London 2012 Olympics - Unofficial News and Information

Stansted Gateway Favoured by Olympic Athletes

admin — Sat, 19 May 2012 19:09:37 +0000

It’s being reported that hundreds of Olympic athletes and their coaches will have to leave London from Stansted Airport when the Games are over. This is because, London Heathrow Airport, the official gateway for the Games, won’t be able to handle the rush of passengers. Some of the major teams said to be booking private and charter flights from Stansted include Canada, China and Australia.

According to reports, about one in ten of the 10,500 athletes due to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games are expected to leave the British capital from Stansted. The airport handles 70 million passengers a year and is now due to be full on August 13 following the closing ceremony the day before. This will see 50,000 competitors, coaches and Games officials fight with regular passengers to get flights. It’s very unusual for charter flights after the Games to leave from anywhere other than the official airport for the event.

A spokesman for Stansted airport says Olympics participants will come in small groups when they arrive for the Games, but entire teams will be departing on one or two charters. They are certainly ready to allow teams to depart at the airport. It’s no loss of prestige for Heathrow, as they get 80% of the passengers anyway. Any other airports would be happy with that, though they could be nervous about the challenge. Stansted is a great alternative, as passengers won’t be sent to Manchester or the south coast, he added.

A BAA spokesman says they made the decision not to accommodate private or charter jets during the period of the Games to ensure their scheduled services would be protected during such a challenging time. About 80% of all Games passengers will go through Heathrow, which is operating at 99.2% capacity already. The decision comes after airport owner BAA chief executive Colin Matthews admitted earlier this week that the hub only has 15 years to secure more capacity for flights. It it doesn’t, it could be demoted to a local airport, he claims. The statement also came as the government faces increasing pressure to address the lack of capacity for expansion at the hub, while it has ruled out a third runway.

For the 2004 Olympic Games, the Greek government built a new £2 billion Athens airport, while authorities in China ordered the biggest passenger terminal in the world to be constructed in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games, which cost about £2.3 billion. However, Heathrow has only spent £20 million to prepare for the Games, and much of that is being spent on a temporary terminal that will only be open for three days after the event. Additionally, hundreds more Border Force staff will be deployed to reduce passport queues; new flexible rules will be in place to allow planes to takeoff and land using the same runway; and 1,300 people have volunteered to meet VIPs off their planes and chaperone them through the terminals.

Despite some of these measures, the volume of extra passengers means the BAA has already diverted 10,000 flights to other airports during the summer. It has also completely banned the arrival and departure of private and charter flights at Heathrow Airport during the Games. This means VIPs on private jets will go to the private north terminal at Stansted Airport. Athletes like the US Olympic basketball team, tennis star Roger Federer and swimming champion Michael Phelps are due to fly into Stansted as well.

For details on London Stansted Airport taxi transfers simply log on at www.stanstedairportcars.com or call +44 (0) 1279 816901.

Taxi Bus Lane Battle in London 2012

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:50:36 +0000

A large London minicab firm is supposedly urging its own drivers to defy a ban on using bus lanes and this action has been restrained by the high court.

An injunction has been issued to prevent Addison Lee, with a fleet of over 2000 minicabs, from instructing its drivers to use bus lanes marked only for use by black taxis. After an application by Transport for London, the High Court also instructed the private hire company not to repeat an offer to pay its drivers’ fines or other penalties. The company is working with the Court and has confirmed that they have agreed to remove a statement from its website exhorting its drivers to disobey the law.

The campaign to enable private hire vehicles to use bus lanes as well as hackney carriage taxi cabs is the latest approach by John Griffin of Addisson Lee to tighten his rein on the London cab trade.

Griffin had previously told drivers: “Addison Lee believes that we cannot allow our customers to continue to be victims of this unfair and discriminatory treatment … As chairman, I can advise you that a lawful interpretation of the bus lane regulation entitles Addison Lee drivers with private hire identifiers to use all bus lanes in the same way as our competitors. Accordingly, you are fully entitled to use the bus lanes.”

