fugueur

Writer and film-maker. Author of This Other London - adventures in the overlooked city. Director of the documentaries The London Perambulator and Make Your Own Damn Art: the world of Bob and Roberta Smith

All articles by fugueur

 

Event at Bookseller Crow with Travis Elborough 28th March 2024

Chuffed to bits to be doing an event at Bookseller Crow bookshop in Crystal Palace on 28th March with the brilliant Travis Elborough.Get your tickets here: https://booksellercrow.co.uk/event/26190/?instance_id=338 Welcome to New London is not just a book about a city; it’s a vivid, personal account of a city in flux, where the author’s passion for exploration...
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Walking the River Medway

As we start to sense the possibility of Spring, plans for future walks start to take on a new tone of intent. One such plan is to pick up the trail of this enlightening walk exploring a dramatic stretch of the River Medway in Kent from Gillingham to Rainham with the brilliant Professor Kate Spencer....
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The far side of Wanstead Flats

A late afternoon wander across Wanstead Flats across traces of ancient usage and possible Roman routes. Resist the lure of The Golden Fleece, where I haven’t been for years, and get drawn down The Chase that appears as a remnant of old country Forest Gate. Loop around Alexandra Lake through sunset into gloom and to...
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Exploring Bankside – Bishops, Bards, Bears and Bordellos

A freezing cold night in January I found myself ensconced in the Thameside Inn having stumbled upon the ruins of the Bishop of Winchester’s Palace in the narrow lanes near Borough Market. Supping a pint of Adnam’s Ghost Ship from Southwold, I looked across the river at the City lights reflecting in the Thames and...
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Questions about London (from Southwark Cathedral)

And if you hungry for more questions about London and walking here are some previous Q&A videos:Mighty London Q&A The Most Remote part of London and more Questions Answered...
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Project about New York’s Artist Loft Law

Stumbled across this fascinating video on YouTube about Josh Charow’s photography book ‘Loft Law. The Last of New York City’s Original Artist Lofts’. “The law, enacted in 1982 (Article 7-C of the Multiple Dwelling Law), granted protection and rent stabilization to thousands of artists who were living illegally in commercial and manufacturing zoned lofts in...
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Podcast: What on Earth is Psychogeography

I had the great pleasure of being interviewed live onstage at the fantastic Wanstead Tap about the subject of walking and psychogeography for the Tap Into Podcast. And appropriately I did ramble all over the place a bit. Here are some of my notes.Original definition of Psychogeography by the Situationist International:“the study of the precise...
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Local football: Enfield 0 vs Walthamstow fc 2

Cracking bit of local non-league football action with Walthamstow FC away at Enfield in the Isthmian League North. Walthamstow have a fascinating and complex history, drawing lineage from Leyton F.C formed in 1868 – with one variant of that club playing at the Hare and Hounds ground on Lea Bridge Road. It’s great to see...
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Hatchards Piccadilly with Iain Sinclair

What an amazing night at Hatchards Bookshop on Piccadilly with the great Iain Sinclair talking about my book, Welcome to New London and getting a preview of Iain’s forthcoming publication, Pariah Genius. After the talk and book signing, I wandered with a friend up to the Old Coffee House in Soho to remind myself of...
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Friday in four images

Friday in four images: coffee at Unity Cafe Leytonstone, St. Martin’s Court after a screening of Days of Being Wild at the Prince Charles Cinema, The Round Table pub in St. Martin’s Court, baked Camembert made on a whim after watching an Instagram reel. A good day....
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Sunday night at The George, Wanstead

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Flitcroft Street, WC2

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Event with Iain Sinclair at Hatchards Piccadilly

Chuffed to be doing an event with Iain SInclair at the wonderful Hatchards Bookshop on Piccadilly, 25th January 2024. Get tickets here https://JohnRogersAtHatchards.eventbrite.co.uk...
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Pub Talk: walking plans for the year ahead

At the end of a great walk I wind up in the garden of the Red Lion Leytonstone chatting about my walking plans for the year ahead....
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Walking the Norbury Brook

What is it with these South London rivers? Probably my favourite walk of 2023 was the River Shuttle walk I did in February. I was guided into the dark by a brilliantly luminous full moon that made me think of Steve Moore’s magical book Somnium, which is set around the summit of Shooters Hill, not...
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A Walk Through 2023

Massive thank you for all your support in 2023 and joining me on these fantastic walks and explorations. We’ve walked rivers and brooks from the Quaggy, Shuttle, Brent, Wye, Medway, Lea, Beverley Brook, Norbury Brook, Stonebridge Brook, and drifted down the River Roding in a coracle. We’ve explored London North, South, East and West from...
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Woodbridge Ambient Music Festival

A trip to Suffolk for the Woodbridge Ambient Music Festival and a celebration of the beautiful River Deben. A series of coincides alerted me to the Woodbridge Ambient Music Festival taking place from 22nd – 24th September, just at a time when I needed an escape from the city. So I hopped on the train...
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Boxing Day Walk

