Your London Legacy – Details, episodes & analysis

Today’s brilliant guest is journalist and author, Andy Bull, who has lived in London for the best part of 40 years. Author of two books about London, on today’s podcast we talk about Andy’s book: Secret Twickenham, Whitton, Teddington, and the Hamptons. Now I’m sure all of you will have heard of the Cavern Club in Liverpool where the Beatles made their name, but chances are you’ve never heard of the Eel Pie Island in Twickenham—which in the 60’s was a favorite spot for the likes of the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Rod Stewart to play. These parts of west London are home to many secrets and have many glorious stories to reveal, and Andy is the perfect host. Listen in as we dive into the Thames which was once full of salmon, eels, and trout—take a trip around Henry the VIII’s Hampton court palace, and wander around the film studios at Teddington, and the home of English rugby. This is Your London Legacy. “The wonderful thing about London is anyone can be a Londoner, wherever you’re from, whatever your background, if you want to understand the values of London and respect London—you’re welcome.” 15:00 Once people started to get free time in the modern era of London, they began to spend it down by the river on the Thames. Centuries back it was a burgeoning hotspot of trade and recreation, and because of that there are a wealth of secrets and history in every bend and path along its shores. These secrets are the foundation for Andy’s book about Twickenham, Whitton, Teddington, and the Hamptons. He has curated a selection of them that he found most interesting—one of which deals with the music hotbed of Eel Pie Island. Eel Pie Island became a musical venue due to a man of the name Arthur Chisnall, a frustrated sociologist with an interest in youth subculture. He worked on creating a rundown hotel on this small spit of island in the middle of the river into a music venue. In coordinating with authorities, you needed a special Eel Pie Island passport to cross over on a rowboat and listen to the bands—something done to keep an eye on youth who might go off the rails. It was set up to encourage healthy community and creativity under the guise of being a rebel headquarters for upcoming musicians and one of the birthplaces of rock ‘n roll. “What I aimed to do was pick out lesser known things—things which people who lived in those areas their whole lives might not know about, or aspects of those things they may not have known about.” 28:40 In the 18th and 19th century the market gardens covered about 40% of Twickenham and the Hamptons while employing around 15,000 people—essentially feeding London. The Thames back then was teeming with salmon and trout, but in time due to pollution the fish disappeared. This bothered a local angler who went on to pioneer fish farming (still a theory at this point), and in conjunction with the Thames conservancy, they released 200,000 small fish into the river after just five years. This technology was spread the help rivers all across the globe, all stemming from the Francis Fish Hatchery. These are but a few of the secrets Andy’s book holds and stand out as a testament for the rich history of London and the stories hiding in every nook and cranny. Links http://www.andybull.co.uk/ (AndyBull.co.uk) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08HDK3WH6/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4 (Secret Twickenham, Whitton, Teddington, and the Hamptons) New Book – https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/en/Andy-Bull/dp/1912716194 (Pilgrim Pathways)

