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London’s Christmas Curiosities

Did you know Christmas crackers were invented back in the 1840s by Tom Smith, a confectioner on Goswell Road? His factory near Finsbury Square churned out the novelties, and if you look closely, a memorial fountain there still hides a cracker motif. It might look a little more convincing after a few pre‑Christmas dinner drinks…… Continue reading London’s Christmas Curiosities

Ham Yard, an apt setting

Philanthropy at Christmas comes in many forms whether it is sending money to an appeal, donating to a food bank or possibly even volunteering to serve Christmas dinner to those who find themselves homeless. I’m afraid I can only own up to one of these and its not the last one. I came across a… Continue reading Ham Yard, an apt setting

Ticket To Ride

I thought I’d start off the countdown to Christmas a bit earlier than normal and interweave some new stories with reposts from a few years ago. On Christmas Day these days, Britain’s transport network more or less nods off. Trains, tubes, buses all take a break, leaving the streets unusually quiet. But it wasn’t always… Continue reading Ticket To Ride

The Fatal Vespers

I shudder for using the much vaunted term “Hidden Gem” so beloved of social media influencers. No, I’ll stop there or this piece will just become a diatribe of scorn and derision. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. However when I wanted a short phrase to some up the building I want to describe I couldn’t… Continue reading The Fatal Vespers

“Lord have mercy upon me, I am killed”

I was doing a bit of housekeeping with my audio tours the other day and came across a tour that I must admit I’d forgotten all about. Everything about the process of compiling it I remembered was easy. The research went well and the writing just flowed from the pen. This was going to be… Continue reading “Lord have mercy upon me, I am killed”

Amongst these dark Satanic Mills

Do you ever get a feeling about a location? It doesn’t have to be something outwardly disturbing, just a nagging notion that something historic at some time in the past might have happened on a particular spot. I know that sound a bit vague, but there is a certain piece of central London that has… Continue reading Amongst these dark Satanic Mills

A shining example

Where would you find the only Neon light in the City of London? London nerds will already have tutted and muttered under their breath “Easy”. The answer is a small shop on the junction of Moorgate and London Wall. Today it is a wine bar, but its beautiful Art Deco façade harks back to a… Continue reading A shining example

Tea, Debauchery and Sewage

I recently came across a 17th century location on the banks of the River Thames called Arnold’s Outlet (if you have the same puerile sense of humour as me, you’ll have sniggered at that). This schoolboy double entendre does have an element of fact about it, as it was actually a sewer outlet that dumped… Continue reading Tea, Debauchery and Sewage

At Sixes and Sevens

Not a phrase you hear much nowadays, but I can remember my Grandmother using it quite often, “Oh you’ll have me at sixes and sevens if you don’t get from under my feet!“ I’d never really queried its origin until recently. I was researching for a new walking tour, looking into the history of what… Continue reading At Sixes and Sevens

Fancy a dip in the Thames?

Although the river is a lot cleaner today than in previous years, the stretch that flows through the environs of Central London is not immediately the first place you’d think of for swimming. The completion of Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s London sewer system in 1870 meant that the quality of water in the River Thames was… Continue reading Fancy a dip in the Thames?