The sculptures at Brixton tube, recently and rather touchingly joined by Joy II
are usually blue, but they change colour sometimes. I don’t believe that any disrespect is meant - it seems like kind of a tradition. Anything that doesn’t move gets painted around here.
That reminded me of the old army squadie maxim from National Service times
If it doesn’t move paint it
If it does move salute it
Heh!
Half-a-million£ costs, too 
I go past this on the bus (or on foot) very frequently, but the Herne Hill forum has just provided a nice photo of both the topiary and the topiarist.
Drinks are on Paul again.
@pmac will remember meeting this chap on Fetlar
Yes, met him in the island hall. Nice guy.
An area that needs support - and none coming from HMG
This is good stuff - coalface stuff 
I wish there was matching funding for heritage careers in the widest sense. The sector suffers from a lack of continuity and a near-universal lack of job security. There are so few meaningful careers, and those few there are, are abysmally-paid short-term contracts.
We already train shitloads of people - and I’m thinking more of the deskbound stuff rather than artisanal. Great fleets of eager, talented people train, then they then work as volunteers in the sector for as long as mummy and daddy can bankroll them, then they have to go and get a ‘real’ job that pays actual money, which is always outside heritage…
Lather, rinse, repeat - ad nauseam. We’re a nation of backwards barbarians really…
Smashed even the stretch goal in < 24 hours - JOHN will ride again.
On and off today I’ve kept bumping into a young (22, 23?) lad doing the same journey as me.
He evidently had physical difficulties, cerebral palsy maybe? But he was travelling solo, no thank you he didn’t need assistance from the ground staff. He was extremely polite.
The last time I saw him was on the DLR back into town, and the look of delight and wonder on his face as he drank in every detail of the huge crowded noisy bedlam he’d arrived in lifted my spirits no end.
I hope he has a great time, and maybe doesn’t go back.
Lovely post 
Great work by the BBC Journalist.
I’m not asking for any donations for it but thought you would like to see this.
Local 3 year old girl has childhood cancer - 1 kidney removed and 11 hour operation on liver and blood arteries to try to contain it. Big problem is that she cannot hold food down and the only stuff she could eat and absorb came from America at £800 per 10 days (cost, shipping, tax etc,)
On Thursday her mum set up a just giving page to get them over the month - £1000 target. By tonight it has hit £9500 and provided enough for the new year.
So proud of our community of 4500 folks.
I use the number 8, stops out side the Black Swan pub and drops me off 100 yards from home.
The drivers are brilliant. They often stop between bus stops to drop folk off at the end of their drive. One or two even walk elderly up to their house.
Cannot praise them enough.
