March already? How did that happen? The perils of having our head buried in a book so much of the time, no doubt. If we must emerge this week from our cosy little book-enclosed chrysalis, it’ll likely be to head to the following events. Monday: The RSL-sponsored TS Eliot Memorial meeting brings together award-winning poets Alice Oswald and Kathleen Jamie for an evening of readings from their work. Both have been lauded for the......

Let Londonist help you celebrate one of Britain’s most cherished traditions, the Sunday Lunch. The Eagle 159 Farringdon Road EC1R 3AL Nearest Tube: Farringdon 0207 837 1353 12.30pm-3.30pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm (Monday-Saturday) 12.30pm-3.30pm (Sunday) Expect to Pay: We’ve never seen any mains listed for more than £12 on the blackboard Rating: 9.5 out of 10 Having the (dubious?) distinction of being the first pub to call itself a “gastropub,” The Eagle is the sort of place......

Catholicism may be Britain's most popular religion - and have recently claimed a high profile new convert in the form of a certain ex-PM - but faith alone won't save Westminster Cathedral. The mother church of the Roman Catholic community in England and Wales is in need of urgent structural repairs, and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has launched an appeal to cobble £3 million together for renovations. Dating from 1903, the unfinished Byzantine cathedral spires......

An airliner crash landed at Heathrow this lunchtime. Eye-witnesses on BBC Five Live and forum posters watching on TV suggest that BA38 from Beijing landing on runway 27L at Heathrow, wobbled on an usually low approach angle making a heck of a lot of noise. The rudder nearly clipped the perimeter fence, missing by only a few feet. Its undercarriage seemed to be up and then the plane belly-flopped into the grass short of......

You may remember that we're not exactly lukewarm about this place. We were even up for finding love here. I guess you could say we're fans. Nothing has changed with a change in exhibition: Sleeping and Dreaming is marvellous and you must go. For a start, it's free. Nought pee. You can just swan through the doors, turn left and there you are. But that's where it gets dark and you immediately start watching......

Had TfL existed in his time, the great Samuel Johnson may well have amended his famous aphorism to read "a man who is bored of London needs to hop on the number 19 bus". In its perambulation from Battersea to Finsbury Park, the 19 cuts a swath across the capital's economic and cultural barriers, revealing the world within one city that modern London manifests. Vogue has certainly been impressed by the number 19. The......

As many Londoners will know, DLR trains are entirely driven by computer. The DLR staff member on each train, known as the ‘Passenger Service Agent’ (a much less exciting title than ‘Train Captain’, which they used to be called), does not normally have any involvement in actually driving the train. Instead, their main functions seem to be to tell the train when to close the doors, to check passengers’ tickets, and to deal with......

Modernisation of the Thameslink railway route that runs North-South through central London has finally begun; this news today must come as a relief to anyone who has the displeasure to share packed morning trains with this Londonista. Supposedly, the £5.5 billion project will bring "more seats, less crowding, more direct services and better connections in London," according to Andrew Mitchell of Network Rail. Longer station platforms, more peak-time trains and new rolling stock are......

Soho streets were brought to a terrifying standstill yesterday afternoon when "a very hot and sharp smell" and a cloud of acrid smoke provoked chemical attack panic with police sealing off the area and closing roads. The Ambulance Service dispatched a Hazardous Area Response Team Unit as Firefighters with breathing apparatus broke down the doors of the Thai Cottage restaurant. However, as The Times reported, Soon after 7pm on Monday they emerged from the......

This time last year, in the final few days before the closure of the international football transfer window, we took a look at where London's Premiership clubs needed strengthening and offered some friendly advice about a player we thought might fill a key squad gap for each of them. One year on we review what actually happened to both clubs and players and make our suggestions for this year's late purchases, once again taking......

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......

Happy Father's Day! For those of you who have dads, are dads, or know dads, this one's for you, from all of us at the Gothamist network. It was a week of bizarre, embarassing headlines at DCist. The trial of the local administrative law judge who sued his cleaners for $54 million over a pair of missing pants left everyone shaking their heads. Then the capital city was nearly brought to its knees, twice, by......

London's live comedy scene is the best in the world. That's a fact! Admittedly, it's not a fact that I can back up with evidence, because I've only ever been to one other country. And to be honest, it's not so much a fact, as something I often hear other people saying, and that I have copied. But doesn't it feel like it should be true? After all, last Monday alone there was over......

Primark opened on Oxford Street yesterday in a spectacular graduation from scummy high street obscurity to the mainstream tourist trap . Opening time was always going to be popular but in scenes reminiscent of the Ikea Edmonton crush chaos of ’05, Primark security were forced to call for police reinforcements when pressure from hundreds of overexcited bargain hunters queuing at the store broke one of the doors. Two hours later, security adopted the West......

This Day In London’s History 1554: Lady Jane Grey and her husband Lord Guildford Dudley are executed at the Tower of London. Named as successor to the throne by King Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey became Queen of England in July 1553. However her reign was exceptionally short-lived – she was replaced by her cousin Mary Tudor after only nine days, and detained in the Tower of London. Some months later, under considerable political......