I start with no fixed plan and follow my feet along Midland Road, Leyton then down Farmer Road to Church Road and the still boarded up Antelope pub. There’s been online chatter about getting this place open again and despite the success of other revived pubs in the area the Antelope continues to lie dormant....
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Winter walk through Epping Forest

‘The spirit of devotion for the woods, which breathes through the simple expression of the poet, is akin to “that hereditary spell of forests,” which Robert Louis Stevenson describes as acting ” on the mind of man who still remembers and salutes the ancient refuge of his race.” Such a refuge once was London. Indeed...
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Record Shop Dreaming

Back in my Bondi years (mid-90s) I dreamed of opening a record shop and coffee bar with Formica tables, wooden chairs and a large vinyl sofa (vinyl + vinyl geddit). Dreamhouse Records on Francis Road, Leyton has a similar vibe to that place of my imagination. Great spot to sit on a grey afternoon with a coffee...
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South Bank book trawling

‘The Unknown Trail’ ‘Border, By-ways and Lothian Lore’ ‘In Quest of Peril’ Some of the enticing titles embossed on old cloth spines on the South Bank book market outside the BFI. Browsing these tables brings back great memories of my NFT days – book collecting chats back in the box office, trawling for treasure and...
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Welcome to New London signing at Book Bodega, Ramsgate

What wonderful Sunday afternoon at Book Bodega in Ramsgate signing copies of Welcome to New London – journeys and encounters in the post-Olympic city. It’s a real gem of a bookshop and this was in fact my first signing outside London. So lovely to share the event with friends and family and meet regular viewers...
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Welcome To New London, By John Rogers | Londonist

An interview with the author, walker and videographer about his new book. — Read on londonist.com/london/books-and-poetry/this-new-london...
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Sebald quote

“The East stands for lost causes” The Rings of Saturn – W.G Sebald, p.159...
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Curiosities of Old Ilford

East London walk in search of a mystery I love ‘following the scent of a clue’, to borrow one of Gordon S. Maxwell’s types of topographical rambles as described in The Fringe of London (1925). And this was an incredibly enticing clue sent via an Instagram DM. TimeWandererChris asked me what I knew about the...
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Walking Turtles in the Paris Arcades

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Stroll from Broadcasting House & Cavendish Square to Hyde Park Corner

After appearing on BBC 5Live I took a Sunday stroll through Central London to a WW1 memorial with special family significance. My walk starts at BBC Broadcasting House then passes through Cavendish Square where I explore the history and the architecture of the area. I continue down Wigmore Street past Wigmore Hall and the wonderful...
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Sound of a brook in Epping Forest

Sound of a babbling brook in Epping Forest that runs from just south of High Beach through Hill Wood to Fairmead Bottom. I can’t seem to find a name for this beguiling rill. Recorded on a very cold December afternoon while walking from Chingford to Loughton....
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Sonic Perambulation: Chrisp Street Market to Stratford

East London audio walk from Chrisp Street Market in Poplar to Stratford with Joel Carr and John Rogers recorded in Summer 2023. First broadcast on Resonance fm ...
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Walking a North London lost river: the Stonebridge Brook

Haringey’s Lost River: the Stonebridge Brook Back in the summer of 2021 I received an email while on holiday about the sighting of a river with a boat in the 1980’s behind Salisbury Mansions N4. I was intrigued and had a quick look to see if this aligned with the course of any of the...
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Earl’s Court Talk – 5th December 2023

BOOK HERE...
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Welcome to New London Book Launch photos

Some photos from the launch of Welcome to New London – journeys and encounters in the post-Olympic city which took place over two sold-out nights at The Wanstead Tap, 10th and 11th October. Thanks to everyone who made it special!...
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Walter Benjamin on The Flâneur

“Before Haussmann wide pavements were rare, and the narrow ones afforded little protection from vehicles. Strolling could hardly have assumed the importance it did without the arcades. “The arcades, a rather recent invention of industrial luxury,’ so says an illustrated guide to Paris of 1852, ‘are glass-covered, marble-panelled passageways through entire complexes of houses whose...
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First review of Welcome to New London

“With “Welcome to New London,” Rogers has not only penned a compelling read but also seamlessly linked it to his digital journey. The book beautifully marks another milestone in Rogers’ ongoing odyssey through topographical and psychogeographical terrains, captivating the spirit of the modern urban flâneur — an urban shaman who traverses the liminal spaces of...
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The Hidden Passages of St James’s

Our walk today takes into the secret world of St James’s with its many passages, courtyards and cellars. We’re guided by a route described in Secret London by Andrew Duncan which starts at Piccadilly Circus and goes along Piccadilly. We then walk through the Wren Church of St James’s Piccadilly to Jermyn Street and follow...
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Live from the Hollow Ponds

