According to a Liberal Democrat study, fare evasion has almost doubled from 2.2% in 2003 to 3.9% last year. This coincides with the retirement of the final Routemasters and an increase in the number of bendy buses on the road. The Lib Dems claim that this has resulted in a £6.4 million loss of revenue in 2007, a figure TfL disputes.

Despite teams of ticket inspectors roaming the streets, pouncing on buses and prompting the hasty disappearance of half the passengers when they do so, little headway is being made in enticing truculent travellers to pay their way. Of 58 million fare evasions for the 2006/2007 period, some 7.2 million took place on the bendy bus.

Brian Paddick, casting about desperately for any kind of vehicle to gatecrash the Johnson - Livingstone tango, seized upon the news, saying:

Only the other day I overheard a Londoner describing a bendy bus to a tourist as the 'free bus'. No wonder nobody pays.

Actually, we think this is something to be proud of. Londoners were just voted the third friendliest locals in Europe, and Londonist for one is happy that our fellow residents are doling out insider tips for tourists to ensure they get maximum value from their vacation.

Bendy bus and Nelson picture from boothj5's Flickrstream

Though the judge was sympathetic to the 55-year-old man's plight -- he had torn a tendon in his right leg and was claiming £300,000 for it as well as "adverse psychological effects and depression" -- the judge found that the evidence was inconclusive.

Without forensic evidence of the grape, merely evidence of the presence of some "crushed fruit or similar" in the "void" of the slipper's sandal -- not in a prominent slippage space -- the judge ultimately said, "In my judgment it is one of those accidents that could happen to any one of us."

Now, to add to Mr Martin-Sklan's nearly four-year woes, he has to pay about £15,000 towards Marks & Spencer's costs.

Image courtesy of Frank Boisvert's Flickrstream.

The first episode of I?d Do Anything airs this Saturday, 15 March (7.30pm, BBC1), and will follow, as these shows tend to, the drama, the heartbreak, the intrigue of a competition that will winnow the field from thousands of Nancy hopefuls to a select few, with the help of judges Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Denise Van Outen, John Barrowman and you, friends.

In other words: attention whores ? no ? fame seekers pimp, no, promote selves on aptly titled show; satisfied customers, erm, viewers, reward winner with stage role of prostitute. Right. No irony there. (Thank you, thank you, BBC.)

Of course, the musical would be nothing without its title character, and I?d Do Anything is in search of an Oliver as well. The Beeb will not, however, allow viewers to weigh in on the fate of its prospective Olivers, preferring instead to leave that decision solely to the judges, as it is careful to avoid charges of exploitation and to protect its child star from the pressures of fame (sorry, but does that logically follow?).

Despite having been shielded from the public?s unforgiving democratic impulse, the winning Oliver will still presumably be able to tap into deep wells of experiential hurt to summon up the appropriately forlorn look in that musical tour de force ? sing it with us! ? One boy, boy for sale...

Image courtesy of armcurl via the Londonist Flickr pool

While our attention is on sociological and artistic dichotomies posed by the scientific community, there is yet more thought-provoking stuff scheduled for this evening. And a good chance to see a little known museum in our city too. Don't say we never give you value for money...

The Grant Museum of Zoology is one of the University College of London (UCL) museums, originally founded for teaching purposes in 1827, and is packed with skeletons, stuffed animals and preserved specimens that the Victorians seemed to love so much. There's also an enormous insect collection for those who like creepy-crawlies and don't instantly re-enact a Charlie Brooker-style dirty protest at the sight of a spider.

You can visit tonight and take in a film too, as tonight there is a special screening of the 1954 animated feature film Animal Farm. This moving image adaptation of George Orwell's political satire was commissioned by the CIA and is being shown as part of the museum's series of lectures and events exploring how natural history can teach us about human history, lives and societies. This film about the uprising of farm animals against their human masters and then their slow assimilation into human behaviour will be introduced by Dr Joe Cain, UCL Historian of Science, and there's a very civilised interval with free wine during the screening. You could do worse on a Thursday night and you would be getting a bit of intellectual exercise for no financial outlay at all.

