Fire breaks out in Cock Lane

Emergency services were called after a fire broke out at a block of flats in Cock Lane last Thursday.

Two fire engines and ten fire fighters from Dowgate and Clerkenwell stations attended the blaze at the six-storey block. They were called out at 21.23 and had the fire under control by 22.15.

Thirty residents were evacuated from the building and there were no injuries.

Bow Bells House sold

Bow Bells House on the City of London’s Cheapside has been sold for over £100million, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The 165,000 sq ft building was designed by Architects David Walker and HOK International and it was only completed in late 2007.

A private investor has apparently purchased the building, which is adjacent to St Mary Le Bow Church, from Mitsubishi Estate Co. and Mitsubishi Corporation for $213million.

City’s new boutique hotel

A new boutique hotel has opened up in the City of London.

Hotel Indigo Tower Hill is the latest boutique hotel in the Hotel Indigo hotel brand from the InterContinental Hotel Group.

The new hotel is at 142 Minories in what was an office building called Matheson House in its previous incarnation.

See more City of London Hotels

Police issue jewellery thief suspect sketch

Police have issued this sketch of a man wanted in connection with a jellewery heist on February 3rd. Jewels worth nearly £1million were stolen at knifepoint from Haynes Jewellers, Castle Court, St Michael’s Alley, near Cornhill in the raid.

DI Edelle Michaels from City of London Police who is leading the investigation said: “Witnesses have provided a clear description of one of the robbers and someone will recognise the man in the picture we’ve released today. He is suspected of involvement in a violent and frightening robbery and it’s important that anyone with information on his identity contact us.”

Police now know three men were involved in the robbery. All 3 were dressed like workmen with their faces partially covered, one in fluorescent jacket and trousers. The men took a taxi from close to the scene of the robbery to Tower Hill, where two of the gang left the cab. The third suspect stayed in the taxi and was dropped on Hackney Road at Bethnal Green.

Anyone with information about the robbery or the suspects, or who has information about the whereabouts of the jewellery stolen should contact City of London Police on 020 7601 2222, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111

City Lights Turned On For Christmas

The City of London’s Christmas lights were switched on last night at a star studded event on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral. Big name acts such as the reformed Spandau Ballet, Little Boots, Farryl Smith and Scouting for Girls performed for crowds gathered at the Wren-designed cathedral.

The event was coordinated with Oxford St and Regent St switch on ceremonies, and sponsored by Disney’s new version of A Christmas Carol.  Stars of the movie turned on the lights at each of the three locations: Bob Hoskins at St Paul’s Cathedral, Colin Firth at Regent Street, and Jim Carrey at Oxford Street.

Couldn’t make it? Here’s a couple of Youtube videos from the event posted by paulmuchmore…

Big City Sleep to Highlight Brazilian Street Children

A charity is organising a 12 hour sleepathon overnight at Spitalfields Market to raise money, and awareness, for the street children and vulnerable young people in Brazil.

City workers are invited to get involved by stepping out of their comfort zone and “swap their comfortable beds for cardboard boxes” for the night.

The event is being organised by the ABC Trust (Action for Brazil’s Children) and they will be arranging a mix of Brazilian themed entertainment on the night including live music and a performance from the East London Capoeira group.

Each participant will be aiming to raise at least £150 in sponsorship money, with the ABC Trust hoping to raise a minimum of of £15,000 to help provide basic provisions for street children this Christmas.

Andrew Webb – CEO of ABC Trust said “It is vital that people understand that this is not an attempt to undermine or trivialise the issues that street children face, and in no way is it aiming to recreate the everyday life of a Brazilian street child.  The aim of the ‘Big City Sleep’ is to show members of the public what some aspects of life are like for those children who live on the streets in Brazil, the difference is that participants in the ‘Big City Sleep’ can go back to their own comforts and normal life the following day.”

Toby Brown, Spitalfields Estate Director “We are delighted to support the ABC Trust; by using Spitalfields’ public space to host the Big City Sleep fundraising event we are helping to raise awareness and money for some of worlds most vulnerable children”.

To take part in the ‘Big City Sleep’ or for more information, please get in touch: Reference – Big City Sleep, email – lydia.stevens@abctrust.org.uk, or phone: 0207 287 3818

City of London Board Game Launched for Charity

A new board game called “City of London” has been launched in aid of Lord Mayor’s Appeal Charities. In it, your aim is to become the Lord Mayor of London, and to do that you secure ward seats, win elections, become a Freeman and more before getting to the top job at the Mansion House.

Multiple choice questions about the Square Mile need to be answered in order to progress through the game, with the 25 wards, the Old Bailey and the Guildhall all featuring on the attractive board.

The Lord Mayor’s two charities that will benefit from the sale of the game are St John Ambulance London (Prince of Wales’s) District and The Lord’s Taverners.

Designed for 2-4 players aged 10 and above, ‘City of London’ is available at the special price of £25.00 if ordered in advance via www.lordmayorshow.org and collected from The Mansion House, or at the retail price of £29.99, post free. It’s also available from Guildhall’s Library and Art Gallery shops, St Paul’s Cathedral shop and, from August, at John Lewis and Peter Jones in London.

Ian Pay, The Lord Mayor’s Appeal Director says, ‘We think that ‘City of London’ is the perfect gift for anyone interested in the City of London or who professes to be an expert on the ‘Square Mile’. It’s also a great way of supporting two hugely worthwhile charities, discovering facts about the City and having fun at the same time.’

Stunt Rider Jumps Tower Bridge

Renowned stunt rider, Robbie Maddison, achieved a first last week when he performed a spectacular backward flip across a partially closed Tower Bridge. The Australian FMX legend got an upside down view of the iconic bridge and the Thames below as he made the jump across. See for yourself in this video below:

Nomura To Leave Wharf for the City?

Speculation has been rife that Japanese bank, Nomura, is to leave Canary Wharf and move to a prestigious new development in the City of London next year.

The large firm has apparently signed an agreement to take the new Watermark Place development on the north bank of the River Thames. The new 12 storey building is next to Cannon Street station and has replaced the former BT building, Mondial House.

The move would be a boost for the City in its ongoing rivalry with upstart Canary Wharf to be home to leading financial institutions.

Nomura has a London workforce of about 4000, with many of them having been recruited from Lehman Brothers following their collapse last year.

City Police Launch Clickable Map

The City of London Police have proudly announced a new clickable map that shows you the wards of the City, with useful information such as what landmarks are in the particular ward and contact details for local community policing.

Sound good? Well, don’t bother with it if you want real information about policing. The contact details for ward by ward local policing appears to give the same phone number and email address for every ward.

As a policing tool, I’m struggling to see the point. As a clickable tourist information guide to local landmarks, it’s great - but is that really what the police should be producing?  More useful, I think, is the crime map which lets you move around the City and see local crime figures for this year and last year.

Next Page »