If you had been enjoying a nice dinner in the Prince's Gate/Knightsbridge area last night, you may have noticed some kind of of disturbance. That disturbance, was, in fact, a petrol bomb going through the front doors of the Iranian Embassy. Mercifully, no one was hurt, and the Embassy was left with only minor damage. An investigation is currently under way for the arsonists and their motives.......

Hailing down a cab might prove tougher than usual over the next couple of weeks. After a series of unexplained fires, TfL and the Public Carriage Office have ordered drivers of TX4-type cabs with a 56 registration to take their vehicles for a safety check, or risk having their license suspended. Seven cabs have gone up in smoke over the past three months, and though nobody's been injured, the decision was made to have......

February's dramatic fire in Canal Market, Camden, has affected trading this summer. According to the operators of the market, Camden Town Unlimited, tourists are staying away because they think the entire area was destroyed by flames last winter. Despite the fact that you can still barely see the pavement for goths and punks, the total number of visitors to the market has dropped off slightly this season. Need a dog collar, eyebrow piercing or......

What do you want your local Firefighter to be doing right now? We'd want ours to be busily climbing ladders to save desperate families from 6th-floor smoke-billowing windows, or at least rescuing cute cats from tree branches. Last year Stephen-Remmell Coleman from Wimbledon fire station recorded a rap song to promote fire safety, which Londonist proudly reported on at the time. But now he's moved on, and recorded a bhangra rap version which now......

Those of you passing through Soho this morning may have noticed a certain degree of destruction on Berwick Street. A fire broke out this morning at 3.40 in a building among a row of shops. Five people were rescued from the flats in the two storeys above the shops while 20 firefighters battled the blaze. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. No word yet on what caused the fire, or if any of the shops......

Six months ago we were on the scene as a major fire swept through Canal Market in Camden destroying market stalls and severely damaging the infamous Hawley Arms. It took 100 firefighters 6 hours to bring the blaze under control but it turns out, the ignition point was just a small LPG heater left on after a stall closed at 7pm that night. The wooden stall quickly caught alight followed by about 100 of its......

First Kilo the Cat, now Diesel the Dog – call it animal cruelty, antipathy, or apathy, it all incenses us just the same. Below we mete out armchair justice (and reveal why our law career never got off the ground). The Facts: A June 22 fire in a flat above their home left the Driscoll family, including healthy 5-year-old golden retriever Diesel, without a place to live. Islington Council found the family emergency housing......

Fire broke out in mansion flats on Edgware Road this morning just before 6am. Residents were evacuated and the road closed while 40 firefighters rescued people from the 8th floor and the roof and got the blaze under control. Thankfully, no one else was involved and fire crews and ensuring the block is safe before allowing residents to return.......

Here’s what we’ve learned this weekend whilst you’ve been slapping on that Factor 15: Now that that annual backstabbing fest otherwise known as Big Brother is underway, the knives are out for Croydoner Alexandra, who is apparently dating a man accused of murder. Yesterday’s anti-knife and gun rally was understandably well-attended… …even if a debate on the issue in the Commons shamefully wasn’t. A huge fire in South London left thousands without power overnight......

Anyone out and about near Brixton Tube station this grey and damp afternoon will have noticed general chaos as police cordoned off the busy high street whilst 15 fire engines and 75 firefighters tackled a blaze at a shop and flat on Brixton Road. Reader, Alistair, was on the scene and got this and other impressive photos. Traffic may have been totally up the creek but thankfully the Beeb say no-one was hurt in......

Help is on the way for those affected by the fire in Camden Market. Thus far, £750,000 has been allocated to help rebuild the charred Canal Market. This is great news for the 90 market stalls, six shops, and the Hawley Arms, which were all damaged in the canal-side inferno. The London Development Agency has set aside £250,000 in a recovery fund for business grants and promtion to get tourist traffic back to Camden......

‘It’s new and it’s bloody scary,’ says the tourist blub. ‘C’est nouveau et terriblement effrayant,’ it repeats in French. Well, you try sounding menacing in that language. ‘Eine neue, unheimlich gruselige Sensation.’ That’s more like it. We prefer the German, especially as ‘die London Bridge Experience’ carries an apt definite article. London’s new tourist attraction beneath guess-which bridge opened its doors yesterday. (After two days of PR misery when power failures scuppered the media......

As winter's days grow increasingly numbered, it's the time of year when our thoughts must turn toward formulating a survival plan for the most gig-loaded two days we know: the Camden Crawl. Back for its 7th year from 18 - 19 April, Camden Crawl 2008 will see 130 artists playing across the festival's 25 venues along with, for the first time, the addition of an outdoor stage. A variety of daytime activities are planned......

Following the Oscars this weekend there are free film screenings all over town this week. Edify thyself and make new friends running across 5 different genres of movie for no expenditure whatsoever. Monday: The Duke Mitchell Film Club is holding heist night at the Cross Kings Bar on York Way with a long lost Italian heist movie "Seven Golden Men". The film starts at 8pm but there's also a "trailer trash" collection of vintage......

Though we like to think of our firefighters as bulwarks of safety and sensibility, they burn down their kitchens sometimes, too. Saturday, while the Rickmansworth firefighters were off teaching fire safety lessons in South Oxley, a fire started in their dishwasher. Oh, the irony. We didn't even know dishwashers could catch on fire -- wouldn't a fire be more appropriate for an oven or a stove? -- but two firefighters were able to put out......

