Had the luxury of travelling on a bus a few weeks ago from Victoria to Charing Cross. I call it a luxury because it give a different perspective from pavement level when you sit upstairs (at the front pretending to be the driver obviously). Instead of sitting on the Westminster Abbey side I went for… Continue reading Sorry, no fish today
Tag: History
The Dog’s Nose
“Mr Walker, a convert to the Brick Lane branch of the United Grand Junction Ebenezer Temperance Association, thought that tasting Dog’s Nose twice a week for 20 years had lost him the use of his right hand.” The passage comes from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. At first I thought it was perhaps some… Continue reading The Dog’s Nose
Let’s play “Blind Chivvy”
I was unaware of the game Blind Chivvy or psychogeography* as it is sometimes known. That was until I started to read a book called London Pilgrimages written in 1928 by Robert Thurston Hopkins. The book is quite a niche guidebook with seventeen chapters, one entitled Charlie Chaplin’s early days. I’d never heard of Hopkins… Continue reading Let’s play “Blind Chivvy”
St Brides the original Wedding Cake
Six word Saturday It is said that St Brides was the inspiration for the first ever tiered wedding cake. Created by apprentice baker William Rich in the 1700s.
A Jack of all trades and a savage bell
Sometimes I stand at a location and think how far away even recent history can feel. Some places have been so changed that without some research there would be no inkling as to what once stood on the site. Here’s a good example, Limeburner Lane just off Ludgate Hill. The lane and it’s name are… Continue reading A Jack of all trades and a savage bell
Evocative
When I have a few minutes to spare I do like to just stand (or sit with a pint) in a location, let my mind wander and try to imagine what the area was like fifty, a hundred, a hundred and fifty years ago. Sometimes this can be quite difficult as modern life always tries… Continue reading Evocative
Peep(s)
One Word Sunday “Up betimes and hence to the work machine to create the one word postage upon the Sabbath. Sorely vexed upon failing to compose such a piece so then resulted to roguish knavery and therefore did cheat by contrivance of word play”.
A Winters Morning Clifford’s Inn Passage
Six Word Saturday
Fit for a King
If you walk along the south side of Cheapside heading towards the Bank of England, a little way beyond Bow Church is a narrow opening leading to Crown Court. The actual footprint and name of the passageway has been there since at least the early 13th century and was once the private entrance for the… Continue reading Fit for a King
Mudlarking
I’m actually writing this piece on the train home from London. Today’s date has been highlighted in my diary for several weeks and the anticipation has been steadily building as the days passed, for today I have been down on the Thames foreshore “Mudlarking” A Mudlark is someone who scavenges in river mud for items of value, a term… Continue reading Mudlarking
A LONDON MISCELLANY 