Your guide to London's culture and transport news and events taking place across the city.

Your guide to London's culture and transport news and events taking place across the city.

rants - Archive Articles

Venues that won’t sell tickets to single people

There are some venues that are happy to sell tickets to people, but at times, not to single people.

Jul
23
2020
“Actually, I think you’ll find” – A Purgatory of Pedants
“Actually, I think you’ll find” – A Purgatory of Pedants

“Actually, I think you’ll find” – A Purgatory of Pedants

When writing or talking about, well frankly, almost anything, lurking in the corner, a black cloud waits, the pedant is about to strike.

Sep
29
2016
Two egregious PR pitches this week
Two egregious PR pitches this week

Two egregious PR pitches this week

Time to fire up the PR rant-o-thon, with two particularly egregious examples that I have been on the receiving end this week.

Mar
13
2014
Rant time! Stupid website security questions
Rant time! Stupid website security questions

Rant time! Stupid website security questions

Poor TfL, about to get a bout of my ire, and while they are not the only miscreants in this area, what I just saw is pretty high up the rankings of poor practice.

Mar
02
2014
In which I name and shame a PR agency
In which I name and shame a PR agency

In which I name and shame a PR agency

Among all the many PR companies that contact me, some are very good, some very bad, and most are average -- in fact, just like every industry out there, a mix of good, bad and average.

Oct
29
2013
The tabloidisation of Facebook marches on
The tabloidisation of Facebook marches on

The tabloidisation of Facebook marches on

Facebook has made some more changes to how it decides what you the user will be permitted to see on its website.

Aug
07
2013
Some more desperate efforts from the PR industry
Some more desperate efforts from the PR industry

Some more desperate efforts from the PR industry

It's been a fair while since I did one of these, and there has been a marked increase in exceptionally badly targetted PR and spam at this blog.

Aug
04
2013
Last day of free Wi-Fi on the Underground
Last day of free Wi-Fi on the Underground

Last day of free Wi-Fi on the Underground

Launched just in time for the Olympics, Virgin's Wi-Fi service has been on of those rare tube upgrades that seems to have had a significant and immediate impact on those who use it.

Jan
29
2013
Some more desperate efforts from the PR industry
Some more desperate efforts from the PR industry

Some more desperate efforts from the PR industry

Time for an email fisking… This is a selection of a few of the more egregious emails I have received over the past fortnight. Charlotte wrote: “Now we’re in the midst of the summer holiday period, we wanted to send

Aug
15
2012
The Docklands Light Railway’s Drainpipe of Doom
The Docklands Light Railway’s Drainpipe of Doom

The Docklands Light Railway’s Drainpipe of Doom

The Docklands Light Railway recently covered up one of their bridges in a load of scaffolding and protective wrapping – which prompted me to send them a message asking a fairly specific, but quite simple question. Will the drain be

Jul
31
2012
Confusing email about Olympic changes to Canary Wharf
Confusing email about Olympic changes to Canary Wharf

Confusing email about Olympic changes to Canary Wharf

I just received a rather badly worded email from TfL laying out what they will do at Canary Wharf tube station during the Olympics, which leaves more questions than it answers.

Jul
19
2012
Some Boris Bike problems
Some Boris Bike problems

Some Boris Bike problems

Generally speaking, I do not judge a company by the fact that something has gone wrong. That is unfair as no matter how much you spend/invest/whatever, things will still go wrong at times. It is inevitable. What I will do

Mar
30
2012
Please stop describing doing something as “having an experience”
Please stop describing doing something as “having an experience”

Please stop describing doing something as “having an experience”

Remember the good old days when you read a blog and considered it to be, well, just reading a blog? Not any more – you are no longer permitted to be a mere external consumer of content, you are now

Mar
12
2012
RMT tells station staff they shouldn’t grit platforms/ticket halls
RMT tells station staff they shouldn’t grit platforms/ticket halls

RMT tells station staff they shouldn’t grit platforms/ticket halls

London Underground has a bit of a tendency to put up warning signs about adverse weather the moment the slightest hint of precipitation is detected in the air, but I think we can accept that the past couple of days

Feb
06
2012
Too many improvements in an email – TfL’s changing language
Too many improvements in an email – TfL’s changing language

Too many improvements in an email – TfL’s changing language

I noticed something last week which stood out a bit, and it happened again today, so I dug into my archive to see when it happened. What am I talking about? The weekly emails from TfL warning of dire problems

Jan
19
2012
Daily Mail using my photo of Cock Lane
Daily Mail using my photo of Cock Lane

Daily Mail using my photo of Cock Lane

There is an informal badge of honour that exists amongst bloggers that marks you out as someone who has caught the eye of the mass market media, but are deemed to be too small to be of consequence. It’s the

Jan
06
2012
Light Pollution in the City of London
Light Pollution in the City of London

Light Pollution in the City of London

A bit of a rant about a topic that does somewhat irritate me. One of the joys of living in a city with a view is how the skyline transforms from the daytime blocks of solid buildings to a nighttime

Dec
26
2011
How NOT to improve your website ranking in search engines
How NOT to improve your website ranking in search engines

How NOT to improve your website ranking in search engines

I wasn’t going to write this blog post, as I didn’t really expect a reply from the miscreant in question, but they did reply and their response was really quite annoying. Like most blog owners, and any website that allows

Oct
03
2011
The Goodyear Blimp is flying over London again
The Goodyear Blimp is flying over London again

The Goodyear Blimp is flying over London again

A few days ago I noticed that the Goodyear Blimp is back over London again and wondered how long it would be here for and if there were any specific events it would be hovering over. There might have been

Sep
10
2011
The London Design Festival
The London Design Festival

The London Design Festival

There is a festival occurring next month - a festival of design, in London. And they have a huge number of events happening.

Aug
28
2011
Boris Bike Blunder Bedevils Baffled Blogger
Boris Bike Blunder Bedevils Baffled Blogger

Boris Bike Blunder Bedevils Baffled Blogger

I have a Boris Bike key, it doesn’t work, and I want it to work. Should be easy to sort out – shouldn’t it? The background: I only use the Bike scheme occasionally – mainly to replace walking when in

Aug
03
2011
The fraught relationship between bloggers and public relations
The fraught relationship between bloggers and public relations

The fraught relationship between bloggers and public relations

Go to any meeting of bloggers and mention “public relations” and you will be able to sit back for an hour and listen to a stream of unending complaints about badly targeted emails, persistent harassment to attend product launches and

Jun
10
2011

Presenting the IanVisits Festival of London Thingies

I get often messages about various festivals, events and pop-ups that are springing up around London to see if I will say something nice about them or add details to my events calendar. Once I have navigated the (too often

May
31
2011
Introducing the Curated Blog Post
Introducing the Curated Blog Post

Introducing the Curated Blog Post

This blog post is not a mere collection of letters grouped into small bundles described as words, which when aligned with each other form sentences of varying degrees of intellectual merit. No! That would be to demean the impact of

May
20
2011