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


9.11.09

London Tonight Tonight

Hi there. Hope you had a great and safe bonfire weekend. Not a big fan of fireworks, personally - certainly not the sort you get for the garden, anyway. For some reason, I don't think the mixture of small children and explosives is a good one, but, after much pestering I relented and my two children and their cousins were treated to half a dozen fairly limp offerings from a local supermarket.

I had much higher hopes of explosives between Bermondsey boxer David Haye and seven foot Russian man-mountain, Nikolay Valuev as they squared up for their heavyweight title fight in Germany on Saturday night. As a fight, it was less than sparkling, but Haye did a fantastic job of dodging the Russian's lumbering bombs and landed one or two stealth missiles of his own on his way to a fantastic points victory and a world title belt. He told us when he came into the studio last week that he was going to do it, but after several years as a sports reporter I've learnt to take most pronoucements with a pinch of salt. Katie was less sceptical and was convinced after speaking to him that he would make good on his prediction. "I can see it in his eyes", she said. She was right! We'll congratulate David later.

Talking of fireworks, we'll be talking to Boris Johnson live on the programme tonight as a 24-hour bus strike over pay continues in the capital. Seven hundred and fifty buses from the East London Bus Company are off the roads causing disruption to tens of thousands of people. With crisis meetings also taking place to try to avert further Tube strikes, we'll be asking the London Mayor whether he's lost his grip on the city's transport network. We'll also report on one council's plan to tackle crime by signing up two thousand local people to become 'neighbourhood champions', (or official snoopers, depending on your point of view). Plus the depressing news that pubs in the capital are closing faster than anywhere else in the country - at a rate of six per week.

Finally, the sad news of the death of a much-loved member of one local community, callously mown down by a hit-and-run driver. His passing is being mourned through poetry, shrines and internet tributes as Dorking pays its respects to... Albi the albino squirrel??? What can I say, except that Glen Goodman's on the case so it's bound to be worth a watch. I just hope the shop where he got his full size pumpkin mask last week doesn't do squirrel outfits with angel wings attached. Seriously, I bet he's put the call in!

See you at six,

Matt and Nina

Weather blog

 
Good evening,
 
I've got a very elderly car which I use to drive to the station. It's like an old friend; totally reliable but not above playing the odd trick.
 
The most recent practical joke was to do with the lights. It happened yesterday evening (6-ish; properly dark) as I was driving along a country lane & hit a pothole. The resulting jolt caused all the lights -interior & exterior- to fail. There was something very eerie about it being as pitch black inside the car as it was out. Obviously I pulled off the road (no indicators or hazards) & got out in order to be able to assess the situation.
 
I am to mechanics what John & Edward are to opera, so after staring cluelessly at the bonnet & a spot of light swearing I climbed back into my jalopy & did the only sensible thing I could think of which was to start it up again. Miraculously it purred effortlessly & comprehensively back into life & I was able to continue my journey through the light drizzle (more of that to come tomorrow by the way) without further incident.
 
Obviously I was delighted the car was fully operational once more, but I'm left feeling nervous; it's happened once & it could happen again & lights are only ever going to fail when you really need them.
 
Perhaps it's time it went on ebay. The perfect vehicle for anyone planning a motoring holiday next summer to the land of the midnight sun....
 
Hope to see you later,
 
Robin