A Touch of Royalty

Adding a weeny bit of colour to Open House Day, the Elizabeths were at Temple for the occasion.

Neasden Temple

Towering in all its marble glory the traditional Hindu temple sits among red brick houses in the borough of Neasden (northwest London).
The story behind the building the temple is equally amazing, 5,000 tons of Italian marble  and Bulgarian limestone were shipped to India where they were hand carved by skilled artisans and then like giant blocks of lego it was shipped to London where hundreds of volunteers assembled it piece by piece.  The official opening was in 1995.

Inner Temple Doors

For over four hundred years students of law have entered through these doors into one of the four inns of court that hold the exclusive rights to be call the students to the bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wales.

Freemasons Hall

The Freemasons Hall between Holborn and Covent Garden is more like a palace than a hall. Built in art deco style as a memorial to the masons who died in WWI, at the cost of £1million. A huge amount of money in the 1920's The interior is even more impressive which you can see on one of their weekday tours. They even take you into the inner temple.

London's Best Tour

Meet Mark and Viv, my tour guides last Sunday. Unseen Tours will change the way you see London. We left from temple and finished at Gray's Inn Fields. This tour is different as you take in the famous and historic landmarks your guides also weave in the stories of the street. Personal stories of life on the street. You'll have nooks and crannies pointed out to you that are bedrooms and living rooms. Places you might otherwise overlook.

Mark and Viv are homeless as are all the guides with unseen tours.

They are lots of fun, they had me singing a little ditty in Drury Lane and astounded me with their positive and caring outlook on life.

Their stories will make you laugh and cry but more than that you will never feel the same way about the street again.

Make sure you include an Unseen Tour soon.

The brainchild of an organisation sockmob who describe themselves as

" a group of friends engaging with the homeless in London by cutting through the misconceptions, prejudice and fear that often accompany stereotypes of rough sleepers and other vulnerable groups in the city."

Unseen Tours directly contribute to improving the quality of life of some of London's most marginalised people, as the lions share of ticket sales goes to the guides themselves. All profits are reinvested back into Sock Mob Events, a social enterprise, to train more guides and continue to build their skills and creativity.

Philanthropic Bulldog

The building of the Bulldog Trust.

Middle Temple Hall

I love to see behind closed doors. Places we aren't normally allowed to see. Middle Temple Hall is one of these places. Open last weekend for open house weekend. What we really want is a story that we wont find in the history books or on the Internet. Right? A bit of historical gossip.
Aha I have a story for you.
At the end of the room you can see part of a table. It's a very long table stretching across the width of the room. At either end there are stained glass windows with family crests. The story although an unlikely one is none the less still worth repeating. At a dinner one evening Robert Louis Stevenson was sitting at the very end facing the far window. Near the top and to the very right are two separate crests with names that caught his fancy.
Those names are Jekyll and Hyde.

Competition update:
The correct answers to the photos are:
Winston Churchill, Covent Garden, The London Eye. Additional points could be earned by your witty response.
A short list has been selected by we are social:

Gunn White, Frenchies in London, Bower Bird, Gillian, Karen Billing, Ham

These will all go into a hat and one will be selected and announced on tomorrow's post.
The winner will be contacted by we are social to discuss the details with you.
Good luck!

Bankers take Note!

What has an effigy of a knight Templar got to do with modern day bankers? You are asking.

Well once upon a time there was a group of knights, yes the ones that became known as the knights Templar. They weren't very wealthy. In fact they often had to share a horse, and they wore funny tin helmets. However, they were very good at fund raising and securing large donations from those who wanted a good place in heaven.

After about 100 years they built a lovely stone temple (known as the inner temple) in London, where 10 effigies now lay. By the 14th century these knights had become so wealthy they were in control of most of the money.

Now bankers take note of what happened next. People were rather unhappy with this state of affairs especially as many were struggling. The knights were charged with heresy, blasphemy and sodomy and chucked into the Tower of London.

What happened to all the assets? The lawyers took it all.