ANNA AND APTG - Guide London
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ANNA AND APTG
APTG’s administrator is retiring after seventeen years.
APTG members have, very sadly, been It is not just her relevant background skills
informed of the imminent retirement of our that have enabled her to execute her role
long-standing and extremely popular so brilliantly. It is, dare I say, more so her
administrator Anna Simpson. Many of you wonderful personality. Every APTG
will not have known any administrator other chairman and Branch Councillor will know
than Anna and therefore may not realise that Anna never said that something
what a game changer it was when she was could not be done, nor would she ever
employed by APTG. However, I do moan at the sometimes unreasonable
remember very well, having served on APTG timescales which are often the inevitable
Branch Council both before and after her consequence when dealing with
arrival. I can assure you that her arrival in the unforeseen issues in the guiding world.
office was a godsend. With Anna we had, for She would smile and then she would try
the very first time, someone who even to find a practical way through. More often
before her interview knew perfectly well what than not she would succeed, and
a Blue Badge tourist guide was. She had frequently against all the odds.
worked as a small, specialised tour operator Anna has a lot of wonderful charm and
before - and employed BBTGs like me, even more patience. If you do not think it
which is why she knew - so she had relevant is possible to teach old dogs new tricks,
knowledge of the tourism business in then you should have been a fly on the
general and the more specific issues relating to London wall in the office when Anna on the phone helped
BBTGs and the various issues we confront on a regular technophobes – both those employing BBTGs and some of
basis. It is impossible to overestimate what a difference all our very own members – to understand how to use our
this made to her ability to quickly grasp the crux of the matter Guide London website. Anna is very patient, kind and funny,
and the best way to approach all the various challenges. and all this in spite of her own personal challenges over the
I am very proud of being the person who first mentioned to years. A remarkable lady and a very hard act to follow. I have
Anna that APTG was looking for a new administrator and no doubt that I speak for all APTG members when I say a
then alerted Branch Council to the fact that she would be a huge heartfelt ‘THANK YOU’ for everything you have done
terrific asset. What convinced me of her suitability for the for us. We wish you a very happy retirement and we will
available position was the fact that when she still lived in sorely miss you!
Sweden, her country of birth, she used to work for the prison Ingrid M Wallenborg
service, meeting on a regular basis with serious criminals,
including some convicted of murder. I thought this would Anna will be leaving her post at Easter. Branch Council is arranging for
qualify her well for putting up with Blue Badge tourist guides! a suitable gift for her as an expression of the Association’s gratitude.
BRANCH COUNCIL Also in this issue:
Danny Parlour - Chair Owen Joseph - Fees
CHAIR’S LETTER - PAGE 2
Aaron Hunter - Secretary Edwin Lerner - Guidelines
GUIDE ENGLAND/UK - PAGE 3
Alfie Talman - Treasurer Nan Mousley - Members
EARLY CINEMAS - PAGES 4/5
Maria Gartner - Spanish Lottie Thurlow - Events
CHIGWELL’S STORY - PAGE 6
Dani Harte - CPD Amy Wang - Mandarin
GUIDING TEENAGERS - PAGE 8
ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL TOURIST GUIDES
ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL TOURIST GUIDES
www.guidelondon.org.uk
www.guidelondon.org.uk March 2021
September 2019Union news
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
Well done getting through another month and a dark, cold winter! It’s now March and spring
has sprung, daffodils are everywhere and about to bloom and many APTG projects are now
coming to fruition and others opening or expanding.
The many languages we can offer our clients and partners is fantastic - a rich tapestry. Half
of our 570 members are qualified to guide in over two dozen languages in total. We have
been doing much to assist and expand our languages offer recently. You will have noticed the
various emails we have sent out, mentioning that we want to build language teams within
APTG to help further the work that we are doing on our Guide London website and elsewhere.
Many of you have responded to the call and we now have Language Coordinators for: Chinese: Amy Wang; French:
Isabel Wrench; German: Theresa Hunt; Hungarian: Ildi Pelikan; Portuguese: Vania Gay and Spanish: Maria Gartner,
who is also overall Languages Coordinator on Branch Counci for the APTG. We had one language covered in 2019,
which was French, so this is a big improvement!
