Author Archives: lonny

Olympic Park and Orbit Opening from 5th April 2014

Leave a Reply
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

OPENING THE PARK

From 5 April 2014, there will be lots more to explore at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Come and experience London’s newest open space as the Park and its venues continue to open.

This spring, one of the Park’s most exciting areas will open to the public – the new parklands in the south of the Park.  From 5 April, you can:

  • Relax among the beautiful parklands, fountains and waterways designed by internationally renowned landscape architects
  • Take advantage of world-class sporting venues made famous during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including the Aquatics Centre and Lee Valley VeloPark
  • Experience 25 public artworks across the Park and cultural events in new and exciting spaces
  • Get a new perspective on London from the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the UK’s tallest sculpture at 114.5 metres
  • Walk four new interactive trails covering the London 2012 Games, nature and biodiversity, education and art and culture
  • Let your kids run free in new play areas offering everything from climbing walls to sandpits and giant fountains
  • Eat and drink at the Podium or one of a number of kiosks along the Park’s new promenade, lined with 100 mature trees

 What’s open now?

You don’t need to wait until 5 April to visit.

The northern part of the Park and the Copper Box Arena have been open since July 2013, and we’ve seen more than a million visitors since then to these and to the series of concerts, festivals and sporting events we held over the summer.

If you visit the park today, you will be able to:

 

What is open when?

Opening dates for venues across the Park this spring are as follows:

If you’re planning to visit these venues when they open, we suggest booking online where possible – see individual pages for more information.

Please be aware that while we complete the building and landscaping work across the Park some access has to be restricted.

For information on how to find us, see travelling to the Park.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in numbers

Nightjar Cocktail Bar – City Road, Old Street, London

Leave a Reply

Last night I tried out Nightjar bar just round the corner from Old Street Tube Station. The entrance is quite discrete and we walked past twice.

Nightjar_-Britta-Jaschinski1

We arrived at the entrance to be greeted by the door person who checked our name off on the list and we were allowed to “step inside” and make our way to the top of the steps but to go no further! We were then told we were allowed to descend the stairs and taken to our table.

The cocktail list, divided into historical eras (pre-Prohibition, post-war and so on), makes for enthralling reading with all its unexpected ingredients, including: smoke, squid ink, burning pine cones and foam. Part of the fun here is watching the way the cocktails are mixed using smoke machines and blow torches. It’s a full table service and the staff know the cocktails inside out so you can get recommendations.

Prices range from around £10-£14 per drink, so pretty much normal cocktail prices, but nothing about these cocktails are normal and they certainly pack a punch! We had to try the one with Squid Ink, the smell wasn’t great but the it was surprisingly delicious and well worth a try!

The only downside – we had a table booked from 6-8pm and at 7.30pm we were told that our time was nearly up and we should consider buying our last drink and we would have to leave, only to be repeated by another waitress shortly after.(However, we did manage to persuade them to give us another table as they’d had a cancellation.)

If you’re in the area it’s well worth a visit, but you must book a table as you won’t get in.

129 City Road
London
EC1V 1JB

www.barnightjar.com

Open 6pm-1am Mon-Wed, Sun; 6pm-2am Thur; 6am-3am Fri, Sat

London Transport Depot Open Weekend 15th & 16th March

Leave a Reply

If you’ve never been before it really is worth it.

depot2013

The Museum Depot at Acton houses the majority of the Museum’s collections which are not on display in the main Museum in Covent Garden. With 400,000 items, including many original works of art used for the Museum’s celebrated poster collection, vehicles, signs, models, photographs, engineering drawings and uniforms, it’s a wonderful treasure trove that  together form one of the most comprehensive and important records of urban transport anywhere in the world.

Depot Bus copy

Acton Open Weekends

Dates: 15-16 March
Time: 11.00 – 17.00

They’re opening up the Museum Depot at Acton on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 March 2014, this time in celebration of buses. Big ones, small ones, and even teeny weeny ones.
The bus bonanza is part of National Science and Engineering week and features static bus displays, bus pit tours, a bouncy bus, curator led small object store tours, a (small) bus rally, and bus themed films and talks. We will also be displaying a number of layouts from various exhibitors, with a special emphasis on buses. Look out for the LEGO and BAYKO bus displays and join the make and takes and storytelling for families.

