31 unblogged things I did in July Tue 1: Thanks for your 57 comments on Unblogged June, even if they were predominantly about smoke alarms. I have now sorted the issue, thanks (and the replacement will itself need to be replaced in ten years' time). Wed 2: In surprising news, as of this afternoon we are now closer to 2050 than 2000. Thu 3: The Metropolitan Arcade outside Liverpool Street station, once home to sandwich shops and dry cleaners for bankers, is now a Boxpark offshoot called Boxhall City. Its "curated mix of global cuisines" includes Eggslut, Old Chang Kee, Gaucho and Inamo Sukoshi, also a "rotating chef-led kitchen" which just goes to show how important it is to get your hyphen in the right place. Fri 4: A new online game has emerged - Primesweeper - which is like Minesweeper but you have to clear the grid while avoiding the 17 prime numbers. My top tip is to remove the even numbers and multiples of 3 first. My best score is 100% cleared in 163 seconds (which is a prime number, ha!) Sat 5: Since I last visited my Dad his telephone's been switched over to Digital Voice, the non-landline service. It also means his wifi password has changed so I had to type a very long alphanumeric into my phone, then my laptop, then my Dad's tablet, then his smart TV so they'd work again. We still can't get the wi-fi extender to log back in so that's effectively bricked. Sun 6: There are three cafes in my Dad's village and until today I'd only been to one of them. Today we visited the largest one (for pie and chips) followed by the newest one (for tea and cake) and it was a new experience all round. Mon 7: The blog had a spike of 10000 extra visitors today, all via a Liquid Web server in the Far East. This phenomenon has never happened before (or since), and I suspect was some company scraping my blog for AI purposes one post at a time. Tue 8: I blew up a yellow balloon for my birthday back in March, and it's been deflating ever so slowly ever since. It's now down to 'shrivelled stomach' size so I decided it was finally time to burst it. Four months though, that's not bad. Wed 9: Today I discovered why some Overground train doors have spiky yellow 'sharks teeth'. It's because "the doors on Class 710s don't automatically reopen when something jams them", and I reckon if TfL told passengers that rather than just warning TAKE CARE CLOSING DOORS, people might take more notice and try not to get their limbs trapped. Thu 10: You can tell some of Londonist's writers have left the capital because their articles often now have a Kent/Sussex slant, including Things To Do In Sevenoaks, Things To Do In Lewes, 8 Charming And Historic Castles To Visit In Sussex and Why You Should Go To... Hastings. Fri 11: On a bus shelter in Tooting I saw an advert for a 30th anniversary limited edition can of Hooch, and it cannot be that long since alcoholic lemonade was my first choice in Bedford's pubs. Sat 12: I've been on Instagram for ten years and today they suddenly chucked me off the platform, claiming my account was 'unverified' and might thus breach their Community Standards for integrity. I learned this via an email saying "We are suspending your Instagram account, you have until January to appeal." I immediately appealed and they let me back on four minutes later, but this is why letting algorithms run things is so dangerous. Sun 13: I'd like to go back in time and nudge myself to start buying 50p jars of sliced pickled beetroot because I've been missing out. Mon 14: I got lucky in the Radio 4 ticket raffle so trotted down to Shepherd's Bush this afternoon to watch the recording of this year's edition of John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme. Some years he just does funny sketches and some years he goes all high-concept thematic, and this year there's a sketch in which he takes the mickey out of that. I laughed a lot, as did the cast awaiting their turn at the microphone, and I can heartily recommend a listen when it's broadcast over the August bank holiday weekend. Tue 15: While I was taking lots of photos of Hatton Cross station they played the "if you see anything suspicious..." announcement at least three times, and I'd like to thank staff and fellow passengers for not paying any attention whatsoever. Wed 16: There were a heck of a lot of police around Old Ford Lock this morning, looking down at a narrow boat resting at an alarming angle in the water, but I decided not to stay and watch alongside the other rubberneckers. Thu 17: Thank you for your email. It was much appreciated but it was just beyond the limit of something easy to reply to immediately so I didn't. Also you asked three questions that