Metropolitan Lines: history and bad news

Dave Hill
guardian.co.uk, Friday 23 July 2010 10.20 BST

Roman Wall at Tower Hill. Photograph: Dave Hill

I'm on a sort of mission to combine entertaining my younger children during the summer break with improving their knowledge of London's culture and past - and, for that matter, my own. The idea is to plan and ruthlessly execute a short series of outings in which trips to sites of artistic or historic importance, the viewing of mass market movie franchise products and visits to child-friendly restaurants are cunningly integrated. Why, I can already see myself chivvying them towards this fine gallery or that ancient monument, their stony compliance pre-purchased by the promise of ice cream or Shrek in 3D.

But enough parental optimism. I'm here to report that my preparation for this noble enterprise - which will most certainly come to fruition, yes indeed - has pleasurably involved enhancing my knowledge of London's earliest roots. These, of course, are Italian. Following two military forays into Britain nearly 100 years earlier, the Roman Empire finally sunk foundations into the north bank of the Thames in around AD 50. The first bits of Londinium were built on the twin peaks of Cornhill and Ludgate Hill, the river was bridged and a bustling, cosmopolitan trade centre was born.

The rest, you might say, is history and in the sense that modern London answers to much the same description as the earliest one, you would be right. But, of course, it's not that simple. Londinium, famously, was trashed and levelled by an avenging Queen Boudicca after barely ten years in existence. It was rebuilt with impressive speed and by the start of the second century was the thriving home of at least 45,000 residents - less than the Emirates stadium can hold, but in those days the population of a large town.

Yet this was the peak of Roman London before a second, much slower, far less spectacular and longer-lasting reverse in fortunes than the one Boudicca imposed by force of arms. The reason? Largely our very old friend, economic recession. Scholars cite various underlying causes, including plague and imperial turmoil, but a unifying theme looks very like an all too familiar collapse in international markets and confidence.

Some interpret the Romans' construction of a wall around London - see my bad photograph above - as an early symptom of this long-running malaise; a defensive response to growing conflict and instability. To cut a long story very short, Londinium remained a vital financial centre throughout the fourth century, but the collapse of Rome led to its abandonment. By 450 it was a ghost town. I'm sure there's a moral lurking somewhere in that tale, and no doubt we could have hours of fun quarrelling over what it is. Anyone with clear views on the matter is welcome to share them with me. I may even regurgitate them to my kids.

Ian Tomlinson
From the Guardian:

The police officer caught on video during last year's G20 protests striking a man who later died will not face criminal charges, the Crown Prosecution Service announced today. Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, said there was "no realistic prospect" of a conviction, because of a conflict between the postmortem examinations carried out after the death of Ian Tomlinson last year.

This news, which broke yesterday morning, has prompted an avalanche of astonished comments from readers and distress and defiance from Tomlinson's family. It was conveyed to his widow, Julia, by the Crown Prosecution Service:

She and her nine children were told of two seemingly incompatible conclusions: first, prosecutors believed there was sufficient evidence to prosecute the officer; but second, owing to both the time limit for common assault charges and medical uncertainties – crucially, the contested findings of a forensic pathologist who is now the subject of an inquiry by the General Medical Council – prosecutors did not believe there was a prospect a jury would convict the officer on any charge.

Incredible, troubling, terrible - but true.

Railway cuttings
I wrote about London Underground's assessment of the overdue upgrades to the Jubilee Line from the point of a view of a man who hasn't understood how rail signalling works since he stopped playing with his train set. The Guardian's transport correspondent Dan Milmo wrote about it with rather more expertise. Dan has also interviewed Transport for London chief Peter Hendy about the new government's cost-cutting plans and how they might impact on his budgets - and Boris Johnson's popularity:

At least Hendy will not have to take the flak for the fare rises that, under the brutally simplistic mathematics of transport funding, appear inevitable. If government funding is cut there are only a few scenarios to consider: slash jobs from TfL's 27,000 strong workforce and risk waves of RMT strikes; cut capital expenditure and let the Northern Line reach bursting point, while maintenance costs and delays soar owing to ailing infrastructure; stick up ticket prices. Or a toxic mixture of all three.

Happy days. Now read on.

London blogosphere
Mayor Johnson's "cycle revolution" is getting underway. Technology troubles have forced a staggered start to his hire scheme, but if you wish to become a member, as opposed to a casual user, you can now sign up for next Friday's launch. Two of his "superhighways" have been formally opened too, but early reviews have been a bit severe. London SE1 and Kennington People on Bikes have been subjecting them to very rigorous scrutiny.

Coming up
City Hall's politicians have gone into summer recess and while they're doing that I'm thinking about getting some fresh air. I'm not sure I've ever stepped into Green Park. Perhaps I'll try it, but not after dark. Tomorrow, I could go on a City of London Cemetery & Crematorium Heritage Walk and, come to think of it, so could you. As for Sunday, my plans are already made. I'll be travelling to Kew Gardens, on foot, from Hounslow West Underground station. Don't ask me why, because I'm not going to tell you. Not yet. Keep in touch.