London Swallowed a City but Couldn't Digest It.

GCP Grey does a great video on this: ▶ this video Jay Foreman does another great video on the very weird situation with the House of Lords: [link]

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I don’t know whether this is true because I never looked into it really, but a colleague of mine in the ndustry told me I could join the banker’s guild. His words were that because I lived in the city[1] at the time, and also worked for a bank in the city, I’d be eligible for membership if the bank would nominate or sponsor me as a representative. I’m hazy on the details, it was years ago, and I don’t really know whether it’s true since as mentioned I never checked it out. I kind of regret not doing so now though, since moving out of the city I’ve learned much more of it’s (weird and interesting) history and it would’ve been fun to at least try to see some of this from the inside. It probably wouldn’t have worked anyway, but would’ve been fun to try. For anyone looking for a fun little intro to the weirdness of the city and it’s history, I recommend CGP Grey’s channel and particularly his videos on the City of London[2][3]. [1]: for the benefit of people who might not be aware – “the city” is a colloquialism for the City of London, which is a small somewhat autonomous part of London, situated east of what most people (who don’t know this) probably think of when you say the city of London. [2]: ▶ this video [3]: [link]

in “London's billion-pound guilds” · View on HN

There are a lot. I thought this one was really funny [0]. This one I found very interesting [1]. Somewhat different, is the Hello Internet [2] podcast, which is by Grey and Brady Haran who you might know from the Numberphile youtube channel [3]. It's basically the 2 of them chatting about random stuff, but I find it very entertaining. [0] [link] [1] ▶ this video [2] [link] [3] [link]

in “The Equifax breach may be the worst leak of personal info ever” · View on HN

If anyone cares to know more about the City of London, CGP Grey did a nice two-parter video describing its history, its privileges and how to become mayor if you care to. The (Secret) City of London, Part 1: History ▶ this video The (Secret) City of London, Part 2: Government [link]

in “Dark money: London’s dirty secret” · View on HN

CGP Grey does a really good job giving an overview of the history of The City of London. ▶ this video Along with another video about the governing structure of The City of London. [link]

in “The fall of Jersey: how a tax haven goes bust” · View on HN

I find your comment somewhat alarmist, and lacking historical context. The City of London (from which the Temple end of the Garden Bridge starts) is many many hundreds of years older than the UK itself, and has always been privately owned and governed by shadowy, corporate and arcane processes. Traditionally even the Queen is not allowed to enter the City of London without the say-so of the Lord Mayor. This "private place operating as a public space" has been operating for centuries and stewarded the emergence of London as a leading global financial centre and until recently capital of the largest Empire the world has ever seen. I admit it's reasonable to debate the pros and cons of private ownership of public spaces in city centres, but my point is that in this case The City of London is both historically unique and important, and by many measures been a huge success for the host nation. Informative/fun video on the subject: ▶ this video

in “London garden bridge users to have mobile phone signals tracked” · View on HN

As an aside, the article points out how the City of London is a separate entity from greater London, but doesn't go into a lot of detail about it. This video does an effective job in explaining how things work: ▶ this video

in “A Tale of Two Londons” · View on HN

Interestingly the "City of London" is a specific thing that has surprising meaning [0], but used here I think it is a metonym for the financial / banking sector of the British economy. [0] [link] & ▶ this video

in “London and Switzerland seeking to dodge G7 global minimum tax” · View on HN

> City of London is no weirder than NYC ... really, not weird? compared to what? the Vatican? It's arguably the financial (offshore) capital of the world and home to over eleven thousand people. The City of London lives inside of the city named London but the two Londons have separate city halls and elect separate mayors, who collect separate taxes to fund separate police who enforce separate laws. The Mayor of the City of London is called 'The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London' to match his fancy outfit. He gets to ride in a golden carriage and work in a Guildhall while the mayor of London has to wear a suit, ride a bike and work in an office building. The City of London also has its own flag and its own crest and gets to act more like one of the countries in the UK than just an oddly located city. The corporation that runs the city of London is older than the United Kingdom by several hundred years. It was created by Romans in 43 CE as "Londonimium" with their temples, public baths, roads, bridges and a wall to defend their work. It's this wall which is why the current City of London exists - for though the Romans came and the Romans went and kingdoms rose and kingdoms fell, the wall endured protecting the city within. After the Romans William the Conqueror came to Great Britain to begin modern British history he found the City of London, with its sturdy walls more challenging to defeat than farmers on open fields. So he agreed to recognize the rights and privileges Cit

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I never said it's London PD, it's City of London, these are two different things, have different mayors and budget etc. ▶ this video [link] [link]

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England is old, very old. For example the City of London existed before the crown of England, never mind the union we know as UK... ▶ this video

in “Who Owns England?” · View on HN

Agree, though I like the Silicon Roundabout name more. The Tech City name to me seems like a government idea, sort of Information Superhighway.... With finding money it is good that Shoreditch is right next to the City (of London, not London the City ▶ this video ), and there is a good amount of Angels and VCs in Shoreditch itself.

in “BBC News meets a Bulgarian IT entrepreneur [video]” · View on HN

The City of London cannot pull the eject handle and relocate. The City of London is a separate legal entity[1] with it's own laws and rules, and it's those rules that meant that the trading that took down Lehman Brothers was conducted in the City of London, because it couldn't have really legally taken place elsewhere. [1] - ▶ this video

in “Political failure modes and the beige dictatorship” · View on HN

The City of London is also another example: ▶ this video Note: "City of London" is not the same as "London", where the Olympics were held.

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