In a written judgment handed down on Thursday morning, the judge said: “It is both necessary and just and convenient to grant the injunction sought by TfL … an injunction restraining the defendants from causing, encouraging or assisting any private hire vehicle driver to use bus lanes marked for use by taxis during the hours when restrictions apply, save to pick up or set down passengers.”

The verdict was welcomed by Transport for London, which said: “Addison Lee’s instruction to its drivers was irresponsible and at odds with its position as a private hire operator.”

“Bus lanes enable buses to move around the capital efficiently carrying more than 6 million passengers a day,” said Leon Daniels, TfL’s managing director of surface transport. “We maintain that allowing tens of thousands of private hire vehicles to drive in bus lanes would impact on the reliability of our bus services, and risks inconveniencing our customers.”

The large London minicab firm that also completes many airport transfers as well as city can rides believes that further action should be taken and we are sure that with the London Olympics fast approaching this will not be the last we hear about this evocative matter on London’s streets.

Scotland’s Josh Taylor secures London 2012 boxing spot in qualifiers

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:58:43 +0000

The Lochend lightweight Josh Taylor has become the sixth Great Britain boxer to confirm his place at the London Olympics after reaching the semi-finals of the final European qualifying event in Trabzon, Turkey.

Taylor’s 17-9 win over Armenia’s Vladimir Sarukhanyan, coupled with defeat for England’s Sam Maxwell against home favourite Fatih Keles, means Taylor has booked the solitary 60kg berth.

Taylor joins the already qualified Andrew Selby, Luke Campbell, Tom Stalker, Fred Evans and Anthony Joshua, with three more British men still in with a chance of joining them.

Taylor also becomes the first Scottish lightweight to go to the Games since the legendary Dick McTaggart, who won a gold medal in Melbourne in 1956 and a bronze four years later in Rome.

Taylor’s long-time coach at Lochend, Terry McCormack, said: “It is an absolutely fantastic achievement and it is the result of three years of non-stop hard work from Josh.

“He tried to qualify at light-welterweight to start with but we moved him down to lightweight and there has been no stopping him. He is big at the weight, he can really punch and as a southpaw he must be a nightmare to fight.

“It is amazing to get a Scottish boxer into the team for the London Olympics. Boxing has come a long way since Dick McTaggart but there is no reason why Josh cannot go on to reach the same kind of level.”

Scotland’s Josh Taylor secures London 2012 boxing spot in qualifiers

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:09:01 +0000

Taylor’s 17-9 win over Armenia’s Vladimir Sarukhanyan, coupled with defeat for England’s Sam Maxwell against home favourite Fatih Keles, means Taylor has booked the solitary 60kg berth.

Taylor joins the already qualified Andrew Selby, Luke Campbell, Tom Stalker, Fred Evans and Anthony Joshua, with three more British men still in with a chance of joining them.

Taylor also becomes the first Scottish lightweight to go to the Games since the legendary Dick McTaggart, who won a gold medal in Melbourne in 1956 and a bronze four years later in Rome.

Taylor’s long-time coach at Lochend, Terry McCormack, said: “It is an absolutely fantastic achievement and it is the result of three years of non-stop hard work from Josh.

Top 10 budget restaurants around ExCeL, east London

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:08:34 +0000

Fatboy’s Diner, Poplar

Trinity Buoy Wharf (10 minutes’ walk from East India DLR) is a riverside creative hub, an enclave for artists, designers and hip young things. It is, somewhat incongruously, also home to Fatboy’s, a 1940s stainless steel-clad US diner, transported to this refuge by the Thames. Gazing out across the water to the Dome, you can enjoy very competitively priced hotdogs, deli sandwiches, such as a BLT or a pastrami on rye, and, of course, burgers. The seasoned fries had a crisp crunch and the sweetly beefy, rather juvenile flavour of a sample cheeseburger was – in this age of increasingly convoluted gourmet burgers – refreshingly simple. A juicy patty, a slice of plasticky cheese, a little lettuce, tomato and a sweep of mayo on a griddled, slightly absorbent bun. It is a timeless classic.
• Burgers and meals £2.95–£7.45. Trinity Buoy Wharf, 64 Orchard Place E14, 020-7987 4334, fatboysdiner.co.uk

