Three of the black cabs roaming Central London this week are offering free rides as a reward for supporting Sound Off For Justice - the Law Society's campaign against the government's proposed cuts to legal aid. The cabs are equipped with iPads and iPhones so passengers can easily sign the petition, join their voicemail protest, watch campaign videos or even follow the campaign's social profiles. They're also being tracked live through Glympse and location updates are posted to the Twitter profile several times a day - offering nearby people who spot the updates the chance to tweet back and 'hail one digitally'. More info here.

It has now officially been an entire year since I've moved to London. I guess I don't even have to say anything as trite and cliched as "met a lot of amazing people, did a boatload of amazing things, etc" - oh well, I guess I just did.

Anyway, as is customary, here are some more observations:

• If you're not from around here, don't make the assumption that no one can understand you when talking to someone in your native language - you have no idea how awkward things can get. Could happen anywhere, you'll say? Yes, but it's most likely to happen right here (especially if you're Romanian).
• Don't expect to have lazy weekends - there's always somewhere you have to be or someone you have to meet (especially those who are visiting). Or someone you have to save from the dodgiest situation you would ever imagine.
  
• Don't worry, you'll be home by 2AM. No you won't.
• The bad weather is an urban myth and Londoners need to pass that on. Because it's just not that bad. As a starting argument, here's a quote from Wikipedia: "London is a relatively dry city with regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year, with an average of 583.6 millimetres (22.98 in) every year. This is lower than many cities such as New York, Paris, Sydney and around the same as Jerusalem and San Francisco."
• If you plan on leaving the city by plane over the winter holidays, also book a one-way Eurostar to Brussels on the date of your departure. Just in case.
• Apart from limos and cabs, double deckers are definitely the most civilised way to travel around London. Yes, London Tube, that's you I'm dissing.
• Some more statistical bragging, just because this issue pops up in conversations quite often: while Heathrow may not be the busiest airport in the world, London has the largest and busiest city airspace in the world - it is served by 5 main airports (8 in total).

I'll leave you with the other learnings I've posted throughout the year: 1 month, 3 months and 6 months. (image via Stephen, who didn't mention where he nicked it from)

...by 2012. But we're talking about 120 station platforms, presumably across Central London mostly. And access will be paid for - TfL to decide just how much. More info here. (image via Londonist)

Just came across this - for those interested, apparently it's going down in London in just a few hours. Here's the Facebook event page. (pic from its '09 NYC counterpart via)

The show was excellent, and apparently it's the biggest one his team has ever produced - check out a video I made here. By the way, talk about a great level of activity on his Facebook and Twitter...

And in terms of interacting with fans, this idea was fantastic (too bad his insurance people didn't let him go through with it).

An article in Romanian business magazine Biz - bear with me though, it's in Romanian. That photo, by the way, was taken 4 years ago when I was a junior, it was my first photo shoot too. Brings back memories...