The 'extreme sports' edition
Includes skateboarding, bikestormz, and... chess
Don’t worry, we’re not trying to court the ‘valuable Gen Z market’ with this issue. In fact, the impetus for this comes from a police report entitled ‘Responses to Anti-Social Behaviour in the City of London’. Try making a TikTok video out of that.
Specifically we’re looking at page four of the report, where we’re told that the City of London Corporation and the City Police have been addressing “concerns around skateboarding and ‘bike storming’ in certain locations within the City.”
A quick break to address the question: What’s ‘bike storming’?
Founded in 2015 by ‘social entrepreneur’ Mac Ferrari-Guy, Bikestormz is the self-styled “biggest underground youth movement in the UK,” with a central message of ‘Knives Down, Bikes Up’.
The ‘bikes up’ element originally comes from Bikelife, the movement that emerged out of Baltimore and Philadelphia, where motorcross bike riders would video themselves holding their machines at ‘12 O’Clock’, or completely vertical. Copycats sprung up in the UK, but as the average participant wasn’t old enough to get served in a pub, the pushbike became the main mode of transport.
This 2017 article from Huck sums it up nicely:
They wheelie for minutes at a time: slipping through tiny gaps between cars and buses, taunting drivers by stroking passing vehicles with a gloved hand. Just riding along in their wake feels exhilarating. “Taking those risks is what keeps me feeling alive,” says Jake. “It makes me hungry to take things further every day.”
Here’s a video from a massive Bikestormz London rideout from September last year.
Probably not a lot of fun if you unexpectedly get caught up in it, but watch the bit at 6:50 where one kid stands on his saddle while wheelieing down the Mall, and try not to smile.
So what do the police and the City of London have to say about all this?
Well, to pretty much everyone’s surprise, they’re kind of okay with it.
Instead of shaking their fists at the sky and muttering ‘pesky kids!’ the City Corporation and police concluded that the number of reports of anti-social behaviour are relatively low and that the City might actually be the safest place for this kind of activity, given “there is less human and vehicle traffic.”
As a result they propose some long term solutions such as “a specific area in the City where children and young people can play safely… not in close proximity to residential areas in order to avoid noise complaints,” as well as “pop up skateboard events” and even an idea to “build a skateboard park in the City as a part of future developments.”
Let’s just pause for a moment to recognise the fact that a governing body and a police force have responded to all this in such a thoughtful and positive way….
…Okay, now back to skateboarding!
Skateboarding is having a bit of moment
Some might argue that skateboarding has been having a moment since the ‘70s, but as we get closer to the first Olympics to feature it as an official event, there’s a definite spike in interest around the sport.
Last week, the Standard put Sibling, “the LGBTQIA+ skating group ruling the London scene” on the front page of their magazine (including some great images by Sam Wright).
While next month, Somerset House will host No Comply, “a free exhibition exploring the phenomena of skateboarding and the impact of its culture and communities on the UK over the past 45 years.” (it doesn’t hurt that Somerset House’s Visitor Experience Manager, Helena Long, is also a professional skateboarder).
And earlier this year, the Southbank Centre submitted a planning application for a refurb to its Undercroft skatepark. According to the application, “as artistic activity has significantly reduced on the South Bank, the night-time economy has also collapsed. This has led to an alarming increase in anti-social behaviour around the area of the skatespace,” so they’re proposing new lighting, the removal of a ramp, some railings and a wall to enable better views into the skate space, and the addition of a new sloped surface not requiring handrails.
Meanwhile, in fast car news…
There’s still a chance we might get a London grand prix.
There’s been chat about this happening for years (as far back as 2012 Bernie Ecclestone wanted “F1 cars tearing down Piccadilly at speeds previously matched only by midnight minicab drivers”), then everything went quiet during the pandemic.
But now the conversations have started up again, and last week the mayor told the Standard that “We’re speaking to Formula 1 and they’re really receptive… it would great to have a grand prix in the capital city, to have Silverstone and London on the calendar.”
As for timings, Sadiq is being cautious:“I think next year would be too soon but I’ve been really impressed with those at Formula 1 and I’m keen to bring it as soon as possible.”
One sport definitely coming to central London this summer is chess
ChessFest is a free event organised by the charity Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC), who are looking to take advantage of the ‘Queen’s Gambit effect’ by staging Britain’s biggest ever chess festival in Trafalgar Square on 18 July.
According to the Guardian, on the day “more than 50 chess coaches will provide free lessons to children and adults,” plus there’ll be British grandmasters “taking on all-comers in speed and blindfold chess” and “a human chess game based on Alice Through the Looking-Glass.”
And the rest…
Yesterday TfL announced that “high speed mobile coverage” is going to be rolled out across the entire Tube network, with “all stations and tunnels due to have mobile coverage by the end of 2024”.
Last year, Sadiq Khan took a ‘voluntary pay cut’, reducing his £152,734 pay packet by 10 per cent. Now the mayor has gone back up to full pay. The Standard reports that Sadiq’s “decision not to draw his full salary for 11 months will have saved the GLA about £14,000.”
The mayor also took a trip on Crossrail this week, going between Paddington and Farringdon in “less than 10 minutes”. In the video below, Sadiq takes the unnecessary step of reminding us all that “there’s a lot to do before the Elizabeth line opens”.
On Monday Google announced that it was not going to reopen it’s Old Street start-up space, Campus, saying “We’re closing Campus to support start-ups throughout the UK”. Sarah Drinkwater (whose $10k microgranting experiment we mentioned recently) used to be the head of Campus and has written a short essay explaining why the space was so vital and why it’s a good time to close its doors.
When you think of SportsDirect you don’t think of ‘sophistication’ or ‘innovation’ (you think of free mugs and shop floors that resemble a jumble sale after a hurricane). But now their flagship Oxford Street store has undergone a £10 million overhaul that includes “the first sports bra studio in the UK in which shoppers can be measured and be offered a multi-brand selection,” along with a “digitised foot-measuring tool,” and mannequins that “come in inclusive sizes with amputees and wheelchair-users represented.”
On Saturday, a group of ‘youth climate activists’ planned a sleepover at the Science Museum to protest against the climate exhibition Our Future Planet, which is sponsored by Shell. After unfurling a banner inside the museum on Saturday afternoon, the group informed museum security that they were planning to sleep there overnight. Police were called, but no arrests were made and the protestors “decided to leave the museum around 8.50pm”.
London now has 131 more air quality sensors than it did a week ago. The sensors are part of the Breathe London network, and if you go to their site you can see if your area has any of the sensors and also get real-time air quality data from them.
The giant, 3D scale model of London that has been on display at the Building Centre near Tottenham Court Road is moving to King’s Cross for the summer. Well worth a look if you’re in the area. More details and photos over at Ian Visits.
The Borealis installation by artist Dan Acher is coming back to London later this year as part of the Greenwich+Docklands International Festival. The display will “create the experience of the Northern Lights” over two locations: Greenwich between 27 August and 5 September, and Woolwich from 9-11 September.
Back to two wheels for a second: City Monitor has interviewed cyclist and city planner Dermot Hanney who has been tracking London’s new cycle lanes as a Google Maps layer.
A few weeks ago we mentioned that Reclaim These Streets were crowdfunding to “expose the police ban on our vigil for Sarah Everard as unlawful and secure protest rights for the future.” The good news is they reached their £20k target a few days ago. We’ll keep an eye on this and let you know how their case progresses.