Tag: Chaucer

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April Fools Day April 1st

The Famous Spaghetti Tree April Fool’s Joke (from facebook)

First Reference to April Fools Day

The first unambiguous British reference to April Fools Day is by diarist John Aubrey’s “Fooles holy day” in 1686 – although he might have been referring to Germany.

‘We observe it on ye first of April… And so it is kept in Germany everywhere.’ For more details read hoaxes.org.

Chaucer and April Fools Day

But there is a possible earlier reference in Chaucer in the Nun’s Priest’s Tale.   This I find quite compelling but most Chaucer scholars don’t. This is the text:

When that the monthe in which the world bigan
That highte March, whan God first maked man,
Was complet, and passed were also
Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two

So, if you have been keeping up with me, you will know that the first lines are referring to March 25th. This was the day Adam and Eve were created. The day when the Church started the New Year and the year number moved one on. This was a major Church festival, usually followed by a week of holiness. The Roman New Year, January 1st, ended with a light-hearted festival called Saturnalia, and it is suggested that April 1st was, similarly, a day of release after the festival of the official Church ceremony of the New Year.

Chaucer’s last line says ‘Since March began thirty-two days have passed.’ A foolish person would not realise this is a reference to April 1st. Hence, this suggests a Fool’s Day already existed. Some scholars think that Chaucer was referring to May 2nd, counting the 32 days not from the beginning of March but from the end of March. I think they look at the second and third lines which read ‘That high March…. was complete’ and so add the 32 days to the end of March. Foolish in my opinion and not reading what actually Chaucer wrote which is ‘Since March began….’

Hunting the Gowk

Generally, in Britain, we play a prank and say ‘April Fool’ with great delight. But we are not allowed to continue beyond midday. The Scots used to call it ‘Hunting the Gowk’ and the main prank was to give someone a letter to deliver, and the person who opened the letter would read:

“Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile” and send the fool onto another leg of his or her’s fool’s errand. In Ireland the letter would read ‘send the fool further’.

April Fools Day and Spaghetti Growing on Trees

I nearly always forget to honour April Fool’s Day (or April Fish Day as the French call it). But in Britain, somewhere in our newspaper or TV station there is an April Fools Joke slipped in. The most remembered is the BBC piece showing film of Italian Farmers picking spaghetti from trees.

2026 – Introduction of Coffee to England 200 years earlier than previously thought!

I have had a quick look at the Guardian for their 2026 April Fools Day Story and I think it is this one:

Guardian April Fools Joke for 2026

The clues are the expert is called Macky Arto. The find was in Ness, allowing them to say ‘Ness Cafe’, and ‘Ness-presso’, and the use of a pun ‘It would have costa for a coffee.’ The final confirmation is this sentence: ‘Back in the reigns of Henry V and VI, these were flat white fields …. and a village called Brew.’ Allowing the journalist to make up an origin for the expression ‘Fancy a Brew?’ it goes on to say.

2025 – Coffee Cups as Haut Courture?

Guardian April Fools Day Joke article or the world gone mad?

£4,440 for a Coffee cup shaped handbag?

2024 Meghan Markle

In 2024, Meghan Markle was the butt for the second year running. (from the Guardian’s quiz on April Fool’s jokes):

‘Meghan Markle was criticised after it was revealed that when you put her lifestyle brand name – American Riviera Orchard – into the What3words location service, it points to a statue of Oliver Cromwell, who famously had a King Charles executed‘

2023 – “Megxit: Call of Duke-y”

In 2023, Harry and Megan proved irresistible and the Guardian reported that:

‘The Sun published a piece announcing the launch of Prince Harry and Meghan’s new video game “Megxit: Call of Duke-y” in which the royal couple try to reach California while dodging obstacles, including rival royals and the media, along the way.‘

This post is about April Fools Day. But it is also the anniversary of the formation of the RAF.

On This Day

1918 – Near the end of World War 1 the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service were merged to create the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was the world’s biggest air force, and went on to secure Britain from invasion by Hitler.

Croydon RFC/RAF base for anti-Zeppelin Raids in WW1 and one of the world’s first international airports.

RAF Rigger, Benjamin Flude

My Grandfather was in the RAF as a fitter. My father tells some of his story in his autobiography ‘A Boy from Haggerston’:

Benjamin Flude in RFC Uniform. My father, Ben Flude remembers a small model biplane hanging from the portrait.

