Downloads on This Week In London

I just wanted to post a huge thank you to all my listeners out there in Podcast Land. I've been looking fairly closely to my stats and realised that for the last few months I've been averaging 10,000 downloads a month!

When I first started doing This Week In London I always thought that it would be niche audience - how many people want to listen to me warbling on about London after all? It seems I was wrong! 10,000 downloads wrong...

So, thank you for your support. I really appreciate your continued participation in the show.

Don't forget you can send email, leave a comment or even ring me up and leave a message. I'll reply to everyone and if you do leave an audio comment I'll do my best to use it in the show.

I'm always looking for ideas for the show so don't be shy!

Did I say thanks? Thanks.

TWIL #33 - Docklands Light Railway

Greetings! In this show I interview two top guys from the Docklands Light Railway. I hope you enjoy it. It's my usual blend of interesting background information combined with my irreverant prattlings.

You can play the podcast by clicking the PuPu Player (no, really) up there at the top of the page. Alternatively you can listen to the show here:




I have one of the DLR Goody Bags here if anyone wants it enough. Best comment detailing why they should have it will get it.

Music is by
Twelfth Night - Sequences
Wes Brookes - Parka
Black Lab - Ghost In Your Mind

Thanks

TWiL #32 - Buckingham Palace

Greetings one and all and welcome to This Week in London #32 - Buckingham Palace.

You can play the podcast by clicking the PuPu PLayer (no, really) up there at the top of the page. Alternatively you can listen to the show here:




This time I'm putting Buckingham Palace under the viewing glass. Interesting place and a builders dream. It's been built and rebuilt since the early part of the 18th Century with some humungous heavy lifting jobs done to it.


The picture at the very top is a great panoramic by Meichimite from FLickr under Creative Commons. The rather wet one is one I took when Flat Stan went on his trip round London in 2002. The lower one is of a Garden Party, courtesy of the CC-licensed image from Flickr by Mark Hillary. Thanks to them both for making it available under Creative Commons.

Music this time out is:

Black Lab with Ghost in your Mind - where you can buy the album Passion Leaves a Trace and See The Sun (strong recommendation for both these albums - awesome stuff )

Beyond7 with Smoke. You can buy the album at iTunes - click here
Thanks to Steven for the CD and a strong recommendation to go listen to the music.

and

DJ Earworm with Funky goes to Hollywood
Which I thought was just terrific and worth playing on the show even if it is "just" a mashup.

As always, your feedback is appreciated and all emails ARE read AND replied to by yours truly.
I hope you enjoy the show and look out for another show PDQ!

This Week In London #31 - Three Very Important People

Hi everyone. Here's Episode 31 where I talk about three very important people. The three are the Chelsea Pensioners, the Pearly Kings and Queens and the Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London.

You can listen to the show here:


Music is by Sender with Sleepwalker
Wes Brookes with Autumn Sun and
We The Living with Atlantic. Also at the Podsafe Music Network and at iTunes.

Update: I just had a lovely email from Wes Brookes:
"Thanks for the request! My name is Wes Brookes and the band was called the Wes Brookes Band simply because we couldnt think of a suitable name. We are called Resination (for now) but I think that will change it to Resonation in the next week or so (we are currently debating the spelling - we were Rezination last week).....just advertise us as the reggae band from West Yorkshire (I think we are the only reggae band up here) called Resonation featuring Wes Brookes ! Cheers for interest."


I got a phenomenal response to the the Sender track last time out so I was delighted to receive an email from the band's manager with a link so you can go download the tracks. There are 8 tracks for download here (updated with correct link)

I wanted to play Beyond 7 tonight but the track kept bombing out my Acid Pro set up. If I can ask Steven to send the tracks again that would be v. cool.

Anyways, enough prattling on from me. Thanks to Paul Nicholls for the idea and heartfelt commiserations on your bad luck mate. I hope they catch the *^$£%$ thugs and kick some sense into them. Chances are though they'll get away with it in this country. You need to be... Nope - not for this site. Please send messages of support to Paul Nicholls at www.podcastpaul.com

Take care.

TWIL #30 - The Crown Jewels

Greetings all!

Tonight's show is all about the Crown Jewels of the royals of Britain. I changed my format with this show - rather than having general bullet points I have actually written out a script of sorts (I still deviate a little ;-) so it flows better. It's a bit more work upfront but better in the recording stage. I'm *really* interested in what you think about it - please do email me with your thoughts!

You can listen to the show here:


Music on the show is provided by

Sender - Alive and Kicking (demo)

Penda's Fen - Walking on the Edge

Ehren Starks - The Tale of Room 620

Please do support the bands who give their music to be played on podcasts - we get to play it to you for free - they make nothing from the podcast plays on shows like this. They hope you will like the music enough to go buy it!

