5 signs you're a true Londoner – how many can you tick off?
Maybe it's when you work out how to get to your destination using the Tube without needing to use a map, or when you can name a pub near every Tube station.
While those are unlikely attributes to make you a Londoner, hundreds of locals have shared their own thoughts.
Taking to the Reddit group, r/London, one curious user asked: "At what point are you a Londoner?", seeing a mass response with nearly 400 answers.
From getting annoyed at people standing on the left side of the escalator to seeing Bill Nighy out and about, here are the 5 signs that make you a real Londoner.
5 signs you're a real Londoner
Getting frustrated about the left side of an escalator
One very popular and clear sign is "When you get frustrated about people standing on the left-hand side of an escalator."
Expanding on the sign, a fellow Londoner added: "Yes, but to be clear, you mustn't make your displeasure clear to the offender.
"You have to look at other people and roll your eyes, while tutting loudly."
Spotting Bill Nighy out and about
Another apparent Londoner sign, according to locals, was seeing actor and star of Love Actually, Bill Nighy, out in public.
As one Reddit user said, "Have you spotted Bill Nighy yet? If so, Londoner. If not, sorry."
Knowing not to use the Covent Garden Tube station
Any true Londoner will know to avoid using Covent Garden or face the endless steps to the surface.
Sharing how it's a true Londoner sign, a local said: "When you confidently make fun of anyone using Covent Garden tube station."
Thinking 'the North' means Finchley
One Reddit user suggested that Londoners have a habit of describing Finchley as 'the North' as one local joked: "Don't dare go up the A1."
Suggesting the Londoner forgot that there are areas outside the capital...
Recommended Reading
Falling asleep on the Tube and still not missing your stop
A dangerous act to do if you're in a rush, but locals suggest that any true Londoner will be able to have a nap on the Tube without missing their stop.
As one local put it: "Obviously, when you fall asleep on the Tube and wake up at the right station."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Love Island star recalls how she delivered baby sister at home with shoelace
EXCLUSIVE: Love Island 2025 star Alima Gagigo has opened up about the extraordinary moment she delivered her baby sister at home - and she's determined to make a difference in the villa Love Island stunner Alima Gagigo is already making headlines - and not just for her villa debut. In a story that's as jaw-dropping as it is heartwarming, the 23-year-old Londoner has revealed she once delivered her baby sister at home using a shoelace to tie the umbilical cord. The incident happened in January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, ahead of the brand new series kicking off on Monday June 9, Alima shared the extraordinary moment that proved she's not just reality TV-ready - she's resilient under pressure, too. 'Yeah! It was back in January 2020. My sister's a COVID baby,' she said. 'It was just me and my mum at home, and the labour was 15 minutes. I had to tie the umbilical cord with a shoelace while on the phone with paramedics. It was scary but amazing looking back.' Alima is a wealth management client services executive living in Glasgow. Now, the educated beauty is swapping emergency home births for bikinis and bombshell drama in the sun-soaked Love Island villa, and she's determined to make a difference while doing it. Representation, she says, is front and centre. '100%. When I watched the show last year, seeing girls like Whitney made a difference,' Alima told us. 'If I can be that person this year, it could give confidence to others who might want to go on the show in the future. Representation really matters.' Alima, who describes her hair plans as 'glueless wigs - closures instead of frontals,' is stepping into the ITV2 spotlight following in the footsteps of fan favourite love island star Whitney Adebayo, who starred on the 10th series joining as a bombshell. And it turns out Whitney's already showing love for her fellow Islander. 'I actually didn't know that - this is the first time I'm hearing it!' she said when told of Whitney's online support. 'I follow her and absolutely loved her journey. As another dark-skinned woman, I could really relate. Maybe she supports me because she knows what I might be going through.' The support from her circle has also been overwhelming, with her family cheering her on from the sidelines. 