Hope springs eternal! Yes, spring has sprung at last, and it couldn’t have possibly come sooner. Sure, it’s supposed to rain all week, but at least it’s warm(ish) rain. Get out there and take advantage of the coming season of rebirth, and don’t forget to indulge in some illicit hugging (see what's on for Sunday). Monday: London writer/filmmaker Daniel Frampton, author of Filmosophy and host of the club of the same name dedicates evenings......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 3rd March 1982: The Barbican Centre is opened by the Queen. After 15 years of construction, at a cost of £161 million, the centre would become the largest performing arts centre in Europe (as well as being voted the ugliest building in London). Tuesday – 4th March 1882: Britain’s first electric trams go into operation in Leytonstone, East London. Wednesday – 5th March 1856: The second Covent......

It's officially Spring and by Pisces it's lovely out there in the sunshine. Crocuses have been spotted in Highbury Fields so our biggest recommendation for expenditure light trips this week is get to the parks and into the gardens and witness the miracles of the changing seasons. If you're in need of more artificial stimulation, however, and are squirrelling all your spare cash into your ISA before the end of the tax year then......

This is what we have learned while you were out bisto-ing the Spring air and foraging in the farmers’ markets this weekend: It’s the Baftas tonight, and as the Oscars are on ice, the paparazzi will be out for this in force. ‘Fraid the bloggerazzi prefer watching it on the telly. Battersea is looking for love this Valentines Day. A man has been charged with the unlawful removal of a head. Well, something like......

What a lovely day! Confused Kew think it's spring. Westminster Council wants to get sandwich boards and placards off the streets - how will we know where the golf sale is? Post-mortem fails to reveal cause of death in headless corpse case: um, it wouldn't be 'missing head', would it? Winehouse can't get into the US, so she's moving in with the Osbournes. Abu Hamza doesn't have a choice. Cab fare home on the......

Londonist likes to breathe. This Londonist is pneumatically challenged, and so she is especially fond of a good puff of the invisible stuff. So when the invisible stuff becomes visible, and London is shrouded in an ominous sulphurous blanket, we either stay indoors, or wander around looking like Darth Vader, with one of those terribly fetching mouth and nose masks that cyclists wear. Various bods are meant to monitor air quality, but it seems to......

33. Big Cat Round Up 2007 was a record year for my own research into ‘big cat’ sightings – www.kentbigcats.blogspot.com – although London and the infamous ‘beast of Bexley’ was reasonably quiet, this proved to me that such animals had wider territories. In January a black leopard was seen at Bexley by a Miss Skinner as she walked her dog. The massive cat sped across a field. A few days later, two yellowy-green eyes......

While pigeons are getting a bit of stick today, heartwarming news of sparrows getting new homes at London Zoo courtesy of prisoners in Spring Hill prison balances the scale somewhat. After a long absence, sparrows have come back to London and are being housed in ten brand new bird boxes built by prisoners at Spring Hill prison in Buckinghamshire. The question "Where have all the sparrows gone?" crops up again and again in nostalgia-tinged......

30. Phantom Assailants: Part Two One hundred years before the fog-saturated reign of Jack The Ripper there was the London Monster of 1788 (see previous episode). Fifty years later came the bewildering spectacle of the iron-clawed Spring Heeled Jack (episode 11), another tormentor and slasher of females. Fast-forward almost thirty-years and gasp at the horror of the Phantom Skirt-Slasher Of Piccadilly, who for a terrifying reign of six-months prowled the London underground like some......

Despite the odd recent mishap, London's lidos take their rightful alongside our parks as great places to go around the capital. 70 years ago lidos were people's cathedrals, masterful municipal palaces to promote community health and wellbeing. Over the years since then they have been left derelict or sold off. But now, they are having their renaissance. Blame global warming for warmer temperatures or the Olympics for increased interest in health - but outdoor pools......

As we noted yesterday, art fair season is upon us in full force this weekend. With so many events happening around the capital, it would be hard work to take it all in, and the best advice one can offer is to try to see as much as you can without making it all a rushed annoyance of cab rides. Possibly even better advice, however, would be to make a point to check out......

Yesterday saw St Martin-in-the-Fields reopen its revamped and expanded crypt cafe hot on the heels of Sunday's first church service for 90 weeks following a multi-million pound renewal and restoration project. The 18th century landmark church, which opens onto Trafalgar Square, is dearly loved in London not only for just being there but for its fantastic concert programme. This includes jazz nights, classical evenings, free lunchtime concerts and the famous and atmospheric Concerts by......

The very same weekend that we profile the strangeness of London’s enigmatic Spring Heeled Jack, news reaches us of supernaturally swift ambush attacks in Chingford Mount Cemetery. Nicknamed the “Gazelle” in recognition of his nifty getaway sprint, we can’t help drawing some parallels between our mysterious Jack, famous for leaping out at ladies, eyes aglow, ripping their clothes and legging it, with this here Gazelle, springing on unattended cars and nicking stuff whilst the......

11. Spring Heeled Jack: A Chronicle of Chaos “But most of all did he dwell upon some mysterious blazing entity that shook and laughed and mocked at him.” Beyond The Wall Of Sleep – H. P. Lovecraft Supernatural? Invader from space? Prankster? Hysteria? Spring Heeled Jack’s notorious crimes that littered 19th Century London remain to this day one of the capital’s most bizarre series of crimes. Here is a brief catalogue of the weird......

8. The Incomprehensibles ‘Zooform phenomena’ was a term coined by Fortean zoologist Jonathan Downes to categorise ‘creatures’ which even cryptozoology – the study of hidden animals – dares not to investigate. These are the forms which have animal characteristics, yet are quite simply too bizarre to be flesh and blood. Take for instance the Mantis Man of London, a weird apparition that visited a ‘Jim’ on the night of January 16th 2004 as he......

