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  • London – Tower of London (1961 Guide Book)

    London – Tower of London (1961 Guide Book)

    Tower Of London Guide Book

    This (it’s in .pdf format) is apparently out of copyright and it’s the guide book published by the Ministry of Works in 1961. Quite a lot has changed over the last sixty years and I hadn’t realised that the Crown Jewels at the time were in Wakefield Tower, which must have been quite a challenge in crowd management, although not so much in centuries gone by when they were in the Martin Tower.

    Also, the Tower of London used to be free of charge on Saturdays and Bank Holidays (although there was a small charge to see the Crown Jewels), it’s now much more expensive and I’m not sure that they ever have any free admission days. The description of the rooms in the various buildings is now so different that I’ve been unable to even ascertain which room is which.

  • London – Tower of London (Then and Now)

    London – Tower of London (Then and Now)

    The Tower of London has an interesting concept to mark the contribution of those who had fought in the First World War, which was to merge photos from the time with a recent and symbolic image. The above image is the original and the idea is to take a modern photo at the same place, but with a different person, although someone connected with the original image.

    This is the modified image, with a boy scout taking the place of the boy in the original photo, but he’s standing in the same location.

    I was sufficiently intrigued to go and take my own photo at the same site. This really brings to life the past when museums do this, a reminder that the very ground that visitors are standing on has so much history from across so many generations. Not least, because of the contribution that these men and boys gave, there’s a feeling of ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’.

  • Wetherspoons – Hertfordshire

    As I bored everyone with here, my travel has meant that I’ve managed to visit a lot of JD Wetherspoons over the years. So in an attempt to remember them all, I’ve decided to try and write about them. As explained elsewhere, other perfectly good pubs are also available and of course should be visited   🙂

    There are nineteen JD Wetherspoon outlets in Hertfordshire, and two which have closed. I’ve visited four of the nineteen open pubs and neither of the closed two. So, a really half-arsed effort so far for Hertfordshire….

    Figures: (which are more for me than to interest anyone else):

    Number visited : 4/19 (open pubs) 0/2 (closed pubs)

    Favourite pub in county : Moon and Cross

    Admiral Byng (Potters Bar) – Not visited

    Angel Vaults (Hitchin) – Not visited

    Colombia Press (Watford) – Not visited

    [Closed] Cross Keys (St. Albans) – Not visited, but it was originally opened by the company in 2006. The pub was sold by Wetherspoons in 2012, when it became a little surplus to requirements following the opening of the Waterend Barn. The building is now a Bill’s Restaurant.

    Crown (Berkhamsted) – Not visited

    Full House (Hemel Hempstead) – Not visited

    Harpsfield Hall (Hitchin) – Not visited

    Hart & Spool (Borehamwood) – Not visited

    King James (Cheshunt) – I’ve visited here recently, so just as easy to point to my blog post about the pub.

    Manor House (Royston) – Not visited

    Moon and Cross (Waltham Cross) – I’ve visited here recently, so here’s the blog post.

    Moon Under Water (Watford) – Not visited

    Pennsylvanian (Rickmansworth) – William Penn lived nearby to where this pub now stands, and he was the founder of Pennsylvania, which is one of my favourite states in the US. I was mildly disappointed when the company said earlier in 2019 that this was one of the pubs that they were selling, although it still appears to be part of the chain at the moment.

    Looking at Wetherspoons, I was pleased to note this review, “Was asked to either tone down my baby grandson who was being a bit vocal at the time or leave”. I’m one of those people who is very understanding of children making noise (well, sort of), but continuing to be a “bit vocal” isn’t very fair on neighbouring tables…. And another customer rushed to leave a 1/5 review, despite apparently walking out, complaining that the “short, dumpy female” serving hadn’t served her in turn. The pub is perhaps lucky if a customer with that willingness to mock staff has gone elsewhere….

    It’s been a few years since I’ve visited this pub, but I liked it, although it seems that it is probably in need a refurbishment now, although if Wetherspoons do keep it, perhaps that will take place.

