The London Eye has dominated the skyline of Lambeth for over twenty years. This 135 metres (443 ft) tall wheel has a diameter of 120 metres (394 ft). When it opened to the public in 2000 it was the world’s tallest Ferris wheel until it was surpassed by the 160-metre (525 ft) Star of Nanchang in 2006, and has subsequently been… Continue reading The Wheel Turns Full Circle
Tag: London
Can I have that to go please?
There is at the western end of Fleet Street an opening to an alleyway so small that it is often easy to walk past and not notice it is there. It goes by the quaint name of Hen & Chicken Court. It appears named on John Rocque’s map of 1746 but is shown on maps… Continue reading Can I have that to go please?
Smile
One Word Sunday
Looking down on tiny toy town
Six Word Saturday
Why not catch some proper criminals?
I was sitting in Fitzroy Square recently having a sandwich and playing a memory game. The square, located near to Regents Park has always been the home of some of London’s great and good and I was trying to recall who lived where. Sir Charles Eastlake, first director of the National Gallery, painter James McNeill Whistler, Bloomsbury Group artist Duncan… Continue reading Why not catch some proper criminals?
What’s in a name?
I was stopped the other day by a couple of tourists asking for directions and I outlined the quickest route to their destination, which happened to take them through Lincoln’s Inn. They seemed a bit perplexed and asked if it was “Ok” to walk through the grounds, which it is. As I was headed in… Continue reading What’s in a name?
Low
One Word Sunday
The Cat And The Skull
So what do you think you know about Dick Whittington, Lord Mayor of London? The story goes that an impoverished Whittington made his way into the City of London to seek his fortune on hearing that the streets were paved with gold. Failing to make enough money to live on as a scullery worker in… Continue reading The Cat And The Skull
“We are not amused”
The phrase is often attributed to Queen Victoria and has passed into common usage to note perceived strait-laced stuffiness, bolstering the perception that Victoria was a dour woman living a melancholy life after the death of her husband Prince Albert. However, during an interview in 1976, Victoria’s granddaughter, Alice, Countess of Athlone, said that Victoria… Continue reading “We are not amused”
Its all in the pronunciation
Doing what I do, walking around and looking at a London that in parts doesn’t even exist today there has to be an element of imagination to try and conjure up what a particular area, street or building might have looked like. There are usually enough sources out there for you to put an image… Continue reading Its all in the pronunciation
A LONDON MISCELLANY 