‘I was 9 months old when he died, and he was just 28 years old. Everyone seemed to like him, and as a child, he was always my hero. In my imagination, I promoted him to being a brilliant and brave Ace RAF Pilot. But he was, in fact, a mechanic rather than a pilot in World War I. Following the war, he worked with Imperial Airways in Purley, Croydon. I don’t know the exact details and so have to piece the story together from the little information I have at my disposal.

My friend, Roy, tells me that the badge on his uniform in the oval picture is of the Royal Flying Corp. (RFC). But they were disbanded in 1916/17, and replaced by the RAF thereafter. As my dad was born in 1900, he must have joined up to fight in the war while underage at 16 or 17 as a volunteer. ‘

How a London lad became a Rigger for the RFC we don’t know, but the Fludes at that time were all employed as umbrella or walking stick makers in the East End of London. I think it is a case of transferable skills. WWI aeroplanes were made of wood, metal wire and fabric, which is precisely what an umbrella is made of.

RAF/RFC mecanics c 1917 . My grandfather is the handsome man standing tall in the back row extreme right

RAF Mechanic Ben Flude

My father went on to serve in the RAF during his national service: He writes:

Ben Flude RAF Metfield. (dad is lying down at the bottom right. he is now 98)

‘Early in 1946 I received my call-up papers for the RAF. I was to report to the Recruitment Centre at Padgate in Lancashire. This is where I received my uniform after a medical examination, and then there were a number of intelligence/aptitude tests when they decided what trade I would join. I tried to get Air Crew and while there were no vacancies, I did have a wide group of trade offers open to me. The group that I was interested in was aircraft maintenance and repair, following in my Dad’s footsteps.’

‘However, before I could start, I had to do my basic training. This was designed to get you fit, and we did plenty of square-bashing or parade drills. For this, they sent me to Metfield in Suffolk, which had only very recently been made available to the RAF by the American Army Air Force. In fact, it was so recent a hand-over that whilst on picket duty, a coach rolled up packed with girls who were so disappointed by the lack of Americans that they got straight back on and returned to Ipswich! The motto of ‘overpaid, oversexed, over here’ certainly applied to these Americans in Suffolk.’

‘We found out that Metfield had been a US Army Air Force Base, where two squadrons of Flying Fortresses operated from. In all the Nissen Huts, those with the semicircular roofs, the ceilings were completely covered with pin-up pictures. My bed was just feet away from the huge Crocodile Stove, round which every evening we all clustered – as it was warm.‘

Interior of Nissan Hut 1944, Lasham

Dad specialised in the recovery of instruments from crashed planes, and was complimented by Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, GCB, GCVO, CMG on his ability to fix an instrument he had never seen before.

My father’s autobiography, which I edited, is available on Feedaread. https://www.feedaread.com/books/A-Boy-from-Haggerston-9781835970515.aspx at £4.18. Also, available on other online book retailers. (ask me and I will send you a signatured bookplate!)

First published March 25th 4004 BC and republished yearly on every April Fool’s Day. The section on the meaning of April moved to my post on April 2025. On This Day added in 2026

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Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Crocus and Saffron February 19th

Photo Mohammad Amiri from unsplash. Notice the crimson stigma and styles, called threads, Crocus is one of the characters in Ovid’s Metamorphoses

The story of Crocus and Smilax is in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The book tells the  story of myths which involve the metamorphosis of a person to a flower, or to a constellation, or to an echo or some supernatural change in being. This poem is one of the most famous in the world, written in about 6 AD. It influenced Dante, Bocaccio, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Keats, Bernard Shaw, and me.  Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes have translated modern versions of some of the tales.

The mechanicals in ‘The Midsummers Night Dream’ perform Ovid’s story of Pyramus and Thisbe, Titian painted Diana and Actaeon. Shaw wrote about Pygmalion, and we all know the story of Arachne. She claimed to be better than Athene at weaving. And then was turned into a spider.

The poem is about love, beauty, change, arrogance and is largely an Arcadian/rural poem. This is a contrast to Ovid’s ‘Art of Love’ which I use for illustrations of life in a Roman town. The stories are all about metamorphoses, mostly changes happening because of love. But it is also an epic as it tells the classical story of the universe from creation to Julius Caesar.

Ovid’s Metamorphoses and the Crocus

‘Crocus and his beloved Smilax were changed into tiny flowers.’ Ovid tell us, but chooses to give us no more details. So we have to look elsewhere. There are various versions. In the first, Crocus is a handsome mortal youth, beloved of the God Hermes (Mercury). They are playing with a discus which hits Crocus on the head and kills him. Hermes, distraught, turns the youth into a beautiful flower. Three drops of his blood form the stigma of the flower.  In another version, Crocus and the nymph Smilax, fall in love. And are rewarded by immortality as a flower. One tale has Smilax turned into the Bindweed. 

