45 45 Squared 5) CENTRAL SQUARE, NW11 Borough of Barnet, 180m×100m Hampstead Garden Suburb, one of London's finest suburbs, which isn't actually in Hampstead. Head north to Golders Green and a tad north more, stopping just before you hit the A1. Here are 250 acres of much coveted Arts and Crafts housing, and at the toppermost point an extensive garden square flanked by the Suburb's finest municipal buildings. Locals call it the Suburb these days, believing they have no competition, and if you've ever walked round they may have a point. Hampstead Garden Suburb was the brainchild of Henrietta Barnett, an East End philanthropist who with her husband Samuel also founded Toynbee Hall. In 1889 the couple bought a weekend home on the edge of Hampstead Heath near The Spaniards Inn, and when the Underground was extended to Golders Green became concerned that much of the surrounding land would be engulfed by development. Henrietta swiftly established a Trust which purchased Wyldes Farm outright, preserving one strip as the Hampstead Heath extension, then proceeded to build her personal vision of proper housing across the remainder of the fields. She demanded no more than eight homes per acre, broader streets than normal, hedges rather than walls and a suspension of the usual traffic by-laws along short cul-de-sacs. This contravened local planning regulations so required an Act of Parliament, which was duly passed in 1906 after which development began. Edwin Lutyens to design Central Square, this one of his first public commissions, and the result was a large grassed space overlooked by a school and flanked by two large places of worship. Being Henrietta the school was for girls only because she thought they got a raw educational deal, and being Lutyens the two churches are magnificent and both now Grade I listed. St Jude's is the C of E option, a spire atop a brick tower atop a curvaceous barrelled nave. It didn't used to be unlocked very often but since the Reverend Em turned up a couple of years ago they've adopted more of an open door policy and the interior doesn't disappoint. It feels vast, nearer a cathedral than a parish church, a dark arched space supported on brick pillars. Many of the surfaces are richly decorated with frescoes by Walter Starmer, including a full set of golden Stations of the Cross, a panel depicting the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and several more contemporary takes on devotion and remembrance. Look up and the ceiling sings, though I suspect it looks finer when the lights are on. Henrietta's footprint can also be felt here, for example her choice for the roof of the Lady Chapel was a mural depicting virtuous women including St Bridget, Christina Rosetti and Grace Darling. But all is not well with the fabric of the building - the church has damp issues, some walls are cracked and a few of the frescoes are suffering from salt damage - hence it's been on the Heritage at Risk register for a few years. In 2015 Storm Barney brought down the weathervane and the copper cockerel had to be expensively replaced, revealing further structural cracking in the spire. A tentative art restoration project is due to begin later this year, starting with a test panel. The open door policy isn't necessarily helping however, with a sign on the door urging visitors to make sure the door's kept shut to keep out pigeons. I carefully obliged only to find a single bird already flapping around merrily and with no obvious way to let it out. The Free Church opposite is on an almost-similar scale and domed rather than spired. The interior's more brightly painted but far less decorated, like one of Wren's, although sadly I didn't get inside to check. They unlock for a church cafe every Saturday morning when the weather's too poor to hold it outside, and also of course open up for services and monthly lunchtime concerts. I couldn't tell you for sure which of the entrances is the actual front door otherwise I might have given it a tentative push. A third religious presence is a Quaker Meeting House, another nod to Henrietta's egalitarian inclusive views, which is tucked into a greener corner of the Square. The central axis of Central Square is a paved path across the lawn flanked closely by an avenue of trees, with one monumental church to either side. The grass is a bit muddy at the moment but on the plus side the lack of leaves means you can actually see the surrounding buildings. At one end of the path is a Portland stone memorial to Henrietta Barnett, or Dame Henrietta Barnett as she was known when she passed away in 1936. Above it on a four-legged bronze canopy a lantern blazes away, I thought permanently until I came back out of the church and it had switched off. Henrietta Barnett School lines up perfectly at one end of the axis, this the original building called The Institute, since expanded to become one of the country's top girls' grammars. The other end is far less imposing, merely two tennis courts, which I suspect weren't in Lutyens original plans. And around the rim of Central Square, quite distant, is a quadrangle of neo-Georgian houses. Technically it only has three sides, the tennis court flank letting the side down again, but these are prestige homes and I think generally unsubdivided. This outer perimeter is divided into two halves called North Square and South Square, with Henrietta herself choosing to live at number 1 South Square at the very heart of her creation. In the opposite corner a snatch of woodland nudges in, that's Big Wood, a feature preserved from the original rural landscape. Here I came across a young fox at the top of a long driveway, surprised to have company and even more affronted when I repeatedly failed to retreat. less formal and easily reached if you step away, perhaps along a smart holly-hedged passage. But it's still all very desirable real estate, the kinds of streets where Jonathan Ross or Peter Mandelson might now reside, indeed Harold Wilson lived on Southway just before he moved to Downing Street for the first time. The Suburb is, if you've never been, a fascinating place to visit and wander round because it's so atypical to everything that surrounds it. The easiest way is to hop aboard the H2 minibus which departs Golders Green regularly on a lengthy circuit of the backavenues, eventually reaching Central Square after about 15 minutes... and if St Jude's is unlocked all the better.

