Alexander Dennis has supplied 13 electric Enviro100EV buses to Go-Ahead London for Transport for London’s Route 322, which switched to the new operator on 25th April. The buses are now running every 15 minutes from Go-Ahead London’s Sydenham Garage on the route linking Crystal Palace with Clapham Common.

The new arrivals add to a growing fleet of electric midibuses in the capital, with Go-Ahead London either operating or preparing to introduce a total of 60 Enviro100EVs across its network.

Designed for narrower, more congested urban streets, the 8.5-metre-long buses carry up to 45 passengers, including 21 seated.

The manufacturer describes the Enviro100EV as a “big small bus”, combining compact dimensions with the feel of a full-sized city bus. The buses use a battery-electric driveline with a claimed range designed to last a full day on a single charge, while the batteries are covered by a 15-year warranty.

Go-Ahead London says it now operates more than 1,000 zero-emission buses across its 2,500-vehicle fleet, with the new route 322 buses becoming the first electric vehicles to launch from its Sydenham Garage, which opened last year.

Andy Edwards, Managing Director of Go-Ahead London, said the buses would improve journeys on one of south London’s busiest corridors while helping the wider move towards a fully zero-emission bus fleet in the capital.

A major £ 40 million upgrade of the station was put on hold last year, so £5 million of interim upgrades have been agreed instead.

A ‘hidden’ corner of Peckham Rye station’s booking hall will be revealed for the first time in 30 years as part of the works, creating more space for customers in what is becoming an increasingly busy station – one of the busiest interchanges in south London.

The main ticket vending machine will then be relocated to this corner of the booking hall, previously occupied by cash machines, creating more space for passengers in the Booking Hall and paving the way for further improvements over the next 12 months, including additional station entrance doors and more ticket gates.

Work will begin in June to install foundations for a future replica of the station canopy that was removed in 1961. This work is being completed ahead of Southwark Council’s separate work to install the surface of their new public square in front of the station.

Passengers will also benefit this summer from additional information screens located further along platforms 1 and 2, which will encourage them to use the full length of the platforms. Next year, Network Rail will resolve some narrow sections on platforms 3 and 4 and refurbish the platform canopies, creating more space and improving the environment for passengers waiting for trains.

Once the ATM unit is removed, available wall space in the booking hall will be used to install information boards, keeping passengers informed about the project while improving the appearance of the station.

All work will be completed by summer 2027.

The works also future-proof the station by enacting planning permission for a future major upgrade. If funded, this will include new lift and stair access to all platforms and concourses, and a new western station entrance.

Some of the relationships that cross the Atlantic are not surprising, as after all, many American settlers originally came from London. There’s the marriage record from All Hallows by the Tower church showing the marriage of the USA’s sixth president, John Quincy Adams, to Louisa Johnson in London.

There are also letters on display, such as one from the Lord Mayor of London, John Wilkes, supporting the American cause against the King’s oppression, and responses supporting retained links with England, if only taxation could be devolved to the colonies.

One of the less well-known links across the pond was indentured servitude. English people might migrate to the USA for work and have their travel paid for by their employers, but they have to work to pay back the debt. However, many were coerced or lied to about work opportunities and became trapped in the USA, unable to return to England.

Two indenture documents are on display here.

A very unexpected document is the actor Dean Martin’s foot size. It comes from a London-based shoe maker who used to measure clients’ feet by drawing around them. So if you want to know how big Dean Martin’s feet were, this is the very unexpected place to come.

There’s also a sign of later closer links, when the City granted the Freedom to Dwight Eisenhower in 1945.

The exhibition is just three cases in the Guildhall Art Gallery’s heritage centre, but for Americans (and fans of), it’s quite a timely display of rarely seen documents.

It’s open until the end of October and is free to visit. The Guildhall Art Gallery is open daily from 10am to 5pm.