So there you have it - a tad longer than usual but not as much as I thought at the beginning of the show. I hope you enjoy it and if you feel the need to send me a mail, call me on Skype or leave comment then please do! Thanks.

TWIL #29 - London Heathrow Terminal 5

Hi all. This show is all about London Heathrow Terminal 5. I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours earlier this week being given a guided (chaperoned) tour of LHR T5.

For the record, the building is amazing - deisgned by the Richard Rogers Partnership and opening on 27th March 2008 it's going to take London Heathrow into the 21st Century in a big way. Everything about LHR T5 is huge - from the 96 check in desks to the 18km of baggage belts... mind blowing.

You can listen to the show here:


I'm sure I've left stuff out so I suggest you go visit www.BA.com for the most up to date information. In fact it's essential you do so as the various terminals that BA uses at the moment are gradually transitioning over to T5 but some are NOT. Be aware of that and double check before you go to the wrong one!

Plenty of pictures from Terminal 5 are available here.
Thanks for link to the pictures at the BBC (see comments in previous post) but I have permission to post these ones.

Other bits of news are the new "enhanced" security checks for internal flights in the UK. I think Civil Liberties people should dig a little deeper here. Taking Liberty? You betcha. Listen for the low down.

Music is by

Esteban with Santiago

Lato with London Girl

Finniston with Another Love Song from the Organised for Hi Fi album

So, to wrap up. An awesome building, great logistical feat to get it built. Not sure about the domestic flight civil liberties issue but elsewise - fab.

Next Show: London Heathrow Terminal 5

Very nice, very interesting, visit to London Heathrow Terminal 5 yesterday afternoon. Fascinating place and wonderful looking. I'll be doing a show about it over the next couple of days but watch out for the Civil Liberties issue I've uncovered. They've been keeping this very quiet and no wonder...

TWIL#28 - Marylebone

Hi all!

This show was prompted by an audio comment sent to me by Paul Nicholls, a good mate and great podcaster who recorded something for me while he was in London. He mentioned Marylebone and I thought that's a great place. I hope I do it justice.

You can listen to the show here:


I cover 221B Baker Street, the "home" of Sherlock Holmes, Madame Tussauds, the London Planetarium and Lords with a bit of a detour to talk about the movie "Plunkett & Macleane" via the River Tyburn, the hanging tree and Newgate Prison.

The music in this show is provided by Sera via www.myspace.com/seramusic

Don't be shy - send me email (I reply to every mail!) and comment below.

Have a great day.

QR code - can ya read it - can ya?

This Week In London #27 - BT Tower / Post Office Tower

I'm on my last legs as I write this; the jet lag is almost gone - but it's done. This Week In London #27 is available for your musical and Londonist needs. This time I take a peek at The BT Tower or as I keep calling it, the Post Office Tower. My pictures are at the bottom of this post....

Built in 1964, opened in 1966, the Post Office Tower was the tallest building in London for quite some time. The views from the (still)(just) rotating restaurant area are stunning (see below) but only if you go to the Tower - you'll need to listen to the show to get that joke.

You can listen to the show here:


Music from the Podsafe Music Network courtesy of

Manic Street Preachers with two tracks from their "Send Away The Tigers" album
first up was "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" followed by "Autumn Song". Good solid rock out tracks. Don't forget the fast forward if they are not to your taste. But - for heavens sake - it is the Manics!

The bonus track this evening is from Punam Verma who is also on the PMN - this was HUSH...

Thanks for all your emails and comments over the past few weeks. Daz - if you're reading this - send me the file and I'll edit and link to it here.

I'll be back with another show, in a week or so. Three for February - or should that be FreeFerFeb? Peace.

I've posted them to my Flickr page... you know how to find me right? Just google parkylondon... Or if you're feeling less inquisitive click here

Ow to tork saff essex

This has been an invaluable guide to me and I live in London! If you need help (and you might, even taking into account the explanations) just drop me a line or leave a comment!

alma chizzit - A request to find the cost of an item

amant - Quantity; sum total ('Thez a yuge amant of mud in Saffend')

assband - Unable to leave the house because of illness, disability etc

awss - A four legged animal, on which money is won, or more likely lost ('That awss ya tipped cost me a fiver t'day')

branna - More brown than on a previous occasion ('Ere, Trace, ya look branna today, ave you been on sunbed?')

cort a panda - A rather large hamburger

Dan in the maff - Unhappy ('Wossmatta, Trace, ya look a bit Dan in the maff')

eye-eels - Women's shoes

Furrock - The location of Lakeside Shopping Centre

garrij - A building where a car is kept or repaired(Trace: 'Oi, Darren, I fink the motah needs 'a go in the garrij cos it aint working proper')

