Infrequently Asked Questions

I checked one of the so-called "facts" on your website and found it wasn't true. Are you deliberately attempting to mislead?
Most of the stuff on this site is made up. I make it up. It isn't true. I am lying. This is fiction.

Aren't you worried that someone will believe you?
No.

But why bother?
I enjoy it. Besides, most of the so-called "factual" information about London either isn't strictly "true" - exhibit A, Mr Harry Beck's Tube map, and the station indicator boards in most Tube stations - or is so wildly unlikely as to be unbelievable. For instance, this is a city that believes it will fall if some birds leave a big castle, and its global icons are called things like "Pearly Queens" or "Beefeaters" or have big hats made out of bearskin. London seems to require a bit of suspension of disbelief from its residents and visitors.

Where do the ideas come from?
How should I know? Mostly from noticing something odd about London and thinking about how it ended up that way. Or from people saying "you should write something about Leicester Square".

So you do requests?
Yes.

I've written something. Would you like to use it?
Probably.

Why is there often a long gap between posts?
Sorry about that. I am sometimes a little short on inspiration, and I do have a day job and a variety of other demands on my time.

Oho! So what do you do with the rest of your time?
I'm a freelance journalist, and I'm trying to write a book that isn't about London.

Talking of books, I think something TiL-based would make an excellent stocking filler for my nephew. Any chance of a TiL book?
Maybe.

Why "Taxloss"?
It's a very long story. I am not devoted to the band Mansun, but have used the name of one of their songs as a screen name since university. My real name is Will.

I long for legalese, am wowed by waivers, desire disclaimers, and get off on technicalities. Would you mind showing me some small print?
Oh, OK then. This Isn't London is copyright, and that's proper copyright, not some namby-pamby tree-hugging "copyleft" creative commons-style re-use agreement. Copyright is reserved by the author. All quotes must carry linked attribution. In cases where I am not the author of a piece, the copyright for that piece is retained by its author.