Sherlock Holmes look-a-like on the Tube

Delighted to see this guy on the London Underground yesterday lunchtime. Not sure if he was going to watch the new Sherlock Holmes film or if this brilliant outfit was his normal clothing.


Either way he just needed a deerstalker hat to complete the look. Actually does the Robert Downey Jnr Holmes wear a deerstalker hat now?

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HOT VIDEO: LAdyFozaza Takes part in Amr Diab's NEW VideoClip

LAdyFozaza has made its way into the NEW Video Clip of the SUPERSTAR

AMR DIAB's new Video Clip of the HIT song "Banadeek T'aala" 

Amr Diab with the Leading LAdy as the DJ in STUDIO 10

The music video is directed by Jac Mulder and Jana Media Group is the production house

Banadeek Taala is composed by Amr Diab, written by Tamer hussein, 

and arranged by Adel Hakki

Await the music video very soon on Rotana channels!

ENJOY IT! 

One of the Models on the Dance Floor in VENUS by LAdyFozaza

Check out more from LAdyFozaza HERE! 

Tube Strikes in January & February 2012 Suspended

The planned strikes from Tube drivers union Aslef are on hold after the union held "meaningful talks" with London Underground today. More discussions are due to take place next week.



General Secretary of Aslef Mick Whelan said, 'This decision has been taken on the basis that meaningful talks will begin next week with LUL management over future staffing arrangements for drivers working on Boxing Days in the future.'

Aslef's members staged a 24 walkout on Boxing Day in a dispute over Bank Holiday pay. Further strikes were planned for 2012 on 16 January, 3 February and 13 February.

London Underground's chief operating officer, Howard Collins, said: "I welcome the constructive approach taken by the leadership of Aslef at our discussions today. I look forward to further constructive talks next week, as we work to resolve this issue."

Let's hope the talks are indeed constructive & we don't face the prospect of strikes in the New Year.

Related posts
Boxing Day Tube Strike - What services are running December 26th 2011
Boxing Day Tube Strike Going Ahead - December 26th 2011
Boxing Day Tube Strike Planned
ASLEF vote for Boxing Day Strike

New Year's Fare Increases - UK Commuters pay almost 10 times more for trains than other Europeans

Those back in work will have seen the reminders to try to buy your Travelcards now, not only to avoid the queues in January, but also to avoid the inevitable annual fare increases. At least the staff at Ian Wood's station (pictured below) took a slightly less corporate approach with the fare increase announcement, warning that some "may come as quite a shock", rather than the blander company line signage at my station last year:




As you ready yourself for the increases get set to know that we are already paying almost 10 times more for our season tickets than fellow Europeans. New statistics from the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) show that that rail travellers on the continent are paying far less for their trains.

"The price of a 2011 season ticket from Woking in Surrey to London, including Tube travel in the capital, is £3,268. Yet a similar 22-mile journey from Velletri to Rome costs Italian season ticket holders £336.17" report The Press Association. The 24-mile journey from Ballancourt-sur-Essonne to Paris costs £924.66. While the 21-mile Strausberg to Berlin route is £705.85 and if you're commuting in Spain, the 22-mile Collado-Villalba to Madrid journey costs £653.74.

From January 2nd 2012, UK regulated fares, which include season tickets, are rising by an average of 6%. The overall average rise for all tickets is 5.9%. Fares on TfL's services for 2012 will rise by 5.6% on average.

The Campaign for Better Transport public transport campaigner Sophie Allain said: "When the cost of season tickets is so much higher than other European capitals, the Government's fare rises are starting to affect the UK's competitiveness. That's why if the Government is serious about promoting economic growth it must also look at reducing planned fare rises in 2013 and 2014 as part of a policy to cut fares and make public transport truly affordable."

Fares on TfL's services for 2012 will rise by 5.6 per cent on average and Londonist has the top line increases:

• Monthly travelcard zone 1/1-2: £112.20 (5.6% increase)
• Monthly travelcard zones 1-3: £131.40 (6.2% increase)
• Monthly travelcard zones 1-4: £160.60 (6.1% increase)
• Monthly travelcard zones 1-5: £191.30 (6% increase)
• Monthly travelcard zones 1-6: £205.10 (5.9% increase)
• Monthly bus pass: £72.20 (5.6% increase)

As they say "make sure you buy your travelcard in the next couple of days. It could save you up to £11.50 on a monthly ticket or £120 on an annual (zones 1-6)."

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Behind LAdyFozaza's inspiration PART ONE

I would like to introduce to you all a world that has been kept hidden and private till now.... 