Ibeefa - Balaeric holiday island

lafarjik - Lacking in energy ('I feel all lafarjik')

OI OI! - Traditional greeting. Often heard from the doorway of pubs or during banging dance tunes at clubs

paipa - The Sun, The Mirror or The Sport

reband - The period of recovery and emotional turmoil after rejection by a lover ('I couldn't elp it, I wuz on the reband from Craig')

Saffend - Essex coastal resort boasting the longest pleasure pier in the world. The place where the characters from TV's, popular soap opera, Eastenders go on holiday

tan - The city of London, the big smoke

webbats - Querying the location something or someone is. ('Webbats is me dole card Trace? I've gotta sign on in arf hour')

wonnid - 1. Desired, needed. 2. Wanted by the police

zaggerate - To suggest that something is bigger or better than it actually is. ('I told ya a fazzand times already')

Next show

I'm in New York next week so the next issue of This Week In London is going to be delayed. That's the bad news. The good news is that I am going to try my very best to get three shows out in February (I put January before, hence the edit). Should be fun!

TWIL #26 - London Zoo

Hi everyone and happy New Year!

Sorry I didn't get my second show out last month - I just got caught up in time off from work and spending time with the family and Christmas and all that (yes I know the grammar is bad but it flowed well)

Today's show covers London Zoo, or more correctly the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London. You can find them here so go and have a read of what they do! It's a great organisation and one worth supporting.

You can listen to the show here:


The winner of the competition is announced in the show and if you haven't been emailed it wasn't you I'm afraid. Better luck next time!

The companies were Bentley Motors; Calders and Grandidge, Colmans of Norwich, Kimberly-Clark and Weetabix. What did they have in common? They are all suppliers to the Royal Family. This means they can use the Royal Warrant on their packaging and letterhead etc. I had loads of entries so thanks to everyone who took the time to enter.

Music this time was by Amplifico (www.amplifico.net) and I recommend you go over there and subscribe to the newsletter so you know when the album comes out. As soon as it does buy it! It's gonna be great!

Tracks were from the Logic Kills The Fire EP and were

1. Logic Kills the Fire
2. Open Our Eyes
3. We Believe In Something Unusual

Thanks to Donna for giving me the okay to play the tracks.

So there you go. TWiL #26 is in the can....

PS the voice in my head is called LEO....

Thank you.

Hi everyone. As 2007 draws to a close I just thought I'd drop you all a little note.

I would like to thank each and everyone of you for the support you have given me and my podcast over the last year. I'm touched by the emails, comments, Skype calls and Skype conversations we have had and it moves me whenever I get something from one of you.

I do reply to each and every one of them and I'm so sorry when I get a call or Skype chat from someone and I can't talk to you as soon as I get it. The day job does get in the way of the fun parts sometimes! I would like to encourage all of you to comment or email me about the show or London or anything really - it's good to talk!

Finally, to recap - thank you for your support over the past year. I love doing the show, I love the support I get from you guys and when you get in touch it makes me a very happy man.

I hope Christmas (or your late December festivities) brought you all the things you wanted it to and that 2008 will be a happy, successful and healthy year.

I will be doing a show over the next few days and will be giving you all one. last. try. to enter the competition (details below). I'll announce the winner in the New Year. Thanks.

Paul

This Week in London 25 - The Houses of Parliament

Greetings and Happy Christmas to you all!

Today's show covers the Houses of Parliament - the House of Commons and the House of Lords. I talk about some of the quirks of the place, how to get into it and what it all means. I touch on PMQ's and include some sound bites from that venerable institution. I particularly liked the Stalin / Gordon Brown / Mr. Bean comparison!

You can listen to the show here:


I clarify the end date of the competition I kicked off last show - you need to tell me what those five companies have in common by the time I do a show in the first week of the New Year. There's fifty dollars up for grabs here so hopefully I've made it tricky but meaningful.

The companies are: Bentley Motors; Calders and Grandidge, Colmans of Norwich, Kimberly-Clark and Weetabix.

Over to you.

Music today was by Candy Butchers who you can find here. Don't worry, Mike Viola WAS half of Candy Butchers. His new stuff is good and you can still buy the Candy Butchers stuff.

I think that all - I'll edit and add anything else!

Edit 1: I have updated and corrected a post for TWiL #21 Nelsons Column which for some reason had gone AWOL. Try this link and let me know if it works eh?

Live This Week in London....

I am seriously considering doing a live This Week In London on something like Talkshoe or something similar. Trouble is don't want to be a Billy-No-Mates and have a party and have no-one show up.

