Holborn fire is still burning under the pavement

A road in central London remains closed as an electrical fire continues to burn under the pavement.

Some 5,000 people were evacuated from nearby buildings after smoke was seen coming out of an inspection cover in Kingsway, Holborn, on Wednesday.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) said the fire has been contained but has been "technically difficult" to tackle.

More than 20 firefighters and officers are still at the scene and local road closures are in place.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

LFB Assistant Commissioner Peter Cowup said: "This has been a technically difficult incident to tackle.

"The reason that the fire is still burning is because the service tunnel is hard to reach.

"Although firefighters have been applying water through access points throughout the night, the complexity of the tunnel layout means that it will be some time until the fire is fully extinguished."

He added LFB, the Met Police and utility companies were making steady progress to try and resolve the situation.

'Not an overnight job'

Speaking to BBC London 94.9, Insp Neil Johnson, from the Met Police, said: "The fire is still live in the subway. The problem at the moment is there is a gas pipe underneath and we are all in agreement that it is ok and if we can keep it contained it will be fine.

"All we need to do is keep people out of the area and let the fire brigade and utilities do their job."

"I imagine this road will be closed a long time after this is finished because of damage the heat does to the road," Mr Johnson said.

"It will have to remain closed until a structural engineer examines it properly and either he or she says what work has to be done and that work is completed - this is not an overnight job."

On Thursday onlookers reported struggling to breathe and "chaos" in and around Holborn.

UK Power Networks said the number of customers currently affected by the power cuts stood at about 1,000 and it had restored power to about 2,000.

Apologising to customers Matt Rudling, from UK Power Networks, said: "The gas is still burning under there and until we can gain access to that particular area we won't understand what's caused it and what we can do."

More than 20 firefighters and officers are still at the scene

Smoke was seen coming out of an inspection cover on Kingsway on Wednesday

"We want to try and restore [power to] all those remaining customers by the end of day today."

He apologised for the disruption and added that emergency generators were being used to supply power to the area.

UK Power Networks' engineers are also trying to connect some of the damaged cables to unaffected ones.

53rd City of London Festival programme announced (22 June - 10 July 2015)

53^rd City of London Festival programme announced

22 June - 10 July 2015

www.colf.org

City of London Festival returns this summer to animate the Square Mile in new and exciting ways.

Festival-goers can take a Wren Church Marathon challenge with morn-to-midnight choral performances; learn How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying from a 1960’s musical featuring Nick Hewer and a chorus of office choirs; serenade City workers with a street guitar; debate Justice, Money and Power in the Old Bailey; and enjoy the finest classical music, jazz and comedy in a dazzling array of extraordinary venues, many of them not normally open to the public.

Once again, the Festival will feature an innovative, eclectic programme of music, dance, spoken word and street performance. It will also be a celebration of the City, its architecture, skyline and streets, and its energy, stories and relationships with the rest of the world. This year sees the return of the Festival’s own iconic venue, a giant inflatable Bowler Hat, for comedy, cabaret and circus performances.

Over its 53 years, the Festival has brought the world's finest artistic talents to the Square Mile, commissioned and premiered artworks, animated remarkable spaces, welcomed children to its annual Parade, placed pianos and guitars on the streets of London for all to play, and hosted stimulating debates and discussion.

City of London Festival launches 2015 programme with music and acrobatics at Sky Garden www.colf.org  22 June- 10 July - © Robin Bell Photography

Highlights this year include:

•        Jazz with a View: Unrivalled vistas with world-class jazz. Commanding viewpoints over London include the Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street and the Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard, with performances from Jeremy Monteiro (June 23), Norma Winstone (June 26), Anita Wardell (July 5) and Arve Henriksen (July 7).

•        Justice, Money, Power: A series of debates and discussions will focus on the financial, political and ethical implications of life in the City. Subjects include ‘Do judges have too much power?’ in the Judges’ Room at the Old Bailey (June 23), and ‘Are we heading for another crisis?’ at the Bishopsgate Institute (June 30).

•        Comedy, cabaret and circus theatre in the Bowler Hat, including An Audience With Mrs Moneypenny (July 9), a return appearance for Henry Blofeld (June 27), the outrageous Fascinating Aïda (June 30) and fringe favourites Newsrevue, who bring their brand of satire to the financial district (July 8).

