The London Minute ⏰ Monday 30 June 2025
Hottest day of the year forecast, Piccadilly Circus crash, basement flats flood warning, Saucy Books opens in Notting Hill + Wimbledon ticket tips
☀️ Good morning London. Here’s Monday’s London Minute.
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🌡️ The hottest day of the year so far is forecast. It could reach 35C today according to the Met Office forecast.
⮑ Southern trains running through Croydon and the Gatwick Express could be cancelled or delayed this week due to the hot temperatures. - More details from Ezekiel Bertrand in This is Local London.
🚔 A young man is reportedly ‘fighting for his life’ after a BMW crashed near a roundabout in Piccadilly Circus. - Sami Quadri, The Standard.
💰 More than 2,000 TfL staff earn six-figure pay packets. But TfL insisted the £100,000 salary benchmark was ‘no longer a useful measure’, reports Ross Lydall in The Standard.
🌊 The Mayor has written to Londoners in 56,000 basement properties to ‘urgently raise awareness’ of the increased risk of floods due to climate change and to help people prepare in the event of a flood. It’s part of London Climate Action Week (21-27 June).
🏠 Will Labour's housebuilding plans ease Lewisham's housing crisis? - Dorothy Stein investigates for Salamander News.
⮑ Also: Local scientists say this heatwave was made 100 times more likely by the climate crisis. Wildlife is suffering too, with low water levels reported local rivers. - Dorothy Stein in Salamander News has tips on how to help.
🐝 A wildlife corridor in Chiswick that was home to song thrushes and hedgehogs has been ‘destroyed’ by a developers working on a new sports ground for a private school. - Esme Winterbotham, The Chiswick Calendar.
🏗️ A plan to demolish and replace two almost-empty residential blocks in Barnet has been submitted – after fears were raised they could collapse. - Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter, in Barnet Post.
🐟 Plans to redevelop the land currently occupied by the Smithfield and Billingsgate wholesale food markets were approved on Thursday last week. - Dave Hill looks at the plans in On London.
🪩 The Pryzm venue in Kingston’s disco room has closed for a ‘major transformation’ under new ownership. - Ezekiel Bertrand, Your Local Guardian.
Mudlarking on the shores of the Thames is serious business and it’s getting out of hand, with the police involved. - Simon Usborne investigates in London Centric.
💗 A new bookshop called Saucy Books opened in Notting Hill last week. - Nadia Khomami visited for The Guardian.
🏓 Four indoor tennis courts at the Lea Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre are set to be turned into seven double and two single padel courts, sparking a backlash, reports Marco Marcelline in the Waltham Forest Echo.
🎾 The world's best tennis players are arriving for the start of the Wimbledon championships today.
⮑ There’s a handy overview on the BBC Sport site here.
⮑ In the famous queue outside, Harry Taylor, who has camped out for tickets every year since 1992 has kept his streak going. - He spoke to Jacob Panons here.
⮑ If you can’t queue, a limited number are released online at 9am each day through Ticketmaster at this link. - Find more ticket tips here.
✌️ 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.
🗿 A new statue of a woman who has been ‘hidden in history’ has been unveiled for Londoners to make wishes at Cowthorpe Community Gardens. - Brooke Davies, Metro.
🐣 The Egyptian Geese on Tooting Common have had more goslings. - Tooting Newsie.
🦅 Oscar, a Harris hawk, has joined the team at Euston Station to deter pigeons from nesting and feeding in areas used by passengers. - Victoria Thompson, Rail Advent.
🎨 The National Portrait Gallery has announced the acquisition of 12 portraits by Lucian Freud, ahead of a major exhibition of his work scheduled for next year. - IanVisits.
🎾 There is a detailed guide to what drinks you can take in to Wimbledon, and what’s available on site, from James Bayley in The Drinks Business.
🎉 Happy birth-month to Londonist, which began 20 years ago. - Matt Brown writes about the difference between a Londonist and a Londoner here.
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📌 “🎤 The poster says ‘veteran’ but let’s say ‘legendary Fringe stand-up stalwart’ Arthur Smith is on a head-spinning line-up on Friday this week. Binge on the Edinburgh Fringe without leaving London! Leading comedy website Chortle presents a jam-packed bill of 30 comedy and variety acts heading to the festival in one frenetically paced gig. Tickets for the Fast Fringe at Pleasance London are here.” - Thanks to Zara Hill for sharing this.
📈 The most-viewed links from the last newsletter:
🎪 Map tool shows the size of Glastonbury compared to London.
👗 Bridgerton fans assemble for costume world record attempt in Greenwich.
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That new statue story is a bit odd... the Metro have called the location "Cowthorpe Community Garden" throughout, when it's Calthorpe... almost as if the story was dictated and the software mis-heard. And then it has odd sentences like: "who kept a well with the ability to people’s eyes."