[syndicated profile] ianvisits_feed

Posted by ianVisits

The new year will start with a temporary museum closure, as the Gunnersbury Park Museum has announced its closure for refurbishment work.

Gunnersbury Park Museum

Only for a month, as they say they will spend the time preparing for the park’s centenary, which takes place on 21st May 2026.

Gunnersbury Park Museum will be closed from 5th January to 3rd February. During this time, the park will remain fully open, and a new park cafe, Pure in the Park, will be opening on 5th January.

Gunnersbury’s centenary programme will reflect the history of the  Park and its role in the local community as well as the city over the past 100 years. Planned activities include a community fete on 25th May and the park’s first-ever Gunnersbury Family Dog Show on 21st June.

At the heart of the celebrations, the Museum will present a new exhibition exploring 100 years of the park’s history, highlighting some of the people who have cared for and shaped the park over the decades. The exhibition will also consider the wider role of public parks in community life, including how that role has evolved over time, what has remained constant, and how parks will continue to serve communities in the future.

The museum received a £147,309 grant in October 2025 from the Art’s Council towards its costs.

Christmas illness

Dec. 29th, 2025 01:47 pm
[personal profile] vyvyanx
It's been a slightly challenging time. O came down with what seems to be Covid on Christmas Eve, preventing him from going to midnight mass or his Christmas Day service as usual, and leaving him largely unable to taste our elaborate Christmas dinner. He's much improved now, but still not back to normal. On Saturday I started developing a sore throat, have had two nights with minimal sleep, and am now definitely Ill as well. Also our elderly cat - who has been suffering with chronic diarrhoea for more than a year now, caused by IBD (probably) - has had a flare-up of his symptoms and has been off his food, being sick etc. And of course there's an especially cold snap coming on top of that. But in spite of these things, we've still had a fairly nice time.

I hope 2026 will be an improvement on 2025, for us and the world at large.

Vegan Menu for NYE Party in London

Dec. 29th, 2025 01:20 pm
[syndicated profile] fatgayvegan_feed

Posted by fatgayvegan

I love hosting parties for my community and one of the biggest I put on each year is my New Year’s Eve party. This week I’m teaming up once again with legendary vegan venue Karamel in Wood Green on Wednesday 31st December, 2025 to celebrate the end of another calendar year. Kath and Roger run ... Read more
[syndicated profile] ianvisits_feed

Posted by ianVisits

The replacement escalators have arrived at Cutty Sark DLR station, and they were delivered by rail.

Delivery by DLR (c) Quattro Plant

The DLR station is currently closed as all the escalators are being replaced after repeated attempts to repair them failed to fix the faults. Because the station was built with very limited space, it had to close during the repairs, as there was no sensible way of redirecting passengers.

Old escalators at platform level (c) ianVisits

The cramped space also means it’s hard to deliver replacement escalator components by road and send them in through the ticket hall, as is usually done elsewhere.

So, the light railway was used to deliver heavy escalators.

The work saw the components arrive at a small side yard off Connington Road in Lewisham. There, the infrastructure contractors, Quattro Plant, loaded the heavy metalwork onto a wheel loader to send it along the railway to Cutty Sark station.

Loading the escalator parts onto the DLR (c) Quattro Plant

Because the route included a 6% gradient, incline trials were carried out in advance at Croydon Tramlink on a section of track with the same gradient. This allowed the team to confirm that the hydrostatic Doosan Ultimate 250 was the right machine for the job.

Lee Bridgeman, Quattro Contracts Manager commented: “The job marked the first time a Doosan Ultimate 250 has been used on the DLR’s operational infrastructure. It was good to see the detailed preparation paid off! Everything went smoothly on the day.”

Cutty Sark DLR station is scheduled to reopen in spring 2026.

Photos courtesy of Victor Plamadeala and Alex Grozavu. With thanks to Tim Vardy, TFL Project Manager

[syndicated profile] ianvisits_feed

Posted by ianVisits

This winter, London theatre-goers can snap up deals in a Winter Theatre Sale, with London Theatre Direct offering up to 50% off on top West End shows and many tickets starting from around £15.

Whether you’re after family favourites, blockbuster musicals or thought-provoking dramas, there’s something to suit every taste.

From pantomimes and holiday specials to long-running West End blockbusters and contemporary plays, discounted tickets are available now online, but availability varies by performance and seating

Musicals

The Devil Wears Prada

Elton John’s new musical The Devil Wears Prada is now playing in the West End.

From £31


The Book of Mormon

London’s hit musical comedy from the creators of South Park

From £25 – SAVE UP TO £57


MAMMA MIA!

MAMMA MIA! how we can’t resist you!

From £19


Starlight Express

Get your skates on, Starlight Express is back!

From £25 – SAVE UP TO 54%


Back To The Future

Playing until 12 April 2026, book your tickets yesterday!

From £24 – SAVE UP TO 47%


Matilda The Musical

Roald Dahl’s darkly comic musical continues to wow West End audiences.