We encourage all language teams that have a Coordinator to think about editing or helping to create Guide London
webpages for their language. Currently we have seven Guide London language webpages but would love to have one
for each language. We need each language group to mobilize and work in individual teams to make this happen.
In addition Maria, our APTG Branch Councillor and Languages Coordinator, and Ursula, our Digital Marketing Manager,
have been helping those languages that have a co-ordinator to create free Guide London language Facebook pages.
Pages have been created for Spanish, French, Portuguese and Chinese with German on its way. Please follow them
yourself and share them with anyone who you think might be interested. We will be sharing more links via email soon.
There will never be a better time than now to start building these webpages and Facebook pages. Each Facebook page
promotes their own individual Guide London language webpage and vice-versa.
More and more people are thinking of planning future trips to London - but it may be another six months before tourists
return. Once in-person tour opportunities do return, there will be less time to put something like this together. Each page
needs to be consistently fed in order to get a good following, which will help create tour leads. We want all members to
have an area that works best for them on our Guide London website. Please think about how you can get involved.
You are also more than welcome to use the APTG Zoom account to hold any meetings you may want to hold for your
various language groups. Special thanks to Maria, Ursula and all of you who are getting involved. For any contact
details you need, please see the APTG Contact List on the APTG Members Area.
All my best,
Danny Parlour, APTG Chair
FACEBOOK LIVE BROADCASTS GUIDE LONDON BLOG POSTS
Guide London’s live broadcasts on Facebook Many thanks to Anne Pollak for looking after
continue on Tuesday afternoons at 4pm. Recent the blog posts on the Guide London site. From
topics include Department Stores, James Bond, March, please send ideas and completed posts
London on Film and in Print, Jewish East London, to edwinlerner@gmail.com. Eddie will be
the London Monopoly Board and UNESCO World taking over responsibility for website posts as
Heritage Sites. these overlap with articles for Guidelines.
Facebook now has a promotion for Spanish guides (Video Recent posts on the website include:
Promocional De Guias Turisticos Blue Badge) and one for Locations in London for Bridgerton by Anna Targett
speakers of Chinese languages is being prepared. Wisley: A World Class Garden by Karen Dawson
Another future project is an A to Z of London featuring Lionel Lockyer, Quack Doctor by Rick Jones
major attractions in the capital for each letter of the London Battlefield Sites by Steve Szymanski
alphabet. Watch this space. South of the River: Norwood by Kate Aan de Wiel
Please sign up to the YouTube Guide London Channel American Entertainers in London in WW2 by Mike Armitage
which now has over 700 subscribers. UNESCO World Heritage Sites by Themis Halvantzi Singer
2Union news
NEWS FOR LANGUAGE MEMBERS NEXT MEMBERS’ MEETING
We have been working towards making our language members more The next Members’ Open Meeting will
engaged with APTG. These are some of our initiatives: be on Tuesday 9 March at 6:30pm.
Social Media: We are creating Facebook pages linked to Guide London for
every language that wants one, so far in Spanish, French, Portuguese, A Zoom link will be sent to all members
Chinese and German. before the meeting.
Language coordinators will act as a bridge between APTG and the If you have any matters youwish to
different language groups. If you have a concern, please do not hesitate to raise please contact Aaron Hunter at
contact one of us. (See Chair’s Letter opposite for the their names.) APTGSecretary@guidelondon.org.uk
Language CPDs: We are launching the first CPD language program ever,
free for all, starting with three virtual talks:
VIRTUAL TOURS
31 March Not So Famous Britons by David Mildon (in French) Virtual tours offered by APTG members
7 April Artists and the Thames by Maurizio Patti (in Italian) are listed in emails sent out every Friday.
12 April Wandsworth Heritage Walk by Chris Van Hayden (in Spanish). Recent tours include Piccadilly, Plagues
Maria Gartner (Language co-ordinator) and Pandemics, The Blitz & Clerkenwell.
RESPONSES TO LORRAINE ALLEN-JONES’ LETTER ON GUIDEUK
FROM THE ITG PRESIDENT umbrella. As with all these things, the
devil is in the detail and there are a lot
Over the last eighteen months, the
of questions still to answer.
