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A quick 18 holes by London Bridge

The term “Skyscraper” is a very subjective term, today the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the world’s tallest at a height of 828 meters, which in old money is 2,717 feet. London’s current giant is the Shard at 310 meters, 1016 feet. But travel back to 1925 London and the building taking all the attention… Continue reading A quick 18 holes by London Bridge

Captain Ralph Douglas Binney

I’ve recently been cruising the alleyways of Cornhill to see if there’s enough stories hidden away to make a tour, which there are, and then some!. Stopping on route to make some notes I realised I was leaning up against a small plaque which I had never spotted before during any of my Cornhill wanderings.… Continue reading Captain Ralph Douglas Binney

The Gospel According to Google Maps

There is really only one piece of news worth writing about this week. With a mixture of relief, excitement and no small amount of exhaustion, my long-planned project to create audio tours covering every church, existing or vanished, within the City of London has finally moved to its next stage. Just over a year ago… Continue reading The Gospel According to Google Maps

The Battle of Cable Street: When Ordinary Londoners Stood Their Ground

Some moments in history feel inevitable when we look back on them. The Battle of Cable Street wasn’t one of those moments. On Sunday 4 October 1936, nobody knew exactly how the day would end. What began as a planned political march became a remarkable display of community solidarity, as tens of thousands of Londoners… Continue reading The Battle of Cable Street: When Ordinary Londoners Stood Their Ground

The quack will see you now

Medieval medicine and it’s practitioners get a rather bad press, Quackery neatly wrapping the whole issue into an understandable term. History, it is said is always written by the victors and the same can be applied to the history of medicine. Looking back to Tudor and Elizabethan times there was a small thriving elite of… Continue reading The quack will see you now

How Curious

There is a small area of central London crammed in between Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the Strand and Aldwych. The area is known as Clare Market and is taken up in the most part by the London School of Economics (LSE). The area of Clare Market was originally centred on a small market building constructed by… Continue reading How Curious

Now you see it, now you don’t

I’ve been undertaking a very bad and dangerous habit this week, that of thinking, well musing actually. This all came about because of a series of programs on BBC4 celebrating a hundred and twenty five years since the birth of poet John Betjeman. I’ve posted several times about JB as he’s one of my hero’s,… Continue reading Now you see it, now you don’t

Can you smell smoke?

Because if you had been standing in the City of London on the second day of September 1666, exactly three haundred and sixty years ago today, you would not have needed to ask. The air was practically waving at you. A warm toasty smell drifted through the streets, the sort of smell that makes you… Continue reading Can you smell smoke?

Gog and Magog Giants of Albion

These two figures adorn the clock of St Dunstan’s in the West, Fleet Street. They are meant to represent the Giants that inhabited the land of Albion (Britain) and who were discovered by Brutus of Troy. This story is all down to Geoffrey of Monmouth who wrote a history of Britain around 1136, he’s the… Continue reading Gog and Magog Giants of Albion

Is There A Doctor On The Train?

I recently read an article regarding a baby that was born on a London Bus in Hackney, which made me wonder how much of a regular occurrence this was. I couldn’t find any documented numbers, although the search did turn up several instances. However, there is documentation regarding babies born on London Underground. This comes… Continue reading Is There A Doctor On The Train?