Strange and secret London

Wie gut kennen Sie die britische Hauptstadt? Unser London-quiz steckt voller Geheimnisse und seltsamer Begebenheiten, die Sie überraschen werden. Von INEZ SHARP und STEPHEN ARMSTRONG

London is a city whose history is packed with interesting characters, strange phenomena and cataclysmic events. Our Travel story, “The Great Stink!” (pages 26–33), describes one of these events. Here, in our special quiz, we invite you to discover more about London’s fascinating past.

Locations — spooky stations

London has the oldest underground rail system in the world — the first line opened in 1863. Since then, some 40 stations have been abandoned, although most of them still exist. Can you match the ghost stations on these lines to the descriptions?

1. MEDIUM

British Museum. Built to serve the British Museum in 1900. Rumour has it that there was a tunnel directly connecting the museum to the station and that the station itself is home to a ghost — the daughter of Amun-ra, honoured by Egyptians as the king of the gods and divine father of the pharaohs. The station closed in 1933.

Down Street. Opened in 1907 in Mayfair, where residents were rich and didn’t travel much by underground. Closed in 1932, it was made into a bombproof bunker during the Second World War. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the War Cabinet sheltered there. The platforms remain and the London Transport Museum offers visits as part of a Hidden London tour.

The Strand/aldwych. Opened in 1907 as The Strand, it was on a line that should have extended to Waterloo station. The Strand/aldwych closed in 1994 and is now a film set that has been used in many films, including Sherlock, V for Vendetta, Patriot Games and Atonement.

North End. This station was built underground, but no entrance was created. It stored secret archives in the 1940s and was London Transport’s emergency headquarters during the Cold War. Had it opened to the public, it would have been London’s deepest underground station at 67 metres below ground.

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Legends — unusual lives

Great metropolitan centres have always produced interesting characters, and the British capital is no exception. Here, we present four very unusual and extraordinary Londoners. Can you match each name and silhouette to the correct profile?

Language — secret slang

First recorded in 1840, Cockney rhyming slang originated among market workers and street traders in London’s East End. It developed into an obscure code that was understood by locals, but not by outsiders or the police. The “rules” were simple: choose a word, like “face”, think of a two- or three-word phrase that rhymes with it, like “boat race”, then use that instead of the original word. So, the rhyming slang for “face” is “boat race” or, more often, just “boat”. Rhyming slang is still evolving. While “apples and pears”, for instance, have always meant “stairs”, these days, you’re more likely to hear “Britney Spears” used as the slang for “ears” — rather than “King Lear”. Can you replace the rhyming slang in the sentences (1–4) with the original words? Use our short rhyming slang dictionary to help you.

Do you want a nice cup of Rosie before you go up the apples to Uncle Ted?

Would you Adam and Eve it? Me trouble and strife has been rabbiting on about the length of my Barnet.

Me and me old china were Hank Marvin, so we went for a Ruby. I was on the dog with my skin and blister, but the line was so bad, I couldn’t understand a dicky bird.