Any problems? All Tube lines are running a good service, apart from the District line which is suspended between Putney Bridge and Wimbledon for emergency engineering works. The DLR and Thames Clippers are operating without problems.
On the roads traffic an earlier accident at the Blackwall Tunnel means southbound traffic is moving slowly from Bromley-by-Bow.
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Frank Nouble looks set for more first team experience - but not at West Ham.
The 18-year-old striker is to join Championship side West Bromwich Albion on a month's loan tomorrow, and he could make his debut for the Baggies in tomorrow night's game against Scunthorpe.
]]> Nouble, who led the Hammers' line in the absence of senior strikers Carlton Cole and Guillermo Franco last month, is likely to find his opportunities limited at Upton Park for the next few months with Benni McCarthy, Mido and Ilan all signing for the Irons last week and Cole recovered from injury.The former Chelsea trainee is still looking for his first senior goal after nine first team appearances but has impressed with his attitude and work-rate.
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DVDIN A NUTSHELL
Suspend disbelief and snuggle up with the right balance of true love and tragedy for a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Watching it as a fan of the novel, it is impossible not to criticise the thin plot, two dimensional characters and absent scenes.
However, give it a second chance and you can detach yourself from Audrey Niffeneger's novel and enjoy it for what it is.
True, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense if you think too hard and it is possible to pick holes in the pop science theory of time travel - but this is not meant to be sci-fi.
If you are not familiar with the tale, it is a love story with a twist. Claire and Henry are meant to be together. Henry, is a Time Traveller (the Americans prefer to ditch the 'L') who first meets Claire when he is middle aged and she a child. He already knows they will get married.
He travels backwards and forwards until they finally meet in real time and Claire who has waited her life for him, can begin to live out her destiny.
Unfortunately, that isn't the end of the story, so be sure to arm yourself with a hanky before pressing play.
Beautiful to look at, heart warming and tear jerking, this is ideal viewing for Christmas Day or a long haul flight.
While the majority of the aviation world is going through a recession-induced rough patch, one airline has bucked the trend with a sharp increase in passenger numbers.
Cityjet reported a passenger rise of 23 per cent on from London City to Scotland year on year and a 10 per cent increase on routes to Antwerp and Luxembourg in December.
]]> It's an increase that the airline's chief executive Geoffrey O'Byrne White is putting down to educating potential customers about City Airport in the form of an advertising drive.He said: "The researchers termed it as terra incognita, like the old world maps where you fly off the edge of the world. We have a big job spreading the word to the business community that London City is a high-frequency, convenient
service.
"Most of London is completely unaware of the airport. The passengers you see are usually transferring from Paris, Rotterdam, Zurich or wherever and we're putting together a network to allow people in London to fly out."
The campaign has seen it focus on smaller businesses in the capital that may in the past have used budget airlines for work-related travel.
It is a part of the sector from where the Air France-owned Cityjet believes it can tempt passengers due to factors such as the airport's proximity to central London and a service better tailored to the business traveller.
Mr O'Byrne White said: "We see ourselves as a rival to FlyBe and EasyJet - airlines not ideal for premium travellers. I see their passengers as people flying low-cost for business and leisure, but doing so under duress.
"There's no doubt the era of speculative, low cost operations has had its peak. You can see that with some airports closing because they were dependent on low cost.
"If it works it works, if not the airlines move somewhere else. It's migratory. It moves to where the money is. It's not a solid base to rest your business on."
Despite recent success for Cityjet, the airline still expects to post a financial loss this year.
It is only the staunch support of its Air France parent company, which has allowed for more flights and increased frequency, that has kept the airline strong.
However, Mr O'Byrne White has high hopes that post recession Cityjet - London City's biggest airline with 60 flights a day - has long-term profitability.
He said: "We wouldn't be doing this if we didn't see profit in the future. Most businesses are looking at a three year turnaround.
"If you look at the end of last year and the start of this year as being the worst point in the recession then we are focusing on three years' time."
Further investment from Air France saw last year's purchase of Belgian airline VLM.
Now fully re-branded into one carrier, Mr O'Byrne White sees the benefit of the airline having no real roots, making it identifiable as a European company.
He said: "As the bigger airlines become more global, the previous boundaries that define them are blurred.
"Because all the airlines come from national businesses their branding is difficult when they go global. It's why British Airways did the World's Favourite Airline campaign. But we are very much European.
"We've always been known as an Irish airline but only a small proportion of our passengers are from there. We've always been very mixed."
