Random Leaks of Creativity
Join me in this next installment of my podcast where I’ll be counting down my top ten music conspiracies. With music from Elvis, Suge Knight, Justin Bieber, The Beatles, Beyonce, Eagles, Bob Marley, Jay Z, Eminem and Stevie Wonder.
Are you visiting London around Halloween or around the year then I got four places you should consider visiting this Halloween whilst in London or four gruesome places I know the kids and adults were like a like. They are all places I’ve visited whilst being in London over the decades of growing up and places I know any horror fan will revisit over the years for more of the same but different things. They are all dotted around one bit of London which is near the Southbank of London apart from one which is a little out the way but still worth making that trip but is easily found via a tube ride and your tourist map which you may need to find some of the places. I only chosen the ones I visited and can talk about but there are many options you have throughout the year including ghost walks, the Jack The Ripper walk and haunted places in and around London that I hope to do myself one day and when I’m next in London. The places are not always suited for the very young but appeal to the teenagers and adults so if you are looking for a child friendly gathering these places may not be for you and I would say the ghost walks would suit you best. I’ve already did a post years ago on the same thing which I haven’t got no more so this is a update of that post and a recap on where to go this Halloween and when you are in London all year round but especially Halloween. The prices vary but at the end of the day you can get a good price say two top places all what I mentioned for something like £40.00 per person £25.00 for kids over seven and free for toddlers at any tourist ticket shop. Without these prices you are looking at £65.00 for adults and £35.00 for children over seven and free for toddlers under 3 at one place in particularly so it’s best to save those coupons and get a deal at the ticket shops where tickets are cheaper rather than at the doors of the tourist attraction where you will be paying the full price of the attraction. There are family and tour guide prices to which again does work out cheaper rather then one or more person and is always cheaper for groups of six or more so it’s best to go by the bus load rather then you and your spouse unless you buy the tickets at a ticket station or saved up those valid coupons that does save you a couple of pounds.
First on the list is London’s Dungeon and a lot has changed since the 90s when it was a display and museum with the most appalling displays like the rat hole which I’m actually pleased I resaw it in more recent years and it still makes me uneasy when coming to that part of the display. For those who don’t know as said on the tin London’s Dungeon is a museum of all things crime and punishment throughout the history of England and the surrounding isles. It concentrates on the gruesome side of British history and takes you on a journey through the centuries of the most foulest times from Henry The VIII to the simple pagans and is not for the faint hearted or shy. As I said a lot has changed with the dungeon including live acts who play marvellous roles and give you the true sights and smells of that time they are portraying. Prepare yourself to be shouted at and man handled by the actors and actress and there torture devices. My friend got burnt at the stake and his gonads removed by the barrel of laughs actors and actress who cleverly simulate the punishments giving out to law and enforcements of that time. It was for something funny as well like fornicating with your pet pig I was like ah you’ve been gripped. Kids can be easily scared by the what it appears to be intimidating actors and actress who dress the part and give you a show and the displays are quite overpowering at times but it’s still a laugh and worth going to if you enjoy a bit of side ribbing and a history lesson all in one. I’m not sure if they still have it there but when I visited it last around 2013 they had the Sweeny Todd part where you met a unhinged lady baker who never gives you the full ingredients but you know enough to suggest she’s cooking humans in her pies but it’s how it’s all cleverly packaged up with the acting and role playing sometimes you forget where you are. Not only that it has always gave you the sights of smells of a working dungeon and has quite a collection of gruesome medieval contraptions that I know makes you feel slightly sick looking at them let alone the poor mannequins and the sound FXs who give you another real ideal what it was like for the poor person who was being tortured. They have a rack, a spiked coffin which meets you at the front entrance of the dungeon, the rat contraption where they put rats and mice in a holding unit and with bare stomach showing the rats and mice are then starved and forced to attempt to bury themselves out of the death trap into the poor person’s stomach and they get infected and die. Also there is a witch trial and so much more disturbing but cool contraptions and acts that they make it believable. I haven’t laughed or participated in so much fun in a while and it was good to go there and be part of the acts it is sort of in your face but if you can laugh at others and yourself I’m sure you will have a nice time there and not feel victimized or bullied.
