Weekend roundup for 5 June
Includes pantographs, embracing trees and vegan sausage rolls
đ On Tuesday TfL secured an extraordinary funding deal (thatâs not us being hyperbolic, thatâs what itâs called) of ÂŁ1.08bn to get them through to 11 December. By our calculations that works out to about ÂŁ5.6m a day. As well as the extra cash thereâs some âfurther measuresâ attached including âaccelerating existing efficiency and cost-cutting initiatives and identifying new sources of revenueâ (in short: spend less, make more). Nobody seems really happy with the deal. Sadiq has called it ânot the deal we wanted⌠yet another sticking plaster,â and the RMT immediately said there could be âLondon-wide industrial actionâ in response to what they called a âdisgraceful stitch up of a dealâ.
đ¤ The biggest sticking point is the demand that TfL push ahead with introducing driverless trains. Unfortunately, although that phrase is very handy for headline writers and radio phone-in show presenters, once you crack it open it becomes very knotty very quickly. Thankfully the excellent London Reconnections is on hand to dispel the Political Myth of the Driverless Train.
đ Meanwhile Crossrail have made a couple of videos to let us know how things are getting on with them. Thereâs a quarterly progress update from Chief Exec, Mark âThe Case Against Nominative Determinismâ Wild; and a Tottenham Court Road update that looks like it was made by someone who has watched way too many Stanley Kubrick films:
đŽ Channel 4 has an interview with Parm Sandhu, the former Metropolitan Police officer who fled to London after a forced marriage and eventually became Scotland Yardâs most senior ethnic minority woman. In the interview she claims that institutional racism in the Met is worse now than it was after the Macpherson inquiry.
đŽ Meanwhile Cressida Dick has called for a law to allow the Met to apply âpositive discriminationâ when recruiting, i.e. âfavouring ethnic minorities who apply over equally qualified white candidatesâ. The move is designed to hit the target of having 40 per cent minority ethnic groups in the force (theyâre at 18 per cent right now). All thatâs happened so far is Tory MPs have accused the Commissioner of âdiscriminating against white peopleâ.
đ¤ Every year LBC hosts the State of London Debate at which the mayor fields questions on a range of topics from a range of Londoners. This year itâs on Thursday 24 June and itâs going to be a purely virtual affair, with James OâBrien compèring the festivities. Thereâs more details on where to watch and how to get involved here.
đŚ The debate rages on: Is the Square Mile set to become a lifeless wasteland full of tumbleweeds, or a thriving hub full of flexi-workers gripping a Pret flat white in one hand while steering an e-scooter with the other? The Economist has just weighed in on the side of âlifeless wastelandâ with an article headlined The Square Mile is a ghost town. It will stay that way. The article is behind a paywall, but we can tell you that they back up their case with stats from New Zealand (where 26% of financial-service employees are not visiting their offices at all) and the US (where they estimate those paid over $150,000 will be at home around half the time).
đł Meanwhile Wired looks at how Londonâs tech firms are handling the whole back-to-the-office conundrum, with solutions including Microsoftâs âhybrid meeting spaces which simulate face-to-face interactions,â as well as âinflatable wallsâ and erm⌠âoffice bushesâ.
đ If you know what a âpantographâ is and/or you live on the 358 bus route between Crystal Palace and Orpington then you might want to have a read about the new, futuristic-looking, electric bus trials which could soon be coming to South London. Ian Visits has all the details.
đ˛ The Guardian reports on a new study which seems to show that, in the recent elections, parties that supported pro-walking and cycling schemes received more votes, while âparties that opposed them were more likely to shed votesâ.
đą Following on from last weekâs Primrose Hill debate, itâs London Fieldâs turn to look at tackling anti-social behaviour. Following complaints of âurination, drunkenness, littering, noise and drug takingâ in the park, Hackney Council is inviting residents to respond to a consultation on a âborough-wide Public Space Protection Order,â which would include âa ban on drinking alcohol in London Fields park.â (And then, of course, this happened in Hyde Park on Tuesday evening.)
â° The Guardian has picked up on the plight of West Norwood cemetery, which is in âa dire state of neglectâ and has suffered some terrible vandalism after security guards were removed by the council to save money. Work is about to start on the cemetery thanks to a ÂŁ4.6m National Lottery grant and ÂŁ2.1m from Lambeth council and Friends of West Norwood Cemetery, but thereâs a worry it might be too little, too late.
đď¸ ITV has taken a good look into the mess that is Croydon Council, asking if the property development company they set up and funded to the tune of ÂŁ200 million was the reason the council went bankrupt last year.
Arts and culture bits
đźď¸ This weekend is the inaugural London Gallery Weekend. Which means that a whole bunch of spaces in central, south and east London will be âopening their doors to art-starved visitors for late-night events, studio visits, childrenâs activities and exhibitionsâ. If you donât fancy browsing through the whole list then contemporary art magazine Ocula has picked out some highlights (including Kapwani Kiwangaâs âuncanny sisal fibre hanging sculpturesâ.