The park was once the private garden of Castelnau House, built here in the 1840s by Major Charles Lestock Boileau, who named it after his family’s former estate, Castelnau de la Garde, near Nîmes in France. The name was chosen because Boileau’s parents were originally Huguenots who had fled to England to escape religious persecution and later settled in Mortlake.

It’s likely the house lost some of its charm when the neighbour was cleared to make way for an early electricity-generating plant, which operated between 1901 and 1959. Castelnau House itself was demolished in the early 1960s, and, fitting for the thinking of the time, the land was requisitioned by the council for their depot yard. The plot where the house stood became the new coal bunker, which seemed a bit of an ignoble end for it.

The council vacated the site barely a decade later, and about two-thirds of it was laid out as a public garden. Various names were suggested, but the public opted for Jubilee Gardens for the Queen’s Jubilee in 1977.

The remaining third was retained by the surviving elements of the old electricity plant, as a substation hidden behind brick walls.

Most of the year, Jubilee Gardens are a fairly average rectangle of grass and trees in Mortlake, but one day, it gets very busy. That’s because it offers a decent vantage point for the annual Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. On less boaty days, the park is also one of the few step-free points of access to the riverside in the area, as a concrete slope was added when the park was first laid out.

Candidly, history aside, the park isn’t hugely interesting, being not much more than a rectangle of lawn with trees on two sides and a pavement around the edges.

Strangely, OpenStreetMap calls it Dovecote Gardens.

Spanning historic buildings, natural landscapes, and globally important archives and collections, the projects will restore heritage places, support marine conservation, and create new opportunities to strengthen heritage skills, learning, and participation.

The largest award, of £6.7 million, has gone to Highgate Cemetery for its upgrade and refurbishment project. That project, costing a total of £18 million, will see a new cafe and education centre built, the chapel refurbished, and wider-ranging landscaping carried out to improve access.

The V&A Museum is getting £4 million towards the refurbishment of its South Asia gallery

Meanwhile, the Historic Royal Palaces have been awarded £4.5 million towards a new Learning and Community Centre in the Tower of London. The project will also improve accessibility, enhance the visitor experience, and boost environmental sustainability across the site.

And London Zoo has been granted development funding of £177,000 towards a conservation project that will bring young people, charter fishers and communities together to protect endangered sharks and rays while revealing the hidden natural heritage of the Greater Thames Estuary.

Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Each of these newly funded projects are exploring ways for young people to get involved, as well as offering quality apprenticeships and research opportunities for hands on experience, such as research to safeguard endangered sharks in the Thames Estuary. These initiatives show how heritage is empowering the next generation – building confidence, skills and connecting with the heritage that matters to them – from historic places to the natural world. Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re supporting ambitious projects that care and value heritage and give young people a voice to create lasting impact for communities across the UK.”

The Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, confirmed the new opening window for the service running between Old Oak Common and Birmingham.

The cost of the railway will also rise to between £87.7 billion and £102.7 billion in 2025 prices. Previous cost ranges of £70-82 billion were often still based on 2019 prices and hadn’t been updated to account for inflation.

However, inflation accounts for only a third of the latest increase, with the rest attributed to necessary works outside the scope of the original project plan, underestimation, and inefficient delivery. Going forward, the government says it will update the cost estimate to include inflation every two years rather than leaving it unchanged for 7 years.

The price range now also includes the cost of delivering Euston station and the associated London Underground upgrades, although the government is still looking for a private company to be involved in the project.

The statement also confirmed that Euston station will open with six platforms to serve services between Birmingham and London, and, importantly, will be futureproofed to add more platforms as services are extended.

In addition, the redevelopment of the existing Euston Station will deliver a new station concourse that will accommodate current and future passenger demand on the West Coast Main Line.

Although there is a range of costs and opening dates, HS2’s CEO, Mark Wild, has set his organisation the ambition of delivering the programme at a cost of £93.2 billion and the first passenger carrying trains in late 2037.

Mark Wild’s “reset” on the project says that progress on completing the civil engineering for the entire line of route is at least 4 years behind the original schedule, and that the time required to test and commission HS2 to ensure a reliable and safe service was underestimated by another 3 years.