Institute of Tourist Guiding (ITG), has
been looking at ways to raise the If you were to start from scratch I
awareness of our qualifications as well suspect you wouldn’t create three (and
as enhancing the benefits to members. counting) guiding organisations
After an invitation went out to all duplicating effort with three separate
members of ITG to come forward and offices, two websites, two calendars Antony
share ideas, three task groups were and two sets of marketing etc. Robbins
Carole Hiley
established. These discussions led to The motivation for the GuideEngland proposal, as I
the belief that all guides would benefit from a unified understand it, is not to create extra bureaucracy but to
voice. Closer collaboration between organisations could streamline our efforts, save scarce resources and speak
lead to economic savings by pooling resources and with a more powerful and united voice within the industry.
expertise. The ultimate objective should be to deliver a better
Presentations were made to guide associations across product and save money into the bargain.
England, including to Branch Council of APTG. These are tough times and this isn’t a moment to be self-
Discussions were also held with the guiding associations congratulatory. Blue Badge guides are highly respected
in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, who approved within the travel industry. Outside of it, however, we
of the idea of a unified voice for guides across the UK. punch below our weight. The Blue Badge brand is old-
These discussions led to the realisation that the fashioned and confused. When I earned my own Blue
fragmentation of organisations within England would Badge my mum thought I’d been given priority parking.
need to be addressed to establish a parity with all the Communications strategies across the guiding
nations.This is why GuideEngland needs to be organisations require development. There’s little analysis
established before GuideUK. of audience and its changing needs in a post-pandemic
These are early days, and many more discussions and digital age. You might think of our current brand
decisions need to take place. The final format of positioning as being akin to that of another venerable
GuideUK will not be taken by ITG, it will be achieved by British institution - Marks and Spencers. M&S has a
the collaboration of all the organisations and the views of proud heritage and a good product but it lacks
the members will be taken into consideration. contemporary appeal and fails to connect across the
As President of ITG, and a member of the Board of entire customer spectrum. As our ever-changing high
Directors, I would like to reassure all members that ITG is street shows us, we can’t rest on our laurels. It would be
not in financial difficulties. dangerous to assume that past success is a guarantee of
future survival in a changing landscape.
Carole Hiley (President, Institute of Tourist Guiding)
The past year has shown us two things: the need to be
fleet-of-foot and to adapt - and for guiding and guides to
... AND FROM ‘MR LONDONER’ be more representative of the UK’s diverse communities.
I read Lorraine Allen-Jones’ thoughts in the previous It’s early days but a coming together might offer us the
edition and wanted to offer another perspective. It’s potential for progress. Right now it makes sense to
relatively early days in the discussions about the possible explore all options.
coming together of the Guild and ITG under a broader Antony Robbins (mrlondoner.com/@meetmrlondone
ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL TOURIST GUIDES
www.guidelondon.org.uk March 2021
3guiding news
GOING TO THE PICTURES
Steve Szymanski introduces us to some early cinema buildings in London
Since its inception in the first part of the twentieth century, There is an older cinema building in
a visit to the cinema has been a staple part of British West London. On the Portobello Road in
entertainment.The multiplexes of the twenty first century Notting Hill stands the Electric Cinema.
have seen a resurgence in cinema visits after the nadir of Designed by Gerald Seymour Valentin
the 1980s and early 1990s but the real golden age of in an Edwardian Baroque style it opened
cinema came with the development of the talkies in 1927 in February 1911. However, it has had
and the boom in the construction of new cinemas in the periods of closure so the Phoenix claims
1930s. This saw the rise of several cinema chains - the The Electric the title of oldest building continually
Odeon’s of Oscar Deutsch and the Granada Cinemas of used as a cinema. Both establishments
Sidney Bernstein plus ABC and Gaumont. We are fortunate remained open during the wars and, in the First World War,
that some of these magnificent buildings have survived the Electric was surrounded by a mob as they believed the
even if not for the purpose they were originally built. German manager was signalling to Zeppelin airships
In the early days of cinema, the 1890s and 1900s, most film bombing the capital after bombs fell in the nearby Arundel
displays took place in fairgrounds, music halls and theatres Gardens.
