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London has never been very good at standing still. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on it, the city quietly reinvents itself - opens a new museum, restores a Victorian market, launches a bus that turns into a boat, or decides you should now be able to channel your inner chimney sweep from Mary Poppins and walk on rooftops. Here are a few things coming up in 2026 that have caught my eye - and might just take your fancy too.  Smithfield Market: a museum comeback story Coming to the historic Smithfield Market at the end of the year is the first phase of the new London Museum (formerly the Museum of London), which boldly claims it will “reconceive what a museum could be.” The mind boggles! This glorious Victorian market complex closed back in the 1990s, so it’s wonderful news that it’s being brought back to life as the new home for the museum’s vast collections, after it outgrew its London Wall site and closed in 2022. The General Market Building will open later this year, showcasing the museum’s permanent collections. The Poultry Market will follow in 2028, housing collection stores, learning spaces and major temporary exhibitions. Smithfield, it seems, is finally getting its second act.  The 2026 French exchange In July 2025 France and England signed a historic loan agreement. In return for some treasures from across all four nations from the UK, including some chess pieces, the British Museum will receive the 70m long Bayeux Tapestry, which is essentially an embroidered cartoon from 1066 depicting the Battle of Hastings. The tapestry is due to go on show at the British Museum in the autumn and will be the first time that it has been shown in the UK since it was made, almost 1,000 years ago. It’s expected to be one of the museum’s most popular exhibitions ever, so prepare to queue!  Is it a boat? Is it a bus? No it’s the duck tour! I’m all for encouraging people to step off the tube and explore London above ground, so I was delighted to hear that the amphibious ‘duck tours’ are officially returning to London this year. Fifteen years ago, these bright yellow bus-boats were a familiar sight, trundling through the streets before splashing into the Thames. They were forced to close in 2017 when their launch site was swallowed up by Thames Water’s super sewer works. Dates for the official launch are yet to be announced, but worth keeping a look out for! Talking about transport… Londoners love to complain about its transport network (that and the weather), but the city wouldn’t function without it – and there are some intriguing developments on the horizon for 2026. These include a trial of self-driving cabs across 20 London boroughs, the possible pedestrianisation of Oxford Circus, and the arrival of the new Piccadilly line trains. Expect walk-through, air-conditioned carriages, more capacity, double doorways, real-time digital displays and a smoother, more energy-efficient ride. No confirmed dates for any of the above yet - so try not to get too excited  Grosvenor Square’s glow-up After more than 300 years of quietly minding its own business (and watching Mayfair strut past), Grosvenor Square is having a glow-up. And this is not just any makeover. This multi-million pound transformation marks only the fourth redesign since the 1720s - proof that even London’s grandest addresses like to reinvent themselves every few centuries. Now managed as a public garden on a not-for-profit basis by Grosvenor Property UK, the new Square is due to open this summer. Designed as a natural haven for wildlife and habitats, it blends historic design with modern eco-thinking, and beauty with biodiversity, creating a place where residents and visitors pause and reconnect with nature. I, for one, can’t wait to visit. V&A East Museum - opening April 2026 The long-awaited V&A East Museum opens its doors on 18 April 2026. More than a decade in the making, this new branch of the Victoria & Albert Museum will be a cornerstone of the East Bank cultural quarter in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Conceived as part of the legacy of the 2012 Olympics, the project takes inspiration from South Kensington’s post-Great Exhibition boom and the South Bank after the Festival of Britain. The museum will feature two free permanent Why We Make galleries, displaying over 500 objects spanning global art, architecture, design, performance and fashion. Its first temporary exhibition, The Music is Black: A British Story, explores 125 years of Black music-making in Britain. The exhibition will feature Joan Armatrading’s childhood guitar, fashion worn by Little Simz and newly acquired photographs by Jennie Baptiste, Dennis Morris, Eddie Otchere and Sam White, as well as a partnership with BBC Music and East Bank. Up on the roof at Ally Pally Opened in 1873, Alexandra Palace, or Ally Pally, as it’s affectionately known - is getting a brand-new perspective in 2026. From 14 February, visitors will be able to take part in the Ally Pally Rooftop Adventure, the UK’s highest roof walk. Guided group and private tours will run at different times of day, from sunrise climbs to sunset and after-dark London lights experiences. It’s open to families, couples and anyone with a head for heights (or a taste for adventure). Booking slots are already available - and the views, I’m told, are rather spectacular.  Fancy going a bit deeper?
