Yesterday's London Times: Recent Episodes
Jen & Mares
Living in Paris during the Revolution and Reign of Terror might not seem like the right place at the right time, but if your job is to make wax sculptures of heads, it’s kind of perfect.
In this episode we meet Marie Tussaud, and follow along as she creates a London institution.
Follow along as we:
- Meet little Marie, living with a doctor who makes wax anatomical models,
- Rub elbows with royals and rabble-rousers in Paris before and during the Revolution and Reign of Terror
- Hit the road with Madame Tussaud and Sons waxworks
- Settle in London and develop a wax museum known the world around
- Meet some of the museum’s famous and infamous, including a candlelit tour of the Chamber of Horrors
Come on over to our SHOW NOTES for bonus content including photos and links.
We begin this episode by thinking about the work of people's hands. We wonder about the connections between knitting and history, trade, the industrial revolution, social connection, activism, and new interpretations.
Along the way, we’ll:
- visit Tudor England, when the wool trade was at its economic core and resulted in some pretty intense legislation for common citizens,
- check in on technology like framework knitting and the surprising etymology of the term Luddite,
- observe the long term effects on handicrafts by the Industrial Revolution, and uncover some excesses of the Victorians while we’re at it,
- take knitting forward through wars, the Great Depression, changing technologies such as synthetic fabrics, and rapidly changing relationships between people and the clothes they wear,
- honor knitwear designers who brought the craft forward,
- marvel at the confluence of the Riot grrl, the growth of DIY culture, and the internet that allowed learning, inspiration, and community to flourish,
- connect the dots with examples of craftivism around the world,
- pay tribute to the good done by Brixton’s Craft Forward organization,
- leave breadcrumbs for self study on topics like contemporary fashion,
- share resources for getting involved,
- and … you didn’t think we’d do an episode on knitting and not mention Tom Daley, did you?
This is a very visible episode.
See our SHOW NOTES for photos, articles, and much more.
Episode photo by Steve Forrest from Workers’ Photos Archive.
In this episode, we journey through the fascinating and often surprising history of Scotland Yard, the iconic home of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). Inspired by last week’s episode about the haunting tales of the Tower of London, we shift focus to uncover the evolution of law enforcement in London. From the chaotic days of watchmen during the 18th century gin craze to the formation of the Bow Street Runners and ultimately Sir Robert Peel’s revolutionary vision for modern policing, we explore how the MPS came to be.
But history isn’t always pretty, and neither is policing. Alongside the famed rooftop firing ranges and Houdini escapades, we dive into controversies and tragedies, from the wrongful shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes to the horrific murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer. We discuss how these events have shaped public perception of the force and the reforms still needed today.
Along the way, we share quirky anecdotes about Scotland Yard’s Black Museum, rooftop firing ranges, and connections to the Beatles. Plus, you’ll hear about trailblazing figures like Edith Smith, the UK’s first female officer with arrest powers, and the challenges she faced during World War I.
Come along with us as discuss:
- The Origins of Policing in London: From the medieval constables and watchmen to the Bow Street Runners and their drunken escapades.
- Scotland Yard’s Iconic History: Why it’s called Scotland Yard (spoiler: it has nothing to do with Scotland), its evolution, and its global cultural impact.
- The Quirks of Crime Fighting: Tales from the Black Museum and a few blunders, including a painting heist that left Scotland Yard red-faced.
- Pivotal Moments in Policing: How the world wars, the development of forensics, and societal shifts influenced Scotland Yard’s role and structure.
- Women in Policing: The trailblazing work of Edith Smith and the shift toward gender equality in law enforcement roles.
- Controversies and Tragedies: The cases of Jean Charles de Menezes and Sarah Everard and their lasting impacts on public trust and police accountability.
Whether you’re a history buff, a true-crime aficionado, or someone fascinated by the inner workings of iconic institutions, this episode offers a deep dive into the stories that shaped one of the most recognized police forces in the world. So grab a cup of tea (or gin, we won’t judge!) and join us as we uncover the secrets of Scotland Yard.
For more information, including photos, sources, and suggestions for further reading, don’t forget to visit our show notes!
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The Tower of London has watched over the city for nearly a millennium. If you are a priceless Jewel, the Tower is your protector. To countless of the city’s accused, a captor.
Royals, regals, religious, and rogues. The Tower has seen them all.
Many have been famous, and many more have been lost to history.
Holding in all of these secrets is a challenge for the Tower, and, late at night, after the tourists have gone, perhaps the fortress wants to release some of its tension. Perhaps some former tower residents, want to stand as witnesses and keep memories - even ghastly memories - alive.
In this episode we share stories of two lesser known Tudor ghosts, and we bump into some more along the way.
Take a look at our SHOW NOTES for images, sources, and more.
“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we deal with vampires in old London Town,’. - Ben Aaronovitch in Rivers of London
We start this episode in the London neighborhood of Highgate. It’s famous cemetery, exuding Victorian design and extravagance, is the setting for our first story, about a potential paranormal experience and the long term metaphysical feud that resulted.
We’ll delve into mainstream horror cinema of the 1950s and 60s from London’s own Hammer Films, with special emphasis on its vampiric offerings.
In Dracula, Bram Stoker’s count moved far and wide around the city. We’ll trace his footsteps and learn hidden coding to the novel’s London locations.
What’s a modern vampire to do in the city? We highlight some haunts for those interested in exploring the city as a creature of the night.
And, as intro, we share a brief memorial to our late, beloved pod-pup, Boo.
Photos, links and more at our SHOW NOTES here.
Until very recently, only London held the distinction of hosting the Summer Olympics three times, more than any other city in the world. The Games in London have been pivotal, memorable, and marked by very significant historical context, beginning with the early 20th-century growth of the modern Olympics in 1908, to the intense symbolism of post-war recovery in 1948, and finally the modern legacy of the 2012 Games.
In this episode, we are stepping back in time to explore all three London Olympiads. We will take a look at some of the great athletes and notable moments of the Games, but our focus will more deeply center on the symbiotic relationship
of London to the Olympics. For better or worse, depending on the perspective, this global spectacle of sport has definitely made a permanent imprint on the city; at the same time, London has absolutely made a lasting imprint on the modern games - arguably more than any other city in the world.
Ready to run, swim, and jump into London Olympic history with us? Follow along with our show notes, and visit Yesterday’s London Times on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for more information, images, sources, and fun!
In this episode, Jen and Mares take a moment to reflect on their journey as podcasters, and take a look back at episodes in their catalogue that both examine and celebrate London over time during the hottest months of the year. For both new listeners and veterans of the community alike, there’s something for everyone this summer in the city. We will highlight:
- virtual walking tours of past episodes, featuring the East end as sung in “Oranges & Lemons” and a “choose your own adventure” style romp through time and place in London
- the challenges of summers past, particularly during the plague and blight of the summer of 1858
- joy expressed through summertime pomp and celebration, with a focus on jubilees of the past as well as the legacy of Pride in the city
- the vibrancy, innovation, and wonder of the Swinging London summers of the 1960s
- holiday journeys outside the city, from medieval pilgrimages to Butlin’s Holiday Camps
This episode has it all: bougie soirées, fish mongers, epidemics, sewer systems, Victorian plant manias, Mary Quant, Mr Teezy Weezy, Gay’s the Word bookstore, Billy Butlin and more! These are just some of the people and places that have triggered our curiosity and given us hope as we’ve explored their place and relevance within London history. We couldn’t be happier or more humbled that YOU, the YLT community, have joined us on this ride for the last three years. Cheers to you, and cheers to summer!
