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Scones of the Month - January 2016 has just been published please see London Scone Review to read the article.
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.
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On Good Friday hot cross buns are distributed in the churchyard of St Bartholomew the Great. The ceremony known as the Butterworth Charity, was named after Joshua Whitehead Butterworth who created the trust in 1887. It was set up to provide the sum of six pence to twenty one needy widows in the parish and buns were to be handed out to children who attended the distribution. With the understanding that nowadays anyone who attends can have a hot cross bun I went to investigate further.
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Welcome to Scones on the Town, the second instalment of Scones of the Month for January (title courtesy of friend and artist Lozzy Bones). This section covers eating out with three afternoon teas and a cream tea. Part I Scones at Home reviews some delicious mail order/ take away scone options. This month I had the pleasure of introducing Dr Immy Smith to the Ampersand Hotel, which is a favourite of mine.
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Great honour to be featured as one of the contributors to lasminute.com's blog, The Most Haunted Places in London. Perfect timing for Halloween.
If you ejoyed reading this why not join me on a tour, the story about the Haunted Hospital features in my Sinister Smithfield walk.
Happy Halloween everyone!
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.
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As a vegetarian it might seem quite ironic that this morning I went down to Smithfield Meat Market to see the legendary Christmas Eve Auction. However as a City of London Tour Guide I had heard about the amazing atmosphere and I was curious to check this out for myself.
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The new billboards depicting Barts’ history in King Edward Street were created in conjunction with the Museum of London
On Saturday 28 September 2013 my friend Katie Chamber, who works at Centre of the Cell, a medical educational centre, and I had an interesting and informative tour of St Bartholomew's Hospital Phase 2 construction site lead by Ian Dodds, Project Director and Kieran O’Halloran, Senior Project Manager, who are both members of staff from Skanska.
St Bartholomew’s Hospital, known as Barts, dates back to 1123 when Rahere, a courtier of Henry I, founded the hospital and a nearby Augustinian priory. It is the oldest hospital in London that still stands on its original site.
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St Sepulchre is the largest parish church in the City of London. It is mentioned in the nursery rhythm “Oranges and Lemons” in the line “When will you pay me? Say the bells at Old Bailey”.
It’s built in the gothic style and is easily recognisable with its tower topped with four oversized pinnacles.
Inside the 150ft/ 45m long nave with its tall classical Tusan columns and large windows provides the church with a grand and spacious interior.
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Our Lady Of Sorrows by Cake Follies
Sacred Tarts - a divine cake sale
When you attends an event at Barts Pathology Museum you can always expect a fun and entertaining time. On Easter Saturday 2013, Sacred Tarts saw the museum hosting a religious themed cake sale which provided an array of tempting goodies as an alternative to the traditional Easter egg. On offer were edible crucifixes, pope cakes and St Lucy's Eyeball Truffles just to name a few. In addition there were cocktails, live music and the opportunity to view the museum's collection. The cakes are a work of art in themselves and almost too nice to eat.
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Today Smithfield is a distinctive part of the City of London, tucked away behind St Paul's Cathedral, it has managed to retain its village atmosphere. This part of the City has no major financial institutions, instead at its centre there is an attractive small, circular park which is surrounded by Smithfield Meat Market, St Bartholomew’s Hospital (known as Barts) and a couple of delightful churches.