:00:11. > :00:18.Hello. I am Matthew Wright, you're watching Inside Out London. Here is
:00:18. > :00:24.what is coming up... Marks & Spencer in the firing line, a �1
:00:24. > :00:34.million fine for asbestos breaches. We revealed that the country --
:00:34. > :00:36.
:00:36. > :00:41.company was warned about problems eight years earlier. Spend, spend,
:00:41. > :00:45.spend - how Chinese tourists could help revive our economic fortunes.
:00:45. > :00:54.We want others to know that we are rich, so we buy designer things to
:00:54. > :00:59.show that. And 80 years after it first appeared, we celebrate the
:00:59. > :01:04.creator of London's iconic Underground map. This was the
:01:04. > :01:14.original sketch from 1931. You can see that there is a very clear idea
:01:14. > :01:28.
:01:28. > :01:32.here, and that is eventually what Here in Chinatown, preparations are
:01:32. > :01:36.under way for the start of the Chinese as new year, on Sunday.
:01:36. > :01:42.Chinese tourists spend more per head in London than any other group
:01:42. > :01:47.of foreign visitors. -- Chinese new year. They are seen as an important
:01:47. > :01:49.part of our economic recovery, so much so that there is growing
:01:49. > :01:56.pressure to simplify the visa system to make it easier for them
:01:56. > :01:59.to get here. And so, as the Year of the Snake approaches, we went to
:01:59. > :02:06.ask some wealthy Chinese visitors what it was they loved and hated
:02:06. > :02:16.most about destination London. In the past, the Year of the Snake
:02:16. > :02:18.
:02:18. > :02:22.brought turmoil - Pearl Harbour, the fall of the Berlin Wall, 9/11.
:02:22. > :02:28.That Chinese dragon goes from store to store to bring good fortune for
:02:28. > :02:38.the year ahead, but way beyond Chinatown, stores across London are
:02:38. > :02:39.
:02:39. > :02:43.looking for a slice of that Chinese fortune. It is the new Chinese
:02:43. > :02:49.takeaway - the biggest spenders of last month's West End sales were
:02:49. > :02:54.Chinese tourists. So, why is this market so important? It is because
:02:54. > :03:02.the Chinese tourist spends three times the average overseas visitor.
:03:02. > :03:06.Over at Harrods, they now spend five times more than Americans.
:03:06. > :03:11.England people are humble, they want to hide their wealth. But in
:03:11. > :03:18.China, we like to show, we like to expose the wealth to other people
:03:18. > :03:24.to show that we are rich! Violent and Chenhao have agreed to take me
:03:24. > :03:31.into the secret world of the rich Chinese tourist in our quaint,
:03:31. > :03:35.rickety old capital. It is like, oh, my God, this was painted years ago.
:03:35. > :03:42.In China, I would have to go to a museum to see something like this.
:03:42. > :03:47.But the living museum we call home is also a low tax bargain basement
:03:47. > :03:54.place for low-tax brands. The his suits cost �700 here, but in my
:03:54. > :03:58.country, it would be double. they limber up to spend on board a
:03:58. > :04:03.London-bound flight. The tourism industry once more, but Heathrow is
:04:03. > :04:06.full. Germany now offers three times more flights, and France has
:04:06. > :04:11.four times the number of Chinese visitors. They are not illegal
:04:11. > :04:17.immigrants, coming in containers. They are flying in club class! The
:04:17. > :04:22.rest of the EU offers a more simple visa to countries, but Britain
:04:22. > :04:26.demands a separate one. It sound as like a nightmare. First of all,
:04:26. > :04:30.most of it has to be filled in in English. I find it extraordinary
:04:30. > :04:35.that anybody actually manages to get to this country. The Government
:04:35. > :04:40.says it is spending millions trying to get the Chinese to come here,
:04:40. > :04:44.with our very own fake lookalikes. They say 97% of visas are issued
:04:44. > :04:50.within two weeks. From next April, they will allow visa applications
:04:50. > :04:55.in Chinese. So, for the 150,000 or so that make it, what are we doing
:04:56. > :05:01.right? Yes, everything that you have seen in a James Bond film, but
:05:01. > :05:06.what else could I give you? Probably only the kitchen sink.