If all this has whetted your appetite for more London stories, allow me a small plug. This year I’m launching the Curistorian Club - a series of intimate evening events celebrating London’s history and culture. Each Curistorian Club night takes place on the last Tuesday of the month, upstairs at The Devereux, a cracking pub tucked just off Fleet Street. I host the evenings and invite two London experts along, one with a historical angle, the other more cultural, to share their specialist knowledge or chat it through with me. The first two events are already sold out. You can find out about future events here! If you like your London stories told in person, in a pub, by people who really know their stuff - I’d love to see you there!
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 Tucked away on a quiet, leafy residential street just off the busy Finchley Road in north London, 20 Maresfield Gardens looks like any other attractive London townhouse. Which is exactly what makes it so good. This was the final home of Sigmund Freud (1859 – 1939), the founder of psychoanalysis. Freud fled here in 1938 after the Nazis annexed Austria, bringing with him his family, his library, and enormous collection of ancient artefacts.  When Freud came to London, he was suffering from heart problems and mouth cancer. He died a year later in 1939 and the house continued to be a family home for 44 years. Anna Freud (1895 – 1982), the youngest of Sigmund and Martha Freud’s six children, continued to live in the house after her father’s death up until her own death in 1982. After that, she left instructions in her will for 20 Maresfield Gardens to become a museum dedicated to the life and work of her father, which opened in 1986. The house has been preserved in a way that feels intimate rather than shrine-like. You’re not stepping into a grand museum; you’re stepping into someone’s living room.  Freud’s study is arranged to resemble, as closely as possible, the rooms he practiced in during in his lifetime. His famous couch is here, sitting quietly in the study like it’s waiting for you to lie down and start talking. It’s covered in rugs and throws and surrounding it are shelves crammed with hundreds of books and objects Freud collected throughout his life – Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Asian – all of which he believed helped him think. These really are a set of bookshelves that make you feel you need to up your game.  One of the joys of the Freud Museum is that it’s small. It’s not overwhelming. Instead, you poke around rooms, read a few labels, and gradually realise you’re learning things without being lectured at. It is full of intriguing snippets. From Freud’s fascination with the Biblical figure of Moses, despite the fact he rejected religion, to his begonia still very much alive and thriving at the museum, years after his death. The museum regularly hosts talks, tours, events and presents exhibitions of work by contemporary artists which resonate with Freud’s life and work. The current exhibition Cathie Pilkington: Housekeeper is enthralling. Cathie Pilkington’s work explores domestic spaces and female identity and she combines sculpture with immersive installations using diverse materials and studio furniture. At the Freud Museum she sheds light on the care and work of Paula Fichtl, the Freud family’s live-in housekeeper. “She knows this place better than all of us” Freud said of her. Placing Pilkington’s sculptures inside Freud’s former home is inspired and slightly unsettling – in the best possible way.   Her uncanny figures appear in corners, on furniture, half-blending into the house itself. They feel like they belong there, whilst also disrupting the spaces in a mischievous way – as if they’re whispering to each other as soon as you turn away. The exhibition plays with ideas of care, control, and the roles people occupy within domestic spaces – themes that breathe new life into Freud’s own home.  The Freud Museum is one of those places that rewards curiosity. You don’t need to know your id from your ego to enjoy it. Just turn up, have a wander, and let the house and gardens do their thing. You’ll leave having learned something – about Freud, about art, about houses, or possibly about yourself.