deserved a decent answer and I still haven't got round to answering them yet and I feel guilty about that, but thankyou for your email. Fri 18: To answer your question, Stephen, Blue House Yard in Wood Green isn't 'a bit weedy and boarded up'. You can still get your bike fixed, attach permanent welded jewellery or quaff IPA on a painted bus, and this is why you should never base your opinion of the capital on what you see on Streetview. Sat 19: Adrian got in touch to say he'd tried to view this blog while travelling aboard an Irish Rail train, but it was blocked due to content filtering because "this site has been categorized as Pornography". Balls. Sun 20: The most annoying thing about my 'Random London grid reference' post, in which I explored the Railway Children in Grove Park, is that I'd been 100m away just two days earlier and had to go all the way back again. Mon 21: In January 2020 I wrote a very brief blogpost about Twentyman Close in Woodford Green, and how a large country house called Monkhams had been sold off for housing by a man called James Twentyman. In February 2024 Judi Porter left a lovely (belated) comment saying James was her grandfather and her father had been born in the big house. Today the manager of Redbridge Museum & Heritage Centre left a comment saying "Hi Judi, we would love to see the photographs you have and hear about your grandparents' stories about Monkhams." There is not a hope in hell that Judi will ever read that last comment, but in case she ever reads this do please get in touch via email. Tue 22: When I mentioned that the cost of Oyster photocards was increasing I failed to mention that the price of a new Oyster card has also increased by 43%. Used to be £5 refundable, then in 2022 changed to £7 unrefundable and as of this week is now £10 you will never get back. They keep these things very quiet. Wed 23: "When I see it's another of your 'Squares' posts I don't tend to read those, sorry," they said, and these are the things you discover over a fried breakfast in a Coulsdon cafe. Thu 24: Three BBC Sounds shows you might enjoy: i) Alternative Sounds of the 00s with Dermot O'Leary (Radio 2's first venture into millennial nostalgia), ii) Derailed: The story of HS2 (a 10-part serious dig into the decision-makers and project-breakers behind the much-maligned railway), iii) Reach Out and Touch Faith (a 30 minute Radio 4 documentary on "the unlikely journey of Depeche Mode's world domination"). Fri 25: I had a hilarious idea for a satirical post about the Online Safety Act, placing the blog behind a temporary protected firewall, but I didn't risk it in case some joyless algorithm assumed it was serious and blacklisted me for real. Sat 26: Today's the very last time that Royal Mail intend to deliver 2nd class mail on a Saturday, and they celebrated by sending me an electricity bill and a pension fund report. Sun 27: Rather than rewatch the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony again, this year I played the Isles of Wonder double album CDs instead. One of the most evocative £10s I have ever spent. Mon 28: Ian Visits alerts us that East Midlands Railway are running a ticket sale for journeys between 4th August and 7th September. They normally have some of the most exorbitant long distance fares out of London so here's an opportunity to hit the East Midlands for less, assuming the limited availability hasn't run out. I have mine booked for next week, hurrah. Tue 29: Of the ten library books I've read this month, my favourites were Jonathan Coe's The Proof of My Innocence, Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shroud and Alan Hollinghurst's Our Evenings. I couldn't finish the Jasper Fforde and I wish I hadn't finished Georgina Moore. Wed 30: Today was the Central line's 125th birthday - it opened between Shepherd's Bush and Bank on 30th July 1900. Today was also the 15th birthday of sponsored bike hire in the capital. You can probably guess which of the two TfL chose to promote across social media and which they ignored. I'd like to apologise to the Mayor that my tweet pointing this out got 1200 likes and his only got 47. Brand-obsessed, I tell you. Thu 31: My Swithinometer is now up to 16 days of recording the weather, and so far the dead saint is doing really well. It rained on 15th July and it's rained on 12 days since. Where did the summer go?

I'm pleased to announce that your daily diamond geezer blogpost is now available on YouTube. Here's yesterday's bus route post presented in video format. My thanks to Ryan, the AI voiceover bot, for doing the commentary. And wow, who realised a single 1200-word post could take up seven minutes of your day?

