Author Archives: John Pullen

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”

Francis Crick was one half of the team that made one of the biggest ever discoveries in biology. It earned them the 1962 Nobel Prize for medicine.     Crick was born on the 8th June 1916 in Northampton, England. His education and interest in science and in particular, biophysics, was interrupted by the outbreak ofContinue reading “Francis Crick – DNA Pioneer”

A few scientists have questioned whether their work or discoveries have been turned into something which they did not foresee or hoped would never happen. A good example of this was the splitting of the atom. Those like Enrico Fermi hoped that nuclear energy would be used to create a form of new cleaner powerContinue reading “The Mystery of the Vanishing Physicist”

Many past civilisations have left us artifacts which to us today, can still be puzzling. For example, the stone statues of Easter Island and the appearance of crystal skulls from various locations are just two. Another collection of strange artifacts was discovered in the 1930s in the jungles of Costa Rica.     The jungle wasContinue reading “The Mystery of Costa Rica’s Stone Spheres”

Today and tomorrow (12 – 13th July 2022), Secret London Churches is available for only 99 pence on Amazon.co.uk or 99 cents if you buy it on Amazon.com Just tap the Amazon Link here to read the description and get the offer.

There are many famous prisons around the world and through history, but one of the most infamous is located on an island off San Francisco. It was said to have been impossible to escape from and its name was Alcatraz. Although closed and a tourist site these days, it was home to some of theContinue reading “The Men who Escaped from the Impossible Prison”