From £25 – SAVE UP TO 40%


Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical

Relive the day that music brought the world together with JUST FOR ONE DAY – The Live Aid Musical

From £20 – SAVE UP TO 58%


Elf The Musical

Joel Montague, Carrie Hope Fletcher and Aled Jones MBE lead Elf back to the West End this Christmas.

From £25 – SAVE UP TO 37%


Hamilton

Hamilton, an American musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

From £23 – SAVE UP TO £31


Six

Six The Musical reigns at London’s Vaudeville Theatre

From £34.50


The Producers

It’s a disaster, a catastrophe, an outrage!

From £31 – SAVE UP TO 49%


Titanique

All aboard the Titanique!

From £35 – SAVE UP TO 30%


Dracapella

Dracula as you’ve never seen, or heard, him before!

From £15 – SAVE UP TO 57%


The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

A life-affirming journey, set to music by Passenger

From £25 – SAVE UP TO 43%


The Fit Prince

Grab your bags, you’re going to Swedonia

From £13 – SAVE UP TO 58%


Sophie’s Surprise Party

We’re throwing a big old Christmas party, and you’re invited!

From £15 – SAVE UP TO 70%


Rocky Horror Show

Bromley, Let’s Do the Time Warp Again!

From £30.80 – SAVE UP TO 42%


Plays

Woman In Mind

Romesh Ranganathan makes his West End debut opposite Olivier Award-winner Sheridan Smith

From £19


My Neighbour Totoro

Enter a world of magic and wonder with My Neighbour Totoro – a perfect enchanted adventure

From £31 – SAVE UP TO 47%


Oh, Mary!

The Tony award-winning comedy transfers to London!

From £31


Witness for the Prosecution

Agatha Christie’s bone-chilling drama is presented in a perfect courtroom setting.

From £20 – SAVE UP TO 42%


The Play That Goes Wrong

Anything that can go wrong will, it’s all laughter Galore with The Play That Goes Wrong!

From £31 – SAVE UP TO 37%


High Noon

Billy Crudup and Denise Gough star in this thrilling western

From £20 – SAVE UP TO 36%


The Mousetrap

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap is a West End staple. Do you know whodunnit?

From £25 – SAVE UP TO 26%


Othello

David Harewood, Toby Jones and Caitlin Fitzgerald star in Shakespeare’s blistering tragedy

From £59 – SAVE UP TO 45%


Shadowlands

Hugh Bonneville reprises his critically acclaimed role

From £30


Pinocchio

Make the impossible possible

From £7 – SAVE UP TO 60%


Top Hat

Returning to London in a dazzling new production

From £45 – SAVE UP TO 31%


Twelfth Night

The spellbinding adaptation returns to London

From £31 – SAVE UP TO 56%


Kenrex

‘911, what’s your emergency?’…‘My husband… they shot him… they all did.’

From £25 – SAVE UP TO 40%


The Spy Who Came In From The Cold

For the first time ever, a John le Carré novel is brought to life on stage

From £25


The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Live

Grab your towel and get ready for a journey of a lifetime!

From £25 – SAVE UP TO 59%


A Christmas Carol

Don’t be a Scrooge, celebrate the season with A Christmas Carol tickets!

From £39 – SAVE UP TO 45%


Gerry and Sewell

Two lads. Zero cash. One mission: get season tickets for the premier league

From £13 – SAVE UP TO 47%


Fallen Angels

Experience the first London revival of Fallen Angels in 25 years

From £25 – SAVE UP TO 42%


Maddie Moate’s Very Curious Christmas

The Olivier nominated show returns this festive season!

From £22 – SAVE UP TO 50%


Operation Ouch: Quest for the Jurassic Fart!

Join TV’s favourite doctors for a dino-mite new adventure

From £28 – SAVE UP TO 31%


Pantos

Beauty and the Beast – A Horny Love Story

The adult panto with a big… heart

From £39 – SAVE UP TO 32%


Potted Panto

Experience all your favourite pantomimes in one spectacular show!

From £12 – SAVE UP TO 45%


Jack and the Beanstalk

Islington’s best family panto is back for its second year! Oh yes it is!

From £20 – SAVE UP TO 53%


Jack and the Beanstalk

The Lyric Hammersmith Pantomime returns to bring gigantic laughs!

From £15 – SAVE UP TO 49%


Snow White – All Drag Panto

The outrageous all-drag Snow White hits the West End!

From £31 – SAVE UP TO 34%


Family

Bluey’s Big Play

The perfect family day out full of music, laughter and intricate puppetry

From £12.75 SAVE UP TO 39%


The Snowman

Experience one of the West End’s most magical Christmas treats.

From £15 – SAVE UP TO 51%


Peppa Pig’s Big Family Show!

Peppa Pig is back with a brand new stage show!

From £13 – SAVE UP TO 42%


Opera and Ballet

The Opera Locos

Where Puccini meets Elvis…

From £15 – SAVE UP TO 42%


Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes

Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes returns to London this Christmas

From £25 – SAVE UP TO 41%


Cirque du Soleil: OVO

The world-renowned Cirque du Soleil returns to the Royal Albert Hall!

