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Metroland Memories

Just a quick post this morning, brought on by listening to a CD (ask your parents) in my collection of poems by John Betjeman. This one has stuck in my head so I suppose it could be classed as an earworm. Here’s a link to hear the man himself recite it on YouTube Middlesex by John… Continue reading Metroland Memories

Milo The Cretonian

Apparently Milo was an ancient Greek wrestler and strongman sometimes depicted carrying a bull on his shoulders. His link with London is that his feats are celebrated on a rather strange adornment that graced the front of the Queens Hotel built in 1830. The hotel was situated on the corner of St Martin Le Grand… Continue reading Milo The Cretonian

Echoes

I have in my collection a picture entitled Elephant and Tram taken in 1936. It shows an elephant eating an apple from the tram driver. A bit of research shows that the picture was taken in the Grays Inn Road, making the tram a number 31 (I enjoyed looking that up). So an elephant in… Continue reading Echoes

Nice story, but….

Today in 1988 the grave of Boadicea / Boudica, the warrior queen of the Iceni tribe who fought the Romans in Britain was located by archaeologists (possibly). Following her victories in Anglesey and the sacking of the Roman Garrison at Colchester, she turned her attention to the fort and small collection of buildings that made… Continue reading Nice story, but….

STAAAAAANDAAAAART!

I threatened last week to start posting reminiscences of childhood in Metroland. Well here’s the first one and goes back to the late 60s when I was around ten years old. For a ten year old back then there were three types of gainful employment, one poor, one middling and the third the pinnacle. The… Continue reading STAAAAAANDAAAAART!

A Good Book

Thought I’d share a picture that hangs in my hallway which I received as a birthday present some years ago. It was taken by photographer Jack Ambridge at Farringdon Underground Station, which is one of my favourites due to it’s wrought iron columns, mellow brickwork and slightly dishevelled appearance. Although a busy station it seems… Continue reading A Good Book

The Winter Garden of Oxford Street

Feeling a little peckish as you wander along Oxford Street (when the shops re-open) ?Forgo the delights of the numerous fast food outlets, and even give a pub lunch a miss. As you saunter east towards the junction of Tottenham Court Road, pass the tailors Hawes & Curtis and then take the next open door… Continue reading The Winter Garden of Oxford Street

Here Be Dragons

The City of London, the mile square area that roughly constitutes the Roman settlement of Londinium in the 1st century AD and is commonly referred to as “The City” is guarded by a fearsome creature. The City’s coat of arms depicts two of these, for they are the London Dragons. The use of them as… Continue reading Here Be Dragons

A Suburban Boy

Born into 1960s “Metroland” as I was, its not difficult to see why the love of Art Deco and the 1930s has stayed with me. By the time I was conscious of my surroundings a lot of the housing estates, shops and public buildings had only just krept into middle age. There were symbols and… Continue reading A Suburban Boy

What’s in a name? (part 2)

Just a quick adjunct from the post of the same name posted a couple of days ago. Remember Nicholas”If-Jesus-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned” Barebon? You may recall that he switched his interests to property developing following the Great Fire of 1666. One such development was the Villiers Estate that today sits next to Charing Cross railway station. The land… Continue reading What’s in a name? (part 2)