:05:06. > :05:13.Andrew Cussens film has fairy-tale English weddings for wealthy
:05:14. > :05:17.Chinese people. We often find ourselves gasping at what our
:05:17. > :05:23.clients would spend on their wedding. Most of our clients are
:05:23. > :05:27.spending upwards of �100,000. I like my films to look like
:05:27. > :05:37.something out of Downton Abbey. In one wedding, the client hired no
:05:37. > :05:41.less than 10 Rolls-Royce phantoms. The lucky have come a long way from
:05:41. > :05:44.Mao and the revolution. Hot from Bond Street, still claiming to be
:05:44. > :05:49.Communists, our young revolutionaries are making a
:05:49. > :05:53.curious pilgrimage to a graveyard in north London. A coachload will
:05:53. > :05:59.pull up and we will get 50 Chinese coming very excitedly to see the
:05:59. > :06:05.grave of Karl Marx. Marx might turn in his Highgate grave at communism
:06:05. > :06:09.in China today, but he is still taught in his schools. He is
:06:09. > :06:19.definitely one of the greatest revolutionaries. Definitely, he
:06:19. > :06:22.
:06:22. > :06:31.also inspired Mao. Why happens now, go shopping in Prada? That's a good
:06:31. > :06:40.idea. Mao demanded for arrogance -- prudence and frugality. He would
:06:40. > :06:44.not have liked where we went next. Shanghai, Macau to WC2. Here, they
:06:44. > :06:48.have 24-hour gambling, staff speak Chinese, and they have even got
:06:48. > :06:52.somebody in to check out the Feng Shui. We spend a lot of time
:06:52. > :06:57.researching the Chinese culture. had a Feng Shui consultant in from
:06:57. > :07:02.the first day. In the toilets, they like earthy colours. A Chinese
:07:02. > :07:08.person does not feel comfortable in a polished loo with lots of
:07:08. > :07:12.metallic surfaces. We do not have fours in the building, because that
:07:12. > :07:16.is an unlucky number for the Chinese. The staff are trained in
:07:16. > :07:19.things like, you do not touch a Chinese person on the back when
:07:19. > :07:22.they are gambling, because that is supposed to take away their luck.
:07:22. > :07:27.Charlie Chaplin and Houdini once played here. Whatever would they
:07:27. > :07:32.have made of this? The London tourist industry is having to learn
:07:32. > :07:37.fast, too. Top hotels miss out because Chinese sleep cheap and
:07:37. > :07:42.shop expensive. Most will never try European food, and many find
:07:42. > :07:47.British History Guides boring. Xiang the Chinese want to see the
:07:47. > :07:51.Tower of London and the Beefeaters and all of these things? No, they
:07:51. > :07:55.would probably take a couple of pictures, and that is it. No, we do
:07:55. > :07:58.not want to hear that story. That is the proper attitude for the
:07:58. > :08:04.Chinese tourist. They do not know what to do with their money, apart
:08:04. > :08:10.from buying luxury. So, it is back to shopping. Stores like Selfridges
:08:10. > :08:16.now employ dozens of Mandarin speaking staff. Chinese customers
:08:16. > :08:20.do not like sales people being too pushy. It is very important to
:08:20. > :08:25.handle everything with both of your hands, it is more respectful in
:08:25. > :08:33.Chinese culture. If Selfridges sell 30% cheaper than Shanghai, why do
:08:33. > :08:39.thousands of Chinese come to Hackney E9? They come here, they
:08:39. > :08:42.buy the stuff, jump back on the coach, and then off they go again.
:08:42. > :08:47.Across from a Fried Chicken shop, Burberry, Pringle and Aquascutum
:08:47. > :08:52.have opened discount outlets. With plans for more outlets under these
:08:52. > :08:59.railway arches, the Hackney Chinese -- the Hackney Chinese Community
:08:59. > :09:02.School sees an opportunity. A lot of places such as Burberry outlets,
:09:02. > :09:10.they are looking for people not just with good English language
:09:10. > :09:14.skills, but Chinese language skills. Chinese will help me. It is the
:09:15. > :09:20.language of business. I'm a much Chinese person, and I had to learn
:09:20. > :09:24.my own language. It will certainly help me get a job. What a journey.
