Emily Laurence Baker

31/05/2026

27/05/2026

It’s Wonder Women Weds and I’m in St James’s Park today in the eastern portion by Horse Guards to remember a time when cows grazed here. Milkmaids would milk these cows and sell the milk to passersby.

I’m celebrating all the milkmaids but in particular one feisty one called Emma Elizabeth Kitchen.  

During the 17th century, cows grazed on this land and by 1710, milkmaids were paid to milk the cows and sell milk to local customers for a penny a mug. Pasteurization didn’t exist in the UK until the 1900s, so this was an important service.

Life wouldn’t have been easy, as these women were beholden to cow keepers, the owners of the herds.

Reportedly, King James I gave the right to sell to milkmaids during his reign from 1603-1625.

The service continued until the early 20th century when the Mall was redesigned as the ceremonial route we know today. Milkmaids were told to clear the area but in 1905, Emma Elizabeth Kitchen wrote to King Edward VII to remind him that the right originally awarded by King James had been passed on to her generationally.  

Apparently, King James had purchased milk from one of Emma’s ancestors and he gave the family the inheritable right to sell milk. So in 1905 King Edward agreed to let  Emma move her stall from its location along the Mall to a site in front of Horse Guards, even though cows were no longer grazed in St James’s Park. She died in 1915 and the kiosk operated until 1922 when the Guards Memorial was built.

The only remnant of the milkmaids of St James Park is actually over by Green Park, dating from a time when its land was part of St James’s Park.  Milkmaid’s Passage is located off Queen’s Walk at the eastern edge of Green Park.  The alleyway, which is not open to the public, is behind Lancaster House.

13/05/2026

Wonder Women Wednesday. I’m in north London today in Highgate at Lauderdale House in Waterlow Park. This house was built in the 1500s for two wealthy members of a radical religious community, Richard and Dorcas Martin.

Dorcas Eccleston, Lady Martin, is not a well-known figure in British history but she was an esteemed translator, bold bookseller and an outspoken Puritan at a time of religious turmoil in 16th-Century Elizabethan England.

Dorcas married a goldsmith who became twice-serving Lord Mayor of London and master of the mint. Dorcas and her husband, Richard, supported Queen Elizabeth I in public but undermined her in private.

In 1573, Dorcas was the probable bookseller of an illegal work that Queen Elizabeth I banned. "A replye to An answere made of master Doctor Whitgifte", was a pamphlet which supported changes in the established church by outlining the views of Puritan, Thomas Cartwright. It was at the heart of the so-called Pulpit Wars between Puritans who wanted to eliminate any traces of Catholicism and those, like Queen Elizabeth, who supported retention of certain Catholic elements.

It was unusual enough to be a female bookseller but Dorcas was doubly bold to place herself in the centre of a political and religious inferno and to reveal her Puritan leanings.

She went even further when she contributed a translation of a French text, “Monument of Matrones”, the first anthology of women writers published in England. Ironically, Queen Elizabeth I also contributed to the collection.

Dorcas died in 1599 leaving a legacy that shows the importance of the printed word in conveying ideas during a politically and religiously turmoiled time. She accepted the dangers of having her voice heard, a brave wonder woman.

11/05/2026

On this day in 973 AD, the man known as “Edgar the Peaceful” became the first king of All England. His reign united a fractured England of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and  was unusually peaceful for the times.

The order of his coronation service at Bath Abbey has been used at every coronation since.

The actual church was the Saxon abbey, founded in 675.  But today’s version which was completed in 1611, is magnificent enough to celebrate Edgar the Peaceful.

08/05/2026

Happy 100th Birthday, David Attenborough. Thank you for your dignity and inspirational leadership.

06/05/2026

Londoners awoke to a new statue on the 29th of April, one that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Not only were we interpreting the statue’s meaning, but we were also wondering how the mystery artist positioned his new work in a busy, central London location.

