Back from its summer break! It's our weekly London roundup starting with a few headlines that caught the eye in London over the last week or so, click the links for the full stories…
Compiled & Edited by Adam Scott-Goulding
PLAQUES: How do the folks at English Heritage go about making a blue plaque? This lovely film about the new plaque for Freddie Mercury reveals all:
GREAT FIRE: The Royal Mail has issue a series of comic book-style stamps commemorating the Great Fire of London…
The BBC reports… The stamps are designed by comic book artist John Higgins, who has used a graphic novel style of illustration.
They feature scenes from the start, spread and aftermath of the Great Fire, using a street map design.
Higgins has contributed to titles such as Judge Dredd and 2000 AD.
Philip Parker, from Royal Mail, said: "Despite the terrible devastation caused by the Great Fire, it provided the opportunity for the regeneration of large swathes of the city and shaped the London we know today."
Full story here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london
Buy the stamps HERE: www.royalmail.com/greatfirestamps
LONDON BUSES: An unusual last stop for a Routemaster bus…
A 1960s London bus is just the ticket after being transformed into a luxury B&B. Susan Moiser, 53, and her husband Philip, 54, bought the vintage Routemaster bus for £5,000 and spent £100,000 refurbishing the double-decker into a glamorous suite.
The couple hired an interior designer to turn the vehicle into a sumptuous living space, complete with private garden and hot tub.
Full story in The Daily Mail: www.dailymail.co.uk/travel
In Brief
THEATRE: Moulin Rouge the Musical Coming Soon – What's On Stage
FASHION: September is Fashion Month in Regent Street – WWD
BIKES: Extension for Cycle Superhighway – City A.M
FOOD: Spicy Noodles Make London Food Blogger Go Deaf – Evening Standard
EXHIBITIONS: Pink Floyd at the V&A in 2017 – Reuters
The Best Recent Posts from The Daily Constitutional…
A celebration of Sidney Paget the 19th century artist who illustrated Sherlock Holmes.
A homemade London Underground board game!
A lovely review from London Walker Trish Donaldson - thanks Trish!
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If You Do One OTHER Thing In London… Our weekly slot in which we point you in the direction of other happenings and events in our great city. A new exhibition, a gig, a museum, a pop-up-shop – the best of London within a few minutes of a London Walks walking tour.
Last day TOMORROW for Exhibitionism. It really has been a gas gas gas…
Over to the boys in the band…
Here's how to find the Saatchi Gallery…
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Walking & Footwear NewsSo it seems that would-be London bankers can't climb the greasy pole of wealth if they wear brown shoes…
[Job interview] Candidates who wear brown shoes, "loud" ties or ill-fitting suits can fall foul of "opaque" codes of conduct, the Social Mobility Commission found.
Firms recruit for front office roles from a few elite universities and only hire those who "fit in", it said.
Chairman Alan Milburn said "arcane culture rules" were locking working-class candidates out of City jobs.
A spokesman for the British Bankers' Association (BBA) said: "The banking industry has made significant strides to improve social mobility at all levels but recognises that we cannot afford to be complacent on this crucial issue".
Where one can but a pair of these "significant strides" (I take it they do mean trousers) remains unclear.
Full story from the BBC: www.bbc.co.uk/news But my favorite walking story of the week was this one:
A woman has rang 999 to ask for a lift home in an ambulance because a shopping trip had left her with sore feet in Stratford.
The call to the emergency number shocked 999 dispatcher Jo Bird who tweeted they were “#notataxiservice”.
Calling 999 the woman said: “Erm, sorry about this but I’ve been on my feet all day and now my feet are hurting me so much that I can’t walk. They’re burning.”
She told how she had even rung the police for help and added: “I’ve just got two miles to walk home and I’m not going to make it in this condition.”
Full story at www.itv.com/news
Seen in London
Yup, it's a flying pig…
Get ready for the Great Gig in the Sky, you will Wish You Were Here#PinkFloyd #TheirMortalRemains pic.twitter.com/jzn3U9cMun — V&A (@V_and_A) August 31, 2016
Heard In London
London Walks guide Karen Pierce-Goulding features in the Visit London Podcast with Anthony Davis…
Karen holds forth on London, how she became a guide and working for the "most prestigious walking tour company in the land"…Listen here…
And finally…
Earlier this summer The Daily Mail rounded up the 10 best walking tours in Britain – and THREE of them are London Walks!
London Walks is the headline act in the Daily Mail's just published Best Guided Tours in Britain piece. 3 of the 10 https://t.co/3QNptA3P2y — London Walks (@londonwalks) August 22, 2016
London Spy will return next week
A London Walk costs £10 – £8 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
