London Trivia: Blocked drains

5 February, 2023 Gibson Square 4 Comments

On 5 February 1983 DynoRod were called out to a blocked drain near 23 Cranley Gardens, Muswell Hill. To the engineer the blockage looked suspiciously like human remains. When the police popped round the following day Dennis Nilsen confessed that 15 or 16 others had met the same fate since 1978. Nilsen became known as the Muswell Hill Murderer, sentenced to life imprisonment on 4 November 1983, with a recommendation that he serve a minimum of 25 years.

On 5 February 1924 the BBC broadcast the time check ‘pips’, a series of six short tones broadcast at one-second intervals, from Greenwich Observatory for the first time

During World War II HMP Wormwood Scrubs was used to store 26 drums of heavy water, which were to be used to make a nuclear bomb

Leadenhall Market stands on the site of a Roman Basilica, a building used for public administration. It first opened in the 14th century

Christopher Wren in a black marble sarcophagus that was originally made for Cardinal Wolsey, Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington are all buried in the crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral

Fitzrovia is named after landowner Henry Fitzroy illegitimate son of King Charles II. The name comes from French ‘fils du roi’/son of the king

The only true home shared by all four Beatles was a flat at 57 Green Street near Hyde Park where they lived in the autumn of 1963

Thomas Carlyle lived at 5 Cheyne Row (now no. 24) Chelsea in 1834 where he entertained Browning, Dickens and Tennyson. He died there in 1881

An embankment behind Arsenal’s east stand gave the expression ‘spion kop’ (lookout in Afrikaan) from where 243 British troops had died so kop for terrace entered football’s lexicon

The eastbound and westbound lines on the Central Line are built above and below each other for much of the line

The Observer newspaper was founded in 1791 at 396 Strand by WS Bourne on the premise that “the establishment of a Sunday newspaper would obtain him a rapid fortune” is the world’s oldest Sunday

In 1610 Dame Alice Owen founded almshouses and a school on the Islington site where she narrowly missed being killed by an arrow

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: Weather we care

4 February, 2023 Gibson Square 1 Comment

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.

Weather we care (15.01.2010)

They must have done something at the recent Copenhagen Conference to prevent global warming for since then it hasn’t stopped snowing and with London temperatures dropping to levels not seen for over 20 years you have to feel sorry for those sleeping rough on the streets of London.

It was when I started the Knowledge of London that first I noticed, with shock, the number of people sleeping rough, it was, I suppose when trying to be more observant to increase my knowledge that I then noticed just how many people were to be found in shop doorways at night.

London has always had a homelessness problem, William the Conqueror forbade anyone to leave the land where they worked, if by so doing they effectively made themselves homeless, and as far back as the 7th Century, laws were passed laws to punish vagrants. In the 13th Century Edward I (he of Braveheart fame) ordered weekly searches to round up vagrants.

The Unilever building at the north end of Blackfriars Bridge stands on the site of Bridewell Palace. First built by Henry VIII and later leased to the French Ambassador at which time the interior was used by Holbein for his painting The Ambassadors. By the time Edward VI took possession the palace was in a state of disrepair and he gave it to the City for the reception of vagrants and homeless children. Later becoming a prison, the name Bridewell became synonymous with an institution providing unsanitary conditions and cruelty for the poor and homeless, but it was here in the 16th Century that the State first tried to house vagrants rather than punish them. It began introducing Bridewells, places meant to take vagrants in and train them for a profession, and in 1788 prisoners were given straw for their beds (other prisons had neither beds nor straw) but in reality Bridewells were dirty and brutal places.

By the 18th Century workhouses had replaced the Bridewells, but these were intended to discourage over-reliance on state help. At best they were spartan places with meagre food and sparse furnishings – at worst they were unsanitary and uncaring. By 1863 the building which started Bridewell prison was demolished, after transferring prisoners to Holloway, and now only the gateway built in 1802 remains (pictured), it can be seen at No. 14 New Bridge Street.

The numbers of vagrants has risen and fallen, and precise figures are hard to come by the 1930s eighty were found sleeping rough during a street count in London, but after the Second World War in 1949 a low of only six people were found sleeping rough in London.

Street counts provide a useful snapshot of the number of people sleeping rough on a single night but are best regarded as indicators of trends, rather than exact numbers of men and women who sleep rough. The annual estimate of the numbers sleeping out in England on any single night is published in September each year. The 2007 annual estimate found there were 248 people sleeping rough in London on a single night, which equates to around 3,000 people sleeping rough in London each year, while the 2008 figure was no better at 4,077.

This year homelessness has jumped by 15 per cent with Eastern Europeans, who have lost jobs and have fewer means of social support, now constitute nearly one in seven of those living without permanent shelter. The annual returns, compiled by the charity Broadway on behalf of the Government, show that 4,672 rough sleepers were counted in the capital and only around 60 per cent were UK nationals.

The Government’s target of ending rough sleeping in the capital by 2012 is unlikely to be achieved unless more is done to break the link between mental health problems and homelessness.

I now return, like any good Englishman, to talk about the weather. Why is it that every year at Christmas we open, to great publicity on television, makeshift shelters for the homeless only to close them after the holiday at a time when London’s temperature starts to fall? Even in 1788 vagrants were given straw to sleep upon?

Puppydog tails

Test Your Knowledge: February 2023

3 February, 2023 Gibson Square 3 Comments

The Mousetrap has recently celebrated 70 years in the West End, and it’s been announced that it will finally make its Broadway debut this year. How much do you know about this iconic play? As before the correct answer will turn green when it’s clicked upon and expanded to give more information. The incorrect answers will turn red giving the correct explanation.