For your convenience, links to each episode discussed and its show notes are pulled together in our SHOW NOTES.
Mares and Jen have enjoyed playing a game of luck called “Underground Roulette.” The game is easy to play. Just select a tube stop at random, keep a curious mind, and hit the streets! It’s an engaging way to get a sense of place and all that the city offers.
But, what if we could add the dimension of time, seeing not only the neighborhood as it is, but as it was?
In this episode, we explore the underground stops with stories involving the theme of luck.
London: a city where fame and fortune may await, given talent, drive, privilege, connections, and sometimes it comes down to luck.
Our three stories feature:
- horseshoes, normally associated with good luck, but not this time,
- counteracting the bad luck of the number 13, and,
- when what seems like bad luck can be the best fortune yet.
Along the way, we’ll visit an iconic location synonymous with luxury and spend time with some of the most famous people in modern history.
Follow along on our SHOW NOTES. You’ll find photos, recordings, sources, and ways to find us.
Enjoy playing Underground Roulette. With a little luck, you’ll have a lot of fun!
Wildlife on the Tube: it’s not just on the Northern Line at night. It’s everywhere. Throughout the Underground, flora and fauna show up intentionally - and unintentionally - in the most surprising places. In this episode, we will:
- explore the gardens maintained voluntarily by TfL employees
- discuss the history of the London Underground In Bloom competition
- learn about a subspecies of mosquito that dwells in the Underground tunnels
- meet pigeons who seem to intentionally and intelligently use the Tube to navigate the city
- examine the tough lives of Underground mice, whose reality is a stark contrast to their cozy portrayal in popular culture
In addition, we will:
- ponder how the city would be different if the Tube had never come to fruition
- ask tough questions about the safety of air quality on the Tube
- compare and contrast the impact of public and private transportation methods on the environment in general
- look at steps taken by TfL and the City of London to make the Tube safer for employees, patrons, and the environment
The impact of the Underground on the city of London is indisputable. But how deeply does the system impact the ecosystem of the city as a whole? Join us for a journey into the natural world that adapts, survives, and sometimes even thrives within this human made modern marvel that is the London Underground.
See our SHOW NOTES for photos, videos, links, sources, and more.
“Is it worth anything to you, guv’nor?”
It’s boots on the street in city centre as we pinball through time … from the 1600s, to 1912, to current day. We’ll think and wonder about how unknown treasures might exist even in the heart of an urban area.
Along the way we’ll …
- park ourselves in Cheapside, and learn of its history,
- shine a light on the work of a group of navvies, who excavated below the streets as railroads, underground trains, and construction projects transformed the cityscape,
- experience the thrill of uncovering a buried treasure, and gape in awe at its contents,
- consider the ownership of found objects,
- meet George Fabian “Stoney Jack” Lawrence, who had the right skill set for a specific period,
- explore theories about the hoard: Who hid it? Why didn’t they ever return for it?
- peek into the world of modern day detectorists
The SHOW NOTES are an absolutely must as you enjoy this episode. You’ll see photos of the hoard, links, maps, videos, links to stories, and of course, our sources. So much to discover. Treasures await.
Providing up to 5 million passenger journeys a day, the London Underground is integral to the city's infrastructure. It's impossible to imagine how the city would function without it.
But why would something built for purpose become a source of admiration and entertainment? A Transport for London style guide provides powerful evidence: "Every Underground station should include at least one moment of delight and surprise, to improve customers' journeys and the working environment for staff."
A-ha!
Let's meet some Tube superfans.
Jen tells a story about Underground trainspotters and highlights the Tube in pop culture, while Mares looks at people who attempt the citywide Tube Challenge.
We'll think about the nature of challenge, the history of tube spotting and racing challenges, and some of the unique and engaging personalities for whom the Tube (and Overground) truly is a constant delight and surprise.
See our SHOW NOTES for photos, links, sources, and more.
At Yesterday’s London Times, we are all about inquiry, questions and stories, particularly stories that are new to us or that we just want to know on a deeper level. We seek out people, places, and facets of history that are lesser known, quirkier, or even downright strange. We also like to shine a spotlight on those who really do - or have done - amazing things, but perhaps have been forgotten over time, or lost in the shuffle of a typical news cycle or history text. We especially love discovering stories about people who contribute to the collective good of humanity in some way.
Early on in our partnership, we (Jen and Mares) immediately recognized our common love and admiration for the London Underground, or Tube, for the Tube is something more than just the transportation system beneath our feet. It supplies life to the city of London, and with up to 5 million passenger journeys on any given day, it is the veins and arteries that allow all of the movement that keeps the city going and makes it such a special place.
Join us throughout the following year as we randomly choose destinations across the city to “visit”. We will virtually hop on the Tube and bring the city to your ears as we search for adventures around the stations of the iconic Underground map. We will ask ourselves:
- Who lives here now?
- Who has lived here in the past?
- What are the stories that live within the streets of this area?
- What do the people - or perhaps the ghosts of former inhabitants - of this area want to teach us?
- What are some places to visit, what might I eat?
- What is quirky or unique about this part of London? What can I learn from this area?
The journey begins today. Where do you think the Tube will take us today?
As you listen, we invite you to follow along in our show notes to enhance your experience with us.
A little romance?
What began as a fluff piece about an eccentric romance novelist turned into a snapshot of a century through the eyes of someone who lived it to the fullest.
Meet Barbara Cartland: extravagant, exaggerated, and … pink. As author of 723 books, she remains the most prolific romance novelist of all time. If you’ve ever seen her, you won’t likely forget her, dripping in jewels, layered in make up, clad in fuchsia, and riding in her classic white Rolls Royce.
We’ll follow Barbara through the Great War, to 1920’s London with the Bright Young Things, to writing, motherhood, political involvement, and World War II. And she’s just getting started, hitting the peak of her career in the 1980s, in her eighties.
Along the way, we’ll rub elbows, (well, maybe more than elbows) with movers and shakers of many decades. For example, have you ever heard of Lord Beaverbrook? Also, you won’t believe who joins the family in the 1970s!
We wrap up with a game you can join in at home. It’s called Oh, Barbara.
While we have little in common with Barbara, and share few of her opinions, we have to respect someone who called her own shots and refused to be sidelined as an octogenarian.
See our SHOW NOTES for photos, some quite rare, sources, and such.
Bears. Cute. Cuddly.
But when we looked at them through the long lens of London history, it got complicated pretty quickly.
Join us as we take the ursine plunge, and think about….
- the bears that roamed Britain 7000 years ago
- the Tower menagerie,
- blood sports such a bearbaiting, especially popular during the Elizabethan period,
- the invention of the stuffed bear and its significance in the Great War,
- Pooh and Paddington, two special bears with London ties, and share unexpected commonalities
Plus, to kick off our exploration of underground and rail stations this year, we’re going to Paddington!
Our SHOW NOTES round out your listening experience, with photos, drawings, clips, links, sources, and more.
It's a Yesterday's London Times tradition - the Boxing Day episode!
Relax along with us as we look back at some of the people and places we met on the podcast this year. Half of our episodes sent us time traveling throughout the Sixties in different centuries of British history, and the other episodes were our regular mix of quirky yet thoughtful takes on the city we love.
