25 trends at London fashion week

1 Colours that almost clash now look more stylish and well-put-together than colours that "go". See: emerald with salmon at Nicole Farhi, and chartreuse with lilac at Betty Jackson.

2 The Angular Hourglass is the new silhouette. Sharp shoulders, small waist and the new diamond-shaped skirt.

3 Rolling the hems of your trousers up just-so is essential to show off your new shoes, but is not as easy as it looks.

4 The Mulberry Bayswater handbag is a new classic. Next season, you can go girly with the pale pink bow-trimmed version or channel Alexa Chung tomboy chic with the satchel-strapped one.

5 When you see the new Luella collection, you are going to want to wear sky blue and lemon yellow. Really.

6 Apparently, we are going to be wearing ankle boots all next summer.

7 Croque monsieurs are fashion's new favourite snack.

8 The most expensive item in the average British person's wardrobe cost £293, according to new research by insurer Hiscox.

9 Shagpile carpet is set to make a comeback, if the swooning over Jaeger's thick cream catwalk is anything to go by.

10 Big shoulders are here to stay.

11 Double denim could be set for a shock comeback. Will Sienna Miller be wearing this outfit from her Twenty8Twelve collection next summer?

12 Cleavage is totally over. Even Kelly Brook wore a high-necked, smock-style dress to Philip Green's party.

13 Grace Kelly will be the style reference to drop next summer.

14 Very posh cardigans are the new evening coats. Next season we want Pringle's luxe, louche cable knit or Christopher Kane's slashed navy cardi. Until then we're wearing our Kate Moss Topshop silver sequined number to death.

15 The first sightings of the Powder and Flash power-mesh-backed sexy silk frocks by Preen on the party circuit will be next season's Galaxy moment, mark our words. Order one now, while you still can.

16 Betty Jackson rocks. Her pink-and-coffee floral dress is top of our summer shopping list.

17 Simon Cowell is the celebrity's celebrity. The starry crowd at Sir Philip Green's dinner at The Ivy on Sunday – Kate, Naomi, Lily Donaldson, Kelly Brook and co – went decidedly giddy in the presence of the Mayor of Saturday Nights.

18 It is no longer fashionable to be late. When the Peter Pilotto show still hadn't started after 25 minutes of waiting, Anna Wintour took off her sunglasses, made eye- contact with the PR and tapped her watch. The show started within seconds.

19 Erdem Moralioglu, alumni of the DVF studio now designing his own label in London, could be Britain's Jason Wu – the go-to designer for First Ladies and shadow first ladies. Sarah Brown wore an Erdem abstract-floral frock for her Downing Street bash; four days later Sam Cameron turned up in the front row at the Erdem show.

20 Sequins are now perfectly acceptable daywear. Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, wore sequined cardigans for two days of shows.

21 The dress to wear this autumn, before next season's trends hit the shops, is this one by Christopher Kane, £1,485 from net-a-porter.com. Tout le monde is wearing it at the shows this week.
22 Somerset House is a beautiful venue, but cobblestones and spike heeled sandals is a dangerous combination.

23 "Research shows that investing in the fashion business pays dividends for London at a ratio of 30:1." We don't know where Boris Johnson got this statistic, but we like it.

24 Next summer, polka dots will be the new Breton stripe. Itsy-bitsy on bikinis at Caroline Charles, blown up to giant scale at Luella.

25 It is time to put your GHD straighteners away and master the arts of backcombing and crimping. Finger-in-the-plug-socket hair is the way to go next season.

Travel advice: card-users beware

Airlines and travel companies are charging customers increasingly high fees for debit and credit card transactions. Here are some of the worst offenders.

It isn't just the extras we're increasingly asked to pay to check in luggage that inflates the cost of travelling. The method of payment can bump it up too. Last month, Eurostar introduced a fee of £3 per booking for payment by credit card over the phone or online. The company defends the move, saying: "We aren't making a profit [on the fee], this is just a proportion of the charge made to Eurostar by credit card companies – we're finding that these costs are spiralling out of control."

Not that others aren't applying similar charges: booking through a call centre (rather than through a website) and using a credit or debit card invariably means you'll be charged more. However, these costs do vary from company to company, as the following examples demonstrate.

Brittany Ferries (www.brittanyferries.com) No fee for call centre bookings or debit cards; credit card fee £5 per booking.

British Airways (www.ba.com) Call centre fee £5; credit card fee £4.50; no fee for debit cards. Charges are per passenger, per booking.

