The London Grill: Don Brown

7 November, 2023 Gibson Square 4 Comments

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.

Don Brown is a London Blue Badge tourist guide and has been taking people around the capital for the past seven years both in real life and online at uktoursonline.com. He also writes the Stuff About London blog, looking at various things about London that have caught his eye. He recently stepped down as the Director of The London Society, a civic society concerned with trying to make London a better place in which to live and to work.

What’s your secret London tip?

Go off the main streets – dive up the little alleys and side roads that lead off the direct route anywhere. Half the time there’ll be nothing out of the ordinary, but the other half you’ll discover some building, square, green space or something that you would never have known existed. (And if I’m ever guiding visitors from the US I also advise them to spend an evening in a pub, because that’s where you see and hear the real London, because the real London are the people.)

What’s your secret London place?

The Onion Garden in Seaforth Place behind Victoria Street. It’s a tiny little bit of rus in urbe squished between an access road and the tube line that is the work of a garden designer called Jens Jakobson. There’s a coffee stall where you can grab a drink and have ten minutes just recharging in the greenery.

What’s your biggest gripe about London?

Too much traffic! There are too many cars and they’re too big. The best bits of the city are the ones that have made themselves more pedestrian-friendly – the new public square in front of Somerset House on Strand for example, which has turned a six-lane highway jammed with buses into a beautiful, peaceful, calming space.

What’s your favourite building?

It always starts and finishes with St Paul’s Cathedral; it never fails to lift the spirits whether you’re right underneath it or just glimpse it from the train as you rattle into Waterloo.

What’s your most hated building?

I still can’t come to terms with the Walkie Talkie. There are lots of very good tall buildings across the city, but this is overbearing and ugly.

What’s the best view in London?

If you’re on the top deck of a bus on a summer’s evening as you cross Waterloo Bridge you look downriver to St Paul’s and the City, and see the sun gleaming off the glass of the towers and casting a soft light on the dome; upriver, the sky is red behind Big Ben and Parliament. Paradise.

What’s your personal London landmark?

Thirty years ago they were resurfacing Albert Bridge, but it was open to pedestrians. I walked over it just as it was getting dark and as I got to the middle all the lights came on and it seemed like they were illuminating the bridge just for me.

What’s London’s best film, book or documentary?

There’s an old Ealing comedy called Hue and Cry which has a bunch of kids running around the bombsites of the post-Blitz city and provides a glimpse of what London suffered in the war. My favourite book would be Jerry White’s History of London in the 19th century, telling the story of how this place grew to be the world’s first ‘megalopolis’, a city that was so big it became impossible for anyone to know it all.

What’s your favourite restaurant?

I don’t do that much eating out, but places I can’t pass without going in include the Bar Italia (double espresso and a cannolo), Brick Lane Beigel Bake (tuna and sweetcorn), and anywhere that does proper Portuguese Pastel de Nata custard tarts.

How would you spend your ideal day off in London?

A walk, I think. You can stroll down the river from Battersea Park to London Bridge without having to cross a road and all the big sites of London appear as you make your way east. Grab a bit of lunch at the Royal Festival Hall food market at weekends, pop into Tate Modern (or detour across the Millennium Bridge), fill yourself up on samples from the cheese stalls at Borough Market then finish off with a pint in front of the fire in the Parliament Bar at The George.

London in Quotations

London in Quotations: Ambrose Bierce

Quote 6 November, 2023 Gibson Square 2 Comments

I believe we shall come to care about people less and less. The more people one knows the easier it becomes to replace them. It’s one of the curses of London.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)

London trivia

London Trivia: Stitched up

5 November, 2023 Gibson Square 2 Comments

On 5 November 1739 the house of a master weaver on Spital Square was attacked by journeymen. The owner of the workshop had allegedly tried to get silk binding done for free as part of the price for a weaving job. Troops were called out from the Tower of London. The Riot Act was read out to the assembled crowd. At the end several solders were hurt by protesters throwing tiles and bricks from the tops of the houses.

On 5 November 1947 London Zoo’s most famous resident Guy the Gorilla arrived at the zoo on Guy Fawkes Day hence being named Guy

Until 1859 it was illegal to celebrate the arrest of Guido Fawkes on 5 November by burning a guy, and presumably asking passers-by “penny for the guy, mister?”