We present our annual YLT awards to some people who are unforgettable. And not always in a good way. The final award is always our Defender of the Collective Good Award, presented to the character(s) that most made a positive impact on their community.
Jen and Mares share some of their favorites: those pieces that make life just a bit better.
And we'll close with a look forward at our plans for 2024 at YLT. We're excited.
See our SHOW NOTES for referenced in the episode, plus links and drinks.
WELCOME TO OUR 50th EPISODE!
In the final stop of our ‘60s YLT Time Machine, we touch down in the 1560’s just in time for a Tudor Christmas. In a deeply divided nation in which religion is politicized, we’ll see how the young Queen Elizabeth finds her own path.
The Tudor Christmas was a respite from work and from unrelenting poverty. It was a time of revelry and a loosening of societal roles.
Our visit to the Tudor Christmas will ignite our senses. Along the way, we’ll …
- Share a dramatic moment with Queen Elizabeth at her first Christmas service as sovereign,
- Spruce up the place with seasonal décor,
- Experience 12 full days of partying, including games, plays, carols, wassailing, and feasts,
- Run into some unique roles: a boy bishop, a Lord of Misrule, mummers, and masque players,
- See how ancient magic influenced and remained with the holiday.
We’ll end up at Greenwich Palace and spend Twelfth Night with Good Queen Bess herself. The activities, the exotic and sometimes disturbing feasts, and the political minefield of royal gift giving.
Our SHOW NOTES are FULL of artwork, videos, links to eBooks, recipes, and much more.
In our 2021 episode, “Here is Vogue, In Spite of it All!”, we explored how the British edition of the iconic fashion magazine evolved into an outlet for groundbreakingVogue wartime journalism. As we studied the reasons behind that seemingly unlikely transformation, we met some strong, creative, and intellectually brilliant women, among them the complex and multitalented Lee Miller. In this episode, we examine her fascinating life of contrasts more deeply, and:
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consider the impact of intense childhood trauma in her art and writing
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learn of her contributions to the surrealist art movement
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celebrate her photographic inventiveness
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reflect on the importance and legacy of her career as a war correspondent during the Second World War
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marvel at the intensity and depth of creativity that characterised the many endeavors Miller pursued and subsequently mastered throughout the course of her life
She was well known for her beauty, and yes - she did bathe in Hitler’s private quarters just hours after the dictator fled his quarters, defeat finally imminent - but there is so much more to the that story and her legacy as a whole. Join us, as we examine this iconic woman on a deeper level, for Lee Miller lived an incomparable life, indeed.
Don’t forget to visit our SHOW NOTES for bonus content! You'll find:
- the photographic journey that Jen & Mares describe in the episode
- images of Miller as a Roaring 20s Vogue model
- examples of her photographs, as well as evidence of her role as a muse to the prominent surrealist artists of the time
- some of her most iconic WWII images, many of which proved the existence of the Holocaust to the world
- a list of source citations
- and the recipe for this episode's cocktail: The Ode to Lee!
It’s getting all wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey at YLT as we celebrate a huge milestone in British culture: the 60th anniversary of the iconic Doctor Who!
In this episode, we :
- look at the unlikely-for-the-time trio who launched Doctor Who back in 1963
- discuss the basic premise of the show
- examine its importance as a British cultural phenomenon
- reflect on the symbolism and deeper messages within the series
- consider the discourse surrounding the show and how it contributes to progressive society
- explore the show’s legacy and importance in 2023
For some, Doctor Who is a campy romp that provides an occasional escape from reality, while for others, it’s a community with which to deeply connect. Whether you’re a dedicated Whovian for whom the show is a lifestyle, or a complete newcomer to the series, there’s something here for everyone in the time and space continuum. Join us, as we celebrate this iconic moment in British pop culture history!
Don’t forget to visit our SHOW NOTES for fun bonus content! You'll find:
- photos of the BBC employees who founded the show
- images of all 15 official doctors and a few of the Doctor’s most iconic enemies (and frenemies!)
- links to several websites to help you continue your journey down the DW rabbit hole
- a bibliography to begin to build your own Doctor Who library
- and this episode's two Who-inspired drink recipes, the Doctor No. 1 and the Banana Daiquiri!
Let's do the Time Warp... it's the Rocky Horror episode!
Though many people have seen the cult classic film, few people know about its origins in a 63 seat London theatre.
In this episode, we :
- delve into the creative team and cast responsible for its deviant mayhem, sharing their back stories and how they all converged in time and place in early '70s London,
- take a trip back in time to its first performance,
- follow the Rocky Horror road to Hollywood,
- pinpoint when this movie became a new creation based on a fan-conceived and fan-scripted interactive experience,
- consider Rocky Horror Picture Show as a cosplay pioneer, and
- mark its legacy as young adult rite of passage, opening up ideas about identity, gender, and sexuality.
For some, Rocky Horror was a fun and raucous night out, for others, it provided a safe and dependable community for creativity and a sense of belonging. Come along for the ride!
And come over to our SHOW NOTES for such fun bonus content! You'll find:
- rare photos from its original London run (spoiler: Tim Curry as a blonde?),
- a ticket to a performance 2 weeks into its initial run (costing 80 p - oh, the longing),
- original program,
- a link to the full original script, articles, and interviews,
- and this episode's drink recipe, the "Hot-Pa-Toddy, Bless My Soul."
Hop in the YLT time machine, we are on the move once again, but brace yourself: 1666 awaits.
How do everyday people survive constant war, devastating plague, and raging destruction all within the span of a very short window of time? In this episode, we examine the perseverance of Medieval Londoners, and explore many themes of life in the 17th century that surprisingly overlap with some of the lived experiences of many in contemporary society. We question if these somewhat hidden connections can provide us with education and insight into our current world.
Many 17th century Londoners believed the end times must be near. Join us as we dive into their world and imagine what it must have been like to live in such an incredibly tumultuous and chaotic decade of catastrophic calamities.
Photos, link, sources, and more at our show notes can be found HERE
In this 60’s time travel event, we explore deep! We’re in the 1060s, further, in history than we’ve ever gone on YLT.
How can a simple craft help us to think about a complex, political and military event? We examine the Norman conquest, the battle of Hastings, through the Bayeux tapestry.
You’ll meet the major players and dig deeper to discover some of the incongruous and enigmatic characters on the art piece.
We’ll think about how the embroidery has survived a millennium while being threatened and used for political power.
And finally, we’ll consider the Bayeux embroidery as inspiration for homage and satire.
Photos, link, sources, and more at our show notes HERE.
We’re back to the Sixties again; this time, the 1360s!
Before commercial travel, a pilgrimage provided tourism with a spiritual twist. A veneration vacation, so to speak.
Today, people travel for spiritual reasons to Mecca, the Ganges. Jerusalem, Israel, Mount Fuji, El Camino de Santiago de Compostela, and other destinations. The medieval pilgrimage was deeply linked to religion, social structures, politics, health, and the economy.
In this episode, we’ll think about…
· Who went on pilgrimages and why?
· Travel decisions: Where to go, how to get there, what to bring with you.
· What actually happened once the destination was reached. Was there any element of fun involved?
We’ll dive into the pilgrim experience by simulating a journey to the Walsingham Shrine. Along the way, we’ll better understand the medieval significance of indulgences and relics.
