London, the old, the new and the curious

Pugilists

The glorious ruined church, St Dunstan in the East, might have been the highlight of our whistle-stop tour of London back in May, but our visit didn’t end there. We found a path to the River Thames beside the church of St Magnus the Martyr. This church, founded in the early twelfth century, was one of the first buildings destroyed by the Fire of London. Christopher Wren rebuilt the current incarnation. With a little more time on our hands, we might have looked inside. As it was, like Nancy in Oliver Twist, we passed it by. Being in the middle of final edits on Seventh Daughter, the connection with the Dickens’ classic my Nancy had read with Sam seemed fitting.

Continue reading London, the old, the new and the curious

The Kray Twins, Hamble Airfield and the Air Transport Auxiliary

image

13 December 2015

Late in November CJ and I went down to Hamble Point to look at the Bofors Gun and the pillbox. That day it had been very muddy on Hamble Common so we hadn’t been able to explore further. Today Commando’s long Sunday run took him down to Hamble Point so, naturally, when he got home we compared notes. He had run along the road rather than on the shingle and we got to talking about the airfield and the memorial to the women of the Air Transport Auxiliary on Hamble Lane. Continue reading The Kray Twins, Hamble Airfield and the Air Transport Auxiliary