London Tonight Tonight

Afternoon,

We start tonight with promises - Bozza's so called "broken promises" to be precise. It's all to do with cash he pledged he'd spend on helping women affected by rape in the capital - well, he's cut the amount he's spending - and even though we're pleased he's spending some to improve the situation - just the one rape crisis centre for the whole capital at the mo! - he did say he'd spend more so we want to know what's changed...? Kit Malthouse - his dep - is coming on to talk to us and explain.

Then Lewis is checking out the bouncers who could be heading for our West End theatres.. Apparently someone did a toilet (nubmer 1 not 2 - but still!) near the stage - someone else heckled - and someone chucked something - this means actors and theatre staff want more security to stop people (who've more than likely had a tipple rather than a tinkle) misbehaving. Hold on...isn't that what we're meant to do at the theatre - I'm sure my English lit degree taught me that heckling the cast of a Shakespearean play was all part of the experience - along with chucking rotten fruit etc..? Tradition is tradition..maybe not the peeing bit though...

So, traditionally speaking you wouldn't think first of the environment when you think of Wembley - more of a football place then a green hub of the future yes? But it's at the centre of a green revolution - the new houses there have some chutes going overground to underground to take our trash towards recycling land. Loverly - Glen's gone to check it out - will he go down the chute I wonder? We've also got our property man coming in to chat all about the way of the future for our household rubbish.

From rubbish we head for the gutter - the gutter press to be precise and Abi Titmuss is coming in to talk about it. Not solely about her experiences of being a tabloid favourite but mainly about her starring role in an opera (yes, an opera..)about the press. She's making quite a name for herself as an actress now and was lovely when she visited us last time so we look forward to chatting again.

Then we're all going on a summer holiday. The horses are anyway - the Household Cavalry have gone to Norfolk for a dip in the sea. I'm heading up there in a couple of weeks and am told it's quite bracing!! Sure the horsies enjoy it though - we shall check it out later.

See you at 6.

Alex & Ben.

Weather blog

Good evening,

 

The weather's hot at the moment. Not in terms of temperature, of course, but as a news item.

 

It seems that almost every time I switch on the TV or radio I hear a litany of complaints about the summer. The Met Office is in the firing line having talked, back in April, of a 'barbecue summer' & there's a general sense of depression that appears to have settled across the country.

 

At this point it's probably worth acknowledging that we are a nation of meteorological malcontents. A month ago when we had a fortnight of hot, dry & sunny weather it took us no time at all to start complaining about heat exhaustion & sunstroke & now we're moaning all over again for altogether different reasons & dismissing the summer as a washout. Well it's not over yet. September doesn't start for another 4 weeks so there's time for some summer weather yet.

 

It can be lovely here, but it can just as easily not be. Our weather is unreliable & this is never more evident than during the school summer holidays. We should simply accept that we must hope for the best but expect the worst (ie. pack as much wet weather gear as sun protection for a trip to the beach) & that way we'll all feel less hard done by. Plan outdoor parties/'staycations'/picnics etc. at your peril. With an anorak in one hand & a bottle of SPF20 in the other (both essential for the rest of this week, by the way) you can't go far wrong....

 

See you later,

 

Robin