London - January 2022

[Ms Diddles]

Glad you enjoyed your time Ms D and I’m glad to hear that the guide was put to good use. Great photos thanks for posting them. I do wish that you hadn’t done all that graffiti though.

Ha! A girl's gotta express herself somehow!

I actually took some pics of funny BoJo related graffiti, but it was a bit obscene for posting!

[Ally]

If you wanted a guided tour Ally, London Walks are excellent. I’ve been on many of their tours.

https://www.walks.com/

Thanks! I'll check them out. I tend to be more of a wander where I will kind of a tourist (which is unfortunately why I get lost a lot) but if I'm feeling in the mood for something organized, I'll definitely give them a whirl. I figure supporting the local economy would probably be a good thing all in all right now. I planned to you know... eat my weight in support but maybe a tour wouldn't be amiss either.

[Ms Diddles]

Thanks! I'll check them out. I tend to be more of a wander where I will kind of a tourist (which is unfortunately why I get lost a lot) but if I'm feeling in the mood for something organized, I'll definitely give them a whirl. I figure supporting the local economy would probably be a good thing all in all right now. I planned to you know... eat my weight in support but maybe a tour wouldn't be amiss either.

I haven't been for years, but I always used to enjoy a good aimless wander around Brixton.

There was great afro-caribbean food, busy markets and reggae thumping out everywhere.

[Ally]

That sounds awesome. I'll give Brixton a looksee. I'm definitely planning to do a lot of the "non touristy" tourist things time around. I've hit most of the major ones already and definitely want to see some of the local neighborhoods. The afro-caribbean food sounds great. I try not to actually eat British food while I'm in Britain. There's only so much meat and boiled veg a girl can take.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Thanks! I'll check them out. I tend to be more of a wander where I will kind of a tourist (which is unfortunately why I get lost a lot) but if I'm feeling in the mood for something organized, I'll definitely give them a whirl. I figure supporting the local economy would probably be a good thing all in all right now. I planned to you know... eat my weight in support but maybe a tour wouldn't be amiss either.

I like to wander too but I can get lost in my own town never mind London. I help the community by being a very keen supporter of the hostelry industry.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Highgate Cemetery is a great place to visit but not everyone’s cup of tea of course.

[Ms Diddles]

I like to wander too but I can get lost in my own town never mind London. I help the community by being a very keen supporter of the hostelry industry.

Keep up the good work there, Herlock!!

[Herlock Sholmes]

Keep up the good work there, Herlock!!

Someone had to do it Ms D

[Svensson]

Gunthorp St

Takes me back to my first Ripper tour around 95/96. The guide was an older man with a pointy mustache and a deerstalker hat. His catchphrase when moving on to the next destination was always a mysterious "Follow me"! We went to a pub (not the Ten Bells) where he had some coins from 1888 and I had a pint.

Best.Tour.Ever.

[Herlock Sholmes]

I’ve done 5 ripper tours over the years I think. The first time was with a woman but I can’t recall her name. The second was with Don Rumbelow which was excellent, as was my last one with John Bennett. It does make a big difference of course when you have a guide who really knows their stuff.

[Ms Diddles]

I’ve done 5 ripper tours over the years I think. The first time was with a woman but I can’t recall her name. The second was with Don Rumbelow which was excellent, as was my last one with John Bennett. It does make a big difference of course when you have a guide who really knows their stuff.

I bet the one with Donald Rumbelow was superb!

It must be terribly daunting for the less experienced tour guides herding around people, some of whom are perhaps more familiar with the case than they themselves are.

Did you manage to resist the urge to heckle?

[Herlock Sholmes]

I bet the one with Donald Rumbelow was superb!

It must be terribly daunting for the less experienced tour guides herding around people, some of whom are perhaps more familiar with the case than they themselves are.

Did you manage to resist the urge to heckle?

With the guides that aren’t experts on the case like Don Rumbelow and John Bennett it’s easy to nitpick of course but they do a decent job. You could easily become the annoying smart arse of the group.I ended up talking to Don for a fair amount of time about ripper stuff in general but I can only remember one thing. It was just before or just as Bruce Robinson’s book came out and I recall Don saying something like “I suppose I’ll have to buy the bloody thing!” He obviously didn’t hold out much hope of any revelations and wasn’t pleased about the idea of shelling out £20 for it. Certainly an excellent guide and a nice guy though. I’ve also done a couple of other walking tours with his wife. Don’s still on the list of London Walks guides but I’d been given to understand that he no longer took tours (unless he’s just cut back?) I seem to remember someone might have said that he had a problem with his legs? He’s 82 of course.

[Pcdunn]

Wow! Congratulations on your trip and thank you for the photo share! I got a bit of "Victorian atmosphere" from Angel Alley. Bet it was even grimier and darker in 1888...

I only visited London once, about 1980, with my parents as part of a "trip to Europe" following my college graduation. At the time, my interest was "Doctor Who" not "Jack the Ripper", lol! So I have never seen the Ripper sites. This is good, though.

[Pcdunn]

A friend who had married a Canadian and moved North did the tour of London for the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes sights. She brought some interesting things back from that vacation, as I recall.

[Ms Diddles]

Wow! Congratulations on your trip and thank you for the photo share! I got a bit of "Victorian atmosphere" from Angel Alley. Bet it was even grimier and darker in 1888...

I only visited London once, about 1980, with my parents as part of a "trip to Europe" following my college graduation. At the time, my interest was "Doctor Who" not "Jack the Ripper", lol! So I have never seen the Ripper sites. This is good, though.

It was my first ever trip to the East End and having read so many books and watched so many documentaries on the case, I had a really clear picture in my mind of some of the sites.

The reality was of course entirely different!

I was quite surprised by how close together some of the sites were and also how many original buildings remained.

The past was a bit more tangible than I had expected which was a pleasant surprise.

I had my first pint of London Pride too having heard good things about it on this site!