The problem with the many uses we all have with our smartphones and the busy lives we lead, there is a real danger that we fail to notice the dangers around us as we’re glued to our phone screens.  While official advice is that we should never cross the road while listening to music or texting, many people simply ignore this advice.  Luckily an interesting new app has recently been developed in America to deal with this.

The One Llama app, currently for Android only but with an iOS version in the works, has a sound bank of key noises which it can recognise when picked up by your phones speakers.  It picks up on sounds such as screaming, tyre squeals, sirens or car horns, and will automatically turn off music playing through your headphones and replace it with a louder version of the sound to alert you to danger.

What do you think of this app? Good pragmatic idea to deal with modern distractions, or simply an encouragement to people who don’t spend enough time being alert to the dangers around you? Comment below.

The borough has pubs that can trace their histories back many centuries, as village pubs in Kensington and Chelsea when both were communities independent of London, and as roadside taverns on the routes into the city.

The development of pleasure gardens in Chelsea, and the usage of Kensington Palace by the late Stuart and early Georgian monarchs in the 18^th century drew more people to the area and pubs grew in number throughout the 19^th century as the area became a fashionable suburb for wealthy Victorians.  Numbers of pubs peaked in 1900 with 83 pubs in the borough, which coincided with the peak population of the area.  Since then few pubs have been built or rebuilt, meaning that nearly every pub in Kensington and Chelsea has an historic atmosphere to enjoy.

Contenders for the most historic pub in the area include the Goat on Kensington High Street, established in 1679 and the formerly closed but now due to reopen and the Cross Keys in Chelsea, which opened in 1708.

A worrying rise in the number of pedestrian casualties in London since 2011 has led to the London Assembly Transport Committee to recently publish a new report ‘Feet First – Improving Pedestrian Safety in London.’ The report’s recommendations include:

• Appointing a senior representative to champion walking
• Use an assumed walking speed of 0.8 metres per second to calculate minimum crossing times and audit sites where Green Man times have changed
• To provide monthly data on pedestrian casualties
• Develop plans to improve 24 collision hotspots by October 2014
• Publish a timescale for implementing 20mph speed limits on suitable roads
• Ensure road crime is included in Met crime statistics.

You can find the full report here. 

 Notting Hill Arts Club

A scruffy chic basement establishment that has for the last decade shown that West London can be just as cool in its music as East, as regularly rammed grime, hip-hop and dubstep night YoYo has shown.  Try out new monthly clubnight for emerging artists New Shapes to discover who’s about to be big to gain bragging rights that you saw them before they were cool.

AAA

A place that revels in rock, indie, folk and blues, while also providing a restaurant and cocktail bar, AAA is the whole package for a night out.  Open every day, with live performances almost every evening, this really is a hub for music lovers, giving you everything from bands, club nights, comedy gigs to karaoke, AAA is a venue that really deserves to be checked out.

The Troubadour

A legendary venue established in 1954 that has hosted everyone from Elton John to Morrissey to Adele, upstairs provides all-day breakfasts and pie and mash, while downstairs in the cellar bands and poets still perform, so definitely worth going along to, you might just see a future star.

 

If you’re happy to splash the cash and head out somewhere a bit more exclusive for your evening, then West London provides you with a great selection of nightspots which are members only. Here are some of our favourites.

The Roof Gardens

Located one hundred feet above Kensington High Street is this astonishing hidden gem, three beautifully designed gardens perfect for warm summer evenings, it’s open 10pm-3am on Friday and Saturday nights with a dress code of ‘no effort, no entry,’ so always make sure you look your best when you turn up.

Boujis

A simply legendary location, deserving of it’s famous, or infamous reputation, Boujis will simply provide one of the most glamorous nights out you can have in London as it describes itself as the ‘club of choice for international VIPs, aristocracy and London’s elite.’  If you’re willing to make an investment you’ll find yourself never wanting to go out anywhere else ever again.

Raffles

Raffles is an institution of Chelsea, having been going since 1967, it prides itself on its discretion and on its music, attracting some of the best acts and DJs in the world and provides a vibrant night out almost any night of the week, everyone who’s anyone in Chelsea has been here, so a good place to celebrity spot.

