London To Get Three New Market Halls
This article in the Standard, describes the start of an interesting new venture.
This is the first few paragraphs.
Mannequins will make way for food stalls at the former BHS store in Oxford Street as it transforms into a bustling hub for foodies under plans to open as the UK’s largest food hall.
BHS ceased trading in 2016 and the site sat largely empty until Polish fashion label Reserved moved in last year. Now, the remaining space at the beleaguered department store chain will be the flagship branch of a new venture bringing three permanent food markets to the capital.
A disused Tube station ticket hall in Fulham and a former nightclub in Victoria will also be transformed.
Between them the markets will feature more than 50 bars and eateries, including outposts of well-known London restaurants and street food traders as well as a smaller number of start-ups.
The venue in Oxford Street will certainly be handy if I need a spot of lunch, when I’m in the area.
But will it make the streets more crowded? Or will Crossrail and pedestrianisation give everybody a lot more space?
Elizabeth Line Delivery To Top Original Forecasts On New Homes Created With Property Values Expected To Soar
The title of this post is the same as this article on City AM.
This is the first three paragraphs.
The number of homes and jobs created due to the development of the £14.8bn Elizabeth Line is set to greatly surpass expectations, according to a new report by commercial property agency GVA.
The research, commissioned by Crossrail, found that the impact of the new railway on the creation of new homes and impact on property value, is set to be significantly greater than GVA originally predicted in a 2012 report.
GVA expects 90,599 new homes along the route by 2021 – higher than the 57,000 new homes predicted in the previous report. GVA also expects a £10.6bn increase in property values within 1km of an Elizabeth Line station by 2021.
Although, there are lies, damned lies and forecasts from property consultants, the significance here, is that both surveys were done by the same company.
From personal experience, I know that London’s last big railway project, the Overground, had a similar beffect.
I think these and other rail developments will increase property development and values in the next few years.
- Birmingham electrification and new train fleet.
- Blackpool and North-West electrification.
- Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Program
- Exeter local services expansion.
- Hasting’s HighSpeed services from St. Pancras
- Manchester Metrolink expansion.
- Merseyrail’s new train fleet.
- Midland Metro expansion.
- Ordsall Chord
- Southend Branch improvement and new trains.
- Thameslink
- Tyne and Wear Metro’s new train fleet
Before buying a house look at what is happening to the trains and trams.
Why Did I Get The Samsung QLED Television With The Faulty Screen?
These pictures show the screen omn my new Samsung QLED television.
Notethe shadow down the screen.
You don’t expect that, with the price I paid.
I shall be going into John Lewis today.
Kim Quite Dim!
The name was used by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull in a Radio 5 interview with Rhod Sharp at four o’clock this morning.
Up All Night is always a good listen, when sleep is difficult.
Thoughts On The National Lottery
The phone-in on BBC Radio 5 Live this morning is discussing the National Lottery.
I sent in this text.
The lottery, like religion, is just another way to extract money from the poor. If people need the buzz of gambling, there are much better ways of using sums of surplus money like local charities, crowd-funding bob-sleighers and peer-to-peer lending.
The lottery has served it’s purpose, but no politician dare kill it!
I doubt it’ll be read out!
Open Banking
Open Banking – Not for me.
But as a retired world-class programmer, I can envisage an AI-based computer system, that you can run on your laptop to guide your financial decisions!
In my lifetime, I have come across various pieces of financial advice, that proved to be totally crap.
For a start, I’ve met at least four people, who used the strength of the Icelandic banking system to lose all their savings.
Every financial expert told me not to touch Zopa. But it has paid me five percent before tax on my savings for ten years.
There’s an old City joke.
The best way to make a small fortune is to give a large one to a financial adviser.
Many a true word was spoken in jest.
Plastic Bag Charge: 5p Levy To Be Extended In England
The title of this post is the same as that on this article on the BBC.
It’s a good idea.
And while we’re about it, why not put a 5p levy on every takeaway meal, as most the the packaging seems to be dropped on the street!
What Is It With All These Fires?
Grenfell, California, Manchester, New York, Mumbai, Portugal in the Summer and now, Liverpool!
Luckily, last night’s fire didn’t see any sentient casualties!
It’s almost, as if we’re losing our fear of fire and precautions that previous generations took in the design of buildings, vehicles and life are being side-lined.
My Main Electricity Supply
This may be a strange thing to post, but the company installing my smart meter needs a serties of pictures, so this way they will be easily available.
The pictures are in top to bottomn down the wall.
Will Sir David Teach Trump A Lesson?
The Times has an article today, which is entitled Attenborough Brings About A Sea Change.
One statement stands out.
The political impact of Blue Planet II is undeniable..
The article also says.
- Dozens of MPs have signed a motion congratulating Sir David for highlighting the issue of plastic pollution in the oceans.
- Michael Gove says he is haunted by the footage and pledged action.
- The UN has announced plans for a task-force.
But surely, the most important thing the article says is that Blue Planet II will premiere in the US on January 10 on five networks.
Will Trump watch?
Probably not! It’s all fake news to him anyway!
But a large proportion of the around three hundred million , who live in the USA, will find it compulsive viewing!
Out of curiosity, I wondered if Sir David had any views on Donald Trump. Google found this article in The Independent, which is entitled Sir David Attenborough on Donald Trump: ‘We could shoot him. It’s not a bad idea’.
This is said.
Until now, Sir David Attenborough was one of the few individuals in the public eye not to have broached the ever-present, all-pervasive topic of Donald Trump. However, the naturalist and beloved broadcaster has now given his assessment of the situation and suggested a way to counter the Republican’s ascent to power which, believe it or not, involves a gun.
In an interview with the Radio Times, the nonagenarian was probed about how we solve a problem like Mr Trump and quipped: “We could shoot him”.
Obviously, he was only joking. But Trump does live in the Land of Guns!
The Anonymous Widower 