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John Rabon
Posts
Great Londoners – Inigo Jones – The Hero of Palladian Architecture
One of the first great architects of modern times, Inigo Jones was one of the instigators of the Palladian style of design, introducing the classical...
Ten Interesting Facts and Figures about the Shard – The Tallest Building in the UK
Threading the skies over London like a great glass needle, the Shard is one of the city’s newest and most striking skyscrapers. Completed in 2013,...
Summer in London: Ten Things to Do in London This Summer
The end of Spring means the heat gets turned up for a couple of months, but it also presents the perfect time to get out...
The London Fiver – Five of the Best Hotel Bars
You can sometimes tell how good a hotel is by its bar. The ambiance, alcohol selection, food, and service shows you whether the hotel really...
The London Fiver – Five of the Best Theatre Venues
While theatre is available in London throughout the year, the start of warmer weather means the theatre season really kicks off. Everything from classic Shakespeare...
Ten Interesting Facts about Islington
Forming along the path of the Great North Road, the Borough of Islington began as a village named “Giseldone” from the Saxons, otherwise known as...
The London Fiver – Five Classic Animated Series That Take Place in London
As one of the major cities of the world, London has had plenty of media in which it features as the setting. Plays, films, radio,...
The London Fiver – Five of London’s Oldest Hotels
It used to be that travelers’ only accommodations were the pubs and inns located all over the city. As the coaching inns grew in their...
The London Fiver – Five of the Best Vintage Clothing Shops To Visit On Your Next Trip
Many of us out there are dedicated followers of fashion, and there’s something about retro styles that really appeals to us. Whether you want to...
Great London Buildings – The Courts of Wimbledon
Perhaps the top tennis championship in the world, Wimbledon is a British institution and one of the iconic places in London. The history of Wimbledon...
Top 10 Gardens in London for a Respite On Your Next Trip
Sometimes in the middle of the city, you need to get away and find some peace and quiet. That can seem difficult in an urban...
The London Fiver – The Five Oldest Shops in London
Shops, as we think of them, are a fairly recent invention, give or take a couple hundred years. The idea that you would go to...
Great London Buildings – The Tate Britain
The primary building in the Tate art gallery network, the Tate Britain has long been one of the pillars of British art museums. Early in...
The London Fiver – London’s Five Oldest Restaurants
The birth of the modern restaurant is attributed to 18th Century France, where a man named Boulanger opened a new eating establishment near the Louvre...
The London Fiver – Five Places to Visit for Isambard Kingdom Brunel
It might be an understatement to say that Isambard Kingdom Brunel was the most important engineer in England during the 19th Century. The Royal Albert...
The London Fiver – Five of London’s Biggest Criminals
Laws exist because some people just can’t behave decently towards one another. Despite a criminal justice system that holds society accountable and punishes the guilty,...
London Trip Planning: Ten of the Best Views of London
A great view can be absolutely breathtaking. Whether looking out over the distance on the ground or observing everything below when you’re high in the...
The London Fiver – Five of the Best Places for Breakfast For Your Next Trip
They say it’s the most important meal of the day. Breakfast has certainly evolved over the years from a big meal meant to give farmhands...
Great Londoners: Michael Faraday – Electricity Pioneer
What we know today about electricity owes much to English scientist Michael Faraday. While his focus of studies was in the fields of chemistry and...
London Under: Thames Tunnels and Their Amazing Histories
With all the tunnels under the River Thames, it might seem strange to think that it was once a nearly impossible feat of engineering. By...
Great Londoners – Sir Giles Gilbert Scott – Designer of the Red Phone Box
Giles Gilbert Scott may not be the first person you think of when it comes to architecture in London, but he has certainly made his...
Top Ten Things to See and Do in Notting Hill
Known to most people outside of London for the 1999 film written by Richard Curtis and starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, Notting Hill is...
Streets of London: London’s Most Unique Street Names and Their Fascinating Histories
When a city has been around since Roman times, it tends to develop some very unique names for the city streets. Each era of London’s...
The London Fiver – Five Things to Do in London in the Springtime
Spring is one of the best times of the year, provided you don’t have allergies. Cold weather begins to give way to warmth, plants come...
Great London Buildings – The Palace of St. James
St. James’s Palace may not be a palace where Queen Elizabeth II actually resides, but it still holds a very important function for the government...
Not Falling Down: Ten of London’s Beautiful Bridges and Their Fascinating Histories
Bridges don’t just connect places, but they connect people. Since the earliest days of civilisation, we’ve used them to access new areas, trade with the...
Great London Buildings – The Tate Modern
There’s an old line from Monty Python’s Flying Circus that goes, “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like.” Modern art...
What’s All This Then? – London’s Pearly Kings and Queens
In this new column, we’re going to explain some parts of London culture that might seem unusual to those living outside of London or the...
From Piccadilly to Portobello Road: The Origins of Ten of London’s Most Famous Street Names
Names are very interesting labels and can tell you a lot about a person, a thing, or a place. London is chock-full of interesting names...
The London Fiver – All Fall Down: Five London Nursery Rhymes Full of Death, Ruin, and Conflict
Traditionally a song or a poem meant to entertain children; many nursery rhymes are so old that their original meanings have long been forgotten by...