'Everyone's buzzing! Friends and family are super excited. My mum was especially excited - taking pictures and everything when she dropped me at the airport!' And while Love Island's latest season is already making headlines - ITV bosses recently confirmed they won't shy away from showing sex on screen if it happens - Alima admits she is 'going to stay true to myself.' 'On the outside, I don't really do that kind of thing, so I don't think I'll be getting up to much in the villa either.' That down-to-earth energy is exactly what fans are already loving. Alima, who says she's 'not really anxious' about how she'll be perceived as a Black woman on the show, is focused on being authentic. 'Seeing girls like Whitney and Mimii [Ngulube] last year who were themselves and came across amazing gave me confidence,' she added. 'I want to be fully myself, regardless of stereotypes.' She's not afraid to laugh either - especially when it comes to her biggest dating ick. 'Honestly, if someone rapped or sang to me and it was bad - I wouldn't know what to say. If it's good, then fair enough, but if As the 2025 series kicks off with a fresh group of hopefuls and more drama promised than ever before, Alima is clearly more than ready to hit the villa. Catch Love Island every night at 9pm from Monday 9 June on ITV2 and ITVX
Daily Record
16 hours ago
- Daily Record
Music fans name their 'favourite Scottish musicians' of all time
Scotland has birthed many musical icons and these are the best ones, according to locals Music fans have shared their "favourite Scottish musicians". Artists and bands from a large range of genres have been named among the best. Scotland has a long history of producing world-famous musicians. From the Bay City Rollers in the 1970s to contemporary acts such as Lewis Capaldi, there are more legendary Scots music acts than you might think. One music buff recently took to social media to ask others their top musicians from Scotland. Posting on Reddit on Wednesday, June 4, they questioned: "What's your favourite Scottish musician? "There are way more of them than I thought." The post has since received more than 85 comments from fellow music enthusiasts. Many were quick to share their top Scottish musicians. One of the top responses to the question named Elizabeth Fraser as the number one Scottish musician. Best known as the vocalist for the band Cocteau Twins, Fraser is famous for her distinct style and operatic vocals. Cocteau Twins achieved critical and commercial success throughout 1980s and 1990s. Their most well-known album is Heaven or Las Vegas from 1990, which has become a cult favourite and routinely appears on lists of the greatest albums of all time. Elsewhere, one music fan stated that Boards of Canada was their favourite Scottish band. Despite the name, Boards of Canada was formed in Edinburgh in the late 1980s. The electronic music duo became popular following the release of their first full album Music Has the Right to Children in 1998. Since then, they have released acclaimed albums such as The Campfire Headphase in 2005 and Tomorrow's Harvest in 2013. Meanwhile, another Reddit user wrote that Frightened Rabbit was their number one Scottish music act. Frightened Rabbit was a Scottish indie rock band that formed in Selkirk in the Scottish Borders in 2003. The band are known for acclaimed albums such as Sing the Greys and The Midnight Organ Fight, released in 2006 and 2008 respectively. Frightened Rabbit was headed by musician Scott Hutchison, who tragically died in 2018. Another contemporary Scottish act named by one music buff as their favourite is Lauren Mayberry. Originating from Stirling, Mayberry is the vocalist and percussionist of the band CHVRCHES. CHVRCHES formed in Glasgow in 2011, and are renowned for their synth-pop sound. The group have released critically and commercially successful albums such as The Bones of What You Believe, Every Open Eye, and Screen Violence—the latter two of which peaked at number one on the Scottish albums chart. Meanwhile, one Reddit user stated that their favourite Scottish music act is Paolo Nutini from Paisley in Renfrewshire. Nutini's first two albums, These Streets and Sunny Side Up, achieved major success around the world thanks to singles such as Last Request and Candy. Other Scottish acts named by music fans as being their favourite include The Blue Nile, Orange Juice, and Belle and Sebastian. Elsewhere, others chose Teenage Fanclub, Mogwai, and Primal Scream.
