London blogger exposes life on the Underground

By Jane Lee

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Annie Mole's blog about the London Underground rail system began as a New Year's resolution to teach herself how to make an Internet Web site and has blossomed into a popular slice of commuter life.

The criticisms, witticisms and daily observations posted on her "London Underground's Blog" www.london-underground.blogspot.com since she first began writing it in 2003 have struck a chord with commuters and the people who operate the rail system beneath the British capital that is affectionately known as the "Tube".

"I thought might be a subject that people would want to interact and talk about, because everyone's got their own little Tube story," Mole told Reuters in a coffee shop near her office.

Mole, who writes under a pseudonym and declined to reveal her real name, said the blog was a spin-off from her original Web site "Going Underground", which she first created in 1999.

"I wanted to be anonymous because I thought, I'm not sure the Tube are actually going to like this and they might try and find out who I am and get the site closed down," Mole said.

But her blog has received enormous attention instead, roping in other bloggers, commuters sharing experiences and even people who work on the Underground.

It has been nominated best British blog at the international weblog awards (aka: the bloggies) three times in the last four years and voted one of TimeOut magazine's 50 best London sites.

A number of the private companies which do maintenance work on the 12 Tube lines that criss-cross London's Underground, have recognized her blog's powerful influence on commuters and have met Mole to clarify rumors and answer complaints, she said.