Last updated on May 27th, 2021 at 06:07 pmLet’s go and discover some alternative museums in London: 22 must-see unusual, off-beat, historical and secret museums everyone should visit at least once in London You’ve done the Tower of London, the British Museum, Madame Tussauds and Westminster Abbey. But there’s so much more to London than…
Technicolour Dickens at the Charles Dickens Museum
Last updated on October 28th, 2020 at 10:05 amThink you know your Dickens? He’s poised, sombre, a mass of Victorian beard and he looks a little worn out, right? But you’ll be thinking your Dickens again after touring Technicolour Dickens, a new exhibition at the Charles Dickens Museum which brings him full throttle into the…
Tales of my City: Charles Dickens’ London
Last updated on June 2nd, 2021 at 08:21 amThis week marks the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ death. The celebrated author shares his London secrets with me and tells me how Queen Victoria is a big fan of his acting. Dick – do you mind if I call you Dick? I do. But you may…
12 things to do in Kew Gardens when it rains
Last updated on August 16th, 2020 at 07:11 amMy love affair with Kew Gardens began in the rain. It was one of those typical British summertime days, one which promised soggy jeans and the inevitable squelching through mud. A picnic was off the menu and so was lazing around in the summery aroma of freshly-cut…
The Great Exhibition and how the Crystal Palace built the V and A
Last updated on June 2nd, 2021 at 08:11 amIf you’ve been watching Victoria Series 3, then you’ve recently come across Henry Cole, Prince Albert’s wingman in the creation of the visionary Great Exhibition of 1851. What you probably didn’t know is that the exhibition, dubbed The Greatest Show on Earth and housed inside the glittering…
Cutty Sark teas-off for its 150th
Last updated on February 18th, 2021 at 12:19 pmCutty Sark: two words that instantly convey adventure, stealth, the open sea and the might of British engineering. One of London’s most treasured landmarks, the Cutty Sark is turning a grand 150 years young, and to celebrate, the Greenwich museum has laid on some very merry birthday…
Where dry January turns damp
Last updated on March 9th, 2019 at 07:04 amSo, it’s confession time. Dry January has turned into damp January, fuelled by my utter lack of resistance to a martini, served green side-up with two juicy olives – one of my Five-a-Day, right? Is it wrong of me to say it was the best thing I…
Charles Dickens Museum London | Food Glorious Food
Last updated on August 11th, 2020 at 05:54 pmThe first thing you need to do when you enter the Charles Dickens Museum is stop. Just pause for a moment. Dickens actually lived in this Georgian house at 48 Doughty Street in Holborn. He walked these halls, instructed his servants, arranged his furniture (rather fanatically, it…
18 Family Christmas things to do in London 2018
Last updated on February 18th, 2021 at 12:20 pmAs Christmas waves its enchanting wand over London, the city pirouettes into a bewitching winter canvas for kids. Is there any place as magical as London during Christmas? I promise you some merry, a large spoonful of nostalgia and not a mince of boring. Here are my…
Russians, Royalty and the Romanovs at the Queen’s Gallery
Last updated on April 22nd, 2019 at 06:03 pmAs if the Last Tsar exhibition at the Science Museum wasn’t enough of a treat, London is now getting a Romanov double whammy with a new exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. Russia, Royalty and the Romanovs has glitz, it has glamour, and it has a…