Morning Glory or Field Bindweed photo Leslie Saunders unsplash

Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Bindweed

It turns out that Smilax means ‘bindweed’ in Latin. Bindweed is from the Convolvulus family, and I have grown one very successfully in a pot for many years. But they have long roots. According to the RHS ‘Bindweed‘ refers to two similar trumpet-flowered weeds. Both of which twine around other plant stems, smothering them in the process. They are difficult to remove. This, could suggest that Smilax is either punished for spurning Crocus, or that she smothered him with love. Medically, Mrs Grieve’s Modern Herbal says all the bindweeds have strong purgative virtues, perhaps another insight into Smilax’s psychology?

The Metamorphosis of Data and the correct use of the plural

Apparently, in the UK some say crocuses and others use the correct Latin plural, croci. On an earlier version of this post I used the incorrect plural crocii.

On the subject of Roman plurals, the Financial Times editorial department made an earth-shattering decision, a couple of years ago. They updated their style guide to make the plural word data (datum is the singular form) metamorphise into the singular form.

So it is now wrong to say ‘data are’ but right to say ‘data is’. For example, it was correct to say:  ‘the data are showing us that 63% of British speakers use crocuses as the plural’ but now, it is better to write ‘the data is showing us that 37% of British people prefer the correct Latin form of croci’.

Violets and Crocuses

Violets and crocuses are coming out. They often come out for St Valentine’s Day, and so obviously associated with Love. White croci usually represented truth, innocence, and purity. The purple variety imply success, pride and dignity. The yellow type is joy.’ according to www.icysedgwick.com/, which gives a fairly comprehensive look at the Crocus.

Crocus & Saffron

The autumn-flowering perennial plant Crocus sativus, is the one whose stigma gives us saffron. Roman civilisation spread the plants around Europe.   They used it for medicine, as a dye, and a perfume. It was much sought after as a protection against the plague, and extensively grown in the UK.  Saffron Walden was a particularly important production area in the 16th and 17th Centuries.

Saffron in London

Snowdrop, Crocus, Violet and Silver Birch circle in Haggerston Park. (Photo Kevin Flude, 2022)

The Bishop of Ely grew Saffrom in his beautiful Gardens just outside of the City of London. The area remembered by the London street name: Saffron Hill.  It is home to the fictional Scrooge. This area became the London home of Christopher Hatton, the favourite of Queen Elizabeth 1. His garden was on the west bank of the River Fleet, in London EC1, in the area now known as Hatton Garden. (For more on Christopher Hatton see my post on nicknames Queen Elizabeth I gave to her favourites).

I found out more about Saffron from listening to BBC Radio 4’s Gardener’s Question time and James Wong.

Croydon (on the outskirts of London) means Crocus Valley. A place where Saffron was grown. The Saffron crops in Britain failed eventually because of the cost of harvesting, and it became cheaper to import it. So, we now import it from Spain, Iran, and India amongst other places. But it is being reintroduced in Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, and Sussex. These are – the hot and dry counties. The plant enjoys a South-facing aspect. But it needs protection from squirrels and sparrows who love it. To grow it, look at this post from the Garden Doctor.

Saffron Photo by Vera De on Unsplash

Violets

Viola odorata CC BY-SA 2.5 Wikipedia

The Celts used Violets as cosmetics; the Athenians to moderate anger; the Iranians for insomnia, and are loved by all because of their beauty and fragrance. They have been symbols of death for the young, and used as garlands, nosegays posies, which Gerard says are ‘delightful’.

For more on Ovid, use the search facility (click on menu) or read my post here.

On This Day

197 – The Battle of Lugdunum sees the victory of Septimius Severus over Clodius Albinus reputedly the bloodiest battle between Roman armies. The previous emperor Pertinax died in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. Three main contenders emerged Severus who was African, Niger was from Central Italy, Albinus was the Governor of Britain.

1800 – Napoleon proclaims himself First Consul making him the dictator of France.

1846 – The Republic of Texas officially transfers power to the State of Texas government and becomes part of the United States.

1878 – Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.

1945 – Battle of Iwo Jima began with the landing of 30,000 US troops.

