As if our hard working, Square Mile and Docklands' financial sector workers didn't have it tough enough right now, it seems they've provoked the wrath of god with their wicked debt trading. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have seized plum media opportunities to comment on something only marginally related to their sphere of expertise. Just because that Jesus bloke allegedly went into the temple and "overthrew the tables of the moneychangers" it doesn't......

Barely a week after a vicious gang attacked police officers in Croydon, we bring you another sobering tale of needless violence from the blighted borough: an unruly mob has caused £10,000 worth of damage to a 150-year old church in Shirley. Before you get scribbling to the the papers with hand-wringing woes about the yoof of today, with their iPods and idiotic idioms and bulletproof hoodies, bear this in mind: the miscreants in this......

In the relentless battle against anti-social behaviour and juvenile crime on our public transport we've reported on 999 text hotlines and genuine gansters brought in to educate the kids. We've had local heroes, PCSOs, poster campaigns and overzealous bus drivers. Now, apparently, we need God. The Ascension Trust have been deploying Street Pastors over large parts of South and North East London since 2003. Their mission "engaging with people on the streets to care,......

This weekend column is brought to you by the founders of Niceties Tokens, Liz and Pete of Team Nice. 34. Benefit of the Doubt As the popular saying goes, if you don't want to start a fight there are two subjects to avoid in conversation, politics and religion. That being the case, the Archbishop of Canterbury is probably going to get in trouble every time he opens his mouth. It’s his job to talk......

Having barely emerged from January’s wreckage of failed New Year’s resolutions, it was with a groan that we greeted the news that Lent arrives early this year. Questions of belief aside, Lent always seems likes such a promising self-improvement programme: give up chocolate, drink less, quit smoking. But didn’t we just make – and break – those same resolutions last month? We’re not such optimists to think we should try again so soon. Perhaps......

While the turkeys are getting nervous and the butchers are doing a roaring trade in this crucial last week before Christmas, a very unwelcome slaughter has taken place in Letchmore Heath, Herts. Gangotri was a sacred cow at the Bhaktivedanta Manor Hindu temple; she had been injured in what the report calls 'a mating injury' last September and had been unable to stand since then. She was given a fatal dose of barbiturate by......

Last full week before Christmas, we expect your bank account's feeling the strain. All that Christmas shopping and partying taking its toll? If you want to make the most of being out and about before Christmas cabin fever and complete exhaustion set in then we're here to help. Monday: Keep the braincells going through silly season. Go to the free lecture at Gresham College about why our society rewards celebrities, fads and fashions and......

The Holiday season is in full swing in NYC, with holiday lights in Brooklyn, a giant snow globe in Bryan Park and Chanukah specials for ham. One citizen decided to go vigilante on annoying car alarms, a murder suspect used a fake Asian accent on the stand and a video of a man being beaten up by teenage girls on a subway shocked the city. And we interviewed soon-to-be-leaving-Gawker editor Choire Sicha, who said,......

Advent is upon us. Hanukkah starts on Wednesday. Office parties are already everywhere. Tis the season to be jolly, jolly, jolly but we know this can be draining, emotionally and financially. Don't let the state of your wallet throw you over the edge. We can't afford to buy tickets to the BFI IMAX all-nighter next weekend and we're not allowed to enter our own competition. But we can do the following splendid things for......

Another faith school is ruffling feathers, following on from yesterday's news about the JFS - and this one hasn't even opened yet. The Hindu Krishna-Avanti school is due to open next year in Harrow, north-west London and is causing a certain amount of concern in stipulating that at this point, the school authorities will prioritise applications from Hindu families practicing the religion regularly, mainly needing proof of regular worship at home and at temples,......

Jewish Free School (JFS) in North London, Britain’s top Jewish state school and indeed one of Britain’s largest schools overall, was yesterday charged with breaking anti-discrimination laws and ordered to remove a section of its admissions criteria that gives preference to ethnically Jewish children over religious Jewish children. The decision comes in light of a series of controversies in which the off-spring of Jewish converts have been rejected from a place at JFS on the......

Hundreds of fans flocked to Leicester Square last night for the London premiere of The Golden Compass. Fans who braved the slightly rainy weather were treated to glimpses of stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, along with the thirteen year old star of the film Dakota Blue Richards and director Chris Weitz. Based on the first book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, Northern Lights, the film has been the subject of much......

Here’s what we’ve learned this weekend: Today is Remembrance Sunday which actually falls on 11th November - Armistice Day. The Queen and other Royals attended the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall last night. The Ceremony of Remembrance and Cenotaph Parade take place on Whitehall from 10.30am with Two Minute Silence at 11:00am. There was some pomp, circumstance and kids with strawberries on their heads at the Lord Mayor's Show yesterday. The......

Doherty not taking drugs shocker. Winehouse beehive inversely proportional to levity of mood. Serious blaze closes Leicester Square. Banksy works reach almost half a million pounds at auction. He can't compete with Allah, a copy of whose Koran fetched $2.3 million at auction. Image courtesy of Andy Wilkes via the Londonist flickr group.......

Londonist has heard that Carshalton resident Garry Pugsley has been nabbed for carrying an eight inch knife in public. Not very clever, one would think – potentially dangerous and a tad illegal. Except that Garry is a real, modern, proactive wizard. We quote: “I am not an illusionist, I don't do tricks, and I am not a Paul Daniels." Although he does not actually claim that his knife is for ceremonial purposes, Londonist is sure......