Gianfranco Zola was left a very disappointed man after his West Ham side slumped to defeat at Burnley.
Despite a debut goal from Ilan the Irons were sunk by strikes from David Nugent and Daniel Fox against their relegation rivals.
]]> On a day when Zola expected his new strike pairing of Carlton Cole and Benni McCarthy to fire his side to victory it was another, much-maligned, striker who had the last laugh.England reject David Nugent opened the scoring on 14 minutes when he lobbed the ball over Robert Green after being played through by Burnley's new signing Fox.
Matthew Upson, who has been the subject of renewed speculation on his Hammers future, allowed Nugent to get in ahead of him and the player, on loan from Portsmouth, got the better of Green, who appeared to misjudge the flight of the ball.
Burnley had a penalty claim turned down when Jack Collison seemed to shove Nugent over in the area just before half time but referee Howard Webb ignored the appeals.
The Hammers £2.5million deadline day signing Benni McCarthy looked ineffective for the first 45 minutes, and was replaced by another new boy, Mido, at half time.
The Egyptian at least offered more attacking threat and he thundered an early effort narrowly wide.
But it was Fox who doubled the home side's lead when he curled in an exquisite free kick on 55 minutes.
The kick was earned when former Iron Tyrone Mears was brought down wide on the right by Collison, and Fox expertly swung the ball into the far corner, beyond the grasp of Green.
West Ham hit the woodwork twice in the second half and Ilan's 81st minute goal was nothing more than a consolation.
The Brazilian forward had only been on the field for four minutes before he opened his West Ham account.
Carlton Cole lifted the ball towards the penalty area and Mido reached it just before Burnley keeper Brian Jensen and Ilan slid in to turn the ball home.
The defeat means West Ham are still looking for their first away win since the opening day of the season at Wolves, and they are starting to run out of games.
Despite having more possession and more efforts on goal the Irons could not break Burnley down and Zola was unhappy with the defensive mix-up that handed the home side the opening goal.
He said: "I didn't expect the mix-up for their first goal. Matthew and the whole of the defence should have run back earlier.
"I know how important it is to come to these places and win. We tried very hard and, unfortunately, it didn't work.
"Even at 0-2, the desire of the team not to lose was great. To be honest, we deserved something out of the game
"The players know that we need to react from this result. They want it and they're very committed and desperate to see the team become successful again.
"I'm sure they'll come back stronger."
The Irons have the chance to make up some ground this Wednesday when they host Birmingham City.
The visit of the Blues means a reunion for new Hammers owners David Sullivan and David Gold, and vice-chairman Karren Brady, who ran the Midlands club for 16 years until earlier this season.
The match kicks off at 7.45pm. West Ham running a Kids for a Quid scheme. Visit whufc.com for details.
Burnley: Jensen, Carlisle, Mears, Cort, Bikey, Fox (Edgar, 86), McDonald, Elliott, Fletcher, Blake (Paterson, 72), Nugent (Thompson, 88). Unused subs: Weaver, Duff, Cork, Eagles.
Booked: Fox, McDonald.
Goals: Nugent 14, Fox 55
West Ham: Green, Faubert, Spector, Tomkins, Upson, Noble (Ilan 77), Behrami, Collison (Stanislas, 62), Parker, Cole, McCarthy (Mido, 46). Unused subs: Stech, Da Costa, Ilunga, Kovac.
Booked: Parker
Goal: Ilan 81
Attendance: 21,001
Referee: Howard Webb
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Charlton are gradually becoming League One's score draw specialists after a dramatic late equaliser against Swindon ensured their third 1-1 in a row.
However, despite the joy of Nickey Bailey's late leveller, deep into injury time, it means the Addicks remain without a win in four games.
]]> Swindon went into the game full of confidence having recently thumped Leeds 3-0 at the County Ground and enjoyed the majority of the possession.A Kevin Amankwaah strike after 20 minutes was enough to see the home side in front at the break, although Jonjo Shelvey hit the bar for Charlton.
The Addicks battled through the second half and got their reward when Bailey fired home after a lay-off by Deon Burton.
Manager Phil Parkinson said: "It's a passionate game and we all work hard. It was a great feeling when that hit the back of the net.
"We didn't play as well as we can do on the ball today. It was more of a battling performance and there were lot of changes which disrupted us throughout the game. The goal was a good move and that one moment of quality got us a point."
Charlton: Elliot, Richardson, Basey (Burton 66), S Sodje, Dailly; Wagstaff (Semedo 46), Bailey, Racon (Solly 52), Shelvey, Reid; A Sodje.
