Reflecting on a decade of blogging about London

Ten years ago today, Memoirs of a Metro Girl was launched! At the time, I was working as a digital journalist for a national newspaper and I was finding myself unfulfilled by some of the content I was writing. After a colleague told me about WordPress, I decided on a whim to launch my own blog. I had read a few other London blogs around at the time and many were written by newcomers or visitors to the capital. Blogs by tourists obviously have a very different view of London to myself, although hopefully they love the city as much I do. Having been born, grown up and spent my adult life in London, I hoped I could add a real insider’s insight to the capital, reflecting on how certain areas had changed over the years – sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse! Admittedly, the blog went ‘live’ with only a couple of pages, when I should have built up more first… but hindsight is an amazing thing. I also cringe at the quality of my photos in those early posts, but thankfully camera phones have rapidly advanced and acquiring a SLR camera has also improved my imagery. I’ve also stopped getting embarrassed about taking photos of food in restaurants, despite some friends often rolling their eyes when I do so!

I initially wanted to cover events, pop-ups, bar and restaurant reviews in London as I played as hard as I worked. I was known amongst my friends and family for my wide knowledge of London and always had recommendations and tips to hand, from cocktail bars to hidden treasures. In addition to blogging about my hometown, I thought I would slip in the odd travel piece about my holidays – a topic area I have purposely neglected in recent years to focus specifically on the capital, preferring to just pop photos of my travels on my Instagram instead.

It didn’t take long before I decided to delve into more of the capital’s history on the blog – often focusing on some less obvious buildings or landmarks. It’s here where I have found a passion for historical research and have received the most (positive thankfully!) feedback from readers. I particularly enjoyed it when I’ve really had to dive into many archives to piece together history of a building – such as 23 & 24 Bedfordbury in Covent Garden or 4 Princelet Street in Spitalfields.

Occasionally, I have compared Memoirs of a Metro Girl blog to others and acknowledge I have a wide variety of content, where others may be more focused with a USP. However, I believe Londoners – and visitors to the capital – aren’t to be pigeon-holed and can have many interests. I personally love clubbing, dining out, cocktail bars, museums, art galleries, theatre and adrenalin sports and have partaken in all these activities in this fine city. As Samuel Johnson said, “When you are tired of London, you are tired of life, for there is in London all that life can afford.”

This May, I celebrate 10 years of the blog. As I write this, I am blogging very little as I recently became a first-time mother to my little ‘Metro boy’, along with continuing renovations of our home (a project we started in 2020!), so life is pretty hectic. Rest assured, I have no intentions of evolving MoaMG into a London parenting blog, although it’s likely reviews of nocturnal activities will be eclipsed by daytime events that hopefully I can bring a buggy to! However, I hope both parents and childfree Londoners will find my monthly what’s on guides useful, with family friendly activities sign-posted by a teddy bear motif . As I adjust to new parenthood and hopefully find some free time again, I will continue to blog more about events and history in London.

If you’ve been a reader of my blog for some time, thank you for the support over the years. And if you’re new to Metro Girl, I hope you like what you see and return.

Here’s to 10 years of Memoirs of a Metro Girl!

Read some of Metro GIrl’s favourite history blog posts

Country lanes, princes, gold and Chinatown | The story behind No.9 Wardour Street

Have you spotted the old lettering reading ‘Exchange and Bullion Office’ on this Georgian terrace?

Is this London’s thinnest house? The story behind 5 Thurloe Square

The history behind the ‘Thin House’ in Kensington and how thin it really is.

The red house in Spitalfields | The story of No.4 Princelet Street

Wealthy brewers, battling brothers, Huguenot weavers and Jewish refugees have all called this place home over three centuries.

Georgian shop life and slum makeovers at 23 and 24 Bedfordbury

The history of two Georgian buildings in Covent Garden and the people who lived and worked in them.

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