April 2021 – Stephen Liddell

Coronavirus Diary 77: Haircuts and toilets

It’s hard to believe that I bought my house on the 31st January 2020 and in all that time, I haven’t had my hair cut. As hard as it is for some in government and business to believe, there were lots of us all ready thinking about the Coronavirus epidemic several months before it became… Continue reading Coronavirus Diary 77: Haircuts and toilets

Morton’s Tower at Lambeth Palace

There aren’t too many early Tudor buildings left around these days but Central London has a few. One of them is within sight of Parliament itself and it’s at one of the palaces that is much less visited than some of its near neighbours. Lambeth Palace is the official residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury… Continue reading Morton’s Tower at Lambeth Palace

Coronavirus Diary 76 – Why does the government care more about rich football clubs than destitute workers?

It might be just me but as half the country and all of the charlatans in Downing Street nimbly jump from ‘greed is good’ to ‘lets stop greedy football clubs because it might win votes’, but I really couldn’t care less. Ok, not too big a secret given that an old post of mine… Continue reading Coronavirus Diary 76 – Why does the government care more about rich football clubs than destitute workers?

The old General Lying-In hospital in Lambeth

Do you remember last Monday I wrote about the Leake Street tunnel of street art? Well there is a good reason why the street carries that name and that is because it is just round the corner from the old General Lying-In hospital which was created at the behest of Dr John Leake. The… Continue reading The old General Lying-In hospital in Lambeth

That time the Duke of Edinburgh gate-crashed my walking-tour

With the death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh last week it reminded me of when I met him. I remember at least two occassions though saw him in a non-speaking capacity at other times. One time was when I had to sing Run Rabbit, Run Rabbit in Maori to the Queen on Commonwealth… Continue reading That time the Duke of Edinburgh gate-crashed my walking-tour

The Leake Street Graffiti tunnel

One of the great things about London is that it has so many facets. History, big-business, entrepreneurs, literature and theatre, shopping and so much much more including modern culture and that includes street art. A few years ago I blogged before on Whitechapel Street Art itself a perhaps unexpected side to an area known for its… Continue reading The Leake Street Graffiti tunnel

Solving the mystery of Captain Henry Every – The Pirate who became the subject of the first world-wide manhunt from India to North America

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog on Colonel Blood and his audacious career that involved stealing the Crown Jewels and in the last few days I’ve been reading about a discovery of some Arabian coins unearthed in an orchard on Rhode Island that might shed new light on an incredibly infamous pirate, Captain… Continue reading Solving the mystery of Captain Henry Every – The Pirate who became the subject of the first world-wide manhunt from India to North America

Roe v. Wade (2021) Movie Review

It’s been a long time since I did a film review, understandably so as with so much of public life, film-going has been all but shut down at least in the old-fashioned going to the cinema sort of way. Thankfully there are now streaming services available where we can in some way satisfy our craving… Continue reading Roe v. Wade (2021) Movie Review