All posts by Gibson Square

A Licensed Black London Cab Driver I share my London with you . . . The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

London cinema

19 August, 2022 Gibson Square 3 Comments

ABC, Biograph, Essoldo, Gaumont, Odeon, Regal, Ritz, Roxy – the names feel resolutely English, attached to a time when we had a separate national cinema keeping smoky houses filled every night of the week.

But the films inside them slowly shifted from London to Hollywood and we no longer saw our own island lives represented on film. As schoolboys, we would pay our 6p to watch Passport to Pimlico, The Lavender Hill Mob, The Blue Lamp, The Ladykillers and Doctor in the House.

Later, with hopefully a girlfriend we watched (for some of the time!) The Knack… and How to Get It, Georgy Girl, Morgan!, Alfie, Blowup, I’ll Never Forget What’s’isname, Casino Royale, Poor Cow, Up the Junction, To Sir, with Love, and, featuring that archetypal London actor, Michael Caine – The Italian Job.

Our local Tesco supermarket was originally The Rex Cinema a typical suburban 1930’s suburban picture house. It opened a few weeks before the outbreak of World War II, closing on 27th June 1959. Ten years later, when we started to shop there, its semi-stadium plan with a raised seating area was still evident as the shop’s gangways had a distinct slope.

Today, apart from a few notable exceptions, the Electric in Notting Hill and the Phoenix in East Finchley spring to mind, all the chains offer a pretty soulless experience, more interested in selling food, than offering a night’s cinematic experience with the main feature, a second film and a documentary to enjoy..

Featured image: Phoenix cinema at night after the Centenary works were completed by Basil Jradeh (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Thinking allowed

ULEZ expanded zone has limited impact

18 August, 2022 Gibson Square 4 Comments

The expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has had a limited impact on pollution in the new areas, a report says.

Transport for London (TfL) found NO CHANGE in levels of pollutants since ULEZ expanded to the North and South Circular roads in October 2021.

More lies and fake statistics from Mayor Khan:

• Sadiq Khan said ULEZ’s expansion was making an “incredible difference”.

• Sadiq Khan said: “I’m proud of the progress we have made in making our city’s air cleaner for millions of Londoners”.

• “We must now capitalise on this success, which is why I’m consulting on expanding the ULEZ London-wide to extend the benefits of clean air to all Londoners.”

The statistics just don’t support Khan’s claim. But Khan now wants to spend another £200m of TfL’s budget on the new expansion of the scheme. (Then it’s back off to the government with the begging bowl).

Drivers of the most polluting cars have been charged a levy to drive into central London since 2017. To make it more dramatic, the scheme was known as the Toxicity Charge when it was first introduced. The daily levy is currently set at £12.50 to drive within the North and South Circular roads.

The report says, in the first six months of the expanded area, the levels of nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 (tiny particles which can lodge in the lungs and even pass into the bloodstream) have remained constant in both central and inner London ULEZ zones.

Other figures within the TfL report showed that 94 per cent of vehicles entering the ULEZ were compliant with the emissions rules.

Source: BBC online

Puppydog tails

Johnson’s London Dictionary: Tate Modern

17 August, 2022 Gibson Square 2 Comments

TATE MODERN (n.) Repository of pretentious objects, frequented by visitors each displaying a smug countenance due to not paying to view objects of no value.

Dr. Johnson’s London Dictionary for publick consumption in the twenty-first century avail yourself on Twitter @JohnsonsLondon

Puppydog tails

London’s oldest ferry

16 August, 2022 Gibson Square 2 Comments

Lately, on CabbieBlog, we’ve had London’s oldest flyover and the oldest bridge still in use.

For many years the medieval London Bridge was the only means to cross the River without using a boat. The footprint of these past ferries remains, Horseferry Road, Westminster, numerous Ferry Lanes, Tottenham, Dagenham, Haringey and East and West Ferry Roads on the Isle of Dogs.

So where are London’s oldest working ferries? Well, there are only two contenders, the free ferry service at Woolwich and Hampton’s ferry.

Since at least the 14th century there has been a ferry service on the Thames running between Woolwich North to the south bank at Woolwich. In 1810 the army established its own ferry that ran from Woolwich Arsenal to Duvals Wharf. In 1811 an Act of Parliament was passed to establish a ferry across the Thames from Woolwich. In 1889 a free passenger and vehicle ferry service started operation. By the early 1960s, increasing demand saw the paddle steamers retire and the ferry service upgraded to a roll-on/roll-off model. It is currently run by Transport for London.

Another still operational ferry service is the Hampton Ferry, which can only transport pedestrians, operating on the Thames about a mile west of Hampton Court Bridge between Hampton on the north bank and Hurst Park, Molesey, on the south bank.

Dating from 1514 it provided a service for agricultural workers and fishermen. It was incorporated by statute, making it one of the oldest British companies. The ferry, which costs £2 for a single crossing, operates from April to October.

Featured image: The Hampton Ferry by DiamondGeezer (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)