🚓 What Cab News

Tom Hutley has been working on a No Traffic Lights Challenge across London. Not counting pedestrian crossings, is it possible to get around all 22 boroughs featured on The Knowledge without using traffic lights? After many trials and changes in mapping the route he’s produced this YouTube video: Can you DRIVE across London without lights?

🎧 What I’m Listening

WizCast is a podcast by Dean Warrington, founder of WizAnn Knowledge School. Rujel and Sal completed with 12 appearances and both did it in around 2 years. From Rujel’s first appearance to his suburb appearance was 364 days. If you want to be a London cabbie, WizAnn School is a good place to start.

📖 What I’m Reading

I thought I’d check out the competition for my book, by buying second-hand, Mark Syme’s book, Knowledge Boy: How to Make a London Taxi Driver. I am trying to track down Mark to contribute to a London Grill.

📺 What I’m watching

Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius, I’ve been banging on here about the 400th anniversary of the publication in London of Shakespeare’s First Folio. The BBC has made this spellbinding drama-documentary demonstrating the Bard’s ability to relevant for us all today. It should be compulsory viewing for all year 9 school children.

❓ What else

Some typically ‘like’ nearly everything I have posted, presumably simply because they want to support my work and want me to feel good about uploading these regular missives. But when I choose the ‘like’ option, sometimes I’m really just saying, “I acknowledge and affirm your existence.” Why don’t they have a button just for that?

📆 What date?

Big Ben’s First Bong. On the 31st of December 1923, the chimes of Big Ben were broadcast on the radio for the first time by the BBC, I’ll be writing about that on my Substack platform.