The government today accepted recommendations from a report about improving public-military relations which included the appointment of a "cadet ambassador" for London to do "everything possible" to urge schools to start Combined Cadet Forces and get their pupils to join them and enjoy "a taste of the military". Currently, there are 253 CCFs in England and Wales but only about 60 are in state schools. They provide extra-curricular "military-orientated and adventurous training" with the......

Whilst many, last night, were labouring under the somewhat unreasonable expectations that our national football side might do something a little old school, like win, there was a group of us who went home late with a collective smile on our faces. The aforementioned happy folks gathered at the 229 Club, at the far end of Great Portland Street. There we faced drums that go thuddity thuddity thuddity boom, guitars that go danga danga......

Michael Murphy is an American architect and illustrator living in London. Growing up in San Francisco and attending university in the desert states of Arizona and New Mexico before working in Dublin and London, Michael has a singular vision that’s uniquely his own. With the recent release of his London series of Giclee prints, we thought now would be a great time to have a chat with Michael about his art. Rather than Londonist......

This weekend column is brought to you by the founders of Niceties Tokens, Liz and Pete of Team Nice. 16. Massaker Not meaning to be grim, but this week I attended a showing of a documentary by Monika Borgmann called Massaker, and having done so it is difficult not to reflect upon it. The subject of the film is a violent massacre that took place in two Palestinian refugee camps in 1982 at Sabra......

A new exhibition opens tomorrow at the National Army Museum in Chelsea. Called Helmand: The Soldier's Story, it is a detailed, unique insight into life in a war zone - and a current one, which is a rare feat in museum history. A wide range of contributions from the soldiers of 16 Air Assault Brigade who were the first NATO troops to enter Helmand Province in 2006. Contributions from over 150 soldiers range from......

Surrey towns have always been known for being a bit lacklustre, but one is taking on the distinction of being heartless as well. In an act that would’ve made Jerry and Margo proud, more than 100 residents of Ashtead, near Epsom, have objected to a request by the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) for planning permission to convert a local property into a six-bedroom guest house. The house would be used by......

London has undergone a mass exodus. Unnoticeable to some, devastating to others, the actors, directors, stage managers, comedians and dedicated followers of fringe theatre are negotiating their way north to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, leaving a distinct lack of entertainment down here. Seeing this as an opportunity rather than a threat, the plucky Etcetera Theatre and Liberties Bar in Camden are hosting London's miniature version of the Scottish theatre revels and are proudly presenting......

Violent crime is on the rise in London and you can’t pick up a paper or turn on the news without the latest report of stabbings, beatings, muggings and even murder. It’s disturbing that the Justice system, crippled by overcrowded jails and soft sentencing guidelines, often punishes inequitably to the crime. However, we have it good in comparison to Ye Olde London Town who suffered waves of crime with such alarming titles as "Assault......

Every so often we meet up with people who are doing things a little bit out of the ordinary for a little chinwag. This time round meet Helen who's rapidly gaining status somewhere you'd probably not expect to find anyone born after the '50s anywhere near - she's a sexy, sassy 23 year old and a member of the Royal Legion band. Hello Miss marching lady, introduce yourself. My name is Helen, I'm in......

If Islam had confessionals like the Catholic faith, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's imam would be a busy man. "I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z." "I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew Daniel Pearl." "I was responsible for planning, surveying and financing for the operation to destroy Heathrow Airport, the Canary Wharf building and Big Ben on British soil." These and around 30 other admissions......

The British military have launched a new satellite: The British spacecraft is the first in what will eventually be a three-satellite constellation designed to allow the Army, Royal Navy and RAF to pass much more data, faster between command centres. "Skynet's going to provide five times the capacity that the previous system provided, and allow the military to do things they just haven't been able to do in the past," Mr Woods explained. Isn't......

A tribute to the capital’s alleys, ginnels and snickleways 24. Artillery Passage Where? Surviving bastion of the Ripper's London in the heart of Spitalfields. What? The sickly lighting only adds to the troubling atmosphere of Artillery Passage. The short passage has changed little since the days of Jack the Ripper. His final victim, Mary Kelly was dissected just yards from the eastern end of Artillery Passage, where today a multistorey car park stands. Appropriately, someone......

Colindale shopping centre, "Oriental City", has become the nexus of an international dispute. The beloved Edgeware Road mall, which has been called London's "real Chinatown", may be knocked down later this year and replaced with a B&Q home improvement superstore, some flats, a school, and a bunch of other crap. The Chinese consul general, Jiang Yuansong, has written to Mayor of London Ken Livingstone to express his "deep concern" about the project. If the......

A tribute to the capital’s alleys, ginnels and snickleways 23. Exchange Court Where? A sibling to Bull Inn Court, running down ancient sloped from Maiden Lane to Strand. What? To avoid the cliché of calling this lane 'Dickensian', we'd like to proclaim it a passage of Coxian dimension. The gas-lit southern end oozes atmosphere. It's a creepy, quiet place where only drunks loiter for long. We expect, and find, the now familiar stench of last......

This is a tricky one. Do we really need a permanent SAS unit on standby 24/7 in London? Well, we've got one: The basing of a unit from the elite special forces regiment “in the metropolitan area” is intended to provide the police with a combat-proven ability to deal with armed terrorists in the capital. The small unit also includes surveillance specialists and bomb-disposal experts. Although the Metropolitan Police has its own substantial firearms......

