Free walks around East London

Newham Council have developed four free local audio walking tours around east London.

http://www.newham.com/page/attractions/walk_green_street_walk_royal_docks_walk_stratford_walk_three_mills/386,10,0,0,0.html

Perhaps worth doing before it gets too much like a building site out there, what with the olympic developments going on.

Fitzroy House open for visits

Fitzrovia dates back to the 18th century and has been for many years well known for its writers and artists. From H.G. Wells and George Orwell, to Charles Dickens and Virginia Woolf - its inhabitants have left an indelible mark.

Although it is well known that the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw resided in Fitzroy Square, it is a lesser-known fact that he also lived with his mother on the 1st floor of 37 Fitzroy Street from 1881-1882.

75 years later, writer and philosopher L. Ron Hubbard made 37 Fitzroy Street his London base. Ron Hubbard wrote many of his best-known works whilst in London.

With a number of New York Times Bestellers and the Guinness Book of World Records Title for most published author, he is one of the most prolific writers of his time.

However, Ron Hubbard cannot be so simply categorised. Whilst first and foremost a writer, he worked as a professional in over two dozen fields including photography, horticulture, sea captaining, music making and exploration.

All this was in addition to his work in the humanitarian fields of drug rehabilitation, criminal reform and education.

You are welcome to visit Fitzroy House.

It is open to the public by appointment daily. info@fitzroyhouse.org, www.fitzroyhouse.org

Bunhill Fields

I only discovered this wonderful place earlier this year when my new job took me to a different part of London.

And what a great find it is.

Part old burial ground dating back to Saxon times (though most of the remaining graves are from the mid 1700's onwards), it sits nestled behind some busy roads and tall buildings at the northern end of the City and is a lovely place to relax and enjoy your lunchbreak.

And of course its all free to enter.

Famous people buried in the graveyard include the nonconformists, William Blake, John Bunyan and Daniel Defoe.

Find out more about Bunhill Fields on the City of London's website.

Certainly worth a visit if you are in the area and looking for somewhere quiet to relax.

London pubs

This week is Community Pubs Week in London.

Now, I love London pubs. They come in all shapes and sizes.

There are the big "converted from a bank" trendy types where there are loads of different designer beers on tap but you'd struggle for a pint of Carling, the "tiny place on the corner" drunk old man types where Carling is one of the only beers left on tap and people sit staring into their glasses and the basic "locals" where everyone knows the publican and everyone drinks Stella anyway.

Where I live, I am blessed by having a variety of pubs to choose from. I can count 10 within walking distance. Some where the food is great, some where the beer is better and some where they just get everything right (or wrong.)

I hope none of them close down - community pubs gets my vote anyday!

Life in a post office queue

There is no queue quite like a post office queue.

Go into any post office in London at almost any time of the day and you will see a classic British institution - the queue. You rarely see them anywhere else these days.

A long line of people just standing around, looking at their watches, glancing up at the number of empty counter positions and wishing that one more, just one, would open up.

But no, instead it reaches the "lunchtime" moment - which seems to be anywhere from 11.30 until 3pm. And rather than new counter positions opening, one by one they seem to close.

And the people just wait..... and wait..... and wait.

People trying to pay their car tax, energy bills, collect their pensions, buy travel insurance, make bank deposits, buy lottery tickets - oh, and sometimes, actually trying to post something.

So its delightful to know that the post office is now allowing people to pay for post online. I think you can print out postage "stamps" on a computer to avoid having to queue. The post office trying to encourage people NOT to visit them if they want to post a letter. Bizarre.

I don't know the details as sadly this service seems impossible to find on their website.

Anyway, can't linger. I've got to go and spend my morning in a post office queue as sadly their online service doesn't cover parcel postage.

A great place to work

Last week, I had the pleasure of arranging a forum for around 50 work colleagues. Now, in many places, the options for a venue would probably include the local hall, a breakout room at the office and maybe some place no more than an hour's bus or train ride away.

But in London, the choices are amazing. Last time we held this forum, we were able to hire Shakespeare's Globe. A really nice venue, and it included a back stage tour.

This time, our options included Tate Modern, Vinopolis (a wine museum), the Energy Clinic and the one we chose, HMS Belfast.

HMS Belfast turned out to be a good choice. The day we held the forum happened to be the hottest day in London so far this year. Around 26 degrees. And we had a lovely venue right on the Thames, sunshine on the decks and veterans to conduct guided tours for us.

There are probably not that many cities in the world that offer such venue choices for conferences and meetings. One more great thing about London.

The great north v south debate

Apparently, last Wednesday night the Museum of London hosted a debate on north v south London. Another one of those London topics, like congestion charging and the state of public transport, that everyone seems to have a view on.

Well, here's mine. I don't care. Never did care where in London I lived - north or south, that is. Neither is close to a beach, which would be my absolute preference and was when I lived in Sydney. And neither is close to a beautiful harbour or wonderful, peaceful parks (like Sydney harbour and Centennial Park.)

So as there were none of those things to look forward to when coming to London, my only preference when moving here was to live as close to "central" London as possible. For both practical and social purposes.

Practically, to be near to where I worked. And socially, to be easily able to get in and out late at night, to be able to walk home if necessary and to be able to do some of my London research for my web site at the drop of a hat.

Without relying on public transport too much.

As it happened, I ended up living in a council flat when I first arrived in London. A lovely old roomy and bright one, in a fifties building with lots of settled residents. Not one of those dreaded high rises, thankfully.

And it was in sunny Walworth, slap bang in the middle of "saf Lunden". And south is where I've stayed ever since, no worries.

Is it better or worse than north London? No. Just different.

What can you say about the Elephant and Castle?

BBC NEWS | England | London | Dozens profit in cash-grab stunt The "elephant" has to be one of London's worst eye sores. A big bright red building, badly in need of repair - though its been that way for years, it seems. I'm amazed that anyone ever shops there - still, its better than when it was painted bright pink, I suppose.