City of London - A City in a City, in a Country in a Country Explained

The City of London is a district of London. The City constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, but the conurbation has since grown far beyond its borders.

The City of London is a city within a city with a population of only 11,000. How can that be? Find out in this informative and entertaining video: 

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Baked Buttery Squash Recipe

Butternut squash is a fantastic vegetable to use, it's tasty, it's filling and has great colour. 

Baked Buttery Squash Ingredients:
1 butternut squash c. 675g 
1/2 tsp paprika
3 tbsp cut chives
3 tbsp low fat creme fraiche
1 thick slice of bread, into crumbs
knob of butter melted
25g grated parmesan

Baked Buttery Squash Method:
1. Preheat oven 200oC
2. Halve the squash lengthways, scoop out seeds. Put into a roasting tin half full of water. Cover with foil and bake for c. 40mins until tender.
3. Drain and transfer the squash to a board until cool enough to handle. Scrape the flesh into bowl. Mix flesh, paprika, chives and creme fraiche together and season.
4. Pop mixture back into Squash shells.
5. Mix butter, parmesan and breadcrumbs together and sprinkle on top. 
6. Bake for 15 mins until lightly browned.

Maybe it's because a Londoner...

For some reason or another I have had this song stuck in my head for days. So I thought I would share it with you! This song was written by a BBC radio presenter called Hubert Gregg (b1914). Bandleader Jack Hylton acquired it in 1947 for Bud Flannagan. It was also the original theme music for the Dixon of Dock Green TV series.

Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner (Hubert Gregg)

Bud Flanagan - 1947, Davy Jones - 1965. Also recorded by: Billy Cottton & His Band; Chas & Dave; Tessie O'Shea; Tony O'Malley; John Williams; Max Bygraves; Celia Lipton; Alan Mullery and others.

Lyrics:

Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner , That I love London soMaybe it's because I'm a Londoner, That I think of her wherever I go.I get a funny feeling inside of me, When walking up and down.
Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner, That I love London Town.

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Historical Hampstead Village, London - Highlights II

Hampstead remained a small rural community during the C16th and C17th as much of the land was a bog. 

Hampstead Heath is known to have been a place where King Henry VIII liked to hunt. The water of the area was known for it's natural bleaching qualities and became an industrial area for laundry including the laundry of Henry VIII.

Average Asking Prices By Type in Hampstead in Sept 2006:

Detached £2,352,867

Semi £1,094,421

Terraced £1,025,877

Flat £580,753

Average Asking Prices By Type in Hampstead in April 2013:

Detached £5,518,543 +135%

Semi £2,898,756 +165%

Terraced £1,851,435 +80%

Flat £1,153,156 +99%

Other Posts You Might Like:
Hampstead Village, London - a snapshot 

Historical Hampstead - Cannon Hall & Parish Lock-up

Explore The Lost River Fleet on Hampstead Heath

Hampstead Village, London

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The Cheapside Hoard: London’s Lost Jewels

The next major exhibition to open at the Museum of London is The Cheapside Hoard: London’s Lost Jewels. In 1912, an astonishing treasure of 400 jewels, unset gemstones and other precious objects was discovered under the cellar floor of a C17th house London by workmen during demolition work at 30-32 Cheapside, London.  The hoard was discovered buried under the floor and the reason for its burial remains a mystery. What the workman uncovered was the greatest hoard of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewellery ever found. The hoard constitutes the stock-in-trade of a working goldsmith; it contained finished and unfinished articles, loose gems and a variety of finished jewels.

Hat ornament in the form of a salamander: C16th-17th

Flexible family tickets (must include at least one child and one adult):
Family of up to 3 £22.50 (£19.50 without donation)
Family of up to 4 £30 (£26 without donation)
Family of up to 5 £37.50 (£32.50 without donation)
Family of up to 6 £45 (£39 without donation)

Reliquary cross of croisonne enamel: C16th - 17th

Adult: £10 (£9 without donation)

Concession/child: £8 (£7 without donation)
Box Office: 020 7001 9844 
Website ticket sales open in June 

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London History Timeline

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood - an Intro

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was an organised group founded in September 1848, a Victorian world filled with dramatic technological and social change. The Brotherhood met for five years at 7 Gower Street, London where there is now an English Heritage blue plaque. In those short five years the movement covered developments in painting, drawing, sculpture and political theory. Pre-Raphaelitism is now recognised to be a defining phenomenon in both British & European art. The radicalism of the Pre-Raphaelites was in their refusal to accept the norm which had been set and revered by their teachers and society as a whole. They were committed to fundamental change.

Pic from Desperate Romantics?, The Guardian

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Founding Members:

John Everett Millais, 1829-96 (19 yrs old)
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1828-82 (20 yrs old)
William Holman Hunt,1827-1910 (21 yrs old)
Ford Madox Brown, 1821-93 (27 yrs old) never formally joined the Brotherhood but shared many of its aims and so played the role of friend and mentor to the young artists.

