Bad news for those coming to London this summer - one of the busiest sections of the Underground will close for nine weeks (!) for repairs. The section of the Circle Line between Gloucester Road and High Street Kensington (which is a busy shopping and entertainment area) will shut down between Saturday 12th June and Sunday 15th August in both directions for repairs. London Transport stated that the summer is the least busiest time for commuters. Hey, what about foreign visitors? (Who get no mention!) Buses in the place of trains are promised, yet this is scant consolation as not only will the whole of the Circle Line be affected, but the District Line is also likely to suffer from disruptions. This follows the tube price increases at the beginning of the year, which mean that a one-way ticket in Zone 1 (Central London) costs a whopping £1.40. But it's not all bad, honest! There are some good things about London...(just read the following piece for starters...)

Richest Area

Coming to this area? Then you'll be coming to the richest area in the European Union. It was announced today that Central London, which includes Kensington & Chelsea, Knightsbridge and West London, topped the EU "wealth index" ratings with a score of 222%. Although this is over twice the average score of 100%, if you add the suburbs to this area, the rating drops to 138%. If it's rich countries you're after go to Luxembourg, which topped the national league. So enjoy the wealth in Luxembourg and...er...all the interesting sights...?

Pharmacy - The Return

After various different names, the fashionable Notting Hill restaurant The Pharmacy has finally settled on a name. As mentioned in previous issues the hotspot changed its name after disapproval from The British Pharmaceutical Society who believed the name was misleading. The eatery is now called The Pharmacy Restaurant and Bar, which meets approval from said objector. Just in case the intriguing food concoctions, sky-high prices and long line of celebrities had not given the game away...

Thank you, madam

Many people on the travel newsgroups mention the popular West London restaurant Khan's, which has been going on for donkey's years. The Indian restaurant serves very good food at popular prices and hence is always full. (How many people know that Khan's is in the same place as one of the famous Lyon's Coffee Houses? A part of British history! Since we are on trivia, just round the corner in Queensway is the first laundromat in the UK which opened in 1947. Wow!) Well, the only complaint many people had about this eatery was that the waiters are surly and rude. The London evening paper, the Evening Standard reported recently that this had changed and that there are now plenty of pleases, thank yous and they are almost onto have a nice days (if only we said that in Britain!).

Yippee! First snow!

Although much of the rest of the country has experienced plenty of snow and thus many road and school closures (hey! How come that never happened to me?), the best we got down here in London was a heavy hail storm. However I am pleased to report that on Monday (8th February), real snowflakes fell. Sadly it wasn't cold enough for it settle and the most excitement Londoners had was scraping their windscreens next morning.

Greetings from Kensington!