First written 2023, revised 2024, 2025 and 2026

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British Recapture trenches near St Eloi February 15th 1915

The Prioress with her Rosary Beads from the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer from the Ellesmere manuscript
The Prioress from the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer from the Ellesmere manuscript. Her only oath is ‘By St Eloi’

When I read a reference to a Battle at St Eloi, it struck a chord as he is mentioned in the Canterbury Tales. It is an oath sworn by the delicate Prioress:

There was also a nun, a prioress,
Who, in her smiling, modest was and coy;
Her greatest oath was but “By Saint Eloy!”
And she was known as Madam Eglantine.
Full well she sang the services divine(5)
Intoning through her nose, becomingly;
And fair she spoke her French, and fluently.
At table she had been well taught withal,
And never from her lips let morsels fall,
Nor dipped her fingers deep in sauce, but ate(10)
With so much care the food upon her plate
That never driblet fell upon her breast.

General Prologue Canterbury Tales. Full Text here.

The reason is sticks in my mind is that the Prioress is shown as a cultured, well-mannered, delicate woman. And yet, she tells the most tremendously anti-Semitic tale. I hope that Chaucer meant this contrast. Someone who knows the forms of good behaviour without a clue in her hand that the most important of the Commandments is ‘Love Thy Neighbour like thyself.’ Another irony is that St Eloy was noted for refusing to swear an oath, and yet, the Prioress swears, by St Eloy.

St Eloi

Anyway, St Eloi was a very popular saint in the medieval period. According to legend, he was was having trouble shoeing a horse, which he thought was possessed. So he cut the horse’s leg off, re-shoed the amputated leg and then reattached the leg back on the horse. The horse trotted off, none the worse for the experience.

Properly called St. Eligius he is the patron saint of horses and cattle, farriers, blacksmiths, metalworkers, goldsmiths. The Saint was also responsible for converting Flanders to Christianity in the 7th Century. His Saint’s Day is 1 December. To look at the charge of rape against Chaucer look at my post here.

St Eloy in London

I have just discovered that there is a Holy Well dedicated to St Eloy in Tottenham London! To find out more look at this page.

Trenches at St Eloi

The Ypres Salient. St Eloi is just behind the ‘line’ above HOLLEBEKE
. Downloaded from http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15480 wikipedia

St Eloi is also the patron saint of mechanics in general (including the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, (forerunners of whom fought at Ypres). This brings me to what happened on this day in 1915, the British retook trenches at St Eloi. St Eloi was just behind the Southern edge of the Ypres Salient, a bulge of allied territory surrounded on three sides by German forces and the site of the five battles of Ypres. St Eloi had a mound which provided a perfect position for machine-guns to dominate the area and so became the focus of fierce fighting from 1914 through into 1918 when the Germans were finally pushed out of the Salient.

World War I destruction in Ypres (wikipedia)

Bravery at St Eloi

Here is a citation from a medal for bravery:

´For gallant behaviour on the morning of the 15th February 1915 at St. Eloi. A party of six stretcher bearers carrying wounded men from the firing line came under a heavy and sustained rifle fire. The bearers left their stretchers and ran to cover leaving Private Wright, D.C.L.I. (shot through the knee) and Private A. Stevenson, D.C.L.I. (shot through stomach) lying in open under heavy fire.

7679 Lance Sergeant T. Spanton, 6170 Rifleman E. Largen, and 1126 Company Sergeant Major S.M. Clay [together with Captain Brady] rushed some 50 yards across the exposed fire zone and carried in to cover the stretcher bearing Private Wright, whilst under heavy rifle fire. Private Stevenson, who was lying beside Wright, was found to be dead, and so was not carried in until dark. Lance Sergeant Spanton, Company Sergeant Major Clay, and Rifleman Largen have on several occasions done noticeably good work, showing fearlessness, resource, and devotion to duty.´

For details of the medals follow this link.

Fighting continued here from 1914 through into 1918 when the Germans were finally pushed out of the Salient.

War in Winter

I wanted to find something about the winter as experienced in World War 1. Why? Because I watched a very moving film about World War 1 by Derek Jarman called ‘War Requiem’. It put images to the requiem by Benjamin Britten. I also listened to a radio piece on ‘Spring Offensives’ to give a long view on what was happening in Ukraine.

I found this war poem which vividly sets a winter war scene:

Searchlight
F. S. Flint

There has been no sound of guns,
No roar of exploding bombs;
But the darkness has an edge
That grits the nerves of the sleeper.

He awakens;
Nothing disturbs the stillness,
Save perhaps the light, slow flap,
Once only, of the curtain
Dim in the darkness.