    Port Jackson (Bishop’s Stortford) – Not visited

    Six Templars (Hertford) – Not visited

    Standard Bearer (Stevenage) – Not visited

    Standing Order (Stevenage) – Not visited

    Star (Hoddesdon) – Not visited

    Three Magnets (Letchworth) – Not visited

    Waterend Barn (St. Albans) – This is quite literally a barn of a place, with plenty of seating space across what is actually two former barns, one from the sixteenth century and the other from the seventeenth century. The interior is modern, albeit within an historic setting, and it’s a spacious and comfortable environment. Judging from the reviews, the standards here appear to be relatively high, although there are always some exceptions to the positivity…..

    “Was having a byl of wine on Sunday, got told I have to finish it outside and then while still drinking have asked to use a toilet. Security guy advised me that it’s only ladies allowed to use it and guys can go round the corner and sort it out outside?”

    The pub didn’t deny that this took place, so I’m with the customer, that’s not great….

    “There was a lady on a table opposite who was awfully loud, and she felt it necessary to broadcast to half of the pub that she needed to use the toilet, and then called over to me and my family to watch her drink so that she could go out for a smoke, which I thought was pretty rude”

    I’m not sure that it’s rude to ask someone to look after your drink, but each to their own…. I like characters like in the pub though, the awfully loud ones can often be quite entertaining when they’re doing their broadcasting.

    “The bar has a one drink minimum rule per person after waiting half an hour to get anything.”

    I’m not sure I understood this review, surely every bar has a one drink minimum rule per person? Otherwise it’d just be going over there for a chat with the bar staff.

    [Closed] Wetherspoons (South Oxhey) – Not visited and not one of the most interesting names for a pub that JD Wetherspoon could have picked….

  • London – Science Museum (MONIAC)

    London – Science Museum (MONIAC)

    If there was any doubt that I really need to get out more, it’s my excitement at this, one of the MONIAC (Monetary National Income Analogue Computer) machines. I’ve seen photos of this numerous times before back when studying economics, and it’s a pre-computer method of measuring how the UK national economy functioned by changing various inputs. It was designed by William Phillips, the same man for which the Phillips curve is named (a link I hadn’t realised until I was enlightened by Wikipedia).

    Wikipedia also tells me that there were around twelve to fourteen machines built, most of which appear to have survived and are dotted around the world. The one at the Science Museum is located in the mathematics sections and was donated to them by the LSE in 1995.

    Water would flow through the machine and it was possible to work out how to try to get an equilibrium in the economy, with these models apparently being surprisingly successful.

  • London – Science Museum (Door Case from 56 Lincoln’s Inn Fields)

    London – Science Museum (Door Case from 56 Lincoln’s Inn Fields)

    There seemed to be a fair few exhibits at the Science Museum which had a rather tenuous link to, well, science. This door case seems to be something better suited to the Museum of London, but it’s here as the museum say that it’s a mathematical shape following the rules of proportion.

    The door case dates from the eighteenth century and it was saved before the building was demolished in 1912, to be replaced with a larger and more substantial property. The London County Council, who were the ground landlord, noted in the early twentieth century:

    “In the case of No. 56, no part of the original building is in existence. The only external feature of interest is an 18th-century door case, constructed in wood (illustrated in Plate 72). The designer has effectively used Roman Ionic columns with entablatures, to support a bold pediment, below which has been placed a semi-circular fanlight to give light to the passage. The interior is uninteresting.”

    They also published a partial list of residents of the building:

    In 1700 and 1703 Sir Thos. Millington.
    In 1708 and 1723 John Richardson.
    Before 1730 to 1731. Geo. Baker.
    1732–1739. Dr. Thos. Rundle.
    1740–1755. “W. Murray.”
    1756–1758. “Chas. Pratt.”
    1759–1761. John Rayner.
    1762–1769. Thos. Kinnaston.
    1770–1784. Sir Walter Rawlinson.
    1785–1788. S. Ewer.
    1789–1793. — Heyman.
    1794–1802. Mrs. Lee.
    1803– Jas. White.

    I’m assuming that the Thomas Millington was the physician, notable for being one of those who dissected the body of King William III in 1702. Millington died in 1703, but I have no idea whether he was responsible for the addition of the door case to the property, which I suspect he might have rented (the property, not the door case). Anyway, science or not, it’s an interesting reminder of the London which is no longer there.

  • London – Science Museum (Merman)

    London – Science Museum (Merman)

    This gorgeous little number at the Science Museum is a Merman, which is a cross between a fish, a bird and a monkey. It dates from around the nineteenth century, although its origins are unclear, it might be Dutch or Japanese. A merman is a male mermaid, so the variety of items that come into this definition are quite broad.

