Reading London
An early(ish) jaunt to the LSE to hear a lecture delivered as part of their Reading London event (Cities Programme). The event covered literature, social history and architecture in an attempt to ‘read’ and describe London.
The discussion covered land ownership in Bloomsbury, Christopher Wren (of course!) and how the metropolis has managed to develop, rather than sticking to any major plan. Along the way, we learnt about Wren’s great plan for London (it was all going to be so neat and orderly, apparently; I think London’s organic and somewhat haphazard development has been to its great credit. Imagine all those nooks and crannies being neatly ironed out and not being, well, nooks and crannies any more..). We also discovered that Peter Pan is set in Bloomsbury because Roget (of the Thesaurus) once lived there and provided many a guiding light.
And then there was the news that the British Museum has some hidden doors in it (well, imagine if the dear BM didn’t hold such secrets). I have noted the locations of these and shall do some discreet prodding of walls next time I’m in there. Hope I don’t get thrown out.
