One of the things about self-isolating when you’re on your own is that there are very limited opportunities to speak and fewer still that anyone might answer back. Yesterday I went to my front door and daringly opened it. There weren’t many people about even by curfew standards. The little school opposite me remains open… Continue reading Coronavirus Diary 12 – Small steps, big solutions
Category: Cool Britannia
Spitting Image is back!
It was announced last week that one of my favourite television programmes when growing up is to make a return. To people of a certain age, Spitting Image was an unmissable programme with up to 15 million people tuning in to watch the current affairs of the week being re-enacted by large rubber puppets. By… Continue reading Spitting Image is back!
The Queen homes in on being the longest serving monarch in history
Last week Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II became the fourth longest-serving monarch today, surpassing legendary Mayan ruler Pakal the Great. The Queen has surpassed K’inich Janaab Pakal who ruled the Mayan city state of Palenque for 68 years and 33 days before his death in 683AD. The Queen obviously holds several records including her title as the longest-living… Continue reading The Queen homes in on being the longest serving monarch in history
The Coronavirus and me
Like almost everyone else, I’ve been watching the Coronavirus do its stuff from the last weeks of 2019 up to the present day and even though I don’t yet have it; it has affected me quite badly. As a tour guide in London I have not just lost all my bookings and earnings but I… Continue reading The Coronavirus and me
The secret green huts of London
They are an icon of London; not as famous as those famous red symbols such a telephone boxes, post boxes, double decker buses or soldiers on guard and they are certainly less common than the iconic London black taxis but if you wander around London long enough, just a short distance from many tourist attractions… Continue reading The secret green huts of London
Dark Sugars – The Best Hot Chocolate in London
I hate coffee, I don’t even like the smell of it. I love tea but it’s not quite the same having Soya Milk rather than Cows Milk and even when I could drink cow juice, I still got sick of tea. What I’ve always been a fan of is cocoa or hot chocolate. I love… Continue reading Dark Sugars – The Best Hot Chocolate in London
War-Time Panic And The British Pet Massacre Of 1939.
There are many things that Britons have been labelled. Napoleon said we were a nation of shopkeepers, he likely meant it as an insult. We’re also famously a nation of gardeners and compared to most others, animal lovers. Perhaps it is that other trait of supporting the underdog as there aren’t many things that are… Continue reading War-Time Panic And The British Pet Massacre Of 1939.
Mind The Gap – Someone pushed me under a London Underground Train!
If not your worst nightmare, it’s probably one that ranks near the very top of the worst nightmare list but on Friday morning, I got pushed and fell down the gap between a London Underground tube train and the platform. I’d picked up my lovely tourists at the Grosvenor in Victoria and was on a… Continue reading Mind The Gap – Someone pushed me under a London Underground Train!
Crop Circles, Tornados and Aliens oh my!
Last week I was looking for a neolithic burial tomb and some ancient stones on Googlemaps. There are thousands of such places but most people only seem to know of Stonehenge. Whilst I was looking for my tomb and amongst various other prehistoric works, I saw something that screamed to get my attention from space.… Continue reading Crop Circles, Tornados and Aliens oh my!
Safety For The Dead
On the 29th December I arrived in London a little early for my tour that day so spent an hour or two exploring and sight-seeing myself , at least what passes for sight-seeing if you are a bit of a history nerd. Whilst deep beneath the beautiful St Bride’s Church, I came across one of… Continue reading Safety For The Dead
Stephen Liddell 