    It’s not an uninteresting exercise to look back on old newspapers, where stories were still circulating from supposedly credible sources that mermans did exist. Reported throughout the national media in May 1739 was this story:

    “In Vigo, in Spain, some fishermen lately took on that coast a sort of monster, or merman, five foot and a half from its foot to its head, which is like that of a goat. It has a long beard and mustachoes, a black skin, somewhat hairy, a very long neck, short arms and hands longer and bigger than they ought to be in proportion to the rest of the body, long fingers like those of a man, with nails likes claws, very long toes joined like the feet of a duck and the heel furnished with fins.”

    Sounds a lovely thing to find….

  • London – Science Museum (Lotus 1-2-3)

    London – Science Museum (Lotus 1-2-3)

    Lotus 1-2-3 dates back to the early 1980s and was early spreadsheet software which was important in the development of IBM computers. Anyway, that’s a story for elsewhere to be told by people who know much more about it than me. The only reason I’ve posted this is that I remember using this software at school, and remember the packaging of the box. I really do need to get out more. And, I’m realising that I’m definitely ageing slightly if I’m seeing software that I once used in a museum.

  • London – Benugo at London Liverpool Street

    London – Benugo at London Liverpool Street

    Benugo opened their new outlet at London Liverpool Street railway station a couple of years ago, carving the space out of an area where people used to sit on steps looking down over the concourse. That view of course remains, but there’s a pleasant seating area now, which helpfully has power points along it for those who need to charge devices.

    The service was certainly interesting, a staff member looking at their phone and not noticing I was there until I started to do this strange fake cough to get their attention. The staff member was perfectly competent and unusually conversational, although they started to talk about politics. Unfortunately, their world view wasn’t quite the same as mine, I’m not very nationalist and am discomfited about the current political landscape for numerous reasons. Anyway, this blog isn’t a place for politics (I have Facebook for that), and perhaps nor was Benugo.

    But, putting that to one side, I quite like talking about politics, so I’ve carefully avoided giving any indication of who served me. And, it’d be obtuse to complain of a staff member just trying to engage with customers. Anyway, the coffee was reasonably priced, tasted of a decent quality and the environment was surprisingly calm and peaceful.

  • London – Science Museum (Fire Damaged Stones from St. Paul’s)

    London – Science Museum (Fire Damaged Stones from St. Paul’s)

    I sometimes look at exhibits in museums and feel that I find them unusually interesting, although I assume that so did a curator at some stage. In this case, it’s some old bits of stone. There’s a slightly tenuous link in my mind to the Science Museum, but these are fire damaged stones from St. Paul’s Cathedral. The building was destroyed in 1666 during the Great Fire of London, being replaced in the late seventeenth century by the current cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

    There was talk of repairing the previous Cathedral following the fire, with some remedial repairs being undertaken. But, it was felt that a modern and new design was needed, although demolishing the building was challenging since the stone had become fused together by molten lead. So, the authorities had a great idea to use gunpowder to blow the remaining parts of the cathedral up, making the removal much easier. Anyway, to cut a long story short, after several deaths, many noise complaints and damaged neighbouring buildings, Wren had enough of the chaos and brought battering rams onto the site to attack it that way.

    I’m not quite sure at what stage the museum’s bits of stone were taken away from the site, or where they’ve been over the centuries. But, they’re very lovely, as I like history in science museums, as they can be a bit science orientated otherwise…

  • London – Science Museum (Guinevere)

    London – Science Museum (Guinevere)

    I remember seeing this on the television in the 1990s, one of the original machines used to draw National Lottery numbers randomly. It was brought into use in 1994 following the introduction of the lottery by the then Prime Minister, John Major.

    The machine was kept in use until 2004, at which point it was replaced by a shinier machine, although they kept the name Guinevere. It entered the Science Museum’s collections in 2006 and is one of those things that I’m pleased someone thought to keep. The museum reminds visitors that devices have been used for many hundreds of years to produce random results, with this being a more modern version of the technique.

    I’m not sure why some of the balls appear more faded than others. I heard some other visitors also overly excited to see Guinevere, perhaps the machine had been helpful to them in the results that it produced…..