The statisticians are at it again. Trying to connect A-B but, just for fun, popping into every shop along the way. Sketching trends with a pencil as there is insufficient data to ink them in. Reading significance into very little. Missing the point. A new survey by the University of East London has produced a map portraying religious segregation in the capital, which concludes that religion is a bigger dividing factor in the city than......

This weekend column is brought to you by the founders of Niceties Tokens, Liz and Pete of Team Nice. 14. Poll-itics Well, I did a quick little poll this week amongst group of 26 professional people aged 20 – 35. Just to ask them what they thought were the most and least important issues to the following parties: Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green, Socialist, BNP and UKIP. The results produced from this (admittedly tiny)......

Camden Fringe gig #3 finds us upstairs at the Liberties Bar for our first stand-up comedy show: Paul Kerensa with "Genesis". This is his first night of 6 at the Camden Fringe before he's off up to that other place, up there. No, not heaven. Edinburgh. As you might expect this is a comedy take on the many ludicrous stories in the first book of the Old Testament whilst pulling together comedy strands that......

Gravity-defying demolition in the City (site of the Cheesegrater). SkyscraperCity had this covered back in March. Euston rush hour stabbing. A place in London where a 3-bedroom house costs less than £200K? Surely not. 100,000 evangelical Christians to attend concerts. West London tram looking unlikely. Image courtesy of Gary_Foulger via Flickr.......

This weekend column is brought to you by the founders of Niceties Tokens, Liz and Pete of Team Nice. 11. Marmite And Socialism Who feels comfortable about talking politics? The people that I know fall into two categories… Some people don't really feel comfortable talking about politics, particularly with people they don't know. This is not because they are worried that they will offend them (the 'never talk about politics, religion or money' rule)......

Just out the Van: Don't forget Bookslam tonight with guests including Mr. Irvene Welsh. There aren't any more advance tickets but there should be plenty on the door. Go early to avoid disappointment. Leave early to avoid hangover. Just kidding. 6.30pm, until late, £6, Book Slam @ Neighbourhood, 12 Acklam Road, W10 5QZ, food available. Givin’ ‘em away: Quite a hefty topic for midweek is John Gray's Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death......

Swearing nuns, foot licking, testicular termination and altar sex; with nary a nay, a nonny or a not to be, Howard Brenton's In Extremis returns to the Globe following a much lauded 2006 run. Ostensibly the story of Abelard and Heloise, a sort of Middle Ages Romeo and Juliette with Popes, Breton's take rapidly thrusts us into the theological battleground of 12th century France. In the blue corner we have horny lothario, poet, composer,......

Describe an urban ‘Street Pastor’ with his or her distinctive blue jacket and you may well bring to mind a God-bothering New-York-style Guardian Angel, or some fresh development in the Jesus Army. However, Pastor Les Isaac, took time out from his crusade for peace to explain to Londonist that his multi-denominational Street Pastors are nothing like either. "We come as peaceful people to try and maintain peace," he said, adding that, "if your approach......

Two 19-year-old men admitted to actual bodily harm last week in Croydon Crown Court and were ordered to pay fines and submit to curfews and supervision orders. The pair of drunken planks (did you really think there would be no puns?) set upon a student walking home from a fancy dress party dressed as a pirate. “Hamish Reid, prosecuting, said: "Karn grabbed his hat and plastic chain and someone threw a glass at him." The......

The might of the Church of England has been unleashed upon reality television and dumb programming in general. Its members point out that Big Brother, Strictly Come Dancing and even Little Britain aren't very good. In fact they are accused of lowering standards of behaviour and exploiting the humiliation of human beings: There were complaints about everything from BBC news bulletins undermining respect for the prime minister by referring to him only by his......

This Day In London’s History 1890: Public opening of the world’s first ‘deep-level’ electric tube line, running between Stockwell and King William Street. Although the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Railways had opened several underground tube lines since 1863, these were relatively shallow ‘cut-and-cover’-type lines. Following advances in tunnelling techniques later in the century, it became possible to construct much deeper lines, and the City & South London Railway was opened to the public on......

Iain Hollingshead has won an esteemed literary award with his first novel: Iain Hollingshead has won the Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Award 2006 with his first novel Twenty Something. Now in its 14th year, the award is given to the passage considered to be the most redundant in an otherwise excellent novel. The panel admitted it was a close call against Tim Willocks' The Religion but Hollingshead's reference to "bulging trousers" tipped......

West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand has been arrested after an incident outside a nightclub in Ilford. Russell Brand's 'shit hot' myspace show last night has caused outrage with fans after an apparant 150 out of 200 seats were filled with VIPs on a guestlist. Sadie Frost got booed on the way in. Sign up for the police force, and you too could be the lucky winner of dinner with Mr Tom Cruise. Online poker......

Londonist: Check this out: "Parents have forced a school trip to a mosque to be abandoned because they did not want their children exposed to a religion that was not their own." Cronenburger: Americans! Where was that? Londonist: Croydon Cronenburger: Oh for fuck's sake. Londonist: You've got to remember that the children of Croydon are our future and that future will be short unless they learn to FEAR things that are different. Different =......

Child Catcher Madonna has graduated through all the levels of super-celebrity status that seems necessary to become a global brand: - advocated an obsure religion to all aspiring international super-celebrities - provided well-documented slavish progress through some sort of extreme sport that normal people can only fantasise about achieving - has acquired a picturesque and charming brown baby from an impoverished developing country She now also has the ultimate marker of an international, emotionally......