Swindon: Lucas; Amankwaah, Jean-Francois, Cuthbert, Greer; McGovern, Douglas, Ferry, Ward; Paynter, Austin (Macklin 82).
Att: 9,552
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Neil Harris proved to be an inspired substitute for Millwall when he headed home the winner in a keenly contested promotion scrap.
The veteran striker's 51st minute goal earned the Lions a deserved home win against the League One leaders and bolstered their own hopes of an automatic promotion slot.
]]> On a cold, clear day at The Den Millwall got off to the worst possible start in front of their biggest crowd of the season.Norwich forward Chris Martin was brought down just outside the penalty area in the fourth minute and from the resulting free kick he curled a shot round the wall and beyond the despairing David Forde to give the visitors the lead.
The Canaries, unbeaten in over two months looked ominously set to continue their charge towards the Championship but Millwall proved to have other ideas.
Lewis Grabban wasted a couple of decent scoring chances, before he brought a mistake out of visiting keeper Fraser Forster, who fumbled the young forward's shot out for a corner on 25 minutes.
The ball was swung into the box and fell to Tony Craig, lurking on the edge of the area, and his shot deflected off a defender's foot to level the scores.
It was Craig's first goal of the season and he celebrated enthusiastically.
After that neither side could really establish their superiority on the game, with Millwall always looking threatening with Steve Morison's direct running and Grabban's pace, while Norwich were dangerous on the break.
Norwich danger man Wes Hoolahan was well-shackled by Jimmy Abdou but it was Martin who was proving to be the biggest worry for the home defence.
Just before half-time he was allowed to run from his own half into the Millwall box and his shot was well saved by Forde.
Kenny Jackett made a change at half-time, bringing Harris on for the disappointing Grabban and the move paid dividends just six minutes later.
From a short corner on the left Chris Hackett swung in an excellent cross which Harris diverted home with his head from six yards out, having been inexplicably left unmarked in the area.
The goal stung Norwich and they showed more attacking intent but were well rebuffed by Millwall's back four.
The home side's tails were up and they continued to threaten, with Hackett and Harris both going close to increasing the lead.
Norwich boss Paul Lambert brought on the tricky Anthony McNamee and the winger began to cause Alan Dunne problems on the flank, sending over several teasing crosses.
Millwall were still creating chances of the own, the best of which saw Forster produce an outstanding reflex save to deny Harris.
But try as they might Norwich could not find the equalising goal and a sign of their desperation came when Hoolahan was brought off, to be replaced by former Millwall favourite Zak Whitbread.
The centre-back was greeted with a chorus of boos every time he touched the ball, after his very public demands to leave The Den since the start of the season.
As the game entered the final 10 minutes Millwall found themselves defending deeper and deeper, a dangerous tactic against such a potent attacking team.
Michael Nelson almost scored a spectacular equaliser with an overhead kick three minutes from time but the ball deflected for a corner.
Millwall were clinging on, scrapping for every ball as they sensed victory was close. And they nearly settled it in the last minute of the four added on at the end of the game, when Morison was played through by Harris and bore down on goal, only to be upended from behind by Whitbread.
It looked a stone-cold red card for the defender but to the crowd's amazment, and Jackett's, the referee blew for the end of the game instead.
The win puts Millwall in fifth place and extends their unbeaten league run to six games. Jackett was pleased with the manner of victory and his side's climb up the table.
He said: "It was certainly entertainment. We rewarded a big crowd with a good game, and most importantly, a win.
"We're fifth in the league, and most importantly our season is ahead of us. Sometimes you can get here and you can have a mountain to climb but we are genuinely in the mix with a number of other clubs and it's a good place to be."
Millwall: Forde, Dunne, Robinson, Craig, Ward, Barron, Hackett, Trotter, Abdou, Morison, Grabban (Harris, 46), Unused subs: Sullivan, Frampton, Grimes, Smith, Fuseini, Batt.
Goals: Craig 25, Harris 51
Norwich: Forster, Nelson, R Martin, Doherty, Hoolahan (Whitbread, 77), C Martin, Lappin, Russel, Rose, McDonald (Johnson, 64), Smith (McNamee, 64). Unused subs: Rudd, Gill, Hughes, Adeyemi.
Goal: C Martin 4
Attendance: 14,374
Referee: Grant Hegley
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Two teams in blistering form go head-to-head in a match that will give Millwall a true indication of their play-off potential.
