Portobello Road the road in the song "Portobello Belle" on their second album "Communiqué". The cult British children's book character Paddington Bear, featured in the books written by Michael Bond, enjoys visiting Portobello Market on a daily basis. His friend Mr. Gruber owns an antique shop on the Portobello Road, with whom Paddington has his elevenses every day. The Portobello Road and its colorful restaurants, pubs, and local culture is featured prominently in Martin Amis's 1989 dark satirical novel "London Fields." The street and its name also appeared regularly on the hit TV series "Minder". The board game "Portobello Market" is named
London Paddington station through the Big Four grouping in 1923. A tube railway for the Post Office, opened in December 1927, could cater for around 10,000 mailbags every day. Paddington was extended again from 1930 to 1934. Platforms 2 to 11 were extended past the Bishop's Road bridge and a new parcel depot was built. Suburban services, which had never been considered important at Paddington, were increased as new housing estates in the Home Counties started being built. Bishop's Road station was rebuilt, giving an extra four platforms to Paddington (Nos. 13–16) and providing a new ticket office and entrance for suburban services