or hastily converted shops – ‘penny gaffs’. The film used Perhaps more sinisterly, just after World War Two, it is
was highly flammable cellulose nitrate based and combined alleged that notorious serial killer John Reginald Christie
with limelights proved to be a deadly combination with (of 10 Rillington Place infamy) worked as a projectionist in
several fatal fires. In 1909 the Cinematograph Act was the cinema. Christie was certainly a projectionist when he
passed which specified a strict building code requiring that lived in Halifax but payroll records for the Electric are lost
the projector be enclosed within a fire-resistant enclosure. although a former cinema worker claimed Christie worked
All commercial cinemas (any business which admitted alongside him at the Electric (the Imperial as it was then
people to see films in exchange for payment) had to comply known). No one knows for sure, but it is very much a local
with these regulations. To enforce this each cinema had to legend and the now demolished Rillington Place was
be inspected and licensed by the local authority. nearby. Like the Phoenix, the Electric came close to
This led to the demolition on several occasions and local celebrity
construction of the residents led campaigns to save it.
first purpose-built Notting Hill is also home to two other
cinemas and North well-known independent cinemas:
London is fortunate The Gate dates from 1911 in a
to have a fine building that was a restaurant and
survivor from this was originally known as the Electric
time. The Phoenix Palace. Like the Electric in Portobello
Phoenix interior ... and exterior Cinema (l) in East Road it has had periods of closure
Finchley was built but is now a successful Art House
in 1910 by Premier Electric Theatres and, although the The Coronet Cinema and is Grade II listed.
company went bankrupt, it opened as the East Finchley Perhaps a more familiar building is
Picturedrome in May 1912 with 428 seats. The first film the nearby Coronet. Originally built as a theatre, it became
shown was about the then recent Titanic disaster. The part of the Gaumont chain of cinemas in 1931 then went
building went through many name changes and a major through a series of different owners and names before
overhaul in 1938 giving it an Art Deco exterior and the becoming the independent Coronet Cinema in 1977. It is
distinctive Mollo and Egan panelling inside. This redesign under that name that it most famous, featuring in the film
was in direct competition to the arrival of the chain cinemas Notting Hill. Like all the other early cinemas it suffered
and the auditorium was reversed so that the slope of the threat of closure, but a Grade II listing helped its survival
seats no longer followed the natural gradient of the land. and it has now reverted to being a theatre.
The capacity was increased to 528 although today it is just All these cinemas operated through the First World War
under half of that. The barrel vault roof was retained and is and into the 1920s which was still the period of silent
one of only two for purpose-built cinemas in Europe – the cinema. It is generally recognised that the first ‘talkie’ was
other being in Germany. The cinema maintained its The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson released in 1927 and
independence and despite many threats of closures is now premiered in Piccadilly in 1928. A year later the Phoenix
an integral part of the local community putting on festivals Cinema showed another Jolson film The Singing Fool - the
and events. Since 2000 it has enjoyed Grade II listed status first cinema in North London to show a talkie. The public
as one of the earliest cinema buildings in the country and were eager to see these and so began the golden age of
has maintained usage as a cinema for over 100 years. cinema, both in film-making and the building of cinemas.
4guiding news
On Monday, 1 October 1928 the Picture by the Empire State Building and the neon sign on the 120-foot
House opened at Brierley Hill in Staffordshire. (37m) tower was visible from many miles away.
Its revolutionary design, in an Assyrian style Many of London’s cinemas fell on hard times after the Second
by Stanley Griffiths, caused a stir but perhaps World War as the development of television saw a drop in
its legacy was that it was the first cinema to attendances. Chains were sold and merged and many of the
Odeon Cinema be built by Oscar Deutsch, the son of a buildings were lost. Twelve Granada cinemas were demolished,
Leicester Sq Hungarian/Jewish scrap metal merchant. eleven became bingo halls (legs eleven!) including Tooting,
Deutsch had been associated with cinema for while others became storage facilities, fitness centres or car
several years in Liverpool and Birmingham, but the arrival of the showrooms. In 2013 only six still remained as cinemas. The
talkies gave the young entrepreneur an opportunity for Kilburn State Gaumont survived as a concert venue. Notable
expansion. He started slowly but with ambition: ‘I want to ring concerts there were by Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, The
London with Odeon’s’ was his declaration. Originally, he planned Beatles, Rolling Stones and Deep Purple. Two other legendary
to use the title ‘Picture House’ but owners of a similarly named London rock venues also begun life as cinemas: the
cinema near his second Birmingham site objected so he needed Hammersmith Eventim Apollo opened in 1932 as the Gaumont
a new name. Odeon (literally ‘singing place’) was the name Palace seating nearly 3500. It has gone through many
given to amphitheatres in ancient Greece and had been used in sponsorship names but is still affectionately known by many as
cinemas in France and Italy in the 1920s. Oscar liked the name: the Hammersmith Odeon. Famous performances there include
ot was easy to say and coincidentally it started with his initials. David Bowie’s final performance as Ziggy Stardust in 1973.