Tickets
Prices: £10, £8
basket Book Online

Amazing Street Art by Xenz at The O2 Greenwich London #xenz

Leave a Reply

Amazing Street Art well worth a visit opposite The O2 at North Greenwich.

Artist Xenz and Bowzer the Schnauzer are doing some great art work down at North Greenwich, well worth a look if you’re near The O2 or going on the Emirates Air-Line.

You can find out more about Xenz at his website or why not follow him on Twitter @xnz

IMG_0438 IMG_0437 IMG_0435 IMG_0434IMG_0433IMG_0431IMG_0432

Two Cows

Leave a Reply

TWO COWS ~{Matthias Varga}

SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows.
You give one to your neighbour

COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and gives you some milk

FASCISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and sells you some milk

NAZISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and shoots you

BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then
throws the milk away

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy
grows.
You sell them and retire on the income

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (VENTURE) CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by
your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption
for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States , leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release.
The public then buys your bull.

SURREALISM
You have two giraffes.
The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to
produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why
the cow has dropped dead.

A GREEK CORPORATION
You have two cows. You borrow lots of euros to build barns, milking sheds, hay stores, feed sheds,
dairies, cold stores, abattoir, cheese unit and packing sheds.
You still only have two cows.

A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three
cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce
twenty times the milk.
You then create a clever cow cartoon image called a Cowkimona and
market it worldwide.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows,
but you don’t know where they are.
You decide to have lunch.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity.
You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Both are mad.

AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.
You tell them that you have none.
No-one believes you, so they bomb the ** out of you and invade your country.
You still have no cows, but at least you are now a Democracy.

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows.
The one on the left looks very attractive… Continue reading →

Get fit the Royal Canadian Air Force Way in only 11 minutes a day

Leave a Reply

Download the Royal Canadian Air Force Get Fit Pamphlet

https://markylon.co.uk/blog/fitplan.pdf

 

DLR welcomes cyclists aboard following successful trial

Leave a Reply

Transport for London (TfL) has today announced that, following a successful trial, non-folding bicycles are now permitted on off-peak Docklands Light Railway (DLR) trains on a permanent basis.  More than 5,000 cyclists travelled with their bikes on the DLR during a successful trial period that started in July 2013.

The bike trial on the DLR is part of the Mayor’s Vision for Cycling in London, the £913m plan to transform the Capital into a city where cycling is a key part of everyday life. Welcomed by cyclists and cycling campaign groups, allowing bikes on the DLR has opened up many new areas of London to cyclists.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Opening up the Docklands Light Railway to cyclists will be a great boost to the cycling community and make it much more convenient for cyclists to cross the river. This is another important step forward in our mission to make it easier for more people to get cycling in the capital.”

DLR Director Rory O’Neill, said: “All cyclists are now welcome to use DLR services during off-peak hours and at all time on weekends and Bank Holidays. This follows our successful six-month trial during which the London Cycling Campaign provided advice and assistance. I’d like to thank them for their co-operation and input during the trial.”

Serco Docklands Managing Director Kevin Thomas, said: “As DLR’s operator we are delighted to have successfully introduced bicycles onto the railway as another improvement for DLR customers”.

London CC Chief Executive Ashok Sinha said: “We’re delighted to have participated in the trial, and that Transport for London has agreed to allow off-peak cycles on the DLR permanently. This measure will open up new areas of the city to the many Londoners who ride bicycles and provide valuable cross-river links, encouraging more daily cycle journeys.”

Cycling on London’s main roads has risen by 173 per cent since 2001 and this plan will help double the level cycling over the next 10 years. To support this growth, the Mayor and TfL last year announced a range measures to achieve the many aspects of the Vision.

A Central London cycling grid is currently being consulted on; it is a network of 60 miles of quieter routes to encourage less confident cyclists onto their bikes. An additional 80,000 cycle parking spaces will also be installed in residential locations, stations, workplaces and other trip destinations by 2016.

