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
Tag: History
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!
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
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)
What’s in a name?
To finish the quote in full, “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. (William Shakespear, Romeo & Juliet). It’s my belief that a name sets the tone of a thing or even a person. Take the example of rose, it is a rounded, lilting word which conjures up the fragrant… Continue reading What’s in a name?
At Sixes and Sevens
Not a phrase you hear much nowadays, but I can remember my Grandmother using it quite often, “Oh you’ll have me at sixes and sevens if you don’t get from under my feet!“ I’d never really queried its origin until recently. I was researching for a new walking tour, looking into the history of what… Continue reading At Sixes and Sevens
Ziggy played guitar….
It is a cold wet late afternoon in January 1972 and you’re legging it down Regent Street as fast as your platform shoes will allow, your wet flares (possibly even Loon pants) flapping around your ankles and your cheesecloth shirt is clinging to you. In an attempt to shelter from the precipitation you duck into… Continue reading Ziggy played guitar….
A LONDON MISCELLANY 