Emily Laurence Baker

19/06/2026

I’ve had such fun recently walking with guests from Covent Garden to Mayfair and seeing these areas from the perspective of Oscar Wilde. We’ve enjoyed readings from his works, interspersed with writings about the great playwright, while also talking about the development of Mayfair and St James.

Memories of Oscar Wilde so often focus on his tragic downfall. During my walk, I emphasize his fantastic literary contributions but also explore his motivations when he instigated his libel case.

We pass by some of his favourite shops and haunts that he visited in his endless pursuit of pleasure. We see Oscar’s table at Hatchard’s, talk about his lectures at the Royal Academy and pass through some quiet back alleys in search of the past.  

And we always stop at the Oscar Wilde memorial by St Martin in the Fields; this usually gets mixed reviews!

14/06/2026

‘Tis the season…the London summer season! And that means the 2026 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition is about to open to the public on 16 June. I’ve had a sneak preview and I had a great time.

The theme this year is interconnectivity but I have to be honest and say that you need to dismiss that right away. It all seemed a bit of a jumble to me. But if you let go and just let your curiosity take hold, you’ll have a better time.

There are works from a few famous names, including Tracy Emin (oh my!); Quentin Blake, and Antony Gormley but the show is mostly about what it always has been: showcasing art from a variety of contributors. Anyone can submit art; this is the world’s oldest open submission exhibition. That  means you’ll see some new and potentially upcoming talent (or not). You’ll also see pieces from accomplished Academicians.

They are all mixed up in what is a very “busy”, cluttered show this year; it can be a bit overwhelming. My biggest issue is that some really (apparently) lovely small paintings are hung far too high to be appreciated. Some of the larger works are right at eye level. It’s all been done intentionally but it didn’t work for me.

Nevertheless, it’s great fun and a “must” for the London summer. Most of the displays are for sale, at prices ranging from two figures to five.

The Summer Exhibition is on at the Royal Academy in Piccadilly until 23 August.

10/06/2026

It’s Wonder Women Wednesday! I’m in Hyde Park by Speakers’ Corner, a place where Londoners go to speak their minds. Hyde Park was important to the Suffragettes, the group that campaigned for the right for women to vote in Britain in the early 1900s. They staged a number of marches and demonstrations here.

Our wonder woman today, Emmeline Pankhurst, was front and centre at many of those events.

As a leader in the campaign for women’s suffrage, Emmeline Pankhurst was an inspirational orator, drawing many supporters to her cause.

But she adopted aggressive, militant tactics when she grew frustrated with the lack of success shown by Suffragists, those who had been campaigning for women’s suffrage in the late 1800s using peaceful, law-abiding tactics.

In 1903, Emmeline captured headlines when she founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU)  with her daughters and other women activists in Manchester. This group advocated more militant tactics to pursue their goals and Emmeline coined the slogan, “Deeds not Words” to express their intentions. The group’s members became known as suffragettes, originally a slur by the Daily Mail newspaper, but a term which was adopted proudly by the group to contrast them with the more peaceful suffragists.

The WSPU moved its headquarters to London in 1906 and began staging large demonstrations. Emmeline was not afraid to break the law and she led the group in staging window smashing, arson campaigns and disruptive public actions. She announced that the militant events would only stop by “giving us the vote.”

She was arrested many times and endured hunger strikes which resulted in horrific force feeding by police. In 1913, Emmeline was sentenced to three years imprisonment for her part in bombing the house of the chancellor of the exchequer, David Lloyd George.

The WSPU suspended its campaign when World War I broke out in 1914 , but Emmeline resumed action when Lloyd George became prime minister. In 1918, voting rights were granted to some qualifying women but sadly Emmeline died in 1928 just weeks before full suffrage was granted to all women over 21.

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04/06/2026

Such a treat to be up on the roof of Hampton Court Palace recently. A rooftop view reinforces the greatest feature of Hampton Court: that it is two palaces, a Tudor statement and a Baroque splendour.

Looking southwest towards the River Thames, you fully appreciate the meticulously arranged Privy Garden of King William III and Queen Mary II from the early 18th century. It’s a display of formal elegance that has been painstakingly restored and maintained by the Palace’s modern-day gardeners.

And then we turn around to face further back in time to when King Henry VIII seriously upgraded Cardinal Wolsey’s former home in the 1500s. Back then, chimneys were a showy display of wealth  and Henry made sure he had more than 200 of them just in case you needed reminding of how rich and powerful he was. The chimneys have been redone but from up here you can see the level of detail embossed on their surfaces.

Both views splendid in their own way.

02/06/2026

The Prince Regent, who later became King George IV in 1820, is a favourite of mine even though he wasn’t so popular with the British people at the time. He was flamboyant and extravagant and he dedicated his life to the pursuit of personal pleasure.

One of the greatest hallmarks of his passion for excess was Brighton Pavilion, his seaside villa on England’s southeast coast. George originally came to Brighton on the advice of his physician who advised the Prince Regent that the therapeutic sea waters might help with the ill-effects of his gout.

In 1815, Prince George commissioned architect John Nash to create a palace with a facade of minarets, pinnacles and domes, where he could entertain in opulent style.

The fanciful exterior was matched by the opulent interior furnishings, which showcased the popularity for Chinoiserie among the country’s wealthy citizens. Chinoiserie was a design style modelled on East Asian art with a celebration of birds, flowers and pagodas. The chandeliers alone at Brighton Pavilion are worth the visit.

How ironic that after the interior was completed in 1823, George made only two further visits due to his ill health and royal duties.

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.