More details have come out from the trial of the men involved in the July 21 failed bomb attack: Ms Baro told the court: "I was in such a panic. I did not know how a bomb worked and I thought we were going to die now." She said she noticed the person next to her was wearing a rucksack then she heard a bang and something came out of the bag and fell......

Tonight is the 10th birthday party for world-famous London clubnight Trash, and as mentioned a little while back, it's to be its last. Tonight, Trash bows out after a decade. It seems fitting that after 10 years, we should seal the lid on something which has been extremely special. Closing it at one of it's peaks is in honour of the special times we have all shared together. Erol will be leaving his residency to......

An interesting post on the Wooster Collective caught our eye this morning (and a few of yours too - thanks to everyone who dropped us an email pointing to this): The King's Cross area is currently being knocked down, cleaned up, rebuilt and gentrified in time for the 2012 Olympics. As a consequence of this, a large population of people who live and work on the street are being displaced. Many of these people......

Bethnal Green's Working Men's Club is ace. We can give you all the 'we were there before everyone caught onto it' spiel, but well we were, and anyway how can anyone refuse to love a place where the bar staff don't really seem to know how much to charge for drinks leaving them getting progressively cheaper as the night goes on. This Sunday, Londonist favourite and recent iTunes celebrity Rod Thomas celebrates the success......

Tim 'The Tube Man' O'Toole has said that he doesn't believe Abu Hamza's son posed a threat while working as a labourer on the Underground. Ex-IRA spy Kevin Fulton has been arrested in London in connection with two murders in Northern Ireland. The Telegraph delves into the 2012 budget and comes up with a few surprises. Centrepoint have opened a new facility for the homeless featuring internet-access in every room. The Doors (not all......

If you've ever been anywhere in EC1 on a Friday or Saturday night then you're sure to have been asked a million times where Fabric is. Right opposite the back of Smithfield's Meat Market, the former meat cellar has been doing a stirling trade since it's conversion in 1999 and is proudly noted as one of the clubs to visit in well, the whole world. We've spent many a night shaking our ass down......

Reaction from Ghana's 2-0 victory over Togo on Tuesday night and some fantasy football news As Ghana captain Stephen Appiah clutched the match sponsor's trophy (pictured) coaches and officials gave their reaction to the night's events and London's influence on the proceedings. Fred Pappoe, Vice President of the Ghanaian Football Association (middle of picture): London is one of our favourite places away from home… so far we’ve played two or three games in this......

It's Friday and the weekend stretches out ahead of us with glorious gaps to fill with fun (and frequently free) things to see and do. Put on your comfortable shoes, prepare a packed lunch, bring sun glasses and an umbrella (just in case) and brace yourself for another Londonist Culture Crawl... Saturday: Springwatch Live at Coin Street, 12.00pm to 6.00pm, free entry. Lots to see and do with the Springwatch team: Thames 21 are......

Anyone who commutes into London via Liverpool Street knows the situation. You take the Circle via Tower Hill, to get off at Liverpool Street. But when the train gets to Aldgate, it often stops for up to 10 minutes, due to the sheer number of trains passing through from Aldgate to Liverpool Street. So you get off the Circle Line train, and hover on the platform to see whether the next train to leave......

A couple of months ago, we wrenched open the doors of the Londonist Demo Dungeon and invited you keen musician types out there to fill our vaults with your tracks. If you missed that post, fret not - the Dungeon's still open for submissions (amongst other things). If you want to send us your demo for review, read this. We promise to be nice. Time now for the inaugral DD review...brace yourselves. First to email......

To The Editor Of "The Girl's Own Paper" MY DEAR SIR, - The portrait of Her Majesty, which you have allowed me to see, and which is the frontispiece of the present part, is a charming one (the very best, but one, I have seen - and that was a foreign one and unique for private use) and the expression is like our gracious lady; for the expression in the public photographs is terribly......

That’s the new message from Transport for London. Their freshly launched poster campaign aims to increase passenger vigilance, which has noticeably tailed off in the months since July. This campaign emphasises the fact that the public have a part to play by being vigilant, looking after their property and reporting anything suspicious they see or hear to staff or police. Says Chief Superintendent Mike Humphrey from the Met. So, it’s up to all of......

Keep your head down and hit the doors running, a quick 360 around the foyer... nothing. You're safe. Check behind the counter for supplies. Take what you can carry and leave the rest in case you have to double back. Sprint forward towards the escalators. Keep moving until you get to the 4th floor. Another set of double doors in front of you. Slowly this time, edge your way in. Stealth. There's something moving......

This week seems to be the week for colleges banning things. First we had the Imperial College banning hoodies in a ridiculous attempt to 'increase security'; and now the Royal College of Art has banned 'camping'. Now it's not that Kensington is a popular spot for ramblers or anything, but the college's annual lucky dip picture postcard sale does attract a lot of 'early birds', with hopeful punters this year pitching up as early......

Discovering KEXP last year was like discovering Back In Black, for me the album that pretty much cemented everything I'll love about music for the rest of my life. Suddenly there was this doorway to a magical world where DJs played whatever they wanted and whatever you wanted to listen to, where they knew what they were talking about and where they had this strange passion for not what the industry or the scenesters......