There’s a market in the heart of London that I thought was just a string of street food stalls. However, this Christmas, I uncovered a hidden door that leads to an entirely new world.
This festive season, the market has transformed into a two-floor festive wonderland that turns into a real-life snow globe. It’s Seven Dials Market!
For Londoners dreaming of a snowy Christmas, this market hits the mark. It ‘snows’ every day here, and I thought it was fake snow, but it leaves your jacket damp!
Celebrate a snowy Christmas at Seven Dials Market (Image: MyLondon)
To keep the experience mess-free, umbrellas are handed out in the designated ‘snow zone.’ The snow shows happen at 8:30 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and three times on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays: 4:30, 6:30, and 8:30 pm.
Special festive shows are also scheduled on December 23rd, Christmas Eve, December 30th, and New Year’s Eve. However, the magic is brief; it only lasts two minutes, so I was only able to catch it from the top floor.
You are given an umbrella to 'protect' you from the snow (Image: MyLondon)
Beyond the snow, the market is full of twinkling lights and festive décor, fully immersing visitors in Christmas cheer. It’s an ideal spot for food lovers, too, with so many unique dishes to choose from.
I tried Lucky’s Hot Chicken Christmas French Toast, priced at £15, which combines crispy chicken and sweet toast - amazing!
Exploring further, since it was also my first time at this market, I had Yum Bun’s Tofu Bao Bun, which was crispy yet light, with a delicious black bean mayo and garlic choi sum. Their Katsu Aubergine bun, while flavourful, was a bit too salty for my taste. Each bun is £5.50, or two for £10.50.
I tried Syrian food for the first time at this market (Image: MyLondon)
I also discovered Arnabeet and tried Syrian food for the first time. It really reminded me of Greek or Turkish food.
I ordered a platter with roasted aubergine with tahini, crispy cauliflower with pomegranate, fresh salad, and the creamiest hummus I’ve had in London. Though the cauliflower was slightly greasy, the overall dish was fantastic, and just £14.
The real highlight of my visit though was dessert at Little Pudding, a viral London favourite. They specialize in hot doughnut bread-and-butter puddings with unique twists. Prices start at £6.95.
Little Pudding is one of the most delicious desserts in London (Image: MyLondon)
I had the pistachio version, topped with pistachio crème and a scoop of ice cream. It was hands down one of the best desserts I’ve had in London - but be prepared to queue, as it’s incredibly popular.
If you’re craving snow and festive vibes alongside exceptional food, Seven Dials Market is a must-visit this Christmas. It may not snow across London, but here, you can make your snowy dreams come true.
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A man has been jailed for at least 25 years after murdering a young man in Tottenham. Vittorio Di Murro, 26, from Hartington Road, Walthamstow, was jailed for life at The Old Bailey on Friday, December 20.
He had fled to Italy prior to police identifying him as a suspect. Officers from the National Crime Agency’s international network, working with Italian law enforcement and INTERPOL, helped to secure the arrest of Di Murro in Anzio, Italy, on October 14, 2023. He was extradited to the UK on November 22, 2023, and charged with murder.
Jordan Briscoe, 25, was lured to his death on Sunday, March 5, 2023. Di Murro was part of a group of five men who lay in wait for Jordan after he was lured by a phone call to Arnold Road.
Claudette Briscoe, his mother, said: “Our dearest Jordan was only 25 years old. He is not coming back and those sentenced are responsible for Jordan not being with his family and friends today. Our lives will never be the same due to the senseless actions of these people.
“We would like to thank the police investigation team and the prosecution team for all their hard work.”
Christina Manen, who was previously found guilty of mansalughter, rang Jordan and messaged him saying she wanted to meet up in order to buy drugs from him.
She was knowingly luring him to the area, knowing that the five men would be there, with no intention of meeting him. CCTV showed Jordan leaving his house to make the deal. At around 9.53pm, doorbell footage recovered by Metropolitan Police officers showed a group surround and talk to Jordan for around 11 minutes, asking him about drugs, his name and age and his religion.