Norwich came from behind to beat Hartlepool, keeping them at the top of the table - while Millwall have own a string of games to fix their place in the top six.
]]> Lwis Grabban should replace David Martin if he goes to Derby on loan as expected, while Andy Frampton could be in for a recall after injury.The mean Millwall defence last let in two goals on Boxing Day - against Norwich - so we predict an edgy affair with a couple of converted half-chances perhaps making the difference.
Kick-off is Saturday at 3pm. Prediction: 1-1
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When Charlton played Swindon in December the Addicks secured a last gasp equaliser after both Sam Sodje and Deon Burton were sent off in the first half.
The Robins have been on fire since that match, winning four out of five, including a 3-0 thrashing of Leeds.
]]> Following three games without a win, Charlton will be keen to pull a result out of the bag.They will have to make do without long-term absentee Kelly Youga who has been told he needs another two weeks rest.
Prediction: Swindon 0-2 Charlton
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Plans to put five-a-side football pitches in an Isle of Dogs car park have been dismissed.
Tower Hamlets Council has rejected Powerleague's bid to install five pitches in the NCP multi-storey in Selsdon Way, citing concerns over noise and light pollution.
]]> Parking was also raised as a negative factor. The NCP itself may have a capacity of up to 500 at the moment, but the Development Committee argued that visitors would dodge having to pay for spaces and compete with residents for their spots.Powerleague has 44 centres in the UK, and told residents that the pitches would meet a "significant un-met demand". It would have also featured a pavilion and function room, aimed at "providing city workers at Canary Wharf with an opportunity to organise after-work or lunchtime games with their colleagues and clients".
Residents gathered up 73 signatures for a petition opposing the plan, and 43 further objections were received in the run up to Wednesday's decision.
Blackwall and Cubitt Town councillor Tim Archer, who spoke against the application, said: "It's not just the sound of the football pitches themselves. The hours of operation are up to 10pm. After 6pm, it's a residential area and this type of operation would have changed the environment."
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Any Problems? The Piccadilly line is currently subject to minor delays following a signal failure at Arnos Grove. However, a good service is operating on all other public transport at the moment. On the roads there are significant delays around Blackwall Tunnel Northern Approach. An accident on the southbound carriageway has led to a two-lane closure.
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Could we be watching the 2012 Olympics at cinemas in 3D?
The box office monster known as Avatar has left multiplex operators around the world begging to add that third dimension to their movies, with many reporting record sales.
]]> Last week, James Cameron's shiny eco-fable became the first film to clear $2billion since its release in December, and critics and film fans sure aren't buying tickets to soak up the plot.This has sparked a lot of industry chatter, with George Lucas inevitably popping up to talk about digging out his Star Wars reels for another assault on the big screen.
Cineworld West India Quay general manager David Spence said: "Last year was a successful year for Cineworld West India Quay and a huge year for 3D.
"Big 3D successes included Bolt, Up, A Christmas Carol and of course James Cameron's 12-years-in-the-making 3D film Avatar which has already broken records and wowed audiences.
"3D has proved to be a hit with Cineworld customers and continues to increase in popularity amongst cinemagoers. In 2010 Cineworld looks forward to screening more 3D films including Clash Of The Titans, Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland."
However, it's not just Yoda and Buzz Lightyear that will be shoved in your face over the next few years.
Sky broke ground by slapping Manchester United versus Arsenal onto 3D screens in selected pubs on Sunday, and Docklands cinemas are among those offering England matches in 3D during this month's Six Nations.
Both Cineworld West India Quay and Odeon Greenwich are promising rugby action, and Cineworld said that seats for the opening match between England and Wales on Saturday sold out "within days".
Odeon Greenwich's marketing supervisor Martin McHugh said: "There's a lot of future in it for concerts and for sport. We've all got TVs and we've seen it all before. But with 3D, it's suddenly exciting again.
"We had a number of concerts such as U2 and Hannah Montana last year. I don't really like U2 but I stayed for a few songs and it was great. It felt like you were on bass guitar. It was a real buzz.
"This year we're starting off with the Six Nations in 3D. It's a very good year for sport. The World Cup's coming up this year as well, and we're hoping to see whether what offering we can get with that. It's a possibility."
Odeon Greenwich unveiled its new IMAX screen a year ago, and has two digital screens with more to come in 2010. Martin believes that 3D "came of age in 2009".
He said: "There's a premium to pay, but we're seeing that people are willing to pay it.
