196. LONDON ON FOOT. Whitechapel. An interesting street layout, but the best part is the pun: “cote” is the French word for “side”. Look both ways is good advice for a North American in London. Suffering the same situation, Winston Churchill was run down on 5th Avenue on a visit to New York in 1931: Used to traffic that keeps to the left, Churchill looked to his right, saw no one coming and kept walking. A car driven by an unemployed mechanic named Mario Contasino, dragged Churchill several yards and flung him into the street. Apparently what saved him was the heavy overcoat he was wearing. He was in town to give a lecture called “The Pathway of the English-Speaking Peoples” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and to visit his buddy Bernard Baruch.

195. LONDON ON FOOT. “This postcode is within the Spitalfields and Banglatown electoral division, which is in the constituency of Bethnal Green.” Spitalfields, Banglatown, Bethnal Green. It is not surprising that the English are the best at commanding the English language. I recently read the autobiography of Anthony Trollope, which was perfect to have in mind as I walked and listened to the nuances of London speech. A day trip to Birmingham was a fine reminder of the Brummie.

194. LONDON ON FOOT. Lewisham. Mary Ann Gardens. If the splendor of the English language interests you, read George Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language.”

193. LONDON ON FOOT. England is unimaginable without trains, in this case the Docklands Light Railway in the East End. In New York the subway is referred to as the train, but in London its the underground or the tube (pronounced ‘chube’).

192. LONDON ON FOOT. Royal Borough of Greenwich.

191. LONDON ON FOOT. Royal Borough of Greenwich. A footpath adjacent to a motorway (which a North American would call a freeway).