I was really interested to see this BBC video of the fire at Hastings pier, East Sussex, which burnt down last night. I think it gives an insight into what the 1834 fire may have looked like from the south bank of the Thames: reflections in the water, sparks falling off the sides, and afterwards a […]
The 1834 Fire
Me (and others) nattering about the Fire on the BBC – Part 2
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Me (and others) nattering about the Fire on the BBC – Part 1
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Inspiration
Bought two postcards of the principal Turner watercolour of the fire today from the Tate. One for home, one for work.
Snippetty Snip
I’m on leave now for over a week, and so therefore have a really good opportunity to crack on with the book. The wide-ranging snippets written up in this stint include: thefts and pickpocketing among the crowd; the marble mantelpieces of the Speaker’s House and damage thereto; cottaging in St Margaret’s Churchyard; and beer rations given out to the soldiers.
A McGonagall Ancestor?
Transcribed a hilarious verse broadsheet today on the fire, which includes the deathless couplet: Oh dear, oh dear, what a consternation / This affair will cause throughout the nation. Must work the pome into the book somehow…
