…until September. Hampstead Observatory, the 100-year old telescope observatory in North London is open to the general public for free during the winter months – but has to close for summer due to the annoyance of a lack of darkness…
As politicians traipse into 10 Downing Street to learn what second jobs they will get in addition to being an MP, I decided to brag dig out this photo of the time I once also passed through those hallowed doors.…
This came via an email and looks interesting – and in the absence of a website to link to, I copy it below. London Festival of Architecture Debate Thursday 24th June 2010 at the Apple Store, Regent Street in association…
Suggest an evening that involves wandering round an old fashioned museum with a glass of wine and I am probably already interested – but throw in allusions to Dr Who and various other science fiction shows and we have a…
About a week ago, I had a press release from the RAF Museum in North London announcing a small bit of significant history was about to occur – but failed to mention the date. I however, then kept forgetting to…
“I apologise for the cramped conditions” was how the first train on the newly extended East London Line was introduced to its excited passengers. For yes, the majority, if not indeed the totality of the passengers were highly excited. A…
UPDATE: There have been some slight changes to the route – the details below have been updated based on an email on Saturday morning. Had an email over the weekend confirming the route for the Jack in the Green procession…
Dotted around the country are 25 sub-surface bunkers that were designed to monitor the fallout from a possible nuclear attack and today I wandered down to Maidstone to visit the bunker that “controlled” the South-East of England, including a bit…
This lunchtime, an ancient pageant to celebrate St George’s Day was renewed as St George was paraded on horseback through the streets of London, coming to a rest for a short while outside the front of St Paul’s Cathedral. This…
Details for the annual City of London Festival have been published and while the majority of the events are art based, there are some which either appeal to me or might be worth flagging as above average in interest. My…
If you are an auction house wanting to sell large items – such as maybe, a collection of cars, then you need somewhere to put them on display. A large shed is ideal – and if it contains an equally…
After a few years of restoration work, a Victorian steam pumping station was brought back into life late last year, and today was one of the periodic steaming days where the engine is powered up and surrounded by wreaths of…
Had tickets last night to watch Have I Got News for You being recorded with two comedians I can’t honestly say I have ever heard of (Lee Mack and Kevin Bridges), along with the bombastic leader of the UKIP party,…
I know almost nothing about contemporary music, but am on the mailing list for Somerset House for what’s happening in general at their venue. Having received a note about their Summer Series, what follows is just a notification that a…
Collating details as they are published of the various military aircraft flypasts over London and local area, as I do – and it is about as ready as it is likely to get. Apart from the big flypast in June…
The dominant concrete grain silos in North Greenwich are shortly to be demolished to make way for human silos in the form of modern blocks of flats. While the associated factory stank rather badly, it provided jobs and added character…
Yesterday, along with several hundred other equally excited people during the day, I finally got a chance to walk along a bit of train tunnel – yes the infamous Brunel Thames Tunnel that had been the topic of much news…
Wandered over to an interesting talk last night entitled Europe and America – Worlds Apart? that took took a statistical look at the differences between the two population blocks. A lot of people, myself included will presume that Americans are…
Warning – tickets are SOLD OUT. You can try turning up in the hope that people have spares, but that is about it. The Brunel Museum will however resume their floodlit tunnel train trips in a few months time. In…
As a regular attendee of the recordings of HIGNFY, I am quite often asked how to get tickets, so I have on occasions written up the details – but over time, the pages end up inaccurate thanks to changes made by Hattrick TV, so here is the updated version.
One weekend in March, the National Trust is opening up almost all of its buildings to the public free of charge. You need to download a voucher to gain free entry to the buildings, and that then gets you into…
Put actors, Christopher Lee and Michael Sheen on a stage together with writer Will Self and self-confessed Tim Burton luvvie, Mark Salisbury and you have a Wonderland of Alice to enjoy. As part of the round of interviews and publicity…
In the absence of a Ye Dummies Guide to Mechanical Printing, how do historians study the birth of mass printing methods that emerged from the development of Gutenberg’s movable type printing press? Study the mistakes of course! Despite the justifiable…
The annual Trooping the Colour ceremony occurs in June at Horse Guards Parade – and while you can watch it on the telly or parts of it from The Mall, it is much more fun to have a seat within…