Sunday evening chat and Q&A at sunset from the Hollow Ponds Leytonstone. You can buy Welcome to New London from the following brilliant booksellers:Newham Bookshop https://bit.ly/3tsw1bx Wanstead Bookshop https://bit.ly/45rNuhk The Lost Byway (signed) – UK only postage included https://py.pl/3sqba  The Bookseller Crow https://booksellercrow.co.uk/ Foyles https://bit.ly/3Fb5wK8 Waterstones https://bit.ly/471dtxF Blackwells https://bit.ly/45mdZVv Amazon https://amzn.to/3rD5rvR Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/46umDTr...
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Publication Day

Today sees the official publication of my new book, Welcome to New London – journeys and encounters in the post-Olympic city. When I’d started writing in the summer of 2013 the aim had been relatively simple: to document a new London that was emerging from the ashes of the Olympic Games. My previous book, This Other...
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Walter Benjamin and the Paris Arcades

The above quote is from a video posted on YouTube about Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Project, that I stopped watching after 35 seconds to take the screenshot and post this blog. The book I’m carrying in my bag at the moment is the recently re-published Verso volume of Benjamin’s writing on Charles Baudelaire. I don’t know...
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Walking Swedenborg’s London screening

Back on 7th September saw a wonderful event at Swedenborg Hall in Bloomsbury with a screening + Q&A of my film, Walking the visionary London of Emanuel Swedenborg. Back on a freezing January morning, with Iain Sinclair and Stephen McNeilly we retraced the footsteps of the hugely influential 18th Century scientist, philosopher, mystic and theologian....
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The Invention of Essex at Wanstead Book Festival

It was a real pleasure to have an onstage conversation with Tim Burrows on Friday evening, about his recently published book, The Invention of Essex. The event was part of the Wanstead Book Festival organised by Giles Wilson as part of the Wanstead Fringe Festival – a three week celebration of arts and culture that...
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Welcome to New London book launch

I’m delighted to announce that my new book, Welcome to New London – journeys and encounters in the post-Olympic city is being launched at the brilliant Wanstead Tap on 10th & 11th October. Tickets can be purchased here and books will be available on the night. Book synopsis Iain Sinclair has described Welcome to New...
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Walking the fieldpaths from Epping to Harlow Old Town

It’s only eight days ago that I did this walk from Epping to Harlow Old Town in 32 degrees of heat but already it feels as if the seasons have changed. I donned a thick hoody when heading out for an evening stroll after uploading this video, yet you can see that when this walk...
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Walking the lost churches of the City of London

The latest episode of my series walking the churches of the City of London, sees me go in search of the remains and sites of some of the lost churches of the City of London. Featuring: St Mildred’s, St Mary Cole, St Olave Jewry, The Great Synagogue, St Benet Sherehog, St Stephen Walbrook, and St...
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Bank Holiday walk to Highbury

Many a great walk starts by crossing the Sacred River Lea. I resisted the temptation to see the sunken narrowboat as a bad omen. There’s always a bohemian air to Stoke Newington Church Street that seems to resist gentrification and somehow stands apart from other North London streets. I wonder if it has something to...
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Mighty London Q&A: Best walks, pubs, books, days out

Here are the questions answered in my mighty YouTube Q&A video:@jacquelinemacleod9699Hi John, What made you decide to do these videos and podcasts ? Don’t ever stop – they are fantastic! I look forward to them each week@michaelessig6376have you ever thought of returning to a past walk but at a completely different season or weather to...
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Interview on Shoreditch Radio

Last night I had the great pleasure of chatting to Liam Davies on Shoreditch Radio about all things London walking. The interview starts at the 30 min mark....
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Drifting up the River Roding in a Coracle

The experience of floating up the River Roding in Ryan Powell’s Sensory Attunement Coralce will now be my most potent association with this blessed River. I’ll leave the video to explain how this came to pass and the beauty, drama and comedy of what unfolded. But it’s safe to say this was an experience I...
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The Bloomsbury Comedy Connection

Bloomsbury is of course best known for its literary associations. And rightly so. But its comedy heritage is less celebrated. In this video I set out with a very simple goal – to visit the site used as the exterior location for Bernard Black’s bookshop in the brilliant Channel 4 sitcom – Black Books. And...
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A walk around Norwich – the city of stories

Join me on a walking tour of the medieval city of Norwich guided by a group of students from UEA. The walk starts on St Andrew’s Hill and continues past Norwich Halls and the University of the Arts Norwich to the River Wensum. We continue walking the historic streets past the many medieval churches –...
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Drifting up the River Roding in a Coracle livestream

View this post on Instagram A post shared by John Rogers (@thelostbyway) Here I am livestreaming from Ryan Powell’s amazing Coracle drifting up the River Roding in the driving rain this afternoon. Full video next week....
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