I was thrilled to have really had such an entertaining and fascinating chat with philosopher, jazz musician and renowned cheese historian, Ned Palmer. Author of the Sunday Times Book of the Year ‘’A Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles’’ Ned makes it clear that every cheese tells a story. In his recent book Ned takes us on a mouth-watering journey across Britain and Ireland to uncover the histories of beloved old favourites like Cheddar and Wensleydale to exciting new innovations like the Irish Cashel Blue or the splendid Renegade Monk. Ned works with Laithwates, the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society, the British Epicurean Society and various London craft brewers to bring audiences delicious surprises and pairings, alongside eccentric, eclectic, and esoteric stories of the makers of great British cheeses, both ancient and modern. On the back of our chat, I placed a rush order for a hunk of fabulous Gorwydd Caerphilly and Colston Bassett Stilton. Delicious. Well, why let the grass grow under my feet. If you love cheese, and the history of the British Isles then this episode is quite delightful. This is Your London Legacy “You don’t every really stop being a jazz musician though, do you?” 6:15 At six years old Ned was already falling in love with jazz at a time when he could listen to records and see the whole development of the genre. He played for years, but like many musicians, had to pick up other work—and some of that work was as an affineur—someone who watches cheese and takes care of it. This most certainly kicked off Ned’s deep love of fine cheese, and in fact, he finds many similarities between jazz and cheese, and has even entertained doing a tasting that pairs cheese with different kinds of jazz chords and music. “I want to say as a sort of public service announcement—be careful. You eat a really nice piece of cheese, you don’t know what’ll happen.” 24:15 In Ned’s book “A Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles” a whole history of cheese making plays out, from Neolithic pots being scraped and analyzed to determine if cheese was made as early as thousands of years ago, to Roman times, monks churning cheese, medieval times, and pre- and post-war times, all the way to the 70’s cheese renaissance and post-modern cheese. And let me tell you, the tales are just downright fascinating. Take the Great Cheese War of 1776, a little skirmish Ned uncovered while doing research that involved armored convoys, raids, and besieged warehouses held captive by the end of gun barrels. There are tales from the WWII involving cheese being used as a weapon when rations ran thin and cheese makers going out of business, losing artisanal varieties, and the townsfolk who worked to gather money to keep others in business. “If you don’t play with your cheese—it will play with you.” 48:30 On this episode I’ve done something I’ve never done before on the podcast—I let Ned take a look at the cheese I had in my fridge and rate my taste in cheese, and let me just say, I’m not sure I passed all the tests here. However, it was beyond lovely to chat with Ned and enjoy some of the cheese he recommended—he is beginning to delve into working on his next book which will have him touring cheese makers in France. I highly recommend his current book which can be picked up right here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cheesemongers-History-British-Isles/dp/1788161173/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1andkeywords=%E2%80%99A+Cheesemonger%E2%80%99s+History+of+the+British+Islesandqid=1610419919andsr=8-1 (A Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles) Links https://www.cheesetastingco.uk/ (The Cheese Tasting Company) https://twitter.com/CheeseTastingCo (@cheesetastingco)

London cabbies are a wonderful, rich and varied bunch and Mark Monroe is no exception. Born in Plymouth Mark moved to London as a young man and studied Musical Theatre at the Arts Ed school in Chiswick, after which he was a jobbing theatre actor to the age of 33. Realising the instability of the acting world Mark took the ‘The Knowledge’ absorbing very facet of his new home London. Marks love of London extended beyond the standout historical icons such as Buckingham Palace and the London eye. It was the quirky, bizarre, and unusual that excites him. So much so that in May 2019, as complete novice in film making, presenting and social media, mark created Secret London, his very own You Tube Chanel where he shares a side of London, very view people are aware of, or indeed ever get to see. When social distancing is over, I’m going to ask Mark to take to me to some of the fabulous places he talks about, but for now, we can all enjoy his wonderful Secret London story from the comfort of our own homes, wherever in the world we may be. This is Your London Legacy. “I’m always asking people to tell me something about London that I don’t know.” 9:40 Mark’s first role came around 16 when he joined a youth theatre with a friend, essentially to try and meet girls. Well after singing he ended up landing the role of Tony in a Westside Story—and ended up playing Riff, leader of the Jets in the opposite gang. So it’s unsurprising that Mark went into theatre and the arts, and finished his A levels around 20 and scored a grant to come to London and study at drama school—the Arts School at Chiswick. 3 years later he came out the other side with a performance diploma. He went on the be in productions of Aladdin, Wind in the Willows, and Peter Pan. However, as many in the arts are to find out, especially in acting, work isn’t always steady and income can be hard to come by. “You’re then assigned your first appearance—there not called exams. There called ‘appearances’. How incredible is that? It makes you feel even more nervous.” 30:00 Mark decided to join the cabbie life and start down the, literally, long road toward passing “The Knowledge”. He studied part time while working, spending his weekends on a moped with maps in front of him as he memorized and took stock of street names and just as importantly—points of interest. 17,000 or so at that. And after passing his “appearances” and test where he was given a blank map of London and asked to put down street names, he finally got his badge—3 years down the line. “I want to share something a little bit more hidden—under the surface of London, and unique. And what that is what the channel is all about.” 40:00 Mark now runs a YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7W2nvuM1ObIBI5jW0TWYhw (Secret London). A channel borne out of his love for London’s points of interests and even his love for performance and expressing his personality. He started off with just a regular old iPhone, going around and showing some of London’s most hidden gems—one of which he shares with us, a place he calls a Secret Garden. But he learned the ins and outs of film making with minimal equipment, while on the go, and it’s allowed him to showcase the hidden and obscure corners of our wonderful city—which I wholeheartedly hope you delve deeper into and explore. Links https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7W2nvuM1ObIBI5jW0TWYhw (Secret London Youtube) https://www.instagram.com/secretlondonpics/ (Secret London Instagram)

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