The Spy who never lived here
January 2, 2021
Back in 2015, a very exclusive address was put up for sale in historic Queen Anne’s Gate, a street right next to St James’ Park, where the former Policeman Sting
London Spy Blog
Her Majesty’s Leisure
November 10, 2020
I recently retired after 25 years in the City of London and changed career to become a full time London Guide and Magician. One of the first commissions I received
Plaque Attack
September 22, 2020
Many will know that there is a Blue Plaque to Ho Chi Minh, the revolutionary communist leader of Vietnam, in London’s Haymarket. It celebrates the time he spent in a
Street Spirit
September 2, 2020
Last week I was on holiday staying with a friend near Bath who has just started a cafe in a barn (Pipley Barn – highly recommended). I noticed a print
Romanes eunt domus
June 4, 2020
Call me a pedant but this really irks me every time I pass by. This statue is in Southwark Street just behind the Tate Modern. The man wears loose clothing
God and Mammon
June 3, 2020
A cycle through the deserted City last week allowed me to examine things in more detail than normal. In particular I admired the stunning metalwork at the entrance to Brown
Stasis
May 27, 2020
“Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.” Will it ever return to the busy days I knew so well?
Grinning Gibbons
March 11, 2020
Grinling Gibbons – the Michelangelo of wood – was an astonishingly talented English wood carver and sculptor of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, used much by Christopher Wren
Even more secret symbols
February 18, 2020
I blogged last year about the watermark of an Ox in a leaf from an early printed book, called the Golden Legend, that I had bought. This early book was
The curse of the Mummy
January 24, 2020
Last night we went to the Tutankhamun exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery. Most reviews complain how crowded the show is, however we were – literally – the only people there.
