So, hopefully you’ve arrived here from the first part of Pavements in the sky and have watched the video? If not, part two isn’t going to make much sense. Make yourself a nice cuppa and sit down for thirty minutes and catch up on the video and then come back here. London is always changing,… Continue reading Pavements in the sky (Part 2)
Tag: History
Pavements in the sky
I’ve been wanting to write on this subject for a long time, but never managed to find the time to do so, however I find that it’s too long for just one post, so will have to break it down into separate parts. Lets start at the end of the Second World War. The City… Continue reading Pavements in the sky
Five Years of Wandering: Why Self‑Guided Audio Tours Still Win
It’s a strange thing to realise, but it’s now been five years since I published my very first self‑guided audio tour. Five years of wandering streets, poking around corners, chasing down odd bits of local history, and trying to capture that quiet thrill of discovering something most people walk straight past. When I released that… Continue reading Five Years of Wandering: Why Self‑Guided Audio Tours Still Win
Washing History
Back in 2020 the UK saw a spate of statue removals throughout the UK. Characters no longer deemed to be politically correct were consigned to the storeroom or in one case the dockside of history. I recently came across this empty plinth in Cavendish Square, and wondered who it was that had upset public opinion.… Continue reading Washing History
What did you get for Christmas Sam?
The Sam in question being Samuel Pepys, the answer is obviously a new diary. I decided that this year I’ll try and read each of his diary entries on the day he wrote them over three hundred and sixty years ago. Luckily his first ever entry is January 1st 1660, so I can start right… Continue reading What did you get for Christmas Sam?
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting…..stolen!
I came across a seasonal tale recently, one that Charles Dickens if he’d been alive at the time might have woven into one of his stories about the metropolis. It’s a tale with a lesson, one that warns against greed during the festive season. It also goes to show that as today Christmas to some… Continue reading Christmas is coming, the goose is getting…..stolen!
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
“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
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
A LONDON MISCELLANY 