"Attendance was up last year, even though there's a recession. We started off with some free educational shows such as Space Station 3D last year, and it was a revelation.
"It's not a novelty. It's more of an immersion. You become part of the effect."
Greenwich Picturehouse general manager Darren Jones says that the cinema is entering what is traditionally its busiest period, as the road to the Oscars raises interest in the "artier" films on offer at the cinema.
However, he added that the Picturehouse had just enjoyed its best spell to date, thanks to slightly more popcorn-guzzling festive fare.
He said: "The last week of the year was the busiest since we opened four years ago, and Avatar was a big part of that success.
"The awareness of 3D is growing. Prior to that most 3D films have been aimed at children and horror audiences, which are not everyone's cup of tea. But we're really looking forward to Alice In Wonderland, which will appeal to families, adults and Tim Burton fans alike."
The cinema had a 3D screen up and running in time for the release of Bolt last year, and a second by the time Up! was released. All of its screens were converted to digital at the end of the year.
Darren says that, while it does show live operas from New York in 2D, the high cost of showing live satellite feeds in 3D is prohibitive for the venue.
However, he added: "Obviously, there are possibilities for some sporting events and we've got the Olympics in 2012, so it's something to think about."
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Bank of America is facing fraud charges for "duping shareholders and the federal government" over its merger with Merrill Lynch.
New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo announced this morning that he was filing a lawsuit against the bank, its former CEO Kenneth Lewis and CFO Joseph Price seeking "monetary relief and injunctions".
]]> The lawsuit states that Bank of America's management- including Lewis (pictured) and Price - "intentionally failed to disclose massive losses" at Merrill to win over shareholders, and then "manipulated" the government into pumping in £12.7billion after "falsely claiming that it would back out of the deal without bailout funds".Attorney general Cuomo said: "This merger is a classic example of how the actions of our nation's largest financial institutions led to the near-collapse of our financial system.
"Bank of America, through its top management, engaged in a concerted effort to decieve shareholders and American taxpayers at large. This was an arrogant scheme hatched by the bank's top executives who believed they could play by their own set of rules.
"In the end, they committed an enormous fraud and American taxpayers ended up paying billions for Bank of America's misdeeds."
Cuomo said that the bank's top management knew about "disastrous" losses of more than £10.1billion before the shareholder vote on the deal on December 5 2008, but "chose not to disclose this information so that shareholders would approve the merger".
He added that Lewis then told federal regulators that the bank could not complete the merger without "an extraordinary taxpayer bailout due to accelerated losses from Merrill". However, Merrill's losses had reportedly only increased by a further £833million since the shareholder vote.
The lawsuit also states that the bank's management failed to tell shareholders it was allowing Merrill to pay £2.25billion in bonuses, which were "distributed in a manner that was completely inconsistent with Merrill's prior practice, and in the worst year in Merrill's history".
Lewis' attorney Mary Jo White called the lawsuit "badly misguided", and added that there is "simply no basis for any case".
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Is this the Wharf's legendary Sammy The Seal?
The photograph was sent in by Dai Taylor of canarywharfphotography.com and taken from its studio near the Prospect Of Whitby pub in Wapping at the weekend.
]]> Sammy is a regular sight for workers at Billingsgate Fish Market - where unsurprisingly he is a regular - and by Barclays staff outside of the Churchill Place headquarters.The grey seal posed for this long distance shot when he heard a camera clicking.
Reports of lone seals being spotted go back as far as 2004 and are used as evidence of a recovering ecosystem in the Thames.
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To fix the problems of pollution and congestion, Tower Hamlets Council introduced the concept of all new homes being built as "car-free".
The theory goes that if you ban people from applying for parking permits and prevent developers building parking spaces, residents abandon their cars and use public transport.
]]> Unfortunately this theory doesn't work in practice.I recently met a family in Limehouse who are living in overcrowded accommodation. They are one of the lucky few who have been offered a new home. Sadly they've had to turn down this offer as it's within a car-free development and the father drives a cab.
Last week the council heard a petition from Narrow Street residents who purchased their properties new in 2002. They were not told they were buying into a car-free development and indeed the council had erroneously sold them parking permits. The council has now identified its mistake and is insisting the development's car-free status is enforced.
It's time for this Labour-run council to think again.
Policy makers need to listen to the needs of residents before imposing inflexible schemes. New developments should be allowed to be built with underground parking and people should not be prevented from having suitable housing because of their need for a car.
- Tim Archer is Conservative councillor, Blackwall & Cubitt Town Ward & prospective MP
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