The Strange London Blog

2000 was a bad year for the pigeons of Trafalgar Square.
Previously, they had been allowed to thrive, indeed they were as iconic to the Square as Nelsons Column.
I remember being in the square in the seventies (not much bigger than a pigeon myself) and feeling a mixture of excitement and terror as they covered me head to toe as I held out birdseed with trembling hands.
Sure, they are messy; yes there are a lot of them, but their utterly harmless…
For me they are as much a part of London as Big Ben.

It never ceases to amaze me when people seethe with such rage at the sight of pigeons and curse them as “rats with wings” and “parasites” - What the hell have they done to deserve this? Maybe they mug people or spit in their drinks when my back’s turned; I always thought they were fairly harmless!
Ken Livingstone, London’s (former) mayor must have had his pants pulled down by pigeons or something worse when he was a kid. Blimey, soon after being elected as Mayor, he decided to wage a war on the Pigeons of Trafalgar Square.
First the bird-sellers licences were quashed, and then a Hawk was introduced, and then water hoses and even industrial Hoovers. Please note that so far, the pigeons have not responded to this campaign of hate.

You have to wonder what the pigeons ever did wrong. Personally, I would be more troubled with Terrorists and Muggers, but each to their own I guess.
Despite the Major being unelected (presumably suffragette pigeons gained the right to vote), the pigeons of Trafalgar Square are still under attack.
For more information about this surreal war waged in Strange London - see STTSP (Save the Trafalgar Square Pigeons).

http://www.savethepigeons.org/

Technorati Tags: bizarre london, interesting london, odd london, unusual london, weird london

I love the alleys and passageways of London, for me these are the places where you can soak up the true essence of Strange London; it’s where the imagination can thrive.
So I was thrilled to find an interesting piece about Steelyard Passage, a slightly grim underpass below Cannon Street Station (hopefully a fair distance from the nearby Plague-pits!).
Asides from the blue lights set into the ground - a glowing trail to lighten the gloom (and a perfect way to illuminate Strange London), there is also the fascinating history of the German traders (The Hanseatic League) who made their own walled community on this spot and for an added bonus, there is even a piece of Banksy Graffiti (if you don’t know him - look him up! A Brisotollian who had made London his Twenty-first century canvas).
Asides from the mentioned scents of chlorine, lingering smells of the homeless and urine, it might well be worth a visit!

http://londonist.com/2008/08/londonists_back_passage_4.php

Technorati Tags: bizarre london, interesting london, odd london, unusual london, weird london

On the excellent “Eccentric London” tour run by London Walks (I promise I have no financial stakes with this company - its just they do run amazing tours!), we stopped in Trafalgar Square and the guide revealed England’s smallest Police Station in the South-East Corner.
The “station” which was once manned by a single Police Man (good thing English cops don’t eat donuts!), is sadly now little more than a broom cupboard.
I’d never noticed this building before and doubt many people do as they spend their time trying to avoid the startled pigeons (more on them later) and simpletons splashing about in the fountains.
The below link has an excellent picture for anyone who may visit Trafalgar Square in future and wants to see this curious building.

http://londondailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/04/smallest-police-station.html

Technorati Tags: bizarre london, interesting london, weird london

Well this is great news for fans of Strange London or Strange anywhere! A whole museum has opened in Piccadilly Circus, London and it is dedicated to the weird, the odd and the bizarre!
“Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” is already well established Internationally but now it comes to London - hooray!
Choice exhibits include “Genuine Shrunken Heads” a “Vampire Killing Kit!” and the spectacular sounding “Princess Diana Portrait made from laundry lint”!
There is also a Mirror Maze - I hope there aren’t too many grotesquely ugly people shambling about in there when I visit!

http://www.ripleyslondon.com/

Technorati Tags: bizarre london, interesting london, odd london, unusual london, weird london

There are little people in the City, really small - so tiny that you could miss them.
Worse than missing the little people is stepping upon them, but if you did - don’t worry it won’t hurt them.
Strange London just got stranger…

The little people are the work of a Street Artist by the name of Slinkachu who has spent many years hiding the tiny painted people in London where they wait to be found.
Now, a new book (with a foreword by Will Self) is being launched in September called “Little People in the City” and to celebrate the launch, Slinkachu has hidden four miniature sculptures in London. The prize for finding these strange, hidden people and photographing your evidence is a limited edition print of his work.
The Hunt for the little people commences on the 31st August.
For more details see the below link:

http://www.panmacmillan.com/events/displayPage.asp?PageTitle=Individual%20Event&EventID=555

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Each City holds many secrets and fascinating facts, yet Strange London is the place I love the most - its ancient streets seem to hold the oddest of secrets.
People think they know London - but do they know what lurks behind its everyday facade? There is so much history and diversity and I am continually amazed by the wacky and weird things that happen in this wonderful place.

Everyone knows of the Thames, but having spent years wandering across London, I had no idea that a dozen secret rivers flow beneath its streets!
 
I have used Old Street tube station on countless occasions like thousands of commuters and tourists – totally unaware of the nearby plague pits! Worse still, they can’t be developed on because the plague might once again become active!
Perhaps its best not to dwell on that little nugget of information!

Due to the sheer numbers jostling about on the Tube system, I can understand that a lot of umbrellas might get lost – figures estimate around 80,000 a year go astray on the London Underground but why does the Lost Property Department also list wheelchairs, false teeth and breast implants? Strange London collects…

I wonder how many of the hundreds of thousands visitors to Trafalgar Square each year notice the tiny hut near the Southeast corner, said to be England’s smallest police station…
 
On this Blog, I hope to document Strange London old and new and collect snippets and facts and news - the weirder, the better

Technorati Tags: bizarre london, interesting london, odd london, strange london, unusual london, weird london