âď¸ The other big cultural event this week is the London Design Biennale at Somerset House. If youâre not familiar with the LDB that may be because this is only the third one, or it may be because they insist on describing themselves as âpromoting the global role of design with exhibitions and installations that demonstrate the ambition to create universal solutions to problems which concern us all.â Which, ironically is an explanation that helps precisely no one. A better description might be: âCool stuff from around the world, which looks a lot like art, but might be more useful than artâ. You may have already seen the slightly on-the-nose but very beautiful âForest for Changeâ which has taken over the courtyard, but thereâs a lot more to see including Franceâs metronome (ready to âplunge spectators into a meditative internal journeyâ apparently), Greeceâs embracing olive trees, and Finlandâs empathy echo chamber.
đż The lineup for the Sundance Film Festival: London has been revealed. As we reported a few weeks ago, Edgar Wrightâs The Sparks Brothers is opening the event on 29 July, and now we know that Zola, a film based on a 148-tweet Twitter thread from 2015, will close the festival on 1 August. Other highlights include Cryptozoo with Lake Bell and Michael Cera, and CODA which won big at the other Sundance.
đ The RE:EMERGE season at the Harold Pinter theatre is a series of three plays, billed as âtackling urgent issues integral to rebuilding our society.â The first in the series, Walden starring Gemma Arterton, has been receiving pretty middling reviews; but next up is Jâouvert (set during the Notting Hill Carnival and created by the inimitable Yasmin Joseph), and then comes Anna X, a tale of NYCâs fashion world starring Emma âPrincess Diâ Corrin. Tickets are on sale now.
đ Did you know that The City of London has an âofficial ballooning eventâ (obviously, the unofficial ballooning events are the really wild affairs, but theyâre very hard to get into unless you know the right people)? The Lord Mayorâs Hot Air Balloon Regatta should take to the skies tomorrow morning (weather permitting), and itâs worth setting your alarm to watch 50 or so balloons flying over central London at sunrise.
đť Monday was the 120th birthday of Wigmore Hall. To celebrate, the Guardian asked its artistic director to pick 12 of the hallâs greatest moments (worth reading for the Bowie astronaut ballet alone). The New York Times also got in on the act, profiling the âbeloved London concert hallâ alongside some great images.
đ As we mentioned in a recent roundup, the Museum of the Home (formerly known as the Geffrye Museum) has had a revamp, and while the statue of Robert Geffrye (the merchant who âgrew rich on the destroyed lives of African slavesâ) remains, elsewhere thereâs been some dramatic changes. Architecture mag Dezeen has had a look around.
Food and drink bits
đ Thereâs a vending machine on the South Bank doling out free vegan sausage rolls today. Itâs in aid of National Sausage Roll day, apparently. Donât ever say we donât bring you all the important news. Click the photo for all the details:
đ From this weekend, Sundays will be Caribbean barbecue day at Croydon Boxpark as Big Mikeâs Calypso Lime moves in to the terrace. There will be a steel pan band, pitchers of rum punch and âeverything you could ever possibly want on a skewerâ. Plus, if you go along, you could end up winning a holiday for four to Barbados. At least, thatâs what it says on the website, and who are we to question Big Mike?
đ˝ď¸ Michel Roux Jrâs Le Gavroche restaurant has become the the latest business to reduce its opening hours thanks to staff shortages caused by Brexit. From June 14 the two Michelin-starred restaurant will only be opening for dinner as they cope with âstaffing problems partly due to new Brexit regulations as well as there now being a major lack of well-trained hospitality professionals.â More details on their Instagram post:
đ Another ramen contender is coming to Soho. Ramo Ramen has been serving up heavenly bowls of Filipino noodles in Kentish Town for three years, and now itâs extending to Brewer Street (on the spot which used to be the Thai place, Wild Rice). London Eater has all the details on why this is more than just another ramen place (e.g. âOxtail collapses into creamy peanut broth in a bowl inspired by kare kare, the Filipino stewâ).
đŻ Tom Kerridgeâs new ârevolutionary fast foodâ restaurant Bad Vegan has an opening date. From 24 June the spot in Camdenâs Buck Street Market will be serving a largely plant-based menu (crunchy potato wrapped in tortilla, cauliflower florets covered in chilli sauce, vegan milkshakes etc), but there will be a carnivoreâs selection too including beef brisket and smoked bacon fries.
đˇ The granddaddy of Londonâs natural wine bars, Terroirs, has permanently closed. In the Instagram post below they say âwe have taken the tough decision to close the doors at Terroirs Central, for good.â Thereâs no reason given, although weâd assume itâs the obvious. The good news is that the East Dulwich outpost will remain.
Long read of the week
Vice Magazine looks at east Londonâs history as a âQueer Meccaâ and asks âWhat happened?â
