Equiano Lived Here

When I visit London, I try to walk to meetings once I've arrived at King's Cross. I've never spent a huge time in the city, so when I'm there I think it's worth trying to see and experience a bit of it, and the best way of doing that is on foot.  I need to have a rough idea where I'm going, but I try not to have my nose stuck too closely to a map, so I pick a reference point and wend my way toward that. Today's meeting was near what I continue to call the Post Office Tower, so I headed over in that direction, pausing only for a quick visit to the Out of this World exhibit at the British Library, which is great.

Taking the back streets leads to small discoveries, like this plaque, and a  ghost sign on the same street (Riding House Street).

Plaques are designed to commemorate and to make you curious. I hadn't heard of Olaudah Equiano, but now I've learned a bit about him, and my historical knowledge is enriched as a result.  I particularly like plaques that celebrate lesser known figures, or very famous figures that have been in unexpected places (like the Garibaldi blue plaque in Tynemouth.)  There are some great ones around Bradford, and I'm sure I'll get around to blipping one or two eventually.

There's a site for people to document and record plaques: www.openplaques.org.

humble resident ~ through his story ~ showed the power ~ of words ~ to change things