London is an iconic and contemporary city with a history stretching back to the Romans.  It is called home to

8.6 million people.  But here are some interesting things that maybe not all of them know.

1. The Metropolitan line opened in 1863 and is the oldest underground line in the world.

2. The last person to be executed at the Tower of London was a German intelligence agent named Josef Jakobs. He was shot by firing squad in 1941.

3. Out of 287 tube stations, only 29 are south of the River Thames.

4. In 1952, pollution was so bad that Sadlers Wells Theatre were forced to abandon a performance when smog entered the auditorium.

5. Although it’s not been used since 1932, The British Museum has its own underground station.  It is situated between Holborn and Tottenham Court Road.

6. Only six people died in the Great Fire of London in 1966.

7. Despite its rainy reputation, London has less rain on average than New York City.

8. All distances to London are measurable to Charing Cross.  The actual centre can be pinpointed to a plaque in nearby St Martin’s Church.

9. It’s illegal to die in parliament.

10. 60% of the underground is actually over ground.

11. Sir Christopher Wren’s first design for St Paul’s Cathedral featured a 60ft high stone pineapple on top of the dome.

12. The walkways of Tower Bridge were accessible to the public until 1910, when they were shut because they became popular with prostitutes.

13. Big Ben is the name of the bell, not the tower.

14. Until 1916 you could buy pure cocaine at Harrods.

15. The area of Covent Garden used to be a market garden to a convent. The name is actually misspelled.

16. In 1929, author J M Barrie, having no children, gifted all the rights to Peter Pan in his will to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The most beautiful and tragic love story I have ever had the experience to be involved with.  There’s a whole load of challenges contained in this tale that are so recognisable and bitter-sweet that it will remain with me for a very long time.

View all my reviews

1.      The autumn equinox always happens on 22^ndor 23^rd September and marks the beginning of the season, but to record data more effectively, the Met office set dates that can easily be compared, so declare it on 1 September. 

2.      The word ‘equinox’ is from the Latin meaning ‘equal night’ and describes the period when the sun shines directly on the equator and means day-time is equal in hours to the length of night-time.  There are 2 equinoxes every year – in September and March.

3.      Our calendar (the Gregorian calendar) is not perfectly symmetrical with the orbit of the earth though, and therefore, in 1931 autumn equinox fell on 24^th September.  The next time this happens will be 2303.

4.      Some scientists say that our testosterone levels (men and women) are highest during autumn because of ancient human mating instincts.

5.      All Hallows Eve (or Halloween) was a pagan holiday honouring the dead and is the last day of the Celtic calendar.

6.      Keats called autumn the ‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’.

7.   Tree leaves change colour because there is not enough light in the shorter days for photosynthesis to occur and therefore the amount of chlorophyll is reduced.

8.      The Journal of Aging Research found that babies born during the autumn months are more likely to be centenarians than those born at any other time.

9.     These days the word ‘fall’ is commonly used more in America to describe the third season, but it was in widespread use in England during the 17^th century and is a shortening of the phrase ‘fall of the leaf’.  ‘Autumn’ begun to be used in the 18^th century and is from the French word ‘autompne’. This in turn came from the Latin ‘autumnus’.

10.   Until about 1500, autumn was called ‘harvest’.

11.   Winter, spring and summer all feature in film titles that have won Oscars, but no film with autumn in its title has ever won one.

12.   Some research shows that women lose more hair in autumn.

I just discovered BlogLovin.  It’s a page where you can tag all the things you love to read about and find blogs about them.  It’s a bit like a personalised magazine and very easy to use.  I’m hoping to get some great content to share this way AND you can now follow this blog with BlogLovin too. <a href=”https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/18300557/?claim=4av3vedcz4w”>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>.

• –        finding a professional proof-reader and copy editor; 
• –        designing my book cover; 
• –        printing a physical paper back; 
• –        converting the script to a perfectly downloadable ebook; 
• –        learning how to market and publicise my book; 
• –        understanding my new ‘brand’; 
• –        choosing a suitable, international typeset.