You can take your freshly worked out brain to the office the next day and lord it over your peers: after all, all animals are equal but some are more equal than others.

Animal Farm on the Big Screen, tonight, 6.30pm at the Grant Museum of Zoology, free. For more information, go to the museum website here.

Image courtesy of Chutney Bannister from the Londonist Flickr pool.

The Glasgow boys were group of 25 artists including Joseph Crawhall, Sir James Guthrie, and E.A. Walton who gained some notoriety in the late 19th century for their post-impressionistic works. A collection of 75 works, including some pieces from private collections, will be brought to London. CS Glasgow is hoping this will encourage tourists to visit the city. You can see the full collection of 150 paintings in the city that spawned them at the Kelvingrove Gallery between April and August 2010 before the show comes to London in September for the rest of the year.

Image of Crawhall's The White Drake courtesy of the National Gallery Scotland.

Dance partnership, Probe, Antonia Grove and Theo Clinkard, are opening the Spring Loaded festival at The Place this year, launching a showcase of the most refreshing contemporary dance talent around.

Last year we got over excited about Mark Bruce who - in a fantastic coincidence - crops up as one of Probe's choreographers here. Watch out for gushing hyperbole to follow.

The last time we saw Probe in action was May 2006 - and they blew us away (again with Bruce in tow) but when we tried to see a glimpse of their latest work back in September we were gutted to find out they were poorly (poor lambs). So this has been a long time coming. Grove and Clinkard have impeccable dance pedigrees but left the round of top flight companies to create something very special between them.

Magpie takes contemporary dance to a variety show. Entailing 7 dance gems, 4 specially commissioned from guest choreographers, expect to see these incredible performers dance out of their skins, entertain and thrill you with their cutting edge brand of intimate performance.

You must go and see Probe at The Place, Euston between March 27-29 at 8pm. Book online or call 020 7121 1100.

Coconut, black pepper and rum frappé? Why not. Chive and pineapple with vodka? Sure. Maker?s Mark, Angostura Bitters and fig syrup? Hey, we?re so buzzed from the first two cocktails, at this point we?ll try anything. And at around six or seven quid per drink, we can (on rare occasion) actually afford a little frilly drink exploration.

The Shish Bar and Cocktail Lounge in exotic Willesden Green (yes, the same Shish with that corner spot location on Old Street ? but did you know the Willesden Green restaurant came first?) has recently introduced a new cocktail list. Londonist was there to sample it and are happy (or just tipsy?) to report that we approve. In particular, we felt the zesty Ginger Tiger (fresh ginger muddled with honey water and shaken with lime juice and tequila) and the subdued Chinese Lychee and Rose Martini (lychee purée and rose water shaken with Kwai Feh liqueur and Hendrick?s Gin) provided tasty excursions for our palettes without overpowering the flavours of Shish?s food menu (we especially liked their Afghan Chicken). Hardly a fez toss away from the Willesden Green Tube, Shish is a convenient and swank den worth keeping in mind.

Shish bartenders photo by Chris Osburn.

Science, the esteemed global magazine of cutting-edge research, has an unlikely cover star this week.

Banksy?s Bethnal Green flower adorns the hallowed page with the following explanation:

An example of "art" by self-styled guerrilla artist Banksy, as seen in East London in November 2007. Human behavior that would be characterized as antisocial punishment can also be called art; prosocial institutions, most notably the campaign Keep Britain Tidy, refer to Banksy's work as vandalism.

Odd choice in an issue that also reports on the modelling of a black hole event horizon using fibre optics, a new ring system around a moon of Saturn and coiled-coil irregularities and instabilities in Group A Streptococcus M1. OK, that last one?s not so exciting.

Getting on the front cover of Science is a career-making event for researchers who achieve it. We will watch Banksy?s academic progress with interest. Perhaps he?s working on spray-on solar cells.

Look out for next week?s cover of Nature, which is plastered in Tox08.