Hyperlocal update: New supermarket comes to E3 SimplyFresh, specifically to Bromley-by-Bow. Which is extraordinary. dual carriageway and think "this is a bit bleak", and the adjacent streets wouldn't have changed your mind. But today a fringe of highrise flats is gradually infilling the space between the A12 and the river Lea - the usual bricky stacks - and people are living here who'd never have dreamed of moving in before. Leaside Lock, despite not facing Bow Locks and despite only one building being beside the Lea. Buildings thus far constructed instead face either the A12 or the District line, neither of which were deemed appropriate for naming purposes. This however hasn't stopped people moving in, nor stopped the sales team writing some absolutely premier bolx. THE NEW heart OF BROMLEY-BY-BOW, BEATING WITH EAST LONDON PERSONALITY So far the only on-site facility is the 'state-of-the-art' gym, an essential component of many a millennial morning, which opened back in October. The supermarket will be next in a prime location immediately adjacent to the subway, tucked into the empty unit under the tallest tower. It's appeared to be on the verge of opening for several weeks because the shelves were already stacked with non-perishables, indeed December looked to be a strong possibility, but instead much interior faffing continued and now it's February. The most recent update is a sheet of A4 sellotaped to the door which says "We apologise for the opening delayed due to some work in progress. we will be open Soon." But this weekend they've finally filled the vegetable racks with carrots and onions and yesterday I saw someone at the back adding packets to the chiller cabinets so I guess opening day can't be very far away. Might even be today. Tesco Extra with its three dozen aisles of options. There's also a Sainsbury's Local on the other side of the A12 catering for the convenience needs of everyone who turns right out of the station rather than left. This new SimplyFresh supermarket will only be the closest food store to the 965 properties at Leaside Lock, only half of which have so far been completed. Technically it isn't needed, but equally residents in loungewear will appreciate not having to dash the extra two minutes for their Doritos, muesli and Andrex. SimplyFresh claims to be "an upmarket grocery store concept focusing on local and best-of-British products anchored by an organic healthy range of food", "born out of a shared desire to want something better". They have SimplyFreshes in Stratford-upon-Avon, Cheltenham, West Wimbledon and Dulwich, not to mention a store in a village outside Cheddar. Admittedly they also have branches on university campuses, at St James's Park tube station and in Bethnal Green so they're not overly snobby, but who'd have guessed there was a business case for an organic-first outlet on the Blackwall Tunnel Approach Road?  Simply  Fresh Tesco  Heinz beans (415g, pack of 4)£4.49£3.75 can of Spam (340g)£4.29£3.50 Batchelors Mushy Peas (300g)£1.3960p Napolina chopped tomatoes (400g) £1.20£1.00 Loyd Grossman sauce (350g)£3.39£3.00 Fray Bentos Steak Pie£3.50£2.80 Pot Noodle (King Pot)£1.75£1.35 Heinz Tomato Ketchup (low salt)£3.95£3.00 Colman's mustard (100g) £2.49£2.00 jar of Bovril (250g)£5.09£4.55 own brand squeezy mayo (500ml)£1.55£1.07 value tin of sliced carrots (300ml)99p50p TOTAL£34.08£27.12 26% more at SimplyFresh compared to Tesco and I have no reason to think that's not a ballpark figure. It is, I confess, a highly hyperlocal issue. But if you're also a frequenter of small local stores or premier outlets I wonder if you've ever done the maths to compare how much you might be overspending.

