Happy 007!

Surely it is not passé yet to call this one 007, is it? And while I am not due back in full form until tomorrow, my blog itch got the best of me. Well, that, and my streak of empathy for any other poor souls who trudged back to work this morning too apathetic to take a sickie; only to find a skeletal office of brassed off and disgruntled (more so than usual) colleagues, some possibly still drunk.

So in an effort to keep us all awake, here is a bit of gossip from the Big Smoke:

TFL's annual above-inflation rise in fares took place this morning. The minimum single fare on the London Underground for a customer paying cash is now £4. Speaking of the criminally priced tube system, Camden Town and Brixton stations were covered in graffiti on Boxing Day: a day of system-wide closure as part of the annual Christmas shutdown. Anybody smell a Banksy?

London now has a BBC acclaimed pigeon with a blog. Who knows maybe he was on location yesterday at Trafalgar Square's annual New Year's Day Parade which was replete with bright eyed and bushy tailed American cheerleaders sporting Tom Cruise mouth wide open smiles showing Cool Britannia how it's done.

And for those who missed one of London's finest moments since the Blitz, minus the death and destruction, you can catch the New Year's fireworks display here. And for once the weather was a help not a hindrance. Just goes to show Sydney need not come first.

Back in full form tomorrow.