So you need a new Hand Axe?
Blunted your Axe chopping down a tree for the rafter of your aging Roundhouse?
Can’t find a craftsman and blaming Brexit? Well, here is a man you can go to: Dr James Dilley, recently profiled in London Archaeologist by Becky Wallover.
Here is the website to order your Axe, or indeed, a Roundhouse.
https://www.ancientcraft.co.uk/
New Light on Thomas Becket’s Window at Canterbury
Recent research has revealed the true story behind stained glass windows at Canterbury which had been reassembled wrongly.
The story is told here:
And if you cannot get through the pay wall here:
I am doing a Chaucer Walk on Sunday 31st 2021 at 6:30 which will feature the pilgrimage to Canterbury.
For more on Becket and London see my post here.
Life Scientific vindicates Florence Nightingale’s Wards
Cath Noakes, an expert on ventilation and Covid talking on Life Scientific today on BBc Radio 4 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000rcnl) reported on experiments using a Nightingale Ward design and found it was likely to cut down the spread of infection by 4 times.
This was by
1. use of high ceilings
2. Big Windows that could open top and bottom
3. Radiators with ventilation grills behind them
She noted that most Florence Nightingale wards have since been modernised with low ceilings, smaller sealed windows and radiators replaced.
Her message was that ventilation is, with distance, one of the best ways of cutting the spread of infection.
Here is an image of Dorcas Ward st St Thomas’s Hospital, London.
PODCAST FOR ROMAN LONDON – A LITERARY & ARCHAEOLOGICAL VIRTUAL WALK
To book click here
SULAWESI WARTY PIG PAINTING 44,000 YEARS AGO
This is the oldest animal art found, and it takes the focus of early art from Europe to the Far East. What is remarkable about it is that it isn’t a scribble. It is clearly done by someone who knows how to make a likeness and a pleasing piece of art.
The hands created using the human hand as a stencil and by blowing paint from the mouth are a feature found all over the world.
The BBC has an excellent article about the subjects here:
FLOWER OF CITIES ALL – THE CITY OF LONDON FROM CHAUCER TO SHAKESPEARE
Every Thursday (from Jan 7th 2021) at 6.30pm Exit 2 Bank Underground Station
A walk which explores the City of London that was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. By 1400 London was dominating the affairs of the Kingdom in spectacular fashion and had grown into a sophisticated medieval Capital, competing against the great capitals of Europe.
We will walk in the footsteps of Geffrey Chaucer, in the muddy City Streets, exploring the unhealthy conditions and poverty amidst great riches and pageantry. It was a cosmopolitan City with colonies of Italians, Germans, Dutch, and French who lived cheek by jowl with native Londoners.
By the 16th Century despite repeated visitations of plague, the huge influx of newcomers created non-stop growth in London. There was a corresponding increase in trade, in crime, in violence, and in creativity.
There were riots against foreigners, riots against May Revels, and burnings at the stake of both protestants and catholics as society struggled to cope with the impact of religious change.
With so many young people drawn into the City to work in its expanding industries, entertainment grew more sophisticated and poets could make a living penning entertainments to the masses. The London landscape changed dramatically as new renaissance inspired architecture began to replace the medieval timber framed buildings and the old medieval monasteries were pulled down.
We explore London in one of its greatest periods of change. The walk is given alternately by Kevin Flude & Leo Heaton
This is a walk for London Walks
Upcoming Events: Walks: Physical and Virtual
GUIDED WALKS
ARCHAEOLOGY OF LONDON WALK – A TALE OF FOUR CITIES
Every Thursday at 2.30pm Exit 2 Bank Underground Station – Click here for details
FLOWER OF CITIES ALL – THE CITY OF LONDON FROM CHAUCER TO SHAKESPEARE
Every Thursday at 6.30pm Exit 2 Bank Underground Station Click here for details
VIRTUAL WALKS
RING IN THE NEW YEAR WALK
Friday 1st January 7pm Click here for details
Myths, Legends And The Origins Of London Virtual Walk
Sunday 3rd January 2021 6.30pm – Click here for details
All walks are with the brilliant London Walks – Click here for more details
Myths, Legends And The Origins Of London Virtual Walk
Sunday 3rd January 2021 6.30pm
The walk is led by Kevin Flude, a former archaeologist at the Museum of London, who has an interest both in the archaeological evidence as well as the myths and legends of London’s origin.
The walk will tell the story of the legendary origins of London which record that it was founded in the Bronze Age by an exiled Trojan called Brutus. The new City was called Troia Nova or New Troy, which became corrupted to Trinovantum, and then changed to Lud’s Dun and eventually Londinium. The legends provide a host of characters in the rich mythic past of London. Kevin will tell the stories, and relate some to the archaeological evidence.
The route starts at Tower Hill, then down to the River Thames at Billingsgate, London Bridge, up to the Roman Forum at the top of Cornhill, into the valley of the River Walbrook, passed the Temple of Mithras, along Cheapside to the Roman Amphitheatre, and finishing up in the shadow of St Pauls.
This is a London Walks Guided Walks. Look at their web site for a list of other of their amazing walks.
To buy tickets click here:
New Edition of ‘Kings and Queens’
Michael Omara books are launching a new edition of my book which has now sold over 100,000 copies in its various editions. (2 Paperbacks, 1 Hardback, Audio, Kindle)