Head to Chinatown or Trafalgar Square today and you can celebrate Chinese New Year with dancing, culture and cuisine courtesy of the London Chinatown Chinese Association and the Mayor of London. That's because the new moon on 29th January triggered the Year of the Snake (蛇), a period traditionally symbolised by wisdom, intuition and transformation. 60 years ago. I thought I'd look back and see what I was doing when the Year of the Snake came round previously, aided and abetted by the fact that I started keeping a diary when I was 11¾ so I do actually have a record of each. 2 February 1965 (Wood Snake) 18 February 1977 (Fire Snake) BAGA 4 athletics award. Today we have a debate in English on the subject of pirate radio, our history teacher allows us to play games and our music teacher fails to turn up. My diary says "Mark ran round school three times" which I have to confess means nothing to me now but if you've ever seen the film The History Boys you'll have a good idea what the course looked like. This evening sees the final performance of Haydn's Creation in the local church because I've already been drafted into the school choir and they take concerts really seriously. Tomorrow I'll be going shopping in Watford and trying to find the latest copy of Krazy comic, which I still reckon is the best comic of all time although you may disagree because 2000AD was launched the following week. We also go grocery shopping in the new Mac Market in Charter Place, which has just opened, and which I see I rated "good". Simpler times, most of which I would completely have forgotten had my 11 year-old self not diligently recorded them. 6 February 1989 (Earth Snake) that Brit Awards show and I'll be going to Penzance for the day because a ticket is only £19. 24 January 2001 (Metal Snake) text messages. Playing Sim City 3000, which I've just bought, proves rather cheaper. Then tonight an email arrives confirming that the nicest person in upper management is leaving, probably not coincidentally, and suddenly my work environment is careering off in uncomfortable directions. However by taking advice and being canny I'll have negotiated a payrise by Monday, and within months I'll be quitting for Job 4 in London which is essentially where my life turns around. It didn't look great at the time, but you'd not be reading this blog were it not for machinations at the start of the year of the Metal Snake. 10 February 2013 (Water Snake) National Libraries Day, specifically Kensal Rise and the Horniman which I visited yesterday. Tonight I'm going to write up my trip to Queen's Park, including my grandfather's grave, Daleks and the fact you can buy toilet rolls in Singhsbury's Superstore. Best of all I'm about to write two posts about the potential for a Bakerloo line extension, having walked across Burgess Park and Walworth, and 12 years later I am still writing about London's inability to kickstart this project. On this particular Sunday my fridge is empty so I walk down to the big Tesco only to discover they've shifted their opening time from 10am to noon so I have to go to the Co-op instead. Later I download a new app on my smartphone and receive disappointing feedback, make sure I've posted a golden wedding card to my brother's in-laws and watch a light sprinkling of snow fall just before midnight. The week ahead includes an appraisal meeting at work, a trip to the opticians and a big night out in Nine Elms, and looking back it feels almost recent but is actually 20% of my life ago. 29 January 2025 (Wood Snake) And here I am back in the Year of the Snake again, walking the streets of Crofton Park and having bacon and Brussels sprouts for dinner. What amazes me is how few Snakes it's taken to reach my 60th year and what unnerves me is how few I still have to go, maybe just the one. Such is wisdom, intuition and transformation.

20 things we learnt from TfL FoI requests in January 2025 1) 21% of applicants for a Train Operator role are female, 74% are BAME and 11% are over 50. At last count only 5% were successful. 2) Last year TfL spent £39.75 on numberplates, equivalent to two replacements. 3) If customers are waiting at a bus stop, buses should stop. Drivers should not ‘rebuke’ customers for not holding out their hand as some customers may not be able to do so. 4) During the first nine months of 2024, 100 pre-booked passenger assistance requests were recorded at West Drayton station. 5) From the launch of the ULEZ until 20 December 2024 TfL received £618,021,900 from daily ULEZ charge payments. 6) During the financial year 2022/2023, TfL recorded 945 potholes. 7) The three organisations who ran the most campaigns on TfL rail services last year were Islamic Relief UK, Government CCS and Newham College of Further Education. 8) In December Banksy's three monkeys were cleaned off the Overground bridge above Brick Lane because "unauthorised art can attract more graffiti, which encourages trespassing and anti-social activity that poses a danger to the operational railway and customers. This piece therefore had to be removed to prevent possible disruption." 9) The Next Train Indicator on the southbound platform at Northwood Hills has not functioned since November 2023, despite the unit being replaced, due to water ingress. 10 Customers need to be in possession of a valid ticket when using any rail replacement bus service, even though fares are not normally charged. 11) The Central Line Improvement Programme involves the complete refurbishment of all existing Central line trains including more reliable motors, better accessibility, improved customer information and a new moquette. It began ten years ago. So far £160m has been spent and two trains have been upgraded and entered into passenger service. Three more should enter service this year. 12) During the design stage of the September 2024 pocket tube map an unfortunate error was not spotted which led to the printed map including a mistake. This oversight led to a decision being made to reprint the map because "the accuracy of customer information is really important". The cost of replacing the maps was £94,000. 13) There is no exemption for driving in bus lanes on Christmas Day, even though there are no buses. 