If you just visited London’s Dungeon then The Tower Of London is a great option to go to for the next instalment of the horror crime and punishment theme you got going. For those who don’t know The Tower Of London is where the kings jewels are but is also known for displaying beheaded heads on the gates and also where one of Henry The VIII ex wife Ann Boleyn was sent to and also beheaded after Henry The VIII fall in love with someone else and she didn’t give him the male king he desired and other factors like being accused of being a witch. The place is full of ghosts if you are a believer and some say they can still hear Ann Boleyn cry for her freedom once she was betrayed by Henry The VIII and the ghost of King Charles I still lingers around the towers another person who was sent to the towers for making a mockery of the parliament and putting himself higher than the law and also religious reasons when King Charles I the catholic find himself living under protestant regime. Also Guy Fawkes who tried to blow up parliament in 1605 and now has a whole night deliciated to celebrate his hung, drawn and quartered a punishment for the most highest of treason. It has it’s own torture room in the lower wake field tower and if you want to see some Beefeaters you will find them situated at The Tower Of London where they guard the bridge and they guard the kings crown jewels, You can take the guide tour for more in depth history or you can walk around it and discover each part of the tower with the plagues at your own pace. General admission cost around £33.00 but for the Thames tour it cost £79.00 – £140.00 per person but probably works out cheaper if you are in larger groups.
When you are done taking worthy selfies with you and the Beefeaters then be sure to swing by The London Bridge Experience and Tomb to follow on with the Tower Of London and London’s Dungeon theme. It’s not that far from either London’s Dungeon or The Tower Of London and another good place to get a feel for the ages and also have a good laugh at the same time. It starts with a history lesson of how they the Celts painted their body blue during war before running through the Fire Of London before the final bit exploring the catacombs and being chased around by the actors and actress who job is to give you some sort of entertainment. It’s actually pretty intimidating but funny and thrilling how they hide in the nooks and crannies and jump out on you when you least expect it in this tight dark spaces underneath the main streets of London. I’ve never laughed so hard and haven’t enjoyed being spooked in all my life and all for what we paid for but never expected for it to be so thrilling or expected it to be a thrill seeking ride without being buckled to the chair and being compelled into the sky. Unlike the other places it has it’s own scare factor that is mainly people jumping out at you in the catacombs unlike the other two places where it’s more educational but this is both educational and a thrill seeking destination that had me laughing whilst running around like a laughing hyena mad man. Also there’s a Jack The Ripper part which gives you more old London history and another thrilling scare and also Guy Fawkes bits which is more a insightful history lesson that is played out in front of you and like London’s Dungeon they call you things like horrible lot which is always amusing and part of the role they play. The catacombs is also a maze which is the last part of the experience and be sure to buy your embarrassing photos of you sprung and I won’t say what bit that happens not to miss the capture of the moment and once again part of the London Bridge’s Experience.
Madame Tussauds is a bit of stretch to get to and takes at least 45 minutes from Victoria Station and on foot but still if you are doing the horror walk as I would now call it Madame Tussauds must be on your list of where to go. Apart from the famous wax statues they also have a more darker and my favourite bit of the museum other than seeing Obi-wan-Kenobi, Luke Skywalker and the Storm Troupers. It’s the most famous serial killers and horror characters mixed in one from well known films. I wasn’t too keen on the serial killers but loved seeing characters like IT and Hannibal Hector and also Vlad The Impaler just some of the wax models features seen in the horror section of the that part. It also has a brief displays on crime and punishment that is not seen in London’s Dungeon so there is lots to see. It’s not as extensive as London’s Dungeon or is there any acting parts but it’s still fun to walk around the museum and see the amazing figures they spent so long on making. It really is contrast to the main celebrities wax figures and that part I felt was dark and dingy with little real light coming in which sets the tone for that part and the surrounding bits like Vlad and nasty dictators. I wasn’t too happy on seeing like the well known killers as I said as it does glorify the situation but probably all in the means of crime and punishment, dictators and the most evil men and woman in history.
Here are the albums I mentioned in my top ten 90s male R&B albums, and some good ones. I hope you enjoy them; I’ve picked the ones I like, too. I know I love them.
