Episodes

  • Ep 188 The British Empire Exhibition - Baffling displays back in Brent

    Ep 188 The British Empire Exhibition - Baffling displays back in Brent
    Nov 13 2024
    In a new guessing game Alex tries to pick the material chosen to sculpt the Prince of Wales. 100 years ago the crowds were gathering in Wembley for the extraordinary spectacle that was the British Empire Exhibition. A showcase for trade, manufacturing and, it turns out, people. Problematic? Just a tad. But there was a miniature railway, a palace of engineering, a palace of art including the teeny tiny wine bottles in Queen Mary's Dolls House. And a regular display of destruction of the House of Commons. What's not to like? When the empire was at it's height, but with the cracks beginning to show, an exhibition was bound to be both brilliant and disturbing. Join visitors John Betjeman and Virginia Woolf as we explore the exhibition together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    50 mins
  • Ep 187 Brilliant Bexley - Crossness pumping the poop

    Ep 187 Brilliant Bexley - Crossness pumping the poop
    Nov 6 2024
    Calling all penny farthing enthusiasts, we need answers! New records have been set, and we want to know more. Alex takes a dive into the Thames this week. Not the modern Thames, oh no, she's bravely gone back to 1858, the year of the Great Stink. What's that got to do with Bexley? The Crossness pumping station, that's what. An important part of Bazalgette's solution, his new improved sewage system, to transport the poop of London out the East. A very functional building then, presumably. Wait, have you met the Victorians? And will our funky theme tune be hitting the charts or clubs any time soon? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    53 mins
  • Ep 186 with a VERY special guest and some spooky South London goings on.

    Ep 186 with a VERY special guest and some spooky South London goings on.
    Oct 30 2024
    We're very excited about our guest this week. With a suitably seasonally episode. What do we think about Spiritualism? Are mediums in contact with those who have passed. Doris Stokes held audiences enthralled, was it all smoke and mirrors? But how did she know about the money? There's relocated bodies, fancy tombs, and a Bermuda Triangle in Blackheath. So that's how the highwayman disappeared. This'll set you up nicely for Halloween. Sleep tight. Did I mention the special guest? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    54 mins
  • Ep 185 Brent, Tommy Flowers and the colossal impact of Dollis Hill

    Ep 185 Brent, Tommy Flowers and the colossal impact of Dollis Hill
    Oct 22 2024
    Get your buzzers ready. We get competitive this week. Can you beat Alex in spotting the links to past episodes? Who'd have thought that Gladdie Park could be so well connected? And just around the corner was a unassuming building with a big story to hide. Partly the underground bunker, and partly their contribution to code breaking in WW2. Bletchley Park was the main centre for British codebreaking. Telecoms engineer Tommy Flowers and his team at Dollis Hill provided the equipment to break the most secret of all the codes. The Lorenz code of the Gerheimschreiber machines used by German high command. And if anyone doesn't know what Taskmaster is, where have you been? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • Ep 184: Fanny Eaton, Overlooked Pre-Raphaelite Muse

    Ep 184: Fanny Eaton, Overlooked Pre-Raphaelite Muse
    Oct 15 2024
    You might not know her name but there's a decent chance you know her face. Fanny Eaton worked as a model for the Royal Academy and painters of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Was she chosen for her beauty or seen as an exotic other? Alex goes in search of the beautiful Mrs Eaton. Possibly the most seen woman of colour in Victorian Britain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    32 mins
  • Ep 183 Bromley - Margaret Finch, Queen of the Gypsies

    Ep 183 Bromley - Margaret Finch, Queen of the Gypsies
    Oct 8 2024
    Project 32, this week we're south of the river in Bromley. Home to Margaret Finch, Queen of the Gypsies. (We're using the term as that's how she would have been known at the time). A mysterious figure who loitered by a lychgate. Margaret was elected Queen by the Roma community. Part figurehead, part ambassador, part advisor, she drew visitors to Norwood to consult her cards. Royals, celebrities, that one who went everywhere, they all came to see and seek their fortunes. Editor's note: since recording this we've realised we've gone astray. Anyone who knows the list of London boroughs, and the alphabet, might spot that we've missed Bexley and arrived in Bromley too soon. Don't worry, there's no sinister reason to miss Bexley, and we'll get to her (her?) soon, around about the time we should have been doing Bromley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
  • Ep 182 Barebones Barbon - The Fetter Lane dynasty

    Ep 182 Barebones Barbon - The Fetter Lane dynasty
    Oct 1 2024
    The radical preacher who served in Parliament and the son who followed in his footsteps, but maybe for very different reasons. Between them they span the 1600s,a time of great change in London, and the century that might just be Fiona's favourite. Praise God for the Barebones family. And the bricks and mortar legacy of one of London's most ambitious, unscrupulous businessmen. As Alex says "it's another historical rotter!". If Jesus had not died for thee, thou wouldst be damned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Ep 181 Project 32 The Battle of Barnet

    Ep 181 Project 32 The Battle of Barnet
    Sep 25 2024
    The 2nd week of project 32, and London's 2nd most populous borough. This week we are stumbling around in the fog of the Battle of Barnet. Who is fighting who? who trusts who? We're in the midst of the Wars of the Roses, and the kingdom is at stake. The biggest failure of the battle - it's Heraldry itself. Hang your head in shame heraldry, you cost lives that day. Plus the tale of Dirty Gertie's arrival from France, and the gift that Barnet keeps on giving to the rest of London. Ooh, a lovely Barnet fair, hexcellent. A little bit late this week - sorry gang. Fiona's internet died at the critical moment. She could have taken her laptop to a cafe to work, like a proper modern person, if she had a working laptop. There's nothing like losing the ability to do something, to realise how much we take it for granted when it works. Modern technology is a marvel. When it works. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    53 mins