Photos, sources, and more at our show notes HERE.
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Facebook: Yesterday’s London Times
Twitter: @YLT_Pod
Episode image from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales via Wikimedia Commons.
Are you ready for a break? Do you just need to get away? YLT understands, so let’s escape for a bit and go on holiday together! In this episode, we will:
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examine the history of leisure in Britain and the evolution of paid leave from work
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consider how public transportation increased mobility and accessibility to the seaside from Victorian era onward
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take a look at the Victorian trend of “dark tourism”
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study the legislation and cultural shifts that gave working class people opportunities for leisure
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take a deep dive into the legacy of the great British Holiday Camp, with a special focus on Butlin’s
Everyone deserves a holiday from time to time, and that includes you! So roll up, roll up - we’re leaving the city and heading to Skegness!
For more fun, photos, and to see our sources, please visit our show notes, or reach out to us on the socials:
Instagram: yesterdayslondontimespodcast
Facebook: Yesterday’s London Times
Twitter: @YLT_Pod
Coming soon: more on Reddit & TikTok
To celebrate London Pride 1st July, we share a tour through queer London history, anchoring at Gay’s the Word, a Bloomsbury book shop that has played a pivotal role in queer life and history.
We’ll think about…
- the systems that have oppressed,
- how oppression can stoke the spirit of activism,
- unusual alliances in times of struggle,
- how a bookstore can serve as beacon and safe harbor,
- a specific story of mutual support that is nearly impossible to believe, and
- the struggle for identity and the collective good.
Photos, sources, and more at ourSHOW NOTES PAGE.
Note: Episode image from Gay's the Word.
It’s that time of the year in certain places around the world. The ending of a school year sometimes comes with yearbooks, collections of formal and informal photos that capture memories.
Often, yearbooks have awards. Who will be Most Likely to Succeed? Who’s the Most Athletic? Who will be dubbed Class Clown?
In this episode, Jen and Mares each nominate two Londoners from any time in history, for yearbook awards, and tell stories behind the nominees.
We don’t want to spoil the surprises, but Jen will be telling stories around the award themes Most Unique and Life of the Partywhile Mares unearths tales about one of London’s Best Dressedand her nominee for Cutest Couple.
Photos, audio and video sources, and all of our research links can be found on our show notes page.
We're mere days away from the coronation of King Charles III, and it seems like a good time to explore the fact and legend of British coronations.
We'll think about:
this unusual ritual that it is both a state occasion of the transfer of title and a religious rite,
what the ritual says about Britain and also about the incoming monarch,
* some elements to watch for in the ceremony itself,
After the break, all hell nearly breaks loose as we have fun, Horrible History style, with three of the most botched coronation ceremonies in British history. Charles' team: If you're listening, and we KNOW you are, consider this a cautionary tale.
Some really unique images and our sources can be seen at ourSHOW NOTES PAGE HERE.
The YLT time machine is cranked up and running and has once again dropped Jen and Mares in the 1960s, this time to examine two women deemed notorious by the media of the age: Margaret of Argyll and Shirley Pitts. One is remembered as an oversexed duchess and the other as a relentless thief, but upon deeper examination their lives are much more nuanced than those oversimplified descriptions would lead one to believe.
In this episode we will:
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examine the reasons for their notoriety and critique their subsequent legacies
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debate the fairness of those public legacies
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consider the role gender plays in their media portrayals
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speculate upon how their stories might have been written differently if they were unfolding today
It’s always a wild ride in the time machine, and we are so pleased to have you join us as we examine now society portrays and remembers “notorious” women.
Visit our show notes, with lots of photos and more, HERE.
This episode begins in the 1660s, when a puppeteer named Signor Bologna performs with marionettes in Covent Garden. The star of the show is the Italian commedia dell’arte character, Pulcinella. British will audiences take to him and make him their own, as Pulcinella morphs into the iconic Punch.
We’ll look at:
- The history of this character,
- How his attributes adapted to an English audience,
- The factors that changed his act from bawdy satire for gents into a family show,
- How Victorian progress cemented Punch and Judy as seaside attractions,
- The current state and controversy of Punch and Judy and violence,
- Current media influenced by the Punch and Judy show,
- One particular Punch puppeteer and HER legacy.
See our show notes, with lots of photos and more, HERE.
This episode takes us to the Spitalfields neighborhood of London.
He will explore a most unusual house nearly 300 years old.
Will think about…
- a young 18-year-old who shows up in London in the Swinging 60s
- and eccentric young man who dreamed big and made his dreams come true
- how a place marks person, and how people mark the places they call home
While in Spitalfields, will meet the Huguenots, and put another piece of the London immigrant puzzle together.
More than ever you’ll want to see the photographs in our show notes here.
Kim Philby is often mentioned as the ringleader of the Cambridge Spy Ring, but an overwhelming amount of evidence points to the flamboyant and outlandish Guy Burgess as the most prolific and proficient of the group. What makes Burgess stand out, both personally and professionally?
In this episode, we'll:
- Explore the what motivated Burgess to turn on the country that showered him with status and privilege
- Study the social system that protected his often obvious treachery from exposure
- Examine Burgess as both an insider who was a product of his time and an outsider who never quite fit in with the era or his surroundings
- Contemplate the legacy of Burgess as an individual and the Cambridge Spy ring as a whole
Photos and sources can be found in our show notes HERE.
Can a city be a muse? What about London inspires writers of detective mysteries?
In this episode, we'll:
- delve into the Golden Age of the Detective Novel in interwar London.
- meet some of the top authors of the era in a secretive, ritualistic organization they founded. Enter the Detection Club.
- follow Agatha Christie's footsteps through London, where she spent some pivotal moments of her life
- celebrate the long-running The Mousetrap, a play that has become a London institution and has been making interesting headlines within the last year.
Photos, sources, and recipes can be found in our show notes HERE.
In our last episode we questioned how, in a few short years, London transformed itself from a battered, austere, post-war city to the vibrant, swinging “Capital of Cool.”
So, here we are, in 1960s London, and we’ll meet scene-makers and movers and shakers, fashion designer Mary Quant and hair stylist Vidal Sassoon.
Jump in your Mini, and join us as we explore:
MARY QUANT >
- Her dive and subsequent splash onto the fashion scene as early as 1955
- the innovative marketing techniques she employed
- her willingness to experiment with synthetic materials never before used in the industry
- the head-to-toe looks that were revolutionary for the time
- the celebratory vibe of both her garments and her shows
- her uncanny ability to anticipate the next big thing
- and of course - the iconic miniskirt
VIDAL SASSOON >
- His young life in tenements, an orphanage, and as a young war refugee
- The prophetic vision of his mother
- His lifelong interactions with antisemitism
- Mentors: those that guided him, and those that he rebelled against
- His influences
- The freeing of women via wash and go hair
- Celebrity customers and muses
- His kinship with Mary Quant as they create what becomes Swinging London, and
- What happened next…
Photos, sources, and recipes can be found in our show notesHERE.
London. The 1960s. The “Capital of Cool”.
London was indeed swinging. But how? Why?
Join us, as we inquire and explore:
- how London emerged from war torn chaos, soot, deadly fog, and rations into a vibrant and vivacious style epicenter by the mid 1960s
- the trends that dominated the era
- how the baby boom and subsequent youth culture movement rocked British life at its core
1940s London was battered and bruised, but the city came back swinging in just under two decades. Come along with us as we look at the path that paved the way for such astonishing change.
