Shakespeare – the hoodie with the headphones

Rising knife crime in London, youth gangs out of control, and helpless lawmakers attempting to curb the fighting by banning certain types of blade. It may sound familiar, but this was the London of William Shakespeare's day, and gives an insight into one of his most enduring love stories.

New College of the Humanities

I am standing at the junction of two of the busiest streets in central London – High Holborn and Shaftesbury Avenue. In one direction is Centre Point and the start of Oxford Street; in another Leicester Square; to the south-east is Covent Garden; behind me is Bloomsbury and the giant hulk of the British Museum. It's quite a vista. But my view only lasts for eight seconds before the little green man turns red and a herd of black cabs rev their engines.

Traditional planning put cars at the centre of our streets but a radical rethink of how modern cities work could change all that.

London's cultural centres were not immune from strike action today. Many of the National Gallery collections were closed to the public after security, administration and technical staff walked out.

The history of the old Royal Library of England, from before the time of Edward IV to the present day, is one of miraculous survival amid political upheaval, government neglect and successive librarians' insensitivity. No one was more aware of the miracle than Tom Birrell, and no one did more to retrieve its integrity.

The discovery of a hoard of coins, a cemetery and a lost settlement in Devon is being hailed as one of the most significant Roman discoveries in Britain for decades.

A historic London reference library containing 50,000 books, including unique, centuries-old tomes relating to the history of the British Museum, is under threat of closure.

A serial rapist is facing a long prison sentence today after being convicted of attacking women near Buckingham Palace and the British Museum.

Today: Some of England's best hotels, restaurants and attractions will be waking up in the knowledge that they are the victors in the annual Enjoy England Awards for Excellence ( enjoyengland.com/excellence). As well as No. 43 in Arnside, Cumbria, the winners, which were announced last night, included the Bay Tree Hotel in Burford, Oxfordshire ( cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk), The Langham in London ( langhamlondon.com), Cornwall's Porthminster Beach Café ( porthminstercafe.co.uk), Bedruthan Steps Hotel ( bedruthan.com) and the Chatsworth estate in Derbyshire ( chatsworth.org). Cumbrian Heavy Horses ( cumbrianheavyhorses.com) picked up the prize for best tourism experience.

A council that was duped into paying £440,000 for a fake ancient Egyptian statue that was made in a garden shed plans to display the piece as part of an exhibition about forgeries.