Graffiti is part of everyday life it seems. It annoys some and delights others. It can we witty and insightful or plainly banal and pointless. Recently on a trip up to Hadrian’s Wall I marvelled at some graffito dating back to the Roman occupation. One was a disparaging comment about a roman soldier by a… Continue reading PC49 was ‘ere
Tag: History
Wordless Wednesday
Mr Brundsen, Mr Platts & Mr Crapper
I’m currently researching a walking tour along the Thames path between Putney and Battersea Park. The route has thrown up a lot of interesting facts, not surprisingly given it’s location, many based around it’s industrial past. I always try and weave a human element into the tours with stories or facts that show what life… Continue reading Mr Brundsen, Mr Platts & Mr Crapper
Thursday Doors
The Willies of Westminster Bridge
This post is going to be short, to the point, trivial and above all puerile. (Sorry) Westminster Bridge was designed by Thomas Page and opened in 1862. I think we can all imagine the complexity in designing such a structure and it seems Page wanted the bridge to look appealing as well as functional and… Continue reading The Willies of Westminster Bridge
Trivialising Matters
Trivia seems to be the lifeblood of any good tour. Back in the day when I used to take actual people on actual tours and actually talk to them I could go into an interesting ramble about pre stressed concrete construction and at the end get barely a flicker of appreciation. However, deliver a decisive… Continue reading Trivialising Matters
The Strange Tale of Mr Fribourg and Mr Treyer …….. and Mr Fribourg and Mr Pontet
Friborg and Treyer were fashionable snuff sellers in the 18th century. Based at 34 Haymarket their clientele included King George IV, the actor David Garrick and all-round dandy Beau Brummell. The Fribourg’s had originally come to England from Switzerland and the claim is that the firm was started in 1720 by P. Fribourg, although the… Continue reading The Strange Tale of Mr Fribourg and Mr Treyer …….. and Mr Fribourg and Mr Pontet
Just watchin’ the world go by
Six Word Saturday
Musca domestica Linnaeus
A few weeks ago I was musing on the rat infestation around the Strand in 1903. Well that seemed bad enough, but I found an incident some two hundred years earlier which really made my skin crawl. During July 1707, the 8th of July to be exact, there was if records are to be believed… Continue reading Musca domestica Linnaeus
Searching For Old King Lud
Ok, let us start with the supposition of Geoffrey of Monmouth the 12th century chronicler of the British Isles. King Lud was a pre-Roman King of the Britain’s. He founded the city of London and when he died he was buried close to the site of where the main western entrance to the city was… Continue reading Searching For Old King Lud
A LONDON MISCELLANY 