Photos, sources, and recipes can be found in our show notes HERE.
It’s one of our favorite days of the year - Boxing Day! Shake a cocktail, snuggle in, and join us as we look back as a community on 2022, and make some announcements about where we are headed as a podcast in 2023. In this episode, we will:
-
share some fantastically festive cocktail recipes
-
present our annual awards to the podcast friends we learned about throughout the year
-
make some unendorsed recommendations highlighting some of our current favorite things
-
express gratitude for YOU, the YLT community, and let you know what is in the works for 2023
Photos, info, and recipes can be found on our show notes HERE.
From our studio to you, wherever in the world you are, we wish you a warm and safe Boxing Day, and a most brilliant New Year ♥️
Seriously? An episode about... fog?
The fog has become synonymous with the city, much like one of its characters; and a provocateur at that.
But we're not talking about silvery, wispy, Dumbledore-type fog.
The fog that permeated winters between the Victorian era and the 1950s was sulfuric, gamboge colored, gritty, and reeking of rotten eggs.
In this episode, we'll ... :
- look at fog from scientific and cultural perspectives,
- see how the fog grew into smog as the city grew,
- take auditory field trips to experience that fog in the 19th and 20th centuries,
- think about how one person's bane can be another's inspiration,
- examine a catastrophic fog event that brought the city to a standstill for five days, and
- examine how London attempts to solve a very big problem.
So many photos! See our show notes HERE.
Our Victorian story arc is coming to a close, but not before we explore one of the most important topics of era: the lives of Black Victorians.
The Victorians prided themselves on what they considered to be very socially progressive views. After the abolition of the slave trade at the end of the Georgian Era, an overwhelming number of Victorians joined the abolitionist movement to end the practice of enslaving humans around the world. Victorians read the autobiographies of formerly enslaved humans, attended abolitionist lectures, and the majority viewed slavery in the United States as vile and abhorrent.
But Victorian actions and words often contradicted these efforts. As many Britons condemned American slavery, the British Empire was expanding and forcing its culture upon Black and Brown people worldwide. Minstrel shows perpetuated negative stereotypes of Black people in popular culture, and racist pseudo-science was employed to justify white supremacy.
In this episode, we will ponder, discuss, and question:
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the reality and impact of the Georgian era slave trade and how it influenced subsequent Victorian thoughts on the enslavement of humans
-
the problematic, racist contradictions in mainstream Victorian society
-
the idea or who writes history, and examine the lenses commonly used to study the past today
-
the importance of the application of critical thought when studying history
-
the necessity of intentionally seeking Black voices when examining the past
-
the legacy of racism in history texts today
Victorian London was awash in change, but the experiences of Black Victorians were unique and are all too often overlooked today. Join us we we seek to hear underrepresented voices tell the stories of extraordinary humans - humans who suffered and humans who thrived - and consider the many ways that their stories still deeply matter today.
Photos and links can be found in our show notes HERE
Episode artwork: Sarah Forbes Bonetta with her husband, James Davies, photographed by Camille Silvy in September 1862 (©️Hulton Archive /Getty Images)
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As the leaves continue to crisp and the air becomes even brisker, our study of the Victorians takes another somewhat unsettling turn as we explore their obsession with spiritualism, superstition, and the supernatural.
As industry, technology, and communication evolve exponentially, countless Victorians are searching for comfort and explanations; many believe they find answers through mesmerism, seances, hallucinations, and mediums.
In this episode, we will learn why so many Victorians were looking beyond the earthly realm for answers, and the impact of that exploration on Victorian London society as a whole.
We will also ponder, discuss, and question:
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The deep-seeded superstitions that have thrived in London for centuries, and the the city’s legendary connection to hauntings and unusual phenomena
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How the rigid social mores of the era created an environment conducive to a subversive subculture, one willing to embrace taboo supernatural monsters and terror
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Why more advanced communications methods inspired many to attempt to communicate with the dead
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The emergence of the supernatural in literature, and the imagery that is still referenced today
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How the road was paved for ill-intentioned charlatans to take advantage of society’s desperation for answers
Were the Victorians naive and gullible, or were they everyday citizens just trying to cope with a rapidly changing world by any means possible? Like so many other aspects of Victorian society in London - it’s complicated.
It’s also intriguing: we will examine one celebrated, reputable Victorian who predicted the disaster of the Titanic in great detail - not just once, but twice - and the cruel irony that awaited him at the end of his life.
Join us! There’s still so much to talk about as we begin to wind down our dedicated series on the repressed, exotic, and maddeningly contradictory Victorians.
Photos and links can be found in our show notes HERE
Arthur Conan Doyle episode cover art: https://www.conandoyleinfo.com/life-conan-doyle/conan-doyle-and-spiritualism/
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Some stories just feel like OCTOBER stories.
We know that Victorian Londoners enjoy a good craze. But what will they make of a social panic? Today our story begins in 1837, the first year of the Victorian era.
In this episode, someone - or something - is assaulting Londoners; springing out at them. Was it a ghost? A devil? Maybe bear, bull, or baboon? Who would be next?
We’ll hear the facts behind what became the legend. Then, we’ll consider…
· How does a true story become a legend? What elements are retained, and which are contrived?
· What does this story tell us about the culture of Victorian London, and maybe our own lives today?
· What ae the elements of a social panic? Or there certain conditions that give rise to public scares?
· What is our relationship to urban spaces, especially women in cities?
We’ll deconstruct the story and look at rumor, press, suspicion, vigilantes, elements that influenced this story, and that this story later influenced?
We’ll consider the most recent recorded rise of this tale, withing the last decade.
Finally, we’ll examine a plausible theory of who the culprit may have been.
How did a short string of incidents so embed themselves into the popular culture and the psyche of a time and place?
Photos and links can be found in our show notes HERE.
*Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer with a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
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Wow, what a year it’s been! It’s our first podcast anniversary, and we are so grateful for YOU, our YLT community! In this episode, we will take a moment to remember our past, reflect on our present and dream about the future. Specifically, we will:
* share our origin story, and talk about the fun and challenges we encountered along the way as we launched the podcast into being
* take a quick look at our past episodes, and reflect on how an episode comes to life
* drop some new Victorian era stories - social clubs and drag kings, oh my!
* give a sneak peak into what we are working on and planning to share this autumn and winter
* introduce our new media company, Collective Good Productions!
As always, we will also dig more deeply and question:
* how classism, racism, and suffrage shaped the iconic social clubs of the Victorian Era
* how Victorian women challenged the social and sexual mores of the time through drag and cabernet in the legendary music halls
* our overall objectives and values as a podcast as we move forward into Year 2
Photos and links can be found in our show notes HERE.
*Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer with a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
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Cheers! Did you know that cocktails as we know them today have their origins in the Victorian Era? It’s true! But the Victorian relationship with alcohol is complicated - it’s a lot more than just booze; it is also an examination of class, equality, opportunity, and values. In this episode, we will explore:
- what motivated the middle class temperance movement, and the hypocrisy that surrounded it
- why many in the working classes began to embrace teetotaling
- how unsafe living conditions and unfair labour practices pushed other working class men into the comforts of the Victorian pub
- the connection of temperance to suffrage
- why the UK failed to embrace total prohibition
- the inventions and innovations that transformed the oily rotgut of the Georgian Era into the purified spirits we know today
- the showmanship that began to permeate cocktail culture
- the rise of the iconic London hotel bars, where one can still enjoy spirits, culture, and ambiance today
We will also dig more deeply and question:
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how classism and societal mores shape the values and overall culture of the Victorian Era
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Jen lovingly dedicates this episode to Mary G., with whom many spirits were toasted, countless laughs shared, and infinite memories made - all beginning in London. Rest easy, dear friend - this one’s for you ♥️
Photos and links can be found in our show notes. Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer with a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
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The Great Exhibition of 1851, the brainchild of Prince Albert and Henry Cole, had the loftiest of goals: the unity of humanity moving forward together via a merge of science, technology, and the arts.
We’ll think about…
- Prince Albert’s unexpected progressive views
- How to design an event as massive as the Exhibition with no guidebook from which to work
- How powerful entities like the press and politicians can screw up the best laid plans
- A new heyday of excursion travel based on Victorian novelties of leisure time and railroads
- The awe inspiring Crystal Palace
- A few of the 100,000 Exhibition artifacts, with an emphasis on the iconic and quirky
- The legacy of the Exhibition
Photos and links can be found at our show notes HERE.Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer with a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
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In this episode, we remain in Victorian London and will examine the events of the summer of 1858, the moment in time that serves as the bridge from medieval to modern London. We will explore:
- how The Big Stink served as an impetus for change in regards to water quality
- the contributions of Sir Joseph Bazalgette and his gift to public health: modern sanitation
- the beginnings of a notable British politician, Benjamin Disraeli
- the unintended distraction from the heat and stench: the drama of Charles Dickens’ personal life
- the problematic issues of imperialism in Colonial India
- the spark that jolted Charles Darwin to action and accelerated the publication of what would become On the Origin of Species
We will also dig more deeply and question:
- if the Victorian era is the bridge between medieval and modern London, might we still be crossing that bridge? Are we currently in a separate era, or are we in the next chapter of that modernisation, as technology pushes us into an even more global society?
Photos and links can be found in our show notes.Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer with a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
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This is a companion episode to last week’s Exotica Mania. In that episode, we considered the Victorian plant frenzy, especially for exotic plants from faraway lands.
But how did the plants come to Britain? Enter the PLANT HUNTERS. The Indiana Joneses, and sometimes the Jack Sparrows, of their day. Plant hunters were sent off to explore in every direction in search of specimens that might have potential.
They faced weather extremes, illness, thieves, shipwrecks, violence, imprisonment, piracy, disease.
**In this episode, we’ll unearth some stories of:
- best laid plans that go awry at high altitudes,
- a noted plant hunter who ends up dead, and maybe murdered, in a bull pit,
- high level corporate espionage for the British East India Company,
- what happens when you run into fifty mules on a narrow mountain trail,
- encounters with vampire bats and other creatures,
- when plants attack, and
- being buried in style, with a crate of whiskey and a complete set of Jane Austen.
Photos and links can be found at our show notes HERE**.
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Our website https://yltpodcast.buzzsprout.com/ Email us at yesterdayslondontimes@gmail.com
Can you guess our mystery song? Contact us!
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How can something as mundane a plant tell us about a culture?
We may start talking about plants, but soon we will be in mired in a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, colonialism, imperialism, exoticism, Darwinism, social order and class, surreptitious societal coding, a rising middle class, the concept of leisure time, and a culture caught up in the allure of seeking and getting. Phew!
We’ll look at:
- the rise in London’s public parks, squares, and gardens
- a Whitechapel physician who catapults Britain’s economy
- the complicated daily life of Victorians and their plants
- a teenage girl centuries ahead of her time
- how plants provided women with a foot in the door of careers in science
- plants that influenced the creators: designers, authors, illustrators
- an Amazonian lily pad that inspired an architectural marvel
- a secret form of communication: social coding through flowers
- Oscar Wilde and his green carnation
Note: Next week, we’ll be adding a bonus episode that acts as companion to this one. Stay tuned for the thrilling adventures of The Plant Hunters.
Photos and links can be found at our show notes HERE.Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer with a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
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In this episode, we will explore the emerging concept of mega cities and Victorian London’s biggest epidemiological catastrophe: cholera. We will learn:
- what it was like to suffer from cholera in Victorian London
- who was affected most by the pandemic and why
- about some of the heroes of the era and their contributions to science and humanity
We will also dig more deeply and question:
- how misinformation and the refusal to reconsider assumptions and preconceived notions worsened and elongated the pandemic, and
- the similarities between the Covid-19 pandemic in the 21st century and the 19th century cholera epidemic - what have we learned, what should we have learned, and what can history teach us as we navigate modern threats to our collective health?
Photos and links can be found in our show notes.Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer with a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
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In this episode, we look behind the romanticized glow-up of the iconic Victorian child chimney sweep. We'll wonder:
- what can we learn about a culture by examining a mundane occupation?
- what were the structures that put this practice in place?
- what would a typical day in the life of a young sweep be like?
And most importantly:
- how can a bad practice become undone? and
- how can you persuade a public who benefits from a bad practice that it needs to stop?
This is our YLT opportunity to give a voice to some children who never had one in their lifetime, and to shine a spotlight on some of the advocates, patrons, and reformers who followed their consciences on behalf of the vulnerable.
Photos and links can be found at our show notes HERE.Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer with a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
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With this episode, we kick off a new story arc about Victorian London, an era as fascinating as it is repulsive. And it's with that push-pull blend that we approach this episode.
We'll take a bird's eye view; well, a pigeon's eye view as an introduction to the time and place. Our friends, Zelli and Holly, help us by playing a game of Would You Rather. Along the way, they will make choices that peek at wealth and poverty, various professions, schooling, fun and games, food and drink, childhood, beauty advice, health and medicine, and crime and punishment.
We excited for our wet, hot, aromatic Victorian season. See you there.
Photos and links can be found at our show notes HERE.Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer with a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
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In a departure from our regular show, we decide to test your knowledge of trivia on the life of the current monarch. The Liz Quiz? The Queen Quiz? You decide.
Then, we'll look at the officially sanctioned Jubilee celebration plans as well as some unofficial and downright off-the-wall ways to celebrate.
Photos and links can be found at our show notes HERE.
Our website https://yltpodcast.buzzsprout.com/
Persistence: Takin’ It to the Streets (Protein Man) And Underground (Charles Pearson)
This episode has two stories on the theme of persistence. When is persistence helpful and when is it just annoying? When is persistence visionary and when is it obsession?
Meet Stanley Green, who most people know as Protein Man, spent 23 years walking up and down Oxford Street with a placard warning of the the dangers of protein. Stanley wasn’t an animal rights activist. He wasn’t concerned about the consequences of cholesterol. No. In Stanley’s view, protein led to passion, and passion was … bad. We’ll think about Stanley’s routines and his vision.
Then, we’ll switch tracks - literally - to something perhaps a bit more familiar, yet just as omnipresently persistent: The Tube. Love it, hate it, tolerate it, obsess over it, think what you will, but no one can deny its consistence and importance when it comes to maintaining the pulse of London. We will discuss the persistence of Charles Pearson, an activist who saw the potential of an underground railway as a path to achieving greater social equity, and glance at the disasters - both natural and human made - that have threatened its consistency over the years.
