Victim of inappropriate force wins against London Underground

Cyclist who was grabbed at at a London Underground station by one of the station staff has worn his case agains London Underground.

Leib Spektor, 58, was the victim of “inappropriate force” when he passed through Canada Water Tube station, a High Court judge ruled on Friday.

But the judge rejected Mr Spektor’s original claim for £1m damages.

He also rejected claims of thousands of pounds for a trip to Thailand, ready meals and loss of earnings.
‘Excessive and exaggerated’

The cyclist sued London Underground (LU) after he claimed he was left “significantly disabled” following the February 2006 incident.

Mr Spektor was passing through barriers at Canada Water Tube station with his bike when a worker challenged him about the route he had taken.

When he failed to reply the LU worker forced him back and bent him over the barriers.

Mr Spektor, of Lewisham, south-east London, originally claimed £1m damages. The company offered him £18,000.

Deputy Judge Satinder Hunjan had previously ruled LU should compensate Mr Spektor for neck and back injuries and for an anxiety disorder which stopped him going out in the dark.

But on Friday the High Court judge decided his claims were “excessive and exaggerated” and awarded Mr Spektor £11,925.

The judge said Mr Spektor had a “significant” medical history and he had taken that into account when assessing compensation.
Thai massage

He suffered from disabling osteoarthritis and had not worked for 10 years, the judge said.

The judge rejected other claims including a “substantial amount” for a two-month trip to Thailand in January 2007 for “extensive massage” and £41,917 for ready meals.

He said Mr Spektor’s GP suggested Thailand because it would be a good idea for him to go to a warm climate.

He added: “It involves, after injury of minor trauma, him travelling half the way around the world, incurring flight and hotel expenses and the cost of massage which, incidentally, is not supported by any direct medical evidence.”

The judge also dismissed a “highly speculative” claim for £300,000 which allegedly represented a lost chance to develop game software for the flight industry.

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The “power bitch” Connie Beauchamp played by Amanda Mealing in popular hospital dram Holby City is set to leave the drama.

Amanda Mealing who has played the character for 6 years revealed on twitter that she will be leaving the soap this year. She started playing cardiothoracic consultant Connie Beauchamp since 2004.

Amanda Mealing had treatment for breast cancer following the birth of her second son, Sources at Holby City production company confirmed that the 43 year old actor is set to leave holby city.

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The 2010 Wimbledon tournament has begun today and promises to be an exciting event with even Queen Elizabeth II planning to attend. Some sports casters are concerned that since the World Cup is also under way right now that there may be less attention paid to Wimbledon. Most people in the sports world believe that the outstanding show of tennis excellence will bring in enough attendees and home viewers that the World Cup is not a concern.  To add even more hype to the start of the tournament there is reportedly over 13 million pounds in prize money available for those who do well and advance through the rounds.

There are definitely some people to look out for as the matches continue throughout the tournament. An obvious standout is Roger Federer who will be defending his previous wins and aiming for his eighth Wimbledon title since he began his amazing tennis career. Due to the fact that Federer is defending his title win from last year he is slated to play on the Centre Court as the tournament starts. His opponent is Alejandro Falla from Columbia who promises to bring his best to try to knock off the depending champion. Serena Williams is defending her win last year also today against the very young Michelle Larcher de Brito from Portugal. The Williams sisters always put on exciting shows for the crowds so her match against the younger rising star definitely promises to be entertaining.

Tennis fans can go online to find a complete schedule and bracket for the tournament. Also, Google is trying to keep everyone up to date on the winners of the preliminary rounds; interested individuals simply have to Google “Wimbledon” to find out the current status of matches being played or the scores of games that have already finished.

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Those bored with the usual process of finding a date for themselves every night in the conventional manner and those genuinely not having the time to get into the formal dating process will find the concept of speed dating a great help. This concept helps people find their partners in an environment that is casual, fun filled and very exciting. The environment is that of a singles party taking place with everybody having their share of fun.

Speed dating has become very popular in the UK and is being tried out by many people in cities like London, Leeds and Birmingham. They have found it to be quick and many individuals irrespective of age are enjoying its benefits. They consider it to be the perfect substitute to the usual dating process and since they are getting successful with every attempt they make, it is emboldening them to become more adventurous at this activity. They are utilizing these opportunities to experiment with different partners each time and finding it to be a great source of excitement.

So what is it that is so special about speed dating?

It is the simplicity of the process as well as the fact that this is one concept that enables so many men and women to meet each other at one place and engage in a series of mini-dates before you find one of your choice. As human beings and particularly men, we like variety. When you have so many beautiful women at one place and you have the liberty of chatting with each of them for some time, you cannot ask for anything better. You are bound to find one of your choices after you go through the short listing and it is this guarantee that is attracting many people to this activity. The process also takes place in a light hearted casual manner so that those who are rejected by somebody does not feel slighted or awkward since he or she knows they are bound to find somebody very soon. Everybody has a good time chatting each other and as long as they follow the basic rules and decorum, nobody has a problem.

