I recently came by a fascinating old book called Passing English of the Victorian era, a dictionary of heterodox English, slang and phrase (published 1909) written by James Redding Ware, the pseudonym of Andrew Forrester a British writer who created one of the first female detectives in literary history in his book The Female Detective (1863). The… Continue reading Learn to talk proper
Tag: Food
Pagani’s
Sometimes when you look at a block of buildings you think to yourself, that doesn’t look right. One block that I noticed was in Great Portland Street. The imposing building on the far left was previously a bank and now a Post Office. The characterless office block far right shouts post war redevelopment, it’s the… Continue reading Pagani’s
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
Market Day
In the last post I wrote about Clare Market an area of London that from the 1600s was synonymous with Butchers and Greengrocers. So today I thought I’d look at a few of the other markets that once drew in the punters. The largest and probably best known of all of London’s markets was Cheapside.… Continue reading Market Day
The Staff Of Life
I’ve recently written a piece about George Orwell’s favourite pub in Soho, and hadn’t any plans to introduce him into anything else for the foreseeable future. So I settled down to write a piece on the Aerated Bread Company, or as they were known in their heyday, A.B.C., however Mr Orwell manages to make an… Continue reading The Staff Of Life
The Pepperers
No, not some obscure 1970s animated children’s TV series with characters made from pepper pots (That’s an idea, perhaps I could pitch it to Cbeebies) but a group of merchants that inhabited the City of London in the early 1100s In last Friday’s post, I expressed my fondness for the 1893 OS map of London… Continue reading The Pepperers
The art of the picnic
Easter Sunday dawned overcast and a little chilly, ideal weather for the great British picnic. As we cast around for a collection of foodstuffs that could be combined into a dining experience Al Fresco, I was reminded about a catalogue I’d been looking at for the department store Gamages which was situated at 16-128 Holborn… Continue reading The art of the picnic
It’s a matter of taste
How do you taste London’s past? That’s an easy one and a subject close to my heart; food and drink. Of the two, drink is the trickier to get to grips with. Nobody that I know of in the city brews anything that resembles the medieval ale that Londoners would have drunk. All the ancient… Continue reading It’s a matter of taste
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
Nelson and a bowl of porridge
Admiral Horatio Nelson sits atop his column 169 feet 3 inches (51.59 m) above the concourse of Trafalgar Square and has gazed down over it since 1843. The square predates the column by three years, built to commemorate the victory over the Spanish and the French at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The Lions guarding the column… Continue reading Nelson and a bowl of porridge
A LONDON MISCELLANY 