•        Orchestral concerts in the magnificent setting of St Paul’s Cathedral, with the London Symphony Orchestra performing Haydn’s Creation (June 24) and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment performing Monteverdi’s Vespers (July 2).

•        The City’s Great Halls, not normally open to the public, featuring intimate concerts including the Danish String Quartet performing at Plaisterers’Hall (June 22), Ian Bostridge and Andreas Haefliger in Mansion House (June 30) and the New Zealand String Quartet in Goldsmiths’ Hall (July 8).

•        Singapore Celebrates: Marking the 50^th anniversary of Singapore’s independence, this year’s Festival will highlight a longstanding association with the City of London by providing a snapshot of Singapore’s cultural riches. Concerts include pianist Melvyn Tan performing with the T’ang Quartet at Merchant Taylors’ Hall (June 29), and violinist Siow Lee-Chin performing Bach at St Bartholomew the Great (June 23). Jazz pianist Jeremy Monteiro will be performing in the Sky Garden (June 23) and a series of films will also showcase the very best in established and contemporary Singaporean cinema. 

•        Choral Capital: the City of London hosts more regular choirs than anywhere else in the world. This year sees the first ever Wren Choral Marathon (Saturday 27 June) consisting of a day of 17 different choral performances in each of Wren’s magnificent City churches. Sir Alan Sugar’s sidekick from The Apprentice, Nick Hewer, will narrate the brilliant 1960’s musical satire about corporate life and office politics - How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying (July 9) - inside the City of London’s ancient HQ, the Guildhall Great Hall.

•        World Première: A new work for chorus and ensemble by Thea Musgrave, Voices of Our Ancestors, will be given its first performance by the Chapel Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge in the atmospheric surroundings of St Bride’s, Fleet Street (July 9).

•        Walks and tours will include the art collections of Deutsche Bank (June 22), Clifford Chance (July 7) and Simmons & Simmons (July 1), a Bank of England Open Day (July 5/12) and guided walks celebrating the democratic institutions in the City.

•        Street Guitars: the popular acoustic guitars will once again be dotted around the City for anyone to play, housed in unique repurposed boats. 

•        Children’s Parade: around 1000 children will bring ‘Myths and Legends’ to life on the streets of the City (July 10). Among other free events the Hampstead Heath Family Day will take place on Sunday 28 June.

Lord Mayor of London Alan Yarrow said:

This year’s Festival is a rich feast of cultural treasures so I’d encourage everyone – from office workers to one-off visitors – to jump into a jam-packed programme of fantastic events. 
We are busting the myth that the Square Mile simply serves the financial and professional services industries. The rich diversity of its cultural landscape and identity is the open secret of the City's success - attracting the best and the brightest who want to work and live here.

Vivienne Littlechild, Chairman of the City Corporation's Culture, Heritage & Libraries Committee, said:

The City of London Festival combines our unique history and heritage with the cutting edge entertainment on offer in our growing cultural hub. It is a key part of our drive to show off the Square Mile’s innovative cultural experience alongside the Barbican, the Museum of London, Heritage Gallery and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

City of London Festival Director Paul Gudgin said:

I believe the City of London to be the most exciting part of the country, particularly at Festival time. Where else can you take in jazz at the top of a skyscraper one night, and in a hidden masonic temple the next? Or hear some of the world’s finest singing in historic halls, medieval churches and the magnificent St Paul’s Cathedral?  Our popular inflatable Bowler Hat venue will be returning to Paternoster Square for comedy, cabaret and circus acts, and as ever, there’s plenty of free entertainment lined up, from Street Guitars to the annual Children’s Parade.

Website: www.colf.org

Box office: 0845 120 7502

Twitter: @CoLFestival #BowlerHat

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CityofLondonFestival          

The Museum of Brands is moving!

We're Moving!   We're delighted to announce that we've secured a new, larger home on Lancaster Road, Notting Hill. Thank you for all your support in the 10 years we've been open on Colville Mews.    The new Museum will have more items on display, a dedicated education space, a proper cafe, increased capacity for exhibitions, events and our wonderful shop. Come and visit us before we close on 5th July. Our new location is due to open in September 2015. See our website for more details.

