The London Minute ⏰ Friday 27 June 2025
Euston 'chaos' again, Greens win Greenwich by-election, East London Shakespeare Festival, Hackney Depot flea market + 35C forecast for Monday
🌤️ Good morning London. It’s another hot weekend. Stay hydrated! Here’s Friday’s London Minute.
☀️ An amber heat health alert has been issued for London as temperatures are set to climb to more than 30C again. - The Met Office forecast currently shows 35C on Monday.
🚊 Passengers using Euston station have been warned they face further disruption today after a train derailment yesterday caused ‘total chaos’ last night. - Matt Watts, The Standard.
🚇 The entire Circle Line is suspended this morning due to a late finish of engineering work. There are also delays on the District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. - Get live TfL updates here.
🗳️ The Green Party has its first ever councillor in Greenwich after Tamasin Rhymes won last night’s Shooters Hill by-election. Turnout was 32.6%. - Darryl Chamberlain of The Greenwich Wire was at Woolwich Town Hall until after midnight for the results.
🚔 Two Metropolitan Police officers have been sacked for the strip search of a 15-year-old girl at her school in east London. The girl, now a woman in her 20s, was known as Child Q during a hearing. She now says she does not know if she is ever ‘going to feel normal again’. - Adina Campbell, BBC News.
⮑ Met Police Commander Kevin Southworth said: “The experience of Child Q should never have happened and was truly regrettable.” - The police statement is here.
🏫 The mergers of five schools in Westminster are set to be complete by the start of the autumn term. - Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter, The Fitzrovia News.
🏠 The population of London is expected to grow to almost 9.5m by 2032 – putting it on course for 10m by the middle of the next decade. - Ross Lydall, The Standard.
🚳 Plans to regulate pedicabs are moving forward after a consultation found ‘overwhelming support’ for new rules. - Gwyn Topham, The Guardian.
⮑ TfL published full details here.
🛹 A former rifle range and undercroft by Blackfriars Bridge are being reviewed for potential reuse as a skatepark and energy centre. - Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter, Southwark News.
🎤 A new traders association for traders in Brixton Village and Market Row has launched with the goal of unifying traders across Brixton’s Markets. - Brixton Buzz.
🛍️ The cancellation of London Fashion Week’s June edition raised questions about how to carve out a menswear-specific space in the industry’s calendar. Vogue Business’ Maliha Shoaib speaks to buyers and designers and asks: What is the future of London menswear?
🎪 Glastonbury festival is on this weekend. Just how big is it? - Best of Clapham shared this website that lets you compare the festival’s size to anywhere on a map:
✌️ Better news
This section aims to include better news from all over London. It’s a wide range of things, and as always you’re welcome to submit yours here. My hope is that it inspires more civic pride and community spirit, new plans in your calendar and a few smiles or laughs along the way.
🚴♂️ Cycling hero Sir Chris Hoy and his wife Lady Sarra Hoy have received the Freedom of the City of London for charitable work for cancer awareness. - Kerri-Ann Roper, Daily Record.
🎾 Portman Square Garden in Marylebone is being ‘transformed’ into a free summer festival of food, culture, community and tennis. - Sophie England, Ham & High.
🎤 Singer Chaka Khan has been revealed as the headline act for the London LGBTQ+ Community Pride CIC and Pride in London Trafalgar Square stage on Saturday 5 July. - BBC London has the details.
🏳️🌈 A £2m refit of the Black Cap in Camden has finally begun. - Bridget Galton, Ham & High.
🏥 Richmond’s Barnes Hospital is set to become a hub for ‘high-quality mental health and education services’, thanks to a £30 million investment. - Full details and all the west’s news in Love Richmond.
👗 Bridgerton fans assemble: the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich will attempt a world record for the most people dressed up in film costumes in one place. - IanVisits has the details.
🎭 The East London Shakespeare Festival has a summer production of As You Like It at Riverside East on Sunday. There is a pre-show garland-making workshop for families, too. - Full details in another brilliant edition of The Wick.
📆 This weekend’s events include: the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, Wildlife Photographer of the Year at the Natural History Museum + a huge Catan contest at the Oval. - Full details are in the Londonist weekend guide.
📌 The London Minute Community Noticeboard:
📌 “Hackney Depot Flea Market is set to open for the whole weekend this Saturday and Sunday! There’ll be lots of stalls to explore including fashion, jewellery, homeware, furniture, art, vinyl records and books. Open 10am - 5pm both days it promises to be a fun weekend of treasure hunting!” Thanks to Louisa for sharing this.
📈 The most-viewed links from the last newsletter:
⏰ I’ll send an update at the weekend about the future of this newsletter. Thanks to everyone who’s had a say on the post here.
The future of The London Minute ⏰
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Oh boy… thanks for the Monday warning!
That Glasto map is sooooo much fun. Thank you!! This kind of hidden gem is one of the reasons I look forward to your daily (week day) posts each morning.