This later led his publicity department to coin a backronym and
In North London stands what was another goliath, the Finsbury
say that it stood for Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation.
Park Astoria. It became The Rainbow, a music venue, in 1971
Initially his Odeons were traditional in design but, influenced by and was allegedly the first place Jimi Hendrix burnt a guitar on
the Modernists of Europe, the Amsterdam School of stage. As The Rainbow it saw notable performances by among
Expressionist Architecture and Art Deco influences first seen at others The Who, The Osmonds, Genesis and Bob Marley & the
the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Art Decoratifs et Wailers before it closed in 1982.
Industriels Modernes, led to the more radical and progressive
Like many dormant cinema buildings in
designs we associate with cinemas of the time. Not that Deutsch
London, the Astoria/Rainbow was saved
was the first to use such designs, but his chain was the largest
by being purchased and converted by a
with 250 across the country by 1937. A popular song at the time
religious foundation, The Universal
Knocking Down London featured the line ‘There ain’t no money
Church of the Kingdom of God. The
in anArcadi
AdamsMonastery
house, but there’s oodles in an Odeon.’
Kilburn State Gaumont had a brief spell
Deutsch employed leading cinema architects, perhaps the best as a bingo hall but is now the Ruach City
known being Harry Weedon and George Coles. They built Church while the two former cinemas in
economically, an Odeon costing an average of £20,000, half the Woolwich survive as the Christ Faith
cost of a typical cinema at the time. (The Tooting Granada Rayner’s Lane
- now a church Tabernacle (Granada) and New Wine
reputedly cost £145,000.) Odeons sprang up in central London Church (Odeon). Perhaps the most
and the suburbs in the 1930s with notable examples at Isleworth interesting conversion is at Rayners Lane. Here in 1936, the
and Barnet (1935), Muswell Hill (1936) Woolwich (1937) and ‘rogue’ architect Frank Ernest Bromige designed the Grosvenor
Balham (1938). The flagship was the 2116 capacity Odeon Cinema. It had graceful fins and curves and convex windows
Leicester Square opened in 1937 with a 120-foot (37m) tower, and lasted as a cinema into the 1980s before several ventures
originally planned to be clad in yellow tiles rather than polished as bars and nightclubs. in 2000 it was sold to the Zoroastrian
granite, but losing thirty feet to meet planning regulations. Trust of Europe, who oversaw a sensitive restoration to convert
Deutsch Scene
died from
in 1941The Crown
and his widow sold the Odeon chain to the it into their headquarters.
Rank Organisation. The name lives on and indeed was almost Bingo and religion could not save all cinemas in London and
synonymous with cinema itself at its peak. It was not the only several wonderful examples have been lost. Spare a thought for
cinema chain, Granada founded by media mogul Sidney the poor cinema patrons of Elephant and Castle who were
Bernstein being a great rival. A diverse and wide-ranging graced with the Trocadero in 1930. Publicity claimed the ‘Troc’
organisation with many interests, it included over sixty cinemas seated 6,000 but its capacity was nearer 3,500, though it did
and theatres. Its flagship was the Granada Tooting (1931) with boast Britain’s largest Wurlitzer organ. The building succumbed
a fantasy interior resembling a Gothic Cathedral, as did that of to the bulldozers in 1963 to be replaced by a brutalist concrete
the Granada Woolwich (1937) which was billed as ‘the most creation by Erno Goldfinger. Incredibly this too was demolished
romantic theatre ever built’. Both those interiors were by the in 1988 and all that is left is a faded historical plaque on the
Russian born Theodore Komisarjesky. soulless tower block that now stands in their place.
Other cinema names were Gaumont and ABC (Associated Fortunately, though several buildings in central London and the
British Cinemas) as well as Ritz and Regal. The Gaumont group suburbs have survived, many as cinemas but all a lasting
was an offshoot of the French film company of the same name testament to the golden age of cinema and the visionaries who
and it developed large ‘super-cinemas’, the most famous in built these fantastic picture palaces.