Metro
18 hours ago
- Metro
Beyoncé's London Cowboy Carter show made me homesick for a US that doesn't exist
When Beyoncé sang the American national anthem on the first night of her London Cowboy Carter tour dates, I instinctively placed my cowboy hat over my heart, unsure whether I was pledging allegiance to the US flag or Beyoncé herself. As Tottenham Hotspur Stadium filled with (nearly) 62,000 Londoners in chaps, Levi's, cowboy boots, and the occasional bolo tie, I bizarrely felt more connected to the country I left nearly three years ago than I ever did during my final decade living there. That might be because Beyoncé presents a version of the American South not as it is, but as it could be: inclusive, textured, full of contradiction and pride, defiant of unjust power structures, and rooted in the stories of people who refused to disappear – no matter how hard the world tried to erase them. This defiance is nothing new for her. Beyoncé has long navigated the delicate balance between American patriotism and protest. She's been criticized for everything from her 2016 Super Bowl performance that paid tribute to the Black Panthers, to her support of Black Lives Matter, to the visual album Lemonade, which unapologetically explored infidelity, rage, and Black womanhood. And then there's the country music establishment, which has famously tried to keep Beyonce on the outside. Which is why this concert felt revolutionary in a time of political was reclaiming a genre, a flag, and a cultural identity, not just for herself, but for everyone who's ever been told they don't belong. While I was moved to tears repeatedly by this message, I did wonder if the concert didn't strike an interesting chord with a UK crowd. Could it be alienating to anyone who didn't grow up listening to Willie Nelson in the backseat of their daddy's pickup? Maybe. But it doesn't matter. Even if the images of pioneering black country singer Sister Rosetta Thorpe were lost on you or if you didn't immediately recognise a famous Texas line dance when it broke out on stage, the power of the performance could not be ignored. While the country album's contents take up almost half the set, there was something for everyone. Fans were treated to Crazy In Love, If I Were A Boy, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), a very short rendition of To the Left, Daddy Lessons from Lemonade, and several hits from Renaissance. It's a goose-bump-inducing pleasure just to watch her strut the length of the stage and flip her hair, so when she joins in the choreography, it feels like staggering generosity from a star with nothing left to prove. Perhaps the most moving moment of the show came when the singer stood completely motionless in a dress that, via projection, changed colors and designs in sync with the soaring notes of the song Daughter. It's a song that references the violence and toxic Christianity woven into the fabric of Southern culture, and when she sings:'Now I ripped your dress and you're all black and blue/ Look what you made me do..' it's with all the power and perspective of a Shakespearan monologue. So when a message that read, 'THIS IS THEATRE' later flashed across the screen, it felt undeniably true. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The pop diva spoke infrequently, but when she did, there was the delightful sense of a performer who no longer needs to worry about putting on airs or sticking too tightly to a script. Almost counterintuitively, becoming the most famous person in the world allows Beyoncé the freedom to be herself. She grinned at the crowd after every voice in the place shouted along to Box to the Left, giggling and saying into the mic: 'Did y'all know every world to that thang? Did that just happen like that?' One of the most talked-about moments of the night came during her performance of Protector. As she sang, her eldest daughter, Blue Ivy – who performs as a backup dancer throughout the show – stood just behind her. Then, to a roar of surprise and delight from the crowd, seven-year-old Rumi walked on stage and wrapped her arms around her mother in a tender hug. There had been speculation about whether Rumi would appear during the London shows, so the eruption of cheers visibly delighted the little girl, and Beyoncé's beaming smile read as nothing but genuine pride. With another artist, this level of family involvement might risk feeling gimmicky or even exploitative. But Beyoncé – who's long past the point of doing anything she doesn't want to – makes it feel like something else entirely: a mother sharing her passion with her daughters and loving them boldly, in front of the world. More Trending My only criticism worth mentioning has nothing to do with Beyonce or her crew. Bizarrely, given that it's a football stadium, the venue seemed startlingly unprepared for the crowd's exit. A chaotic queue system for the overground descended into confused chaos, and buses literally passed by crowds of concertgoers, unwilling or unable to take on the cowboy-hat-clad masses. But a two-and-a-half hour journey home is a small price to pay for a night that combined the best of stadium concerts, political commentary, theatre, and star power so bright it was almost blinding. Thanks to Beyonce, for the first time in a long time, I feel proud to be an American. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Beyonce suffers wardrobe malfunction as trousers drop mid-performance in London MORE: Traffic guitarist Dave Mason cancels all 2025 tour dates due to 'ongoing health issues' MORE: 'I saw Beyonce's most hot and provocative show yet – this flaw made it better'
