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Good heavens! We've past the half way mark for 2019 and the year is fast ebbing, so much so that I'll soon need to get started on my Christmas list!
But, in the meantime, here is the list for July 2019.
There are plenty of things to occupy you on this month's list, from enjoying a replica of Old London Bridge to watching a cardboard Tower go up and then be demolished alongside Guildhall.
There's a great exhibition at the Royal College of Physicians which should, quite literally, leave you breathless, and the opportunity to ascend a clock tower, the doing so of which should also leave you quite breathless.
The Hidden Hampstead Walk will be setting off again at 11.45am on Sunday, 21st July. Click here for full details.
My London ghost walks will be taking place on selected Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 7.30pm.
On Sunday, 1st September, 2019, at 2pm, the Great Fire of London Walk will blaze through the streets of the City following the trail of destruction left by the conflagration. Click here for full details.
I look forward to saying "hello" to old and new friends alike.
So, all in all, there are some great locations to get out and about to in London and, as per usual, they're all free, so enjoy.
Just to remind you that I also post updates and additional venues on our Facebook page, so you might like to join us and like us (as in Facebook likes!) to ensure you're kept fully up to date on what's happening in London during the weeks ahead.
As ever, if something changes in the weeks ahead I will put the update on the Facebook Page, in order not to bombard you with emails.
So, without further ado, here is my July 2019 list of ten things to do in London.
Work alongside artist Olivier Grossetête to create a monumental cardboard structure inspired by the Guildhall.
Over 1,000 boxes will be used to build this 20m high masterpiece and Olivier needs the public's help to assemble the building blocks of this giant tower.
Following a week of drop-in box building workshops, members of the public will be invited to help build the tower on the Saturday and then welcomed back to topple and destroy it on the Sunday.
Come and take part in all, or some, of the fun.
For many centuries the little church yard in front of the church of St Magnus the Martyr provided the main City side access onto old London Bridge.
The church itself is an absolute joy to visit, not least because inside you can find a scaled down model of Old London Bridge, resplendent with the houses and shops that once spanned its length across the river.
This model was created in 1987, and it provides us a vivid idea of what the old bridge would have looked like.
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Nestling behind St Pancras Station, unobserved by the majority of those who pass through the busy concourse, day in and day out, is Old St Pancras Burial ground, where notable burials include, Mary Wollstonecraft, the mother of Mary Shelley, and Sir John Soane.
But one of the most curious sights in the old graveyard is "The Hardy Tree."
In the days before he became famous, the novelist Thomas Hardy was planning to become an architect.
As part of his training he was given the unenviable task of clearing a large number of the graves to make way for the railway heading into King's Cross and St Pancras Stations.
Being of an artistic nature, he had the idea to plant an ash tree in the midst of a pile of tombstones; and that tree has now grown into what is known as the "Hardy Tree."
It is, without doubt, a London curiosity.
Somerset House is, without doubt, one of the gems of London.
It is a glorious building to explore, and, each Tuesday, you can do so in the company of guides who are both knowledgeable and passionate.
A special highlight of the tour includes access to Strand Lane "Roman?" Baths.
"Visitors wishing to climb the 220 steps to the top of the clock tower need to have a reasonable level of fitness, must be able to walk unaided and should be confident with heights and being in confined spaces."
So warns the website that extols the virtues of Caledonian Park's "Grade II listed Clock Tower with original working clock mechanism." and which offers "a panoramic view of north London and the City from the viewing platform."
Built in 1853, and rising to a height of 155 feet (47.5m), the clock tower is open for occasional public visitations and, the last Sunday of this month just happens to be one of those occasions.
However, could I just draw your attention to that opening quote again? Especially that bit about the 220 steps!
Full Details On This WebsiteDrawing on art, philosophy, anthropology, medical history and literature, this exhibition combines research from the Life of Breath project with artist commissions and objects from the RCP collections and beyond, to show that breathing is so much more than a bodily function.
From a baby's first cries to a dying gasp, breath is an ever-present companion on the journey through life. Breathing isn't just a biological process; it enables us to communicate, to speak, to create music. It can have deep cultural and spiritual meaning. It can be a marker of both health and illness.
Catch your breath reflects on the ways people experience breath and breathlessness and how doctors have diagnosed and treated the diseases which cause the symptom. Working with artists, patients and doctors, we hope to raise awareness of breathlessness and to tackle the stigma that surrounds it.
Further InformationThe St Paul's and Smithfield Quiz Trail is designed to take you step by step around the streets of one of the City's most historic and fascinating quarters.
As you make your way around the route, you must be on the look out for the answers to numerous questions that can be found in the streets thorugh which you will be passing.
You'll see a lot, laugh a lot and learn a lot during the two or so hours spend exploring some amazing ans secret places.
The British Dental Association Museum began in 1919 when Lilian Lindsay, the first female to qualify as a dentist in the UK, donated several old dental instruments to the BDA.
She had been storing them in a box under her bed and, when the tooth fairies failed to leave any money for them, she decided to hand them over to form the basis of this fascinating exhibition.
Today she'd have to get a bigger bed, as the collection extends to some 30,000 items.
It's a fascainting place, and one of those little gems that are to be found all over London - if you know where to look.
Now, say "ahhh." NO, not "AAAARRRRGGGHHHHHHHH!"
I have to say that this is one of the most amazing and curious "finds" I've made in a long time.
At first glance, Myddelton Passage does not strike you as particular noteworthy.
Until, that is, you start to notice numbers, letter and years that are carved into the brick wall that lines its left side.
These are the collar numbers of 19th and early 20th century police officers who carved them into the wall as their way of letting people know that they had passed this way.
They have left us with a truly unique, historical record.
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