Latest news with #FinchleyRoad
The Guardian
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Stevie Wonder really stirred something in me': Melanie Blatt's honest playlist
The first song I fell in love withI remember listening to Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder from my dad's record collection. Have a Talk With God really stirred something in me. The first single I boughtAt Our Price on Finchley Road in north London, I discovered that instead of buying the seven-inch single of Janet Jackson's What Have You Done for Me Lately, you could buy the 12-inch for £1 more and you'd get more songs. But when I got home, I was disappointed to find that they were all remixes of the same song. The song I do at karaokeBuffalo Stance by Neneh Cherry. I can do the rap bits, the singing bits and all the little bits in between. The song I inexplicably know every lyric toCertainly not my own! There something in my brain that doesn't work when it comes to remembering lyrics. It's not just now I'm 50 – it's been going on for years. One of my fans comes to gigs with little pieces of cardboard with the lyrics on them, just to help me. The best song to play at a partyThe best songs are not necessarily what everybody else thinks. I'd always go for a big classic hip-hop tune, like Nothin' by NORE. The best song to have sex toNothing. I need to concentrate! The song I secretly like, but tell everyone I hateMy sister and I used to listen to E for Electro by Hi_Tack and Johnny Crockett on repeat. We hadn't listened to it for 10 years and listened to it the other day in the car and still loved it. So it's back on the playlist. The song that gets me up in the morningWorries by LZee, Toddla T and Naomi Cohen always gets me going. The song that changed my lifeNever Ever [by All Saints] was our first No 1. From there, we travelled the world and bought houses. So that song. Plus, the All Saints baggy trousers look is back in fashion. The song I want played at my funeralI remember when I first watched Under the Cherry Moon, Prince's follow-up movie to Purple Rain, and hearing Sometimes It Snows in April and finding it so heartbreaking. I want people to cry at my funeral. So chuck that on. Melanie Blatt has partnered with National Rail to create a series of audio guides to 200 locations.
The Sun
16-06-2025
- The Sun
Cops release CCTV footage in hunt for man after ‘attempted rape' of woman in her 30s at cinema
COPS have released CCTV footage in the hunt for a man after a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in a cinema. A woman in her 30s reported being seriously sexually assaulted by a man at a venue in South Hampstead, London, at around 3.45pm on June 11. 2 2 The man can be seen leaving the venue following the incident – walking south down Finchley Road towards Swiss Cottage. Cops described the man as in his 50s, approximately 5ft 6ins, with a slim build. He has dark hair on the sides of his head and was seen on CCTV wearing a North Face coat and glasses after the alleged offence. Police are appealing to anyone who saw or recognises the man to come forward.
BBC News
16-06-2025
- BBC News
Police appeal after attempted rape at Finchley Road cinema
Detectives have released CCTV footage of a man they wish to speak to following an attempted rape at a cinema in north-west London, on Wednesday afternoon.A woman in her 30s reported that a man seriously sexually assaulted her at a cinema on Finchley Road on 11 June at about 15:45 BST, the Metropolitan Police Ch Insp Paul Ridley said: "This horrific attack happened in the middle of the day in a busy establishment - highlighting the brazen and opportunistic nature of the offender."It is really important we find this man as soon as possible." In the footage, a man is seen leaving the venue after the incident and walking south down Finchley Road towards Swiss is described as in his 50s, approximately 5ft 6in, with a slim build and has dark hair on the sides of his is wearing a black North Face coat and glasses in the CCTV Ch Insp Ridley said: "We are steadfast in our commitment to take those who pose the biggest threat off our streets, so women and girls in London can feel safe going about their daily lives."He urged anyone who may have any information, particularly if they were on Finchley Road on Wednesday afternoon, to contact police.
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Daily Mail
TV presenter caught speeding on the school run escapes driving ban after telling judge she would have to pay for taxis to care for her elderly mother
TV presenter Daisy McAndrew has escaped a driving ban after she told the judge that losing her licence would leave her unable to care for her elderly mother. She was caught driving her Toyota Yaris at 24mph in a 20mph zone on the school run in Finchley Road, St John's Wood, northwest London, in January 20 by a speed camera The offence added three points to her driving licence, bringing her total to 12, the threshold that usually results in a six-month ban. But McAndrew, 53, appeared at Willesden Magistrates' Court to argue exceptional hardship, saying she relied on her car to look after her mother and could not afford regular taxi fares. The former BBC journalist told the court: 'We would have to get taxis or something like that. I am concerned about the middle of the night moments when she falls. I have to pick her up from the floor. It has been happening increasingly.' McAndrew added that her sister was unable to help as she works two jobs. Magistrates accepted her plea and allowed her to keep her licence, but warned she must be 'incredibly careful' going forward. Magistrate Roger King said: 'We have listened carefully to your exceptional hardship argument. 'We do believe that if you are not able to drive it would impact on your elderly mother. We do find that the exceptional hardship bar is met.' 'You will not be banned from driving today. But you will now be driving around with twelve points on your licence. You need to be incredibly careful with your driving.' McAndrew, of Brent, admitted the offence and was fined £423, with an additional £169 victim surcharge and £110 in prosecution costs. She has previous points for speeding and using a mobile phone while driving. McAndrew began her career in political journalism and co-hosted the BBC's Daily Politics from 2003. She went on to become ITV News's Chief Political Correspondent and later its Economics Editor. In 2006 she was dubbed 'the blonde assassin' after being linked to a story that forced Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy to admit he was a recovering alcoholic.
