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Showing posts from August, 2024

Adele and The Good Ship, Kilburn

There has been considerable publicity recently about Adele who is performing 10 shows in Munich in August 2024.  Announcing the idea in January on Instagram, Adele said: ‘So a few months ago I got a call about a summer run of shows. I’ve been content as anything with my shows in London’s Hyde Park and my residency in Vegas, so I hadn’t had any other plans. … However, I was too curious to not follow up and indulge in this idea – a one-off, bespoke pop-up stadium designed around whatever show I want to put on? Why, Yes!! I haven’t played in Europe since 2016’. The £102M stadium has a 200 metre semi-circle stage with a 93 metre catwalk, so Adele can get close to the 75-80,000 fans in the audience. Behind her is a huge projection screen reported to have cost another £34M. Around the stadium is an ‘Adele World’ themed park. Photo of the stadium and theme park In the publicity for the show, Adele praised small venues which gave her a start early in her career, and she specifically mentio...

Hallelujah! The Holiday Train Crash in Kilburn

In 1934, Easter Monday fell on April 2nd. It dawned fine and bright, as several hundred passengers boarded the excursion train that departed Nottingham around 7.30am, bound for Marylebone in London.  The uneventful journey came to a dramatic and sudden end shortly after 10.00am. The train was brought to a halt at a signal while crossing a bridge over the Kilburn High Road. It was about to start off again, when it was rammed from behind by a light engine travelling at around 15mph. The rear carriage was telescoped for about half its length, and by absorbing most of the impact, only limited damage was caused to the remaining carriages, mainly broken glass that showered on the passengers.  The event at the Albert Hall Most of the passengers were members of the Elim Four Square Gospel Alliance, planning on attending the Alliance’s annual conference at the Albert Hall. Their home in Nottingham was a chapel in Halifax Place. Founded in 1915 by George Jeffreys as the Elim Pentecostal...