Among the many temporarily closures due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) was The Mousetrap. All of you luvvies out there, plus one or two others, will know that ‘The Mousetrap’ is a play. But it isn’t just any old performance; it…
The outcast dead
This is Cross Bones Graveyard, surely one of the saddest places in London. Its story belongs within a wider narrative about poverty and prostitution, an important aspect of the two-thousand year history of the Borough of Southwark. Just an unfashionable…
Tower Bridge, up close and personal
We all do it. We’re busy, things around us blend into the background. And so, for all the years I spent living and working in and around London, I had never visited Tower Bridge, one of our capital’s most iconic…
Free London – take a walk from Westminster
On the theme of how to enjoy London for free, or on a limited budget, let’s think about walking. Shanks’ pony is often the best way to see any city and London is particularly rewarding in this regard. Not only…
Sifting through the ashes of the Great Fire
Of all the thousands, or millions, of memorials in Britain, there aren’t many one arrogant enough to be known by the definite article. The Monument in London is one and, for the benefit of those bursting to know, it is…
Free London – museums and art galleries
Free London is not a plea to release London from bondage, but A Bit About Britain’s attempt to explain that you can have a jolly fun time in the capital of the United Kingdom at little, or no, cost. Everybody…
London’s medieval Jewel Tower
Regular watchers of TV news will be familiar with the scene outside the Houses of Parliament, where journalists interview politicians on a patch of grass opposite Old Palace Yard, against a backdrop of Gothic architecture and the appropriately barbarian howls…
Two Chairmen
Why on earth would anyone suggest that I might like to visit a pub? More to the point, why would someone I’ve never met suggest I might like to visit a pub? But that’s exactly what my ether-friend, Adrian, over…
Exploring Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is one of those places that have always seemed to be there. It is so famous, such a focal point, and featured in so many news clips and photographs – including those taken by most of London’s tourists…
Peter Pan in the Park
Peter Pan flew away from his nursery and landed beside the Long Water in London’s Kensington Gardens. And there, on the very spot, Scottish author J M Barrie decided to erect a statue to his creation. It has been there…
Dunstan in the East
Constantly keep your eyes open when wandering round the old City of London. Behind the steel and glass and beneath your feet are about two thousand years of history. Reminders of the past are everywhere – some obvious, others not;…
RAF100 – calling Biggles
Captain James Bigglesworth, known as Biggles, absent-mindedly tapped a fresh cigarette on the back of his hand and anxiously eyed the grey eastern sky. Algy – the Honourable Algernon Montgomery Lacey – was long overdue from patrol over the lines…
I spy – secret London
Given its two thousand-year history, it would be surprising if London had no secrets. Obviously, I cannot tell you how many it has, or what they all are… But It is certainly one of those places where you often turn…
The world’s smallest police station
It’s asking for trouble, isn’t it, using superlatives? Some smart-alec is bound to pop up and contradict your claim. Quite right too. But it’s an eye-catching headline and we really shouldn’t allow truth to get in the way of a…