Bmibaby (calls cost 65p per minute; www.bmibaby.com) Call centre fee £7.50; credit card fee £3.75; debit card fee £2.75. Charges are per person, per one-way fare. No fee for payments with a Visa Electron card.

easyJet(www.easyjet.com) Call centre fee £15; credit card fee £2.95 per cent of the total transaction with a minimum charge of £4; debit card fee £2.95. No fee for payments made using a Visa Electron card.

Eurostar (www.eurostar.com) No fee for call centre bookings or debit cards; credit card fee £3 per booking.

Flybe (www.flybe.com) Call centre fee £12; credit card fee £3.50; debit card fee £1.50 (minimum £2 per booking). Charges are per person, per one-way flight. No fee for payments with a Visa Electron card.

P & O Ferries (www.poferries.com) Call centre fee £5; credit card fee £2; no fee for debit cards. Charges are per booking.

Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) Call centre fee £5; credit card fee £5; debit card fee £5. Charges are per passenger, per one-way fare.

St Pancras International, London

Shiny, renovated St Pancras is one of London’s must-see sights, whether you’re hopping on a Eurostar to the continent or just treating yourself to a glass of fizz at the champagne bar stretching beside the platforms.

It is celebrated for its Victorian architecture.

The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London, between the British Library, King's Cross station and the Regent's Canal. It was opened in 1868 by the Midland Railway as the southern terminus. At the time of opening, the arched Barlow train shed was the largest single-span roof in the world.

From 1840, Midland trains to and from London ran from Euston using the London and North Western line via a junction at Rugby. Congestion and delays south of Rugby quickly became commonplace as services expanded. Construction of the station foundations did not start until July 1866.

The first train, an express for Manchester, ran non-stop from Kentish Town to Leicester - the longest non-stop run in the world at 97 miles (156 km). By the 1960s, St Pancras station came to be seen as redundant, and several attempts were made to close the station.

The station has since been rebuilt. On 4 September 2007, the first test train ran from Paris Gare du Nord to St Pancras. The full Eurostar timetable came into operation on 9 December 2007. The basic service provides 17 pairs of trains to and from Paris Gare du Nord every day. Additional weekend leisure-oriented trains also run to the French Alps during the skiing season.

Fictional uses

Platform 2 is used for the arrival of a Royal train in the film King Ralph.
The station is used as the location for the Berlin Railway Station scene in the 1992 movie Shining Through.
It is used as the seat of government for the King in Richard III.
Mr. Bean attempts to leave this station without a ticket in Hair By Mr. Bean Of London.
The music video for the Spice Girls song Wannabe was filmed inside the former Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras.
Part of the film 102 Dalmatians was shot in St Pancras.
St Pancras station can be recognized in the exterior shots of King's Cross station in the Harry Potter film series.
The interior corridor and stairwell shots of Arkham Asylum in the film Batman Begins were shot in the disused Midland Grand Hotel.
The gargoyles from the station roof come to life and play an important part in Charlie Fletcher's children's book Stoneheart.

Susan Boyle checks into London clinic suffering from 'emotional exhaustion'

The frumpy pop sensation Susan Boyle was checked into a London clinic Sunday suffering from "emotional exhaustion," British papers reported.

Boyle, 48, the Scottish church employee who became an international YouTube phenomenon, ranted "I hate this show" after her disappointing loss in a television talent show Saturday.

Paramedics and police were called to help the "spaced-out" star through a hotel lobby early Sunday, according to the Sun newspaper.

Newspapers said she was taken to the private Priory Clinic in London, but management would not confirm or deny that the star was being treated there.

A "Britain's Got Talent" spokeswoman said last night Boyle was "exhausted and emotionally drained" from Saturday's show. The newspapers reported that Boyle ran down a corridor shouting, "I hate this show," after her defeat and said she threw a cup of water on a floor manager who tried to calm her down.

Ticket machines on Tube upgraded with 17 languages

Ticket machines on the London Underground (LU) have been upgraded to operate in 17 different languages.

Some of the touch-screen machines were already available in six languages - English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.

From today, all machines in every station will also have Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Tamil, and Turkish.

More than 300 languages are spoken in total in London.

Kulveer Ranger, Transport Director to the Mayor of London, said: "Boosting the number of languages on our ticket machines is just another step in making life easier for those who live in, or travel through, the capital.

It would give many people added confidence, help maintain London as a city that supports its cultural diversity and would also improve tourists' visits to the city."