Even though the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood lasted in its entirety for five years it sewed the seeds for wider reform through both art and design. In the late 1850s a new group grouped around the middle aged Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The group included:
William Morris, 1831-96 (poet and designer)
Edward Burne-Jones, 1833-98 (painter)
Elizabeth Siddall, 1829-62 (painter)
Simeon Solomon, 1840-1905 (painter)
This group reached beyond the original Brotherhood's impact on painting, drawing and sculpture and moved into the design and production of furniture, textiles, ceramics, wallpapers and stained glass.

The original members  lived for five more decades after forming the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Each artist explored their individual paths with new subject matter creating a visual language.

Wightwick Manor is the one of the best surviving of a house built and furnished under the influence of the Arts & Craft movement which is rooted in Pre-Raphaelitism. The Manor was built in two stages in 1887 & 1893 and designed in the old English style and filled it with William Morris & Co furnishings. His son, Geoffrey added Pre-Raphaelite paintings and sketches but in all other ways preserved a unique house with a special charm. Read my blog post about Wightwick Manor.

Desperate Romantics? The only desperate thing about the pre-Raphaelites was their truly bad art, by Germaine Greer.

Last few days - Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition

It's the last few days of the Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition at Somerset House, ending 12 May.

Sections include:
Open
Youth
Student Focus
Professional
3D
Outstanding Contribution to Photography

My favourite photos include:
Hudson Garcia, Brazil 3rd place Nature & Wildlife

Hudson Garcia, Brazil 3rd place Nature & Wildlife

Ernest Goh, Singapore - Cocks!

Saturo Kondo, Japan
These flowers were stunning and seemed more like watercolours than photographs. 
"A flower is not a flower.
It's like a woman.
A flower's life is transient,
but beautiful."

Nenad Sajic, Croatia
Portrait of Matterhorn

Andrea Gjestvang, Norway
One Day in History, Utoya, 2011

Portraits of children and youths who survived the massacre on the island of Utoeya outside Oslo (NO) on 22nd of July 2011. Words cannot describe the atmosphere these photographs created in the small rooms of the West Wing.

"€œI bear my scares with dignity, because I got them standing for something I believe in."

The competition is free to enter and welcomes submissions from international photographers of all levels and expertise. This year's competition received 122,665 entries from 170 countries.

The Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards

The Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards have been given annually since 1985 and have since been the UK’s leading prizes for books on photography and the moving image. Winning books have been those which make original and lasting educational, professional, historical and cultural contributions to the field. 


£7.50/£5 concessions

Exhibition Hours:

Mondays 10am to 6pm
Tuesdays 10 am to 6pm
Wednesdays 10am to 9pm
Thursdays 10 am to 9pmFridays 10am to 6pm
Saturdays 10am - 7pm
Sundays 10am to 7pm

Venue Location:
Somerset House / West Wing
Strand
LondonWC2R 1LA

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Historical Hampstead - Rebranded

Hampstead is one of London's more desirable locations to live and is said to be one of the most expensive residential areas in the world but it wasn't always like that. Hampstead's Vale of Heath was known as Hatchett's Bottom, a certainly less marketable name, a rose by any other name 'n all that... Hachett's Bottom was a bog, where nothing could be cultivated. It was home to factories, fairgrounds and laundry outlets. 

Vale of Heath

Hampstead's water was believed to have natural bleaching properties and with the area being so close to London it is believed King Henry VIII had his shirts washed there. It became a popular spa town that rivaled Bath, Royal Leamington Spa and Cheltenham in the first 2 decades of the C18th. There are still traces of Hampstead's laundry days such as the names of the streets such as Cloth Hill.

Hampstead Heath is the source of the lost river Fleet, the most northern point at an altitude of 113m above sea level. Explore The Lost River Fleet on Hampstead Heath

What does Hampstead mean?

Hamp = home, Stead = farm

Hampstead is Plaque Central

With Hampstead having attracted the rich and famous over the last two centuries it is no doubt surprising there are plenty of historical plaques which show a glimmer of its glamorous inhabitants. The Hampstead Plaque Fund has a wealth of information for any inquisitive mind. The fund is administered by The Heath & Hampstead Society and was set up by Society member Ralph Wade.

Daphne du Maurier

Daphne du Maurier lived in Hampstead

Daphne du Maurier was born in 1907 and was the grand-daughter of the artist and writer George du Maurier, daughter of Gerald, the most famous Actor Manager of his day who lived in Cannon Hall, Hampstead from 1916 till his death. Read my Gerald du Maurier and Cannon Hall post.
Daphne du Maurier began writing short stories in 1928. Her first novel, 'The Loving Spirit' was published in 1931, three years before her grandfather's death and received rave reviews. Her most famous three novels, 'Jamaica Inn', 'Frenchman's Creek' and Rebecca'. She also had a home in Cornwall where for the past 16 years holds an annual Village Festival at Fowey Hall.

