All posts by Gibson Square
London in Quotations: Robert Montgomery
But hail thou giant City of the world, / Thou that dost scorn a canopy of clouds, / And in the dimness of eternal smoke, / For ever rising like an ocean-stream, / Dost mantle thine immensity – how vast / And wide thy wonderful array of domes, / In dusky masses staring at the skies!
Robert Montgomery (1807–1855), London, Religion and Poetry: Being Selections Spiritual and Moral
London Trivia: Moorgate tragedy
On 28 February 1975 the 08.37 tube from Drayton Park to Moorgate, packed with commuters overshot the platform and ploughed into a dead-end tunnel at over 30mph. The driver and 42 passengers died, a further 74 were injured, many seriously. Working to relieve the dead from the train took until 4 March before the last body, that of the driver was recovered. No cause of the crash was ascertained.
On 28 February 1948 King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, his two daughters went to see Danny Kaye at the London Palladium, the first non-command performance attended by a reigning monarch
Gallows Corner so called because the crossroads was popular with highwaymen holding up stagecoaches erecting gallows saved transporting them
When constructed the QEII Bridge was the longest cable-stayed bridge in Europe and the first bridge built east since Tower Bridge in 1894
London’s doctors prescribe 116 million items a year with amlodipine for heart disease/hypertension in the lead with 3,517,000 pills @ £1.42
During World War II 77 Baker Street was requisitioned by the Special Operations Executive, using it as a Homing Station for message-carrying pigeons
The 007 stage at Pinewood Studios is so large it housed the entire Greek fishing village in the 2008 musical Mamma Mia!
Ambassador Coach Travel of Great Yarmouth offered orbital coach tours of the M25 when it opened, the excursions were sold out for months
The placename Millwall originates from the windmills that previously lined the western embankment of the Isle of Dogs
Between 1984 and 2004 Russ Kane travelled 1.5 million miles of the M25 without any delays in the Flying Eye reporting on traffic jams
Truefitt & Hill at 71 St James Street are the world’s oldest barbers having been established in Long Acre in 1805
St Pancras was a 14 year old Christian orphan who was martyred in Rome in AD 303, his relics were returned to England in the 7th Century
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.
The End of the Beginning
Journeys. Everyone is always talking about a journey: Life’s journey; journey of a lifetime; a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. To add to that canon of sayings I give you ‘A blog’s journey’.
My on-line journey has taken in being contacted by three BA students, whose courses somehow covered something of the cab trade, to an MA student using CabbieBlog in part for their thesis. While participating in a French travel guide, I had to sign a consent form in French (I suppose it was, not understanding the language). An American website, devoted to England, featured a piece by me about Green Cabbie Shelters and an international credit card company took it on themselves to feature this humble cabbie.
Naturally, most London centric magazines and newspapers have popped into CabbieBlog’s virtual office requesting information or a quote. The national broadcaster once had me sitting at the side of the Thames in my cab asking for my opinion, something I can supply to my customers for free.
Talking of television appearances, I’ve turned down Tony Robinson twice, nothing personal, I just wasn’t available. And surprisingly for the bible of lost cultures, National Geographic wrote a piece about cabbies after interviewing me I suppose they considered the London cabbie is now on the endangered list.
Her Majesty the Queen was given the benefit of my thoughts when I wrote for a book which was presented to her during the 2012 Olympics. Unfortunately, the wider public has been denied this as my memoir which was due to be published by Michael Joseph will not be seeing the light of day.
CabbieBlog’s journey started with a single step in June 2008 and really has travelled a thousand miles. I’ve turned down as many opportunities as I’ve accepted and my voice has been heard on a podcast produced over 4,000 miles away.
So what is the point of this post, or indeed the reason to blog?
Obviously, vanity, thinking the world wants to know your opinion of London and discover the life of a cabbie. Writing regularly does help you organise your thoughts rather than have random ideas. For me, it has certainly improved my English, although reading this you might wonder how bad it was before I started all those years ago.
The 1 per cent rule
Uploading matter does set you apart from the crowd with the 1 per cent rule. This estimates that only 1 per cent upload new content, while the other 99 per cent merely read or pass it on, this is self-evident on social media sites. Not that this post is all that original much of which regarding CabbieBlog’s history I’ve featured before.
But it does discipline you, here I post three original posts a week and regular posting brings you into the orbit of like-minded souls. You get together, and nerd out about things that only you and a chosen few can get so excited about. You create material and share what you have. You swap stories. It’s also hugely satisfying to introduce people to the culture of sharing and discovering something about London.
The end of the beginning or the beginning of the end?
What I get back from these blogger’s relationships goes beyond the affirmation of my written word, or the occasional piece of well-received advice. It’s a gateway to a community that keeps helping me do what I like doing, furnishes me with the tools and know-how, and supports me to get better at it, so obviously it’s the End of the Beginning.
To me, that’s exactly what a hobby is, and should be.
Featured image: End of Story by Nick Youngson (CC BY-SA 3.0) Alpha Stock Images
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