From £55 – SAVE UP TO 30%


The Nutcracker

The Olivier nominated show returns to London this Christmas!

From £25

2025 index

Dec. 29th, 2025 07:00 am
[syndicated profile] diamondgeezer_feed

Posted by Unknown

dg 2025 index

Beyond London
Sunderland/Hartlepool: My longest day trip of the year, to two maligned but characterful northeast ports [50 photos]
Stockport: A pleasant split-level Manchester textile town, plus the (very) least used stations at Denton and Reddish South [50 photos]
Jurassic Coast: A family wedding was an excellent excuse to explore the Dorset coast from Seaton to Portland [75 photos]
Chesterfield/Mansfield: Two contrasting East Midlands towns, one wonky, one wanting [40 photos]
Warrington/St Helens: Glassworks, rugby league and a derelict transporter bridge [50 photos]
Kent/Sussex: Eastbourne to Bexhill, Dover to Deal, Leeds Castle, Beachy Head, Bluewater, Peacehaven, Edenbridge, Quebec House
...and also: 10 ways up Box Hill, Banstead Loop, c2c Senior Rover, Southend, Chorleywood, The Treaty of the More, Liverpool statues, Beaulieu Park

Major series
45 Squared: intro, totals by borough, all 45 squares
One Stop Beyond: Stoneleigh, Chipstead, Merstham, Thames Ditton, Purfleet, Whyteleafe, Upper Warlingham
A Nice Walk: Greenwich Park Geotrail, Hendon to Mill Hill, Jubilee Walkway (west), St James's Park, Roehampton
Fleeting: Hampstead Heath, Camden Town, King's Cross, Clerkenwell, Blackfriars

Local
E3: Simply Fresh, Upper East, Bus Stop M is 10
Bow roundabout update: 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 (the big summary)
E15/E20: Sadlers Wells East, V&A East Storehouse, Olympic vote 20 years on, Greenway closure

Wider London
London: Covid leftovers, borough facts, Natural Landscape hierarchy, 020 dialling code, Banksy's animals, Open House, borough coats of arms, libraries, pub names, facial recognition
London superlatives: most central sheep, the greatest city, most and least deprived, higher than, most central wood
Museums/art: Bow Street, Turbine Hall, six National Trust houses, British Museum trail, Eastenders at 40
Central: The Mousetrap, Rules, Sunday morning markets, IKEA Oxford Circus, Chelsea Physic Garden, the City's Roman wall
East: five questions, London's easternmost point, news from Havering, Footpath 47, Albert Island
North: N15/N16/N17 walkabout, Myddelton House gardens, extreme Haringey, Crews Hill
West: Trumpers Way, the new Apprentice cafe, Harrow Art Park, Hillingdon
Southwest: London Wetland Centre, Old Coulsdon, Little Holland House, Springfield Park, Æthelstan, Poppy Factory, Mill Hill
Southeast: 25 things to see in SE25, The Queen Victoria, Grove Park
Rivers: Coppermill Stream, Bonesgate Stream, Cannon Brook, Edgware Brook
Walks: borough websites

Transport
TfL: Transport 2025, staff magazine, no e-bikes, TfL 2000, TfL's best thing
TfL FoI requests: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Anorak corner: tube, rail, bus
60+ card: the basics, application fiasco, extremities, reduced admission
Tube: signalling improvements, timetable posters, all the rolling stock, non-foldable e-bikes, sponsoring the W&C, longer names
Tube stations: the most escalators, step-free Knightsbridge, Roding Valley closure, Hatton Cross 50, Battersea Power Station, Croxley and Watford centenary
Tube map: walking between stations, around the block, Central London, borough tube maps
Tube fares: Capitalcard poster, farewell Travelcard?, three fare scales, Fares 2026, Chase
Overground: early renaming plans, what the names almost were, riding all the lines, interchanges,
Crossrail: 1000 days
DLR: Thamesmead extension, fewer trains, new rolling stock
Rail: renationalisation, all the stations, Motspur Park 100, Inspiration train, ticket windows, Spa Road, 4.50 to Paddington, Rail Clock, GBR branding, Liverpool Street lift
Rail journeys: longest one-stop journey, shortest railways, unconnected stations, longest journeys, worst connected borough
Bus: Hopper challenge, South Croxted Road shelter, Flibco to Stansted, extreme bus stops
Next Dead Bus: 347, 118, 414, R6, 283
Superloop: Bakerloop, SL11, BL1, SL15
Bus routes: 25, the ten rarest, 347, 60, 129, 205, 241, 700, L10, 138, 375, BL1
Dangleway: Chatty Cabins, Glass Floor Experience
Silvertown Tunnel: what we know, introductory booklet, SL4, transport history, opening, 129, crossing data
Roads: A2025, J20 M25, digit sum, Great West Road 100, numberplate update, Oxford Street, B2025

