Death Of London

[spygirl]

9 minutes ago, Wight Flight said:

Total bollocks.

I spent the weekend in that area, and never saw anything like that. My guess is that picture was taken during lockdown 1.

Taken today.

[Wight Flight]

Just now, spygirl said:

Taken today.

In that case tens of thousands of people left with me yesterday.

 

[Phil]

3 minutes ago, spygirl said:

Taken today.

Taken out the stock file? Today.

[Wight Flight]

3 hours ago, Phil said:

Taken out the stock file? Today.

On Sunday I walked from the Strand through Trafalgar Square, through Parliament Square, St James' Park, Green Park, along Piccadilly to Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square and on to Charing Cross Road for lunch.

At no point was the pavement fewer than 5 deep.

Edited December 21, 2021 by Wight Flight

[Chewing Grass]

2 minutes ago, Wight Flight said:

On Sunday I walked from the Strand through Trafalgar Square, through Parliament Square, St James' Park, Green Park, along Piccadilly to Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square and on to Charing Cross Road for lunch.

At no point was the pavement less than 5 deep.

So no different than at a football match.

[Chewing Grass]

34 minutes ago, Wight Flight said:

Total bollocks.

I spent the weekend in that area, and never saw anything like that. My guess is that picture was taken during lockdown 1.

I'm with you on that one, Regents St now.

[Wight Flight]

4 minutes ago, Chewing Grass said:

So no different than at a football match.

Not a point of reference I have.

 

[Yadda yadda yadda]

22 minutes ago, Chewing Grass said:

I'm with you on that one, Regents St now.

Yes. They probably took a photograph at 9am when no-one would have been shopping on Regent Street.

[wherebee]

1 hour ago, Wight Flight said:

Total bollocks.

I spent the weekend in that area, and never saw anything like that. My guess is that picture was taken during lockdown 1.

yeah, two of my mates from asia just flew into London.  Their photos show a busy london day and night (oxford street) although about 2/3rd what I remember from christmas week when I was younger.

[Wight Flight]

Just now, wherebee said:

yeah, two of my mates from asia just flew into London.  Their photos show a busy london day and night (oxford street) although about 2/3rd what I remember from christmas week when I was younger.

Agreed. You could still move about, so not quite as bad as other years.

Every restaurant we visited was pretty much full though.

[Phil]

2 hours ago, Wight Flight said:

On Sunday I walked from the Strand through Trafalgar Square, through Parliament Square, St James' Park, Green Park, along Piccadilly to Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square and on to Charing Cross Road for lunch.

At no point was the pavement less than 5 deep.

Exactly. No way that was today. I've just got back from ( masked lemming city)  Asda and aldi 21.45pm and the tills ringing like fuck. Small provincial town outside of brumistan.

[spygirl]

For whatever reason, r4 have simon calder on his bike at paddington id guess.

Hes being cycling round the rail terminals this morning.

Apparently there are only a handful of commuters coming into london.

https://www.see.cam/gb/eng/london/london-waterloo-bridge-south

 

 

[Stuey]

1 minute ago, spygirl said:

For whatever reason, r4 have simon calder on his bike at paddington id guess.

Hes being cycling round the rail terminals this morning.

Apparently there are only a handful of commuters coming into london.

https://www.see.cam/gb/eng/london/london-waterloo-bridge-south

 

 

This puts Boris in a difficult situation imo. People have locked themselves away already, so what's the point in further Rulez?

[Inigo]

12 hours ago, Wight Flight said:

Agreed. You could still move about, so not quite as bad as other years.

Every restaurant we visited was pretty much full though.

Wife spent the last two days in the West end.  She said it was less mental than normal at this time of year (you could actually walk on the pavement and get a table in restaurants), but still quite busy and buzzy.

[Wight Flight]

14 minutes ago, spygirl said:

For whatever reason, r4 have simon calder on his bike at paddington id guess.

Hes being cycling round the rail terminals this morning.

Apparently there are only a handful of commuters coming into london.

https://www.see.cam/gb/eng/london/london-waterloo-bridge-south

 

 

That is probably true. On Friday and Monday there were only half a dozen cars in the season ticket area of Woking Station car park.

There are over 100 spaces available.

[belfastchild]

13 hours ago, Yadda yadda yadda said:

Yes. They probably took a photograph at 9am when no-one would have been shopping on Regent Street.

Always surprised me how empty the place was about 830-9am. Hamleys, Harrods etc only open at 10.
Anywhere not on the commuter walking route/tourist route was tumbleweeds.

[Yadda yadda yadda]

2 hours ago, spygirl said:

For whatever reason, r4 have simon calder on his bike at paddington id guess.

Hes being cycling round the rail terminals this morning.