Photos and links can be found at our show notes HERE.Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer with a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
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In the previous episode in the series, Lilibet: a Queen's Beginnings, we met the young Princess Elizabeth and her early influencers.
We left her on the edge of adolescence, which is where this story picks up.
In 1939, Lilibet will turn thirteen and her country will enter World War II. These circumstances provide Lilibet with an extraordinary opportunity to have a life with certain parallels to others in her age group.
We'll examine Lilibet's adolescence as a series of awakenings: physical, social, emotional, and intellectual. On this episode, we'll:
meet Philip and learn about his traumatic back story
experience the evacuation of children from urban areas
explore the Blitz and consider the King's decisions during this time
travel along with the princesses and watch as they settle down into the new normal
see Elizabeth mature and begin to understand and step into her future role
celebrate VE Day with the London crowds
Our show notes have rare photos and recordings. Se them HERE.
Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer and rating us 5 stars and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts!
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How was British classism was responsible for greatest leak ever known in British intelligence?What is the legacy of that treachery? In this episode, the final in a three-part arc exploring espionage in and around Great Britain, we meet the infamous Kim Philby, the British national and MI6 agent who spied for Moscow for decades while under the employ of MI6. How was he able to deceive so many otherwise bright people for so long? Why were so many reluctant to accept the truth about his deceit? Join us as we examine the system that allowed Philby to prosper as a double agent, and study the effects of his betrayal over the decades since his defection to the USSR.
We will discuss:
- Philby’s childhood in British colonial India
- his radicalisation in Vienna after graduation from Cambridge
- his role in the formation of the infamous Cambridge Spy Ring
- the six years he spent working for the KGB before his acceptance at MI6
- how Philby’s social standing and class blinded his colleagues to his deceit
- the collateral damage of his espionage in Britain and beyond
- the family he left behind
How does an openly Soviet sympathiser, one already working for the KGB for six years, slip so easily into the British Secret Intelligence Service? How did he persist in derailing Western operations for decades? Join us as we explore the system that allowed unchecked privilege to turn into treasonous treachery.
Additional notes, links, and photos can be found in our show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11lFJyX4yJTNXD-nWN8P_DS2aQoangPG5gdxMPjZnwGA/edit
Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer with a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
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What makes a Londoner, a Londoner? What constitutes identity? These are two of the many essential questions that we continue to explore in this harrowing conclusion to our story about Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB colonel turned MI6 agent, the second episode in a three-part arc exploring espionage in and around Great Britain. We’ll question what motivates Gordievsky to continue to spy for England rather than defect to London when his life is at stake, and examine how his choices greatly affected both his personal life and the world at-large.
We will study:
- Gordievsky as a double agent working for MI6 within the Soviet Rezidentura, first in Copenhagen, then in London
- his contributions to Western security
- his purely ideological motivation
- MI6 and their plan to protect and exfiltrate their prized spy, if necessary
- the impact and aftermath of Oleg’s decisions on his personal life and that of his family
- the complicated relationships between allied intelligence agencies
- the despicable traitor who sacrificed Gordievsky for his own personal gain
Why does a man who has already given another country everything he has keep going when he knows his life is in mortal peril? You won’t want to miss this incredible story of dedication, heroism, and ultimate betrayal.
NOTE OF APOLOGY: While editing, Jen discovered a regrettable mistake of tongue, and she deeply regrets unintentionally referring to Ukraine as “The Ukraine” twice in this episode. This unfortunate error was the result of an old habit learned during Cold War era grade school social studies classes, and she is dedicated to removing that phrasing from her vernacular. She absolutely recognizes Ukraine as an independent nation and not as a region within Russia. As such, she would like to extend a sincere apology for the error. YLT firmly supports Ukraine and its people! 🇺🇦 ✊🏼🇺🇦
Additional notes, links, and photos can be found in our show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/112nA9KZFWQHe4gF7Hc4MQxZfOuyCYYBO9w2hWI64ULM/edit
Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer with a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
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What makes a Londoner, a Londoner? Is it exclusively by birth? Does one achieve the status after residing there a certain number of years? After working there for a period of time? After studying there or completing a course of study?
It is hard to define; it is an identity, and it’s problematic to dictate parameters of identity to anyone else, or to assign an identity to another person. The issue of identity becomes especially murky when one takes a peak into the world of espionage and treachery.
In this episode, the first of a three-part arc focusing on espionage and intrigue, we will meet Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB Colonel turned British spy. We’ll learn about what motivated him to turn against the country of his birth, and explore the events that inspired the unique trajectory of his life.
We’ll view Gordievsky:
· as a young university student witnessing the rise of the Berlin Wall,
· as a conflicted young adult appalled by the atrocities of the government of his homeland and of his employer, the KGB,
· as a lover and advocate of fine culture,
· as a KGB officer abroad exploring the capitalistic fruits of the West in Copenhagen,
· as a unique man who becomes a double agent for purely ideological reasons.
How did a man born thousands of miles outside of the city become a true Londoner before ever breathing British air? Let’s dig more deeply into the intense and inspiring life of Oleg Gordievsky together.
Additional notes, links, and photos can be found in our show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-IQca3oK0XUOfMl8OXy3e5jTVLbWLXZLbqKn7C29PJI/edit
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Lilibet: The Beginnings
Just in time to celebrate the unprecedented Platinum Jubilee, we look at the very beginnings in the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
In this episode, we’ll meet her parents, Prince Bertie and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and how they went about establishing a family uniquely their own. We’ll learn about the people in baby Lilibet’s life and look at the daily life of a very young royal.
We’ll view Lilibet:
· as a cherished and cheeky toddler,
· as an amused and dutiful big sister,
· as an animal lover,
· as an heir presumptive turned heir apparent on her uncle’s abdication from the throne,
· as a European child on the brink of World War II.
Is Queen Elizabeth’s adult personality is a result of nature or nurture? Let’s think about this.
Additional notes, links, and photos can be found in our show notes HERE.
Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer and rating us 5 stars and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts!
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Ahhhh, Christmas. So many traditions, so many customs. And while we know some of our listeners were able to celebrate as usual, others have been affected by Covid, and have missed their beloved rituals and events. For all of those who are sick or are caring for or missing someone who is ill, we send our love and thoughts of peace and healing.
One thing is for sure — the chaos of the last two years has been harrowing, but we here at YLT like to look for those (admittedly sometimes elusive) silver linings. With the chaos and destruction of this virus comes an invitation to re-examine our habits, rituals, and priorities. Instead of focusing solely on loss — which has often been real, horrifying painful and sometimes impossible to avoid — what can we do to continue to live, to continue to celebrate, to continue to find joy? What changes can we make to bring joy to ourselves and joy to the world, literally? And why don’t we celebrate Boxing Day in the U.S. Couldn’t we all use another day to relax?
Wait. Boxing Day. What exactly is it? And why did it get tossed aside as an official holiday in the United States? We have no answers for the latter, but our research into the former has taught us a lot. In short, Boxing Day gives us the opportunity to relax and disconnect, and perhaps also give back to our communities and those around us. Doesn’t that sound lovely? For us, a “new” holiday is a present to ourselves, one that is free of expectations that we can celebrate as we wish. So come and join us as we tuck into a warming cocktail (recipe in the show notes!), and contemplate the year we’ve just had, discussing books, shows, apps, and even other podcasts that caught our attention and won our hearts. We also take a stroll through the YLT archives, handing out virtual awards to the cast of characters that we’ve researched and often loved over the course of our first year.
