London calling.
London Walks connecting.
This… is London.
This is London Walks.
Streets ahead.
Story time. History time.
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A very good morning to you, London Walkers. Wherever you are.
It’s Wednesday, July 16th, 2025.
Now here’s a line that’s going to resonate with my fellow Americans.
Maybe not so much with my fellow Britons. I run both those pennants up the flag pole because that’s me these days, I’m a dual national. Have been for 15 years or so.
Anyway, the line my fellow Yanks and Yankettes – pace those of you in the American south – the line that’ll resonate with my fellow Americans is, “My city, ’tis of thee I sing.”
And my city, well, it’s London. I’ve lived here all my adult life. Over half a century. So, yes, I’m an immigrant. An immigrant in this city founded by immigrants. Built by immigrants. Inhabited by immigrants.
London. The world’s most cosmopolitan Western city. 37 percent of Londoners – including this Londoner – born abroad.
As the saying has it, London isn’t a city. It’s a world. And an important reason – maybe the main reason – it’s a world, is the whole world is here. In this town.
Ok, that’s the face lathered and the razor stropped. Now before we get down to the business at hand, time out on the field. What is it about today, July 16th?
Warm-up acts first. Today, July 16th, is International Drag Day. Didn’t know that. Glad I found out. As bits of knowledge go that one introduces, to use the Emily Dickinson line, a certain slant of light.
As does the fact that today is also World Snake Day.
And you can count on my compatriots – my American compatriots, that is – to come up with the goods, add a certain buzz, turn the day into a hoe down. So sit up and take notice folks – and take your pick – today, July 16th is National Corn Fritter Day, and it’s Guinea Pig Appreciation Day and it’s National Hot Dog Day and for good measure, National Cherry Day.
All well and good. But I think I’m going to mark the day with some Borscht. And a glass of horilka. Horilka infused with honey. Or maybe pepper.
Horilka – teaching moment here, coming up for most of you – is Ukrainian vodka.
And I’m having Borscht and a glass of horilka on this day, July 16th, because today’s a big deal for Ukrainians. It’s their National Sovereignty Day. And keep the faith, you’re going to find out why in just a minute or two.
But first let’s do that very London thing. Let’s run the numbers.
There are – this is best estimate – approximately 32,000 Ukrainians living in London. There are 51 conurbations in England that are classified as cities. If the 32,000 Ukrainians who live in London formed their own city – Kiev on Thames, say – it would be the 47th or 48th largest city in England.
And by a rough estimate there are approximately 10,000 towns and villages in England. So size-wise, population-wise, Kiev on Thames – the Ukrainian population in London – it’s in the premiership.
And a couple of other tasty factoid morsels to chew on. Back east, back home – Ukraine’s a big place. It’s the biggest country entirely in Europe. Bigger than Texas. About five times the size of England. The population is about 40 million. England’s population: 56 million. London’s getting on for 10 million.
So, yes, Ukraine is European big sky country. England, sky-wise, is a drawing room. A drawing as opposed to Ukraine’s canopy of heaven over amber waves of grain. But a drawing room with no end of drama. The most fascinating drawing room you’ll ever set foot in.
You catch that? If you did, you were just party to the all-powerful undertow of London. This is supposed to be about Ukraine – well, Ukraine in London – on their Day of Sovereignty. But it happened, there it was, London, London crowding me, drawing me back into its orbit.
Anyway, that’s enough preliminaries. Let’s get stuck in.
Today – July 16th – is a very big day for Ukrainians because it’s National Sovereignty Day.
It marks the day, back in 1990, when Ukraine’s parliament declared the country’s sovereignty. That laid the groundwork for full independence from the Soviet Union a year later.
So, what will Ukrainians in London be doing today? I’ll tell you what they’re going to be doing. There’ll be gatherings at community centres. There might be a parade or a concert. Bound to be something going on at the Ukrainian Centre in Ealing. Traditional music, dancing, lots of hearty Ukrainian food. And yes, for sure, speeches reminding everyone why sovereignty matters — especially poignant given what’s gone down back home the last few years.
