The original Cronut has come to London, as Dominique Ansel Bakery opens in Belgravia September 30, 2016 Remember the Cronut, the half-croissant, half-donut which caused New Yorkers to queue for hours outside Domonique Ansel's bakery in Soho, New York – as well as various copyright disputes? Well, it's come to London, after Ansel opened his latest branch in the capital at 8am this morning. Reports suggested baking enthusiasts had been queuing since 5am to get [...]
Our response to #Tube_chat says something important about Londoners September 30, 2016 It appalled Londoners and baffled outsiders, it broke the internet and sent the capital’s commuters into paroxysms of fear – yes, yesterday, someone tried, very gently, to persuade Tube users to speak to one another. The effort did not go down well. Reports of badges bearing the legend “Tube chat?” being handed out at Old [...]
Massive business rate hikes will be a disaster for growth and investment in London September 29, 2016 Hundreds of thousands of companies across the UK are nervously awaiting today’s release of new property valuation data that will determine how much they will have to pay in business rates. As if the prospect of having their rateable values reassessed after a seven-year gap wasn’t scary enough, government announcements this week create a toxic [...]
Revealed: The man behind #Tube_chat (spoiler: He’s American) September 29, 2016 It's the phenomenon that has appalled the capital – now Morning Wire can exclusively reveal the motive behind #Tube_chat. NHS worker Jonathan Dunne is the man behind the badges encouraging Tube commuters to perform a decidedly un-Londonish act, and actually talk to each other. It won't surprise many to learn that Dunne is originally from the US – [...]
A rare Black Moon will rise over the capital on Friday: Here’s everything we know September 29, 2016 A rare astrological event will take place this Friday: a so-called black moon will rise above the capital. It only happens once every couple of years. Here's what you need to know. What is a black moon? It's essentially the opposite of a blue moon. So whereas a blue moon is when two full moons take place [...]
#Tube_Chat: Someone’s trying to get Tube commuters to converse and Londoners hate the idea September 29, 2016 It's every Londoner's nightmare. An underground campaign may be trying to get Tube commuters to actually converse with one another. Well-meaning though it may be, London Underground users hate the idea. The mysterious campaign emerged on social media this morning – although the majority of images seemed to be from the campaign's Facebook page, suggesting few badges [...]
Here’s how many people are using UberEats in London (and it’s expanding to zone 2) September 29, 2016 Uber now boasts more than half a million users of UberEats in London as it expands the food delivery service further across the capital. The service which launched in June to rival homegrown Deliveroo will now be available in parts of zone 2 beyond its initial launch area of central London. In the three months since launching, the billion-dollar startup [...]
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe to retire as Metropolitan Police commissioner September 29, 2016 Britain's most senior police officer is to retire after five years in the post, Scotland Yard said today. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) said its commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, who oversees 32,000 police offers, will stay in his post until February next year to allow for a successor to be appointed. During his time in office, Hogan-Howe [...]
Rush hour travel disrupted by delays on the Central Line September 29, 2016 Commuters are facing delays during rush hour this morning due to delays on the Central Line. Transport for London said there are severe delays between Leytonstone and White City westbound, and minor disruption on the rest of the line. According to TfL, the delays were caused by a signal failure at Stratford. https://twitter.com/centralline/status/781386786853515264 Central Line staff on Twitter advised commuters [...]
Brexit isn’t a Woolworths moment for commercial property in the City September 28, 2016 In the days following the EU referendum, I found myself looking back to one of the seminal moments of 2008: images showing hundreds of Woolworths shops closing their doors for the final time. At that point, no other event seemed to better illustrate the effects of the global financial crisis on the UK high street. With hindsight, [...]