London in Quotations: Eminem

Quote 4 November, 2024 Gibson Square 1 Comment

England? England is in London right?

Eminem (b.1972)

London Trivia: BBC buys temporary studios

3 November, 2024 Gibson Square 1 Comment

On 3 November 1949, the BBC purchased Lime Grove Studios owned by the Gaumont Film Company. The acquisition was ‘a temporary measure’ used to tide them over as the Television Centre was being built. It would be nearly 45 years before it became obsolete. By the end, the building was in such a poor state of repair that the remaining BBC staff nicknamed it “Slime Grove”. It was redeveloped into a housing estate.

On 3 November 1783 highwayman John Austin, convicted of ‘robbery with violence’ became the last man hanged at the Tyburn Tree

Lady Elizabeth Hatton leaving a ball was found in a yard blood still pumping from her torn body Bleeding Heart Yard commemorates her murder

When an architect was told he must leave a gap in his office block to allow access to St Peter’s in Cornhill he decorated it with devils

Ben Johnson was too poor to afford the normal grave space in Westminster Abbey and so his friends paid to have him buried standing up

During the American Civil War London cabbies unadvisedly flew the Confederate flag in support from their Hansom cabs

Named after London’s famous comic, Joseph Grimaldi Park in Islington plays host to an annual ceremony populated by clowns

Twining Teas opened 1707 on the Strand selling tea to Queen Anne, it’s the oldest business in Britain operating from their original premises

The red rose, an emblem for England’s rugby team was chosen before the first international in 1871 and is copied from Rugby School’s crest

The world’s longest continuous railway tunnel is the Northern Line: Morden to East Finchley totalling 17.3 miles, 24 stations and 3 junctions

When escalators were first installed at Earls Court Bumper Harris a one-legged man was employed to demonstrate their safety and ease of use

Her Majesty The Queen cannot enter The City of London without first asking permission from The Lord Mayor a ceremony performed at Temple Bar

Trivial Matter: London in 140 characters is taken from the daily Twitter feed @cabbieblog.
A guide to the symbols used here and source material can be found on the Trivial Matter page.

Previously Posted

Previously Posted: My fifteen minutes

2 November, 2024 Gibson Square 4 Comments

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.

My fifteen minutes (16.09.11)

Recently I was contacted by the BBC London Arts Unit with a view to my contributing to a documentary they were making to be transmitted in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics. Entitled “A Picture of London” the assistant producer/researcher explained to me over the phone that they wanted to feature a number of people who work and live in the capital, who would relate their favourite places in London.

Meeting with the documentary’s producer in of all places the Museum of Childhood – would that be a reflection of childhood memories – he explained over a cup of coffee that they were filming about nine individuals and some would eventually end up on the proverbial cutting room floor.

Filming was scheduled for a Sunday evening a week or so later to rendezvous in a car park near Tower Bridge. My cab had a camera mounted on its bonnet by the grips man Garth (I had always wondered what grips were) and after about half an hour we were driving to Battersea via Tower Bridge.

One of my favourite spots in London is the beautiful Georgian church of St. Mary’s perched above the Thames in Battersea. It is said that Turner painted some of his rivers cape studies of light from the vestry window of the church and was rowed over every day by his servant in order that he might paint.

While taking numerous zoom shots of the cab approaching the water’s edge we were scrutinised by the River Police inquisitive of our intentions. It was explained to me that this was an occupational hazard of film units and they had already been stopped more than once that day.

Next was a drive across the capital with a camera pointing into my left ear with I trying to negotiate London’s traffic while commentating of what life was like for a London cabbie, not as easy as it looks with everybody cutting you up.

On arrival at the London Zoo (where both my father and grandfather worked), it was pitch dark but that didn’t stop them from taking another round of rolling shots of the cab, which again drew the attention of this time the Zoo’s security staff, hardly surprising as the main entrance by now was illuminated by their floodlights. A short piece of commentary by me as an audio recording rounded off the day.

Would I be contacted again by the BBC? Could this mark a career in broadcasting? These thoughts ran through me, by now, exhausted head.

Two weeks later I picked up a copy of our trade’s newspaper, there inside was a full-page article written by the doyen of cabbie journalism – Al Fresco – writer, raconteur, sometimes editor and a cabbie of some 40 years, describing how on a Sunday morning recently he was filming for the BBC.

How could I compete? There was an erudite part-time journalist, old fashioned Jewish cabbie who had more tales of London’s East End after the war, a place where most of the cabbies hailed from at the time, featuring in a documentary entitled A Picture of London.

Oh well! My Andy Warhol moment will have to wait.