The Admiral Duncan bombing - 20 years on

A sad coincidence but on my previous peregrination which took in the southern edge of Soho I also passed the Admiral Duncan pub in Old Compton Street just down the road from the plaque that marked the great Dangeroo Flood. Twenty years ago today 3 people, Andrea Dykes, Nick Moore and John Light were killed and 78 were wounded by the third in a series of nail bombs left by a right-wing extremist. The pub was crowded on the start of the May bank holiday and this accounts for the relatively high number injured. As this was the third in the series there was a considerable public information campaign in place. There was even a poster in the toilet warning of the possibility of an attack. The bomb exploded at 6:37 pm when the bag that contained it was being investigated by the pub manager.The previous two bombs left in Brixton Market and Brick lane targeted the black and asian communities respectively. These, fortunately resulted in no fatalities although 48 and 13 people were wounded after the bomber was noticed in Brixton, where his bomb was moved by a smallholder to a less crowded area and the police were called. In the case of the Brick Lane bomb when the bomber first set the bomb for Saturday rather than Sunday when a street market takes place and after the bomb was placed in a car boot in an attempt to deliver the bomb to a local police station. The Brixton attack is marked by a plaque was I have not yet seen. The Admiral Duncan has a small plaque placed by Queer Heritage, who place plaques marking places in the struggle for LGBTQ rights in 2017. Andrea Dykes, Nick Moore and John Light are also commemorated in the churchyard of St. Anne;s in Wardour Street.

The Great Dangeroo Flood and the Kymaerica Project

There is, above a non-descript coffee bar a square, black and gold plaque that marks the high water point of the "Great Dangeroo Flood" which it describes as "one of the worst floods of En'kymhuirian times". The plaque goes on to note that the Tehachapi people after two years at sea on their rafts of asphalt made their new home here after observing the familiar stars of their home overhead as the waters receded. The plaque was located by the Kymaerica project founded by Geographer-at-large Eames Demetrios which "is... a global project that tells the stories of this parallel world through books, performances, Internet, embroideries, guided collaborations, but perhaps most distinctively through installations—especially bronze plaques and historic sites that honor the parallel world in our linear world." The plaque then, marks a fictional event with a physical presence in the real world. There are other plaques in London, one of which off the Whitechapel Road has already been spotted. This marks "Angel Alley and Surrounds" where "the formidable Esther Tabran first saw the figure of Crown Prince Jyorge stepping out of Georges Yard. The website for the Kymaerica Project is, sadly, outdated. It notes 83 plaques being put in place , in 15 countries on 5 continents. The figures cited however refer to November 2011 and so may not be accurate. There is at least one other plaque in London which will need to be visited at some point. If there is one area of London that deserves a plaque to a non-existent event then Soho, home of the strange, moreso even than the rest of London. Old Compton Street marks the southern boundary of the area. An area that has traditionally housed incomers and outsiders - the Greeks, the Italians, the gay community and he entertainment industry although of late under a process of gentrification the area has certainly lost its edge.