Later this spring, innovative ideas by outer London boroughs will be rewarded when the Mayor announces the winner of his Mini-Holland fund to create cycling havens, delivering dramatic and transformational pro-cycling change.

For more information on the Mayors Cycling Vision, please visit www.tfl.gov.uk/cyclingvision

  • Folding bicycles are permitted on the DLR at all times, including during peak hours.
  • From 27 January 2014, non-folding bicycles will be allowed on DLR trains from Monday to Friday during off-peak hours (not between 07.30 and 09.30 or 16.00 and 19.00) and all day at weekends and bank holidays.
  • We are consulting on plans for a Central London Grid, a mixture of quietways and superhighways in Central London. For more information and to comment on these proposals, please visit http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/29172.aspx
  • For safety reasons, bicycles are not allowed on trains travelling between Shadwell and Bank stations

 

LONDON AQUATICS CENTRE Opens 1st March – Book sessions from Monday 20th January

Leave a Reply

The London Aquatics Centre, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will be a vibrant and accessible facility open to the whole community. Following its transformation after the Games the facility will open on 1st March 2014.

The world class former Olympic venue will house two 50m pools, a 25m diving pool, a state-of-the-art gym and a creche. We are working with British Swimming / Amateur Swimming Association to develop performance programmes for all Aquatic disciplines based on the successful Beacon model. We are also working with British Swimming who are planning to use the centre regularly as an international training venue for elite athletes.

In addition we will be playing host to a number of National and International sporting events throughout the year. The venue also includes catering and meeting room facilities.View the timelapse build of the iconic venue.

Activities

Swimming

  • 01 Mar 2014 – 20 Mar 2019

The Aquatics Centre will have a 50m x 10-lane Olympic competition pool and a 50m x 8-lane training pool. Both pools have moveable floors and booms for greater flexibility.

Diving

  • 01 Mar 2014 – 31 Mar 2019

A separate 25m diving pool with 1m, 3m, 5m, 7.5m and 10m platforms, along with 1m and 3m springboards. There will also be also a separate dry land training facility with trampoline, springboards, foam pits and harness.

Gym

  • 01 Mar 2014 – 31 Mar 2019

A 50 station gym with state-of-the-art Technogym kit with stretch and free weights area will be installed for public use with a fantastic view of the competition pool. Affordable memberships will be available to purchase in advance from 20th January. Keep an eye on the website for further updates.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – EXPLORE MORE OF THE PARK FROM 5 APRIL

Leave a Reply

Explore the south of the Park for the first time since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Enjoy the newly landscaped parklands, fountains and waterways, Aquatics Centre, ArcelorMittal Orbit, walking trails, arts and events and children’s play areas.

From 5 April 2014, there will be lots more to explore at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Experience London’s newest open space as the Park and its venues continue to open.

This spring, one of the Park’s most exciting areas will open to the public – the new parklands in the south of the Park.  From 5 April, you can:

  • Relax among the beautiful parklands, fountains and waterways designed by internationally renowned landscape architects
  • Take advantage of world-class sporting venues made famous during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including the Aquatics Centre and Lee Valley VeloPark
  • Experience 25 public artworks across the Park and cultural events in new and exciting spaces
  • Get a new perspective on London from the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the UK’s tallest sculpture at 114.5 metres
  • Walk four new interactive trails covering the London 2012 Games, nature and biodiversity, education and art and culture
  • Let your kids run free in new play areas offering everything from climbing walls to sandpits and giant fountains
  • Eat and drink at the Podium or one of a number of kiosks along the Park’s new promenade, lined with 100 mature trees

 What’s open now?

You don’t need to wait until 5 April to visit.

The northern part of the Park and the Copper Box Arena have been open since July 2013, and we’ve seen more than a million visitors since then to these and to the series of concerts, festivals and sporting events we held over the summer.

If you visit the park today, you will be able to:

 What is open when?

Opening dates for venues across the Park this spring are as follows:

If you’re planning to visit these venues when they open, we suggest booking online where possible – see individual pages for more information.

Please be aware that while we complete the building and landscaping work across the Park some access has to be restricted.

For information on how to find us, see travelling to the Park.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in numbers