This Day In London’s History 1788: Lord Byron born at 16 Holles Street, just north of Oxford Street. Born George Gordon Byron, but inheriting the family title at the age of 10, Byron was an extravagant, eccentric and hugely prolific writer. However he was just as famous for his tumultuous lifestyle as for his writings, both of which attracted much attention. Shortly after his birth in London, his mother moved him to Aberdeen. He......

Ken's in the sights of The Standard again - this time for hanging out with terrorists: The Mayor met the wives of the so-called “Miami Five”, who have been found guilty by a US court of conspiracy to spy on American military bases. Details only emerged after he was forced to publish his full itinerary under freedom of information laws, having previously said the publicly funded trip was to build Olympics links and visit......

The FBI have released ten pages of their 'Now That's What I Call Lennon' series: The FBI has released its final surveillance documents on John Lennon to a university historian who has waged a 25-year legal battle to obtain the secret files. The 10 pages contain new details about Lennon's ties to leftist and anti-war groups in London in the early 1970s, but nothing indicating government officials considered the former Beatle a serious threat,......

18. Princes Arcade Where? One of several upper-class tunnels in SW1. This one connects Jermyn Street to the A4 (or Piccadilly to you and me). What? Ah, a scene straight off of a Victorian Christmas card. But appearances can be deceiving. Princes Arcade was the last such thoroughfare to be built in the area and dates from as late as 1933. Why use? Festive shopping. And if ever a hall was decked with boughs......

Apparently we are all ready to accept airport-style security screening at London railway stations. Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander said we are ready. Or at least "extensive social research", as he puts it – and who is to argue with "extensive social research"? – suggests that we are ready to accept it, and that's good enough for Doug. New searches could be done by hand, by sniffer dogs, or by electronic means. Though apparently eager to......

After watching the recent Make Love, Not Warcraft episode of South Park there is no way we are ever going anywhere near a MMORPG, but we find typing out MMORPG oddly satisfying. Now we can link up the MMORPG blog with news about the MMORPG version of Hellgate: London: We have concept artwork and PC screencaps of the Hunter Faction, which join the Cabalist and Templar factions to rid London of the scum of......

Thailand's deposed prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has reportedly flown to London The Thai PM was ousted from power eysterday after a military coup in Bangkok while he was in New York (well, if you will go on holiday). A Thai newspaper has said the Mr Thaksin had arrived in London, which must be a relief to his deputy PM who is currently languishing in army custody.......

Those who maintain that South London really isn’t a bit shit have a new and unexpected ally. Aliens. They can’t get enough of the place. Gobsmacked witnesses watched on in amazement as two sets of bright orange lights flew eerily in formation through the skies above Balham and Tooting on Friday, August 4. No doubt checking out that superb new supermarket in Norwood. You see, they know the area well. Reports of mysterious flying......

...but you can never leave: A US-bound plane carrying 240 passengers was turned around mid-flight for security reasons. American Airlines flight 109 left for Boston on Monday, but two hours into the journey it turned back to Heathrow Airport in west London. Apparently four people were being spoken to at Heathrow. Now we watched Passport to Pimlico for the umpteenth time yesterday making us nostalgic for the days when all a policeman had to......

The thing with tradition is that it has to start somewhere. The problem with rattling on about old and established routines to the point of preservation means that there's less room for modernisation and the chance to start a new tradition from scratch. Take for example the Guards regiment's bear skin head gear. Many feel that in this day and age wandering around with a great big lump of dead animal on your head......

Let's be honest, there's something of a North-of-the-river bias to Londonist (on the rare occasions South London gets mentioned, it tends to be something stupid happening in Croydon), so it's nice to tell you something nice about a neglected (by Londonist) part of London: Elephant and Castle. The reason? Corsica Studios, a brilliant labyrinthian space beneath a railway arch in Elephant & Castle in which to experience art, music, performance and film, have just......

These listings appear every Wednesday. If you want to let us know about any upcoming science or technology events, you can contact us on LondonistSciTech@Gmail.com Event of the Week Are you comfortably numb?, Royal Society of Medicine, Friday The nature of consciousness is one of the great unanswereds. For scientists, it’s right up there with tapping cold fusion, curing cancer and understanding exactly why TV units insist on filming their labs with moody purple......

Monkeys are stealing mobile phones at London Zoo. Twelve tiny Latin American squirrel monkeys reside in a barrier-free enclosure designed to look and feel like a Bolivian rain forest and are free to get up close and personal to visitors wandering through. The orange-yellow creatures have been seen in tug-of-war situations, snatching mobile phones from the hands of humans and no one can quite figure out why. Perhaps they fancy an upgrade and can't......

Like a bad penny or a persistent STD The Da Vinci Code refuses to go away. Now the bloody judge who oversaw the 'hey we're all here to make money so let's have a court case' plagiarism case concerning the most widely read book since Ladybird's Peter and Jane series (and for some the only book they've read since Ladybird's Peter and Jane series) has put his own code into the written judgment -......

John Reid's a man that we normally don't agree with or even listen to much. He's another of New Labour's mongrel cabinet that shit won't stick to - although it seems somehow fitting that we've ended up with a Secretary of State for Defence who used to hang out in the villa of a Serbian war criminal. Must make those chats with Blair seem like the good old days... But today the attack dog......