On my way home today, while waiting for a High Barnet tube train at Moorgate, I saw the platform attendant holding up his white bat to signal that the train could leave. This happens all over the tube network, and I’ve always wondered how the drivers can see the signal when they are buried in their carriages. So…I asked! It’s not magic, but it’s clever – the attendant is holding up the bat to a camera located halfway along the platform which transmits the image to a monitor inside the driver’s cab. Another mystery solved!

Having started to use del.icio.us recently I came across a geographical version of the tube map that I hadn’t seen in some time. It’s great – it shows you exactly where stations are in relation to each other geographically – but isn’t exactly that useful.

A little digging turned up this beauty on rodcorp’s blog which has taken the basic tube map and added dotted lines where it is quicker to walk between the stations – very handy for tourists, I presume, as they are renowned for taking the tube between Covent Garden and Leicester Square.

The tube map actually has significance for Finchley – my home – as it’s creator, Harry Beck,
Harry Beck, lived here and there is now a plaque dedicated to him at Finchley Central station.

For those looking for something amusing to give to the passing tourist, try The Great Bear or some of the silly maps.

I just received an email alert that Artsdepot, our new arts centre in North Finchley, has had a write-up on the BBC London website, which has reminded me that I still haven’t been even though it’s quite literally on my doorstep. Construction of the venue started shortly after I moved into the area and it finally opened in October this year.

It looks as though there is some good stuff on there in 2005, so I’ll have to make it a new year’s resolution to pay it a visit!

^{Things have been very busy at work recently and I’ve hardly had time to read my emails, let alone blog or visit the theatre. Will try and update this more often!}

I’ve been meaning for some time to blog about the wonderful curry van in Whitecross Street market, EC2. The guys I work with must pay this place a visit at least two or three times a week and have now started to get to know exactly what will be on the menu each day.

The van is run by a husband and wife team and serves up delicious vegetarian-only meals every weekday. A personal favourite of mine is the sag and sweetcorn which I believe makes an appearance on Tuesdays. For under £3.50 you can get one of the specials, which usually consists of three types of curry, a portion of rice, chutney of your choice and a side order of samosas and bhajis covered in yoghurt and other goodies. Fantastic!

Apparently they are opening a shop somewhere in Soho soon, so there will be more places to sample their home-cooked delights.

I’ve just learned that the Torrington pub in North Finchley is to close after the owners were made “an offer they can’t refuse”. It’s a shame – although I have only been there a handful of times and didn’t think it was a particularly good pub, I can’t help thinking that North Finchley will be blander without it. It doesn’t really leave us with many alternatives!

A little bit of Googling found that a pub called the Torrington has been here since the 1830s. And now it’s about to become an All Bar One or a block of flats.

On Friday I had the misfortune to dine at an absolutely awful restaurant – Border in Argyll Street.
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After weeks of looking forward to the big event, disappointment ensued when the first night of the London JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge was cancelled due to a weather warning from the Met Office. In the end, the rain didn’t really start until well after dark but I can understand why they pulled the plug; I’m sure they wouldn’t want to be liable if someone hurt themselves after a warning had been issued.

The wind itself was pretty bad – at lunchtime I saw a Starbucks table umbrella lift three storeys in the air and come crashing down on an adjacent table so I can only guess what Battersea Park looked like.

I took part in the Challenge last year in London and the year before that in New York City and on both occasions had a great time. I guess there’s always next year.

If any of you had sponsored me to raise money for Community Links, I won’t be collecting it, but if you wish to make a donation anyway that would be great!

One evening last year, my girlfriend and I decided to head into Whetstone to see whether there was anywhere good that we could grab a bite to eat. Having never been there, we didn’t really know what to expect. Luckily for us, we happened to stumble across Alfresco, definitely the best restaurant we’ve been to in the area. We couldn’t believe how busy it was – always a sign that a place is cooking up something good, I think. Although we had to wait about half an hour for a table, as soon as the food came we really didn’t care – it was absolutely awesome. They made no fuss about preparing a puttanesca with spaghetti, even though the menu said that it came with spirals, and it tasted delicious. The food there is so cheap and tastes so good. Current favourite is the spaghetti allo scoglio, which comes with a massive helping of delicious mussels and prawns in a tasty sauce.

It was great to find a great Italian on our doorstep after having been regulars at the wonderful Valdino West when living in New York City the year before. If you get the chance to go to either of these two gems, do so – you won’t be disappointed. Neither of them are ever going to be top of the Zagat tree but for lovely food at a great price they are just perfect.

I cannot believe just how badly the new Oystercard system on the London Underground has been put together. When I first started to see people hovering their wallets over the swishy yellow pads I thought it was great and couldn’t wait to get my hands on one. I’ve now been using my card since August last year and having been ripped off due to a combination of incompetence and crappy design I feel it’s time for a little rant…
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A friend, Justine, sent me an email last week to let me know that the Barbican is giving away free membership for a year. It takes less than a minute to sign up and after you have done so you get discounts on lots of events, including cinema tickets. If you’re in London, what are you waiting for?

Why oh why does every shop seem to think that I need a massive bag for every individual thing that I buy? I think I’m turning into a grumpy old man as every shopping trip seems to get me grumbling these days. Heal’s on Tottenham Court Road was the worst offender today; I saw the checkout girl going for an elaborate shopping bag in which to place a small box of shower curtain rings so I quickly tried to head her off by saying “Don’t worry about a bag, thanks.” Somehow between my lips and her ears this must have transformed into “A small paper bag for me, thanks.”

I’ve even taken to carrying around a couple of spare plastic bags with me in my main work bag just in case I pop into the supermarket on the way home. There’s really no need for us to pick these up all the time and it annoys me when I see people taking a billion of them for just a few items. Are we all just too lazy these days?

I’d love to think that the UK will follow in Ireland’s footsteps but the only way I see this happening is if the Government places a mandatory tax on the bags. There’s no way that one of the big supermarkets would start charging for them as they would simply drive customers away. I know that a lot of people have to watch their pennies so putting a tax on bags may not be popular but people don’t really have much of an excuse not to re-use them.