Today – along with August 24th, Ukraine Independence Day – is a Ukrainian day of days. A day to celebrate freedom, identity, and resilience. Prick your ears up you’ll hear the phrase Slava OoKraeen. Ukraini. “Слава Україні!” (Slava Ukraini!), which means “Glory to Ukraine!” — a common patriotic toast.
And as long as we’re at it, a dollop of Ukrainian London history for you. Ukrainians have been pitching up in London for well over a century. In small numbers in the late 19th and early 20th century.
That was a trickle. It turned into a wave after World War II. Ukrainians came here in their thousands in the late 1940s and 1950s. Many were so-called Displaced Persons. Some had been forced labourers. Others prisoners of war. Still others refugees escaping the Soviet Union.
That generation founded several of London’s core Ukrainian institutions. Churches, cultural centres, Sunday schools and youth groups. The Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, was founded in 1946. And needless to say it had a London branch.
Fast forward to our day. The huge wave that came the so-called pivotal year gave rise to. For shorthand purposes the pivotal year was 2014. Though it actually commenced in late 2013. Events in Ukraine in those months ushered in what’s called The Revolution of Dignity.
To wit: protests drove out the pro-Soviet leadership and a new pro-European government took power. That in turn triggered the Russian annexation of Crimea. And so on it came, Russia’s undeclared war on Ukraine. And the full-scale 2022 invasion. What happened in 2014 – the pivotal year – planted the seeds of the 2022 Russian invasion. And a much smaller but still significant and very different invasion here – the peaceful invasion – thousands of Ukrainians coming to London and elsewhere in the UK.
And where are they to be found? Where is Ukraine on the Thames? Or Kiev on the Thames if you prefer. Try Ealing and Hammersmith and Notting Hill. All of them have notable Ukrainian communities
The Ukrainian Centre in Ealing is a hub for cultural events, language classes, and more. There’s a lovely little church on Mill Hill — the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Holy Family — where you can glimpse beautiful golden domes. Beautiful golden domes that remind Ukrainians (and the rest of us) of Kiev, the capital thousands of miles away.
Yes, Kiev, one of those places where ancient history meets buzzing modern life. A bit like London in that sense.
Bottom line: London’s Ukrainians carry their stories, symbols, and customs with them. They weave them into the fabric of their adopted city. They’re part of the patchwork that makes London such a fascinating place — a city of immigrants, a city that thrives on its diversity.
So, the next time you walk through Ealing or Hammersmith or indeed go on our Notting Hill and Portobello Road walk, or stumble on a Ukrainian café, it’s maybe just as well to keep in mind that you’re not just passing a restaurant or a shop, you’re passing through lived modern history, getting a glimpse of the very stuff of London, an immigrant community rich with history, resilience, and life.
There you have it — a little stroll through the world of Ukrainians in London. A community with a footprint big enough to be a city on its own, full of stories, food, music, and spirit.
A couple of recommendations.
Maybe try Veselka
It’s in Notting Hill. It’s one of the most popular Ukrainian spots in London. It’s cosy, unpretentious, and serves up classics like beetroot borscht, potato and cheese pierogi, and hearty stews. Their dumplings? Spot on. And the atmosphere feels like a warm Ukrainian kitchen — friendly, welcoming, and always buzzing.
Or if you’re out Ealing way, maybe try the London Ukrainian Deli & Café
It’s more than just a café — it’s a hub for the local Ukrainian community. They’ve got traditional sweets. You can pick up authentic ingredients if you want to try cooking a Ukrainian dish at home. Or just treat yourself cup of strong Ukrainian coffee with a slice of medovik (honey cake). How do you go wrong with a place that’s not a chain, that’s the real mccoy, a place where you can have a casual, quick bite. Or stock up on hard-to-find goodies.
It’s a taste of Ukraine, that. But it’s also a taste of London. It’s what London’s all about.
Anything else? Yes, going to close with this. I’m a Hampstead guy. And an English Lit guy. Some of the greatest poems in the English language language were written in a beautiful villa in south Hampstead in 1818. Yeah, 1818, the so-called Great Year for a 22-year-old poet named John Keats.
