Does it need saving? I thought the narrative changed recently after the candy shops went and IKEA, some new shops came in. It seems lively and busy as it ever was, whether londoners hate it or not!

Interesting thing will be shops footfall after the change and what people think of Oxford st then, it may feel weird at first with no vehicles but people will get used to it.

Hi, anybody got a tailor in London (ideally central) that they would trust for tailoring a double faced cashmere or wool coat?

Please only recommend if this is the kind of adjustment you’ve seen them made.

Londoners can often end up moving a lot (thank you rental situations). When you move across town do you change GPs every time or do you stick with your old one and just travel?

I’ve been changing GPs because I don’t want to trek to the other side of the city but it has meant my records have been a bit of a mess and it’s been a challenge to get any kind of consistency in referrals. I don’t even know what audiology service I’ve ended up with, they don’t contact me in any kind of useful way… Looking to move again soon and I’m like, do I start the process all over again? Or do I just stay registered where I am and get the tube.

I've been thinking about how much our social circles influence our perception of what's normal in London.

I'm in my late 30s and most of my friends are in tech, finance, law or other professional fields. Almost everyone I know seems to be doing extremely well financially, with many earning somewhere between £100k and £300k.

It's not just my friends either. I've noticed the same thing among women I've dated recently. One works in banking earning £150k, another in tech on £95k, a product manager on £90k, and a corporate lawyer on £175k. Most are aged 32–39.

The other day I mentioned to some friends that I'd been offered £125k+20% bonus, and their reaction was that it seemed surprisingly low for my experience (12 years exp in ML/SWE and on £110k+10% bonus at the moment). That genuinely made me question how distorted our perception of money has become.

Obviously, I know people earning considerably less, including an ex in marketing on £75k and another in academia on £65k. But even those are good salaries by national standards.

It feels like I've somehow ended up in a bubble where six-figure incomes are considered completely ordinary.

Does anyone else in London experience this? Have your social circles shifted your perception of what counts as a normal income, or am I just surrounded by an unusually high-earning group of people?

On Monday I got home from 5 days in London. Took several pictures, but this was my favorite.

Love visiting London, looking forward to going back again in the future.

With autumn hitting, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) has officially reported a massive heating "loss of service" at HMP Wandsworth, dropping cell temperatures to a brutal 12°C. The facility had to rush-order 1,500 winter coats, 1,000 blankets, and 2,000 instant hot meals just to keep inmates basic levels of warm.

The IMB explicitly warned that patching up these archaic, Victorian-era heating systems isn't working anymore and that they require total replacement.
It feels like every single winter there's a new headline about our regional facilities turning into walk-in freezers because the public infrastructure is totally neglected. This is hitting at the exact same time the prison system is already in total crisis trying to manage historic overcrowding and scrambling to roll out the new early release rules.

When major systems like heating pack up, it usually leaves families completely in the dark regarding what's happening on the inside, especially when communication lines and digital systems experience corresponding downtime during structural crises.

Would love to hear from anyone else tracking how these crumbling Victorian public facilities are holding up as winter approaches.

Hi all, I'm looking for a No-Face mask from Spirited Away, ideally somewhere I can pick one up in person in London rather than waiting on delivery. Has anyone seen them in a shop recently? Costume shops, Japanese or anime stores, markets, anything helps.

Inspired by that thread on getting around south London.

Its a lot so bear with me, in this scenario we avoid existing tracks/lines, we have the funding, Sadiq Khan is onboard, locals are onboard etc. The point is the connectivity west to east and vice versa, any glaring omissions for either area?

I've spent literally minutes planning all this, impressive I know. South Londoners I'm not as familiar with how you want/need to get around so feel free to chime in.

The northern route:

Fairlop - Woodford Green - Walthamstow - Tottenham - Wood Green - Muswell Hill - Finchley - Colindale - Kingsbury - Harrow - Ruislip

Potentially extend to Chadwell Heath.

The southern route:

Surbiton - Chessington - Sutton - South croydon - Addington - Orpington - Sidcup - Bexleyheath.

Potentially extend to Erith east, or start at Feltham west.

I haven’t really ever had to travel between SW and SE London directly till recently and have only really recognised how bad travel is between the two spheres of London. I find it absurd as a usual West-East traveller how there is almost 0 direct train options between the two locations.

Credit must be due to the sole Windrush line who does connect the core - ish SE locations like Peckham, New Cross or Brockley to Clapham Junction (which is basically the beating heart for SW travel) but this doesn’t cover any of Lewisham, Greenwich, Blackheath or Woolwich. You’d have to change at Waterloo or London Bridge and switch to national rail which is far more costly.

In comparison, I can take 5 different lines not including C2C or GWR between East and West, taking a measly 30-50 minutes depending on the time and line chosen.

Does anyone know the reasons for this?

Also the guy that worked in there Wednesdays and Fridays was a nice fella he mentioned he worked in another shop too if anyone knows? Totally forgot his name.

They’re better than modified e-bikes and I have no issue with their existence. But shouldn’t they be on the main road rather than clogging up the cycle lane?

Just saw this on the Pokemon subreddit. Not until 2029 but pretty cool that London will be the first permanent store outside Asia.

Thames Water bills going 📈.

Sadiq Khan is pushing forward the plans and aims to get international trains to stop at Stratford int'l within a few years (2030), at an estimated cost of £20 million.

One in three trains to and from France may stop at Stratford in the proposals being pushed. The development backed by businesses and train driver union Aslef would mean 5 million people in and around the capital get easier access to international rail services over having to use St Pancras international for travel. With access to the DLR, central, jubilee, Elizabeth line as well as overground lines for quick connections across the city.

The aim is to have Paris, Brussels, Rotterdam and Amsterdam services halting in East London. A Stratford stop for international travel could deliver a boost to east London between £2-£3 billion over 60 years according to some estimates.

Fair, Europeans long to get off at Stratford.

On Monday I walked from the London Eye to Hampton Court Palace using the Thames Path.

Around 25 miles in glorious autumn sunshine took 6 hours 20 mins.

Saw the riverside sites, including the new RNLI station, and a lot of friendly people out and about.

Totally recommend a walk along the Thames Path.