Public Holidays 2009

Public Holiday Date

New Year's Day: January 1, 2009
Good Friday: April 10, 2009
Easter Monday: April 13, 2009
May Day Holiday: May 4, 2009
Memorial Day/Spring Bank Holiday: Monday, May 25, 2009
Summer Bank Holiday: Monday, August 31, 2009
Christmas Day: December 25, 2009
Boxing Day: December 28, 2009
New Year’s Day: January 1, 2010

Swine Flu Dilemma - To Travel or Not to Travel?

Fearing that their vacations could comprise of surf, sand and swine flu, potential travelers are turning to health organizations for guidance on whether to pack their bags or stay home. Contradictory advice from various sectors doesn't seem to make it any easier to decide whether to fly or not to fly.

The European Union's health commissioner Androulla Vassiliou told reporters in Luxembourg that she was "not worried at this stage" about a pandemic sweeping across Europe, but she urged travelers to avoid Mexico and the United States anyway. That prompted a swift rebuke from Richard Besser, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, who rejected her advisory as "quite premature."

On the other side, the CDC website "recommends that U.S. travelers avoid all nonessential travel to Mexico." The World Health Organization, is calling on nations to keep their borders open and to avoid restricting international travel, and emphasizes that a pandemic is not inevitable. Despite the plea, Argentina and Cuba have suspended all flights from Mexico, and tour operators and airlines across the globe — including some based in Canada, Germany and the U.K. — have canceled flights and holiday packages to sunshine destinations like Cancún and Cozumel.

Geoffrey Lipman, assistant secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, says "We know from the past that restrictions don't actually serve to hold back the spread of this kind of virus. It's already out there around the world in different places."

What are they wearing on the London streets

Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Museum of the odd, the unusual, the unbelievable located in London. Situated in the heart of the West End at 1 Piccadilly Circus, the attraction will feature over 500 authentic, original and unbelievable exhibits, from a four-metre long model of Tower Bridge made out of matchsticks and an upside-down tea party to the world's tallest man and a Mini Cooper encrusted with 1,000,000 Swarovski crystals. Ripley's Believe It or Not! presents a unique mixture of entertainment, education and fun for the entire family -appealing to anyone with a basic sense of curiosity.

The Crystal Car covered in 1 million Swarovski lead crystals, in the shape of 10 separate images of American Icons, including the Statue of Liberty, the Hollywood Hills sign, Mt Rushmore. It was made by Ken and Annie Burkitt of Ontario, Canada.

Where Truth is Stranger than Fiction!
Opening Hours: Open 7 days a week, 365 days of the year10.00 - 00.00pm (last entry 22.30)
Prices Adult: £17.95
Senior/Student: £15.95
Child 4 - 15: £13.95
Under 4: Free

Address:The London Pavilion
1 Piccadilly Circus
LondonW1J 0DA
Nearest Tube Station: Piccadilly CircusUse Exit 4 to Coventry Street

LONDON FOR FREE

You shouldn't need to break the bank to live it up in London.

• Travel Children under the age of 11 can travel on the Tube, trams and buses for free during off-peak times, so if tempers get frayed, you can always take them on a magical mystery tour.
• Appliance of Science The Science Museum is a seven-floor extravaganza of hands-on activities, featuring exhibits such as Stephenson's Rocket and the Apollo 10 command module.
• The common touch Wimbledon, Clapham, Primrose Hill, Hyde Park... all over the city there are vast green spaces perfect for kicking a ball about or having a picnic.
• Changing of the Guard Arrive at Buckingham Palace before 11.30am for this show of pomp and ceremony, but check the palace website (www.royal.gov.uk) first in case of changes.
• Celeb-spotting If you're lucky enough to be visiting on the night of a film première, get yourself off to Leicester Square and try to spot a star on the red carpet. See the City of Westminster website (www.westminster.gov.uk) to find out when the big names are next in town.
• Flight of fancy The RAF Museum has more than 100 aircraft, as well as aviation and wartime memorabilia on display, along with a Battle of Britain sound-and-light show and a Red Arrows flight simulator.
• Rock on At the O2 Arena in Greenwich, you can sing along to your favourite song and be superimposed into the video. The clip is then sent to you for free.
• Get wet The fountains at Somerset House with their 55 jets, are great fun for children to cool down after a day's activities. Entry to the 18th-century house is also free to under-18s.

London Street Fashion

What they are wearing on the streets of London.

100 Musical Events in 5 Days in King's Cross

Dates: 1 October 2008 to 5 October 2008
Times: 01 - 05 Oct 2008 8:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Venue: Kings Place

Kings Place opens its doors with 5 days of music for all, beginning with 100 metronomes resonating throughout the Atrium at 9am on 1 October.

