Category Archives: Cool Britannia

Posts predominantly related to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Coronavirus Diary 54 – Going on the London Underground!

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Stephen Liddell

Last week I decided and sort of had to go into London for the first time since the 6th of February to meet with a colleague. It probably wasn’t the best day to go given that it had been hot … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, London | Tagged Coronavirus, Coronavirus Diary, Diary, London Transport, London Underground, Mask, Social Distancing, TFL | 5 Comments

My big Coronavirus Opening! – St Johns Church in Stanmore.

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Stephen Liddell

Last Monday was the first real big step forward in the restoration of normal life in the U.K. with many of the non-essential opening for the first time in months. Of course I couldn’t imagine anything worse than going in … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, Life, London | Tagged church, churches, Coronavirus Diary, Diary, St John Stanmore, Stanmore, walks | 1 Comment

My new book cover – Secret Gardens of the City of London

Posted on June 18, 2020 by Stephen Liddell

I thought today as I’m having a relatively easy day (I hope) to unveil the cover for my forthcoming Secret Gardens of the City of London. This is the Kindle formatted cover which ends up being very similar if not … Continue reading →

Posted in Funny & Humour, history, Life, London, Travel, writing, Ye Olde England Tours | Tagged Kindle, Sacred Secret Gardens, Secret Gardens of the City of London, Secret London | 1 Comment

The Abercorn Arms

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Stephen Liddell

If you remember on Monday I wrote on my walk to the home of the esteemed Edward Adrian Wilsonwho died at Antartica with Captain Scott. One of the reasons his house was located where it was at all was because … Continue reading →

Posted in history, London | Tagged Captain Scott, Edward Adrian Wilson, Napoleon, Pubs, Stanmore, The Abercorn | Leave a comment

Fen Court Garden and the Abolition of Slavery

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Stephen Liddell

With all that is in the news recently I thought it would be an opportune moment to write about Fen Court which is one of my favourite spaces in London. It’s in the old Roman city and is the site … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Life, London, Ye Olde England Tours | Tagged Abolitionists, Black Lives Matter, East India Company, Fen Court, Gilt of Cain, Sacred secret, Secret Gardens of the City of London, Slave Trade, Slavery | 1 Comment

The ruined church of St John the Evangelist in Stanmore

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Stephen Liddell

With the never ending lock-down being met with never ending warm weather, I decided to go and join up the dots of my new Stanmore tour which I actually worked out dreamt up whilst writing my blog posts on the … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Life, London, Travel, Ye Olde England Tours | Tagged Cemetery, church, Coronavirus Diary, Diary, ruins, Social Distancing, St John The Evangelist, Stanmore | 5 Comments

That time the Queen hid in a bush to avoid her guests…. yes really!

Posted on May 27, 2020 by Stephen Liddell

All of us have to deal with people that we don’t like, particularly those of us who work in public facing jobs. Some of us even avoid people at home; I know I have hid in the bath one dark … Continue reading →

Posted in Funny & Humour, Life, London | Tagged Buckingham Palace, Dictator, Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romania, The Queen | Leave a comment

The 900 year old Swan Upping ceremony is cancelled

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Stephen Liddell

It is an historic Royal ceremony that has taken place annually for the last 900 years but the Coronavirus means that for only the second time, this ancient practice of counting the swans on the River Thames has been cancelled … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, history, Life, London, Travel, Ye Olde England Tours | Tagged Coronavirus, London, Queen, River Thames, Social Distancing, Swan Upping, The Dyers, The Vintners | Leave a comment

Bushey Heath now and then – Photos of my street from 130 years ago

Posted on May 20, 2020 by Stephen Liddell

Long-time readers of my blog will know one of the things I like to do is come across old photos of places and do comparisons with how they are today as with this series of3 old posts of old street … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, history, Life, London | Tagged Bushey Heath, County of Hertfordshire, Life, Now and then photos, Photography, The Rutts | 3 Comments

The Master Oak – The Greatest and Oldest Oak Tree in Middlesex

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Stephen Liddell

Following on from my post last week where I visited the old WW2 Pillbox, my walk continued through the Bentley Priory Nature Reserve in NW London. The name Bentley is believed to derive from the Anglo-Saxon word Beonet, which means … Continue reading →