Historian, author and popular prize-winning Blue Badge Guide, Rachel Kolsky has one of the widest range of walking tours and visits in London. BOOK YOUR OWN PRIVATE GROUP TOUR for as many people as you want or BOOK INDIVIDUAL TICKETS for the pre-arranged PUBLIC TOURS.

Spring has finally arrived ...

 
WALKING NEWS
March and April whizzed by but what a few weeks it was!  Where to start? 
Well, I guess the reason March disappeared is that I was at sea for most of it sailing around the Med on a Viking ship where I talked about Romans, Greeks and the Ottomans but rest assured I managed to fit a bit of London in too plus films and cake!! There were so many highlights including the ship, crew and passengers but the sites were (despite rain and grey skies a lot of the time) stupendous – Athens, Istanbul, Corinth, Lindos, Gallipoli, Troy, Ephesus, Rhodes, Naples, Messina, Knossos and Chania … and some I visited more than once so I saw soooooo much and lucky me, I have been invited back on board.
On returning to London it was back to pounding the streets. Thank you so much for making the April tours such fun. All SOLD OUT and despite yet more rain for some of the tours it seems everyone enjoyed them. It is a REAL TEAM EFFORT as everyone shares their own memories and knowledge but big ’shout outs’ go to G who during Bespoke London brought along a photo of him wearing his Gieves & Hawkes officers suit, to David who ensured I will now pronounce company names in Savile Row correctly and for sharing his amazing and special knowledge about fabrics, to Jeremy who saw the street sign Long Walk in Barnes and immediately thought of me (no comment!), to Greville (aka as Mr Memory Man), Jill and Frances who all shared their memories of Brentford FC and to Colin who ensured I knew about the Greyhound mural in Sydenham. While in Sydenham we were given hospitality at St. Christopher’s where Rev. Andrew provided an overview of Dame Cicely Saunders and the work of the hospice. During my new tour of Brentford which has become a favourite of mine we were lucky to be at the Toll House when it was open and the day ended with what everyone said was a joy … an exclusive and brilliant guided tour of The Musical Museum complete with a Wurlitzer concert. 
  
 
 

Funny the things that people notice and I do not. Thank you Jeremy for noticing the street sign I was standing alongside near  Barnes Bridge station while the group was assembling for the new tour of Barnes village.

 One of the many highlights from the cruise – The Pera Palace Hotel in the footsteps of Ataturk and Agatha Christie

The Med trip had so many highlights and so many fabulous photos but I had to choose one and it is sisters at the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul … but what were we saying?!!

THE BIG PHOTOS HAVE TO BE …  me with my new GIANT FLOWERS from the V&A to take the place of dear Fluffy Flower who was left for The Queen at Green Park in September. Yes, I took these home on the Tube. They are fabulous and are constructed out of paper not that you can see through the plastic covering – made by the Anna Grace Studio in Hackney if anyone wants one for their home. The other photo is of lovely Gilbert and George who I bumped into in Spitalfields. They are always so gracious when people engage them in conversation. 

Could Fortnum & Mason have named a chocolate bar any better for me? Thank you Fortnum’s and thank you Deborah for finding it. I love the way it uses an * in M*lk as it is a vegan version so not really milk!! I am going to use that as my tagline from now on – IN HER FOOTSTEPS WE FOLLOW

OUT AND ABOUT and TOUR NEWS

The summer saw me lead six days of Wonderful Waterloo tours for Network Rail to celebrate the 175th Birthday of Waterloo station. Every tour was a joy as so many people shared their own memories. I was also spotted in the Official Network Rail Tweet for the B’day Event but yes, after my ITV London News debut this year at Woolwich Market I was on BBC Radio London AND BBC London News nattering about Wonderful Waterloo!
You can see a screengrab and HERE is the link to BBC Sounds to hear me!!

