(Photo credit: Eccentric London by Ben le Vay. Published by Brandt Travel Guides, www.brandtguides.com)
(Image above shows title and author of the book alongside drawings of a Pearly King and Queen, a red phone book, The Gherkin building and some smaller drawings representing the eccentricity of London)
London by the 21st century had undergone a cultural renaissance that nobody predicted. Today, the city’s rebirth in terms of food, art, architecture etc. isn’t limited to isolated events or buildings but reaches across the capital and its population.
The city has been very much in the news recently what with the Queens’ Jubilee celebrations, the uncertainty in the financial district and its role as host city for this year’s Olympic Games.
But as Ben le Vay’s fascinating book reveals, there is a lot more to London than you may think.
Meet a man who listens to tube trains from the road above with a large hearing-trumpet, the inventor who made giant ships out of ice, a chap who rides down the river in an Edwardian bath chair, the guy with the world’s biggest collection of pillar boxes…
These are just a few of the colourful characters to be found in Eccentric London.
This is an insider’s guide to the city by someone who has lived, loved, eaten, drank and worked in London for five decades. He takes you to the best and most eccentric pubs and restaurants, specialist shops, bizarre bookshops, and weird museums.
Whether you explore London’s streets on foot, hop on a double-decker bus, or flag down a Cockney cabbie, Ben le Vay’s Eccentric London will help you dig beneath the capital’s surface to reveal the eccentric world underneath.
Being odd or different isn’t unusual, as you’ll find if you indulge in some people-watching! Unusual is usual in London.
You can find further details of Eccentric London on the main catalogue, available in ‘Catalogues’ on the Library’s website.