Things to know: The museum is open Wednesday to Sunday. Cathie Pilkington: Housekeeper exhibition dates: 29 October 2025 – 1 March 2026 Other places of interest near the Freud Museum: Hampstead Heath, Fenton House and Garden, Camden Art Centre, Kenwood, 2 Willow Road. STRAIGHT TO CURISTORIAN CLUB TICKETS I’ve thought for a long time it’d be nice to organise some events related to London history and culture and invite different speakers to share their specialist London knowledge . Well, I’ve got my arse in to gear and am delighted to announce the first three Curistorian Club events kicking off later this month. Each event will take place in the evening on the last Tuesday of the month in a room above The Devereux, a lovely pub nestled off Fleet Street, next to one of the Inns of Court. Every Curistorian Club night will be hosted by me and involve two guests either presenting their specialist subject or doing a Q and A with me. One guest will have a historical angle and the other a more cultural emphasis and all of them will be London experts of some sort. I’ve booked in the guests for January, February and March and they include: a Thames Mudlark, a crime writer, two artists, a nature writer / London tree expert. Tickets are £15 per person and available through Eventbrite, with only 30 or so tickets available for each night. Here’s the full line up: Tuesday 27th Jan (7pm – 11pm) Curistorian Club #1 Ben Wilson & Monika Buttling-Smith (chewing gum art and a Thames river finds) Ben Wilson Better known as ‘the Chewing Gum Man’, Ben Wilson has spent over two decades painting amazing miniature pictures on to discarded pieces of chewing gum so it’s entirely possible you’ve already come across him. For the last 10 years or so he’s been an almost permanent fixture on the Millennium Bridge, but you can find his tiny bits of masticated art all over the city’s streets …and elsewhere in the UK and beyond. I’ll be chatting to him about his life, his art, how he came to be ‘the Chewing Gum Man’ and encouraging him to share with us some of his adventures along the way. Monika Buttling-Smith Monika Buttling-Smith co-founded and runs the popular Hands on History Mudlarking Exhibitions, which pop-up all over London. She is a member of the exclusive Society of Thames Mudlarks and a major contributor to the London Museum's Secrets of The Thames Exhibition (ends 1st March). Monika and her museum-worthy treasures have been regularly filmed and published, and she’s ditching her muddy boots and knee pads to share with us some of her most special finds, including a rare medieval Pax, a religious artefact so demonised by Henry VIII and Edward VI that owning one could lead to your death!   Tuesday 24th February (7pm – 11pm) Curistorian Club #2 Paul Wood & Nadine Matheson (London tree hunting and not so cosy crime) Paul Wood Paul Wood is a London-based writer, blogger and photographer who bloomin’ loves trees. His book London’s Street Trees was the first book dedicated to the city's frontline trees, is now in its third edition and has not been out of print since it was first published nine years ago. He has written three other books about trees and urban nature: Tree Hunting: 1,000 Trees to Find in Britain and Ireland’s Towns and Cities (Particular Books 2025), London is a Forest (Quadrille 2019, 2022) and London Tree Walks (Safe Haven 2020), he is also the editor of the Great Trees of London Map (Blue Crow Media 2021). I’m looking forward to learning more about London as an urban forest and hopefully becoming more aware of the nature that surrounds us …even in London. Nadine Matheson Nadine Matheson is a born and bred Deptfordonian (if that’s a word) criminal defence lawyer who somehow finds time to write amazingly brilliant crime novels set in and around south east London. Her first crime novel, The Jigsaw Man was shortlisted for the Dead Good Reader and the Adult Diverse Book Awards in 2022, and has been translated into fifteen languages. Her latest book The Kill List was longlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year in 2025. Nadine is currently the chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, and host of the podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson. As it happens, her fifth novel The Shadow Carver is being published in February, so I’m hoping she’ll tell us all about that, her career thus far and reveal more about her ties to Deptford and its inspiration in her novels.  