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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?

Sorry, no fish today

Had the luxury of travelling on a bus a few weeks ago from Victoria to Charing Cross. I call it a luxury because it gives a different perspective from pavement level when you sit upstairs (at the front pretending to be the driver obviously). Instead of sitting on the Westminster Abbey side I went for… Continue reading Sorry, no fish today

The Downfall Of A Victorian Fraudster

If today you stand on the confluence of Cannon Street, Walbrook and Bloomberg Arcade, you’d be roughly inside The Coopers Arms. highlighted below. In the 1890s when Samuel Heibuth was Mine Host, the Pub stood at 19 Budge Row EC4N now buried under steel and glass, a result of the devastation caused during the Blitz.… Continue reading The Downfall Of A Victorian Fraudster

Eastcheap, the road to the pyramids

I was standing on the corner of Eastcheap and Lovat Lane the other day, when I happened to see a Bedouin tribesman and his three camels heading in the direction of Dover, presumably enroute for Cairo. Obviously I’m being economical with the truth, but I have seen stranger things in the area. Is a man… Continue reading Eastcheap, the road to the pyramids

A dog licking a cooking pot

This fine piece of street art stands just yards away from Southwark underground station in south London, but what does it mean? It is a replica of a shop sign that used to hang outside of an Ironmongers that plied it’s trade on the corner of Blackfriars Road and Charlotte Street, now called Union Street.… Continue reading A dog licking a cooking pot

Band On The Run

As we progress with this story you’ll see that I had little option but to go with the title that I chose. For my generation and many around it the cover of the album is iconic and as I had decided to use it for this piece I thought I should find out where it… Continue reading Band On The Run

Political Assassination in Belgravia

Field Marshal Sir Henry Hughes Wilson was one of the most senior British Army staff officers of the First World War and was briefly an Irish unionist politician. Wilson served as Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley, and then as Director of Military Operations at the War Office. He played a large part in drawing up plans to deploy the British Expeditionary Force to France… Continue reading Political Assassination in Belgravia