:09:24. > :09:29.Families who once fled China now look to this superpower for
:09:29. > :09:37.prosperity. Those living in Chinatown are left to smile at the
:09:37. > :09:43.mistakes they once made. Big Ben in Chinese means "big stupid clock".
:09:43. > :09:48.Yes, of course, Big Ben is the bell, not the clock. But our Chinese
:09:48. > :09:57.friends, remember, missed the tour - they were shopping. Now, still to
:09:57. > :10:02.come tonight - Harry Beck's design has been copied by transportation
:10:02. > :10:08.systems all round the world. Delhi, Shanghai, and it is even being used
:10:08. > :10:12.by the Paris Metro, and in Tokyo. Managers turned a blind eye to
:10:12. > :10:17.complaints about asbestos, and the public were right to feel anxious
:10:17. > :10:23.about whether or not they have been hailed a potentially lethal
:10:23. > :10:25.substance. That was the view of the judge, as he imposed a fine of �1
:10:25. > :10:29.million on Marks & Spencer's, following health and safety
:10:29. > :10:34.breaches at a store in Reading. But our investigation is asking whether
:10:34. > :10:39.these problems are confined to a single store. This lady worked at
:10:39. > :10:44.Marks & Spencer in Folkestone in Kent from 1971-1986. During that
:10:44. > :10:51.time, there was renovation work involving asbestos next to the
:10:51. > :10:54.canteen and stop rooms. Our only route to get to the canteen or the
:10:54. > :10:59.toilet was via where the work was being carried out on the floor
:10:59. > :11:05.above. In 2007, Freida developed mesothelioma year, the cancer
:11:05. > :11:07.caused by asbestos. She found out it may have been at Marks &
:11:07. > :11:11.Spencer's. It was only because she met the local chemist and
:11:11. > :11:15.hairdresser, who had been reading the local newspaper, saying that
:11:15. > :11:21.this store had asbestos in it. had not been exposed to asbestos
:11:21. > :11:28.anywhere else. M&S paid her a substantial amount of compensation.
:11:28. > :11:32.She died from the disease in 2011. If you look back into the 1960s,
:11:32. > :11:37.1970s and 1980s, it is possible that people were exposed to it in
:11:37. > :11:40.our stores. Society did not understand the risks then. It is
:11:41. > :11:45.tragic that our staff were affected in this way. Any illness relating
:11:45. > :11:49.to asbestos is terrible, and we did pay compensation, which is
:11:49. > :11:55.absolutely right. As society has learned, we have learned, and we
:11:55. > :11:59.have become industry-leading. reader is one of a number of people
:11:59. > :12:04.who it is claimed developed asbestos-related disease from
:12:04. > :12:10.working at Marks & Spencer's. Peter from Milton Keynes was a warehouse
:12:10. > :12:14.manager at marks and Spencer's from the 1960s to the 1990s. My dad was
:12:14. > :12:20.totally dedicated to me and my sister and my mother. His working
:12:20. > :12:24.life was M&S. Peter suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. In 2010 he
:12:24. > :12:34.was diagnosed with asbestos related diffuse pleural thickening. He
:12:34. > :12:42.
:12:42. > :12:47.believed he may have been exposed He described people smashing down
:12:47. > :12:52.ceilings, columns, taking cladding off walls, and all this was made of
:12:52. > :12:57.asbestos. Peter died from a heart attack in May of last year before
:12:57. > :13:04.he could pursue his claim for compensation. Marks & Spencer say
:13:04. > :13:08.it was not responsible in any way for his asbestos exposure. Most of
:13:08. > :13:11.our major retailers have stores that contain asbestos. Some have
:13:11. > :13:19.even been fined for breaching regulations. They include House of
:13:19. > :13:22.Fraser, the Co-op, Top Shop and John Willis. Evidence we have of
:13:22. > :13:26.how Marks and Spencers and its contractors have handle asbestos in
:13:26. > :13:29.some of the stores is worrying. It suggests that the risks to
:13:29. > :13:36.customers, staff and contractors may not have been fully
:13:36. > :13:39.acknowledged. One case in particular is concerning. In 1998,
:13:39. > :13:44.Marks & Spencer refurbishes its flagship store at Marble Arch in
:13:44. > :13:52.London. William Wallace, a health and safety officer, is horrified by
:13:53. > :13:56.what he sees. There were mind feels, for want of a better word --
:13:56. > :14:00.minefield. You could not guarantee the safety of anyone. He flagged up
:14:00. > :14:04.the safety problems with little effect, so he began copying pages
:14:04. > :14:07.from reports left by the day and night shifts for the construction
:14:07. > :14:13.manager. This report from April 1998 says the day shift has done it
:14:13. > :14:18.again, cladding has been stripped with a sledgehammer. Asbestos is
:14:18. > :14:22.everywhere. It is the third occasion in a week. They have had
:14:22. > :14:32.to clear up after a dangerous occurrence. Somebody has to control
:14:32. > :14:33.
