London Trivia: Stop, planes crossing ahead
On 29 March 1920 Croydon Airport opened. The ‘Airport of London’ had been an amalgamation of two World War I airfields; Beddington and Waddon Aerodromes which were divided by Plough Lane. A level crossing linked the halves, with a man carrying a red flag to halt approaching traffic. The first destinations being Paris, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Croydon was the first airport in the world to introduce air traffic control.
On 29 March 1981 at 09:00hrs in Greenwich Park 6,700 runners set out to run the first ever London Marathon
Legally children should obtain written permission from the Chief Constable before seeking to ask “A penny for the Guy, Mister?”
On 29 March 1871 the Prince of Wales opened the Albert Hall on behalf of his mother HM Queen Victoria, who was present but too overcome with emotion to speak
On 29 March 1772 mystic Emanuel Swedenborg died in Wapping. He had predicted there would be a special part in heaven reserved for the English
The owner of Tony Blair’s old house in Barnsbury has painted the front door Labour red. Blair’s house in Connaught Square, as with No 10 is black
The famous music hall song On Mother Kelly’s Doorstep is based upon a real location that can be found at Paradise Row, Bethnal Green
London’s first gastro pub the Guinea Grill, Bruton Street opened in 1952, a tavern is believed to have existed on the site since 15th century
London’s oldest golf club is The Royal Blackheath formed by Scottish courtiers visiting Greenwich Palace in 1608 in whose ground they played
In 1952 a 78 bus was on Tower Bridge when it started to rise – the driver put his foot down and jumped the widening gap, he got £10 for his bravery
Waterloo Bridge is known as the Ladies’ Bridge, because it was completed by female labourers during the Second World War
On the corner of Trafalgar Square is the official standard (in brass) for inch/foot/yard/etc it is accurate at 62 deg Fahrenheit
Trivial Matter: London in 140 characters is taken from the daily Twitter feed @cabbieblog.
A guide to the symbols used here and source material can be found on the Trivial Matter page.