One of those poems was Ode to a Nightingale. And now today – 60 years or so after I first fell in love with that wonderful poem, I find out the Ukraine national bird is the nightingale. My fairly thorough acquaintance with the poem – and my much more attenuated experience of Ukraine and Ukrainians – both were just bathed in a certain slant of light. Both just became that bit richer.
And as long as we’re at it, the Ukraine national flower is the sunflower. Sunflowers are everywhere in Ukraine. They’re a symbol of peace and resilience. And they’ve become a worldwide emblem of support for Ukraine. recently.
And finally the Ukraine anthem. The words of the anthem echo with pride and defiance. Those words are:
“Ukraine has not yet perished, nor her glory, nor her freedom.”
Slava Ukraini. [OoKraeen]
You’ve been listening to This… is London, the London Walks podcast. Emanating from www.walks.com –
home of London Walks,
London’s signature walking tour company.
London’s local, time-honoured, fiercely independent, family-owned, just-the-right-size walking tour company.
And as long as we’re at it, London’s multi-award-winning walking tour company. Indeed, London’s only award-winning walking tour company.
And here’s the secret: London Walks is essentially run as a guides’ cooperative.
That’s the key to everything.
It’s the reason we’re able to attract and keep the best guides in London. You can get schlubbers to do this for £20 a walk. But you cannot get world-class guides – let alone accomplished professionals.
It’s not rocket science: you get what you pay for.
And just as surely, you also get what you don’t pay for.
Back in 1968 when we got started we quickly came to a fork in the road. We had to answer a searching question: Do we want to make the most money? Or do we want to be the best walking tour company in the world?
You want to make the most money you go the schlubbers route. You want to be the best walking tour company in the world you do whatever you have to do
to attract and keep the best guides in London –
you want them guiding for you, not for somebody else.
Bears repeating:
the way we’re structured – a guides’ cooperative –
is the key to the whole thing.
It’s the reason for all those awards, it’s the reason people who know go with London Walks, it’s the reason we’ve got a big following, a lively, loyal, discerning following – quality attracts quality.
It’s the reason we’re able – uniquely – to front our walks with accomplished, in many cases distinguished professionals:
By way of example, Stewart Purvis, the former Editor
(and subsequently CEO) of Independent Television News.
And Lisa Honan, who had a distinguished career as a diplomat (Lisa was the Governor of St Helena, the island where Napoleon breathed his last and, some say, had his penis amputated – Napoleon didn’t feel a thing – if thing’s the mot juste – he was dead.)
Stewart and Lisa – both of them CBEs – are just a couple of our headline acts.
Or take our Ripper Walk. It’s the creation of the world’s leading expert on Jack the Ripper, Donald Rumbelow, the author of the definitive book on the subject. Britain’s most distinguished crime historian, Donald is, in the words of The Jack the Ripper A to Z, “internationally recognised as the leading authority on Jack the Ripper.” Donald’s emeritus now but he’s still the guiding light on our Ripper Walk. He curates the walk. He trains up and mentors our Ripper Walk guides. Fields any and all questions they throw at him.
The London Walks Aristocracy of Talent – its All-Star Team of Guides – includes a former London Mayor. It includes the former Chief Music Critic for the Evening Standard. It includes the Chair of the Association of Professional Tour Guides. And the former chair of the Guild of Guides.
It includes barristers, doctors, geologists, museum curators, a former London Museum archaeologist, historians,
university professors (one of them a distinguished Cambridge University paleontologist); it includes a criminal defence lawyer, Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre actors, a bevy of MVPs, Oscar winners (people who’ve won the big one, the Guide of the Year Award)…
well, you get the idea.
As that travel writer famously put it, “if this were a golf tournament, every name on the Leader Board would be a London Walks guide.”
And as we put it: London Walks Guides make the new familiar
and the familiar new.
And on that agreeable note…
come then, let us go forward together on some great London Walks.
And that’s by way of saying, Good walking and Good Londoning one and all. See ya next time.