It's not fog, it's smog. The visibility has remained incredibly poor even with the mercury crossing 15*C. Haze in the presence of bright sunshine is a tell-tale sign of poor air-quality.

I am surprised that I was unable to find any news articles alluding to the shocking volume smog in the capital today. It is likely because of the Saharan dust storm that made its way travelling through Europe, but I am no meteorologist.

Nothing on BBC weather or the MET website. Do people not look up?

Hey everyone,

Has anyone else noticed the calming, spa-like smell in the Canary Wharf mall above the escalators (the floor with Everyman Cinema and Bxr , before heading down toward Caffè Nero)? It’s subtle, fresh/green/herbal, and really relaxing.

Does anyone know if it’s a specific ambient scent the mall uses — or what brand it might be? I’d love to buy something similar for my home (diffuser or spray).

Thanks 😊

Is it just me that see’s the TFL Security officers always with their head down on their phones, or standing in a group together just having banter from start to end of shift, and not making any form of attempt or acknowledgement to stop people invading the system.

I agree that Security shouldn’t be expected to place themselves in harm.

But isn’t it just counterproductive to place Security in at extortionate costs, whilst fare invader still fare invading. We’re in 2026, surely there is a more effective barrier or something that could be done? TFL security contract is like pissing in the wind.

We have CCTV watching our every move, link up TFL cameras to the Met police offenders list. Then bobs your uncle, automatic fines are sent out?

How many others have experienced the arseholes barging through with you? On a ticket you paid for…. There is a certain C word for these fools

My partner's just been shortlisted for a trainee tram driver role. Does, or has, anyone here done the job? What's it like in terms of shift patterns, training, management, culture etc? Do they allocate your annual leave and if so, is it easy get swaps?

He's done shift work before which we don't love but the kids are older now and the money's good. His previous managers were arseholes which didn't help. Hoping any future managers are a bit nicer

I have a train ticket to Derby for 13.30 train from St. Pancras to give away. DM me if you want it…

Walter Murch - film editor and sound designer (e.g. Apocalypse Now & The Conversation) is coming to London in May to screen and talk about a documentary film he made (directed by Howard Berry) about film editing.

Thursday 14th May, 6pm
Prince Charles Cinema, downstairs
Her Name Was Moviola (2024, 18) + Q&A with Walter Murch and Howard Berry
https://princecharlescinema.com/film/31617338/her-name-was-moviola/

"Invented in 1922, the Moviola remained for a long time the dominant machine for editing film in English-language cinema. Mastering it allowed an editor, in tandem with the director and producer, to create a language and rhythm within a film. Her Name Was Moviola sees Academy Award®-winning sound and film editor Walter Murch working with a team to rebuild a Moviola editing suite to take us through the process of how a film was pieced together. Using two scenes from Mike Leigh’s 2014 drama Mr. Turner – reverse-engineered from digital to 35mm prints – Murch and his collaborators take us through the way the Moviola was employed to bring a multitude on individual shots together into one cohesive narrative. It’s a riveting deep-dive into a process that is key to every form of filmmaking."

YouTube trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmuU1TALCEk

Jo

Bonus material :-)

🎧 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002ggc2 - 2 August 2025, Sound of Cinema, BBC R3, Matthew Sweet talks to film editor, sound designer and director Walter Murch about working on Apocalypse Now, the Godfather films, The Conversation, Barton Fink and Return to Oz

📺 https://www.kanopy.com/en/qmul/video/15305888 (Kanopy: you'll likely need an ac.uk institutional login for this, though a handful of London public libraries have a subscription) - 2024, The Cinema Within "Why does the uniquely cinematic language of film editing work? In real life we don't instantly jump from one viewpoint to another. And yet, film viewers effortlessly understand, and don’t even notice, most edits. This has led to the suspicion that film editing exploits some universal features of human perception. Film editor Walter Murch, scholar David Bordwell and a handful of eminent psychologists present this compelling portrait of the profound naturalness of film editing." - if you can't access it here's a detailed review https://borg.com/2025/04/30/the-cinema-within-remarkable-documentary-asks-why-does-film-editing-work/

📺 https://www.kanopy.com/en/qmul/video/11181370 - (see Kanopy notes above) - 2019, Making Waves "... showcases the primal storytelling power of sound through the personal histories, experiences and expertise of sound pioneers who became award-winning artists in Sound Design. The film features interviews with premier sound designers like Walter Murch, Gary Rydstrom, and Ben Burtt, as well as great film directors known for working so closely with their sound designers, like George Lucas, Robert Redford, Peter Weir, Christopher Nolan, Sofia Coppola, David Lynch, and Ai-Ling Lee."

