Imogen Williams

Your alarm is set. You know exactly who’s in your group of six. You’ve got your debit card to hand. With one minute to go, it’s time to start refreshing the page. No, it’s not a Glasto ticket you’re after – it’s a table for dinner in three months’ time.  From reservation release times being firmly logged in people’s calendars to months-long waitlists and bots hoovering up the best spots, eating out at some of London’s latest hotspots has become something of an Olympic sport. According to new OpenTable statistics from between January and the middle of May this year, only 52 percent of diners using the booking service reserved their table three days or less in advance. That means that almost half of all people securing some of the capital’s most coveted seats were doing so well in advance of the event.  And so, London’s restaurant scene has become something solely for the group chat admin kind of people; for the hen-do organisers and the people who don’t forget to send birthday cards. It’s certainly not for the coasters out there. ‘But I’m not fussed about those swanky, celeb-filled restaurants,’ you say. Well, bad luck. Even little non-fussy neighbourhood joints have become inundated with #FoodTok-loving gaggles apparently wanting to spend more time taking pictures of their viral noodles than actually eating them. Just look at Singburi. The tiny, family-run Thai restaurant on an unassuming stretch of Leytonstone High Street announced themselves as ‘fully booked for the whole y

Warm weather makes swimmers of us all. Much to the chagrin of the year-round dippers who boast about their chilly 8C swims on social media, Britain’s lidos and open-air swim spots burst at the seams as soon as the sun comes out.  For Portsmouth locals (or those fancying a south coast day trip), the outdoor swimming scene is about to get a whole lot better. Hilsea Lido, which has been closed since 2022, is undergoing a multi-million-pound revamp. Photograph: Strong Island Media Hilsea’s 1930s lido is the deepest lido in Britain (4.6 metres at its deepest point) and is such a popular attraction in the area that when it closed back in 2007, local residents formed a charity – Hilsea Lido Pool for the People – to take over its management. The lido re-opened its doors in 2014.  Come 2022, the lido was in desperate need of a refurb and had to close once again – and it hasn’t re-opened since. Thanks to the Government’s Levelling Up programme, however, the outdoor pool is set to benefit from £8.75 million worth of investment into the surrounding Linear Park.  Photograph: Strong Island Media The swimming destination will get a full upgrade, including overhauling the changing facilities and shower cubicles with accessible access. The pools and lagoons are set to be revamped too, with new outdoor showers, a seating area and a ‘plant room roof’ all included in the plans.  The café area will also receive a chunk of the investment, being refurbed into a great social hub for the lido. De

This September will mark two years since Queen Elizabeth II passed away, and the month when her official royal seal of approval will expire. That is to say, the Royal warrants that she granted during her time on the throne will, as of September 8, be void. And so, enter King Charles III and Queen Camilla, who this month have reviewed the brands that they know and love. Kickstarting some change to the list of companies with royal recognition, Queen Camilla has given out her first warrants to seven British brands, including a sparkling wine producer and a stationer. A Royal warrant is a mark of recognition given to people or companies who have supplied goods or services to the Royal household. Companies with the title are allowed to use the granting royal’s coat of arms on their packaging and advertising, reportedly allowing them to charge a price premium for their products. So when you see Queen Elizabeth II’s coat of arms printed on your ketchup bottle, it does indeed mean that she too kept a bottle of the much-loved condiment in her fridge, just like the rest of us. Presumably her fridge was just much, much bigger. But what’s on King Charles and Queen Camilla’s shelves? Here are the deets.  What brands currently have a Royal warrant? All 138 of the brands that had previously received a Royal warrant from Charles when he was the Prince of Wales have been given the green light to continue to hold the accolade now that he’s King. Some of those brands include the luxury jeweller

East Londoners, we have some travel news. And no, it’s not more Overground closures, nor another update on the Blackwall Tunnel. For once, it’s good news. Yep, really! Getting around your east London ends on foot is about to get a whole lot easier, as councillors have just given the green light to a brand-new footbridge crossing the River Lea. The 63-metre steel bowstring arch bridge will cross the River Lea at Aisla Wharf, instigating a ‘well-needed connection’ between the boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Newham. The opening of the bridge will make it easier for locals to reach several of the area’s most-visited spots, including the Olympic Park – particularly great for West Ham fans – and nightclub FOLD.  The bridge is set to be only for pedestrians and cyclists, as councils continue efforts to reduce car traffic and ‘support healthier and environmentally friendlier lifestyles’. The crossing will also mean that residents of the area can reach both boroughs’ public transport offerings more easily.  Image: Knight Architects Sorting out the funding might be a bit of an issue, though. Concerns have been raised about which borough will take on the financial burden of looking after the bridge.  The plans for the bridge were approved this week by Tower Hamlets council and are set to be given the seal of approval by Newham later in the year. Tower Hamlets Council’s plans indicate that builders will get cracking on the project within the next three years. Did you see that all of Lon