The test and commissioning underestimates at HS2 are similar to the problem that caused the Crossrail project to overrun on time and cost, as it also underestimated that phase of the work.

With HS2 starting services between Old Oak Common and Birmingham at some time between May 2036 and October 2039, it’s now expected that services will run between Euston and Birmingham/Handsacre Junction sometime between 2040 and the end of 2043.

In other news, it was confirmed that the line will open with trains running up to 320kph (199 mph) – slightly slower than the 360kph (220mph) that it was designed for.

That would make HS2 trains about the same speed as mainland European and Japanese “bullet” trains, while making it easier to test the new HS2 trains on existing high-speed railways prior to running live trials in the UK.

The Transport Secretary said that reducing train speeds will save about a year in opening the railway and up to £2.5 billion on the project. The main savings come from avoiding the risks associated with certifying a railway at a speed not operated anywhere in the world.

It was also confirmed that the new railway will rely on the same European Train Control System (ETCS) signalling system used on the Elizabeth line and is being extended along the East Coast Main Line. It will also be the same system used on the Transpennine Route Upgrade, which will pick up services from Manchester to Grimsby.

For the naysayers, it’s now estimated that it would cost almost as much to cancel HS2 as it would to complete it – and at least then the UK will have a high-capacity railway.

Just later than anyone originally expected.

The building, Regents House, was constructed in the 1980s for the Royal Bank of Scotland as a mix of extra office space for their staff and a disaster contingency centre should other offices around London become unusable. It was common thinking at the time that if a disaster occurred, they would need a backup office to keep on working. Today of course, we have remote working capabilities, which have largely rendered such facilities redundant.

Built in a modern style, the office was wrapped in a doughnut around a central courtyard. With three basements, it also served as their centralised cash-holding depot on the lower ground and basement levels, with banking vaults and room-sized safes.

The cash-handling facilities were moved out in the 2010s, and the building was refurbished internally in 2015. However, the bank later moved out, and although offered for rent to other tenants, it’s been largely empty for several years.

A new plan is now looking to refurbish the building and convert it into a 640-room hotel.

Although the specifics are still being worked out, they also expect to include a rooftop bar, accessible from outside the hotel and open to everyone.

The consultation is here.

The name of the building, by the way, comes from the Regents Canal, which just about runs under the northern corner of the building, and hence why the basements are slightly smaller than the rest of the building.

And it requires a giant oil can.

This Friday will see the ceremonial “Oiling of the Gates” at Temple Bar, because apparently even symbolic city defences need a bit of WD-40 now and then.

Temple Bar, which once stood where the Royal Courts of Justice are today, was the principal ceremonial entrance between the City of Westminster and the City of London. Traditionally, when the monarch visited the City, they paused where Temple Bar stood, so the Lord Mayor could present the Sword of State as a token of loyalty.

And no, despite what every London tour guide loves to imply, the monarch did not need permission to enter the City. That’s a myth — albeit an annoyingly persistent one usually cited by conspiracy theorists.

The gates themselves, however, could genuinely be closed during times of civil unrest or to control trade. By the 1850s, having a great hulking gatehouse sitting in the middle of an increasingly busy road had become somewhat inconvenient for traffic, so in 1878 it was dismantled and the stones sold to brewer Henry Meux for his estate at Theobalds Park.

In 2004, the building returned to London when it was rebuilt at its current location, next to St Paul’s Cathedral.

And this Friday (22nd May 2026) at 11am, accompanied by the historic pikemen of the Honourable Artillery Company and livery company masters in full ceremonial robes, the Master of the Gates will solemnly oil the hinges before declaring the gates to be in good working order.

The ceremony is intended to ensure that the gates at Temple Bar are still in working order and, if they were still at their historic location, capable of being shut to bar entry into the City of London.

If you like pomp and ceremony and quirky historic traditions (even if this one is only a few years old), then assemble at Temple Bar next to St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday just before 11am.

