Aware as ever of the world's trouble spots, Madonna recently showed solidarity with the blighted residents of Georgia by describing herself as "living in a siege situation". Is her home being bombarded with military ordnance as the Russian army advances? No, things are much worse. The fifty-year old singer has been forced to abandon her gym due to the ruckus brought by nearby workmen. The former Georgian house in Mayfair, which Madge converted into......

With 2008 racing from winter to summer with nary a hint of spring to be scented, mid-May finds us enjoying glorious weather and turning our thoughts to happy days at the local lido. Despite dozens of closures over the years since the lido's post-war heyday - inspiring such evocative imagery of lost sites in books like Paul Talling's Derelict London - many of London's lidos are still going strong, and some, like London Fields,......

Four years, countless consultancy fees, umpteen broken promises and many millions of pounds later, Clissold Leisure Centre in Stoke Newington is finally re-opening this weekend. For those who've not followed the saga, here's the story in brief. In 2000 the Centre opened amidst a brass band's worth of pomp and publicity, the very model of a modern, major, New Labour endorsed Lottery-funded Millennium project. Come early 2004, the facility was closed, having accumulated a......

QPR 1 Leyton Orient 2 Loftus Road Tuesday 14th August, 2007 It seems every time Londonist attends Loftus Road, the visitors score two. On Tuesday night John Gregory, manager of Championship side Queens Park Rangers, was left to rue the injuries, loan arrangements and appendix operations that left him with only one pair of fit strikers as his lacklustre charges struggled to chase a League Cup tie that visitors Leyton Orient, from the division......

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti......

If you're relieved that you didn't spend hard-earned cash on following England to the world cup to watch them make heavy weather of beating Bangladesh you could put a little of the money you saved to good use by popping down to cricket HQ this weekend to see what is effectively a shadow national side take on the current county champions, Sussex in a four day game starting this morning that ushers in the......

We'd like to start this week's run-down by wishing a very happy birthday to parent blog Gothamist, which turned four on Friday. If it wasn't for them, the rest of us wouldn't be here. They celebrated their birthday by nabbing an interview with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, who misses NYC public transportation when he's working in LA. They also reported on NYU students protesting a band whose name is also known as a slur,......

“It is even said to be safer than running or walking as propelling with sticks and long strides ensure there are fewer chances of injuries or stress.” Hang on... "propelling with sticks and long strides" - that's walking with crutches, isn't it? But then again, on second glance... "propelling with sticks and long strides" could be stilt-walking, right? The opening description of a mythical injury and stress free form of transport is in fact......

We’re back! Did you miss us? After nearly a month without any major sci/tech events, the usual venues are starting to awaken again following a summer break. So the Cogito returns, to appear every Wednesday and point you to the best London has to offer the inquisitive mind. Event of the week Future London: Footprints of a generation, at the Truman Brewery, 8-16 Sept. Had Google been around a couple of decades ago, there’s......

London always goes a bit loopy in the heat. Unlikely couplings and incredulous incidents occur once the mercury creeps past a certain point, people and places begin to melt and blur into one another... Outdoor swimming pools become cinemas, banking districts become beaches... If you're in EC2 at any point this week before Friday 7 July, there's a beach among the banks and office blocks - and it's not a mirage. The lovely people......

Ahh, now we get it. Sven has become so Anglicised, so steeped in English sporting tradition that he's modelled his world cup challenge on the nation's highly successful rugby team. The idea is to dominate the opposition physically, then get the ball into kicking range where football's answer to Jonny Wilkinson pumps it long and high for the vital score. Accumulate enough of these and no amount of fancy artistry will defeat you! And......

At the weekend London maintained its record of having got at least one team to every FA Cup final played since the venue moved from Wembley to the Welsh capital when the ‘Appy Ammers reached the May 13th showdown much to the delight of West Ham legend Sir Trevor Brooking (pictured) who stooped to conquer Arsenal with the winning header in 1980, the last time the Upton Park side captured the trophy. These days......

Tits. Often considered to be "the bigger, the better" - but not for Big Brother "star" Jade Goody. La Goody has changed before our horrified televisual gazes from duh-brained reality TV show contestant ("Rio de Janeiro? Isn't that a person?") to a surgically enhanced, high earning businesswoman (she's got a fitness video and plans to open a beauty salon - technically "business"). After scaling the dizzy heights of celebrity post-Big Brother (see fitness video,......

This member of the Londonist dungeon was always more of an indie kid than a raver, but netherless, we got the impression that dance music was all about haring around the orbital, indulging in some serious hedonism, sticking up two fingers at the oppressive police state and all the while helping to develop a serious counter-culture. Not so it seems. According to the Ministry of Sound, the last superclub standing, dance is all about......

Yesterday we reported on a debate which had taken place in the House of Lords that included some rather unexpected superlatives regarding the 'iconic' black cab and particularly their "extraordinary and hugely admired limited turning circles". Now that post got 5 comments, which isn't bad for an article on turning circles. So we did a bit more digging and it turns out our turning circles were under threat! According to Transport for London a......

Why did no one bring this to our attention earlier? This is the funniest thing we've ever seen, as well as one of the most grotesque: The Stadium will be a superb collection of contemporary studios, 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments and penthouses set within the Art Deco surroundings of Arsenal Stadium, Highbury. Features include: * Terraces/balconies to most apartments * Central landscaped garden with water features * 24 hour concierge * Fitness......

Crystal Palace, QPR, Millwall, and Watford began their Division Two campaigns at the weekend. Combined total of points gained: 1. Not the best of starts then, but a quick opportunity for redemption tonight. In theory at least. The Palace have a tricky tie tonight away at Wolves. Glenn Hoddle's men started the season as they ended much of last season, with a draw. You know, of course, what happened to the Eagles on Saturday......

London is once again leading the way when it comes to advances in science with boffins at Imperial College making a breakthrough in the field of making people want to eat less. A small study had 26 people injected with the hormone oxyntomodulin, which is the stuff that's released in the body to tell you that your stomach is full and now would be a good time to stop eating, fatty. "Well, this is......

To be honest, the build-up to the FA Cup Final on Saturday hasn't quite reached 'frenzy' status yet, but at least it seems to be progressing beyond 'mildly agitated' and 'a bit miffed'. Sigh....how Londonist yearns for the 'good old days', when the whole country seemed to be holding its collective breath waiting for the big event and every other programme on the telly included the words 'cup final special' in their title. The......

The award-winning Zaha Hadid was today announced as the designer of London's Olympic Aquatics Centre. Which may or may not be the plain old London Aquatics Centre, depending on whether we get the 2012 Olympics. Either way, it will be built. The building looks very nice, but they always do when they're computer-generated. Architects are hardly likely to submit pictures of something looking dank, grotty, litter-strewn and swathed in graffiti, are they? According to......

What exactly are they making them do in The Producers? Bungee jump? Base jumping? White water rafting? First it was Richard Dreyfuss, a man who, in the past, has tackled Great White Sharks and been paralysed from the neck down. But even he was forced to pull out of the West End musical due to injury. So they brought in someone who could hande the pressure. Someone known for his role in fast-paced action......