London Underground Fashion Victims

Fashion Victims on the Tube

Ah Friday and it's time for a look at the TFV's or Tube Fashion Victims who are clearly showing signs that autumn has come way, way too quickly in London. The X Factor back on TV and we'll soon hearing judge Louis Walsh talking about people "taking a style and making it their own" and that's what the Fashion Victims are all about. So this week is a mixture of people who are uber trend setting and looking allright with it and those who clearly should have had more of a look in the mirror before leaving home.

First up we have some of the OK autumnal looks

Trendy Air Traffic Controller

I quite like this silver beany and large air traffic control style headphones on over the top


The hoody could work well either in the spring or autumn, and it's just a shame the weather had been so foul that people are even thinking about hoodies in the first place.

The End is Nigh Bag

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a full shot of this bag. But I liked the sort of doom and gloom that it hinted at.


Perfect for a miserable day on the Tube.

Now onto the not so good ones.

Dressing like a station sign

Try not to stand near a Tube station sign if you're going to wear the same primary colours. The following picture was taken by Keira Vallejo. She said "I spotted this guy at Finchley Road. He was dressed exactly the same as the sign at the end of the platform. Thought it was too funny, so I took a photo :-)".


I like it and also like the title she's given it "Dude at Finchley Road tube, dressed the same as the sign"

Socky Leggy things

These were puzzling. A sort of duo sock and legging combo.


The whopping great hole in the socks only added to my puzzlement.

Male Uggs & Shorts combo

Finally, it wouldn't be a Tube Fashion Victim post without at looks at some Uggs


I think Uggs on blokes aren't the best look in the world but when you combine them with some plaid baggy summer shorts, you're asking for trouble.

That's it for now. The previous fashion victim post is here and the complete picture gallery of all the TFV's can be seen on the following Flickr set.

TfL to announce fare increases on Thursday

Well it's inevitable isn't it. It's time for the announcement of the normally annual fare rise from Transport for London, but for once I manage to hear about it before it's actually officially announced. Dave Hill who writes for the Guardian spent a day with Boris Johnson (lucky Dave) and um well, I'll let Dave break the good news himself:

"If I were the sort of person who goes round spreading rumours, I might mention the fact that other journalists have been receiving briefings by the mayor's office today about a rise in public transport fares to be announced by TfL tomorrow. Good job I'm not that sort of person..."


We've got some of the most expensive public transport in the world, particularly on the London Underground, yet it took me about an hour and half to get to work this morning on the Tube, with an extraordinary amount of signal failures, delays, broken escalators and over crowding at every turn.

As Dave said in the title of his post, "Fare Rises Soon To Be Announced? Surely Not!". None of us are surprised but what will be interesting will be the spin that Boris puts on it. It's his first fare rise after all.

Tory Troll said in the comments "I have been waiting for this one. Fuel costs are up. Tube contracts are up and the costs of the CC consultation, Routemaster design, and ditching of the Venezuela deal and £25 charge have made this inevitable."

He's placing bets on the % increase we actually get though and reckons 10% minimum increase. I reckon he's right, it'll be about double the rate of inflation, just cos it's a nice round figure. You might want to hazard a guess yourself alternatively just wait for the official announcement tomorrow.

Update - 4th September - The Guardian and the FT have started to report on the price rise. Ah here's the spin Ken Livingstone gets the blame for the rise in fares. Boris said that Ken Livingstone left a £84m ($148m) shortfall in finances due to his price freeze earlier this year and the actual cut in some bus fares.

"Kulveer Ranger, Mr Johnson's transport adviser, on Wednesday refused to say precisely what fare rises there would be and how they would be distributed. There would, he said, be some extension of concessionary fares for the worst-off, new concessions for war veterans and greater differentiation of off-peak and peak-time fares to shift journeys to quieter times." said the FT.

Even though the actual rise has not been announced yet, The Guardian report that "adult fares will have to rise at least 1% above inflation, equivalent to an increase of 6%. That would mean a single peak-time Tube fare in central London would rise from £6.30 to about £6.70, while an adult bus fare would rise from 90p to 95p. Discounted fares for elderly and disabled people will remain."

Apparently we'll find out the exact fare rise after 10am today.

Update - OK the speculating can end now, the BBC News have published the exact rises.

• Single bus fare paid with an Oyster card will increase from 90p to £1
• A one day bus and tram pass will rise from £3 to £3.30
• A weekly bus pass will go up from £13 to £13.80
• The £4 adult cash fare in Zone One of the Tube will be frozen
• Fares in other zones will go up from £3 to £3.20.
• The minimum adult cash fare on the Docklands Light Railway rises from £1.50 to £1.60

Boris said "Some of us will pay a little more but I have ensured fares will remain affordable, especially for people who rely on public transport most, including the elderly, disabled veterans and those on lower incomes. I have been left to tackle the unfunded legacy of Livingstone's largesse.

"Put simply, the previous mayor's cynical and irresponsible pre-election fares freeze and support for unfunded transport schemes is unsustainable and has produced a gap that has to be plugged."

Ken's response "Londoners are beginning to learn the high cost of Boris Johnson.

