Welcome to London Tonight Tonight.

This is the official website of London Tonight, on ITV1 in London and the South East every weeknight at 6pm.


13.8.09

London Tonight Tonight

Good Afternoon to you.

Regular readers of our blog may remember I told you a few weeks back that Miss Hyndman was preparing for a party in a park. The theme: 'Mad Hatters Tea Party'. Well, the date is set, the costume has now been decided - and our hostess has now been talking through the menu. I say 'our' host. I won't be there as this is strictly a girlie day. I might crash it though. I love egg sandwiches.

Hyndman's just left the desk to get her make-up done for the programme, saying "Don't make it look like I don't do any work". I'm laughing - honest. She does lots. Really, she does.

Okay - a quick look at the rundown -

We'll be asking you about the old days when there were fewer cars and children played safely in the street. One charity wants a return to the old days. How likely is that?

Things certainly used to be a lot cheaper in the old days - so in a way, the West End is turning back the clock next week. They're running a week where children can get half-price, if not free, theatre tickets - in a bid to encourage more young people and family to come along. We'll be talking to Kacey Ainsworth - Little Mo from EastEnders - all about it. But I say "just as well" - top tickets to top shows can cost over 70 quid. 70 quid. And what if you don't like the show? You don't get your money back. Suddenly, a(nother) night in with a DVD sounds rather inviting.

Or perhaps a night in listening to Peter Andre. There may be rather a lot of people doing that this weekend. He's in the running for the 'number one' spot with his new single - which may offer some sort of silver lining to the HUGE cloud that's been hanging over the rest of his life of late. His collapsing marriage to Katie Price (aka Jordan) has, is, and always will be, well-documented. He's talking to Lucy about all sorts tonight.

We'll also be speaking to the WWII veteran who won a medal for his bravery in the war and has now won another one for his charity work. The money he's raised? (London 20-12 should hire him) Makes you proud to be British, he does.

And from one extreme to another. Marcus Powell will bring us the story of the con-men who target people of a more mature vintage... to steal money from them: tricking them into handing over their credit card details and then taking their cash. Makes you ashamed to be British, they do.

Our top story tonight is a family appeal for help. Carl Beatson Asiedu was stabbed to death just under two weeks ago. Just 19 years old, he was a popular young man. He was a righteous young man. He was a talented young man. In fact, the police believe it may have been his talent which prompted jealous teenagers to kill him. I don't know why that's so very shocking. Any murder is shocking - whatever the motive. However, the idea that someone so good should be killed by others just because they're so good struck us as yet another step down the path we need to turn back from. Now.
I wish I had a happier note to end on. The fact that the rail strike has been called off pales a little bit now.
We'll regroup for the programme.
See you at six,
Ben & Alex

FW: weather blog

 
Good evening,
 
I like dogs.
 
We got ours 3 years ago after a lengthy campaign by the children. They are a huge commitment requiring an enormous amount of exercise, but they keep us fit, get us out into the fresh air several times a day (I have never been more aware of the seasons & the weather) & on the whole are a very positive addition to the family. I say on the whole because there is the occasional blip -illness/injury/disobedience- but nothing compared to what some dog owners have to endure. I recently heard about someone whose dog killed a squirrel, ate a condom & then went missing for 4 hours all on the same walk.
 
Naturally I was on dog duty last night & can confirm that, as predicted, the Perseid meteor shower wasn't visible in our neck of the woods due to cloud cover. I was walking again early this morning in time to see things going to plan with cloud & rain moving off to make way for the drier, brighter conditions we've since been enjoying. I only hope that if ever I'm a victim of a triple whammy along the lines of the squirrel/condom/disappearance incident, it happens when the weather's been doing what I said it would & that I can draw comfort from that whilst trying to coerce a wayward hound into behaving respectably.
 
In the meantime I'm enjoying the safety of the newsroom & hope to see you later,
 
Robin
 

Weather blog

 
Good evening,
 
I like dogs.
 
We got ours 3 years ago after a lengthy campaign by the children. They are a huge commitment requiring an enormous amount of exercise, but they keep us fit, get us out into the fresh air several times a day (I have never been more aware of the seasons & the weather) & on the whole are a very positive addition to the family. I say on the whole because there is the occasional blip -illness/injury/disobedience- but nothing compared to what some dog owners have to endure. I recently heard about someone whose dog killed a squirrel, ate a condom & then went missing for 4 hours all on the same walk.
 
Naturally I was on dog duty last night & can confirm that, as predicted, the Perseid meteor shower wasn't visible in our neck of the woods due to cloud cover. I was walking again early this morning in time to see things going to plan with cloud & rain moving off to make way for the drier, brighter conditions we've since been enjoying. I only hope that if ever I'm a victim of a triple whammy along the lines of the squirrel/condom/disappearance incident, it happens when the weather's been doing what I said it would & that I can draw comfort from that whilst trying to coerce a wayward hound into behaving respectably.
 
In the meantime I'm enjoying the safety of the newsroom & hope to see you later,
 
Robin