If you live in London and have plenty of spare cash to buy a wedding or engagement ring, the wares on offer at Hatton Garden will not disappoint. Most of this street is lined with jewellery shops, with diamonds glistening in the window displays. It’s here many celebrities […]
It’s Sunday, a little after the midday, and people are flocking through the revolving front doors of the Savoy Hotel for afternoon tea. The distant sounds of piano music can be heard as they pass through the fine, wood-panelled lobby, with chequered black and white marble floor tiles […]
Travellers have long craved familiarity when they travel the world. And the Indians who moved to Southall, west London, from the 1950s were no different. They set up shops and other businesses which were familiar to communities back home, making this corner of Britain’s capital particularly distinctive today. […]
Search for the ‘East End’ on the internet and you are presented with page after page of interesting content. Bookshops are filled with volumes on this area of London as well, many of which I have read in recent years. And I hope to find other new books […]
Holy Trinity church in Rotherhithe knows how to provide a friendly welcome to visitors on a chilly November Saturday afternoon. With homemade cakes, coffees and hot soup on offer, it is the ideal spot to warm-up and take a break from exploring the surrounding area. The church is […]
If you have visited London Bridge station recently you will know it is one big building site right now. While half of the shiny new concourse is now open, there are still six platforms that remain out of use (most of which won’t be open again to 2018). […]
The spire of St Jude’s church – consecrated in 1911 – is a distinctive landmark on the north London skyline. Towering at precisely 178 feet on a hill in the centre of Hampstead Garden Suburb, it can be seen for miles around. And entering the church itself is […]
Soon after moving to London five years I took a boat trip down the Thames and, from the breezy open deck, the capital’s blockbuster sights flashed before my eyes. The Houses of Parliament, the South Bank Centre, Tower Bridge and Maritime Greenwich were the places that stood out. […]
The Industrial Revolution was “a storm that passed over London and broke elsewhere,” suggested J R Hammond, writing in 1925. And the author wasn’t alone in this view: “The capital cities would be present at the forthcoming industrial revolution, but in the role of spectators. Not London, but […]
The George Inn on Borough High Street is a busy place on Friday evenings as office workers, holding a pint or two in their hands, fill the rooms inside and outdoor courtyard. But this is nothing new – this pub has a history of being hectic. Writing in […]
