In July 1963, a truck driver clearly saw a big cat at the top of Shooters Hill. He called the police and they arrived in large numbers, apparently there were 26 cars and over 100 policemen. They did not see any animals but only traces that could have been those of a cheetah.

A few weeks later someone heard a roar and once again dozens of policemen came and found nothing.

In the following years until 1966 there were other sightings and the press promptly took interest in the case, once again no cheetah or tiger or lion were found.

For years then no one saw anything, so even if the cheetah existed it must have died or moved elsewhere. In 2002 a huge cat was again seen in Shooters Hill. Since then no more sightings.

• See London like you have never seen it before!
• The Isle of Wight to be cut off?
• Is there anybody who hasn’t actually seen the film Grease?
• The ghost bus of Notting Hill
• A day in the life of a slightly deranged widow… The Ice cream

Probably if you live in the British Isles, you will have had your first sight of snowdrops this year, either growing in a garden by design, or even more magically, growing wild in woodlands or in hedgerows.  The Snowdrop is the first flower to bloom at the end of winter and at the beginning of Spring. 

The season is between January to March and the flower is built to withstand freezing temperatures. It has three inner petals protected by three outer petals. The head will drop in freezing weather and reopen when the weather warms up. 

• My Garden in Autumn/ Winter
• Jojoba oil, how to use it for massage and aromatherapy
• The Isle of Wight to be cut off?
• See London like you have never seen it before!
• The best quotes by Albert Einstein

You might not know that the London plane tree is a species in itself. They are in fact called Platanus x acerifolia and are probably a cross between the oriental plane tree and the sycamore tree.

Now about half of London’s trees are plane trees. It was planted in large numbers in the 1800s during the Industrial Revolution when, due to smog, many more trees could not survive. Now it’s a tree so widespread that we don’t even notice it.

In London these trees can reach a height of 35 meters, but if grown in the countryside they reach 45 meters.The beauty of this species of tree is that it is completely adapted to the London climate, it does not suffer from pollution or lack of space.

It has been known for at least a couple of centuries and no London plane trees are known to have died of old age, so no one can say how long they can live.

Take a look at the bark of the London plane tree for example, you can see that it is patchy, but if you get closer you will see that they are pieces of bark coming off. This is a way for the tree to eliminate smog, pollution and toxic substances that have settled there. And perhaps one of the reasons why it manages to live well in London.

A famous London Plane is in Brunswick Square

To see a great example of London’s plane tree, go to Brunswick Square in Bloomsbury / Camden. A tree probably planted at the time of Jane Austen, late 1700s or early 1800s. It is also particular because unlike other city trees it has not been continuously pruned and therefore has low branches. It has a different shape from that of other plane trees in London.

• The Christmas spider- Why I have a crystal spider on my tree
• The Isle of Wight to be cut off?
• London street becomes colourful to raise spirits during the pandemic
• A new museum will open in London in 2021
• New TV series featuring London’s Natural History Museum