photo credit - London Soul Photography  Tuesday 24th March (7pm – 11pm) Curistorian Club #3 Ed Gray & Jonnie Fielding (Painting London and fun London facts) Ed Gray For the last thirty years, Ed Gray has dedicated his life to painting London in all its grime and glory, capturing from real life Hogarthian scenes of the modern metropolis. Through attentive observation, Gray records everyday individuals in his sketchbooks, later translating these studies into multi-layered compositions that resonate with allegory and symbolism. Many of his paintings are massive, crammed with real life characters, reflecting back the ever changing cityscape and those who inhabit it. His paintings were once described as “an ongoing transmetropolitan tapestry”. He’s going to join me for a special Q and A to get under the skin of his work and to share with us his fascination for London and his ceaseless desire to commit it to canvas. Jonnie Fielding Jonnie Fielding …is me. I’ve been a tour guide in London for 16 or so years and have run Bowl of Chalk for 14. It’s been an amazingly tumultuous journey, but one which I continue to enjoy immensely through my regular walking tours and online videos. Last year I was lucky enough to have a book published, ‘Why is Downing Street Painted Black? (and 364 other fun London facts). I’ll be talking in more depth about some of the fun London facts I’ve discovered and answering any questions you might have about London and / or stories from my years guiding in London.   In a nutshell
Bowl of Chalk’s Curistorian Club is an informal way to meet like-minded people in the cosy setting of an historic London pub and learn from experts about London, its history and how it continues to inspire writers, musicians and of course the incurably curious. I hope you’ll be able to join us for one of the events. I will be hosting more monthly events to be announced soon, so keep an eye on my website, Instagram and other channels for updates. Tickets for all three Curistorian Events are available HERE. At the British Library. The current temporary exhibition, Secret Maps at the British Library does pretty much what it says on the tin. It is an exhibition about Secret Maps. A year or so ago I posted a video about the origins of the trusty London A to Z and I was amazed by the response, and the nostalgia attached to it. I think maps have long held a fascination for people and if they’re secret maps …well, even better. This exhibition (which finishes on the 18th January 2026), won’t disappoint for those, even with a distinct lack of interest in maps. As you might expect, the 100 or so items featured are arranged chronologically from the very earliest attempts to map our world, but then explores how the creators of maps or at least those that ruled, could use them for their own benefit. After all, knowledge is power. The control has not always been physical in a ‘lines drawn in the sand’ kind of way, but far more coercively by tweaking here and shrinking there or in many cases, just ensuring that certain things simply don’t exist.  War, secrecy and spies feature heavily, from hiding air fields from maps, to a map of central London carried by a German bomber during World War Two with certain buildings he was required to target, highlighted in red. They even have Lady Mountbatten’s underwear, created from silk World War Two escape maps and prisoner of war maps hidden in hairbrushes. The British Library also doesn’t shy away from imperialism with top secret documents relating to the partition of India in 1947 and South African maps during Apartheid which completely omit black townships altogether. There are far more recent additions with refugees creating maps to navigate their way through Europe.  I was lucky enough to meet a couple of the curators of the exhibition and they commented that one of the things they hadn’t expected was the personal connections that many visitors have encountered on their visit to the exhibition. I found two exhibits that resonated with me. One was a map of the Post Office Tower (now the BT Tower) and its surrounds which due to that the fact that it was a massive telecommunications tower, was said to not appear on maps. The point they’re making is that in this instance it did. However, on the map is the Middlesex Hospital which no longer exists, where my parents met. They remember being evacuated from the area in the early hours of the morning of the 31st October 1971 when a bomb went off on the 31st floor. The second is a map produced for the Somme Offensive in July 1916. It includes British trenches which at the time (and for obvious reasons) were omitted from maps used by the British, unless they were (as this one was) in the hands ‘top brass’. On the right hand side of the map is the edge of Mametz Wood, which in the second week of July saw horrendous hand to hand fighting and the deaths of about 4,000 (mostly Welsh) soldiers. My great-grandfather was involved in that battle, and survived (otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this now), but unfortunately his brother, my great-great uncle did not. Sergeant James Fielding was killed on the 11th July 1916.  