Yet there is something else
That drags him from his bed;
And he stands in the darkness
With his feet cold against the floor
And the cold air round his ankles.
He does not know why,
But he goes to the window and sees
A beam of light, miles high,
Dividing the night into two before him,
Still, stark and throbbing.

The houses and gardens beneath
Lie under the snow
Quiet and tinged with purple.

There has been no sound of guns,
No roar of exploding bombs;
Only that watchfulness hidden among the snow-covered houses,
And that great beam thrusting back into heaven
The light taken from it.

Published 2025, Revised February 2026

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St Valentine’s Day & Magpies February 14th

Picture of a magpie in a field. Photo by Rossano D'Angelo on Unsplash
Magpie – A Bird for St Valentine’s Day? Photo by Rossano D’Angelo on Unsplash

St Valentine’s Day in a Poem by Chaucer

For this was on Seynt Valentynes day,
Whan every foul cometh ther to chese his make,
Of every kinde, that men thynke may;
And that so huge a noyse gan they make,
That erthe and see, and tree, and every lake
So ful was, that unnethe was ther space
For me to stonde, so ful was al the place.
Parliament of Fowls, Geoffrey Chaucer

This is my ‘translation’

For this was St. Valentine’s Day
When every bird came there to chose their mate.
Of every type, that men think may
And that so huge a noise did they make
That earth and sea and tree and every lake
So full was, that hardly was there space
For to stand so full was the place.

St Valentine’s Patronage

This is the first reference to St Valentine’s as a romantic day. And some people charge Chaucer with making the whole thing up! St Valentine, is supposed to have been martyred in the 3rd Century (290AD) on the Via Flaminia on February 14. He refused to stop marrying people in the Christian rites. Therefore, he is the patron Saint of lovers. Valentine is also the patron Saint of epileptics, fainting and beekeepers. According to legend, he taught a young blind girl how to look after Bees, and, sometime later, her eyesight was restored. He also is said to have treated a young man of epilepsy. Epilepsy was sometimes called the Falling Sickness, and so he is also the Saint of Fainting.

But until Chaucer, there was no particular link with romance. In fact, there are at least three Saint Valentines who were martyred in the Roman period. Their relics are scattered around Europe (have a look at this National Geographic article for the full S.P.). These include bones in Glasgow and his heart in Dublin. There are in total 11 Saints called Valentine in the list of Catholic Saints.

Another theory is that St Valentine has taken over the aspect of the God Cupid, as a Christian attempt to create a holy festival to replace the Lupercalia. See my post on the Lupercalia here.

St Valentine’s Day and Birds

Chaucer’s poem suggests one possible route to the link with romance. Early February is about the time when birds pair off. If they want to have their chicks at the optimal time, then they need to get going before spring has really sprung.

When I think of love, I don’t think of birds. Maybe, this is because I live by a Canal. Outside my garden, I frequently see and hear a Coot chasing his pair across the water before violently mounting her. But then they are fiercely monogamous and defend their nest, fearlessly, against much bigger birds. And swans glide by in beautiful family groups. But Magpies are my favourite lovebird because you see one, and then look around, and you very often see the partner. I have adopted an old tradition that you are supposed to say:

‘Hello, Mr Magpie! Where’s Mrs Magpie?’

And look for the mate. It is good luck if you see her and bad luck if you don’t. (Please feel free to assign your own favourite gender!)

‘One for Sorrow’ is a well-known nursery rhyme found in many variations, and is an example of ‘ornithomancy superstition’ whereby the number of Magpies you see determines some aspect of your future. Magpies normally mate for life, and are not gregarious during the nesting season, but thereafter, they ‘join together in large wintering flocks of more than 20 or so birds.‘. So, perhaps we need at least another seven lines for the rhyme? So, far I have never seen a flock of them. If you have a photo of a flock, please send it to me!

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret,
Never to be told.
Eight for a wish,
Nine for a kiss,
Ten a surprise you should be careful not to miss,
Eleven for health,
Twelve for wealth,
Thirteen beware it’s the devil himself.

As to the likelihood of seeing thirteen magpies together – well I have seen them often in pairs, occasionally in threes and often alone.

Here is another, more dangerous version of the rhyme (you are more likely to see the Devil)

One for sorrow,
Two for mirth
Three for a funeral,
Four for birth
Five for heaven
Six for hell
Seven for the devil, his own self

For details of the history of versions of this poem, click here:

Bad Birds

Magpies don’t have a good reputation, traditionally being regarded as thieves and scavengers with untidy nests and eating habits. They are supposed to be attracted to shiny things, but Exeter University did some research which found that they have the normal Corvid’s curiosity for objects. But they are as happy to snatch a dull object as a shiny one. So, we can see they are very intelligent as well as faithful lovers. For me, a good-omened bird (as long as I see the two of them).