At the time when government is cracking down on our Fire Brigades to proactively work on diversity and equality in the Service, it is happily recruiting outside its normal demographic. Outside our species, in fact. The Urban Search and Rescue canine squad is receiving a £430,000 investment to expand its elite sniffing skills to London's fire service and another 16 services nationwide. The dogs - usually springer spaniels or collies - receive 18 months......

Our Amy dedicates her Grammies to London. Respect. Bozza on the buses. Well, his thoughts on kiddie crime therein at any rate. It’s London fashion week. We don’t rock to that beat, but we thought we’d better mention it. Any fashionistas out there who'd care to comment on it? Brits do OK-ish at Baftas: could do better. B-. Waltham Forest can’t afford to keep its library or art gallery open, but it can afford......

After the previous evening’s blaze, which took 100 firefighters to bring under control, Camden Town was open again on Sunday, with obvious exceptions. An area either side of Regent’s Canal was closed to the public as cleanup continued in preparation for an investigation into the cause of the fire, which severely damaged the Canal Market and the Hawley Arms pub. Nonetheless, the markets were still busy as people came to gawp and shop (maybe......

A major fire has broken out in Camden Town. Part of the Canal Market, Chalk Farm Road, caught fire around 7pm. As dense black smoke billowed out from beneath shutters at least four fire engines and a surveillance helicopter rushed to the scene. Nearby shopkeepers rallied together bringing buckets and extinguishers. The market appeared to be closed and there is no indication of any injuries. 7.50 This is a major, major fire. At least......

OK, so we admit we've got a soft spot for our city's firefighters and a morbid fascination with their latest incident page but it is genuinely good news for all of us that the London Fire Brigade is officially "performing strongly" according to the Audit Commission latest assessment. The Commission looked at all fire authorities in England and London was especially praised for its outreach and education work - remember Controversy? Also, their relative......

If Sun Hill were a real 'burb of London, then Londonist would want to live there, if only to have plucky PC Reg Hollis as our neighbourhood bobby. So it was with some distress that we heard Jeff Stewart, the actor who has played Hollis in The Bill for over two decades, apparently slashed his wrists after being informed his contract on the ITV show would not be renewed. Stewart was rushed to hospital,......

Firefighters rank pretty highly in our list of bona fide, real life heroes. So, news that a fire crew in Deptford rescued and resucitated a 9 month old Staffordshire Bull Terrier from a fire that started in the basement of a Chinese Restaurant yesterday, just makes us go all moist at the edges. Four people were also led to safety by firefighters from Deptford, Greenwich and East Greenwich firestations but it's the image of......

Londonist is pleased to learn that after yesterday’s dramatic scenes when fire broke out at the Royal Marsden Hospital, the damage is nothing like as severe than one might have imagined. In spite of Brown’s best efforts to take credit for the sterling efforts of the emergency services, all praise really is due to the staff of the hospital for what seems to have been a thoroughly calm and competent evacuation. Not that Londonist was......

The Royal Marsden Hospital on Fulham Road, Chelsea is on fire. A full evacuation is in progress. There are no reports yet of casualties or injuries; however, the blaze looks very serious. According to the BBC, 'much of the roof has been destroyed'. The hospital is a major treatment and research centre for cancer. Ironically, a neighbouring headline on the BBC site asks 'Is the NHS working where you live?'. We'll update the story......

Trying to end the year on a positive, if unglamorous note: Olympic demolition complete and Games declared on track West Ham United get behind campaign to stop young people killing each other, Home Office campaign criticised for not being strategic enough Winehouse arrested, bailed and declared biggest selling artist of the year while Dad slags off Doherty in the press Look out for Lily blooming in the spring Sobering image of Plaistow Fire Station......

So, back to our Christmas theme today, with this mouthwatering picture of St Paul's standing atop Pudgate Hill. The dripping roof no doubt tastes a lot better than its counterpart of 1666. During the Great Fire, the lead roof of Old St Paul's melted, and a plumbate river oozed through the burning town. We'll be featuring a festive 'Touch Up' every day until Christmas, so please send entries to Londonist - at -gmail -......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 17th December 1983: An IRA car bomb explodes near Harrods in Knightsbridge, killing six people (including three police officers) and injuring a further 85 Christmas shoppers. Tuesday – 18th December 1890: The world’s first ‘deep-level’ electric tube line opens, connecting Stockwell and King William Street. As we mentioned last year, the City & South London Railway would later become a part of the Northern Line as we......

After a quick break travelling the US, this Londonista is back to normality bringing the weekly roundup of whats happening in London. Monday night sees Oakland metal stars High on Fire grace UL. Tickets are available for £12 each on the door or from See tickets. Reformed 90's Brit rockers Shed Seven grace Shepherds Bush Empire, with a few tickets left at £17.50 each, if you really must indulge your nostalgia. Finally, Scritti Politti plays......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 10th December 1907: Anti-vivisectionists march through central London to protest at the dissection of a brown terrier dog several years earlier. The ‘anti-doggers’ clash with police at Trafalgar Square, in what would become known as the Brown Dog Riots. Tuesday – 11th December 2005: Much of London is covered by a vast plume of smoke, following a series of massive explosions at Buncefield Oil Depot in Hertfordshire.......

Here’s what we’ve learned this weekend Pedestrianisation is very popular But so is shopping online Olympic building ambitions are being scaled down due to spiralling costs. Potential 2012 Olympians, though, will be sent to Beijing to soak up the Games and fire London ambitions. Greenwich Old Royal Naval College wasn't quite grand enough for Northern Lights film But the late, great, Tony Wilson gets photograph of the month at the NPG Picture of the......