London's newest bus L10: Horseguards to Buckingham Palace Location: London central Length of bus journey: ½ mile, 14 minutes The route is relatively straightforward, running from a temporary bus stand at the northern end of Horse Guards Road to a terminus outside the front gates of Buckingham Palace. No other scheduled bus route goes this way so the new L10 offers an exciting way for anyone with a fractured tibia to reach the royal heart of London without hobbling. As is fairly typical with a new route the TfL website provided no information, nor was a timetable provided at bus stops, but the BBC kindly provided a route map enabling tens of thousands of excited enthusiasts to line the route and cheer on the driver and his passengers. You could tell that the intended passengers were true afficionados of bus travel because they arrived in two hi-spec coaches, one a Van Hool the other an Irizar, provided by Ellisons Travel Services of St Helens, Merseyside. Unfortunately both coaches had polarised windows and proceeded to park between two privacy screens so it was not possible to see anyone alight, nor to gain access to the queue preparing to board. There was a brief moment when one of the pony-tailed passengers climbed onto the shoulders of a colleague and waved some silverware around, but it soon became clear that nobody without official clearance would be boarding the inaugural service. on the top deck, which could have got ugly but instead they cheered loudly and exuberantly, and occasionally called to them by name. Unexpectedly the bus departed two minutes early, as if nobody at the bus company had any sense of timing. Unfortunately the traffic was awful, the Band of His Majesty's Royal Marines Portsmouth insisting on proceeding at a walking pace in front of the vehicle, so the L10 crept ever so slowly into the Mall. And ridiculously it was immediately followed by a second service, a vehicle packed out with hangers-on nobody appeared to recognise, but lapping up the adulation all the same. I was not able to track either of the vehicles on any of the apps, which seems an unfortunate oversight. But how typical that when it comes to special buses, you wait for years and then two come along at once. five deep, which isn't normal behaviour on a new bus route, not even Day One on the Superloop. What's more the majority of them appeared to be female and that's very much exceptional for what's essentially a bus-spotting event. Even the passengers on the top deck, grinning with glee at the situation they found themselves in, weren't the usual men the nation used to think of in these circumstances. What was particularly encouraging to see was the number of young people present, easily into the high thousands, all agog to be here and recording reels to share on their socials as is so often the case with new bus launches today. Even with a heavy police presence the open-topped service was making slow progress. It's often said that "you could walk it faster" and on this case I actually did, nipping marginally into St James's Park to avoid a throng increasing in density as the journey proceeded. Some families appeared to have travelled for many miles and all because their youngest child had insisted on dragging them here simply to see a particular bus, as is so often the way. They cheered in collective adoration, they waved flags name-checking an online bank and they screamed adoringly at the excitement of a converted Alexander Dennis Trident (or perhaps at the historic gathering on the open deck, it was hard to be certain). A huge bus shelter had been constructed beneath the Queen Victoria Memorial, ideal for shielding passengers from the elements had there been a return journey. It was so large you could almost imagine Heather Small coming out and singing Proud, the inevitable finale to any significant bus-related gathering. Instead the passengers were brought forward one at a time to relate how the 14 minute trip had made them feel, in one case confessing to crying all the way, and seemingly exhausted from all the waving. The entire nation was impressed by how far they'd come, and as Sweet Caroline boomed out were left dreaming that they might one day make the same journey again. It was a day that generations of fans will never forget. first journey yesterday, and plainly ecstatic at what they saw, confirming that collective endeavour and London buses can always bring the nation together. It may be many years before the same team are back on The Mall with another inspirational success to share, maybe even the men rather than the women next time, but let's hope pride returns to our streets and this becomes a regular service.

020 is the dialling code for London. This is Wikipedia's map of the 020 dialling code area. It forms an approximate circle spreading 20 miles from the centre of London. But London is not circular. Places outside London with an 020 dialling code telephone exchanges outside London. The most populous areas outside London with an 020 dialling code are South Oxhey/Bushey/Borehamwood and Buckhurst Hill/Loughton/Chigwell. Gilwell Park has postcode E4 7QW and telephone number 020 8138 0191. Places in Greater London not in the 020 area telephone exchanges inside London don't have an 020 dialling code. They are... 01322: Crayford, Erith, Slade Green 01689: Orpington, Farnborough, Lodge Hill 01959: Biggin Hill 01737: Downland 01895: West Drayton, Denham, Uxbridge, Harefield, Ruislip 01923: Northwood 01708: Romford, Ingrebourne, Hornchurch, Upminster, Rainham But I believe eight other non-020 dialling codes can also be found in London. 01883: Caterham [for example The Fox, Coulsdon Common - 01883 340737] 01372: Esher [for example The Star, Malden Rushett - 01372 842416] 01932: Weybridge [for example Kempton Steam Museum - 01932 765328] 01784: Staines [for example The Orchard Cafe, Staines Road - 01784 258795] 01753: Slough [for example Airpets, Spout Lane North - 01753 685571] 01707: Welwyn Garden City [for example New Cottage Farm, The Ridgeway - 01707 655026] 01992: Waltham Cross [for example Lea Valley Academy, Bullsmoor Lane - 01992 763666] 01227: Brentwood [for example RJ Skip Hire, Grove Farm - 01277 350775] peripheral postcodes that barely enter London. Greater London thus has 16 geographic dialling codes I don't believe anyone else has ever made a definitive list before.