They then moved out of the camera’s view and carried out the fatal attack. One person can be heard saying ‘let’s go let’s go’ before they are captured leaving the scene. The other members of the group who were convicted of murder at an earlier trial were Ayyub Kigozi, Karl Black, Jahoe Allen and Jabir Sitar.
Detectives gathered CCTV from before and after the murder, which showed the group meeting up at Di Murro and Black’s home in Cassiobury Road, Walthamstow before heading to the ambush site, several miles away.
Jordan Briscoe, 25, was lured to his death on Sunday, March 5, 2023
While Black had planned the attack, he tried to distance himself by remaining out of Arnold Road, but close enough to control what was happening.
Just before they left Walthamstow, Allen was seen outside of the house appearing to do a jabbing motion towards the stomach area of one of the others, pre-empting what was about to happen.
Jordan’s girlfriend later told police that a man wearing a ski mask had come to her home to say Jordan had been involved in an altercation. He told her it ‘wasn’t looking good for him’, before asking if she found him attractive.
He then led her towards Arnold Road where she came across the police cordon. Officers were able to match the description she provided with the CCTV images to conclude this had been Jahoe Allen.
Following the court’s decision to find Di Murro guilty, Detective Inspector Louise Caveen, a homicide detective from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command said: “This was a detailed and comprehensive investigation utilising extensive CCTV, phone and forensic evidence. It took the jury less than an hour to return their verdict of guilty for Di Murro demonstrating the comprehensive nature of the case my team built against him.
“Di Murro’s conviction brings this investigation to a close. It has been nearly two years since Jordan was attacked and killed and his family have had to endure two court cases to see all those involved convicted for their part in his murder.
“The strength and dignity they have displayed throughout this period is in stark contrast to those who have been found guilty for the heinous attack on Jordan. The evidence against all of them was conclusive yet they refused to admit their guilt.
“I hope this final conviction affords Jordan’s family and friends some sense of closure as they continue to try and rebuild their lives following their tragic loss.
Detectives gathered CCTV from before and after the murder, which showed the group meeting up at Di Murro and Black’s home in Cassiobury Road, Walthamstow before heading to the ambush site, several miles away (Image: David Nathan / UKNIP)
Simone Alleyne, International Senior Manager at the National Crime Agency, said: “Working alongside our colleagues in Italy and INTERPOL, we helped to secure the arrest of Vittorio Di Murro – a dangerous criminal who helped to carry out a violent attack on London’s streets.
“Serious crime does not respect borders, and it is essential that we collaborate with partners across the world to both disrupt criminality before it reaches the UK, and ensure those who seek to avoid the consequences of their actions are brought to justice.”
Karl Black, 44, of Cassiobury Road, Walthamstow - life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27.5 years;
Jahoe Allen, 34, of Kings Road, Uxbridge - life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25.5 years;
Ayyub Kigozi, 19, of Salop Road, Walthamstow - life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years for murder, plus two years for the robbery, to run concurrently
Jabir Sitar, 21, of Clacton Road, Walthamstow - life imprisonment with a minimum term of 19 years.
Christina Manen, 37, of Lancaster Close, Ramsgate, was found guilty of manslaughter - three years’ imprisonment.
Di Murro will be sentenced at The Old Bailey on Friday, December 20.
Beauty fans are full of praise for a serum that 'smooths out wrinkles and fine lines', with some claiming they've seen results in 'just seven days'. The L'Oreal Paris Midnight Serum is currently on sale at Amazon with a fabulous 69% discount, so if you fancy giving the product a try, now is the time to do so.
The serum usually retails for £31.99, however the online giant is now offering it for only £10 for a 30ml bottle. This is the cheapest price around, with the product costing £35 at Boots, while LookFantastic is offering it a discounted price of £21.43.
The Midnight Serum is designed to make skin look tightened, younger, brighter and more firm. L'Oreal says the product is 'effective on all skin tones and types' and will have you waking up to 'younger-looking skin'.