Springtime Animal Hunt 31st March-19th April This Easter we're going on an Animal Hunt! Can you follow the animal footprints that feature throughout our time tunnel? Bring the family, grab a worksheet and win a surprise treat!     Free with admission to the museum.   READ MORE

Friday Late: Spicy Friday Friday 10th April, £10 Spice up your life at the Museum of Brands. Get your Mariachi on and dare to test your heat tolerance in our chilli challenge. It's an evening that will leave all of your senses tingling. Bar, live entertainment, plus lots more!...18+   BOOK NOW

Evening Talk: Adulteration Tuesday 21st April, £10 Are supermarkets responsible for pushing cost pressures down the chain? Or, are we, as consumers, to blame for demanding cheap food? Pamela Robinson discusses Food Adulteration in a Globalised Supply Chain.   BOOK NOW

Evening Talk: Mad Men and Bad Men Thursday 14th May, £10 An Evening Talk with Sam Delaney on his new book Mad Med and Bad Men: What Happened When British Politics Met Advertising. Get a behind-the-scenes tour of the last four decades of election campaigns.   BOOK NOW

Friday Late: Mad Men Friday 15th May, £10 Step into your best swing dress, don your sharpest suit and join us as we go back to the 60s for our Mad Men themed late. With all girl Doo Wop, dresses by Lindy Bop, make-up by Lipstick and Curls and lots more! 18+   BOOK NOW

Instagram We are very excited to announce that we're now on Instagram! Follow us @MuseumOfBrands for the latest images of what's going on and tag us in pictures of your favourite brands, packaging and advertising.  FOLLOW US

April Fool's Day: 10 stories that look like pranks but aren't

April Fool's Day is a hard time for seekers of serious news stories, particularly when there are some stories that seem fanciful but are not.

But here is a round-up of some of this year's bizarre stories that are apparently true.

1. Swedish MPs have backed a ban on unlicensed dancing in public or "illegally moving your feet to music". Bar, restaurant and nightclub owners without permits can be fined if customers "dance spontaneously and without permission" as a result of a vote in the nation's parliament. Police say dancing can cause fighting and disorder.

More details (Daily Mail)

2. Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes would like to create a version of the period drama set in the decade of punk rock, flares and disco. It would feature the show's aristocratic characters "struggling in the 1970s", Fellowes said. He added that he had several spin-off ideas "up his sleeve".

More details (Daily Mirror)

3. Cats are amenable to classical music. A study in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery found that cats hate heavy metal, are indifferent to pop but are fond of classical music. Twelve cats under anaesthetic and wearing headphones were exposed to the three genres of music for two minutes at a time. Those listening to classical appeared calmer — breathing more slowly and with smaller pupils. Miguel Carreira from the University of Lisbon said that cats are especially partial to the music of George Handel.

More details (Times)

4. A Michelin-starred restaurant will ask diners to pay up-front to reduce the number of cancellations. The Clove Club in Shoreditch, east London, will be offered a choice of two tasting menus at £65 and £95 each, excluding drinks. Head chef Isaac McHale said missed reservations were "very expensive for us".

More details (Independent)

5. Two unrelated men who look near-identical and live a few miles apart have finally been introduced. Neil Richardson, 69, and John Jemison, 74, both studied at the same college, worked as religious knowledge teachers, have accounts at the same bank and reside around Braintree, Essex. The two eventually met when they both took the same coach for a Friends of Braintree Museum visit to the Magna Carta exhibition at the British Library.

More details (Daily Telegraph)

6. A dog can play the drums to Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. Maple, a border collie mixed breed, is the star of a video in which she taps a drum pedal in time as her owner plays Jack White's famous riff on the guitar. Maple's percussion skills have earned her 170,000 followers on her Vine channel and 46,900 Instagram followers.

More details (Daily Record)

7. Amazon has launched a button that goes on the wall of your home or a household appliance. When you press it, it will order something you're running out of, for example kitchen roll or washing powder. Called the Dash Button, it is a little hook marked with a brand name. The button is free but only available to Amazon Prime members in the US. So far more than a dozen products are available.

More details

8. Conservative leader David Cameron might be Kim Kardashian's 13th cousin. Labour's Ed Miliband supports the idea of a female James Bond, with Rosamund Pike a compelling candidate. And the Liberal Democrats briefly changed their name on their website to the Liberal Democats - which reality star Joey Essex, who turned up at a Nick Clegg press conference, believed they were called.

