Friday is Rock'n'Roll London Day

Welcome back plaque!

The commemorative plaque at the site of the old 21’s Coffee bar in Soho, marking the birthplace of British Rock’n’Roll, has returned! After an absence of several weeks, it’s now back in its rightful place and you can see it today on the Rock’n’Roll London Walk at 2:00pm…

And here's Wee Willie Harris Rockin' At The 2 I's, packed with glorious, irredeemably British linguistic ticks – waiting for buses and eating one's tea – jostling for space alongside such Americanisms as "chick". A great period piece…

And here’s our own Rock’n’Roll London video…

REMEMBER: The Rock’n’Roll London Pub walk will return every Wednesday night at 7:00pm from the 5th February 2014…

THE ROCK’N’ROLL LONDON PUB WALK! EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT MEETING AT TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD STATION (EXIT 3).

Join the Rock’n'Roll London Walk on Friday at 2pm, meeting at Tottenham Court Road Station (Exit 3) – to book a Private Walk call 020 7642 3978 or email london@walks.com

A London Walk costs £9 – £7 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.

Hot Cat

Here’s another London Walks pet. Kim Writes…

We wouldn't be without our cats as they are the only effective mouse deterrent. We know that all our neighbours have been plagued by mice but we've never had any trouble at all. We have three cats and here's a picture of our oldest one, Patch. 

She came to us as a rescue cat in 2008 with the RSPCA ensuring us that she had been neutered. Obviously hadn't been because within 6 months one cat had become four! And if you don't know anything about cat fertility we can attest to the fact that they get pregnant immediately after giving birth so six months later  3 more kittens arrived. 

All were found good homes and we still have one of them - Mole - with us plus another rescue kitten - Pepper - who arrived about 7 years ago. 

Patch is now getting on in cat years, is very deaf, has arthritis which makes jumping and climbing difficult and warmth is her favourite thing so she'll be found as close to a radiator as possible or - even better - on top of the Sky box. 

In this position she can change the channel at will which means you have to make sure you are recording a programme at the same time as watching it because the programme will disappear and you'll be given the Shopping Channel just as the murderer is going to be uncovered or the goal is being scored.  Our son has now used his GCSE Technology experience (knew it had to be good for something) to rig up a device that stops this happening whilst ensuring the cat stays warm!

Kim

Kim, who has worked in the House of Commons and the European Parliament, is another 24-carat Blue Badge Guide: she won the London Tourist Board's Guide of the Year award in 2001.

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.

The London List No.4: Chinese New Year

This weekend sees the great celebrations of Chinese New Year in Soho…

1. At the Chinese New Year, children receive gifts of red envelopes full of money. Tradition states that the amount should be an even number, but never an amount divisible by four: four symbolizes death.

2. The Westminster Chinese Library, housed within the Charing Cross Library, has a collection of over 50,000 Chinese books.

3. Limehouse in East London was the original Chinatown.

4. The area of Soho known as Chinatown boasts over 80 restaurants.

5. Musical Chinatown: Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club began its existence in Chinatown in the basement of no. 39 Gerrard Street. Led Zeppelin had their first rehearsal in Gerrard Street. Only no one can remember where… (join us on the Rock'n'Roll London Walk every Friday).

6. Chinese people constitute the fourth largest Asian group in London numbering around 115,000.

7. This year is The Year of the Horse. Notable London foundations in the Year of the Horse include: 

• The Gielgud Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue (est. 1906 as the Hicks Theatre)
• The Royal Air Force (at the Hotel Cecil 1918)
• Equity, the actors’ trade union (1931)
• Waterloo Bridge (partially opened 1942)
• The Troubadour Coffee House (Old Brompton Road – still going strong!)
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience (founded in London 1966)

8. Eight tasty London ways to celebrate the New Year courtesy of Zagat.com.

 (More London Lists soon…)

A London Walk costs £9 – £7 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.

 

The Return of the Rock'n'Roll London Pub Walk!