One of my favourite pieces in the exhibition was a short novel, ‘For your Convenience’ produced in 1937 telling the story of two men discussing London’s public toilets. At the back of the book is a map, showing where each of the public toilets are situated. The book and the accompanying map was produced for the use of gay men to navigate the city to find sex, some thirty years before homosexuality would be made legal.  I talk about Charles Booth’s 1889 ‘Poverty Map’ regularly on my London walking tours, so was delighted to see a section devoted to that along with his note books. The final exhibit is a wall, displaying the kinds of digital maps that we produce ourselves each time we tap in and out of the tube or a bus, or have the location switched on our phones, or when we buy something using a credit card or online, or use social media. It is our very own map, that we are largely unaware of, but is very much visible to advertisers, tech companies and the government ...and others. You will leave Secret Maps, thrilled, enthralled, enlightened and sobered.      London doesn’t just do Christmas well, it helped invent it. From crackers and Christmas cards to Dickensian cheer and a tree gifted in gratitude, many of the festive traditions we now take for granted have their roots firmly planted in our capital. Here’s a little wander through Christmas in London uncovering the stories behind the snap, the card, the carol and the tree - and a few places you can visit to see where the magic began. The Christmas Card Did you know that the first Christmas card was a London invention? It was created in 1843 by Henry Cole, the Victoria & Albert Museum’s founding director. These days the number of cards sent at Christmas is dwindling, but back in 1843 Henry went large. He had 1000 cards depicting his family raising their glasses in a toast printed. It wasn’t that Henry overestimated the number of friends and family in his address book, he was hoping to sell the cards for a shilling a piece. Apparently the venture was considered a commercial flop, but the idea eventually took off and marked the start of the commercialisation of Christmas. The Christmas Cracker Christmas crackers were also invented in London. Inspired by French bonbons, London confectioner Tom Smith began selling the novelties from his Goswell Road shop in the 1840s. Almost from the start, they contained a sweet or small toy, and a joke or riddle. The snap wasn’t added until 1850. The crackers proved so popular that he later opened a factory near Finsbury Square and to this day, Tom Smith (the brand, not the original person – that would make him about 150 years old), holds the Royal Warrant as Suppliers of Christmas Crackers and Wrapping Paper by appointment to His Majesty. If you visit Finsbury Square, check out the memorial fountain to Tom Smith and see if you can spot the hidden cracker motif on the statue.  The Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree Christmas trees weren’t a London invention, and you probably know that the giant Norwegian spruce that stands proudly in Trafalgar Square every Christmas is an annual gift from Norway. But do you know why Norway gifts us a Christmas tree each year? Like many royal families around Europe, the King of Norway and his family took refuge in London during the second world war and much of the Norwegian resistance network was organised from our capital city. The tree was first gifted in 1947 as a thank you for being Norway’s closest ally during the war and has been gifted ever since. Takk Norway! Dickens’ A Christmas Carol There are estimated to be over 400 film and TV adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, making it one of the most filmed stories ever. My favourite is hands down, 1992’s The Muppet Christmas Carol! A Christmas Carol is based in Victorian London, with Scrooge’s office in City of London's financial district (Bank/Cornhill), and Bob Cratchit's home based in the poorer area of Camden Town, where Dickens himself lived as a child. Leadenhall Market today, right next to where the fictitious Ebenezer Scrooge lives is a slither of Victorian London well worth a visit if you’re visiting over Christmas. Given its history as a major poultry market, I like to think it’s where Scrooge sent the child to buy the prize turkey for the Cratchits on Christmas day.  St Martin in the Fields Christmas Appeal St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square. Back when it was built in the early medieval period it was built in the middle of farmland – hence the name. The St Martin-in-the-Fields charity supports homeless and vulnerably housed people. Since 1920, its Christmas Appeal, which began being broadcast on the BBC in 1927, has raised vital funds for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. This year is the 99th BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal. If you have any cash to spare this Christmas, they would welcome your donations.   