Garden Community Café, Custom House

The Canning Town and Custom House estates which abut the ExCeL look pretty rough and neglected. These are not areas into which tourists would ordinarily stray. But appearances can be deceptive and reputations overblown, as a visit to the Garden Community Cafe illustrates. Literally two minutes’ walk from Prince Regent DLR, this jolly, friendly offshoot from church-based charity, the Ascension Community Trust, couldn’t be further away from the soulless corporate venues which cluster around ExCeL. An Aladdin’s cave of colourful bric-a-brac, it is probably the only place, in the world, in which a cuddly Nemo, ornate Oriental umbrellas and disco lights share wall space with CND stickers and newspaper cuttings about arms fair protests. And, no, despite that painting of Christ’s crucifixion on one wall, no one tried to convert me.

Food-wise, the cafe serves fairly simple, home-cooked stuff: salads, sandwiches, breakfasts, homemade bread pudding and, on Fridays, that East End classic, pie, mash and liquor. A breakfast sausage sandwich (£3) certainly hit the spot, the good quality, almost florally herby sausages sandwiched between thick, crusty slices of daisy fresh bread. I washed it down with a mug of rust-coloured tea that cost just 80p. What better way to start the day, than with a bargain like that, in a unique venue like this?
• Breakfast, sandwiches and meals £1.50-£5. 7 Cundy Road E16, 020-7474 5257, ascensioncommunity.org.uk

Nutrilicious 4 Life @ The Place, Canning Town

Two stops on the DLR or a 20-minute walk from the ExCeL, the Place (opposite Canning Town station) is a work placement centre and community information hub for local residents. It is also home to Nutritious 4 Life, an admirable, affordable daytime cafe. The space feels a little municipal but, as you chow on effervescent sandwiches, home-baked cakes, puddings and meals (£4.50) freshly prepared by owner, cook and chief bottle-washer Jenny Oli, you will hardly notice.

From a short list of daily hot specials, which included fish and chips and tandoori chicken, a portion of jerk chicken with salad, vegetables and moreish, earthy rice and peas was huge and hugely tasty. The two chicken thighs, marinated and basted in a hot, fruity but not overpowering sauce, were falling-apart tender and full of flavour. Oli clearly takes huge pride in her work.
• Sandwiches and meals £1.30-£5. The Place, 2 Silvertown Way E16, 07956 012997, no website

Torto, Canning Town

Also in Canning Town, this lively Brazilian-Portuguese cafe, bar and food store is worth hunting out. Unlike the guys chugging on Sagres and nattering across the tables, I was too chicken for the gizzards (from a menu of meals that also includes steaks, roasted chourico, feijoada bean stew etc) and, while enjoyable, I found Torto’s pastel de nata custard tarts a shade thick in their filling and pastry.

But the coxinha – palm-sized, deep-fried croquettes which sat in a pie warmer on the counter, and just £1 each – were sensational. A Brazilian snack consisting of moist braised shredded chicken encased in soft mashed potato, in a crisp shell – what’s not to like? They may look like huge tear drops, but in their tapered shape, a guy at the bar tells me, coxinha are meant to look like a shapely woman’s thigh, or coxa in Portuguese. Less exotically, most sources insist that the shape and name actually refer to the fact that coxinha are made with thigh meat.
• Snacks and meals £1-£10. 137 Barking Road E16, 020-7474 2233, no website

The Grapes, Limehouse

Photograph: Alamy

Charles Dickens was once a regular at this historic Limehouse boozer (now owned by the actor, Sir Ian McKellen) and it hasn’t changed much since. With its wood panelling, handsome floorboards and oil paintings, the Grapes is a forgotten, tiny fragment of Victorian London hidden in the shadows of Canary Wharf’s ominous skyscrapers. The restaurant is too pricey for the budget traveller, but the bar menu includes dishes such as fish and chips, bangers and mash and snackier items such as devilled whitebait and that day’s soup served with artisan bread from a local bakery.

