Recently by John Hill

ANOTHER tower could be about to sprout up on the eastern end of the Canary Wharf estate.

Canary Wharf Group (CWG) has submitted an application for a 23-storey development at 25 Churchill Place, which could house around 4,000 employees.

It is the last site within the original estate masterplan to be developed.

The 0.36 hectare plot has existing planning permission for a 61,300 square metre development under the original Enterprise Zone consent for Canary Wharf in 1982, but CWG has bid to increase the height of the building from 80.77 to 130 metres above UK sea level. Site preparations and piling have been completed.

IT LOOKS like a brick-built cousin of the nightmarish sci-fi pods seen in The Matrix.

But this egg-shaped home could help homeowners heal the planet.

Alternative builders Eco Hab Homes are showcasing their unusual dwellings at the Grand Designs Live exhibition in Royal Docks. The curious cocoons range from four to six metres in diameter, and range from an £8,900 bungalow to a two-floor home with its own bedroom, living area, kitchen and bathroom, costing nearly £80,000. See www.ecohab.co.uk for more details.

The zero-carbon pod is among several eco-projects taking place at the nine-day show at ExCeL. Presenter Kevin McCloud kicked off his attempt to build a home in six days over the weekend, and rail closures did not stop waves of designers making the trip to East London. The exhibition is expected to attract up to 500,000 visitors this year, and is the subject of a live Channel 4 broadcast.

LAST-PLACED candidate Winston McKenzie has pledged to bounce off the ropes and eventually take City Hall.

The Croydon-born former boxer battled Boris and Ken without the aid of a political party, marshaling his own campaign from an office in South Quay.

But despite bringing up the rear in this year’s bout with 5,389 first-choice votes, he is confident he will play a part in mayoral politics in the future.

He said: “I’m certain I will be Mayor of London someday. I’m a man that came from nothing, with little or no media exposure, who still got the ear of around 40,000 first and second choice voters. I’m still smiling about that.
“But right now I’m waiting with baited breath for a phone call from Boris Johnson. I believe I’m the type of man he needs around.”

AN ISLE of Dogs family has set off on the longest road trip of their lives.

Ishak Ghani, his wife Alison Murugesu-Ghani and their three-year-old son Adrian, will trade Docklands for the delights of America, Europe and Asia on a two-and-a-half year charity expedition.

The Malaysians in Motion “team” left their home in Lockes Wharf last Thursday, and were flagged off by Tourism Malaysia’s UK deputy director Razaidi Abd Rahim.

They hope to raise money for pet therapy charity Petpositive.

Blonde's Eye View - Cherry Green is on a mission to Mars (as long as they've got freeview)

The European Space Agency is recruiting for astronauts.

I’m so excited. I can’t wait to apply. I’d be great in space. I can’t wait to land on Mars; I shall ride the giant desert worms and scale Olympus Mons in plimsolls. Bring it on!

At least I was excited until I gave the subject a bit more thought. Apparently they won’t let you go into space without a thorough medical and I have a history of depression.

I can’t really see the ESA taking a risk on the fact that I might bring all the other astronauts down with my constant pessimism.

The 21st century is the age of the computer.

Anyone caught doing anything that doesn’t involve a screen or a caps lock button will be taken out and beaten with an ergonomic keyboard.

So it’s inevitable that the ancient art of doodling has eloped to the web.

The Doodle Notebook allows you to create wonders using a simple paint program, and upload them for a chance to win £1,000 of books.

Kudos go to top timewaster Emily Hamilton, who’s already clocked 1095 minutes on the site when she’s meant to be working.

Concrete Pencil - This week, Dan Bourke is angering the machines...

When you sit idle at your workstation, it’s best to at least try to fill your time productively.

By this of course I do not mean that you should find some work that no one has asked you to do and show initiative, or anything so ludicrously self-defeating as that.

No, far better that you try to get free stuff or win things on the internet.

Now for one reason or another I don’t get to do nothing nearly enough in my work any more. But I have been commuting my suited body to these towers for nine years exactly now, so I’ve had my share of downtime.

A fellow waster and I have tried to win holidays in the Caribbean, several generations of PlayStation, free Lottery tickets, DVDs, BMWs, digital cameras. You name it.

I haven’t actually won anything, of course, but the process was not without value.

FOR ISLAND voters, the first fruits of their labours trickled in at around noon with the election of a new Millwall councillor.

The Wharf chased the action from Royal Docks to Tower Bridge as Ken Livingstone's eight-year reign as Mayor came to an end.

Boris takes City Hall

By the time City and East had officially thrown its weight behind Labour at around 10pm, the capital's media were already confidently predicting victory for the Conservative candidate Boris Johnson.

Many betting firms started paying out on the blue challenger before 10am on Friday (May 2), suggesting a rout may be on the cards for two-term Mayor Ken Livingstone.

Labour's candidate actually finished with a far higher total number of votes than he managed in his comfortable 2004 victory. But the presence of a well-known contender not only denied him a third term in office, but attracted the highest voter turnout among Londoners since the mayoral post was created in 2000.

FOR ISLAND voters, the first fruits of their labours trickled in at around noon with the election of a new Millwall councillor.

The Wharf chased the action from Royal Docks to Tower Bridge as Ken Livingstone's eight-year reign as Mayor came to an end.

John Biggs ExCeLs in Assembly vote

City and East incumbent John Biggs will get the chance to celebrate a decade representing the constituency in two years time.

The former Tower Hamlets Council leader increased his share of the vote from 29 per cent to nearly 35 per cent on Friday (May 2), fending off a challenge from Blackwall and Cubitt Town's Conservative councillor Phil Briscoe.

Cllr Briscoe led in the very early stages of the count, but was significantly behind for much of the late afternoon, finishing with just over half of his opponent's total.

FOR ISLAND voters, the first fruits of their labours trickled in at around noon with the election of a new Millwall councillor.

The Wharf chased the action from Royal Docks to Tower Bridge as Ken Livingstone's eight-year reign as Mayor came to an end.

Millwall stays blue

Barclays senior banker Simon Rouse has overseen a massive turnaround in the fortunes of the Conservatives on the Isle of Dogs. In September 2004, he won the party's first ever seat on Tower Hamlets Council with a victory in Millwall ward.

Less than four years later, the Tories hold all six seats on the Island, and have effectively created a blue outpost in the Labour-run borough by throwing their weight behind residents on several local issues, from the proposed Barkantine post office closure to replacement bus disruption on Saunders Ness Road.