.......

We may have jealously watched Glastonbury on TV, but that was forgotten tonight when we witnessed the last ever UK performance by The Police. Headlining Sunday's Hard Rock Calling, Sting, Andy Summers and Stuart Copeland took to the stage and rocked out on a high. Sticking to the setlist which they've played since reuniting last year, they delighted us in the blissful Sunday sun, opening with 'Message In A Bottle' & turning the 35,000......

58. Doomsday! For centuries mankind has been superstitious about certain happenings and signs, perceiving such anomalous symbols and events as omens of doom, or forewarnings of death and destruction. Of course we'll never truly know if such fears are justified, but what we do know is that the end of the world has always been nigh... In our modern climate the dread of terrorist attacks is common, an inner fear that lurks, for although......

Stonch’s Beer Blog needs your help. Tim from The Plummet Onions gives a detailed account of a wine tasting outing with Qype. Two Gordons talk fruit at Food and Drink in London. A Slice of Cherry Pie, Justgiving, and many others chime in about their fabulous experiences participating in Food 2.0: Nom Nom Nom. Photography by Chris Osburn......

Very Good Taste equates chocolate with porn. Daily Candy mixes it up with a review of an online muesli mixery. Cheese and Biscuits attempts to cook the perfect beef steak. The London Review of Breakfasts explains what the T5 fiasco teaches us about breakfast. Image courtesy of lauraplayford via the Londonist flickr group.......

50. The Lioness Of Winchmore Hill On Tuesday 22nd April I appeared on BBC London Radio with JoAnne Goode and Paul Ross to discuss mystery big cats around London, so what better way to celebrate reaching the fiftieth Saturday Strangeness installment than with another 'big cat' tale from the capital... In the March of 1994 there were reports that a lioness was on the loose in North London and had been sighted by a......

Rail travel has lost some of its romantic appeal over the years, but there's a new train route on its way that's setting rail enthusiasts' hearts aflutter -- a 23-day, 7,000-mile trek that'll connect London to Bangladesh. Though the prospect of spending 23 days in a little train compartment is enough to make anyone but the most seasoned rail traveler feel a bit claustrophobic, if you've got the time to spare, the fortitude to make......

Here at Londonist we love to indulge in all sorts of devilishly scrumptious treats. However, we know healthy, conscientious eating is the key to a happy life. Okay office rats. We know you all bring home the bacon and are well aware that many of you really rake in the dough. But, do you pick enough fruit to be a healthy and happy worker? Odds are you don’t and that’s where Fruit for the......

If you’re paying attention to the mayoral race you probably already know a little about where the candidates stand on crime and bendy buses. But what candidate will be best for your bank account? To help you answer that question, we’ve put together a quick economic summary of the big-party candidates: Ken Livingstone We already have a pretty good idea of what the incumbent will do in this area — more of the same.......

Very Good Taste contemplates the Monte Cristo. Food and Drink in London pigs out in style at St John. Tamarind and Thyme enjoys some of Miss Stoneham’s “fantastic savoury preserves.” The London Review of Breakfasts celebrates the “oasis of peace and sanity” that is Pete’s Mini Bar. ontoLondon does a little Gujarati rejoicing after finding out that samosa chatts can now be got Wednesday through Friday at Exmouth Market. Image courtesy of edwardkimuk via......

A not-so-subtle hint in our recent post about The Good Food Guide publishing a London edition 40 years after putting out their last London guide led to an actual hardcopy of the book appearing at Londonist Central HQ a few days later. Appreciative of such concrete feedback, we took some time to peruse the guide and to consider our thoughts about it before ultimately coming to the conclusion that it’s a pretty good resource......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. La Bodeguita Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre SE1 6TE Nearest Tube: Elephant and Castle 0870 011 3810 Monday 12:00 noon - 5:00 pm Tuesday - Thursday 12:00 noon - 11:30 pm Friday 12:00 noon - 2:00 am Saturday 12:00 noon - 3:00 am Sunday 12:00 noon - Midnight Expect to Pay: £8-15 for mains (£5 two course lunch deal)......

Here at Londonist we love to indulge in all sorts of devilishly scrumptious treats. However, we know healthy, conscientious eating is the key to a happy life. Kate Percy is a marathon runner and a cook … and, as of the 10th of January, a blogger. With her Go Faster Food blog, Kate intends to share her progress in training for the Flora London Marathon 2008 and to talk about different foods and recipes......

Every month, the folks at Fancyapint? get together to vote for their top ten favourite pubs. These are recently visited pubs that for one reason or another (the ambience, the booze, the company) stuck in their collective memory. Kindly, these booze-savvy Fancyapinters have decided to share their latest picks with Londonist and all our readers. Cheers! Here’s the current list from Fancyapint? in no particular order of merit. They assure us that all ten......

