I have been looking at the touching story of the long relationship of trust and care that grew up between Dr Samuel Johnson, the first and wittiest lexicographer of the English language and a young man of colour who lived in his household and in the end was the main beneficiary of his will.  Read about it here:-

https://richardcohentraveller.wordpress.com/2021/04/09/francis-barber-and-dr-johnson-at-gough-square/

https://camdenguides.com/the-cleveland-street-workhouse/

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https://camdenguides.com/the-cleveland-street-workhouse/

A building in Cleveland Street now being refitted by the University College Hospital Charity has some moving historic and literary connections and an important place in the story of how medical services were brought to the poorest in society:

Celebrate LGBT History Month 2021 by joining my virtual tour From Prejudice to Pride.  It is an exploration of Camden’s deep and rich heritage of sexual diversity. Learn about the extraordinary range of people and places that are part of Camden’s LGBT heritage.  Hear about the Molly Houses, the Victorian cross-dressers and the notorious and much policed watering holes of the Bohemian demimonde of the 1920s and 30s. Learn about the theatre which was the vanguard of lesbian and gay drama and London’s only LGBT bookshop.  Meet the Bloomsbury Set who challenged Victorian codes of behaviour lived and the great genius of polari Kenneth Williams.  Hear about how the LGBT community rallied together to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s.  Witness the struggle against the hated Section 28 and the joyous celebrations of the first Same Sex weddings at Camden Town Hall.

This virtual tour is a fundraiser for All Out, an international LGBT charity combatting homophobia around the world.   Pay £5.00 to access the virtual tour but there is no upper limit to donations.  Please give generously. 

Register here on Eventbrite.

Thursday October 22 at 6.00 pm

This year the theme of the Bloomsbury Festival is VISION.   To that end I am giving a free online virtual tour in the form of a presentation on THE ART OF BLOOMSBURY.  Come and pass an agreeable hour with me in the comfort of your own home or wherever you happen to be and hear about the wonderful artists who have lived and worked in Bloomsbury.  We will look at works by Duncan Grant, Roger Fry, Dora Carrington and Vanessa Bell as well as Rex Whistler, Paula Rego and Jacob Epstein.  We will look at the influence of the great Slade School of Art at University College and marvel at the fabulous designs of the Omega Workshop.  There is much to enjoy.

Booking by Eventbrite:- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-art-of-bloomsbury-tickets-122233940005

This virtual walk led by Richard Cohen, Holborn and St Pancras CLP member and London Guide, takes in the political heart of the nation.  The aim of the tour is to reinterpret what the monuments and buildings around Westminster tell us about the attitudes and values of the past. We will also hear about the great medical pioneers honoured at St Thomas’s Hospital.  We will pass monuments to the brilliant women who campaigned tirelessly for political rights.  Our cybertour ends at Parliament Square where we can take a look at the outside of the Palace of Westminster and hear about some of the great political leaders and champions of democracy and human rights who are honoured there.

Register with this link:-  https://buytickets.at/holbornstpancrasconstituencylabourparty/426117/share/f689b8dc2df93ad09645cbffdda25a2b

The statue – unveiled at last.

Sunday 4 October at 6:00 pm.

I am raising money to support the important legal support work that Amnesty International does all round the world and its ongoing campaign against the death penalty.  I am running a virtual tour of Albertopolis.

Read all about it and book your ticket for the tour which will be delivered on Zoom by following this link:-

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/albertopolis-tickets-118425839875

One of the core themes of this year’s Open City Festivals is Pubs

Sunday 14 June at 6:30 pm   Virtual Tour on Zoom

Explore the political heart of Britain with me and raise money at the same time for the vital legal work that Amnesty does all over the world on behalf of prisoners of conscience and campaigners for human rights.  Help fund Amnesty’s world-wide campaign against the death penalty and its vital legal and support networks.

To join this walk book through Eventbrite using this link:-

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-tale-of-two-bridges-tickets-106738555894

We will see Westminster Bridge (Earth has not anything to show more fair!).  We will hear about the great medical pioneers who worked at St Thomas’s Hospital.  We will pass Lambeth Palace and pause at St Mary’s Lambeth before crossing back over the river so that we can explore some of the wonderful streets of old Westminster. Our cybertour ends at Parliament Square where we can take a look at the outside of the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey and hear about some of the great political leaders and champions of democracy and human rights who are honoured there.

We had a great time today on a City of London River Walk from Tower Hill to Blackfriars.  This was part of Silver Sunday, a nation-wide day of activities for older people.  The walk gives a fantastic insight into London’s development as a great trading city and offers some wonderful views of some of the greatest building in London.