More details (Huffington Post - Daily Mail - The Independent)

9. There's been a wave of popularity for adult colouring-in books in France. Publishers have been marketing the books as "art therapy" aids for anxiety. A British publisher is now planning a series entitled Colour Your Way to Calm.

More details (Times)

10. A US entrepreneur has pledged to rid China of "farcical" western names such as Lady Gaga, Elvis and Washing Liquid. Chinese people commonly take a "yingwen ming" or "English name" to help Anglophone employers address them. But often these result in them being "laughed at behind their backs" when they choose such monikers as Furry, Twinkle, Pussy or Volcano, says businesswoman Lindsay Jernigan, who has launched a website to help Mandarin speakers adopt more suitable titles.

More details (Daily Telegraph)

Compiled by Jon Kelly, Justin Parkinson, Tom de Castella and Andrew Sully

Benedict Cumberbatch reads 'In event of moon disaster' letter

Letters Live is a season of readings of letters of note, taking place in London.

As part of a series on Newsnight, to promote the event, actor Benedict Cumberbatch read a letter from 1969 by presidential speechwriter William Safire.

As the world waited for Apollo 11 to land on the Moon, Safire imagined that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin could be stranded up there.

He wrote the speech entitled "In event of moon disaster" to President Nixon's Chief of Staff, to be read by the president if his fears came true.

Listen Watch Here

Eltham Palace: Art deco interiors restored

Once the home of King Henry VIII, Eltham Palace became famous in the 20th Century for its art deco interiors. These have now undergone a £1.7m restoration, the results of which will soon go on display.

The English Heritage property reopens to visitors on Friday with five refurbished rooms, some never seen before by the public.

The first of the refurbished rooms is the walk-in wardrobe of its former owner Virginia Courtauld.

Mrs Courtauld and her millionaire husband Stephen bought the palace as their main residence in 1936 and hosted many lavish parties there.

In recognition of her role as a glamorous hostess, English Heritage has stocked her walk-in wardrobe with clothes based on this painting of the couple, which shows them in their home in London's Grosvenor Square perusing plans for Eltham Palace.

Visitors are encouraged to try on replicas of Mrs Courtauld's red dress and fur cape, sourced from antique fairs and flea markets.

The wardrobe was made from cedar wood and the frame from mahogany which has been reproduced in sapele - a wood similar in texture to the protected hardwood original.

"Eltham Palace is one of the best preserved examples of luxury art deco design on public display in Britain," assistant curator Lester Oram said.

Its many wooden doors inlaid with animals, are some of the most representative designs from this period, he added.

The Courtaulds were particularly enamoured of Eltham's medieval hall, which was bombed by the Germans during World War Two.

Mr Courtauld was on watch that night in September 1940 and helped to extinguish the fire. He took a keen interest in history and also produced a guide to the hall.

The Courtaulds were friends with many people in high society and government, including the Conservative MP Richard Butler who drafted his 1944 education bill at Eltham Palace.

He possibly warned the Courtaulds about the impending war when they bought Eltham Palace in 1936, Mr Oram said, because they took the precaution of reinforcing the basement with cement to make a bunker which they and their staff would later use.

The basement was split into two rooms, one a temporary living quarter and the other a games room with a billiard table for their entertainment in confinement. Conveniently the bunker was located next to the wine cellar too.

The billiards room is one of the five new rooms on display. It features a mural by the British artist Mary Adshead, a renowned mural painter in the 1930s whose work they would have seen on luxury cruise liners.

This mural depicts St Cecilia and was brought from the Courtaulds' previous home in Grosvenor Square.

The Courtaulds lived in the palace from 1936 until 1944. It became the home of the Royal Army Educational Corps in 1945 and English Heritage took over its management in 1995.

BBC News

Holborn electrical fire causes mass evacuation

An electrical fire under the pavement in central London has led to some 2,000 people being evacuated from nearby buildings.

Fire crews were called after smoke was seen coming out of an inspection cover on Kingsway in Holborn.

The electrical fire is among cables, said London Fire Brigade. A 25m safety cordon has been put in place.

Police have declared a major incident and closed the road at both ends.

The emergency services are waiting for utility companies to disconnect the power supply before tackling the blaze.

Motorists have been told to avoid the area.

BBC News