Exploring one of the world's greatest cities
If you’re looking to exercise your brain during this cold, dark lockdown why not try my big London Quiz?! Below you’ll find sixty questions about the capital, spread across five fiendish rounds: ‘Name that boat race’, ‘Lost London’, ‘On location’, ‘Blue blur’ and ‘Map it!’ Answers can be found at the bottom of the page. …
London is brimming with ghost stories; many of the city’s pubs, hotels and tube stations have a spooky tale to tell. Even in the paranormal realm however, some hauntings are more bizarre than others. Here are five such peculiar tales from London, rated in what I consider to be their ascending level of creepiness. Happy Halloween- and…
On 21st October 2020, the celebrated photographer, Frank Horvat passed away at the age of 92. Frank was born in April 1928 in the Croatian town of Opatija (then part of Italy and known as Abbazia), into a family of Jewish, Central European descent. He discovered photography in his teens and swapped his stamp collection in…
On the 30 October 1995, Pulp released their fifth studio album: Different Class. Featuring songs about everyday working class life set to an eclectic fusion of disco, pop and rock, Different Class is a masterpiece- as well as providing the ’90s Britpop era with a defining moment, the album is now widely considered to be one of the…
I recently decided to scour the internet for examples of vintage menu designs which have been used at various London restaurants over the years. My interest in this venture was inspired by a talk I was fortunate enough to attend last year, given by Dr Annie Gray at the Tower Bridge Experience. Dr Annie…
This is part two of a look at the history of Joseph Merrick- aka ‘The Elephant Man.’ The first instalment can be read here. Following the crackdown on freak shows in Britain, the consortium overseeing Joseph Merrick agreed they should try their luck abroad. A European tour was therefore arranged for ‘The Elephant Man.’ During this period,…
With entertainment options limited at the moment, many people are turning to video games to keep their brains ticking over during lockdown. According to a recent report, vintage games are proving especially popular as people seek to rekindle old favourites from simpler times. Here are my top 15 London retro games from the 1980s. They…
Please note, this article contains details which some readers may find upsetting. 40 years ago this August, an act of mass murder was committed in central London: the Denmark Place fire. Little known about today, this horrific incident occurred in the shadow of the Centre Point Tower, on a short, narrow street called Denmark Place….
The London pub is an institution: there are approximately 3500 of them in the capital. As we wait for the Covid-19 crisis to ease and the pubs to re-open, now is a good time to reflect upon the long histories which many of these old stalwarts have and to take heart in the fact that…
Over the past eleven days I’ve been running a daily London Underground quiz here at robslondon.com; ten questions for each line on the network. The series is now over with all lines covered. In case you’ve missed any however, or would like to re-visit them in order to brush up on your knowledge, I have…