Kings Place is a new culture and arts centre in London. The venue will host an exciting new programme of music, painting and sculpture from around the world.

From the avid concert-goer to musical novice, there will be something for everyone as performers take to the stage from 9.30am to midnight for 5 days running.
String ensembles, jazz combos, singers and musicians will fill the halls of Kings Place with music and creativity. After the launch, the cultural events will continue with an exciting programme of concerts already planned.

Highlights of the Kings Place opening festival include:

• The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment


• London Chamber Music Society


• The Classical Opera Company


• Jazz from the F-IRE Collective

Kings Place houses the first new public concert hall to be built in central London since the completion of the Barbican Concert Hall in 1982. It's part of the large regeneration project currently happening in King's Cross.

The space also includes a new 60-seat atrium café Green & Fortune, and the Rotunda Bar which overlooks the waterfront.

The X-Files: London location

The ‘Somerset’ home of the Well-Manicured Man (John Neville) in the X-Files movie is not in England at all, but in California, at 380 South San Rafael Avenue, Pasadena, the Tudor-style mansion seen in Topper, Dead Again and Rush Hour.

When Mulder is summoned to attend the meeting of elders, that really is London. The entrance is Queen Alexandra’s House, Kensington Gore, SW7, alongside the Albert Hall in Kensington. The interior, however, is once more back in Pasadena. It’s is the Athenaeum, the dining club of the California Institute of Technology, at 551 South Hill Avenue (a frequently used location, seen in Beverly Hills Cop and True Romance among others).

Elton John's 'J' brooch for sale in London

A sapphire-and-diamond brooch worn by singer Elton John in one of his music videos will go under the gavel this week. The art deco piece is shaped like a "J" and was worn by John in the 1988 music video "I Don't Wanna Go on With You Like That."

It is expected to fetch $22,000 when it goes up for sale at Bonhams auction house in London on Thursday. The 1930s-era brooch has brilliant-cut and baguette-cut diamonds and oval-cut and circular-cut sapphires.

Ten Things to See at the London Design Festival 2008

Kicking off today, the London Design Festival 2008 is a two-week extravaganza with a bewildering array of shows, exhibitions, seminars and general hobnobbing, big names, young talent, highly commercial offerings, as well as work which is so conceptual we’re not really sure if it’s even design.
Here are 10 things to keep a watch in the two weeks ahead.

1. 100% East will be held at the Old Truman Brewery. 21-24 September.
2. Designers Block showcases young design talent at The Nicholls and Clarke Buildings. 21-24 September.
3. [re] Design showcases young design talent at The Nicholls and Clarke Buildings. 21-24 September.
4. New Designers Selection exhibits this year’s top design graduates. Studio 95, Brick Lane. 21-24 September.
5. [re] Design highlights design friendly to the society and the environment. The Boiler House, Old Truman Brewery 20-26 September.
6. Design UK shows 40 new and established designers. 4th floor at Liberty 20-30 September.
7. Design Mart nurtures new talent at the Design Museum 20-30 September.
8. B&B Italia introduces new furniture by Antonio Citterio, Naoto Fukasawa, Patricia Urquiola, Monica Armani, Paola Piva and products by Moooi at their Brompton Quarter store. 15-30 September.
9. Old Truman Brewery on 20 September.
10. Tom Dixon installs polystyrene chairs in Trafalgar Square 20-24 September. You can claim a chair starting at 3pm on 21 September.
11. Canadian artist Jason Young shows his curling stone-based work at The Air Gallery, 16, 17 and 23 September.

English Channel Tunnel Reopens

Limited passenger and freight train service through the undersea tunnel linking Britain and the Continent resumed Saturday after a roaring blaze left thousands of travelers stranded and delayed on both sides.

The closure threatens to disrupt services for several weeks and raises new questions about how such incidents could occur after previous fires in the tunnel, which is relied upon by truckers as well as tens of thousands of tourists and business people shuttling between London, Paris and Brussels each day.

Six people were taken to a hospital in Calais suffering from smoke inhalation. There were no reports of more serious injuries, but a truck driver talking to French media suggested that he and others had narrowly escaped.

The tunnel beneath the Channel consists of two tubes that ordinarily carry passenger trains and freight in opposite directions, and a third tube used for maintenance and evacuations. The fire broke out on a freight shuttle train traveling in the tube heading toward France. Eurostar said Saturday that it had begun running a limited service in the tube that was not affected by the fire.

