How about this - London has two flags. Above, the flag is that of the City of London - the famed 'Square Mile'. The flag below represents Greater London.
Notes about the City of London (the so-called Square Mile):
I'm not going to incorporate a page that covers the City as a whole, otherwise these notes would have gone there. I prefer to split London into 'walkable areas' relevant to my poor old aching legs and feet!
However, this is just a small comment on the London Wards, which most people will not have heard of, but which bear a lot of relevance to how the City of London is governed. Let's start with a map to show the areas we are talking about!
The Wards are fascinating. They’ve been in place for a thousand years, created before the Norman conquest. They collectively represent one of the oldest forms of democracy and local governance.
Every Ward elects its own Alderman, 25 in total. Their fiefdoms are small. Very small. Some Wards would not be wide enough to span the Thames. This being the City, their electorates are also tiny. A few Wards have residential populations that would be outnumbered by a passing tour group. Hence, some businesses also get a vote. Even so, turnouts are negligible and many representatives are elected without contest. The minimally elected 25 Aldermen (one of whom is also Lord or Lady Mayor) come together in a Court of Aldermen to oversee much of the City’s administration (along with the Court of Councilmen, also elected on a Ward-by-Ward basis).
Other officers of the Wards are the Beadles, Wardmotes, Clubs, Ward Constables and other appurtenances of the Ward system. While Ward boundaries have changed numerous times (particularly in recent decades), their number and their names have barely altered since the Norman Conquest.
Some further information about specific wards will appear in these pages almost randomly, but certainly where I manage to capture a marker for a Ward boundary.
How to see the best of London from the River Thames....................
Alternatively, you can take a flight from the Battersea Heliport, right down the Thames to Greenwich and back
FLEET STREET St. Dunstan-in-the-West, St. Bride's & Temple Church
MORNINGTON CRESCENT & The Carreras Cigarette Factory
ST. PANCRAS, a railway station & two churches
THE STRAND & Charing Cross, St. Mary-Le-Strand, & St. Clement Danes
TRAFALGAR SQUARE, Admiralty Arch, & St.Martin-in-the-Fields
Local Recipes
Chelsea Bun
The Chelsea bun is a type of spiced bun that was first baked in the 18th century at the Bun House in Chelsea, London, an establishment favoured by Hanoverian royalty accustomed to similar pastries in their native cuisine. The shop was demolished in 1839
For the dough
450g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
2 x 7g sachets fast-action yeast
50g golden caster sugar
150ml warm milk
2 x 7g sachets fast-action yeast
50g golden caster sugar
150ml warm milk
1 egg, beaten
50g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
oil for greasing
For the filling
50g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
oil for greasing
For the filling
25g softened butter, plus extra for greasing
100g currants
50g sultanas, roughly chopped
2 tsp mixed spice
25g caster sugar
100g currants
50g sultanas, roughly chopped
2 tsp mixed spice
25g caster sugar
For the glaze
2 tbsp golden or white caster sugar
Start by making the dough. Mix together the flour, yeast, caster sugar and 1 tsp sea salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk, beaten egg and melted butter. Mix well, first with a wooden spoon then with your hands until you get a soft dough. If it feels dry add a bit of warm water, but if it feels too sticky and wet add a spoonful of flour.
Dust your work surface with flour and tip the mixture onto it and start kneading. Keep kneading the dough until it feels smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball and sit it in a clean bowl, lightly greased with melted butter or oil. Cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hr or until doubled in size.
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and grease a deep 21 x 21cm square tin. Dust the work top with a little more flour then start to knead the risen dough on the prepared surface just to knock the air out. Shape into a 20 x 30cm rectangle. To fill the buns gently spread the softened butter over the dough and then scatter the currants and chopped sultanas over the top. Mix the mixed spice and caster sugar together in bowl then sprinkle that over the dough in an even layer.
Roll the dough up in a tight spiral from the longest edge like a Swiss roll then slice into 9 equal sized swirled buns. Arrange them in the tin, cut side up then cover with a clean, damp tea towel and leave to prove in a warm place for around 30 mins or until doubled.
Bake the buns for 10 mins, then reduce the temperature to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and cook for a further 10 mins. For the glaze, stir the caster sugar together with 1 tbsp water until the sugar has dissolved then brush it all over the buns as soon as they are cooked. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins before serving. Can be eaten hot or cold.
Start by making the dough. Mix together the flour, yeast, caster sugar and 1 tsp sea salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk, beaten egg and melted butter. Mix well, first with a wooden spoon then with your hands until you get a soft dough. If it feels dry add a bit of warm water, but if it feels too sticky and wet add a spoonful of flour.
Dust your work surface with flour and tip the mixture onto it and start kneading. Keep kneading the dough until it feels smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball and sit it in a clean bowl, lightly greased with melted butter or oil. Cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hr or until doubled in size.
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and grease a deep 21 x 21cm square tin. Dust the work top with a little more flour then start to knead the risen dough on the prepared surface just to knock the air out. Shape into a 20 x 30cm rectangle. To fill the buns gently spread the softened butter over the dough and then scatter the currants and chopped sultanas over the top. Mix the mixed spice and caster sugar together in bowl then sprinkle that over the dough in an even layer.
Roll the dough up in a tight spiral from the longest edge like a Swiss roll then slice into 9 equal sized swirled buns. Arrange them in the tin, cut side up then cover with a clean, damp tea towel and leave to prove in a warm place for around 30 mins or until doubled.
Bake the buns for 10 mins, then reduce the temperature to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and cook for a further 10 mins. For the glaze, stir the caster sugar together with 1 tbsp water until the sugar has dissolved then brush it all over the buns as soon as they are cooked. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins before serving. Can be eaten hot or cold.
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London Cheesecake
The London Cheesecake is a pastry confection that contains no cheese. It was described by Will Self in The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Prawn Cracker as "...not cake at all but rather a square of puff pastry...while so far as I could tell there wasn't any cheese incorporated into this sweetmeat, which instead was garnished with some coconut or mallow shavings."
100g butter
100g caster sugar
100g ground almonds
1 egg, beaten
pack of puff pastry (yes, buy it - life's too short!)
6 teaspoons raspberry jam
200g icing sugar
2 tablespoons water
50g sweet shredded coconut
glace cherries
cut pastry into 8 rectangles. Line baking sheet and place 4 rectangles on it.
Cream together butter and sugar and beat in egg. Fold in ground almonds.
Brush rectangles with jam. Cover each one with the frangipane mixture and smooth over.
Add pastry lids on top and press lightly. Bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees C. Leave to cool.
Make icing with icing sugar and water and spread over top. Leave to set firmly, then cut each rectangle in half.
Place a glace cherry on each one and sprinkle with coconut strands.
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Tottenham Cake
Tottenham cake is a simple traybake with a pink icing, originally created by Quaker Henry Chalkley in the late 1800s to be an affordable treat for local children. Its distinctive pink color came from mulberries grown at the Tottenham Friends Meeting House. Back then, they sold for just a penny per square. Later, in 1901, they were handed out for free to celebrate Tottenham Hotspur Football Club's first-ever FA Cup win.
150g butter
150g caster sugar
150g self-raising flour
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
125g icing sugar
15ml water
pink colouring
dessicated coconut
Grease and line an 8" square cake tin.
Cream together butter and sugar. Add vanilla then beat in eggs one at a time. Add flour and mix well.
Pour into cake tin and level top. Bake for 25 minutes at 180 degrees C. Allow to cool in tin
Make pink icing and spread over top. Sprinkle with coconut and leave to set before cutting into squares
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