The brand recommends applying three to four drops to a clean and dry face and neck every morning and night. The serum has a non-sticky finish, with it having an Anti-Oxidant Recovery Complex and a 'comforting and melting' texture.
The L'Oreal Paris Midnight Serum is an Amazon's Choice product and has racked up over 1,600 reviews. One delighted buyer awarded the serum five stars and said: "This midnight serum is fantastic. It really smooths out any wrinkles or fine lines and leaves the skin feeling lovely. Definitely recommend."
A second wrote: "Love this product. Makes my skin feel moisturised, smooth and is not sticky whatsoever. Can see a small improvement in the fine lines on my face using in conjunction with a retinol cream."
Beauty fans are full of praise for the L'Oreal Paris Midnight Serum (Image: Amazon)
Another satisfied shopper commented: "I'm over 40 and felt my skin was looking lacklustre so needed a boost. This serum is lovely and I felt I could see results in just seven days. The results keep on coming as every week I feel more of a glow and a more even complexion.
"I do feel some of my finer wrinkles have really smoothed. The serum has a lovely smooth texture and isn't sticky or greasy. It dries perfectly and feels so light on my face."
They did, however, note an issue with the bottle: "My only small negative which stops this review being five stars is that the dropper is annoying. Could just be my one and I'm hoping a new one will be better."
Someone else had a similar issue, as they explained: "You can't even get the solution out of the bottle as the cream is too thick to go up the syringe. You end up with a tiny amount come out."
Fancy adding the L'Oreal Paris Midnight Serum into your skincare routine? Buy it from Amazon here for £10 while the sale lasts. If you'd like to browse more anti-aging serums, Superdrug is currently offering the NIVEA Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Serum on sale for £8.99, while Boots has the Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum priced at £65.
Plans to redevelop London Victoria Station are reportedly due to be filed either in late 2025 or early 2026. Network Rail told the trade title Building further details of the proposal will be published when a first round of consultation is held next year.
Network Rail confirmed the plans were in the early stages and that the intention is to turn Victoria into an integrated transport hub, though told the LDRS there were no other updates available. This was echoed by a Places for London spokesperson, who added: “As a major transport interchange, Victoria station is a key strategic location for both parties and we will provide further details on any future aspirations and provide opportunities to engage once they have sufficiently progressed.”
London Victoria Station is the sixth busiest in the UK (Image: Moussa81 via Getty Images)
London Victoria Station is the sixth busiest in the UK. Network Rail and Places for London announced a strategic partnership in early 2023 with the intention of delivering more than 20,000 new homes over the next decade.
Since the LDRS article was published, Robin Dobson, Group Property Director at Network Rail Property has provided further details to Building about the potential project. These include that Hawkins Brown and Acme have been appointed to produce the designs and that the redevelopment will be office-led.
This appears to contradict the reference to housing included in the Westminster City Council document. The LDRS has asked Network Rail to confirm the details in the article, though a spokesperson said they had nothing further to add.
Mr Dobson also told Building the redevelopment had the potential to deliver up to £3 billion through commercial and retail space and that a full planning application is expected either late next year or in 2026.
He said: “We have ambitious plans for Victoria centered around an all transportation hub in a vision across all transportation modes, unlocking lands that we own, commercial opportunities and then reinvesting back into infrastructure.”
Network Rail has recently been completing a £30 million investment in Victoria to reduce congestion. It is involved in a number of major schemes in the capital, notably the £1.5bn redevelopment of Liverpool Street Station which also includes significant office space.
Hassan Sentamu’s friend thought the teenage killer was being ‘bullied’ by a group of girls the day before he knifed 15-year-old Elianne Andam, a court heard. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told defence counsel Pavlos Panayi KC the confrontation inside the Whitgift Shopping Centre was ‘annoying’ and ‘petty’ during a pre-recorded cross examination played to jurors at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, December 17.
Sentamu, 18, denies murdering Elianne in Croydon on September 27 last year on the basis of diminished responsibility due to autism. At the outset, Mr Justice Cheema-Grubb told jurors: "His case will be that the killing was caused entirely by a loss of self-control because his Autism Spectrum Disorder had substantially impaired his ability to exercise self-control."