There was a flurry of debate over whether it was indeed Banksy or an imposter but when the artist released a video of the installation, we all knew. The process of erecting the artwork is as interesting as the statue itself, which disconcertingly depicts a figure striding into empty space, his face blinded by his own flag.

The statue is in Waterloo Place, a plaza-like space in St James’s, to the south of Piccadilly Circus, and above the ceremonial route of The Mall.  The area was laid out in 1814 and named for the British victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

There are a number of military monuments celebrating imperialism there so it’s no surprise that Banksy chose this location to make a timely statement.

It’s unclear how long it will remain but at the moment, it has been cordoned off and is under the eye of a watchful guard.

29/04/2026

Wonder Women Wednesday. I’m in Bhutan today, but of course I’m celebrating a British born wonder woman, Emma Slade. She has made huge contributions to the lives of children in this small south Asian country through her charity work. But she’s also known as the first western woman to become a Buddhist nun in Bhutan.

In the 1990s, Emma Slade was a successful banker with a degree from Cambridge University. In 1997, on a business trip in Jakarta, she was robbed at gunpoint in her hotel room, an experience which unsurprisingly left her traumatized.

Upon reflection, she realized she had feared dying without making a difference in the world as much as death itself and she began to question her life choices. She embarked on a period of self-exploration during which she began to study meditation and yoga.

In 2003, Emma qualified as a British Wheel of Yoga Instructor. At the same time, she revived a lifelong interest in Buddhism and began to study in earnest.

Her studies led her to Bhutan where she met a monk with whom she felt a spiritual connection. She returned to Bhutan to seek him out and learned that he was a lama (a teacher). When he agreed to be her teacher, she began her long journey towards becoming a nun.

Becoming a Buddhist nun requires years of study and preparation which was especially difficult for Emma because of her personal commitments in the UK. But she persevered.

In 2015, Emma founded Opening Your Heart to Bhutan, an official British charity dedicated to helping Bhutanese children with special needs. Among the charity’s contributions are access to safe medical care, disability aids, and basic amenities to children in the isolated areas of East Bhutan.

Emma has chronicled her story in her book, “Set Free,” from which all proceeds go to her charity.

This wonder woman now lives in Whitstable where she works as a personal coach, inspirational speaker and yoga instructor. She travels regularly to Bhutan, where she is known as Ani Pema Deki, the name chosen for her during her ordination process.

All images of Emma Slade credited to Emma Slade.

25/04/2026

A perfect weekend for a walk around Highgate Village. I was delighted to be asked to prepare an historical walk for residents. Not only is it one of London’s most delightful enclaves, but it’s rich in history.

We stopped at The Gatehouse, a pub which stands near the site of the original toll gate where from the 1300s, the cheeky Bishops of London charged a fee for passing through their hunting grounds, traces of which are at Highgate Wood and Bishop Wood today. (Image 2)

We passed by two former homes of one of Highgate’s most esteemed residents, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. My favourite is the stunning Moreton House, (3) where Coleridge came to live with his doctor, James Gilman, in 1816.

And we looked at Highgate’s development by exploring the Arts & Crafts style homes in Holly Lodge Estate. (Images 4,5) Highgate was slow to develop as a residential community but in the early 1900s, the time was right for the planned development of this garden suburb.

And of course no tour would be complete without admiring the unusual and picturesque Victorian Gothic development, Holly Village. (6,7,8)

And there’s so much more…

21/04/2026

Like many people today, I am remembering Queen Elizabeth on what would have been her 100th birthday. The outpouring of grief and tributes here in London was deeply moving in 2021, and I think it’s because of her unfailing dignity and dedication.

King Charles says it well in his pre-recorded tribute to her today, “I take heart from her belief that goodness will always prevail and that a brighter dawn is never far from the horizon.” He cites his mother’s first public broadcast at the age of 14 when she said, “We could each play our part to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place.”

As King Charles says, she left a legacy of hope. Her dignity remains a steadfast beacon.