London’s five billion pound Super Sewer is now fully connected and promises a cleaner, healthier River Thames. The 150-year-old sewer network has struggled to cope with the twin challenges of an increase in the population it serves in the capital (from four million people when it was built to over nine million today) together with climate change. With rainfall overwhelming the system, it sometimes discharges into the Thames. With the Super Sewer fully connected, 95% of those spills are stopped.

Born in 1778 in Zakynthos (Zante in Venetian), a Greek island that was then a Venetian possession, Ugo Foscolo was the son of an Italian father and a Greek mother. Following his father’s death, the family moved to Venice, where he learned Italian and completed his studies at the University of Padua. He joined intellectual circles and admired Napoleon, even siding with his army.

Going to the theatre has always been an important part of any trip to London. Not only does the city boast some of the great theatres but ticket prices are usually reasonable. It is also home to the world’s longest-running play, The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie. The story has been at St Martin’s Theatre for over seventy years. London also hosts the world’s two longest-running musicals. Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera have been running on the London stage for nearly forty years. Les Mis, as it is commonly known, celebrates its fortieth birthday in October 2025, and Phantom passes the forty-year mark a year later.