Apparently there are only a handful of commuters coming into london.

https://www.see.cam/gb/eng/london/london-waterloo-bridge-south

 

 

There aren't many rail commuters into central London on 22 December in any year. Most of the office workers are on holiday and they're the ones with expensive season tickets. Less so in the finance sector. Of course work from home will be having an impact. Cleaners and shop workers use the bus or tube. As do most shoppers.

There will be some proper Christmas rows this year. People spending a lot more time at home with family than before.

[wherebee]

3 minutes ago, Yadda yadda yadda said:

There aren't many rail commuters into central London on 22 December in any year. Most of the office workers are on holiday and they're the ones with expensive season tickets. Less so in the finance sector. Of course work from home will be having an impact. Cleaners and shop workers use the bus or tube. As do most shoppers.

There will be some proper Christmas rows this year. People spending a lot more time at home with family than before.

yeah.  i've always been lucky in that christmas has never been a time of stress in my family.  I've got mates who dread it each year though.

[King Penda]

12 hours ago, Phil said:

Exactly. No way that was today. I've just got back from ( masked lemming city)  Asda and aldi 21.45pm and the tills ringing like fuck. Small provincial town outside of brumistan.

Was there a pretty girl walking around slaging off the locals in song form. Ie there must be more to life than a small provincial town .? Lecturing bitch and she turns down the alpha.

[Phil]

6 minutes ago, King Penda said:

Was there a pretty girl walking around slaging off the locals in song form. Ie there must be more to life than a small provincial town .? Lecturing bitch and she turns down the alpha.

No girl.
Correct. 
I prefer the quite life to be fare. Had my days of punk, booze, etc. Not sure about the lecturing bitch, but there was a family getting served before me and mrs and they were all masked, gloves, hats. Just thought it bizarre. 
I prepare for the world to fuck off and leave me alone. I ain’t never gonna change it. 

[King Penda]

1 minute ago, Phil said:

No girl.
Correct. 
I prefer the quite life to be fare. Had my days of punk, booze, etc. Not sure about the lecturing bitch, but there was a family getting served before me and mrs and they were all masked, gloves, hats. Just thought it bizarre. 
I prepare for the world to fuck off and leave me alone. I ain’t never gonna change it. 

Ignore me I’m being to clever for my own good and have to watch to many Disney films

[Phil]

2 minutes ago, King Penda said:

Ignore me I’m being to clever for my own good and have to watch to many Disney films

No worries. 

[spygirl]

Londoners spent a record £55bn on homes outside the city

About 112,000 properties purchased in commuter towns and farther afield as pandemic fuels demand for extra living space

https://www.ft.com/content/59f80797-be47-43d7-93ae-d34c9bd50327

Londoners spent £55bn buying property outside the British capital this year as the coronavirus pandemic sparked a rush for more living space, according to an analysis of official data. The findings by estate agent Hamptons back up growing evidence that the pandemic has realigned housing preferences, with potentially serious consequences for the city’s population and housing market.

...

While the high number of transactions has been a nationwide phenomenon this year, the increase in Londoners buying outside the capital has been particularly pronounced, according to the study.

...

Over the last three decades, residents have tended to leave London from their mid-30s, as they start families and look for larger, more affordable properties. The population of the city kept growing during that time because of immigration from the EU and a higher level of births than deaths. But Hudson and Beveridge suggested that, if sustained, the higher outflows coupled with slower inward migration post-Brexit could slow the growth of the capital’s population. “If there is downward pressure on the size of London’s population, that could put some downward pressure on house prices and rents,” said Hudson.

 

So ....the workers are legging it.

 

[spygirl]

Shoppers shun Christmas sales as footfall drops amid Covid fears

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59802144

Overall, shopping numbers in England fell by 31.1%, according to Springboard. In London, footfall plunged by 50% compared with the same day in 2019, a much sharper drop than in other areas of the UK

[spygirl]

England’s office space shrinks by millions of square feet

Workspace declined 2% last year as construction stalled and developers adapted to flexible working

 

https://www.ft.com/content/8c231f78-82c4-4028-91c4-e091b8c4a3f9

The amount of office space in England has plunged by millions of square feet during the pandemic and is expected to continue falling, with workplaces languishing empty and questions about the future of work unresolved. The contraction is part of a big shake-up of English offices, which developers are under pressure to make more flexible and greener in response to shifting work patterns and a rising tide of environmental regulation. The amount of office space in England fell 2 per cent in the 12 months to March 31 last year, according to data from the Valuation Office Agency, part of HM Revenue & Customs. That represents a fall of more than 18m sq ft in the period — roughly 35 times the floorspace in the Gherkin office building in the City of London, or almost 15 times that in 22 Bishopsgate, the largest office building completed in the capital during the pandemic.