That Friday Feeling...London (23/03/2012)

This week's theme is London. Why? Because on Sunday I'm going to be going south of the river, not to visit friends in an area I know well, or to get on a train from Waterloo... no, I'm going all the way to Balham for my first ever craft fair. I'm quite excited but at the same time have not been there for at least 10 years so don't know what to expect of the whole area. LOL - that sounds as if I think of Balham as a whole different country, not a different part of this amazing city! But one of the things I love about London is that each area has its own different vibe and feel. So I'm looking forward to seeing more of the south. Anyway, as I always learn something new when I do a Friday Feeling post, I thought I'd have London as a theme this week to see what I can find out. But enough of that... here are some lovely things I found on Etsy this week.

Prints of London icons with cute little lines from nursery rhymes by helenatycedesigns

I love all of iconicpillows designs but this cushion is particularly fun.

I love this print of Big Ben by PRRINT 

So here are the promised facts I found out about...

• London is not only the biggest city in the UK, it's also the biggest in Europe with 12% of the British population living there.
• The first bridge across the River Thames was London Bridge - it was built by the Romans and was probably made of wood but there has been a bridge at the same place ever since. 
• About 80,000 umbrellas are lost on the London Underground every year. I know that at least 5 of them are mine!
• The first asparagus grown in Britain was grown in Battersea Park in 1850
• Blackheath (near Greenwich / Dulwich) has both the oldest hockey and rugby clubs in the world. 
• Greenwich's Millenium Dome is the largest dome in the world - and it's measurements reflect Greenwich's long-standing relationship to time (through the Royal Observatory) It's diameter is 365m (days in a year), it's height 52 m (weeks in a year) and there are 12 supporting poles symbolising months. I didn't know that before today!
• The Queen is not allowed to enter the City of London without prior permission from the Lord Mayor. But the City of London is actually only a square mile - it's the area between Bank and Aldgate and is the financial heart of London. The touristy bits of London are actually part of the City of Westminster. Yes, London is made up of 2 cities.
• Soho - the area just south of Oxford Street around Tottenham Court Road used to be heavily wooded area - or rather it was in the time of Henry VIII. It used to be a favourite hunting ground and when someone spotted a deer they'd cry 'Tally-Ho' for lesser creatures they started saying 'So-Ho' which is where it got it's name from. I'm not sure I'm convinced by that one...
• The Mayflower Pub in Rotherhithe is the only place in the UK licensed to sell both English and American postage stamps. The pub used to be called The Shippe, and the Mayflower (yes, the famous pilgrim fathers ship) sailed from just outside in 1620. It stopped in Plymouth to pick up more passengers and supplies before going on to America. 
• The skull and crossbones flag, famous for its pirate connotations, may have been inspired by St Nicholas Church in Deptford. It has a skull and crossbones on its gates and was a well-known place of worship for many sailors. The flag could have originated in being a means of letting other pirates / sailors know that they were from the same place. 
• Christ Church in Lambeth has a spire decorated with stars and stripes... because it was half funded by American and it commemorates Lincoln's abolition of slavery.
• New Scotland Yard, built in 1888 is actually built on the scene of an unsolved murder. While they were excavating the foundations they discovered the head and torso of a woman but despite huge investigations neither the woman's identity nor her murderer were ever discovered.