Beaufort House

Slightly more serene than the previous clubs, become a member here less for wild nights out, more for excellent food from their brasserie, you can have cocktails on the ground floor bar, or champagne in the penthouse, and enjoy a great evening on the King’s Road.

Although not many people realise it, there are other ways home after a night out that don’t involve public transport or a cab.  Here are two ways to get home in a different way.

Limobike

 This service provides a very quick and easy way to navigate your way through London – by a passenger motorbike.  Book them just like a taxi, and a professionally qualified driver will turn up, and you can hop onto their bike, which also comes with storage space for bags, and they will whisk you across the city without getting stuck in traffic.

Scooterman

 This will end that perennial argument about who’s not going to drink on an evening so that you can drive home.  Instead, after driving to your nightspot, you simply book a driver who turns up on a folding scooter at the end of the evening. The scooter goes in the boot of your car, and then you’re driven home in your own car.  This provides a simple and safe way to enjoy yourself on a night out while avoiding the price of two cab journeys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Vq0gn5Lzg

For the seasoned London explorer, or those who want to go off the beaten track, a world of apps has sprung up that cater to those looking for the less known features of an area.

Kooky London

Provides you with a treasure trove of interesting facts all over London.  In Kensington and Chelsea use it to find the famous ‘skinny house’ in South Kensington built to fit around the underground tracks of the nearby station, the location of London’s last tile kiln, or where Hugh Grant’s bookshop is located in the film of ‘Notting Hill.’

Secret London

This functions in a similar way to the previously featured website Great Little Place, but in mobile app form.  It crowd sources ‘secrets’ from it’s users to provide local recommendations of restaurants, activities, bars, museums, outdoor activities and interesting ‘oddities’. A great app for beginners, and once you become an old hand you can add your own discoveries.

Hidden London

Like Kooky London this concentrates on the unusual facts about an area, but provides more information for each location, including opening hours and ticket prices for attractions.  Use it to explore Thomas Carlyle’s house on Cheyne Row or the beautiful Arab Hall of Frederic, Lord Leighton which displays his priceless collection of Islamic tiles in Holland Park.

Transport for London are launching a draft action plan looking to encourage travelling by foot in the city while ensuring that pedestrians are safe. They are looking to increase the number of crossings with Pedestrian Countdown, to create a London Pedestrian Design Guidance to create a ‘safe and comfortable’ walking environment, and to lobby Central Government for changes in legislation to increase pedestrian safety.

You can read the draft report here: https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/streets/pedestrian-safety-plan/consultation/intro/view

TfL also need your help.  They’re looking for your views as part of a public consultation.  You can help out by completing this short online survey here: https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/streets/pedestrian-safety-plan/consultation/intro/view

Coming out of the tube for a night out without a plan for the evening in an area you do not know very well can be daunting. For the spontaneous among you there is a new world of apps which allow you to pick out the great nightspots in the surrounding area, or alert you of any great events that are occurring nearby.  Here are our picks.

Time Out

Still the bible for going out in the city, their app has gone through a recent overhaul which has hugely improved it.  Simply type in what, when and where you want to go out and it will provide you with a list of options, each of them with a star rating, most with a price rating, and many with an option to book them from within the app.  Really you can’t get by in the city without it.

YPlan

A simple app for the spur-of-the-moment adventurer, it works out where you are, and can tell you what exciting things are happening near you that evening, the next day, or that week in London. It synchs with your Passbook too, allowing you to book events in-app and keep everything online without a need for printing off tickets.

BarChick

This amazing little app was called one of the best apps of 2013 by technology magazine T3, and it really is invaluable in providing you with information not only about where to drink, but when to turn up and what to order while there. You choose an area, then what you’re looking for in a nightspot – whether that’s great music, great views, good cocktails, or various other criteria. You say who you’ll be taking out – are you with your mates or your mum – and when you want to go out, and it gives you a shortlist of places, each reviewed for price and quality. It’s so easy, you can see why it’s worth the hype.