Feminists. They don’t shave their armpits and they bathe in toad spit and the pubic hairs of young boys. Right? Well, you could try asking that question at the European Feminist Summit, but we would advise against it. Part of the London Festival of Europe, the summit, titled The Future of European Feminism will discuss feminism in the 21st century, in the context of Europe, politics, art and media. With feminist blog The F......

We've spent enough time wading through the flytipped rubbish on our street or struggling to blast the grime off our bodies following a grubby commute home to realise that London's not exactly the cleanest of places. But is it really the dirtiest city in Europe? In a shameless promotion, travel experts Trip Advisor commissioned a survey asking tourists to rank their likes and dislikes across a number of continental destinations, and London cleaned up......

Londonist likes chocolate. And children. (Especially other people's). And good charitable causes. So we were more than happy to hop on the London Eye last night to see the premier of Lindt's Easter Light Show, in aid of ChildLine. And to take part in the demolishing of a couple of gold Lindt bunnies. (Hey, we didn’t say anything about liking bunnies...) Renowned Swiss light artist, Gerry Hofstetter (you might remember he projected a polar......

The family, friends and supporters of people missing people are marching through London today to highlight the lack of support available to them, the ones left wondering what's happened to their loved, vanished ones. The charity Missing People provides some support and advice and maintains a register of missing people. Importantly, they recognise the right of people to go missing and stay missing. But the organisers of today's march, mothers searching for lost sons,......

In the fall, Hackney had a measles problem. Now, the spots have spread to Lewisham, with 19 cases in January -- a third of the 67 cases reported in south-east London. The Health Protection Agency are warning that we'll be seeing even more sick spotty kiddies in the coming months if more tots aren't vaccinated, so they're making a new push to inform parents. In Lewisham, MMR vaccine uptake is currently 64.3%, while the experts......

Thanks to a lousy US box office reception, Grindhouse – the adored bastard sprog double-feature of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez – was hacked in two when it finally came here. Film nerds agog at the prospect of a three-hour neo-exploitationfest had to cough for Planet Terror and Death Proof separately, and miss out entirely on the geekalicious treat of the fake trailers that accompanied them. O cruel fate/boringly cautious distributors. But at last......

Clocks sprung onto our radar early this year when we got very excited by the incorrect idea that 90s dance 'pioneers' Clock had reformed. Instead we were presented with a fun, new poppy indie band from Epson making the type of music that puts a spring in your step and a summery smile on your face. Genuinely feelgood - we went to check what they were all about. Have a look at the video......

Transport for London's latest cycle safety campaign focuses on road user awareness of what's going on around them. Especially HGV drivers. But this awareness test genuinely shocked us, making the point that however observant you may think you are, however you use the roads, you often don't see things you're not looking for. To reduce the number of incidents involving cyclists and lorries, TfL are giving out free "safety lenses" to freight companies operating......

The London Zoological Society have managed some more ground breaking footage with a film of these pygmy hippos in the wild. Londonist wants one of these. At least someone’s happy about the rain: the freesheet house will apparently be all the stronger for it. Football’s coming home. Well, Becks is, anyway. And Posh. Better to be a big fish in a small sea ‘n’ all that. Life is boring without the booze: a sober......

The tussle over the fate of an east end council block stepped up a gear over the weekend, as a heavyweight "starchitect" and a respected art critic both sided with a campaign to save the building. Robin Hood Gardens, a 1972-built concrete block in Poplar, was recently singled out as a failed estate by local MP and culture minister Margaret Hodge, who wants it demolished. However, it has been defended by Richard Rogers and......

Last night London's Luvvieland came together for their annual award ceremony, the Oliviers. Having received 11 nominations across 10 categories, it looked like being Hairspray's night. And Londonist is happy to confirm what we already knew: the show is a deserved winner of the Best New Musical accolade. In addition, Leanne Jones (Best Actress in a Musical) rocks as the optimistic teen, Tracy Turnblad; Tracie Bennett (Best Supporting Role in a Musical) is similarly......

Shakespeare is in the news today due to the fight of three male Shakespearean leads for the Best Male Actor prize at the Olivier awards last night. But another bard-based story has caught our eye in the swirl of iambic pentameters and though it's been rumbling along for a week already, it's clear old William still knows how to shake things up... Nine girls at Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls School in Stamford, north London,......

There are just too many good events around town this week for us to narrow our picks for certain nights. Thus we present you with multiple options and leave that difficult choice to you. In the meantime, we’ll be brushing up on our science fiction in an effort to figure out how to move quickly from event to event. The solution? Teleporting. Clearly. Monday: writLoud returns to RADA tonight. We like this event, as......

While the weekend's football may have been dominated by FA Cup upsets, for the red corner of North London, Sunday March 9th was memorable for a more unusual reason. St.Totteringham's Day is one of those arcane bits of football rivalry that makes the game so enjoyable. It falls every season on the day when it becomes mathematically impossible for Spurs to overtake rivals Arsenal in the Premier League. Despite the Gooner's anaemic draw against......