Join me in my ninth podcast, where I’ll be sharing my top ten 90s male R&B albums, featuring music from Dru Hill, Jodeci, Joe, Blackstreet, Donell Jones, Boyz II Men, 112, D’Angelo, Ginuwine and Usher.
Here are the albums I mentioned in my top ten 90s female R&B albums, and some good ones. I hope you enjoy them; I’ve picked the ones I like, too. I know I love them.
Join me in my eighth podcast where I’ll be giving my top ten 90s female R’n’B albums with music from Toni Braxton, Aaliyah, Faith Evans, Brandy, Zhane, Mary J. Blige, Brownstone, SWV, Destiny’s Child and TLC.
The most complete remaining building of the Serpentine factory is a traditional, stone rubble building, three storeys high, with a gabled front, an opening on each floor and a slate roof. It is at the seaward end of the range of buildings and is dated 1866.
‘In the works, small ornaments in serpentine stone were being made in 1838. The firm evidently prospered for, about the years 1854 – 1889, the factory was producing mantelpieces, shop fronts, ornamental urns, etc. on a large scale (Lizard Field Club, Poltesco Cadgwith Nature Trail).
The wheel pit (90586*0) for a 25-foot diameter water wheel is still visible at the landward end of this range of buildings. The wheel would have worked machinery for the sawing up of the serpentine; and near the stream is a large slab of stone, scored by saw marks.
‘The finished articles were shipped from Penrhyn and Falmouth. Slabs of serpentine cut here were used in the Duchy of Cornwall buildings in London, and the firm had showrooms near the Strand where a vase 7’6″ high was to be seen (Lizard Field Club, Poltesco Cadgwith Nature Trail) (National Trust 1986).
Gabled three-storey rectangular stone warehouse, built into rising ground so top floor opens at ground level on the rear. The front elevation has a large doorway to each floor and datestone LSCL 1866 in gable apex. The warehouse is the remnant of a once much larger factory complex whose ruins can be seen on the left. Adjacent on the right is Rouds C18 capstan house of irregular rubblestone and now roofless (possibly originally thatched). Blocked opening for hauling rope/cable on the seaward face. Interesting for demonstrating changing industrial activities, i.e. Pilchard fishing and pressing, here followed by quarrying, polishing and processing of serpentine stone. Both industries once enjoyed prosperity but have now vanished with the production of tourist memorabilia being the only reminder of former times.
From Preliminary Archaeological and Historical Survey – Poltesco Valley, 2003, and according to which this factory is not Listed:-
The Poltesco serpentine factory was established in c1855 and ceased operations in c1893. It manufactured items such as church fonts, fireplaces, shop fronts and other decorative items. A late 19th-century photograph shows that the serpentine factory comprised two machine shops aligned east-west with gabled roofs, 92535 and 92536, two north-south aligned buildings with hipped roofs possibly a store 92534 the offices and showroom, 92528, and three storey warehouse with a gabled roof, 92527. To the north of the main complex was the forge, a two-storeyed building with a gabled roof, 92537.
Power for cutting, turning and polishing the stone was originally supplied by a large overshot waterwheel in the wheel pit, site 90856, which was fed by a long wooden launder, 92542, crossing high above the Poltesco stream carrying water from the ponds further up the valley, 92543 and 92544, supplied by a leat, 92545, from the dam in the river, 92546. The Trust is considering the provision of a hydroelectric turbine for the occasional supply of power to the buildings at Poltesco, which will re-use the existing ponds and watercourses. The proposal would involve piping water from the leats through the sluice gate of the lower pond to a hydro-electric turbine discreetly sited at the river bank approximately adjacent to the foundation stone of the former aqueduct, giving c6.500m head of water (Liddicoat 2000).
Steam power was introduced in 1866 and there are the remains of a boiler house, 92532, and a demolished chimney stack, 92531, and engine room, 92530, at the centre of the factory range. Whether steam power supplemented or replaced water power is not known. It was probably used for the heavier operations, sawing and surfacing while the water wheel powered the lathes. In front of the factory range is a stone saw block, where the stone was cut using a toothless saw, site 92533.
