Happy New Year!

So here we are in 2011, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. But what does the next 12 months hold in store? Rather than speculate wildly I thought I’d ask my Twitter followers to speculate wildly instead. And they didn’t disappoint.

Here’s what some of you think will happen this year. You’re a sardonic bunch aren’t you (it’s why I love you).

Transport
Unsurprisingly, the tubes and trains were popular topics.

@RandomCarlos Jubilee Line will be converted into a moving walkway so we can get into town more quickly
@simontreanor the Jubilee line will often be closed on weekends. It’s a long shot, I know
@mermayden the Jubilee line will be closed entirely until the Olympics. So NOT a long shot.
@gitfinger the Jubilee Line will be shut most weekends all year. 🙁
@Sparklegirl21 They actually build something at the Thameslink station instead of playing with their diggers
@mermayden They build a tunnel from the Thameslink to the Jubilee line. It takes three weeks with no disruption to the local folk.
@David_Stringer One weekend, just one, the tubes AND overground will both work
@Warmachine450 The new Metropolitan line trains will be fitted with extra seats instead of the current design of less seats more standing

Am disappointed though that no-one predicted Boris Bikes arriving in West Hampstead (or us getting our own hyperlocal bike hire scheme), or a new shuttle bus service that connected Kilburn, West Hampstead and Hampstead Heath. Your ambitions were greater, however:
 
@blueskyflowers Mill Lane gets pedestrianised!
@PrioryTavern Belsize Road actually gets cleaned and the traffic wardens move office…
@fac203: #whampers will finally get an international airport…we do need an international airport…
 
And the most plausible prediction of all:
@aktaraja Roadworks/gasworks/electrical works on WEL

Shops
The imminent arrival of a Sainsbury’s Local on West End Lane inspired many of you to foresee a dystopian retail future – and in many cases to rebel against it.

@daveeeeeed Waitrose, Morrisons, Asda open up small branches in the plots between Sainsburys Local & Tesco Metro on WEL
@Daljit_Bhurji Atlanta Food & Wine becomes a Waitrose Local
@RandomCarlos The combined effect of both Tesco and Saunsbury delivery vans will cause National gridlock.
@mermayden I predict that the residents of West Hampstead will go postal on WEL Tesco’s arse and it will be forced to close.
@blakeconnolly We’ll all go to the new Sainsburys and ignore Tescos (everyone I know has a bad story about that place!)
@thepickyfoodie how about we ignore them all & support local shops instead?
@churchnw6 Locals successfully boycott the evil Tesco & Sainsbury Local and save local shops. WHamp flourishes again.

No-one mentioned the rumour that M&S has been sniffing around the Pizza Express site (long-time readers may remember that Pizza Express categorically denied that they were looking to offload the WEL restaurant when I asked them about it early last year). Mind you, in these straightened times, maybe we should be thinking more downmarket than Marks & Spencer’s

@marmitetoast Pound shop WARS in Kilburn when someone undercuts the 98p shop with a 97p shop
@Cyburn maybe a £1 shop will open in west hampstead or maybe a £2 shop which will be more posh.

Of course, 2011 can’t be all about supermarkets – what about the rest of the retail sector?

@marmitetoast More estate agents in West Hampstead; more bookmakers in Kilburn
@flyperson The number of local estate-agents will be eclipsed by that of coiffeurs.
[self-promotion alert] @RentalflatsNW6 We shall build on our core business and continue to offer a superb service for our current and new landlords in 2011
@giornalista1 After being shut for about 4 yrs, The Flower Mill on Mill Lane finally reopens – as a fabulous shoe shop
@bobbymann the new ‘mens’ hair and beauty salon that is due to open next to the station will shut down…
@netinyahoo I see Lately’s becoming a super club and taking over the parade of shops it is in!
@ichaloner I predict that Achillea Flowers will provide the flowers for at least 10 celebrity weddings
@leonora1 I will finally open my own craft shop!
@CharlieSnow Foxtons in Willesden Green fixes its window and then it gets broken again, and again and again.
@giornalista1 A shop opens on Willesden High Rd that doesn’t do fried chicken or payday loans.

Food & Drink
Despite it being a tough climate for the restaurant industry, you were relatively sanguine about how West Hampstead would fare with its fayre. With one notable exception:

@nickhudgell glo gets let to a mexican burrito joint.
@sblower ShakeTastic will produce a drink mixing peanut butter with fruit, and… roast veg.
@RandomCarlos The Indian takeaway by Oddbins will offer chicken curry & rice as ‘special of the day’… every day.
@gitfinger The restaurant formerly known as Le Petit Coin closes and reopens under a new guise. Twice.

Culture (sort of)
Sadly, no-one predicted that anything would take the place of The Luminaire, nor that a bunch of aspiring part-time actors would get together to form a WhamDram group.

@BBetter 30% of the residents will understand that hiphop is a culture and lifestyle, not just a music / dance etc. :o)
@gitfinger someone who has appeared on Dr Who moves to West Hampstead
@cathusmax Blue plaque for former resident Stephen Fry ‘s house? *it is the sleb centre of London REALLY*
@gitfinger West Hamstead library stays open! YAY!

Out of the blue
Some of you were less beholden to the traditional concerns of locals and came up with some good predictions for life in general

@mermayden Chloe Madeley and Ken Livingstone bond over a Starbucks latte and get it on.
@JessOutGirl A Whamp baby or wedding
[both subsequently confirmed before 2010 was even over]
@chinmj Official pronunciation of Kilburn to be confirmed as ‘west-‘hamp-‘sted
@trintrax 2011 snow will be just as slippery

The best predictions for 2011
As the WHampstead 7-a-side team gets going, the team is optimistic

@nickhudgell I predict that #whampkick team win the league..
@SamWong1 West Hampstead Wanderers to win the league, then get bought by an arab billionaire.

It will be 10 years since 9/11, and Osama bin Laden is still in hiding….

@DanDrillsma Bin Laden found directing global operations from the back room at Lower Ground Bar…
@Moyasarner …but no-one would ever know – What happens in Lower Ground Bar… *chorus sings* “Stays in Lower Ground Bar”

But my favourite prediction for 2011 goes to @Lewis_Hill

“I predict that getting punched or groped inside the Brondes Age will be re-named a “Kilburn Cuddle””

So, see you here in 12 months time to see what came true and what… er… didn’t.