SENTIDO > CULTURE > TRAVEL > LONDON

While the joke goes that English cuisine is not the envy of Europe, London boasts many eateries with succulent specialties, savory or sweet...

A BUBBLE TOO FAR
LONDON'S SOARING PROPERTY VALUES PART OF UNPRECEDENTED GLOBAL BOOM
22 January 2006

In the summer of 2005, the Economist magazine led with an article that discussed in detail the problems inherent in what appears to be the most expansive boom real estate has seen since records began, and of all markets studied, only Germany, Japan and Hong Kong were not contributing to the inflation. London has seen a number of moves in pricing for purchase and/or rent —such as valuation according to per-week rates— which are helping to drive prices beyond sustainable levels of pricing expansion. [Full Story]

LONDON: QUIET LUXURY OF TIMELESS CULTURE
Updated 21 January 2006

London is often thought of as one of the world's great capitals, seething with millions upon millions from every corner of the world, known for its labyrinthine transit network and its multicultural makeup. Its museums, many of the best of which are free to the public, every day, stand as some of the most important reservoirs of cultural history in the world. [Full Profile]

CRAFTING INVISIBLE FIRES
A NARRATIVE OF LONDON & BRISTOL, DECEMBER 1995
20 January 2006

The streets around Leicester Square were laced with street performers of surprising quality. I would later come to know this is not uncommon in the center of London. In particular, I found a string quartet enthralling. They were playing Beethoven and Bach, and within a few minutes had gathered a large crowd around them. They could easily have been playing in any concert hall, but the acoustics of the street and its rushing throng were the site of their sound, and they used it just as well... [Full Story]

OIL DEPOT FIRE LEADS TO SPREADING SMOKE & SOOT CLOUD OVER LONDON
11 December 2005

Today the city of London was obscured by a cloud of black smoke emanating from a massive petroleum fire at the Buncefield fuel depot, in Hertfordshire, near Luton airport, north of London. The fire resulted from at least one severe explosion at the fuel storage facility. The blast occurred just after 6:00 GMT and was reportedly heard up to 100 miles away, including in northern France and the Netherlands. [Full Story]

HANDICAPPING FOR NUCLEAR POWER
9 December 2005

Petroleum is a finite resource, a "fossil" fuel that cannot be replaced when existing volume has been exhausted. The UK is finding it hard to cope with Kyoto-agreed obligations. Current infrastructure cannot extract enough power from wind or tide... So, the nuclear power lobby came up with a great solution: build more nuclear power plants despite the enormous costs of maintenance, cleanup and storage. [Full Story]

Only "heritage routes" through central London will retain the classic bus style...

LONDON'S FAMED ROUTEMASTER BUS RUNS LAST ROUTE
9 December 2005

The author of a book about the beloved bus design, mourned the passing of "a prime slice of vernacular". Londoners on ultra-busy Oxford High Street cheered each of the last public appearances of the Routemasters running on the 159 route, jeering the first appearance of the new bus on that same route. [Full Story]

UK NATIONAL ID CARD SCHEME: FARCE OR BIG BROTHER?
18 October 2005

The British government's plan to implement a national biometric identification system by 2007 is seen by some as a farcical if dubious exercise in futility. For others, it heralds the final phase in technocracy's closing its grip on the open society.

The plan as currently envisioned will use 13 biometric features to match human beings to their ID cards, thus, in theory, proving their identity. [Full Story]

FOUR BOMBS STRIKE CENTRAL LONDON
7 July 2005

This morning's rush hour in London was interrupted by a series of apparently coordinated bomb attacks on the Underground trains and Metropolitan bus system. Three bombs exploded on London Underground trains —at or near Edgware Rd., King's Cross and Liverpool St. Stations—; one exploded on the upper level of a double-decker bus at Tavistock Sq, near Russell Sq. in the historic Bloomsbury neighborhood. At least 37 people are known dead, an estimated 700 injured or in hospital. [Full Story]

HUTTON REPORT FAVORS BLAIR, BASHES BBC
28 January 2004

Lord Hutton's investigatory report appears to clear PM Tony Blair of the charge that he "sexed up" an intelligence report about Iraq's WMD programs. The report slams the BBC's editorial methods in its airing of the "dodgy dossier" story. Hutton claims to find that the late weapons inspector Kelly was not the source for story. While the report recognizes that no one with the broadcaster or the government could have known Kelly would commit suicide, it faults the BBC for allowing rumors to circulate that Kelly had been the source for their report about intelligence manipulation.

BBC Chairman Gavyn Davies resigned, saying he takes responsibility for the mistakes. But his official public statement initiates a critique of the one-sided Hutton Report. Hutton appears to place exclusive blame on the BBC, ignoring evidence that was accurately presented, excusing apparently misleading statements by government officials.

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