Monday Miscellanea

This Week In London’s History

Monday – 4th February 1915: Norman Wisdom is born in Marylebone. He would become a very successful entertainer, as well as (bizarrely) a cult film icon in Albania.

Tuesday – 5th February 1924: The Greenwich Time Signal pips are broadcast on BBC Radio for the first time. (Lots more geeky detail on this is available in our post from this time last year.) Wednesday – 6th February 1875: The first ‘Cabmen’s Shelter’ is opened in St. John’s Wood – providing a place where cabbies can rest and consume refreshments, without the temptation of getting drunk in the pub. Thursday – 7th February 1991: The IRA launch a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street. No one is hurt, but the attack does somewhat startle John Major during a Cabinet meeting. Friday – 8th February 1750: A small earth tremor causes minor damage to buildings in London.

Random London Fact Of The Week

In May 1770, a market trader named James Parrot ran a race from Charterhouse Wall on Goswell Road, proceeding along Old Street and finishing at the church on the corner of Shoreditch High Street and Hackney Road. Rumour has it that he completed the course, measured at exactly one mile in length, in less than 4 minutes – settling a bet and winning 15 guineas for his exertions.If this were true, it would mean that Roger Bannister was 184 years too late in establishing his famous 4-minute mile record. Cockney power!London’s Weather This WeekThe forecasters agree that there will be plenty of sporadic rain again this week, and it will probably be annoyingly windy as well. Try to make the most of the few isolated bursts of sunshine.Picture courtesy of ktylerconk’s Flickr photostream.