You Might Like:
Hampstead Village, London - a snapshot

Historical Hampstead Village, London - Highlights II

Historical Hampstead - Cannon Hall & Parish Lock-up

Explore The Lost River Fleet on Hampstead Heath

Hampstead Village, London

Du Maurier Festival Society, 8th - 18th May 2013, Cornwall (external link)

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Historical Hampstead - Cannon Hall & Parish Lock-up

Explore the cobbled streets of Hampstead yourself and step back in time.

No.14 Cannon Place, Hampstead 

Cannon Hall, 14 Cannon Place, Hampstead

Built early C18th. Sir Gerald Du Maurier lived here from 1916 until his death from cancer in 1934. You will be familiar with a character which Sir Gerald Du Maurier made his own, that being Captain Hook in JM Barrie's play Peter Pan, of The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, at the Duke of York's Theatre, in December 1904. This was a dual role where he also played George Darling. He wasn't the first choice, however. The much respected actor Seymour Hicks turned down the role of Hook to perform in his own successful musical comedy The Catch of the Season in September of the same year.  
Note: The two 300 year old Dutch canons forming road posts outside the gate. 

Parish Lock-up, Hampstead

Built c.1730, Closed c. 1829

The placque says: 

"Parish Lock-up 

About 1730, this lock-up was built into the garden wall of Cannon Hall, where local magistrates held court. Prisoners were kept in this dark single cell until more lasting arrangements could be made for them. Soon after the formation of the police force in 1829, business was transferred to the Watch House in Holly Walk. This lock-up is one of the very few left in London and is a D.O.E. listed building of historic interest. Erected by the Hampstead Plaque Fund"

You Might Like:
Hampstead Village Highlights guided walk
Hampstead Village, London - a snapshot

Explore The Lost River Fleet on Hampstead Heath (guided walk)

Hampstead Village, London

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Du Maurier Festival Society, 8th - 18th May 2013, Cornwall (external link)

Barbecued Balsamic Beef Recipe

Barbecued Balsamic Beef 

I'm lucky enough to have a weekly farmer's market. The quality of ingredients certainly makes a big difference to the texture and flavour of any recipe, especially when the focus of the meal is a big chunk of meat. Take care not to over cook and make sure you allow the beef to rest.

Takes 30mins, plus marinating.
Serves 4

Barbecued Balsamic Beef Ingredients:

600g rump steak
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
500g new potatoes
250g spinach
2 tbsp olive oil

Barbecued Balsamic Beef Method:

1. Put beef in a wide shallow dish and rub it over with shallots and balsamic vinegar.
2. Slice the potatoes and cook in coiling water for 12-15mins. Add spinach and cover pan for a few mins. 
3. Drain well, toss in 2 tbsp oil. Keep warm.
4. Grill beef for 3-4mins on each side. Remove and cover with foil for 5 mins. 
5. Uncover and slice thinly across the grain. 
6. Serve piled on top of potatoes and spinach, sprinkle a little oil and vinegar on top.

Other recipes you may enjoy:

Boneless Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Feta Cheese, Pine Nuts, Fennel, Olives, and Herbs
Make your own basil pesto

The Koh-i-Noor Diamond, London

105.6 Carat Koh-i-Noor Diamond

The History of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond

The diamond is known to have passed through the hands of conquering Mughal princes, Iranian warriors, Afghan rulers and Punjabi Maharajas before being presented to British representatives in 1849 following the Anglo-Sikh wars in the Punjab.

Queen Victoria received the Koh-i-Noor diamond in 1851 following the Anglo-Sikh wars in the Punjab and became part of the Crown Jewels when she was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877. It is now the most famous diamond in the Crown Jewels collection.

The diamond was cut into an oval shape and the weight was reduced to its current form and weigh of 108.93 carats. According to witnesses Prince Albert wasn’t satisfied of the cutting work as the diamond did not shine as brilliantly as it did before.

The Koh-i-Noor diamond is now set in the crown of the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1937) and was first worn in the crown by Queen Alexandra for her coronation in 1902. 

The Curse of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond

It is said there is a curse on the Kohinoor which affects males who wear it as it has a long and bloody history. Lucky for me females are immune. Since being in the possession of Queen Victoria, only women have been known to have wore the diamond.

"He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. 

Only God, or a woman, can wear it with impunity."

See the Koh-i-Noor diamond on display at the Tower of London

Now, something for the guys

Diamonds are a girls best thing for sure but for you guys out there why not check out the Sword of Ranjit Singh at the Wallace Collection for your Sikh sword bling fix.

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