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.

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The secret of the curious gateway

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5 January 2016

According to the weatherman Tuesday was going to be the best day of the week. In fact it looked like it would be the only dry day. Obviously a walk of some kind was in order and I had a place in mind. For a long time now I’ve been wondering about a curious gateway along Abbey Hill at Netley, not far from the abbey. Countless times I’ve passed it on the way to somewhere else and wondered where the path leads but I’ve never had the time to check it out. Today was the day I did. Continue reading The secret of the curious gateway