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Interview with Paul Gunton, international tea consultant and author, at Twinings Tea Shop, 216 Strand, 17 December 2010. Twinings Tea and Coffee Shop, 216 Strand, is on the site of one of the oldest coffee houses in London. Dating back to the early 18th century, it was originally called the ‘Golden Lyon’ – hence the…

King’s College Archives (Ref: K/PC6/22), 28 October 1993, The Times, ‘Heart Surgeon urges women to join her at cutting edge!’ colour photograph of Elaine Griffiths, former King’s College London alumna, operating in theatre. © King’s College London Archives

Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives (Ref: Hamilton 11/1/5), 1 May 1919, article entitled ‘Catching the Coal – A Strand Sketch’ from The Ex-Service Man, conveying a conversation between a shoe shiner and his customer on the Strand.

Article titled ‘Tomorrow’s Graduate’ from issue of ‘The Illustrated’ women’s magazine King’s College London Archives (Ref: K/PBN/1/4), 26 June 1948, article titled ‘Tomorrow’s Graduate’ by I. Robertson which relates to women students at King’s College London and in particular, a day in the life of King’s College London student, Sheila Harris. Click on the image…

[missing video] Work is still going on, long after Bazalgette

My room in King’s College faces out on to the quad and throughout the day today I kept hearing a single shout , that sounded like ‘coaaal…’ coming from the building works on the east wing of Somerset House and repeated every few seconds.  From ground level it was inaudible but from the fourth floor…

‘Charlie’ leads Sockmob walking tours around London. I have written about these tours for the Strandlines blog. ‘Charlie’ used to be homeless, and slept around the Strand, Covent Garden, Waterloo and Blackfriars Bridge. She describes here how she knitted and sold toys as an alternative to begging. [missing audio]

In 1982, when I was seventeen, I was called to interview at King’s College.  I didn’t go there for my English degree in the end, but the trip to London that day was one of many I made as a teenager, often alone.  I was obsessed with art and the theatre, with the culture of…