As far as London guide books go, Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies has to be one of the more usual. While most focus on popular tourist attractions such as St Paul’s Cathedral, London Zoo and the Science Museum, this one takes a different subject altogether. It was […]
Where does the City of London end and the rest of the capital begin? The quick answer can of course be determined by tracing the boundary on maps – or in certain places painted bollards. But for Londoners and visitors alike these official demarcations are meaningless for most […]
The City of London’s churches are fascinating places to while away some time, whether you are there to participate in a service or merely take stock of the surroundings that tell us so much about the history of our great capital. In the second part of my new […]
Despite fires, bombings, natural disasters, de-population and falling attendance, the City of London’s long-standing churches remain open and ready to visit. They are fascinating places to while away some time, whether you are there to participate in a service or merely take stock of the surroundings that tell […]
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. […]
Seeing the concourse of Charing Cross – London’s fifth busiest station – deserted in broad daylight was surreal in itself. But what made the experience of wandering round here on a Sunday afternoon even more bizarre was the fact that, though no trains were scheduled to leave or […]
Central London is awash with pop-up markets these days. Come the weekend, they are the place to head if you want to get your hands on some of the finest produce around. People of course buy the majority of their food in supermarkets and other (permanent) shops, but […]
Visitors to London have a choice of ways of getting to Britain’s capital these days. Travel by road, rail or plane are probably the most popular ways of reaching the centre, but the list is by no means exhaustive. Those with money to burn can find even more […]
Eltham Palace in 1828 was in sorry state. “This stately hall is now used as barn, and the men thresh the corn where, in ancient days, Edward III held a Parliament, and gave a sumptuous entertainment to the captive King John of France,” reported the Sussex Advertiser. And […]
Load up the website of the Worshipful Company of Cutlers and look at the organisation’s coat of arms. Flanking a red painted shield with three pairs of crossed swords, the eye is drawn to two white elephants standing on their back legs and with their trunks raised. The […]
Past In The Present 