Sadiq Khan has recently announced that there have been 230,000 racist tweets directed at him. Two questions arise from that disclosure: why would nearly a quarter of a million think the mayor deserves a tweet about his ethnicity when there’s plenty to criticise on his ability to run London? And is he employing staff, at our expense, to supply him with statistics about nasty things said about London’s most useless leader?
Johnson’s London Dictionary: River Thames
RIVER THAMES (n.) Watercourse meandering through London once called ‘liquid history’, today ‘liquid wet wipes’ doth describe this morass of rubbish.
Dr. Johnson’s London Dictionary for publick consumption in the twenty-first century avail yourself on Twitter @JohnsonsLondon
The London Grill: Jane Northcote
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.
Jane Northcote (JaneSketching.com) is an urban sketcher and printmaker based in the City of London. She sketches in pen and ink and watercolour. She aims to show the changing city: new and old structures together, the often surprising juxtapositions that result from patchwork planning decisions and historical changes of use. Drawing a building is a good way to notice it. Jane’s drawings take about 1-2 hours, done mostly on location. Looking at a building for that length of time reveals architectural details and odd quirks of design, which enriches the experience of the city. Image above shows The Globe Moorgate, sketched 29 August 2022, details can be found here.
What’s your secret London tip?
It’s often quicker to walk. Look at a street map, not the Tube Map. For example, St Pauls to the Barbican is a 5 min straightforward walk north, but a complicated and lengthy Tube journey. It looks a long way on the Tube Map, but the two locations are really close.
What’s your secret London place?
Cleary Gardens off Queen Victoria Street. This garden is almost invisible from the street, it looks built up. But go inside and you find a terraced garden, sheltered by vines and trees, with benches. A lovely quiet sanctuary in the City.
What’s your biggest gripe about London?
The air quality. Cars running their engines when stationary. People leaving rubbish, especially takeaway food containers, in public places. Often they stack them neatly, or line up the discarded cans, as though that makes it better! Bicycles jumping the lights. I am a cyclist. A minority of cyclists zip through red lights and onto pavements, often at unexpected angles. This scares pedestrians and irritates motor vehicle drivers. As well as this being unbelievably dangerous, these selfish miscreants give all cyclists a bad name, and drivers get angry at all of us. I’m in favour of bike registration, as in the Netherlands.
What’s your favourite building?
The ruined church of St Mary Aldermanbury, North of the Guildhall in the City of London. The truncated columns of the church are still there, and the old walls are covered in moss. I like to imagine the church. Sometimes the best buildings are those of the imagination.
What’s your most hated building?
122 Bishopsgate. It’s huge, bland, and has a forbidding entrance at street level. Perhaps it’s nicer on the inside?
What’s the best view in London?
From the Millennium Bridge, early in the morning, looking east.
What’s your personal London landmark?
The Post Office Tower, now the BT Tower. It is often visible from the most surprising places. A sudden view of the BT Tower helps me orient myself.
What’s London’s best film, book or documentary?
There are many. My current favourite is the Slough House series by Mick Herron, starting with “Slow Horses”. He evokes the enormity and the detail of London.
What’s your favourite restaurant?
Am I allowed two? The Turks Head Wapping: a great restaurant, tables in amongst the trees. The Wren Café in St Nicholas Cole: wonderful views of stained glass windows inside, wonderful views of St Pauls outside.
How would you spend your ideal day off in London?
A walk up the river to the Turks Head, lunch outdoors under the trees, a walk back, sketching on the river foreshore, a stroll around exploring city lanes, tea at the Barbican lakeside.
London in Quotations: Richard of Devizes
I do not at all like that city . . . Whatever evil or malicious thing that can be found in any part of the world, you will find in that one city . . . if you do not want to dwell with evildoers, do not live in London.
Richard of Devizes (c.1150-c.1200)
London Trivia: Female peers
On 30 October 1957, the Government unveiled plans to reform the House of Lords which included admitting women for the first time. Under the scheme, male and female life peerages were created ensuring ‘a balanced representation of the different political parties’.
On 30 October 1959 Ronnie Scott’s jazz club opened at 39 Gerrard Street, Soho
During the 1860s, London’s most notorious prison, Newgate, became a kind of theatre, visitors could tour the prison being briefly locked in a windowless cell was one of the highlights
On Blackfriars Bridge the side facing out to sea is decorated with marine birds, the inland side is adorned with freshwater birds
Poet Edmund Spenser’s Westminster Abbey tomb may contain unpublished work by Shakespeare who threw manuscripts into his grave to honour him
The City of London has never been under the authority of the monarch. The Queen may only enter the Square Mile of the City if she is given permission by the Lord Mayor
The bronze statue of Peter Pan was erected in Kensington Gardens in 1912. It marks the spot where J M Barrie first met Jack Llewellyn Davies, the boy who was the inspiration for Peter
By 1870 there were 20,000 public houses and beer shops in London, today according to the Campaign for Real Ale at least 10 are closing every week
The Oval held a particular attraction for the United States billionaire philanthropist, J. Paul Getty II, who built a replica of the ground at his estate at Wormsley Park in Buckinghamshire
London Heathrow Airport is the world’s busiest airports by international passenger traffic, and the third for total traffic
Over 800 members of staff are based at Buckingham Palace, some of the more unusual jobs include fendersmith, clockmaker and flagman
South Kensington is still sometimes referred to as ‘Little Paris’ the area is not only known for its Francophile bookshops but also its French doctors and dentists
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.
CabbieBlog 