Exam Day Tomorrow – Soon I Will Be Leading Guided Walks of Islington

For the past six months I have been doing the usual juggling –  mixing a bit of graphic design with clay pipe jewelry making, card and print selling, taking photos and writing this blog. Somehow I have managed to also squeeze in a course to lead walking tours on the streets, specifically a course run by CIGA, the Clerkenwell and Islington Guides' Association.
It's gotta be said; I am absolutely exhausted.
Tomorrow afternoon I will be completing the final part of the 4-part exam; an examiner will ask each of seven of us to talk about two of the stops on a 14-stop route from Highbury & Islington station to Islington Green, taking in the places shown in the montage below, but we won't know which stops are ours until our name is called out at the time. 

Some of these pics aren't immediately obvious as regards their location, especially 'my ego was here' which I spotted in Laycock Street. The middle two are my two of my stripes cards/prints – lots more than shown here

The amount of research outside classtime that this course has necessitated has been extensive. My head is now full to brimming with facts and figures, names and locations. But it's going to be well worth it in the end.
For many years I have been gathering historical information about my local area of Holloway and saying that I want to lead tours to share the information but I just didn't apply myself to it properly; tomorrow, tomorrow, next month, after this, after that etc. This course has finally given me a kick up my ample derriere and very soon, after I have tested the walks out on a few brave friends, I will be announcing some dates.
I have four tours almost ready for action and these will be weekends and/or evenings. My A1 walks will take us up/down/around/along three different sections of the Holloway Road, and I have also designed a longer walk that will include a refreshment/lunch stop route from Holloway to Angel.
Other routes are also in the pipeline taking in Barnsbury, Finsbury Park, Highbury, Archway, Tufnell Park and Crouch End (obviously, not all in the same tour!).
If you have any unusual information that you think would be worthy of inclusion please do let me know – I am especially interested in stories from some of our older residents who might recall some of the things that have since disappeared; particularly first-hand experience of long-gone shops and businesses, tearooms, music halls, theatres, picture houses and transport/trams.
OK... back to the research for a last bit of bit of swotting-up...