"He promised to save Londoners money but instead, after just a few months in office, he is pushing up fares above inflation to pay for his own incredible waste of Londoners' money."

Tube passenger burnt by seat

There was a massive spoof some years back about the things found on London Underground Central Line seats, but yesterday one poor man on the Central Line was burnt by sitting on a seat believed to be covered in corrosive cleaning fluid.


The guy felt some liquid burning through his trousers as he travelled during the rush hour and told the staff at Holland Park Tube station. He was taken to hospital and treated for minor skin irritation.

The Press Association report "Two trains were immediately taken out of service and underwent thorough searches, Transport For London said.

A spokeswoman for British Transport Police said: "We are not treating this as being malicious at this point.

"From our inquiries it seems that some sort of cleaning fluid has been spilled accidentally.

"The man was taken to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital suffering from skin irritation. There was some damage to his trousers."

Just as well it didn't happen in the summer time when people may have been wearing far fewer clothes.

Tube Seat Apron as modelled by Whatleydude

You may remember that James Whatley from Spinvox gave me the heads up on this apron modelled on London Underground moquette - seat upholstery (presumably not with corrosive fluid on it).


Well he decided to get himself the apron and also model it in his kitchen


As the commenters on his picture said "I feel an almost overwhelming need to stick chewing gum to your backside" and "I'm hoping you don't smell like you've just been pissed on by a homeless ;)"

All he needs now is the ironing board cover and oven mitt to complete the set. However, looks like he might be able to even get transporty in the bedroom & not just the kitchen.

Thanks to Michael Woodside I found out that you can get "up close and personal with London Transport Museum's quirky new furniture and accessories range based on the classic designs of moquette fabrics"

On Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st September 2008 from 10am to 6pm there will be special launch display of all the items which you can also buy online. It includes bed headboards, dining chairs, sofas, cubes and cushions. The launch will take place in London Transport Museum's Cubic Theatre and Foyer, Covent Garden Piazza, London, WC2E 7BB. Visit http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/ for further information.

Eden Lake - Bloggers Screening & Review

If you're travelling on the London Underground right now, particularly in central London, you can't fail to notice loads of ads for the new Brit horror movie Eden Lake


I was err lucky enough to be invited to a blogger's screening of this last night at the intimate Soho Screening rooms, which were followed by a Q & A session with the writer & director James Watkins.

I'm a bit of a scaredy cat and normally wouldn't go to see a horror film like Eden Lake, but it certainly got us talking in the pub afterwards and I felt shocked, exhausted, drained and literally horrified while watching it.

James Watkins wrote the film three years ago before the spate of violent knife crime and murders that we've seen carried out by teenagers in London and other cities in the UK. In the Q & A after the film, he said he sat on the Tube with a friend reading Metro and would look at it thinking - "Wow that's in my film" or "That's similar to what happens in Eden Lake".


But Eden Lake is a horror film and fictional, so much more intense than real life, yet the violence, stabbings, torture and maliciousness (mostly carried out by teenagers) are gory & realistic without glamour. Watkins wanted the film to be a stand-alone "edge of your seat" thriller but also have a "moral ambiguity" to it.

The plot revolves around a fairly smug couple who want to get away from it all and go camping in the woods. They stumble upon a bunch of teenagers, accidentally kill their dog, then real terror and shocking violence follows.

That's about as much of the plot I will give away. The violence does not let up after a while and I was feeling, how much more will the couple stand. I jumped lots of times, had my hand over my eyes and was squirming in my seat. My friend Tom Reynolds the ambulance driver & paramedic blogger & fellow Nom Nom Nom'er was used to seeing the aftermath of stabbings so this was "bread & butter" to him and in the pub we talked about the "reality" of some of the injuries and whether anyone would survive them.

Tom's reality

The point is that it's fiction and my survival instinct isn't very strong so I would have given up the ghost long before the school teacher "heroine" got all Rambo like and vigilante'esque. But nothing is quite as you'd expect in this film, so don't expect the good or blonde chick in flowery dress to necessarily conquer evil.


I can't see this film getting shown uncut in the US (I'm sure the British Tourist Board wouldn't be using it as an advert) and indeed James Watkins thought it would probably close at a scene about 15 minutes before it actually ended. It's a bleak relentless, vision of violence in the UK. The teenagers' parents are just as terrifying, nasty and vengeful as the kids. Think "Lord of the Flies" but with no moral to it. Or "Clockwork Orange" where Ludwig Van B, bowler hats and moloko are replaced by mobile phone "Happy Slapping" video'ing, hoodies and BMX bikes.

Thomas Turgoose from the new Eurostar sponsored, Shane Meadows film Somers Town is one of the teenage stars, but the main sinister & scary teenage lead is Jack O'Connell who plays the gang leader Brett. The final scene for me was definitely ambiguous and where O'Connell is really frightening.

Tom, Cowfish (Billy Abbott), Utku, Imajes (James Cox) and myself had a good chat about this in the pub afterwards and doubtless they'll be reviewing at some stage too.

Eden Lake is in cinemas nationwide from September 12th, and is from the producers of The Descent. If you like horror & thrillers it's worth seeing. If you're shocked by teenage violence, it's also worth seeing, although don't expect an answer or a moral stand on it all.