Remember when you could catch a flight out of Central London?
From right next to the Houses of Parliament, in fact! No? Oh, okay, it was just a proposal:
This improbable scheme was recorded in a 1934 edition of Popular Science Monthly, though sadly there’s no evidence it was taken particularly seriously.
But it *was* at one point possible to catch passenger flights out of central London, just up the river, at Waterloo
British European Airways had operated Central London terminals since the company’s founding in 1946, initially from a building near Victoria station, then at a purpose-built facility in Kensington. But it was cheating, really - passengers could complete check-in there, but had to board buses to Heathrow to meet their flights.
Image: Jon Bennett
In the mid-50s they moved again, to a new terminal near Waterloo - but this time, you could actually fly out, in a helicopter!
Most passengers still opted for the cheaper bus service, but if you had the cash you could ‘start your flight’ there and then. Only about 4,000 people ever did, so the service was shut down after less than a year.
Shortly afterwards the airline facilities moved back to Kensington - parts of the Southbank Centre were built on the Waterloo site.
The “Central London check-in” concept became entirely redundant when the Piccadilly Line reached Heathrow in the mid-70s and was discontinued by the company (which had since been renamed British Airways).
Helicopter transfers from Heathrow are still available
Image: Tagishsimon
But the closest you’re going to get these days is Battersea, in South West London, which is a bit crap.
The heliport is quite near a Halfords, if that’s your sort of thing
Pigs *can* fly - here’s the first one that did, to prove it!
So it was in a bin tied to an aeroplane! It still counts!
The pilot is John Moore-Brabazon, the first Englishman to pilot a plane in England - he then took the pig up as some top aviator bants in 4 November 1909.
Moore-Brabazon went on to be a pro-appeasement Tory politician, and a Baron. History doesn’t record what happened to the pig.
AT LAST! We can dress our dog up like THE POPE!
It’s a sin! That this costume wasn’t available sooner!
It’s available to pre-order now in case you’re planning a deeply strange Halloween party. Dog not included.
Via @ncguk
Facebook autocomplete is turning your grandma into Grandmaster Flash
Baffled grandparents everywhere are suffering a bizarre transmogrification, thanks to Facebook autocomplete
Apparently Facebook thinks you’re more likely to be talking about Grandmaster Flash than your old nan
This is, naturally, causing some confusion
As well as rather surreal scenes
Grandmaster Flash is even turning up to baptisms!
Awww, and he’s prepared a special recipe just for you!
See the "Love, Grampa and Grandmaster Flash" tumblr collection for more lovely notes from the hip-hop legend!
Here’s where to stand when performing “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Is this a real sign, or is it just fantasy?
Nice that near the Amsterdam Arena, they created a place for people to gang up and sing Bohemian Rhapsody. pic.twitter.com/FBuvnsnpIY
— Michiel Jongsma (@JongsmaJongsma) September 11, 2014(It’s real, we think.)
Yippee ki yay! It’s our Die Hard film quiz!
Die Hard pretty much reinvented the action film genre, not to mention popularising the idea that English actors make the best baddies
But 26 years on, how well do you know a Christmas classic in which many many people die?