More on Chaucer in my post for April 18th. For my post on Blackbirds see here.

On This Day

44BC – Julius Caesar was appointed dictator in perpetuum. Or perpetual dictator of the Roman Republic. Coins were issued with the phrase DICT PERPETVO.

1400 -Richard II died shortly after Epiphany Rising, a failed plot to restore him to the throne. Some think he was starved to death in captivity in Pontefract Castle. Or he starved himself. His body was taken to London and put on display in St Paul’s Cathedral on 17 February. His remains were taken to one of his favourite palaces at King’s Langley Priory on 6 March. Henry V had his remains ‘translated’ to Westminster Abbey. King’s Langley was a Royal Palace lived in by Eleanor of Aquitaine and Edward II, as well as Richard II. It is near Slough.

Jan-Marie Knights author of The Plantagenet Socialite lists possible scenarios:

‘The accepted tale of the king’s death is that in despair and grief at the death of his friends, King Richard refused to eat or drink, although a few say he was purposely starved to ensure he died as if from a natural death. Another rumour is that when an esquire mentioned the words ‘King Henry’ while he was eating dinner, Richard struck him with the knife he was using. Guards charged in and the king, pushing the table away, took a bill out of one man’s hand and managed to slay four of them but one leapt onto the chair he had vacated and felled him with a stroke of his poleaxe.’

1876 – Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone

1895 – The Importance of Being Earnest, first produced at the St James’s Theatre, London

1918 – Russia finally adopts the Gregorian calendar. see my post here.

First Published in February 2023, revised and updated in February 2024, 2025 On This Day added 2026

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VIRTUAL GUIDED WALKS COMING UP

THE REBIRTH OF SAXON LONDON ARCHAEOLOGY VIRTUAL WALK

Reconstruction of Dark Age London Bridge
London in the 5th Century Reconstruction painting.

Sunday 4th July 2021 6.30pm

An exploration of what happened following the Roman Period. How did a Celtic speaking Latin educated Roman City become, first deserted, then recovered to become the leading City in a Germanic speaking Kingdom?

To book

THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON ANNIVERSARY VIRTUAL WALK

Virtual Zoom Walk on Sunday Sept 5th 6.30pm

On the Anniversary of the Great Fire of London we retrace the route of the fire of 1666 from Pudding Lane to Smithfield.

To book

RING IN THE EQUINOX VIRTUAL WALK

Tuesday 21st September 2021 7.30pm

On this walk we look at London at the Equinox, its calendars, folklore and events associated with the beginning of Autumn

To book

MYTHS, LEGENDS, & HALLOWEEN VIRTUAL WALK

SUNDAY 31st October 2021 6.30pm

The walk tells the story of London’s myths and legends and the celtic origins of Halloween. .

To book

ZEPPELIN NIGHTS – A VIRTUAL WALK FOR REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

Sunday 14 November 2021 6.30pm

We follow the route of a Zeppelin Raid through London. On the way we discover London in World War 1

To book

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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

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Flower Of Cities All – Medieval London History & Archaeology Virtual Walk.

Sunday 22nd November 2020

The walk is led by Kevin Flude, a former archaeologist at the Museum of London, a Museum Curator and University Lecturer.

A walk which explores London in the Middle Ages, from 1066 to the end of the 15th Century. In 1066 London was not yet the formal capital but as London expanded it took over from Winchester. By 1400 London was dominating the affairs of the Kingdom in spectacular fashion and had grown into a sophisticated medieval Capital. The Walk takes us from Westminster to Bishopsgate. and to the site of one of the few remaining medieval Churches at St Helens. We follow the route of the 15th Century London Lickpenny poem and look at everyday life in the City in the main markets streets of Cornhill, Poultry, Bucklersbury and Cheapside. We also visit the Guildhall and the City Wall. We will walk in the footsteps of Geoffrey Chaucer, in the muddy City Streets, exploring the unhealthy conditions and poverty amidst great riches and pageantry. We will see where the Italians, the German, the Dutch, the Jews, and the French lived cheek by jowl with native Londoners and immigrants from the Midlands.

This is a London Walks event. Look at their web site (www.walks.com) for a list of other of their amazing walks.


TO BUY TICKETS CLICK HERE:

Here is a short podcast to go with the walk.

This is a London Walks event by Kevin Flude