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London in Quotations: John Lawton
London’s like a bad set of teeth. There are gaps, there are bad dental bridges just about holding on and there are rotting stumps that needed to be pulled ages ago.
John Lawton (b.1949), Then We Take Berlin
London Trivia: Gay rights
On 25 January 1731 when accused by William Pulteney of being homosexual, Lord Hervey, a supporter of the first minister Sir Robert Walpole felt compelled to call a duel. Incredibly as the 1st Earl of Bath, Pulteney was, at that time, leader of His Majesty’s Opposition. Paulteney would have run Hervey through with his sword had he not slipped over at the crucial moment, enabling Hervey to be spirited away. Afterwards, Pulteney was struck off the roll of privy councillors.
On 25 January 1839 Henry Fox Talbot showed the photo he had taken of a window at his home to the Royal Institute, he had previously taken several photographic images but had never before shown them
Scotland Yard is so called as in 1829 the Metropolitan Police headquarters was on a site where Scottish kings stayed when visiting England
Liberty’s mock Tudor store is made almost entirely from oak timbers taken from two dismantled wooden ships HMS Hindustan and HMS Impregnable
The body of 18th century author Laurence Sterne was exhumed from St George’s Burial Ground, Bayswater by body snatchers
On 25 January 1981 David Owen, Shirley Williams, William Rodgers, Roy Jenkins issued the Limehouse Declaration from 78 Narrow Street
18th century audience members at Drury Lane Theatre who didn’t enjoy a ballet broke the windows of theatre manager David Garrick
Before Soho became a favourite haunt of the literati writers and artists drank at the Fitzroy Tavern in Charlotte Street
In 1770 Joseph Merlin demonstrated his new invention roller skates in Carlisle House, one of Soho’s first members’ clubs
Belsize Park Station is the only station with the letter ‘Z’ in its name and only two have a ‘J’ St James’s Park and St John’s Wood
Prostitutes working near The Globe Theatre on land owned by the Bishop of Winchester were called ‘Winchester Geese’
The rawlplug was invented for the British Museum. They wanted to fix fittings with min. damage to a wall – John Rawlings did them proud
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: The Mousetrap ensnares tourists
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.
The Mousetrap ensnares tourists (30.11.12)
The definition of a Londoner, it could be said, is someone who hasn’t seen The Mousetrap, the world’s longest-running stage play, having played over 25,000 performances since opening in November 1952 over six months before the Queen’s Coronation.
Written by Agatha Christie as a radio play entitled Three Blind Mice and broadcast in 1947, she rewrote the whodunit for the stage and The Mousetrap was first seen exactly 60 years ago this week, opening at The Ambassadors Theatre on 25th November 1952 before transferring to its present location, the beautiful St. Martin’s Theatre next door 22 years later.
The play entered the record books on 12th April 1958 becoming the longest-running show in the history of the British theatre (shows didn’t have the longevity they do today).
The first leading roles were played by Sir Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim and over time 382 actors have appeared in its production. David Raven entered the Guinness Book of Records as the ‘Most Durable Actor’ for his 4,575 performances as Major Metcalf and spare a thought for the late Nancy Seabrook who spent 15 years as an understudy.
Even the scenery must hold some kind of record lasting 50 years before being replaced in 2000, without a loss of a single performance, still faithful to the original design.
I saw the play in the late ’60s (does that make me a non-Londoner?), and you expected the entire production to appear in black-and-white as the set and dialogue were reminiscent of the early British films.
The theatre seats 550 and in the foyer many tourists have themselves photographed by a wooden sign informing the audience how many performances have appeared on stage. Most don’t go to see the play for it is part of the London experience with the audience as much a part of the proceedings as the cast.
The person who probably has the best experience of The Mousetrap has to be Agatha Christie’s grandson, Mathew Prichard, to whom she gave the rights to the play on his 9th birthday.
The producer and promoter of the original production was Peter Saunders, married to Katie Boyle who in the 1960s presented The Eurovision Song Contest which brought viewers’ attention to the memorable line ‘Nul points’ – strange that.
London in Quotations: John Betjeman
And London shops on Christmas Eve / Are strung with silver bells and flowers / As hurrying clerks the City leave / To pigeon-haunted classic towers, / And marbled clouds go scudding by / The many-steepled London sky.
John Betjeman (1906-1984), Christmas
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