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Category: World War I/ World War II

  1. Scones of the Month – November 2015

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    QM Catering

    QM Catering and Hospitality

    November brought a wonderful scone surprise, when I visited Centre of the Cell to attend “Was the First World War good for medicine?” by Professor Tilli Tansey, the latest lecture in their wonderful The Big Question series. The lecture itself was fascinating but at the end of they had a special buffet serving sandwiches and scones provided by QM Catering. In this scone extravaganza I was joined by friends Katie, Head of Learning at Centre of the Cell (huge thank you to for organising the catering), Rebecca, Ros and Amardeep.

  2. Edith Cavell Wreath Laying Ceremony by St Martin in the Fields

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    Edith Cavell Wreath Laying Ceremony

    Nurse Edith Cavell was executed on 12th October 1915, during World War I, for assisting over 200 allied soldiers escape occupied Belgium. There is an annual public wreath laying ceremony that takes place at her memorial, in London, on the anniversary of her death. This year's ceremony, organised by the Cavell Nurses' Trust, will be extra special as it will mark the centenary of her death. It will be held on Monday 12th October at 10.30am and is free to attend.

  3. "This is a Spot Most Beautiful" Eltham Palace's Art Deco Elegance

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    Eltham Palace - Entrance Hall

    Entrance Hall

    Eltham Palace is best known today for its sumptuous art deco interiors created in the 1930s - 1940s when Stephen and Virginia Courthauld resided there. The house however has an amazing history, from medieval manor house and Tudor royal palace to the Courtaulds, which is covered my original blog post.

    Last month I made a long overdue return visit to as this year they have opened five more rooms and this blog is going to focus on its art deco interiors, although at the time this style would have been referred to Moderne, as the term art deco wasn't coined until 1960s. If you think the Entrance Hall looks amazing wait till you see the bathroom. Warning there are rather a lot of photos. 

  4. My Blog Post about Stanfords Horse Drawn Omnibus has been re-blogged on Stanfords blog

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    Utterly delighted that Stanfords, reputedly the world's biggest travel and map bookshop, liked my blog post about our ride on their horse drawn omnibus tour and have re-blogged it on Stanfords blog.

    This is a huge honour for me as I love Stanfords, I can spend hours in their shop absorbed in their books and I also feature them on my Covent Garden and its Hidden Corners walking tour, as it's where Sherlock Holmes goes for his map in Hounds of the Baskervilles.

    The author of this blog is a qualified City of London and City of Westminster Tour Guide who leads guided walks combining world famous landmarks with hidden treasures often missed by the crowds. 

  5. London Sightseeing Tour on Stanfords Victorian Horse Drawn Omnibus

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    Stanfords Horse Drawn Omnibus

    Left to right:  Basil, Bob and Harney with Tim Wood

    I love exploring London and when I heard that Stanfords, reputedly the world's biggest travel and map bookshop, have just launched a London sightseeing tour by horse drawn Victorian omnibus I just had to check it out. So last night joined by Julie and Carolyn, friends and fellow guides, we were taken for an utterly delightful ride by Basil, Bob and Harney, three magnificent Dutch Warmbloods.

  6. Croydon Airport - London's First International Airport

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     Croydon Airport

    Before the days of package holidays and low cost airlines, back in the early 1900s the thrill of air travel was only available to the wealthy. In 1920 Croydon Airport became London's first international airport when customs and passanger handling facilities were introduced. Today the main terminal building, with its control tower, has been converted into offices and is home to a fascinating visitor centre which is open to the public on the first Sunday of every month.

  7. Behind the Scenes Tour of Alexandra Palace

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    Alexandra Palace

    The Theatre

    Recently I was lucky enough to attend one of the rare behind the scenes history tours of Alexandra Palace. Named after Alexandra, Edward VII's wife, and affectionally known as Ally Pally.  The original building sadly burnt down just sixteen days after it opened.

  9. Unknown Warrior Commemoration at Victoria Station 2014

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     Unknown Warrior Commemoration

    Next to Platform 8, in Victoria Train Station, there is a small plaque to the Unknown Warrior. His final resting place is in the nave of Westminster Abbey. Although we do not know his name or his rank in the army, his tomb is a very poignant remember of all those who died during World War One but whose bodies have never been identified.

    Each year on 10th November the London branch of The Western Front Association holds a ceremony to remember the arrival of the body of the Unknown Warrior at Victoria Station.

  10. Crime and Cream Teas at the Agatha Christie Festival Part I - Greenway

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    Agatha Christie Festival - Barnaby

     Barnaby

    Greenway was Agatha Christie's beloved holiday home in Devon and seems a good place to start the first installment of my blog about the recent Agatha Christie Festival. This annual crime writing festival takes place in and around Torquay, Agatha's birthplace, each September to coincide with her birthday. Since my last visit in 2011 the festival has certainly grown both in the numbers of visitors and organised events.