Sir Christopher Wren might also turn up.

Temple Bar is owned by the Temple Bar Trust, and the City of London Corporation funds the trust’s educational and outreach work through the Community Infrastructure Levy Neighbourhood Fund, and this event through the Destination City Partnership Fund.

Grant Smith, Education and Outreach Manager at Temple Bar Trust, said: “As custodians of Temple Bar, it’s important that we don’t just preserve it, but bring it to life. The oiling of the gates is a new tradition inspired by the pivotal role this gateway has played in the life of the City.

“We’ve taken that history and turned it into something people can experience today. It’s a bit of theatre, a bit of ceremony, and something you don’t see every day in London.”

Fans may have been practical items for keeping cool, but they were also status symbols and canvases for art and design, reflecting the tastes and obsessions of their era.

The exhibition focuses as much on the decoration applied to the fans as it does on the fans themselves.

Some were unique commissions made for members of royal courts, while others were mass-produced souvenirs celebrating coronations, jubilees, weddings and military victories – the predecessors of today’s commemorative mugs and tea towels.

Many of the fans tell stories about how royalty wished to be seen — or how the public wanted to remember them. Early examples feature hand-drawn portraits and engravings, while later pieces use photographic images of royal families. One particularly large fan celebrates Queen Victoria and her extensive family, even though it was cheaply printed on paper, demonstrating how royal memorabilia could be produced for the mass market.

Modern royals appear too, proving that commemorative fan-making never entirely went out of fashion. One Chinese fan on display was produced for a London restaurant as a gift marking a Jubilee year.

Not every fan marks a happy royal occasion.

One example commemorates the 1757 victory of Frederick the Great, depicting defeated monarchs looking despondent while Freddy looks on triumphant. In contrast, a far plainer wooden fan associated with Napoleon Bonaparte highlights the wide variety of fan designs and styles on display.

One of Queen Victoria’s fans is included in the display. It’s black – so no surprises there.

Alongside the decorative fan cases, the exhibition offers a glimpse into both the fans the royals would wave at balls and how the lesser folk could buy images of their royal masters.

The exhibition, Monarchy: An Exhibition of Royal Fans, is at the Fan Museum in Greenwich until 26th Sept 2026.

It’s open Wed to Sat from 11am to 5pm.

• Standard Ticket: £5
• Child (7-16): £3
• Child (6 & Under): Free
• Family Entry (2A +3C): £10
• Senior Citizen / Students: £3

Details here.

In a submission on transport options for an expanded Heathrow Airport, Transport for London (TfL) argues that more needs to be done to improve public transport options in the area if the roads are to avoid being gridlocked by the extra passengers and freight coming through the airport.

The airport already has plans and requirements to reduce road traffic and increase public transport use to and from the airport, but TfL argues it will not be able to meet its targets without upgrades to public transport.

TfL’s submission to the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) review cites a number of areas where increased passenger numbers would require increased capacity on public transport to cope with demand. Some will be easier to deliver, such as increased provision of cycling and bus services around the airport for workers, but also upgrades to the Piccadilly line, and possibly taking over the Heathrow Express.

Piccadilly line

One proposed upgrade was the signalling upgrade for the Piccadilly line, which is currently on hold.

The Piccadilly line is the original connection between the airport and central London, opening in 1977, and still uses the same trains that were in service when Heathrow tube station first opened. The new fleet of trains, due later this year or early next year, will finally replace them and also increase capacity on the Piccadilly line. And subject to fixing a possible signalling capacity pinch point around King’s Cross, they will eventually increase the number of trains through central London from 24 to 27 an hour.

However, the Piccadilly Line Upgrade Project included a full line signalling upgrade, which would have increased capacity to 33 trains per hour during peak hours. The signalling upgrade was essentially put on hold during the pandemic, and although it will be needed anyway as the old equipment becomes worn out, the funding is still not available.

