Author Archives

  • charles-dickens
    FEB 7: Born on this day Charles Dickens
    Posted in: Highlights

    Widely regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era, Dickens provided the nation with many memorable titles and characters from Oliver Twist through to his penultimate novel Great Expectations. Although born in Portsmouth, where he spent his working years as a factory worker, these characters gave us an invaluable insight into life in the […]

  • Shoreditch Graffiti
    The Michelangelos of Shoreditch
    Posted in: Highlights, Photos, Places

    If you ever venture to the backstreets of East Central London you’ll be pushed to find a greater concentration of muralists, street artists and skilled graffiti taggers as there are in Shoreditch than in any other area of London. Bear witness to their incredible work some of which might even have kept the Renaissance Masters […]

  • Icons of Hip Hop (Exhibition)
    Posted in: Reviews, Shows & Exhibitions

    BoxPark in Shoreditch is increasingly making a name as the place to be for buzz gigs, pop up art exhibitions and all manner of in-store creative cool. The Icons of Hip Hop exhibition by photographer Eddie Otchere is one such urban gem, documenting as it does, his experience snapping rap royalty throughout the decades. These […]

  • Doctor Faustus (Theatre)
    Posted in: Drama & Theatre, Reviews

    Most are familiar with Christopher Marlowe’s play and the seven deadly sins which haunt Doctor Faustus in this Elizabethan tragedy. Few may be aware that Faustus is described in the traditional Chorus as being from ‘base stock’ and later a physician and professor of divinity at Wittenberg University. Even then, his undeniable thirst for greater […]

  • The Shortlist for Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth
    Posted in: Highlights, Places

    As the shortlist for the fourth plinth in the square’s north-west corner gets underway, it’s interesting to chart the history of this public art space which has drawn much controversy because of the dominance of non-traditional and post-modern candidates. When architect Charles Barry designed the square in 1841 it was envisioned the plinth would hold […]

  • Jan 30: The Beatles’ Last Performance
    Posted in: Concerts & Gigs, Highlights, People

    On January 30th 1969 the world’s greatest band performed an impromptu gig on the roof of their Apple offices in Saville Row. It would prove to be their last. The 42-minute set drew large crowds and also the concern of local police who tried unsuccessfully to pull the plug. The band settled for turning down […]

  • London's Chinatown
    London’s Chinatown
    Posted in: Highlights, Photos, Places

    It is the year of the Rooster. On the eve of Chinese New Year we look at Chinatown, one of London’s most well-known pockets of ethnic minority communities. Situated in the back streets between Leicester Square and Piccadilly there are cheek by jowl restaurants which especially during Chinese New Year are a tourist magnet. What’s […]

  • Five Cool Movies Set in London
    Posted in: Features, Movies & TV Shows

    With growing fears that Brexit will drive creativity from the heart of the capital here is a list of five memorable films that back up London’s position as one of the most sought after movie locations. An American Werewolf in London This 1981 horror movie directed by John Landis plays on American fears that it’s […]

  • Museum of London
    The Museum of London Raises £180m for New Location
    Posted in: Galleries & Museums, Highlights

    The Museum of London’s scheduled move to Smithfield Market gets the green light after an announcement that £180 million of the required £270 million has already been raised. It sourced the bulk of this funding (£110 million) from the City of London Corporation, with Mayor Sadiq Khan committing to £70 million. This capital injection underscores […]

  • Jackie (Film)
    Posted in: Movies & TV Shows, Reviews

    Yet another movie marking out the tragic yet golden term two year of the Kennedy presidency, but this time from the vantage point of his widow Jackie Kennedy – literally. This Pablo Larrain directed bio-pic actually includes a gruesome re-enactment of the assassination and the entire movie is about his wife relating every moment, every […]