New Bond Street (Part Two) – License To Shop
200 years separate them. But both live only a wall apart from each other. One stuck to his long German style wig, whilst all around him wore the fashionable tied […]
New Bond Street (Part One) – The Spy Who Loved Shopping
My simple disguise is complete. Sunglasses on, I hoist a large brown bag onto my shoulder, allowing me to blend in with the hundreds of shoppers around. I pat my […]
Oxford Street – Shop Till You Drop
A staggering half a million people visit Oxford Street every day. Closer to Christmas, it jumps to two million, or so it seems to me! But during Shakespeare’s time, no […]
Kuala Lumpur – Chinatown – The Story Of Yap Ah Loy
The muddy torrent rises at a frightening pace. It’s not the first time that heavy monsoons have threatened this Chinese outpost. But these floods are more menacing than ever. When […]
Kuala Lumpur Chinatown (Part Two) – Life In A Chinese Pioneer Town
Living in a pioneer town in the wild, wild east isn’t easy. Chinese migrants, mainly men, arrive here after long treacherous journeys across the South China Sea. Disembarking, they see […]
Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown (Part One) – The Chans Arrive In Town
My Chinatown walk involves a lot of stripping on my part…. Skyscrapers are stripped right back down to the ground. The busy highways and flyovers around me are peeled back. […]
Klang (Part Two) – A Historical Royal Town
I’m in Klang. I’ve walked to the other side of the Klang River from the train station. And am totally immersed in the story of the Klang Wars. The story […]
Klang (Part One) – A Historical Royal Town
There was once a Sultan of Selangor who had a son. His son falls into debt from an investment that goes wrong. Fortunately his debts are bailed out by another […]
Highgate and Archway – Ghosts and Graves (Part Three)
Ley lines. Are they simply straight lines that connect ancient monuments or are they highways of super energy? When the archaeologist Watkins coins the term in 1921, he means it […]
Highgate and Archway – Ghosts and Graves (Part Two)
When William the Conqueror does exactly what his title says and conquers England in 1066, he seizes property and land from the existing Saxon manors and landlords. He then gifts […]