:14:33. > :14:42.the day shift if they do not want the store closed. Her renders,
:14:42. > :14:47.shocking, scandalous. I recommended that it be handed over to a licence
:14:47. > :14:54.asbestos removal firm. A William Wallace writes to the Marks &
:14:54. > :14:57.Spencer chairman and beats senior managers. The company says an
:14:57. > :15:02.electorate takes the manager of -- issue seriously and is taking
:15:02. > :15:08.appropriate action. So what action did it take? It does sound worrying,
:15:08. > :15:10.but our team at the time, 15 years ago, thoroughly investigated it on
:15:10. > :15:14.those days and investigated three months afterwards, and I have
:15:14. > :15:18.spoken to those individuals and a kind of -- can find no case to say
:15:18. > :15:22.that any member of staff or member of the public was put at risk.
:15:22. > :15:27.Marks & Spencer also says William Wallace was mistaken about which
:15:27. > :15:30.materials may have contained asbestos. We understand and the
:15:30. > :15:34.investigations believed there was not asbestos everywhere. We invited
:15:34. > :15:38.Mr Wallace in, in a third party location, and his claims were
:15:38. > :15:43.discussed, and he went away, we think, happily, and that the same
:15:43. > :15:46.time he was invited to take those to the Health and Safety Executive
:15:46. > :15:53.and he did not do that. So we believe there is no case to ask if
:15:53. > :15:56.-- answer. In 2006, William Wallace starts working as a safety manager
:15:56. > :16:00.for a contractor refurbishing of a Marks & Spencer shop in Reading. He
:16:00. > :16:05.is horrified by what he sees. is very little control on the
:16:06. > :16:14.various contractors who have been work to work on the ceiling. I did
:16:14. > :16:19.find other reports of incidents that were scary reading. Follow ing
:16:19. > :16:23.a tip-off, the Health and Safety Executive swoops on the store.
:16:23. > :16:26.Marks and Spencers and two of the contract has are prosecuted.
:16:26. > :16:30.Amongst other witnesses in 2011, this building worker. He fears
:16:30. > :16:35.being blacklisted by the industry, so we disguise his identity. He
:16:35. > :16:40.described to the court a girl stacking sandwiches. You could see
:16:40. > :16:43.the dust falling down on to this goal. We approached the young girl
:16:43. > :16:47.and asked her to move somewhere else. The Night Manager responsible
:16:47. > :16:53.for the refilling of the shells came and went absolutely ballistic
:16:53. > :16:59.at us. He said we should not tell her staff were to go. There are
:17:00. > :17:03.gaps in the ceiling are sealed with hardboard. We saw it narrowly
:17:03. > :17:07.missing a child in a buggy, and you would have to say that that child
:17:07. > :17:13.will have had asbestos fibres and dust, as would the mother, and
:17:13. > :17:17.everyone else in the area. In court, Marks & Spencer tried to blame the
:17:17. > :17:20.contract has all the problems. are clear that the implementation
:17:20. > :17:24.of policy at Reading was incorrect. We will make sure that never
:17:24. > :17:28.happens again. We checked thoroughly that the policy has been
:17:28. > :17:32.implemented, and we are clear that the policy today is leading
:17:32. > :17:35.standard in the industry in this country and maybe the world. Fans
:17:35. > :17:39.were switched off in a roof void where asbestos could have been
:17:39. > :17:43.taken into the store, though. is regrettable. The implementation
:17:43. > :17:47.of policy was not good at Reading. We are sorry about that and we have
:17:47. > :17:51.taken steps to make sure he never happens again. My oxen Spencer was
:17:51. > :17:57.found guilty of asbestos bridges at Reading -- Marks and Spencers. It
:17:57. > :18:00.was ordered to pay �600,000 in costs. His Honour, the judge, said
:18:00. > :18:04.there had been a systemic failure by Marks & Spencer management.
