Author Archives: John Pullen

Westminster Abbey has stood in Westminster for hundreds of years. Thousands of tourists and locals visit it every year. It is one of the most recognisable buildings in London and would be near the top of any list of attractions. However, there is one slight problem with all this. And that is, it is notContinue reading “It’s Not Westminster Abbey”

The term “Break a Leg” has been around in the theatrical world since the eighteenth century. It is often said to an actor who is about to go on stage and is meant to be a sign of good luck. It’s a strange thing to say, you might think, but like most things, there isContinue reading “Good Luck. Break a Leg!”

Today, doctors undergo a lot of training and study before they are even allowed near patients. And even then, they have further years of experience to acquire before they lose the term Junior Doctor. But that wasn’t always the case. If we go back to the eighteenth century, even those doctors who had been trainedContinue reading “Dr Graham’s Celestial Bed”

There are new inventions in every age. From the wheel sometime in the distant pass to the Hadron Collider in recent years, there is always someone with an idea to create something new or to improve on an existing product. And the Victorians were great at doing this. They gave us many inventions which weContinue reading “Cycling – But not as we Know It”

Anybody reading this who actually rents a home in London will completely agree with this title. Rents are so high in most parts of London you’d be crazy to live there. However, the title does not refer to “normal” rents as most of us would understand them. London as well as many other places haveContinue reading “Crazy Rents in London”

Every theatre manager always hopes that any production they put on will be so popular with audiences that it will bring the house down. That’s most certainly the case, but perhaps with one exception. To find out why, we have to go back to London in the eighteen eighties and to the end of CravenContinue reading “Bringing the House Down”

Just off the Embankment, between Embankment Tube Station and Temple Tube Station, is an address known just as Number 2, Temple Place. It may sound very ordinary but the house itself is, in my opinion, one of the most amazing houses in the whole of London. It was built in 1895 for the American multi-millionaire,Continue reading “An Office Fit for a King”

With some in Scotland wishing to have another referendum on separating from the rest of the United Kingdom, it may sound a little unlikely that there is a part of London which is Scottish. To find out how this happened, we have to go back to before the 1707 Act of Union which brought ScotlandContinue reading “Scotland is in London”

Tonight and tomorrow there will be one of the biggest meteor showers visible this year. They are part of the Perseid Meteor Shower. On both of these dates, the Earth will pass through them. Although they should be visible anywhere in the sky, they will originate out of the the constellation of Perseus. At theirContinue reading “Meteor Shower 12-13th August 2022”

Thomas Crapper has a name which has gone down in history – but for the wrong reason. Many people believe he was the inventor of the flushing toilet. But he was not. However, he was a plumber and he did bring his expertise to the subject of toilets and bathrooms with his invention of theContinue reading “A Crap Shop”