LAdyFozaza's label was born in July of 2011 and thanks to many of you who have fallen in love with a brand born out of PURE passion and LOVE.. i decided its only fair to give you all a little piece of MY WORLD through images that best represent "LAdyFozaza" 

This post will be ongoing every week so you can see the great evolution of FASHION

in General and the Birth of a DREAM! 

Hoping that your DREAMS will also come true... 

dont close your eyes to the world or each other... 

we are here to LEARN and we are here to DREAM and DREAM BIG! 

Get ready for TopShop's S/S 2012 Lookbook

Video Explaining December Closures around Edgware Road Tube

If you're wondering why there are closures on certain parts of the Circle, District, Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City lines up until December 30th 2011, it's to test out the new signalling equipment around Edgware Road London Underground station which has been installed for the new, longer, air-conditioned trains, rolled out on the Tube network next year. The voiceover in TfL's video says of Edgware Road: "Believe it or not the station is still run with 1920's kit"  I'd believe it.


The new trains will be 23 metres longer than the old ones. However, as a result of the extra length, the antiquated signalling system has to be modified and now it needs to be all tested out before it can be put in to use.

Apparently this is particularly crucial for the Edgware Road area as it's one of the busiest on the Tube network "the Spaghetti Junction of the Underground" and where the lines mentioned above meet.

TfL said "A replacement bus will be provided which will run from end to end along the closure route. This service will run every 10 minutes and will be monitored and supplemented if necessary." Find out more on TfL's site.

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The BBC Borrowers live in Disused Ghost Tube Station

Anyone watch the first episode of new BBC series of "The Borrowers" on Boxing Day evening? It's a wonderful adaptation of much loved childrens' books by Mary Norton starring Christopher Eccleston, Stephen Fry & Victoria Wood. The eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted that when the Borrowers (tiny people who live under floorboards) left their home after being discovered, they travelled to The Borrower's 'city' which appears to be below the platform of a disused London Underground Station.


What a brilliant place for them to live, as abandoned Tube stations feature as the secret home for a number of fictional & fairytale characters. Many of the characters in Neil Gaiman's novel Neverwhere live in disused Tube stations and parts of the BBC TV series Neverwhere were filmed at abandoned Down Street Tube and the old Post Office London Underground railway.  Back in the 1970's The Tomorrow People had their base "The Lab" in disused Wood Lane station (which re-opened in 2008)


Many thanks to Pete of The Londoneer for letting me know about The Borrowers.

If you're in the UK you can watch the full episode of The Borrowers on iPlayer for the next few days. Look out for the Tube station first seen at 27mins 43 seconds in.

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Ghost Tube Station Infographics

Ghost Tube Station Infographics

Every so often I get an email or a Tweet from someone saying "Have you seen this about the Tube?". In about 90% of cases I have, and have either blogged about it a while back or it was on my radar to blog about in the future. However, in the 10% of cases where I haven't it's usually something lovely or fun or interesting and I'm compelled to share it straight away. I was delighted to hear that Penney Design has created five really cool retro looking illustrations/infographics of "ghost" or abandoned London Underground stations.


Robert Penney said of the stations: "Many remain fairly intact and some even feature time capsule-like qualities, such as WWII propaganda posters hanging from the platform walls."


I love how some of the infographics have little wartime ads on them to "Save Your Scrap" or "Confirm your Confidence in Churchill"

Each of the five infographics has opening and closing dates for the stations and facts about why they were closed and interesting connections relating to their use in the war, whether they were used in film or TV, in music videos or in computer computer games.

You can see the full set here and they're also available as posters.  Thanks so much to @ConsultantHead who told me about them when he saw them on Retronaut.

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Boxing Day Tube Strike - What services are running December 26th 2011

For the many people that have been asking, unfortunately, yes there is a Tube strike today (December 26th 2011) by Tube drivers. Members of the train drivers' union Aslef are staging a walkout in a row with London Underground over pay.


If you were planning on using the Tube today, you'd be very, very wise to find alternative arrangements. London Overground doesn't run on Boxing Day anyway, so don't think about that as an alternative. However, Bus, DLR, Tramlink and some River services will all run.



TfL have added a section to their initial press release on the services they expect to run. In a nutshell, services on all lines are extremely limited, with very reduced frequency on those lines that are running for a small part of the line. The earliest any trains start appears to be 8.30am (limited shuttle service Ealing Broadway & Acton Town on District Line) other limited services start at in the main at 9.30am.

My advice, walk, get a bus (extra buses will be provided on many bus routes particularly in the central London area) or use a Barclays Bike if you're that central.