:18:04. > :18:08.Their response to asbestos safety complaints had been to turn a blind
:18:08. > :18:14.eye to what was happening. Because the asbestos work was already
:18:14. > :18:19.costing the company too much. To keep profits as high as reasonably
:18:19. > :18:23.possible, insufficient time and space were allocated to asbestos
:18:23. > :18:27.removal. Marks & Spencer has never put profit before safety. There was
:18:27. > :18:31.not a blind eye. Investigations were full and thorough. We had a
:18:31. > :18:35.very good policy which the judge described a sensible and practical.
:18:35. > :18:39.The implementation of the policy was not good at Reading, and we are
:18:39. > :18:42.regretful of that. We are disappointed by those comments.
:18:42. > :18:46.judge says contracting staff and shoppers have a right to be anxious
:18:46. > :18:51.about whether they have breathed in asbestos fibre. And also what
:18:51. > :18:56.effect that might have on their well-being and future. But Marks &
:18:56. > :19:03.Spencer disagrees. I think, in experts estimate at Reading, they
:19:03. > :19:07.said there was no risk to customers or staff. -- expert testimony. The
:19:07. > :19:13.company was found not guilty of breaches of asbestos regulation in
:19:13. > :19:17.stores at Plymouth and Bournemouth. Every year more than 4,000 people
:19:17. > :19:21.died of asbestos related lung cancer. It can take decades to
:19:21. > :19:25.develop. The pace of the disease means many people never know when
:19:25. > :19:29.or where they were exposed to asbestos. For Marks & Spencer, and
:19:29. > :19:34.the whole of the retail industry, what happened 10, 20 or 30 years
:19:34. > :19:44.ago may still have an impact today. Any suggestion that contractors,
:19:44. > :19:50.
:19:50. > :19:53.shopworkers or customers were put Of all the images associated with
:19:53. > :19:56.our capital, one of the best known is the London Underground map,
:19:56. > :20:00.which was recently ranked alongside the Spitfire and Concorde as one of
:20:00. > :20:03.the most iconic British designs of the last century. Well, this year
:20:03. > :20:06.marks the 80th year since its original publication, so we sent
:20:07. > :20:16.Iain Lee to find out more about the man who designed it, and the
:20:17. > :20:22.
:20:22. > :20:27.reasons that it's stood the test of You can find it reproduced almost
:20:27. > :20:32.everywhere on almost everything. Even pants. It must be one of the
:20:32. > :20:35.most immediately recognisable piece of graphic design ever created. For
:20:35. > :20:38.newcomers to the capital it is an indispensable aid to getting from A
:20:38. > :20:41.to B. And even veteran tube users like me would struggle without it.
:20:41. > :20:45.The extraordinary thing about the London Underground tube map is that
:20:45. > :20:48.it looks as though it could have been designed yesterday. If you
:20:48. > :20:52.look closely in the bottom corner of the tube map you can see the
:20:52. > :20:54.name of the man we have to thank for its design. Harry Beck wasn't a
:20:54. > :20:58.graphic designer. He was an engineering draftsman, born in
:20:58. > :21:02.Finchley, who drew up the diagram in his spare time while working at
:21:03. > :21:12.the London Underground Signals Office. Anna Renton is a curator at
:21:13. > :21:13.
:21:13. > :21:16.the London Transport Museum. He was made redundant because of the Great
:21:16. > :21:19.Depression, kind of 1930/1931 and then he came back to work for
:21:19. > :21:21.London Transport in 1932. So it was actually during this period of
:21:21. > :21:25.redundancy that he started experimenting with trying to come
:21:25. > :21:28.up with the new design for the tube map. Early maps not only showed the
:21:28. > :21:30.tube route but also the streets, parks and local landmarks. These
:21:30. > :21:40.were removed from later editions but the lines continued to
:21:40. > :21:40.