London being the Kilburn State Gaumont which opened in 1937
with a capacity of 4004. The name is said to have been inspired Steve Szymanski (who took the photographs)
ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL TOURIST GUIDES
www.guidelondon.org.uk March 2021
5guiding news
EAST ENDERS
Gail Jones introduces us to Chigwell in Essex
What do Charles Dickens, George Shillibeer and William By 1860 the Shillibeers were living in Chigwell and, as a
Penn have in common? Chigwell. This is an area that lies land-owner, he petitioned the Crown for common land that
just inside Essex on the north east border of Greater was being sold off to be given to local residents. They were
London. The old village centre has a pub, a church and awarded fifty acres, now the Chigwell Row Recreation
weather-boarded houses, typical of this part of Essex which Ground and Nature Reserve. Elizabeth died in 1865 and
was surrounded by forests. was buried in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church and
George died the following year. The stone gives their
address as Grove House, Chigwell Row but the house no
The King’s Head longer exists.
Pub was called
The Maypole by The vicar of St Mary’s from 1597 was Samuel Harsnett
Dickens in (1561-1631). Sadly his wife Thomasine and baby daughter
Cattle trough,
York University Campus
Barnaby Rudge died around 1601
Spaniard’s Road and were buried in the church. Samuel
bought a house and land nearby and lived on and off in
Chigwell despite resigning from his post in 1605 to move up
in the church, becoming Archbishop of York in 1628. He
founded Chigwell School on land near the church.
The school would
have had one long
Charles Dickens knew the village well and loved it. He room where groups
described it to John Forster as ‘the greatest place in the of boys were taught
world’. Much of the action in Barnaby Rudge takes place in and lodgings for the
a pub called the Maypole. Although there was a Maypole in schoolmaster. This
nearby Chigwell Row, the pub he described is the Kings is where William
Head on Chigwell High Road. The oldest parts of this large, Penn (1644-1718)
rambling pub go back to 1547. Today it belongs to Alan went to school. His
Sugar’s property company and is an Indian restaurant. Chigwell School father was an
When Barnaby Rudge was published in 1841 there were admiral, also called
daily coach services from London that stopped at the Kings William, who fought for both Oliver Cromwell and Charles
Head and Dickens would probably have arrived by coach. II. (Pepys described him as a ‘mean fellow’.) Young William
Coach builder George Shillibeer (1797-1866) was was born in London but caught smallpox when he was three
commissioned by Stanislas Baudry to design a large coach years old. His parents decided to move to the country
stable enough to carry up to twenty passengers. Baudry because it was healthier and they had recently come into
lived in Nantes and opened his first omnibus company there some money. Chigwell School is now much bigger and is a
in 1826. He expanded to open routes in Bordeaux, then fee paying co-educational for children aged 4 - 18 years.
Lyon and in 1828 was finally given permission to run Most accounts say the Penns lived in Wanstead but Samuel
services in Paris. Shillibeer’s design was a wide stable Pepys says he visited them in
vehicle drawn by three horses with a door at the rear. Walthamstow and some say they lived
Shillibeer recognised the potential of omnibuses and began there first, either on March Street
planning his own bus service in London, opening his first (today’s High Street) or Clay Street
route in 1829 from the Yorkshire Stingo pub in Paddington (Forest Road). Admiral Penn died in
to Bank. Conductors were smartly dressed in blue uniforms Wanstead in 1670 and was buried in
and provided newspapers for the passengers. He was Bristol. His wife accompanied the coffin
forced out of the omnibus business in 1834 by a to Bristol but then returned to Essex
combination of competition, the cost of stabling and staff, and, after her death, she was buried at
no controls over the cash he received and taxes he had not William Penn St Mary the Virgin, Walthamstow
budgeted for. He spent time in a debtors’ prison until he hit by Peter Lely together with young William’s two
(Wikicommons)
on the idea of going into the funeral business. These were siblings and brother-in-law.
elaborate, expensive affairs in Victorian times and Shillibeer
designed a hearse with glass sides where the coffin could Gail Jones (who provided the photographs)
stand and a closed seating area behind to carry the I do a weekly blog post and this was posted at the end of January. If you
mourners. One of Shillibeer’s hearses was exhibited at the would like to see more posts, go to the blog page at gailtouristguide.