Step into the (Muddy) Shoes of a Mudlark.You probably already know that the 95-mile stretch of the Thames from Teddington to Southend is tidal. But did you know that twice a day, when the sea water dramatically retreats, the river can drop by up to seven metres (23 ft)? And did you know there’s a whole band of people whose happy hobby is to scour the exposed riverbed in search of fragments from London’s past? These fascinating folk are called ‘mudlarks’ and some of the remarkable treasures they’ve uncovered over the years are now on display at the 'Secrets of the Thames’ exhibition at the London Museum Docklands, running until 1st March 2026. I’d genuinely recommend a visit. I’ve had a soft spot for the Thames and its mudlarks ever since I met my first one, Nicola White, back in 2015. That was shortly before I walked the entire length of the river, from the North Sea to the Source. Another adventure I’d recommend, if your knees are up to it.  I’ve been itching to see the exhibition since it opened, and I wasn’t disappointed when I finally popped in last week. It’s an absolute treasure of an exhibition - pun fully intended. And if you’re quick and you time your visit right, you’ll even get to meet a mudlark or two in person. They’re in attendance on Tuesdays and Sundays until 21st December. When I was there, Sean Clarke (a mudlark) who came on a walk with me a few months ago, was at the exhibition showing people his collection of finds, which included Roman dice and also 17th century trade tokens.  Mudlarking: London’s peculiar but popular pastime. Historically, 'mudlarks' referred to some of the poorest Londoners, sadly, often children, who searched the Thames riverbeds for anything they could sell to survive. Today’s mudlarks have uncovered all sorts of extraordinary finds from Bronze Age swords, Roman jewellery, Tudor clothing accessories, and even neolithic human skeletal remains. Doesn’t it make you want to don your marigolds and get down there? If so, you’ll need a permit, and there are currently 10,000 people on the waiting list. Turns out it’s not just me that’s got a burning ambition to roll my sleeves up and rummage for relics.  London’s liquid history London owes its very existence to the Thames - from the Romans settling here 2,000 years ago, to the reason medieval London prospered. In the early 20th century, politician John Burns called it London’s ‘liquid history’ – a term I’d love to have coined myself, but sadly can’t take any credit for.  I’ve devoted a whole chapter to London’s rivers in my book, ‘Why is Downing Street Painted Black? And 364 Other Fun London Facts’, but you should definitely visit the exhibition and step into the shoes of a mudlark, uncovering the artefacts and secrets of London and all its people – past and present. Check out this link to discover some of the highlights from the exhibition. If you visit the exhibition, then I’d love to hear what you thought of it!   London's Quietly Brilliant Riverside Village.If you’re a Rotherhithe local – then apologies in advance. I’m about to big-up your quiet little corner of London. In my opinion, Rotherhithe (or Old Rotherhithe as it’s often called), doesn’t toot its own flute nearly enough. Just a 15-20 minute walk from the hustle and bustle of central London, Rotherhithe is a historic little village bursting with lovely sights, interesting places to visit and great places to eat and drink. Think cobbled streets, converted Georgian and Victorian warehouses and plenty of historic buildings that somehow escaped the heavy bombing that flattened so much of London during the Second World War. First things first – how to get there Getting to Rotherhithe from central London couldn’t be easier. My suggestion would be to take the scenic route and walk along the River Thames. It’s only a mile and a half from Tower Bridge. Or simply hop on the overground line and jump off again at Rotherhithe station. What to see and do in Rotherhithe Here are a few of my favourite places to visit – all within a stone’s throw of one another.  1. The Brunel Museum Tucked beside the Thames is a museum marking the entrance to the world’s first tunnel under a navigable river - a feat masterminded by Marc Brunel and his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The Brunel Museum is easy to miss from the street, but pop inside and you’ll discover the shaft where workers descended to dig the Thames Tunnel. What they achieved here changed engineering forever and paved the way (or tunnelled it…) for the Underground tube network that Londoners rely on today.  