Carolineld

LATEST ARTICLES ( 803 )

• Olympia Warehouse Sunset

  

  Discussion about the development of Olympia Warehouse, part of Convoys Wharf in Deptford, has been going on for well over a decade. Read more

  Posted on 13 January 2021 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (142): Fortescue Bros of Reading

  

  This ghost sign is tucked inside a covered alleyway off West Street, Reading - but it was worth stepping around the bins for. It (literally) points passers-by t... Read more

  Posted on 05 January 2021 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Straight to the Point

  

  Today, just a little teaser for a forthcoming ghost sign post - because who could resist this lively manicule? Those fingernails! The thumb wrinkles! The cuff... Read more

  Posted on 04 January 2021 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• A Stroll Through Sables-d'Or-les-Pins

  

  Let's go back to late summer, and stroll down the broad boulevard and elegant side streets of Sables-d'Or-les-Pins. This seaside resort in Brittany, France,... Read more

  Posted on 03 January 2021 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• 313 Oxford Street

  

  Making a rare visit to a near-empty Oxford Street, I had the opportunity to get a phtograph of this fantastic late-Victorian building unobscured by passers-by. Read more

  Posted on 02 January 2021 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Top Posts of a Strange Year

  

  2020 was certainly different, and this blog had its own uncharacteristic period of silence. The end-of-year round-up is therefore slightly smaller than... Read more

  Posted on 31 December 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Early Morning, Tower Bridge

  

  While we can't be out and about in London, here's a view of a favourite landmark: Tower Bridge, viewed from below as it opened one morning. Read more

  Posted on 30 December 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Gunpowder Square

  

  The name sounds suitably historical, the cannon dates from the reign of George III, but Gunpowder Square in the City of London is only in its 30s! As a plaque o... Read more

  Posted on 29 December 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• The Ruined Manoir De Coecilian

  

  On the coast of the beautiful Crozon peninsula in Brittany, just behind the neolithic Lagatjar alignments, is a ruined manor house with distinctive cylindrical... Read more

  Posted on 28 December 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• A Long History of Law Books

  

  Wildy and Sons bookshop in Lincoln's Inn isn't just located in a historical building; it is a historical business itself. It has been here since 1830, selling... Read more

  Posted on 27 December 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Ghost Signs (141): Frome

  

  The Somerset town of Frome has some fantastic ghost signs. Probably the best are those collected on one corner building, 1 Bath Street, now an interior design... Read more

  Posted on 26 December 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Merry Christmas Crackers!

  The Christmas cracker seems ubiquitous in Britain at this time of year - in shops, on tables, and in seasonal illustrations. It's also a London invention:... Read more

  Posted on 25 December 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• It's Coming Back...

  

  After a lot of neglect, this blog is going to burst back into life! (Or slowly stumble back, at least.) Beginning with a seasonal snap* on 25 December, there... Read more

  Posted on 19 December 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• A 14th-century Tower in the Paris Suburbs

  

  In the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Créteil is off the tourist track - but it does have a hidden treasure. The Colombier de Créteil is a dovecote which has... Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• A Little Piccadilly Circus Secret

  

  Tucked away in a part of Piccadilly Circus Underground Station inaccessible to the public is this tile. The station opened in 1906; this tunnel was one of... Read more

  Posted on 17 May 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Salisbury Plain's Lost Village

  

  Since 1943, nobody has lived in the village of Imber. Visiting is only possible on a few days a year; the rest of the time, it is part of the Army's training... Read more

  Posted on 10 May 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Aux Belles Poules, Paris

  

  In England, prostitution has for centuries occupied a strange position in law: it is legal, but most surrounding activities are not. Read more

  Posted on 04 May 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Execution of the Cato Street Conspirators

  

  Five men were executed, 200 years ago today, for their part in the Cato Street Conspiracy. This plot to kill the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, as the first... Read more

  Posted on 01 May 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Secret Moorgate Station

  

  A Sunday just before lockdown began: even the public areas were quiet!A busy station in the heart of the City of London, with tube and railway lines, is hardly ... Read more

  Posted on 26 April 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY

• Deptford Sewage Pumping Station

  

  Now known as Greenwich Pumping Station, this site just to the east of Deptford Creek has long fascinated me. For many years, this meant peering through the fenc... Read more

  Posted on 21 April 2020 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, HISTORY