Spare London, for London is like the city that thou lovedst.
Thomas Nash (1593-1647), Christ’s Tears Over Jerusalem
London Trivia: The Tatler
On 12 April 1709 Isaac Bickerstaff, the pseudonym of Richard Steele published the first edition of the innovative journal, The Tatler. Appearing two or three times a week, it purported to publish news and gossip heard in various London coffeehouses, he declared in the opening paragraph, to leave the subject of politics to the newspapers, while presenting Whiggish views and correcting middle-class manners.
On 12 April 1665 England’s first Black Death victim, Margaret Ponteous, was buried in the churchyard of St Paul’s Covent Garden
The last nobleman tried by ‘God and his Peers’, Lord Edward Southwell Russell de Clifford who in 1935 faced the Lords on a manslaughter charge
There are 24 bridges over the Thames the original wooden London Bridge opened in 1209; the newest pedestrian Millennium Bridge in 2000
Albert Memorial has 61 human figures Albert died 1861; 19 men Albert born 1819; 42 women he died aged 42; 9 animals Albert had 9 children
Charles I’s neck vertebrae lost after being sliced through by the executioner’s axe appeared later as Queen Victoria surgeon’s salt cellar
In 1925 George Gershwin’s premier performance of Rhapsody in Blue was broadcast from the Savoy Hotel by the BBC
On 12 April 1911 the first non-stop flight from London to Paris a distance of 290 miles was completed by Pierre Prier in 3 hours 56 minutes
London’s only bespoke motor racing track was at Crystal Palace, opening in 1936, during its life it would attract crowds of 60,000 a day
For London’s first scheduled bus route from Peckham to Oxford Street was operated Thomas Tilling, they earned the nickname of ‘Times’, which later appeared on their sides
In 1766 at his London private laboratory Henry Cavendish discovered hydrogen calling it “Inflammable Air”, a rich man, upon his death he was the largest depositor in the Bank of England
In 17th century London Tomias Smollett reported cherries would be made to glisten afresh by being gently roll around the greengrocer’s mouth
Trivial Matter: London in 140 characters is taken from the daily Twitter feed @cabbieblog.
A guide to the symbols used here and source material can be found on the Trivial Matter page.
Previously Posted: Gallic Snug
For those new to CabbieBlog or readers who are slightly forgetful, on Saturdays I’m republishing posts, many going back over a decade. Some will still be very relevant while others have become dated over time. Just think of this post as your weekend paper supplement.
Gallic Snug (26.02.13)
Although the bar was called York Minster until quite recently most had known it as The French House and it’s had a Gallic feel since it opened in 1914. In the Second World War, it became the favoured watering hole of General de Gaulle while he was organising the Free French forces. It was while using the bar as a homely headquarters that de Gaulle wrote his famous speech ‘À tous les Français’ urging his countrymen to keep alive ‘the flame of French resistance’. Ironically its frontage was blown out in an air raid.
After the war, the bar gained its reputation as a haunt for the heavy drinking, louche bohemian, with regulars a celebrated roster of artists, writers, wits and eccentrics including Aleister Crowley.
In 1984 it became clear the York Minster’s fame had spread worldwide when the real Minster (the cathedral in York) suffered a catastrophic fire and donations for repairs destined for York Minster began arriving at the bar from around the globe.
When the landlord redirected the funds north to Yorkshire he discovered the Bishop of York had for many years been quietly receiving unsolicited cases of claret intended for Gaston Berlemond a Belgian who had bought the pub in 1914.
It sells more Ricard than anywhere else in Britain and only serves beer in half-pints, except for on April the first, when a recent custom has been that Suggs serves the first pint of the day.
London in Quotations: Mehmut Murat Ildan
London has now become almost like a gigantic frog! With its long tongue it draws curious insects from all over the world inside itself!
Mehmut Murat Ildan (b.1965), William Shakespeare
London Trivia: London smallpox epidemic
On 5 April 1973, the Department of Health & Social Security declared London ‘a smallpox-infected area’, after a laboratory technician working part-time in the pox virus laboratory at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine became ill on 11 March and saw her own family doctor. A patient at the London hospital subsequently proved positive, he died the next day. Three cases of the contagion were confirmed.
On 5 April 1968 Flight Lieutenant Alan Pollock became the first pilot to fly a jet aircraft (Hawker Hunter) under the span of Tower Bridge
Bollards near Tate Britain were used to tie up barges alongside Millbank Penitentiary used to house prisoners destined for deportation
When tunnelling for the Jubilee Line extension St. Stephen’s Tower – which houses Big Ben – shifted over an inch it had to be shored up
St. Bartholomew’s Hospital was founded in 1123 and is the oldest hospital in England still on its original site
On 5 April 1967 fans of The Monkees walked from Marble Arch to the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square to protest at Davy Jones’ planned call-up
London street artist or graffiti dauber depending on your view comes from Bristol, famously secretive, he could come from, well — anywhere
Birdcage Walk derives its name from the aviary owned by King Charles I containing exotic species including a crane with a wooden leg
On Shrove Tuesday charity teams race up and down Dray Walk, Spitalfields flipping pancakes. The winning team receives an engraved frying pan
On Tower Hill is an entrance to the 1870 Tower Subway. You could ride under the river in a carriage pulled by cable
Lionel Logue who cured King George of his stammer had his practice at 146 Harley Street from 1926 to 1952 in the film Portman Place was used
Plaque on house by the Globe Theatre which claims that Wren lived there was put up by past owner Malcolm Munthe who made it up!
Trivial Matter: London in 140 characters is taken from the daily Twitter feed @cabbieblog.
A guide to the symbols used here and source material can be found on the Trivial Matter page.
CabbieBlog 