Reported in the newspaper today and also on the TFL (transport for London) website is a story headlining “London Buses have carried more passengers and travelled more kilometres in the last year than at any time in the last 50 years, according to new figures released by Transport for London today.” The full story can be found on the tfl website where you will find some pretty amazing statistics – almost  2.3 billion annual passenger journeys with 7500 buses travelling 486 million kilometres. Bus  Travelling in London often gets a bad press but when you consider the volume of passengers it is not really such a problem. London’s bus network is certainly one of the largest urban transport systems in the world and Boris Johnson the Mayor said ‘ …… these statistics illustrate the quite remarkable feat of logistics completed every single day by the remarkable team of drivers, planners, mechanics and others who combine to transport millions of passengers around the Capital’  It might not always feel like it but new buses have aircon and older buses are being fitted with more windows. There are also plans well advanced now for the introduction of a new design of buses which are currenly being tested – the first of which may be introduced early next year, in time for the celebrations of next summer.

Fot students visiting UIC in London travel is one of those things that can often be a worry. However buses are a really great way to get around. You may not know this but if you want a good fun way fo seeing all the city has to offer one great way to do it is to get on a bus upstairs at the front and just sit on it until it gets to the other end. If you choose the right routes you can see everything London has to offer. Here are some suggestions:

No 9 Hammersmith – Kensington High Street - Kensington Palace – Albert Hall - Hyde Park - Green Park - Piccadilly - Aldwych

No 15  Blackwall Station – Poplar – Aldgate – Tower Hill -Tower of London – Cannon Street – Aldwych – Oxford Street – Paddington

 No 38  Clapton – Hackney – Islington – Holborn – Oxford Street – Green Park – Victoria

 No 6  Willesden Garage – Donnington Road – Kensal Rise – Queens Park – Warwick Avenue – Marble Arch – Oxford Street – Oxford Circus - Regent Street – Piccadilly Circus – Trafalgar Square - Aldwych

No 11 Fulham – Chelsea – Chelsea FC ground – Victoria – Westminster Abbey – Big Ben - Aldwych – St. Paul’s Cathedral – Bank of England – City of London – Liverpool Street Station (Petticoat Lane market)

No 23 Westbourne Park – Ladbroke Grove – Portobello Road Market -Westbourne Grove – Notting Hill – Paddington – Oxford Circus – Aldwych – St. Paul’s Cathedral – Bank of England - Liverpool Street station

No 55  Leyton Green – Clapton – Hackney – Shoreditch – Clerkenwell – Holborn – Oxford Circus

No 139  West Hampstead – Lisson Grove – Baker Street – Oxford Street – Oxford Circus – Regent Street – Piccadilly Circus – Trafalgar Square – Aldwych – Waterloo

No 205  Bow – Mile End – Whitechapel – Aldgate – Liverpool Street Station – Moorgate – City of London – - City Road – Angel – King’s Cross – Euston – Marylebone Station – Paddington

No 211 Hammersmith – Fulham – Sydney Street – Chelsea – Victoria – Westminster – Waterloo Station

Today it’s Ray Davies’ birthday. He was the founder of the Kinks – one of the best known and loved bands of the 1960s. Whenever there’s any kind of question about the best song about London one of his songs is always right near the top of the list – Waterloo Sunset. Here’s a film of the Kinks singing it in 1967. If you are in London studying English with us at UIC it’s only a very short walk to Waterloo to see the setting of the song! Ray’s still going strong and also performed this song to great acclaim at Glastonbury last year. He is curating a series of concerts on the Southbank (next to Waterloo Bridge) called Meltdown and there you can see and listen to all sorts of interesting musicians both old and new.

The BBC’s Television Centre has for over 50 years been at the heart of British Broadcasting. However yesterday, the building which is one of the most famous in the country was put up for sale. Due to the number of cuts having to be made by the BBC, it has taken the decision to sale the landmark building.

The decision to sell Television Centre has been a very contentious one. Over the years hundreds of TV shows have been filmed from Television Centre. Some of the shows include Fawlty Towers, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Blue Peter, Top of the Pops, Strictly Come Dancing, as well as earlier series of Doctor Who. The Centre is also home to the famous Blue Peter Garden.

Over 5,000 people work for the BBC at Television Centre and will be moving to various locations. Some will be moving to the new MediaCityUK in Salford near Manchester, the brand new home for many aspects of the BBC. Others will move to Broadcasting house which is only a 5 minute walk from UIC.

Luckily if you are studying English in London, you are able to go and visit Broadcasting House where you can try presenting a weather show or read the news.