Though the emergence of this concept can be directly attributed to the growing penetration of the internet making it easy for anybody to enter speed dating sites and set up appointments, it was a concept that was already being followed in the us way back in the early nineties, when the internet had still not made its mark. Subsequently other European nations took to this concept and the growing penetration of the internet into houses only made things easier.

As with everything else, it is necessary to select the appropriate speed dating company. For this you must go by the number of years the company has been in existence. You can also take referrals from your friends who may have had success with a particular company. Once you enroll as a member at the site chosen, you can participate in their speed dating and singles party events that they organize at various locations within the UK.

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Many corporate houses want their offices to radiate freshness in order to present a great working atmosphere for the employees and impress visitors. They are aware that merely furnishing the offices would not be enough and look to the placement and positioning of plants within the premises to achieve this objective. They are also looking for a one-stop shop arrangement and do not wish to deal with many vendors. If you business fit that category and you need office plants in London, this article may be able to help you.

Plant Designs is one such entity which due to its established network of contractors in the areas of floristry as well as plant maintenance has been able to provide a high level of service to its clients and many of its clients acknowledge the difference they have made to the office environment and ambience.

They have the advantage of an efficient network of plant suppliers who are able to supply an extensive range of required fresh plants as well as containers. This enables them to offer exactly what their customers want.

They also back their service through a dedicated account manager and horticulture experts. These experts know the customers requirement in their designated areas and are therefore able to offer them uninterrupted service even on holidays.

Since they are members of eFig, Plants for People and other such bodies, they are well aware of their responsibility and maintain high standards. Their approach is to study the requirements of each customer in detail through a thorough survey of the premises before working out a scheme that would be ideal. Once the design is accepted by the customer, it takes them a fortnight to transform the place through strategic positioning of plants and containers.

They then provide regular maintenance services through their service care schedule and this ensures that the plants survive and are healthy enough to provide that freshness.

admin London 020 interior plants, London office plants, plant designs

Still basking in the post general election warmth which saw its first MP in the houses of Parliament recently, the Green Party today release its assessment of how green each of the thirty-three local authorities in London are, top of the table is the Borough of Islington and at the bottom of the pile is Kingston.

The measurement yardstick includes household waste production, recycling, carbon emissions and the amount of energy used. As spokes person for Islington council remark that they are pleased about the Green Party’s ranking and promise to work harder to improve and a spokes person for Kingston disputed the metrics use to rank the London borough which saw their local authority coming last, he did not agree that their borough is as bad at green issues as the ranking make it to be.

Other local authorities that come our well in the ranking includes the city of London which come second, and Lambeth council which came third. Tower Hamlets had the lowest energy use per person, Haringey reduced energy use by the fastest yearly rate. Redbridge threw away the least household waste and were also the best CO2 emissions. Bexley was best borough for recycling.

There are concerns that because of the current financial climate, local authorities may have to cut spending on green issues but most local authorities see environmental issues as high priorities and most of them promise to protect budgets for green activities.

If you live in any of the borough with mentioned in this blog please feel free to comment.

admin London 020 green london, islington, the greenest london borough

London cycle hire scheme was launched today by the mayor of London, you can read fill details of the launch as reported by London Evening Standard below.
Visiting transport for London’s website to find out the cost of the bike hire, it does seem rather expensive, you can buy a good secondhand bike and lock for what it will cost you to hire one of TFL’s bicycles.

Up to 1 hour £1
Up to 1 hour and 30 minutes £4
Up to 2 hours £6
Up to 2 hours and 30 minutes £10
Up to 3 hours £15
Up to 6 hours £35
Up to 24 hours (maximum usage fee) £50
Other charges
Late return charge £150
Damage charge Up to £300
Non-return charge £300

Evening Standars reporting of the launch:

Boris Johnson today announced he had sold the naming rights to his new London cycle hire scheme for £25?million.

Barclays Bank has agreed to pay the sum in a five-year deal that will see its branding used on the Mayor’s 12 “cycle super highways” being created across the capital.

The bike scheme, which will be known as Barclays Cycle Hire, will launch on July 30 in central London. All 6,000 bikes will carry the Barclays logo.

Mr Johnson said the scheme would use the “Rolls-Royce of bicycles” but warned Londoners to expect teething problems. “I’m so thrilled to be announcing that Barclays Bank, after years of taking extortionate charges from me, is doing an amazing and wonderful thing,” he said. “I think there could not be a better sign of Barclays’ commitment to this city, to the environment and to a wonderful means of transport.”

The deal recoups part of Transport for London’s £140?million outlay on the scheme, which will use bikes and docking stations built in Canada and is based on “Bixi”, Montreal’s bike rental system. Barclays wants the scheme widened from central London’s Zone One to Canary Wharf, location of its world HQ, and the Olympic Park in Stratford.

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