Quizzes: 2025 anniversaries, St George's Day crossword, East Midlands, Michaelmas
Time and space: 45 × 45 = 2025, Midwinter Day, Year of the Snake, Valentine's Day, hitting 60, not Easter, bank holiday gaps, 5.5.25, shortest night, bank holiday gaps, a history of BST
Maps & geography: fortnightly forecasts, largest geometric shapes, Swithinometer, median age, upside-down London
AI: Round London News, a London quiz, Cockfosters walk

The blog: The Count, 100 comments challenge, this blog has peaked
Unblogged: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, September, October, November, December; March 1965, July 1985, August 1995, October 1985, December 1985

And... new passport, supermarket cafes, shrinkflation, the £5 pint, the bluebell photo scale, wedding 1, nobody to talk to, Sounds of the 70s, reducing mail deliveries, CRIII pillarbox, commuter puzzles, wedding 2, coffee and a nice pastry, asbestosis, Trafalgar Day, sleep, Radio Times price

» My ten favourite photos of the year
[personal profile] squirmelia
Any you'd like to join me for, or do you have any other suggestions I should add?

New things in London:
1. London Museum (opens end of 2026?)
2. V&A East (opens April)
3. Climb on the roof of Alexandra Palace (opens February)
4. Duck tour - amphibious bus
5. Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration (opens May)

Museums to visit in London:
1. Peek Freans Biscuit Museum (Bermondsey)
2. British Vintage Wireless and Television Museum (West Dulwich)
3. London Transport Museum Depot. (Acton)
4. Sewing Machine Museum. (Balham)
5. Freud Museum. (Finchley)
6. Whitewebbs Museum of Transport. (Enfield)
7. Magic Circle Museum. (Euston)
8. Queer Britain Museum. (King’s Cross)
9. Kempton Steam Museum & Kempton Hampton Waterworks railway (Kempton)

Toilets and temples and caves and stars:
1. Go on a tour of public toilets in London. (Loo Tours).
2. Visit the Neasden Temple.
3. Visit Leighton House.
4. Go on a tour of a crypt, at St Alfege. (Greenwich).
5. Try out LARPing or dance at a goth night in Chislehurst Caves.
6. Visit an observatory and look at stars.
7. Sing songs at Maraoke (karaoke where the lyrics are changed to be about video games).
8. See at least 10 more Invaders (street art).
9. Climb the Beckton Alps.
10. Visit the Tower of London.

Robots:
1. Robot coffee
2. Robot bubble tea
3. Robot waiters

Some exhibitions/light festivals that look interesting:
1. Internet Cafe at 1 Poultry (30 January – 7 March 2026)
2. Chiharu Shiota: Threads of Life at the Hayward (17 February - 3 May)
3. The 90s at the Tate Britain (8 October - 14 February 2027)
4. Canary Wharf Winter Lights (January 20 - 31))
5. Vibrance festival of light and sound (January 29 - 30)
6. Robert Cervera - Hiddenware at Space Gallery in Ilford (performances 31 January & 21 March, exhibition until 15 April)

Near London:
1. Foulness Island - either walk the Broomway or visit the information centre.
2. Diggerland
3. Chatham Dockyard
4. Citadel in Dover
5. London bus museum
6. Epping Ongar railway

Tunnels not very close to London:
1. Williamson Tunnels in Liverpool & Mersey Tunnel tour
2. Air raid shelter tour in Bristol & Clifton Suspension Bridge vaults

Even further away:
Will 2026 be the year I fly a one person helium filled airship through a cave, dive in a gasometer, wander through the ghost town of Craco, climb the slag heaps of Charleroi or visit an abandoned gingerbread factory?

Three projects for 2026

Dec. 29th, 2025 07:50 am
[personal profile] squirmelia
1. "What the aliens heard when they landed on Earth" - If aliens landed on Earth, what would the first thing they heard be? Using locations of UFO sightings in London, I will record sounds at these locations. If you touch the location on the map, you can listen to the sounds and also a description of the UFO that was sighted.

2. A pinwheel that you blow on, and then you can hear sounds of the wind on Mars.

3. Items found on the Thames foreshore that you touch and then you can hear sounds of where they originally came from.
[syndicated profile] ianvisits_feed

Posted by ianVisits

This very short, but quite pretty little lane in Hampstead village, and also one of the earliest little passages to be built in the area.

It’s unnamed, but appears as a longer road in an 1848 map leading via some shorter passages through to Streatley Place. However, just 50 years later, it’s showing up as having been cut back to its current length, with the land to the west cleared. That’s because the site was needed for the New End Primary School.

OS Map 1953

It took a while for the school to arrive, and it didn’t finally open until 1906. It’s a grand-looking building in the Edwardian Baroque style, and probably looks a bit familiar, as the London County Council built many schools of this type at the time.

Murray Terrace is now the road access to the school’s car park.

In 2013, a 20mph speed limit was applied to Murray Terrace, and while it was probably just because it needed to be included in a longer list of roads, it does make you wonder how anyone could have exceeded 20mph without smashing into the end of the lane just 2 seconds later.

At least now you’ll get a speeding ticket while writing off your car.

The passageway itself has just four houses on it since it was cut back, and they’ve always been on the south side facing a brick wall on the opposite side.

