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Following London’s Blue Plaques Through Musical History

I would love to do a tour like this!  I really enjoying focusing on a single topic.  Maybe “food” or “music” or “public art”.  It helps me to narrow down what I want to see and where I want to go when there are too many choices otherwise.  Such a fun way to travel.  This would be a spectacular way to visit London!

Visitors to London will invariably notice ceramic blue plaques dotting facades of houses and buildings in honor of famous former residents. There are more than 900 of them around the capital, managed by the English Heritage trust.

Some plaques bear the names of illustrious figures in music, including Chopin, Mozart and Bartok. For a deeper dive into musical history, here are some composers, performers and conductors whose names may be new to you, along with the addresses of their individual plaques.

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Read @ New York Times

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This Working Class Photographer Documented Her Community in Industrial England

Tish Murtha’s relentless vision can be characterized by a single trait: empathy. She unflinchingly investigated forsaken communities crippled by ineffective government policies and bleak living conditions.

Despite her notable output — powered by an active home darkroom — her work went underrecognized throughout her life and after her sudden death in 2013. Last year, her daughter Ella spearheaded an online campaign to publish a limited-edition book based on Murtha’s series “Youth Unemployment.” She is now having her first retrospective, “Tish Murtha: Works 1976-1991,” on view at The Photographers’ Gallery in London through October 14.

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Read @ New York Times

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Spend a summer’s evening at London’s 5 best street-food markets

Open-air food markets have become a new genre of summer entertainment, with late opening hours and a festival atmosphere. From bao buns in west London to roast pork in south east and the finest drinks to wash all the irresistibly Instagrammable food down with, this is the GQ edit of the very best street food destinations the capital has to offer…

Read @ British GQ

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Step Inside London’s Second-Oldest Hotel Flemings Mayfair

The second-oldest hotel in London, we sat down with Henrik Muehle the general manager at Flemings Mayfair to hear how the hotel has transformed after its multi-million-dollar renovation, how he helped a long-time guest propose to his girlfriend in the Michelin-starred restaurant, and how the hotel’s skilled concierge helped a guest get a brand new Rolls Royce back to his home country.

Read @ Forbes