Some fun new tube station signs this summer – check out these temporary TfL Roundels

Last month Transport for London’s Summer Roundel Campaign kicked off with fun tube station signs, completely unnoticed by the Barbarians. 16 STATIONS, 16 FUN TUBE STATION SIGNS One single tube station sign per station has been changed for 16 central London stations. Many of these stations have more than one line, so earlier today it took me a little while to spot them.   HYDE PARK CORNER – “HERE COMES SUMMER” At Hyde Park Corner I entered the tube station. On the Piccadilly Line platform for trains going to the centre (Destination Cockfoster, Eastbound) you will find a sign that reads “Here Comes Summer.” It is supposed to remind people of nearby Hyde Park and the Serpentine Pond. I then took the Piccadilly Line from that platform and got out at Piccadilly Circus.   PICCADILLY CIRCUS – “GOING OUT OUT” At the Northbound Bakerloo Line platform you’ll find a sign […]

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David Hockney at Piccadilly Circus

For every evening this month, a two and a half minute animated installation by David Hockney will be shown on the Piccadilly Lights screen at 8:21pm (20:21, like the year). To be more precise the piece consists of a 1.25min video shown twice directly one after another. The artist created it on his iPad over a series of early mornings while watching the sun rise from his home in Normandy. He has been based there since 2019. The work is part of an international series created by CIRCA, and which previously had videos of Patti Smith and Ai Weiwei shown on the Piccadilly advertising screens. Hockney said in interviews that he wants to inspire people to welcome spring and stop for a moment to see its beauty. According to CIRCA, “In this worldwide display of unity, Hockney’s animated sunrise seeks to offer a symbol of hope and collaboration as the […]

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Racing e-karts around TeamSport’s Acton race track – I’ll never drive a petrol-kart again!

Last week I tried out karting with an e-kart for the first time at TeamSport in Acton, West London. I had previously checked out their petrol karts with Ms B in Mitcham, which had been great fun, but not really much of a racing experience. The petrol karts hardly managed to get me up the ramps and they failed to accelerate my 105kg frame to any serious speed despite the fact that I never put my foot off the gas pedal. With e-karts, everything is very different. Electric karts have much more torque and acceleration. Even their top lap time is around one second better than that of the petrol-driven ones. For fat guys like me, or, indeed, for anyone weighing more than 75kg, this makes all the difference. While back then, it was more like a bit of light afternoon amusement, much like high tea, this time around, it […]

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Off-Roading Training Lesson with True Grip in Kent – Wahoooooooo..!!!!!

I had been a passenger on four-wheel drive off-road trips on a number of occasions, lastly near Porto (post here), and I had known for a long time that I wanted to learn how to actually drive off-road myself. Last week I used a Buyagift.com voucher for £98 (I topped up for an extra hour at additional cost) to do a driving course at True Grip Off Road’s Eastwell Park site. They hold a Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence and out of 1,244 reviews, 1,184 are ‘excellent’, 90% of the rest ‘very good’.     From St Pancras, London, a high-speed train takes you to Ashford International in just 40 minutes. From the train station, a cab will set you back another £12 or so for the ten-minute ride (best to pre-order). Guy, the friendly owner and chief instructor, greeted me upon arrival. After a quick five minutes of paperwork and […]

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Emirates Airline Cable Car, London – Great Fun for £3.50

During my recent visit to the O2 to do the London in the Sky experience I thought, I might as well check out the so-called Emirates Airline, i.e. the cable car connection between the O2 and South London. I always felt a bit ashamed that as someone who has been living in London for nearly 15 years I still had never made it onto one of the cabins. And about half the consultancy assignments I take over are in Canary Wharf, just a stone throw’s away. I think part of it had to do with the fact that I had become a UK citizen and more and more English in my ways (despite having been born a German).     And that, as we all know, apart from fair play and being a gentleman, mainly means one thing and one thing alone: if someone has a mishap, you ridicule them […]

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