19th October - Guided Walk Round Soho
Sally
Botwright, the
London Blue Badge Guide, led 25 members on a really
informative stroll around
Soho.
It
is now a very cleaned up area, gone is the sleaze of old.
We
met sally outside
the Casino in Leister Square looking at some of the original
architecture above
the flashy modern advertising boards. The square in the centre has the
original
half price theatre booth that is supported by Theatres.
Around
the square we
were reminded that Samuel Johnson frequented the club in Soho and
William
Hogarth painter and satirist had been painting local characters and
discovered
that he could in fact print additional copies of them. To prevent
others from
copying his work he took this to parliament and later this became the
copyright
laws.
John
Hunter, in 1768
was elected Surgeon to St George's Hospital, and in 1783 he moved to a
large
house in Leicester Square which enabled him to take resident pupils and
to
arrange his collection into a teaching museum.
Moving
from Leicester
square into Soho we stopped briefly at The Notre Dame de France. The
church was
rebuilt after bombing during WW2 from there into China Town where all
the signs
are written in Chinese. China Town was expanded in the 1960’s to
compete with
similar areas across the globe.
We
moved into St
Ann’s church yard some of which was designed by Christopher Wren though
those
were lost in the Blitz There is only one tomb still in the church yard
is
William Hazlitt The radical, early-19th-century essayist died in
poverty in a
Soho lodging house, aged 52, his reputation in tatters, his stomach
riddled
with cancer, and with two broken marriages behind him. Eager to let his
room
again forthwith, his landlady even hid his body under the bed as she
showed
around would-be, new tenants. Judging by his last words, however,
Hazlitt had
died content – after a decent life’s work.
Around
the corner
from there is the 2i’s coffee bar frequented in the 60’s by all the up
and
coming pop musicians.
There
followed a
number of pubs all with links to past historical persons. The French
where the
free French met throughout the war and it was often frequented by De
Gaul.
 The
dog and Duck
Victorian pub replaced the tavern that had been on the sight since 1734
Soho
was once the royal hunting ground of Henry the 8th
the hunting call
So Ho gave the area its name. The pub was frequented by many local
characters
including George Orwell who was a regular there.
The
Intrepid Fox was
the haunt of Pitt the older and the younger. At just 24 years old,
William Pitt
the Younger, son of Pitt the Elder, was the youngest Prime Minister in
history.
He died aged only 46. He was exhausted by the demands of an office
whose modern
conception he helped to establish, and of a peculiarly threatening
international situation which frustrated many of his political goals.
The
John Snow
recognises the work of John Snow (15 March 1813 – 16 June 1858) who was
an
English physician and a leader in the adoption of anaesthesia and
medical
hygiene. He is considered one of the fathers of modern epidemiology, in
part
because of his work in tracing the source of a cholera outbreak in
Soho,
London, in 1854. His findings inspired fundamental changes in the water
and
waste systems of London, which led to similar changes in other cities,
and a
significant improvement in general public health around the world.
Although
recognised by a pub John Snow was in fact tee total.
Many
thanks to Sally
for another great walk.
|
16
members enjoyed a day in the spring sunshine following the Walkway
booklet provided by the Tourist information Office. 
Parish
Church next to the bus stop. 
10
members travelled to Waterloo by rail walking along the south bank to
Westminster after stopping for coffee in the sunshine at the Festival
hall.
The
Supreme Court does not hold trials where guilt and innocence are
decided instead points of law are decided. This is the only court in
the UK where proceedings are routinely filmed and available to
watch on line.
30
of us travelled by coach up to London to visit the new PO
museum. I think the coach was a mistake as it took
much longer than when we go up on the train, It was a lesson
to learn. Coach great for trips going away from London, not so great
for those going into London. 
2nd
October - St. Georges Chapel, Windsor.