I sampled a decent bowl of cauliflower and roast potato. At lunch, the Grapes also serves panini and sandwiches, one of which uses Foreman’s acclaimed smoked salmon. On this visit, the range of real ales was a little brown and boring for my taste (Adnams, Landlord, Marston’s Pedigree, pint £3.60), but the Brain’s SA was agreeably spiky. The Grapes gets rammed at lunch, so arrive early if you want to bag a table, particularly one on the tiny terrace overlooking the Thames.
• Sandwiches £3.95-£4.95, meals £4.25-£8.75. 76 Narrow Street, Limehouse E14, 020-7987 4396, thegrapes.co.uk

Canary Wharf

Wahaca at Canary Wharf

With its endless glitzy shops and towering office blocks, security guards and swarms of scurrying suits, Canary Wharf is a pretty grim place to hang out. It feels like the final victory of late capitalism, a shiny, self-contained world in which man has been reduced to two functions: work and consumption. But if there is one thing that capitalism does well, it’s food. Moreover, the frenzy of competition in Canary Wharf – a convenient transit point between the ExCeL and the Olympic venues in Greenwich – means that prices are often surprisingly keen. So, swallow hard, ride the alienation, and sock it to The Man by, erm, eating some of his food.

Canary Wharf’s best bargain is the £10 two-course “classics” menu, available at Canteen every day between 3pm and 7pm. It includes the likes of macaroni cheese, a pie of the day, a beetroot, chard and horseradish salad and bread pudding with caramel ice-cream. Open from 7am, Canteen is also a sound option for breakfast before a full day of judo or table tennis (Breakfast £1.75-£10.50, from 8am. The Park Pavilion, 40 Canada Square, 0845 686 1122, canteen.co.uk) Despite it being a chain, Byron has a good reputation for its burgers (from £6.75. Second Floor, Cabot Place East, 020-7715 9360, byronhamburgers.com), while, if you can afford to spend just over a tenner-a-head, Jamie’s Italian (Unit 17, 2 Churchill Place, 020-3002 5252; jamieoliver.com) continues to defy the usual drop-off in quality that mars most fast-expanding multiples. There are better burritos in London, but Wahaca‘s takeaway “shack” does a credible job. My chicken sampler was tasty, the seasoned rice excellent, although the meat, black beans and cheese had merged somewhat to give the burrito a rather gloopy texture (£5.70-£6.20. The Park Pavilion, Canada Square, 020-7516 9145, wahaca.co.uk).

Vijay’s Chawalla, Upton Park

If you’re keen to explore London’s East End, you could walk the couple of miles from the ExCeL, north to Upton Park. Otherwise, jump on the DLR/tube, via West Ham station. In cheap food terms, the West Ham-East Ham-Plaistow triangle certainly has much to recommend it. With its tropical fish tanks and TVs showing Bollywood hits, busy Vijay’s (near Upton Park tube) is one of the swankier vegetarian curry cafes on lively, noisy Green Street. But the prices remain startlingly low. Its sub-£10 set meal thalis are a good option, if you need to fill up but also want to give the menu a thorough going over. At lunch, a snack such as the unusual dabeli (a toasted roll filled with spiced potato, peanuts and pomegranate) or the idli and sambar (three fragrant ground-rice patties and a slightly thin but majestically flavour-packed lentil and veg curry) would probably be enough to satisfy the curious, cash-strapped traveller.
• Takeaway: snacks £2.25-£5.25, meals £4.75-£9.25. 268-270 Green Street E7, 020-8470 3535, vijayschawalla.co.uk

Nathan’s, East Ham

Photograph: Benji Lanyado

Nathan’s is one of a dying breed of pie, mash and jellied eel shops that were once emblematic of the East End. For good or bad, they are impervious to fashion. “Everything made on the premises fresh daily,” announces a sign. That may make a modern foodie’s antennae twitch, but remember, Nathan’s has been cooking like that for decades. With little reason to change. Consequently, this is plain, unflashy food that, rather than pandering to modern foodie mores, harks back to a post-war Britain where putting a luxurious dollop of butter in your mash just wasn’t an option.