That used to be the wall around the back garden of a house, but it was demolished when the school was built, and became a slightly odd long rather narrow “peninsula” in the playground.

The four houses are arranged in a block of three terraced houses, and at the top of the alley is one more municipal red brick and tiled house that looks more like a possible conversion of an old warehouse. On my visit, the gate into the school was open, but normally, it’s kept locked, so that’s where the alley ends.

The southern end entrance to Murray Terrace is a normal tarmac road, but look closely at the manhole cover – it’s one of the remaining few from the time when many of London’s streets were paved with wood, not stone.

Unclear, but the alley’s name may be after William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, known for promoting legal reforms and supporting the abolition of slavery, who spent his later years living in nearby Kenwood House.

[syndicated profile] ianvisits_feed

Posted by ianVisits

An end-of-year update from HS2 railway has outlined its progress on Britain’s largest infrastructure project, at a time when it is being fundamentally restructured.

Colne Valley viaduct (c) ianVisits

The data show that excavation of all 23 miles of deep-bore tunnels on the section of the railway between Old Oak Common and Birmingham Curzon Street has now been completed. Around 70 per cent of the project’s earthworks have been delivered, alongside the use of almost 300,000 tonnes of steel, representing roughly two-thirds of the total required.

With the most intensive excavation work largely finished, HS2 is now moving into a phase focused on completing major civil engineering works across the route, ahead of the later installation of track, signalling and communications systems.

While these figures point to tangible progress on the ground, the programme remains some distance from becoming an operational railway.

The update coincides with the first anniversary of Mark Wild taking up his role as chief executive. Over the past year, HS2 has been undertaking what it describes as a comprehensive “reset”, aimed at reordering construction activities and establishing more realistic expectations for costs and delivery timescales following a series of setbacks.

Thame Valley viaduct (c) ianVisits

Construction activity has continued during this period, with around 350 active sites between London and Birmingham and approximately 34,000 people working across the programme. HS2 says it has increased the number of staff in frontline construction roles and introduced closer monitoring of progress, including real-time performance reporting to highlight areas falling behind plan.

According to the newly released figures, 88 per cent of the railway’s foundations are now in place. Viaduct construction has accelerated compared with last year, with around 1,500 segments installed in 2025, up from 860 in 2024.

HS2 says its construction partners have met or exceeded several annual targets, particularly in earthworks.

Calvert site (c) ianVisits

A number of high-profile engineering tasks were completed during the year, including the first high-speed platforms at Old Oak Common, several large-scale viaduct deck installations, the completion of tunnelling on the Northolt and Bromford tunnels, and the final works on the Colne Valley viaduct. Environmental works also continued, including the realignment of sections of the River Cole to accommodate new infrastructure.

In June, the government’s Spending Review confirmed £25.3 billion of funding to support the delivery of HS2 between London Euston and the West Midlands over the next four years. This provides greater certainty to the project’s delivery, with a clear focus on completing all tunnels, viaducts, embankments and cuttings along the route of the railway.

Old Oak Common station (c) ianVisits

Alongside construction, HS2 says that it has introduced tighter cost controls, revised its construction schedule to prioritise the Old Oak Common-Birmingham section, and restructured its organisation. This has included changes to senior leadership, reductions in corporate roles, and a greater emphasis on frontline delivery.

Following an initial review earlier this year, Wild advised the Transport Secretary that the previously stated 2029-2033 opening window could not be met. Work is now underway to establish a new set of cost and timetable estimates, using methods Wild previously applied during the reset of Crossrail, ahead of the opening of the Elizabeth Line.

Once finalised, those estimates will form a new baseline for judging progress on HS2 as it slowly inches towards opening.

Sunday 28 December 1662

Dec. 28th, 2025 11:00 pm
[syndicated profile] pepysdiary_feed

Posted by Samuel Pepys

(Lord’s day). Up and, with my wife to church, and coming out, went out both before my Lady Batten, he not being there, which I believe will vex her. After dinner my wife to church again, and I to the French church, where I heard an old man make a tedious, long sermon, till they were fain to light candles to baptize the children by. So homewards, meeting my brother Tom, but spoke but little with him, and calling also at my uncle Wight’s, but met him and her going forth, and so I went directly home, and there fell to the renewing my last year’s oaths, whereby it has pleased God so much to better myself and practise, and so down to supper, and then prayers and bed.

Read the annotations

Alternative Vegan Christmas Dinner

Dec. 28th, 2025 08:53 am
[syndicated profile] fatgayvegan_feed

Posted by fatgayvegan

You might have seen a few days ago when I blogged about not being a fan of Christmas. If you missed the post, you can read online here. Knowing about my anti-Christmas stance you might be wondering what do I eat when everything is closed? Most Christmas Days of the past I have simply cooked ... Read more

B2025

Dec. 28th, 2025 07:00 am
[syndicated profile] diamondgeezer_feed

Posted by Unknown

Way back in January I walked the A2025 in Worthing.
So before the year ends, let's walk the B2025.

