The Painted Hall Greenwich
James Thornhill is sometimes called “the English Michelangelo”, although that’s less to do with a comparability of talent – he’s good, but he ain’t that […]
The Bomb Damage maps
During the war the London County Council surveyors chronicled the devastation caused by enemy bombing on the capital. Hand colouring street level OS maps, they plotted the buildings […]
London Buses
I’ve done a book review for the London Society on a new collection of writing about London buses and the bus network called ‘Bus Fare‘. […]
Up on the Roof – the Walkie Talkie’s Sky Garden
I’ve tried hard to like the Walkie Talkie, Rafael Vinoly’s skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch Street, but so far I’ve been unsuccessful. The thing dominates the […]
Urban Wine
A dozen or so years ago my father in law brought back a stick from his land in Sicily. It was about two feet long […]
The Ravens of the Tower of London
Just about everyone knows the legend of the Tower of London ravens; that should they leave the fortress then it and, by extension, the entire […]
The Lovely Clapham Common Bandstand
Oh for just a bit of the civic pride that built bandstands, and a wee bit of the sense of community that put on regular […]
More London pictures
Another wee selection of instagram snaps (also on flickr).
The Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey
Whenever I’m taking Americans around Westminster Abbey, I like to mention that when Columbus stumbled across the Americas, King Edward’s Chair (commonly known as the […]
The India Club
Dishoom does the ‘Indian Cafe’ experience very well indeed, and if you’re prepared to queue, serves some great tasting food and impressive cocktails. But if […]