:21:40. > :21:45.faithfully follow their actual path on the ground. Up to it was he who
:21:45. > :21:49.asked if the map was geographically necessary. It was about which
:21:49. > :21:54.trains to get on, way you need to change on which they she is coming
:21:54. > :21:58.next, and that is more important than the geography. This is pretty
:21:58. > :22:03.much the finished article. that's right. This is the first
:22:03. > :22:13.poster version. This is what would have been a hung on stations in
:22:13. > :22:19.
:22:19. > :22:22.Here at the V & A Museum there is a small piece of paper that, I am
:22:22. > :22:25.told, provides a fascinating clue into Beck's early thinking. What
:22:25. > :22:28.we've got here is the original underground map which is all sort
:22:28. > :22:31.of confusing and swirly and is a bit of a nightmare to read. We have
:22:31. > :22:33.Beck's improvement, the original, but you have got something that
:22:33. > :22:37.pre-dates even this, haven't you? This is Harry Beck's original
:22:37. > :22:40.sketch from 1931 that he made up to represent his new scheme for the
:22:40. > :22:44.underground system, and it is a very basic sketch, it is ripped out
:22:44. > :22:47.of a note pad, you can see little holes all along here where you can
:22:47. > :22:51.see it has been physically pulled or ripped from the note pad and he
:22:51. > :23:01.has just drawn in very rough pencil lines round the edges, you can see
:23:01. > :23:05.
:23:05. > :23:08.the line of the Thames here. What is interesting is that even at this
:23:08. > :23:11.early stage, the Central Line is the same with the drop, the
:23:11. > :23:15.Northern Line coming down here, so even though this is early he has
:23:15. > :23:18.got the vision in his what it is going to be. Absolutely, and you
:23:18. > :23:21.can see that even though the design is very radical, he wanted it to
:23:21. > :23:23.look recognizable to people, there was no point is completely
:23:23. > :23:26.overhauling things unnecessarily, so he kept the Cental Line as it
:23:26. > :23:29.became orange, although that was later changed to red because it was
:23:29. > :23:32.deemed easier to read, but everything else is essentially
:23:32. > :23:35.familiar to us, and the District Line is still green and the
:23:35. > :23:37.Northern Line is still in black. The Bakerloo Line was never in
:23:37. > :23:43.correction fluid, they changed that. They changed that absolutely.
:23:43. > :23:50.call. But Beck's radical map wasn't adopted without some serious umming
:23:50. > :23:53.and aahing first. When he first presented it in 1931 the
:23:53. > :23:55.underground bosses said no, because they felt that it was too radical,
:23:55. > :23:59.too different, people wouldn't like it. Then actually by 1932, towards
:23:59. > :24:02.the end of that they decided they would give it a go and in 1933 they
:24:02. > :24:06.printed it as an experiment and they never looked back after that.
:24:06. > :24:16.So what puts the underground map on a par with Concord and the Spitfire
:24:16. > :24:18.
:24:18. > :24:20.as a design classic? I've come to the Design Museum to find out.
:24:20. > :24:23.think if you compare the Underground map with the red
:24:23. > :24:25.telephone box, which people greatly love, the telephone box is
:24:25. > :24:30.disappearing because it doesn't function very well in the modern
:24:30. > :24:33.world. But the underground map adapts beautifully and you can add
:24:33. > :24:43.information to it. Most importantly it uses good design to communicate
:24:43. > :24:45.
:24:45. > :24:47.important information really well Harry Beck's design was so
:24:47. > :24:51.successful that it's been copied and used by transportation systems
:24:51. > :24:54.all around the world. Delhi, Shanghai and it is even being used
:24:54. > :24:57.by the Paris Metro and in Tokyo. But although others may have
:24:57. > :25:01.borrowed Beck's ideas, they've not always translated them as
:25:01. > :25:11.successfully. Dr Max Roberts is a university psychologist and self-
:25:11. > :25:12.
