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A Review In The Oldie

August 29, 2022
by the gentle author

Tickets are available for my tour throughout September & October

Click here to book for THE GENTLE AUTHOR’S TOUR OF SPITALFIELDS

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I am delighted to republish this review by Patrick Barkham from the August issue of The Oldie

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13 Responses leave one →
  1. Ms Terry Ashton permalink
    August 29, 2022

    I live in Australia but when I am next in London, I look forward to taking one of the tours

  2. Lesley Shepherd permalink
    August 29, 2022

    How fabulous to enjoy such a walk through time. The more we look the more we see, the same for people, architecture and the natural world.

  3. Bernie permalink
    August 29, 2022

    I would be justifiably proud were I the subject of that review.

  4. Jill Wilson permalink
    August 29, 2022

    Very well said by the Oldie reviewer, and richly deserved praise for TGA and his tours.

    If you haven’t already done the tour book now and enjoy!

  5. August 29, 2022

    Wow! Congratulations! Splendid review.

  6. Linda Granfield permalink
    August 29, 2022

    I’m sure the Oldie reviewer’s words of praise have been repeated by the hundreds of lucky people who have accompanied you, dear GA, as you time-travel on your tours.
    I can’t wait to become one of those lucky people!

  7. August 29, 2022

    Congratulations! Sparkling review!

  8. B Smith permalink
    August 29, 2022

    Tea and cake at TGA’s place, eh? How does Schroedinger feel about that?

  9. August 29, 2022

    Congratulations GA. So well deserved. You put heart and soul into whatever you do and we are the beneficiaries. By introducing us to the past you are enriching the future. Thank you for all the hard work this involves.

  10. Marcia Howard permalink
    August 29, 2022

    Excellent review, and felt I was there with you

  11. Mark Parsons Colorado US permalink
    August 29, 2022

    Fabulous review, and I can say authoritativly that I agree with it, as I took the tour in late May whilst on a visit to London. I bent my trip especially to include his tour, having read his blog and several of his books for years. I found it even more remarkable than described in this review. Our GA is truly a time traveling social history mind opener, a gift to be cherished.

  12. August 30, 2022

    Looking forward to doing this tour on September 24th as part of a long overdue visit back home to London.

  13. Amanda permalink
    August 31, 2022

    Oh goodness me!  l would have been so excited to receive this accolade for my newest successful venture.  Well done.

    And not forgetting, as well as being a ‘magician,’ how humorous the GA is  –  an added bonus for those joining the tours or for the earwigging passers by.
    And when anyone may not realise just how amusing they are, it is even more endearing.

    A unifying guffaw of laughter broke out among us on hearing the two expletives  used by a female brewery worker when her husband unsuccessfully attempted to make her come home for working in Truman’s steamy heat, clad only in her undies.

    Similarly the GA’s comical recollection of the tradition in Charlie Chaplin’s early music hall days made us all giggle. 
    Abandoned squashy tomatoes left on the streets around Spitalfield Market were smuggled into theatres and used,  l would guess, whether or not the comedian was useless, for the sheer joy of pelting another human at long range and not being arrested.

    l especially loved this because l’d heard it from my grandfather who is sure to have been one of those early naughty ‘theatre’ goers.  And as the family stories passed down, the vegetables got much larger.

    More enchanting surprises and new anecdotes will  abound in the GA tours to come because his imaginative and inventive creativity is endless.
    A unique gift.

    It was a special day for me.

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