Great Exhibition of 1851.
6guiding news
BRITAIN IS GOING GREEN HOUSE PRICES ARE RISING
De-carbonising the power system by ceasing to burn fossil The average price of a house in Britain is now nudging a
fuels is a key part of Britain’s plans to hit its 2050 net zero quarter of a million pounds according to the UK House Price
emissions target. In 2020 almost a quarter of UK electricity Index, which is published by the government (gov.uk).
generation was from wind turbines. The pandemic has Despite the corona virus pandemic, house prices rose by
suppressed power demand by 5% and these two factors 7.6% (over £13,000) in 2020 to £249,633. Houses in England
have led a drop in the use of gas-fired power. are more expensive at an average of £266,742.
The independent Climate Change Committee has ... AND OFFICES ARE GOING UP
recommended that electricity generation should be entirely
Fifteen million square feet of office space are being built in
de-carbonised by 2035, though the government has stuck to
London, despite the need for many people to work from
the target of 2050. National Grid said that 2020 was the
home. Google is constructing a ‘groundscraper’ HQ at King’s
greenest year on record for Britain’s electricity system. The
Cross, while Apple is building new offices inside the old
‘carbon intensity’ of the system, the measure of how polluting
Battersea Power Station. The biggest of all will, however, be
it is, has now fallen by two thirds since 2013.
in the City where 22 Bishopsgate - nicknamed ‘the Wodge’ by
Coal accounted for only 2% of electricity generated in the UK one architectural critic - will provide 1.3 million square feet of
last year, down from 40% in 2012. It is due to be phased out office space for workers who will go to their offices in no less
entirely by late 2024. Renewable power sources have than sixty lifts. The new skyscraper will be the largest in
increased thanks to government schemes in which London, but not quite as high as the Shard.
consumers pay levies on their energy bills to subsidise new
projects. A reduction in support for solar installations has led SQUIRRELS ON THE PILL
to solar power’s share electricity generation stagnating at
about 4% for the past three years. AH
DAVID CASSIDY REMEMBERED
Photographs from
WikiCommons
Peter Trimming (l)
Gillian Priestley wrote to us on behalf of the Facebook Charles James Sharp (r)
Group dedicated to the memory of the late David Cassidy.
They have placed several tributes to him in London. A new government scheme aims to reduce the numbers of
grey squirrels in Great Britain. A hazelnut spread containing
Phoenix Theatre: a plaque at the oral contraceptives will be left in feeding boxes around the
theatre in Charing Cross Road country to slow the spread of the grey squirrel, which has
commemorates David Cassidy’s iconic effectively marginalised the habitat of native red squirrels to
performance in Willy Russell’s musical Scotland and Ireland.
Blood Brothers in 1995/96.
BRIDGERTON BOOST FOR BEDS
Hammersmith Park Bench Plaque: this
Sales of four poster beds have increased by 400% since the
is near the Hammersmith Apollo, one of
popular series Bridgerton was released on Netflix last
David Cassidy’s favourite venues where
Christmas. Sales of corsets and pearls are also on the rise
he performed several times.
because of the series, which has attracted sixty three million
Wembley Arena: a portrait has been placed here to viewers and features innovative multi-racial casting.
commemorate six sell-out concerts at Wembley Empire Pool.
CHELSEA SHOW POSTPONED
Phoenix Garden: a plaque commemorates what would have For the first time in its 108 year history the Chelsea Flower
been David’s seventieth birthday in April 2020 and also to Show has been postponed until September. It had been
celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of The Partridge Family, the planned to hold the show as usual in May in corona aware
television show in which he made his name. conditions. However, it will now take place over six days
Heathrow Airport: a plaque is situated in between 21 and 26 September. A virtual flower show will be
Terminal Two. David flew in from the US held in May and tickets which have already been purchased
to perform Daydreamer on the tarmac at will be honoured for the later date. The Hampton Court
Heathrow to celebrate the 500th edition of Flower festival has also been put back to Spetember.
Top Of The Pops in 1973. RETIRING THE UMBRELLA?