:25:12. > :25:15.confessed map nut. What is this? This is just awful. This is the
:25:15. > :25:18.official Paris Metro map and it doesn't simplify reality at all,
:25:18. > :25:22.instead of simplicity, you get a pile of zig zags. I have travelled
:25:22. > :25:25.on the Paris Metro and it can be a nightmare to get around. So if you
:25:25. > :25:29.look at line four, which goes from top to bottom, there are 17 corners
:25:29. > :25:32.from end to end, that is more than any underground line. So what is
:25:32. > :25:36.this map here? OK, this is very controversial. This is the Madrid
:25:36. > :25:43.Metro map. It is making my eyes hurt, I can't make head nor tail of
:25:43. > :25:46.it. There is a good reason for that; the map isn't actually
:25:46. > :25:49.showing you where the centre of Madrid is. This nice thing about
:25:49. > :25:53.the Underground map is that you can see, that is the important part of
:25:53. > :25:57.London, and wherever you are on the whole that is where you want to go.
:25:57. > :26:00.You might think that coming up with a design icon which has been copied
:26:00. > :26:04.around the world would have made Harry Beck his fortune. You would
:26:04. > :26:06.be wrong. He got paid five guineas at the time for his design, and
:26:06. > :26:09.then he actually maintained his relationship with the map for a
:26:09. > :26:13.really long time. He kept on redesigning it and making all the
:26:13. > :26:21.changes and alternations to it until 1959, and so it was more of a
:26:21. > :26:23.labour of love for Beck than a money making escapade. But while
:26:23. > :26:26.everyone recognizes the brilliance of Harry Beck's original design
:26:26. > :26:29.some feel the modern version has lost its way. The map today is
:26:29. > :26:33.designed to fit on exactly the same sized pierce of paper as Henry
:26:33. > :26:36.Beck's map of 1933. But that is with 100 extra stations on the map.
:26:36. > :26:45.The whole thing is crushed into place. And you think you have come
:26:45. > :26:48.up with a better design than this? Yes, the simplest thing you can do
:26:48. > :26:52.is just make to map bigger, and by doing that you can smooth out the
:26:52. > :26:55.complex trajectories of then lines. I am assuming you have sent this to
:26:55. > :26:59.Transport for London and they have pounced on it and this is going to
:26:59. > :27:03.be the new map. Er, no! When they took the river off the map a few
:27:03. > :27:06.years ago there was a public outcry and the press got involved and they
:27:06. > :27:09.didn't come across in a very good light, and ever since then they are
:27:09. > :27:12.very cautious about making major changes to the map. Is it true you
:27:12. > :27:16.have designed a curvy London Underground Map? Yes, here is Curvy
:27:16. > :27:20.Map! How easy is this one to read? This is just as easy to read as the
:27:20. > :27:23.current official map. Half the people who see this map say it is
:27:23. > :27:26.the most beautiful thing they have ever seen, and the other half say
:27:26. > :27:28.it is a complete travesty and they completely hate it. London
:27:28. > :27:31.Underground has confirmed there are no immediate plans to make any
:27:31. > :27:41.dramatic changes to Harry Beck's original design. So, happy
:27:41. > :27:44.
:27:44. > :27:46.anniversary, Tube map. 80 years old Iain Lee there. And I'm sure Mr
:27:46. > :27:49.Beck's marvellous map will still be helping us navigate the capital's
:27:49. > :27:52.complexities in another 80 years' time. That's nearly all for this
:27:52. > :27:55.week's Inside Out. Before we go though, let's have a quick look at
:27:55. > :27:59.what's coming up on next week's Inside Out. We reveal how millions
:27:59. > :28:05.of pounds of parking tickets handed out in the capital could have been
:28:05. > :28:09.issued illegally. And the local authorities know exactly what they
:28:09. > :28:12.are doing, and it is called cheating. We go behind the scenes
:28:12. > :28:18.of the controversial scheme that befriends paedophiles to stop them
:28:18. > :28:23.reoffending. And this man was completely unable to come out of
:28:23. > :28:29.his shell, he was so, remorseful for what he had done. And, we meet
:28:29. > :28:32.London's unsung heroes who helped end apartheid in South Africa.
:28:32. > :28:39.is a sense of doing something really important, that was with us
:28:39. > :28:45.And that's it from this week's Inside Out London. If you missed