1. The Mousetrap was originally written as what?

A bedtime story for a niece

WRONG It was originally a BBC radio play, written as an 80th birthday present for Queen Mary, wife of King George V, and broadcast in May 1947. It is the world’s longest-running theatrical show.

A birthday gift for a queen

CORRECT It was originally a BBC radio play, written as an 80th birthday present for Queen Mary, wife of King George V, and broadcast in May 1947. It is the world’s longest-running theatrical show.

An activity for a long train journey

WRONG It was originally a BBC radio play, written as an 80th birthday present for Queen Mary, wife of King George V, and broadcast in May 1947. It is the world’s longest-running theatrical show.

2. Which acting couple appeared in the original cast?

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor

WRONG Husband and wife couple took a 10 per cent stake in the production in exchange for part of their salaries. Richard Attenborough said of it: “Foolishly I sold some of my shares to open a short-lived Mayfair restaurant called the Little Elephant and, later still, disposed of the remainder to keep the 1982 film Gandhi afloat.”

Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim

CORRECT Husband and wife couple took a 10 per cent stake in the production in exchange for part of their salaries. Richard Attenborough said of it: “Foolishly I sold some of my shares to open a short-lived Mayfair restaurant called the Little Elephant and, later still, disposed of the remainder to keep the 1982 film Gandhi afloat.”

Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh

3. Which language has not been used in turning The Mousetrap to film?

English

CORRECT According to the company set up by Agatha Christie: ‘The contract terms of the play state that no film version can be made until the West End show has been closed for at least six months, and since it is still running, no official film has been made.’

Russian

WRONG According to the company set up by Agatha Christie: ‘The contract terms of the play state that no film version can be made until the West End show has been closed for at least six months, and since it is still running, no official film has been made.’

Bengali

4. The Mousetrap was the first to place an advertisement at which venue?

Lord’s Cricket Ground

CORRECT In 1961, The Mousetrap made history by being the first advertiser of any kind at Lord’s when it was promoted on a cricket scorecard.

Wimbledon Championships

WRONG In 1961, The Mousetrap made history by being the first advertiser of any kind at Lord’s when it was promoted on a cricket scorecard.

Arsenal Football Club

WRONG In 1961, The Mousetrap made history by being the first advertiser of any kind at Lord’s when it was promoted on a cricket scorecard.

5. Who was given the rights to the play?

Christie’s grandson

CORRECT Agatha Christie gave the rights to the play to her grandson Mathew Prichard as a 9th birthday present.

Christie’s dogs

WRONG Agatha Christie gave the rights to the play to her grandson Mathew Prichard as a 9th birthday present.

Christie’s husband

WRONG Agatha Christie gave the rights to the play to her grandson Mathew Prichard as a 9th birthday present.

6. A charity performance is credited with what occurrence?

An actors’ strike

WRONG In 1959, the London cast put on a production for 300 prisoners at London’s Wormwood Scrubs. Fifteen minutes before the final curtain, warders discovered two inmates had escaped mid-performance.

A jailbreak

CORRECT In 1959, the London cast put on a production for 300 prisoners at London’s Wormwood Scrubs. Fifteen minutes before the final curtain, warders discovered two inmates had escaped mid-performance.

A local by-election

7. The Mousetrap takes its name from an earlier play by which writer?

George Bernard Shaw

WRONG The suggestion to call it The Mousetrap came from Christie’s son-in-law, Anthony Hicks. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, ‘The Mousetrap’ is Hamlet’s answer to Claudius’s inquiry about the name of the play whose prologue and the first scene the court has just observed.

Oscar Wilde

William Shakespeare

CORRECT The suggestion to call it The Mousetrap came from Christie’s son-in-law, Anthony Hicks. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, ‘The Mousetrap’ is Hamlet’s answer to Claudius’s inquiry about the name of the play whose prologue and the first scene the court has just observed.

8. On an occasion such as cast changes, a cake is ceremoniously cut with a sword. What shape does it take?

The murderer

WRONG The cake is in the shape of a ticker counter that keeps track of the number of performances.

Agatha Christie

WRONG The cake is in the shape of a ticker counter that keeps track of the number of performances.

A ticker counter

CORRECT The cake is in the shape of a ticker counter that keeps track of the number of performances.

9. What was the play’s original title?

Three blind mice

CORRECT First broadcast on 30th May 1947 under the name Three Blind Mice starring Barry Morse, the story drew from the real-life case of Dennis O’Neill, who died after he and his brother Terence suffered extreme abuse while in the foster care of a Shropshire farmer and his wife in 1945.

Of mice and men

WRONG First broadcast on 30th May 1947 under the name Three Blind Mice starring Barry Morse, the story drew from the real-life case of Dennis O’Neill, who died after he and his brother Terence suffered extreme abuse while in the foster care of a Shropshire farmer and his wife in 1945.

The cat and mouse

10. One actor has appeared in every production, in what form?

In a picture on the mantlepiece

WRONG The late Deryck Guyler provided the pre-recorded voice of the newsreader in the first act and the same recording is still used today.

As the newsreader on the radio

CORRECT The late Deryck Guyler provided the pre-recorded voice of the newsreader in the first act and the same recording is still used today.

Their image on a newspaper’s front page

WRONG The late Deryck Guyler provided the pre-recorded voice of the newsreader in the first act and the same recording is still used today.

Thinking allowed

We’re number one

2 February, 2023 Gibson Square 4 Comments

According to Inrix, London topped the global congestion ranking for the second year in a row. The study, which looked at more than 1,000 cities across 50 countries, showed that London’s drivers spent an average of 156 hours sitting in traffic in 2022, and that the amount of time lost to traffic jams is 5 per cent above pre-coronavirus levels.