Tag: Victorian
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LONDON’S BURNING, November 2024
A Brief History of Fire Fighting in the Metropolis For many in England, November 5th is a night of bonfires and fireworks to mark Guy Fawkes Night and the historical gunpowder plot to destroy parliament. As the rhyme goes: remember, remember, the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason…
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THE CASE OF THE PEN AND THE PIXEL, April 2024
When literature meets video games At the end of March, I attended the 72nd Insomnia Gaming Festival at the NEC in Birmingham, UK, and met-up with friends from the video game streaming community. In addition to history, true crime, and writing, video games are another of my great passions. I have vague memories of playing…
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GETTING SHIPWRECKED, February 2024
C19th Phrases for Drinking & Drunkenness February may be the month of pancakes and love for some, but for others it marks the end of Dry January and a return to celebrating (almost) anything with a tipple or two (it’s Friday!) Most of us know drunkenness was a major social problem in the nineteenth century.…
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POLICE STRIKE AT BOW STREET, July 2022
With the cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation affecting us all, it’s fair to say that the standard of living isn’t great at the moment. The recent strikes by employees of the national railways and London Underground have highlighted some of the struggles of modern times. With talk of more strikes by the railway unions, and…
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COFFEE WITH AN HISTORIAN: Christine Wagg, The Peabody Trust, February 2022
In January, subscribers to the Gaslight Gazette were treated to the first read-through of part one of the brand-new Bow Street Society Casebook short story, The Case of the Scream in the Smog. They would’ve also read a very special thanks I gave to the Peabody Trust and its historian, Christine Wagg, prior to the story’s…
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COPPERING BY THE CODE, September 2021
Top 5 Quotes from Sir Howard Vincent’s Police Code (1889) If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll know I wanted to be a police officer when I was younger but couldn’t for health reasons. In spite of this, I’m still fascinated by the culture and psyche of policing. I believe it’s an…