No shows

Well so far today I’ve had the disappointment of Ian Wright’s book signing being cancelled at the 11th hour and in the spirit of not turning up the SHAC protestors haven’t made an appearance either so today’s looking like I’ll have to give up on anything interesting happening and retire to the pub.

Or do some work.

Nah, probably pub.

I’ll let you know if there are any updates on either of the above.

UPDATE 1: 13:24 - A lone Policeman and some security people are waiting outside Moor House, apparently anticipating the arrival of the protest?

UPDATE 2: 14:07 They finally turned up at 13.50 with maybe 250ish people.

Everyone had cameras… the police, the protestors, the press, the curious…

Following on behind.

Ian Wright at Waterstones, London Wall

If you take your London Premiership football in red-and-white I thought you might like to know that former Gunner legend (185 goals in 279 starts for Arsenal), golden boot winner and TV personality will be signing copies of his new book, “Ian Wright’s Fitter Families“, at Waterstones on Friday lunchtime at 12.30. More details can be found here.

Coincidentally 12.30 is around the time that SHAC (”Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty”) should be heading past on their “City Shakedown“. The last time I saw them out-and-about a couple of years ago they were a handful of folks toting a megaphone and the wild-eyed aura that typically surrounds those who take their preaching to the open air. With some of their number enjoying Her Majesty’s Pleasure we’ll see what they’ve got left on Friday

Don’t be an April Fool

Another year, another set of protests. This time assorted groups, led by the Climate Camp, are going to disrupt the City on 1st April to make their assorted points on the eve of the G20 group meeting. It’s not 100% clear at this time whether some fringe groups may abuse this as an opportunity for further disorder but at the very least there’ll be some disruption as Bishopsgate and the Bank of England are already mentioned as targets.

In the past our company has recommended that staff come in dressed in casuals to avoid the eggs and flour that greeted some City folks at mainline stations in the past so you may want to start thinking about your options, particularly if you have an office full of staff to manage.

If you want to join the protestors, or any police and professional security people pretending to be protestors, or instead avoid the whole lot entirely then probably your best option  is to keep an eye on the following sites for information in the run-up to the day.

Climate Camp 09
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/g20

G20 Meltdown at the Bank of England
http://www.g-20meltdown.org/

Fossil Fools Day
http://www.fossilfoolsdayofaction.org/

City of London Police
http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/

Train fair?

All the papers are reporting the government-funded Passenger Focus research saying that Brits pay more for train travel than anywhere else in Europe, which I have to admit doesn’t come as a great surprise given the way the railways work. I’m just about to put my hand in my pocket and fork out another £1K+ for the pleasure of partaking in the joys of South West Trains for another year, which could be seen as as either confidence or bravado given the state of the City nowadays.

If you’re anything like me then it’s the simple pleasures in life that count, like getting a seat on a train, but over the last year I’ve had to give up on the 7.30, then the 7.12 and since New Year I’ve abandoned even the 6.56 in favour of the 6.41 just so that I can get a seat without having to resort to the jockeying for position on the platform which accompanies overcrowding. Many of my former train-mates on the 7.12 and 6.56 now also turn up for the 6.41 so I suspect I’m not alone in that sentiment and anything that’ll give leverage to those asking for a decent service at a reasonable price is welcome.

Zavvi Bishopsgate To Close

Zavvi - the music, DVD and games retailer - is set to close its Bishopsgate branch. The troubled store went into administration late last year, and has already closed and sold some branches.

Administrators for the company have now announced that all remaining Zavvi stores will disappear from the high street, with most closing and some others being sold off. The Bishopsgate branch will be closing down, putting 12 permanent employees out of work.

All your (data)base are belong to us

It’s always nice to find that someone shares your point of view, particularly when that someone happens to be Stella Rimington, the former head of MI5. Last week I posted about the new law about not photographing police officers and this week Stella’s come out and said:
“It would be better that the Government recognised that there are risks, rather than frightening people in order to be able to pass laws which restrict civil liberties, which is precisely one of the objects of terrorism: that we live in fear and under a police state.”

The House of Lords Constitution Committee also recently released a report entitled “Surveillance: Citizens and the State” which raises a number of concerns about the current state of surveillance and stated that:
“As privacy is an essential pre-requisite to the exercise of individual freedom, its erosion weakens the constitutional foundations on which democracy and good governance have traditionally been based in this country.”

At the time of writing an impromptu poll on The Times website indicated that 98% of respondents thought that increasingly intrusive anti-terror measures were turning Britain into a police-state and today the Telegraph quotes estimates that the cost of Britain’s state-run databases will be £34bn.

Even leaving aside the privacy aspects for one minute that’s an awful lot of money to pay for something of dubious value, though lord knows assorted Governments have committed themselves to all kinds of things over the years. That’s where we come in. We’re going to be paying for this one way or another, either via taxation or by increased prices when our phone and internet companies pass on the costs of having to store information on all of our phone calls and web access… so let’s not vote for any political body that want to increase surveillance and these offensive databases.

Title mangled from here.

Eye-spy with my roving eye

As has been noted elsewhere on this site by the erudite and learned Andrew Kershman The Monument re-opens today at lunchtime. His article is an excellent read and if you’re looking for enlightenment regarding this important London landmark then you’d probably better nip over and read his, whilst noting that it lacks mention of one important thing.

The Monument now has a webcam. Read more

The Monument Reopens Today

The Monument, built to mark the Great Fire of London, reopens at noon today after a lengthy refurbishment programme.  The 18 month project on one of the City’s most recognisable landmarks has cost £4.5million and has seen the stonework cleaned and repaired,  reguilding of the golden orb and also the installation of a live camera to relay views to the bottom for people who can’t make it up the 311 stairs.

The refurbishment has been paid for by the City of London Corporation.

If you want to know more about it, read our article from last week by Andrew Kershman that took a closer look at the Monument.

Love in the Square Mile

Yes it’s that day again when the masses rush off to the card shops while the few try and work out which of the assorted St Valentines is the one we’re actually supposed to be celebrating. Here’s the scene outside Clinton Cards on Cheapside at lunchtime, repeated at many of the card shops across the City of London no doubt:

With St Valentines Day being a relatively modern invention at least you don’t get the same arguments about how to celebrate “in the real spirit of [insert chosen holiday here]” so however you choose to mark the day I hope it’s filled with fun, love and laughter… unless you’re Terry Freeman in which case I probably don’t.

“Win A London Pad” in Liverpool Street Station

WinALondonPad.com is a competition with a few twists. Here’s how it works: You buy an entry into the competition for £50, and you get a portable MP4 player for that. Then, each entry will be entered into a prize draw to win a block of serviced apartments in London, offering financial freedom for life.  Proceeds from the competition will goto Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.

So it’s a win/win scenario and it helps a great cause. There’s only three weeks to go to the draw, and the organisers are planning a big push tomorrow (Friday 13th) by giving out free prizes at five London train stations, including Liverpool Street in the City.

Look out for people wearing a “Win A London Pad” T-Shirt at the station between 08.30 and 09.30 tomorrow morning and collect your codeword. Visit the website tomorrow before 19.30 and the first 10,000 to do so will claim a free prize. In total, £300,000 worth of prizes will be given away tomorrow.

And if you commute in via Waterlook, you may bump into former Big Brother contestant Chanelle Hayes handing out prizes. Chanelle? Was that the sound of a barrel being scraped? Oh well, shouldn’t be too harsh, it’s all for a good cause.

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