Quirky Topics

Being a Londoner at this particular time of year, there is always a pull on the old conscience, to take a trip ‘up west’ to see first-hand, the traditional annual Christmas Lights displayed on Oxford Street, Regent Street, South Moulton Street, and these days, many other streets in the surrounding area – a seasonal tradition ...Read more...

  This week’s blog for publication onto the ‘London Shoes’ website, in some ways falls into the category of ‘quirky’ – however, historically, the topic provides today’s world with a remarkable insight into an aspect of every day London life well over 200 years ago. This week’s blog is all about the “Link Boys & ...Read more...

  This week’s venture out for the London Shoes website posting, was short & sweet, but one that provides a typical example of the more unusual and quirky historic landmarks scattered across this metropolis. The subject matter is all about the “fake houses” of Leinster Gardens, Bayswater W2 – and an interesting little topic it ...Read more...

The great thing about London, and like most cities – is that it’s not just the ‘big’ stuff in terms of history, that is interesting – there are so many ‘quirky’ landmarks scattered across the metropolis, that people probably take no notice of, or don’t even know are there – and last week I stumbled ...Read more...

My entry published onto the London Shoes (londonshoes.blog) website this week, involved me adopting a slightly different approach, in terms of the subject matter – as the topic focusses on a very old children’s ‘nursery rhyme’, that has been sung by children in London, and no doubt elsewhere, for hundreds of years……. namely “Oranges & ...Read more...

       It made such a pleasant change to conduct this week’s blog for the London Shoes website, in warm sunny weather, rather than the grey, cold and wet backdrop I’ve contended with throughout the previous months. The subject matter for this week’s little jaunt out to the ‘smoke’ focussed on a tiny little ...Read more...

For my venture out into London’s beautiful city this week – my ‘London Shoes’ decided to take a ‘festive’ route through the West End’s busy shopping streets of Oxford Street and Regent Street, for the specific purpose of viewing and enjoying all the seasonal ‘Christmas Lights’ of London Now – for me personally, at the ...Read more...

  My London Shoes ‘culture’ gig this week got me researching and exploring the history behind what was, (and to some extent still is -as it is still emblazoned on many items of souvenir merchandising) – a major London related cultural visual icon, that is instantly recognisable across the globe – and that is the ...Read more...

For my ‘culture’ gig this week my London Shoes took me to Walthamstow “E17” (the post code-not the boy band) – an area of London that I personally had the pleasure of working in during the early 1980’s and again (as a manager) in the mid 1990’s. A short 15min train journey north from the ...Read more...

  For my culture gig this week, my London Shoes led me to explore London’s historic lost ‘Cock Fighting Pits’. The origins of this barbaric, cruel sport, dates back from across the globe, some 6000 years – but it wasn’t until the Tudor period that it came to prominence in the UK and in particular ...Read more...