Sometimes when I am out and about in London I find that for a few days or even weeks my paths cross with that of a famous or historical figure on numerous and sometimes unexpected occasions and recently I have been bumping into the romantic poet John Keats who died just over 200 years ago.… Continue reading Bumping into John Keats at St. Guy’s Hospital
Category: Travel
Covent Garden May Fayre & Puppet Festival – Celebrating the 360th Birthday of Punch and Judy
One of the things about doing tours in London is that in a way it is both my office and indeed my stage and tours can be variable and incorporate whatever it is we come across in addition to my vague plans for the day. Yesterday (Sunday) we happened across the annual Punch and Judy… Continue reading Covent Garden May Fayre & Puppet Festival – Celebrating the 360th Birthday of Punch and Judy
Downton Abbey: A New Era Film Review
I’ve been a fan of Downton Abbey since I saw the very first advert for a new ITV drama programme in the summer of 2010. 12 years later or about 18 years later going by the chronology of the show, we have reached the second Downton Abbey feature film. I can also say I had… Continue reading Downton Abbey: A New Era Film Review
Visiting the State Apartments at Speaker’s House at the Palace of Westminster
Two weeks ago I wrote a post on how I randomly met Jeremy Corbyn on the London Underground. I met him when I was on my way into Parliament, not as a guide myself this time but as a tourist or at least I wasn’t actively working. I was one of the first group of… Continue reading Visiting the State Apartments at Speaker’s House at the Palace of Westminster
The Quest for a relic from a journey of Discovery by Ernest Shackleton.
A few days ago I posted on the discovery of Endurance, a ship used by the legendary Ernest Shackleton during the last great Age of Discovery. Whilst it may be forever difficult to visit that vessel, there is a small part of the last ship that Shackleton sailed on that is easier to visit, if… Continue reading The Quest for a relic from a journey of Discovery by Ernest Shackleton.
Coronavirus Diary 86: Excluded, invaded but undefeated
This is Sam (not his real name) and he is 10 years old. Sam is a huge Sherlock fan and yesterday I did a hastily arranged Sherlock Walking Tour for him and his mother from Ukraine. This is my first Sherlock Walking Tour since 2019 due to Covid and the government also making it illegal… Continue reading Coronavirus Diary 86: Excluded, invaded but undefeated
Oakham Stocks – A quirky remnant of punishments from the Middle-Ages.
A few days ago I went to see a dear friend of mine in Oakham, a little market town in the once abolished and now restored count of Oakham. There are lots of good reasons to visit Oakham and its nearby Rutland Water lake but one of the things I enjoyed seeing the most apart… Continue reading Oakham Stocks – A quirky remnant of punishments from the Middle-Ages.
A wintery walk around Waltham Abbey
It’s often the case that one doesn’t visit the places on your doorstep and even as a guide in London, I sometimes only visited the most famous of places because I was being paid to. Just over a week ago in one of those freezing winter days where the weather doesn’t change for weeks on… Continue reading A wintery walk around Waltham Abbey
The Statue of King Alfred The Great that isn’t all it might appear.
Every where you go in London, it is hard to move without bumping into statues and the politics behind who is worthy of a statue, where it should be and how high a status it has in comparison to other figures especially in statue-dense areas are things that get the proponents and opponents quite worked… Continue reading The Statue of King Alfred The Great that isn’t all it might appear.
Coronavirus Diary 84 – Deserted icons of London in Winter
A few days ago I took two lovely people around some of the most famous sights in London. Normally even in January there would be crowds of people everywhere but as you can see out of millions of people, we use about had the whole place to ourselves. If you’ve never thought how people are… Continue reading Coronavirus Diary 84 – Deserted icons of London in Winter
Stephen Liddell 