iOS maps suck in London

I spent the evening in London with a good friend. We went to see The Talented Mr Ripley as part of the Seven Deadly Sins season at The Barbican.

Unfortunately the film started late and I had to duck out on my friend at the end of the film before the talk with Sam Taylor Wood started.

I am familiar with this area of London but the labyrinth that is the Barbican Centre can be confusing.

It was dark, late and I was in a hurry to get to Liverpool Street to catch my train.

I've always relied on Maps on my iPhone when in a bind but tonight it did not help one bit.

The map would not find my location nor would it find Liverpool Street Station (I had full signal). In fact after several attempts it still hasn't found Liverpool Street and I am currently there sat on the train!

There isn't a decent alternative either. Maps+ promises to bring Google maps back to the iPhone but the interface is confusing and doesn't work as intuitively as the original Maps app.

I dread to think how many other people in London get stuck due to the Map change. Don't get me wrong, the sat nav etc is brilliant outside of the capital.

Sadly in London the search doesn't have adequate information nor do things like tube stations or railways show up clearly either on the map or when searched.

A really poor show Apple.

Thankfully I had the sense to ask a black cabby who directed me to where I needed to go. (I was heading in the right direction).

This annoys me no end as a very useful tool has been rendered useless and it spoilt my evening.

It was lovely to catch up with Paul. We enjoyed Fish & Chips in the Barbican cafe before heading to the Martini bar for a drink. The apple and ginger martini I had was delicious – James Bond would be proud. Paul especially enjoyed his chocolate martini.

It was great to attend the Barbican Cinema and I was very surprised by the interior as it's a lovely plush venue.

It's great to see The Talented Mr Ripley on the big screen too. I forgot just how sinister Ripley was. I hadn't however been able to forget Matt Damon in the green hot pants or the boat scene where Ripley bludgeons Dickie to death with the boat oar. A gripping, moving, beautifully shot film.

Just a shame it started late and I had to miss the talk (which was the point of the evening!).