In 1831 London became the first city in the world to have 1 million inhabitants only overtaken in size by Tokyo 126 years later

When Guy Fawkes was executed hanging broke his neck preventing the drawing and quartering (removing his intestines, arms and legs) while alive

When entering The Houses of Parliament its Members are still banned from wearing a suit of armour under an Act made by Edward II in 1313

Lions of Trafalgar Square were sculpted from life artist Landseer used dead lions from London Zoo until neighbours complained of the smell

The London Eye can carry 800 people each rotation comparable to 11 double decker buses receives on average more visitors per year than the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramid of Giza

After Percy Lambert was killed racing at Brooklands in 1913 he was buried at Brompton Cemetery in a coffin designed to match his racing car

Wealthy oil baron Nubar Gulbenkian had a luxurious taxi conversion. He told friends “Apparently it can turn on a sixpence, whatever that is”

St. Paul’s Cathedral at 365ft high and over 40 years to construct. It took so long to complete its builders had the reputation of being lazy

The only qualification needed to join Edmund Kean’s Wolf Club at the Coal Hole, Strand was your wife had forbidden you to sing in the bath

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: Fat Flying Rats

4 November, 2023 Gibson Square 3 Comments

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.

Fat Flying Rats (28.09.2010)

Using my ATM has of late been a hazardous experience, not from any street crime, but a far more dangerous assailant coming from the sky. Our local bank has erected a rather splendid sign above its frontage which has proved a perfect perch for pigeons, dozens of them. While ex-mayor Ken Livingstone’s most positive contribution to London has been to reduce the pigeons of Trafalgar Square from 4,000 to a mere 120, they have unfortunately like other vagrants just moved elsewhere.

He first banned the sale of pigeon feed in 2001 resulting in a family business that had traded for decades having to shut shop. Next at a cost of £60,000 a year he introduced a pair of Harris hawks, with their handler, the expense has almost certainly been covered by the reduction in the cost of cleaning up pigeon droppings from the surrounding areas.

Unfortunately, the rest of London is still plagued by these feral creatures that carry (sorry about this!) histoplasmosis, cryptococosis and psittacosis, so it would seem the pigeons above my ATM could previously have been a tourist “attraction” from Trafalgar Square.

On my garden on the bird, table are regularly two ring-necked doves, slim beautiful creatures, even if they are a little stupid and the contrast between our doves and London feral pigeons could be not starker.

Now with our fast-food litter lout culture it has given us pigeons so fat that they can hardly fly out of the way of my cab, with many of them having trouble taking off as they are missing a toe or foot after standing in the piles of their own corrosive droppings. These urban birds are even more stupid than their rural cousins, after centuries of evolution, not one of them have realised that by placing their foot even if it is now a stub, on a piece of bread, they wouldn’t have to throw it over their heads, tearing a piece off in the process.

The numbers of our wild friends, along with foxed and rats needs to be reduced, reports recently have included, dive bombing seagulls, foxes biting children in their beds and if it is to be believed rats 30 inches long.

Sparrow hawks regularly kill pigeons in my garden while the other birds are clever enough to get out of the hawks way it’s only the pigeons that get caught, they could be used to keep the numbers in London down, feeding them something to reduce their sex drive might deprive Londoner’s the opportunity of the amusing spectacle of the males courting rituals, but could have the desired effect.

Writing in the Evening Standard Sebastian Shakespeare suggests a course of action which might prove rather startling to tourists, as the bird’s fall of their perch (or their hands) and I quote:

A more pragmatic way might be to hand out poisoned bird feed to tourists and actively encourage them to feed the pigeons. This would kill two birds with one stone, so to speak: the tourists would still get their photo opportunities and it would be a very cost-effective way of keeping the pigeon population down.

If you still have the need for more about pigeons, I would direct you to Pigeon Blog probably the largest site you find on everything that’s amusing about our fat flying friends.

Puppydog tails

Test Your Knowledge: November 2023

3 November, 2023 Gibson Square 2 Comments

In November 1623, 400 years ago, Shakespeare’s First Folio was posthumously printed in London, try this month’s quiz on the Bard’s playhouse. 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. What year did the original Globe Theatre open?

1589

WRONG The Globe was built in 1599 on Maiden Lane (now known as Park Street) in Southwark on the Southside of the Thames.

1599

CORRECT The Globe was built in 1599 on Maiden Lane (now known as Park Street) in Southwark on the Southside of the Thames.

1579

WRONG The Globe was built in 1599 on Maiden Lane (now known as Park Street) in Southwark on the Southside of the Thames.

2. What type of performance did a red flag flown outside signify?

Comedy

WRONG Depending on the genre of play being performed, colour-coded flags were used outside the theatre to let spectators know what type of play they would be seeing. A red flag was flown for a history play, white for a comedy play and black for a tragedy play.

History

CORRECT Depending on the genre of play being performed, colour-coded flags were used outside the theatre to let spectators know what type of play they would be seeing. A red flag was flown for a history play, white for a comedy play and black for a tragedy play.

