Snow causes London meltdown

Why many people may be forced to spend Christmas in the capital

The queue stretched through the snow for almost a mile. No, this wasn't thousands of Christmas shoppers at Selfridges anticipating the approaching VAT hike - but the masses of stranded Eurostar passengers trying to board trains back to Paris and beyond.

Some people had been queuing up in the sub-zero temperatures from 4am to 7pm the previous day - but were forced to return for a second day of waiting in line after failing to make it aboard one of the reduced numbers of trains heading sheepishly back under the Channel.

The Salvation Army was out, offering kind words, sympathetic smiles and free cups of tea. All in all, despite the cosmopolitan nature of its participants, the queue displayed what The Guardian described as "a model of Anglo-Saxon order and decorum - a line of polite grumbles rather than effervescent rage".

Similar scenes were playing out in London's airports, with thousands of passengers reduced to camping out in airport terminals as flight after flight was cancelled owing to the adverse weather conditions.

The problem during the last cold snap in late November had been the runways; this time the planes themselves had simply frozen up.

At one point, Heathrow had cancelled 60 per cent of its departures and suspended 70 per cent of its arrivals - and that was an improvement on the previous day, which was a complete write-off.

Travellers were urged not to even make the journey to the airport, which now was beginning to resemble a refugee camp, with lines of luggage and people sleeping amongst general rubbish and clutter. There were not enough blankets and too little information, stranded passengers complained.

With a few strings pulled Madonna made her flight, but Lily Allen wasn't so lucky, the singer's Christmas plans, like those of so many "real" people, thrown into turmoil.

Two friends of mine were scheduled to fly out to the States to spend the festive week with relatives but were held up for two days.

Another good friend was awaiting the return of her boyfriend from California, but his flight had been cancelled, his return to London at risk, their reunion put on hold.

My old flatmate, who now lives in Panama, had to cancel our scheduled Christmas catch-up drink on 22nd December. He is still in Texas, awaiting a connecting flight back to the UK. He may make it back for Christmas Eve - at a stretch.

A University friend, who made it back to London from The Hague a few weeks ago for his 30th, had no such luck this time round and now has the prospect of Christmas alone in Holland.

Christmas shopping on Marylebone High Street, I bumped into an old work colleague whose boyfriend's return flight from New York to London had been diverted to Shannon, where he was forced to spend an unplanned three-day holiday. Still, he did manage to catch the Irish kick-boxing championships next to his hotel (every cloud).

A French friend who plays in my Wednesday five-a-side group has a flight back to Paris on the 23rd December but to make sure he's doubled up with a Eurostar ticket. It's all right, he's a banker so had deep pockets - but it does show the desperate measures people are prepared to take in order to make it back to their families in time for Christmas.

As for me - I'm heading down to Dorset this afternoon on the train. I have already bought my ticket - and South West trains appear to be back up-and-running after a few days of reduced service. But there is still meant to be a thick coating of snow in the West - with more on the way.

It's funny how we all dream (and sing) of a white Christmas but then when confronted with that reality, it becomes an entirely different preposition!

The next problem is going to be the ice. With temperatures still very low, the roads are becoming increasingly treacherous - at a time when 18 million drivers are expected to take to the roads on the big Christmas getaway.

It seemed that nothing survived the Big Freeze in London last week. Christmas retail figures are said to have tumbled; many people were forced to work from home; all top-flight football games were cancelled last weekend (Arsenal's Emirates Stadium was covered with three inches in half an hour ahead of their proposed fixture against Stoke on Saturday).

In fact, the only thing which seemed to work okay was, ironically, the Tube.

But hold your horses...

Yes, the Underground may have emerged from the latest adverse weather conditions with its dignity intact, but all that could be taken away if plans go ahead for a proposed Boxing Day strike. A row over pay means that Tube drivers have threatened to walk out on one of the biggest shopping days of the year - which would prove a major blow to London's shops who have had to deal with the severe weather and student protests, as well as the looming spectre of the impending VAT hike and public sector cuts.

New owners for Lehman skyscraper

Before all this snow chaos do you remember the small matter of the financial crisis? Well, the former home of Lehman Brothers in Canary Wharf - empty since the demise of the bank in 2008 - is to be bought by JPMorgan Chase for £500 million to house its European headquarters. The decision will be viewed as a coup for London as a future financial capital given fears that the US investment bank could have moved staff overseas in response to concerns about future regulatory and tax policy in the UK. £500m may seem like a lot of dosh but it's rather paltry in comparison to the £850 billion paid by UK taxpayers to bailout the banks last year.

Zebra crossing becomes national landmark

A zebra crossing in north-west London has made architectural history by becoming the first road marking to be granted Grade II listing. But this isn't any normal zebra crossing - this is the one traversed one bright morning 41 years ago by the Beatles and subsequently given legendary status after appearing on the cover of the band's Abbey Road album. The heritage minister said that while the crossing was "no castle or cathedral", it had "just as strong a claim as any to be seen as part of our heritage" because of its link to the Beatles.

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