Science and Engineering – Stephen Liddell

Mummy Unwrapping Parties

The Victorians were both an amazing and slightly weird lot. They pioneered the science and engineering almost everyone in the world takes for granted whilst being extremely strong on morals and keeping ankles covered and where a morbid curiosity about death clashed with the fledging modern medicine. **It should be noted this post does contain 2… Continue reading Mummy Unwrapping Parties

Charles Pearson – The Radical Reformer behind London Underground

There aren’t many things I like to write about more in my blog than little known people of the past who either made a big impact on life or were very forward thinking. Perhaps Jeremy Bentham might be my favourite though I admit I may be a little biased as I kind of count him… Continue reading Charles Pearson – The Radical Reformer behind London Underground

It’s getting hot in London, so let’s plant lots of trees!

Spending all day in London, it’s always been clear to me that it doesn’t just have its own heat-island climate (https://stephenliddell.co.uk/2018/01/27/busting-the-myth-of-london-being-a-rainy-city/) In fact London has multiple different microclimates and I encounter several every day. Some places it is always much warmer than others. Some places seem perpetually cooler and windier and it rains more at… Continue reading It’s getting hot in London, so let’s plant lots of trees!

Happy Birthday to Camden Town Underground Station, one time newest London wonder

Obviously one could write for ages about London Underground, its stations, lines, oddities and many people do. Even I have written more than the odd post 140 London Underground Facts. Today though by chance I noticed it was the birthday of Camden Town Underground Station. Or at least the station as it is in its current… Continue reading Happy Birthday to Camden Town Underground Station, one time newest London wonder

M3gan Film Review

I’ve always been a horror fan and within that genre is a niche area about creepy dolls. One of my favourite episodes of the old Black and White show The Twilight Zone features Talking Tina and the 1980’s saw Chucky who was possessed by an ancient evil demon. More recently Annabelle has strutted her stuff… Continue reading M3gan Film Review

The Mechanical Turk Chess-Player that shocked the world!

When we think of robots and artificial intelligence, it’s easy to think that it is a modern 21st century obsession or at least of 20th century science fiction such as Star Trek. This is not entirely the case. One of my favourite works of art I have ever seen is the The beautiful, magical Silver Swan… Continue reading The Mechanical Turk Chess-Player that shocked the world!

From bad boys to the hello girls – the origins of the Telephone Operator

As was often the case with Victorian era workplaces, many of the worst and most menial jobs were filled by boys and this was the case with the early Telegraph networks. As revolutionary as it seems to go from telegrams to spoken calls, it wasn’t immediately apparent to the first telephone network providers that… Continue reading From bad boys to the hello girls – the origins of the Telephone Operator

An old plan of Piccadilly Circus Underground Station.

I’m away on a 2-week tour in the near future and so this shorter than usual post is just to help fill the gap before, during or after I come back. The incredible print below is of Piccadilly Circus Underground Station and dates from the late 1920’s. It illustrates the multitude of tunnels needed to… Continue reading An old plan of Piccadilly Circus Underground Station.

Walking Londons Canals…. the Paddington Basin

Having created a new London Canals Walking Tour with Ye Olde England Tours I thought it was a good excuse to make good use of some of the many photos I took whilst working out my new tour. As mentioned in the previous post on canals, they were once the backbone of the economy before falling… Continue reading Walking Londons Canals…. the Paddington Basin

The Robocops of Kinshasa

Central Africa might not be your first guess when it comes to thinking of robocops but for the last 5 years or so in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been using them in increasing numbers in the hope they will improve traffic flow and cut the terrible death-rate on the roads.… Continue reading The Robocops of Kinshasa