The signalling upgrade would also support a future increase to 36 trains per hour, but at that point, it would put pressure on some key stations, which might not be able to handle the passenger numbers without upgrades of their own.

Heathrow Express

Much sooner though could be a decision about the Heathrow Express service, which links the airport to Paddington station.

Heathrow Airport built its own railway tunnel and stations linking the airport to the Great Western Main Line. Although the airport owns the tunnel, in 2018 it handed over the operation of the train service to GWR under an agreement that runs until 2028. As confirmed in its financial accounts, Heathrow Express’s current track access license to use the Network Rail tracks between its tunnel and Paddington also expires in 2028 unless renewed.

Pandemic effects notwithstanding, the service has seen a steady decline in passenger numbers since the Elizabeth line trains were introduced.

Heathrow Express passenger numbers

• 2015-16: 5.8 million
• 2016-17: 6.1 million
• 2018-19: 6.2 million
• 2019-20: 5.8 million
• 2020-21: 0.3 million
• 2021-22: 1.8 million
• 2022-23: 4.7 million
• 2023-24: 4.5 million
• 2024-25: 4.3 million

(Source: Office of Rail and Road)

In response to this, TfL says that the review should “reconsider whether this service is the best use of these valuable train paths into Paddington.”

The Heathrow Express is a premium service that uses trains better suited to lots of luggage and offers a faster connection to central London. However, it carries, on average, around 80 passengers per train, compared to its potential capacity of 374.

At the moment, the Elizabeth line operates 6 trains per hour to Heathrow Airport stations (6tph to T2&3, 4tph to T4, & 2tph to T5), plus there are four trains per hour from the Heathrow Express (4 tph to T2&3 and 5).

If the Elizabeth line took over the four slots occupied by the Heathrow Express, it would increase capacity by around 5,600 passengers per hour.

(6,000 passengers per hour minus the circa 400 who currently use the Heathrow Express)

A TfL takeover would also likely benefit the mainline stations along the route to/from Paddington, which could see an additional 4 trains per hour calling at them.

Although replacing the fast Heathrow Express service with a slower, stopping Elizabeth line service would be a downgrade for passengers who prefer the faster service, it would be offset by the wider benefits of running a more frequent Elizabeth line service.

Heathrow Airport might not be entirely out of pocket, as it would be expected to retain ownership of the tunnel and stations, which generate revenue from track access charges and in-station advertising.

Heathrow Airport may also argue that, if it agrees to the Elizabeth line replacing its Heathrow Express service, TfL should reset the fares premium they introduced in 2022 for travel to the airport, although they might argue that, as the Elizabeth line is cheaper (if slower) than the Heathrow Express, then customers would already be saving money.

(That assumes you pay on the day, as Heathrow Express offers cheaper tickets if you book a month in advance)

The Elizabeth line will be able to replace the 12 GWR-supplied trains without cannibalising its existing fleet, as they have 10 more Class 345 trains on order. Initially, those will be used to maintain services while the existing fleet undergoes a mid-life overhaul, but that should be completed by the time they have the option to replace the Heathrow Express.

As the new trains were ordered in part to cope with capacity at Old Oak Common when HS2 opens, as that station is between the airport and Paddington, an increase in Heathrow services would fit neatly into the service upgrade plan.

Closing the Heathrow Express would not just free up more capacity on the mainline tracks in/out of Paddington, it would also free up two platforms in the station. That’s assuming all Elizabeth line trains run through to central London, as there’s always a possibility that the Elizabeth line could run some services as a shuttle between Heathrow and Paddington, as they already do first thing in the morning. That would mean regularly crossing from Network Rail’s “relief” lines used by the Elizabeth line over to the faster main line, which could complicate matters, but is not insurmountable.

Whatever the decision, the lead-up to 2028 will be very interesting to watch.

Much further down the line, there is also the tantalising possibility that the Elizabeth line trains could run from Heathrow to Reading via the proposed Western Link, and out to Staines via the proposed Southern Rail Link.