Aldgate Bars

GWL, a photo by LoopZilla on Flickr.

Rough sleeping at the border of Tower Hamlets and the City of London.

Sunday Shopping for Eight Weeks in 2012

Sunday shopping rules are to be relaxed for the eight weeks of the London 2012 Games. Eight weeks is 56 days, Lent is 40 days, Ramadan is 28 days (approximately). Sunday trading rules have been relaxed in recent years. In Wales, many pubs were dry on Sundays.

Close to Olympic Park, many shops in the East End of London close on Friday for Friday prayers.

So, why change the Sunday laws? The main gateway to the Olympic Park (from Stratford Station) is Westfield. The new shopping city is going benefit dramatically from the change in the law.

The Olympics - just a shopping spree dressed up in Lycra?

In The Fast Lane

There is a drought in East London, according to Thames Water

Who would have known (in July 2005) that in 2012 London would be suffering a drought! That could mean stand pipes in the street.... in August?!?!?! Welcome to London 2012 - The Green Games! Also rather ironic that the River Lea (the Bow Back Rivers) flows through the Olympic Park in East London. Water is extracted from the River Lea for London's water supply along with the River Thames. Water is also taken from underground supplies.

Perhaps there will be a demand for water in the fast lane for all the Olympic VIPs? It might be important for athletes to have a good supply of water too. And the swimming and diving pools...

The ArcelorMittal Orbit - 21st Feb 2012 - London Olympic Park 152

The ArcelorMittal Orbit - 21st Feb 2012 - London Olympic Park 152, a photo by Andy Wilkes on Flickr.

You know, I like this edifice less and less. It may not be finished, but it all the charm of piece of wire that I used to wire a bonsai for a few years, and then discarded. It lacks meaning, it lacks grounding. It just spirals up. With no way down!

Hennikers Ditch and The River Leyton

Hennikers Ditch and The River Leyton have popped up in the press in the past few days, as a example of the regeneration of the Lower Lea.

BBC - London - London Local - Did prehistoric Londoners inhabit the Olympic site?



"Tyler guides me, via the doomed Eastway Cycle Circuit, to Hennikers Ditch, a medieval drainage ditch that's little more than a hollowed-out puddle. ..." - timeout.com

Cafe Rest

Cafe Rest, a photo by LoopZilla on Flickr.

Irish Café-Restaurant

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Our aim is to cater for all sides of the Shepherds Bush community and beyond. Builders, office workers, families, young professionals, holiday makers, singles, couples, the elderly and special needs. We provide choice quality home cooked food ranging from breakfast to roast dinners, fresh fish, salads and some of the Cafe Rest all time favourites, such as braised steak and cabbage.

Cafe Rest, a photo by LoopZilla on Flickr.

Mudlarks on the beach at Shortwall

Work Begins On Ikea “Mini-Venice” By Olympic Park

Insert joke about IKEA flat pack here...

The planners for this mucky development wanted British Waterways to move the tidal limit (at Shortwall) a few hundred metres downstream so that they would see a canal like waterway, rather than the mud at low tide (twice a day). What they do not know is that Prescott Lock and the weir at Shortwall are there for the next few years. But if the Environment Agency give the word, then the £20 million lock and weir will be de-commissioned (if they assess that there is a flood risk). At that point, the waters will be tidal up the Lea Bridge Sluices again. Chew on that, Ikea boys!

Strand means beach, of course.

And those "water taxis"? The Water Chariots scheme is still beached at Limehouse Basin, due to Tower Hamlets Planning rejected the scheme (they applied for a Lawful Development Certificate), requiring that British Waterways go through an Environmental Impact Assessment (consultation). The appeal by British Waterways is still with the Secretary of State.

Application number  PA/11/00480
Planning Inspectorate reference number. APP/E5900/  
Site address  Limehouse Basin, Narrow Street, London
Proposal  Screening Opinion as to whether Application for Lawful Development
 Certificate in respect of proposed installation of additional moorings for water 
 taxis and leisure purposes constitutes development requiring an Environmental Impact
 Assessment.
Application decision  EIA Required
Appeal type  
Appeal procedure  
Application decision date  2011-05-23 00:0
Appeal received  2011-06-13 00:0
Appeal decision  
Appeal decision date 

Some delay there....

Perhaps they lost the Allen Key?