Eurostar canceled all its trains in both directions Friday. Gareth Headon, a spokesman for Eurostar, said those customers could either seek refunds or reschedule their trips for other dates. On Saturday, Eurostar said there would be further alterations to the limited timetable, without being more specific.

Airports in talks to lift security ban on liquids

The UK government is in discussions with security companies and Britain's airports to lift the ban on liquids being carried in hand luggage as early as next year.

Technology already deployed at Heathrow's new Terminal 5 can automatically detect the presence of liquids in carry-on bags. Now, government scientists are running tests to see if the scanners can be adapted to pick out those that are harmful.

"The technology is there, which will allow these scanners not only to test for liquids but also to determine if those liquids are dangerous or not," said a security industry source. "At the moment, that technology is being tested by the security services and when they are happy that it works, the ban will be lifted."

The aviation industry is keen to see a change in the restrictions, brought in after intelligence experts believed they had foiled a plot to blow up airliners with liquid bombs in August 2006.

Airlines have complained that the rules make the UK's hubs less attractive to passengers. Analysts put the total cost of the liquid bomb plot to the industry at as much as £200m. The hand luggage restrictions dictate that bottles containing more than 100ml of liquid cannot be carried and only one bag is allowed.

BAA, which operates the UK's main airports Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, had to recruit 3,000 extra security staff to cope with the restrictions. It puts the total cost of the measures in the "tens of millions". When you go to airports at the moment, you can see the confusion, with many people still bringing too many liquids.

Four UK airports including Heathrow have bought scanners that will detect dangerous liquids and more are on order. It is believed the Government will not lift the restrictions until all major airports have the new technology.

But The Department of Transport said it took its lead from advice given by the joint intelligence analysis centre. It added that the recent bomb plot court case had proven that potential terrorists were already capable of creating bombs from domestic items.

History of Harrods

Since Harrods first opened its doors, the store has always prided itself on a reputation for excellence, that nothing is too much trouble for their customers, and finding the finest-quality merchandise.

Harrods was established in 1834 in London’s East End, when founder Charles Henry Harrod set up a wholesale grocery in Stepney, with a special interest in tea. In 1849, to escape the filth of the inner city and to capitalise on trade to the Great Exhibition of 1851 in nearby Hyde Park, Harrod took over a small shop in the district of Knightsbridge, on the site of the current store.

Beginning in a single room employing two assistants and a messenger boy, Harrod’s son Charles Digby Harrod built the business into a thriving retail operation selling medicines, perfumes, stationery, fruit, and vegetables. Harrods rapidly expanded, acquired the adjoining buildings, and employed one hundred people by 1880.

Tstore’s booming fortunes were reversed in early December 1883, when it burnt to the ground. Charles Harrod fulfilled all of his commitments to his customers to make Christmas deliveries that year — and made a record profit in the process.

A new building was raised on the same site, and soon Harrods extended credit for the first time to its best customers, among them Oscar Wilde, legendary actresses Lilly Langtry and Ellen Terry, Noël Coward, Sigmund Freud, A. A. Milne, and many members of the British royal family.

In 1898, Harrods installed the world's first moving staircase (escalator); nervous customers were offered brandy at the top to revive them after their 'ordeal'.

London's famous black cabs made in China

London Taxis are as British as bowler hats and Big Ben. But the latest models coming off this new assembly line are unlikely to ever touch an English road.

At a sprawling factor in the lush green suburbs of Shanghai, young Chinese workers are busily gearing up for full-scale production of one of Britain's most iconic vehicles. It is part of an odd alliance that aims to give the distinctive black cab a greater presence outside its namesake city.

London Taxi International which will continue to build nine out of 10 cabs used in Britain at a factory in Coventry, England, could not grow production at its small-scale, high-cost plant. So it turned to a partner and to China, as a way to drive overseas expansion.

"You do need to make progress within the automotive industry." said Paul Stowe, who is overseeing the JV between Britain's Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC, and GeelyGroupHoldings.

Travelling on London transport to be more expensive

The cost of travelling on London transport for adults will rise by more than inflation next year as a fares freeze imposed by Ken Livingstone is scrapped. Several transport schemes announced by the former mayor will also be dropped, but Johnson has pledged that the £16bn Crossrail project and a £30bn upgrade of the underground network will go ahead.

According to Johnson's officials, postponing the planned 2008 fare rise cost £60m, while a cut in some types of bus fare cost £24m. To plug that gap, 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.

Some fares will be cut to encourage people to travel off peak.