Meet Ade:
Hey hey hey, and ahoy there ! Welcome to my page. I’m Ade Bloke, nice to meet you.
So, you want to know a little bit about me before hopefully coming on a tour? Okay, here goes………
I’m currently a teacher of English and part time London guide. I have a badge in touring from the London Borough of Camden, which took a year of hard work to gain. I hope to take the Westminster and Islington badges later this year, and maybe one day, the Blue badge, if I get rich enough !
A Londoner by birth and by nationality ! I always say that I’m a Londoner and not an Englishman. I think there should be passports for Londoners only !
As you may have noticed, I’m very proud of my home city. I was born in the North, raised in the East, and educated on the streets of the South, which is my physical and spiritual home. I have spent sometime overlooking the sea down in Brighton, but the allure of London called me back, just like Dick Whittington.
I have travelled somewhat, and been to China a few times, and as much as I’m fascinated about other capital cities, this one, my one, this London, rocks my boat on a daily basis. It enthrals me, captivates me, and peppers me with nuggets of interesting facts and figures everyday.
Hopefully you can feel my passion bubbling up, and the research I put into my tours I’ve been told, comes through unashamedly. My ethos is that I want others to get as excited about London as I am. I’m putting together a plethora of tours, covering as many areas of town, and subjects as possible. My current fascination is with all things Bermondsey, but that could change my when i put a pin in my map and find an equally fascinating place.
Growing up not far from the old docks in East London, I’m old enough to remember the area as it was 30 years ago, and what a change it’s been. My research interests often include how London once was. What used to be here, or there. Using 17th/18th and 19th century maps, many include geo-referencing capabilties, I study meticulously the area I want to run a walk in. I don’t want to give you a history lesson but if you want a guide that digs a little deeper, then I think I’m your man.
I’m also motivated by the Cold War espionage and London was the epicentre of it all, with The Cambridge Five, Oleg Gordievsky, dead letter drops in Brompton and front companies set up by the KGB all over town. I have five walks on the subject ready to go.
As much as I want to inform you of some aspects of various neighbourhoods in London, I also want you to enjoy the walk. It’s been pointed out on many occasions, that I use my humour well when out and about with a group. If you’re like minded, then having a pint along the route is never out of the question!
So, it seems I can babble on more than I thought about myself ! It just leaves me to say, that I really hope to hear from you sometime, and hopefully do a walk with you.
Ps : In the ‘digging deeper’ section of the site, I ‘blog’ about the research I’ve undertaken at sometime in the future. As I mooch about town, I try to turn my experiences into some sort of readable mish mash of mash mish.
Ta Ta for now
Ade Bloke