The meat in my pie has good flavour (the pastry is a shade dry) and the mash is smooth enough, but it only really comes together as a plate of food (takeaway, £4.25) when I liberally douse it all in the accompanying clean, fresh parsley liquor. For anybody who went to primary school in Britain in the 1970s, that parsley sauce is positively Proustian. Indeed, Nathan’s is as much about atmosphere and preserved retro style as it is food. It was established in 1927, but looks every immaculate inch the archetypal 1960s English high street cafe. Right down to the staff’s mint green crimplene pinnies and its wood veneer walls, it is a museum piece, one almost beautiful in its artless, spotless minimalist simplicity.
• Snacks and meals £1.95-£4.95. 51 Barking Road E6, 020-8472 3910, no website

Black Lion, Plaistow

With its honest homemade food and guest beers, this Camra-approved East End pub is keeping it real. On a sunny Friday evening, both the olde-worlde beamed-interior and its large beer garden were packed. The friendly locals like to chat and you may well end up chewing over West Ham United transfer rumours with your fellow drinkers. The menu is a litany of British pub classics: fish and chips, cottage pie, ploughman’s-style platters, as well as sandwiches and jacket potatoes, all served in very generous portions.

A sample slab of steak and ale pie (beautiful tender beef in a rich gravy, beneath buttery sheets of filo) was accompanied by a fine harvest of al dente sprouts, spring greens, cabbage and carrots. My pint of Maldon Gold (£3.30) was in a good condition, too. The Black Lion is home to the West Ham Boys’ Amateur Boxing Club, which may be of interest if you are in town for the Olympic bouts. Nearest Tube: Plaistow.
• Sandwiches £2.50, meals £4.20-£7.10. 59-61 High Street E13, 020-8472 2351, blacklionplaistow.co.uk

Suvai Chettinaad, East Ham

As long as you don’t mind the chipped tables and tired decor, this super-basic south Indian cafe (its focus, the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu) serves knockout food at crazily low prices. A chana masala (chickpea curry), just £2.50, is a big pot of restorative goodness in a rich, spicy, flavourful gravy. A sample dosa (£2.75) is incredibly light, thin and crisp, the masala filling, while not cooked to quite the melting perfection of some, has, at its edges, an almost sour, fruity note, which adds to its freshness. The accompanying chutneys are good, the sambar is a fathoms-deep flavour bomb. Suvai is directly opposite East Ham Tube station.
• Soups, snacks and dosa 50p-£4.15, curry with rice, around £3-£5. 207 High Street North E6, 020-8471 5777, suvai.co.uk

Tony travelled from Manchester to London with Virgin Trains (virgintrains.co.uk)

Olympics 2012 in numbers – animation

admin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:45:18 +0000

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London lives: 1948 Olympic cyclist Tommy Godwin – audio slideshow

admin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:45:04 +0000

In the third of our series celebrating aspects of London life as told by some of the city’s extraordinary characters, we go back to the cycling track used for the 1948 Olympics at Herne Hill, south London, to meet double medal-winning cyclist Tommy Godwin

Olympics – London 2012 Olympic Games

admin — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:39:30 +0000

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Olympics – London 2012 Olympic Games

admin — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:39:08 +0000

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BBC moves to review voting process for next year’s Sports Personality of the Year following outcry

admin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:22:59 +0000

In a statement, the BBC said: “We stand by the current voting process but have
committed to take on board what has happened this year and we will review
the shortlisting process for next year’s show.”

Wellington, who described the exclusion of women as “disgraceful”, was one of
several female British world champions who were overlooked. Swimmers Rebecca
Adlington and Keri-Anne Payne, triathlete Helen Jenkins, taekwondo fighter
Sarah Stevenson and rowing duo Katharine Grainger and Anna Watkins were also
snubbed.

Adlington, the double Olympic champion, said on Wednesday: “It’s a shame no
women are in the top 10. There have been great women’s performances this
year.”