The South Bank: Seat APTG member Pepe Martinez (r) was featured
plaques can be seen inside in a Mail on Sunday article on 13 February
the Royal Festival Hall and the about virtual tours. Pepe was quoted as saying
Queen Elizabeth Hall. The that he had ‘guided more people in the last
South Bank is where Hugh year than in the past ten ... While virtual tours
Grant delivers the line ‘I Think can’t recreate the experience of face-to-face
I Love You’, in Four Weddings tours, clients have embraced the unique level of connectivity
and a Funeral. It was one of David Cassidy’s favourite songs. and interactivity, especially for people who can’t leave home.’
ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL TOURIST GUIDES 7
www.guidelondon.org March 2021GUIDING TEENAGERS
Olga Romano on how to gain a reaction from a group in their teens
I have worked with students my whole life! I graduated from Saint Petersburg
teacher training university in 2000. During my teaching years I went away with
students and I have always realized how challenging this work is.
It is not just about teaching but also about organising trips, booking tickets,
liaising with parents and teachers, making everyone happy. Teaching
languages is a very special job, let alone teaching them to teenagers. People
aged twelve to eighteen are full of emotions, positive and negative, which
makes the job even more challenging.
In 2001 we went on a school trip abroad with eighteen students and two
teachers. I was encouraging them to speak Italian because that was their
primary foreign language. Rita was our guide in Milan. I was expecting a
Olga and a teenage group at Westminster
young, inexperienced language student with lots of ambition because I knew - even Phil Collins is listening (on the bus).
she was a professional tourist guide and in Italy guides are accredited by the
tourist authority. The idea that only young people can guide students was reverberating in mind. You can imagine my
surprise when I saw a lady in her late fifties! She was absolutely charming and had a kind smile.
I then uttered the most embarrassing phrase of my entire life! I smiled back at her and said ‘I’m expecting our guide to meet
my group in half an hour. Do you know anything about her?’ ‘Yes, I do,’ the lady said, still smiling – and that moment I
realized she was wearing the guide’s badge, which was obscured by her sophisticated scarf! ‘I am your guide!’ Rita changed
my view of a tourist guide in one day! Despite actually being over sixty she was truly young in her ways.
So what were the secrets Rita taught me, and why did she make me think about guiding students? Think back to when you
were in your teens. Did you like attending lessons? Doing homework? I bet you had other things on your mind: chatting with
friends, dancing, looking at boys and girls. When you have a group of teenagers in front of you, be prepared for them to see
you at first as a boring teacher. So, instead of starting with a drawn-out lecture on the history of London, you can smile and
start with a question: ‘Hello! What can you tell me about London?’
Some students will be shy, but others will begin to answer. Then the moment will come, the moment that every guide – and
teacher – waits for: an emotional bond created between you and the students. This is the most important factor in a
successful excursion. For some reason, many guides forget to smile, or their smiles seem forced. Children and adolescents
dislike fake feelings, and presenting a sincere smile is essential.
When you work with this age group try to include games. Do not forget that they were still playing them until recently, even if
they play with computers now! One of the games I use goes like this: your tourists are divided into two teams. This can be
done by gender, boys versus girls - or you can create two mixed teams, for example by class. At the beginning of your
excursion, alert the teams that there will be a small competition at the end. I recommend playing in groups rather than
having individual students give their answers since this can discourage shy students from speaking up.
Leave at least fifteen minutes at the end of the tour for the game. You can come up with a few questions about what you told
them on the tour. You can, if your imagination is working quickly, come up with the questions on the fly. Choose captains that
will answer on behalf of their team. Ask questions of each team in turn. If someone shouts out an answer out of turn, a 3ball Savile Row
is
taken from their team. You can impose a time limit, using a clock that everyone can see – gather the group in Trafalgar
Square and you might use the clock of St. Martin’s church. When the clock strikes a particular time the game is over.
When conducting excursions for students, remember that the duration of a school lesson is on average no more than an
hour. It helps them if you pause from time to time to let them take a break from your voice. I do not advise overloading
students. It makes no sense to demand too much of them. Study trips are meant for relaxation, to be in the company of
peers and to highlight the new experience of independence, which can be useful later in life.
Happy guidng students in 2021!
Olga Romano
Thanks to:
Maria Gartner, Augusta Harris, Gail Jones, Olga Romano, Steve Szymanski,
Ingrid Wallenborg, all other contributors and Liz Rubenstein for proofreading.
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