It's in Limpsfield, Surrey, and it's almost half a mile long.
If you live on it, you're doing really well.

Limpsfield is a village at the foot of the North Downs, very close to Oxted and just outside the M25. It's so close to Oxted that if you walk down the Mock Tudor high street as far as Oxted library you've already entered Limpsfield parish.

As well as the motorway Limpsfield has three classified roads. One's the A25, a key orbital route south of London. Another's the B269, a 15 miler linking South Croydon to the Kent countryside. And finally there's the B2025, a brief climb that only got its own number because it happened to cut a corner between the A25 and B269. Limpsfield locals know it as Detillens Lane, having been named after the timber-framed medieval house at the top of the road. It's also a right pain to turn out of.



The foot of the road is very wide and marked by three roadside stalwarts - a fingerpost, a drinking fountain and a water trough. One of these made the BBC News in April.

The fingerpost is an old one with a hooped top and gives distances to three places in each of three directions. Along the A25 it's Godstone Redhill London in one direction and Westerham Sevenoaks Maidstone in the other. Along the B2025 it's the more intriguing trio of Limpsfield Titsey Tatsfield. Alas the fingerpost doesn't specifically mention the number of the B road, indeed there's not a single mention of the B2025 on any road sign anywhere (but if you continue north to the top of Titsey Hill you'll find the B2024 I walked last year).



The drinking fountain was donated in 1913 by Alice and Horace Barry, the owners of nearby Home Place, and refurbished in 1999 to mark the millennium. They also donated the drinking trough which once stood in front, a classic from the Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association with the additional inscription 'Do Well Unto Thy Servant'. But the gleaming stone trough that currently graces the street corner isn't the original, indeed looks brazenly out of place, because the original was casually stolen last year by nefarious individuals who claimed to be "taking it away for cleaning".

Limspfield's residents were aghast and upset, chiefly because the trough held great historical and sentimental value, but also because it was probably stolen to order and "may now sit unrecognised and unappreciated in someone’s private garden". Despite video evidence the police were "unable to pursue further leads" so the parish council sighed and fundraised for a replacement, which is when BBC journalists stepped in with a news story. Thankfully the insurance company paid up and the Drinking Fountain Association sent a generous donation, thus five weeks ago a new trough was lowered into place and planted with heather, shrubs and pansies. It would be uncharitable to say it looks entirely unconvincing, more like a gleaming porcelain tub from a garden centre, but perhaps a century of weathering will rough it up a bit.



The rest of the B2025 is less interesting but still very pleasant. It's lined by large detached houses, some merely substantial and others large enough that if this were London they'd be divided into six flats. Some have whopping decorative chimneys, others patently anachronistic half-timbering, and several have a large pull-in driveway behind a beautifully trimmed holly hedge. All have names rather than numbers because that's classier. Head higher and some of the houses are merely big rather than pretty, being later infill, but the last six form a proper chocolate-box row of convincingly wonky cottages. I like that the bins here all say RUBBISH Tandridge Borough Council, because most local authorities don't dare to be as explicit as that.



Halfway up the hill a public footpath squeezes between two large gardens and breaks out into a rolling green valley, this a woody dip following the headwaters of the River Eden. This stream rises just over a mile away below Clacket Lane Services, eventually veers east to enter the River Medway and ends up gushing into the Thames at Chatham. The hilltop provides additional space for the area's premier rackets venue, The Limpsfield Club, which started out in 1899 with a few tennis courts and now has dozens, plus badminton, squash and more recently padel. This is the B2025's chief social nexus, an athletic hideaway a world away from some grubby chain gym and all the better for it.

In the hedge I found what looked like an old bus shelter, despite no routes coming this way, hence the board inside now displays the 2025 Limpsfield Biodiversity Planner. 50 years ago I could have caught a London Country RF to Westerham or Edenbridge on routes 464 and 465, but these days everybody drives. It's quite a tight turn at the top of the street where a mini-roundabout has been painted between the old stone walls to help minimise risk of collision. This is the junction with Limpsfield High Street, a historic lane where you turn left for the 12th century parish church or right for the village pub. I'd like to have investigated St Peter's and The Bull but they're on the B269, not the B2025, because this year's B road terminates here.



Next year's B road is much longer, of which more later in the week.

Saturday 27 December 1662

Dec. 27th, 2025 11:00 pm
[syndicated profile] pepysdiary_feed

Posted by Samuel Pepys

Up, and while I am dressing I sent for my boy’s brother, William, that lives in town here as a groom, to whom and their sister Jane I told my resolution to keep the boy no longer. So upon the whole they desire to have him stay a week longer, and then he shall go. So to the office, and there Mr. Coventry and I sat till noon, and then I stept to the Exchange, and so home to dinner, and after dinner with my wife to the Duke’s Theatre, and saw the second part of “Rhodes,” done with the new Roxalana; which do it rather better in all respects for person, voice, and judgment, then the first Roxalana. Home with great content with my wife, not so well pleased with the company at the house to-day, which was full of citizens, there hardly being a gentleman or woman in the house; a couple of pretty ladies by us that made sport in it, being jostled and crowded by prentices. So home, and I to my study making up my monthly accounts, which is now fallen again to 630l. or thereabouts, which not long since was 680l., at which I am sorry, but I trust in God I shall get it up again, and in the meantime will live sparingly. So home to supper and to bed.