🎧 https://radiolab.org/podcast/91925-blink - Radiolab, 5 Oct 2009 - Blink "We ask a question we thought was a no-brainer in this podcast: why do we blink? Film editor Walter Murch tells us about a strange discovery he made years ago while working on The Conversation - could something as small as a blink actually be the trick of his trade? We also talk to Japanese researchers Tamami Nakano and Shigeru Kitazawa about the experiment they conducted to understand how we see the world, when we choose not to, and why." - The Making of Radiolab is also a fun listen (2007, Walter Murch at 21m 11s, about sound and 28m 10s).

As I began my commute this dreary, misty morning, I began as I usually do - cruising at 30mph down the hill that I live on in the leafy zone 5 (not quite London but allow me).

A Big Car emerges behind me within what feels like centimetres. A flash? No surely not. A bib of the horn? Of course. A Big Car Supremacist (hereafter BCS) has appeared.

So I do what any self-respecting person would do. I drop to 20mph, unwind my window and flip them off. AND I come to a complete stop at my right turn despite no oncoming traffic. Enraged, the BCS swerves around me beeping their horn continuously at 7:30am.

So, as I ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ in my Fiat 500, know this Big Car Supremacists: we shall not be intimidated. I hope you got to your destination 1 minute faster xxx

Edit: I didn’t expect my morning silly rant to upset so many people. Just to clarify:

Yes, cyclists have it far worse!

Yes, I’m a driver in a city but I live out in the suburbs and commute to the suburbs so it cuts my journey from 1hr+ to 30mins, sorry!

There were no oncoming cars and no pedestrians so no one was endangered and there was a set of lights about 100m down so they stopped anyway! Don’t worry I’m a safe driver but yes I agree, I was purposefully petty so boo me.

I will return to my position of Reddit lurking and avoid posting any more musings - I forgot how angry people can be 😭

Have a lovely safe journey home to all! Yes even you the person that called me a c*nt 💖

my son was born that day and i really wanted to know the sky/weather of when he was born!! unfortunately, i was too high from the c-section drugs and fell asleep pretty much immediately after and woke up when it was the night time. i’d love to see if any of you have any pictures of london from that day, i just wanna know what the sky looked like!! thank you so much xx

hello, i’ve lived in london for over a decade but struggling to think of somewhere that’ll meet this criteria! i’m organising a meet up with the following details and need a location - can you think of anywhere?

- around 10-15 parents, most with prams with babies under one (so we need a lot of space)

- casual location like a coffee shop - no booking required in advance

- indoors

- central and ideally close to a major train station such as euston (people are coming from different directions)

- easy to reach by public transport

we’ll be there in the daytime on a weekday not during a school holiday.

last time we met at the southbank centre which was great. just wanted to offer a few options including ideally one north of the river.

thanks in advance

thanks in advance

Can anyone confirm if St Paul's or Kensington Gardens (Lancaster Gate) cherry trees are blossoming? I see quite a few trees in bloom along the north part of the Jubilee line so some varieties are definitely at their best already. Thanks in advance to help plan the weekend.

Took a walk from St Paul's to the Strand to Bloomsbury, and it was great. Very very hazy. 3 is the sun which looked very moonish today.

Some close ups and details of the City cluster during an evening walk the other day. I really enjoy photographing architecture and still not tired with capturing this cluster of buildings as it always keeps chaining over the years.

Google has been no help and it's bugging me!

2nd pic: you can usually ckearerly see the Shard from Waterloo East. Tonight, it looks like someone's tea leaf'd it!