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February looks like it's going to be busy, with

“All That Glisters Is Not Gold” the Hatton Garden tour  finally drawing to completion. Testing is well underway, and with a bit of luck it’ll get the official sign‑off before too long. It’s been a fascinating one to piece together, and I’m looking forward to getting it out into the world and it's rapid development has actually given me some spare time.

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Of course, spare time is always dangerous. Give me a couple of free hours and I inevitably think, “Let’s just have a wander round…” insert any London neighbourhood here. It’s a bit of a curse, really. What starts as “getting the feel of the place” usually ends up as a sketch for a brand‑new tour. I did make a New Year’s resolution to finish one before starting another, but who honestly takes those seriously after the first week of January.

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Case in point: last week’s wander has now turned into a roughed‑out plan for a Bermondsey tour. And all because of a weakness of mine, good old pie and mash. With traditional shops becoming rarer in the capital, choice is something we mostly remember rather than enjoy. My choice that day, largely because it was the only one open, was Manzie’s on Tower Bridge Road. To get there from London Bridge station, I had to cut through parts of Bermondsey… and, well, you can guess the rest.

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The project folder is currently full, so Bermondsey might have to wait a while. The mammoth "City of London Churches" is half completed, however a full and frank exchange is needed with my editor before progressing further. The other tour, based on the North London Railway, was I had hoped at final testing. However, after riding the rails for a couple of hours I found it lacking in certain departments and needs a review and edit 

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So February looks like it'll be a month of finishing one tour, continuing to work on three more and accidentally starting another by being led astray by pie and mash. Some things never change.

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