THE NEW BOOK BY RACHEL AND LOUIS … 
ARRIVED IN THE SHOPS MONDAY 15TH JANUARY 2024
£10.00 is your special discounted price when ordered directly via Rachel, instead of the rrp of £15.99 
 
London’s South Bank in 50 Buildings was finally being published in mid-January! It profiles 50 buildings found on the south side of the Thames between Vauxhall Bridge and Tower Bridge selected by Louis and me. As with our Whitechapel in 50 Buildings the book covers the architecture, particularly the details, alongside the history of each building. Some are well known, some are very much unknown so it includes big hits like Lambeth Palace, Tate Modern and County Hall and others which never seem to get noticed like the Fire Brigade HQ, Royal Doulton Factory and Hopton’s Almshouses. 

HEARING JANE HORROCKS TALK ABOUT HER TEENAGE DIARY
What a super day this was … off to Bethnal Green to be in the audience for a recording of the BBC programme, Teenage Diary. Jane Horrocks was so amusing talking with Rufus Hound about her teenage holiday in Sorrento back in 1980. The other Teenage Diary was by a young man who used an on-line version of a diary … likely one of the first to do so. Does anyone write a diary anymore I wonder. If you missed  the programme on BBC 4 on 18th August at 6.30pm you can find it on Catch Up via BBC Sounds.

Here is one of my Clapham groups exploring the Shaftesbury Estate and standing below the street sign, Eversleigh Road. I lived in Eversleigh Road for over ten years but my Eversleigh was in Finchley N3 not Battersea aka Clapham SW11. 

A HIGHLIGHT FROM THE ZOOMING! Check out these yellow arrows! One points to Sidney Ruback as an 18 year old watching the Beatles last live concert on the top of the Apple offices on the 30th January 1969 and the other points to the Zooming version of Sidney as he told his story to everyone at Beatles’ London on 21st May 2020. Thank you so much for coming along Sidney.  BEATLES’S LONDON  was the Zoom presented most often … both for my public Zooms and also for  private groups too. 

Louis and I kept busy during Lock-Down preparing our new LONDON GUIDE BOOK. But very frustratingly the publication date has been put on hold – indefinitely –  but that will not stop us trying to make it  happen – we just do not know when it will be in bookshops. It is called London Stations: Tours Behind the Termini. I met so many of you on my Behind the Termini tours when I first devised them ten years ago and now, just like my Jewish-themed and Women-themed walks, they were to be put into print. My co-author is photographer Louis Berk whom you know through our series of Whitechapel books. Look out for more news as and when we have it. 

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BOOKS BY RACHEL

Women’s London continues to sell well – thank you so much!  I always keep some stock too for those who who would like a signed copy for someone. Please email me to order copies.
IMPORTANT NEWS: It has come to my notice that many shops, even well known and respected bookshops are selling the old version of Women’s London. If you buy from a bookshop please check that the edition is the Reprinted and Updated version of 2019.You know it is the right version if it has the wonderful soundbite review in the bottom left hand corner (see image). If that is not there … the bookshop is selling the old version and advise them of this and contact me with the name of the shop so that the publishers can rectify this. I can assure you that the publisher is not distributing the old version but that bookshops have obtained them from a different source. Apparently this happens a lot in the book selling trade. If you need a copy urgently then please email me as I keep some in stock

 

Many of you have written to me saying how much you are enjoying reading this book. Thank you …  and if you can find a moment or two do please pop a review on Amazon. It really does help spread the word.

There were such wonderful Meet the Author events linked to Women’s London. You came and heard me speak several times for  International Women’s Day / Month soon after the launch at the LSE. Since then events have been held by Camden Historical Society, Guildhall Library, Jewish Book Week, In Conversation with Inspirational Women, Limmud After Darkand even on Cunard’s Queen Victoria! Book themed tours include – Suffragette City Routemaster Bus Tour, Women of Worth, Hampstead Ladies, Westminster Women, Hackney Heroines … and MORE!!!

Jewish London, my first book continues to sell and is now in its Third Edition! It has proved a real success for the publisher so thank you everyone for continuing to buy copies. It is available in all good bookshops … and in the libraries on all the Cunard Queens too,  QM2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth! Click on the book cover left for reviews and book events.

STOP PRESS NEWS! I now have some stock so if you would like a signed copy please contact me