14) There have been 18 flooding incidents on the Elizabeth line since it opened, half of them at Gidea Park. 15) Pdf copies of pocket tube maps from 2004, 2005, 2011 and 2013 have been made available. 16) A new 'bus view' in the TfL Go app will go live in the first half of 2025, including the ability to move the map around to find different bus stops. 17) When renaming the Overground lines was proposed in 2015, the chosen names were North London Line, East London line, Barking line, Lea Valley line, Watford Local line and Emerson Park line. (I have blogged about this) 18) Since 2022 only one customer incident on the tube has involved paranormal activity (a distressed 15 year-old-boy at King’s Cross on the Metropolitan line in December 2023 mentioned that he had seen ghosts). 19) Trams are running to a reduced timetable due to the declining reliability of the tram fleet (and yes you can see a copy). 20) TfL does not currently have any Tesla vehicles and has not leased or hired any previously. The five worst questions TfL were asked 1) Over 75% Dial a ride journeys are for solo passengers HOW LONG MUST THIS WASTAGE OF RESOURCES CONTINUE? 2) Again and again I have sent emails re lights on in broad daylight and unnecessary lighting Under The FOI act how many stations had their lighting on today and what was the electric costs never mind the light bulbs loss of life It is time TFL was split up and the bonuses paid were returned for all the fares lost and overspending and journeys which are so uncomfortable because of the grinding noises and speed of the trains Please see my previous email 3) Just inquiring to see if there is any information about the sound that plays when a bus terminates. It sounds almost like a gong. Just interested to know why that selection, it's quite an ominous sound and a weird way to end a journey, after sticking out a bus journey to termination I feel like you've earned the right to a positive noise that can help you push on to your home. I'm also interested to know the file name of the sound. 4) There was an ad it was an image of a lion I was wondering where I can find this or you could tell me what it was I’ve been looking all over the internet for it. Please could you help me find it? I would be really grateful as I require this for business purposes and art. 5) Hello. I’m sorry to bother you for this question but I am not native to the area. I was wondering if there is information in regard to the color of the mice. Is it simply genetic markings or are they that dark due to the conditions/being dirty. If so, what in the underground system is causing it to keep them this dark? Thank you for your time. I promise this is a legitimate question.

It's time to extend the Superloop, on this occasion with a rail replacement bus. Welcome to the Bakerloop, an express route shadowing the unbuilt Bakerloo line extension. brown double deckers between Waterloo and Lewisham, essentially only stopping at places with a Bakerloo line station or where a Bakerloo line station might be. The route'll be numbered BL1 and should be introduced in the autumn, subject to a consultation which launched yesterday. Last April Sadiq announced he'd introduce the Bakerloop if he was re-elected Mayor (which he was, so he is). Way back in 2019 he launched a consultation for a proper Bakerloo line extension to Lewisham, seeking views on stations, worksites and tunnel alignment. This followed a previous consultation in 2017 asking where the stations and ventilation shafts should go, and that followed an initial consultation launched by Boris in 2014 asking what route the proposed extension should take. Alas ten years later the extension remains fundamentally unfunded so we're getting a bus instead, possibly as a long-term temporary measure, probably as a replacement. Waterloo → Elephant & Castle → Burgess Park → Old Kent Road → New Cross Gate → Lewisham lots in Lewisham, some near the station and some near the shops, assuming this is what's eventually agreed. Whoever designs the route diagrams on the side of Superloop buses should stop being so literal about including every single stop because this is not a helpful way to depict the route. Burgess Park gap, in the absence of the tram Ken Livingstone wanted to send here but Boris cancelled. Instead of being red and white the buses will be brown and white, so a striking presence on the street, plus they'll have the same moquette as Bakerloo line trains because everyone loves a seating gimmick. There is essentially no downside, other than that it's a bus route rather than a tube train capable of reaching Lewisham in minutes. expanding the Superloop network further. Sadiq teased this as part of his re-election campaign last year suggesting ten more routes might be introduced. The Bakerloop is one of these and we now have tantalising details about two more. SL11: North Greenwich → Woolwich → Thamesmead → Abbey Wood 472. It will in fact replace route 472 but only stop in select locations, with other routes picking up the slack at unserved stops inbetween. The 180 can mop up everything west of Plumstead. I think this souped-up 472 is intended to be the bus transit scheme the government agreed to fund in the 2023 Autumn Statement, in which case that'll help pay for improved highway infrastructure. It's not yet clear how many stops there'll need to be on the circuitous loop round Thamesmead, but expect all to become clearer when a proper consultation is launched later in the year. SL12: Gants Hill → Romford → Elm Park → Rainham 66, which from experience is already pretty speedy as it hurtles along the A12. The eastern end will be a very welcome north-south link in a borough whose railways run west-east and where existing bus routes have a tendency to meander rather than run direct, so this half looks like a winner. Again a proper consultation will follow. I see we've abandoned all pretence that Superloop routes are numbered in a logical way. The first ten were supposedly numbered clockwise starting in the north, whereas these two are numbered anti-clockwise starting in the east. BL1 not before the autumn. But look out for the brown bus rumbling down the Old Kent Road because there's no expectation a brown train will ever rumble underneath.