Walks and Talks

Walks

Most of my walks are done privately for groups. If I have a public walk coming up I will mention it on my Home page. I do talks as well - see further below.

Themes of my walks include:

Legal London

I combine my guiding experience and professional experience as a City law firm partner, to offer walks that can mix and match to cover:

  • The Old Bailey, and former Newgate Prison
  • The route to Tyburn executions
  • The Royal Courts of Justice
  • The Supreme Court
  • The four Inns of Court: Inner Temple; Middle Temple; Gray’s Inn; Lincoln’s Inn
  • The Inns of Chancery
  • To the Courts: the route from Temple to Westminster Hall
  • Literature connected with Legal London
  • Roads, alleyways and squares in Legal London
  • Places for food and alcoholic refreshment in Legal London
  • Cases and stories connected with the law and lawyers.

I  also have a  Legal London Treasure Hunt.

Financial City

As a law firm partner I worked with banks, investors, corporate occupiers and entrepreneurs. In my training work for lawyers I have covered City finance, economics, marketing and general management. Putting this together with my City Guide qualification and experience, I can put together flexible walk material.

I also have a City treasure hunt.

Developers and the City

As some of my legal practice career was focussed on what the Brits call commercial property and our US cousins call commercial real estate, I can run a walk that looks at major City developments and tells the story of the developers and architects behind them. It’s not surprising that the commercial property world contains some colourful characters…

The Road Less Travelled

A walk from Moorgate to the edge of Bloomsbury, avoiding main roads as far as possible.

“Village” Walks

London is best understood as a series of villages that have grown up around the foundation of Royal/Governmental Westminster and the financial district of the City of London, the latter for many years being all we could call London. The walks cover Bloomsbury; Covent Garden and Strand; Fitzrovia; St James’s; Mayfair; Soho; Tyburnia (the Hyde Park Estate).

I also have a Covent Garden treasure hunt.

City on Fire

A walk that follows the route of the Great Fire of London 1666 but knits in also the story of the Great Fire Raid of World War 2.

Blood, Guts and Things Underground

A walk for families, taking in the area between Farringdon and Smithfield. Bringing up children and having  a teacher-filled home life, has taught me a lot about engaging with children to get them interested and learning. More recently this experience has been enhanced by my Westminster Abbey work - see below. I try and bring some of what I have learnt, to this walk.

Jewish London

I was the Gentile who started as a trainee solicitor in what was known then as a Jewish West End law firm, and ended as managing partner. I have been lucky to be involved in the development and running of walks covering the Jewish story through the areas of the East End, the City, Mayfair, Soho and Fitzrovia.

I like to think of this work in the context of the broader immigrant story – I am proud that my children are half Italian, one quarter English and one quarter Irish.

2 Willow Road

I guide as a volunteer during the season at this National Trust modernist property in Hampstead.

Westminster Abbey

I guide as a volunteer in the Education Department, taking school groups from Year 1 to Year 12 on tours of the Abbey

Talks

I have started to develop talks over the last couple of years, coming to terms with the vanity of liking the sound of my own voice. So far the organisations for whom I have done talks include the Guildhall Library, the Barbican Library, and Knowledge of the City. The (growing) list of talks is eclectic, and so far comprises:

  • From the West End to the City – a Lawyer’s Life
  • Developers and the City
  • The Cleveland Street Scandal
  • Stories of the Law – Real Cases Brought to Life
  • Catholics and the City
  • Soho - a Virtual Walking Tour
  • From Shadwell to Aldgate - a Virtual Walking Tour
  • Deconstructing Denial: a talk on the case of Irving v Lipstadt and Penguin Books (as made into the film, Denial)