Before I start I have to say, my brother works for Ikea and so does a couple of friends of mine.

Last night at 12.00 midnight the Edmonton store opened. This has obviously been a big thing in my family, as my brother works in their other store and the new store is a obvious threat to there trade. which as well as london, comes from Slough, Reading and some of the midlands.

I woke up this morning to a email from my dad..just to let you know that your brother and his girl friend are OK. HUH? Last night 6 people were hospitalised, and one was stabbed… excuse my language, but what the fuck? Upon investigation (my mobile phone book) I also found out that within the hour of the store opening two lifts were broken, their cables snapped, the escualtors are destroyed and a manager was beaten up. for what a sofa???

luckily my brother saw the crowd of 6000 and left. apparently people were abandoning there cars in the north circular and just walking the rest of the way.

On a personal level, I am quite sure IKEA are not totally to blame for this, they had the police and the local council involved from the off, I just wonder who thought it was a good idea to open the doors.
I just cant get it into my head that the opening of a store caused a man to be stabbed and ikea staff to be beaten up. You expect that kind of thing in a riot not a homefurnishing shop. Its bloody ridiculous.

I had a meeting yesterday in Central London, and I got off at Leicester Square tube for the short walk from there to Tottenham Court Road, as opposed to changing to the central line from the Picadilly. (Free tube tip :) )

Doing this passes you by sections of London’s Chinatown, and it was great to see the various decorations for Chinese New Year up and about.

Rather festive!

The BBC’s website published a guide to the celebration here.

- Riaan
London

Hello everyone—I’m new here, so I thought I’d introduce myself a little. I found out about Metblogs from James Cox (in the joiito IRC chat room); he put me in touch with Sean, who was kind enough to add me to the authors’ roster.

I live by Rainbow Quay in Canada Water with my girlfriend Charla (we moved here about eleven weeks ago). Here’s a picture of the view of South Dock from our living room:

One of the nicest things about living here is the ferry stop fifty yards down the road. Damien Hirst was reportedly paid several tens of thousands of pounds to design the livery of this particular boat:

The ferry runs from Greenwich all the way to the Savoy, by Embankment, and stops include Canary Wharf and Southark (for the Globe and Tate Modern).

So when I emerge from under the duvet this morning (for I am blogging in bed) I will stagger down to the ferry stop (possibly after getting dressed) to catch the 8.40 sailing for the Savoy. What better way to commute?

This weekend I had a friend from Madrid visit, and though it was mostly unplanned, we had quite a weekend:
Apart from poker on Friday night with some friends in Kengsington (he won, beginner’s luck and all) we were movie extras in a short film that was shot in Fulham Broadway, and I did my usual sailing on Sunday out at Datchet.

Movie extras in a film sounds far more glamorous than it is, trust me. Doing something over and over and over again is not exactly my idea of fun, but now I can at least tick that off the list.

The sailing out at Datchet was slightly ruined by a crash we had with another boat, who was not observing the basic sailing rule of giving way to boats who are on a starboard tack. It does mean the boat is not to our avail for at least a month.

Now what am I going to do with my Sundays?

- Riaan
London

Having just polished of the second portion of my favourite curry, I decided to share this little gem with you guys.

Hidden down in Notting Dale (aka Ladbroke Grove) is the best, and I mean BEST Tandoori in the whole wide world. Its under the Westway, so its a bit of secret of ours, but hell its the greatest. Im a sucker for curries and having lived all over London, when I came back to the Wild WestI was very happy to be back within walking of Clesea Spice and Grill. I reckon its resonabaly priced for what you get, I go for a medium curry, bombay potatoes , pilau rice and at least 4 popadoms, that sets me back nine quid. Not bad when I also get my sunday lunch out of it.

The guys in there are friendly and the place is very clean, Ive been getting my munch from them for at least 7 years now, and never had a cause to complain, They also deliver within the area. And for the record, its no where near Chelsea.

Chelsea Spice and Grill
126 Bramley Road
North Kensington
W10 6TJ

0208 964 5553
0208 960 7876

We have a French Exchange boy, Nathan aged 10.5, staying with us for a week and wanted to take him up town to see a show. Cirque du Soleil was one idea but your home is at risk if you don’t keep up the repayments on the ticket price. However we chose STOMP which at

First of all I have an interest to declare here. I am a keen cyclist and have cycled at Herne Hill, the only outdoor cycling track in London. The track was used for the 1948 London Olympics. Anyway cutting to the chase, the landlord (The Dulwich Estate) has rejected a proposed extension to the current lease for the site from the current tenants, Southwark Council. I’m writing this piece to draw attention to the status of the site, which in all fairness needs a major overhaul. Its a wonderful London/national asset that has been there for all, and will hopefully continue to be so. Recently the Dulwich Estate has said that it will consider plans that do include cycling. This is the track where Bradley Wiggins, Olympic hero, trained for years. I have an interest as a friend of the track. Herne Hill has a site that is a good point of contact for news, please show your support if you can. Many thanks. Sean

I was trying to get home (Hammersmith) from Olympia (not far) tonight after exhibiting for two days at the Travel Tech Show and having some of the exhibition material with me, and being rather shattered, I was trying to flag down a cab to take me straight home, as opposed to taking the bus and walking from Hammersmith Broadway with all the stuff I had with me.

I spotted a cab (with the light on, nice) and though he was going in the opposite direction, acknowledged my waving hand and turned around to pick me up. When he heard I wanted to go down Fulham Palace road, he told me that Fulham FC is playing at home tonight, and it will be a jam-packed journey. So he said whilst I was welcome to try it, it will be costly and I can just as well take a bus. (”I reckon buy a cuppa coffee for the ride, mate.”)

Wow. I was impressed.

So I waited for the next bus, and paid my

“End” has more than one meaning. Ending up in the West End could mean falling ass-over-tit in Soho. So, if word trivia amuses you, you may care to have a look at Jump Around. Simply type in your post code and find that you are near places like Claggy Cott, Thong and Herbert’s Hole. Or even Lickey End. They’re all real! The End.

Warning for anyone who plans on going up Upper Street between Islington Green and just north of the Almeida: they’ve blocked off one of the lanes and it’s taking forever and the buses are terribly delayed and just sitting around and eugh. Avoid at all costs.