Blog

How can we judge the genius of Sir Christopher Wren when the evidence of his talent and architectural skills is increasingly overshadowed by the modern office blocks which are changing the City skyline? The answer is straightforward enough. Just stop and take a minute or two to admire the churches he designed and re-built which…
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The carpet of red poppies at the Tower of London is a fitting tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Great War. The inspiration comes from a poem found in Chesterfield Library and written by an unknown soldier who died in the trenches, How ironic that it comes at a time when…
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Row after row of headstones marking the battlefields of France and Belgium the memorials and overgrown graves in villages up and down Britain all remind us of the horrors of World War One which started in August 1914. So many tragedies, so many lost husbands, sons and brothers who have never been found. Millions of…
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The weather was just a bit too hot to climb the 311 steps to the top of the Monument but members of the Shepway and District U3A were still prepared to walk through the City and visit three churches re-built by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of 1666 – St. Mary Abchurch, St.…
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The City has many secrets and not all of them are in the Square Mile – like West Ham Park. This is the largest public park in Newham and was bought from the family of Samuel Gurney, the City banker, with a donation from the City of London in 1873. It remains a well-maintained 77…
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The 2014 Spring and Summer speaking season is well underway and a new venue on my calendar was the Memorial Hall at High Road, Woodford where I gave a talk to over 150 members of the Wanstead-Woodford U3A. For me it meant a return to my childhood haunts and was close to Churchfields Primary School…
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Some of the grim and harrowing stories of London can be seen among the gravestones of the cemeteries in and around the capital. Take Swedish-born Elizabeth Stride for example who was believed to be the third victim of Jack the Ripper in 1888. Her remains lie in a corner of East London Cemetery in Plaistow…
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At 8.17 pm on 3rd March 1943, a woman carrying a baby hurried into Bethnal Green tube station to shelter from what she and many others thought was an imminent German bombing raid. She slipped and fell at the bottom of the stairs and was trapped as hundreds more tried to make their way below.…
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The ever-changing skyline of London is something which always promotes discussion among everyone who is familiar with the City. Buildings that appear to have been such a familiar part of the landscape quickly disappear when the construction companies and developers move in with their plans and heavy equipment. Once the Gherkin in St. Mary Axe…
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It’s very doubtful whether anyone fishing with a rod or line from London Bridge these days is likely to catch any fish but at least we know the River Thames is much cleaner and fresher than it was in Victorian times. It certainly wouldn’t be as bad as it was on one occasion in the…
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