January 2009 Archives

A part of the West End made famous by the Da Vinci Code looks set to be transformed into a new public square.

Great Queen Street which sits at the crossroads of Covent Garden and Drury Lane, and was once a secret pathway used by royalty and coveted by the Brotherhood of Masons - will shed its mysterious past by being transformed as part of the continued enhancement of the West End to encourage people to walk between Lincoln's Inn Fields, Holborn, Covent Garden and Leicester Square.

Fire swept through a flat above a shop in the West End on Saturday night.

Part of the first floor was damaged by the blaze, which broke out at a flat in Charing Cross Road at around 7.15pm and was brought under control by 9pm.

Concerns about safety in the Royal Parks can be raised at a special meeting.

On Tuesday, police from Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Grosvenor Square and Brompton Cemetery will be available to answer questions.

A dance teacher is hoping to find world champions by setting up a school in Pimlico.

The dance school, which will teach disco, jazz, hip hop, ballroom and Latin American dancing, opens up at Pimlico Academy, in Lupus Street, from February 3.

Scotland's much-loved poet Robert Burns' 250th birthday will be celebrated in Knightsbridge on Saturday.

A special Burns Supper Ceilidh will be held at St Columba's church hall in Pont Street, from 7.30pm.

Two blazes broke out in Pimlico in the early hours of Friday morning.

The first fire damaged part of a third floor flat in Belgrave Road, filling the building with heavy smoke.

New Year dieters could take a lesson from David Fearn from Pimlico, who has lost more than three-and-a half-stone in six months despite the temptations of chocolates and mince pies.

Mr Fearn, 60, of Bessborough Place, has been overweight for much of his life, but his weight rocketed to 25 stone following the death of his parents in 2000.

Bus, car and tube users will all benefit from transport improvements announced for Westminster.

In 2009, Transport for London (TfL) will spend £240,000 improving road surfacing along Great George Street, Westminster, and is introducing environmentally-friendly hybrid buses on route 24, which runs from Hampstead Heath to Pimlico.