Runaway babies and attempted murder, another day as a London tour guide

I see a lot of people when I am out and about in London. Famous people, bad people, homeless people, kind people and lots of different and unusual situations which to others are almost once in a lifetime things for good and for bad and yet as anyone on my Facebook pages will know, seem… Continue reading Runaway babies and attempted murder, another day as a London tour guide

The terrible murder of Fanny Adams which gives us a phrase we still use today.

Last I wrote about the attempted murder of Victorian Prime Minister Robert Peel that led to the concept that people suffering from extreme mental illness, may not be responsible for their acts. This was a time of great reform in man areas of life and in 1861, a legal milestone, the Offences Against The Person… Continue reading The terrible murder of Fanny Adams which gives us a phrase we still use today.

Did a lunatic try to kill a Prime Minister Robert Peel or was it all a cover story?

Most people know Sir Robert Peel as the man who founded the first modern police force in the world, London’s Metropolitan Police.  It must have been a good move as he went on to become Prime Minister, living in the famous 10 Downing Street but little did anyone expect that he would soon be involved… Continue reading Did a lunatic try to kill a Prime Minister Robert Peel or was it all a cover story?

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!

Station Squabble – A fist fight between two London mice!

You don’t have to go to far on my blog to find some of the tough and murky history of East London.  Whatever else you have to look out for in the East-End, even I had presumed the mice and rats that you sometimes see are harmless. It seems though that the tough neighbourhood has… Continue reading Station Squabble – A fist fight between two London mice!

Modern day Grave Robbers who stole from my mothers grave

I wasn’t going to write anything today; I’ve had a chest infection which turned into bronchitis and then manifested itself into something like pneumonia for the last 10-12 weeks. I have been out of the house only a handful of times in this time, two of which were to lay flowers on the grave of… Continue reading Modern day Grave Robbers who stole from my mothers grave

James Bulger 25 years on – the crime that shocked the nation.

25 years ago this week, a crime shook Britain and the city of Liverpool in particular with such revulsion that no-one who was alive at the time will ever forget.  It was a crime where society sank to a new low and thankfully in the intervening years, nothing quite so sickening has ever happened since.… Continue reading James Bulger 25 years on – the crime that shocked the nation.

Shad Thames and Jacobs Island – The Venice of Drains

This my second post resulting from my scouting out a new tour I have been wanting to start offering to my lovely tourists.  As well as the regular tourist hotspots, I really enjoy taking people to the lesser visited parts and judging from the reactions of my tourists, the more authentic an experience, the greater… Continue reading Shad Thames and Jacobs Island – The Venice of Drains

101 Most Horrible Tortures In History (my new book!)

Today is a big day for me, I’m launching my new book on Kindle and Paperback formats! 101 Most Horrible Tortures In History takes a wry look at history, torture and bizarre punishments of times past and just a bit of the present so that we can thank our lucky stars that none of this is… Continue reading 101 Most Horrible Tortures In History (my new book!)