Just in London

‘25 London Curiosities’ No 4 - Royal Cyphers For number 4 in my series, ‘25 London Curiosities’, we are looking at Royal Cyphers - those monarchial monograms you see on different structures, buildings, vehicles & uniforms around London. Check out my ‘Two Be True’ quiz on Stories, (if you are reading this within the first 24 hours of posting) & tell me which of the 3 options is NOT true. #royalfamily #royalcypher #postbox #postboxesofinstagram #royalmail #curiouslondon #justinlondon #bluebadgetouristguides #britainsbestguides #curiosities #touristguide Should I move on from post boxes next week & discover a wonderful, new London curiosity?

Did you know there are over 400 designs of post box around the UK? Move over train spotters, post box spotting has arrived! Like Londoners themselves, postboxes come in all different sizes, shapes & colours. They were introduced in 1852 by the novelist, Anthony Trollope & were first seen in the Channel Islands. Royal Mail guidelines say they should all be painted every 3 years in the distinctive red & black. There are a few exceptions. In Guernsey they are royal blue, some of the oldest pillar boxes are bronze green & air mail boxes from the reign of George VI are RAF blue. Will you look at post boxes in more detail now? #postbox #postboxesofinstagram #royalmail #curiouslondon #justinlondon #bluebadgetouristguide #britainsbestguides #curiosities #touristguide Have you used a London postbox?

London Curiosities - 2 Have you overimbibed during the festive season & decided on a Dry January? No? Neither have I. Sounds all a little dramatic. Temperance seems more realistic than abstinence and not being tempted by alcohol was easier in the late 19th & early 20th centuries thanks to all the Temperance Billiard Halls dotted around London. Built to resemble a pub, it was a place where people could go & play billiards - a game similar to snooker & pool - but where only hot drinks were served. Have you been inside a Temperance Billiard Hall? #temperance #dryjanuary #justinlondon #bluebadgetouristguide #britainsbestguides #temperancebilliardhall #curiouslondon #curiosities

You may have heard of the ‘Beefeaters’ of the Tower of London, but did you know there are others living there who enjoy meat even more? The ravens. Have you heard the legend about the Tower of London? The ravens that live there have their flight feathers removed when they are young to prevent them from escaping the Tower. That being the case, hats off to this one for getting so high up. This raven however will not be escaping any time soon. They know they are onto a good thing when it comes to being well fed. Do you believe the legend? #legends #toweroflondon #raven #tourguide #londontouristguide #beefeater #discoverlondon #explorelondon #londonlegends

Fancy a cheaper coffee than Starbucks, Costa etc? The cabmen shelters were the brainchild of Captain George C Armstrong who helped start the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund in 1875 after failing to get a cab one wet evening in London, since all the drivers had gone to the local pub. 61 shelters were originally built & 13 are still around today. They are a popular place for those band of brothers that have passed ‘The Knowledge’ to grab a hot drink & a bite to eat. Those of us who are not licensed taxi drivers can still purchase refreshments, however just at the kiosk & not inside. The shelters in my Reel look a little quiet because I got there after they close - mostly around 2.00pm. #curiouslondon #justinlondon #blackcab #taxilondon #london2025 #cabdriver #londoncab #bluebadgetouristguide #britainsbestguides #londontourguide #touristguide #cabshelter #cabmenshelter

To be fair to these patient people, they are queuing for the a photo of not one, but two iconic London landmarks - not only the classic Kiosk number 2, (K2) phone box introduced 99 years ago, but also sumptuous Big Ben in the background. Would you wait in this queue for that snap? #bigben #phonebox #justinlondon #elizabethtower #bluebadgetouristguide#parliamentsquare #queue #visitlondon #explorelondon

Next time you are out & about in London, take a closer look at the red vehicles of Specialist Crime and Operations 19 of the Met. An extraordinarily high number are scratched or dented. All in a days work keeping the streets of London safe. #britainsbestguides #justinlondon #bluebadgetouristguide#metropolitanpolice

How lucky kings, queens & bishops were back in Catholic England. The chantry chapels built by/ for them would contain clergy whose task was to chant mass on behalf of their souls, enabling them to reach heaven faster. Mind you, I’m not so sure about Bishop Stephen Gardiner’s timing. 3 years after he was buried here in Winchester Cathedral, Elizabeth I came to the throne & Roman Catholicism officially ended, along with chantry chapel rituals. Let’s hope he had already got to heaven by that point, or that would represent a poor return on his investment. #justinlondon #winchestercathedral #grafitti #bluebadgetouristguide #medievalarchitecture #gothic #gothicchurch

Who does not love a bit of colour coding? Whether it is a London building or a priceless work of art, a dose of splattered orange paint thrown over it denotes ‘Just Stop Oil’. The red paint chucked all over the MOD building recently was the preferred colour of the ‘Free Palestine’ crowd. Maybe somebody could create a colour coded chart depicting the different coloured paint these oppressed intersectionalists could throw at their perceived oppressors - the relevant colour corresponding to the particular grievance of the week ? A more constructive & positive colour coding scheme is demonstrated above, compliments of Transport for London. #justinlondon #londontube #tube #londonunderground #harmony #britainsbestguides #bluebadgetouristguide #transportforlondon #tfl Did you know this?

Ahhhh the Great British ha-ha. Maneskin has a song called ‘Bla Bla Bla’ that has the lyrics ‘ha ha ha ha ha ha ha’ multiple times. It would have been perfect as an accompaniment to my ha-ha Reel here. I spent 99 pence downloading ‘Bla Bla Bla’ for my ha-ha vid, & was then informed it was not possible to use in video editing for bla bla bla reasons. #royalcrescent #bath #ha-ha #haha #justinlondon #bluebadgetouristguide #britainsbestguides #statelyhome #statelyhomes #georgianhouse #georgianarchitecture #georgianbath #blablabla

What lies beneath……. Have you heard about the secret coding system used by the more than 50 utility companies in London? All we need now is for all of them to communicate more effectively with each other. Then the gas, water, electric & fibre optic work could be done in one dig. #hiddenlondon #secretlondon #britainsbestguides #bluebadgetouristguide #justinlondon #utilities #discoverlondon #hole

The results are in & the surprise, (well as far as I was concerned) was Sir Thomas Gresham’s lookalike, or unlookalike according to the majority, Tom Hardy. The four paintings & the bust featured are are all located in the @rijksmuseum Amsterdam. My colleague Katie, @look_uplondon summed it up wonderfully - when you first see the portrait of Sir Thomas Gresham, you wonder if it was something created recently using AI. The ultimate compliment to the marvellous Mor.#poll #rijksmuseum #justinlondon #bluebadgetouristguide #touristguide #lookalikes #lookalike #amsterdam #tomhardy #adamdriver #jonahhill #michaelsheen #anthonismor