Burlington Arcade last chance to object to cheap-and-nasty proposal

2 proposals:
1] Burlington Arcade. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41483 Burlington Arcade was bought for £104 million last year, split equally between Joseph Sitt, a New York-based property investor who runs "Thor Equities" (sic), a hedge fund with lots of shopping malls in America, and Meyer Bergman, a European real estate investment and fund management firm. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/8848920/Battle-lines-drawn-in-the-Burlington-Arcade.html
 As part of plans to spruce up the listed Regency arcade of shops - grabbit-and-scarper intend to introduce garish bright light within the arcade, stick a Gormley-bloke statue on top of the facade and relight the facade to make it more prominent - and kick out traditional firms like Daniel Bexfield Antiques to stick in Jimmy Choos and other chain trash (expensive tat for the vacuous perpetual shoppers). 8th November is last day to object to the local Westminster Council
Case numbers, Titles & Links 
11/08786/FULL - Installation of sculpture on parapet of north entrance - Burlington Arcade London
http://idoxpa.westminster.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=LRM95FRP01R00
11/08787/LBC - Installation of sculpture on parapet of north entrance and within the arcade - Burlington Arcade London
http://idoxpa.westminster.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=LRM9FBRP01R00
11/08794/FULL - Installation of external lighting - Burlington Arcade London
http://idoxpa.westminster.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=LRMDSIRP14X00
11/08795/LBC - Installation of lighting - Burlington Arcade London
http://idoxpa.westminster.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=LRME01RP14X00
11/08791/FULL - Redecoration including re-painting of columns, wall elements and soffit's to Arcade, removal of 1990's floor finish
http://idoxpa.westminster.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=LRMC87RP14X00
11/08792/LBC - Redecoration including re-painting of columns, wall elements and soffit's to Arcade, removal of 1990's floor finish
http://idoxpa.westminster.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=LRMCIERP14X00 
-their constant refernces to the 2012 Olympic Games is enough to make me object-


2] Gaby's Restaurant to close
Okay, I'll declare an interest - this is my favourite eatery in the West End. Salt beaf sarnies, Kleftiko falling off the bone and a big selection of vegetarian dishes, falafels etc. And at reasonable prices. Grabbit-and-scarper Garscoyne Holdings have planning permission to knock it dopwn and get in a chain restaurant that will pay bigger rents. part of the local character/colour and point of actually visiting the area will be removed. If I want chains I can go to Westfield (either/any Westfield) right. 
There's a facebook group and petition to sign if you too want to save one of my favourite eating places
You can check out the Facebook campaign here – . And you can sign the protest petition here –

The Gunpowder Plot, Terrorism, Westminster and Holbeche House, Kingswinford

What would link a centre for power like Westminster and the sleepy village of Kingswinford? Terrorism. Not modern-day terrorism but the 17th-century kind, driven by religious fanaticism, prejudice and the suppression of catholics by a newly invented, protestant "United Kingdom of Great Britain" (formerly seperate kingdoms of England and Scotland). The plot was genuinely Big. If it had been successful the results would have decapitated the elite of the new kingdom, opening the way to a revolution or foreign intervention


But it failed (or was sabotaged?). And so the plotters fled back to the home of one of them, Stephen Littleton, Holbeche House near Wall Heath, Kingswinford. Thomas Wintour, Jack Wright, Kit Wright and Ambrose Rookwood were soon shot in the courtyard, perhaps attempting to quell a fire that Walsh and his men had started in an attempt to drive the conspirators from the house. The two Wrights were moribund, but Thomas Wintour managed to make it back to the house, where Robert Catesby and Thomas Percy were the only defenders left who were not incapacitated by their injuries.
a map of the prominent places associated with the Gunpowder Plot, click on blue blobs for info and use arrows/slider to navigate

View Gunpowder Plot in a larger map
"Stand by me, Mr. Tom," said Catesby, "and we will die together."The three men stood close inside the door of the house, and went outside to face their death. Catesby and Percy, standing side by side, were supposedly felled by a single shot. According to the account by Father Oswald Tesimond, Robert Catesby managed to crawl back inside the house, and finding a picture of the Virgin Mary, clutched it in his arms until he died. Littleton was captured later and hung at Worcester as was his kinsman Humphrey Littleton (who Jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton was named after, they're the same family) Both Humphrey and John were relatives of  John Lyttelton, Catholic, who'd rebelled against Elizabeth I a few years earlier http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/lyttelton-john-1561-1601 . 

Holbeche House - the plotters last stand, now a nursing home, a photo by John Smart http://www.panoramio.com/photo/20634320