Rugby World Cupping

Unless you've been stuck in your room binge watching Narcos on Netflix (I won't blame you), you've probably realised that the rugby world cup is well under way in England. Having never seen a rugby match, I thought I would give one a chance. And what some have called the "greatest Rugby World Cup shock ever" happened.

Japan Beat South Africa

This headline was all over the place. South Africa, also known as the Springboks, has one the best teams in the world. They are joint all time world cup winners with New Zealand and Australia. Each have 2 wins under their belts.

Japan, on the other hand, had won only 2 out of 25 world cup matches and hadn't won a world cup match in over 18 years. Clearly the Springboks were heavy favourites to win that match. It is difficult to put the win for Japan into words. So I decided to show pictures of the fans - after all, a picture is supposed to speak a thousand words, and transcend any barriers.

And if a picture speaks a thousand words, then surely a 100 second video at 60 frames per second speaks 6 million words:

Japan did go on to lose against Scotland. But beat Samoa 26-5 today. They may be the Cinderella story this tournament.

England Rugby Team Vs England Football Team

England has a vital match against Australia today at 8pm. The results of the match could mean the end of the tournament for the host team. It's never good to lose a host team this early into the competition. As a regular football fan, I've been disappointed with England's recent performance on the world stage. If the same applies in rugby, I doubt I'll be a regular rugby fan as well. My heart can only take so much.

Awake

It has been a few months since the last blog post (seven if you’re counting). A lot has happened in that time, not just within Livelynight, but around the world in general. The moment that stands out to me, at this time of writing, is this tweet from the Rosetta Mission:

It may seem strange but seeing that brought warmth that I had not expect. An extension of humanity made the journey millions of miles away only to go dark after a daring mission to land on a comet. And when the lander was all but declared lost, it wakes up months after and sends gigabytes of data back to earth. That's the sort of space exploration movie I would be interested in.

Of course, we at Livelynight are nowhere close to the achievement of the Rosseta mission and we wouldn’t dare make that comparison. What we take from this is that you can always rise up after a lost period. We can all stand up when things don't go as planned. The Philae Lander woke up. Livelynight is waking up. And you can wake up too if you need to.

If you’re looking for more information on the philae lander, the last communication was on the 9^th of July. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/philae-lander-has-gone-silent--and-we-might-never-hear-from-it-again-10405036.html.

http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/

Teaser Video

We have created video to show what the app is about. You can find more details on our website as well.

Let us know if you have any comments.

3, 2, 1, GO!

We are pleased to announce that we have had a successful go-live process. Livelynight is now available for use. You can download the app on the UK App Store. Currently it’s only available on iOS devices. 

The website is also available at livelynight.co.uk. You can find additional information on the app at http://livelynight.co.uk/info/app

For the technical and perhaps management focused audience, the go live experience was very smooth with very few issues.

There are stories about some truly horrendous and wonderful ones from around the world which have included:

• 26 hour work shift by all employees to get an application live
• Buffet service for everyone working during go live
• Masks worn by all employees to keep the excitement (or hide the frustration)
• A click of a button and it was all over

The team is glad we don't have to include this in our list of horrendous stories. 

Give the app a try and let us know if it really enhances your night out experience.

Hot Spots in London

Most Londoners will have a general idea of the night life sections of London. Even if you’re not spending your weekends behind a bar at a London pub, sipping cocktails at a table or finding dance space at a club, you’ll have an idea of the party scene in London. This post attempts to describe it with some help from data picked up by Livelynight Beta Test and other social media.

The main areas where you’ll find a crowd of people are highlighted below:

Heathrow Airport

Based on social network updates, lots of people announce their trips at airports. Of course we’ll only be including bars, pubs and clubs. This was to show that some refinements were made from the actual data. The real list starts from below.

Leicester Square

The crowd here start early and die out a bit after 3am on weekends. It is filled with many restaurants, pubs and bars to attract the passers-by. A lot of tourists can be found here as well so expect the prices to be a bit higher.

Soho

Very similar to Leicester Square and very close by as well. Soho is also home to the gay scene of London with many gay bars and clubs.

Covent Garden

This completes the Leicester Square, Soho and Covent Garden triangle. There are many cocktail bars at Covent Garden with people swarming the bars. The streets are also filled with tourists but with lesser numbers compared with Leicester Square.

Cargo in Shoreditch

Shoreditch

The party scene in the east of London. Shoreditch is known for its trendy, hipster looking bars filled with young professional and students. It is also host to many clubs with some opening till 7am in the morning.

Brixton

Similar to Shoreditch in nature filled with many pubs, bars and clubs located in the south of London. Prices are mostly slightly less than in Shoreditch.

Clapham

Close to Brixton in the south of London, Clapham is known as the party scene south of the river. Expect to find many local pubs and bars but fewer tourists compared to the west end.

Camden

The party scene in the north of London. Prices are lower compared to most other places and the crowd will be sure to provide an interesting night.

London Bridge

London Bridge is becoming more popular as a night out destination. It is mostly compared with Shoreditch and some say it will surpass Shoreditch as the cool destination for a night out.

Wherever you're spending your nights, including tonight, have a great time.