The entrance to this small park was once the entrance to a school playground that separated Dame Alice Owen’s Girls’ School and Owen’s Boys’ School and is now known as Owen’s Field in Clerkenwell. The girl’s school was built in 1890 and was a substantial building with underground cellars. At the outbreak of the Second… Continue reading Owen’s Fields
Tag: History
Drunk and incapable
I’d always wondered what the “incapable” meant in the phrase. Incapable of what exactly? Creating children’s novelty balloons, reciting pi to twenty decimal places or perhaps listing FA Cup winners since 1924? Turns out the guidance to a police officer is as follows, a drunk and incapable person is someone who has consumed alcohol to… Continue reading Drunk and incapable
Sorry, no fish today
Had the luxury of travelling on a bus a few weeks ago from Victoria to Charing Cross. I call it a luxury because it gives 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
Bucolic Bonnington Square
Bonnington Square in Vauxhall was built during the 1870s. Only a “six” away from the Oval cricket ground it comprised compact neat rows of London brick houses surrounding a central double terrace primarily used to house railway workers who were employed at Nine Elms Goods Yard close by. Booth’s map has the square marked as… Continue reading Bucolic Bonnington Square
In the beginning was the word
And the word was “Doves“. I was skimming through a book that I was given for Christmas, the excellent A Field Guide to Larking by Lara Maiklem. I’d wanted this book as it’s packed with loads of information regarding a new hobby I’m starting, that of Mudlarking on the banks of the river Thames. As… Continue reading In the beginning was the word
He’s behind you!
“Oh no he isn’t, oh yes he is”. Sorry but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to slip in a pantomime reference considering the time of year. Afraid this might be lost on anyone outside of the UK. Took some American cousins to a pantomime a few years ago and to begin with they were… Continue reading He’s behind you!
Thou Shall not pass (or escape)
Six Word Saturday
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
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!
“Why was the Snowman sorting through the carrots?”
The answer can only be found in one place and that is the inside of a Christmas cracker, for it is one of the many terrible jokes that have become a festive institution. What has the Christmas cracker and a rather hideous drinking fountain have in common? No that’s not another one, this is a… Continue reading “Why was the Snowman sorting through the carrots?”
A LONDON MISCELLANY 