2. The Mayflower Rotherhithe’s most famous pub - and one that gets a mention in my Fun London Facts book (page 291, “A Pint and an American Stamp Please”). This is where the first group of the Pilgrim Fathers were picked up before the Mayflower sailed down to Plymouth in 1620 and then onward to the New World. Inside, it's all sloping floors, creaking beams and candlelight. Outside, there’s a riverside deck, perfect for a pint whilst enjoying one of the best Thames views in London.  3. St Mary the Virgin This beautiful 18th-century parish church is worth a visit for several reasons - not least because Mayflower Captain Christopher Jones is buried in the churchyard. Step inside and you’ll find: Old box pews that are still intact and a three-decker pulpit - both of which are a rarity these days; four interior columns that aren’t stone at all, but ships’ masts and a roof structure that looks like the upturned hull of a boat. It’s a church built by a maritime community, for a maritime community.  4. Dr Salter’s Daydream Just a few minutes’ walk away, beside the river, is one of London’s most moving public artworks. Dr Alfred Salter (1873 - 1945) was a local MP and philanthropist who dedicated his life to improving conditions for the poor of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. Dr Salter’s Daydream is a statue, that depicts him daydreaming while watching his daughter Joyce and their family cat - and the story behind them is well worth reading before you go.  5. King Edward III’s Manor House Right beside the Salter statue is the atmospheric remains of a 14th-century royal manor house, built for King Edward III around 1350. Today, only the stone foundations survive, but they offer a rare glimpse of medieval London - a reminder that this riverside stretch was once a strategic and desirable royal retreat. You can look down into the site from the walkway and imagine the Thames as it once was: quieter, wider and filled with royal barges rather than Uber Boats.  Rotherhithe is one of those rare pockets of London where layers of history unfold – maritime, royal, religious, social and industrial. It’s calm, characterful and in my opinion, completely underrated – a place that seems to have somehow slipped through the cracks of time. Check out my short video – to see what sights and delights you’re in, then go visit it yourself.    Little Corners of America in London.Every year, over three million Americans hop across the pond to explore London. That makes the USA our biggest group of overseas visitors. So I thought it was about time I tipped my hat to our most loyal guests and dedicated a blog just for you fine folks. If you happen to be in London over Thanksgiving, we might struggle to furnish you with pumpkin pie or a turkey the size of a small car, but you’ll be happy to learn that London has plenty of little corners that will chase away any homesick blues. Step onto American soil If you visit the National Gallery, keep an eye out for a bronze statue of George Washington standing proudly on the grass outside. It was a gift from the people of Virginia back in the 1920’s. Rumour has it that after the Revolutionary War, Washington vowed never to set foot on British soil again – so to honour this promise, the statue stands on a pile of American soil shipped over from Virginia.  Visit the home of Benjamin Franklin Sticking with the Founding Fathers theme, just a short stroll from Trafalgar Square you’ll find Benjamin Franklin House - the world’s only surviving home of the great man himself. In 1757, the soon-to-be Founding Father arrived in London as a representative of the Assembly of Pennsylvania and rented rooms at 36 Craven Street. It was effectively an eighteenth century Air BnB – except Franklin stayed for 16 years. If you pay the museum a visit you’ll step back in time and learn how this Pennsylvania envoy became a London local.  Sip a cocktail in the longest surviving American bar in town The Stafford Hotel claims to be one of the finest luxury hotels in Mayfair, one of London’s most prestigious neighbourhoods. It offers a quintessentially British experience, so you might be surprised to learn that it’s got an American connection. During WWII, the American military were based nearby and The Stafford became their informal club. Today the USA connection lingers in the form of the American Bar – one of the longest surviving American bars in London. Its dress code is quite smart though – so no sneakers allowed! If you do visit, raise a glass to Nancy Wake. She was an intelligence agent and the most highly decorated British servicewoman during World War II. She was also the Gestapo's most-wanted person - codenamed 'The White Mouse'. She lived her final years at The Stafford and could often be found in the hotel's American Bar, enjoying a gin and tonic. The hotel created a special cocktail, "The White Mouse," in her honour.  