A Bermondsey boy who wandered a long way from home
I came across this photo in the Old Olavian magazine for January 1965. I am doing a brass rubbing.
Brass rubbing is a very British pastime. You can read more about it here.
I believe the photo was taken in Hever Church, in Kent.
It’s funny how the memory plays tricks on you. I thought that ace history [...]
The past few days the word “workhouse” seems to have been popping up in conversations with different people. Most people today know little about an institution that struck fear into the hearts of Britain’s poor and infirm, especially during the Victorian era. There are a number of websites devoted to the subject including this one.
I [...]
I received an email from this website informing me that my historical info on pie and mash is “completely inaccurate.” I have no way of knowing the truth of the matter but the info on this new page is very colorful. Mum has always believed the eels were caught in the river. She also remembers [...]
I remembered the Spanish phrase when I read this news item. Back in the ’60s, Vespas were the height of cool as far as Mods in England were concerned (read about them here). In Spain, which was still a relatively poor country, they were very much luxury items. Hence, people said that Vespa was [...]
Last week I saw some old friends from Costa Rica for the first time in 20 years. That made me realize that at some point this year I will have spent more time living abroad than in the UK.
I have lived in Panama for the past two and a half years but spent 25 in [...]
I spent another day in London on Saturday with another old schoolfriend, Mike, who also fitted into the “barrow boy” category. We went to see the old school building and took some photos.
This is the corner of Tooley St and Tower Bridge Rd. At some point, what we referred to as the Art Building has [...]
Old photos of Dad’s family are in short supply. Two of my aunts came to visit and brought a few. More are in the pipeline.
During their visit, my aunts Jean and Audrey told me about the four years they spent as evacuees from London during World War II. Their story is straight out of Charles [...]
“Enid Blyton has been voted Britain’s best-loved writer.”
A must-read article for some members of my tribe. Ms. Blyton was certainly responsible
for my early love of reading.
This was astonishing news to me. “Each Briton uses 4,645 litres a day when hidden factors are included,” according to today’s Guardian. Well worth a read here.
Stogs building circa 1970 (the school moved to Orpington over the 1967 Christmas holidays).
Article published in the printed edition of Southwark News
“Planning permission has been granted for developer Berkeley Homes to convert the historic Lambeth College buidling on Tooley St. into a boutique hotel.
The controversial scheme – which has been vociferously opposed by North Southwark [...]