Just a quick reminder about the Londonist guided walk on Saturday. Now, the BBC’s weather forecast says this: But we say this: A bit of rain will just add atmosphere, to this spooky, kooky walk. Full details here, but the essentials you need to know are: 1. It’s free. 2. Meet outside Crockett and Powell bookshop, Lower Marsh Street near Waterloo, 2pm. 3. You’ll get an offbeat tour of the Waterloo area, taking in William......

It’s the second Londonist guided walk. When: Saturday 23 June. What: An offbeat tour of the Waterloo area, taking in William Blake, Spring Heeled Jack, dead sailors, weird tombs, the woman who started the French revolution and some stuff about the real spooks at MI5 & MI6. Who: Chris Roberts, your genial guide from our previous walk is back. Chris is a veteran tour guide, author of Cross-River Traffic, resurrector of the Penny Dreadful,......

The birthplace of Keira Knightly, Noel Coward and Julian Clary and the deathplace of Benny Hill, we don't necessarily think of the tranquil leafy suburban environs of Teddington as a hotbed of amorous amphibians. But for Baby, a dinner plate sized Herman's Tortoise resident in these parts, the Spring sunshine seems to have brought out the animal in her and she headed off in search of a good slow shag. Or so we're told.......

As you'll no doubt recall, Londonist likes its dance performances to be a little bit different. And the opening season at the South Bank Centre looks set not to disappoint us. At a pair of concerts consisting of a trio of 20th century classical music, the Centre promises "virtual 3D dancers", requiring the audience to don Eighties-tastic red-blue tinted glasses to enjoy the performance. A single dancer on the stage will perform in response......

1. The Highgate Vampire Note: This article has been amended after complaints from the 'Friends of Bishop Seán Manchester'. We apologise for any misrepresentation. Dusty vaults, ivy-strewn pathways, desecrated coffins and shadowy goings-on. Sounds like something from a Hammer film doesn’t it? However, the hi-jinx of Highgate Cemetery reached just such a gothic climax during the 1960s and early ‘70s when it was alleged that a tall, dark, red-eyed spectre prowled the foggy catacombs of......

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......

This week we'd like to congratulate the -ist network's Mother Hen, Gothamist's Jen Chung, who found herself a recipient of Wired Magazine's Wired Rave Award. If that doesn't sound terribly exciting, keep in mind another recipient was J.K. Rowling. Yep, that's right, the -ist network and Harry Potter now have something in common. Go us. Austinist has a chat with the ever-fashionable Golden Girl Rue McClanahan, and managed to catch some local fashionistas making......

With weather like this, there's nothing like a little bit of a walk, followed by a little bit of food, followed by a little bit of a walk, followed by some more food, followed by--well, you get the point. So the amazing sunshine has Londonist wondering--where to walk and where to eat? Middle Eastern Food in Shepherd's Bush: A blue badge guide takes you on a two and a half hour tour of Uxbridge Road,......

Spring is when we get busy here in the Ist-A-Verse. Very busy. But, after staying bundled-up indoors all winter, it's nice for us to be out, about, and collecting things to write about for you. Here's a glimpse at what's been keeping your favorite citybloggers busily away from home and out of bed. For LAist, strong winds attacked LA on the same day the Feds raided the Crips. Not to fear, though: the Japanese version......

The Spill festival continues to pour out around us with performances in the Barbican, Shunt Vaults, Toynbee Studios and Soho Theatre. We've mentioned one piece in the programme so far, Raimond Hoghe's Sacre - The Rite of Spring and there's more coverage of the pieces we missed on the SpillOverSpill blog - click through for reviews and interviews and more musing about this festival of experimental theatre. It's been challenging, difficult, invigorating and exciting:......

Are you ready for a season of fresh dance by young and hip UK based choreographers whose work is “confident, idiosyncratic and unconfined by technical dogma”? Erm…. Quite, but if we run this through the arts bullshit translator we estimate it means there will be bold new dance stuff that’s quirky, funky, artistically interesting, will make you think and be top notch although possibly a bit odd. Fundamentally, it will involve people moving about......

"Spill is all about ideas and, without exception, all of the work in the festival has something to say... or ask... or suggest" - Robert Pacitti, artistic director, Spill Festival. We're excited about the Spill Festival and have eagerly taken on the challenge of seeing as many of the international performances / pieces / events as possible. And we use the word challenge deliberately: our first performance set the standard, we think we know......

As the fair weather of Spring tentatively approaches, any attempt by the pretty blue sky and sunshine to wean us all off our incessant computer based social networking by dragging us outside is made more difficult by the advent of Trig.com. Based in Sweden, it's designed to be a "new social networking site for an urban and sophisticated web community of dynamic, inspired and creative individuals, who are primarily fuelled by their own dreams,......

We don't know about where you are, but it seems like spring can't decide whether or not to happen. Some days are warm, some days are cold, and sometimes you aren't sure which. Baseball may have started up (and soccer/football winding down) but it still seems cold out there. Unless it's not. Anyways, onto the -ists. Austinist happily anticipated fall's Austin City Limits, even though they're not fully recovered from South By Southwest. In......

Today was the day that the thriving community of East End gardening enthusiasts who’ve been cultivating the Manor Garden Allotments since 1924 were expecting to have to lie down in front of the bulldozers, a la Arthur Dent, in a last ditch attempt to avoid the total obliteration of their flourishing and fruitful Hackney Wick veggie paradise. But, having failed to secure planning permission for an alternative location in Leyton (mainly due to the......