Then aged 17, Sentamu stabbed Elianne to death when she grabbed a Tesco bag from him containing his possessions near a bus stop on Wellesley Road. Sentamu’s ex-girlfriend had agreed to meet him after their break-up to exchange items, but he turned up empty handed without her teddy bear.
At the Old Bailey, Sentamu’s friend was asked about the behaviour of a group of girls, including Sentamu’s ex-girlfriend and Elianne, at the Whitgift Shopping Centre on September 26. Asked what he meant when he said ‘they were very aggressive’ in his police questioning, the boy said: "They were angry, but like angry and laughing."
The mural to Elianne Andam on Wellesley Road in Croydon (Image: Jake Holden)
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'Hassan always had anger issues, he would get triggered easily'
He agreed the girls were ‘making fun of’ Sentamu, but could not recall any threats. Asked if Sentamu was being ‘bullied’, the friend said: “It seemed like it, yes.” He then said he was ‘worried’ about ‘offensive language’ that included ‘swearwords’, jurors heard.
Asked why he found the confrontation ‘annoying’ he said: “Just the fact it was petty, over a break-up.” As more CCTV footage from the shopping centre was played, the friend said the ‘bullying’ continued and ‘was getting worse’, jurors heard.
He described the body-language of the girls as ‘energetic’ but could not remember which girl threw the water. He also confirmed it was fashionable for young men to wear Covid facemasks after the pandemic had finished.
He also confirmed telling police one of the girls said ‘we should bang this guy’, meaning 'to punch', but that he felt it could be a ‘joke’ or ‘just giving verbal’. He then confirmed telling the officer ‘Hassan always had anger issues, he would get triggered easily’ and ‘He would just have this look in his eyes like he was about to target someone’.
After this, Mr Panayi read out the boy’s other comment: “It wasn’t really anger. He just didn’t really understand. We thought it was sad, really. With [her] he always had a soft spot. He would come up to me and say he was trying and bought so many things, and things were going for a minute.”
Asked by the police officer if Sentamu felt scared, he said: “He must have felt threatened when they spilled water… He must have, just the way the behaviour, he must have felt embarrassed.”
Alison Morgan KC also took the boy through his police interview, asking him if a girl calling him cross-eyed was what he meant by ‘bullying’. He said 'Yes'. He also said he could not remember if Sentamu was wearing gloves and a face mask the day before the stabbing.
Sentamu denies murder. The trial under Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb continues.
Passengers using South Western Railway (SWR) services are being warned to expect significant travel disruptions during the festive period, with major engineering works and seasonal service changes set to impact journeys from late December 2024 to early January 2025.
Steve Tyler, Performance and Planning Director at South Western Railway said: “Christmas is always a busy time on the railway and due to service alterations, we recommend customers check journey planners carefully before travelling. Trains will stop running earlier than usual on Christmas Eve and, as usual, there will be no trains on Christmas Day and Boxing Day."
“We are pleased to be running a limited number of additional services in the early hours of New Year’s Day to get people home after celebrating, but please only head to the fireworks on the South Bank if you have a ticket for the event.
The engineering works will significantly affect main line services between London Waterloo and key destinations including Southampton, Basingstoke, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, and Exeter. Specific impacts include bus replacements between Brockenhurst and Lymington Pier from 23 December to 3 January, and revised services in the Westbury area from 27 December to 23 January.
The railway company has outlined several key changes that travellers need to be aware of:
No Train Services on Christmas and Boxing Day : From Wednesday 25 December to Thursday 26 December, South Western Railway will completely suspend all train services across its entire network, with absolutely no passenger trains operating during these two holidays.
