Greenwich: The Place Where Days Begin and End

Ah, our beloved Greenwich. A town full of history, naval connections and strong emotional links for my family, a town still punctually visited whenever any family member returns to England. Punctuality is also the mathematical definition of a point in space, and is most appropriately applied to Greenwich where the Meridian of world time and navigation was first fixed at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich Park. This small patch of greenness in among the rotting sprawl of docks, mud and gas-works of South East London has a genealogy encompassing Kings, Queens, sailors, Charles Dickens and Samuel Pepys.

From the large Blackheath above, still a vast open green, past the Meridian Observatory with its charming Wren octagonal rooms and down the show more ‘tumbling’ hill to the gorgeous Naval College, with the masts of the tea-clipper Cutty Sark soaring above the shores of the Thames each step we take with Jennings’ narrative is full of history. He visits the Trafalgar Tavern, the last survivor of the three famously competing Whitebait serving Inns where one can still sit at wooden benches and eat the famous dish while looking at the largely unchanged view that featured so often in the Pepys diaries. The science of Greenwich – the Observatory, the Longitude, the Harrison Chronometers and the technical schools of the Royal Naval College – is contrasted with the working heritage of ships and docks, and the stunning buildings and river tunnels and ferries.

Charles Jennings, a Londoner himself writes for the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian and the Times and this book explores Greenwich with an investigating, journalistic depth. He elects to structure the work with Chapter headings that nominate the subject of each piece; Maritime, Arty, Working and Scientific and then poses a hypothetical interlocution which he then answers. Other than these rather annoying stylistic questions.. it is like listening again to Donald Rumsfield .. the book is fascinating, and for those that know and love this town offers an affectionate guide and visit.

The author’s other books now tempt and some are already added to The Wish List! show less