We hope your holidays were memorable and enjoyable, and if they were indeed lacking, we wish that peace and healing changes make their way to you soon. We are so grateful to all of you, our supportive YLT listening family, for being a part of our community. We thank you for every download, every word of support, every like and follow on social media. As a token of our gratitude, let’s start a new tradition and spend Boxing Day together, shall we?
Additional notes, links, and photos can be found in our show notes at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UiqlVOZGTKeWQGyXB3E5E5JOZNY3GGc4wbY8B8tkorw/edit
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Just when we thought that there was nothing more to say about Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, we uncover a compelling story-behind-the-story.
We'll investigate the story as a moment of catharsis for Dickens, mixing in his past trauma and his adult crisis; also, the fascinations and frustrations of Victorian London that result in the classic.
We'll chat about the history about the history of Christmas in Britain, the early life of Charles Dickens, Victorian London, a pivotal journey for Charles, and make look for connections to London characters and locations. You'll find out where the Cratchits lived and who may have been the model for Ebenezer Scrooge.
Along the way, we'll consider the great Yorkshire "Snowasis" of November 2021, the tradition of the Krampus, the lights of London, hot buttered rum, and ahem, the glam band, Slade.
ADDITIONAL NOTES, LINKS, AND PHOTOS CAN BE FOUND HERE.
Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by spreading some good cheer and rating us 5 stars and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts,
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Did you ever read a book and wish that you could direct the action and help a character make a good or interesting choice?
The Choose Your Own Adventure books let us experiment with decision making. Depending on your choices, the outcomes could be very different.
Join us as we take a whirlwind tour through London history and culture with our friends, Holly and Zelli. They will face choices that will catapult them through space and time.
Will their choices be safe or risky?
Listen and find out.
PHOTOS AND SOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE CAN BE FOUND HERE.
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"From hell to heaven was how the feeling was. You felt like a miracle had happened."
- veteran Harry Garrett, on Dunkirk
Some people you don't know are in mortal danger. How much would you sacrifice to try to save them?
In this episode, an artifact in a London museum acts as a window to the real drama of the Dunkirk evacuation.
Ideas explored include survival, personal sacrifice for the common good, the efforts of each to their ability. Just in time for Remembrance Day.
Photos and sources for this episode can be found HERE.
Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by rating us 5 stars and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts,
Our website https://yltpodcast.buzzsprout.com/
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If anyplace is haunted, it has to be London.
Ready for another round? Our Haunted London Pub Crawl continues, with stops at Wapping, where we’ll visit neighboring pubs, The Prospect of Whitby and The Town of Ramsgate, then across town to The Black Lion in Hammersmith.
We’ll hang with pirates and cutpurses, a hanging judge, and then attempt to answer the question “can you kill a ghost?”
Photos and sources for this episode can be found HERE.
Our website https://yltpodcast.buzzsprout.com/
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Phantom hounds and body snatchers: old Smithfield has it all!
The first two stops on our pub crawl are The Viaduct and The Rising Sun, where ghosts are reported to roam after last call.
Note: these two stories have gore a'plenty - this one is NOT for the kids!
Our haunted pub crawl continues with a special part 2 episode next week.
Photos and sources for this episode can be found HERE.
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To call it a Gin Craze is to be grossly inaccurate; addiction to the spirit in Georgian London created an epidemic of devastating proportions, negatively affecting fertility, mortality, production, and infrastructure throughout the entire city in the 1700s. In this episode, we explore how gin ascended to control an entire metropolis, and examine the solutions put forth by the government in its numerous attempts to restore health and production to the utterly ravaged city. Join us, as we look at the legacy of this epidemic, as well as the tragedies and innovations it inspired.
For photos and sources, please see our show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10J6yifuJj77FIoeCGrVXEhFd-u10drFz99crmdAuKoQ/edit
Also, visit our website at: https://yltpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1810008
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Innocent children’s rhyme or Death Row ditty?
Take a virtual walking tour through seven sites mentioned in the song while learning some intriguing and, yeah, macabre history.
More information about Oranges and Lemons, including images and sources can be found HERE.
Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by rating us 5 stars and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts.
Visit us on our website: https://yltpodcast.buzzsprout.com/
Our music is from the album Astral Gate, used with permission of the artists, Lucas Perny and Miroslav Kollar. Audio mixing by DJ Kensington.
Image from From The Singing Game by Iona and Peter Opie. Accessed through Open Library, The Internet Archive.
When you think of Vogue magazine, what comes to mind? Colorful, shiny covers? Supermodels? Luxurious clothes and accessories?
But, did you know that British Vogue was an important cog in the UK’s defense machine during WWII? In the words of its legendary editor, Audrey Withers, “Here is Vogue, in spite of it all!” - and there was a lot to spite, indeed: nightly bombings, strict rations on all of life’s necessities, and constant destruction, fear, and loss. Yet Vogue persevered, becoming an important tool of government communication to women on the homefront, as well as a crucial instrument of war correspondence as it documented the horrors of German concentration camps, the first use of napalm as a weapon of chemical warfare, and the incredible violence of total warfare.
From wartime fashion to revolutionary female war correspondent, Lee Miller, who dared to scrub off the horrors of WWII in Hitler’s bathtub, Vogue was most definitely there - in spite of it all.
More information about British Vogue, wartime fashion, Audrey Withers, Lee Miller, photos, and sources can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-nV0WjRrLWFET3ISuQQrxZUu-XE6EKWcsAtOOy2zzR8/edit
Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by rating us 5 stars and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts.
Visit us on our website: https://yltpodcast.buzzsprout.com/
Our music is from the album Astral Gate, used with permission of the artists, Lucas Perny and Miroslav Kollar. Audio mixing by DJ Kensington.
What’s more fun than daydreaming about what you would do if you won the lottery?
Yes, there would be the question of what you do with the money, but other questions arise. What would you do with newfound friends or suitors? How can you discern true relationships?
Angela Burdett-Coutts won a type of lottery in the form of an inheritance that made her “the richest heiress in all of England.” Her true story is stranger than fiction.
More information about Angela Burdett-Coutts, photos, and sources can be found HERE.
Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by rating us 5 stars and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts.
Visit us on our website: https://yltpodcast.buzzsprout.com/
Our music is from the album Astral Gate, used with permission of the artists, Lucas Perny and Miroslav Kollar. Audio mixing by DJ Kensington.
Image from the Coutts philanthropic organization.
Have you ever wondered how you would react in a life and death situation?
What makes an everyday hero?
In this introductory episode, meet two of London's lesser-known heroes: bus driver Albert Gunter and doctor Joan Martin.
In very different circumstances, each rose to a seemingly insurmountable challenge that lay quickly before them.
More information about our topics, photos, and sources can be found HERE.
Do you like what you hear? Please help us find our audience by rating us 5 stars and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts.
Visit us on our website: https://yltpodcast.buzzsprout.com/
Our music is from the album Astral Gate, used with permission of the artists, Lucas Perny and Miroslav Kollar. Audio mixing by DJ Kensington.
Inquire, explore, and dig deeply as we dredge London's past to unearth the quirkier - and perhaps forgotten - aspects of the city's curious history. Join us, Jen and Mares, as we celebrate the lesser known people, places, and events that have contributed to the brilliant and peculiar mosaic that is London.