It’s been a very warm and sunny Bank Holiday weekend in London and I managed to wangle it so that I didn’t spend every minute of it working. During a few hours of spare time I decided to go on a 9 mile (15km) circular walk, the majority of which was through parkland and along… Continue reading A walk along the Grand Union Canal
Month: August 2017
The London fences made from stretchers
Famously many of the iron and steel railings in the U.K. were removed and melted down to help the war effort in WW2. Whether a large city park or a private residence, chances are if there was a traditional style railing or gate then it would have been melted down and recycled into things like… Continue reading The London fences made from stretchers
Of Mice And Men – The smallest monument in London
I’ve known about the mice of Philpot Lane for a year when I started researching for a forthcoming London Attractions book which I am working on but it was only on Tuesday that I finally set my eyes upon it. I was out and about on a scouting mission through the narrow lanes of Roman… Continue reading Of Mice And Men – The smallest monument in London
The festival of Raksha Bandhan
Two weeks ago today on August 7th, was the festival of Raksha Bandhan. Originating with the Hindu faith in India (though long observed by Sikhs too), it centres on a ceremony wherein a sister will tie a Rakhi (a simple cloth bracelet) on the wrist of her brother as a symbol of her love and… Continue reading The festival of Raksha Bandhan
When did travelling become such hell?
I am a little unusual I admit, I quite like travelling by public transport and I always have. I don’t see driving a car as superior and much prefer to pay someone to do that for me so along with anything from 1 to 50 fellow humans, hire a chauffer in the form of a… Continue reading When did travelling become such hell?
Gertrude Bell – The Ketrun – Desert Queen
From time to time, I have written about iconic and pioneering women in relative recent history, well recent by British standards 🙂 I also sometimes write about the Middle-East which is actually the one area of life that I can actually claim to have some academic expertise. So I have finally taken the opportunity to… Continue reading Gertrude Bell – The Ketrun – Desert Queen
The Great American Eclipse and harbingers of doom!
With the Solar Eclipse about to hit the USA and a partial eclipse in many other places including the UK, it interesting to note that what is now a special tourist event was once something to be feared. Whilst it is quite well known that comets were once harbingers of doom in days gone by… Continue reading The Great American Eclipse and harbingers of doom!
What type of sleeper are you?
We’re all used to dividing ourselves between Early-Birds and Night Owls depending on our natural predilection for when we get up and are at our best. I’m very much an Early Bird, I don’t own an alarm clock and indeed have never been woken by one. I get up around 5am almost every day and even… Continue reading What type of sleeper are you?
Peter The Wild Boy
In the summer of 1725 an uncouth youth was found in the forest of Hertswold near Hameln in northern Germany. It was thought the boy was aged about 10 years old though he walked on all fours and fed on grass and leaves. ‘A naked, brownish, ‘A naked, brownish, black haired creature’, he would run… Continue reading Peter The Wild Boy
Secret London: streets beneath streets of London
Originally posted on The Great Wen:
Paul, the librarian at Time Out, first told me about the street beneath Charing Cross Road in around 2005. He promised to show it to me, but never did. Then, last month, I saw it. I was mooching around Cambridge Circus, noting the loss of London’s best-named book shop,…
Stephen Liddell 