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Weather 2025

Dec. 27th, 2025 12:00 pm
[syndicated profile] diamondgeezer_feed

Posted by Unknown

the dg weather review of the year

I used to do this with big colourful monthly tables but that's too much effort for too little reward so here's a breezier summary. All data is for Hampstead, as per usual.

 temperature  rainfall   sunshine 
Janchillyvery wetdullish
Febaverageaveragedullish
Marmildvery dryvery sunny
Aprmilderdrysunny
Maywarmaveragevery sunny
Junhotting updryishsunny
Julhot startwetaverage
Augrarely hotvery drysunny
Sepaveragewetsunny
Octaverageaveragedullish
Novcold snapaverageaverage
Decmildaveragedull
2025very milddryishvery sunny

Eleven days topped thirty degrees.
It's Britain's warmest year on record, beating 2022.
March to September were all sunnier than usual.
We had only six named storms, from Éowyn to Bram.
And no snow to get excited about.

TfL FoI requests in December 2025

Dec. 27th, 2025 08:00 am
[syndicated profile] diamondgeezer_feed

Posted by Unknown

20 things we learnt from TfL FoI requests in December 2025

1) The number of train drivers employed on each of the tube lines is as follows: Northern 612, Central & W&C 521, Piccadilly 521, District 395, Jubilee 374, Circle & H&C 301, Metropolitan 300, Victoria 281, Bakerloo 193.
2) Tube stations without full step-free access have been sorted into one of seven ‘deliverability’ categories. Ruislip and Snaresbrook are 'relatively deliverable', the top category. Hornchurch and Hatton Cross are 'challenging', the second category. Upminster Bridge is ‘very difficult', the fourth category.
3) TfL have published a 119-page business case for Devolution of the Great Northern Inners (i.e. trains to Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage). They propose transferring 26 stations to TfL control, including Harringay, Hatfield and Hertford North.
4) So far this year 12 million Day Travelcards have been sold. 77% of these were Off Peak travelcards. 14% were for children.
5) One reason the Lioness line only runs every 15 minutes is that "the gaps between the signals are extremely large making it difficult to path extra trains into the timetable".
6) Only one upgraded Central line train has been returned to service this year, bringing the total to 3. The intention is still to have the other 70-odd upgraded by 2029.
7) Since April, revenue from Silvertown and Blackwall Tunnel vehicle payments has been £37,089,974 and revenue from Penalty Charge Notices has been £34,964,893 (almost as much).
8) The busiest river pier is Westminster which is used by about 10000 river passengers per day, followed by Tower (8000) and Greenwich (6000). Barking Riverside sees only about 40 passengers depart daily.
9) In the last five years 4642 passengers have travelled from Abbey Road DLR to St John's Wood (presumably after seeing the sign saying they weren't at the right station for the Beatles zebra crossing). Less sensibly, 1853 journeys were recorded from St John's Wood to Abbey Road DLR.
10) There were 15 days when strike action impacted the tube in 2024, and only five such days in 2025.

11) The longest Maximum Journey Time, now that contactless has been extended far beyond London, is for journeys from Shoeburyness to Bletchley.
12) There are 431 Bus Stop Ms in Greater London (and 4 more outside). The Bus Stop M served by the most bus routes is on London Bridge with 18. The Bus Stop M served by the most daytime routes is Kingscourt Road in Streatham with 12. The borough with the most Bus Stop Ms is Bromley. The northernmost Bus Stop M is Bullsmoor Lane/Great Cambridge Road, the easternmost is St Laurence Church in Upminster, the southernmost is Park Rise in Leatherhead and the westernmost is Observatory Centre in Slough.
13) Since April 3,140,453 contactless cards have been checked on the DLR and 4472 penalty fares issued. In the previous twelve months only 2,849,265 contactless cards were checked and 2571 penalty fares issued.
14) Approximately half a million Dial-A-Ride journeys are made each year, for which TfL pays about £25m.
15) The average cost of a typical TfL uniform requirement is £310 per employee. Items of clothing that may be provided include two skirts or two pairs of trousers, also coat, pullover, gilet, polo shirt, tie, beanie, cravat, cardigan, fleecington, thermal bottoms, hi-vis vest, cap and boots/shoes.
16) 13 Central line vehicles are long term out of service, of which two are unlikely to return to operational use.
17) 548 TfL staff were paid more than £100K last year.
18) 6475 sexual offences have been recorded on Underground trains over the last 10 years. The Central line had the most (1596) and the Waterloo & City line the fewest (10).
19) The average interval between trains on the Victoria line is 2.5 minutes, on the Jubilee line 3.1 minutes, on the Northern line 3.3 minutes, on the Central line 3.4 minutes, on the District and Piccadilly lines 3.6 minutes, on the Metropolitan line 3.8 minutes, on the Waterloo & City line 4.1 minutes, on the Bakerloo line 4.2 minutes and on the Circle/Hammersmith & City lines 5.4 minutes.
20) TfL have not had any reports of alien and/or extra-terrestrial activity on any of their services.