A little bit of Texas in St James’s Keeping with the booze theme – or “liquor”, as you Yanks like to say – if you wander over to Berry Bros & Rudd, one of London's oldest wine merchants, you’ll see a plaque dedicated to the Republic of Texas. Back in 1836, when Texas briefly declared itself a republic, it set up a legation (not quite an embassy) here. Between 1842 and 1845, a few rooms at Berry Bros. doubled as the Texan outpost - so for three years, a part of a London wine shop was technically a bit of Texas. The wine shop has 2.5 acres of wine cellars underneath St James’s Street and I’ve been lucky enough to be given a tour of the shop and its cellars by one of the Berry family. The shop features a number of times in my Fun London Fact’s book “Why is Downing Street Painted Black? – and 364 Other Fun London Facts” and a whole chapter dedicated to American connections in London. (Blatant plug over)  So, if you’re planning on crossing the pond for a London adventure and fancy joining one of my weekend walks (note, they’re not every weekend!) or want to book a private tour – I’d love to show you round our wonderful capital city!
At the London Transport Museum. Beginning on Fri 21st November, the brilliant London Transport Museum has a brand new temporary exhibition, celebrating the centenary of the art deco style and the golden age of poster design on the London underground and public transport in and around London in the 1920s and 30s. I’m a big fan of art deco design, so jumped at the chance to get a sneak peak of ‘Art deco: the golden age of poster design’ in the London Transport Museum’s Global Poster Gallery. The term ‘Art Deco’ wasn’t actually coined until the 1960s, but at the time, was simply called ‘Moderne’ or ‘Style Moderne’ characterised by sleek lines, geometric patterns, sweeping curves, abstract shapes and a stylised form which was famously embraced by London Transport’s Chief Executive Frank Pick, to not only mastermind publicity posters (the main form of mass media at the time), but many of the design elements we’re still very familiar with today, including the famous London Underground roundel. The exhibition also looks at how the design influenced many of London’s art deco stations, designed by Charles Holden.   Frank Pick As you might expect, there’s a wonderful array of posters on display (over 100), enticing Londoners of a hundred years ago to visit the theatre or London Zoo, to take a train to Southend or get out in to the country, as well as to attend sporting events like the tennis at Wimbledon. What really struck me about the exhibition is how blurred the line was between art and advertising, with pretty much all of the posters, signed by the artist or graphic designer that created it. Each poster stands alone as a great piece of art or graphic design, something that would not be out of place hanging on a wall in someone’s home; not something that could be said of most of the adverts I see on the tube today. If you’re planning a visit to the London Transport Museum, admission to the exhibition is included in the ticket price, and although adult tickets are £25 each, kids (up to the age of 18) go free. The museum is open daily from 10am – 6pm.      If you happen to be mooching around Charing Cross Road on the evening of Thursday 27th November, then stop by Foyles bookshop and come and say hello. I’ve been invited to join a whole host of esteemed writers for Foyles Christmas book signing shindig. Yes there’ll be complementary mulled wine. Yes, there’ll free mince pies (if I remember to bring them!). And yes, you’re absolutely encouraged to wander around all six floors of Foyles' flagship shop whilst pretending you’re in a Richard Curtis Christmas film.  There’ll even be live music. I’m hoping for carols – but will happily accept anything with sleigh bells. My imposter syndrome will be working overtime as I’ll be joining a long list of famous faces and writers including the likes of Rev. Richard Coles, Jonathan Freeland, India Knight, William Boyd, Alex Horne, Robert Elms and Charlie Mackesy (you’ll need tickets to catch him) – all there to meet their fans and sign their books. I’d like to give a special mention to art historian, Katy Hessel who will be there promoting her inspiring book, 'How to Live an Artful Life'. A cracking Christmas present for anyone who enjoys art, joy, or simply owning attractive coffee-table reads. Talking of books, Foyles gets a cheeky mention in mine, ‘Why is Downing Street Painted Black? And 364 Other Fun London Facts’. Turn to page 298 to discover why co-owner William Foyle wrote to Hitler and why they laid copies of 'Mein Kampf' on the roof of their central London shop in the 1940s. (Yes, really). I hope to see some of you at Foyles Christmas Evening! Bring your copy of my book along and I’ll happily sign it. You can also buy a copy on the day.   |
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