London is like a cold dark dream sometimes.
Jean Rhys (1890-1979), Wide Sargasso Sea
London Trivia: Prime Minister shot dead
On 11 May 1812 Prime Minister Spencer Perceval, entered the lobby of the House of Commons and was shot dead by a merchant, John Bellingham. John Bellingham was hanged at Newgate on 18 May, two days after Perceval’s funeral.
On 11 May 1937 London’s busmen went on strike they wanted an enquiry on the dangers of the new buses which travelled at 30mph instead of the sedate 12mph they were used to
When Julian Assange was holed up at the Ecuadorian Embassy those visiting included Pamela Anderson, Lady Gaga, Eric Cantona and Nigel Farage
On Knight’s Road in Docklands, the world’s largest tin of syrup is affixed to Tate & Lyle’s factory producing the world’s oldest branded product
The finest dentures of 19th-century London contained real human teeth, some gleaned from casualties of the Battle of Waterloo
The Wiener Library, Russell Square contains 1 million items relating to the Holocaust, it is the world’s oldest library of related material
Now charmingly inaccurate, the life-sized models of dinosaurs in Crystal Palace Park, constructed in the 1850s were the first in the world
The basement at 27 Endell Street was once the animal depot for West End theatres once 2 bulls escaped liberating a menagerie on Soho streets
Mitcham Cricket Club has played on the world’s oldest cricket pitch since 1685, and today is still an active cricket club
Amersham is the second most westerly tube station, the highest at 147 metres above sea level and the second furthest Underground station from central London
Burrell & Co on Blasker Walk in Docklands once manufactured dyes, red smoke from the chimneys would tint the local pigeons rose-pink
Wartime song A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square was almost certainly a robin, the only town bird known to sing at night
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: Mustn’t grumble
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.
Mustn’t grumble (08.05.12)
Mustn’t grumble, which of course is what we Londoners are always doing – roadworks, litter, Boris – you name it we can moan for England. While maintaining an air of cheerful, if somewhat deferential, stoicism we go through life apologising while at the same time keeping a stiff upper lip.
This air of permanent regret can seem bewildering and perverse to tourists. We apologize when bumping into you “Sorry old chap, didn’t see you there”. When you bump into us “So sorry” meaning do that again at your peril.
When we hold open a door for another with the greeting “Don’t mention it” which of course is shorthand for “Please continue to thank me”.
When we might seem to be having a perfectly amiable conversation while in fact disagreeing with every word you have uttered the appropriate interjection is “I’m not being funny, but . . . ” which is a prelude to a socially unacceptable remark.
Punctuality was once the trademark of an Englishman, but with transport in London slowly grinding to a halt you are more likely to get the apology “I’m running 10 minutes late . . .” roughly translated this means “Boris hasn’t fixed the delays yet and I will be there anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour after we agreed to meet”.
And watch out if at a social gathering, you hear “I have half a mind to say something . . . ” that indicates “I am adding to years’ worth of unspoken resentment that you can silence with a very dry white wine”.
Sorry doesn’t seem to be the hardest word as Elton John opined: When we walk into doors when dropping anything when we want to butt into a conversation, when flustered or when brushing past you in a pub, when we cannot hear or when hearing all too well as a reflex “Sorry” suffices for what we cannot think of what else to say.
But by no means does saying “sorry” mean the speaker is in fact, well, sorry.
“Probably my fault . . . ” is about as deferential as we get. Take that to mean “This is your fault.”
The frequent apology is one of an arsenal of clever tricks Londoners employ to obscure their true feelings. If the words “Mustn’t complain. . . ” are directed at you take notice, their true meaning is “I have just complained and if you don’t sort it out I will take the matter further”.
Eastenders greet one another with “Alright?” don’t enter into a conversation about your woes, it’s the law of the jungle to show that you are one of them and a friend.
And London cabbies are not immune to this verbal gymnastics, our greeting to another cab driver of “Be Lucky” roughly translates to “I hope you don’t get a job before me”.
London in Quotations: T. S. Eliot
I journeyed to London, to the timekept City, / Where the River flows, with foreign flotations. / There I was told: we have too many churches, / And too few chop-houses.
T. S. Eliot (1888-1965), The Rock
London Trivia: Boris Johnson becomes mayor
On 4 May 2008, Boris Johnson beat his rival Ken Livingstone and assumed control at City Hall. His candidacy was the object of national and international scrutiny. David Cameron had commented, ‘I don’t always agree with him, but I respect the fact that he’s absolutely his own man’.
On 4 May 1913 the annual exhibition of flowers by the Royal Horticultural Society was held for the first time in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
Forty Elephants were a gang of prolific female shoplifters from the 1920s who stashed stolen goods in specially adapted bloomers
London’s railings used to be brightly coloured. On the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria decreed that they all be painted black
In his will Dickens stipulated that no monuments be erected to his memory, that’s why London has no statues of one of its greatest writers
The American Declaration of Independence was printed in Caslon typeface designed in Chiswell Street by William Caslon, it’s now a Tesco
In 17th century London antics in St. James’s Park were put to verse: ‘Nightly now beneath their shade/Are buggeries, rapes and incests made’
Opening in 1910 with 2,286 seats the London Palladium had its own telephone system, so patrons could talk to each other
A white strip near BBC White City marks the finish of the world’s first modern marathon in 1908 originally 25 miles extended to 26 miles 385 yards
Traffic congestion in 18th century led to a law being passed to make all traffic on London Bridge keep to the left in order to reduce collisions, it was incorporated into the Highway Act of 1835
On 4 May 1896 the Daily Mail, at 1⁄2d a copy, devised by Alfred and Harold Harmsworth, was first published, the planned print run of 100,000 for the first day became 397,215!
Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre dubbed ‘Piccadilly Circus of South London’, Europe’s first covered mall was voted London’s biggest eyesore
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.
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