Tragedy

3. What was the first play performed at the original Globe Theatre?

Julius Caesar

CORRECT It is thought that the first Shakespeare play performed at the original Globe was Julius Caesar, in 1599. The modern Shakespeare’s Globe opened to the public in 1997, with a production of Henry V.

Henry V

WRONG It is thought that the first Shakespeare play performed at the original Globe was Julius Caesar, in 1599. The modern Shakespeare’s Globe opened to the public in 1997, with a production of Henry V.

Romeo and Juliet

4. Where was the wood sourced to build the original Globe Theatre?

An old theatre

CORRECT The timber used to build the Globe Theatre was reused wood from ‘The Theatre’, an earlier theatre owned by the father of one of the Globe’s funders. It was dismantled taken across the Thames and reconstructed in a couple of days.

Queen Elizabeth’s Oak Forest

WRONG The timber used to build the Globe Theatre was reused wood from ‘The Theatre’, an earlier theatre owned by the father of one of the Globe’s funders. It was dismantled taken across the Thames and reconstructed in a couple of days.

Donated from patrons

5. How many people could fit into the original Globe Theatre?

3,000

CORRECT The Globe was an open-air amphitheatre shaped like a doughnut and had a seating capacity of up to 3,000 spectators.

2,000

WRONG The Globe was an open-air amphitheatre shaped like a doughnut and had a seating capacity of up to 3,000 spectators.

1,000

WRONG The Globe was an open-air amphitheatre shaped like a doughnut and had a seating capacity of up to 3,000 spectators.

6. What was the name given to members of the audience standing in front of the stage?

Peasants

WRONG The cheapest price to watch a performance at the Globewas only 1 penny (about the price of a loaf of bread), which bought you a place amongst the ‘groundlings’ standing in the ‘yard’ around the stage. (There were 240 pennies in £1.) For another penny, you could have a bench seat in the lower galleries which surrounded the yard. Or for a penny or so more, you could sit more comfortably on a cushion.

Groundlings

CORRECT The cheapest price to watch a performance at the Globewas only 1 penny (about the price of a loaf of bread), which bought you a place amongst the ‘groundlings’ standing in the ‘yard’ around the stage. (There were 240 pennies in £1.) For another penny, you could have a bench seat in the lower galleries which surrounded the yard. Or for a penny or so more, you could sit more comfortably on a cushion.

Patrons

7. What time did most plays at the original Globe Theatre begin?

17.00

WRONG The sun was the only source of light, so plays were performed in the daytime instead of at night as they are now. No candles were used for lighting because the Globe was built using very flammable materials like wood and plaster, which meant it was vulnerable to fire. All performances had to end before nightfall so that playgoers could return safely home.

19.00

15.00

CORRECT The sun was the only source of light, so plays were performed in the daytime instead of at night as they are now. No candles were used for lighting because the Globe was built using very flammable materials like wood and plaster, which meant it was vulnerable to fire. All performances had to end before nightfall so that playgoers could return safely home.

8. What is the nickname given to the original Globe Theatre?

The Rose

WRONG The theatre’s owner, Burbage named it The Globe after the figure of Hercules carrying the globe on his back – for in like manner, the actors carried the Globe’s framework on their backs across the Thames.

The Curtain

The Globe

CORRECT The theatre’s owner, Burbage named it The Globe after the figure of Hercules carrying the globe on his back – for in like manner, the actors carried the Globe’s framework on their backs across the Thames.

9. How was the commencement of a performance announced?

A trumpet

CORRECT To announce to the audience that the play was about to begin, a trumpet would be blown to signal to people it was time to take their final places.

A town crier

WRONG To announce to the audience that the play was about to begin, a trumpet would be blown to signal to people it was time to take their final places.

A musical performance

WRONG To announce to the audience that the play was about to begin, a trumpet would be blown to signal to people it was time to take their final places.

10. What happened to the original Globe Theatre?

Flood

WRONG The Globe Theatre burnt down in 1613 after a special effect on stage went wrong. A cannon used for a performance of Henry VIII set light to the thatched roof and the fire quickly spread. Supposedly it took less than two hours to burn down completely. Luckily, according to one of the few surviving documents of the event, nobody was hurt in the fire except for a man whose burning trousers had to be put out with a bottle of beer! Following the fire, the Globe Theatre was rebuilt in the same spot in 1614
.

Fire

CORRECT The Globe Theatre burnt down in 1613 after a special effect on stage went wrong. A cannon used for a performance of Henry VIII set light to the thatched roof and the fire quickly spread. Supposedly it took less than two hours to burn down completely. Luckily, according to one of the few surviving documents of the event, nobody was hurt in the fire except for a man whose burning trousers had to be put out with a bottle of beer! Following the fire, the Globe Theatre was rebuilt in the same spot in 1614
.

Riot