For those new to CabbieBlog or readers who are slightly forgetful, on Saturdays I’m republishing posts, many going back over a decade. Some will still be very relevant while others have become dated over time. Just think of this post as your weekend paper supplement.
Just Desserts (29.03.13)
Maids of Honour: A personal favourite of mine. Just opposite Kew Gardens is a rather quaint tea room selling these puff-pastry cakes containing a rich melange of almonds, cinnamon, butter and brandy named after a famous terrace in Richmond. This was built for the ladies-in-waiting to a former Princess of Wales, Caroline of Anspach, who lived at nearby Richmond Palace.
Sandwiches: Those resourceful Romans are said to have stuck meat between two slices of bread to make a convenient way of eating on the move, presumably when conquering their European neighbours. But the name sandwich is attributed to John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. His family insist that he invented its creation to allow him to work on Admiralty papers, but those less charitable suggest that it was more likely he was rather busy at White’s gaming tables. The current Earl of Sandwich has resurrected his ancestor’s invention and given his name to a chain of upmarket sandwich shops.
Champagne: Don’t mention this to our Gallic cousins but in 1662 Christopher Merrett having moved from Oxford to London demonstrated at The Royal Society how to make champagne, a full 30 years before Dom Perignon started his famed tipple.
Peach Melba: The Savoy’s famous chef Auguste Escoffier was credited as creating this dessert for opera diva Dame Nellie Melba. The combination of peaches, raspberries, redcurrant jelly and vanilla ice cream were combined to protect her precious vocal cords prior to her appearances at Covent Garden.
Chelsea Bun: On the corner of Pimlico Road and Lower Sloane Street before the antique dealers arrived selling Georgian furniture, there stood a famous bun house royally patronised by Georges II, III and IV. Note the genuine light fluffy article containing raisins is always square.
On 10 May 1553 Sir Hugh Willoughby and his fleet set sail from Ratcliff Stairs to discover the North-East Passage
German Nazi Rudolf Hess was the last prisoner to be incarcerated in the Tower of London, captured in Renfrewshire after parachuting out of a plane
Westminster Catholic Cathedral stands on the foundations of Tothill Fields Prison demolished in 1885, which was deemed as a ‘house of correction’ for the compulsory employment of able-bodied but indolent paupers
The roof’s shape of the famous red telephone box was influenced by Sir John Soane’s tomb in St Pancras Old Church
The first bomb to drop on London in World War I is commemorated by a plaque at 16 Alkham Road in Stoke Newington, there were no injuries
Carlyle Mansions, a smart Victorian apartment block in Chelsea, was once home to authors Ian Fleming, T. S. Eliot and Henry James
Radio and music hall comedian Tommy Handley once lived at 34 Craven Road, Paddington – Known for the saying: “It’s That Man Again”
1912 was a bad year for the Boat Race on this day when both boats sank, the subsequent re-row on the following Monday was won by Oxford by six lengths
The Tube tunnel between Knightsbridge and South Kensington negotiates a massive curve to avoid a 17th century plague pit
On 10 May 1922 Ivy Williams was called to the Bar, becoming England’s first female barrister. She would never practice in a London court
In 2010, Eurostat calculated that Inner London’s Gross Domestic Product per capita stood at 328 per cent of the EU’s 27 average
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