People from around the country are often shocked at the length of a commute to work in London, as it racks up as the longest in the UK. For the majority of the people who work in the city, the start and end of a work day means a trip to or from the suburbs if they want to live in anything that wasnt once a cupboard. Because of the number of people doing this, it means it can take a while. With an average commuting time of 56 minutes for a 15 mile trek during 2013, a Londoner can count themselves lucky if they only have to travel for an hour. So yes, that does mean that on average, out of every two weeks a local will have spent an entire day travelling to and from work and a significant volume of that time with their face in someones armpit.
5. A Collection of White Elephants
London has long been a home for stupid building ideas that then take ten to twenty years for someone to put a purpose to. The Millennium Dome was one That was hated for several years and even used as a homeless shelter at one point before it underwent a transformation into the beloved O2 Arena. The really worthless one at the moment is the stupid, stupid cable car between Greenwich Pennisula and the Royal Docks. Hated by Londoners, barely used by tourists, it was erected to basically connect two event locations at the Olympics. You cant use an Oyster card on it, and so theyve estimated that only 16 commuters use it on a regular basis. Not 16 thousand just 16. Its losing £50,000 a week. Mind you, the Millennium Bridge showed that recently London cant even build a footbridge properly.
4. An Obsession With A Cat Café
One of the biggest stories last year was the opening of Lady Dinahs Cat Emporium one of the first real success stories following the Kickstarter launch in the UK. The creation of the café in Shoreditch was covered by international news and has been received so favourably by Londoners that it is constantly fully booked for three months in advance. The main attraction is the 11 resident cats that play with diners. Such premises arent unusual in Japan or even in certain cities in the United States, but Lady Dinahs has managed to take London by storm. Following on its heels was the announcement of a dog café called House of Hounds, but Londoners omitted a collective sigh of disappointment when it revealed that there wouldnt be any resident dogs.