Delaying Christmas

Dec. 27th, 2025 07:00 am
[syndicated profile] diamondgeezer_feed

Posted by Unknown

There were two weddings in the family this year, thus the need for two Christmases. On December 25th the two new brides spent the day with family in Somerset and Warwickshire while the rest of the family waited in Norfolk, postponing the inevitable for an extra two days. The plan is therefore that today will be our Christmas Day, complete with present-opening, a proper dinner and all the TV trimmings. Meanwhile on the big day itself we pretended it was just a normal Thursday, woke up with no seasonal commitments and drove to the seaside.



Instead of opening presents we braved the onshore gales in Cromer, parked on the promenade and watched huge waves rolling in from the North Sea. We walked down the pier where local residents in festive garb were sheltering in the lee of the theatre with the occasional bottle of champagne. We climbed up to the boating pond and sat on a blowy bench outside the Hotel de Paris as it cast a midwinter shadow onto half the pier below. And because the Greggs at the garage was open we took the opportunity to grab a few bagfuls, then ate them in the car while staring out at the breakers. My lunch on December 25th was thus a Festive Bake fresh from the hot counter, and if that isn't an achievement unlocked I don't know what is.



On the way back we went hill climbing in Sheringham and checked that the art deco bus shelter is still standing, which it is, then drove home for a crackerless meal of toad in the hole. Yesterday was then our Christmas Eve when we watched The Snowman and Carols from Kings, wrapped presents and prepared all the vegetables. And today should involve pigs in blankets, the ripping of paper, a delayed King's Broadcast and a full family gathering with all the trimmings. It's one of the most unusual Christmases I've ever experienced, and all to make sure two other families could sit down for turkey on 25th December as usual. But inevitably a decree has gone out that Christmas 2026 should be normal for Norfolk, so if you're reading this in Leamington Spa sorry, it's your turn to delay everything next year.

Vegan Food During My Flight

Dec. 27th, 2025 06:32 am
[syndicated profile] fatgayvegan_feed

Posted by fatgayvegan

HUGE shock around FGV headquarters this week. I missed a day of blogging! Yes it’s a let down because I pledged to blog every single day, but I do have a solid reason. I just spent more than a day traveling from Brisbane, Australia to London, United Kingdom. It was an intense journey that started ... Read more

Friday 26 December 1662

Dec. 26th, 2025 11:00 pm
[syndicated profile] pepysdiary_feed

Posted by Samuel Pepys

Up, my wife to the making of Christmas pies all day, being now pretty well again, and I abroad to several places about some businesses, among others bought a bake-pan in Newgate Market, and sent it home, it cost me 16s. So to Dr. Williams, but he is out of town, then to the Wardrobe. Hither come Mr. Battersby; and we falling into a discourse of a new book of drollery in verse called Hudebras, I would needs go find it out, and met with it at the Temple: cost me 2s. 6d. But when I came to read it, it is so silly an abuse of the Presbyter Knight going to the warrs, that I am ashamed of it; and by and by meeting at Mr. Townsend’s at dinner, I sold it to him for 18d. Here we dined with many tradesmen that belong to the Wardrobe, but I was weary soon of their company, and broke up dinner as soon as I could, and away, with the greatest reluctancy and dispute (two or three times my reason stopping my sense and I would go back again) within myself, to the Duke’s house and saw “The Villaine,” which I ought not to do without my wife, but that my time is now out that I did undertake it for. But, Lord! to consider how my natural desire is to pleasure, which God be praised that he has given me the power by my late oaths to curb so well as I have done, and will do again after two or three plays more. Here I was better pleased with the play than I was at first, understanding the design better than I did. Here I saw Gosnell and her sister at a distance, and could have found it in my heart to have accosted them, but thought not prudent. But I watched their going out and found that they came, she, her sister and another woman, alone, without any man, and did go over the fields a foot. I find that I have an inclination to have her come again, though it is most against my interest either of profit or content of mind, other than for their singing.

Home on foot, in my way calling at Mr. Rawlinson’s and drinking only a cup of ale there. He tells me my uncle has ended his purchase, which cost him 4,500l., and how my uncle do express his trouble that he has with his wife’s relations, but I understand his great intentions are for the Wights that hang upon him and by whose advice this estate is bought. Thence home, and found my wife busy among her pies, but angry for some saucy words that her mayde Jane has given her, which I will not allow of, and therefore will give her warning to be gone. As also we are both displeased for some slight words that Sarah, now at Sir W. Pen’s, hath spoke of us, but it is no matter. We shall endeavour to joyne the lion’s skin to the fox’s tail.

So to my office alone a while, and then home to my study and supper and bed. Being also vexed at my boy for his staying playing abroad when he is sent of errands, so that I have sent him to-night to see whether their country carrier be in town or no, for I am resolved to keep him no more.

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