For those who are interested, the strike over pay involves the majority of drivers asking for additional payments plus a day off lieu for working on the bank holiday. London Underground are pretty miffed by this as the staff concerned are already earning a premium in their annual salary for working on public holidays. We also have further days of strike action to look forward to in the New Year as Aslef are planning to hold three further strikes in 2012 on 16th January, 3rd and 13th February.

Related posts
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Festive Tube Pets & Merry Christmas from Bolli

Happy Xmas. The one day there is no public transport in London, no Tube, no London Overground, no DLR, generally no buses just a few buses operating from airports. Also remember Boxing Day travel on the London Undeground will be challenge with the Boxing Day Tube Strike.

I thought I'd give you a seasonal greeting from my cat Bolli & other Tube travelling festive pets. As you can see Bolli loves wearing his Santa hat!


A couple of days ago, I spotted a much larger black cat on the Tube



Both the panther and its owner had fairly hypnotic eyes.

Moving onto a slightly less attractive pet, with a mournful looking pug on the Tube.


I loved this little creature though and couldn't stop giggling at its expression. The pug looked up at me as if to say "Why are you laughing at my face?"

Finally, not on the Tube but Christmassy nevertheless was this huge husky type dog I saw on the London Overground.


Unlike last year, there's no snow forecast in London over the Christmas break, so no need for him or her to get involved in any snowy rescue duties!


Enjoy Christmas Day & watch out for latest updates on TfL's site if you were planning on using the Tube on Boxing Day.

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Boxing Day Tube Strike Going Ahead - December 26th 2011
Festive Seats - 12 Days of Tube-Mas - Signs of Xmas on the Tube
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Xmas Buskers & Tube Music - 12 Days of Tube-Mas - Signs of Xmas on the Tube

You'll see & hear your fair share of singing Santas, people singing Christmas Carols for charity and a whole host of other music on the London Underground right now.



I saw this singing busker in the underpass at Green Park Tube the other day, who clearly thought that wearing a Santa hat rather than is normal hat (seen propped on an amplifier) would be a way to bring in the coins. He was right as a number of people stopped to give him cash.

This following two busking Santas from a few years back still remain my personal favourites. The first as he was hugely enthusiastic.




And this one because a busking Henry Hoover with a Santa hat on is weird even for the Tube




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Boxing Day Tube Strike Going Ahead - December 26th 2011

Update TfL have published more information on the - Boxing Day Tube Strike - What services are running December 26th 2011 - in nutshell, very few

London Underground has lost a last minute High Court bid to stop the Boxing Day strike on December 26th 2011 by Tube drivers. Members of the union Aslef are staging a walkout in a row with London Underground over pay.


They are after additional payments and a day off lieu of working on the bank holiday. This is despite the staff concerned already earning a premium in their annual salary for working on public holidays. Aslef are also planning to hold three further strikes in 2012 on 16th January, 3rd and 13th February.

London Underground (LU) contested the validity of the Aslef leadership's ballot for strike action, as the union had balloted all of its driver members for action despite only a quarter of LU's total of 3,500 drivers being needed to work on 26 December. However, the court decided that Aslef's ballot was not invalid.

General Secretary of Aslef, Mick Whelan, said "Whilst we’re obviously very pleased with today’s verdict, we feel that two days have been wasted going through the courts when we could have spent that time finding a resolution to this dispute."

Howard Collins, LU's Chief Operating Officer, said: 'The Aslef leadership is calling strike action over an outrageous claim for even more money to work on a day for which their members are already being paid. We have done everything we can to avert this needless action, including reducing the impact of Boxing Day working on staff and, as a last resort, taking legal action.

'We remain ready at any time before these four strike days to work with the union's leadership to resolve this issue through talks, and I urge them to get back around the table.

'We will run as many Tube services as we can and extra buses will operate on the busiest bus routes. However, the action taken by the Aslef leadership is likely to cause serious disruption to Tube services across the network affecting the Christmas holiday plans of many Londoners.'

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, said: "This strike is unwelcome as it will harm London’s retailers, disrupt numerous Boxing Day events and lead to more cars on London’s roads – it is the last thing London needs.

"Londoners who are just days away from being hit by large Tube fare rises will find it hard to understand why this strike is really necessary."

She's got a point! What do you think?

Related posts
Boxing Day Tube Strike - What services are running December 26th 2011
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FG10 counts down the best dresses for NEW YEAR 2012!

OASIS

KAREN MILLEN

HAUTE HIPPIE

FRENCH CONNECTION

MILLY DRESS

MISS SELFRIDGE

TIBI

TOPSHOP

KAGE

KAGE

ZARA

DIMA AYAD

ASOS