I have just made a disappointing discovery. With all this hoo-ha about forthcoming elections, I thought a quadrennial service might be coming our way. I’m not talking about the forthcoming general election. Nor the London Mayoral vote, as living in the extreme north-east of London, the current, and front runner is unlikely to improve our transport or living standards, as with an elderly population around here there are few votes to be gained for him.
No, this four-year service will arrive in 2 years, in time for the local elections. This ceremony, once performed with a broom, now one of those long-handle pickers will see our streets cleaned. Alas, the leader of our local authority has just announced bankruptcy in weeks, so that might spell the end of this ancient tradition.
On 28 January 1953 Derek Bentley was executed at Wandsworth Prison for his part in the murder of PC Sidney Miles. The 19-year-old was hanged after last-minute appeals for clemency were rejected
The hanging beam from Newgate gaol was taken to Pentonville prison and used for executions there. Now bricked up in the prison’s synagogue
The IMAX cinema roundabout is the capital’s only winner of the Roundabout Appreciation Society’s prestigious Roundabout of the Year award
The Sebastopol bell at Westminster Abbey is rung only on the occasion of a sovereign’s death, tolling once for each year of their life
George VI Reservoir left empty during World War II allegedly a mock Clapham Junction Railway Station was built inside to confuse Luftwaffe bombers
When Madame Tussaud first brought her waxworks to London they were exhibited at the Lyceum where Lion King now shows
One of the ‘original’ Disney Herbie cars in red, white and blue-striped with number 53 can be seen in Volkswagen’s west London showroom close to M4
London Marathon’s youngest male winner was 22-year-old Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru in 2009, he died two years later after falling from a balcony
The Jubilee Extension was hewn out by two tunnel boring machines called Sharon and Tracy, named after the characters in Birds of a Feather
Londoner Captain Edward Vernon invented grog-a concoction made from rum, water and lemon juice-the preferred tipple of pirates and old salts
Named after Samuel Pepys: Street EC3; Road SE14; Crescent E16; Court SE18 ; a Walk; several pubs and . . . A Launderette 1 Grove Street SE8
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