Floating bus stops… you’ll certainly have seen ’em around. You might even have whizzed past one on a Lime bike. London has 164 of them across 18 boroughs, and campaigners are saying the bus stop designs need to be ‘urgently halted’.  But what exactly are ‘floating’ bus stops? And why are they at the centre of such a heated debate? Here’s everything you need to know. What are ‘floating’ bus stops? Floating bus stops are where there is a cycle lane between the pavement and the bus stop. The idea is that cyclists can keep riding while bus passengers disembark instead of having to overtake the bus as it pulls in to the stop. As London’s network of cycle lanes has expanded in recent years, so has its number of floating bus stops.  TfL has funded over 160 of them in a bid to reduce accidents involving cyclists.  Why do people want to ban floating bus stops? The stops have divided opinion, with some campaigners calling out for a ban of the design. A recent video posted by the National Federation of the Blind UK (NFB) shows a pedestrian falling to the ground after a cyclist knocks him off balance in the cycle lane between the bus and the pavement. The incident happened at the floating stop outside St Thomas' Hospital near Waterloo. The NFB described the scene as a ‘chaotic and downright dangerous situation’. WARNING We've been filming the chaotic & downright dangerous situation at the Westminster Bridge floating bus stop at St Thomas' hospital. Clip includes a speeding cyclist cras

Tube travel changes all the time. It wasn’t so long ago that minor delays weren’t conveniently predicted for you by Citymapper and the Overground actually functioned on weekends. All a long-gone phenomenon. However, come this summer you’ll be able to turn back time to the golden age of travel and enjoy a series of heritage train journeys in a 1938 art deco tube train. The London Transport Museum is organising a season of events throughout June, July, August and September that’ll let Londoners ride vintage Piccadilly line trains.  Photograph: Steve Lancefield / London Transport Museum The first journey will run on Saturday June 9 from Acton Town to Oakwood station. Across the day, there will be six journeys in total between the west and north London locations, with a single stint taking around 50 minutes. Seating is unreserved and spread across four carriages: pink, orange, green, and blue. The timetable looks like this: Journey 1: Departs Acton Town station 10:10am Journey 2: Departs Oakwood station 11:50am Journey 3: Departs Acton Town station 2:20pm Journey 4: Departs Oakwood station 4:10pm Journey 5: Departs Acton Town station 6:40pm Journey 6: Departs Oakwood station 8:10pm For those looking to extend the experience a little further and really get some bang for your buck, passengers can enjoy a couple of add-ons at the two stations. At Acton Town, transport enthusiasts can shop for transport collectibles, while at the Oakwood station end of the leg there’ll be a short

Most Londoners will be familiar with the city’s historic blue plaques, at least one of which likely celebrates the success of a long-dead poet and is bolted on to the wall of a house you can only dream of owning. However, in recent days a new type of plaque has been popping up across the city, from Battersea to Soho to Shoreditch. And unlike their blue predecessors, these ones are bright yellow and all about celebrating the capital’s rave culture of the ’80s and ’90s.  Photograph: DAN J BURWOOD The artist responsible for created and displaying the new yellow plaques is George Georgiou, who was also the mastermind behind the iconic yellow smiley face which graced the many flyers and memorabilia of countless raves. Originally designed for his friend Danny Rampling’s club night Shoom, the smiley face symbol became synonymous with acid house and rave culture, which Georgiou is now celebrating with his sunny new plaques. Some of the famous venues commemorated are The Milk Bar and Velvet Underground, both set up by Nicky Holloway, one of the ‘Ibiza Four’ DJs and a pioneer of acid house in London. The venues were home to a roster of much-loved club nights and saw the likes of Danny Rampling and Pete Tong perform. The plaques were installed ahead of the launch of the virtual George Georgiou Gallery, which offers a ‘digital open-world experience’ showcasing the artist’s eclectic flyers from the acid house music heydays.  The gallery also has an interactive map of the legendary rave