Reduced Services Leading Up to Christmas :
From Sunday 22 December, bus replacements will begin on several routes, including Brockenhurst to Lymington Pier, Petersfield to Portsmouth Harbour, and other local connections
Monday 23 December and Tuesday 24 December (Christmas Eve) will run on an amended Saturday service
Christmas Eve services will end earlier than usual, with the last trains from London Waterloo departing by 22:03
Island Line services will have even earlier last trains, with Ryde Esplanade's final service at 20:00 and Shanklin at 20:30
Extensive Engineering Works and Route Changes :
Continuous bus replacements will occur on multiple routes throughout the period, particularly affecting:
Brockenhurst and Lymington Pier
Woking and Farnborough
Woking and Aldershot
There will be no South Western Railway service to Westbury from 27 December to 3 January
Limited New Year's Day Services : In the early hours of Wednesday 1 January, SWR will run a limited number of additional services to help people return home after New Year's celebrations. These services will connect London with stations in London and Surrey.
Additional trains will run after midnight from London Waterloo to:
Guildford via Woking (0045)
Kingston via Richmond (0100)
Twickenham via Wimbledon (0115)
Kingston via Richmond (0130)
Woking (0135)
Guildford via Woking (0145)
Kingston via Richmond (0200)
Woking (0210)
Twickenham via Wimbledon (0215)
Kingston via Twickenham (0230)
Guildford via Woking (0245)
Kingston via Richmond (0300)
Woking (0310)
Twickenham via Wimbledon (0315)
Kingston via Richmond (0330)
Guildford via Woking (0345)
Kingston via Richmond (0400)
Twickenham via Wimbledon (0415)
Kingston via Richmond (0430)
Guildford via Woking (0445)
Limited Normal Services : Normal Saturday or Sunday services will only occur on:
Saturday 28 December
Sunday 29 December
Saturday 4 January
Sunday 5 January
Saturday 21 December
Normal Timetable Resumes on 6 January : South Western Railway's standard timetable will return to normal operation on Monday 6 January 2025. Until then, passengers are strongly advised to check journey planners, allow extra travel time, and plan their trips carefully.
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The World Darts Championships is back today (Sunday, December 15). The past few years of darts have seen one player in particular rise in popularity - Luke Littler.
The teenage darts prodigy, who came second in the 2023/24 competition, has gained a cult following.. But who is Luke Littler? We have compiled everything you need to know about the darts player, from where he was born to who his girlfriend is.
Luke Littler won the 2024 BetMGM Premier League Darts Play-Offs at The O2 in May (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Luke Littler is 17 years old. He was born on January 21, 2007, meaning he still will not have turned 18 by the time of the finals of this year's PDC World Darts Championship, held on January 3 2025.
Luke is the youngest player to have a won a match at both the WDF and PDC World Darts Championships, as well as being the youngest player ever to reach the PDC World Darts Championship final.
Where is Luke Littler from?
Luke Littler is a darts prodigy (Image: Bryn Lennon - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Luke was born in Runcorn, and grew up in Warrington. He went to school at Padgate Academy and joined the St Helens Darts Academy aged 10.
Who is Luke Littler's girlfriend?
Luke Littler dated fellow darts player Eloise Millburn for 10 months (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Luke is known for dating fellow darts player Eloise Milburn, and for their five year age difference - Littler was 16, while she was 21.
But the pair split in July after dating for 10 months. However, it seems Littler let slip he's now dating someone new, after a female voice was heard in the background of a live stream he was on. Further details about their lives together are not yet known.
How much is Luke Littler worth?
Luke Littler is the youngest player to have a won a match at both the WDF and PDC World Darts Championships (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
The 17-year-old is believed to be worth around £700,000 after his successes over the past year. According to the Mirror, he's also on track to enter the millionaire's club soon.
To celebrate, Littler has moved himself and his family into a five-bedroom residence in Cheshire, which costs him £6,000 a month.
When is Luke Littler's next darts match?
Luke Littler was just 16 years old when he competed in the finals of the World Darts Championship final at the beginning of this year (Image: Tom Jenkins/Getty Images)
Luke Littler will play his first match in the PDC World Championship on December 15 at 7pm. He will be playing the winner of match 9 of the competition.