An aquatint from ‘The Illustrated London News’ (Fig 27), shows an impressive wooden gantry, site 92540, with a rail-mounted truck used for transporting stone from a platform, site 92541, on the far side of the stream with a chute, probably into the yard, site 92529, behind the office/showroom, site 92528. A travelling crane mounted on the quay, site 92538, may also have been used for this purpose.
The serpentine factory is last mentioned in Kelly’s Directory of 1893 when the manager was John Nankerris of Ruan Minor. The factory is marked as ‘Carleon Factory (Serpentine)’ on the 1879 OS map and ‘Carleon Factory (Disused)’ on the 1907 OS map (Fig 19).
The serpentine factory was mostly demolished by Mr Ironside in the 1930s after a survey for the Council for Protection of Rural England (CPRE) recommended that they were ideal for conversion to holiday homes (Unwin 1974; M Hardy pers comm).
Many stories are told of the activities of wreckers around our coasts, most of which are grossly exaggerated, but small communities occasionally and sometimes officially benefited from the spoils of shipwrecks, and petitions for lighthouses were, in certain cases, rejected on the strength of local opinion; this was particularly true in the South West of England.
The distinctive twin towers of the Lizard Lighthouse mark the most southerly point of mainland Britain, the lighthouse is a landfall and coastal mark giving a guide to vessels in passage along the English Channel and warning of the hazardous waters off Lizard Point. The coastline is particularly hazardous, and from early times the need for a beacon was obvious. Sir John Killigrew, a philanthropic Cornishman, applied for a patent. Because it was thought that light on Lizard Point would guide enemy vessels and pirates to a safe landing, the patent was granted with the proviso that the light should be extinguished at the approach of the enemy. Killigrew agreed to erect the lighthouse at his own expense, for a rent of “twenty nobles by the year”, for a term of thirty years. Although he was willing to build the tower, he was too poor to bear the cost of maintenance and intended to fund the project by collecting from ships that passed the point any voluntary contributions that the owners might offer him. Despite the difficulty of recruiting local labour, the tower was finished by Christmas 1619 and proved a great benefit to mariners. However, the shipowners offered nothing for its upkeep, and the mounting costs of maintenance were bankrupting Killigrew. Thus, in the face of more opposition from Trinity House, James I set a fee of one halfpenny a ton on all vessels passing the light. This caused such an uproar from the shipowners that the patent was withdrawn, the light extinguished and the tower demolished.
Applications were made in the ensuing years, but it was not until 1748 that Trinity House supported an attempt by Thomas Fonnereau to erect a lighthouse. The building was completed in 1752 and first lit on 22 August, consisting of two towers with a cottage built between them, in which an overlooker lay on a sort of couch, with a window on either side commanding a view of the lanterns. When the bellows-blowers relaxed their efforts and the fires dimmed, he would remind them of their duties with a blast from a cow horn.
Trinity House assumed responsibility for the lights in 1771 and commenced their wholesale improvement by replacing the coal lights with two oil lights in 1811. In 1845, three new cottages were added. But the most notable change to the site was the construction of the engine room in 1874, which made it possible to have a new fog signal and electric power for the main navigational light, powered by caloric engines and dynamos. More cottages were also added for the extra staff needed to run the now expansive site.
In 1903, a rotating First Order optic with a high-powered carbon arc light source was established in the eastern tower, and the western tower’s lantern was removed; the carbon arc light was replaced with an electric filament lamp in 1936.
The Lizard Lighthouse was automated and the keepers departed in 1998.
On 13 July 2009 HRH The Princess Royal officially opened the Lizard Lighthouse Heritage Centre—made possible by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund—after Trinity House renovated the Engine Room to create a flagship visitor centre. Alongside the historical engine sets, graphical, audio-visual and interactive exhibits describe the history of aids to navigation and the functions of Trinity House.
The lighthouse is now monitored and controlled from Trinity House’s Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex.
Flambards Theme Park in Helston, Cornwall, featured a life-size Victorian Village with over 50 authentically recreated locations, including shops, cottages, and trades, but it has been sold and will be reimagined as a dynamic and ieractive visitors or experience opening in 2026.
