She Loves London

Author: She Loves London

  • Apps That’ll Make You Feel Superior To Everybody Else

    As Monday’s post proved, there’s nothing a Londoner loves more than feeling a little bit superior to those around them.

    Hark at those tourists who can’t pronounce our place names (Mary-Le-Bone indeed), and tut! Those fools who fling themselves at a closing door when there’s another train coming in one minute’s time. And oh, how we pity the misguided souls who get two trains from Great Portland Street to Regents Park instead of just crossing over the road.

    “You’ll be waiting there a while!” laughed one smug bastard in Kentish Town the other day, as he sauntered past me waiting patiently at the bus stop. “There’s a hundred people waiting at the one before this!”

    Others just can’t help themselves before giving a quick, disdainful shake of the head: “Those buttons don’t work. Haven’t for years” to the man frantically pressing the flashing Open Doors button on the Jubilee Line.

    But fear not. While in the old days you had to work hard to be superior, these days, there’s a load of apps, Twitter accounts and websites to do it all for you. Here are some to try… (more…)

  • Overheard: Covent Garden in “Not A Garden” Shock

    Overheard: Covent Garden in “Not A Garden” Shock

    It has come to my attention that there appears to be some confusion on the streets of London.

    While strolling through Embankment Gardens on his lunchbreak, @HoareTom caught a worrying snippet of conversation between two American tourists:

    American 1: “This park is so cute. What’s it called?”

    American 2: “Oh, this is Covent Garden”

    Clearly, there seems to be a dangerous amount of false knowledge circulating in certain parts of the West End.

    As anyone who has ever directed a disappointed dancing elephant away from Piccadilly Circus will know, the problems such misinformation can bring are many, far reaching and a hazard for those in open toe shoes (especially in rush hour).

    Therefore, it’s only right that we set this “it’s a garden” / “it’s not a garden” malarkey straight once and for all.

    Garden
    image by Alexrk2
    Not a garden
    image by Diliff

    Spread the word, let’s nip this thing in the bud (no garden pun intended).

    Coming up next week: the distinct lack of glass in Crystal Palace.

  • The Essential Guide To Sleeping On The Tube

    The Essential Guide To Sleeping On The Tube

    Believe it or not, there’s an art to falling asleep on the London Underground.

    It might not look that difficult, but achieving a successful nap on the tube is actually a carefully honed skill, and one that takes years of practice to perfect.

    So to help you become a Tube Napping Pro, here are three common tube nap problems and how to solve them.

    Two men asleep on the tube
    image by Annie Mole via Flickr

    (more…)