It'll be on a weekend and late European time so I can get all the American listeners at a reasonable time on their side of the pond. If I had a party would anyone come?

I'd really appreciate you feeding back to me on this one via the comments to this post. If you really don't want to publicly say so then by all means send me a mail but I want to make this as open as possible.

Over to you!

And don't forget TWiL #24 - Strand is available too... with a US$50 competition built in...

This Week in London #24 - The Strand - Competition Show

Greetings one and all. Here is the latest This Week in London - number 24. This time I'm putting one of London's most famous streets under the spotlight, The Strand and giving away fifty dollars in Amazon vouchers for answering a simple question. Well, okay, it's probably not so "simple" but give me a chance eh?

You can listen to the show here:



I also take a look at the Savoy Hotel, Royal Courts of Justice, Somerset House and Simpsons On The Strand. I really enjoyed doing this show and hope you enjoy listening to it too!

Music is by

46 Bliss with "In A Long Time" (Podsafe Music Network)

Jamie Cullum
"I Want To Be A Popstar" (mp3)
from "Pointless Nostalgic"
(Candid Productions)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album

Jamie Cullum? - yes that Jamie Cullum!

Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros with "Coma Girl" (Podsafe Music Network)
Yes that Joe Strummer. Of the Clash.

Good music, a good vibe AND a competition.

Towards the end of the show I give you the names of 5 companies. All you have to do is tell me why they are connected. I have a specific reason in mind. You should be able to work it out with a little Googling . There is a US$50 Amazon voucher (or equivalent) prize up for grabs for the winner (I'll draw from the correct answers if lots of you get it right). Yep fifty bucks. For listening to the show. Works for me - does it work for you?


Have fun people. Don't forget to write!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my US listeners

Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving to all my listeners celebrating this third Thursday of November. I hope you spend time with family today and tell them you love them.

P. W. Fenton (P_Dub) has it down right in his latest Digital Flotsam so take a listen to Episode 52 of that wonderful podcast series if you don't fancy spending the afternoon in front of the gogglebox watching (American) Football. I *really* enjoy P-Dub's podcast. It's one I get very excited about when it comes out and is recommended listening to all my listeners!

Alternatively you could spend an interesting half hour with The History Channel which goes into the history of Thanksgiving.

Did you know that 50 MILLION turkeys will be served today in America alone? I reckon there are more households than that over there so someone, somewhere isn't eating turkey today? Is it you? Why? Answers in the comments please!

Finally, I am working on the next TWiL where I cover The Strand and some of the sights and places of interest along this fascinating street. Up at the weekend hopefully.

If you have asked me for a Starbucks Card and HAVEN'T had it by the weekend can you drop me an email and I'll resend it. Thanks. I've still got a couple left so let me know if you want one.

TWIL #23 - Remember Guido Fawkes

Parental Guidance on elements of this show folks. Hanging, drawing and quartering is not a nice way to execute someone! Listen here or play it here:



Background and information on the Gunpowder Plot - who, what, where and when. Take a look at this recreation of the explosion!



Music by Amplifico and New London Fire. Enjoy the sounds and if you like the music let me know! If you really like it let the bands know too! Oh - could you let the bands know where you heard it too!

If you want to know what a Starbucks Card looks like - check the post below.

Have a great time until next time when I cover The Strand and the Law Courts.. TTFN

TWiL #22 - Chelsea Chelsea!

Greetings one and all.

Here is TWiL #20. It's a little early after the last show for two reasons. Reason (1) is that I try to get two out each month and what with colds, flu (proper flu - full on MAN flu!), half term and repeated trips to the local ski centre I've nearly only done one. The other reason (2) I'm travelling a fair bit over the next week or two so wanted to keep you all enthused!

This time I'm covering Chelsea. The area in south west London which contains Chelsea FC, The Chelsea Pensioners, The Chelsea Flower Show (tickets are on sale now for next May!) and the Kings Road. I feel like I need to do a part 2 on this so I expect I'll revisit it another time. Don't forget the Shady Old Lady and the restaurant!

Music on the show was:

Ann Wilson singing "Where to now St. Peter?" and "Immigrant Song". You can find Ann Wilson here and here

I also played Cruisebox's "On a Podcast" which was originally uploaded to the Podsafe Music Network in July 2005 and not '06 and I said in the show.

Finally I played a clip from Chelsea's "Blue Is The Colour" theme song which you can buy on iTunes.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed the show. Comments here or by email please! I do love getting a note from you and I reply to every one!

Play it here:



Or in the players at the top of the page. You can get this podcast in iTunes - just search for "This Week in London". EMail me if you get into a pickle!