Theft it seems rears it’s head on virtually every street, alleyway and courtyard when you delve back through the archives. If you scrutinise the records hard enough you can even find trends of crimes for specific areas or even streets. I found in one small area of the City a very prosperous (until they were… Continue reading Keeping up appearances
Category: Uncategorized
Dogstones
Now there’s a word for you, “Dogstones”. Gallstones found in canines perhaps, or some type of artisanal device for holding something in place? If you Google it, it appears there’s a large stone in Oban in Scotland, but that’s not it. Let me cloud the waters even further by linking the Dogstone with a Hen… Continue reading Dogstones
Please Sir, I want some more
The immortal line penned by Dickens in Oliver Twist which was serialised from 1837. I actually have a connection to Oliver, we’re both “Workhouse Boys”, well that is to say I live in a converted workhouse, where the only deprivation suffered is if the WiFi goes down, or Ocado miss something off the delivery! London… Continue reading Please Sir, I want some more
When truth becomes stranger than fiction
A rainy evening in 1960s London, the pavement glistens with the reflection of the lights on Park Lane as Harry Palmer skirts round the back of the Dorchester Hotel. Quickly checking he’s not been followed he crosses into Tilney Street, pausing at its corner he waits, collar pulled up against the rain and keeps watch… Continue reading When truth becomes stranger than fiction
Flour and Dough and a DSO
I’d never come across the sculptor Phillip Lindsay-Clark before, not until I found his signature on a great piece of public art. This piece differs from his usual creations, which tended to be mainly ecclesiastical or memorials. Lindsay-Clark was a Londoner born in 1889, his Father, Robert was also a sculptor. Phillip studied at the… Continue reading Flour and Dough and a DSO
A baby, but no bath water
Whilst rooting about in A Survey Of The Cities Of London and Westminster written by John Strype in the 1720s for some information, I came across a story by accident that is too good not to tell. The story is set near to the Tower of London and centres around the Churchyard of All Hallows-by-the-Tower,… Continue reading A baby, but no bath water
A bone to the dog is not charity
The title of this piece comes from one of my favourite 20th century authors, Jack London. The whole quote is “A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.“ Now this piece is not about bones, dogs or American… Continue reading A bone to the dog is not charity
The Vile Adulterator Windy Miller
Aficionados of Camberwick Green will all know that Windy Miller was definitely a single guy about town and I have long suspected that he knows more that he lets on about Mrs Honeyman’s baby (there’s never a mention of a Mr Honeyman). I believe that he is also familiar with some of the Green’s married… Continue reading The Vile Adulterator Windy Miller
My Hero
“Oh yes she/he is one of my Heroines/Heroes” people say, but are they actually heroes or just bound up in the cult of celebrity? I made a list of mine the other day. Mine sort of sit in the fantasy dinner party thing, people that you would like to sit around your table and hold… Continue reading My Hero
Burye, Berry, Bury. A revision.
I’ve been writing and publishing self guided audio tours for four years this month, not sure where all that time’s gone! Before that I used to host tours in person. I really enjoyed meeting the people who came on the walks, but it did have it’s downside. The main object is to get the story… Continue reading Burye, Berry, Bury. A revision.
A LONDON MISCELLANY 