End of the road

Hey folks,

It’s been fun sharing about life in East London.

However, due to other commitments, I’ll have to call it a day for this blog.

Thanks for visiting and take care :)

Olympic peeps in missing money mystery

The Mayor’s office has asked accountants to find out how the London Development Agency (LDA) is now short of over £150m.

The LDA is in charge of buying up land for the Olympics.

It had to pay 3,000 organisations and people to leave parts of Stratford so it could build for the Olympics.

Now with this black hole, BBC London explains that the LDA is going to have to axe some of the Olympics’ projects to balance up things.

Apparently, it will dump those projects with "relatively poor value for money".

Makes you wonder why they created and funded projects with poor value for money in the first place.

Could this sudden audit be a blessing in disguise for the 2012 coffers?

From the brink to the best

Former Manor park resident Martin Darke has trumped homelessness and a nervous breakdown to be shortlisted for a tidy prize in the Barclays Trading Places Awards (BTPA).

How did he get there, you ask? The Stratford and Newham Express explains that unemployed Martin got a job as a messenger, and then became a junior in the corporate loans department.

He worked in the financial sector for some years, even completing a degree in economics before starting his own business MD National Stocktakers and Auditors.

The BTPA awards recognise business people who have overcome adversity. In this case, I think he stands a pretty good chance of clinching the prize.

Good on you Martin :)