Author Archives: John Pullen

Throughout London there are many modern-looking buildings. And although they may not appear to be very interesting in themselves, the same cannot be said of the sites they are built on. In fact, many of them have an interesting history. It is also likely that the current structures may have little similarity to the onesContinue reading “The secret history of a London hotel”

With the recent sad death of Sean Connery, who many say was the best James Bond, licenced to kill and licenced to thrill, I thought it might be the right time to re-publish an article on the creator of 007 who, in many ways mirrored the life of his fictional creation.     If you hadContinue reading “The Real James Bond 007”

It is Halloween this weekend and from my book “Secret Haunted London” this is perhaps the most difficult sighting to explain… I dare you to read on…     The Langham Hotel is an imposing building at 1 Portland Place opposite BBC Broadcasting House off Regent Street just north of Oxford Circus. It was designed byContinue reading “The BBC ghost of Room 333”

Whilst therapeutic treatments are being researched to help patients who are suffering severe problems due to Covid-19, the real solution to this disease is the development of an effective vaccine. At the time of writing, October 2020, there are over 150 different teams working across the world in order to find one. Vaccines usually takeContinue reading “Coronavirus 5 – A vaccine, the game changer”

In this latest article the virus has entered the body, invaded the cells which it has been able to latch on to and is beginning to do what it does best – reproduce. But our body has an immune system which stands guard against any invaders it detects and as soon as it does, itContinue reading “Coronavirus 4 – The body fights back”

In this next article we will look at how the coronavirus virus infects us and causes the disease we know as Covid-19. We already know that coughs and sneezes from an infected person can spread millions of viral particles within droplets into the air and anyone coming in contact with them can become infected byContinue reading “Coronavirus 3 – How it attacks the body”

There can be few people on this planet who are unaware of the pandemic attacking almost every country. Its full title is SARS-CoV-2 which indicates that it is not flu but a form of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The medical condition it causes is known as Covid-19. However, like the common cold and flu, itContinue reading “Coronavirus 2 – Where it’s come from”

With a new wave of the Coronavirus attempting to take hold of many countries, I thought it might be a good idea to re-publish with some updates, the series of articles I wrote on the subject a few months ago. These will appear on my Blog at https://johnpullenwriter.com/ each day this week. But first, I’dContinue reading “Coronavirus 1 – A Personal View”

We are all aware of the growth and number of coffee shops around the world. Almost every high street can boast a Starbucks, Costa or Nero to name but a few. They may seem to be a modern phenomenon but coffee houses can trace their history back for hundreds of years. And they have alsoContinue reading “The curious tale of Old Slaughter’s Coffee House”

Cleopatra’s Needle has stood on the north bank of the Thames for over one hundred years. It matches another one that can be found in New York. However, all is not what it might seem. For a start, the edifice has little to do with Cleopatra. It is believed that it dates back to theContinue reading “Secrets of Cleopatra’s Needle”