All posts by Gibson Square

A Licensed Black London Cab Driver I share my London with you . . . The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Birthday treat

It’s my birthday in a few days time, so in anticipation I’m counting down the days with offering my Kindle book for 99p. As you might guess, this isn’t an opportunity for others to cheaply buy my birthday present, but a chance for you to get the inside Knowledge of London and its cabbies.

Catch it on Amazon:

https://tinyurl.com/4tnnb3d8

Part Knowledge memoir, part history book and facts of London, this is a wonderfully written gem, with lots of nuanced history about London of which I was totally unaware.’ – Tom Hutley, Member of The Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers and top YouTuber with over 73,000 subscribers.

Johnson’s London Dictionary: Boat Race

BOAT RACE (n.) Aquatic competition between university students who rather than studying spend their days paddling water.

Dr. Johnson’s London Dictionary for publick consumption in the twenty-first century avail yourself on Twitter @JohnsonsLondon

The London Grill: Jack Hines

We challenge our contributors to reply to ten devilishly probing questions about their London and we don’t take “Sorry Gov” for an answer. Everyone sitting in the hot seat they will face the same questions ranging from their favourite way to spend a day out in the capital to their most hated building on London’s skyline to find out what Londoners think about their city. The questions are the same but the answers vary wildly.

I am Jack Hines, an aspiring artist from Kent who has embarked on a highly ambitious project to draw every single building in Greater London – www.drawingalloflondon.co.uk. London has such a rich and diverse architectural history, I hope to take a snapshot of London by drawing the city in the span of my own lifetime. I am not only doing this for the creative challenge but to also create an archive of London in the 21st Century for future generations to look back on.

What’s your secret London tip?

When you’re in the centre of London, never get the Tube. You’ll discover many new places and buildings that you would normally miss if you weren’t travelling on foot.

What’s your secret London place?

St Swithin’s Church Garden. When I used to commute to and from London, if I had to wait for my return train from Cannon Street station, I’d regularly visit this tiny garden opposite the station. It’s right outside the station, tucked away down a small alleyway, so not many people know about it. Which makes it a great place to wait out the usually delayed train.

What’s your biggest gripe about London?

The trains. I live in Kent so whenever I need to visit the city for photography purposes, it can be quite pricey to visit all the locations I need to. It builds up over time and is very expensive. On top of the expensive tickets, you’re not guaranteed a seat, which can be fairly tiresome on longer all-day journeys.

What’s your favourite building?

A classic, it has to be Big Ben. It’s an icon of the city and also the nation. Drawing Big Ben brings back great memories from the start of my project where I would stream the drawing process, it was great to interact with people who also had a shared interest in architecture and artwork.

What’s your most hated building?

I wouldn’t say I outright hate any building in London, as they all have some kind of redeeming quality or a story to tell. But if I had to choose, it would be 22 Bishopsgate. Most skyscrapers in London have a quirky twist that makes them unique, however, 22 Bishopsgate is just a bland glass tower that could be copied and pasted from any financial district from around the world.

What’s the best view in London?

The view from The Monument (but only if you’re in the mood to climb the 311 stairs). This location brings back cherished memories of my artwork in the sixth form where I would create sweeping panoramic drawings of the London skyline

What’s your personal London landmark?

It was the iconic brutalist Welbeck Street car park until it was demolished a few years ago. Its spectacular facade has been my desktop wallpaper for about 5 years now, I never get tired of seeing it.

What’s London’s best film, book or documentary?

Perhaps slightly biased as I’ve recently watched it, but I’d say The Favourite. Filmed at Hampton Court Palace, it brings to life the extravagance of the 18th Century and showcases the beautiful architecture of the time. Also, Olivia Coleman’s performance is fantastic, a well-deserved Oscar winner for this film. The Favourite has become one of my personal favourite films.

What’s your favourite restaurant?

Lowlander Grand Cafe, it has the best selection of Belgian beers in London, great staff and excellent food, and all-round brilliance.

How would you spend your ideal day off in London?

I’m lucky in what I do as I get to experience my ideal day fairly often. That is to explore the city, mostly on foot, discovering parts of the city I haven’t visited before. As I travel around I like to photograph buildings for future drawings in my project to draw all of London.

London in Quotations: Daniel Defoe

The City is the Centre of its Commerce and Wealth. The Court of its Gallantry and Splendor. The Out-parts of its Numbers and Mechanicks; and in all these, no City in the World can equal it.

Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Vision of Britain Letter 5 (London), Part 2: The City

London Trivia: We shall never surrender

On 4 June 1940 Winston Churchill made his most famous speech. Not original, it was based on President Georges Clemenceau’s speech a half century earlier. But was nevertheless a defining moment . . . we shall never surrender. This was the second of three major speeches given around the period of the Battle of France, with the others designated as the Blood, toil, tears, and sweat speech of 13 May, and the This was their finest hour speech of 18 June.

Quite probably on 4 June 1456 a comet appeared in the sky, just after the anti-alien riots. It was subsequently identified as Halley’s Comet

Between 1196 and 1783 more than 50,000 people were hanged at Tyburn, the original was expanded in 1511 into the Tyburn Tree capable of hanging 24 at a time

The 2nd Duke of Westminster fell in love with Coco Chanel and allegedly put the linked Cs of Chanel on the lampposts of his Grosvenor Estates

John Thompson was Royal Foodtaster to four Monarchs: Charles II, James II, William III and Anne. He is buried at Morden College, Blackheath

The last private resident of 10 Downing Street was a Mr Chicken, nobody knows anything about him other than his name, he moved out in 1732

Between 1891-1894 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived at 12 Tennison Road, South Norwood his first work featuring Sherlock Holmes A Study in Scarlet was taken by Ward Lock & Co on 20 November 1886

In 1841 the Metropolitan Police reported there were 9,409 prostitutes and 3,325 brothels known to the police across the 17 police districts

Fulham’s first football ground, in 1879, was located on a patch of land known locally as Mud Pond, its location is not known, but the place was described as being in Lillie Road

Aldgate tube station is built on the site of a plague pit mentioned by Daniel Defoe in Journal of a Plague Year in which 1,000+ were buried

The 19th century classic writer Anthony Trollope who also worked for the Post Office helped create the red letter box

The City’s Square Mile is now an imperfect 1.16 square miles following 1990s boundary changes incorporating an area north of London Wall

CabbieBlog-cab.gifTrivial 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.