Hidden away in one of my absolute favourite parts of the City of London is Simpson’s Tavern. it’s the sort of place I love and my tourists do too. I’m never sure why people go on those rather lame open deck bus tours in London. You’d never go round any other 2,000 year old city… Continue reading Saving Simpson’s Tavern -London’s oldest Chophouse fights back against billionaire overseas landlord Rodney Sacks
Category: Heritage
Melton Mowbray Pork Pies
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit a quaint little market town in the East-Midlands known as Melton Mowbray. Nestling in rural Leicestership, Melton Mowbray is known as a ‘Rural Capital of Food’ and boasts a culinary heritage that few can match. As well as other produce, visitors can sample Melton Mowbray… Continue reading Melton Mowbray Pork Pies
Remains of old wooden roads in London
It used to be said that the streets are London are paved with gold. This was in reference to how for centuries London has been a place where not just the rich and powerful live and work but how the city attracts people from across the country and indeed the world in the hope that… Continue reading Remains of old wooden roads in London
King Alfred The Great Statue in Winchester
You can’t come to Winchester and not think of Alfred The Great. Perhaps our greatest monarch in history and certainly the only one with the epithet ‘Great’. In so many ways he was ahead of his times and not only freed the lands from the Vikings but set England in particular on course to be… Continue reading King Alfred The Great Statue in Winchester
King Alfred and his burned cakes… recipe inside!
Before we get further into King Alfred and Winchester, I thought it would be a change of pace to write a little on one of the little gems of old English folk history. You can read about King Alfred on this old post but basically where this story takes place is in the midst of… Continue reading King Alfred and his burned cakes… recipe inside!
Visiting the Winchester Mill
Sir Winston Churchill once said in one of this famous quotes that the further one looks backwards into history, the further into the future you can see. I wonder what he would have made with the modern worlds shift towards renewable energy and how things such as wind turbines and sea barrages are really just… Continue reading Visiting the Winchester Mill
Remembering when I sang for the Queen in Westminster Abbey and speaking on on a Boston breakfast radio show
I know lots of people are a little or a lot sad about the Queen whether for her role in the country or simply as an older lady who has overseen us all our lives. It has been a weird few days working in London with a sombre but appreciative atmosphere and memorials cropping up… Continue reading Remembering when I sang for the Queen in Westminster Abbey and speaking on on a Boston breakfast radio show
Visiting the table of King Arthur and his Knights at the Great Hall in Winchester
Have you ever wanted to visit Camelot? It can be rather tricky given no-one is quite sure where it existed or even if it existed at all. One of the contenders for Camelot is Winchester to whatever degree King Arthur can be said to be an historical figure or a mythical legend, a visit to… Continue reading Visiting the table of King Arthur and his Knights at the Great Hall in Winchester
Different words for a bread roll across the U.K.
One of the things I really like and am interested in are the different quirks and vagaries of every day life and language. Whilst countries such as France celebrate their regions and differences, too often in the U.K. such things are watered down or ignored leading to widespread ignorance of ancient traditions, foods and cultures.… Continue reading Different words for a bread roll across the U.K.
Remembering Ælfric the Grammarian
Walk around London or indeed any large British city or town and you might come across round circular blue plaques on the side of buildings. They are a way of honouring a person from history who has made a positive contribution to British culture in any number of fields. Normally one has to wait about… Continue reading Remembering Ælfric the Grammarian
Stephen Liddell 