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Occasional items in blank verse.





Charles Bernard Mortlock2 weeks agoThe vicar of St Vedast-alias-Foster was also President of the Critics Circle in 1947
Maria Reiche and the Nazca Lines 9 weeks agoOn a visit to Peru, I visit the scientist who spent her life uncovering and charting the ancient Nazca Lines carved into the desert floor....
Parliament Square27 weeks agoDescription of Parliament Square a thousand years ago in iambic pentameneter for a history app
Percy Pott29 weeks agoThe church of St Mary Aldermary has a memorial to the Dr Percy Pott
The Guild Lecture30 weeks agoI host the Guild lecture and introduce the speaker Mr London
Magnus Martyr31 weeks agoThe story of Magnus Martyr, last stop on the TS Eliot The Waste Land Centenary Tour.
The work of Andre Fougeron33 weeks agoThe French communist painter Andre Fougeron painted figuratively throughout his life and accused the abstract painters of escapism
St George's AGM33 weeks agoIt's the Annual General Meeting of St George's German Lutheran Church in Whitechapel, East London. As Events Organiser, this is my report...
Joseph Beuys Centenary34 weeks agoThe centenary of the German artist and father of environmentalism is celebrated prominently at Tate Modern
Rodin at the Tate37 weeks agoBrief reflection on the Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) exhibition at Tate Modern, August 2021.
St Antholin Leaves the City39 weeks agoThe number of churches in the City of London has reduced over time. Some disappear, others move elsewhere...
And Andriessen Set Plato to Music42 weeks agothe Dutch minimalist composer Louis Andriessen has died. His masterpiece was De Staat, a setting of Plato's The Republic
The Royal Fusiliers43 weeks agoThe Royal Fusiliers have had their HQ at the Tower of London since 1685
The Waste Land Centenary 44 weeks agoThe background to the poem....
The Iron Lady Tells a Few Jokes45 weeks agoStop 3 on the Iron Lady Tour through Chelsea stops at Wellington Square, SW3....
The Peasants' Revolt 48 weeks agoIt is mid June 1381. Farm labourers in Essex and Kent are violently demonstrating against the shilling poll tax.....
The Origins of Football49 weeks agoButchers once would pump air into a bladder and the inflated organ became the sign of a butcher's shop
William Shakespeare plays Cupid49 weeks agoShakespeare and John Harvard's mother were friends from Stratford. The question is, did he introduce her to his Southwark butcher whom she married?
Mary Arden Wore the Tights50 weeks agoWilliam Shakespeare's mother called the shots where the family history was concerned...
The Nature of Poetry51 weeks agoRJ has been asked to give a talk on TS Eliot and Philip Larkin and their relationship with London at the end of June....
How Big Ben Got His Name 52 weeks agoThe stories behind the naming of the world's most famous bell
Nell Gwyn in Drury Lane53 weeks agoDrury Lane is an ancient highway that once connected directly with Fleet Street
Dowland and the Lute53 weeks agoan excerpt from A Short History of English Music
The Villages of East Anglia 54 weeks agoShakespeare's clown Will Kemp continues his progress across Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk towards Norwich.
Arrest on the A13454 weeks agoIn a modern re-enacment of the Nine Daies VVonder, Will Kemp, Shakespeare's clown, is apprehended on a trunk road in East Anglia
Marlowe The Atheism Lecture55 weeks agoAn extract from Shakespeare and the Marlowe Conspiracy delivered on Monday 26 April 2021
The Birth of Piazzolla55 weeks agoThe Argentinian new tango composer Astor Piazzolla was born a hundred years ago.
Our Guest Speaker Tonight56 weeks agoThe April St George's Talk on the Lord Mayoralty of London was given by Mr Julian Romain a City guide of longstanding.
Elizabeth Newcomen56 weeks agodescription of teh plaque in Southwark Cathedral
The Beginning of Anatomy57 weeks agoHippocrates 400BC and Galen 200AD and how they approached cutting up flesh
The Yeomen Warders 59 weeks agoThe Yeomen Warders are the Beefeaters at the Tower of London
Young Vic 59 weeks agoTheatre for youth and theatre in the round were new ideas to London in the 1970s and they combined in the Young Vic to create a potent entertainment
Young's & Co The Brewer59 weeks agoYoung's Beer remains the tipple of most South Londoners despite the removal of the brewery...
The Y.M.C.A.59 weeks agoThe Y.M.C.A. was founded by Sir George Williams who was born 200 years ago...
York House Watergate59 weeks agoThe York Watergate by Embankment tube was built in 1626 when the sound of the lute built of yew wood was in the air...
The Totteridge Yew60 weeks agoGuide London (it's a website) asked me to commentate on six things beginning with Y in the capital. Here's the first - the 2000-year-old Yew Tree ...
Statues of Welsh Women61 weeks agoAfter years of neglect, recognition is finally being paid to five Welsh women
Lousy Acoustic - Great Music!61 weeks agoA description of the Kensington O as part of my London Concert Halls broadcast for the Association of Professional Tourist Guides (APTG)
A Fellow Guide's Cotswold Tour62 weeks agoSean Callery gave a talk on 'Offbeat Cotswold' talk which is here summarised
First Artificial Insemination62 weeks agoThe Scottish anatomist John Hunter achieved the first artificial insemination in 1790. His success was recorded in the parliamentary record, Hansa ...
The Secret of Life63 weeks agoan extract from the virtual medical tour All Around the University - Firsts and Inventions in the History of Medicine
In Willesden Churchyard63 weeks agoThis is an extract from a virtual tour conducted on St David's Day 2021.
Mrs Thatcher's Pantry64 weeks agoMargaret Thatcher shows the contents of her larder to the press.
The Birth of Joonas Kokkonen64 weeks agoThe arctic beauty of a Finnish centenarian's music reveals itself
Frank Pattison Speaks65 weeks agoMy old German teacher gives a lecture in the series of St George's Talks of which I am host.
The Death of Stravinsky65 weeks agoThe Russian composer Igor Stravinsky died fifty years ago...
Carbon Copy66 weeks agoThe London School of Economics (LSE) hosts a symposium on the green economy
Did Maggie Thatcher Serve?67 weeks agoIt's said that the former PM worked as a waitress. Not true.
The Death of James Paisible67 weeks agoThe French flautist Jacques Paisible (1656-1721) died in London 300 years ago. He is one of several musicians whose centenaries are celebrated thi ...
Monopoly and the Single Tax Movement68 weeks agoMonopoly's inventor, Lizzie Magie, was an advocate for the Single Tax Movement despite her tendency to hit you with both Income Tax AND Super Tax ...
Burns Night68 weeks agoThe 25th January is the anniversary of the birth of Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1759.
A walk to Blythe Hill70 weeks agoThere's always something new to discover in London
Virtual Quack Tour Debut70 weeks agoNew tour begins following the Quack Doctor Lionel Lockyer (1600-1672) as he makes his rounds delivering his celebrated Sunlight Pill to addresses ...
The Churchill Conference85 weeks ago"Who's in charge of the clattering train" is a poem which Churchill knew well enough to quote from. He grabbed the wheel and took charge when the ...
Centenary of the Imperial War Museum in London114 weeks agoThe year 2020 marks the centenary of London’s Imperial War Museum, a site exploring the history of conflict from the First World War through the ...