It's back! From NEXT Wednesday 5th February 2014 the Rock'n'Roll London Pub Walk returns to its regular slot – 7:00pm at Tottenham Court Road Station (exit 3).

Here's the trailer…

A London Walk costs £9 – £7 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.

The Royal London Podcast & Book

Big thanks to London Walker Lisa Landrum Troxler, who left us the following message on Facebook…

You can catch up with the latest episode of the London Walks Podcast, Royal London, here:

If you’d like to read Karen’s book – there’s a short extract on the podcast – you can buy it online at The London Bookstore & Walking Tour Shop: londonbookstore.myshopify.com

A London Walk costs £9 – £7 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.

'Ere's Our 'Enry

Those of you who have called London Walks with an enquiry or to book a private walk may well have ended up speaking to Henry's best friend, Nadiya. Here's Henry…

Henry is four-years-old and is capable of moving at speeds of up to seven times greater than an average group of teenage students on a privately booked walking tour.


Nadiya herself is much more camera-shy, I'm sad to say – as is Fiona, whose dog Loki appeared on these pages last week – and so their identities remain a closely guarded secret. For the time being…


(More London Walks pets soon!)






A London Walk costs £9 – £7 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.

Ghostly London Podcast

Tonight's London Walks Ghost Walk is Ghosts of the Old City (St Paul's Underground, Exit 2 7:30p.m). Here's our Ghostly London Podcast to put you in the mood…

A London Walk costs £9 – £7 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.

A Frankenstein's Monster of a Walk…

As regular readers will know, we've been using pedometers and step-counting devices this January to measure some of our London Walks. 

Last week on Ghosts of the Old City we counted 2,595 steps and burned 108 calories. See earlier post HERE. 


Then we had a look at the mapping facility on our iSteps app. And the route looked like this…

…and we couldn't help but notice that the outline left on the map looked a little like a profile of Frankenstein's monster. Don't see it? How about this, then…

Spooky, huh?

Step Counters Elsewhere on The Daily Constitutional…

Soho Step Count

LW Guide Kim on Step Counters

Stepping Out In Kensington

Brunel's Pedometer

London Walkers In Hampstead Recommend the FitBit

Post updated 23/2/16


Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.

Oh What A Lovely War

Oh What A Lovely War, the regular Monday afternoon walk on London in the First World War, is just about to set off from St James’s Park tube.

In this centenary year, the First World War is all around us. This book cover caught our eye in the window of Pinda Bryars Books on Cecil Court in the West End the other day…

500 Cockney War Stories is a collection of war stories with a London slant collated from the now defunct London Evening News. Tales such as this one…

Pinda Bryars Books is at 7 Cecil Court WC2 and their blog is here: pindabryarsbooks.co.uk

Oh What A Lovely War – London & The First World War goes every Monday at 2:30p.m from St James’s Park Station, guided by Kim, Hilary or Rex – more info at www.walks.com.

A London Walk costs £9 – £7 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.

In and Around London... The London Motorcycle Museum

The Monday Photoblog!


Monday is mute on The Daily Constitutional (well, almost mute) – because Monday is the day when we post five images captured in and around London by London Walks Guides and London Walkers.

Collated on a theme or an area, if you've got some great shots of our capital and want to join in send your pictures to the usual address.

A very pleasant surprise last Monday, while walking the Capital Ring on a day off, was to stumble upon the London Motorcycle Museum.

Even for a non-petrol head such as I, this modest museum at South Greenford, was a treasure. And a great welcome, too.

The museum has no funding, and is run by a dedicated bunch whose classic British motorbikes form the bulk of the collection. Entry is £5 and a cup of tea is free – although they do ask for a donation for Cancer Research.

As I said, nice guys – the museum is unfunded yet instead of raising money for themselves they're doing it for others.

They are open Saturday, Sunday and Monday and their website is at www.london-motorcycle-museum.org. You can follow them on Facebook HERE.

POST UPDATED 13/4/16

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.