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- The Royal Connection
- Greater London Eats
- Greater London VIPs
- Richard Remembers
- Owlbut's Birdwatch
Most people know of Buckingham
Palace and its obvious royal connections. We tell you more about Buckingham Palace here
on our website. It is the official home of the monarch when in London. However. there are other palaces within Greater London.
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8th September 2022 there will, no doubt, be some changes to who lives where in these other palaces.
However, at the time of her death, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, when staying in London, have an apartment within Kensington Palace. The Princess Royal,
Princess Anne, and her husband have an apartment within St James's Palace. The Earl and Countess of Wessex have rooms inside Buckingham Palace for when
they stay in London.
King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, lived at Clarence House when staying in London. It is not officially a palace but is attached to St
James's Palace and shares a garden. It was, from 1953 until her death in 2002, the home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. It is a four-storey house and was also
the home of Prince William and Prince Harry for some years. The King and his wife will now, most likely, move into Buckingham Palace.
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An admission coming up. I have never
eaten jellied eels. I have never wanted to eat jellied eels. They are a traditional English dish that originated in the 18th century, mainly in the east end of
London. Eels were always a cheap, nutritious food that was readily available in the River Thames. Nets used to be set in the river, as far upstream as the city
of London.
Jellied eels are made using freshwater eels, such as found in the rivers of England. Recipes vary and are peculiar to different shops and markets in
London. They were traditionally sold in eel, pie and mash shops; pie and mash being another east end dish. At the end of WWII there were about 100 eel, pie and
mash shops in London, today there are far fewer.
To make jellied eels you chop the eels into rounds and boil them in water and vinegar, some adding lemon juice and nutmeg. Once the mixture has
boiled, you let it cool. The boiling of the eels allows proteins, like collagen, to be released and this solidifies into a jelly during the cooling process.
The differences occur in the choice of herbs and spices used to flavour the dish.
Jellied eels are also sold, in jars, in shops and supermarkets.
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Seven random people who were born in Greater London in the last 100 years:-
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor ‐ the late Queen Elizabeth II (Royalty), Daniel Radcliffe (Actor), Adele Laurie Blue Adkins ‐ Adele (Singer),
David Beckham (Footballer), Sir David Attenborough (Naturalist and Broadcaster), Benedict Cumberbatch (Actor) and Dua Lipa (Singer),
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No coastline here, so no
visits on my previous journeys. However I lived there for 19 of the first 22 years of my life so I could give you hundreds of memories but let's just
stick with a few. I remember that when we lived in Rayners Lane from 1950 till 1956 we had a brick built air raid shelter at the bottom of our garden.
I remember, and this is very personal, that at every house we lived in (there were 3), my YOUNGER sister always had the largest bedroom. I remember
my father, when I was 4 years-old, sitting me on his lap as we drove the last 400 yards to our home so I could steer the car. I think he was a bit
naughty there but the roads were so empty. I remember nearly everyone had a front garden and a driveway and cars were never parked on the road at night.
And, rather appropriately as I write this on June 29th 2021, I remember sitting at home, never moving from my chair for 2 hours on 30th
July 1966, watching England beat Germany to win the football world cup. Unfortunately, I also remember playing cricket on Sunday 14th June 1970,
fielding while the opening batsmen of our opponents put on over 200 runs, being all out for under 100 and watching England score 2 goals against
Germany in the 1970 world cup. I then left Honor Oak, where the game was, drove home to North Harow, and arrived in time to see Germany score the
winning goal in extra time having scored twice in the second half. The roads were very empty that evening.
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Wherever there are woods, hedgerows, parks and gardens, wherever there are bushes and trees, you could find a song thrush.
It's a fairly small bird and its numbers have declined on farmland and in towns and cities. It has a habit of repeating the notes of its song, making it different
from a singing blackbird. Its feathers are black, brown, cream, orange and white and it has brown and pink legs. It has a black, medium beak.
Song thrushes eat worms and fruit but they also like snails which they break into by smashing the snail against a stone with a flick of their head.
There are over one million breeding territories within the UK.
Song thrushes are 23 cms in length, have a wingspan between 33 and 36 cms and weigh between 65 and 100 grams.
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Two extra sections, "It Happened Here" and "Now That's Weird", will appear on 2 September 2024
