I don't know about you, but I am creating a looong list of things I want to do in London post lockdown. I am absolutely delighted to have been invited on Curious Pavel's Travel Podcast where we talked about the less obvious things to do in Covent Garden such as stuffing your face at Mariage Frere or exploring new food fashions at Seven Dials Market. 

Have a listen here and add your recommendations in the comments below!

If you’ve ever had lunch in one of the excellent restaurants or the interesting street food stalls in Exmouth Market, you might wonder how the street got its name. After all, the Islington street is a lot nearer Sadler’s Wells Theatre than it is the little Devon seaside town of Exmouth. The answer involves a daring raid to rescue 3,000 people from slavery in 1816.

Viscount Exmouth was born as Edward Pellew in 1757 and he joined the Royal Navy at the age of 13. Due to his bravery fighting ...

Coffeehouses became a hub of news and inevitably a place where new ideas were formed. Boy runners were sent from coffee house to coffee house in order to relay information on major events of the day. After a while coffeehouses became members only clubs in order control the clientele and raise the status of the particular coffeehouse. This conversion of coffee houses into clubs came at the same time as coffee consumption began to decline due to import duties on coffee increased significantly....

London's coffeehouse culture and its commerce were intrinsically linked. During the 18th century a new active culture evolved. Coffeehouses sprang up all over London and attracted a variety of patrons with a head for business. The crowd at coffeehouses included doctors, merchants, writers and politicians.

Over two-thousand coffee houses existed in London by the closing of the seventeenth century. Here are some of London's prominent coffeehouses in the 18th century that we didn't have time t...

Why is storytelling important? “It's the foundation of how we understand the world. When we're looking back on our own life, we make narratives about the people who we know and about ourselves and think about your life. You've always got the kind of grandparents who read out the same old stories again and again, and that's how you understand your own life. So our whole life and our whole thought is all structured around stories and a city like London is basically, you may say it's built br...

The Great fire of London destroyed four fifths of the city. The monument on fifth street Hill is a memorial to the great fire, and those who rebuilt the city without rock and roll.

The monument is the tallest isolated stone column in the world. It took six years to build to the difficulty of getting a sufficient quantity of Portland stone or the required dimensions. This caused the King to issue a proclamation on the 4th of May, 1669 for bidding any person to transport stone from the Arla Port...

The Crown Jewels reside under armed guard in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. 

Over 30 million people have seen them in their present setting at the Tower. They are possibly the most visited objects in Britain, perhaps the world.

It’s such a unique working collection of royal regalia with some still being used by The Queen for important national ceremonies, such as the State Opening of Parliament. Others are only used at a monarch’s coronation. 

Since 1066, coronation ceremonies have ...

Last week Cubitts Opticians celebrated the opening of their new City of London store with a private tour of the local area for their staff. 

Private tours in the evening add a wonderful sense of drama to the events. Part of the Roman London wall route originally taken by the northern wall is commemorated, although now only loosely followed, by the road also named London Wall. With the store having a London Wall address I would have been remiss to not have mentioned it. 

This alignment, however,...

August this year will be the 80^th anniversary of the start of the Blitz, that constant bombing in the Second World War which, second only to the Great Fire of London, changed the face of this great City.

A symbol of the Blitz spirit can be found inside a church in the City of London, only a stone’s throw from that great survivor of the bombing, St Paul’s Cathedral.  St Vedast in Foster Lane, rebuilt after the Great Fire of London, was not so fortunate.  On 30^th December 1940 it wa...

If you peer in the window of a modern office building at the end of Leadenhall Street, where it meets Fenchurch Street, you can see what is left of Holy Trinity Priory. All that remains is an arch which once led from the choir to a side chapel. There is little to indicate the priory’s former grandeur.

Holy Trinity was one of England’s wealthiest religious houses, and after the crown it was the largest landowner in the capital. We have a papal taxatio - a valuation - from 1291 whic...

As you enter the church of St Magnus the Martyr, just to the east of London Bridge, you would be forgiven for missing this strange wooden contraption to the right.  What is it?  Not a mobile pop up food stall.  It’s a very early fire engine.  How appropriate it should be in this church as a reminder of the dangers of fire, particularly in medieval London.

St Magnus was the second church to be destroyed in the Great Fire of London – the Monument being built on the site of the first...

Leadenhall Market stands in the very centre of Londinium, for underneath its buildings and avenues lie the remains of the forum.

The Romans began their conquest of Britannia in 43AD, and the settlement of London began sometime after. We do not know exactly when, but perhaps the most important find from a great deal of archaeological digging in the capital points to very rapid development. A timber drain found under No 1 Poultry dates to 47AD, indicating that a road was constructed by ...

When I wander round the City of London ( “the City” or “the Square Mile”) it is always a delight to find remains from our past amongst the hustle and bustle of the modern business centre.  Many City workers rush around without seeing their history all around them – I know I was guilty of this when I worked in an office in the City.

However, some things are rather more difficult to spot than others.  This remnant of the ancient (originally Roman) city wall is an example.  I h...

A girly catch-up was well overdue. Since we couldn’t decide between cake and cocktails we decided to head somewhere in Central London that offered both. Having been to the Quarter Bar & Lounge at London Bridge Hotel for cocktails before I was aching to try their afternoon tea. 

We had a booth reserved which gave the feeling of privacy. Champagne or a sparkling cocktail can replace the usual tea offering for an additional £10. We chose the regular afternoon tea and had a co...

International Women's Day is a day where people come together to help forge a better working world, a more gender inclusive world. This year's International Women's Day is #BeBoldForChange

By definition bold means (of a person, action, or idea) showing a willingness to take risks; confident and courageous. Bold, taking risks, confident and courageous aren't words often associate with women, not in a positive light. But why?

Women such as Anne Askew, Edith Cavell and Fanny Burney are all wom...